A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.

This was a forest, but eerily, all the trees in this forest were pure black, even the leaves.

The dense foliage blocked out the sunlight.

Occasional flashes of eerie red light pierced the pitch-black forest, giving one an extreme sense of danger.

A light gate opened, and two figures, one old and one young, stepped out from within. It was Shen Jianshu and Qiao Yu.

Stepping out of the undead space, Qiao Yu couldn't help but squint.

The undead space was empty. He hadn't seen the outside world in four months.

The sudden sunlight made Qiao Yu's eyes sting.

"C-grade dungeon, Dark Forest..."

Qiao Yu looked at the scenery with a complex expression.

This wasn't his first time entering this dungeon. He had been here before when Wan Lihao and Gao Hongyi led all the body cultivator students to train their defenses.

Qiao Yu reached out, and countless wind blades clattered against his skin.

The wind blades in the Dark Forest, which had once been able to cut him to pieces, could no longer harm him.

"Let's go. There's something we need in this forest. It's also a good opportunity for you to practice your combat skills."

Shen Jianshu's face showed a hint of fervor.

"I really want to know just how strong you are when you go all out."

Qiao Yu nodded and stepped into the Dark Forest without hesitation.

Suddenly, a black shadow burst from the ground and pounced towards Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu didn't take it lightly. The Zhulong Yanyue Blade in its dormant state appeared in his hand.

Then he began to chant, retreating rapidly as the earth cracked open. From the Gate of Akka, four headless knights thrust their spears downwards.

*Puchi!*

The black shadow was pierced by the spears, leaking large amounts of thick green fluid. In pain, it leaped up.

Only then did Qiao Yu see clearly that it was a hideous eight-legged spider.

[Common Monster: Dark Spider]

[Level: lv33]

[Health Points: 4800/5000]

[Strength: 396]

[Defense: 288]

[Agility: 345]

[Skills: Burrow, Soul Seize]

[Friendly Reminder: A cute little insect in the Dark Forest that loves to suck human blood.]

Qiao Yu's eyes narrowed. He had seen this spider before. Back then, he could only defeat it with the help of Wan Lihao.

But now...

"Blood Fountain!"

Qiao Yu directly released an undead spell he had just learned from a box.

《Blood Fountain》: Level: B-grade.

Effect: Within a certain range, any creature wounded will be unable to heal, and blood will begin to escape the body.

The wounds on the Dark Spider, pierced by the headless knights, began to gush thick green blood, visibly weakening it.

At this point, more than sixteen headless knights had emerged from the Gate of Akka.

"That's enough!"

Qiao Yu immediately closed the Gate of Akka. He knew that if he summoned more than twenty headless knights, his mana would be completely depleted.

"Voice of Van Helsing!"

Qiao Yu chanted, and an eerie song rose from his throat.

Voice of Van Helsing (B-grade): Under the necromancer's chant, undead creatures will be strengthened and enter a berserk state.

The headless knights instantly turned crimson and surged towards the Dark Spider.

Under Qiao Yu's control, they worked in pairs, surrounding the Dark Spider. If the Dark Spider attacked one headless knight, it would be pierced by the spear of another.

Combined with the bleeding effect of Blood Fountain, the Dark Spider's health continued to decline.

The Dark Spider desperately attacked the headless knights, and headless knights were constantly cut into pieces by its sharp eight legs. Little did it know that the real danger was approaching.

Just as the Dark Spider used its front legs to fling a headless knight high into the air, Qiao Yu knew that his chance had come!

"Undead Swap!"

Qiao Yu chanted for three seconds, using the last of his mana to cast this spell.

《Undead Swap》, Level: C-grade.

Effect: After a three-second chant, the caster swaps places with any undead creature.

This spell was originally a divine skill used by necromancers to escape and evade assassins, but Qiao Yu was using it in a completely different way.

After Qiao Yu cast Undead Swap, his body instantly disappeared from its original location, replaced by the headless knight!

And Qiao Yu himself appeared in the air above the Dark Spider! The Zhulong Yanyue Blade instantly became bright!

Activating the bright state and the Skull King's Ring!

"Slash!"

Qiao Yu wielded the Zhulong Yanyue Blade, executing a sliding slash that pierced directly through the Dark Spider's head and abdomen.

"Critical Hit! -3966!"

[Congratulations to player Qiao Yu for resolving the common monster Dark Spider through melee combat. Free attribute points +33, experience points +1650]

[Ding! Congratulations to player Qiao Yu for killing his first high-level monster in his Otherworld career through melee combat. Reward: Level +1]

Qiao Yu cleanly and decisively killed the Dark Spider with one slash. Thick green fluid splattered all over him, but Qiao Yu didn't care.

His eyes were full of excitement. He was confident that if he were to face Li Ba again, he might not even need to trigger the Mechanical Empress's Fury to defeat him.

"Not bad! A mid-level at level 22, actually able to defeat a high-level monster at level 33 so quickly!"

"Although it's just a common monster, Qiao Yu, you really are a monster!"

Shen Jianshu couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Professor, I'm level 23 now. I just leveled up."

Shen Jianshu: "..."

Shen Jianshu was silent for a while, then cursed under his breath, calling him a freak.

The old man and the young man continued to walk towards the core of the Dark Forest. Perhaps it was because Qiao Yu's fighting style was too brutal, or perhaps it was because the presence of Shen Jianshu was too intimidating.

In the following period, no other monsters dared to appear.

"Professor Shen, is the Dark Forest always this quiet?" Qiao Yu couldn't help but ask his question.

"Oh, anything that dared to get close was taken care of by me."

Shen Jianshu's tone was indifferent, as if he had just killed a chicken.

"I have a rough idea of your strength now. If you want to increase your combat experience, the combat competition is the best stage."

"There, you can fight against young experts from all over the world. There's no need to waste time in this kind of place."

Seeming to see Qiao Yu's doubts, Shen Jianshu explained.

As the two approached the core of the Dark Forest, a familiar draconic pressure surged from the depths of the forest. Then, a towering black shadow stood upright.

His body was covered with scales that gleamed with a black, cold light, sharp and powerful claws, and two long, distorted horns.

This was actually a black dragon!

[Epic Monster: Black Jiaolong (Horned Dragon)]

[Level: lv39]

[Health Points: 10000/10000]

[Strength: 563]

[Defense: 502]

[Agility: 544]

[Skills: Dragon Might, Dragon Breath, Dragon God Transformation]

[Friendly Reminder: A hegemon-level existence in the Dark Forest, craving endless blood to complete its evolution.]

The vast dragon might was like divine punishment, making it hard to breathe.