"The application of mental energy is far more powerful and versatile now. I'm no longer limited to piercing-spike attacks β there's much more flexibility."
"The mystic artifact abilities merged into one β probably because they share similar properties?" Su Chen pondered. As he'd anticipated, his control capacity increased by one β just enough to bond the Azure Scale Chainmail.
The last ability, however, puzzled him.
He already knew that the Mystic Scholar's professional ability varied from person to person, determined by what they experienced during the Trial of Whispers.
But the description still surprised him.
"Stolen?"
The image of the four-headed, twin-winged colossus resurfaced in his mind.
"Really an Evil God?"
He rubbed his hands together, itching to test it. A mere flicker of intent sent mental energy surging outward.
The air in front of him crackled. A faint, reddish bolt of lightning materialized from nothing, leaving a stench of ozone.
Su Chen's heart jumped. He dispersed it immediately. This ability was even more potent than expected β a few seconds of charging had consumed nearly a tenth of his total mental reserves.
"I can probably fire it once or twice at most, but the destructive force will be considerable." Su Chen marveled internally. He didn't dare test further. Instead, he turned his attention to bonding the Azure Scale Chainmail.
He selected the target. Mental energy flowed outward, gradually permeating the armor layered across his body.
An immediate sensation of unity followed β as natural as extending his own arm. He pulled his shirt aside. The scales had begun to flow, producing crisp metallic clicks, converging on a single point to form stacked defensive layers.
The Azure Scale Chainmail was, at its core, a 2nd-tier item β albeit one loaded with premium materials. Automated donning was its normal limit; this kind of targeted reinforcement was far beyond what it could achieve on its own.
But through Su Chen's mental control, it became effortless. Even mid-combat, Multi-Tasking allowed him to dynamically redirect the scales for focused defense.
"Multiple layered scales β defensive strength rivaling 3rd-tier." Su Chen realized. "And it can be further enhanced."
At the thought, cyan wind currents converged, adhering to the Azure Scale Chainmail. Ripple-like patterns bloomed across each scale as it absorbed elemental wind energy.
The azure plates deepened in hue. Faint, pale-blue luminescent veins bled through the seams, weaving across the armor's surface in a lattice of flickering light.
"Gale Bastion applied directly onto the chainmail β defensive power climbs another tier." Su Chen rapped the plating. "No wonder everyone chases top-tier professions."
He felt the magnitude of what a top-tier class delivered. The 1st-tier Mystic Artificer β a class he'd held since the beginning β was still providing massive amplification to this day.
And both of his 2nd-tier professions were on the cusp of transformation.
"Whew..." Su Chen exhaled, rubbing his temples. He'd only just advanced β his mental energy hadn't stabilized, and the chain of ability tests had drained him.
"I'll need 2nd-tier meditation potions now too. And a new meditation method. That's probably beyond what Old Sun can arrange."
Su Chen sighed and went to find Zhang Hengyu for a meal.
Zhang Hengyu looked like a wrung-out rag. The instant he saw Su Chen taking a break, barely concealed excitement flooded his eyes.
'This guy is insane. I've never met anyone this obsessive.'
......
The next day, Fatty Sun came to deliver the weekly Mist Fiend Potion allotment. Su Chen brought up Pan Yu.
Fatty Sun mused, "The Pan Yu thing? Yeah, still under investigation. Lot of people suspect the Evil God cults are behind his disappearance. The City Lord set up a special joint task force β trying to unravel whatever thread's left."
When he heard that the task force had already come to question Su Chen, Fatty Sun erupted. "Are they out of their minds? Why the hell would they investigate you?"
"Can't Qin Cheng think straight either?"
"Routine procedure, routine procedure." Su Chen found himself soothing Fatty Sun instead.
Fatty Sun cursed under his breath, swearing he'd chew Qin Cheng out the moment he got back.
"Those few on the team β they must all be pretty strong if the City Lord handpicked them." Su Chen steered the conversation casually.
"Zhou Mingguang β I've heard things about him. The City Lord values him highly. Steady, dependable. He's a high-2nd-tier Rock Sentinel, and his professional progression is well into the back half. He's got a real shot at reaching 3rd-tier." Sun Tai considered carefully.
"As for Yu Xuan β keeps a low profile, solid reputation, handles things fairly. Everyone speaks well of him. He's a high-2nd-tier Frost Adept, though his professional progress probably isn't that advanced."
"And Qin Cheng?" Sun Tai snorted. "He's only on the team because Pan Yu was under his command. Otherwise, the Supervision Department wouldn't have bothered sending him."
"I see." Su Chen filed it all away.
After seeing Fatty Sun off, he cracked open the metal case β and couldn't help but grin. "Big Bro Sun, you really are my brother."
The regulation three vials of Mist Fiend Potion had somehow become four.
These had no regular market in Nanfeng. Even the Supervision Department's internal black market priced them at five to six thousand gold apiece. Slipping him an extra one had to sting.
......
That evening β one week after the joint task force's first visit β Yu Xuan showed up again, alone.
"Surprised?"
Yu Xuan knocked and let himself in with a smile, strolling past Su Chen as if he owned the place.
Su Chen's eyes narrowed to slits. He closed the door.
"Tsk, tsk β nice digs." Yu Xuan surveyed the room. "Let's see... from a refugee eating charity meals to Deputy Division Chief of the Supervision Department's Patrol Division. What's that been β a few months?"
"This kind of life must have seemed impossible before."
Su Chen studied the man's air of absolute confidence. Not a flicker crossed his own face.
Yu Xuan had walked in through the front door. He clearly wasn't worried about possible surveillance outside.
"Didn't expect the Faceless Ghost's reach to extend this far..." Yu Xuan's expression darkened, voice turning cold. "Hand over what you took. Otherwise, the identity you've so carefully built goes up in flames."
'Faceless Ghost?'
'They don't think I'm a Black Buddha follower. They know I was disguised?'
'Going by Yu Xuan's tone, Black Buddha and Faceless Ghost are peers β both Evil Gods. So the cults fight among themselves too?'
Su Chen's surprise deepened, but he kept his silence, waiting to see what else the man would reveal.
"You've been ambitious, but there's no reason to meddle in our affairs." Yu Xuan sneered when Su Chen said nothing. "Planting yourself next to Yuan Chenyang, using us as a stepping stone to build your cover."
"Don't you think that's a bit presumptuous?"
Su Chen weighed his options and finally produced a well-worn, versatile response. "What exactly do you want?"
"Surrender the power you devoured from our Lord, return the stolen Spatial Crystal, and do us one small favor." Yu Xuan's voice dropped.
'They really think they have me cornered.' Su Chen wasn't particularly surprised by the first two demands.
"What favor?"
"Corrupt Yuan Chenyang." His tone was ice. "Zhou Xian is worthless now. You owe us a replacement piece."
"Too difficult." Su Chen shook his head.
"That's your problem. Refuse, and it's mutually assured destruction. Your Evil God cultist identity gets blown wide open. Trading my life for yours? I'd call that a bargain."
Yu Xuan's smile was serpentine. "Given that you're lying low, you're probably just a low-ranking believer β maintaining maximum cognitive independence."
"Think about the life you have now. Think carefully."
He didn't demand an immediate answer. He clapped Su Chen on the shoulder and sauntered out as if leaving his own living room.
"Honestly..." Su Chen glanced at his left shoulder, murmuring, "Path of the Hunt is still a few targets short."
The night was pitch-dark. Su Chen slipped out the window with practiced ease, produced his binoculars, and tracked the shadowy figure drifting on the wind.
He'd left a faint mental imprint on Yu Xuan β a precise application of his newly enhanced psychic capabilities.
The tracking range was limited to three or four hundred meters, but it made surveillance far more agile.
"Heading toward the Outer City again. Reporting in?" Su Chen trailed from a safe distance. Yu Xuan didn't go home β instead zigzagging through desolate backstreets until he reached a factory complex.
"The factory district..." Su Chen scanned the area. The sprawling industrial zone was still ablaze with light.
"Is he reporting? To whom? Zhou Xian? Someone else in the cult?" Questions piled up. A direct assault was out of the question.
Back to the old playbook: call in the cavalry.
Su Chen quietly contacted Fatty Sun, claiming he'd received another tip.
Old Sun was thrilled β but Su Chen was dead serious, insisting that Du Jingming lead the operation personally.
Du Jingming was one of the Supervision Department's Deputy Directors. Du Yu's father. Also a 3rd-tier professional.
A flawed 3rd-tier, admittedly β too old to fulfill all the advancement requirements, he'd gambled on a Forced Advancement and barely scraped through.
A Forced Advancement carried high failure odds. Even if successful, no professional abilities awakened, and progression permanently stalled. But he was still, by classification, a 3rd-tier professional.
Fatty Sun grew noticeably more cautious over the phone, pressing for confirmation.
Su Chen kept it vague, declining to mention that Zhou Xian might be in the vicinity β only that the intel came from an old refugee contact.
Two or three hours later, Su Chen finally spotted patrol airships descending in the distance. This time, the force deployed was considerably larger than last time.