Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Soul Technique, Taming the Blood-Red Demon Wolf

“Y-yes!” The banshee was startled, turning to John with a smile that was more like a grimace, and said, “I heard it from the Orcs, but the information should be true.”

John already knew it was true; Tracy had informed him earlier.

He continued, “Do you know how to activate the Faction System?”

The banshee shook her head. “That, I’m not sure about. It seems there’s some kind of seal that needs to be broken, and only you human players can do it.”

“A seal?” John asked, puzzled, looking toward the Undead Lord for answers.

Before John could speak, the Undead Lord replied, “Kid, don’t look at me. I have no idea how to activate the Faction System either.”

John sighed, realizing he’d have to figure this out on his own.

The Undead Lord glanced at him and asked, “Anything else you want to know?”

John shook his head.

Boom!

The Undead Lord raised his hand and blasted the banshee into oblivion.

John was a bit taken aback, confused. “Didn’t she say she did it for the Undead race? How could you kill her so easily?”

The Undead Lord shot him a glance and said, “You actually believed that nonsense? Even if she was telling the truth, using my body to pledge allegiance to the Orcs would have been a death sentence!”

John nodded in agreement.

“Kid, I’ve got something good for you!” The Undead Lord rummaged through the banshee’s remains and pulled out a manual, tossing it to John.

“Soul Technique?” John examined it curiously.

[Soul Technique: High-grade cultivation method. Increases soul strength, with a chance to learn soul-related skills.]

Like the Overwhelming Battle Energy he was cultivating, this was also a high-grade technique.

However, this one was even rarer, focusing on strengthening the soul.

And added possibility of learning soul-related skills.

John immediately used it to start learning. Like Overwhelming Battle Energy, it required skill points to level up.

Initially, it cost 10 skill points per level.

Over time, he had accumulated over 700 skill points and more than 10,000 skill stones.

There was no rush to level it up just yet.

The Undead Lord continued, “I need to enter Death Land and use the Tree of Life and the Vein of the Earth to restore my strength.”

John nodded, recalling that they had discussed this plan earlier.

“Wait a minute,” Malina interjected, “Get me out of The Secret Area first.”

Although the monsters in the Undead Cave had been slain, leaving no immediate danger.

The eerie environment made her reluctant to stay alone.

“Huh, you really do have a never-ending string of beauties around you,” the Undead Lord remarked, glancing at Malina with a teasing smile.

“Let’s get out of The Secret Area first,” John said, giving the Undead Lord a stern look. He then opened the final treasure chest, acquiring four sets of fifth-tier epic armor and some rare items.

John then opened a spatial rift, and the two of them, along with the Undead Lord, left The Secret Area and returned to the seventh level of the cave.

The skeleton monsters on the seventh level hadn’t respawned, leaving behind only piles of eerie white bones, but a crowd of players had already gathered there.

John had unlocked the hidden map and made it publicly accessible, so players had started to find their way in.

“Hey, a skeleton monster just showed up!”

“Wow, what a cool-looking skeleton! I want to tame it as a pet.”

“Are you stupid? That’s obviously a boss—everyone, attack together!”

…

Voices filled with excitement and confusion echoed through the cave as countless skills were unleashed, all targeting the Undead Lord.

Boom! Boom!

-1

-1

…

The pitiful damage numbers flashed across the screen. The players were too weak to even scratch his defenses, only able to chip away 1 HP at a time due to the system’s forced minimum damage rule.

“Fools!” the Undead Lord roared, casting a spell: “Fallen creatures, I grant you new life. Destroy everything before you—Evil Spirits Descend!”

A sinister energy spread through the cave, and the scattered bones on the ground began to move, reassembling into terrifying skeleton monsters.

“What kind of skill is this? An Undead Mage?”

“A sixth-tier monster! Run!”

“That’s definitely a powerful boss from the world of Gods!”

“If we manage to kill it, who knows what kind of loot it’ll drop?”

“Wake up, man! We’re no match for this thing.”

…

Panic spread among the players.

Even John was surprised; he hadn’t expected the Undead Lord’s casual resurrection spell to create sixth-tier monsters. The bones had belonged to mere fourth-tier creatures before.

By him summon, their power had jumped two tiers.

The players were no match for these skeletons and were quickly slaughtered, with only a few managing to escape using town portal scrolls.

Meanwhile, Malina watched the summoned skeletons with envy.

This guy is clearly an undead creature, incredibly powerful, and a master of summoning skills—he’s like an entire army by himself.

Unable to resist, she whispered to John, “Godslayer, is that guy your pet? Could you maybe let me have him?”

“Pet?” John glanced at Malina, slightly amused by her audacity.

The Undead Lord had once been a ninth-tier peak powerhouse, proud and solitary. The fact that he had even agreed to join John’s forces was already remarkable.

John had never considered making him a pet; the Undead Lord would never agree to it, nor was there any need.

John looked at Malina and said calmly, “If you’re not afraid of dying, you can go ahead and ask him yourself.”

“On second thought, maybe not.” Malina quickly shut her mouth, realizing that the Undead Lord was not someone to mess with. If she pushed her luck, he might very well turn on her.

John continued, “It’s safe here now. You should use a town portal scroll to return. I have other matters to attend to.”

“No way, I haven’t reached level 150 yet! I’m sticking with you!” Malina refused. The leveling speed with John was just too fast. In less than half a day, not counting travel time, she had already reached level 114.

If it weren’t for some guild matters that required her attention, she would have stayed with John indefinitely—this kind of leveling speed was too tempting.

John frowned slightly and said, “I’m heading into a mysterious area next, full of danger. It’s completely isolated from the outside world—no logging out, no contact with the world of Gods, and there’s even a risk to your life. Are you sure you want to come with me?”

He was referring to the Abyss.

To prepare for the upcoming Faction System, he had decided to recruit the powerful beings imprisoned in the Abyss. With their help, even a ninth-tier powerhouse wouldn’t pose a threat.

“There’s a place like that?” Malina asked, incredulous. She hesitated for a moment before asking, “What if the Fox Demon Curse acts up?”

John looked at her in surprise. “You’re not seriously thinking about coming with me, are you?”

Malina quickly shook her head. “I’m just worried about you, don’t get the wrong idea. You’re not planning to… handle it yourself, are you?”

Suddenly realizing something, she warned, “Hey, don’t you dare use my photos for… that kind of thing.”

John was momentarily stunned, baffled by her train of thought. What was this woman thinking?

Did she really see him as that kind of person? Asking for her photos was just a way to mess with her; he had no other intentions whatsoever.

“I have other business. Use your town portal scroll to return to Jade City, and then take the teleportation array to head back. I’ll help you level up some other time,” John said, before focusing his mind to connect with Death Land, leading the Undead Lord and disappearing into thin air.

“Hey, just like that, you’re leaving?” Malina stared at where John had vanished, feeling a sudden emptiness inside, a strange sense of reluctance.

“Am I starting to like this guy?” The thought startled her, and she quickly shook her head, trying to push away such a crazy idea.

She then pulled out her town portal scroll, returning to Jade City. From there, she took the teleportation array to the Dark Humans’ territory nearest to Phoenix City and made her way back to Phoenix City.

…

Death Land.

A group of beasts and elves eyed the Undead Lord with hostility.

Especially the Black Turtle; if it hadn’t been for John’s intervention, the two would have already been at each other’s throats.

The Undead Lord, however, seemed unfazed, heading straight to the area between the Tree of Life and the Vein of the Earth to begin his closed-door cultivation.

“Kid, why did you resurrect him? That guy is cunning and treacherous—he can’t be trusted!” Black Turtle immediately warned John.

He had no fondness for the Undead Lord.

Moreover, the Undead Lord had lost his Undying and Immortal talent to him—although it had been passed on to John, the Undead Lord surely harbored a grudge against him.

“Don’t worry,” John reassured. “We’re all allies now. Besides, even if that guy does have ulterior motives, he wouldn’t be a match for you anyway, so what’s there to fear?”

“Hmm? That’s true!” Black Turtle nodded in agreement, clearly pleased with the compliment.

John couldn’t help but feel exasperated. He had only said a few flattering words, but this old turtle was really full of himself.

Both Black Turtle and the Undead Lord had been ninth-tier powerhouses at their peak.

But the Undead Lord’s strength had been slightly superior.

John then found Anna and the others, giving them instructions: “I need to leave for a while. If anything happens in the world of Gods during my absence, make sure you fully support the Saint Martial Sect and Flame City.”

“Don’t worry, benefactor,” Anna replied confidently. She had refined the Death Land key and, like John, had control over Death Land, allowing her to lead and guide others in and out freely.

“Good, I’ll leave it in your hands then.” John said his goodbyes to the group, and after a while, left Death Land. By his side was a massive blood-red demon wolf.

This was a seventh-tier epic beast, the blood-red demon wolf.

However, at this moment, the demon wolf was covered in wounds, looking pitiful and far from its once-arrogant self.

It had just been given a beating by John, who had forced it to accept Ritchie as its master.

“Human, how about we change the terms? I’ll accept you as my master instead,” the blood-red demon wolf suggested, still somewhat reluctant.

“No thanks,” John replied, unimpressed by the offer.

The blood-red demon wolf was indeed powerful, but it was likely that its peak would be at the seventh-tier. If it couldn’t evolve into a legendary beast, breaking through to the eighth tier would be nearly impossible.

On the other hand, though Avis was only at the fourth tier and relatively weak, it was a legendary beast with the potential to grow into a ninth-tier peak creature.

John also understood that having the blood-red demon wolf follow Ritchie was a bit of a demotion for it.

So, he continued, “Alright, how about this—serve as Ritchie’s pet for three years. After that, you’ll be free.”

“Deal!” The blood-red demon wolf’s eyes lit up, agreeing without hesitation.

For a creature with a long lifespan, three years was nothing—merely the blink of an eye.

With that, the man and the wolf left the Dark Cave.

Without resorting to Sword Flight, John rode the blood-red demon wolf, heading towards The Land of Darkness.

…