Chapter 85: The Peak and Good News
Su Xiao examined the information on the Azure Steel Shadow ability. Seeing the data before him, he felt a slight surprise—the level of the Azure Steel Shadow ability had actually decreased, but its power had increased.
[Azure Steel Shadow: Lv.50 (Active/Passive Skill, Ability Level Beneficially Reduced by Lv.15)]
Activation Condition: After activating the Azure Steel Shadow ability, consumes 210 mana points per minute (consumption reduced by 30 points).
Active Effect: Each melee attack burns 750 mana points from the enemy (increased by 18 points), and deals true damage equal to 1.7 times the burned mana (increased by 1%), dealing 1275 true damage (increased by 104 true damage) + Dragon-Slaying Flash's 25% increase + Azure Shadow King's 18% increase = 1823 true damage. The enemy will suffer intense pain from the mana burn.
Note: When the enemy suffers mana burn, there is a 23% chance to trigger one of three abnormal statuses: paralysis, immobilization, or dizziness...
Defense Form: Proud Song (Active), can generate crystal layers of any form to defend against enemy attacks. Crystal layer strength is proportional to the mana consumed, with a single-use mana consumption cap of 6000 points (due to the qualitative change in Azure Steel Shadow energy, the cap has increased by 800 points). Crystal layer defense rank +1.
Combat Form: Law Annihilation (Passive), this trait is in transformation. Due to the enhancement of the Azure Steel Shadow ability, the extent of this transformation has increased.
Basic Effect (New Effect): When leveling up this skill, energy absorption and conversion rate increase by 100% (this trait can only be enhanced when absorbing 'Ancestral Law Destroyer Remains').
...
After seeing the information on the Azure Steel Shadow ability, even Su Xiao felt his heartbeat quicken. He hadn't expected that the Ancestral Remains would enhance this aspect.
At first glance, the Azure Steel Shadow had received a significant boost, but the ability level had decreased. Compared to the qualitative improvement in Azure Steel Shadow energy, the other two aspects were more important: the reduction in ability level and the newly appeared basic effect. When leveling up the Azure Steel Shadow ability, the energy absorption and conversion rate increased by 100%.
What did this mean? After Su Xiao used the Devouring Core to absorb the high-level biological energy from the essence, the Devouring Core had to purify and filter that high-level biological energy into a 'colorless energy.'
The Azure Steel Shadow ability absorbed this 'colorless energy' to level up.
To put it simply, suppose Su Xiao absorbed an Immortal-level essence. The Azure Steel Shadow ability could increase by Lv.2. With this basic effect, absorbing the same Immortal-level essence would allow the Azure Steel Shadow ability to increase by Lv.4—a doubling of efficiency.
Every time the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao absorbed 'colorless energy,' there was unavoidable loss due to the nature of the Azure Steel Shadow energy. It was high-rank, devouring, and lethal, but its absorption aspect wasn't particularly outstanding.
The current situation was that the loss during the enhancement process was greatly reduced, so Su Xiao's efficiency in leveling up the Azure Steel Shadow ability had doubled.
Not only that, with the ability leveling speed doubled, each time he absorbed Ancestral Remains, his Azure Steel Shadow ability's skill level would decrease while its intensity remained unchanged.
This was the result of raising the upper limit of the Azure Steel Shadow ability. Imagine the Azure Steel Shadow ability as a bucket that originally held half a bucket of water. When the bucket grew larger, the water level dropped to one-third. This wasn't a decrease in water but an increase in the bucket's size.
Sometimes, the things left by predecessors might not have many functions, but their foundation was always strong. Without a strong foundation, the risks of later development were too high. By later generations, the foundation weakened, and the branches of abilities multiplied.
Su Xiao wondered: if he absorbed more Ancestral Remains, how astonishingly high would the upper limit of his Azure Steel Shadow ability become?
At that point, if he pushed the Azure Steel Shadow ability to its limit, he would reach the absolute peak of what the Azure Steel Shadow ability could achieve.
What Su Xiao wanted to know was how many Ancestral Law Destroyer Remains were left and whether other members of the Starry Sky Seat had any. If they did, he would pay three times the previous price to buy them. After all, the Black Maple Tree yield he paid with was all produced by his own home.
Closing the skill list, Su Xiao made a decision: from now on, whenever he obtained Golden Skill Points, he would first max out the Devouring Core ability instead of the Azure Shadow King ability.
Not only the Devouring Core, but the Supreme Blade ability also needed to be maxed out. Previously, the cost of enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash was bearable, and he wouldn't use Golden Skill Points for that. But now, it was no longer feasible.
In the later stages, everyone knew that Technique-type cultivators were strong. Many people had been educated by Technique-types to the point of doubting their own existence. On the spot, they would go into a state of self-isolation, tears in their eyes, and secretly harbor hatred: 'You're strong? So strong that you have no weaknesses? I can't beat you? Fine, then your weapons will be expensive from now on.'
If Mage-type weapons were expensive because of their rarity and the power of Mages, then Technique-type weapons were expensive entirely because Technique-types had beaten others into submission. Too many people had been educated to the point of self-isolation and confusion, their basic thought being: 'He just has a sword, why is he so strong? My control abilities are useless against him, like a joke.'
After all, the three recognized 'Big Daddies' in the Reincarnation Paradise's world conquest battles were Technique-types, Mages, and Necromancers.
Su Xiao activated the recovery function. After spending 5.7 million Paradise Coins, his injuries were healed. This was the most expensive recovery of his life, not because of battle injuries, but because of enhancing the Law Destruction Faction's abilities...
After the injuries were fully healed, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground for over half an hour to recover. He inwardly felt fortunate that he hadn't rashly used the Ancestral Finger Bone earlier.
Leaving the empty room, Su Xiao returned to the Alchemy Laboratory. He sat in front of the test bench and opened the Alchemy Codex on it, flipping to the fifth page. This page contained a total of 853 engravings, and he had already deciphered 442 of them.
He pressed his fingertip onto the first engraving, and his mental energy flowed into it. The first engraving was filled with mental energy, glowing fluorescent blue.
Over an hour later, a somewhat dizzy Su Xiao lifted his finger. Only one engraving remained on the fifth page to be fully deciphered. This was a 'bottleneck.' To break through it, he would need to rest for a few days before continuing.
At that point, he could flip to the back of the fifth page and see the alchemical formula recorded there.
He wondered what type it would be this time. He had already obtained quite a few potion formulas. He had never obtained a life blueprint for an alchemical creature, nor had he obtained a structural diagram for an artifact.
If he was incredibly lucky and obtained a life blueprint similar to the Devourer's form, that would be a huge gain.
Of course, this was just a hope. Su Xiao didn't hold out much hope. Usually, whatever he wanted didn't come to him. He had to rely on his own powerful strength to fight for it. Although it was a bit harder, the gains were more solid.
[Alchemy has been upgraded to Lv.62 (increased by Lv.2).]
Although Su Xiao's mind was somewhat fatigued, it didn't affect his ability to mix alchemical potions. This time, he planned to casually mix low-grade potions. He checked the remaining scraps and determined that he could make a low-tier four-attribute enhancement potion that boosted Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence.
After a while, Su Xiao finished mixing the potions: 15 bottles of [Life Characteristic·01], 15 bottles of [Vitality Extract (Recovery Potion)], 5 bottles of [Ancient Secret Medicine], and 2 bottles of [Dawn Flame·Modified]. One of them was of Perfect quality, which was why he had managed to mix a second bottle.
Of these two bottles of [Dawn Flame·Modified], one was a mistake. He had unconsciously mixed a Perfect-quality potion. This wasn't good. If Youyouan received such favorable treatment, she would have many suspicions. It might even give her a persecution complex.
Imagine: one day, a high-ranking member of her group approaches her, and she gains a Wolf Clan bloodline and several channels she couldn't have accessed before.
If a potion that was absurdly strong for a low-rank Contractor was thrown at her, anyone would panic. Their thoughts would be: 'What is this all about? Nurturing her? Then using her as a tool?'
Moreover, Su Xiao had no personal relationship with that Contractor named Youyouan. After thinking it over, he decided to have Beini, in her Holy Flame Cat form, visit Xia's place another day. This potion could be sold to Xia at a low price. Recently, he hadn't paid for a while and had gotten used to eating and leaving.
It was worth mentioning that Su Xiao hadn't sold the [Supernatural Plant Cultivation] scroll he had obtained earlier. He felt it was a pity to sell it. Beini was interested in this knowledge-type ability, so he might as well use it. For one thing, once this ability's level was high enough, it could better care for the Black Maple Tree.
He still had 12,638 Soul Coins left. Su Xiao hadn't used them yet. He had already advanced to the Eighth Rank. Although the Holy Spirit-level ranged weapon [Metal·Tyrant] had decent power, it couldn't pose much of a threat to Eighth-Rank enemies.
If he could acquire an Immortal-level high-power sci-fi firearm, that would be great. If not, he would use these Soul Coins to upgrade the Technique Sublimation ability by 2 levels.
Su Xiao left his Exclusive Room and headed straight for the Trial Grounds. He needed to perfect his blade techniques. The 'Blade Path Sword: Shadow Sever' was still a bit rough and needed refinement.
The 'Blade Path Sword: Flow' could be considered for development into its complete form. Su Xiao's body could now withstand the complete 'Flow.' That level of 'Flow' was terrifying—elegant yet extremely sharp, killing in an instant.
Arriving at the Trial Grounds, Su Xiao activated the permission for the Land of All Beings·Sixth Layer.
[Yes/No to enter the Land of All Beings·Sixth Layer. Costs 60 Soul Coins per hour.]
Su Xiao checked the remaining time and paid 1,380 Soul Coins to obtain 23 hours of usage rights for the Land of All Beings. He needed to keep 20 hours of time for other matters.
The arduous training began. Over twenty hours later, in Xia's restaurant, Su Xiao leaned back in his chair, his arms hanging naturally. On the table in front of him was a steaming bowl of noodles.
Xia sat across from him, one hand propping up her cheek on the table, looking completely drained. She asked, "Bai Ye, what's wrong with you?"
"Fatigue."
"Eh~? An Eighth-Rank Contractor can get tired?"
"Of course."
"I've been having trouble lately. There's someone... I can't do anything about them."
"Kill them."
"That's my mom."
Xia held her forehead.
"..."
"I always say I'm traveling to Antarctica. My parents are getting suspicious."
"..."
"What should I do? How do you explain things to your parents? I want to learn from you."
"Visit their graves regularly."
Su Xiao's hardcore reply left Xia momentarily stunned.
"Uh~"
Xia changed the subject and said, "I... I cooked the noodles. You should eat them while they're hot."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't move. Although he was starving, he didn't even want to move a finger. Beside him, Amu, Bubu Wang, and Baha were eating heartily, while Beini ate slowly.
Amu occasionally glanced over. It seemed that if this bowl of noodles weren't Su Xiao's, it would already be in his stomach.
Dragging his exhausted body, Su Xiao ate a bowl of noodles. A message appeared—it was from the Witch, or rather, a message entrusted by the Tuanzhang to the Witch.
The content read: 'The Starry Sky Banquet will begin in 2 hours (attached is a Space Card). Using this card will likely bring you near the entrance to the Starry Sky Seat. If you end up in a confusing place, use it again until you reach the Desolate Continent—Tuanzhang, left.'
The long-awaited Starry Sky Banquet was finally about to begin. It had been some time since the last one. This time, he had many things to do. The Blade Demon hadn't come last time, and he didn't know if he would this time.