Chapter 50: Why Do You Shatter at a Touch
Led by the Soul Master, over thirty people hurried along until they reached the vicinity of the Sun Fortress. This colossal structure, nearly a hundred meters tall, exuded an oppressive aura, though its outer armor was covered in rust, giving it a dilapidated appearance overall.
The reason the Sun Fortress looked this way was that Su Xiao had deliberately "aged" it, making people mistakenly believe it was an abandoned relic here.
Under Little Pei's guidance, the Soul Master and his group arrived at the fortress's main gate. The gate was over ten meters high and about nine meters wide.
The Soul Master and the others saw that although the main gate of the Sun Fortress was open, a wall of gray mist blocked the entrance, sealing the doorway.
"This scene looks familiar to me."
"Same here."
"I suddenly have a bad feeling. Should we retreat first? Wait for the main force to arrive."
"We should have done that earlier. Let's retreat. Hey! Metal Girl, what are you doing?"
"The more you chicken out, the fewer resources you get, the weaker you become, and eventually you die for no reason. I've seen plenty of people like that."
Metal Girl reached her hand into the mist wall. She was the type who wouldn't easily give up on immediate gains. The difference between splitting rewards among dozens of people versus hundreds was enormous in terms of each person's share.
The Soul Master didn't speak. He stepped toward the mist wall. Seeing this, Muscle Man Dean also passed through it. The others looked at each other, then one by one entered the mist wall as well.
As Metal Girl passed through the mist wall, the thin fog before her gradually dissipated. What she saw was a vast, open space.
Dim lighting, an empty expanse, ethereal murmurs, and slowly dispersing cold mist. Seeing all this, Metal Girl's body tensed. The scene before her had too strong a boss-fight vibe.
The surrounding cold mist not only partially obstructed vision but also affected perception. Metal Girl raised her left hand, signaling the others to stop, and she moved forward alone.
"The enemy has one more person."
Little Pei, a perception-type, spoke. Hearing this, Metal Girl ahead halted her steps.
"The extra enemy is very small. Judging by its aura, it's a light-element spirit in the shape of a cat. Its combat ability is average. I speculate this is an auxiliary-type summon."
After saying this, Little Pei retreated behind Muscle Man Dean.
"Ahead!"
As Little Pei's shout rang out, Metal Girl felt wind pressure rushing toward her. She assumed a backward-leap posture, and a wondrous scene unfolded. She seemed to shed her skin like a cicada, leaving behind a metal shell identical to her form at the original spot, while she herself was already leaping backward midair.
Boom!!
A blast of air exploded. The shell Metal Girl left behind was shattered into pieces by the kick, the metal fragments flying like shotgun pellets toward the group of contractors.
A series of clinking sounds followed, and most of the metal fragments were blocked by an invisible wall.
Due to the impact of this kick and the caster's ability being dispelled, the surrounding cold mist dissipated. The view of the fortress's first floor was now unobstructed, but the main gate slammed shut.
The Soul Master, with one hand extended forward, now wore an unpleasant expression. As he released his ability, the metal fragments suspended in midair fell to the ground.
He had used a soul-type shield wall to block these metal fragments, but the kinetic energy attached to them exceeded his expectations. In other words, if he had been the one to take that kick, the result would be...
Muscle Man Dean stood in front of the Soul Master. This muscular brute knew that the Soul Master was the big shot this time. As a soul-type powerhouse, the Soul Master was clearly not the tough, durable type.
Only now did the group of contractors see who the enemy was. It was a man holding a long blade, standing in midair. More precisely, he was standing on interwoven energy threads a few meters above the ground.
"Friend from Apocalypse Paradise, why bother? No one from your own faction came to help you. Why guard the coordinates for them?"
Muscle Man Dean spoke, attempting a psychological tactic to weaken Su Xiao's fighting spirit.
Crack, crack, crack!
Ice suddenly appeared. A dead-eyed ice mage with a hot temper—the type who acts first and talks little—struck.
A spiky ball of solid ice spread toward Su Xiao, reaching him in an instant. At the same time, a laser beam as thick as a pinky finger swept toward his neck. If it hit his neck, even Su Xiao would be seriously injured. No contractor of the same rank could be underestimated.
The main issue with most contractors was their low health. Su Xiao's slashing damage, plus Azure Steel Shadow's true damage, plus soul damage, and the bonuses from a pile of passive skills made him almost a natural predator to contractors. Add his high survivability and speed, and he could fight against many.
Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Su Xiao wasn't a predator of contractors; he was hunting violators and inadvertently became a predator. But this was relative—some contractors had decent survivability.
The crystal layer exploded. A humanoid crystal shell was first encased in ice, then swept across the neck by a dark purple ray.
Su Xiao crouched low. A booming sound came from above. When dealing with contractors, one must always guard against being focused down.
Once on solid ground, the ground beneath Su Xiao's feet cracked with a loud bang. He turned into a blur, charging at Muscle Man Dean.
Muscle Man Dean sensed Su Xiao rushing toward him and inwardly roared, "Holy crap!" No wonder he felt this way. Being charged head-on by Su Xiao was a terrible experience, as if he would be decapitated in the next second.
Muscle Man Dean slammed his hands onto the ground. A wall of obsidian-like stone rose before him with a crash. At the same time, coral-like black rock appeared on Su Xiao's left arm, rapidly growing and increasing in weight, slowing him down.
Three gray-white rays shot toward him. Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge, but immediately, more attacks rained down on him.
Spatial fluctuations appeared around Su Xiao. Just then, a transparent hand grabbed his right arm holding the blade. This felt like... a soul-type ability?
Su Xiao phased through space. The binding sensation on his right arm remained. Various attacks enveloped him, but he had already entered a spatial penetration state. Unless the attacks were specifically designed for this, they couldn't harm him.
Su Xiao scanned the crowd. A figure in a black robe with a hood caught his eye. The soul-type fluctuation on this person was the strongest.
"Your soul belongs to me now."
The Soul Master made a single-handed pulling gesture. In the past, once this happened, it meant the battle was over.
The Soul Master pulled with all his might, trying to use the soul hand gripping Su Xiao's arm to yank out his soul. But upon pulling, he found that he couldn't seem to budge the enemy's soul.
Actually, it wasn't just "a little." The Soul Master's situation was like a kindergartener trying to shoulder-toss an adult—a futile effort.
"Hah!"
The Soul Master abandoned all pretense of dignity and style. He let out a shout and switched to pulling backward with both hands. Some contractors saw this and felt confused, thinking, "Did this guy called Soul Master forget to take his meds today?"
To be fair, the contractors' confusion wasn't unfounded. Soul-type abilities were rare, expensive, required high talent, and the resources to grow were hard to come by. They only had a vague understanding of this area—specific knowledge was scarce.
Su Xiao looked at the Soul Master opposite him and frowned. He could feel someone tugging at his right arm, and with unusual persistence.
While in the spatial penetration state, Su Xiao flexed his right forearm and lifted it forcefully. The pulling sensation immediately disappeared.
Almost simultaneously, the Soul Master let out a muffled groan. Everyone saw the Soul Master's right arm go limp, as if it had no bones.
Su Xiao vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of the Soul Master. The Soul Master showed no fear; his eyes glared wide.
Thump!
A shockwave spread outward. Metal Girl, Muscle Man Dean, and the others felt their brains buzz, as if their brains were exposed and struck by a hammer.
Little Pei had blood spurting from his nostrils and ear canals. A nearby healing-type contractor simply rolled his eyes back, fainted, and was knocked back.
The Soul Master's soul shock technique was exceptionally powerful. Although it wasn't a control skill, getting hit left one's brain dazed for a while.
The Soul Master's hood was blown off by the impact. His hair flew wildly, and his expression was ferocious. But this expression lasted only a moment before being replaced by shock.
The Soul Master's soul knockback ability sent all his nearby teammates flying, yet Su Xiao stood calmly in front of him.
Su Xiao's soul strength of 560 points, along with his "Basic Passive: Spirit Toughness, Lv.30" ability, were no joke. He had just withstood the Soul Master's soul shock head-on. He had to admit, the technique's power was decent—his health dropped by 2.65%. With 560 soul strength, facing soul-type skills brought an absurdly high damage reduction effect.
Before the Soul Master could react otherwise, Su Xiao delivered a straight kick.
Boom!!
A mist of blood exploded. The Soul Master's abdomen and everything below it turned into bloody mist. His upper body shot backward like a blur, crashing into the wall behind him.
He didn't create a dent in the wall because his lower body had been turned into mist, reducing the force on his upper body. But his upper half was now embedded in the wall, truly living up to the saying: "Kicked into the wall so hard you can't pry him out."
Su Xiao looked at the Soul Master embedded in the wall. This soul-type cultivator was way too fragile.