Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

A foul stench filled the air.

"Damn it..."

Gu Chen lunged forward and dodged, the Spider Queen's enormous body swept past with a foul stench, as if the air itself was about to burst.

This spider queen is incredibly powerful. Gu Chen didn't sense it when it was by the riverbed because there were just too many spiders there...

There were too many distractions back then; now it's a 1v1 situation.

Gu Chen then discovered that he couldn't hold back any longer.

That means this spider queen is not only stronger than me.

Moreover, it's excessively strong.

Although it was just a spider, its mental strength was extremely powerful. The mental strength it accumulated through instinct alone already surpassed that of most high-level first-ring wizards.

Literally speaking, this spider queen is more mentally strong than Ken.

Fortunately, she did not cross the boundary between the first and second rings, which is equivalent to the advanced level of the first ring.

Therefore, it is quite difficult to handle...

Gu Chen had just tried to connect the magic link when the Spider Queen charged at him, but the Spider Queen slightly dodged to the side.

"Are you kidding me...?"

I am aware of the enhanced control I have gained from my stargazing technique...

I've never encountered a situation like this before when facing wizards of a higher rank than myself!

At this moment, the slippery stone wall trembled due to the Spider Queen's movement, and even the star map crystal on the dome shook. Light scattered haphazardly on the ground, reflecting the dark purple poisonous mist that was gathering in the hideous maw.

"...This position is a bit awkward..."

Gu Chen did not back down.

It wasn't that he was too brave or anything; he simply couldn't back down.

Because behind it is a sealing stele, and according to the tomb keeper, the Spider Queen must not be allowed to touch it.

Once it touches the destabilized seal, who knows what will happen.

In a flash, Gu Chen took a step diagonally to the left front, showing no intention of dodging, but rather to meet the attack head-on!

Just then, the dark gold patterns on the "Grip of Life and Death" suddenly lit up. First, they lit up in grayish-white, then a restless black flashed, and finally dark gold.

Concentrating his mind on the front of his arm, he forced the three death forces together, with the soul-corroding death energy as the surface, necromantic magic as the relay, and dark power as the core. They spiraled and intertwined together, and were finally forcibly pressed together!

The distance was too close, and there was neither the time nor the ability to cast spells remotely. So Gu Chen simply used his entire right arm as a weapon and punched the Spider Queen's left foreleg!

puff!

Corrosion, manipulation, and annihilation intertwined and unleashed a powerful effect. The Spider Queen's originally thick and hard carapace turned grayish-white upon contact, followed by spiderweb-like black cracks. Finally, the center point seemed to be erased by an invisible force, directly forming a hole the size of a bowl!

"Awooo!!!!!"

It roared in agony! The sound was so loud it could pierce eardrums.

Strikes from Gu Chen, the Spider Queen's charge suddenly veered off course. Her injured legs instinctively curled up, and her massive body lost its balance, crashing into the right-hand stone wall with a thud, sending rubble raining down.

opportunity!

Gu Chen stumbled and was about to pounce, expanding his advantage.

But then, Gu Chen's pupils suddenly widened!

"There are death threats?"

The spider queen, though crashing into the wall, was not completely out of control; her remaining five compound eyes gleamed with hatred! Her mandibles opened wide, and the long-brewing cloud of dark purple poisonous mist exploded outwards!

The poisonous fog instantly filled most of the cave space ahead and spread rapidly toward Gu Chen!

Wherever the poisonous fog passed, the ancient stone slabs on the ground made a soft "sizzling" sound. However, these ancient stone slabs did not appear to be corroded. But the air was distorted where the poisonous fog passed, and a foul, putrid stench wafted over.

That wouldn't be good if it got blown over...

But this is an area-of-effect attack!

"Blood Shield!"

Gu Chen subconsciously activated his blood shield, but... this thing hasn't been analyzed or enhanced yet, can it really completely withstand this kind of extremely large poisonous fog?

Or is it extracted using blood?

This isn't blood!

Even after strengthening it, it's still useless!

At this critical moment!

"Try releasing the death energy from your arm..."

The gravedigger's voice suddenly rang out, but it was even fainter than before, as if it might be cut off at any moment.

Gu Chen had no other good options, so he pressed his palm to the floor and poured the restless, soul-corroding death energy within the Grip of Life and Death into the stone slab beneath his feet along his arm!

Om-!

Just then, the black stone tablet behind him seemed to be activated by the soul-corroding death energy infused by Gu Chen, and the dark purple light on its surface suddenly surged!

A more magnificent, ancient, and chilling aura of death erupted from the stone tablet!

The poisonous fog melted away instantly in the face of this aura, just as ice and snow melted under the blazing sun.

Even the violent aura emanating from the Spider Queen was severely suppressed.

It let out a low growl filled with fear, and its massive body began to tremble. Gu Chen could see that the royal insignia of the Lorian family on the Spider Queen seemed to begin to flash after this aura passed by.

However, he is not feeling well right now either.

"cough……"

Gu Chen could sense that the deathly aura emanating from the stone tablet seemed to originate from the same source as the Soul-Eating Deathly Qi within his body, but it was significantly stronger and purer, many times over. This directly caused the energy within his right arm to surge wildly, and the three deathly powers almost went out of control due to the significantly increased amount of Soul-Eating Deathly Qi...

He groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He forcibly stabilized his mind with the Star Gazing Technique, then released the life force stored in his arm into it, harmonizing it with the death force within...

"It almost exploded..."

Fortunately, I almost fainted from the pain, but I didn't actually pass out.

"Right now... its connection to the mark... has been temporarily weakened..."

"It cannot reach the distant places that provide it with energy... and it has been weakened..."

"Let's do it..."

The gravedigger's voice was as faint as a whisper.

"Attack...the core of the mark..."

Gu Chen looked up and saw the Spider Queen struggling to get up from the edge of the stone wall. The emblem on her carapace was glowing erratically, as if she was trying to re-establish her connection with some distant being.

According to the gravedigger, this is when it is at its weakest!

We can't let it recover!

He exerted force with both legs, his feet suddenly slamming together, and he shot out like an arrow released from a bow!

This time, he did not use complex energy combinations, but instead focused all his thoughts on the power of darkness!

This power, obtained from the Dark Eater, is the most passive, yet also the coldest and most terrifying, because in a way it symbolizes the end!

The dark gold patterns on his right arm instantly turned into a deep, dark black, seemingly swallowing up even the surrounding light.

The entire arm was shrouded in a thin layer of darkness!

"..."

At this moment, Gu Chen was silent. He couldn't speak or complain when he was extremely serious.

In this desperate battle, not a single breath of air can be wasted!

The Spider Queen sensed a deadly threat. All her remaining compound eyes locked onto Gu Chen. She hissed and trembled, then swung her still-intact legs in a sweeping attack!

It even brought with it a mournful gust of wind!

Gu Chen neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his pitch-black right arm! This arm was now completely shrouded in darkness, and like a battering ram, he threw another punch at the sweeping foot!

As the attack struck, darkness spread rapidly!

The sweeping force of the foot was immense, causing Gu Chen's arm to tremble violently, his bones groaning under the strain, and his entire body sliding backward!

"Sizzle—"

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The sole of the boot carved two distinct shallow grooves into the stone slab, and fresh blood dripped continuously onto the ground through the black light.

The Spider Queen's hiss turned into a agonizing scream. The weapon, its luster visibly fading, turned ashen, and then crumbled from the inside into black dust that fell in a soft rustling sound.

After gliding for a distance, Gu Chen used the momentum to do a backflip!

There's no way to unload the force.

He staggered a few steps when he landed, his right arm hanging limply. The darkness slowly faded, revealing a slightly trembling arm.

The blood vessels under the skin of the arm bulged out, appearing an abnormal dark gray. Since the life energy had just been used to regulate the balance, it could not be used to excessively mobilize the consumption of dark power, thus causing a backlash.

The already chaotic balance became even more unstable because of this attack...

Gu Chen frowned, staring intently at the Spider Queen in front of him.

Although I had a balance problem, my body wasn't feeling well either.

But the results were remarkable!

The Spider Queen not only lost a leg, but the Lorian emblem on her carapace also dimmed considerably due to the severe damage, making her connection with the distant world seem even weaker and more intermittent.

"Works... Continue..."

The gravedigger's voice was almost inaudible.

The Spider Queen went completely mad. The successive heavy blows and the instability of the mark connection caused her remaining rationality to be completely overwhelmed by her bestial nature.

It seemed to have abandoned all reason, frantically digging at the ground with its remaining legs, its mouth opened to its limit, and let out a sharp screech!

"Buzz—!!!"

Gu Chen felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer; his vision went black, and blood seeped from his ears and nose.

"Depend on……"

And psychological attacks too...

His spirit was already exhausted from the series of battles, and he had to draw on his strength to stabilize the energy in his arm, which put him in a precarious position.

Startled by the shock, Gu Chen's vision blurred, and he almost lost his balance.

The Spider Queen seized the opportunity to pounce, her enormous shadow enveloping him, her foul-smelling maw aimed straight for his head!

A matter of life and death!

Gu Chen bit his tongue lightly, the pain briefly clearing his mind. At that moment, he saw a faint, eerie light gleaming deep within the Spider Queen's open mouth...

Although it was very faint, I was absolutely certain I wasn't mistaken!

"core?"

Yes, some monsters can condense a core rich in magical power within their bodies...

More importantly, it's clear that when the light shines brightly, the Spider Queen will become stronger, so magic obviously won't suddenly appear or disappear. It's also impossible for a high-level monster of the first ring to continuously absorb so much magic...

So it's quite obvious that its core is also connected to the outside world; it is both its own core and a repository of external magic.

There was no time to hesitate. Gu Chen made an extremely risky decision.

He doesn't defend! He doesn't dodge!

He compressed and condensed all the remaining magic power, along with the three restless and unbalanced death forces in his right arm, into his right hand!

Something unexpected happened: Gu Chen's entire hand instantly became crystal clear, with gray, gold, and black energy spinning wildly inside, forming an extremely unstable vortex!

Then, facing the biting maw, he threw a punch at the faint purple light!

At the same time, he also released the three death forces stored in his right arm!

"boom!"

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

He could see his own reflection in the Spider Queen's compound eyes.

It was a young figure with a resolute and mad look in his eyes. He could feel the hot, bloody breath coming from the Spider Queen's mouthparts and hear his own heart pounding like a war drum.

"call!"

Gu Chen's entire arm was swallowed, and it seemed that the Spider Queen had the upper hand.

In the unseen darkness, the fist collided with that point of purple light.

No sound.

An invisible ripple spreads out from the point of contact.

The Spider Queen's massive body suddenly froze, her movements abruptly halting, and her hairy giant feet rested on the ground.

"Wave."

Gu Chen pulled his arm out.

The arm appeared to be unharmed; thankfully, the touch was quick enough that the Spider Queen's fangs didn't manage to bite it.

Immediately, the purple light in its throat suddenly shone brightly, followed by the appearance of countless black cracks within the light.

Then the cracks continued to spread and spread, covering its mouthparts, head, and even its entire body.

The next moment, the Spider Queen's enormous body turned into black dust that filled the sky.

Even as the dust settled, it still shimmered with tiny black lights.

There was no bloodshed, no death throes; he simply died abruptly and silently.

Not even a wreckage remained; it vanished without a trace.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a monster core... but this one looks a little different."

Even after the Spider Queen died, she still left something behind in the world.

Only one purple crystal, about the size of a fist, fell from the dust.

"bite"

With a soft sound, the crystal landed at Gu Chen's feet. He turned his gaze to the small crystal and noticed a flickering purplish-black flame inside its translucent surface.

He sensed a chaotic and chilling aura emanating from within.

But... why does it feel somewhat noble?

Gu Chen remained in the position of throwing a punch, his fist still out in the air.

He stared blankly at the black dust drifting on the ground, then looked at the purple crystal at his feet, and slowly raised his head.

Won?

Just like that... we won?

"Oh my god..."

Immediately, an overwhelming sense of weakness, excruciating pain, and the backlash of magic swept over him, and Gu Chen felt a sweet taste in his throat.

"Wow!"

He spat out a mouthful of dark red blood, clearly indicating that he had suffered a serious injury.

Whether it was due to an energy imbalance, excessive use of mental power, or the injuries sustained while being swept away by the river... his body was already nearing its limit.