Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

The improvement in his mind made Chu Xiu frown.

After reaching Mortal Tier Level 2, not only did the experience required to level up double, but the difficulty of gaining experience also increased significantly.

He estimated that even if he had killed the ghoul alone without Wang Long's assistance, he would have gained no more than sixty or seventy experience points.

"Take it slow," Chu Xiu thought, waving his hand as the corpse on the ground began to fuse, eventually merging into his Bone Armor.

【Refinement Complete! Profession Experience +18, Enhancement Progress +2】

Next, instead of immediately changing locations, Chu Xiu used this room as a trap to continue luring and killing nearby ghouls.

Thus, they worked for nearly an entire afternoon, managing to kill three more ghouls with relative ease.

However, whether it was because their luck had run out or the first kill had an extra drop rate bonus, these four ghouls didn't drop anything.

Wang Long and Li Shan's disappointment was evident.

Chu Xiu, on the other hand, didn't care and happily continued upgrading his Bone Armor, successfully advancing it to +5, further enhancing its defense. The 【Energy Absorption】 trait also evolved.

Wang Long and Li Shan looked as if they wanted to say something, likely feeling that the corpses should also be distributed instead of always being used for free by Chu Xiu. But they didn't dare voice their thoughts.

When they killed the fifth ghoul, Li Shan suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "I leveled up!"

"You leveled up?"

Wang Long looked at Li Shan in disbelief, his face as if he had eaten a fly.

Chu Xiu was also surprised but quickly understood.

Li Shan's profession, 【Poacher】, was likely similar to 【Thief】 or 【Assassin】, gaining experience through stealth. Acting as bait to lure ghouls must be an excellent way to gain experience.

In contrast, Wang Long's 【Barbarian】 profession required direct combat. Since he always attacked from behind with a bat, he might not have gained as much experience as Li Shan.

Of course, another crucial factor was that Li Shan had used his 【Breath Holding】 talent to escape from a ghoul earlier, likely gaining a significant amount of experience, thus leveling up before Wang Long.

"Congratulations," Chu Xiu said with a half-smile.

"Heh heh," Li Shan chuckled, joyfully checking his own changes.

Chu Xiu glanced at him.

He could vaguely sense that the upgraded Li Shan's physique was probably not inferior to Wang Long's and had likely awakened basic skills.

"Did you get any skills?" Chu Xiu asked.

"Yes," Li Shan didn't hide it, "I awakened two: 【Skinning】 for gathering materials and 【Beginner Precision Strike】 for ranged attacks. Unfortunately, without a crossbow, this skill is useless for now."

"Not bad," Chu Xiu praised.

In fact, he could create a crossbow for Li Shan, but he naturally wouldn't be so kind.

With a wave of his hand, the ghoul's corpse merged into his Bone Armor.

【Profession Experience +17, Enhancement Progress +1】

The upgraded Li Shan, full of enthusiasm, wanted to continue hunting, but Chu Xiu glanced at the sky and licked his dry lips, saying, "It's getting late. Let's hurry to the rooftop to see if there's a water source. You don't want to drink the ghoul's blood, do you?"

At the mention of the thick, foul-smelling black liquid, everyone's faces changed, and they shook their heads repeatedly.

Moreover, they were all extremely thirsty, especially Yun Lu and Wang Long, who hadn't leveled up.

Carefully avoiding monsters, they moved towards the rooftop while searching for food.

On the twenty-second floor, they killed a mutated rat about the size of a forearm, which seemed edible. Chu Xiu didn't bother to absorb its tiny corpse.

After climbing for almost fifteen minutes, with Yun Lu panting heavily, they finally reached the thirtieth floor, just two floors shy of the top.

Climbing stairs while dehydrated was torturous, even for Chu Xiu.

Just as they were about to push on to the rooftop, Chu Xiu suddenly stopped and looked sharply at a corner.
There, leaning tightly, was a child-sized doll.

The doll was dressed in children's formal wear, with bright red cheeks and an unnaturally eerie smile.

"What's wrong, Brother Chu?" Li Shan asked.

Chu Xiu stared deeply at the doll and turned his head, "Nothing, just felt like I was being watched."

Li Shan laughed, "Brother Chu, you're too tense."

Chu Xiu nodded, about to continue when that feeling of being watched returned.

This time, without hesitation, he raised his spear and thrust it towards the doll!
"Wait!"

Just as the bone spear was about to pierce the doll, a sharp voice came from within it.

Chu Xiu paused, and the other three turned in shock.

Was that... the doll speaking?
Isn't this supposed to be an apocalypse trial? Does it also have supernatural elements?
Fear flashed across their faces, except for Chu Xiu, who remained calm. With a thought, his Bone Armor equipped itself from the inventory, and he stepped forward to grab the doll, inspecting it closely.

"I told you to wait!"

Another voice came, but this time it wasn't from the doll but from upstairs.

Chu Xiu turned to see a ponytailed girl descending the stairs aggressively. She had tan skin and wore only a black tank top, revealing muscular arms gloved in white worker's gloves, with a hammer in her right hand.

She also wore gray overalls, long legs, and stood over 1.75 meters tall.

Her features were striking, clearly a cold beauty—if not for the scar.

A terrible scar ran from the center of her forehead, down along her left nostril, to her mouth, making her look fiercer.

Chu Xiu couldn't help but look a few more times.

The girl seemed used to this and merely crossed her arms, examining Chu Xiu's menacing armor, and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Another rich kid," she said.

"What rich kid?" Chu Xiu asked, stepping forward to hand over the doll.

He could see that this girl didn't seem hostile and was likely inclined towards cooperation, so he offered a gesture of goodwill.

Sure enough, after receiving the doll, the girl's expression softened. "Nothing, just talking about the rich kids in our team."

She glanced at their cracked lips and flipped her wrist, producing a bottle of mineral water.

"Drink this. We just filtered it."

She tossed the bottle to Yun Lu.

Yun Lu, flattered, took a cautious sip, then, her eyes lighting up, gulped down more before reluctantly licking her lips and passing the bottle to Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu took the bottle but didn't drink, handing it to Li Shan instead, while asking, "Is there water on the rooftop?"

The girl's reaction to his actions was a displeased click of the tongue, but she answered, "There's a lot of stagnant water in the tanks. We've set up a filtration system, enough for six more days. If you don't trust it, you don't have to drink."

Chu Xiu smiled faintly, ignoring her attitude, and continued asking, "How many of you are there?"

"Seven."

"That many?"

"Yes, all the trialists in this building should be there."

She raised her eyebrows, "Want to go up and take a look?"