Infinite Fighting

Chapter 344 Extra Chapter [Player's Story 7]

After discussing the matter, the three of them returned to Fangyuan Restaurant one after another.

Yan Hao and Shi Feng put their arms around each other's shoulders and talked about the songs that Xiuhualou had performed that day, and how regrettable it was that Yuan Shaojie hadn't gone.

The two were now more than ten centimeters apart in size from when they fought Fang Lingwei, and the smell of alcohol and perfume on their bodies also masked much of their presence.

Zhang Ji was the last to return. He didn't deliberately create too much of a scent; he only had the smell of incense on him.

Myomuji Temple has a branch in the capital city, which is usually crowded with worshippers. In the evening, it is also open to beggars or worshippers to rest, and passersby to take shelter from the rain.

Zhang Ji spent some time there with Ming Wufo.

The three of them did some disguise, hoping not to be discovered.

But it's clearly a bit redundant.

Fang Lingwei didn't investigate the three of them at all, because there were too many Shadow Demons.

In the capital city alone, there are at least hundreds or thousands of Shadow Demons.

With such a large number, there are far too many suspects, and the investigation will have to proceed one by one.

Three waiters, placed in such a large city as Kyoto, would hardly be considered the first suspects.

In the following days, Zhang Ji did not go out to do side quests, and Yan Hao and Shi Feng also stopped.

The Zhenguo Guard made quite a commotion, even coming to the restaurant to investigate twice.

Of course, nothing was found.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ji, although he didn't go out, was also working on improving his skills.

Each of the three mid-grade star crystals contains more star power than ten pounds of star sand, and they are easier to absorb.

If you use all your resources to grind for "Spirit Pig Leading Star Skill", you can conservatively grind five skill crystals with one star crystal.

However, they are all (ordinary one-star) skill crystals. Even if you synthesize (excellent) skill crystals, they will still be the worst of the worst.

Its weaknesses are obvious, and it might even get crushed by a genius NPC who is much stronger.

Therefore, the newly acquired skill of Zhang Jixin is the "Shadow Devouring Technique".

This is a (normal five-star) skill.

It's so much better than the "Spirit Pig Leading Star Technique".

Of course, the progress will be slower if you work hard on it.

Zhang Ji used a mid-grade star crystal and spent two days cultivating a skill crystal.

Skill and Divine attributes are greatly enhanced, while Strength and Physical attributes receive a slight increase.

"panel!"

With a thought, Zhang Ji summoned his attribute panel.

Player: Zhang Ji

Skills: Basic Combat, Spirit Pig Star-Guiding Technique *4, Shadow Devouring Technique *1
Clever: D
Force: D
Body: D
God: D
Evaluation: If you were unarmed, you could easily fight off hundreds of ordinary people.

All four attributes have reached the [D] level.

The Strength/Constitution attribute should be close to [D+], pretty much.

Furthermore, Zhang Ji has developed more diverse fighting styles.

The unique nature of the Star Power in "Shadow Eater Technique" allows Zhang Ji to move quickly in the shadows, avoid certain damage, and fill his body with Phantom Star Power to change his form, making it very convenient for disguise.

Zhang Ji's weaknesses have now been somewhat addressed.

In terms of reaction speed and movement, it's not as bad as having none at all.

Zhang Ji planned to use up the remaining two mid-grade star crystals, then buy a few more from the Hundred Industries Alliance to refine the remaining five combat crystals of the "Shadow Devouring Technique," which would then be combined with the four combat crystals of the "Spirit Pig Leading Star Technique" to push his strength to C-level.

Even in Kyoto, a C-rank should barely be considered among the top-tier fighters.

The remaining two mid-grade star crystals were consumed by Zhang Ji over the next four days, turning into two combat crystals of the "Shadow Devouring Technique".

This also boosted his skill and divine attributes to [D+], surpassing his strength and physical attributes.

Zhang Ji felt that he would need another "Shadow Eater Technique" combat crystal to raise his strength and physical attributes to the [D+] level.

And the benefits of the "Skill" attribute reaching "D+" are very obvious.

The flies flying by looked like they were in slow motion to Zhang Ji, and at the same time, he was able to use his own strength more easily and had stronger control.

He can precisely cut off the wings of a high-speed fly with a knife without killing it.

Besides this flashy gameplay, the increase in combat power is also exaggerated.

It has a faster burst speed and quicker movements.

If he were to face Fang Lingwei again, and if Fang Lingwei didn't have any trump cards up her sleeve, Zhang was extremely confident that he could defeat her within fifty moves.

When the resources ran out, Zhang Ji went out to replenish them that night.

When Zhang Ji arrived at the shop of the Hundred Industries Alliance, he felt that something was different from usual.

He vaguely sensed some unusual presence lurking around him.

The enhancement of divine attributes greatly boosts perception, allowing Zhang Ji to easily detect even the slightest movement around him.

He already understood the situation.

It seems this place has already been investigated by the imperial court and is now a sting trap.

With a slight thought, Zhang Ji felt a surge of dark star power around his body, making his figure even less noticeable in the shadows. At the same time, he felt much lighter and immediately retreated into the distance.

It seems this resource supply point is temporarily unusable; we'll have to find another place.

Government resources are difficult to buy and sell, partly because they are expensive, and partly because they are easily controlled.

The only place left to get star crystals or star sand is the black market.

However, since the Zhenguo Guard has been mobilized at this time of year, it's likely that the black market has also been investigated.

Without resources, relying solely on grinding skills on your own will significantly slow down your progress.

Zhang Ji had calculated it.

The "Spiritual Pig Leading Stars Skill" is relatively easy to master; with a little diligence, you can grind for a skill crystal in twenty days.

But grinding for the "Shadow Eater Technique" is a different story; it takes at least a hundred days to grind out a single skill crystal. One (normal one-star) and one (normal five-star) are four stars apart in quality, yet the added attributes are significantly higher. What else could they possibly offer?

"Forget it, let's retreat first."

Zhang Ji lay lurking in the shadows, intending to leave.

He hadn't walked far when he seemed to sense something and stopped, then suddenly struck the shadow beside him with his palm.

"Pfft! Crack! Bang!"

One figure was struck by Zhang Ji, and the bones in his chest collapsed instantly. His body crashed into the wall, and he was barely able to breathe.

"Shadow Fiend!"

Zhang Ji narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression not very pleasant.

Because just now, this guy was lurking around his shadow, ready to devour it.

Zhang Ji also knows the "Shadow Devouring Technique," but he has never eaten a shadow before.

Seeing the man in front of him grunting and about to die, Zhang Ji decided to give it a try.

With a slight thought, the phantom star image in Zhang Ji's mind spread out from his body, crawled along his shadow to the person not far away, and then an extremely strange scene occurred.

The man's shadow was being swallowed up, and in its place, Zhang Ji's phantom star formation became more solid and stronger.

Zhang Ji currently knows of four Star Warrior realms.

The first [Star-Guiding Realm] involves visualizing the corresponding celestial bodies and drawing star power into the body, providing a very basic star power boost.

Next is the [Destiny Star Realm], which directly binds to the destiny stars in the sky. The visualized constellations will bless the Star Warrior, giving him even more extraordinary abilities.

[Star Pulse Realm]: Star warriors will have star pulses condensing within their bodies, making the transmission of star power more efficient. At the same time, the star power will also be more concentrated, and star phenomena can be briefly summoned to display their great power.

【Astrological Realm】The visualized constellations undergo a qualitative change, acquiring substance and can be condensed for prolonged battles.

In essence, all four realms involve gradually strengthening one's astrological chart, thereby gaining more special and empowering abilities.

Different Star Martial Arts techniques have different upper limits.

"Shadow Devouring Technique" seems to be a Star Martial Art with growth potential?
Can consuming shadows directly enhance one's astrological sign?

Its (ordinary five-star) rating is probably just an initial rank.

Even without Zhang Ji's cheat, others should be able to gradually increase the upper limit of this Star Martial Art by consuming shadows.

A moment later, Zhang Ji's astrological chart completely swallowed up the other party's shadow.

The person instantly entered a state of unconsciousness similar to that of a vegetative state.

So being swallowed by shadows doesn't mean immediate death, but rather turning into a living dead?

The phantom star returned to Zhang Ji along with the shadow, and Zhang Ji immediately felt a jolt of energy.

[Note: The Skill attribute has received a slight boost, currently at D+; the Divinity attribute has also received a slight boost, currently at D+.]

Although it was described as a minor improvement, Zhang Ji could sense that this improvement was actually comparable to that of a (normal one-star) skill crystal.

It probably wouldn't have this effect if it were just swallowing the shadow of an ordinary person. It must be because the person in front of me is also a Shadow Demon who has cultivated the "Shadow Devouring Technique" and has a certain level of strength.

Since they come from the same source, they are easier to absorb and can be directly converted.

This made Zhang Ji even more convinced that this Star Martial Arts was a method of raising Gu poison.

He twitched his ears and heard some noise in the distance, so he quickly slipped into the shadows and disappeared into the distance.

Without stardust, life would be truly difficult for Star Crystal.

Having grown accustomed to the incredibly fast acquisition of skill proficiency, Zhang Ji found it difficult to accept that it was suddenly dozens of times slower.

It's worth mentioning that because of the Shadow Fiend incident, the restaurant's business has suddenly declined significantly, and there have been almost no customers in the past two days.

The Zhenguowei patrols several times a day.

It's not just restaurants; other businesses are also struggling these days.

Many people now stay indoors all the time.

This is because the Shadow Demon is forced to commit crimes more and more frequently under such high pressure, and since no one knows which person around them might be the Shadow Demon, the concealment is too strong, and no one knows whether they will be targeted when they go out.

"Manager, we plan to resign."

At this moment, Yan Hao and Shi Feng found Fang Yuan.

"Business has been tough these past few days, but don't worry, things will get better after a while," Fang Yuan said, trying to persuade them to stay.

"Shopkeeper, you've misunderstood. We've saved up some money in the past two years and plan to go back to our hometown to start a small business and settle down," Yan Hao said.

"Sigh, alright then." Fang Yuan sighed and nodded.

Zhang Ji knew perfectly well that the two were trying to escape a calamity. Their so-called return to their hometown to start a family and build a career was just an excuse. They were mainly afraid of the commotion in the capital.

However, he felt that the two of them might not be able to leave.

In the afternoon, the two of them finished packing their things.

“Brother Zhang, if you have some free time later, you can come to Sanli County to find us,” Shi Feng said to Zhang Ji.

"Definitely, definitely," Zhang replied perfunctorily.

After seeing the two off, the number of waiters in the restaurant dropped from three to one, which made Zhang Ji feel a little emotional.

Outside the city, Shi Feng and Yan Hao sat in a carriage traveling into the distance. After traveling a certain distance, several black insects quickly flew into the carriage and then rushed straight towards the two of them.

Before they could even react, they were bitten by the insects and subsequently became paralyzed.

A while later, several figures appeared.

"Why are there always those who want to run away? It's been so long, and we haven't even raised two Shadow Puppets at the Life Star Realm yet. How am I supposed to explain this to Lord Shadow God?" one of the black-clad youths, who seemed to be the leader, said.

"Sir, why don't we help you reveal the identities of those shadow puppets?" someone suggested.

"Don't expose everything; leave some in the shadows," the leader said.

Under immense pressure, the Shadow Fiends had only two choices: escape or fight and improve their strength.

At this time of year, once one's identity is exposed, there's no way to escape; devouring each other is the fastest way to improve.

In the end, those who survived were the Shadow Puppets who excelled in all aspects, and only they were qualified to become the Shadow God's "food".

(End of this chapter)