Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

”Let’s clear it out.”

Su Chen had no intention of missing this good opportunity.

A cave, half-hidden by vines, appeared in the face of a broken cliff.

After a careful look, he confirmed that the series of footprints, sunk half a foot deep, came from bear paws.

”I have to raid this Bear Cave.”

A giant bear would not only drop a considerable amount of Rune Essence but also yield a portion of Spiritual Dust Sand. There was no reason for him to back down.

Besides, he had the element of surprise.

If the giant bear was sleeping inside, it was guaranteed to suffer a vicious first strike from Xiaoye.

With that decided, he got straight to work.

After laying out his strategy, Su Chen decided against having Xiaoye summon its Phantom Clone to avoid alerting the enemy. Instead, he had it use its Stealth Skill and head straight into the cave.

If it turned out to be too dangerous or an unbeatable foe, Xiaoye was to slip away quietly, as if nothing had happened.

With the Shadow Shifting Skill, escape wouldn’t be impossible.

Meanwhile, Su Chen, waiting outside, had already cast a layer of Wind Gauze on himself, ready to use the Shadow Jumping Skill to escape at any moment.

Xiaoye was already deep inside the cave, moving forward like a feline to muffle its footsteps.

The cave was dark and damp, the air thick with a strange, pungent mix of rotting flesh, moisture, and ozone.

Through its dark, deep-set vertical pupils, it could see the jagged cave walls piled high with the skeletal remains of various demonic beasts. A faint green glimmer, like will-o’-the-wisps in a graveyard, shone from the gaps between the bones.

Xiaoye recognized it as the same kind of eerie green ore its master had mined before.

But that wasn’t all... at the far end of the cave, a strange purple light refracted alongside the green glow.

Xiaoye lowered its body and crept forward silently. As it drew closer, it finally got a clear look at the source of that bizarre purple light: a strange purple flower growing from the cave wall.

The flower was shaped like an inverted bell, and fine arcs of electricity constantly sparked from its center. The surface of each petal seemed coated in a layer of purple crystal, making it look both gorgeous and extremely dangerous.

In addition, two clusters of eerie green mineral crystals also protruded from the cave wall.

And the master of this prime spot was lying like a small mountain on the pile of bones.

It was a Thunder Bear!

It was nearly six meters long, its fur tinged with purple. With every breath, fine arcs of electricity danced across its body.

It was sound asleep, its heavy snores echoing noisily through the cave. On its belly, which swelled like a hillock, two cubs were curled into balls, snuggled against its warmth as they slept.

Xiaoye’s pupils instinctively locked onto the side of the Thunder Bear’s neck.

Perhaps this act of staring at its weak point made the Thunder Bear subconsciously sense danger. Its snoring paused, and its eyelids began to flutter open.

With no time to reposition and without a shred of hesitation, Xiaoye’s shadowy form tore through the air. Its Dark Gold Claws, gleaming with a sinister luster, slashed directly toward the major artery in the bear’s neck.

SWOOSH!!

The Soul-Splitting Claw cut with surgical precision. A gash deep enough to reveal bone instantly appeared on the Thunder Bear’s neck, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

”ROAR!!!”

The Thunder Bear jerked awake in agony, its furious roar like a clap of thunder.

As its massive body shot up, the two cubs on its large belly were sent flying.

Almost simultaneously, a blinding electric light erupted from its body.

’Lightning Shield’ activated instantly, and a spherical barrier of high-density lightning energy slammed into place around it. Violent currents lashed out in all directions like whips.

After perfectly capitalizing on its first-strike advantage, Xiaoye didn’t get greedy with another attack. It immediately used Shadow Shifting, narrowly avoiding the damage.

Its form, detached from reality, moved steadily toward the cave entrance. To successfully lure the bear, the little creature showed a fox-like cunning, ending its skill early to feign a vulnerability.

This sent the completely irrational Thunder Bear into a Frenzy, and it charged forward with a deafening roar.

「Outside the cave.」

Hearing the commotion inside, Su Chen knew Xiaoye had succeeded. Feeling the beast stampeding toward the entrance, he immediately infused the Small Straight Knife in his hand with the power of Flame Burst.

At the same time, a bio-electric current stimulated every cell in his body. Activated by the Jingzhe Rune, his mind became incredibly focused.

「The next instant.」

Xiaoye had just shot out of the cave entrance when, hot on its heels, a colossal shadow wreathed in lightning charged out.

It didn’t notice the killing intent that had emerged from the flank outside the cave.

SWISH!

A streak of crimson light tore through the air, shooting in from the side.

BOOM!

The Flame Burst Flying Knife precisely struck the Thunder Bear’s neck. The surging explosion of fire shattered the protective layer of lightning and blasted forward, ripping open the already mangled wound and exposing a large patch of bone beneath.

Under the terrifying destructive power, the giant bear’s left jaw, along with its left shoulder muscle, collarbone, and even its shoulder blade, were all blown to bits on the spot.

The Thunder Bear staggered forward, its eyes as red as blood. On the brink of death, it unleashed all the remaining energy of its lightning shield outward.

「For a moment.」

A ring-shaped thunderstorm instantly expanded, and dozens of lightning bolts as thick as pythons swept madly across the surrounding forest.

Everywhere it passed, rocks shattered and deep furrows were plowed into the ground. The surrounding Earth Realm looked as if it had been scoured by a heavenly tribulation.

In the end, amidst a cloud of smoke and dust, the once-invincible Thunder Bear collapsed with a crash.

Perhaps, right before it died, it never imagined there could be such a sinister and despicable bipedal ape in this world. A demonic beast’s simple cunning was no match at all.

Su Chen had a close call but was unharmed by the bear’s dying counterattack. He had continuously used the Shadow Jumping Skill, his figure long gone from its original spot. The Wind Gauze he had cast beforehand was almost blasted apart by the licking tendrils of lightning.

It hadn’t gone as far as to trigger the damage immunity of his Life Talisman.

After all, the lightning was anything but slow.

Xiaoye was also largely unharmed, although it had been sent flying by the lightning, not having reacted in time.

But its weaponized body completely protected its weak points. The damage to its outer skin was trivial. After taking a small bit of damage, it immediately entered its Shadow Shifting state to evade the subsequent blasts.

The ground ahead was still flickering with lightning. Amidst the scorched earth, arcs of electricity were still crackling, not yet completely subsided.

”Good job!”

Su Chen felt Xiaoye emerge from its shifted state at his feet and immediately crouched down, happily ruffling the fur on its head.

Xiaoye squinted its eyes, clearly enjoying the praise.

Xiaoye was undoubtedly the MVP of this operation.

Reviewing the fight, he could appreciate the little guy’s nerves of steel. If it had been any slower, it would have been a total disaster, and it would have lost its own life first.

”Let’s treat your injuries first.”

Su Chen took out the Plant and Mineral Crystals from his backpack and placed them next to Xiaoye. Under the illumination of the greenish-blue light, the superficial wounds on its skin began to heal rapidly.

”Whimper!”

Xiaoye stared at the crystals for two seconds, then let out an urgent whimper. It lowered its head, bit its master’s pant leg, and tried to gently pull him toward the Bear Cave.

Su Chen paused for a moment, then more or less figured out what it meant.

’There’s more ore in the cave.’