"It’s finally happening."
Su Chen’s figure appeared on the rooftop of the campsite’s third floor.
The wind cut like a knife and snowflakes danced in the air. The temperature was plummeting toward thirty degrees below zero. Xiaolin took to the sky, its Frost Radiance Feathers tracing a silver arc through the curtain of snow as it silently patrolled the entire campsite and the surrounding forest.
His sigh, however, was for the final elemental feedback from the family heirloom Jade Pendant on his chest.
In an instant.
He felt as if the blood vessels throughout his body were expanding to accommodate the surging, torrential flow of his blood.
His heart contracted sharply before beginning to beat with a stronger, more efficient rhythm.
Each pump felt like a furnace erupting, pouring scorching Life Force into his every limb and fiber.
The rush of power was so violent that his blood vessel walls hummed under the immense pressure, and his fascia tensed like bowstrings, threatening to snap at any moment. But at that critical point, a warm and gentle stream of Life Energy surged forth.
The two forces combined, bringing about a transformation.
The frenzied power that had been on the verge of tearing out of his body was brought firmly under control.
’Power +8, Agility +2, Physique +4’!
Stats: Power 26 / Physique 34 / Agility 20 / Intelligence 23 / Perception 23
Body Trait: Vitality Burst
"I didn’t unlock a new body trait. It’s a bit worse than the Jade Lingzhi, which had Spiritual Sense, but the stat boosts are generous."
Su Chen simply clenched his fist and could feel a surge of immense power gushing forth.
Unlike the ordinary human method of building muscle through physical training, his strength increase came from the transformation of his muscle fibers and a body full of vigorous blood-qi.
He twisted at his waist and hips, throwing a punch forward. The compressed air let out a boom, and the force of the blow scattered the snowflakes flying toward him.
"The theoretical limit for human Power is about 15 points. I’m currently 11 points over that."
It was still not enough.
Although it felt like he could casually throw a purely physical punch with over a thousand kilograms of force, and a full-power strike could register over 2.5 tons on a strength tester.
It still wasn’t enough.
Compared to his memory of the sheer power behind a giant bear’s swipe, he still lacked that same overwhelming force.
Of course, when imbued with Flame Burst, a thunderous strike, Holy Radiance, or the waves of Destruction, the lethality was another matter entirely—the tables were completely turned.
"Don’t make me wait too long tomorrow."
Su Chen was speaking to the Bloodthirsty Fungus.
Only one such successfully converted Heavenly and Earthly Treasure remained. After Xiaolin flew back and confirmed the surrounding area was peaceful, he leaped unimpeded from the third floor back down to the first.
The previous transformation had made him break out in a sweat, but the heat from his blood had evaporated it completely when the cold air hit.
Before entering the RV, Su Chen also had the Jade Pendant absorb the other gold-foil crystal he had placed in the workshop’s side compartment.
He didn’t delay.
Su Chen entered the RV and went straight to take a shower.
When he came out wearing only a bath towel, Yan Ruoruo had already compiled a complete list of the fourth batch of Rune Formulas. Perhaps because the Rune Casters in the official summaries were gradually narrowing their focus, this fourth batch only contained one hundred formulas.
In total, 350 Rune Formulas had been made public so far.
Considering the diminishing returns and ignoring the Ice Element Runes, it might take more than ten days to release the remaining Rune Formulas.
It was half-past nine at night. The frosty star trail had already passed over Dongfu City, its faint blue halo cascading down like a waterfall. A blizzard of wind and frost rained down. The forest bore the brunt of it, and the towering ancient trees were gradually covered in a thick layer of ice.
The low-lying shrubs were frozen solid, becoming sculptures of glazed glass.
The city was not spared. The exterior walls of high-rises were coated in sharp ridges of frost, and ice flowers grew wildly across windowpanes, spreading like spiderwebs.
That night, humanity was spared the pursuit of the Bloodthirsty Fungus, only to suffer the ordeal of extreme cold.
Affected by the vast fluctuations of the ice Element, radio communications became intermittent. With Cyan Dragon Ridge also blocking signals, the isolated campsite had become a complete information blackout zone.
Inside the RV, which remained as warm as spring, Yan Ruoruo was already lying on the large bed, a newly added thick cotton quilt hiding the curves of her figure.
"You can play on the computer to kill some time."
Su Chen didn’t look at her, continuing to browse the Rune list while sitting on the sofa.
After a moment of silence, the cold and expressionless girl closed her eyes and went to sleep.
His calm and efficient personality meant he was not one to be consumed by desire.
This led to a highly debatable question.
A question that the general public was likely curious about.
’Should athletes abstain from sex before a major competition?’
There were various scientific opinions on the matter. Those who supported abstinence believed it depleted hormones like testosterone, while those against it argued that as long as one didn’t overindulge, it could help relieve stress.
Obviously, the latter school of thought was more popular among Olympic athletes; otherwise, they wouldn’t provide over one hundred thousand condoms at every Games.
As for Su Chen, he wasn’t prudish about sex and naturally leaned toward the latter view.
’Under the pressure of the apocalypse, it’s not like my psyche hasn’t developed a dark side. If I were to completely cast off my moral shackles, my leveling speed would be unprecedentedly fast.’
’A contingency plan has even surfaced in the back of my mind: if I really can’t face the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s complete human-beast chimera form, should I go to a border town’s black market and just start killing indiscriminately, without trial, to gather more Spiritual Materials?’
’This line of thinking is very unhealthy. Once I start down that path, I’ll inevitably stray further and further, going from order to total chaos and heading straight for a Homelander mentality.’
’Women... perhaps they’re just a way for me to cope in the apocalypse. The lack of any emotional attachment might be a major reason I accepted Yan Ruoruo.’
It wasn’t until ten o’clock, after recalling Xiaoye from its patrol on the perimeter, that Su Chen finally returned to bed.

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