Su Chen was genuinely a bit scared this time. His panel would act up from time to time, and he couldn't find any pattern to it at all.
Sometimes, he would give it his all, his mind a whirlwind of emotions, yet the professions on his panel wouldn't react in the slightest.
But other times, a single, random thought was all it took for the panel to respond.
'Last time, the Rope Master tried to challenge its superior and got counter-killed instantly.'
'If the Warrior gets counter-killed this time, will the profession even exist anymore?'
[The Gale Walker is bewildered by the sudden ambush. Humiliated and enraged, it immediately counterattacks. The Warrior is outmatched, but inspired by its host's expectations, it unleashes a furious burst of power. The Gale Walker is consumed, unwilling to accept defeat.]
'Attaboy, Warrior! You didn't let me down!'
The panel's message made Su Chen breathe a sigh of relief, but he immediately fixed his eyes on the final outcome, his spirits high.
[Warrior has devoured Gale Walker, undergoing the ultimate sublimation to evolve into the Tier One Top-level Profession—Sky Splitter Warrior. It now possesses the Professional Traits of both Warrior and Gale Walker. Please complete the remaining profession requirements as soon as possible to unlock more Professional Abilities.]
'A Tier One Top-level Profession!?'
Su Chen's eyes lit up. 'Good Warrior, my man!'
'You didn't let me down!'
He didn't know if the profession would have vanished had the Warrior been counter-killed, but this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
All he had to do was fulfill the remaining conditions to reap the rewards. It would save him a massive amount of time.
However, before Su Chen could get a good look at the remaining conditions, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his body.
"Fuck, this is bad!"
The agony he'd felt when becoming a Warrior was still fresh in his memory. While this wasn't as intense, its onset was far more abrupt.
The pain was concentrated in his legs. It felt as if his major tendons were being forcibly stretched, and his muscles began to twitch uncontrollably.
Not only that, but information also began flooding his mind—the profession requirements for the Sky Splitter Warrior.
The pain made it hard to support his own weight. He swayed and began to topple over, his arms flailing.
"What's wrong with you?"
Suddenly, someone grabbed his left hand. It was Bai Fengxi.
He instinctively gripped her hand back, using the leverage to pull himself up. He staggered, and his right hand clamped down on her shoulder for support. He'd barely managed to stay on his feet.
Bai Fengxi eyed him with suspicion. She had noticed just a moment ago how the color of his face had changed rapidly, finally turning pale as he nearly collapsed for no apparent reason.
"I'm fine... my... my leg... it's cramping..." Su Chen said through gritted teeth, struggling to stay calm. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and his forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
'A leg cramp?'
Bai Fengxi's eyes shifted, her gaze falling on the hand he had clamped onto her shoulder. The veins on it were throbbing.
Her brow suddenly furrowed. 'Wait, my shoulder really hurts!'
"What's wrong with him?" Instructor Zheng asked, surprised as he noticed the two of them.
Bai Fengxi was known for being cool and aloof, rarely speaking more than a few words to anyone. 'Why is she so close to this guy?'
"He has a leg cramp," Bai Fengxi said, her expression tight.
"A cramp?" Instructor Zheng was baffled for a moment. The other students exchanged glances, and one couldn't help but pipe up, "From just a few stretches?"
"His conditioning must be terrible."
Instructor Zheng was a little speechless, but fulfilling his duty as a teacher, he asked, "Should I take a look?"
"That won't be necessary." Before Su Chen could speak, Bai Fengxi refused on his behalf. Her expression was strained; the pain was getting worse.
"All right, then..." Instructor Zheng frowned but didn't press the issue, turning instead to give the others some last-minute instructions.
The training session was almost over. Panting, the students left in small groups, still discussing tips they'd picked up from the workout.
CLICK CLACK!
As the main door opened, the first students to leave stopped in their tracks. A figure was standing outside. One of them greeted him with an odd expression, "Senior Zhou..."
Zhou Zhong replied with a warm smile, asking, "Where's Fengxi?"
"Uh..." The students exchanged glances and answered vaguely, "She's... in the back..."
Zhou Zhong keenly sensed something was amiss. The students had already parted to form a path, and he immediately saw Bai Fengxi and Su Chen standing extremely close to one another.
Su Chen stood just behind and to the side of Bai Fengxi, his right hand on her shoulder, their bodies nearly touching.
!!
Zhou Zhong's expression froze. Bai Fengxi had always kept her distance from him; he found it difficult to even get within a meter of her.
But this guy...
"Um, I think Su Chen has a cramp..." someone with a good impression of the senior whispered a reminder.
"A cramp..." Zhou Zhong sneered to himself. He strode into the room and said placidly, "Let me he—"
"Get out!" Bai Fengxi's voice was cold as ice, her shoulder trembling slightly under Su Chen's hand.
The searing pain in her shoulder made it impossible to maintain her composure.
Zhou Zhong froze on the spot. The students who hadn't left yet swallowed hard. 'Wow, are they that serious?'
"No, I just..." Zhou Zhong's expression was strained.
"Get out!" Bai Fengxi's voice grew shrill, trembling slightly. 'It hurts! It hurts so much!'
Zhou Zhong's face turned ashen. He snorted coldly, then turned on his heel and left without another word.
Of course, no one else dared to say a word. They exchanged glances, suppressing their excitement at the fresh gossip, and hurried away.
The heavy metal door slammed shut. Instructor Zheng opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.
A moment later, Su Chen let out a long sigh and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Sorry about that," he said with a helpless sigh. "My body's not in the best shape."
Bai Fengxi stared at him, looking somewhat irritated. "It's fine!"
"Well, I'll be going then?" Su Chen asked, his skin crawling under her intense stare.
"Mm," Bai Fengxi nodded.
Su Chen waited for a moment before cautiously taking a step. He limped out with an uneven gait, as if truly suffering from the aftereffects of the cramp.
He reached the door, then turned back as if he had just remembered something. Pulling out his Spirit Communication Device, he asked, "Want to exchange contacts?"
Adding contacts with these things was a bit odd; the devices had to be touched together to transfer the information.
"Su Chen..."
After watching him leave, Bai Fengxi whispered his name to herself. She held out her right arm and slowly rolled up the sleeve of her uniform.
There, on her shoulder, was a distinct handprint, the edges already turning black and blue.
She touched it lightly and hissed, snatching her fingers back as if she'd received an electric shock. "Such incredible strength."
...
'I feel like I could fly...' Su Chen thought, trying to control his steps. He felt an unprecedented lightness, as if the slightest push could send him flying several meters. His strength had increased significantly as well.
The changes to his body were obvious. He opened his panel again.
[Sky Splitter Warrior: 25%]
[Professional Ability—Wind Erosion: Temporarily increases strength and grants an infusion of the Wind Element.]
"Tsk. Not only did the development progress carry over, but it also jumped ahead by a lot," Su Chen couldn't help but grin. "Strong evolved into Wind Erosion. Not bad, not bad at all. Now *this* is what a Top-tier Profession should be..."
There was only one remaining requirement for the profession—
[Promotion Requirement: Raise any physical Basic Refining Technique to the Master level.]
After that whole ordeal with the Warrior, the cumulative running time requirement was gone.
'A physical Basic Refining Technique?' Su Chen paused, thinking it sounded a bit tricky.
'Melt Stone should count, right? But... the progress is so slow, and it's obviously an F-level technique. Don't tell me I need to find something even more basic?'
Just as he was thinking this, the panel changed again.
[F-level Refining Techniques only need to be raised to the Skilled level.]
"Ha, now that's more like it..." Su Chen nodded, trying hard to suppress the urge to spread his wings and fly.
"Thick as thieves... And here I thought your standards were so high. Treating Jiang He's leftovers like some kind of treasure..."
In the distance, Zhou Zhong stared coldly at Su Chen's retreating back. Having been publicly humiliated, his composure had completely shattered.
"Excuse me, student..." Seeing his foul expression, a passing Inspector Guard stepped in to stop him.
"Don't you recognize me?" Zhou Zhong snapped.
The Patrol Guard who had stopped him looked annoyed, but his partner quickly stepped in with a placating smile. "Ah, it's Minister Zhou's son. Our apologies, our apologies..."
Zhou Zhong snorted, straightened his clothes, and walked off.
However, just as he rounded a corner, he collided with a shadowy figure. The impact was surprisingly strong, making him stumble and nearly fall.
"Are you blind?" Zhou Zhong's voice was icy, but the person didn't even dare to look back as they scurried away.
One damned thing after another. Mumbling "Su Chen" under his breath, Zhou Zhong disappeared from sight.