Chapter 83: The Unscrupulous Life Mentor
Su Xiao stood before the pitch-black doorway, the darkness seeming capable of devouring any living being.
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xiao released an alchemical raven from his storage space and activated it, controlling the raven to fly into the doorway. Almost instantly, the mental link between Su Xiao and the alchemical raven was severed, the raven devoured by the darkness.
Su Xiao frowned deeply. He had endured countless hardships to reach this place, only to be shown a mural? Was that it?
He unfastened the metal bracer on his left arm and took a deep breath.
"I'll give you my left hand."
As Su Xiao extended his left hand into the darkness, Dragon-Slaying Flash was already pressed against his armpit, ready to sever his arm at any moment.
A pulling force came from his left arm. Su Xiao was about to cut it off when he realized something was wrong—his left arm felt no abnormality. The sensation was like plunging his arm into a pool of mud.
The pulling force grew stronger. The ground beneath Su Xiao's feet cracked extensively. Confirming his left arm was unharmed, he stopped resisting the pull and was sucked entirely into the darkness.
Su Xiao entered a pitch-black space where hearing, sight, and smell lost all meaning. Aside from perceiving his own existence, he could sense nothing.
In the darkness, a faint light slowly flickered to life. This light was elongated, and as it grew more distinct, Su Xiao saw it clearly—it was a blade.
The faint light spread. After an unknown amount of time, a figure holding a long blade appeared before Su Xiao. This figure walked slowly toward him and eventually merged with Su Xiao's body.
The moment they merged, Su Xiao's mind buzzed. When his vision returned, he found himself standing on a desolate expanse of red earth, a blood-red moon hanging at the horizon.
Su Xiao tried to observe his surroundings, but he couldn't control his line of sight. It felt as though he had entered someone else's consciousness.
The owner of this body was unknown. The body's owner looked down at his feet, revealing a vast field of strange beast corpses.
Boom!
Magma erupted from cracks in the earth, and distant roars of beasts echoed. The body's owner raised his head to gaze into the distance, holding his long blade horizontally before him.
Su Xiao was completely bewildered. He didn't understand what he was supposed to see. Fighting those strange beasts seemed meaningless.
But soon, Su Xiao understood why he was here. When the body's owner swung his blade, Su Xiao immediately sensed that this person's skill with the blade far surpassed his own.
Time seemed accelerated. Su Xiao felt only a few seconds had passed, but in reality, the body he inhabited had been fighting for a long time. Su Xiao ignored the exceptionally ferocious beasts, instead focusing intently on how the body's owner wielded his blade.
Su Xiao now possessed more than just sight. Whenever the body's owner swung his blade, Su Xiao felt as though he were swinging it himself.
After an unknown period, the beasts on the blood-red earth were all slain, but Su Xiao was still unsatisfied. His vision gradually darkened as his consciousness withdrew from that body.
The next moment, Su Xiao inhabited another person's body. As his vision cleared, a roaring black dragon appeared before him. This dragon was enormous, like a small mountain, its back covered in bone spikes.
With the previous experience, Su Xiao observed more carefully this time. He didn't care how strong the black dragon was; instead, he concentrated on sensing how this body delivered its blade strikes.
Strange beasts, black dragons, glacial giants, star-crabs, bizarre lifeforms—Su Xiao witnessed battle after battle. All these battles shared one commonality: the bodies he inhabited were all skilled with long blades.
Experiencing the battles of blade masters firsthand was an opportunity. As time passed, Su Xiao's vision grew blurry, and his consciousness became hazy.
When complete darkness enveloped his sight, he once again perceived his own body.
Opening his eyes, Su Xiao instinctively raised his arms. Though the viewing had been exhilarating, the inability to control his body was unpleasant.
Su Xiao took out his portable timer. Only ten minutes had passed, yet he had witnessed battles spanning over ten days.
He swung his blade forward, a silver thread cutting through the air. Su Xiao clearly felt that his understanding of blade techniques had greatly improved.
[Blade Master has been upgraded to Blade Master has been upgraded to Blade Master has been upgraded to Blade Master... consecutively upgraded by 5 levels.]
This was the reward for obtaining the Annihilation Stone and passing some kind of trial. To get the Annihilation Stone, Su Xiao had ventured deep into the Shia Temple.
Moreover, to reach this place, Su Xiao had nearly been surrounded and killed by undead armies multiple times. Calling it a narrow escape was no exaggeration.
Among all abilities, the sensation of upgrading Blade Master was the strongest—at least for Su Xiao. So, a consecutive 5-level upgrade didn't surprise him.
Although Blade Master had risen 5 levels, it was achieved through the insights of other blade masters. The rapid increase was real, but it required time to settle.
If Su Xiao had used Soul Crystals + Paradise Coins to upgrade, it would have cost at least 50 Soul Crystals (Large) + 1.25 million Paradise Coins. The benefits were obvious, but the drawback was significant: Su Xiao couldn't continue upgrading Blade Master in the near future, at least not until he had fully consolidated his current blade skills.
[Blade Master (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Increases blade-type weapon attack power by 224% (increased by 30%), greatly enhances blade technique proficiency.
Lv.10 Additional Ability...
...
Since it was a minor level upgrade, no new additional ability appeared. However, a 30% increase in blade weapon attack power meant a 30% increase in Su Xiao's melee lethality—a substantial boost.
Su Xiao was still at the first stone door. The shattered door had restored itself. He tried using the Annihilation Stone to open it again, but there was no response.
The Annihilation Gate had raised Su Xiao's Blade Master by 5 levels, filling him with anticipation for the remaining two doors.
Approaching the second stone door, which should be the Law Gate, Su Xiao took out the corresponding Law Stone.
The Law Stone floated toward the door and embedded itself into the central groove. The door shattered with a sound.
Seeing what lay behind the door, Su Xiao's cheek twitched. Behind the door... was a wall!!
This left Su Xiao bewildered. Was he supposed to break through this stone wall? Opening a door only to find a wall behind it—what a ridiculous situation.
A mischievous laugh came from behind, very infectious—it was Mawen Hua'erzi.
"What does this mean?"
Su Xiao felt that Mawen Hua'erzi knew something, but this troublemaker simply wouldn't say, his expression clearly meaning: 'Figure it out yourself.'
"It means you're utterly unsuited for what lies behind the Law Gate. Not even the most basic trial appeared."
Mawen Hua'erzi's laugh was as unscrupulous as ever.
"Unsuitable..."
Su Xiao's mood was indescribable. But giving up without trying made him unwilling, so he slashed at the stone wall.
With a crackling sound, blue-white electric arcs surged. Su Xiao stumbled back several steps, his body twitching involuntarily, thoroughly electrified until his hair nearly stood on end.
Even more unscrupulous laughter rang out. Su Xiao, with a dark expression, walked toward the third stone door.