Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination
The 26th floor manifested as a Magical Guide Armor workshop.
Tiny sparks of Magic Power drifted through the air of this highly geometric crystal workshop. The surrounding walls were composed of Magic Guide Crystal Stones with shape-memory properties. Upon sensing the presence of the living, they would evolve chains and spikes in real time to attack.
After a devastating battle, a dead silence fell over the center of the workshop.
The core of the last Mechanical Lord had been pierced by the Silent Extinction Sword.
Su Chen stood on the cracked crystal floor, his expression indifferent. In his vision, the Mechanical Armor’s complex Magic Guide Circuits were simplified into countless fragile weak points.
As his Super-Limited Premonition Technique activated, a terrifying power surged from within him.
HUM!
Its core logic severed, the massive metal shell lost all support and disintegrated as neatly as a pile of building blocks.
“I’ll stop here.”
Su Chen had continuously used a high-intensity, three-in-one woven Rune. Halfway through, responding to the changing situation, he even had to rely on the Time Hourglass to reset his condition once.
If he continued to the next floor, the difficulty would increase dramatically, inevitably putting more strain on his body. He might even have to use the hourglass to reverse his condition right at the start.
This run was just to secure first place.
‘This is enough. Finalize the run.’
HUM!
A stream of information made of Runes flowed before him.
[You have cleared the 26th floor of the Trial Tower. Time: 15 minutes, 41 seconds.]
At the same time,
A golden ray of light was the first to descend from the sky, revealing a fist-sized core component that pulsed with a deep blue light.
Su Chen reached out and took it. It wasn’t a cold mechanical part; its surface had a translucent, glass-like texture. Using his Perception, he could feel a pulse of life within it.
As his consciousness connected with it, a stream of information flowed into his mind.
[Demon Spirit Core · Mimic Core] (Unbound)
Origin: Inherited from the Mechanical Lord’s processing core.
Properties: Possesses extremely strong ‘Material Mimicry’ and ‘Magic Guide Compatibility’ abilities.
(Note: As the ultimate product of a Mechanical Armor workshop, it possesses powerful parasitic and modification instincts. It can drive its vessel to change its local physical form and internal functions in real-time, according to the host’s needs.)
‘A Demon Spirit?’
Su Chen hadn’t expected an item like this to drop.
‘It seems Unit 13 can use this.’
He pondered for a moment and came up with the best use for it right now: turning his RV into a Magical Guide Armor.
That would be a huge benefit for his future travels.
Of course.
After a simple attempt, Su Chen successfully formed a Soul Contract with the Demon Spirit Core. Once the detailed information was revealed, he understood that the item had limitless growth potential.
Even if the object it inhabited was completely ordinary, it could be upgraded and transformed by being fed various mineral crystals, Rune Essence, and even Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.
‘As expected of a gold-quality reward.’
This meant Unit 13 could continuously upgrade and evolve, achieving limitless growth.
In addition, three secondary rewards descended: a special Rune called ‘Soul Pocket’, a Gold Element Great Soul Crystal, and a Six-Star Hidden Level class change certificate.
Interestingly, the class change certificate was for the Six-Star Golden Radiance Ruler.
‘This class change requires meeting multiple conditions.’
Su Chen mused that class change certificates for the same class also came in different tiers. If it were a gold-quality reward, entering the inheritance Sanctuary would automatically fulfill any of his missing requirements.
After all, when he’d changed his class to Master of All Things, the Soul Sublimation requirement had been fulfilled for him in the same way.
This Six-Star class change certificate before him was undoubtedly much more troublesome.
But its value was also extraordinary.
Soon, his figure was teleported away.
The Oran Trial Tower’s leaderboard was updated.
The names at the top of the list were pushed down, while the name “Su Chen”—accompanied by the blood-red suffix for “Floor 26, Nightmare Difficulty” and the class “Master of All Things”—was instantly locked into first place.
“Nightmare... Floor 26?”
From the silent crowd, someone let out a strained cry of disbelief.
“Fuck!”
Immediately, the suppressed atmosphere erupted like a boulder dropped into boiling oil.
“Look at his time... he’s a few seconds faster than the person in second place, yet he cleared three more floors!”
This last point was especially important.
Feng Jialun, who had been feeling complacent while discussing strategies for the 23rd floor with others, felt his composure begin to crack.
To clear the 23rd floor, he had consumed two Divine Medicines, one of which was an Empowerment Potion. The cost had been anything but light.
In his opinion, the difficulty of that floor alone was already much higher than the 22nd.
As for floors 24 through 26, he imagined they were impossibly difficult.
“The Master of All Things class really has an advantage,” Feng Jialun had to admit, feeling defeated.
Meanwhile, a sense of unease rippled through Oran City’s Rune Core hub. Not only were the top three spots on the leaderboard dominated by people from East Float, but another Eastern name had also appeared in the top ten.
Clearly, they were all working together, silently grinding their way up the leaderboard.
This phenomenon was both frustrating and humiliating for the locals.
But they had to endure it.
“I guess it’s good news in a way,” an armed guard said reassuringly. “At least those disgusting capitalists can’t get their hands on the good rewards. Besides, there are still two days until the final tally. If we all work hard, we can still fight for a spot in the top ten, or even first place.”
The people from East Float hadn’t been completely ruthless; they had left a two-day window.
But the question was, could they really pull off a last-minute victory in such a short time?
Looking at the stats of the person in first, who was so far ahead, some of them couldn’t help but sigh.
Meanwhile, Su Chen waited a short while for his companions to gather before heading back from the central hub.
The garrison stationed outside the city had also begun to withdraw most of its troops in the early morning. With the authority in Oran City smoothly handed over, there was no longer any need for Su Chen’s large contingent to remain stationed there.

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