Chapter 64: Level A Spirit Runes (Part 1)

Chapter 64: Level A Spirit Runes (Part 1)

Cang Cheng first went into an initial treatment pod and lay there for 5 minutes. When he emerged from the treatment pod, all traces of bruising had vanished.

Afterward, he used Hilmeth's bathroom to take a shower. While showering, Cang Cheng took a moment to inhale the faint, woody scent of Hilmeth's shower gel.

"It's not minty... So where does his scent come from?"

Cang Cheng frowned in confusion.

He dried himself off and changed into a long-sleeved T-shirt and loose cargo pants that Hilmeth had prepared.

The clothes were all in Hilmeth's size, and on Cang Cheng, they were more than one size too big.

The collar, which should have fit snugly, now hung loosely around Cang Cheng's neck, revealing his collarbones. The pants hung loosely, the excess fabric pooling at his ankles like a stack of pancakes.

Fortunately, the belt could be tightened to the smallest notch, holding the pants just above his hips.

"Your clothes are huge."

Pushing open the bathroom door, Cang Cheng pulled at his collar, indicating that the clothes were really too big for him.

Hilmeth looked up, and as soon as his eyes met Cang Cheng's, his body tensed.

His deep blue eyes.

Cang Cheng stood before him, freshly showered, his skin flushed and glowing from the heat and humidity. The person was emanating the scent of the toiletries Hilmeth commonly used, and was dressed in his clothes.

This left Hilmeth momentarily lost for words.

His gaze lingered on Cang Cheng's exposed collarbone for what felt like an eternity.

It wasn't until Cang Cheng walked up to him and waved his hand in front of Hilmeth's eyes that he snapped back to his senses.

"Why are you spacing out? Is it not suitable for me to wear your clothes?"

"Yes. Too big."

After a moment of silence, Hilmeth stood up and rummaged through his closet for a long time before finding a light blue scarf.

He wrapped the scarf around Cang Cheng's neck, covering the exposed collarbone.

"Be careful, it's cold."

Cang Cheng tilted his head and blinked his pure black eyes.

In a room kept at a steady 18°C, Hilmeth mentioned... cold?

Realizing he might have overreacted, Hilmeth quickly shifted the conversation.

"The research funding for the Spirit Runes Institute has been cut by 70%, on the grounds that Level B Nature Spirit Runes offer no constructive help to the Canglan Star Region."

"Huh? Who cut it?"

Cang Cheng's attention was instantly diverted.

Just a week ago, during the summit meeting, everything had been discussed properly, but now they had gone back on their word, using various pretexts to cut the funding for the Spirit Runes Institute.

Even though it's a common practice, it's still quite off-putting.

"On the surface, it was due to the strong opposition from the Weapon Research Institute, forcing the first prince to cut the funding."

After a moment of thought, Cang Cheng probably understood that this was the result of the first prince 'wanting to have it both ways.'

He didn’t want to alienate either the research institute or the Weapon Research Institute, so he agreed to the research institute's requests in person, but secretly sided with the Weapon Research Institute.

"What do you think, General Hilmeth?"

Though Cang Cheng had already decided, he still wanted to hear Hilmeth's thoughts.

"Spirit Runes are incredibly powerful, and the Canglan Star Region urgently needs them. The research institute must develop more efficient weapons that are better suited for the military."

Hilmeth didn't hesitate.

"I understand. However, this could throw the Canglan Star Region’s economy into chaos. Are you prepared for that, General?"

Cang Cheng looked up, his Pure Black Eyes gleaming.

"All I know is that the Canglan Star Region’s weapons haven’t seen any innovation in nearly a decade, and our weapon configurations have already been acquired by another star system.

As a General leading the charge on the frontlines, I’m desperate to change this."

"Alright, I get what you’re saying, General."

Cang Cheng nodded in agreement.

He stood up without thinking, but misjudged the distance, causing his lips to brush against Hilmeth’s chin.

Cang Cheng was mildly taken aback. "Sorry."

Hilmeth's hand, resting at his side, clenched into a fist.

But on the surface, he maintained a calm façade. "It's okay."

Cang Cheng waved goodbye as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, "It's getting late, I can go back by myself. Thank you very much for your guidance today, see you next time."

With that, he left the temporary base, wearing clothes that still carried Hilmeth's scent and a light blue scarf, only revealing a pair of beautiful pure black eyes.

His smile lingered as his gaze briefly swept over Hilmeth's reddening ear, but the usually sharp-eyed General did not notice Cang Cheng's gaze this time.

After Cang Cheng left, Hilmeth stayed alone for a while, until his communicator buzzed with an urgent message, bringing him back to his senses.

He absentmindedly touched his chin.

His rough fingertips felt nothing like the softness of Cang Cheng's lips.

A storm of emotion swirled in his eyes.

Hilmeth tried to shift his focus to the message, hoping to distract himself from the memory of Cang Cheng's touch.

However...

Cang Cheng: "Your chin bruised my teeth a bit."

Hilmeth's pupils contracted.

A wave of heat washed over him, tinting his usually pale skin with a soft pink flush.

He felt a bit dizzy.

Cang Cheng: "Why aren't you responding?"

Cang Cheng playfully teased, "With a chin as hard as yours, General, shouldn't you apologize to me?"

Hilmeth: "I'm sorry, my fault for not dodging and causing you pain."

Cang Cheng continued to tease the general, "If there's a next time, will you dodge or not?"

Hilmeth didn't answer.

Seeing that the other party wasn't responding, Cang Cheng stopped teasing him.

Someone had been occupying his thoughts for three months without revealing their identity, which he considered a serious offense. So, teasing him a little to vent his frustration was only fair.

However, he also had to be careful not to push too far. After all, with Hilmeth's size, he could easily take Cang Cheng down.

Cang Cheng then sent Hilmeth a file.

This file was mixed in with the research data from the Mù family. When Mù Xīng organized the data, he found that this file contained very detailed weapon data, so he sent it to Cang Cheng.

Cang Cheng: "I obtained this file by chance. Take a look and see if it's of any use to you."

When Hilmeth opened the file, his expression changed drastically.

The file contained extremely detailed instructions for manufacturing weapons from the Canglan Star Region. Anyone with some manufacturing experience could easily replicate the weapons.

Moreover, the file wasn't written in the language of the Canglan Star Region, which meant it was most likely prepared for another star system.

These weapon blueprints could be connected to the recent weapon configuration leak.

Hilmeth immediately video-called Cang Cheng: "Cang Cheng, about the file..."

Halfway through his question, he froze for a second, lost in the sight of Cang Cheng on the video.

Cang Cheng was wearing Hilmeth's clothes, lying face down on a soft quilt. His collar was wide open, his black hair messy, and the dim lighting created an intimate atmosphere.

Hilmeth took a moment to collect himself.

He cleared his throat and said, "Sorry to bother you so late, but where did you get this file?"

Cang Cheng’s chin was slightly raised, making his Adam’s apple more noticeable as he spoke.

Hilmeth's eyes darkened.

"Naturally, we are allies."

On the surface, he remained calm, but only he knew that his attention was almost entirely stuck on Cang Cheng.

If not for the constant reminder of the weapon leak, he might have been completely lost in the moment.

Through the video, Cang Cheng noticed Hilmeth’s expression darken and assumed it was due to the weapon leak.

"These were found in the Mù family's non-public lab, mixed in with some chemical data."

Hilmeth's thoughts snapped back into focus.

"The Mù family? That could explain a lot."

With recent news and Mù Xīng's background in mind, Hilmeth quickly pieced together what had happened.

Even if the Mù family wasn't behind the leak, their possession of these documents suggested they were at least indirectly involved.

"Thank you for the information; this is very important to me."

The seriousness of the situation wiped away the private feelings Hilmeth had been harboring. While he was still drawn to Cang Cheng, the intensity of those feelings had eased.

"Hope I could be of some help, General."

Cang Cheng smiled and tugged at his loose collar. "Oh, by the way, your clothes are really comfy. Mind if I keep them? I was thinking of using them as pajamas."

Sure enough, Hilmeth fumbled to end the call, muttering a quick goodbye.

Cang Cheng chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"This was far from the cold, distant figure everyone talked about. Teasing the general was actually pretty fun."

In a good mood, Cang Cheng opened his terminal, stuck a patch on his temple, and logged into the Canglan World.

Midnight was ANKEN's time to shine.

Someone was using the lack of practical applications for Grade B runes as an excuse to cut funding for the research institute. He would show them what upgrading the Nature Spirit Runes could do. Level A Spirit Runes shouldn't be so easily dismissed!

Cang Cheng started a match in the arena and soon matched with a player for this round. The ID seemed to be a real name—Fu Huai.

Cang Cheng remembered that the other person was Hilmeth's subordinate, Fu Congfei's brother, and held the rank of major general.

What a coincidence!

A flash of light from the teleportation array, and Cang Cheng found himself in the bustling arena.

Unsurprisingly, the system had once again chosen this high-stakes match for a live broadcast.

The moment the spectators spotted the two figures in the arena, they erupted into deafening cheers.

"Oh my God! It's ANKEN!"

"I love you, Major General Fu!"

"I must be the luckiest person ever to catch ANKEN and Major General Fu going head-to-head!"

"Go, ANKEN!"

"Major General Fu, show ANKEN who's boss!"

The arena was deafeningly loud and electric with excitement. The number of viewers in the live stream was skyrocketing by the tens of thousands.

Fu Huai's virtual avatar mirrored his real-life appearance, with his golden hair tied into a high ponytail behind him, and his striking almond-shaped eyes giving off an air of charm.

He was dressed in a black combat suit, accentuated with gold accessories.

As the designated heir of the Fu family, Fu Huai had been confined to the summit by his family to expand his connections, with no freedom to leave.

He was so bored, he felt like he was rusting away.

Hilmeth mentioned that things had been pretty lively at the temporary base lately. The general not only acquired a batch of incredibly powerful weapons, but it also seemed he had settled his love life.

Fu Huai muttered, "Damn, I wish I could go to the temporary base and see all the drama. And I’d love to get my hands on those new weapons!"

Feeling frustrated, Fu Huai logged into Canglan World to blow off some steam.

When he saw that his opponent was ANKEN, Fu Huai was taken aback for a moment before breaking into a wide smile. "I’ve heard a lot about you, ANKEN. Hope you’ll go easy on me!"

Cang Cheng nodded. "I will go easy on you."

Fu Huai was caught off guard by ANKEN’s blunt response.

Recalling how Hilmeth was beaten to the point of cursing, Fu Huai didn’t find ANKEN’s personality strange at all.

He then smiled and said, "I look forward to it."

The system prompt sounded: "Challenge countdown. 3, 2, 1..."

The transparent barriers dissolved into particles, rising into the air, and both Cang Cheng and Fu Huai quickly retreated two steps to create distance.

Fu Huai drew a shield from behind him. What was originally a black, arm-sized shield expanded under his control into a two-meter-diameter hexagonal great shield.

The great shield defended against frontal attacks and formed an energy defense circle, encasing Fu Huai in 360-degree protection, impenetrable like a small fortress.

Host: "Here it is—Major General Fu Huai’s shield fortress!

As the team’s defensive specialist, Major General Fu Huai is an expert in various defensive strategies. His personal style is very distinct.

While protecting himself with the shield, Major General Fu Huai uses the modified weapons on the shield to support and attack. Most challengers fail to break through the great shield defense and end up being worn down to death by Fu Huai.

I wonder what kind of tactics ANKEN will use to deal with the shield fortress in this match?"

Cang Cheng looked at the instantaneously erected metal shield with some surprise.

Is this... a Shield Defender?

This was the first time Cang Cheng had encountered someone who wrapped themselves up so tightly at the beginning of a match in the arena, looking indeed invincible.

But even the strongest defense can fall if the attack is powerful enough.

Cang Cheng took out two Spirit Runes and injected them with magic, the fluorescent blue light dissipating from his fingertips.

On one side, a gust of wind swirled up, while on the other, a roaring sea of flames erupted, the soaring flames scorching the air.

Grade B Chain of Wind Blades and Fireballs!

The wind and fire combo spell was the most powerful and widest-ranged attack among the Grade B runes that Cang Cheng had drawn.

Using them as an opening probe was the most suitable choice.

Fire and wind intertwined, and the intense heat swept through the entire challenge arena, with flames and gales raging.

The rumbling explosions continued, and with the blast air currents, waves of fiery heat rose higher and higher.

Through the heat-sensitive display on his shield, Fu Huai saw that everything around him was glowing red.

The rising heat showed just how fierce the flames were outside.

"This is something else..."

Fu Huai wiped the sweat from his brow.

Having experienced numerous Spirit Runes combat scenarios and faced unimaginable power, Fu Huai should have been used to the unknown.

But now, facing ANKEN and the wall of fire, Fu Huai felt a chill run down his spine.

Only when he faced ANKEN did Fu Huai realize the pressure was as intense as facing a general.

"But... I’ve got a plan for fire."

Fu Huai sent a command to the great shield.

"Command confirmed, freezing mode activated."

The great shield had been upgraded multiple times, giving it a wide range of functions.

The freezing mode, once used against the Flame Giant Clan, was perfect for today's situation.

Cold air was released from the great shield, and the temperature around Fu Huai instantly dropped.

The freezing cold clashed with the intense heat, dampening the flames' intensity, but it was still not enough.

Fu Huai continued to send commands to the great shield.

If ANKEN used wind to fuel the fire, then Fu Huai could use wind to extinguish the flames.

But defense alone wasn’t enough; he needed to attack. Fu Huai simultaneously activated the scatter gun on the great shield.

The bullets were mixed with special materials that could incapacitate anyone who breathed the air, rendering them unconscious.

"Command confirmed, vacuum airflow and attack modes engaged."

The metal panels on top of the great shield opened, revealing dark exhaust vents, as the shield fortress showed its fangs.

Fu Huai was ready to see what ANKEN could do. "Let's see if you can pass this challenge, ANKEN."

The red flames were extinguished upon contact with the freezing temperature.

However, the low temperature only weakened the fire's assault slightly; the flames were still vast.

The vacuum airflow from the shield's thrusters hit the fireball head-on, and the advancing flames were visibly bitten into a gap by an unseen force.

The shield fortress held its ground in the fiery arena, creating its own pocket of calm.

The combination of freezing temperature and vacuum airflow was effective against the wind and fire combination rune.

Taking advantage of the gap in the flames, Fu Huai controlled the scatter gun on the shield, riding the airflow's momentum to head straight for Cang Cheng.

Cang Cheng, unhurried, erected a stone wall on the spot.

With a few loud bangs, the stone wall was riddled with holes, but Cang Cheng remained unscathed.

The anesthetic agents from the scatter gun dispersed into the air upon impact, riding the wind toward Cang Cheng.

Cang Cheng glanced at the wind and knew it wasn’t ordinary.

"Watch out, the air is laced with anesthetics."

Cang Cheng's AI-enhanced lenses helped him navigate the arena.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he channeled his mental energy.

The next moment, the invisible air currents around Cang Cheng suddenly stirred. They formed a barrier, pushing the tainted air away without mercy.

This method of directly manipulating the elements without relying on Spirit Runes was elemental control, which felt as natural to him as breathing.

The wind gradually dissipated, and the black hair that had been swaying in the breeze stopped moving.

Fu Huai had some clever ideas, like lacing the bullets with anesthetics.

Just like Hilmeth's men.

Cang Cheng handled the anesthetic scatter bullet with ease, but he still gave his opponent a silent nod of respect.

He shifted his gaze to the main battlefield.

The wind and fire onslaught Cang Cheng unleashed was momentarily halted by Fu Huai's great shield, seemingly evenly matched.

Grade B runes lacked the battlefield control needed to dominate. Even the most devastating composite spells couldn't secure an immediate advantage.

What if he switched to Level A Spirit Runes?

Cang Cheng held a Spirit Runes board in his hand and input magic to activate it.

The Spirit Runes board shattered into glowing embers that dissipated into the air.

Suddenly, in the empty arena, a blue flame appeared in the sky.

Cold, bright, and blotting out the sky.