「Eight minutes later.」
Su Chen gave the 150 Rune Formulas a quick scan, discovering that aside from ’Summoning Ice Bird,’ none of the Elemental Element Rune Formulas he possessed were a secret.
Anyone hoping to leverage this small information gap for a personal advantage was undoubtedly engaging in wishful thinking.
The government would announce all one thousand Rune Formulas sooner or later.
For an ordinary person to gain an edge, it would come down to how they built their own rune system and the profession-based Authority they ultimately acquired.
In fact, Su Chen had no immediate plans to absorb a new Rune.
His current focus had shifted to the small spiritual tree in his Sea of Consciousness. He wanted to let it continue growing, sprout new branches, and bear its next fruit, which would unlock his next class trait—or even a Core Authority.
As the latest government intelligence showed...
An Authority could be seen as the manifestation of a key talent or a core trait.
A Grand Elemental Master’s first Core Authority allowed five Elemental Element Runes to gain all the effects of the next level.
For instance, once he unlocked his first Authority, his own Lv. 6 Flame Burst would ignore all advancement requirements and immediately gain all the new traits and enhancements of a Lv. 7 Flame Burst.
Similarly, when Flame Burst was upgraded to Lv. 7, it would instantly transcend the level cap and function as a Lv. 8 Rune.
And this didn’t apply to just one Rune, but five Runes that would be upgraded simultaneously.
However, to unlock his first Core Authority, Su Chen needed to raise all ten of his Elemental Runes to at least Lv. 5.
Currently, his Water Mirror Refraction, Jingzhe, Flying Skill, Critical Strike, and Healing Skill were all at Lv. 4.
After meeting all the requirements, he only needed to offer a single Spirit Marrow Crystal to unlock his first Core Authority. The cost-effectiveness was simply perfect.
Thus, Su Chen truly had no intention of absorbing new Runes for now. At most, if he came across a suitable one, he might use it to craft a new rune weapon.
"Of all the profession-based Authorities the government has revealed so far, the Five Elements Warlock disclosed yesterday is the highest-rated, but it’s only Three-Star," Yu Ziyuan said. "Considering the personal Elemental affinity requirements, I doubt many people will be able to follow that path.
There’s another important piece of intel the broadcast mentioned: a person’s profession-based Authority won’t drop upon death."
Su Chen grew pensive. ’It’s probably because it’s deeply bound to the soul. The spiritual tree in the Sea of Consciousness must wither and die along with the physical body.’
The government’s special broadcast was clearly intended to discourage any unscrupulous individuals from trying to take a shortcut.
Gathering the required Runes was too much trouble, and with the restrictions of Elemental affinity, it wasn’t easy to just copy someone else’s build. So, why not take a more direct approach and see if a profession-based Authority could be looted from a Professional?
But clearly, that wasn’t possible.
Among the Two-Star professions, there was also an interesting one.
For example, the ’Summoning Warlock’ only required any three Lv. 4 Summoning Element Runes to meet the conditions for the class change.
This sparked a sudden thought in Su Chen’s mind. ’Among the newly revealed Dark Element Runes, including the ones from before, there are already Skeleton Soldier, Ghoul, and Corpse Witch in the Summoning Element. I wonder if you could combine those three to create a Necromancer class.’
He didn’t dwell on the thought.
"Let’s eat first."
Seeing that the charcoal-grilled beef skewers and chicken wings were already piled high on two large platters, Su Chen simply called for everyone to stop what they were doing and come eat.
「After the meal, the time for departure had come.」
Despite the sweltering midday heat, they had to cross Cyan Dragon Ridge while the Parasite Bodies were less active.
Yan Ruoruo said, "I’ll stay here and wait."
Xue Yao pursed her lips and gave Yan Ruoruo a surprised glance.
Many of the people nearby subconsciously glanced at Su Chen, the flicker of gossip in their eyes unconcealed. They clearly had opinions, but they were all adults. Intimidated by his imposing presence, none of them dared to make a scene.
On second thought, her decision wasn’t hard to understand. Yan Ruoruo had already obtained a hidden class, so there was no need for her to travel to the Inheritance Sanctuary. By staying, she would also save rations on the round trip, which was perfectly reasonable.
It was just that, under the circumstances, her being the only one staying behind with Su Chen would inevitably lead to speculation.
During this brief interlude, Su Chen walked up to Yan Ziqian and handed him several bottles containing Runes.
"See if there are any useful items or resources in the Rune Store for camp construction or team organization. While you’re at it, buy six Decomposition Stones for me. Just go ahead and purchase them directly."
’He’s a smart guy; I can just let him handle it.’
The basic Decomposition Stone was a one-time-use consumable and the newest item available in the Rune Store.
When used, it could break a Rune down into its constituent components. At most, it could break a Lv. 4 Rune down into multiple lower-level Runes and some Spiritual Dust Sand.
They cost 1 Essence each.
They could also be purchased in bulk.
"Understood," Yan Ziqian said, accepting the task.
Just before she was about to leave, Xue Yao walked over to him.
Perhaps this goodbye would be their last.
She paid no mind to the gazes around them and stepped forward, giving Su Chen a brief, light hug. Her cheek almost brushed his shoulder, but she held the embrace for only an instant before quickly taking half a step back.
She lowered her gaze and said softly, "My family has a resort hotel project in Dongfu City. My aunt is there, so that’s where I’ll be going."
Finally, Xue Yao suppressed the turmoil in her heart, looked up at him, and said, "May good fortune always be with you."
Hearing her words, Su Chen’s expression flickered, and he felt an inward jolt. ’It seems my ex-girlfriend consulted my sister when she had the ring engraved.’
"Take care of yourself," Su Chen said solemnly.
Xue Yao nodded. Then she turned and walked away, her steps firm, as if she had left all the tenderness in her heart behind in that embrace.
「Twenty minutes later.」
The large party was making its way up the mountainside of Cyan Dragon Ridge when three dark figures suddenly circled down from the sky. Before anyone in the group could even nock an arrow...
An incredible scene unfolded before their eyes.
"Look!"
Everyone gasped. They saw an Ice Bird, its body gleaming like ice crystals, streak across the sky. Its wings trailed a frosty tail of light, and it moved so fast it looked like a streak of ice-blue light.
"That’s not right! How can there be an Ice Bird in the Earth Realm!"
"Wait, I think it’s helping us."
A Rapid Freeze Ray shot across the sky. A massive eagle with a wingspan of over ten meters was frozen solid in an instant, plummeting to the ground and shattering upon impact.
The ray flashed again, and the second eagle was killed. Before the last one could even flap its wings to escape, the Ice Bird swooped in and tore it into three pieces with its sharp talons.
In a matter of moments, all three vicious birds had been killed.
The Ice Bird hovered for a moment, glancing at the figures on the mountainside before flapping its wings and descending, heading straight for the camping supply store.
The very building they had just left.
The answer was self-evident: this was Su Chen’s Summoned Pet.

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