Chapter 3: Goblin Universal Trading Device Usage Rights (High Authority)
...
A nameless finger bone appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Even if there were no other rewards, having just this one would have left him quite satisfied.
He would try the [Skill Upgrade Pod Free Usage Permission] later. As for the [Goblin Universal Trading Device], he felt a strong sense of vigilance towards it, because he knew a person, a person named Kaisa.
The [Goblin Universal Trading Device] as a whole was a barrel less than a meter high, slightly thinner than a water bucket, covered in dense relief carvings, most of which were of strange beasts he had never seen before.
At the very top was a creature resembling a toad. It had over a dozen legs, grasping the top of the cylindrical pillar below. This large toad was covered in various types of coins—some were paper money, others gold coins, silver coins, and even Soul Coins.
This large toad was alive. It extended its tongue to lick the dust off its eyeballs.
"Abalamaxi, dabu gegege (positional language)."
"..."
Su Xiao's gaze turned to Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang shook its head, meaning this wasn't beast language. Baha beside him shrugged, meaning this wasn't bird language either.
"Gubaduo duoge?"
After asking this question, the large toad twisted the winding key on its waist. With a crisp click, its language changed. After switching through several languages, it finally settled on a Void language Su Xiao could understand.
"Welcome to the use of Unit 18. Goblin Company is honored to serve you."
"Unit?"
"Oh~, dear guest, you can finally understand what I'm saying. This damned language mechanism."
"Damn it, can't you switch to Earth language? What's with this stiff translation tone?"
Hearing Baha's words, the large toad nodded, twisted the key a few more times, and then spoke: "How are ya, handsome?"
"Ah, this~, can you switch to standard Mandarin?"
"No problem, ah."
As the large toad spoke, it twisted the winding key on its waist again. After a moment.
"Ahem, how is it now?"
"OK."
"Good. Have you fine folks ever enjoyed the services of our Goblin Company before? There's something to clarify: you are now our Goblin Company's lifetime Platinum VIP."
A metal plate rose behind the large toad, listing the various services of the Goblin Company.
The [Goblin Universal Trading Device] Su Xiao had obtained was actually a convenient trading device.
To put it simply, if there was something he couldn't sell but didn't want to sell to Reincarnation Paradise at the offered price, he could use this [Goblin Universal Trading Device] to sell the item to the Goblin Company.
The price would definitely be lower than selling it on Trade Street, but the advantage was that it could be sold immediately, getting Soul Coins right away.
The Goblin Company bought everything. Their business channels radiated to the Void, Transcendent Primordial Worlds, Reincarnation Paradise, Death Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, and some remote but important worlds.
This [Goblin Universal Trading Device] didn't belong to Su Xiao, but as long as he was in Reincarnation Paradise, he could summon it at any time.
Su Xiao took out [T5 Fortress Structure Blueprints × 8 (Core Life Structure Blueprints for 8 Types of Basic Fortresses)]. This couldn't be sold in Reincarnation Paradise. To build a T5 fortress, the blueprints weren't the most important thing; what mattered were the unique resources of that Ser Star, the environment there, and even the World Force.
This meant the [T5 Fortress Structure Blueprints] were unsellable. He planned to sell this to the Goblin Company.
Seeing Su Xiao take out many rolled-up blueprint scrolls, the large toad opened its mouth wide, indicating for Su Xiao to throw these blueprints into its mouth.
The blueprints were thrown into the large toad's mouth. It swallowed them, and an image appeared above it.
It was a place similar to a bank counter. A goblin sat there, and on the table in front of him were the [T5 Fortress Structure Blueprints]. After carefully and quickly inspecting these blueprints, he stamped each one, then placed them into a metal pipe beside him.
The perspective followed the [T5 Fortress Structure Blueprints] as they slid through a smooth metal pipe, eventually landing on a tray covered in velvet. A female employee carried the tray and delivered it to the desk of an old goblin.
The old goblin checked the stamps on the back of the blueprints, then took out a deposit slip with a ф mark on it. He put it into a machine that looked like a paper shredder. With a clattering sound, the image transmitted by the large toad ended there.
The large toad opened its mouth, and with a clattering sound, Soul Coins flew out from its mouth.
[You have obtained 3695 Soul Coins.]
Seeing this price, Su Xiao was slightly surprised. Previously, Beini couldn't sell them for 200 Soul Coins each.
Thinking about it, demand determines the market. On the Goblin Company's side, the [T5 Fortress Structure Blueprints] had value. Even if they couldn't build a T5 fortress, the other derivative technologies recorded on the blueprints were worth this price in their eyes.
But there was another more important point: Su Xiao was the Goblin Company's lifetime Platinum VIP. This reward from Reincarnation Paradise allowed Su Xiao to gain at least over 600 more Soul Coins in this transaction.
The short-term gain wasn't obvious, but if he frequently sold things to the Goblin Company, he could earn a lot more Soul Coins.
This transaction left Su Xiao with a good impression of the Goblin Company. In the future, if he had anything difficult to sell, he could consider them first.
Not just for selling, but if he wanted to acquire something, he could also contact them.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao asked, "Does your Goblin Company have an employee named Kaisa?"
"Kaisa? Do you have business with him?"
The large toad's expression was normal as it continued, "May I ask what relationship the guest has with Kaisa?"
The large toad's words made Su Xiao vaguely sense something was wrong. He said, "I just want to find him and kill him."
Hearing this, the large toad's expression twisted, as if wearing a mask of pain, and said, "Noble guest, if possible, you must kill him! Our Goblin Company offers a reward of 190,000 Soul Coins!"
Hearing this, Bubu Wang and Baha were both startled. Baha asked with slight surprise, "Did Kaisa scam you guys too?"
"He conspired with our company's president to rob 17 of the company's vaults! Three banks were shorted! Our company's shareholders are going crazy."
The large toad was trembling with anger. Besides this, there was an even more embarrassing matter. After Kaisa and the goblin president completed their conspiracy, Kaisa then turned around and tricked that president into the Abyssal Dragon's Lair in the Void.
The large toad looked at Su Xiao, somewhat suspiciously, and said, "You really aren't friends with Kaisa?"
"Of course not."
Baha's reply was calm and firm. Hearing this, the large toad put on a smiling face and said, "I hope you distinguished guests will visit our Goblin Company often. Wishing you a pleasant life."
Leaving these words, the large toad sank down together with the relief pillar beneath it. Before disappearing, it left behind a glittering gold card with a goblin head on it.
Su Xiao was now a distinguished guest of the Goblin Company. Holding this card, he could contact the large toad at any time; it would be his personal attendant from now on.
Su Xiao had never heard of the Goblin Company before. From the bounty amount they had on Kaisa, he could gauge their strength. It seemed this company probably didn't serve ordinary customers, which was why it wasn't well-known and kept a low profile.
Su Xiao left his Exclusive Room and headed straight for the Skill Upgrade Hall. Over 20 minutes later, the metal door behind him closed.
[Skill Upgrade Pod No. 1008 has been activated. Please select the skill you wish to upgrade.]
[Detected that you have one Skill Upgrade Pod Free Usage Permission. You may select one ability for this upgrade.]
Several abilities that could be upgraded in the Skill Upgrade Pod appeared before Su Xiao. He noticed that this free upgrade permission had an astonishing upgrade range of Lv.15.
If used well, this upgrade range would be the most cost-effective reward obtained this time.
Su Xiao wasn't surprised by this. Not only had he conquered Ser Star with his army strategy, but he had also established a faction there that was certified by Reincarnation Paradise. Naturally, the rewards wouldn't be low.
Not all of Su Xiao's abilities could be upgraded in the Skill Upgrade Pod. None of the Law-Destruction abilities could be, and Technique-type abilities that had reached Grandmaster level couldn't be either. Grandmaster-level Technique-type abilities mainly required consuming Soul Crystals, and as long as he was in Reincarnation Paradise, he could upgrade them anywhere.
This left only three abilities worth using this permission on: Basic Passive: Spirit Toughness, Basic Passive: Body Soul, and Technique Sublimation.
The upgrade costs for these three abilities were very high. The most expensive among them was Technique Sublimation Lv.70. This Technique-type Passive ability now cost 10,000 Soul Coins to upgrade by one level.
Why was it so expensive? After Technique Sublimation reached Lv.70, it simply wasn't an ability that an Eighth Rank contractor should be upgrading. For other Technique-type contractors, once Technique Sublimation reached Lv.60 and the upgrade cost per level hit 6,000 Soul Coins, they would put this ability on hold and wait until they advanced to Ninth Rank and had more money to upgrade it.
As a wealthy Technique-type contractor, Su Xiao had already raised Blade Grandmaster to Lv.60 and Technique Sublimation to Lv.70 while at Eighth Rank.
The relationship between the two was like this: if Blade Grandmaster was a pistol, Technique Sublimation was the bullet. The former laid the foundation, and the latter maximized the power of the blade technique.
Su Xiao decided to upgrade Technique Sublimation. Not to mention anything else, upgrading Technique Sublimation from Lv.70 to Lv.80 would cost 100,000 Soul Coins. Once it reached Lv.80 and above, the cost would be even more terrifying.
[You have consumed this Skill Upgrade Pod Free Usage Permission. Selected ability: Technique Sublimation.]
As soon as this upgrade began, Su Xiao's mind buzzed. The scene before him changed, and darkness enveloped him. The surroundings were so quiet it was lonely.
In this darkness, a slash came from ahead.
Zheng!
Before Su Xiao could react, his torso was cut in two. The severed halves of his body fell into the darkness below.
Before he had fallen far, another slash came from the darkness ahead. This slash was a light cyan color, elegant and graceful.
The next moment, another slash came from diagonally behind. This slash was exceptionally domineering, with the bearing of a master.
As Su Xiao fell downward, slashes of different artistic conceptions came from all around, cutting him into smaller and smaller pieces.
He didn't know how much time had passed. He had lost count of how many times he had been slashed. He kept falling, and at this moment, time itself seemed to lose meaning.
After being shattered into millions of pieces, Su Xiao instead felt a sense of relief. It seemed... not bad to keep falling like this.
!
Su Xiao's eyes suddenly snapped open in the darkness. His heart was rarely shaken; this was one of those rare times, but it was only for an instant. Falling here forever was not what he sought.
With a bang, the surrounding darkness shattered into cube-sized squares, scattering in all directions. Blue sky and white clouds appeared.
Ripple~
Su Xiao stood on a surface as flat as a mirror. Looking out, the surrounding water stretched endlessly. This wasn't water; it was a kind of refined Soul Energy.
The surrounding liquid surged towards Su Xiao, enveloping him. His consciousness body, which had been shattered into millions of pieces, was reassembled. It was covered in dense slash marks, each one representing an extremely powerful expert in the blade technique.
These slash marks quickly disappeared. No, it was more accurate to say that the essence contained within them was absorbed by Su Xiao.
Inside the Skill Upgrade Pod, Su Xiao opened his eyes. This ability upgrade was more intense than he had imagined.
[Tip: Technique Sublimation ability has been upgraded to Lv.85. This ability has reached its maximum level. Level has been converted to X.]
The level of the Technique Sublimation ability had been maxed out by Su Xiao. He didn't feel this level was low, because upgrading this ability was simply too expensive.
Moreover, this wasn't a main ability, but a branch passive ability of the blade technique. For a branch passive ability to have a maximum level of Lv.85 was already quite exaggerated. Most branch passive abilities reached their level cap around Lv.60.
Su Xiao checked his current Golden Skill Points. He had a total of 8 points. He was hesitating whether to use these 8 Golden Skill Points to upgrade Technique Sublimation.
Following his usual development path, Golden Skill Points were used to upgrade Azure Shadow King. Azure Shadow King required long-term investment to become stronger.
If he was talking about increasing combat power in the short term, there was no faster way than using Golden Skill Points to upgrade the Technique Sublimation ability.
In the next world, he would be clashing with Huishenshi, Shenfu, and others. If he lost this time, there was a 90% chance it would be a dead end. There would be no long-term development to speak of. Therefore, Su Xiao decided to dump all 8 Golden Skill Points into Technique Sublimation.
Since he was already maxing out Technique Sublimation at Eighth Rank, which was already a bit inhumane, he might as well go all the way. Anyway, the psychological shadow area would belong to the enemy.
Su Xiao tried using Golden Skill Points to break through Technique Sublimation's upper limit. As he activated the Golden Skill Points, a small plus sign appeared after the ability name of Technique Sublimation X. He used 1 Golden Skill Point on it.
After consuming 1 Golden Skill Point, Su Xiao found that Technique Sublimation could still be upgraded. He simply continued consuming Golden Skill Points.
After investing 7 Golden Skill Points into it, Su Xiao saw the small plus sign behind the Technique Sublimation ability turn gray and then dissipate into mist.
Suddenly, Su Xiao felt a surge of immense energy entering his body from all around. A precise, cell-level pain came from every part of his body.
Even though Su Xiao had been tempered by various Law-Destruction abilities and had a high pain tolerance, sweat still appeared on his temples.
Half an hour later, the pain inside Su Xiao's body receded like a tide. His hand subconsciously pressed down on the hilt of his blade.
With a tearing sound, vertical slash marks appeared inside the Skill Upgrade Pod around him. These slash marks gathered at the top, leaving a circular area without any marks, like a coin.
Just this level of control over the blade technique was worth the resources invested. Besides this, Su Xiao also felt that everything around him had become very slow. This was a temporary feeling of discomfort caused by a massive short-term increase in [Neural Reflex Speed] and [Dynamic Vision]. He would recover after a while.
Su Xiao checked the information on Technique Sublimation. This was a one-time deal; he wouldn't need to invest resources in this ability anymore.
[Technique Sublimation: X (Technique Type Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Increases blade technique skill power by 370% (increased by 197%).
Skill Effect 2: Own blade technique potential rank +15 (increased by 5 ranks).
Skill Effect 3: Base Neural Reflex Speed +195 points (increased by 95 points), Base Dynamic Vision +195 points (increased by 95 points).
Skill Effect 4: Blade weapon damage rank +1 (newly added characteristic).
...
The increase from Technique Sublimation was more than double the cumulative gains from the previous Lv.70, and the newly added characteristic was Blade Weapon Damage Rank +1.
Among all of Su Xiao's abilities and equipment, previously only Blade Grandmaster and the Wolf Blood Pendant could provide an increase in this area. This showed how difficult it was to improve this aspect.
Su Xiao had quite a few abilities to upgrade this time. He first used the remaining 1 Golden Skill Point to raise Azure Shadow King to Lv.30.
[Azure Shadow King: Lv.30 (Ultimate Skill)]
Effect 1 (Shadow Hunt Passive): Azure Steel Shadow energy intensity increased, causing a 30% increase in True Damage (increased by 3%).
Effect 2 (Azure Shadow King Active): Immediately consumes 6500 points of Azure Steel Shadow energy to construct a weapon of any form within 0.01 seconds. This weapon can only be used for one attack, dealing (enemy's lost Mana Points × 2.6 + 6300) True Damage.
...
As expected, the increase wasn't large. Azure Shadow King was like this. Upgrading it by 1 or 2 levels didn't increase combat power as much as one might imagine, but once it accumulated, it became exceptionally powerful.
Su Xiao had obtained a total of 27 Soul Crystal Cores this time. Without any hesitation, he would use them to upgrade Blade Grandmaster.
[To upgrade Blade Grandmaster Lv.60, you need to consume Soul Crystal Core × 10 + 650 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao chose to upgrade. One by one, the Soul Crystal Cores shattered around him, sounding like the breaking of a heart. Soul Crystal Cores were too difficult to obtain; he had only gotten over twenty after conquering an entire world.
[Blade Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.62.]
Su Xiao checked the attributes of Blade Grandmaster. They were all comprehensive improvements, such as increased blade weapon attack power and Base Neural Reflex Speed.
He only had 7 Soul Crystal Cores left. He would save them for now and upgrade the blade technique again when he had accumulated 10. As for Soul Crystals (Complete), Su Xiao now had a full 682 of them!
[Yes/No to upgrade Blood Spear Grandmaster Lv.51. Upgrading this ability requires Soul Crystal Complete × 100 + 34 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao chose to upgrade 6 consecutive levels. The Soul Crystals he took out shattered one by one, turning into energy that converged towards him.
Su Xiao's Blood Qi automatically released, forming a miniature blood spear in front of his chest. Most of the energy from the shattered Soul Crystals entered his body, while a small part entered this miniature blood spear. When the upgrade was complete, this miniature blood spear turned into Blood Qi and merged into his body.
[Blood Spear Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.57.]
[Blood Spear Grandmaster: Lv.57 (Passive)]
Skill Effect: Blood spear attack power increased by 654% (increased by 72%), body energy control greatly increased (Azure Steel Shadow/Blood Qi).
Blood Spear Strength: 80 points (Base is 26 points, Blood Qi +44 points, Blood Spear Derivation +10 points).
Tip: The blood spear is formed by the materialization of Blood Qi, not directly from blood. The current Blood Spear Strength of 80 points determines the blood spear's hardness, attack power, penetration, spear blade cutting power, maximum durability, etc.
Lv.10 Ultimate Ability: Upper Limit Constant (Passive)...
Lv.20 Ultimate Ability: Ruthless Spear Blade (Passive)...
Lv.30 Ultimate Ability: Blood Spear Coagulation (Passive)...
Lv.40 Ultimate Ability: Death Before Life (Passive)...
Lv.50 Ultimate Ability: Blood Wither (Passive). After an enemy is injured by the blood spear, they will suffer a total of (Hunter's Agility Attribute × 2.9) True Bleeding Damage over the next 10 seconds. This effect can stack.
Tip: If the enemy's Physique Attribute is lower than the intensity rank of this ability, they will suffer the "Deep Blood Wither" effect.
Deep Blood Wither Effect: The wound cannot be healed by conventional means (such as healing potions, healing abilities, high-tech medicine, etc., none can heal this injury). The enemy will continuously suffer the True Bleeding effect until death.
...
Wounds caused by the blood spear were extremely difficult to stop bleeding. In the last world, no fewer than 10 contractors had died from the True Bleeding effect. The one who survived, Xiao Pei, was only because he encountered Shenshi, one of the top Eighth Rank healers. Otherwise, even someone as strong as Aolandi would have had no choice but to watch Xiao Pei bleed to death.
This was the characteristic of the blood spear. A close-combat blood spear was fierce and powerful. Once a long-range blood spear hit, if the enemy's Physique Attribute couldn't withstand it and "Deep Blood Wither" occurred, even escaping was meaningless.
Su Xiao now had a large sum of Soul Coins. It seemed like a lot, but if he started upgrading Basic Passive: Body Soul, it wouldn't seem like much. This survival-type ability required a massive investment of resources to guard against any dirty tricks Huishenshi might have prepared.
In this upcoming Treeborn World, there was a high probability that many Violators would enter. Being surrounded and attacked would be a very normal situation. Massively upgrading Basic Passive: Body Soul now could prevent him from being focused down and killed instantly.
Moreover, Su Xiao planned to explore the real Dead Silence City while at Eighth Rank, so his survivability had to be top-notch.
He had entered many Primordial Worlds and visited many high-risk areas. Only in Dead Silence City did he feel somewhat trapped. Back then, he couldn't even defeat an elite monster. He was able to defeat the Black King only because he had used all his trump cards and items, plus Ken Lahan's desperate help.
At the most dangerous moment, it should have been Su Xiao who died. Ken Lahan, knowing he didn't have long to live, helped Su Xiao block that attack. Otherwise, Su Xiao would have been forever trapped in that newborn Dead Silence City.
[Yes/No to upgrade Basic Passive: Body Soul Lv.45. Upgrading this ability requires consuming 5000 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao felt that basic abilities at the same level seemed more expensive than the Technique Sublimation ability. However, this type of ability was actually more of a late-game investment than Technique Sublimation.
Beini had almost finished selling the items. With the current Soul Coins, maxing out Basic Passive: Body Soul to Lv.60 shouldn't be a problem.
He chose to upgrade Basic Passive: Body Soul by 5 consecutive levels. Just after paying 25,000 Soul Coins, a warm sensation spread through his muscles. This kind of survival ability provided the most intuitive experience when being upgraded.
An hour later, Su Xiao, who had taken off his shirt, was covered in sweat. He tried to continue upgrading Basic Passive: Body Soul.
[Yes/No to upgrade Basic Passive: Body Soul Lv.50. Upgrading this ability requires consuming 6000 Soul Coins.]
The cost increase curve was relatively smooth. Su Xiao checked his current Soul Coins. On Beini's side, except for the [Honor Credential] used to form the adventure group, everything else had been sold. Su Xiao chose to continue upgrading Basic Passive: Body Soul.
Three hours later, Su Xiao walked out of the main entrance of the Skill Upgrade Hall. He felt like his wallet had been emptied. He had 2579 Soul Coins left, but he hadn't touched the [Concentrated Energy Stones] yet; those were reserved for upgrading Dragon-Slaying Flash.
[Basic Passive: Body Soul, Lv.60.]
Skill Effect 1: Total/Base Health Points increased by 62% (increased by 21%).
Skill Effect 2: Physical potential upper limit rank +7 (increased by 2 ranks).
Skill Effect 3: Body resistance to all abnormal attributes such as poison, erosion, paralysis, dizziness, etc., +88 points (increased by 28 points).
Skill Upgrade Requirement: True Physique Attribute 240 points or above.
...
The health points increased by Basic Passive: Body Soul weren't just Su Xiao's total health points.
The so-called base health point increase improved the growth potential of health points. For example, if 1 point of True Physique could increase health by 100 points, then with a 62% increase in base health points, adding 1 point of Physique Attribute would increase health by 162 points.
Besides the massive increase in health points, Su Xiao valued the increase in physical potential upper limit even more. This was very important for a Technique-type contractor.
Su Xiao didn't immediately go to strengthen Dragon-Slaying Flash. After just upgrading various abilities, he inevitably felt mental and physical fatigue. After gathering Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini in the team channel, he headed towards Xia's restaurant.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao stopped in an alley about two meters wide. Opening a restaurant in a place like this meant it deserved to have no customers. But this was also due to Xia's personality. She didn't like cooking delicious food for many people; occasionally having one guest was enough. After meeting Su Xiao, this feeling in Xia became even stronger. Su Xiao's follower, Amu, ate too much. Every time Amu came, Xia was exhausted from working in the kitchen.
After a while, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini sat around the dining table. Xia beside them looked slightly dazed, staring at the large amount of ingredients on the table and the floor.
"Where did you get these ingredients? Just from one world progress?"
Xia picked up a piece of chilled wild boar belly, taken from a [Sub-Overlord Level Creature: Bristle Oak].
"Some I took on the side, some were given to me, some were... caught by fishing."
"Alright, I'll cook them for you for free. When we eat later, can I join?"
"Mm."
Receiving Su Xiao's reply, Xia had Amu carry the various ingredients and headed towards the kitchen.
After waiting for a while, dishes were brought up one after another. The main course this time wasn't the braised pork made from the Sub-Overlord Creature's belly, but stir-fried Evil God heart with green horn peppers.
In Xia's words, she had analyzed it. This heart didn't come from an animal and had nothing to do with the human race. It was edible. As long as the ingredients were handled well enough and the negative energy was removed, the extraordinary energy contained within this heart could not only be absorbed by the human body but also had many benefits.
"Mm~, delicious."
Xia picked up a piece of stir-fried heart slice and put it into her mouth to chew. The chewy texture and the slightly spicy exotic aroma made her involuntarily squint her eyes and show a smile. This stir-fried heart tip was delicious and went well with rice.
"What exactly is this ingredient? If I have the chance in the future, I'll buy some."
"Cough~, it's quite hard to get."
Baha spoke vaguely.
"What exactly is it? So mysterious."
Although Xia was curious about the source of the ingredient, it didn't stop her from enjoying the delicious food.
"What if I said this is an Evil God's heart, would you still dare to eat it?"
Baha spoke with a slightly teasing tone. Xia's chopsticks paused mid-air.
"Don't talk while eating."
Su Xiao spoke. This stir-fried heart tip tasted very good and suited his palate. While eating, why bring up the Evil God? Thinking about its appearance killed his appetite.
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Baha didn't dare to speak. Xia also shrank her head and continued eating.
"My Physique Attribute increased."
Xia, who had just finished a hearty meal, was a bit stunned. Even though her cooking skills had improved, eating a meal that actually increased her Physique Attribute by a bit was truly fantastical.
After a hearty meal, Su Xiao left the restaurant. Although this meal had a negligible effect on him, it was still a way to improve, just like meditation. Accumulated over a long time, the effect would become noticeable.
Su Xiao had brought a lot of ingredients this time. The reason was that the extraordinary animals he had taken materials from were all very large. For example, the "Bristle Oak" had about over 400 jin of belly meat and tenderloin combined.
As soon as Su Xiao left the restaurant, he received an email. It was from Kaisa. He opened it.
'My dear friend, the Awakening Stone is in hand.'
Seeing this message, Su Xiao paused in his steps. Kaisa had never let him down. It hadn't been that long, and he had already found the [Awakening Stone].
The [Awakening Stone] was used to awaken the ability of Dragon-Slaying Flash. Currently, the [Shadow Demon Blade] ability of Dragon-Slaying Flash was in a very unstable state and couldn't be used. It needed to be awakened with the [Awakening Stone] before it could be used normally.
"Supreme Blade Effect 4: Shadow Demon Blade (Core Passive). When the Demon Blade successfully kills an enemy, within the next 30 minutes, the Blade Demon Spirit will not immediately enter the dormant stage. The Demon Blade ability will be in a usable state. If another enemy target is killed, the Blade Demon Spirit will again delay the dormant stage, usable within 30 minutes.
Tip: If this ability is not used to kill another enemy within 30 minutes after a successful kill, the Blade Demon Spirit will enter the dormant stage. The dormant time is based on the Demon Blade (Core Active) ability."
Once this ability was fully awakened, Su Xiao could perform consecutive kills during group battles.
As long as this ability wasn't interrupted during the process, once an enemy's health dropped below 25%, when facing Su Xiao, who had Dragon Shadow Flash, the enemy was as good as dead.
Actually, it wasn't necessarily that the enemy's health had to be below 25%. When Su Xiao attacked, the slash damage came first, followed by various passives, then the True Damage from Azure Steel Shadow and the soul damage from the blade technique. After all these were done, it was time for the Demon Blade's judgment effect.
If the enemy wasn't a big boss, it was very likely that even at full health, they were within Su Xiao's kill line. After a single stab through the head for an instant kill, Su Xiao could use Dragon Shadow Flash to appear behind the next enemy and continue the kill.
Su Xiao arranged to meet Kaisa at the Equipment Enhancement Hall. Kaisa's luck wasn't good today. If this guy had contacted Su Xiao a bit earlier, he would have had a share of the delicious meal just now.
Before he even reached the Equipment Enhancement Hall, Su Xiao received another email. The sender was named Youyou'an.
Su Xiao frowned in thought. Who was this?
Then Su Xiao remembered. This was a member of the Traveling Group. Previously, he had provided her with Wolf Spider bloodline items and other channels for free. As compensation, if she obtained basic scrolls, such as the scroll for abilities like [Basic Passive: Body Soul], she had to offer them for free. This was signed in a contract.
Previously, Su Xiao had been letting Youyou'an develop on her own. As a result, he had forgotten about her.
If Youyou'an knew that her benefactor had forgotten about her, she would probably have mixed feelings. This was both a good thing and a bad thing.
Su Xiao replied to Youyou'an, telling her to contact him again tomorrow. When he reached the entrance of the Equipment Enhancement Hall, he saw Kaisa standing there.
With Kaisa's personal aura, when he stood there and you saw him, you would feel like you had lost your wallet and that this guy in front of you had stolen it.
"My dear friend, Kaisa is here."
"..."
Su Xiao took out a wooden box. Inside were the Black Maple Tree branches he had obtained from the World of Paintings last time. He had already prepaid quite a bit to Kaisa. There was probably less than 2000 grams left inside.
Kaisa took the wooden box as if it were a treasure. He took out a translucent blue stone. The shape of this stone was very similar to a pebble. When looked at against the sun, the inside seemed to be full of stars.
Taking the [Awakening Stone], Su Xiao used it directly on Dragon-Slaying Flash. Dark blue smoke appeared on Dragon-Slaying Flash. The [Awakening Stone] shattered immediately, and a stream of azure mist inside was absorbed by Dragon-Slaying Flash.
After waiting for less than half an hour, the awakening of [Shadow Demon Blade] was complete. Seeing this, Su Xiao walked into the Equipment Enhancement Hall. Kaisa hesitated for a moment, then chose to follow.
As soon as Su Xiao walked into the Enhancement Hall, he heard a bang behind him. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw Kaisa sitting on the ground after being bounced away. The Equipment Enhancement Hall rejected Kaisa's entry.
Kaisa looked gritting his teeth. He fumbled in his pants pocket for a while and pulled out a rusty, mottled medal. He pressed it against his forehead and finally managed to walk into the Equipment Enhancement Hall.
Without needing to think, this guy must have "operated" in equipment enhancement before, which led to this scene.
Su Xiao stopped in front of an equipment enhancement machine. It was the same one he had used last time.
[Welcome to Equipment Enhancement Machine No. 888.]
The tray extended, and Su Xiao placed Dragon-Slaying Flash on it.
[Equipment check complete. Dragon-Slaying Flash +11 (Immortal Rank). To enhance to +12, you need to pay 12 Refined Immortal Stones.]
Su Xiao took out 12 Refined Immortal Stones and pressed them one by one into a row of slots on the right side of the equipment enhancement machine. That wasn't all. He took out [Beast Forging Grandmaster Li Niu's Soul Conglomerate] and placed it on the tray.
[Beast Forging Grandmaster Li Niu's Soul Conglomerate: This item cannot be used alone. It needs to be added to the enhancement process when using an equipment enhancement machine to upgrade an Immortal Rank equipment. This item can ensure that when enhancing an Immortal Rank equipment from +1 to +13, the single enhancement success rate reaches 100%. After completing one enhancement, this item will be consumed.]
The reason Su Xiao wasn't using this item when enhancing to +13 was because of the existence of a certain item.
[Radiant Crystal (When upgrading the enhancement level of an Immortal Rank equipment, if this item is also placed in the equipment enhancement machine, each Radiant Crystal can offset one instance of enhancement level drop or permanent weapon damage caused by a failed +13 enhancement).]
Su Xiao had obtained a similar item before. That time it was [Honor Crystal]. However, [Honor Crystal] was applicable to all equipment, regardless of level, and was much stronger than [Radiant Crystal].
[Honor Crystal] had been used up by Su Xiao. [Radiant Crystal] could be bought from stalls in the Enhancement Hall. This item was obtained by Seventh and Eighth Rank contractors who performed well in World Competitive Battles.
Using Refined Immortal Stones to increase the enhancement level, +13 was the enhancement level cap. [Radiant Crystal] existed for this purpose.
The price of [Radiant Crystal] was very high. This was the price one had to pay to pursue the ultimate enhancement level. This item cost 10,000 Soul Coins each.
Calling it expensive wasn't entirely accurate. If a weapon at Immortal Rank +12 failed its enhancement, it would be destroyed. Being able to ensure the weapon wasn't damaged for 10,000 Soul Coins was completely within acceptable limits.
Su Xiao activated the equipment enhancement machine.
Hum~
The equipment enhancement machine started running. The noise was quite loud, and there was a sizzling sound of electricity inside. 10 minutes later.
Pfft!
A burst of steam sprayed out from the four corners of the bottom of the equipment enhancement machine. A prompt then appeared.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash enhanced to +12 successfully.]
This was an inevitable result, unrelated to luck. Su Xiao sold all 407 [Concentrated Energy Stones] to Reincarnation Paradise. No contractor would buy these. After selling them, he obtained 85,470 Soul Coins.
To push Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13, including the [Radiant Crystal] to ensure it wasn't destroyed and the [Refined Immortal Stones] which cost 620 Soul Coins each today, the total cost for one enhancement was 18,060 Soul Coins.
Su Xiao had a total of four chances. He didn't believe that with four chances, he still couldn't raise Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13.
After purchasing the [Radiant Crystals] and [Refined Immortal Stones] and preparing everything, Su Xiao activated the equipment enhancement machine.
10 minutes later, a burst of steam sprayed out from the equipment enhancement machine. A prompt appeared.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash enhanced to +13 failed.]
[Radiant Crystal × 1 has been consumed. Dragon-Slaying Flash's current enhancement level is +12.]
...
Su Xiao ignored this prompt and turned his gaze to Kaisa. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to conspire with Kaisa to do something in the Equipment Enhancement Hall. But judging from the current situation, to raise Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13, the Soul Coins he had on hand seemed insufficient.
Kaisa immediately averted his gaze, looking like "don't look at me, I can't do anything either."
A small bottle appeared in Su Xiao's hand, containing 10 ounces of Space-Time Power. Given the rarity of this item, he didn't believe Kaisa wouldn't be tempted.
As expected, Kaisa's expression twisted in hesitation, but he finally held firm. Finding that he couldn't sway Kaisa, Su Xiao took out another 10 ounces of Space-Time Power.
This time, Kaisa couldn't hold on. He looked around furtively, came close to Su Xiao, and said in a low voice, "My dear friend, have you heard of 'Fortune Sharing Studies'?"
"No."
"This means that when your luck isn't good enough, you can borrow the luck of others. Simply put, the fortune of the entire Equipment Enhancement Hall can be seen as a whole."
"Continue."
"My point is, if we gather all the fortune here onto you, wouldn't that increase your success rate?"
"Can that work?"
"I tested it. A blue equipment went from +1 to +19 consecutively successfully."
Kaisa smiled brilliantly, revealing why the Equipment Enhancement Hall didn't let him in. Last time, he had created a blue equipment enhanced to +21 and two Holy Spirit Rank equipment enhanced to +13. But the Enhancement Hall was filled with wails. The contractors who were enhancing there all doubted their lives. More interestingly, Su Xiao had heard about this incident because Brother Wusan was one of the victims. He came to enhance his weapon, and it failed six times in a row at +1. Brother Wusan was completely dumbfounded, repeatedly checking the soles of his shoes to see if he had stepped in dog shit when he went out that day.
"It would be very troublesome for me if I couldn't enter the Enhancement Hall in the future."
Su Xiao's words made Kaisa laugh even more slyly. He said, "My dear friend, anyway, Kaisa can't come here to enhance equipment for the next three months. A bit more time doesn't matter. Besides, what I do has nothing to do with you, right? You just happened to use the equipment enhancement machine I wanted to use."
Kaisa raised an eyebrow at the end, meaning that as long as the benefits were enough, he would take the blame alone this time.
Su Xiao didn't say anything else. He took out 30 ounces of Space-Time Power and traded it to Kaisa.
Kaisa started muttering something. After a few minutes, wails came from all around. Many contractors had failed their enhancements. However, Kaisa didn't gather the fortune of enhancements above +10, as that would cause others' weapons to be damaged. The resulting bad luck would be even harder for Kaisa to bear.
After hearing someone fail at +3 or have a nine-consecutive-failure streak at +1, Kaisa nodded, indicating it was ready.
Su Xiao activated the already prepared equipment enhancement machine. Amidst the howling of that brother who had failed twelve consecutive times at +1, the enhancement of Dragon-Slaying Flash began.
10 minutes later, steam gushed out. A prompt appeared.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash enhanced to +13 failed.]
[Radiant Crystal × 1 has been consumed. Dragon-Slaying Flash's current enhancement level is +12.]
...
Su Xiao looked at Kaisa. Kaisa's gaze was confused. He scratched his head, looking a bit doubtful about life. After hesitating for a moment, he indicated for Su Xiao to try again. It shouldn't have failed.
After purchasing everything again, Su Xiao activated the equipment enhancement machine. 10 minutes passed, and hot steam gushed out.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash enhanced to +13 successfully.]
[Tip: Your weapon has reached the Immortal Rank enhancement level cap.]
[This is the first Immortal Rank weapon enhanced to +13 by a Hunter, and this weapon was enhanced using Refined Immortal Stones. You have obtained the following rewards.]
[You have obtained Radiant Immortal Blade (One-time item/Souvenir).]
[You have obtained the special title: Immortal Fortune.]
[Immortal Fortune]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Special
Category: Title
Title Effect: Increases equipment enhancement success rate by 10%.
Introduction: Next time will definitely succeed, definitely succeed!
Selling Price: Cannot be sold.
...