"Hmm... the Wind Song Gemstone..." Su Chen reached out and retrieved an emerald-green, fist-sized, irregular gemstone from his Storage Space. It had seven holes, its edges were naturally veined with fine, transparent lines, and its interior was filled with crystalline fuzz.

"And the Storm Frenzy Feather."

The feather was about half a meter long. Its shaft was a streamlined spiral, gleaming with the cold, hard luster of blue-gray metal. It was formed from countless overlapping, miniscule crystals, each one containing highly compressed cyclonic Energy. The edges were naturally serrated and sharp.

’Use the airflow from waving the Storm Frenzy Feather to make the Wind Song Gemstone sing...’

Su Chen held the Wind Song Gemstone in one hand and fanned the Storm Frenzy Feather with the other. In the absolute stillness of the storm’s eye, a subtle stream of cyan air flowed into the gemstone’s holes, brushing past the crystalline fuzz and causing it to emit a strange hum.

’Gradually increase the speed, but the interval between waves can’t be shorter than 0.5 seconds...’ Su Chen muttered to himself. This was one of the few pieces of advice compiled by those who had previously taken this profession.

As he increased the speed, the sound from the Wind Song Gemstone grew clearer and more melodious, like a musical score unfolding.

Time passed slowly. After ten-odd minutes, the Wind Song Gemstone began to float, with the Storm Frenzy Feather circling it of its own accord. The music continued, even though Su Chen had stopped moving.

The faint sound of wind chimes drifted from all directions. Streams of cyan light appeared out of nowhere, converging around Su Chen.

"So these are Wind Spirits." Su Chen was amazed. These small creatures were a highly condensed variant of the Wind Element, born only in natural environments and nearly impossible to capture.

’Form the Wind Dance Contract...’ Su Chen opened his hands. Currents of air drifted across his skin. As if sensing something, the Wind Spirits tentatively touched him.

Then, as if they had discovered a warm nest, they scrambled over each other to surge into his body.

At the same time, the Wind Song Gemstone and the Storm Frenzy Feather underwent a strange transformation. As if melted by an Invisible Power, they gradually fused into Su Chen’s body.

Su Chen felt a tingling numbness spread through his body. The Wind Spirits seemed to permeate his very being, flowing through his organs and his blood.

When the process finally reached its peak, Su Chen felt significantly lighter.

’So this is the Wind Dance Contract...’ Su Chen mused. This wasn’t the profession advancement itself, merely the third requirement.

The Wind Dance Contract involved allowing Wind Spirits to merge with the body, which would sharpen one’s perception of the wind and increase one’s speed.

A glint flashed in Su Chen’s eyes. The final requirement was complete.

Now, for the real thing—the profession advancement!

In an instant, Su Chen felt as if his body had become like the Wind Song Gemstone, riddled with countless holes. Raging torrents of air poured in from the void, twisting and contorting his flesh under the immense pressure.

His chest heaved violently like a bellows. Emerald-green Wind Element surged through his meridians. Swirling patterns lit up along each of his vertebrae, and condensed clouds sprayed from his facial orifices.

For Su Chen, however, the transformation was still bearable.

[Wind Dancer profession advancement successful. You have acquired the Professional Ability—Wind Dance Instinct: Become one with the wind, granting an extremely keen perception of threats.]

Once the advancement was complete, Su Chen slowly descended to the ground. He felt lighter than ever, as if he were weightless.

"What a strange feeling..." Su Chen looked down at his body. His clothes had been torn to shreds, but his skin appeared completely unchanged.

With the slightest leap, he floated forward gracefully.

"This is..." Su Chen stopped abruptly without any warning, yet the air around him remained perfectly still.

’There’s almost no air resistance...’ Su Chen tested it again to be sure. ’The resulting speed boost isn’t just a small increase. It’s more than doubled.’

The ability’s description was only a single sentence, but it held a depth of meaning that words couldn’t fully capture.

Not only that, but his ability for Concealment had also improved dramatically. Though he had been fast before, moving at high speeds created a huge disturbance—the faster he went, the bigger the commotion.

His current conventional speed was now comparable to his speed during Elementalization. And after using Elementalization, it would be even more terrifying.

’I bet even Senior Brother Teng Liang won’t be able to see my dust.’

Su Chen dashed freely about the eye of the storm, his figure a barely visible blur.

After a moment, he stopped and flicked out several bolts of black lightning. They shot up over his head, then CRACKLED and POPPED as they arced back down, falling like a torrential downpour.

Su Chen closed his eyes, suppressed his senses, and stood perfectly still. But just as the bolts were about to strike, his figure flickered away like a phantom. He was truly a dancer on the wind, effortlessly weaving through the downpour of lightning.

"What a... marvelous feeling." Su Chen opened his eyes, overjoyed. "To react like this even with my senses suppressed... this will be an incredible asset in battle."

Wind Dance Instinct was like a passive ability that didn’t require conscious activation, which made it incredibly convenient.

’This profession Old Pu picked out for me is really something...’ Su Chen was in high spirits. He enjoyed the new sensation for a few more moments before leaving the eye of the storm.

After having Ruan Yu disperse the hurricane and thanking him again, Su Chen left with Teng Liang.

「 」

Meanwhile, at a temporary housing site in one of the Subordinate Cities, Xu Siyuan walked out of his room in a daze and looked at the one-armed, middle-aged man who was knocking on his door.

"Uncle Zhang, what’s wrong?"

"It’s our turn to relocate," Zhang Lei explained simply, before turning to notify the others.

’Relocate?’ Xu Siyuan grew wary. He quickly followed after him and asked, confused, "Why are we suddenly relocating?"

"It’s not sudden. The notice went out seven or eight days ago, you just didn’t hear about it," Zhang Lei said with a helpless shake of his head.

"With everyone living together, some major conflicts broke out between people from rival cities. So, Ying Feng reorganized the housing assignments to separate the groups that were likely to clash."

"The relocation started a while ago."

"I see." Xu Siyuan understood and lowered his guard. He was aware of a few of the conflicts; they had been so disruptive that even Ying Feng’s top brass had to intervene.

Zhang Lei gathered everyone from Ancient River City, and they all boarded a transport vehicle. The others were excited, speculating about where their new residence would be.

Xu Siyuan’s gaze drifted. ’Right now, the only Tier Six Professionals left in the Judicial Court are Xia Hanshi and Lei Tieyan. Those two are nothing to worry about.’

’All I need to do now is prepare the ritual, pinpoint the location of that Spiritual source, and then channel my Divine Power. As long as I’m fast enough, no one should be able to stop me.’

The war had been going on for nearly a month, and he had gathered plenty of intelligence.

’I had a perfect chance to go after Teng Liang a few days ago, but I missed it...’ He was still regretful, but he had time. There was no need to rush; he could afford to be more methodical.

’As for that Su Chen...’ he mused. Su Chen was the only one he hadn’t been able to get near this whole time.

’I don’t know why Black Tuo is so interested in him, but I should be able to find a way to take him as well.’

The Stone Slab was his primary objective. Teng Liang had destroyed his Faceless Ghost shell, and Su Chen was coveted by Black Tuo.

He didn’t want to miss out on any of his three targets.

The transport vehicle rumbled along for a long time before finally reaching its destination.

After they disembarked, a mild-mannered staff member led them through the main gate. The people around them gasped in amazement.

The accommodations here were far superior to their previous residence. Even the flagstones on the ground radiated a soft glow, giving the place an air of splendor.

Zhang Lei was called away to handle the check-in and get their new room assignments. Xu Siyuan’s room was on the third floor.

’This place... is a little too nice,’ Xu Siyuan thought, his brow furrowing as he took in the spacious room.

’Do people from Ancient River City really qualify for rooms like this?’

...

Meanwhile, the staff member who had handled their arrangements had already left the building and was hurrying toward another one nearby.

Xia Hanshi was waiting there, his gaze sharp. The room was filled with all sorts of instruments and equipment.

"Chief Judge, it is done." The staff member’s mild expression had turned cold and stern. He reported in a low voice.

"Excellent..." Xia Hanshi nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the image of the building on a screen. "Yuan Capital is using their guesthouse to harbor the Faceless Ghost Divine Son in an attempt to subvert Ying Feng," he said in a grave voice. "Their crime is unforgivable."