Country Bumpkin

"Just now, I used a [Card Quality Breakthrough Card) ] on this card to upgrade the [Tinder Probe Card) ] to Perfect quality. After using it, I only got information from seven areas, and I didn't get any information about Yashan's [Tinder]."

Jiang Mengrui said, fiddling with the card in her hand.

The absence of information is itself a form of information.

The fact that a Perfect- quality exploration card cannot detect it means that the [Tinder] of that Forbidden Existence is of a quality that surpasses "Perfect".

"That's alright then, let's go back and upgrade to [Perfect] quality. It's quite fun with everyone coming and going." Shan Yixian shrugged.

After listening, Su Luo made no comment; her consciousness immediately returned to reality, and she began to continue upgrading the [Tinder].

As a massive amount of debris was thrown in, the flames suddenly contracted inward, then burst forth with intense light. The edges of the light expanded outward at a visible speed until all the "darkness" within a five-kilometer radius was completely dispelled.

"This time... 36,000 Tinder Shards have been upgraded to Perfect quality, with a firelight range of five kilometers." Su Luo looked at the panel, which still did not display the [Firelight Illumination] status, and then looked at Song Shige.

"Without the Talent activated, there's a 1% increase in all Attributes; with it activated, there's no increase." Song Shige shook his head.

"How much strength do you have?" Su Luo hadn't used the Appraisal on Song Shige recently.

"19.5." Song Shige weighed his Zhanmadao in his hand. "There are still some Skill Experience Stones left to use, and there are rewards for Continued Battle the District War... I estimate that after this battle, I'll definitely have enough resources to raise my strength to 21 points."

"Your Talent really does become increasingly unpredictable as you progress, but in a sense, it's still growth potential... Continue leveling up your [Tinder] first."

Upgrading from Normal to Fine requires 120, upgrading from Fine to Superior requires 1800, and upgrading from Superior to Perfect requires 36000. This growth rate...

"Next, invest another 720,000 fragments," he decided. "Following the previous growth pattern, a twenty-fold investment should be enough to significantly expand the illumination range while ensuring that the next quality upgrade isn't triggered. What do you think?"

"It's up to you, you decide." Song Shige had no objections. He fully trusted Su Luo's judgment in resource planning and tactical decision-making.

With another massive influx of fragments, the [Tinder], which had just stabilized, began to boil again.

The light expanded explosively, centered on the altar, and surged into the endless darkness. As far as the eye could see, the darkness retreated step by step, and the boundary of the firelight pushed outward at an unprecedented speed, ten kilometers, twenty kilometers... until it finally stabilized within a radius of thirty kilometers.

God knows why the Tinder Shards increased the radius of the firelight; the expanded space was too large, and Su Luo's Fire Domain couldn't cover it all.

At this moment, the entire battlefield seemed to have been rewritten. A safe depth of thirty kilometers meant that after the monsters appeared, it would take a relatively long time before they could reach the [Tinder].

At the same time, the originally sparse Mana in the environment instantly became denser, and even the basic four elemental energies began to spontaneously condense and spread.

On Su Luo and Song Shige's panels, the [Firelight Illumination] status icon finally appeared clearly. Even if it was only 1%, every little bit helps.

The Soul Servant had been quietly staying to the side seemed extremely sensitive to this change in environment. It happily danced around Su Luo, trying to get close to her. Its originally illusory form seemed to solidify and grow slightly larger.

"It feels like you've been gone for ages. Has someone forgotten about you again?"

Su Luo seemed to have just remembered it, reached out and grabbed it, and was about to habitually stuff it back into the Laboratory when she suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jing Yunxin, who was practicing her skills.

"Yunxin, come and take a look, can this be cured?"

"Let me see..." Jing Yunxin took the cheerful soul with some doubt and probed it with her Divine Power.

Jing Yunxin was stunned.

What do you mean by "the soul is just an empty shell"? How did it survive? You might as well let me Resurrection it!

"This... this can be cured, it just takes a little time." She said with a strange expression, sensing the almost instinctive dependence and closeness that the Soul Servant towards Su Luo.

"Okay, thank you." Su Luo nodded, his expression unchanged, as if the miserable state of his Soul Servant him had nothing to do with him.

Developing something like "Heartfire," which involves the soul, would require some... high-quality test subjects, right? Pure soul entities are quite useful.

"Holy crap! I... I've increased by 56%!" Guizishi exclaimed in uncontrollable excitement from the side. He felt the surging power within him and was too excited to contain himself.

Song Shige glanced at him. "Child, this power does not belong to you."

"No... I was already middle-aged before I Crossing, President, you can't possibly call me a child..."

"Oh, Uncle Gui, do you have any instructions?"

"... President, just call me Xiao Shi, don't do this, it scares me."

"The second set of cards is complete. This round will still be about testing the limits of our individual abilities. Everyone should weigh the options carefully," Su Luo said, holding two cards in her hand.

These were all revealed later: [Wave Stacking Card) ], [Harvest Card) ].

Because the [Wave Stacking Card) ] is relatively rare, Zone 76 only needs to contribute one (Full) card this time, while other districts generally need to contribute two. The other random card is a "protection fee" paid to Ms. Jiang, who contributed eight (Full) cards again.

"Next up are three waves stacked together, the monsters' strength will double, and their numbers will increase fivefold... Can you withstand it? The [Guardian Rankings] may undergo major changes," Su Luo confirmed before starting.

"Approximately... how many times the return? It's hard to calculate precisely, but it's absolutely astonishing!" Shan Yixian's eyes gleamed with the excitement of a gambler. "The rewards from the [Guardian Rankings] are nothing! Of course we can handle it!"

No one else had any objections.

"Speaking of which, you who looks down on people. You don't even have the special qualifications, how did you get in?" Gai Li asked lazily.

It took Shan Yixian two seconds to realize she was talking about herself. She glanced at Gai Li, "You bumpkin! Have you ever seen a one-time Perfect item? Have you ever seen Legendary item?"

He paused slightly, then asked in a low voice, "Have you ever seen... Epic- level item?"

Gai Li slowly sat up straight. "What the hell? Epic item? You've seen one before?"

He wasn't surprised that Shan Yixian had a Legendary item, since the opponent hadn't even broken the 20-point limit, but to be able to get into a high-level match like Battlefield No. 1314, he must be a master player.

But he had never heard of Epic- level items before, not even in the World Channel.

Shan Yixian: "Oh, I've never seen it either."

"Idiot." Gai Li leaned back in his chair, cursing in Chinese.

"Stop shouting, everyone! Focus!" Su Luo's voice suddenly rang out, clearly counting down, "3! 2! 1! Open!"