Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

BOOM!!

A telekinetic shockwave, wrapped in scorching flames, completely pierced through its skull.

The left side of its skull exploded on the spot. Blood, brain matter, and bone fragments splattered everywhere as the Cave Dweller’s body crashed down from the cliff wall to the ground.

Su Chen, who had just arrived via Shadow Leap, hadn’t even lifted a hand. He had detonated the creature’s head from a distance just like that.

Interestingly, the monster’s Life Force was incredibly tenacious. Not only was its skull and skin tougher than a normal person’s, but even after half its head was blown off, its limbs continued to twitch and writhe on the ground, its sharp claws swiping wildly.

During all this, the Soul Burning property of the Flame Burst was also taking effect. The clinging flames inflicted intense spiritual agony, continuously eroding its last remnants of consciousness.

After struggling for only a few seconds, it finally went still, succumbing to the severe, fatal injuries.

And just like that, the brief, explosive skirmish came to an end.

Many of the others only belatedly realized that a Cave Dweller up ahead had been killed, and slowly relaxed the bowstrings they had drawn taut.

"This..."

Le Yuxuan, who had just been considering a retreat, was ecstatic. He really hadn’t misjudged; this team’s carry was just too damn strong.

To be honest, this was the first time any of them had witnessed the sheer killing power of Su Chen’s Flame Burst, especially when used as a telekinetic bombardment to detonate something from afar.

"I’m going to dissect that corpse," Yan Ruoruo said, quickly stepping forward and dragging another Cave Dweller’s body—one she had killed earlier—out of a pit.

"Go ahead. I’ll cover you."

Su Chen had a good idea of what she wanted to find out.

The massive explosion from before must have awakened whatever was deeper in the cave.

Besides, there was no telling what might be hiding on the high ledges of the cliff walls to their left and right.

And so, one Netherworld War Dog clone leaped up silently, its claws digging into the rock crevices as it swiftly climbed to the platform on the left. Another phantom clone passed through the cave entrance up ahead, scouting as deep as it could to map out the environment.

Su Chen continued to spread his telekinetic waves, while Xiaoye crouched close by, vigilantly guarding his master.

At that moment, Yan Ruoruo, also wearing a headlamp, held a small knife that glinted with a sharp, golden light. Under the beam of her light, she sliced downwards from the junction of the corpse’s collarbones, extending the cut along the costal arches to the armpits on both sides. A clean, inverted Y-shaped incision quickly appeared on its chest.

Then, the entire anterior chest and abdominal wall was peeled back like the page of a book, revealing the complete thoracic structure beneath.

"Twelve pairs of ribs. Conforms to the human standard," she stated calmly.

The gory scene didn’t seem to faze the dissector, but the figures who had gathered closer felt a bit queasy.

As her blade moved down, she sliced open the abdominal cavity.

Amidst the coiled intestines and cecum, Yan Ruoruo located and pulled out a shrunken but clearly identifiable appendix, causing fresh blood to gush out.

"The appendix is still here."

She looked up at Su Chen and said, "This Cave Dweller still has this vestigial organ."

For the two admirers in the group with a secret crush on Yan Ruoruo, especially Le Yuxuan, this completely shattered their perception of her.

’This woman could probably stab herself twenty times and still get it officially ruled as a minor injury.’

Huh... But when they heard her next conclusion, it wasn’t just him; everyone else was more or less stunned. Even the slowest among them now understood why Yan Ruoruo was performing a dissection.

They exchanged glances, a terrifying answer on the tips of their tongues. ’Could these Cave Dwellers have once been human?’

"Maybe it’s just a coincidence?" Pang Peng also found the answer hard to accept.

"The corpse also has arches in its feet. And judging by this wide pelvis, the Cave Dwellers did indeed devolve from bipedal creatures," Yan Ziqian calmly added. "On Earth, humans are the only vertebrates with arched feet."

All the evidence pointed to an increasingly undeniable connection to humans.

Yan Ruoruo clearly wanted more proof, but before she could make another cut, the sound of rapid, scraping movement came from the distance.

A moment later, the Netherworld War Dog clone that had run deep into the cave began to bark incessantly. But with a sudden roar, the barking was cut short.

No one dared to be careless. In the glare of their lights, they could all see a channel in the distance that gradually narrowed, like the neck of a gourd. The dense sounds coming from within suggested there was more to it than met the eye.

The space inside must be quite large.

In an instant, several people drew their bowstrings.

"I can lock them down!"

Yan Ziqian’s gaze was intense as he held his right hand out flat, signaling the others.

The next second, several twisted figures surged out of the narrow passage, which was only wide enough for two people to pass through side-by-side. Some clung to the ceiling like geckos as they scurried out, while others simply scrambled forward on all fours.

The moment they burst out of the tunnel opening—

"Fire!"

Multiple Enchanted Arrows tore through the air.

Thunder Bomb Arrows and Wind Split Arrows ripped through the air in a volley aimed 40 meters away. One precise hit sent a Wind Split Arrow through a Cave Dweller’s chest, causing it to fall from the cliff wall.

This was the moment Yan Ziqian had been waiting for. A large mass of cyan roots shot out from the cracks in the ground. Empowered by the linked effect of Growth and Entanglement Runes, the plant roots swelled and surged like crazed green serpents, tightly binding two of the Cave Dwellers.

"Not good!"

To his horror, the arrow wounds hadn’t weakened them much. Instead, it seemed to have enraged them.

Though they were only the size of a normal human, they erupted with a brutish strength far exceeding that of a tiger or leopard, tearing the entangling roots to shreds.

’That’s enough!’

That one second of delay had already sealed their fate.

Off to the side, Su Chen, who had given up his firing position for the archers, had already been gathering power.

He thrust his right hand forward. A searing blast erupted from his palm as a Telekinesis Shell, imbued with the power of Flame Burst, went roaring out.

Upon impact, a heatwave exploded outwards. The high temperature and shockwave not only destroyed the roots but also instantly scorched the two creatures, sending them flying like broken dolls to smash against the cliff wall, where they fell silent.

Meanwhile, the remaining three Cave Dwellers were not hindered in the slightest. Even with arrows sticking out of them, they charged into the group like starving wolves pouncing on prey.

One of them suddenly changed direction, lunging straight for Su Chen as he was casting.

Before it could reach him, his loyal guard dog, Xiaoye, intercepted it from the side, striking from the shadows. He executed a Soul-Splitting Claw and sank his fangs into the creature’s neck, tackling it to the ground.

But the Cave Dweller’s physical strength was extraordinary. With an explosive kick, it managed to flip the massive Netherworld War Dog onto its back. Its right hand sprouted bony claws that, vibrating at a high frequency like a drill bit, ruthlessly pierced its opponent’s body.

But Xiaoye was extremely resilient. Protected by his Netherworld armor, which guarded his vitals, he ignored the creature’s struggles. He clamped down harder on the Cave Dweller’s shoulder blade, his Dark Gold Claws digging deep into its opponent’s side. No matter how ferociously the creature fought, Xiaoye refused to let go, not allowing it to take a single step closer to his master.

The two of them were instantly locked in a desperate struggle.

The Cave Dweller was quickly covered in blood, especially from the gash on its waist that had been torn open by Xiaoye’s claws and was now gushing.

Meanwhile, Xiaoye was also bleeding profusely from the puncture wounds on his underbelly.

"Xiaoye, get back."

Su Chen had noticed the little guy’s heroic actions.

Upon hearing his master’s command, Xiaoye didn’t hesitate, immediately entering Netherworld Traverse. The instant he shifted out of the physical plane, a wave of Telekinesis washed over the area. A burst of flame blossomed, and the Cave Dweller’s head was detonated from a distance.

A hint of anger caused his Spiritual Power to spike.

As a result, the creature’s entire cranium exploded like a watermelon.

On the other side.

Yan Ruoruo had also entered a state of rage. Few would have guessed that she was the team’s secret main carry. After activating Frenzy Lv4, adrenaline coursed through her veins like molten lava.

Bizarrely, her eyes remained as calm and deep as a tranquil pool, without a single ripple of emotion.

But her hand speed had already surpassed the limits of human physiology.

The bowstring vibrated continuously.

Her movements were so fast they left afterimages.

Along with a massive spike in her casting efficiency, two Wind Split Arrows were loosed almost simultaneously, delivering the final blow and precisely blowing a Cave Dweller’s head apart.

The headless body, carried by its momentum, crashed heavily to the ground just two steps in front of Yan Ruoruo.

Firing such rapid, close-range shots without flinching truly showed Yan Ruoruo’s nerves of steel.