Chapter 75: An Invitation from the Void
Reincarnation Paradise, in front of the Skill Upgrade Hall.
Contractors came and went in an endless stream. Su Xiao entered the Skill Upgrade Hall with the crowd. It was somewhat crowded, and after waiting for a while, a Skill Upgrade Pod finally became vacant.
As soon as he entered the Skill Upgrade Pod, the hatch automatically locked, and a prompt appeared.
[Please select the skill you wish to upgrade.]
Su Xiao chose the Soul Reaper Scythe ability. As for the equally upgradeable Goddess's Favor, he currently had no Paradise Coins to invest in it.
[Upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe: Lv.1 (Passive Skill) requires 1000 Paradise Coins. Pay? Yes/No.]
Seeing the upgrade cost for Soul Reaper Scythe, Su Xiao was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected upgrading this ability to be so cheap, so he decisively chose to upgrade it ten consecutive levels.
Hum~
The Skill Upgrade Pod began to operate. Specks of cyan energy emerged, gradually merging into Su Xiao's body.
A slight stinging sensation came, not very noticeable. Su Xiao could feel that he was gradually mastering a certain ability. This was how passive abilities worked; when first mastered, there wouldn't be an immediate, intuitive manifestation. Only when he later fought enemies could he perceive the composition and principles of this ability.
[Soul Reaper Scythe has been upgraded to Lv.10.]
Skill Effect: Attacks deal an additional 27 points of damage that ignores physical defense.
...
Aside from the increase in damage intensity, there were no other changes. Su Xiao chose to continue upgrading.
The cost for upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe from Lv.10 increased, going from 1000 Paradise Coins per level to 10,000 Paradise Coins per level.
Still a drop in the bucket. After paying 100,000 Paradise Coins, Su Xiao continued the upgrade.
Cyan energy emerged, gradually merging into Su Xiao's body. When it came to upgrading abilities, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't slack off and remained focused the entire time.
[Soul Reaper Scythe has been upgraded to Lv.20.]
Su Xiao didn't check the attributes of Soul Reaper Scythe but instead checked the cost for continuing the upgrade. As expected, the price had risen again. Upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe from Lv.20 required 15,000 Paradise Coins per level.
The advantage of upgrading combat-type passive abilities was evident here: low consumption. Compared to flashy and powerful active abilities, passive abilities were not only invisible but also had far lower killing power.
Combat-type passive abilities required accumulation. They weren't suitable for newcomers. Without stacking a bunch of passive abilities, the effects of such abilities were negligible. According to statistics from data experts, for a new contractor with no skills, mastering abilities of the same rank, three passive abilities would increase combat power roughly equivalent to one active ability.
Of course, this was for newcomers. If one had enough passive skills, it became quite terrifying. An unremarkable slash might carry seven or eight different judgment effects.
The last wisp of cyan energy merged into Su Xiao's body and was absorbed.
[Soul Reaper Scythe has been upgraded to Lv.30.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao was very satisfied. Reaching Lv.30 without maxing out already indicated the potential of Soul Reaper Scythe.
[Upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe: Lv.30 (Passive Skill) requires 20,000 Paradise Coins. Pay? Yes/No.]
For Su Xiao, who held over a million Paradise Coins, this was still not a high expense. He chose to continue upgrading. With plenty of Paradise Coins, he could do as he pleased.
Spending Paradise Coins was enjoyable, but obtaining them meant risking one's life. That was Reincarnation Paradise.
More cyan energy emerged, merging into Su Xiao's body. Strangely enough, the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy did not repel this energy.
As time passed, Su Xiao finished his fourth upgrade. Upgrading ten levels at a time like this was probably rare.
[Continue upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe: Lv.40 (Passive Skill) requires 30,000 Paradise Coins. Pay? Yes/No.]
The price was starting to get a bit steep. After a moment's thought, Su Xiao chose to continue.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao slowly inhaled. At this point, the muscles all over his body were somewhat sore, but having undergone high-intensity training regularly, Su Xiao was long accustomed to this feeling.
[Soul Reaper Scythe has been upgraded to Lv.50.]
It still hadn't reached its limit, which put Su Xiao in an even better mood. The cost for upgrading above Lv.50 was starting to get ridiculous, at 50,000 Paradise Coins per level.
He had already invested 750,000 Paradise Coins; there was no reason to give up now. Su Xiao paid 500,000 Paradise Coins. A cyan crystal appeared before him, shattered with a bang, and blinding cyan light surged forth.
When Su Xiao's vision recovered, a severe sense of weakness surged through his entire body, as if he had just fought over a dozen high-intensity battles in a row.
The weakness came quickly but faded just as fast. Within a few minutes, Su Xiao had recovered his state. He could clearly feel a change in his body—his True Agility attribute had increased.
[Soul Reaper Scythe has been upgraded to X. Core characteristic unlocked.]
Having spent a total of 1.26 million Paradise Coins, Soul Reaper Scythe had finally been upgraded to max level. Of course, the total cost of Soul Reaper Scythe was more than just 1.26 million Paradise Coins. Su Xiao had paid with the Wolf Cavalry Set to obtain the scroll for this skill. The total expenditure was enough to make a large fifth-rank adventure group bleed.
[Soul Reaper Scythe: X (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Attacks deal additional damage equal to True Agility attribute × 2.1, ignoring physical defense.
Exclusive Characteristic: Permanently increases True Agility by 5 points.
...
Su Xiao's True Agility attribute reached 137 points, making it the highest among his four main attributes.
This was the benefit of upgrading passive abilities. Some passive abilities could permanently enhance physical attributes. Of course, such passive abilities were very rare.
If Soul Reaper Scythe weren't precious enough, the Divine Emperor wouldn't have brought it out to trade with Su Xiao.
After upgrading Soul Reaper Scythe, Su Xiao didn't leave immediately. It had been a long time since he last upgraded 'Aura Release'. Every time he upgraded this ability, he could get the maximum return for the minimum cost. The Ancient Battlefield was a good place, but unfortunately, too dangerous.
Each upgrade of Aura Release was a thrilling experience. Anything could appear on the Ancient Battlefield.
Weighing the pros and cons, Su Xiao decided to take the risk and upgrade once. After all, increasing Blood Qi meant increasing the power of the Blood Beast.
[Selection complete. To upgrade 'Aura Release Lv.56', requires 200,000 Paradise Coins + Soul Crystal (Complete) × 1. Pay? Yes/No.]
The cost was not low, and it also required a Soul Crystal (Complete).
"Pay."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, a teleportation sensation hit him. When his vision recovered, he was already inside the Ancient Battlefield.
The ground was dark red, as if soaked in blood. The corpse of a giant lay prostrate, its oak shield already shattered. Not far from it was the head of a Black Dragon.
The bodies of powerful beings from various races were scattered across the Ancient Battlefield. Due to the presence of Demon Race corpses, the Ancient Battlefield was filled with a sulfurous smell. Just smelling it was enough to make one feel dizzy.
Crimson mist drifted across the Ancient Battlefield—the lingering Blood Qi of countless powerful beings from lifetimes past.
Su Xiao stood in the Blood Qi, one hand on his sword hilt. Dozens of meters ahead of him, a corpse stood there. Its chest was pierced through, and the blood had long since dried.
Su Xiao now had two choices: one was to endure the surrounding Blood Qi and make a strategic retreat; the other was to immediately return to Reincarnation Paradise, letting the 200,000 Paradise Coins and one Soul Crystal (Complete) go to waste. If he fought head-on, he would definitely die, no question.
Just moments ago, after Su Xiao arrived at the Ancient Battlefield, a spatial rift appeared, and this corpse had stepped out from it.
"I've been waiting for you, for a long time."
The corpse spoke, its voice dry and hoarse. It placed its hand on its own skull, and with a crack, lifted off its own cranium.
"..."
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. He didn't sense any obvious hostility.
"The Empty Seat Banquet will be convened at 'Dark Star Dusk.' This is your invitation."
The corpse took a black card from inside its skull and tossed it toward Su Xiao.
With a click, the corpse closed its own cranium, revealed an extremely horrifying but self-consciously friendly smile, then dug out one of its own eyeballs and crushed it.
Bang~
The corpse vanished from the spot, as if it had never been there.
Su Xiao looked at the black card in his hand. This was an invitation from the Starry Sky Seat. Last time Su Xiao arrived at the Starry Sky Seat, Mawen Hua'erzi had sent a message, telling him to use the yield of the Black Maple Tree as a bargaining chip to extort other participants of the 'Empty Seat Banquet' to his heart's content.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment and then understood what was going on. The Ancient Battlefield was located within the Void. Thinking about it this way, the appearance of the corpse wasn't abnormal. The other party had probably been looking for an opportunity to deliver the invitation to the Starry Sky Banquet and had finally found a chance now.
If he could participate in this Starry Sky Banquet, the sales channel for the Black Maple Tree's yield would be secured. Then, using the resources obtained, Su Xiao's strength would receive a massive boost.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao was looking forward to this Starry Sky Banquet, but he didn't know how far off 'Dark Star Dusk' was.