Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

This wasn’t the first time Su Chen had come face-to-face with the dead, so he felt no nausea or urge to vomit.

Never mind the corpses he’d seen buried in ice and snow along the path while climbing the Himalayas.

His most vivid memory, however, was of the bloated corpse he’d discovered in a no-man’s-land six months ago. Its sickly green skin was stretched taut like a balloon, with black ooze seeping from its rotting organs and countless maggots squirming in its folds.

But that wasn’t all...

The visual shock was one thing, but what truly stuck with him was that even after he reported it, the deceased’s identity remained unknown for half a month.

The body was too decomposed to retain any biometric identifiers, but more importantly, no relatives or friends had ever reported the person missing.

Ultimately, it was confirmed that the deceased was truly alone in the world, with no family, friends, or anyone to care.

Su Chen sensed a profound loneliness and desolation in the story. He wondered what state of mind the person had been in when they set out.

Just then, a rustling sound came from a dense thicket on the opposite bank. Another Demon Dog shot out. At the same time, a thick, burnt smell drifted on the wind from a nearby greenway path.

If no one stopped the Demon Dog that had gotten away earlier, it would likely continue its rampage.

Even setting aside the danger of its spewing flames, an ordinary person wouldn’t dare approach such a vicious beast to try and stop it.

SWISH!

With a light flick of his wrist, Su Chen sent the blood on his baseball bat spattering across the ground like splashed ink. The muscles on his forearm tensed, forming sleek lines.

He had shown astounding athletic talent since childhood. His superior physique allowed him to master any sport with ease, though he usually lost interest quickly. His only real achievement was winning the provincial youth division championship in sanda.

He never pursued it any further after that.

His daily exercise routine had declined significantly recently. If it hadn’t been for an intense session on the slopes last month, his physical condition and core strength wouldn’t be nearly this good.

He didn’t linger, heading straight for the wooden bridge.

’The plan is set. Inside this trapped campsite, I need to keep acquiring more Elemental Essence to arm myself.’

’And compared to just getting lucky by searching the area, these invading monsters are a much more reliable source.’

"Here comes one now."

Su Chen’s gaze fell on the figure blocking the bridge.

"GRR!"

A low growl rumbled from the other end of the bridge. The Demon Dog scraped its front claws against the wooden planks, its bony spine arching as it readied itself to pounce.

This Demon Dog was rather gaunt, its ribs visible beneath its belly. Its fur was coarse and dull, and it looked like it was more accustomed to starving than eating. Its nostrils twitched, having clearly caught the scent of blood on the wind, and it immediately grew tense and alert.

It was clearly the blood of its own kind.

But this old, starving Demon Dog wasn’t very intimidating. Even the snarling rumble from deep in its throat sounded like the sputtering engine of an old tractor.

Su Chen walked straight forward. The bloodstains on his hoodie seemed to give off an invisible, oppressive aura, making the Demon Dog take an involuntary step back.

"GRR!"

After another guttural growl, the Demon Dog opened its maw wide. A surging crimson light from deep in its throat cast a red glow on its fangs.

’No doubt about it, it’s about to breathe fire!’

Su Chen raised his left hand in response. He had to make one thing clear: whenever he entered a spellcasting state, he could distinctly feel a current of energy flowing from the depths of his mind into his palm.

It was like an invisible bridge had been formed, connecting his will to the flow of Magic.

Soon...

A water-blue membrane of light burst from his palm, coalescing before him into a transparent barrier that shimmered with a pearlescent glow.

The Demon Dog on the other side, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation, simply unleashed the torrent of flames it had been gathering in its mouth.

’Here it comes.’

Su Chen met the attack with calm composure. The mysterious Rune floating in his consciousness bloomed with a Spiritual Light.

The essence of ’Water Mirror Refraction’ wasn’t about blocking the damage, but about perfectly reflecting it.

The trick to it wasn’t simple. It was like how a single auxiliary line can sometimes solve a complex math problem, except this reflection puzzle offered no clear guidance.

It all came down to trial and error, to personal insight.

The first time he’d tried it, his angle had been way off.

「This time.」

The instant he felt the Flame Bullet make contact with the mirror in front of him, he followed his intuition and gave a sharp thrust with his palm. The searing tongue of fire immediately recoiled, hurtling back with the speed of a thunderbolt.

"ROAR!"

The Demon Dog’s pupils contracted. It clearly hadn’t expected its own attack to be returned to sender, completely intact.

Stunned for a split second, it hastily dodged to the left.

But a good offense means nothing if you can’t handle the return.

BOOM!!

The Flame Bullet struck it squarely in the face, and its frail body was sent flying several meters.

With the attack successful, Su Chen broke into a sprint and dashed across the wooden bridge.

The Demon Dog let out a pained shriek. It had just struggled to prop itself up on its forelegs when a dark shadow descended upon it through its blurry vision.

THWACK!

Su Chen swung his arm in a full circle. The baseball bat cut a vicious arc and smashed down hard on the Demon Dog’s skull. With a sickening crunch, a spray of red blood and brain matter splattered onto the wild grass.

One swing, then another with all his might.

Only when the Demon Dog’s whimpering came to an abrupt halt did Su Chen shake out his slightly numb wrist. Thick gore slowly dripped down the length of the bat.

At the same time, a Fire Elemental Essence, glowing with a faint red light, emerged from the Demon Dog’s shattered skull.

When Su Chen picked it up with his right hand, the two fire-patterned brands on his palm merged, forming an incomplete Rune.

It was worth noting that as he picked it up, the jade pendant around his neck once again grew strangely warm, as if it yearned to seize the Power within the essence.

’Something’s wrong.’

Su Chen pulled the jade safety amulet from under his shirt. Its surface was smooth and translucent—a piece of high-grade, mutton-fat nephrite.

It was a family heirloom. According to his father’s crass instructions, he was to wear it at all times. If he ever ended up in prison, he was to bring it with him, even if he had to swallow it or shove it up his ass.

He ran his fingertip over the delicate patterns on the jade’s surface, feeling its residual warmth.

Before now, the only extraordinary thing about the safety amulet was how comfortable it felt against his skin—warm in the winter and cool in the summer. If he were to get metaphysical, he might say its blessing of peace had protected him to some extent.

In the years after his parents’ accidental death, he had thrown himself into extreme backcountry skiing. He’d fallen into a crevasse once and survived two avalanches, escaping unscathed each time. He had to admit, he’d had some powerful luck on his side.

Furthermore, the pendant’s cord was also unusual. Su Chen had initially wanted to replace the faded old string, but no scissors or blade he tried could cut it, so he eventually gave up.

So this new, strange reaction from the jade pendant was rather unexpected.

’It’s hard to say if this is a one-time thing.’

’I should test it with an Elemental Essence, see if the pendant can absorb it.’

But on second thought, Su Chen decided that could wait. He had already collected two Fire Element essences. He was just one away from forming a new Elemental Rune.

’Water + Light + Water = Water Mirror Refraction.’

’So, Fire + Fire + ? = ?’

’Based on what I know so far, different combinations of Elemental attributes produce completely different Rune effects.’

’Let’s see what effect three Fires can create.’ A small flame danced on Su Chen’s fingertip. Before an Elemental Rune was formed, he could still control the pure Elemental Power within the essences.

Suddenly, the grass rustled nearby. The Demon Dog that had been following him seemed to shrink back, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished into the depths of the bushes.

It was obvious now. These monsters also had a survival instinct; avoiding danger was in their nature.

Su Chen picked up his baseball bat and immediately gave chase.

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