Chapter 162: Arrival, The Urban Ruins

[Barbaric Beast Bracers]
[Quality: Platinum]
[Strength +500]
[Constitution +400]
[Skill 1: Barbaric Beast Strength (Passive skill. The Barbaric Beast Bracers carry the strength of a barbaric beast, increasing the wearer's strength by 10% and melee weapon damage by 10%).]
[Skill 2: Restraining Beast Claws (Summons barbaric beast claws to bind the opponent for 1-3 seconds, with a 10-minute cooldown).]
[Skill 3: Gravity Field (Creates a gravity field up to 5 times normal gravity, lasting for 1 minute, with a 15-minute cooldown).]
[Description: A funerary offering for the Tomb Corpse General, once bestowed by an emperor, containing the strength of a barbaric beast. Wearing them grants boundless power.]
[Equipment Requirement: Level 30]

These Barbaric Beast Bracers were much better than the ones he was currently wearing.
However, the requirement was Level 30.
He was only Level 27 right now, so he still had some distance to go before reaching Level 30.
Still, with a bit of effort upon returning, reaching Level 30 would only take a month.
Looking at the pair of Barbaric Beast Bracers, Xu Han felt deeply tempted.
Moreover, he seemed to sense a faint trace of earth-attribute elemental aura emanating from them.
This was the distinct hallmark of Epic-tier equipment!
Every piece of Epic-tier equipment possessed its own elemental attribute.
For instance, the Ice-Blue Edge in his hand was imbued with the ice attribute.
The Nether Shadow battle armor on his body carried the dark attribute.
Different attributes excelled in different directions.
For example, the attack power of fire and lightning attributes was undeniably top-tier.
The wind attribute granted speed, the earth attribute provided defense, the light attribute offered healing, and the dark attribute specialized in corrosion...
When powerhouses chose Epic-tier equipment, they would also select items matching their own attributes or those that complemented each other.
Matching attributes helped unleash greater combat prowess.
As for conflicting attributes—unless they were equipment like battle boots where the impact was minimal—using a conflicting weapon would likely yield a result where one plus one was less than one.
In the past, a fire mage had stubbornly insisted on using an Epic-tier water staff.
As a result, when casting spells, not a single fire spell could be produced.

Yet, this pair of bracers actually carried a trace of earth-attribute aura.
That being the case...
The quality of these bracers was gradually approaching the Epic tier!
All he needed to do was fuse some high-quality earth-attribute materials into them to completely elevate them into Epic-tier equipment!
When that time came, the equipment's stats would undergo a heaven-shaking transformation.
This was far superior to ordinary Platinum-tier gear.
Xu Han stuffed the Barbaric Beast Bracers into his spatial ring.
Then, he turned his gaze toward the corpse of the Tomb Corpse General.
"Devour All Things" activated.
He swallowed the corpse of the Tomb Corpse General.

A system notification rang out.
"Host has devoured a Tier 4 Tomb Corpse General for the first time, gaining 100 points of Strength and 100 points of Constitution."
"Resurrection of the Dead is mutating..."

Xu Han's eyes lit up.
That utterly useless skill he had just acquired was actually mutating!
He hoped it would mutate into a genuinely useful skill.
"Resurrection of the Dead has successfully mutated into Corpse Tide."

Xu Han was momentarily dumbfounded.
He immediately opened his skill panel to check.
[Corpse Tide LV.1: Designates an area to summon a tide of corpses to attack enemies. The corpse tide attacks all enemies within range indiscriminately, lasting for 10 seconds, with a 10-minute cooldown.]

Xu Han raised an eyebrow.
Another dark-type skill.
And furthermore, a rare branch under the dark category: the undead branch!
Was he destined to become an undead necromancer at this rate?
While this corpse tide might not be of much use when dealing with supreme powerhouses, its effect in group battles would be phenomenal.
Especially when dealing with opponents weaker than himself or comparable in strength.
A massive tide of corpses could disrupt the enemy's attack rhythm, buying him openings to strike.
At the very least, it was vastly more useful than the previous Resurrection of the Dead.

This trip had yielded quite a few benefits.
He turned his head to look deep into the grand hall.
The Tomb Corpse General had kept shouting earlier that he had disturbed the King's rest.
Could this grand hall be the mausoleum of that very King?
The funerary offerings of the Tomb Corpse General were quasi-Epic items.
The funerary offerings of that King might very well be Epic-tier equipment!
Xu Han felt his heart race.
He strode forward.

...

At that moment, at the edge of the desert, several figures were trudging forward with great difficulty.
It was none other than the members of the Dragon Country team.
A layer of yellow sand covered their bodies, and with every step they took, sand cascaded down in rustling sounds.
"Ptooey..."
Zhu Junjie spat out a mouthful of saliva, his mouth completely filled with sand.
"Damn it! That accursed sandstorm almost buried me alive!"
"As long as I live, I am never coming to the desert a second time!"

Hua Piaowu patted the yellow sand off her body and said, "Stop complaining."
"I wonder how much longer before we make it out of this desert?"
Su Li's lips were pale, and she was using her staff like a crutch, leaning heavily on it as she forced herself forward step by step.
Earlier, the group had been caught in a sandstorm, and both Su Li and Zhu Junjie had nearly been swept away.
Fortunately, the little hawk had reverted to its original size and carried them out of the sandstorm's perimeter, allowing them to narrowly escape disaster.
However, everyone's physical strength was nearly exhausted.
Only Jiang Yuchen still retained a sliver of energy.

Up ahead, Jiang Yuchen abruptly came to a halt. He spoke slowly, his voice trembling slightly: "We... we made it out..."
The others were stunned for a second, and then energy seemed to surge back into their bodies.
They broke into a run, rushing to Jiang Yuchen's side and gazing forward.
Surprise flared in their previously dim eyes.
A vast city ruin lay spread out before them.
Row upon row of ruined houses stood in neat arrangement.
The streets were completely empty.
Yet, along both sides of the streets, various vendor stalls still stood.
Right in the center of the entire city loomed a luxurious, palace-like structure.
Compared to this grand palace, all the other houses were as minuscule as ants.

The people in front of the screen also witnessed this scene, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
"Finally... we've finally arrived."
Liang Xingteng clenched his fists in excitement, his eyes shining with elation.
Jiang Bin nodded in agreement as well. "Indeed, thank goodness there were no unexpected complications this time."
Wang Yuan expressed some lingering doubts. "I just wonder where the teams from the other countries have gotten to?"
"It won't be like the wilderness from here on out. Inside a city, it's very easy to be ambushed; we need to be careful."
Ye Yuanzheng slowly spoke up, "We'll just have to leave it to these youngsters to perform to their best abilities."
"I wonder what that kid Xu Han is actually up to?"
Nan Yuanshi chimed in, "Junior Brother Xu Han must have encountered something of utmost importance. The Headmaster need not worry."
After all, the little hawk was still tagging along beside the team.
If anything happened to Xu Han, the little hawk, as his pet, would have vanished as well.
The group understood this very well.
Falling silent once more, they simply watched the screen quietly.

Jiang Yuchen scanned the ruined city once and spoke slowly, "Let's head in first and find a place to settle down and rest."
Zhu Junjie urged anxiously, "Rest now? We should hurry to that palace, grab whatever is inside, and get out of here."
"I don't want to stay another second in this ghost place."