Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 507 - 365: Massive Growth, Skeleton Heart Slaying Spear!

Despite this, the energy contained within these motes of light remained an indispensable supply. Therefore, even though the rate of improvement had clearly slowed, Fang Zhou did not give up on devouring them. Starting from one end of thevalley, he consumed the motes one by one until he had absorbed all thousand-plus of them into his body.

When the last mote of light vanished within him, Fang Zhou could clearly feel his internal energy surge. His total energy had increased by about 1.2 times, and the frigid Death Energy shrouding his body grew even more potent. Although there were no obvious changes to the data on his attribute panel, the increased energy cap significantly boosted his Corpse Clone’s sustained combat capability.

It was likely due to another evolution; the Corpse Clone’s ability to devour and convert energy had become even more terrifying. With a sufficient supply of energy, its body began to grow at a frightening pace. Its black armor thickened and expanded with a series of sharp CRACKS. Its frame grew broader and more ferocious. In a short time, its height increased by more than ten centimeters, reaching almost three and a half meters.

Furthermore, my Extraordinary Energy has more than doubled. Today’s gains are simply incredible. It would be a pity to leave this valley now. These white motes of light coexist with the glowing bone pillars and grow rapidly, making them a renewable resource. Although the gain from devouring a single mote is negligible, the cumulative effect of a continuous harvest over time would be considerable. In the future, I just need to wait for the motes to flourish again before I can resume devouring them. By repeating this process, my energy cap is sure to increase severalfold.

「Several days later.」

Fang Zhou once again spent several hundred contribution points to carefully select and acquire several Black Iron Tier offensive Skills for Magic Professionals from the vast Skill Library of the Sea City Military Academy. At the same time, Fang Zhou combined this with the Corpse Clone’s Corpse Armor Skill, which had already reached an instinctual level. By expending a great deal of Soul Power, he successfully pushed the Apprentice-level Skeleton Flying Spear Skill through Skill Deduction all the way to the Black Iron Tier.

**[Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear] (Black Iron, Mastery):** Condenses Death Mana into a Skeleton Flying Spear and hurls it at the enemy. It targets vital points and combines armor-piercing physical damage, Shield Penetration Damage, Corrosive Poison Damage, and Death Energy damage. The spear explodes upon impact. Its quantity, power, and range are determined by the user’s Spirit Attribute and Skill Proficiency.

Although the description hadn’t changed much, the Black Iron Tier enhancement of the Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear dramatically increased its direct, single-target lethality. It particularly excelled at penetrating various Energy Shields and striking an enemy’s vital points with precision. From the Black Iron Tier onward, all beings—whether human Professionals or various types of Demons—possess different kinds of Energy Shields that can greatly reduce incoming damage. Therefore, it is challenging to inflict effective direct damage without first penetrating the enemy’s Energy Shield. It was for this reason that Fang Zhou focused his Skill Deduction and enhancement efforts on the Penetration capability of the Skeleton Flying Spear.

He had thoroughly studied the structure and characteristics of various Energy Shields and discovered that most offered poor protection against Death Attribute Energy. Furthermore, the magic structure of the Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear combined both a physical form and Energy Damage. As a result, after Fang Zhou’s diligent Skill Deduction and enhancement, the Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear’s single-target damage was second to none among all Black Iron Tier skills for Magic Professionals.

Fang Zhou carefully examined the skill description on the attribute panel, nodding in satisfaction.

Now that I’ve stepped into the Black Iron Tier, deducing and perfecting a Skill requires not only more Skill Materials but also profound theoretical knowledge and practical experience. If I were to rely solely on myself, finding suitable materials in that vast Skill Library would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. I can’t help but miss my former little assistants, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang. Their presence significantly lightened my workload. But here at the threshold of the Black Iron Tier, Apprentice-level Professionals simply can’t comprehend the complex magical structures of Black Iron Skills. It’s impossible for me to continue using their help, even if I wanted to. After all, those I’ve left so far behind will never be able to keep up with my pace. If I were to wait for Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang to advance from the Apprentice to the Black Iron Tier, who knows what rank I’d have reached by then.

Therefore, Fang Zhou could only look ahead and search for a suitable new research assistant.

Aside from Silvanas—Master Sandro’s Elf apprentice mentioned by Instructor Su Xinyan—the most appealing candidate for a new research assistant was Liu Diewu. She was the number two Seed Student among the second-years, and he had been interacting with her frequently of late.

Based on our recent interactions, Liu Diewu has shown an impressive grasp of both theoretical knowledge and Black Iron Tier Skills. She’s more than qualified for the role of a junior research assistant.

He looked up at the window, where the winter night’s moonlit scene was serene and beautiful.

Perhaps I should go find Liu Diewu. We could brew some tea by the fire and have a heart-to-heart talk.