Chapter 53: An Acquaintance
[You have entered the arena.]
[Current match: 15633.]
[Competitor: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Paradise Arena Ranking: 159th (Fifth Rank).]
[Consecutive wins: 69.]
[Top 10 Honor Rewards: Not obtained.]
Su Xiao came to the arena this time without bringing his "summon squad." His goal this time was to break into the top 20.
As long as he made it into the top 20 this time, if he survived the next world, he would have the time and energy to challenge for the top spot.
[Matching opponent...]
A somewhat lengthy wait began. Around the 150th rank, the speed of matching opponents noticeably slowed, as there were only a little over a hundred opponents.
[Matching successful. Opponent rank: 139th (Fifth Rank).]
[Note: This is a contractor from Holy Light Paradise.]
Su Xiao's high streak of 69 consecutive wins made it unlikely for him to be matched with opponents ranked below 150. However, this also had its benefits. As long as his strength was sufficient, he didn't have to worry about not climbing the ranks.
Inside the rest room, Su Xiao put on the exclusive arena mask. A teleportation sensation washed over him, and the next moment, he appeared in an empty cave valley.
The cave valley was open to the sky above, roughly oval in shape, about a hundred meters in diameter. Surrounding it were cliffs. At one end of the cliff, a mountain spring flowed down, forming a shallow puddle about a dozen centimeters deep on the ground, within which lush water plants grew.
This terrain was chosen by the opponent. This was a non-public match, so there were no spectators.
Su Xiao stood in the puddle that reached up to his knees. The enemy was likely a water-type ability user; otherwise, there wouldn't be a yes/no option to change the terrain before the battle began.
Su Xiao's opponent this time was interesting. They insisted on fighting in this specific terrain; otherwise, they would forfeit the match. While neither side would suffer any loss, Su Xiao didn't have time to wait any longer.
A contractor draped in a beige robe and wearing a hood stood opposite. The brim of the hood was very low, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female. However, since this was a contractor from Holy Light Paradise, it was most likely a girl.
[Match, start.]
The moment the match started, Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist and advanced at a moderate pace.
His opponent, on the other hand, clenched one fist. The water around her churned, and the water level in the puddle visibly decreased, forming water elemental wolves one by one. She was a summoner-type girl.
In the blink of an eye, a total of 30 water elemental wolves had appeared around the summoner girl.
"You're a bit... careless."
A formation diagram appeared beneath the summoner girl's feet. It rapidly expanded until it covered the entire puddle before stopping.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Water bubbles floated within the formation diagram. The summoner girl kept 5 of the 30 water elemental wolves by her side, while the rest charged at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao, several dozen meters away, stopped in his tracks. This was very unlike his usual combat style, because he noticed that his opponent's summons were a bit slow...
To be precise, it wasn't that the opponent's summons were slow, but that his own reaction speed was even more terrifying. His Blade Grandmaster skill had already greatly increased his neural reflex speed. Now, with the addition of the Melee Grandmaster skill's boost to neural reflexes, he perceived the opponent as slow.
25 water elemental wolves pounced towards Su Xiao, splashing water as they ran, their momentum not weak.
Su Xiao tightened his grip on the long blade, the muscles in his right arm slightly bulging.
'Blade Path: Slaughter.'
Su Xiao slashed diagonally. A blood-red blade aura shot out. This aura didn't fly far; instead, it rapidly expanded as soon as it left the blade.
With a crash, all 25 charging water elemental wolves burst into sheets of clear water, eventually returning to the puddle below.
Ding, ding!
Su Xiao made two quick slashes, one horizontal and one vertical, leaving a blue cross-shaped blade aura suspended in mid-air.
Several dozen meters away, the summoner girl was frozen in a posture of leaning to the side. Severed hair and torn cloth fell around her. Despite being dozens of meters away, her head had nearly been split into four pieces in the shape of a cross.
The summoner girl looked at Su Xiao with wide-eyed surprise. This battle was completely different from what she had imagined. After sensing Su Xiao's aura earlier, she had guessed it would be a tough fight.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all. From start to finish, the opponent had only made three slashes. The first one instantly killed her 25 summoned beasts, and the second and third nearly performed a craniotomy on her.
Or rather, today, the summoner girl had a new definition of melee combat. At the mid-to-late stages, even a distance of several dozen meters was not safe.
Bang!
A sonic boom echoed, and large droplets of water splashed into the air.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thump.
An invisible shockwave spread. The water droplets in mid-air stopped falling. The summoner girl was slowly leaping backward. The 5 water elemental wolves beside her all pounced at Su Xiao, but at an extremely slow pace.
Clang, clang, clang...
The sharp sound of the blade rang out. After a series of crisscrossing slashes appeared, all 5 water elemental wolves exploded.
"Water Life, Oteran..."
Pfft.
Blood splattered. A fair-skinned arm was severed.
Su Xiao, holding the long blade, closed the distance to the summoner girl in a few quick steps. The effect of 'Blade Path Sword: Time' faded.
Su Xiao kicked diagonally, aiming directly at the summoner girl's ribs. A layer of crystal encased his calf and foot, with Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surging on the crystal's surface. The engine within his kinetic combat boots activated. This kick was vastly different from before. If it landed, it would likely send half of the summoner girl's torso flying.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed, shaking the entire cave valley.
The summoner girl wasn't sent flying. Golden light enveloped her entire body. According to the Paradise Arena's judgment, Su Xiao's straight kick just now was enough to kill the summoner girl.
Cold sweat trickled down the summoner girl's cheek. She looked at her right arm, which had been severed cleanly at the shoulder, then back at Su Xiao.
"You're... one of the top 10 dropping ranks to bully newbies? You're really..."
The summoner girl was indignant. Before being teleported away, she left behind the word "shameless."
As a contractor ranked 139th among all Fifth Rank contractors across all Paradises, she was not weak. Unfortunately, she had only been able to use less than half of her combat power, completely suppressed from start to finish.
The long blade returned to its sheath. Su Xiao gained some understanding of his own strength improvement. If he had encountered this summoner girl before the war world, although he could have won, it would have required a dozen minutes of intense fighting.
But now, it was completely unnecessary. In Su Xiao's eyes, the opponent's summoned beasts were manageable, but the main body was simply too slow.
[Hunter has been returned to the rest room. Match result: Win.]
[Your rank has been raised to 133rd. Yes/No to continue matching opponents?]
Su Xiao chose to continue. After waiting for less than half an hour, the opponent for the second match was matched. The teleportation sensation appeared.
What came into view was a vast expanse of yellow sand. The sand arena was about 200 meters in diameter, roughly circular, with black wooden railings about six or seven meters high at the edges.
Above that was a circular spectator stand. Spectators in various attires sat on the tiered seats. Judging by their clothing, most of them were workers.
"Here they are, two melee powerhouses. Audience, welcome them with your cheers!"
At the edge of the sand arena, a commentator stood on a tall black wooden platform. He wore small round sunglasses and a gorgeous feathered cloak draped over his back.
Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Su Xiao looked up at the platform. Standing there was a member of the Feather Race.
The Feather Race commentator happened to be looking at Su Xiao as well. Their eyes met, and the Feather Race commentator raised an eyebrow.
"Oh ho? Ladies and gentlemen, let me give a special introduction. This competitor is from Reincarnation Paradise. He's best known for chopping his enemies into pieces. Even if the opponent is a beautiful Apocalypse goddess, he won't show any mercy! Don't ask me how I know."
The Feather Race commentator was very excited. Just then, a roar came from the spectator stand.
"That sword-wielding %@哔**..."
The curse had just begun when that spectator vanished.
"This lucky spectator has been ejected from the arena for excessive language. You two down there, begin."
As soon as the Feather Race commentator finished speaking.
[Match, start!]