Chapter 471: Fleeting Ascension

Earth Flame Eruption: Class A (Universal Fire Skill)

Skill Effect: Consumes 3000 points of Mental Energy and Spirit Energy to trigger an earthflame blast at a maximum radius of 100 meters around the user, unleashing scorching fire on enemies above.

Note: In special terrains, damage is boosted and chain reactions are triggered.

…

The skill’s brief explanation forced Yenir to read it several times, anxious he might have overlooked something.

After reading, his expression turned oddly grim.

“Is this thing really meant to be a Class A skill?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced at the bona fide Class A skill book in his hand and couldn’t help but be at a loss for words.

He had always thought that the Class A skills he saw at the Military Research Institute were already pretty lousy, but he hadn’t expected this newly emerged skill book to be even worse.

He’d even dared to have a little hope…

Not being a sword technique is one thing, but its power looked pitifully weak.

“Triggering the earthflame – it’s likely got a casting time, isn’t it? The explosion also appears delayed… and it sprays upward without any lock-on effect.”

“Huge cost, no special effects—the only potential perk is that bonus on certain terrains.”

“Overall rating: trash…”

He promptly tossed the skill book into his Ring and, with a sigh, didn’t bother overthinking it.

The haul from this run was bountiful enough; uncovering some worthless ones was to be expected…

If he got a sword technique that suited him perfectly next time, he’d probably start to suspect that this dungeon was tailor-made for him.

“It probably won’t fetch a good price; maybe only a fool would buy it…”

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Yenir muttered under his breath about where to find that womanizing Li Dafu, and decided to simply shove him into his space.

After ensuring nothing was missed, he took a deep breath and looked up at the Orb overhead:

“Exit the dungeon!”

“Buzz”

Accompanied by the familiar sensation of teleportation, in the next moment a familiar darkness filled his vision.

In an instant, a burst of long-suppressed Spirit Energy flared up within him.

“Ding! Level Up!”

“Current Level: Third-Stage Mid-level!”

…………….

In the dark Underground Chamber, bathed in an unbroken stream of white light, Yenir felt as if his whole body were soaked in warmth.

As the dungeon concluded, the final experience calculation coursed into his body.

After a string of system notifications, his Spirit Energy soared to Third-Stage Mid-level—nearly reaching the Advanced stage.

With such a surge of energy in one go, he felt as if his entire body might burst from the overwhelming power!

His strength skyrocketed once again! Seeing his Spirit Energy reserves double, even the typically composed Yenir couldn’t help but get a little excited.

In less than two months, he had skyrocketed to Third-Stage Mid-level.

At this rate, once he completed the promotion tasks, he’d be advancing to the Advanced stage!

With such a terrifying pace, not only within Huaguo’s history but across all of human civilization, no one could match his freakish speed!

“At this rate, he might hit Fourth Stage in just half a year!? That’s more than double the pace of his previous life…”

Slowly clenching his fists in a mix of excitement and determination, Yenir exhaled deeply. In a dark corner, he could sense Liang Lie silently watching him, visibly moved.

Clearly, even if Uncle Liang seemed indifferent—almost robotic—witnessing his growth firsthand left no room for awe.

Yenir had reached this level in just one percent of the time it took others! Such a staggering pace was nothing short of cheating!

If it weren’t for witnessing it with his own eyes, no one would have believed it!

“Uncle Liang, let’s get out of here!”

Wasting no time, after a brief adjustment to his newfound strength, Yenir decided to leave immediately.

Although Yinglong had been duped into staying in the Replica World and probably wouldn’t show up for another two or three days, caution was paramount, so he avoided any conflict.

“Whoosh! Bang!”

Almost as soon as Yenir finished speaking, the two of them burst into maximum speed and dashed out of the Building in an instant.

In the darkness, only faint spatial ripples testified to someone’s departure.

………………..

“What a pity—if that Otherworldly Ghost Monarch hadn’t already clashed with Yinglong and was still in his full form…”

“Maybe I could hit Third-Stage Advanced, or even reach the Peak, in one go!”

“Every two levels gained yields rewards equivalent to killing a horde of mutants!”

High above, at thousands of meters, Yenir and Liang Lie streaked across the night sky like shooting stars.

While speeding through the air, a trace of regret flashed in Yenir’s eyes.

But on second thought, unless the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch was badly injured—and unless he activated Divine Rage on the spot—there was really no way to take him down.

If his opponent were truly Fourth Stage… could he one-shot him?

Not so sure.

Yenir shook his head slightly, uncertain whether his summoned Fourth-Stage Phantom was truly that fearsome.

That descending pillar of light was so swift—it appeared to one-shot the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch, yet Yenir wasn’t convinced of its true ultimate power.

Fourth Stage… it’s so mysterious…

Especially since Yenir noticed that although Yinglong was awestruck by that sword’s power, he didn’t seem particularly fearful of Li Dafu afterward.

Suppressing his anger, he was more concerned about Li Dafu’s enigmatic NPC status.

That was rather intriguing.

“Yinglong definitely has a hidden trump card… that man’s true combat power is far from what I’ve witnessed.”

“An established Peak Third-Stage, yet he carries this strange lack of mental power. There’s no way he has no special abilities!”

“This guy managed to escape alive from the full-form Otherworldly Ghost Monarch in his past life—and even snagged a Legendary Suit…”

“If he was merely possessed, that would be one thing, but if not… it’s downright terrifying.”

While on the move, with nothing pressing, Yenir mulled over this dungeon run and organized his thoughts.

Yet, as he glanced at the final messages from Blood Nightingale on his Communication Stone, he fell silent.

Since he one-shot the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch and took his equipment, he hadn’t contacted Blood Nightingale.

Back then, all he could think about was escaping; he didn’t want to stick around in the dungeon for even a second.

Strictly speaking, Blood Nightingale is probably in a bit of trouble over there.

Guilt? Or perhaps unease?

Yenir asked himself and found he didn’t feel that way.

It had always been a mutually exploitative relationship—even when Blood Nightingale was coerced by him and later contemplated killing Yinglong, she never realized that Yenir never intended to kill him.

And any notion of the Military taking action was out of the question.

“If all goes as expected, after Yinglong takes down a hundred Otherworldly Ghosts, he’ll eventually collapse, realizing he’s wasted his time…”

“But I arranged for Li Dafu to appear, which effectively cleared her of any suspicion.”

“After all, they did receive orders, and later when Li Dafu swindled the goods, it was still Yinglong’s subordinate who ‘provided the strategy’.”

A vague surge of irritation bubbled up within him.

After running through the subsequent scenarios, Yenir decided not to dwell on the matter any further.

That crazy woman was exceptionally troublesome; her objective had already been met, and Blood Nightingale no longer held much value for him.

Is his cold disregard unforgivable? No—the two of them never really had any connection. After all, the first time he met Blood Nightingale, he nearly died at her hands.

“Forget about it…”

“Even if I eventually plan to make moves in the Far Frontier and need to take down Yinglong, that’s a matter for later.”

“Right now, our top priority is returning to the Capital!”

After clearing his thoughts, Yenir accelerated once again, heading straight for the Bloodshadow Safe Zone without hesitation.

If outsiders were to learn of all this, they might lament his cold-heartedness. But for Yenir, he had far too much to do for such trivial matters to affect him.

After all…

There was no room for women in his heart…

Drawing his sword, he embodied pure divinity!