"Cough, cough..."
Mo Fan wanted to laugh, but the sensation of air leaking from his punctured lung triggered violent coughing, forcing more bloody foam to gush from the corners of his mouth.
At this moment, he resembled someone who'd just finished a marathon only to have three ribs broken afterward—a complete wreck.
Though that [ Soul Intimidation ] strike had been impressive, its side effects were alarmingly severe. His brain felt like countless electric drills were operating simultaneously inside it, and the fresh blood flowing from all seven orifices made him look more terrifying than any malevolent ghost.
But he didn't dare lose consciousness.
This was the bottom of Abandoned Sword Cliff. The scent of blood was like a dinner bell. Though the Shadow Leopard was dead, its blood—along with Mo Fan's own—was spreading madly through this deathly still air.
If he didn't leave quickly, within five minutes this place would become a monster buffet.
"No. 001... can you still move?"
Mo Fan turned his head with difficulty.
Several meters away, that once-imposing patchwork monster looked utterly pitiful.
Its left arm was twisted—broken when the leopard had pounced on it. The scrap iron bone shield on its chest had long since disappeared to who-knows-where. Most tragically, its right shoulder was completely empty, leaving only jagged bone stubs.
Hearing its master's call, the dim soulfire in No. 001's eye sockets flickered.
Clack.
It struggled to stand but lost balance from missing an arm and multiple fractures, falling back down twice.
Not until the third attempt did those still-sturdy Demon-Eye Rabbit hind legs prove their worth, supporting its broken body as it swayed unsteadily upright.
"Good job... as long as you're not completely wrecked."
Mo Fan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the legs remained functional and it could run, other broken parts could be replaced.
"Go... retrieve your arm... and the spoils of war."
Though No. 001's intelligence was limited, it seemed to possess an instinctive obsession with the concept of "spoils of war." It limped to the withered tree and extended its remaining left hand, gripping its own right arm that was still lodged in the Shadow Leopard's neck.
Squelch.
The bone arm was extracted.
Then, like dragging a dead dog, it single-handedly grabbed the Shadow Leopard's whip-like tail and hauled this heavy first-tier superior beast corpse to Mo Fan's side.
"Let's go..."
Mo Fan swallowed the last Recovery Pill from his storage pouch. Borrowing that faint medicinal strength, supported by No. 001, man and skeletal remnant—like two homeless dogs—pathetically crawled into the shadows at the mist's edge.
Ten minutes later.
In the outer chaotic rock zone, deep within a concealed rock crevice.
This was a safe house Mo Fan had specifically sought out earlier for "grinding." Its entrance was narrow—only thin people could squeeze through—but inside was reasonably spacious.
"Huff... huff..."
After confirming temporary safety, Mo Fan collapsed like mud. The Recovery Pill could only stop bleeding but couldn't heal broken bones. The sharp pain in his chest made each breath feel like torture.
But physical pain was still bearable. The soul-tearing sensation drove him nearly mad.
The aftereffects of forcibly overdrawing mental power to activate a skill beyond his level were viciously backlashing.
"Need to... restore mental power quickly."
With trembling hands, Mo Fan pressed against the Shadow Leopard corpse beside him.
[ Death Vision: Activate ]
Vision switched.
On that gradually cooling corpse floated a densely concentrated, almost tangible emerald light sphere.
This was the remnant soul of a Tier-1 High-Grade Spirit Beast.
It was filled with violent rage, unwillingness, and fierce mental energy—incomparably stronger than those centuries-old weathered remnant souls.
The instant Mo Fan's fingers touched it, he could almost hear the leopard's dying roar.
"Roar all you want. Once dead, just become my nourishment obediently."
Mo Fan's eyes hardened as blue light erupted from his fingertips.
[ Talent: Undead Sovereign · Soul Siphon! ]
Sizzle—!
That restless beast soul didn't flow in docilely like previous remnant souls. Instead, like a torrent, it savagely crashed into Mo Fan's depleted sea of consciousness.
BOOM!
Mo Fan's brain violently shook.
Then, that splitting headache instantly vanished.
In its place came an indescribable, ultimate comfort—like rain after severe drought.
That massive, refined soul energy rapidly repaired his damaged consciousness while continuously expanding and reinforcing his mental barriers.
The blood flowing from his seven orifices stopped. His previously foggy brain became unprecedentedly clear.
[ SYSTEM SETTLEMENT ]
[ Defeated Tier-1 High-Grade Shadow Leopard (LV. 8) beyond your level. Experience +600 ]
[ Absorbed complete high-tier Spirit Beast soul. Experience +400 ]
[ Current Experience: 1050 / 1400 ]
[ Soul Strength (Permanent): 31.0 ➜ 33.5 ]
"Satisfying..."
Mo Fan exhaled deeply. The bloodshot in his eyes completely faded, replaced by a sharp gleam.
"One mouthful equals killing hundreds of rats."
Looking at that experience bar just one step away from LV. 4, Mo Fan felt no regret.
The current results were already astonishing. However, only cross-tier kills could provide such massive experience gains—and the costs paid were immeasurable.
If given another chance and asked whether he'd challenge this "Pikachu" again, his answer would definitely be: run as far away as possible. After all, that life-hanging-by-a-thread feeling truly wasn't pleasant.
With the soul problem resolved, next came the physical body.
Mo Fan looked down at his sunken left chest. Though the Recovery Pill had stopped internal bleeding, if he didn't properly set the broken ribs, he'd never stand straight again in this lifetime.
"No doctors? Then do it myself."
Gritting his teeth, Mo Fan activated [ Death Vision ] again. This time, on himself.
In perspective vision, he clearly saw his three fractured ribs—one had nearly pierced his lung.
"System, enable corrective assistance."
Mo Fan extended his right hand, pressing it against his chest. Blue Mana surged as he activated that skill originally used for crafting equipment.
[ Bone Armament ]
This skill's essence was controlling bones. If it could control dead people's bones, naturally it could control living ones too.
"Mmph—!"
Mo Fan bit hard into his collar, releasing a muffled groan.
Under his mental control, those misaligned ribs were forcibly pulled and repositioned by Mana. The excruciating pain of bone fragments grinding made cold sweat pour like rain, yet he didn't make a sound.
Clack.
Repositioning successful.
Immediately after, a mass of high-density Mana wrapped the fracture points, rapidly hardening into a pale white bony membrane.
This was the Necromancer version of "applying a cast."
Though crude and brutal, the effect was immediate. Mo Fan tentatively took a deep breath—finally, his lungs no longer leaked air, and that piercing pain became bearable dull aching.
"Having abundant Mana means doing whatever you want..."
Mo Fan slumped to the ground, wiping cold sweat from his face. "As long as I'm not instantly killed, I can repair myself."
With injuries treated, Mo Fan finally had energy to examine this battle's greatest prize—that Shadow Leopard corpse stripped of its soul.
He didn't rush to use [ Summon ].
Because the Shadow Leopard's spinal bones were severely damaged during that "javelin pierce." Forcibly summoning it now would only produce a paraplegic cripple—a waste of materials.
"But this is still a treasure mountain."
Mo Fan pulled out his dagger and began expertly dismantling.
[ Peeled complete Shadow Leopard pelt. ] — Supreme magical artifact crafting material that could fetch astronomical prices at the sect marketplace.
[ Extracted Shadow Leopard claws x4. ] — Natural armor-piercing daggers, ten thousand times better than rat teeth.
[ Obtained Shadow Leopard spinal bones (damaged). ] — Extremely dense, inherently light-attribute premium bone material.
Finally, only a bloody skeleton remained.
Mo Fan gazed at this skeleton without discarding it like trash. He opened the System Panel, staring fixedly at newly updated data:
[ Soul Strength (CPU): 33.5 ]
He rapidly calculated mentally:
Though Summon No. 001 had undergone modifications, as a patchwork creation with terrible optimization, it occupied 16 points of burden.
33.5 - 16 = 17.5
"Still have 17.5 burden capacity!"
Mo Fan's eyes erupted with fanatical light.
"That's enough for me to raise another heavy unit on par with 001! Or even... a deadlier, more perfect assassin unit!"
His gaze fell on that leopard skeleton with a broken cervical spine but perfectly intact limb structure.
Just needed slight repairs, finding some materials to replace the damaged spine...
"Though No. 002 shattered, its spirit lives on."
Mo Fan stroked those cold leopard bones, lips curving into a cruel yet anticipatory smile.
"Welcome to the Mystic Realm Rocket Team, future... Unit 003."