Although the Sect had been lobbying for peace, and the general populace had no desire for internecine conflict, the ultimate direction of the friction between the two cities would be decided by a select few.
Mulling this over, he and Ruoruo arrived at the unnamed slope marked with a red circle on the map.
Looking down from low in the sky, a magnificent building stood out jarringly on the barren hillside, exuding a strange, unique charm.
’It’s a little bigger than the first one I encountered.’
Su Chen sighed to himself, wondering if the hidden shop had grown over time.
Unfortunately, it was damaged. The beams and pillars on the left side of the building had broken and collapsed, and the ever-flowing luster of the Runes on its surface had dimmed in several places.
Around this architectural marvel, the trees were all snapped and broken, and the ground was scorched and churned up as if it had been plowed. Severed limbs and skeletal remains were strewn across the area.
Clearly, a brutal battle had taken place here earlier.
Though the two sides seemed to have some unspoken agreement, the hidden shop had still suffered considerable damage.
Interestingly, the combatants from both sides were gone, having seemingly vanished from one’s Perception.
"I’m giving you a buff."
Ruoruo whispered, raising the short staff in her right hand.
The tip of the staff glowed faintly as two soft lights descended like thin veils. High-level Invisibility and Optical Camouflage activated in tandem, completely concealing them within their surroundings.
The next instant, a wave of Light and Dark Particles swirled around Su Chen, and he teleported to the entrance of the hidden shop.
The moment he made mental contact to interact with the shop, he discovered it only had two items left: a Moonlight Concealing Clothing worth a steep 68 essence and a Great Life Potion that apparently no one wanted. The other twenty-odd items had been completely cleared out.
Just then, a flash of killing intent erupted from his side.
"Die!"
Behind him, a figure emerged from a rift in reality, their presence having been completely erased from his Perception until that moment.
VMMM!
She thrust out her hand.
A Supergravity Field slammed down. The immense gravity was like the sky itself collapsing, instantly cracking and depressing the ground, even bending and distorting the light.
The blow was powerful enough to crush the figure before her into a meat paste.
BANG!
Su Chen’s body exploded, but there was no splatter of blood or bone. He had completely transformed into a handful of yellow earth, dissolving into a cloud of Earth Element particles that drifted like dust.
’Something’s not right...’
The cloaked, blonde woman’s expression changed. Seeing her right hand ensnared by the drifting cloud of dust, she immediately tried to retreat back into the rift in reality.
But she was a fraction of a second too slow.
A right hand, newly condensed from Elemental Particles, landed a light pat. A searing flame erupted from her palm, instantly carbonizing and disintegrating her entire forearm.
Only then did she manage to disappear, her body now maimed.
The tables had turned in an instant.
The roles of hunter and prey were reversed.
Her failed ambush and his successful counterattack reflected the chasm between their reaction speeds and casting efficiency.
Su Chen reformed, his robes unwrinkled. He reappeared out in the open, sweeping his cold gaze over the empty woods. "If you don’t come out and save her," he said coolly, "she’s going to die."
As his words fell, the entire ruined hillside seemed to hold its breath. Withered leaves hung suspended in midair, a trace left behind as a powerful wave of Perception swept through the area.
Under the influence of his will’s Resonance, even the ashes and dead leaves seemed to stir with a flicker of life, ready to respond to his command.
Su Chen was certain she wasn’t alone.
The group lying in wait was difficult to detect, most likely because they were under the effect of Invisibility Skill Lv. 7.
The assault corps’ expedition to the main nest had been a great success precisely because the Ghost Assault Team, relying on a reality-transcending High-level Invisibility, had launched a decapitation strike without any warning, catching the Bloodthirsty Fungus completely off guard.
Although attacking would briefly reveal their forms, they could quickly and seamlessly vanish again.
The invisibility buff on Su Chen was only Lv. 6. The single-level difference was a massive chasm.
When the intelligence reports were analyzed, the public had declared it an invincible skill, establishing the initial impression that ’anything at level 7 is overpowered.’
Now, he was using himself as bait to lure them into making a move.
His Global Perception spread out like an all-encompassing net, waiting for the big fish to bite.
His enemies naturally sensed that something was amiss, but his flagrant arrogance forced their hand.
Because...
"Ugh..."
The one-armed blonde woman reappeared. The Flame Burst Soul Burning effect was still ravaging her Sea of Consciousness, forcibly canceling the reality-transcending state that was keeping her hidden.
"Help me!"
The moment she appeared and cried for help, three men who couldn’t bear to see the blonde damsel in distress burst out from rifts in reality, launching themselves at Su Chen.
’So many simps,’ Su Chen thought. ’No patience at all.’
But both sides had backup. And in a move that was not part of Su Chen’s plan, just as Ruoruo fired an accelerated Wind Split Arrow, a sniper shot suddenly rang out from the distance.
The two sides from the earlier standoff hadn’t left; they had all been lying in wait.
They were all facing the same move, and none of them had a counter.
Su Chen’s arrival had completely shattered the stalemate.
One of the female snipers who had first reported the situation was still alive. Seeing the enemy expose an opening, she pulled the trigger.
BANG!
A blossom of blood erupted as the bullet tore straight through one of the men’s arms.
The anti-materiel rifle’s bullet had enough Penetration Power to even punch through his protective barrier. If the moving target hadn’t shifted slightly, it would have been a fatal headshot.
His real bad luck, however, was that the silent, accelerated Wind Split Arrow arrived at that exact moment and blew his head clean off his shoulders.
The other two men didn’t fare much better.
They couldn’t even muster the will to attack. The moment they appeared, the clang of chains echoed from the void as dark shackles materialized and shot toward them. One of them, a muscular man, was so shocked by Su Chen’s speed and oppressed by his aura that he quickly and seamlessly retreated into a rift in reality.
The other man, who had long hair, immediately used an earth-burrowing technique to dive underground.
But...
...it was too slow.
BOOM!
Su Chen’s projected Strong Will had already permeated the ground to prevent attacks from below—a lesson learned from a previous encounter.
He’d faced enemies before who had used earth-burrowing techniques to escape, leaving him powerless to stop them.
To try that trick now, against his Lv. 8 Telekinesis with its powerful material penetration, was a complete joke.
In an instant, the long-haired man, who had just burrowed five meters underground, felt his entire body get seized by an irresistible force.
As the Weightlessness Skill triggered, a huge chunk of the ground was ripped up, and he was forcibly yanked out along with a cascade of soil and rubble.
Before he could activate a Rune, a close-range blast of Strong Will rocked his Sea of Consciousness. His head rang, and the casting of his Flashing Skill was forcibly interrupted, causing him to suffer from the backlash.
Realizing the man didn’t have a substitute doll, Su Chen didn’t hesitate. He used the Dual Vector Force Field of his Gravity Skill to grab the man’s upper and lower body and tear him in two.
The one-armed blonde woman watched her two companions die gruesome deaths. The flames burning in her Sea of Consciousness couldn’t be extinguished by a Healing Skill, and the last flicker of hope in her eyes died.
"Bastard..."
She pulled out a pistol, pressed it to her chin, and pulled the trigger.
As her consciousness faded, her eyes remained fixed on Su Chen, her gaze a mixture of venomous hatred and an indescribable fear.
VMM!
The moment blood spurted, a substitute doll in her backpack glowed faintly. Her soul, body, and all her equipment were instantly transported away, vanishing from the spot.
’This woman is ruthless.’
Su Chen didn’t pay it much mind. At least two kills were confirmed.
As for the one who had escaped into the rift, he was probably long gone, having had no choice but to warp away.
"Thanks."
Su Chen waved toward the distant hillside. From between a gap in the rocks, the cold, harsh light of a high-powered scope glinted back.
Although he hadn’t needed the fire support, it was a kind gesture, and he had to at least acknowledge it.
The next second, a female figure stood up. Her petite frame was completely encased in a gray-black combat suit, her face hidden by a tactical visor and a flexible mask.
The female sniper gave a slight nod in Su Chen’s direction in response.
In the unexpected battle a few minutes earlier, both sides had suffered casualties. Her side had lost one comrade while the enemy had lost two. Ji Xiaoyue hadn’t been willing to leave, which led to the standoff.
She hadn’t expected to run into a mysterious man before her distant comrades arrived.
Fortunately, he was on her side.
"The hidden shop only has one item left, but these two have the Rune Equipment they just bought," Su Chen said with a smile.
’The trip wasn’t a waste after all.’
One was a ’Silver Summoning Tome,’ a small codex as thick as a brick that provided two additional summoning slots, limited to summons below Lv. 7.
The other was a ’Binder’s Belt.’ This was a great find, providing three Magic Slots for Enchantment. It also had an Element-gathering Recovery property and a spell-casting acceleration effect.

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