Chapter 58: Enhancement + Holy Spirit Set = Self-Isolation
With a total of 613 ores, Su Xiao contacted Lide and quickly reached an agreement with him. Using forging-type items as a sweetener, after conversion, each ore was priced at 4 Soul Coins.
Lide's financial strength was beyond doubt. This guy had already begun to forge Holy Spirit Rank equipment with medium to low ratings, so one could imagine how substantial his wealth was.
Su Xiao stored 42 Soul Crystals (Large) and the [Chaos Night Blade] into his storage space, then completed the transaction with Lide through Beini.
All told, Su Xiao gained 4,902 Soul Coins. If this were when he had just advanced to the Seventh Rank, the final profit from fighting through an entire world would be about the same, maybe even less.
Plundering an adventure group from Apocalypse Paradise was equivalent to the total profit of fighting through a world in the early Seventh Rank. For some reason, Su Xiao actually felt some anticipation for World Battle events or invading Apocalypse Paradise worlds. The former had hope, while the latter depended on luck.
Su Xiao activated the Skill Upgrade Pod, and a prompt appeared.
[Yes/No to upgrade Technique Sublimation Lv.1. Upgrading this ability requires 500 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao currently had 5,039 Soul Coins. He directly chose to upgrade Technique Sublimation to Lv.11.
As soon as the Skill Upgrade Pod started, Su Xiao's vision went dark. When his sight returned, he was standing on a desolate land, with all kinds of long blades stuck into the ground around him, stretching beyond sight.
The sky above was covered with gray clouds, completely blocking the sunlight, causing them to emit a golden radiance.
"What exactly is the Blade's Extreme?"
A phantom appeared not far away, standing behind a long blade with a jagged edge. This seemed to be the weapon he had left behind.
"Don't waver. Since you've chosen, fight to the end. Blades were created for slaughter."
Another phantom appeared, its aura completely different from the first.
"Either die in battle, or stand at the peak."
One by one, phantoms appeared around him. In the end, the long blades before them shattered and surged toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao opened his eyes inside the Skill Upgrade Pod. No new blade techniques had entered his mind, but he had a very mysterious feeling. Some kind of potential within him had been enhanced, and the blade techniques he unleashed felt sharper.
Even without drawing his blade, this feeling was exceptionally strong.
[Technique Sublimation: Lv.11 (Technique Type · Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Increases the power of self-developed blade techniques by 25% (increased by 20%).
Skill Effect 2: Blade Technique Potential Rank +2 (increased by 1 rank).
...
[Prompt: To upgrade this ability, each level requires 600 Soul Coins.]
The cost was getting steeper, but the boost to blade techniques was obvious. Whether it was Azure Demon or Ring Break, the cutting power increased by 25%. Especially 'Extreme' and 'Flow,' which were already strong abilities, now they were even more formidable.
Su Xiao began to wait for Beini to sell the items on her end. After about half an hour, the [Crystal Skull (Bloodline Type Item)] sold first, fetching 3,200 Soul Coins. This meant someone had fallen into the Undead System pit.
Su Xiao continued to upgrade the 'Technique Sublimation' ability until it reached Lv.16 before stopping. The bonus for Skill Effect 1 changed to:
Skill Effect 1: Increases the power of self-developed blade techniques by 35% (increased by 10%).
As for Skill Effect 2's Blade Technique Potential, there was no improvement for now. It seemed that only every Lv.10 upgrade would provide a boost in this area.
After upgrading 'Technique Sublimation,' Su Xiao left the Skill Upgrade Pod and returned to his Exclusive Room. As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Amu and Baha watching a video. He took a look and found it was a recording of Beini looking self-isolated when she opened a Scarlet Card.
Earlier, this cat had hidden under the bed, but Bubu Wang had recorded it. If Beini the Young Miss found out, she would absolutely be at odds with Bubu Wang and would definitely scratch him.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate. After adjusting his state, he began to upgrade Azure Shadow King. He now had a total of 5 Golden Skill Points.
An hour later, Su Xiao, with sweat on his forehead, let out a long breath. The feeling of upgrading Azure Shadow King left a deep impression on him. This ability was far too powerful.
[Azure Shadow King: Lv.16 (Ultimate Skill)]
Effect 1 (Shadow Devour): After killing an enemy of the same rank, immediately restore 12% of maximum Mana Points (increased by 10%).
Effect 2 (Azure Shadow King): Immediately consume 6,000 points of Azure Steel Shadow Energy to construct a weapon of any form within 0.03 seconds. This weapon can only attack once, dealing damage equal to 2.3 times the enemy's lost Mana Points (increased by 0.2%) + 4,900 points of True Damage (increased by 200 points).
Prompt: In this attack, both damage judgments are True Damage.
Prompt: For every Lv.1 upgrade, the attack power of this ability will increase.
...
Aside from the increase in power, Azure Shadow King didn't change much. Every Lv.10 was a key point for this ability.
Su Xiao currently had 163 Soul Crystals (Complete). He planned to upgrade Melee Grandmaster to Lv.50 instead of raising Blade Technique to Lv.52. Lv.50 was a key point for Technique-type abilities, and upgrading Melee Grandmaster now would provide a greater boost to his combat power.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged and sensed his own condition. It wasn't a big problem. With his physique, he could handle upgrading three abilities in a row.
[Yes/No to upgrade Melee Grandmaster Lv.49. Upgrading this ability requires Soul Crystal · Complete × 100 + 3,000,000 Paradise Coins.]
Su Xiao converted Soul Coins into Paradise Coins and chose to upgrade. The next instant, the 100 Soul Crystals around him floated up, shattered, and gradually merged into his body. The qualitative change of Melee Grandmaster began.
It felt like a few minutes passed, or maybe longer. Su Xiao felt his body undergoing changes. It had become noticeably tougher.
When Su Xiao opened his eyes, a flood of prompts appeared.
[Melee Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.50.]
[Melee Grandmaster ability is separating...]
[Your neural reflex speed permanently increased by 114%. Your dynamic vision permanently increased by 114%.]
[Some derived abilities of Melee Grandmaster have undergone transformation.]
[Melee Grandmaster: Lv.50 (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: In melee combat, kick attack power increased by 658% (increased by 10%). Base · Neural Reflex Speed +5 points. Base · Dynamic Vision +5 points.
Initial Additional Ability: Physical defense and toughness increased by 28%. Immune to all physical control effects derived from attributes lower than your own Strength and Agility (e.g., freezing or binding can be instantly broken).
Lv.10 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick Basic Enhancement (Passive)...
Lv.20 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick First Enhancement (Passive)...
Lv.30 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick Second Enhancement (Passive)...
Lv.40 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick Third Enhancement (Passive)...
Lv.50 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick Fourth Enhancement (Passive): Due to the Hunter's personal characteristics, you can consume 2,000 points of Azure Steel Shadow Energy to attach it to your foot and lower leg. The next time you perform a powerful straight kick, this Azure Steel Shadow Energy will penetrate the enemy's body along with the kick's power penetration. If it hits a torso position like the chest or abdomen, it will instantly 'dispel' 3,700 points of the enemy's Mana Points or other types of body energy.
Prompt: This Azure Steel Shadow Energy enters the enemy's body in a penetrating manner, staying inside for an extremely short time. This attack carries 750 points of True Damage.
...
Seeing the Lv.50 Ultimate Ability of Melee Grandmaster, Su Xiao was in a good mood. His straight kick now not only had great power but also carried Azure Steel Shadow Energy.
Su Xiao suspected that if he fought a Tank-type enemy, one kick would shatter the shield and empty the Mana Points. After all, even a Seventh Rank Tank-type could only accumulate a limited amount of Mana Points.
As for the enemy's Mana Points being emptied and Dragon-Slaying Flash being unable to deal True Damage, Su Xiao didn't mind. A Tank-type without a shield and without body energy was just a punching bag. After one kick, the Tank-type would be useless, and killing them would be a waste of time.
When fighting a powerful enemy, the straight kick was even stronger. Don't forget, Su Xiao still had Azure Shadow King. The less body energy the enemy had, the stronger Azure Shadow King's killing power.
After upgrading his abilities, Su Xiao contacted Beini. She was still selling items on her end.
With nothing else to do, Su Xiao took out [Robert's Pocket Watch]. This piece of equipment was very interesting. Each time its enhancement level increased, it would grant 1 point of Luck Attribute bonus, up to a maximum of 30 points.
Not only that, but the cost to enhance this item was very low. One Soul Crystal (Large) could enhance it 10 times.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao prepared to give it a try. If he could successfully enhance it 10 times, that would be a 10-point Luck Attribute boost.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave, Bubu Wang and Baha followed. Clearly, they both knew what Su Xiao was going to do.
"Boss, I've been lucky lately. Let's take turns trying."
Baha landed on Bubu Wang's back. His suggestion was worth trying.
Su Xiao brought Bubu Wang and Baha and headed straight for the Enhancement Hall. Upon arriving, he found that there weren't many Contractors here. At this time, most Contractors were busy selling items.
As soon as he entered the Enhancement Hall, Su Xiao saw Gulu standing in front of an Equipment Enhancement Machine, muttering something to herself. Clearly, Gulu was here to enhance the Dark Walker Set. With four pieces of Holy Spirit Rank equipment, the enhancement cost was unimaginable.
Su Xiao activated the enhancement machine next to Gulu's. Based on his memory, Gulu's luck when enhancing was similar to his own.
"I'll kill you, I'll definitely kill you. There's someone hiding inside, right? Targeting me, huh."
Gulu had already started hallucinating that someone was hiding inside the Equipment Enhancement Machine, entering a state of blurred consciousness.
[Welcome to Equipment Enhancement Machine No. 1852.]
[Please place the equipment to be enhanced.]
With a puff of steam, the tray for the enhancement agent extended. Su Xiao placed [Robert's Pocket Watch] on it and added one Soul Crystal (Large). One crystal for 10 enhancements gave Su Xiao confidence. He had a full 76 Soul Crystals (Large) in his storage space.
Su Xiao chose to enhance it 10 times in a row. Although the description of [Robert's Pocket Watch] mentioned a low enhancement success rate, Su Xiao felt it shouldn't be below 5%.
[Enhancement +1 failed.]
[Enhancement +1 failed.]
...
[Enhancement +1 failed.]
Su Xiao really didn't expect the enhancement to be this fast. In the past, each enhancement took several minutes, even over ten minutes. When he first enhanced Dragon-Slaying Flash, it took him several hours.
But now, enhancing [Robert's Pocket Watch] for a total of 10 times took less than 2 seconds. All 10 attempts failed.
Su Xiao glanced at the 76 Soul Crystals (Large) in his storage space and suddenly felt it might be more reliable to keep them for eating. Enhancing [Robert's Pocket Watch] was a huge trap.
"Come out!"
With a bang, Gulu kicked the Equipment Enhancement Machine in front of her. Having been enhanced to the point of blurred consciousness, she firmly believed someone was hiding inside the machine.
PS: (Recommending a friend's book, title: Let the World Feel Pain from This Moment On.)