Chapter 89: The Mark Has This Function Too?
Sanctuary Hall, in front of the ward door.
Su Xiao inserted the key into the lock and was about to open the door when Molei behind him asked, "Aren't we going to form a team before going in like this?"
Molei seemed quite puzzled, as if entering a dangerous area without completing a team formation was something she couldn't comprehend.
"Let's form a small team," said Shenyin, who could be heard but not seen.
"There's no need for that," Su Xiao said, unconcerned about teaming up.
"There's a real need, Bai Ye. Have you never teamed up with anyone after the sixth rank? You haven't even set up a solo adventure group, have you?" Molei looked at Su Xiao, her eyes showing how astonished she was.
This left Su Xiao somewhat puzzled. In the past, when he acted with others, it was always through the self-organized teams provided by Reincarnation Paradise. From the first rank to the eighth, he had never used the team function attached to his mark.
Previously, he was a Hunter. At lower ranks, low-rank Contractors generally had persecution paranoia, which made it very rare for Su Xiao to team up with others. By the time he reached mid-to-high ranks, when Contractors basically understood what a Hunter was, Su Xiao had already grown accustomed to acting alone.
"At the eighth rank, how could anyone still not know about the team permission? Could it be... you've never activated the team permission?" Shenyin laughed at his own words toward the end, finding it unlikely.
As it turned out, this old yin-yang master was right. Su Xiao had indeed never actively activated the team permission. The few times he had teamed up, he had joined someone else's team.
[Prompt: Apocalypse Paradise · Battle Angel · Molei invites you to join the "Frog Team." This is an S-rank team. Accept/Decline (Team ranks range from E to SSS, determined by team skills).]
[Frog Team · Team Skill: Cooperation (Passive, Lv.32): All members gain +500 HP, slowly recover HP when not in combat.]
[Prompt: Holy Light Paradise · Executioner · Shenyin invites you to join the "Shadow Team." This is an A-rank team. Accept/Decline.]
[Shadow Team · Team Skill: Spirit Leap (Passive, Lv.30): Each time mana is consumed, slightly accelerate mana recovery over the next 30 seconds.]
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao was slightly surprised. It was his first time discovering that teams could have such group characteristic skills. He had never seen this before.
"Is this a permission?" he asked.
"No, it's not. If you have a solo adventure group, just use the mark to activate the team permission, then 'plug in' the solo adventure group's skill. The mark gets this permission after reaching the sixth rank. You've never used it?" Molei seemed a bit shocked, looking at Su Xiao with her 'innocent' big eyes, blinking.
Su Xiao really didn't know about this. He neither formed his own teams nor rarely teamed up with other Contractors. He tried activating the team permission through his own mark.
[Prompt: The Hunter activates the team permission for the first time.]
[Verifying...]
[Verified that the Hunter possesses an SS-rank solo adventure group: Dawn Adventure Group.]
[The Hunter's initial team name has been defaulted to Dawn. This name can be modified without limit.]
[The Hunter can share 2 adventure group skills as team skills. Current adventure group skills: 2, namely: Radiant Team (Passive Lv.52), Hunt Group (Passive X).]
[Prompt: Hunt Group (Passive X) is a special team skill and cannot be shared as a team skill.]
[Your team has been formed. Details are as follows:]
[Dawn Team]
Member Count: 1/5
Team Rank: SS-rank (Shared solo adventure group rank.)
Team Skill Slots: 1/2 (Maximum of two skills can be shared from the adventure group. Currently, only one skill from the adventure group can be shared.)
Team Skill 1: Radiant Team (Passive Lv.52).
Team Skill 2: None.
Team Fortune: E ~ S+
Seeing this team information, Su Xiao understood what was going on. This was the clever use of a solo adventure group. In the past, only himself, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini could benefit from the solo adventure group's skills.
If Su Xiao formed such a team and was the type of lone wolf willing to cooperate with others, a higher team rank and better team skills would undoubtedly attract stronger teammates, or a healing-type with ample healing capacity.
Su Xiao realized he could not only invite Molei and Shenyin into the team but also Zuiyasi, since the other party had already undergone identity verification by the Void Tree.
Su Xiao tried to make the team public. Almost simultaneously, Zuiyasi felt a resonance, while Shenyin and Molei directly received a prompt.
[Prompt: Reincarnation Paradise · Hunter · Su Xiao has established the "Dawn Team." This is an SS-rank team. Accept/Decline (Team ranks range from E to SSS, determined by team skills).]
[Dawn Team · Team Skill: Radiant Team (Passive Lv.52): All team members gain +3060 HP and +1960 mana.]
As soon as Su Xiao made the team public, he immediately received two prompts.
[Prompt: Molei has joined the Dawn Team.]
[Prompt: Shenyin has joined the Dawn Team.]
Clearly, the team Su Xiao established was welcomed by Molei and Shenyin. The boost of over 3000 HP and nearly 2000 mana was simply too tempting, irresistibly tempting.
After Molei and Shenyin opened the team information, they saw the team fortune was E ~ S+. For a moment, they couldn't figure out what was going on.
In simple terms, the team's fortune was based on the captain's fortune, and Su Xiao's fortune... was rather erratic.
Molei's expression twisted in confusion. She vaguely sensed that this team fortune seemed a bit dangerous. If she quit the team, she really couldn't bear to give up the boost from Radiant Team (Passive Lv.52).
"Bai Ye, how has your luck been lately?" Molei asked tentatively.
Su Xiao didn't speak. He simply took out the [Blazing Sun Inscription (Immortal Rank · Full Rating)], which he had obtained about ten hours earlier.
Seeing the [Blazing Sun Inscription] Su Xiao produced, Molei felt relieved. She even gave Su Xiao a thumbs-up. Shenyin also temporarily dropped the idea of quitting the team.
Soon, Zuiyasi also joined the team. He immediately felt a strange force acting on him, enhancing his vitality and body energy.
As Su Xiao turned the key, there was a click, and the ward door opened.
Inside the door was pitch black. Wispy cold mist seeped out along the edges of the door. In the darkness ahead, purple light spots flickered on and off, blurring the boundary between reality and nightmare.
Almost materialized madness rushed toward them. Su Xiao had already switched to the Sun Church set. He was now wearing [Cruel Leather Coat (Holy Spirit Rank · Set · Upper Body Armor)] + [Black Trousers (Holy Spirit Rank · Set · Lower Body Armor)] + [Cruel Leather Shoes (Holy Spirit Rank · Set · Footwear)] + [Cruel Dual Blades (Holy Spirit Rank · Set · Weapon)].
Su Xiao didn't use the previous [Cruel Saw Blade]. Instead, he used two medium-short blades, each about 75 centimeters long. The blades first had a reverse curve, then a forward curve in the middle. The edges of these two weapons were covered in serrations, with small rings at the ends for connection, and rows of barbs on the spine of the blade.
These saw-edged dual blades had two attack modes. The first was rapid continuous slashing, using the serrated edges to chop the enemy into pieces while suppressing them.
The second form was the hook-blade. This attack mode utilized the small rings at the end of the handles and the rows of spikes on the blade's spine.
First, Su Xiao would form two Spirit Shadow Threads of the same thickness as the Realm Severing Thread, tying them to the rings at the ends of the two [Cruel Dual Blades]. Then, by throwing one of the [Cruel Dual Blades], he would make the weapon pierce into the enemy's body.
The special blade balance design meant that when these medium-short blades were thrown, they wouldn't spin but would fly straight with the tip forward. This was also why their blade shape was unique.
Once pierced into the enemy's body, the barbs on the blade's spine came into play. Unless the enemy was willing to have a large chunk of flesh torn off or their organs ripped out, they wouldn't resist Su Xiao pulling the blade back with the Spirit Shadow Threads by brute force.
These two cruel yet aesthetically pleasing weapons were crafted for Su Xiao by an old artisan after he treated a young couple at the Sun Church. The artisan saw that Su Xiao could use Spirit Shadow Threads, hence the design.
Besides ultra-fast continuous slashes and the pierce + hook-blade, these weapons were also great for escaping. The tip design allowed them to pierce into metal or concrete, then use the barbs on the spine or the serrated edges to catch on the metal or concrete structure.
After that, Su Xiao would tighten the Spirit Shadow Threads, using the two blades to climb onto the ceiling or more treacherous terrain, conceal his aura, and evade enemy pursuit.
Regarding the strength of the Spirit Shadow Threads, as long as they were generated to the same thickness as the Realm Severing Thread, with the boost from 'Soul Threads,' the strength of the Spirit Shadow Threads was basically the same as the Realm Severing Thread.
Su Xiao inserted the [Cruel Dual Blades] on both sides of his waist, took out the Sun Head Barrel, and put it on his head. With his current appearance, nightmare monsters that weren't particularly fierce wouldn't actively provoke him.
[Prompt: Sun Church Set effect triggered. Your sanity value cap is increased by an additional 50 points.]
Seeing Su Xiao put on the Sun Head Barrel, Molei had an expression of 'I knew it,' as if she were saying, 'You old yin-yang masters, your hearts are all dirty.'
Su Xiao stepped into the darkness ahead, filled with flickering purple light spots. Madness surged from all directions, as if dragging and tearing at his will, causing his sanity value to decrease at an alarming rate.
[Warning: Your sanity value has decreased by 430 points.]
[Current Sanity Value: 115/545 points.]