Chapter 85: The Stingy Old Fellow
Space-time energy surged, and Su Xiao appeared out of thin air in his exclusive room. He stumbled forward a few steps before steadying himself.
"Owww!"
A miserable howl rang out as Bubu Wang, who had been napping on the carpet, was stepped on, its dog face utterly bewildered.
"Owww~"
Bubu Wang lay on the ground, howling like a wolf, meaning: "Without 1000 Paradise Coins, this Wang isn't getting up today."
But in the next moment, Bubu Wang immediately got up and trotted over with small steps to brew tea for Su Xiao.
Su Xiao put down the size-65 slippers he used to ward off evil spirits and checked the notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Blade Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.44. Heart Meditation has been upgraded to Lv.14.]
The upgrade to Blade Grandmaster didn't surprise Su Xiao. He opened the skill description to check the changes in his blade technique.
[Blade Grandmaster (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Increases blade-type weapon attack power by 242% (increase of 18%), significantly improves blade technique proficiency.
Lv.10 Additional Ability: Rhythm of All Things (MAX)
Lv.20 Additional Ability: Blade Aura
Lv.30 Additional Ability: Mind Blade (MAX)
Lv.40 Additional Ability: Edge of the Blade: Blade Aura flight speed +140% (+20%), Edge Value +20 (+5), Armor Penetration +20, Blade Aura upgraded to semi-substantial form.
…
The improvement in blade technique wasn't too drastic; that was the nature of basic abilities. They required constant accumulation. Without foundational abilities, even possessing numerous active skills would be like building a castle in the air.
Skill-type mages possessed a vast array of abilities, but they also never neglected investment in foundational abilities.
It was precisely because of the enormous consumption of basic abilities that the price of Soul Crystals was so high. Over 98% of contractors understood the importance of basic abilities; the remaining 2% would be eliminated in a short time.
If active skills were the branches and leaves, then basic skills were the trunk. Without a trunk, branches and leaves could only lie on the ground, waiting to wither.
Or rather, without basic skills, one could hardly master active abilities at all. Su Xiao had seen 99% of active skills, and all of them required a certain level of basic ability as a prerequisite.
For example, the [Lightning Spear] he had previously sold required mastering "Basic Lightning Control Lv.30 or above." Without lightning control, where would the lightning to generate the Lightning Spear come from? By willpower? Metaphysics? Assistance from Reincarnation Paradise?
It simply didn't exist. Reincarnation Paradise would not assist contractors, workers, or even hunters in combat. If one couldn't control lightning, obtaining the [Lightning Spear] scroll would only leave them staring at it helplessly.
Because of this, all contractors strived to improve their basic abilities. Moreover, basic abilities weren't just for show; high-level basic abilities could even be stronger than active skills.
Over time, Soul Crystals naturally became scarce. This was true for solo contractors, let alone adventure groups.
Therefore, consuming a large number of Soul Crystals to upgrade Blade Grandmaster didn't pain Su Xiao at all. He even wanted to find a chance to raise it a few more levels.
Compared to the upgrade of Blade Grandmaster, Su Xiao was more surprised by the improvement of Heart Meditation. Because he insisted on meditating every day, even without interruption in derivative worlds, this ability, which couldn't be upgraded through Reincarnation Paradise, had reached Lv.14. This showed how much Su Xiao valued it. As long as the battle wasn't intense enough to last 24 hours a day, he would meditate for a while before resting.
[Heart Meditation (Active/Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect 1: Significantly enhances perception and willpower, calms the mind, and improves understanding of nature, etc.
Skill Effect 2: Upon entering a meditative state, Willpower × 3, Perception Sensitivity increases by 80%.
…
Seeing the newly appeared Skill Effect 2, Su Xiao's eyes lit up. This was definitely a divine skill. Although it couldn't directly enhance combat power, if he encountered a dangerous situation, such as an external consciousness invading his body, he only needed to enter a meditative state. His willpower would become as firm as steel, not easily shaken. Or rather, at that moment, Su Xiao could hang the enemy's consciousness up and thrash it.
This ability made Su Xiao wonder: if he accidentally transformed into the Blade Demon, could he use the meditative state to dispel the Blade Demon or expel that energy from his body?
Of course, Su Xiao wouldn't try it himself. Every time the Blade Demon's shadow appeared, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. With his current strength, he was far from being able to contend with that thing, let alone harness it for his own use.
The blade technique upgrade was complete, and he had gained an unexpected reward. Su Xiao was in a noticeably good mood.
A palm-sized piece of tree bark appeared in Su Xiao's hand. As soon as this piece of bark appeared, it quickly decomposed and scattered into the air.
Su Xiao quickly took out a glass cover, collected the scattered bark particles in the air, and put them into a glass vial the length of a pinky finger.
Shaking the glass vial, the brown fragments inside seemed unaffected by gravity, floating lightly upward. Su Xiao tried to check the information on these bark fragments.
[Black Maple Tree Bark (Fragment)]
Origin: Deepest part of the Black Abyss (Unique)
Quality: White ~ ???
Category: Material
Usage Effect: Can be attempted for planting.
Description: A small piece of Black Maple Tree bark. With the vitality of the Black Maple Tree, it can be attempted for planting, requiring Soul Crystals + Abyss Pool Water as nutrients.
Selling Price: 200,000 Paradise Coins
…
The bark Su Xiao had casually snatched was clearly no ordinary item. He reached back and rubbed his lower back. During the teleportation earlier, he felt as if someone had kicked him. The pain was excruciating, and his mana, which was a full 5726 points, had been reduced to only 465 points. His lower back still ached faintly.
"That old fellow…"
Su Xiao naturally guessed what had happened. Through his contact with Mawen Hua'erzi, he had discovered one thing: while other Law Destroyers wouldn't harbor ill will towards him, "loving each other" was clearly impossible. Take that old man, for example. He had only appeared after receiving the Soul Crystals. Because Su Xiao had torn off a piece of Black Maple Tree bark, the old man had even kicked him before leaving.
Thinking about it this way, Mawen Hua'erzi seemed like a very reliable guide, even if that guy's laughter was quite unscrupulous.
Su Xiao got a flowerpot, filled it with soil, and poured the bark fragments from the glass vial into the pot. After hesitating for a moment, he buried a Soul Crystal (Medium) in the soil.
As for the Abyss Pool Water, he had asked Reincarnation Paradise about it earlier. The answer was that it could be exchanged for Paradise Coins: 5000 Paradise Coins for 100 milliliters.
100 milliliters didn't sound like much, but it was actually a decent amount, roughly the capacity of a disposable cup.
Su Xiao exchanged for 200 milliliters of Abyss Pool Water. A ball of emerald-green water appeared before him. He controlled this ball of Abyss Pool Water to flow into the flowerpot.
After watering, Su Xiao observed the changes in the flowerpot. However, there was no change at all. It was just soil. The scene of immediate rooting and sprouting that he had imagined didn't appear.
Just as Su Xiao was observing whether the Black Maple Tree would sprout, a dog head poked over, seemingly very interested in the flowerpot.
"Bubu, if you gnaw on this thing, I'll hang you up and beat you with the slippers."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang raised its dog head proudly, meaning: "Master, this Wang has already drafted over 300 home-wrecking plans in its mind. Would you like to review them?"
Just then, Amu, the core member of the home-wrecking squad, stepped forward, also seemingly curious about the flowerpot.
Su Xiao walked over to the bedside, picked up the evil-warding giant slippers, and placed them next to the flowerpot. This time, neither Bubu Wang nor Amu dared to have any ideas about the flowerpot. Getting hit by the slippers really hurt…