Chapter 35: Xiu, Who Can't Stay Cool for More Than Three Seconds
Golden fragments scattered everywhere. Dillin leaped backward repeatedly. After stopping, she glanced at Su Xiao, then at the hilt of her rapier in her hand.
"This is..."
Dillin's hand holding the sword trembled.
"Hahaha, Mentor, you... hahaha."
Dillin suddenly burst into laughter. Dozens of meters away, Xiu, sitting on a rooftop, propped his forehead with one hand. From the laughter alone, he could tell Dillin was going mad.
Black flames appeared in front of Dillin, separating Su Xiao from her.
"Light Element, hahaha, the bane of Law Destroyers."
Dillin released the hilt in her hand and took a deep breath.
"Let's go, Xiu."
"Oh? Not going to fulfill Mentor's ideals anymore?"
"Do you think I have no brains? I don't want to die yet. Without the Light Element, he could handle three of me and still have spare capacity. If he has any special ideas, wouldn't I become the shame of Arcane Eternal Star?"
Dillin wasn't the type to blindly follow her mentor's orders. Facing a battle she was certain to lose, she naturally wouldn't continue.
"I'm glad you've come to your senses. But after provoking someone, how can you expect to leave so easily?"
Xiu looked at Su Xiao and slightly raised his chin toward him.
Blazing black flames blocked Su Xiao's path. The reason he hadn't charged at Dillin was mainly due to this black fire.
That distant spellcaster seemed laid-back and casual, but he was quite troublesome. Whether it was an illusion or not, Su Xiao sensed that the surrounding natural elements didn't reject him at all.
Compared to Dillin, that casual male spellcaster, Xiu, was far harder to deal with. His strength far surpassed Dillin's, placing him in the same tier as Mond.
"Facing a Law Destroyer, even the two of us combined might still lose to you. But... what can I do? I was born on Arcane Eternal Star, and I'm Dillin's friend. I can't exactly be a traitor, can I? Ah~ I really don't want to cause trouble for the elders."
Xiu slowly stood up, and the clouds in the sky churned.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, illuminating Xiu's face in the night.
"Are we... going to fight to the death here?"
The laziness on Xiu's face faded. His eyelids drooped, and black flames blazed around him.
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing. Blood Qi spread around him.
"Forget it. I heard getting cut by a Law Destroyer hurts like hell."
Xiu's expression returned to its lazy state. He snapped his fingers, and a black lightning bolt struck down from the sky, hitting Dillin directly.
"Ah!! Xiu, you! Striking me directly..."
Lightning surged, spatial fluctuations dissipated, and Dillin vanished from the spot.
"Finally sent her off. Oh, right, the Wind Prince asked me to tell you not to go to Demon Castle anytime soon. That... what was it called? Ah, right, the Demon Castle once controlled by Alice. Strange, how does that homebody Wind Prince have ties with a Law Destroyer?"
As Xiu's words faded, another black lightning bolt struck from the sky.
"See you in the fourth or fifth round. Fighting to mutual destruction here would be a loss."
Xiu's voice dissipated, and the surrounding black flames gradually burned out.
Su Xiao retracted his perception and sheathed his longsword. In his view, Dillin wasn't hard to deal with; the troublesome one was that spellcaster named Xiu. His black flames could likely directly burn the soul.
Soul-level injuries were troublesome. They could indeed be healed after returning to Reincarnation Paradise, but that required special permissions.
If this were the final round, Su Xiao would never let these two spellcasters leave. But this was only the third round, and there were many other powerful enemies ahead.
Given Su Xiao's soul strength, enduring the black flames probably wouldn't cause permanent damage, but some injury was inevitable. The Soul Devourer's second awakening hadn't been long enough. If he could accumulate a few more worlds, Su Xiao was confident he could ignore those black flames.
As long as these two spellcasters survived, Su Xiao had a high chance of encountering them again in the last two rounds. Besides, his goal wasn't to kill as many spellcasters as possible, but to break into the top three of the Strongest Warrior Tournament.
The chance to awaken Azure Shadow King only came once. Su Xiao naturally intended to seize it.
There was also another important reason: there was a high probability of Ancient Gods existing in this world. If the quality of [Divine Judgment] could be improved, it would immediately boost Su Xiao's strength. Then dealing with spellcasters would be a much better opportunity.
The black flames completely dissipated. The pirates in the surrounding area soon gathered nearby, cursing under their breaths.
The houses in this area hadn't been burned down, but the ground faintly smelled of scorching.
About half an hour later, the pirates returned to their respective houses. Their adaptability was quite strong. There were many unexpected situations at sea. What had just happened would at most make them more vigilant tonight.
When everything settled, Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha toward a tavern. Amu and Beini had been left on the Doom Number earlier to prevent any accidents there.
Pushing open the tavern door, a wave of hot air hit him, mixed with the smell of alcohol and cheap herbs.
The tavern was noisy. Even under the oil lamps, it was somewhat dim.
A circular bar stood in the center of the tavern, its wood stained and mottled. Around it were several wooden tables, with groups of three to five pirates sitting around them. The room wasn't spacious to begin with, and with these pirates packed in, it felt crowded and lively.
Drunken pirates were either laughing loudly or slumped over the tables, hugging their cups and sleeping, drool pooling in large puddles.
Some wealthier pirates had scantily clad prostitutes sitting on their laps. The women's faces, painted with lead powder, were unnaturally white, reflecting a metallic sheen under the candlelight. It looked somewhat ridiculous, but they were the pirates' favorites—cheap and trouble-free.
A drowsy bartender stood behind the counter, dealing with the dead-drunk pirates. Here, being a bartender wasn't a safe job. They certainly had big shots backing them, but drunken pirates didn't care about that. Alcohol numbed their self-control. If provoked, they'd shoot you down without a second thought.
Su Xiao approached a drunken pirate, easily lifted him up, and placed him under the table, letting him keep company with two pairs of stinking feet.
Sitting on a round wooden stool, Su Xiao took a money pouch from his chest and poured out ten gold coins. Under the dim light, the coins glowed with a dull yellow luster, tempting to the eye.
The crisp sound of coins hitting the wooden table drew the attention of some relatively sober pirates. Greed, suspicion, scrutiny, and finally, abandonment.
As it turned out, brainless small fry were rare. Su Xiao hoped to encounter such small fry—it would make gathering information much easier.
From the pirates' gazes earlier, these ten thumbnail-sized gold coins were quite tempting, with considerable purchasing power. Unfortunately, Su Xiao's Blood Qi aura had scared them off.
"This... sir, what would you like to know?"
A boy about ten years old stood beside the wooden table. His face was a bit dirty, but his eyes were very bright.
Compared to his black gem-like eyes, the red veins spreading across his face made him look somewhat ferocious.
Seeing this little boy, the two pirates at the same table picked up their wooden cups, muttered curses, and walked away. The boy was afflicted with "Red Crow Disease." This wasn't an illness but proof of having served on a certain pirate crew.
Those afflicted with "Red Crow Disease" would never live past three years. This involved a legendary pirate crew—the pirate crew of the Black Sea King, Agati.