At the very least, they reached a consensus on Spiritual Energy.

‘Considering the blockade on Oran City’s nuclear power and computing centers, could it be that technological constructs can also harness Spiritual Energy?’

That was a bit of a stretch.

“The Elemental Suppression effect is approaching 10%. By tomorrow, I expect many people will be able to feel this bizarre phenomenon.” Su Chen’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

To be honest, after getting used to coexisting with the Elements, this felt a little uncomfortable.

Moreover, it was hard to imagine what sort of disaster had befallen Snow Mountain City, the first to face the descent of the Broken Star Ring.

It also presented a major obstacle for his upcoming plans to head north.

‘At the very least, I’ll have to get through this anomaly safely before making any other plans.’

“After I climb the Trial Tower tomorrow, I’ll make another trip to the cave’s Underground City.” Su Chen felt it was necessary to pay the cave dwellers another visit.

「A short half-hour later.」

After he and Ruoruo finished their late-night snack, they walked out of the Qiyao Platform Hotel.

Ruoruo fell silent for a moment, not voicing the question on her mind. ‘Aren’t you going to look for Xue Yao?’

She knew perfectly well which family owned this hotel, and she also knew about the entanglement between that person and the man beside her.

Moreover, Ruoruo already knew that once Su Chen finished his business here, he would be heading north, most likely within the next two or three days.

This return of emotion and the subtle shift in her identity had made her, Yan Ruoruo, repeatedly contemplate how she should interact with Su Chen in the days to come.

Should she let down her guard and tell him everything?

Or should she harden her heart and put an end to it all?

But after much deliberation, she ultimately decided to keep things as they were.

‘It’s only for three more days, and he plans to take me with him anyway…’

She gently smoothed her sleeves, pushing the flicker of emotion in her eyes back into the depths. She put her familiar mask of indifference back on, continuing to play the part of the calm, restrained Yan Ruoruo, a woman untouched by worldly sentiment.

…

Late that night, the official radio broadcast delivered a bombshell announcement.

A limit on the number of class holders!

The announcer Wenwen’s crisp voice flowed out, tinged with gravity. “…The following is an emergency announcement. Based on feedback from numerous individuals, over the past two to three hours, many have been unable to advance into multiple Tier Four conventional classes. Even those who perfectly meet the requirements of the advancement certificate have been unable to complete their formal promotion. The current official determination is that this restriction is likely a Rule of the world. The number of people who can hold each class is limited, and this is especially evident with Four-Star classes.”

The announcer went on to explain that this bottleneck didn’t mean the classes were completely sealed off; there was still hope.

She offered a tip: those holding an advancement certificate should continuously try to interact with the Sanctuary, submitting their request over and over. There was a high probability they would succeed in promoting within the next half hour.

“Damn, that sounds just like trying to snatch a train ticket,” Liao Dahai said, speechless.

“It’s true, even Four-Star classes have a capacity limit. It sounds like you have to wait for someone to die to free up a slot before you can take their place,” Pang Peng sighed quietly.

Most of the people in their group were focused on Three-Star classes.

If they could successfully clear the Trial Tower, they’d have a decent chance of reaching Four-Star.

Additionally, some of the rarer conventional advancement certificates that dropped didn’t have the Soul Binding effect, so they could theoretically be sold on the market.

But their prices were, without a doubt, astronomical.

Someone was even asking for one Soul Core and one Lv8 Rune for a Four-Star advancement certificate. A deal like that would be impossible unless the buyer was out of their mind.

Even Su Chen, currently considered the richest man in Dongfu City, wouldn’t give it a second glance.

“According to what Brother Chen said earlier, this world is huge. The number of cities transported here is probably massive, and there are even members of the Alien Race participating alongside us.”

In the camp, Pang Peng sat on a camping chair with a vacant stare, a bitter smile playing on his lips. “You can just imagine how high the turnover rate for these class slots is. Every minute of every day, large numbers of people could be dying.”

This crucible wasn’t limited to just the Twin Cities.

In this trial of civilization, they had yet to see the full picture.

“This is turning into that old ‘Parking Wars’ game. Once a class is full, there’s probably going to be a huge crowd trying to grab a spot day and night.” Gong Jun found the whole thing absurd.

The Authority of a class was incredibly important; it was worth camping out for three days and two nights.

It was a matter of personal strength and survival—far more important than trying to snag a ticket home for the Spring Festival.

At the same time, they had also learned from Su Chen about the Elemental Suppression phenomenon. Seeing that the Broken Star Ring would soon be descending upon them, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis.

“You guys should climb the Trial Tower tomorrow. The guide that came out today is pretty detailed. Don’t push the weekly reset; we can’t afford to mess this up.” Yan Ziqian and the others didn’t object to Gong Jun’s urgent proposal.

The future was too uncertain, and the already unstable apocalyptic environment didn’t allow for any delay.

As for Su Chen, he was of course heading for Oran’s Trial Tower.

…

「Early the next morning.」

「Outside Oran City.」

The legion’s encampment was still in perfect order. The air held only the scent of dying embers, with no hint of tension.

Su Chen arrived at the Teleportation Gate through the morning mist. The guards recognized him and immediately sent word back.

In stark contrast to the tranquility here, when Su Chen looked down upon Oran City, he could see plumes of black smoke rising slowly from within and around the urban center. They drifted and dispersed in the wind high above, a silent testament to the power shifts of the previous night.

He could easily imagine the scene: the Sect’s purge, the fall of the four governing powers, the counterattacks from their remnants, and even looting amidst the chaos.

Su Chen paused for a moment, his expression unchanging.

“Good morning,” Captain Zhang said, hurrying over to greet him.

“Morning.”

Su Chen nodded.

As they exchanged pleasantries, he learned that the Golden Radiance Ruler, Shang Xu, and the Rock Phase Ruler, Feng Jialun, had already entered the tower with a few others.

“Someone tested it last night. After clearing the Oran Trial Tower, you can’t go clear the one in Dongfu City. In other words, the weekly trial attempt is shared between them; they don’t count as separate, repeatable instances,” Captain Zhang provided this crucial piece of information.

When he thought about it, that made sense.

Otherwise, without this rule, by the mid-game, top experts would be able to farm the Trial Towers for massive rewards every single week.

“Then we’ll definitely be farming Oran City’s rewards. No way we’re letting those bastards get off easy.” Little Zeus had spent the night in the barracks instead of returning to the city, and now he had eagerly trotted over.

As a top-tier independent expert, he was unwilling to be bound by the legion’s rules, even turning down the well-compensated status of an associate member. However, because of his immense strength and outstanding performance, no one stopped him from coming and going from the barracks as he pleased.

Furthermore, their bonds as top-tier experts had been forged through successive battles, so most people were willing to turn a blind eye.

“I heard from the ghost agents that a lot of the bastards on the list are still alive. A whole night passed and they still haven’t been cleaned out. The Sect is so pathetic,” Little Zeus griped.

Of course, it wasn’t that the Sect intentionally let the tiger return to the mountain. Even if they just hid in the forests outside the city, never mind inside it, it would be impossible to catch them.

“What about the Elemental City ruins?” Su Chen asked curiously.

“The former governing powers have all retreated. There’s no sign of them. The Sect has also ceded half of the development rights for the ruins to us in Dongfu City,” Captain Zhang added.

That was a smart move on their part.

The Sect had yet to secure its position and simply didn’t have the spare resources to develop the Elemental City ruins out in the wilds, not with remnant enemy forces that could stage a comeback at any moment.

Losing their fixed bases freed up the enemy’s top experts, allowing them to engage in guerrilla harassment at any time, which was enough to make their opponents continuously bleed resources.

Su Chen didn’t give much thought to those hunted rats.

He might have collapsed the Elemental City ruins earlier, but recovery work wouldn’t be a problem for Dongfu City’s many “engineering vets.”

“I’m heading out.”

After this quick briefing, Su Chen immediately led a small group toward the location of Oran City’s Rune Core.

So as not to take up slots on the Dongfu City Trial Tower’s leaderboard, the top experts who came with him also prepared to climb this tower in succession.

“The Sect agreed, but keep a low profile. Do it quietly and try not to make things difficult for them.” A ghost agent even cast an invisibility technique on them as a disguise.

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