Chapter Forty-Eight: Supreme Accessory—Blood of the Centaur

“Cheng Mingyue is dead!”

Even Chu Cheng was taken aback—she hadn't even survived a single blow, falling instantly, leaving no time for anyone to save her.

Everyone gathered before her corpse, their expressions solemn.

At that moment, Zhang Chunlei spoke up:

“I’ve already contacted the homeroom teacher. They’ll come soon to take her body back. She comes from a good family—her clan should be able to procure a resurrection scroll.”

At this, the others seemed somewhat relieved. Although having a death record meant she could never reach the pinnacle in this world, for the vast majority, that pinnacle was never even a consideration. The so-called pinnacle referred to the Divine-Demon rank, a height most never dreamed of reaching. Most Descendants would struggle to attain even the fiftieth level of the extraordinary ranks, let alone worry about legendary or Divine-Demon status.

Zhang Chunlei ultimately tended to her remains, while Chu Cheng approached the centaur chieftain’s body and picked up the crimson treasure chest.

He then entered the centaur tribe’s altar, retrieving a large chest from within. This was the tribe’s treasure trove, his reward for conquering the stronghold. Such chests were only found in large tribes, not the smaller ones.

Beyond these, the battlefield was littered with chests strewn among the corpses—over twenty in total. Most were plain or green, with five blue treasure chests among them.

All of them were his kills—only he could claim their spoils, so they rightfully belonged to him. Only the chieftain’s chest would need to be divided.

Once everything was gathered, everyone assembled for the division of loot, even Yu Hong’s squad watched with keen interest, eager to see what treasures would emerge.

Chu Cheng first opened the smaller chests, including the blue ones, which yielded a mound of equipment and miscellaneous items—four pieces of blue-grade gear among them.

Then he opened the red chest. Instantly, two crimson beams shot forth, and everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

“There are actually two rare-grade items!”

“No, wait—the other is a rare-grade magic gem.”

“Quick, share the stats!”

Perhaps only two or three present had ever seen rare-grade equipment; now, all were eager with anticipation.

Chu Cheng didn’t keep them in suspense. He retrieved all three items and displayed them in turn.

Centaur Chieftain’s Warblade (Rare/Red)

Equipment Type: Polearm/Two-Handed Weapon.

Requirements: Level 15, Strength 35.

Base Attack: 75 slash.

Additional Attribute: Strength +5.

Additional Attribute: Armor Penetration +10.

Special Trait: Execute LV1—Deals 50% extra damage to opponents whose Constitution is less than 50% of user’s Strength.

Description: The centaur chieftain’s beloved weapon.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd as the attributes were revealed, followed by a dozen fervent, burning gazes.

Every melee fighter in the group now wore an expression of wild desire.

Chu Cheng calmly took in the scene, smiling.

“Top-tier stats!”

This blade was truly exceptional. Its high base attack, combined with the bonus strength and armor penetration, made it brutally powerful. The Execute trait was the final, violent flourish.

“No need to rush—let’s look at the other items before we auction the gear,” he said, turning to the second item.

Centaur’s Blood (Superior/Deep Blue)

Equipment Type: Accessory.

Requirement: Level 15.

Additional Attribute: Strength +5.

Skill/Passive: Centaur’s Blood—each time you are attacked, gain +1 Strength for 20 seconds, stacking up to 30 times. Each attack refreshes the duration.

Description: Born of the centaur chieftain’s fury, this grants you greater power.

“Another masterpiece!”

“And it’s a matching set with the weapon.”

Equipping both the weapon and accessory, a user who maxed out Centaur’s Blood would gain 40 points of strength. With their own strength added in, the boost was immense. For their level, only tanks who prioritized Constitution might avoid triggering the Execute trait.

“Damn, I want them both—what now?”

Though his class favored agility and lightweight weapons, these items’ stats were simply too overwhelming.

As much as he coveted them, Chu Cheng knew it was impossible to claim both for himself. If he wanted them, others would want them even more—they would never allow it.

Shaking his head, he turned to the third item: a rare-quality gemstone.

Stone of Strength (Rare): Magic Gemstone—inset into gear to grant bonus attributes.

Having examined the three items, everyone looked to Chu Cheng. Wang Weilong spoke:

“As agreed, you may choose one.”

Chu Cheng pondered, gaze shifting between Centaur’s Blood and the warblade, torn with indecision.

Both were superb. By rights, the warblade was of a higher grade, but as a polearm, it didn’t suit him. Moreover, the accessory’s attribute was so outstanding that its value rivaled the blade’s—perhaps it was even better for him.

After much deliberation, he finally chose the accessory.

He had no other choice—the polearm was unusable for him, and didn’t fit his style. The accessory was a perfect match. With his innate talent, a few seconds among a mob would max out the 30-point strength stack, translating to a 35-point attack bonus without occupying a weapon slot.

Although technically blue grade, its attributes outshone many rare items.

With his prize selected, the rest belonged to the others. However, they couldn’t auction them yet—they had to return Cheng Mingyue’s body and see if she could be revived. If her family brought a resurrection scroll, they would wait until she revived before proceeding.

None of this concerned Chu Cheng.

Plans diverged. Wang Weilong and the others would return to the Northern Outpost, and Chu Cheng prepared to do the same. The only centaur tribes left in this region were a few downstream of the Embroidered River, likely already wiped out by other teams. There was nothing left for him here.

He decided to head back and pick a new hunting ground tomorrow.

The group traveled together, returning safely to the Northern Outpost. The homeroom teacher was already waiting and, upon receiving Cheng Mingyue’s body, immediately exited the instance.

After parting ways, Chu Cheng set up a stall in the outpost’s central training ground, selling off several blue-grade pieces for a total of 1 gold, 35 silver.

Miscellaneous items were sold directly to the outpost’s general store, fetching 7 silver.

Combined with the coin drops from the chests, he earned a total of 1 gold, 21 silver.

But this wasn’t the full sum—he had also found 2 gold, 14 silver in the centaur altar’s chest, along with a heap of assorted trinkets, which sold for another 24 silver.

All told, this expedition netted him exactly 4 gold.

In addition, he gained a full 1,100 reputation points and 7 merit points.

Killing the centaur chieftain awarded 2 points; single-handedly destroying a thousand-strong centaur tribe granted 5 more.

He’d slain countless centaurs, numerous bosses in their twenties, and a terrifying high-template boss, all at a significant level advantage. The slaughter earned him a tremendous amount of experience—he’d gained three levels, now standing at 18.

He still had 15 unassigned stat points.

Not that it mattered; his stats were already formidable, and 15 points wouldn’t make a dramatic difference—better to save them for later.