Chapter 59: Forging Light
Inside the exclusive room, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed. He was now alone, as Beini had gone out to scout the market, while Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha had formed a group to go out and have fun.
He took 120 Soul Crystals (Complete) from his storage space. Aside from the World War, there was basically no other opportunity to obtain so many Soul Crystals (Complete) at once.
After Blade Mastery exceeded Lv.40, each subsequent level required 30 Soul Crystals (Complete). This was the reason many people gave up cultivating Technique-type abilities midway—it was simply too expensive, expensive enough to bankrupt a medium-sized adventure group.
Those who endured this obtained formidable combat power. No one knew how many Contractors and Hunters had died on the path of improving their techniques. In the early stages, when Su Xiao was improving his skills, he was extremely poor. He had gritted his teeth and endured.
If he had given up on Blade Mastery, Su Xiao would now be fully equipped with Holy Spirit-rank gear at high enhancement levels. But so what? The Nameless Saint was wealthy, yet in just one world progress, Su Xiao had pulled ahead of him. This was the strength of techniques in the later stages.
In the early stages, he was as poor as a ghost. In the mid-stages, he was still poor. But as long as he encountered an enemy, he had the qualifications to fight head-on. In the later stages, his growth speed was fast.
For example, now, giving Su Xiao a Holy Spirit-rank piece of equipment and giving the Nameless Saint a Holy Spirit-rank piece of equipment were two completely different concepts.
[Yes/No to upgrade Blade Grandmaster Lv.42. Upgrading this ability requires Soul Crystal·Complete ×30 + 700,000 Paradise Coins.]
Su Xiao chose to upgrade four consecutive levels. He had plenty of Paradise Coins. If he still couldn't gather enough, he could sell Soul Coins. He currently had a way to obtain Soul Coins—killing Seventh Rank elite enemies yielded a small amount.
A full 120 Soul Crystals (Complete) shattered around Su Xiao. The scene was spectacular. Su Xiao felt his vision go dark, and a sense of consciousness dragging appeared.
Darkness, profound depth. The passage of time seemed to slow slightly.
"Young man, why did you pick up the blade in your hand? Conviction? Hatred? Or perhaps, for the exhilaration of cutting down an enemy in that instant?"
An aged voice came from all around. A ball of white light appeared before Su Xiao's eyes, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Clang~
Like the sound of forging iron, a hammer struck that light. Light particles scattered like sparks, dazzling and extraordinary.
The light particles illuminated the face of a strong old man. The beard on his chin was braided into a thick, rough braid. His facial skin was coarse. Just standing there, he was like a low mountain.
"I have forged soul blades for many people, but you already have your own soul blade. Young man, answer me: why did you pick up the blade in your hand?"
The strong old man had eyes full of sparks. Seeing his image, Su Xiao suddenly recalled that this person seemed to have been mentioned by Lide.
"It's not time yet, young man. Remember, you can only see me twice. Next time we meet, I hope you can give me an answer."
The strong old man slightly raised his hand. Blades of light flew toward Su Xiao. These were blades forged from the refined Soul Crystals.
Su Xiao was engulfed by the intense light of the blades. He took a final look at the strong old man. The strong old man was also looking at Su Xiao, or rather, he was looking at the Blood Beast behind Su Xiao—the Blood Beast that was grinning fiercely. This was Su Xiao's aura.
"An extremely evil blade-wielder, having slaughtered so many beings that it's chilling. Why do so many worlds hold goodwill toward you? It's hard to understand. It seems you are not a mad demon. Your blade will not cut down those unrelated to you."
This voice dissipated in Su Xiao's ears. With a bang, the darkness shattered, and his eyes opened.
"Another qualitative transformation stage for Blade Mastery, huh."
Su Xiao didn't know who the strong old man was. He had only heard Lide mention such a person. Lide's exact words were: being able to meet that person once and surpass him—he would die without regret.
[Blade Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.46.]
[Blade Grandmaster: Lv.46 (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Increases blade-type weapon attack power by 649% (increased by 40%), Neural Reflex Speed +215% (increased by 24%), Immune to mental-type control, Immune to mind-type seduction, induction, etc.
Lv.10 Ultimate Ability: Rhythm of All Things (Passive) +++++ (Breakthrough limit by five tiers)
Lv.20 Ultimate Ability: Soul Blade (Passive)
Lv.30 Ultimate Ability: Blade's Extreme (Passive/Active)
Lv.40 Ultimate Ability: Heart·Soul·Blade (Passive)
...
Overall strength had improved. Rhythm of All Things (Passive) had successfully broken through another tier, meaning Su Xiao's meditation effects were better, and his speed in developing Blade Mastery had also increased.
Su Xiao hesitated a bit. Should he use 3 Golden Skill Points to push Blade Grandmaster to Lv.49, quickly ushering in the next qualitative transformation at Lv.50?
Considering that obtaining Soul Crystals (Complete) was easier than Golden Skill Points, he decided to use Golden Skill Points to upgrade max-level abilities. Long-term development was more important.
Spirit Shadow Constitution was already maxed out. Otherwise, Su Xiao would definitely prioritize upgrading that ability. Currently, the candidate abilities for upgrading were three: Dragon Shadow Flash, Slaughter Shadow, and Azure Shadow King.
Compared to the benefits of Azure Shadow King, the other two were lower.
[Prompt: Unable to use Golden Skill Points to upgrade Azure Shadow King (Ultimate Skill).]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao's eyes showed some surprise. This was the first time he had an ability that Golden Skill Points couldn't upgrade.
So far, Su Xiao hadn't found a way to upgrade Azure Shadow King. Not to mention Shadow Burn, the boost Azure Shadow King gave to True Damage was very tempting. Unfortunately, he still didn't know how to upgrade it.
Since he couldn't upgrade Azure Shadow King, Su Xiao decided to use the Golden Skill Points on Slaughter Shadow. How practical Banishment was had been proven in multiple battles.
Moreover, Banishment was just the initial state of Slaughter Shadow. When Su Xiao obtained the Soul Severing Shadow ability, his Slaughter Shadow could develop the Soul Scythe form, which was a stronger form than Banishment.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao began to consume Golden Skill Points to upgrade Slaughter Shadow. As soon as he chose to upgrade, a sharp pain came from all over his body. It was so sudden that he nearly fell off the bed.
Nearly an hour later, Su Xiao's breathing finally steadied. He wiped the sweat from his face.
He had upgraded Slaughter Shadow by 3 consecutive levels. The experience wasn't pleasant—it was even more memorable than when he first awakened Slaughter Shadow.
[Slaughter Shadow, X+++++ (Exclusive Growth-type Ability)]
Skill Effect: Increases Proud Song state intensity by 320%. Allows Azure Steel Shadow Energy to be converted into a physical state for external release and controlled within a range of 126 meters.
Prompt: The intensity, lethality, speed, elemental penetration, and controllability of Azure Steel Shadow Energy's physical form will be determined by Intelligence attribute (current True Intelligence attribute is 149 points).
Prompt: The overall strength of this ability can increase with the enhancement of Azure Steel Shadow Energy.
...
The Proud Song state was the conversion of Azure Steel Shadow Energy into a crystal layer. Now, its defensive power had skyrocketed significantly. The control range for Banishment had also increased a lot. All of this was in preparation for what was to come.
Slaughter Shadow was also nearly maxed out. Once this ability reached its limit, Su Xiao planned to start upgrading Dragon Shadow Flash.
His personal strength enhancement was basically complete. Su Xiao took out a few Epic-rank gems, intending to use them to upgrade his equipment. This would require a specialty from Apocalypse Paradise: [Starfall Furnace].
[Starfall Furnace]
Origin: Apocalypse Paradise (Exclusive)
Usable Times: 1/3
Effect: Can perform a second forging on equipment. During forging, Golden to Epic-rank gems can be thrown into the Starfall Furnace. The quality and quantity of the gems thrown in will directly affect the result of the second forging.
Introduction: Azure flame is a miracle. This is just a spark.
...
A total of nine Epic-rank gems, all used to upgrade Realm Severing Thread. As for why he didn't upgrade Fate Dominator, it was because he couldn't afford the loss from failure.
If Realm Severing Thread failed, it didn't matter. An accident with Fate Dominator would be different.
Coming to the coffee table, Su Xiao placed the somewhat miniature [Starfall Furnace] on it. After removing Realm Severing Thread from his bracer, he put it in along with the nine Epic-rank gems.
After closing the lid, a blue flame rose inside the [Starfall Furnace]. The results would be ready in 45 minutes. Success or failure depended on Realm Severing Thread's fate.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. Compared to the upgrade of Realm Severing Thread, he was more concerned about another matter: the "Aura Release" ability hadn't recovered yet. He could feel that his aura was accumulating. When Aura Release recovered, it would definitely be vastly different from before. In the War World, he had killed too many alien species, causing the Aura Release ability to still be improving.