Whether the other party had a change of heart or not, if they truly harbored malicious intentions, he wouldn’t mind sending them to the afterlife.
In the time it took to speak, he had already begun absorbing one Spiritual Dust Sand after another.
His Lv4 Quickening had only needed two more Spiritual Materials to level up, so it soon upgraded.
[Quickening](Lv5): Channels lightning to drive the breath of life and awaken potential, granting a 200% boost to all physical functions for 2.5 seconds. During this time, you are immune to most control effects.
This upgrade didn’t unlock any new traits, just a boost in its stats.
Next up was...
[Flying Skill](Lv5): The Spellcaster will gain the ability to fly for up to 18 minutes. During this period, they will have perfect control over all air currents and can form a Low Wind Resistance Barrier in front of them at any time.
The flight duration had significantly increased. The new trait it unlocked was essentially a bonus front-facing barrier.
It was better than nothing, but still quite underwhelming.
"I’m still short one last Spiritual Material," Su Chen said. He had one in his personal reserves, and with what was left before him, he was now just a single step away from being able to fully upgrade his Critical Strike Rune.
"Use mine for now," Yan Ruoruo suggested.
Su Chen didn’t refuse. After immediately fitting the final piece of the puzzle into place, the only thing left at Lv4 on his All Elements Rune Map was the Shadow Jumping Skill. However, Shadow Summoning filled the Dark Element slot, so it didn’t really matter.
From this point on, with his ten Elemental Runes at Lv5, he had successfully met all the conditions. He could now use a Spirit Marrow Crystal to unlock the Grand Elemental Master’s first Core Authority.
WHOOSH!
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the small tree radiating with spiritual light suddenly trembled, shedding wisps of starlight.
Its roots burrowed deeper into the soil of his consciousness. As the trunk grew taller, the branches silently extended. A new sprout emerged from a twig, its tender leaves unfurling as a vast surge of Life Energy erupted from its core.
A translucent fruit, shimmering with a halo of light and containing the might of Arcane Magic, slowly condensed at the tip of the main branch. The first Core Authority was now unlocked.
[First Authority]: Any five of your mastered Elemental Runes will automatically gain all traits and enhancements of the next level.
[Currently Bound]: None
As his most important class feature, this first step into the Authority system brought Su Chen a huge surprise and a massive boost.
It wasn’t just skipping a level, but a transgression against the Rules themselves.
With a thought, he immediately bound the Flame Burst Skill to the Authority to test its effect.
In an instant, without meeting the upgrade condition of a Fire Element Soul Core, the Rune’s structure deconstructed and reassembled layer by layer, completing its ascension in a flash.
In less than a breath’s time, he confirmed that he had obtained the complete power of a Lv8 Flame Burst.
The main improvement was a major leap for the Soul Burning trait.
(Soul Burning: Flame Burst inflicts a spiritual burning effect on the target, vaporizing half of their Rune Energy on hit and continuing to burn them. During this time, it will continuously strip away all of their buffs.)
’Not bad.’
Su Chen was quite satisfied.
When facing an overwhelming difference in power, getting hit by one of these basically meant game over. Any buffs like Power enhancements, agility boosts, healing regeneration, and even Frenzy or Quickening would be forcibly stripped away.
Of course, in most fights between squishy Mages, it would be an instant kill, so you wouldn’t even see the follow-up effects.
’I wonder if the modified Bloodthirsty Fungus can offer a surprise. At least it might let me see the lingering effects of Soul Burning. This is far crueler than a mere purification effect. It’s time to test the strength of its Life Energy.’
The upgrade conditions, however, had not changed.
It still required a Fire Element Soul Core to advance.
However, he could confirm that future upgrades would no longer use generic Spiritual Materials; they would all become specialized.
’To be honest, this parasitic tide has restricted the exploration range for everyone in the city. Most of the surrounding monsters, except for those in a few specific areas, have been wiped out. The leveling progress of the vast majority of people is bound to be affected.’
’Regardless, I can’t allow the Bloodthirsty Fungus to continue evolving.’

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