Spiritual Resources, Azure Flame!

With the items in hand, Chen Ming applied the Equipment Enchantment Book to the Rock-Shattering Blade.

Ding.

The moment the Equipment Enchantment Book took effect, the Rock-Shattering Blade let out a sudden tremor.

The next instant, a visible blood-red pattern began to spread from the tip of the blade.

It gradually crawled across the entire length of the weapon.

"Why does this look like some kind of dark magic?"

Chen Ming muttered, then picked up the Rock-Shattering Blade to inspect it from both sides.

He didn't feel anything special.

Perhaps the effects would only become apparent during actual combat when the Bloodthirst skill was activated.

Chen Ming initially wanted to test it out, but ultimately held back.

The cooldown for this ability was one hour, which was still quite long.

Fortunately, the duration was also one hour, so it was sufficient.

After testing the feel of the equipment, Chen Ming placed it into his storage space.

He then took out the rewarded Mind Crystal.

It was still only the size of a fingernail, completely incomparable in scale to other rare resources.

Chen Ming closed his eyes and mobilized his mental energy to begin absorption.

Crack--

Less than a minute later.

The crystal in his hand shattered, turning into grayish-brown powder.

"Still no increase in mental attributes."

Chen Ming frowned.

Including the Mind Crystal he obtained yesterday, he had already absorbed two mental-type resources.

Yet, he hadn't even gained a single point of mental energy.

As for other types of rare resources, whether they were rewards from the Grand Exam or obtained in the canyon, absorbing one was usually enough to gain an attribute bonus.

It wasn't that Chen Ming desperately wanted the mental attribute bonus.

It was just that this complete lack of progress felt like he was getting no feedback at all.

Absorbing two of them felt like a joke, like throwing stones into a bottomless pit.

He didn't know if it was because the energy was too scarce or if mental attributes were simply inherently difficult to increase.

And these were the rewards from two whole days.

Calculated this way, even if he stacked all the mental resource rewards from a full month of the Grand Exam, it felt like it wouldn't necessarily have much of an effect on strengthening his awakened skills.

"This won't do; I need to find other channels."

"Relying solely on Grand Exam rewards is likely far from enough."

Chen Ming still wanted to fill the Water Pool.

But looking at it now, even after a month of the Grand Exam, he might not even be able to accumulate a 'small puddle.'

"No wonder it's so difficult for ordinary people to awaken mental-type skills."

Not only was the difficulty of obtaining resources high.

The key was that the progress was incredibly slow.

Compared to the awakening of professional skills, this was significantly harder.

After resting, Chen Ming set off once again.

He headed toward the final area of the canyon.

He walked into the narrow entrance shrouded in mist, where visibility was extremely low.

The fog was very dense; he could even feel the moisture with every breath.

"If a battle were to break out in a place like this, relying solely on vision would likely put me at a huge disadvantage."

The thick fog, where one could barely see their own hand, made it impossible to see anything.

The worst part was that it couldn't be dispersed.

If it weren't for Chen Ming's mental energy breaking through the 20% threshold, which had greatly enhanced his mental detection ability.

He felt as though he were lost in this place.

"Hm? Something's happening up ahead."

Chen Ming looked forward, where the mist appeared somewhat strange.

His mental detection picked up a very intense surge of energy.

He followed the direction and arrived at the area.

He discovered it was a small earthen mound.

To the naked eye, it was just an unremarkable pile of dirt.

Yet, when Chen Ming scanned it with his mental power, he saw a completely different scene.

Above the mound, a layer of distorted air had formed.

It looked like air being scorched by high heat.

As Chen Ming drew closer, he could even feel a searing sensation.

It was as if a wave of heat were rushing toward his face.

He walked quickly up the mound and looked closely.

At the very top of the mound was a small pit, its walls smooth and translucent, as if they had been carefully polished.

In the very center, a dense mass of energy swirled, enveloping something.

"There really is something here!"

Chen Ming's spirit stirred.

Just by the look of it, he could tell it was extraordinary.

He used his mental power to probe into the energy mass to see what it was.

The next second.

Chen Ming's eyes widened.

"A rare mental-type resource!"

Wrapped within the energy mass was a peculiar little flame.

It was pale white overall, with a blue tail flame flickering at its tip.

Although it wasn't a physical object, Chen Ming could not mistake the elemental energy contained within it.

It was identical to the [Mind Crystal].

And it was on an entirely different level!

The energy contained within this tiny pale-blue flame was not only incredibly pure but also vast.

Chen Ming estimated that the mental-type elemental energy within it was at least ten times that of a [Mind Crystal].

"I didn't expect this dungeon to give me a surprise at the very end."

Chen Ming's face lit up with joy.

Just as he was about to reach for it, he suddenly sensed a dangerous aura.

The next second, a faint feeling of palpitations surged in his heart.

But the sensation was fleeting.

[-1! (Mental Damage)]

"Hm?"

Chen Ming was taken aback.

This was the first time he had ever taken mental damage.

Soon, Chen Ming locked onto the direction of the attacker.

A ball of ghost fire hidden in the mist mid-air.

[Flame Spirit]
[Level: lv.8]
[Abilities: Flame Control, Mental Spike]
[Description: A powerful 'Strange Beast' born from flames, naturally gifted with formidable mental talent]

"A Strange Beast with dual skills?"

The moment he saw the information, Chen Ming frowned.

A level 8 exotic beast, and it possessed a second ability.

The latter was clearly a mental skill.

Just like how a class-changer could awaken a mental skill upon reaching 20% mental power, this Strange Beast had clearly awakened its own mental skill.

"Tsk tsk, a dual-wielder of physical and magical arts."

In the world of exotic beasts, this would surely be considered a genius of some standing.

Chen Ming drew his Rock-Shattering Blade, his eyes gleaming.

"Just the right target to test the effects of Bloodthirsty Enchantment."

Mid-air.

The Flame Spirit was already closing in.

Its speed was immense, a long trail of fire cutting through the thick mist as it lunged toward Chen Ming with astonishing momentum.

At the same time, several fireballs condensed around its body.

A massive inferno instantly ignited within the canyon.

With fire as its physical form, this style of attack possessed both lethal power and the ability to intimidate foes.

It forced opponents to tread carefully, keeping them from daring to engage in close-quarters combat.

Unfortunately for it, it had run into Chen Ming.

[-1!][-1!]

Chen Ming paid no heed to the flames that nearly engulfed his entire body.

He kept his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Then, he brought his blade down in a powerful strike against the Flame Spirit as it lunged before him.

[-60!]