Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

That wasn’t an issue.

After all, he wasn’t alone.

When he regrouped with Ruoruo, the chilly goddess undoubtedly had a pleasant surprise for him, bringing him a Lv6 Shadow Summon Rune and a Critical Hit Rune.

In fact, if he hadn’t already acquired the Holy Light Skill, she could have provided that for him as well.

”My luck’s not bad.”

Su Chen raised an eyebrow and didn’t stand on ceremony, absorbing them both directly.

Shadow Summon had previously been bound to his First Authority sequence. However, due to the practical power of Water Mirror Refraction and the chaotic nature of large-scale battles, he rarely summoned it except for tracking or standing watch.

If Xiaoye were to be killed, he would suffer from the backlash.

So, he decided to just rebind it.

’I still need to find an advanced version of the Spirit Core Battle Armor to boost my survivability.’

After the Critical Hit Rune rose to Lv7, it unlocked a new characteristic: ’Weakness Insight.’ When he attacked, it would highlight all of the target’s defensive weak points, revealing energy nodes and seams in their Armor.

’Hard to say if it’s good. It would’ve been better if it gave me an aimbot.’

For a headshot specialist like Su Chen, this seemed rather redundant.

Of course, it wasn’t completely useless.

And the Thunder-Piercing Rune had undoubtedly inherited this characteristic.

He raised his hand, slightly adjusting the muzzle of his M1911 to lock onto a figure desperately fleeing a hundred meters away.

The person was wrapped in a turbulent shield of flame, with fire churning around them. Not only that, but they also had a Telekinesis Barrier active.

And now, in Su Chen’s eyes, several minute energy weak points appeared on the shields.

BANG!

He pulled the trigger. The bullet threaded through the weakest gap in the shields with needle-like precision, plunging into the back of the target’s neck and exiting through their jaw.

To be honest, the benefit wasn’t immediately obvious with this shot.

It was redundant against rookies, but against the top-tier powerhouses on the leaderboards, it was a different story. They knew how to protect their vital spots, so bombarding the energy nodes on their shields for an efficient breakthrough was a good option.

”This is for you.”

Su Chen holstered his gun. After letting Ruoruo collect the Telekinesis Rune from the corpse, he also gave her a Lv7 Light Healing Skill. This way, she would no longer have to rely on him for efficient Recovery.

Although their relationship was one of mutual benefit and not a standard romance—Ruoruo was more akin to a mistress or a high-level personal assistant to him—they had been intimate for many days. They weren’t going to quibble over such things.

Yan Ruoruo accepted without any pleasantries and absorbed it all.

...

The chase lasted until two in the afternoon before it finally concluded.

It had to be said that the greatest spoils of a battle were reaped during the pursuit.

After being mercilessly abandoned by the Teleportation Gate, the nearly one thousand desperate soldiers failed to mount any decent resistance.

As for the matter of prisoners... it was made clear that none were to be left alive.

In the proclamation given to the Sect by the Security Council, it was stated in black and white: All those from Oran City who participated in this siege, regardless of whether they surrendered, would not be granted the rights of prisoners of war.

The reasoning wasn’t simply for revenge; it was also a matter of practical necessity.

Oran City’s current prison system was completely incapable of holding Rune Casters. There were no cells or shackles that could restrain them for long.

In such apocalyptic times, they couldn’t afford to play by the rules of human rights, assigning a large number of powerful individuals to stand guard and letting a horde of prisoners become a personal burden.

Few would be moved by such a gesture; they would just call you crazy. The enemy would laugh themselves to death if they found out.

Previously, when Oran City had sent envoys to sue for peace, the higher-ups had demanded that their key personnel—those on the contribution list—commit suicide. This showed their hardline stance.

In addition, after hunting down a portion of the enemy’s effective forces, several battalions of the Investigation Legion, along with the meritorious Shadow Strike Special Team, immediately turned back. They had to quickly redeploy and head to other locations to provide support.

On his way back to Qixia Border Town, Su Chen ran into Yan Ziqian, Pang Peng, and their group.

They too had reaped a bountiful harvest.

”Do you have any Thunder Runes?” Su Chen specifically asked.

”Yes.”

Yu Ziyuan immediately began to rummage through her bag.

”Let me think... I should have some.”

After a moment of thought, even Pang Peng and Liao Dahai sprang into action. They set down the ancient bronze shield and began searching through the small vials they had collected in their backpacks.

As a type of Damage Rune, the Thunder-Fire-Thunder combination wasn’t complex. Many of the elite gunslingers from Oran City had the relevant Runes.

Soon, the three of them produced Thunder Runes of varying levels. Although none were Lv6, it was enough for him to absorb and raise his own to Lv7.

The new effect was ’Charge Stripping,’ which drastically weakened a target’s physical defense by forcibly stripping away their electrical charge layer.

’A characteristic that targets physical defense.’ Su Chen understood.

This wasn’t the main event.

At this moment, his Rune Map for All Elements had completely reached Lv7 and above.

And then... after spending a full six Spirit Marrow Crystals, he immediately unlocked his Third Authority.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, the small spiritual tree in his Sea of Consciousness stretched and swayed. A large fruit on the tip of a new branch rapidly condensed. As it took shape, a sense of profound weight emanated from it, causing the branch to droop slightly.

[Third Authority]: Allows you to convert up to three mastered Elemental Runes into other elemental types of the same level, without altering their function.

[Bound]: None

”Excellent.”

Without hesitation, Su Chen began to experiment.

With a mere thought, the cyan light patterns of the Healing Skill Rune began to flow and restructure. Its edges instantly transformed into a holy white light, and in less than three seconds, the conversion was complete.

Su Chen raised his hand and tapped his finger. A beam of pure white Holy Light, condensed like liquid, spread out from his fingertip.

Soon, the light faded, and a refreshing, spring-like water vapor diffused into the air, suffused with an immense amount of Life Energy.

”Light Healing, Water Therapy Skill... this is...”

The people around him were suddenly startled, vaguely realizing that his new Authority was responsible for these transformations.

’It seems like the other Elements don’t have any healing skills.’

At least, as far as Su Chen knew, he hadn’t mastered any healing-related Runes from the other Elements. It was possible they would be officially revealed later, or that they simply didn’t exist.

An observable fact was that his class Authority didn’t seem to require all ten Elemental Runes to be present at all times. The temporary absence of the Wood Element hadn’t caused any problems.

However, this was only temporary. The Rune would revert to its original form in less than half an hour.

’Wind Split Lv9!’

Su Chen’s attention then shifted to his Attached Damage system. The Flame Burst Rune shed its crimson glow, which was replaced by the mark of a verdant wind.

The effect granted by his First Authority was synchronously inherited.

His eyes sharpened, and he made a grasping motion in the air.

A sharp whistle immediately tore through the air, as if the very fabric of reality was trembling in anticipation of the coming slash.

This action sent an involuntary chill down the spines of those nearby.

”Lv9?!”

Yan Ruoruo knew what was happening and was shocked by the power of this familiar yet alien Wind Split.

But there was more.

Su Chen then converted it into the Wood Element Damage Rune ’Wither,’ the Gold Element ’Sharpness,’ and the new Earth Element Rune ’Rockslide,’ which had been revealed in the sixth batch of formulas.

Its effect couldn’t be described as mere crushing damage. At the very least, his Lv9 Rockslide already demonstrated structural destruction, gravity suppression, and energy subsidence effects.

For a moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to go crush someone to death with it.

’This feels great.’

Thanks to his four-part damage attachment playstyle, absorbing those other Damage Attachment Stream Runes hadn’t been a mistake.

And because of the Third Authority, Su Chen’s next steps for Rune absorption became crystal clear.

’If I remember correctly, the Light Element’s Corona Guard, the Wood Element’s Great Tree Guard, and the Water Element’s Tidal Spirit Guard... these should all be considered guardian-type Runes, right?’ Su Chen wasn’t entirely sure if they could be fully converted, as the disclosed formulas covered very few of them.

However, he had a Lv7 Corona Guard Rune. To be safe, he could save it for later to verify his theory.

At the very least, he could start by absorbing a Shadow Veil Rune, which was an environment-shaping type, and another Rune that was classified as an elemental weapon.

In the future, when facing enemies who specialized in a single Element, he could switch to a specific elemental form to counter them and make them suffer.