One thing was certain: since yesterday, the broadcasts hadn’t mentioned a single person gaining the power of flesh-and-blood evolution.
It seemed everyone was stuck with the stereotype of a squishy Spellcaster, completely unable to break the mold.
They were all just glass cannons.
Except for him, of course. If not for the miraculous power of his family’s heirloom Jade Pendant, Su Chen likely wouldn’t have been able to transform his own body.
He didn’t dwell on it.
Xiaoye had already retrieved all the Rune Essence from the ashes on the ground.
’A Lv. 1 Healing Rune.’
Su Chen had no intention of absorbing it, instead placing it directly into a vial.
The Jingzhe Rune required Wood Element Essence to be crafted. With his limited Magic Slots, using this Healing Rune as an external piece of Enchanted Jewelry was the best option.
Unlike living creatures, an object’s ability to hold an Element seemed to depend more on its material; weaker materials were unable to complete the elemental Enchantment.
’I’ll find another item to enchant when I get back to the RV.’
The Jade Pendant on his chest and even a Jadeite Ore Crystal in his hiking bag could already provide him with healing and Recovery effects.
He also placed a Gold Element Essence into a vial.
As for the Dark Element Essence, he fed it to his Shadow Summoning Rune.
’Just two more Dark Element Essences and it’ll be ready to upgrade.’
Once he had them, he could absorb a portion of Spiritual Dust Sand to level it up at any time. Realizing this sun-facing road was a good spot to lie in wait, he felt no need to hurry. Xiaoye once again created a Phantom Clone, which delved deep into the woods beside the road.
In this era of awakening, it seemed you could encounter a new species every few steps.
On branches at least seventy or eighty meters high, two giant sloths hung, leisurely munching on leaves. Being herbivores, they showed no interest in the human passing below.
Su Chen looked away from them and turned his attention to some green butterflies fluttering past a distant patch of flowers.
They looked a bit like Earth’s Tailed Green Jay butterfly, but were more vibrant and larger, their bodies shimmering with an unnatural sheen.
’With colors that vibrant, they were probably poisonous. Quite dangerous.’
Before the Netherworld War Dog’s clone could even get close, the emerald butterflies had already soared high into the air and flown away.
It wasn’t a total loss, however.
The clone also possessed a keen sense of smell. It quickened its pace and darted down a small forest path.
The real Xiaoye didn’t follow, staying by its master’s side.
Although the clone’s stats were only 50% of the original’s, it was more than enough to handle a few small fry.
When they arrived, a water fox lay dead in a pool of blood, its neck snapped and its body covered in claw marks. The Phantom Clone that had done the deed had already disappeared, its time having run out.
Two Water Element Essences gradually materialized from the corpse.
Su Chen gazed at the dense, ink-black forest to his left. Only a dozen small beams of light pierced the canopy, making it impossible to see what lurked in the shadows.
Sensing something, he preemptively cast a wind shield. The Wind Fluff swirling from his axe handle immediately wove itself into a protective layer of Wind Gauze around his body.
His intuition was right.
A Shadow Mantis dropped its camouflage high in the canopy, created an afterimage, and then both figures pounced straight at Su Chen.
Just as its scythes were about to fall...
SWOOSH!
The blades slashed down, but only struck an afterimage.
Meanwhile, Su Chen himself had used the Shadow Jumping Skill to silently appear in the air, more than ten meters behind the mantis.
Using the Wind Fluff around him to stay airborne, he gripped the battle-axe with both hands and swung it down hard.
Flying Axe Throwing!
Taking advantage of his high ground, the attack was pure brute force, with no finesse to speak of.
Though it wasn’t enchanted with the power of Flame Burst, the axe—propelled by Wind Blade Force and the advantage of height—delivered a devastating blow, blasting the Flying Mantis’s real body apart in midair.
After its main body was shattered, the nearby clone vanished like a soap bubble.
Buoyed by the wind, Su Chen landed safely.
’Buy one, get one free.’
Recalling the idiom "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," he scanned his surroundings.
All clear.
Only when Su Chen turned his gaze back to the mantis’s remains did he realize what a pleasant surprise awaited him.
Besides a Phantom Clone Rune, two Dark Element Essences had also materialized.
It was exactly what he needed.
He had just enough to upgrade his summoning rune to Lv. 4.
’I thought it would be hard to find Dark Element Essences in the morning, but this was surprisingly easy.’
After absorbing the two Dark Light Balls, Su Chen took a small vial from his backpack and fed the Spiritual Dust Sand inside to the summoning rune.
For a moment, a tremor ran through the depths of his consciousness.
[Shadow Summoning] Lv. 3 → Lv. 4. Advancement successful!
Pet Skill Upgrade:
Shadow Claw → Soul-Splitting Claw
(Soul-Splitting Claw: Claw attacks are imbued with 150% Dark Energy. On hit, they inflict continuous spiritual pain and a bleeding effect, significantly lowering all resistances.)
Invisibility Technique → Stealth Skill
(Stealth Skill: Conceals the user while erasing all biological signals. Gain a 200% movement speed bonus in this state.)
Trait Enhancement: Damage Amplification, Olfactory Senses, Netherworld Armor, Shadow Shifting, Phantom Clone
[Shadow Summoning] (Lv. 4): The Spellcaster summons a Netherworld War Dog from the Netherworld. Its maximum duration on the field is determined by the Rune Energy Bar.
Contract Slots: 1/1
Promotion Requirements: Shadow Summoning Rune 0/8, Spiritual Dust Sand 0/3
’It didn’t evolve, but its skill mechanics have been enhanced quite a bit.’
Its appearance changed as well.
Su Chen looked at Xiaoye. After the upgrade, its form had indeed changed.
Visually, it was larger and more robust. Its shoulder height now exceeded 1.2 meters, and its body length was nearly 2 meters. The originally semi-corporeal Shadow Armor had solidified further, now covering the upper half of its head.
Protective, sharp spikes had even sprouted from the armor on its shoulder blades.
Compared to the common Exotic Tigers and Leopards, its size and weight were still a notch smaller. In terms of raw power, however, Xiaoye’s new skill set meant it could inflict heavy damage right from the start of a fight.
’Stealth Skill... it can completely evade thermal imaging. Besides body temperature, its heartbeat, breathing, and life signs all drop to zero.’
Su Chen mused, ’The giant bear’s sense of smell would never be able to detect Xiaoye while it’s hidden now. If last night’s battle on the bridge were to happen again, the bear would definitely be hit hard by Xiaoye’s first strike.’
Whether the Night Tiger’s Dark Vision trait could see through it remained to be tested.
Shadow Claw had also been upgraded. After evolving into Soul-Splitting Claw, it now inflicted Spirit Damage on hit.
His other combat skills, Shadow Shifting and Phantom Clone, had also received corresponding numerical boosts.
And that wasn’t all...
"Xiaoye, swallow this Lv. 2 Phantom Clone Rune."
Xiaoye did as commanded.
As expected, the Phantom Clone skill was enhanced even further.
(Phantom Clone: Creates two Illusions of a Netherworld War Dog that inherit 65% of the main body’s Basic Attributes. Duration: 4 minutes.)

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