Lin Shen spent a month in that dilapidated town, finding nothing except five hundred copper coins and some medicines for restoring health and spiritual power.
"This labyrinth is a bit too stingy," Lin Shen muttered.
Deciding to switch up his tactics, he took out the Demon-Arousing Flute.
With a strange, howling "woo—" sound, a large number of Skeleton Soldiers surged out from both ends of the street.
Seeing this, Lin Shen thought to himself: The Demon-Arousing Flute is actually quite useful. If I had known it was this good, I would have used it sooner.
Lin Shen struck the ground with his staff, causing one black hole after another to open up beneath the surface. From each hole, a pair of black hands shot out, gripping the legs of the Skeleton Soldiers in an iron grasp.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Shen launched Fireballs one after another, completely wiping out all the trapped Skeleton Soldiers.
At that moment, the System prompt chimed: "Warning! Warning! A boss-class monster is approaching! Host, please prepare immediately!"
Without wasting any time, Lin Shen first finished off the remaining stragglers, then replenished his spiritual power with a Mouse-Ear Fruit. Holding his staff, he quietly waited for the boss to strike.
Sure enough, after the span of a joss stick, a troop of Skeleton Soldiers marched over. At their lead was a Skeleton General clad in armor and a helmet, with a steel saber belted at his waist. Behind him were ten skeletal cavalrymen and over a hundred regular Skeleton Soldiers.
The Skeleton General drew his sidearm and pointed it forward, and the skeletal infantry behind him charged straight at Lin Shen.
Lin Shen thought: This guy's not bad, knowing enough to let the cannon fodder go first.
So Lin Shen immediately used the Earth-Binding Claw to immobilize the infantry, followed by a bolt of lightning that shattered all the foot soldiers to pieces.
Seeing this, the cavalry behind the general also charged forward with swords drawn.
Lin Shen gathered the wind and unleashed a fierce gale, blowing the ten skeletal cavalrymen, horses and all, completely apart.
The general, witnessing this, drew the steel saber from his waist, sprinted toward Lin Shen, leaped into the air, and brought a downward slash.
Lin Shen instantly raised his staff to parry. The blade struck the staff, and the impact of the two forces sent both men staggering back a few steps.
Lin Shen channeled the Earth-Binding Claw, but the general quickly leaped backward, causing all the claws to grasp empty air. Realizing the distance had opened up, Lin Shen condensed a massive Fireball one zhang in diameter, which slowly rose into the air.
A moment later, countless Fire Arrows shot from the fireball toward the Skeleton General, but they were all dodged through the Skeleton General's agile maneuvering.
Lin Shen saw this and thought: This won't do; this guy is way too nimble.
The general charged forward with his saber, and Lin Shen parried with his staff. The two exchanged blows for over thirty rounds without a victor. An idea struck Lin Shen, and he cast Fireball again. The Skeleton General sidestepped, letting the fireball graze his shoulder. Then Lin Shen followed up with the Earth-Binding Claw, but the Skeleton General nimbly evaded every single claw.
Judging that the distance was about right, Lin Shen began channeling his spiritual power into his staff, and a freezing chill instantly erupted from its tip.
The Skeleton General lunged forward with his saber once more. Lin Shen unleashed a freezing gale, and the biting cold wind blew toward the Skeleton General. The Skeleton General's movements began to slow down, and after stumbling forward a few steps, he froze completely.
A moment later, the Skeleton General was frozen into an ice sculpture. Fearing any accidents, Lin Shen added a Fireball to finish him off, blowing the Skeleton General into powdery shards.
At that moment, the System's voice rang out:
"Ding!
Congratulations to the Host for defeating the boss-class monster Skeleton General!
Reward: 1,000 System coins!
Reward: The spell Reincarnation Technique!"
"Wait a minute, Reincarnation Technique? It's not one of those spells that can bring the dead back to life, is it?"
"Yes, Host!"
Lin Shen thought: The System is not bad at all; it gives away plenty of good stuff.
Just then, a gold-trimmed treasure chest appeared beside Lin Shen. Opening it up, he found twenty Liang of silver fragments, a long sword, ten portions of Army Rations, ten portions of Dragon Saliva Grass, and a piece of jade pendant.
Believing the jade pendant was extraordinary, Lin Shen took it out.
The System prompt chimed immediately:
"Ding!
Congratulations to the Host for acquiring the item: Spirit Spring Jade!"
Lin Shen pondered for a moment. This item appeared neither in the game nor the TV series, so he asked, "What is this used for?"
"The Spirit Spring Jade can accelerate the Host's progress in cultivating spiritual power."
Lin Shen thought about it. This function sounded a bit like the jade pendant Xia gave to Xiahou Jinxuan in Chinese Paladin 5 Prequel. This piece of jade would suit Linger the mage well, but for now, he might as well use it himself. As for the rest of the items, Lin Shen packed them all up and took them with him.
Lin Shen asked, "System, just now I heard you call it a 'boss-class monster' instead of a 'boss'. Could there be other boss monsters?"
"The Host is quite sharp. Indeed there are!"
Thinking it over, Lin Shen decided to lure the enemy into the trap, so he picked up the Demon-Arousing Flute again. With a strange, howling "woo—" sound, another squad of Skeleton Soldiers came running. This time, the leader was a Skeleton General clad in armor and wielding dual hammers.
Lin Shen thought: Oh no, guys who use hammers are usually strength-based fighters; I definitely can't take a direct hit from one of those hammers. I have to end this quickly.
Lin Shen sent a bolt of lightning crashing down. The Skeleton General leaped into the air, and all the minions behind him were instantly shattered.
The Skeleton General raised his dual hammers high in the air and smashed down toward Lin Shen. Instead of parrying, Lin Shen dodged backward.
The general's hammers slammed into the ground, but the resulting shockwave still forced Lin Shen back five paces.
Lin Shen cast the Summoning Technique, summoning twenty Skeleton Soldiers to engage the Skeleton General in close combat while he channeled his spiritual power into his staff. The Skeleton General wasted no time, smashing one skeleton with every hammer blow.
By the time the general eliminated the very last skeleton, Lin Shen had finished charging his power and unleashed a freezing gale. Soon, this Skeleton General was also frozen into an ice sculpture. Lin Shen fired off a Fireball, reducing the Skeleton General to dust.
At that moment, the System prompt chimed:
"Ding!
Congratulations to the Host for eliminating Skeleton General No. 2!
Reward: Monstrous Strength Technique!
Additional Reward: 1,000 System coins!"
Lin Shen thought: This is linked with Tsunade from Naruto now. I wonder if Haki from One Piece will show up later.
Finding a low brick wall, Lin Shen punched it directly, and the low wall instantly collapsed.
Startled even himself, Lin Shen thought: Is the System trying to turn me into an all-rounder hexagon warrior?
At that moment, another idea crossed Lin Shen's mind, and he asked, "System, is there any way to send these two Skeleton Generals to Heishui Town?"
"There is, but each teleportation costs 200 System coins. However, you smashed both of them into powder, so..."
Lin Shen was left speechless. He bit his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the ground, forming a massive magic array. Lin Shen shouted, "Resurrection!"
The two Skeleton Generals emerged from the array, and the System teleported them both to Heishui Town.
Only then did it dawn on Lin Shen: Oh no! At this point in time, Heishui Town shouldn't have been turned into a dead zone by the Red Fiend King yet. The townspeople are going to suffer.
Smacking his thigh in regret, Lin Shen cried out, "Damn it, I teleported them too early!"
At this, the System said, "The Host can rest assured about that. The teleported monsters will only appear when Li Xiaoyao and the others enter Heishui Town. But Host, what is your intention?"
Lin Shen finally relaxed and said, "That's good. I just thought of sending some decent-looking bosses to Li Xiaoyao's world to give them more opportunities for training. After all, some skills can only be honed through actual combat."
The System was left speechless for a long time before finally saying, "I don't know whether to say your intentions are deeply profound or utterly malicious."
Lin Shen asked, "Are there any other boss-class monsters in this place?"
"Try using the Demon-Arousing Flute again and you'll find out."
Speechless, Lin Shen said, "I think I'll take a break first."
After resting for a few hours, Lin Shen took out the Demon-Arousing Flute. Following a howling "woo—" sound, another batch of Skeleton Soldiers rushed over, numbering over a hundred. This time, however, they were all the most ordinary skeletal infantry. Deeply disappointed, Lin Shen wiped them all out with a single Fireball.
Lin Shen used the Demon-Arousing Flute again, but it summoned another group of foot soldiers. He repeated this cycle over and over again. After an unknown amount of time, apart from wiping out skeleton soldiers to stockpile some System coins, there was little to show for it.
Until one day, Lin Shen grew sick of it himself. After wiping out a batch of grunts and getting 200 copper coins, he stopped.
Lin Shen checked his assets. During this period, he had accumulated quite a few System coins, along with the twenty Liang of silver fragments obtained from defeating the first Skeleton General last time, plus the health and spirit recovery medicines he had stockpiled.
Thinking it over, it seemed he had to change maps; otherwise, he would only be wasting time here.
So Lin Shen asked, "System, are there any other maps?"
The System fell silent for a moment, and a new light door materialized right in front of Lin Shen.
Just as he remembered something, Lin Shen asked, "How long have I stayed in this map?"
"Reporting to the Host, five years."
"To the outside world, only five days have passed, right?"
"Yes."
Lin Shen thought to himself: Fortunately, time didn't pass too slowly here. Let's go check out other maps and see if there are any suitable items or equipment. With that, Lin Shen stepped into the light door...
(Chapter Three End)