To test his theory, he dragged over the corpse of a giant frog. After standing on a stone platform by the water’s edge, he channeled his strength and vital energy, hurling it as far as he could toward the river’s surface.
SPLASH!
The corpse smashed heavily into the water, and blood quickly began to spread.
In an instant, the calm river surface exploded into chaos.
Dozens of Cannibal Fish burst forth from the murky depths, scrambling over each other to tear at the frog’s corpse. Water and blood splashed everywhere in a brutal, horrifying scene.
’Just as I thought.’
Su Chen smiled faintly. He pointed his Thunder Staff directly at the center of the river with his right hand. As the tip of the staff hummed, free-floating electrical charges in the low-hanging air rapidly gathered above the river’s center.
A breath later.
A blinding ball of electricity transformed into a pillar of lightning and came crashing down.
BOOM!!
The lightning strike landed precisely in the middle of the school of fish. A pillar of water erupted from the river’s surface as arcs of electricity spread out madly like a spider’s web.
Over thirty Cannibal Fish were instantly paralyzed, floating to the surface belly-up. Their bodies twitched violently in the lingering current.
This round of electro-fishing was incredibly satisfying.
However, only three Water Crystals slowly drifted out from the fish corpses, bobbing gently on the river’s surface.
Xiaoye was about to send its Phantom Clone wading into the river to retrieve them, but Su Chen stopped it.
"Just wait."
As a fishing enthusiast, Su Chen was extremely patient. The crystals on the water had become bait, and the Thunder Staff in his hands was undoubtedly a fishing rod, quietly waiting for a big fish to take the hook.
In less than a minute.
The water in the middle of the river suddenly swelled. A dark green anaconda raised its head, opened its mouth, and sucked in one of the crystals.
Seizing the opportunity, he raised the Thunder Staff once more.
The electrical charges in the air surged and gathered again. After a brief buildup, a second pillar of lightning split the sky and fell.
BOOM!
The lightning grazed the anaconda’s side as it struck the water, tearing its flesh and drawing a great deal of blood.
However, in just an instant, the edges of the wound began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
’A pity.’
Su Chen’s gaze hardened. The anaconda before him had shifted its vital spot—its "seventh inch"—out of the way of the strike. It had relied on its powerful resilience to tough out the paralyzing effect.
’The downside of this Thunder Rune is that the skill’s wind-up is a bit long, giving the opponent time to react.’
Enraged, the anaconda whipped its tail. Murderous intent surged in its serpentine eyes as it rapidly swam toward the human on the bank, hugging the water’s surface.
In response, Su Chen stood as still as a mountain, showing no sign of retreat. In fact, his eyes gleamed with eager anticipation.
At his signal, Xiaoye, who was beside him, had already entered its Shadow Shifting state.
The moment the great snake charged ashore...
"Bring it on!"
The lightning shield swirling around him suddenly disintegrated. The immense, accumulated lightning energy transformed into a circular thunderstorm that exploded outward from his body.
Instantly, the snake’s body, caught in the point-blank thunderous explosion, was nearly blown apart inch by inch. Scales shattered mercilessly, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and great plumes of green smoke rose from its body.
Su Chen stood amidst the thunder and smoke, the corner of his clothes slightly sullied. To his surprise, even in such a mangled state, the anaconda’s life force was not extinguished. Its listless condition gradually improved as its ravaged flesh began to regenerate.
’It’s surprisingly resilient.’
Unhurriedly, Su Chen took a smooth stone from his pocket. As flames rose in his palm, he perfectly infused it with the power of his brand-new Flame Burst.
A crimson-gold Fireball immediately shot from his hand. With a burst of strength, it let out a sharp whistle as it tore through the air, instantly smashing into the snake’s battered "seventh inch."
He was now landing the blow that had been dodged earlier.
BOOM!
A powerful wave of flame erupted. Under the terrifying disintegrating power, a several-meter-long section of the anaconda’s core was vaporized, leaving not even ash behind.
Perhaps the Soul Burning trait had instantly drained the last dregs of the healing Rune’s Energy Bar.
The already mangled snake head breathed its last. Its life force was completely snuffed out, and all signs of Recovery vanished.
The immense power of the blast even carved out a huge, scorched crater and kicked up a massive cloud of dust.
’The power’s gone up another level.’
Su Chen’s "firepower deficiency phobia" was somewhat alleviated.
If the casting speed of his Flame Burst Rune hadn’t increased significantly after its level-up, he would have been worried about a terrifying backlash from having his Magic interrupted.
At the same time, as its power increased, he worried that his usual habit of throwing it for a headshot might also annihilate the valuable runes and crystals contained within.
’That’s something I’ll have to pay attention to.’
’Large monsters have high defense and thick health bars, plus specific elemental shields to help them, so I don’t need to worry too much. For weaker ones, though, I might need to adjust my energy output and where I aim.’
After Su Chen’s brief moment of thought, several clusters of light appeared above the mangled snake head.
One Lv3 healing Rune.
One portion of Spiritual Dust Sand.
One Water Crystal and one Wood Crystal.
"Alright, I can craft another healing ring."
Su Chen had a Lv1 healing Rune in his bag, which was now instantly obsolete.
After absorbing the two crystals, he also put the Spiritual Dust Sand into his bag.
According to his current Rune upgrade progress, his Jingzhe Rune was just two Thunder Crystals away from Lv4; he could already start planning for the upgrade.
The roar of the Flame Burst just now had shaken the water’s surface, pushing the remaining Water Crystals on the water far away.
Su Chen didn’t feel it was a pity. After all, the investment had paid off handsomely.
After such a good start, he naturally didn’t want to waste this rare opportunity for steady gains.
Su Chen took the Wind Blade War Axe from his hiking bag and deftly carved meat from the snake’s remains. Some of the chunks were already thoroughly cooked and reddish from the aftermath of the Flame Burst.
Seeing this, he went ahead and fed a few pieces of snake meat to Xiaoye.
Once the water’s surface had completely calmed and the ripples disappeared, Su Chen picked up another piece of snake meat and threw it far into the center of the river.
A dozen or so seconds after it hit the water, another school of Cannibal Fish swarmed over, drawn by the scent of blood. As their frenzied tearing and fighting churned the water, a Thunder Strike came crashing down onto the surface.
For the next two hours, Su Chen basically repeated the process of "bombing" fish. When he noticed the school of Cannibal Fish shrinking, he would move to a different spot and repeat the tactic.
The saying that a fish’s memory lasts only seven seconds might be wrong, but these truly only remembered food, not pain.
One school had just been struck by lightning and turned into floating corpses, yet the next would swarm in as soon as they smelled blood.
On the other hand, the anacondas lurking deep in the riverbed mud, after constantly feeling the electrical ripples on the surface, completely suppressed their auras or simply left this stretch of water altogether.
Su Chen didn’t mind. Since the bait wasn’t attracting any big fish, he simply had the Netherworld War Dog clone wade into the river. With a flurry of doggy-paddling, it thrashed about to retrieve the Water Crystals that had dropped from the fish corpses.
Through this series of mechanical operations, he harvested a total of 21 Water Crystals.
He stopped not only because the number of Cannibal Fish had drastically decreased, but also because of the weather.
At this moment, the sky had suddenly darkened.
The wind began to rise, whistling past the cliff faces. From the high gorges on both banks, the cries of apes echoed back and forth.
Su Chen looked up at the sky and could see dark clouds slowly drifting in from the distance.
’I should head back early.’
Once a sudden downpour started, his clothes would get soaked and his body temperature would drop rapidly. Hypothermia had killed countless experienced hikers.
Although Su Chen’s Physique was gradually surpassing that of an ordinary person, he wasn’t about to gamble with his life.
Just then, at that very moment, he felt a wriggling sensation from the family heirloom Jade Pendant around his neck.
Su Chen didn’t slow down, his speed already blistering under the effect of Wind Gauze Protection, but the Jade Pendant acted first.
A primitive, ancient character separated from the jade and instantly sank into his chest.
In that instant, he felt the blood surge through his body like a hot tide. Each beat of his heart was like a furnace’s bellows, pumping a searing source of energy to his limbs. A burst of new strength made him accelerate uncontrollably.
’My vitality has increased, and the explosive power of my muscle fibers has significantly strengthened.’
’Power +1!’
Stats: Power 15 / Physique 17 / Agility 13 / Intelligence 12 / Perception 11.
「A few minutes later」
Su Chen returned to the Bear Cave.
The remains of the giant bear in front of the entrance had been gnawed on by some unknown monster, but the inside of the cave was just as he had left it. He first cast a lightning shield on himself before slowly approaching the strange purple flower.
After confirming it wasn’t hostile, Su Chen cautiously took out the white jade "peace buckle" and brought it close.
Instantly, an irresistible suction force emerged. The electrical current swirling around the strange purple flower was continuously siphoned away, and the Thunder Crystals that had formed on its petals began to flake off one by one.
This absorption took far longer than any previous one.
Once even the thunderous liquid within the purple flower’s stem was drained and absorbed, the entire plant’s life came to an end. It withered and turned into a handful of grayish-purple dust.
’I wonder how many stats this will give me?’
Su Chen was full of anticipation. The conversion of Thunder Element energy probably corresponded to the Agility stat. This strange purple flower contained significantly more energy than the Grass and Wood Crystal Cluster, so it might grant more than just one point.

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