# Chapter 92: Thank You
Su Xiao's consciousness was very clear, but he couldn't move. Surrounding him was a colorful world—a scene he had seen several times before when entering spatial arrays in the void.
With a whoosh, a feeling of weightlessness appeared, then solid ground beneath his feet. He stumbled forward a few steps as several maple leaves drifted toward him.
Everything around was pitch black. Su Xiao could only see a tall Black Maple Tree in the distance. He walked toward it, and soon, the darkness around him receded.
Su Xiao arrived on a patch of emerald green grass. This hundred-meter-diameter patch of turf gave him a very safe feeling, driving back the chaotic darkness dozens of meters away.
A gentle breeze blew, rustling the Black Maple Tree at the center of the grass. Beneath the tree sat an old man. His clothes were tattered, his white hair loose and disheveled, making him look somewhat slovenly. But his eyes were special—pitch black to the point of being chilling.
"You're here."
The old man looked up at Su Xiao and reached out to gently stroke the Black Maple Tree behind him. A piece of bark was missing from the trunk, and clear scratch marks could be seen.
Touching these scratches, the old man's expression was no longer calm. His face twitched, showing obvious pain.
"I cultivated a sapling."
Su Xiao spoke as he walked toward the old man, sitting cross-legged on the grass a few meters in front of him.
"Oh?"
The old man looked at Su Xiao with surprise, then smiled and nodded.
"Then I wish you success. If a blade-user possesses a Black Maple Tree, many challengers will come knocking."
The old man seemed somewhat nostalgic, recalling past experiences in the void.
"You're not going to take it back?"
Su Xiao had met the old man once before. He knew who this old man was—Mawen Hua'erzi's master, a very fierce old fellow. This old man had imprisoned the Blade Demon Shadow within his own body, devoured it, and turned it into his own power.
"This is your fortune or fate object. It has nothing to do with me. What's mine will find me sooner or later. What's not mine..."
The old man didn't continue. His words were clearly contradictory. The first half sounded ethereal and transcendent, like a reclusive master. The second half took a sharp turn, roughly meaning: what's his, no one can take; what's not his, he'll first kill the treasure's owner, manually interrupt their fate, and then snatch the treasure!
"First time I've heard someone describe robbery so openly."
Su Xiao wasn't in a hurry now, because he had already guessed why he had come to see this old man again. He was about to face a choice—a choice regarding his blade technique.
"Kid, don't make it sound so ugly. Having the chance to snatch something means that thing has fate with you. Though it's not glorious, it's far better than coveting it in secret. The void is like this—there are many laws there, but none can achieve true fairness."
The old man seemed to be in a good mood. After his musings, his expression turned serious.
"Since you've come here, it means you've truly reached the point of needing to make a choice. As I said before, you have two options. This time I'll be more thorough. Will your blade technique continue upward in a conventional manner, or break the shackles and look toward higher realms..."
Through the old man's explanation, Su Xiao understood his meaning. Using Reincarnation Paradise's system to describe it: Su Xiao's Blade Mastery had reached a certain limit. In other words, Lv.50 was the theoretical maximum level for Blade Mastery.
Su Xiao had two choices. One was to find a way to break this limit and continue developing Blade Mastery upward. The second was to ascend in rank form.
In terms of difficulty, breaking the limit was actually much easier than ascending ranks. What lay above Master level, Su Xiao only had guesses about, not complete confirmation.
"Choose. Of course, you have a more extreme option. However..."
The old man let out a sinister laugh, his pitch-black eyes narrowing.
"Choosing the third option, you would become dozens or even hundreds of times stronger in a short time. But whether the you at that time would still be the current you is unknown. Your consciousness might perish in the process. Many have verified it—that's a path of no return. Considering you're cultivating a Black Maple Tree, the second option is actually more suitable for you."
Hearing the old man's words, Su Xiao showed no reaction. He had already experienced how deceptive Law Destroyers were when guiding others from Mawen Hua'erzi and the female Law Destroyer. The old man was already a good mentor—at least he recommended the relatively correct choice to Su Xiao.
Whether to continue raising Blade Mastery's level or to advance its rank—this was the choice Su Xiao faced. The former was relatively simple, stronger than the latter in the early stages, but in the later stages, advancing Blade Mastery's rank would definitely be stronger.
Simply put, the former had a higher floor, the latter had a higher ceiling. As Blade Mastery was Su Xiao's core ability, he naturally chose the one with the higher ceiling.
"I choose the latter."
After brief consideration, Su Xiao made his decision.
"Most Law Destroyers would choose this. If your Black Maple Tree can grow strong, you'll be glad you made this choice now."
The old man raised his arm. With a crash, the surrounding scene shattered. A black light drifted out from the Black Maple Tree and entered Su Xiao's body.
"The only surviving Law Destroyer. You don't need to revive the Law Destroyers, nor is there any mission. You only need to let those spellcasters in the void know that we, the Element Guardians, will not be exterminated by thieves like them. Extinction is not the end, death is also silent. The tilt of the scales is predetermined, not destined."
The old man clasped his hands behind his back, slowly dissipating, a faint smile on his face.
"Don't be so flowery. I didn't understand the second half."
"..."
When Su Xiao said this, the smile on the old man's face froze.
"Simply put, teach those spellcasters a harsh lesson, you little brat. I can't help you much, and I don't need your repayment."
After leaving these words, perhaps feeling somewhat embarrassed, the old man quickly disappeared.
"Got it. Thank you."
Space-time power enveloped Su Xiao. When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting on the bed in his Exclusive Room. A large number of prompts appeared.
[Prompt: Blade Mastery has reached the maximum level for this skill. Blade Mastery has undergone changes and has been temporarily locked as 'Blade Mastery'. High-rank energy detected influencing Blade Mastery.]
[You have obtained Blade Mastery Advancement Permission.]
[Prompt: Advancing a Master-level ability requires a trial assessment.]
[Prompt: Due to high-rank energy bonus, the Hunter has been exempted from the trial assessment.]
[To advance Blade Mastery, the Hunter must pay: Grandmaster Power Scroll (Complete) + Proof of Glory.]
[Prompt: Grandmaster Power Scroll (Complete) can be synthesized from Grandmaster Power Fragments. Ten of any fragments can synthesize 'Grandmaster Power (Complete)'.]
[Prompt: Proof of Glory requires challenges in the Trial Grounds. This permission has been temporarily opened. Each challenge costs 5,000 Paradise Coins. If the challenge succeeds, Proof of Glory can be obtained.]