Chapter 104: A Wonderful Evening Show
[Skill: Aura Release Lv.32 (Active)]
Skill Effect (Active): Release your own aura, dealing 1950 points of blood-qi damage (ignoring defense) to all enemies within 260 meters (increased by 750 points), and causing the enemy's stamina consumption rate to increase by +29% (increased by 9%), lasting 30 minutes.
Tip: During the period of accelerated stamina consumption, the enemy's physical defense will decrease by 1 point per second, up to a reduction of over 55%.
Tip: This physical defense reduction has priority.
Tip: This is a non-judgmental ability, only resistible through aura.
Skill Effect (Passive): Current aura intensity is 32 points. If an enemy is affected by blood-qi, they will undergo a willpower judgment. If the judgment fails, the enemy will experience sub-control effects such as fear, timidity, or panicked flight (secondary control). If the enemy's willpower is too weak, they may fall into a deep coma (strong control).
Tip: The enhancement of this ability will significantly amplify the talent ability: Blood Beast.
...
Every time blood-qi is enhanced, it brings a pleasant mood. This time is no different, with a single increase of 16 levels. In terms of cost, this saves at least nearly ten thousand Soul Coins. It saves money while providing a considerable boost to strength—this feeling brings a deep, inner satisfaction.
The only drawback is the drop in Charm attribute. For Su Xiao, this isn't a problem. Even if the Charm attribute has now reached -10 points, causing the [Exemption Badge] to fail, it's still not an issue. At worst, he'll just tough out the Charm penalty.
Among the people Su Xiao encounters in mission worlds, four out of ten are unaffected by Charm attribute in negotiations. Take Kingsley, for example—he brainwashed the World Child into thinking he was his own son. The Charm attribute has minimal impact on his negotiations.
Of course, this doesn't mean the Charm attribute is useless. Summoning types and some assassination types can directly boost combat power through the Charm attribute.
Su Xiao stretched his neck and walked out of the Skill Upgrade Hall. Along the way, mid-to-high-rank contractors he encountered were fine, but low-rank ones simply avoided him. The bunny girls responsible for guiding newcomers on how to use the hall's facilities had been enthusiastic when he arrived, but when he left, these "little bunnies" all hid far away. Only one rather foolish donkey-eared girl was still teaching a newcomer how to use the facilities.
With limited remaining stay time, Su Xiao still had one thing to do. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the Trial Grounds and took out [Tree Bud] from his storage space.
[Tip: Yes/No consume this item to open the Land of All Beings: Seventh Layer.]
Su Xiao chose to open it, and the next moment, the [Tree Bud] in his hand disappeared.
[Land of All Beings: Seventh Layer has been opened. This is the highest layer of the Land of All Beings.]
[Usage Fee: 100 Soul Coins per hour.]
[Yes/No enter the Seventh Layer of the Land of All Beings.]
After paying 100 Soul Coins, the teleportation array beneath his feet lit up. In an instant, he arrived on a stretch of water. The water's surface was as smooth as a mirror, and stepping on it felt like stepping on a rock surface.
Apart from the water, there was nothing else around. Su Xiao crouched down, pressing one hand against the water's surface. After a brief perception, he was inwardly surprised—what was beneath his feet was pure soul energy.
He drew the longsword at his waist. Although Dragon-Slaying Flash couldn't be used for combat, it was fine for developing sword techniques during training, as long as he didn't clash weapons with others.
As soon as Su Xiao drew his sword, the soul energy beside him surged, forming a figure of the same height and clothing as himself. This figure was somewhat translucent, with a blurred face.
Su Xiao attempted to swing his sword, and the translucent figure did the same. A strange sensation arose—it felt as if he had swung the sword twice. The translucent figure was made of pure soul energy, now connected to his own soul, like a soul clone of himself.
Su Xiao continued experimenting, creating more soul clones. After a few tests, he discovered that he could create between 1 and 1,000 soul clones, meaning a onefold to thousandfold increase in training efficiency. Beyond that, his body couldn't handle it, though his soul was fine.
Su Xiao gave the command to manifest 1,000 soul clones. As expected, the Seventh Layer of the Land of All Beings was filled with numerous soul clones. Su Xiao executed a single Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon, and the scene before him was filled with Azure Demons.
An intense fatigue spread throughout his body. His right arm was sore and numb, as if he had executed Azure Demon a thousand times, each time slightly different. This brought various insights and summaries flooding into his mind.
The "Blade Talent Rank +9" from the Sublimation of Technique began to play a huge role. [Origin Stone: World] also amplified training efficiency.
A warm sensation spread throughout Su Xiao's body. His stamina was recovering, and his right arm was no longer sore. This was the power of the Seventh Layer of the Land of All Beings—as long as his spirit didn't falter, he could keep training.
Su Xiao never considered himself talented in swordsmanship, so he used various methods to enhance his training efficiency. Now, it seemed the results were outstanding.
Twelve hours later, in the Real World, on the second floor of the Accessory Shop.
Su Xiao lay on his single bed, unable to move even a finger. His stamina was completely drained. The Seventh Layer of the Land of All Beings could restore stamina, but in a way, that wasn't entirely good. Once Su Xiao got immersed, by the time he felt tired, his body had already borne a huge burden.
[Tip: Within the Hunter's jurisdiction, three contractors are currently engaged in combat...]
Su Xiao checked the details. It was one Second Rank contractor and two Third Rank contractors in a chaotic battle. He ignored it—contractors of this level would be handled by the Scavengers.
Compared to this, extending his stay in the Real World was more important. Dragon-Slaying Flash would need at least five more days to complete its transformation. To be safe, he would stay in the Real World for six days this time.
Su Xiao consumed the Lv.1 Mark's additional permission to exchange for three days of stay time. Combined with the original stay limit, that was enough.
A peaceful Real World life began. For the first two days, Su Xiao's muscles were sore all over. By the third day, most of the soreness had recovered, and by the third night, it was completely gone.
Streetlights illuminated the road brightly. The street ended in a dead end, with large patches of weeds. Few cars came here. A group of elderly men and women, dancing to "heavy metal health punk"—commonly known as square dancing—were sweating it out on the street.
Counting since summer, this was already the fourth batch of "elderly dance troupes." The first three batches had been driven away by the Scavengers and didn't dare return. But the fourth batch grew like leeks after rain, thriving vigorously. Su Xiao couldn't help but wonder—if two "elderly dance troupes" happened to meet, would it spark a territorial dispute?
Su Xiao decided not to bother with the elderly dance troupe on the street. This was the most civilized batch—they came on time at 6 PM and left on time at 8 PM every day. Getting rid of this batch would likely lead to the next.
He glanced at the date on his phone. The day after tomorrow was Hai Dong's death anniversary.
Feeling a bit drowsy, Su Xiao went upstairs to sleep. His life was very mundane—the mission worlds were already exciting enough.
The next day, at 6 PM, the sky was dim. Mosquitoes and various insects were active, flying under the streetlights. Tonight, the street was not peaceful. The "West Street Elderly Dance Troupe," which had been stationed here, encountered a formidable "enemy"—the "Chemical Elderly Dance Troupe." The conflict arose from territorial disputes and the different music they played.
Su Xiao sat on the sofa inside the Accessory Shop. He had a good view, making it the perfect spot to watch. The scene on the street was amusing to him.
The conflict escalated from initial silent rivalry to mutual insults, and finally, a particularly fierce pearl-necklace-wearing auntie led the charge, sparking a full-blown battle. On the opposing side, a long-faced auntie was equally brave. Facing the charging pearl-necklace auntie, the long-faced auntie protected the speaker behind her, her aura so intense that she might as well have shouted, "Man in the tower!"
Bubu Wang held his phone with his dog paws, recording the scene and posting it on a short video platform. Notably, Bubu Wang's account on this platform had 300,000 followers. He usually recorded his own short videos.
The street farce ended quickly. The two groups eventually merged into a new dance troupe, the "Sunset Red Dance Troupe," with complex internal relationships. It was unclear if the Sunset Red Dance Troupe would encounter new opponents—this was more entertaining than a TV series.
The next morning, Su Xiao went out and returned to the Accessory Shop in the afternoon. He had gone to pay respects to Hai Dong. After that, aside from the "street TV series" from 6 PM to 8 PM every night, Su Xiao spent most of his time tackling puzzle games. Unknowingly, his stay time reached its limit.
[Tip: The Hunter is about to enter a new world. This world is extremely special. Before entering this world, you must complete a full attribute judgment. If the comprehensive judgment fails, you will be unable to enter this world.]
[Tip: This world contains participants from multiple factions, including those from Arcane Eternal Star, Demon Race, Devil Race, Doom Star, Apocalypse Paradise, Feather Race, Holy Light Paradise...]