The gloves Lu Yu obtained from the merchant at the camp were no ordinary star weapons. Every other star weapon Lu Yu had ever seen wasn’t even worth a fifth of this one—perhaps not even a tenth!
When the gloves finally completed their transformation, Lu Yu saw the stats he had hoped for.
…
Soul Gathering Hand:
Level: 1 (Upgradeable four times)
Attributes: Increases maximum HP by 300 points, increases attack power by 200 points.
Special Effects: 10% chance of increasing the drop rate of soul fragments upon defeating a monster. When causing laceration damage, an additional 200 points of damage will be inflicted on the enemy beyond the normal attack damage.
…
Four upgrade opportunities—such a weapon at level one was already one of a kind.
Lu Yu believed that within the entire camp, maybe even the entire Fangang, he was the only one who possessed such a weapon.
He picked up the Soul Gathering Hand and put it on. The oversized gauntlet automatically adjusted its size, finally fitting his hand like a second skin.
The glove’s lightness made it almost weightless, as if it had fused seamlessly with his hand, offering the same sensitivity as skin. When the claw touched a stone, the subtle sensations transmitted through the glove were as clear as his own fingernails scratching the stone.
Four upgrade opportunities, an increase of 300 HP and 200 attack points—these stats were no less than those of a level-three blood shield.
Just this single un-upgraded star weapon already surpassed every star weapon he had ever seen.
This was only the base form—imagine its potential after upgrades.
Even if others offered several star weapons to exchange with him, he would refuse.
Because the attributes could be enhanced, but the special effects were unique—not just about enhancement, but about being incredibly valuable in themselves.
The chance to increase soul fragment drop rates upon defeating monsters meant that with enough drops, he could obtain more treasures like the Soul Gathering Hand.
And the additional 200 damage when causing laceration damage meant that a single strike could deal 100 HP damage normally, plus an extra 200 points.
Even a Black Demon Wolf with 2000 HP wouldn’t survive a few hits.
Now he had star spirit stones, specifically reserved for upgrading the Soul Gathering Hand. Adding the extra one he had just reclaimed from those two men, he could upgrade it twice in one go.
After completing two upgrades—
…
Soul Gathering Hand:
Level: 1 (Upgraded twice, two upgrades remaining)
Attributes: Increases maximum HP by 400 points, increases attack power by 290 points.
Special Effects: 12% chance of increasing the drop rate of soul fragments upon defeating a monster. When causing laceration damage, an additional 260 points of damage will be inflicted on the enemy beyond the normal attack damage.
…
This was the first time he had upgraded a star weapon.
Lu Yu realized that no matter how much he upgraded, he couldn’t exceed the maximum level one stat cap.
Two upgrades still couldn’t push the stats past 100 points.
If he combined the Blood Shield, Starlight Halo, and the Soul Gathering Hand with his base attributes—
His maximum HP would reach a staggering 1600, and his attack power an impressive 940—nearly a thousand points. Even his weakest stat, physique, reached 640.
With stats like these, Lu Yu could confidently claim to be among the top three in the camp at the stadium.
When Lu Yu was fully prepared, night had already fallen.
He handed a battle axe to a demon ape and commanded, “Tonight, any demon ape entering the mine will be killed. No one is allowed to touch the corpses. Anyone who dares to eat one will never receive a single star spirit stone from me again.”
Sixteen demon apes nodded obediently.
Star spirit stones were extremely harmful to them.
Hearing this, the sixteen demon apes became even more docile.
Lu Yu assigned the slightly smarter demon ape to patrol the mine’s perimeter at night with the battle axe. Any demon apes entering—no survivors.
If any wolf demons or other creatures approached, he would handle them personally.
When the first ape howl echoed through the skies of Fangang, the city awoke like a sleeping beast stirring.
Lu Yu waited in the center of the mine with one demon ape.
The demon ape’s ability to sense all life within the mine functioned like a radar.
It was perfect for scanning people in the dark.
“After tonight, I believe very few will dare come here looking for trouble,” Lu Yu muttered, looking at the Soul Gathering Hand, and reached out toward the nearby star spirit ore.
His sharp fingers traced across the ore, glowing like ghostly flames in the dark stone forest.
“Southeast direction, two demon apes have entered,” the demon ape respectfully reported behind Lu Yu.
Lu Yu saw the fifteen demon apes spring into action. As fast and ferocious as feeding time, they rushed toward the southeast.
A few minutes later, Lu Yu received the report from the demon apes.
The two intruding demon apes had been eliminated.
“West side, three demon apes and a wolf demon,” the demon ape spoke again, its voice trembling with fear.
After all, wolf demons had a powerful dominance over demon apes, and this dominance wasn’t easily broken by the death of just a few apes.
Lu Yu stood up, following the demon ape as it led him swiftly toward the west.
When Lu Yu arrived, the wolf demon was commanding the three demon apes to strike a stone tree.
The scent of humanity reached the wolf demon’s nose, making its eyes glow even more intensely in the dark.
“Human,” the wolf demon licked its lips, staring excitedly at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu also stared at the wolf demon, like a beast eyeing its prey, and suddenly lunged forward.
No words were needed.
Because this territory would be claimed only through the bodies of the fallen.
Not just humans, but monsters too.
“Die,” the wolf demon howled excitedly, swinging its stone club downward.
Lu Yu didn’t stop. The Soul Gathering Hand blocked the club.
Bang!
The club bounced back.
The wolf demon cried out in disbelief, unable to accept that a human could block its attack.
“Weng!”
Lu Yu’s right fist struck forward, delivering a powerful blow to the wolf demon’s chest.
“Aaah!”
The wolf demon screamed in pain, staring in disbelief at its chest. A fist had pierced straight through.
It could feel the cold wind blowing into its body.
“This can’t be this fast!” the wolf demon refused to believe it even in death.
But it was truly dead.
The wolf demon’s body collapsed. The three demon apes mining nearby were startled and immediately knelt down.
Bang!
Without hesitation, Lu Yu stepped forward and crushed one demon ape’s skull under his foot.
The other two demon apes didn’t dare move, watching their companion die. They wailed in sorrow, knowing their fate.
Lu Yu left no survivors.
Three demon apes, one wolf demon!
In this world, morality was a thing of the past.
This was the apocalypse! In this world, no one would save you—only you could save yourself!
It wasn’t morality or reason that secured this place, but fists!
It was blood and bones that proved who owned this place!
This was a dark world, governed only by the laws of darkness.
He had come from darkness, understood the laws of darkness.
Therefore, he used ruthless methods to prepare for tomorrow’s sunrise.
After tonight, everyone in Fangang would know this place was now off-limits to all!
Including—monsters!
“South, south,” the demon ape beside him stammered in shock.
This human was truly terrifying—more frightening than the wolf demon.
This night would not be peaceful.
Outside the mine, numerous demon apes were still searching for survivors.
Inside the mine, battle after battle was unfolding.
Just after midnight, Lu Yu had already eliminated five waves of wolf demons entering the mine. Five star weapons were delivered by demon apes to the mine’s center, to be used to arm them.
At least when facing wolf demons, demon apes wielding star weapons could now stand a chance.
Since Lu Yu began his attack, no wolf demon that entered the mine left alive.
The crimson blood dyed the black stones a sinister red.
Continuous battles had started to wear Lu Yu down.
After all, he was human, not a machine.
Running across thousands of meters of mountainous terrain, even the fittest warrior would tire.
At one o’clock in the morning, the mine suddenly fell silent.
It seemed the wolf demons sensed the danger within the mine and stopped entering.
Suddenly, a two-meter-tall Black Demon Wolf slowly approached the mine from the far end of the street.
Wherever it passed, demon apes shrank away, trembling and lowering their heads in fear.
When the Black Demon Wolf reached the edge of the mine, it had already smelled the mingled scents of wolf demon and demon ape blood.
The demon wolf’s lips curled into a sinister smile, then it charged into the mine.
Its speed was incredible, leaping through the mountains as if walking on flat ground.
Within just half a minute, it stood before Lu Yu.
The slightly smarter demon ape had already lost all consciousness, collapsing to the ground.
“You’re a disgrace to your kind for bowing to a human. After I kill this human, I’ll feast on your brains,” the giant wolf sneered.
It was proud, arrogant, and utterly confident.
It had every reason to be—it was strong enough to deserve its arrogance.
Lu Yu felt a bit nervous facing the Black Demon Wolf.
After all, the wolf’s data flashed in his mind.
This was a formidable opponent.
The demon wolf glanced at Lu Yu with disdain, then charged forward like a tank.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Lu Yu roared, his eyes burning with determination.
He charged too.
A wolf shadow and a human figure crashed into each other in the mountains.
The Soul Gathering Hand slashed across the demon wolf’s skull, its claw-like fingers tearing off a large chunk of its scalp.
“Aargh!”
The demon wolf screamed in pain, its blood-soaked head slamming into Lu Yu, sending him flying into the distant stone forest.
The stone trees, covered in sharp, jagged protrusions, scraped across Lu Yu’s back, nearly shredding all the flesh from it.
“Roar!” The demon wolf charged into the stone forest.
A human was just food. How dare this “food” injure it like this?
“You’d better be afraid I won’t let you in!” Lu Yu rose from the ground, rolling to dodge the demon wolf’s claw strike.
He darted between the stone trees, leaping swiftly to the demon wolf’s side.
The Soul Gathering Hand slashed across the wolf’s abdomen, tearing off a large chunk of flesh.
Ten base damage points weren’t much, but the additional 200 points of damage was real.
The demon wolf howled, its tail swinging and striking Lu Yu’s chest like thousands of iron wires, leaving deep gashes even on his bones.
Lu Yu quickly retreated.
In terms of pure attack power, he was still weaker.
The demon wolf pursued, its massive body moving slower among the stone trees.
Suddenly, the demon wolf realized its mistake.
It turned and tried to flee back out of the stone forest.
“You came in—now you think you can leave?” Lu Yu’s voice echoed from the demon wolf’s left side.
Immediately, the demon wolf felt its right front leg go numb. It lost control of its body and slammed into the ground.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage