Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

While his contracted Ice Phoenix and Soul-devouring Dog weren’t suitable for riding, he did have a Wind Wolf Summoning Lv5 Rune and a Golden Roc Summoning Lv5 Rune among the Summoning Element Runes he’d acquired.

Besides...

He also had a Silver Summoning Book, which would be perfect for this.

”I happened to get a Wind Eagle Summoning Lv6 Rune this afternoon.” Yan Ruoruo, getting the hint, immediately pulled a Gold Element Rune from her bag.

Even better.

Su Chen was delighted.

’That settles it.’

He took out the Silver Summoning Book. The small tome had only two thick pages, representing the two summoning slots it provided.

As a Rune touched a page, the once-flat paper rippled like the surface of water, and an exquisite Gold Element formation bloomed from the void.

SKREEE!

A bird cry sharp enough to pierce metal and shatter stone echoed through the forest as a fierce wind swept out. Before the proud sovereign of the skies could spread its wings and escape into the clouds, countless translucent silver chains shot out from the book’s pages, forcibly binding it.

This was a contract of unequal servitude.

Under the cold bonds of the Law, the wildness in the Wind Eagle’s eyes was swiftly erased, replaced by absolute obedience.

”It’s done.”

Su Chen repeated the process, perfectly embedding the Golden Roc Summoning Rune into the groove on the tome’s other thick page.

Soon, a magnificent Golden Roc, its body looking as if it were cast from solid gold, was also completely dominated, becoming another of his tamed flying mounts.

”Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just use them for aerial reconnaissance.”

’It’s no loss either way.’

Without a specially made saddle, expecting a comfortable ride was just a fantasy.

When he tried riding it alone, he felt a violent turbulence. If not for Su Chen’s legs gripping the bird’s back as tightly as the gnarled roots of an old tree, the updraft would have likely blown him away.

It was worth noting that the Flying Skill itself allowed for perfect control over air currents, and at Lv5, it even unlocked the Low Wind Resistance Barrier, which was enough to make flight extremely comfortable.

After a brief communication, the Wind Eagle made an adjustment.

It began to actively manipulate the Wind Element within its body, smoothing the airflow over its back.

A translucent, cyan vortex swirled at the edge of its wings, forcibly taming the knife-like headwind into a gentle breeze.

”The Gold Element Roc can’t do this.”

Su Chen had Ruoruo ride the Wind Eagle with him.

However, despite the great Wind Eagle having a wingspan of nearly twenty meters, its hollow bones meant it didn’t weigh much. Carrying two people was a bit of a strain; its body sank slightly in the updraft, looking a little taxed.

Fortunately, once it entered stable flight, it could manipulate the air currents to lighten its load, proving perfectly capable of the task.

This saved Su Chen the trouble of using his Gravity Skill to adjust its weight.

The night wind at this high altitude grew colder.

Yan Ruoruo sat behind Su Chen, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. To keep the hair at her temples from being whipped about by the turbulent air, she shed her inhibitions and simply pressed her cheek firmly against Su Chen’s sturdy back.

The warm touch and the body heat transferred through it dispelled the surrounding chill.

A moment later, Ruoruo’s hands, which had been exposed to the cold air until her fingertips were flushed red, slid forward along Su Chen’s waist and naturally slipped into the pockets of his windbreaker.

「One hour later.」

They were halfway there.

But the Wind Eagle had exhausted its energy and could no longer support them in flight.

”You did well.”

After recalling it, Su Chen wrapped an arm directly around Yan Ruoruo.

After three nights of sharing a bed and the rapport forged through numerous battles, she didn’t have the slightest instinct to resist. She simply let the tide of Light and Dark Particles wash over her.

WHOOSH!

With Aurora Flash activated, their two close-pressed figures instantly leaped forward through space.

Thanks to Shadow Leap reaching Lv7, this triple-composite Technique had improved along with it; its maximum long-distance leap now exceeded 1,200 meters.

For a time, a visually stunning torrent of particles leaped and shuttled nonstop through the pitch-black night sky.

An arc of interwoven black and white light would flash into existence, only to re-materialize over a kilometer away.

Often, after several leaps, he would have to pause for a moment to allow the dissipated fluctuations of Light and Dark Particles to coalesce again.

Even in a state of natural flight, he left a flickering, shuttle-shaped trail in his wake.

Another half-hour or so passed.

Seeing they were close to Qingxi Stream, he didn’t want to risk alerting the enemy, so he and Ruoruo leaped down into the woods, moving swiftly through the trees like ghosts.

It was already 8:30 PM.

Although they were deep in the mountains, the surroundings weren’t particularly dark.

In the firmament above, the star tracks of various Elements moved steadily across the night sky, emitting a cold brilliance.

The interwoven afterimages of the auroras they cast down bathed the entire mountainous landscape in an eerie hue.

Before long, Su Chen’s expression shifted slightly.

Through the minute Perception of his Elemental Resonance, he detected a highly explosive Fire Element fluctuation in the distance—a Fire Element explosive trap someone had deployed under the dead leaves.

If accidentally triggered, it would definitely create a huge commotion and alert the Spellcaster.

’Looks like we’ve found it.’ Su Chen was delighted.

Extending his Fire Element Resonance Perception a bit farther, he located another explosive trap.

Going to such great lengths to set up defenses in this desolate, forbidden mountain area strongly suggested that Qingxi Stream ahead likely held a Teleportation Gate.

”This is a water source, so it’s definitely possible,” Yan Ruoruo said. She recalled the map’s description, which mentioned that a type of water-ghost monster called the Ghostly Water Charm frequented this area.

As a dual Water and Spirit Element monster, it was quite rare and a major source of Spirit Element Runes.

Of course, the rewards were proportional to the risks. Nurtured by the water source, Qingxi Stream was also home to a large number of Blood Rot Poison Moths. A flutter of their wings would sprinkle Paralyzing Phosphorus Powder, nearly invisible to the naked eye, causing people to unwittingly fall into inescapable hallucinations.

The map’s notes also had a red warning indicating extreme danger and a very high mortality rate.

No one should come here without some serious skill.

”It’s certainly a good resource location.”

After casting a set of camouflage and Invisibility Skills on them, Su Chen advanced with Ruoruo.

They deliberately avoided the outer perimeter’s fire traps, but as he continued to sweep his Perception forward, he discovered an invisible shadow curtain stretched across a game trail in the woods.

”It’s even Lv6.”

Su Chen could tell its area of effect was slightly larger than the one he possessed.

This was perfect. When they’d set out from the campsite, he’d been thinking about collecting some environmental-shaping or terrain-altering Runes to strengthen their outer defenses.

The trading posts in the Rune Core’s central area had been packed with people, making it difficult for him to seek trades. He hadn’t even had time to sort through the Rune spoils he’d acquired.

’On this trip to the enemy camp, I might as well pick up a few good Runes.’

Soon, Su Chen’s powerful Strong Thought Perception coalesced into an invisible arrowhead, sweeping precisely across a dark area hundreds of meters away.

This time, he got something.

The outline of a sentry hiding in the shadows appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

A distinctly Western face.

”Huh...?”

This man, an outer sentry, possessed excellent Perception Power. As a Two-Star Storm Priest, he could even detect anomalies through the faintest disturbances in the atmosphere.

When he sensed a threat, his instincts made the hair on his arms stand up.

Without a second thought, the sentry tried to activate a teleportation ability to escape.

But it was too late.

He felt as if an invisible steel spike had pierced through his navel, pinning him to the fabric of reality. Neither physical movement nor spatial leaps had the slightest effect.

As he turned his head in despair, a figure had already closed in on him without a sound.

In the next instant...

CRACK!

Before he could cry out, his neck was violently twisted and snapped by Telekinesis, extinguishing his life completely.

”That’s one.”

Having infiltrated silently, Su Chen could already see the scattered firelight from Qingxi Stream in the distance. Faintly, he could also hear a rumbling sound coming from that direction.

「Two minutes later.」

When he and Ruoruo quietly moved to a low slope to get a better view, they discovered numerous buildings standing on the flat ground along the banks of a river valley.

This wasn’t a simple camp, but an underground mining facility that exuded a cold, mechanical feel.