65: Chapter 65: Points Acquired! Everyone Breakthroughs, the Torch Legion—Formed!

The flame steps dissipated.

Su Chen's figure appeared beside Liu Yuyan.

The sacred runes on her silver-white armor had dimmed completely, looking like a faded piece of old clothing.

Liu Yuyan knelt on one knee in the rubble, her Sword of Judgment propped against the ground. Her face beneath the helmet was pale to the point of translucency, with a dried trail of blood extending from her lip to her jaw.

She was trembling.

With her body completely drained, her muscles spasmed uncontrollably.

Su Chen stood before her.

His gaze behind the mask swept over every crack and dent on her armor.

Her tower shield was shattered, her holy light reserves were at zero, and her physical strength was so depleted that she couldn't even stand.

Yet, not a single person in the vehicle behind her was missing.

"Slaying an E-tier Mantis Beast independently."

Su Chen spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear against the low hum of the distant convoy's engines.

"Under the full coverage of a D-tier mental domain, raising your shield to protect others with an exhausted body."

He paused for a beat.

"You are a qualified member of the Kindling."

Liu Yuyan's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.

Her knuckles were trembling, not from exertion, but because those words had poured into her ears and burned all the way to the deepest part of her chest.

Eleven years.

She had taken over the near-bankrupt Liu Group at sixteen and had been called the "Iron Lady" for eleven years.

She had never teared up when people slammed tables and threatened her at merger negotiation tables.

She had never teared up when facing commercial warfare that caused the stock price to plummet by tens of billions.

Now, she knelt on the rubbled ground of a foreign country, covered in dust, her armor shattered, her blood dried, barely having the strength to lift her head.

She did not cry.

But she bit her lip until it bled.

"...Yes."

It was just a single word, gritted through her teeth like a nail driven into her bones.

It was not "Thank you." It was "Yes."

It was a promise, a response, and the most concise military salute a paladin could give to her guild leader.

Su Chen looked at her for two seconds.

He reached out, grabbed her forearm, and pulled her up from the ground.

Liu Yuyan's center of gravity wavered, her shoulder bumping against his arm.

She steadied herself half a second later, took half a step back, and straightened her spine once more.

Su Chen glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Retreat."

With a Space Distortion, the two figures vanished from the ruins.

—

Inside the vehicle.

Lin Xiaoman leaned against the window, watching the two figures vanish into thin air in the shadows of the ruins.

Her hands were still trembling.

It wasn't the trembling of fear from earlier. It was the aftermath of an adrenaline crash, leaving her feeling like a wrung-out towel, limp from the inside out.

The blood on her knees had dried, sticking her pants to her skin, sending a jolt of pain with the slightest tug.

The iodophor stains on the front of her hoodie had turned into dark brown, stiff crusts.

She looked around.

The vehicle full of survivors was still weeping; some knelt, while others stared blankly while holding their children.

Section Chief Han Zheng's men were outside organizing the evacuation, the static of walkie-talkies crackling one after another.

Professor Henry leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, clutching a bronze piece and a photograph, his lips tightly pursed.

Lin Xiaoman pulled her hood down to her eyebrows, curling herself into the seat.

Images were still flashing through her mind.

The boy who drew houses with mud.

The body losing its warmth, collapsed in the iodophor.

The exact same expression on everyone's faces the moment the sky tore open.

And the moment the Guild Leader raised his hand.

Effortless, two fire dragons, five seconds.

She looked down at her mud-and-blood-stained hands.

These hands had hacked through the firewalls of thirty-seven countries and reversed a state-level cyberwar in three minutes.

Today, they couldn't even save a single injured person.

Lin Xiaoman bit down on the cuff of her hoodie, her eyes still red.

Her lollipop was long gone, leaving only broken sugar crumbs and that bronze piece in her pocket.

"I'll start the ancient tree trial as soon as I get back."

Her voice was very soft, audible only to herself.

—

Deep within the ruins.

Inside the debris of a bombed building, the collapsed floor slabs formed a natural shelter.

Sunlight sliced through the gaps, drawing several bright lines on the ground.

Liu Yuyan leaned against a broken wall, panting heavily.

After her armor was retracted, her physical exhaustion doubled, leaving her unable to even lift a finger.

Su Chen leaned against the opposite wall, the system panel already expanding in his field of vision.

Its golden border shone with an eye-straining brightness.

"Points gained: +16,950. Current points: 23,000."

"Reality gained: +1,490. Current Reality: 2,500/10,000."

"Distance to LV3 upgrade: 7,500 Reality."

"Items obtained: E-tier Crystal x3, D-tier Crystal x1."

Su Chen looked at the string of numbers.

Twenty-three thousand.

Combined with the E-tier crystal he previously had in stock, he now held a total of four E-tier crystals and one D-tier crystal.

Starting from an initial one thousand points, he now possessed twenty-three thousand.

From eating instant noodles in a six-square-meter partitioned room in an urban village, to stepping on fire in midair and shattering the sky with two slashes.

The corners of his mouth beneath the mask curved up slightly.

He opened his notebook and quickly wrote down a list on a blank page.

"Tier 3 Kindling Seed (Self-use): 5,000 points + D-tier Crystal"

"Lin Xiaoman's E-tier Kindling Seed (Bestowed): 3,000 points + E-tier Crystal"

"Liu Yuyan's Tier 2 Kindling Seed (Bestowed): Must be crafted after reaching Tier 3"

"Henry Bernstein's E-tier Kindling Seed (Bestowed): 3,000 points + E-tier Crystal"

"Teleportation Array (Two-way): 5,000 points"

"European Kindling Branch: TBD"

...

The tip of his pen paused on the paper for two seconds.

Adding it all up, his twenty thousand points would be completely wiped out.

It looked like a lot, but it spent faster than running water.

But it was enough.

Su Chen closed his notebook.

"System."

"Here."

"Craft Tier 3 Kindling Seed."

The panel flickered.

"Crafting Tier 3: Fire-Bearer Kindling Seed—"

"Required Materials: D-tier Beast Crystal x1"

"Required Points: 5,000."

"Confirm crafting?"

"Prompt: After breaking through to Tier 3: Fire-Bearer, the host will obtain—"

"1. Extraordinary energy qualitative change, increasing the power of all skills by an order of magnitude."

"2. Ability to bestow Tier 2 Watcher strength upon members."

"3. Unlock the Flame Keeper's exclusive skill: Xinhuo Resonance."

Su Chen's gaze lingered on the third point for a second.

"Xinhuo Resonance? A new skill?"

He didn't rush to check the details, focusing on the main task first.

"Confirm crafting."

"Confirmed. Points deducted: 5,000. Balance: 18,000."

"D-tier Crystal consumed."

"Tier 3: Fire-Bearer Kindling Seed crafting complete."

An object appeared in his palm.

It was a size larger than the Tier 2 one.

Inside the golden-red crystal, there was no longer just a single cluster of flame,

but a swirling vortex of energy with a distinct structure.

It was like a miniature star, complete with a core, a radiation zone, and a convection zone.

Su Chen gripped it.

A gentle warmth seeped from his palm into his bones, spreading through his meridians to his entire body.

No rush.

He would use it after returning to base.

The energy impact of breaking through to Tier 3 was too great; doing it in the wilderness was inappropriate.

He put away the Kindling Seed, closed his notebook, and tucked it back into his inner pocket.

He tapped his fingers twice on the cover.

Tap, tap.

After breaking through to Tier 3—

Liu Yuyan would rise to Tier 2.

Her combat strength would double directly, and facing multiple E-tiers independently would no longer be an issue.

She would also awaken special abilities belonging to Tier 2.

How should he edit the transcendent sequence Lin Xiaoman would awaken?

After all, he had positioned her as the Kindling's intelligence network, which would evolve from "human monitoring" into an "extraordinary-grade Global Sky-Eye."

The direction of her sequence would definitely focus on programming, machinery, and modifications.

As for Henry Bernstein...

With his abilities, he was highly suited for an Auxiliary Sequence, giving the Kindling its battlefield medical core from now on.

Three people, three lines, three sequences.

The Kindling would transform from a one-man show into a true extraordinary legion.

"A new round of the ancient tree trial should begin."