Chapter 29: Eighth-Order Fire Mastery, Supreme Sublimation! I Am the Flame!

The dungeon screen rippled slightly, as if conveying the fact that someone had just entered.

"Lin Yi!" Zuo Qian exclaimed at this moment, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Ya, who had been immersed in sorrow and fear, felt even more bewildered and helpless at this sight.

"How reckless!" Jiang Xian, who had previously felt a sense of goodwill toward Lin Yi due to Jiang Ya’s constant praise and had even considered mentoring him, could not help but rebuke him. He never expected that this youth, who seemed so composed, would be so impulsive. Knowing full well that this was a high-difficulty Grade A trial dungeon, he actually dared to enter alone.

The bespectacled professional from Tianshui Academy showed a flash of astonishment on his otherwise cold, emotionless face upon seeing Lin Yi’s actions. He then spat out four words: "Utterly foolish..."

The accompanying instructors from Tianshui Academy looked at each other, and some even let out a scoff.

"Seeking his own death!"
"He probably doesn't even know what the situation is inside, or how to find the real shelter."
"Let alone a rookie who just finished his job advancement; even for us, entering a dungeon of this difficulty alone is extremely dangerous."
"Forget about him. If he wants to die, no one can stop him."
"There is no time to lose. We don't know how long this dungeon will last; our priority is to get our own people to clear the trial!"

...

Passing through the dungeon screen, Lin Yi received a system prompt.

[You are entering a special trial dungeon: The City of Fading Light, Felkain.]
[Warning! It is detected that you are entering this dungeon alone. It is recommended to form a party before challenging it!]
[Do you still wish to enter the dungeon?]

Lin Yi selected "Yes" instantly.

The next moment, he entered the dungeon. Opening his eyes, Lin Yi found himself in absolute darkness. Under the pitch-black night sky, not a single star was visible. Only a crescent of scarlet blood-moon hung high in the sky.

Although the lighting conditions were extremely poor, and Lin Yi lacked any lighting equipment or spells like Fireball that could provide illumination, he was able to see everything around him clearly thanks to his god-tier skill, [All-Knowing Eye]. Collapsed city walls, scattered rubble, and the faint outline of a city were visible. Lin Yi felt as if he had arrived at a medieval castle—a fallen one. A night wind howled through every corner of the dilapidated city, making a piercing sound.

Along with the wind, there were countless indescribable rustling sounds, as if countless monsters were hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

[Clearance mission issued!]
[Survive in Felkain for 3 hours!]
[Time remaining: 2 hours, 59 minutes, 49 seconds!]
[Please note: All monsters in this dungeon are immune to physical damage. They take 100% increased damage from Light-attribute attacks and 50% increased damage from Fire and Lightning-attribute attacks.]

Lin Yi received the system prompt. No wonder this dungeon was a trial for Mages. If it were any other class that relied on weapons, they would be finished here, as all monsters were immune to physical damage.

Accompanying the prompt was a gentle reminder:
[Friendly tip: 300 years ago, on an ordinary night, Felkain fell, and the sun never rose again.]
[If possible, please stop your heartbeat and abandon your breathing; they dislike noise.]

Judging by this prompt, the city must have been prosperous and possessed its own civilization once. But something had happened, and it was shrouded in darkness. At this moment, the entire city was likely filled with countless dark monsters that hunted and tracked by sound.

This reminded Lin Yi of a movie he had seen on Earth in his previous life: *A Quiet Place*. In that film, everyone tried their best not to make any sound, because the slightest noise would attract terrifying monsters. But the dungeon Lin Yi was in now was even more perverse—it wasn't just the sound of footsteps; even the sound of one's heartbeat and breathing would be heard by the monsters.

"Heh, heh, heh..." Lin Yi heard a strange sound. Looking back, he saw several patches of even deeper darkness moving rapidly toward him through the void. At the same time, under the faint moonlight of the blood moon, he saw several "smiling faces" floating in the air. These faces looked no different from human ones, but in this environment, they appeared truly horrific.

[Fading Light Shadow Demon]
[Level: 25]
[Rank: Common]
[Race: Shadow Spirit]
[HP: 8000/8000]
[MP: 500/500]
[Skill: Shadow Concealment]
[Weakness: Magic Damage]

The pitch-black entities whose forms were unclear were called Fading Light Shadow Demons. The floating smiling faces were [Fading Light Shadow Nightmares]. They had higher HP, moved faster, and were Elite-tier monsters. These two types of monsters were clearly coming for Lin Yi. They had heard his breathing and heartbeat.

No wonder Jiang Ya said that one would be constantly chased by monsters in this dungeon. Just thinking about it, Lin Yi found it daunting. Whether it was engaging in combat or fleeing, both would create noise. It was a fatal chain reaction, as it would only attract more monsters. The people from Tianshui Academy must have known that there was a shelter in this city of Felkain that could truly hide one from these monsters, or they had some method to mask their presence.

From the perspective of a normal professional clearing the dungeon, avoiding combat was undoubtedly the best strategy. But for Lin Yi, he planned to take a different path.

*One cannot simply hide from the darkness, my friends. You must use fire! As long as I kill you all, I won't need to hide or run!*

A brilliant fire ignited in Lin Yi's hands, and a scorching heat emerged. He unleashed the Tier 4 area-of-effect fire skill, Flame Storm. Because it was an instant cast, he unleashed three in a row. Scalding clouds of fire crashed down from the sky like a waterfall, erupting with a series of roars. The five or six shadow monsters that had just surrounded him were all instantly killed.

Of course, the next second, Lin Yi heard even more rustling sounds approaching him. Lin Yi raised his hand again. After a brief chant, a six-meter-tall Fire Demon, flowing with molten lava, was summoned. He left the incoming monsters to his new bodyguard. Meanwhile, Lin Yi opened his skill interface, intending to allocate points.

Lin Yi’s goal was a Tier 8 fire spell!

Allocating 500,000 points usually took a significant amount of time based on previous experience. However, this time, Lin Yi was pleasantly surprised to find that his talent for point allocation seemed to have unlocked something new: [One-Click Allocation]! This was easy to understand: with a single click, he could instantly upgrade the target skill to the next rank.

[Ding! 500,000 skill points consumed! Your skill, Skyfire Dragon Breath, has been upgraded!]
[You have acquired a new spell: Supreme Sublimation, Fire Spirit Avatar!]