Chapter 5: The Take-It-As-It-Comes Spellcaster
Dragon-Slaying Flash was pulled from Arek's skull. Through this battle, Su Xiao had gained a very clear understanding of his own strength improvement.
The ultimate ability of Blade Grandmaster Lv.40 didn't seem all that impressive. It neither directly enhanced Su Xiao's physical attributes nor introduced any flashy, over-the-top blade techniques. However, Su Xiao could confirm that this would be one of his most frequently used abilities in future battles.
The effect after striking an enemy's weakness was simply too strong. Taking the previous fight as an example, Su Xiao only used a single downward smash with the sword hilt to break Arek's ultimate move. If that ability had landed on Su Xiao, with his vitality, saying it would instantly kill him was an exaggeration, but at the very least, it would have left him severely injured.
Yet this formidable ultimate move was broken by Su Xiao through the Heart-Soul-Blade ability at almost no cost. Taking advantage of the enemy's mistake after their ultimate missed, he killed them on the spot.
This was the power and allure of technique. It was also for this reason that the cost of improving basic abilities was so high.
Sparse clapping sounds came, not the sound of palms striking each other, but the metallic clang of metal colliding.
"Killing my avatar incarnation means your strength is worthy of recognition."
The 'Arek' clad in full armor walked out from between the trees, his steps unhurried.
Seeing this 'Arek,' Su Xiao stepped over to a white rock and sat down on it.
"Tch, these Paradise guys are all too smart."
'Arek's' form began to change, first into the female Feather Race member Shangyue, then switching to the fierce yet cute girl of the Dream Spirit Clan. Finally, she transformed into an ordinary-looking short-haired girl. Across her face, several scars crisscrossed, ruining what little beauty she had.
"Yes, this ugly face is me, my true form," Nita said with a smile, taking a metal box from her backpack. She continued:
"Carrying this thing, I won't last three days. It's tracking me, right?"
Nita looked at Bubu Wang, then tossed the metal box in her hand to Su Xiao, who raised his hand to catch it.
"As a participant like me, I never thought I'd advance in the first stage. Being safely eliminated and getting the 'consolation prize' is already fulfilling my clan's requirements."
Nita sighed. As a member of the 'Yinyu Clan,' she had survived in the Void until now by always following one principle: before reaching a certain level of strength, don't try to obtain things you're not qualified to have. Going through layers of danger and finally being lucky enough to obtain a rare treasure—the probability was too low. She only had one life and wouldn't gamble it on that 0.01% chance.
Of course, if the success rate was above 20%, Nita would dare to take the risk. That was how she had achieved her current strength. Nita was willing to risk her life to fight for a powerful and bright future, but that didn't mean she didn't cherish her own life.
"You and the Twins are as strong as monsters. Honestly, I originally wanted to cooperate with the Twins, but the one lying over there died way too miserably. That's the price of cooperating with the Twins. So, I took the risk of possibly dying to appear before you."
After saying this, Nita let out a long breath. Twilight Island wasn't that big to begin with, and now that Su Xiao and the Twins had split it in two, the remaining living space was even smaller.
In Nita's view, this wasn't a survival-type selection; it was a damn escape-type one. Two groups of bastards had divided the island in two and were about to start clearing the area.
To avoid the scheming old Yinbi Twins, Nita chose to approach Su Xiao.
"Are you done?"
Su Xiao tossed the metal box in his hand.
"!"
Nita's heart tightened. Usually, when someone said that, they were about to silence you.
"Cooperating with me comes with great risk. Of course, I won't scheme against you like the Twins do. I'm only good at fighting; scheming isn't my specialty."
"R-right, is that so?"
For some reason, Nita instinctively felt this was very unreliable. Just then, Su Xiao tossed the [Sealed Box] in his hand. This thing could only be opened after three days. The ownership after three days was the key.
Nita watched the flying metal box, her unease growing stronger, but she still caught it.
"Arcane Eternal Star didn't send you to kill me? Yinyu Clan."
Su Xiao's words made Nita wave her hands repeatedly. She wasn't about to oppose a Law Destroyer. Even though the Law Destruction Era had passed, its lingering prestige remained.
"How could that be! Thank you so much for thinking so highly of us Yinyu Clan, but we're just a 'secondary resource source' for Arcane Eternal Star. Also, originally, my ancestors wanted to latch onto you Law Destroyers, but... they couldn't find a way in, so they had to take their chances and join Arcane Eternal Star. Back then, the 'Swamp Light Battlefield' was right on our race's home planet. If we hadn't latched onto someone, the Yinyu Clan would have been wiped out by some Law Destroyer or Spellcaster. In that era, once war came to your doorstep, you had to take a stand."
Nita's mood was bitter, and the reality was indeed so. Although the Yinyu Clan was ancient, they had always been a small to medium-sized race. If the battlefield hadn't been on their home planet, they would never have chosen to side with anyone—that was asking for trouble.
Because they joined Arcane Eternal Star for self-preservation, even today, the Yinyu Clan still had to offer resources every year. That was the price, and it was the current survival reality for small and medium-sized races in the Void. There was no absolute fairness anywhere, let alone in a place like the Void, where the strong were numerous.
Su Xiao didn't speak. He didn't plan to establish friendly cooperation with this Yinyu Clan member. Instead, he intended to use her as bait.
Nita looked at the metal box in her hand and immediately understood what it meant.
"Bait, huh? No problem, as long as you don't stab me in the back, it's fine. I just want to be eliminated safely. Oh, by the way, my name is Nita."
"..."
Su Xiao stood up. He planned to let this Yinyu Clan member named Nita act as bait. The specific plan was as follows.
First, Su Xiao would choose an ambush point. Amu, Baha, and Beini were all hidden nearby, while he would be at the center of the ambush point.
As for Nita, she would disguise herself as a weaker participant, covered in blood, holding the [Sealed Box]. The temptation of that was easy to imagine.
Bubu Wang would blend into the environment, secretly following Nita the whole time, to prevent Nita from running off with the [Sealed Box] or having other ideas.
...
Second Competition Zone, Mock Skull Fortress.
Black flames rose, with a faint dark red glow inside. The walls of Mock Skull Fortress melted like wax, eventually turning into the most primitive earth elements.
"Elemental spirits, you must be very tired. After becoming stone, you were still piled up here."
A male voice came from within the black flames. When the flames completely extinguished, a young man in a black-and-gold robe, with a lazy expression, was leaning against a stone pillar.
"Ah~ Killing some Law Destruction Shadow? That's something from a thousand years ago. Those stubborn old immortals are so persistent. I have no grudge against that Law Destruction Shadow. I've never even met him. Besides... their ideals were correct. If elemental balance isn't maintained, the Void will sooner or later..."
The young Spellcaster reached his hand into his hood and scratched his head. From his lazy tone, he clearly lacked confidence. However, at this moment, he had already killed all the participants in the Second Competition Zone. This was the power of Spellcasters—their abilities had a very wide range of effect. Sometimes, dealing with one enemy wasn't much different from dealing with a group. Moreover, the combat area in the Second Competition Zone was much smaller than the Seventh Competition Zone.
"Those stubborn old immortals. Besides, can I really beat a Law Destroyer? What if that Law Destroyer has already awakened the second stage of 'Azure Steel Shadow'? Then there's no point fighting. Forget it, I'll deal with it when I meet him. Take it as it comes. I wonder if those other two idiots will target the Law Destroyer. Grudges from a thousand years ago have nothing to do with you two. Mind your own business, making enemies everywhere."
The young Spellcaster closed his eyes and fell asleep shortly after.