Chapter 4: The Terrifying Combined Spell Assault

"Elemental Heart?"

When Wang Shikong heard the final notification, shock flickered across his face.

Elemental Affinity +500? What kind of concept was that?

In his previous life, when Wang Shikong had transcended his fourth tier, the highest affinity he’d achieved for Space Element was only 577. Now, he had a base affinity of 500 for all elements, with even the lowest, Darkness, sitting at 572.

Such staggering affinity provided an immense boost to his strength.

Now, empowered by this terrifying affinity, he could cast elemental spells near-instantly.

Instacasting basic skills had been achievable only after reaching the Divine Palace level during the second tier and mastering the skill to Transcendent proficiency. Yet now, he could do it effortlessly.

This level of affinity dramatically reduced spell costs. For others, launching a fireball might consume 0.5 Spirit. Wang Shikong’s cast of the Li Fire Art cost less than 0.1 Spirit.

The implications were clear.

"What an unexpected windfall," Wang Shikong murmured, pressing his lips together. Yet, he understood the sheer difficulty of obtaining the Elemental Heart. Surpassing all others among Earth's billions in comprehending the Nine Elemental Arts, nine times over? Leading in even a single element was already extraordinary. This was the unparalleled advantage of rebirth.

"First major opportunity secured. But regaining the use of my legs..." His gaze fell to his paralyzed limbs. "That will require consuming the EXP needed to reach level ten." He was effectively starting ten levels behind. He needed to level up, fast.

Recalling information about Azure Sky Town, he knew of several quests to pursue and rare treasures to seize. But first, levels.

"Christ, this is harder than fucking college calculus! Trying to build a goddamn spell?"

"Picked melee thinking it meant no brains? And now this crap about elemental foundations having skill levels? Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Master, Transcendent? Isn't it supposed to just work when you learn it?"

"This ain't some game world, man. Just gotta buckle down. Yeah, it's tough, but it's mostly rote memorization. Look at that guy in the wheelchair over there. Legs gone, can't fight, he's stuck just... hitting the streets. We've got it easy. Wanna be a powerhouse? You think it happens overnight?"

The voices drifted past as his wheelchair glided along. Wang Shikong allowed a faint smile to ghost his lips.

Rattle.

He unfurled a folding fan, its soft breeze stirring the oppressive heat. His eyes lifted towards the distant sky.

Azure blue stretched above, scarred by a latticework of jagged crimson and pitch-black fissures. It looked like fractured glass pierced by nameless entities.

The temperature in Azure Sky Town stayed stubbornly above thirty degrees Celsius (eighty-six Fahrenheit). His advanced electric wheelchair, humming along at forty-five kilometers per hour, felt like pure cyberpunk juxtaposed against this Xuanhuan backdrop. Locals cast curious glances his way as he passed.

Arriving at Azure Sky Town’s East Gate, Wang Shikong rolled past the intrigued gazes of the town guard, heading out onto the wild grasslands stretching before him.

Before long, his eyes locked onto a figure shimmering with dark energy: a Mutated Pheasant.

Mutated Pheasant (Common): Level 0

HP: 150/150

CON: 10

SPI: 5

Skill: Furious Peck.

The pheasant’s crimson eyes, filled with bloodlust, snapped towards him. With speed matching his wheelchair, it charged, letting out a harsh screech.

Wang Shikong adjusted his glasses with one hand. Golden light pulsed faintly within his irises. Before him, a swirling sphere of heat coalesced – the Li Fire Art.

Whoosh!

It shot forth, impacting the pheasant’s head with deadly precision.

[ -40 . ]

[Li Fire: Deals Damage equal to 4 * Caster's Spirit.]

Li Fire was the favored starting spell for nascent Casters. Its raw, undiluted ball of flame packed power without needing intricate shaping, unlike foundational Water, Wood, or Metal spells, which were little better than hurling rocks without form manipulation.

Observing the enraged pheasant staggering back, Wang Shikong flicked his wrist. Wind energy whirled into existence beside the fading fireball and sharpened instantly into a crescent blade that flew forth.

[ -60 . ]

The wind slash effortlessly finished it off, displaying damage far exceeding the Li Fire strike. Wang Shikong remained impassive. This was the power of ​​[Elemental Manipulation]​​ – offering immense potential for alteration and tactical creativity.

Combat demanded strategy: The Li Fire weakened the pheasant's defenses, creating an opening where the subsequent wind slash could inflict significantly amplified damage. It mirrored a simple combat truth: stripping defenses first amplifies subsequent attacks.

A wisp of EXP energy floated above the defeated pheasant. Wang Shikong’s spirit gently drew it in. Finding no loot, he unfurled his fan again and continued forward.

For untrained, level-zero Earthlings, a Level 0 Mutated Pheasant posed a real threat. Too many initiates had fallen to "just a bird."

"A Level 0 mob is still too easy," he murmured to himself. "No real test here. I need to gauge my limits." Guiding the wheelchair deeper, he dispatched a few foolhardy pheasants that crossed his path.

Twenty minutes later, a new threat solidified before him.

Mutated Jackal (Common): Level 4

HP: 600/600

CON: 30

SPI: 11

Skill: Savage Tear.

"A Level 4 Jackal?"

The beast, some twenty-odd meters away, spotted him instantly. Blood-red eyes gleamed, and it surged forward.

"Perfect chance to test combined spells," Wang Shikong decided, eyes glinting. "Wù Earth."

A clump of solid yellow earth materialized.

"Gēng Metal!"

Golden light blossomed. The clump of earth flowed seamlessly into the radiance, expanding the sphere to twice its head-sized diameter.

"Guǐ Water!"

A globe of shimmering water appeared, merging with the Earth-Metal sphere to create a larger, azure-glowing orb.

"Yǐ Wood!"

Vibrant green energy – Wood Qi – sprang forth. As it fused, an oversized wooden spike formed above Wang Shikong. He sensed its violent instability. "Li Fire!"

FWOOSH!

The instant the Wood Qi merged, it ignited. A massive fireball, easily two meters across, roared into existence at the fusion's epicenter. With a sweep of his hand, he launched it.

The charging jackal, now mere five meters away, froze. Primal fear flashed in its eyes. It pivoted, desperately scrambling back.

"Xuán Wind!"

Wang Shikong’s smile was cold. Wind feeding Flame.

The colossal fireball expanded violently, its trajectory shifting instantly to track the fleeing beast as its speed quintupled.

SCREEEEEEE!

[ -600 ! ]

The jackal's agonized shriek was cut off instantly, consumed by the inferno.

Wang Shikong stared at the spot where the jackal vanished. His lips pressed together again, shock registering across his features.

"Earth nurtured Metal... Metal birthed Water... Water fed Wood... ignited by Li Fire..." His whisper carried awe. "Fueled by Wind... and an... instant kill."

This was the devastating power of spell combination.

A Level 0’s fireball typically dealt ~40 damage. He had cast six distinct spells. Logically, cumulative damage should be ~240. Factoring in defense-ignoring effects and critical strikes, the absolute maximum would perhaps scrape ~400.

Yet here he was, Level 0 versus Level 4, one-shot obliteration – damage overkill. All executed in under two seconds.

This feat wasn't solely due to his Transcendent proficiency in every basic spell. The lion's share of credit belonged to his Elemental Affinities, all soaring past 500. Without such affinity, his current Spirit reserves wouldn't have sufficed to stabilize such volatile elemental fusion.

According to the ​​[Principle of Elemental Combination Stability]​​: Combining formed spells triggers mutually reinforcing or conflicting elemental reactions. Without powerful Spirit or astute combination design to suppress this instability, elemental backlash becomes inevitable beyond a certain threshold. Unstable combinations must be released or dissolved quickly.

In his past life, consensus held that prerequisite proficiency for basic combinations was Master Level. Combining more spells demanded exponentially higher mastery. Fusing even two spells safely required Transcendent proficiency. Delay meant rising risk of catastrophic failure. The Great Xia’s premier Caster, whose signature Ultimate involved combining four elements – the legendary ​​[Thunderwind Dragonfire Art]​​ – was considered unparalleled. Even Wang Shikong’s most potent strike in that life, weaving Spatial Manipulation to forcibly bind three fused elements briefly, paled in comparison.

"Six spells combined... My achievement rests on three pillars," Wang Shikong analyzed silently. "First, Transcendent mastery of basics. Second, the Elemental Heart’s influence. Third... these are only fundamental manipulations. Plus, my level is still zero."

That former Premier Caster achieved mythical feats – vanquishing elite legions numbering in the tens of thousands single-handedly. Wang Shikong's conviction was ironclad: He would surpass that level. Could he face a hundred thousand? More?

His gaze, sharp and calculating, settled on the charred jackal corpse. A flicker of surprise raised an eyebrow.

"A drop?"

He rolled closer.

"Yǐ Wood."

Responding to his will, tendrils of Wood energy sprouted and secured the loot: a thin coin stamped with a '10' – ten Yuan Coins, currency of this Endless Continent.

Pocketing the coins, he absorbed the residual EXP orb. Scanning the grassland, his eyes fixed on another jackal prowling fifty meters distant.

The chair hummed as he closed the gap. Alerted at fifteen meters, the jackal spun towards him.

"GRRRROWL!"

It charged without hesitation.

"Let's try a different approach."

A predatory smile touched Wang Shikong's lips as spirit churned within.

Left Side: Three glowing orbs of white energy condensed.

Right Side: Three swirling spheres of dark energy formed simultaneously.

His will unleashed them.

The spheres reached the jackal point-blank.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Deafening chain-reaction explosions engulfed the beast, flinging it five meters backwards.

[ -230 . ]

[ -250 . ]

[ -20 . ]

"Not as potent as the fusion," Wang Shikong observed clinically. "Reactive explosions using conflicting elements are inherently less stable. However..." He noted the jackal scrambling back to its feet despite the onslaught, "It has a knockback effect."

Raw destructive force wasn't the sole metric. The effectiveness depended entirely how elements were combined. His basic combination was foundational. True power emerged combining advanced spells – demanding ​​[Spell Acquisition]​​, ​​[Proficiency Requirements]​​, ​​[Compatibility Assessment]​​, and finally ​​[Successful Synthesis]​​. Not every pairing worked; Water Arrow and Thorn Strike didn’t synergize via Water nurturing Wood, but Water Healing Art could empower Thorn Bind Vines, reinforcing them.

The nine elements of the Endless Continent offered near-limitless permutations. As he reflected, moving towards the dazed jackal: This was reality, not a game. True power stemmed from more than force alone – it demanded intellect, adaptability, and precise execution.