Chapter 83: The Path of Choice
Inside the exclusive room, Su Xiao, who had been asleep for an unknown amount of time, sat up. After washing up, he felt full of energy.
There were quite a few things to do, so Su Xiao needed to plan. First, he would open two Scarlet Cards to try his luck, and then he would improve his blade technique.
After the high-intensity battles in the Pirate World, Su Xiao felt he could continue advancing his blade technique. He had already stored 52 Soul Crystals (Large), the harvest from multiple worlds.
He had enough Soul Crystals (Large), but his Paradise Coins were somewhat insufficient. Each level of Blade Grandmaster required 250,000 Paradise Coins.
Fortunately, Su Xiao wasn't in a hurry. His Blade Grandmaster had already reached a level where rushing to Lv.50 wasn't necessary; it required a process. Raising it to Lv.50 in a short time wasn't a good thing. The remaining Paradise Coins were enough to upgrade Blade Grandmaster by one level, which was sufficient.
As long as he finished these two tasks, Su Xiao would be much more relaxed.
Two Scarlet Cards appeared in Su Xiao's hands. One was dropped by an unknown contractor, commonly referred to as 'that someone,' and the other had a bit more background, dropped by Lanzo.
What puzzled Su Xiao was that after killing Lanzo, he hadn't obtained the 'Travel Group Invitation Number,' which could be exchanged for Paradise Coins.
Considering that Lanzo had stolen the number, it was normal for no number to drop. As for retaliation from the Travel Group after killing one of their members, Su Xiao wasn't worried at all; those people wouldn't come for revenge.
The Scarlet Card of 'that someone' dissolved in Su Xiao's hand, forming a red vortex. Regardless of strength, there were always three chances to draw.
Su Xiao had an instinctive aversion to Scarlet Cards. After many painful experiences, he felt that these things simply couldn't yield good items. Every contractor stored a large number of items in their storage space, and a Scarlet Card mixed together items from the storage space + the contractor's equipment before death + mastered skills (converted into scrolls), allowing for three draws.
[You have obtained a New Cotton Sock (Common Item).]
[You have obtained Hot Pot Base · Devil's Spice (Common Item).]
[You have obtained a Military Folding Knife (Blue).]
...
A delicate little knife appeared in Su Xiao's hand. For him, this thing was no longer usable in combat, but it was handy for daily use.
With a snap, the folding knife flipped open in Su Xiao's hand. The knife spun rapidly in his hand a few times before disappearing.
Lanzo's Scarlet Card dissolved, forming another blood-red vortex. This time, Su Xiao was noticeably more serious.
[You have obtained a Note (No Grade Item).]
Su Xiao looked at the note in his hand. After opening it, he frowned. The note read:
'Friend who took my life, if you are fortunate enough to see this note, I sincerely tell you that my storage space contains 57,834 notes of the same style. I wish you 'good luck'.'
Su Xiao had a headache. Lanzo's action was a classic case of harming others without benefiting himself. If these notes were common items, all notes would be categorized as one type, but they were no-grade items, above common but below white quality.
Thus, the 57,834 notes would be judged as different individuals. The probability of drawing something useful from Lanzo's Scarlet Card was extremely low, living up to his reputation as an old yinbi.
Tossing the note aside, Su Xiao continued drawing.
[You have obtained a Bag of Notes (No Grade Item).]
[You have obtained Lightning Spear (Active Skill).]
[Lightning Spear]
Origin: Third Rank Battlefield
Quality: Gold
Type: Skill Scroll (Active)
Prerequisites: Mastered Basic Lightning Control Lv.30 or above, 80 Agility, 70 Intelligence.
Effect: After using this scroll, you will master Lightning Spear (Active).
Lightning Spear (Active): Consumes 400 Mana Points, takes 1 to 8 seconds to gather lightning. For each second of charging time extended, the volume of the Lightning Spear increases by 10%, flight speed by 5%, and damage increases by 120 points. Initial damage is Agility × 0.5 + Intelligence × 0.2 + Basic Lightning Ability Damage + Penetration Damage + Paralysis Damage.
Tip: This skill has a cooldown of one hour.
Rating: 400 points (Gold item rating range is 310 to 400 points)
Introduction: The power of the gods gathers in the hand.
Selling Price: 179,000 Paradise Coins.
...
Seeing the scroll in his hand, Su Xiao smiled. He couldn't help but wonder if Lanzo hadn't put a large number of notes in his storage space, would he still have drawn this item?
Su Xiao got up and left the exclusive room. He couldn't master [Lightning Spear]. Setting aside the prerequisite abilities, his absolute magic constitution alone destined him to be incompatible with such flashy abilities.
An hour later, at the Trade Market, in front of a stall surrounded by about a dozen contractors.
"Maximum 300,000 Paradise Coins. The prerequisites for this ability are too harsh."
A young man in sportswear, with a parrot perched on his shoulder, spoke.
"300,000, 300,000."
The parrot on the young man's shoulder mimicked him.
"Minimum 400,000."
Su Xiao sat behind the stall, holding a tablet in his hand.
"Impossible. If you're not serious, forget it."
The young man got up and left. As soon as he left, a man in a mage robe offered 320,000 Paradise Coins. Although the prerequisites for [Lightning Spear] were high, it still had a decent market.
"Minimum 350,000."
Su Xiao had been sitting behind the stall for an hour trying to sell this item. He wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.
"Deal."
This mage was clearly quite wealthy, securing [Lightning Spear] for 350,000 Paradise Coins. However, this item wasn't as good as it seemed. Lanzo had used it in his fight with Su Xiao, and Su Xiao had slashed it back.
The weakness of [Lightning Spear] wasn't its prerequisites or charging time, but its release speed.
Formation and gathering are two different concepts. If it were forming [Lightning Spear] in the hand, this item would be worth at least 400,000 to 500,000 Paradise Coins. As for gathering... refer to Lanzo, who had it slashed back in one stroke.
...
After selling [Lightning Spear], Su Xiao returned to his exclusive room. He sat cross-legged on the bed and took out 30 Soul Crystals (Large) from his storage space.
Su Xiao planned to upgrade his blade technique by three consecutive levels. After settling in the next world, he could consider whether to push for Lv.50.
[Is/Not Upgrade Blade Grandmaster? To upgrade this ability, you need to pay Soul Crystal (Large) × 10 + 250,000 Paradise Coins.]
Su Xiao chose to upgrade three consecutive levels. With a crisp cracking sound, the 30 Soul Crystals (Large) placed around him all shattered.
Su Xiao suddenly felt a pulling force. His eyes snapped open, but all he saw was pitch black.
Observing his surroundings, Su Xiao could confirm that this wasn't his consciousness arriving somewhere, but his entire body being pulled here by a spatial force.
Everything he saw was pitch black. Su Xiao drew the long blade at his waist, hearing only his own breathing.
"You have come, Inheritor."
A pair of eyes opened in the darkness. These eyes began to devour the surrounding darkness, which quickly receded. An old man with long white hair and a gaunt face sat under a red maple tree.
"Your path of the blade is about to face a choice, and you have two options."
The old man spoke. Su Xiao tightened his grip on his long blade. He didn't sense even a trace of life from the other party. In fact, he couldn't perceive the other's existence at all.