Chapter 27: The True Form of Azure Shadow King
The first change was the enhancement of Azure Steel Shadow energy. The skill level of Azure Steel Shadow remained the same, but the amount of mana burned per strike increased. Now, each slash consumed 597 mana points, dealing 955 points of true damage. With the 22% true damage bonus from Dragon-Slaying Flash, this reached 1,165 points of true damage.
Compared to before, the true damage had slightly decreased, but Su Xiao had also gained 7,500 health points, along with 20 points of base neural reflex speed and base dynamic vision.
Under normal circumstances, improving these two aspects was done through percentage increases. Base value multiplied by percentage gain equaled the permanent boost to Su Xiao's neural reflex speed.
The higher the base value, the greater the benefit from the "percentage neural reflex speed" increase provided by Blade Grandmaster. Previously, the only way to improve base neural reflex speed was to increase the agility attribute.
Do not assume that increasing agility only makes you run faster or swing a blade quicker. Its hidden benefits are unmatched by any other improvement, and the same applies to the other four main attributes.
Su Xiao could sense that he had gained a new ability. This ability had always existed within him, yet he couldn't directly use it. He decided to give it a try.
"Azure... Shadow King!"
Su Xiao raised his left arm and suddenly clenched his fist. A crystal layer instantly spread across his entire forearm, making it and his left hand semi-transparent, tinged with a pale blue hue. The veins inside were exceptionally clear, flowing with Azure Steel Shadow energy.
With a dull thud, an invisible aura expanded outward. The surrounding walls cracked and popped, and the glass window shattered with a bang.
In that instant, Su Xiao seemed to see the generations of ancestral Law Destroyers who had perfected the Azure Shadow King, endowing this ability with countless possibilities. Though they were dead, the abilities they developed remained, containing no consciousness or personal energy, only the inheritance of the technique itself.
Nothing appeared around him. Su Xiao had expected this. He loosened his clenched left fist, and the crystal layer quickly receded, restoring his semi-transparent forearm. The semi-transparency was caused by bearing high-intensity Azure Steel Shadow energy. Without the Shadow Ignition Experience Card, using Azure Shadow King just once would have rendered his left hand completely useless.
He opened his skill list, and the details of Azure Shadow King appeared before him.
[Azure Shadow King: Lv.1 (Ultimate Skill)]
Passive Effect 1 (Shadow Speed): Permanently increases body speed by 0.5 times (movement speed, attack speed, neural reflex speed, etc.).
Note: This ability's bonus increases with skill level (each Lv.1 increase in Azure Shadow King grants one boost to this ability).
Passive Effect 2 (Azure Shadow King): When fighting with Azure Steel Shadow ability activated, each successful burn of an enemy's mana by Azure Steel Shadow energy awakens one Law-Destroying Blade.
Note: Law-Destroying Blades are formed based on the Hunter's own characteristics. They are invisible when awakened. Once a domain is formed, the Law-Destroying Blades manifest as physical entities. After two Law-Destroying Blades are awakened, a domain can be formed.
Note: After forming the domain, the enemy is forcibly suppressed (ignoring judgment and immunity; suppression duration depends on the number of Law-Destroying Blades). All Law-Destroying Blades will strike the enemy, slashing and piercing. Each Law-Destroying Blade can deal up to 1,700 to 1,950 points of true damage.
Note: A maximum of five Law-Destroying Blades can be manifested.
Note: Ultimate skills have no cooldown concept. The Hunter must use this ability based on their own condition. Do not use this ability frequently, as it has a high burden.
Note: This ability's bonus increases with skill level (each Lv.10 increase grants one boost to this ability).
...
Azure Shadow King has two effects. The first is a permanent 0.5 times increase in body speed. Compared to the 2.1 times boost from Shadow Ignition, 0.5 times is far less, but remember, 0.5 times is permanent with no burden. Shadow Ignition is a forced boost, and after half an hour, exhaustion sets in, which is equivalent to death in battle.
More importantly, Azure Shadow King can now be leveled up. No matter how strong Shadow Ignition is, 2.1 times is its upper limit. Currently, 0.5 times is the lower limit. With Golden Skill Points, it can be further improved.
The second passive of Azure Shadow King is interesting and simple. Normally, it cannot be used. During battle, each time Azure Steel Shadow energy burns an enemy's mana, one Law-Destroying Blade is generated.
Law-Destroying Blades are initially invisible. After two are generated, they can manifest, forming a domain that suppresses the enemy and slashes and pierces them. With two blades, the maximum true damage is 3,900 points. If all five Law-Destroying Blades are accumulated, the maximum true damage reaches 9,750 points. Even the Blood Beast pouncing twice deals slightly less damage than Azure Shadow King.
Theoretically, the domain formed by five Law-Destroying Blades is almost impossible to dodge. Even if the enemy tries to escape using spatial abilities, they will be forcibly suppressed.
When fully accumulated, Azure Shadow King is Su Xiao's strongest killing ability, bar none. When not fully accumulated, the brief suppression of the enemy is still useful, potentially saving his life in critical moments. No ability is absolutely powerful; it depends on how it is used.
In ordinary combat, Su Xiao would not use Azure Shadow King to kill enemies. Although this ability has no cooldown, its burden is significant. The rule of ability balance is constant: the stronger the ability, the greater the burden, the higher the consumption, and the longer the cooldown.
When activating Azure Shadow King, there is no consumption and no cooldown, meaning the burden is high during use. Su Xiao very much wanted to test this ability. As for who to test it on, there was no need to think twice: the gate boss of Doom Town, the Immortal Being.
Azure Shadow King is worth investing Golden Skill Points in. The first passive effect means that for each level Azure Shadow King increases, this ability improves once, permanently boosting Su Xiao's speed. The second passive effect, which is currently the strongest ability, requires Azure Shadow King to increase by ten levels to receive one boost, meaning 10 Golden Skill Points.
After fully mastering Azure Shadow King, Su Xiao realized he already had many passive abilities. As for active abilities used in combat, there were only Azure Steel Shadow, Dragon Shadow Flash, and Blood Beast. Everything else was passive.
Among these, Blood Beast was not exactly an active skill; it was Su Xiao's second innate talent. So, in terms of combat-active skills, only Azure Steel Shadow and Dragon Shadow Flash remained as the two pillars.
This was Su Xiao's combat style. His ability composition was actually very simple. Combat required using one's brain. A simple ability composition did not mean a single method of killing.
Standing up from the bed, Su Xiao felt a sense of inner relief. Now, he only needed to wait for the time limit of the fourth main mission to expire. The mission time limit was somewhat generous. Grul's body was already dead, and the Wood Clan couldn't cause much trouble. Even if there were unexpected developments, they wouldn't lead to Angor City being destroyed within a few days.
The next few days were precious. The Light and Dark World contained alchemy. Taking this opportunity, Su Xiao planned to obtain a recovery potion recipe. The third refinement of Apollo could also be partially completed now.
Su Xiao also needed to acquire as much Starlight Iron as possible. This material could not only enhance Dragon-Slaying Flash but also had great use in Doom Town.
Conserve energy, gather as many resources as possible, and then head to Doom Town.
Reincarnation Paradise
Reincarnation Paradise