The flames in Li Pound's eye sockets seemed to possess intelligence, scanning the skeletons in this deep valley.

  The skeletons, oblivious to Li Pound's gaze, remained completely unaware of anything amiss.

  After all, lacking intelligence, they could only wander by instinct before receiving orders from Pound.

  Li Pound's requirements for his targets were few:

  Low level, good skills, and alone.

  However, finding someone of a similar level in this dragon's lair was truly difficult.

  After all, level 1 skeletons were, to some extent, rare.

  Most skeletons were level 5 or higher; those below level 5 were few and far between, and Li Pound hadn't encountered a single level 1 skeleton besides himself.

  But with effort, nothing is impossible.

  During Li Pound's patrol, he was fortunate enough to find a skeleton that satisfied him:

  Level 3, possessing the skill [Swiftness].

  He was captivated by the skeleton's long, slender, and beautifully smooth legs, as white as jade.

  He followed the skeleton, his eyes, burning with a literal, eerie blue flame, fixed intently on those long, bare, jade-like legs.

  The skeleton didn't notice anything amiss; it simply walked ahead, oblivious.

  Li Pound waited for his chance, for the chance to be alone.

  The skeleton's wanderings were unpredictable; with patience, this adorable skeleton would eventually find itself alone.

  That would be Li Pound's chance to strike.

  Moreover, skeletons also rest. Once this skeleton was alone and asleep, it would be his opportunity!

  Li Pound, now a skeleton, became even more patient, like a hunter locking onto its prey.

  As time passed, Li Pound seized his chance.

  The skeleton before him lay down, its skeletal body exposed on the ground, its long legs, rated [Swiftness 1], exuding an alluring aura.

  Li Pound didn't pounce hastily.

  He continued to wait patiently until the skeleton's status bar displayed [Sleep]. Only then did he pick up a large rock, and with practiced ease,

  the eerie blue flames flickered slightly in its dark eye sockets.

  He slammed it down.

  With a loud crash.

  The skeleton's alluring legs trembled, its head shattered and caved in, the eerie blue flames slowly extinguishing.

  [Ding, low-level skeleton killed, experience +30] Suppressing a slight excitement, Li Pound reached out and touched the skeleton's smooth legs.

  He tore off the better-quality right leg, then tore off his own right leg, aligned it with the joint, and activated [Bone Transformation].

  They were perfectly joined together.

  A familiar warm current flowed into his body from his reattached right leg, and the cracks on his body healed slightly. The blackened color completely disappeared, leaving only a withered yellow. The rough, pitted surface of the bone also recovered somewhat.

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  [Ding, acquired skill, Swiftness lv1]

  He adjusted the size of his leg bone and stood up from the ground.

  He tried to lift himself up a couple of times, then took a stride. His vision blurred rapidly, and his speed noticeably increased.

  The strength of the bones, hmm… seems to have improved a bit.

  Li Pound cracked his ribs, pondering.

  Then, he stopped his rapidly moving long legs.

  Even among skeleton monsters, his current race was the lowest-level low-tier skeleton, with a level cap of only lv10.

  If he wanted to escape Pound's clutches, evolution was essential.

  However, evolution required all three attributes to reach 10 points.

  "Will replacing bones with higher-level ones increase my three-dimensional attributes?" After defeating two low-level skeletons in a row, Li Pound felt it was time to rest.

  Haste makes waste.

  He slept in a hidden cave he had previously discovered, replenishing his mental and physical strength.

  Because he had no physical body, just a skeleton, he naturally didn't feel hunger.

  However, also because he lacked the nourishment of a physical body, his bones were exposed, causing them to deteriorate rapidly; his skeletal lifespan was reduced to only one year.

  Hmm…

  Li Pound carefully examined his stats and discovered that the rate of bone deterioration had slowed.

  The stats had initially predicted his bones would only last a year, but now it was a year and a month.

  Was it because of the increased Constitution points?

  Li Pound's sense of urgency eased slightly.

  Looks like he'd have to borrow bones from his lovely colleagues more frequently.

  After waking up.

  Li Pound straightened his spine, easing his tense lumbar vertebrae, and then approached other skeletons again, looking for skills he liked.

  Finally, he locked onto a level 4 skeleton with [Mighty Strength lv1].

  Those thick arm bones gleamed a captivating pure white in the dark valley.

  After all, Li Pound now had [Hard Bones] for increased defense and [Swiftness] for increased speed, but his strength was indeed lacking.

  Following, lying in wait, waiting—he did it all with practiced ease.

  A large rock crashed down.

  Although this skeleton didn't possess any skills that enhanced bone hardness, it was level 4. Li Pound smashed its head twice before finally breaking it.

  [Ding, low-level skeleton killed, experience +40]

  [Experience points full, level increased to lv2]

  [Free attribute point +1]

  The eerie blue flames in Li Pound's chest and eye sockets surged and flared briefly before slowly returning to normal.

  The hollows where bones were missing began to fill in little by little.

  Will leveling up grant free attribute points?

  Finally, he knew a stable way to increase attribute points.

  At the same time, the full value of his experience bar on his panel increased from 100 to 200.

  Li Pound added the free attribute points to Strength.

  A tingling sensation ran through him; the density of his bones seemed to have increased slightly.

  Then, he ripped off the skeleton's left arm bone, then his own, aligned it with the joint, and activated [Bone Change].

  After the familiar sensation, the increase in bone density was no longer as noticeable, and a pop-up appeared on his panel.

  [Ding, acquired skill, Mighty Strength Lv1]

  Li Pound thought for a moment, then tried to rip off his other arm bone, but as soon as the arm bone was ripped off, the panel changed.

  The [Hard Bone L1] skill disappeared from the panel, and all the bones in his body seemed to have something removed, becoming more fragile.

  Li Pound quickly reattached his arm bone, and the skill returned.

  "So that's how it is..." Li Pound looked at his skill bar, not too surprised.

  If one could continuously acquire new skills by changing limb bones, it would be too overpowered.

  The maximum number of skills he could gain from each limb he replaced was only four, with each limb representing one skill.

  Right now, it was less about acquiring skills and more about borrowing skills from the replaced limbs.

  To completely integrate the skills from these limbs and make them his own, he would probably need to equip these limbs with another evolution.

  Li Pound dealt with the skeletal remains in front of him and began searching for his final skill.

  Smashing two skeletons every day—developing this good habit was important.

  With this daily persistence, he believed he would eventually escape the clutches of the evil bone dragon Pound.