Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

On the fifth floor of the former mountaineering travel agency was an office that retained its old-world decor.

The rich aroma of tea filled the air, mingling with a tranquil wisp of sandalwood smoke that drifted from a Buddhist altar set into the wall.

Beneath a plaque heralding grand ambitions, Boss Chen methodically lifted a purple clay teapot, pouring the amber liquor into a white porcelain cup while rolling a string of Buddhist Beads in his other hand.

”Boss, the man Yuan Haotian brought over just completed another deal,” a subordinate in a suit with bulletproof lining reported.

A former mountaineering guide, he had a bronzed complexion and a lean, wiry frame. His rugged face, however, was now etched with doubt.

He said, ”Counting the Broken Spine Squad from before, the local group from just now, and the brute he’s about to meet, this tall, mysterious young man is on track to get nine Lv4 Runes. In one fell swoop, there’s no telling how much his power will skyrocket.”

”Didn’t Haotian say he’s a top expert from the Qingye Collection campground? Are you worried he’s just some thief trying to fence his loot?”

Boss Chen remained serene, tapping his finger lightly on the cup’s rim. ”Remember, we’re a platform. We help two parties make a deal and collect a small commission. We’re not afraid of our clients making a fortune; we’re afraid they won’t show up at all.

”In our line of work, the real fear is an outsider looking to disrupt our business. Keep an eye on that mute brute. My sources tell me he frequents the Ruin Exchange, and he’s definitely not here for anything good.”

Unlike the Sage’s Bazaar, which operated in the open, the Ruin Exchange was a true underground black market.

It had no fixed location, constantly moving between the city’s derelict buildings and hosting impromptu doomsday raves at all hours of the night.

If the incident with the Hallucinogenic Mushrooms hadn’t blown up into such a massive scandal, it would have remained completely unknown to outsiders.

As things stood, his cash-cow business was clearly being targeted. Three clients had turned up dead in the wilderness under mysterious circumstances, and the ensuing rumors had taken a serious toll on his reputation.

He’d heard that a mysterious powerhouse had appeared in Qixia Border Town and instantly obliterated a man modified by the Bloodthirsty Fungus.

’Could it be you?’

Boss Chen took a sip of hot tea, wisps of steam drifting past his hopeful gaze. ’If that mute crosses a line and provokes this monster, it’ll solve one of my problems for me.’

”After the deal is done, give him a warning.”

In a fight to the death between humans, a higher Rune Level was no guarantee of victory.

You didn’t even have to get into complex matters like Element counters; the physical frailty of a Rune Caster was a glaring enough vulnerability to exploit.

Just last night at a food stall, a half-drunk powerhouse from the frontier was killed with a single shot to the head by an ordinary gunman. Another expert was sound asleep at home, only to be killed by an Enchanted Bullet fired from a hundred meters away that went straight through his wall.

To put it bluntly, so what if you were decked out in Lv7 Runes? Once you had a target on your back, all you could do was pray you weren’t a heavy sleeper.

...

In a secret room on the second floor of the travel agency.

Su Chen came face-to-face with the mute from the previous night.

The moment they met, the sullen, mute man, whose body was a roadmap of old scars, visibly faltered. He clearly hadn’t expected his trading partner to be Su Chen.

From each other’s perspective, both men seemed to possess an unbelievable number of Runes. One was an enigma of unknown origin. The other was dark and sinister; his scars alone told you he was not to be trifled with.

In the tense, silent atmosphere, the two completed their transaction without a word.

Then...

Just as before, the man extended his right hand for a handshake, a supposed gesture of goodwill.

This time, Su Chen fixed the man with a cold gaze and said nonchalantly, ”That won’t be necessary. My sense of smell was a great help during this afternoon’s hunt. It would be a hassle to get marked with someone’s scent in a private exchange like this.”

The man’s expression remained unchanged, even appearing somewhat wooden and stiff, as if he couldn’t comprehend the subtext of Su Chen’s words.

After giving the man one last, meaningful look, Su Chen and Ruoruo promptly left the premises.

On the surface, everything was calm. Nothing had happened.

Yuan Haotian, who was waiting outside, finally relaxed. Beaming, he escorted them all the way to the entrance of the Sage’s Bazaar.

As evening fell, the sky was painted with a magnificent glow.

Braziers along the city wall were lit early. Beside the road, rows of faintly red, energy-storing landscape lights flickered on, casting soft halos on the ground. Not far off, a group of teachers and students from the distant Dongfu University were spraying an unknown aerosol onto an LED lamp.

From their chatter, it sounded like they were testing whether the spray could interfere with the Perception of phototactic insect swarms.

’Days where you have to be wary of even turning on a lamp are truly tough to get through.’

”It’s getting cold.”

Night hadn’t fully fallen, but the temperature had dropped considerably, feeling like it was around 64°F.

”He’s most likely watching us from the shadows,” Yan Ruoruo whispered, a faint, rippling light shimmering in her eyes as she scanned their surroundings for anything concealed.

”Relax, I know.”

Su Chen understood perfectly, his expression one of complete confidence.

’Unlike the real one, the mute man I just traded with was merely an Illusion clone. I didn’t even have to use my Resonance Perception; my extremely high affinity alone allowed me to spot the discrepancy in his form at a glance.’

’Yan Ruoruo had it even easier; her Eyes of Insight could see the truth of the matter instantly.’

’Judging from its perfectly lifelike appearance, it was a high-level Clone Skill. The clone’s emotional numbness was easily overlooked, given that the real man was naturally stone-faced.’

’The fact that he still wanted to shake hands after the deal meant he was definitely still up to something.’

’To be honest, I’m not afraid of these sneaky tricks. In fact, a part of me is even hoping he takes the bait.’

Yan Ruoruo trusted him unconditionally, so she didn’t dwell on it. Besides, they still had one important thing to do before leaving Qixia Border Town.