Chapter 33: Surprise Comes So Suddenly
Under the anticipation of all, Luoxi held her breath, the sand grains she kicked up hitting her ear with crackling sounds. She knew she couldn't delay any longer—she could feel her soul on the verge of electrocution at any moment.
Boom!
A dull impact struck from directly ahead of Luoxi, the yellow sand surging like tidal waves as Su Xiao charged straight at her.
Seeing this, Luoxi's fury instantly maxed out. The enemy... was just charging at her like this? Was he looking down on her? Had he forgotten how he got those wounds on his body?
Slap!
Luoxi pressed her hands together, her pupils turning cyan.
'Ring Blade Dance: Bone Burial.'
Under Luoxi's control, her hundreds of elemental ring blades split apart, sacrificing their size to increase their numbers to over ten thousand.
As for why she named this move 'Bone Burial,' it was because after this technique ended, the enemy's flesh would be stripped away, leaving only a skeleton.
The elemental ring blades instantly formed a storm, sweeping toward Su Xiao, accompanied by a gruesome cutting sound, engulfing him as he charged.
"You really do enjoy being torn to pieces, don't you."
Luoxi breathed a sigh of relief as she said this. It would be a lie to say she wasn't intimidated facing a Law Destroyer. Fortunately, the enemy had suddenly lost his mind; otherwise, victory was far beyond her reach.
Within the dense ring blade storm, Su Xiao could no longer see his surroundings clearly. All he could see were ring blades ten centimeters in diameter. These blades whizzed past, then circled back to attack him repeatedly. As for damage, each ring blade dealt a staggering 7 to 10 points of elemental damage!
That's right, 7 to 10 points of elemental damage. Real combat wasn't just about comparing data-based abilities. For example, Su Xiao was currently wrapped in a crystal layer, and the ring blades had to break through that defense first before they could lightly injure him.
Not to mention anything else, Su Xiao's combat notifications were flooding.
[Notification: Elemental ring blade has dealt 9 points of elemental damage to you (after external defense reduction + absolute magic resistance reduction + physical defense reduction + elemental damage resistance reduction...).]
[Notification: Elemental ring blade has dealt 7 points of elemental damage to you...]
Inside the ring blade storm, clanging sounds rang out continuously in Su Xiao's ears. His entire body felt impacts and scrapes. He raised one hand to shield his face from eye injuries. The reason he hadn't charged out was to pinpoint the enemy's location—this was an opportunity to finish her off.
With a crackle, a ring blade sliced across the back of Su Xiao's hand, leaving a trail of brilliant cyan sparks. Suddenly, amidst the chaotic elemental aura around him, Su Xiao sensed something different.
Having determined the enemy's position, Su Xiao crouched low, pushed off with his legs, and shot forward like a cannonball, leaving only an air blast in his wake.
With a shattering sound, the ring blade encirclement was breached, revealing Luoxi's slightly stunned expression.
Su Xiao blurred past, and after breaking free from the ring blade storm, he was less than five meters from Luoxi. In this critical moment, Luoxi didn't beg for mercy but instead displayed the spirit of Arcane Eternal Star. She clenched her fists and assumed a close-combat stance.
In Su Xiao's understanding, once a battle began, the enemy's gender didn't matter. Regardless of gender, an attack hitting a vital point would be fatal—that was enough. There were only two distinctions among enemies: strength versus weakness, and whether they deserved respect. Anyone who fought to the end without backing down shouldn't be belittled.
'Extreme Ring!'
Luoxi manifested a ring blade in her hand and threw a punch at Su Xiao's head. Rather than being electrocuted into paralysis by soul lightning, she planned to force the enemy back first, then look for another opportunity.
Bang!
Su Xiao's left hand, wrapped in a crystal layer, swung horizontally, smashing into Luoxi's attacking right arm. Flesh and bone fragments splattered as Luoxi's arm shattered.
With a sharp sound, the long blade slashed diagonally across Luoxi's chest, trailing a line of blood droplets. Luoxi's face twisted in pain, but her pupils turned bright cyan. This female spellcaster hadn't given up; instead, she actively moved toward Su Xiao.
Pfft!
Dragon-Slaying Flash pierced through Luoxi's neck. The bright cyan gathering in her eyes shattered like crystal, revealing her pupils.
As Su Xiao withdrew the long blade, Luoxi's body fell backward. Her raised hand tried to grab Su Xiao's face, but as her body reclined, her hand moved farther from his face.
With a thud, Luoxi fell onto the yellow sand, letting out a faint cough. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. She spoke weakly:
"You damned Law Destroyer, too cautious. You're... a formidable enemy I can't bring myself to hate. But you're not likeable either. You must still be single. Serves you right."
As Luoxi's words ended, Su Xiao's long blade had already pierced her heart. The light in her eyes faded.
Su Xiao pulled out the blade, and the crystal layer on his body shattered. He stretched his limbs. Though he hadn't suffered serious injuries, the wounds still hurt.
[Notification: You have killed Female Spellcaster Luoxi.]
[Notification: Due to the current world being under Void Tree arbitration.]
[Notification: You have obtained a Secret Treasure Chest (Chest-type item).]
...
A chest appeared beside Luoxi. Su Xiao hadn't expected a chest to drop, which made him wonder—if he killed his good teammate Zuiyasi, would he get an Ancient God system bloodline chest?
Thinking of this, Su Xiao's gaze turned to Zuiyasi. Several hundred meters away, Zuiyasi, who was saying something to Wude, seemed to sense something and met Su Xiao's gaze.
"Wude, Bai Ye has gone mad. Looks like he's coming to kill me."
"How is that possible? The three of us are collaborators. You're his teammate. Why would he kill you? Don't overthink it."
Wude was the epitome of someone who talks without feeling the pain.
"Yeah, that's true. But that killing intent was a bit obvious just now. When I usually want to kill you two, I hide my killing intent very well."
Zuiyasi spoke as if stating something perfectly normal. Suffice it to say, the three of the evil faction were quite straightforward with each other.
"Coincidentally, so do I."
As Wude spoke, he suddenly felt a bit dizzy, which puzzled him.
No longer looking at the two a hundred meters away, Su Xiao picked up the chest on the ground. Just then, a notification appeared.
[Notification: You have temporarily eliminated the Arcane Eternal Star faction.]
[Notification: Arcane Eternal Star's available participation slots for this event: 3. 2 slots have been consumed.]
[Notification: Arcane Eternal Star has the most slots in this event. To gain this advantage, Arcane Eternal Star submitted a collateral ??? to the Void Tree before the battle began. If a participant completely eliminates Arcane Eternal Star, that participant will receive Arcane Eternal Star's collateral ???.]
[Notification: The Arcane Eternal Star faction did not obtain any Scroll Fragments, so the kill-looting privilege cannot be triggered.]
[Notification: Due to the temporary elimination of the Arcane Eternal Star faction, new faction participants will arrive in this world in 12 hours.]
...
The notifications contained a lot of information. What Su Xiao cared about was that he had temporarily eliminated the Arcane Eternal Star faction. Arcane Eternal Star still had one participant left, likely queued later.
Su Xiao now had two choices. He could stabilize the situation and prevent other faction participants from being eliminated. This would keep Arcane Eternal Star suppressed, and that participant—the Crow Woman Wude mentioned in the nightmare world—would be unable to enter the painting world, forced to sit on the sidelines.
Alternatively, Su Xiao could try to eliminate other factions, allowing new faction participants to keep entering until Arcane Eternal Star's third member re-entered.
Arcane Eternal Star had submitted collateral ??? to gain more entry slots. If Su Xiao could kill the Crow Woman, Arcane Eternal Star would have to bear the risk of having three entry slots, and Void Tree would give the collateral ??? to Su Xiao as spoils of war.
What the collateral was remained unknown. For Su Xiao, the ideal collateral would be the Ancestral Remains, a treasure that could enhance his Cyan Steel Shadow ability, but that was impossible.
Regarding the Ancestral Remains, Arcane Eternal Star kept them tightly guarded. Besides, how could it be such a coincidence that Su Xiao came to participate in the Scroll Battle, and Arcane Eternal Star just happened to offer the Ancestral Remains as collateral? Absolutely impossible.
Not to mention anything else, Su Xiao had confidence in his own luck. He wasn't that fortunate. As the saying goes, when luck falls short, strength makes up for it.
Once the Holy Flame Alchemist identity developed, he wouldn't be afraid of Arcane Eternal Star refusing to hand over the Ancestral Remains. Tightly guarded? Compared to Ancestral Remains, top-tier magic system alchemical potions—weren't they tempting?
Su Xiao glanced at his task list. When he first entered the Sand World, a side mission had appeared. Now checking, he found the side mission was grayed out, with a prompt indicating he needed to leave the Endless Desert to activate it.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave, he noticed the [Insight Eye] floating in mid-air gradually disappearing.
[Announcement (Void Tree): Due to the elimination of the Arcane Eternal Star faction, the Insight Eye is randomly selecting a new target to follow.]
Su Xiao looked around but didn't see the Insight Eye appear near him. That was a good thing.
Somewhere in the Endless Desert, on a sand dune.
"Stop, stop, stop. I can't take it anymore. I'm about to explode from the heat."
Hearing Yueshitu shout this, Molei put Yueshitu down. Yueshitu crouched, her eyes gradually turning serious.
"Ribbit~"
"?"
Yueshitu was stunned, then looked at Molei, not understanding why she was hiding now. The reason was simple: disguise as a frog to stay cool.
Silently, the Insight Eye appeared near Molei and Yueshitu. Both looked at the fist-sized Insight Eye. They had seen the announcement and knew what was happening.
"Molei, we've been chosen."
"Nice!"
"What's nice about it? This thing connects to the arena in the Void. Over a hundred thousand viewers are watching."
Yueshitu was a bit displeased, but the one who had been panting with her tongue nearly hanging out now acted like a proper lady.
"You don't get it. This is very nice. It's a livestream."
Molei had an inexplicable smile on her face. Yueshitu didn't understand and asked, "So? What's in it for us?"
"We can do whatever we want. There are plenty of benefits. You'll see soon."
Molei took off one of Yueshitu's shoes, pulled off her sock, and put it over the Insight Eye. Having been set up by old schemers often, Molei had gradually learned some tricks.
Seeing this, Yueshitu was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, in the Void, inside the arena, the audience was dead silent. The viewers were stunned, thinking: Did they have to pay to watch the Scroll Battle broadcasts from now on?
...
The temperature in the desert grew increasingly scorching. After finishing a battle, Su Xiao felt the blood scabs sticking uncomfortably to his skin. After drinking a life-property potion, his wounds had healed. He was now cleaning his upper body with fine sand. When not fighting, he had to conserve fresh water.
The heat of this desert was different from normal deserts. This heat could gradually drain the body's moisture, cellular energy, and so on. If dehydrated or hungry for too long, True Stamina would continuously decline.
"Any leads on this desert?"
"None."
"Yes."
Zuiyasi took a compass from his backpack. On the lid of this compass was a sun pattern. Clearly, Su Xiao wasn't the only one who had found something in the castle.
"Then let's move out."
Wude's attitude was relaxed. Having sent away the Abyssal Jar, most of his mission was complete. Even if he lost this time, returning to the Devil Clan would bring him rewards in resources and status.
Thinking of this, Wude felt even better, his body feeling lighter. He took a step forward but suddenly found his foot couldn't touch the sand.
'!!!'
A chill ran through Wude's heart. The next moment, his foot touched the sand again. Something appeared in his hand. He raised it and found he was holding a pottery jar with a semi-circular lid. This thing was called... the Abyssal Jar, and it was complete.
As the saying goes, your uncle will always be your uncle. Wude now deeply understood this. Their Devil Clan's father had returned.
As if struck by a blow, Wude's body swayed back and forth.
"Gentlemen, this is just a joke. Don't mind it. It's actually a fake, a souvenir from my Devil Clan. I brought it out this time to give to..."
Before Wude could finish, he found Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, Bubu Wang, and Baha already over a hundred meters away.