Chapter 101: Extreme Edge and Treeborn
After successfully enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13, reaching the maximum limit of refined Immortal Stone enhancement, Su Xiao spent over 50,000 Soul Coins in the process. It was quite costly.
Due to enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13, Su Xiao received two rewards: [Radiant Immortal·Blade] and [Immortal Fortune].
Su Xiao decisively switched to the [Immortal Fortune] title. Combined with the 5% enhancement success rate boost from his current [Honor Medal], the effect became quite considerable.
As for [Radiant Immortal·Blade], it was a crystal miniature version of Dragon-Slaying Flash, a commemorative item. This item had no attribute description, so Su Xiao stored it in his storage space, temporarily keeping it as a souvenir.
Dragon-Slaying Flash was successfully enhanced to +13, but Su Xiao's enhancement of the blade wasn't over. After spending 8,680 Soul Coins to buy 14 refined Immortal Stones, he returned to the No. 888 Equipment Enhancement Machine.
He placed Dragon-Slaying Flash back on the machine's tray. As expected, a prompt indicated that this weapon could not be further enhanced.
Ignoring the prompt, Su Xiao also placed the [Soul Gem Disc] on the tray. After the machine re-scanned, the tray clicked back in, and 14 slots appeared on the right side of the machine. He inserted the 14 refined Immortal Stones from top to bottom and finally activated the machine.
Amidst the roaring inside the machine, Su Xiao heard Kaiser speak from not far behind.
"My dear friend, still going?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't reply, just tossed a small vial to Kaiser, containing 10 ounces of Space-Time Power.
With the [Soul Gem Disc], enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash to +14 had a 100% success rate. But after that, Su Xiao still had another piece of equipment to upgrade.
This enhancement lasted nearly half an hour before ending. A large burst of steam sprayed from the machine, and the metal tray popped out.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash on it showed no change in appearance. It wasn't flashy overall; some parts of the hilt had slight signs of wear from constant life-and-death battles with powerful enemies. Overall, Dragon-Slaying Flash didn't look brand new, but it possessed a beauty born from time's sedimentation and surviving deadly battles—this was what a weapon should look like.
Su Xiao picked up Dragon-Slaying Flash. The blade hummed softly. Just one look at the edge gave the feeling that nothing could withstand this blade.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +14 (Edge Value 0%)]
Origin: Shadow of Law Destruction
Quality: Immortal Rank
Category: Longsword
Durability: 370/370 (Increased by 45 points)
Attack Power: 464~590 (Increased by 47~52 points)
Equipment Requirement: Inheritor of the Shadow of Law Destruction.
Base Bonus: When imbuing this weapon with Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, mana consumption is reduced by 93%, and true damage dealt by Cyan Steel Shadow Energy is increased by 25%.
Supreme Blade Effect 1: Sharpness +185 points, Penetration +30%.
Supreme Blade Effect 2: Weapon Toughness +65 points (This trait greatly enhances the weapon's endurance, resistance to slashing, blunt force, corrosion, etc.).
Supreme Blade Effect 3: Demon Blade (Core·Active), unchanged.
Supreme Blade Effect 4: Shadow·Demon Blade (Core·Passive), unchanged.
Enhancement Effects:
+5 Additional Effect: Weapon penetration permanently increased by 20%.
+8 Additional Effect: High Armor-Piercing Trait.
+10 Additional Effect: Deepened Soul Damage.
+12 Additional Effect: High-Tier Amplification of Slashing Trait (Greatly increases attack power during slashes).
+13 Additional Effect: Spatial Slash Trait (Can slash enemies located in alternate spaces or in the midst of spatial movement, dealing high damage).
+14 Additional Effect: Limit Edge (This trait provides a massive boost to the weapon's slashing power, such as cutting through enemy bodies or slashing open Immortal Rank shields and armor. If an Immortal Rank shield is not enhanced to +13 with high ratings and multiple Immortal Gems, it will be cut through in a short time when facing this weapon).
Gem Slots: 3/3...
Rating: 1500++++++++ (Immortal Rank equipment rating is 1000~1500 points)
...
The Demon Blade and Shadow·Demon Blade abilities of Dragon-Slaying Flash didn't improve, which Su Xiao expected. To enhance Demon Blade required a certain opportunity. As for Shadow·Demon Blade, without Demon Blade improving, the chance of this ability upgrading was very small.
Dragon-Slaying Flash seemed to have many bonuses, but in reality, the weapon's trait was simple: pursuing ultimate sharpness and possessing a killing ability.
Su Xiao intentionally forged Dragon-Slaying Flash to be this pure. A weapon didn't need to pursue too much; pushing a single sharpness trait to its limit was enough.
Now, Dragon-Slaying Flash could cut through Immortal Rank shields. Of course, if it were a shield with three Immortal Gems embedded and enhanced to +13 with refined Immortal Stones, it could still block for a while, but how long was unknown.
With Dragon-Slaying Flash's nearly abnormal sharpness, even such an Immortal Rank shield couldn't hold out for long. For body armor with slightly inferior defense, to put it simply: light armor was like a layer of paper, heavy armor was paper folded, and plate armor was paper folded more firmly.
Dragon-Slaying Flash returned to its sheath. Su Xiao took out [Ancient Assassin Ring]. This extreme piece of equipment, he also planned to upgrade.
[Equipment Scanning...]
[Equipment Scan Complete. Ancient Assassin Ring (Holy Spirit Rank) is a special equipment. Its internal structure is extremely fragile. To enhance this equipment, an additional 150% Soul Coin fee is required to stabilize its internal structure.]
[Enhancing this equipment costs 160 Soul Coins per attempt.]
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao gave Kaiser a look. Kaiser made a move towards the unlucky guy who had just lost twelve consecutive +1 attempts. Perhaps because the unlucky guy's expression was too rich at the moment, Kaiser decided to find a new batch to mess with.
Soon, in the Equipment Enhancement Hall, a series of howls and cries came one after another.
Two hours later.
Bang!
Kaiser was blasted out of the Equipment Enhancement Hall like a cannonball, flying all the way to the Trade Square before landing in the central fountain.
Su Xiao stood at the main entrance of the Equipment Enhancement Hall, watching Kaiser fly into the distance. This batch of Space-Time Power was indeed hard-earned, but the cost was worth it.
While wearing [Immortal Fortune] + [Honor Medal], plus Kaiser's covert assistance, Su Xiao's enhancement of [Ancient Assassin Ring] went smoothly. Without using any insurance items, he brought this equipment to +13.
When it reached +13, Kaiser indicated it could still hold up and to continue. The problem was that [Ancient Assassin Ring] couldn't take it anymore.
This equipment was too special. Even if the enhancement success rate was 100%, reaching +14 would likely cause [Ancient Assassin Ring] to self-destruct from being unable to withstand such powerful adaptive force.
Equipment like [Ancient Assassin Ring] had no additional enhancement effects. All improvements from enhancement were concentrated on its original ability.
[Ancient Assassin Ring +13]
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Category: Ring
Durability: 1/1 (Very low durability consumption from wearing and using; extremely fragile when taking damage, weak to all types of attacks).
Equipment Requirement: None
Equipment Effect 1: Hillis's Assassin Soul Mark (Passive): Forms a highly concealable soul mark that can attach to a target's body surface. After the mark is set, the wearer of this ring can sense the soul mark's location from a distance.
Tip: The concealment rank of the soul mark depends on your soul strength and soul energy rank.
Tip: The sensing distance of the soul mark depends on your soul strength.
Tip: This ability can be used without wearing this equipment, but the ring must be at least in your pocket or held in your hand.
Equipment Effect 2: Hillis's Power (Passive·Unique): When attacking enemies at range, triggers Hillis's soul power to enhance the ranged attack (enhances bullets, arrows, etc.).
Tip: If the ranged attack hits a vital point, the critical damage is increased by 5.49~9.97 times (depending on the chosen vital point; the head is the highest priority, followed by the neck, heart, etc.).
Equipment Penalty: Extremely Fragile (Passive·Cannot be Negated): While worn, any attack judgment, regardless of hitting any part of the wearer's body, will instantly shatter this equipment. Once damaged, this equipment cannot be repaired by any means.
Equipment Penalty: Slow Movement (Passive·Cannot be Negated): While wearing this equipment, you can only move at walking speed. If movement speed exceeds the predetermined value, there is a high probability of this equipment breaking.
Equipment Penalty: Slow Removal (Passive·Cannot be Negated): To remove this ring, you must cut off energy resonance with this equipment through willpower 5 seconds in advance. Only after completely ending the resonance can you take it off. Forcibly removing it will instantly destroy it.
Equipment Penalty: Friendly Faction Hatred (Passive·Cannot be Negated): As an assassin, Hillis hates friendly factions. Friendly factions cannot use this equipment.
Tip: The Hunter has completely negated this equipment penalty.
...
The stronger [Ancient Assassin Ring] was, the more obvious its weaknesses. But for a Holy Spirit Rank equipment to be this abnormal and have so many penalties was acceptable to Su Xiao. Regardless, it couldn't overshadow the ring's power in ranged assassination.
Su Xiao headed towards the exclusive room of the Saberface. Her treatment progress had reached the stage where initial effects were visible.
Walking to a sparsely populated area, he passed through a half-kilometer-long alley. The view opened up ahead. The Toad was already waiting on the steps.
"I'll leave this to you. I have other matters."
"..."
Su Xiao stepped through a door that appeared out of thin air, entering Saberface's exclusive room.
There were two people in the room. Besides Saberface, there was a gentle woman with wavy flaxen hair, exuding mature feminine charm. She wore a white coat and had a tender demeanor, chatting and laughing with Saberface. It was clear that Saberface's expression was relaxed. Since she had her back to Su Xiao, she didn't notice him enter.
Su Xiao guessed this was a psychologist brought by the Rat or the Toad. Saberface's body was improving day by day, but her mental state wasn't good. She was almost developing Stockholm Syndrome. So the Toad and the Rat spent a great deal to hire this psychologist, who also had another identity: an Arbiter.
When Su Xiao changed into surgical attire, Saberface finally noticed his arrival. The previously laughing Saberface's pupils slightly contracted, and her body instinctively shrank back.
"Show respect to your attending physician."
The female doctor spoke. Hearing her words, Saberface seemed to think of something, nodded, and her expression improved significantly.
Professional doctors were indeed reliable. Having Sha feed Saberface poisonous chicken soup before was clearly not working.
The female doctor smiled and nodded at Su Xiao, then got up and left without much conversation. She already knew who Su Xiao was and had heard of his ferocity.
"I still have a lot to do. Lie down yourself, don't dawdle."
Su Xiao walked into the treatment room, put on a mask full of tubes. Seeing Saberface hesitating, he turned to adjust the instruments. Seeing this, Saberface removed her clothes herself, lay down on the operating table, and covered herself with a sterile cloth.
Everything was ready. Su Xiao stood beside the operating table, opened the recording device beside him, and said:
"Record 4, fourth extraction of dark matter, time..."
As Su Xiao spoke, Saberface began to tremble instinctively, the light in her eyes dimming.
Three hours later, Saberface lay naked on the operating table, a sterile cloth covering her back. After the surgery ended, it took several minutes for her emerald-like eyes to regain some light.
Seeing this, Su Xiao frowned. This time, the extracted [Dark Matter] was excessive, along with a lot of [Dark Sediment]. The female doctor would need to give Saberface several more sessions of psychological counseling before the next treatment.
After completing this treatment, Su Xiao left with several portions of [Dark Matter] and [Dark Sediment]. These were excellent materials for cultivating Devourers.
Interestingly, Saberface suffered immense psychological trauma from Su Xiao, while the female doctor treated her mind. This cycle repeatedly corrected the slightly darkening Saberface. After all, now she only felt that being alive was good.
Returning to his exclusive room, Su Xiao found that Bubu Wang and Baha had gone off to have fun. Amu was snoring loudly, while Beini was playing with a Rubik's cube with her cat paws. Bubu was a mischievous cat; instead of recommending a 3x3 cube, he gave Beini a 7x7 cube.
Judging by the small bite marks on the cube, Beini wasn't having much luck with it.
Su Xiao entered a 30-square-meter empty room, sat cross-legged in the center, and took out the [First Generation Law Destroyer Bone] he had obtained.
This should be a ring finger bone. Su Xiao had researched and investigated the First Generation Bone. After consulting Mawen Hua'erzi and others, he learned something.
[First Generation Bone] wasn't necessarily the bone of the First Generation Law Destroyer. It was a term and tribute for a type of resource exclusive to Law Destroyers.
This technique of using the body's innate Cyan Steel Shadow energy to form a bone before death was created by the First Generation Law Destroyer. Hence, any subsequent Law Destroyer who created such a "bone" was called [First Generation Bone].
In the void, aside from the older generation, few knew this anymore. According to Mawen Hua'erzi, [First Generation Bone] wasn't actually bone but crystal-solidified energy using bone as a carrier. Finger bones were usually chosen as the carrier.
Every person with supernatural power had innate power within them, like demonic energy, telekinesis, Cyan Steel Shadow energy, etc. These energies wouldn't be exhausted in battle. So-called energy depletion meant the energy available for battle was exhausted, not the innate energy. Without innate energy, one couldn't recover energy through rest, just like without bone marrow, one couldn't produce blood.
Some Law Destroyers who didn't die in fierce battles could, before death, use the technique left by the First Generation Law Destroyer to gather the innate energy they had nurtured within into [First Generation Bone].
The effect of [First Generation Bone] was: after using it, the first time would enhance the intensity and growth limit of Cyan Steel Shadow energy. Subsequent uses would only increase the ability limit.
Previously, Su Xiao thought this was the bone of the First Generation Law Destroyer. He wondered how such a treasure that could enhance the Cyan Steel Shadow ability limit could still remain after so many years. Were there that many bones of the First Generation Law Destroyer?
Now it seemed that [First Generation Bone] could remain because, besides him and the Blade Demon, no one else could use this resource.
Grasping the obtained [First Generation Bone] in his hand, after sensing every part of it, Su Xiao exerted force with his hand. With a crack, he crushed the bone. A vast energy burst forth, rushing into his body through his arms.
Su Xiao's vision went black. The experience of using [First Generation Bone] was indeed this "pleasant."
In a daze, Su Xiao felt himself sinking in pale blue water, unable to move even a finger.
Below was pitch black, as if a huge mouth full of sharp teeth was wide open, waiting for him to fall in. If he sank to the bottom, today would be his death day.
Everything had risks. This was the risk of using [First Generation Bone]. This physical immobility was irresistible, but Su Xiao was sure he wouldn't die here.
Just as Su Xiao was sinking, a semi-transparent hand supported his back, stopping his descent. Immediately, more semi-transparent arms appeared, some grabbing Su Xiao's arms, some lifting him from behind.
'Control your Blade Demon Spirit. It will become your most trustworthy weapon.'
'Soul Severing Shadow is powerful, but use it cautiously.'
'You found another First Generation Bone. Lucky you.'
'Strengthen your Azure Shadow King. You might not be satisfied with it now, but in the future, it will be your strongest power.'
Blurred voices came from around. Su Xiao couldn't open his eyes, and his hearing was also muffled by the pale blue liquid.
After hearing many voices, he felt himself being pushed upward rapidly by many hands in the "water." Finally, he broke through the surface with a splash. Crystal clear droplets splashed, sunlight shone down, and he could move.
Su Xiao opened his eyes, looking at the water surface below. Semi-transparent arms sank down. These were remnant souls, without consciousness. Some were just half a transparent forearm. These were... predecessors.
Everything around quickly receded. When Su Xiao's vision returned to normal, he was sitting cross-legged in the empty room. Pale blue droplets dripped from his hair ends, turning into smoke before hitting the ground.
Su Xiao checked his Cyan Steel Shadow energy. Its level had changed from Lv.50 to Lv.42, with the improvement being:
"Base Effect: When upgrading this skill level, energy absorption and conversion rate increased by 120% (This trait can only be improved by absorbing 'First Generation Law Destroyer Bones')."
The true damage intensity of Cyan Steel Shadow was still 1976 points. Su Xiao didn't plan to use [Old Beast King's Essence] to upgrade Cyan Steel Shadow yet. He would wait for the ability to stabilize before upgrading.
Su Xiao took out [Authority Box] from his storage space. This was a chest-type item. Although it could be opened, Su Xiao converted it into [Authority Heart].
The iron-black chest gradually transformed into a heart. After [Authority Heart] was activated, the wall ahead was gradually stained black.
The black on the wall spread like tree roots, dyeing the entire wall black. With a bang, the wall and the black collapsed together, as if eroded by time force, turning into fine debris that fell, revealing a prison-like iron bar structure behind.
Inside the iron bars was dim darkness. Lanterns hung on both sides. From the deepest darkness, a figure walked out. It wore a purple-black fitted suit with a red rose pinned to its chest. Its head resembled a skull but was denser at the eyes, mouth, and nose. Green flames burned inside its head, causing pale green cold mist to drift from behind and above its head.
This was the Abyssal Warden. It walked with hands behind its back, stopped before the iron bars, and stood facing Su Xiao across them. It was a head taller than Su Xiao.
"Oh, oh~, I was summoned by a Law Destroyer. Without the certification of Reincarnation Paradise, I would never respond to a Law Destroyer's summon. After so many years, those pitiful divine spawn are still impressive."
The Abyssal Warden spoke. Hearing this, Su Xiao was slightly surprised. So fishing for divine beings was something previous Law Destroyers had also done. It was an old tradition of Law Annihilation.
"Law Destroyer sir, what do you want to exchange with the Authority Heart?"
"A soul of equivalent value."
"As expected. What type do you want? At your young, vigorous age, what type do you want? As long as you name it, the Abyssal Prison has it all. *** is also a manifestation of the abyss."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He was here to exchange for a soul, not to visit a brothel.
"Just kidding. What kind of soul do you need?"
"A divine stick."
"Hmm, there are many such souls in the Abyssal Prison. Do you want devout, cunning, or skilled in deception?"
The Abyssal Warden raised its hand, and a thick register appeared in its hand.
"I want the one best at proselytizing."
"Let me find it. Wait a moment."
The register in the Abyssal Warden's hand flipped on its own. After flipping through hundreds of pages, one page floated out. The record on it read:
'Beecher Mocher, Demon Race, age 209. Once established an informal faith organization, recruiting a total of 1.7 billion followers. Secretly overthrew the internal politics and systems of 16 countries. Possesses the power to change others' thinking through language.'
"Is this soul to your satisfaction?"
The Abyssal Warden raised its finger slightly, and the page recording Beecher Mocher floated before Su Xiao.
"I want a righteous one. Preferably a divine stick who believes in the sun."
"?"
The Abyssal Warden looked at Su Xiao suspiciously. It understood the literal meaning, but in all its years, it had never heard that the Sun faction was a righteous faction. During the heyday of the Sun God descendants, people called them the Sun Madmen.
"Ahem~, let me think."
The Abyssal Warden pondered for a moment, then thought of someone. A page floated out from the register, with the content:
'Walker Burhan, Human Race, age 82. A devout and gentle Sun believer. In life, he traveled everywhere, persuading people to believe in the Sun, using the Sun's power to overcome diseases in their bodies, living optimistically and positively. Walker Burhan eventually died of old age.'
No matter how you looked at it, this life was too ordinary. A spirit shouldn't have entered the Abyssal Prison. Su Xiao looked at the Abyssal Warden, who said:
"Initially, I also thought he... it was just a normal Sun believer, so I placed it in a normal cell. A day later, the inmates in the left and right cells had disappeared. According to the playback from the Serpent Lamp, Walker Burhan persuaded the inmates in the adjacent cells to tear off their own souls piece by piece and throw them to Walker Burhan. Simply put, Walker Burhan used verbal inducement to eat two inmates.
At first, I found this interesting, so I arranged new cellmates for Walker Burhan. Later, I went out for something. When I returned, I found that of the 395 spirits in 'Prison Three,' only Walker Burhan remained. It had even eaten the Serpent Lamp. To this day, I haven't figured out how Walker Burhan did all this."
The Abyssal Warden's words had a tone of promotion. In fact, it was also troubled by Walker Burhan. Locked in a dark prison, spirits easily darken. But locked in a normal cell area, Walker Burhan ate cellmates.
Times were tough. The Abyssal Prison was often full, so it couldn't give Walker Burhan a solitary cell. As for eliminating it, the Abyssal Warden could indeed do so, but it felt it was a waste.
"I'll take it."
"Deal. Looking forward to our next transaction."
The Abyssal Warden tossed over a lantern, inside which Walker Burhan was imprisoned.
The iron bars and darkness on the front wall quickly disappeared, returning to their original state in a few seconds, as if the Abyssal Warden had never been there.
Su Xiao walked out of the empty room, manipulated the [Starfall Furnace] to float near him. The furnace shattered with a bang, the fragments annihilating in the air, leaving only a long leather coat floating in midair.
[Wild Hunt Night] successfully advanced to Immortal Rank, just as Su Xiao had predicted. This equipment was indeed not afraid of fire.
Considering the battle intensity of the next world and Reed's blood pressure, Su Xiao took out [Solidified Sun Blood Crystal·Super Large Block]. He only had one piece left. He used it on [Wild Hunt Night].
[Solidified Sun Blood Crystal·Super Large Block: Can enhance Immortal Rank equipment's enhancement level to +10 (Except for Immortal Rank weapons and a few special Immortal Rank equipment).]
Presumably, after this enhancement, the [Wild Hunt Night] long leather coat wouldn't be so easily damaged. After all, Reed was a blacksmith. Making him often do tailor work wasn't good. If Reed knew this, he would surely say: 'I f***ing thank you. You actually remember I'm a blacksmith.'
Su Xiao activated the team list. There were still 20 team skill points unused. Among the three team abilities, one had been maxed out. The remaining abilities to upgrade were:
[Team Skill 1: Hunting Group (Passive Lv.1): At world settlement, increases 1 point of your body attribute (randomly increases one of Charm, Luck, or Willpower).]
[Team Skill 3: Vitality Awakening (Rare·Team Passive Lv.18): When a team member's health drops below 10%, this ability activates, restoring 630 health points + 20% max health over the next 3 seconds.]
Among the two abilities, [Vitality Awakening] required 3 team skill points per level. After upgrading it six levels, 2 team skill points remained. Considering the performance of the [Hunting Group] ability, Su Xiao decided to test it by upgrading this ability by one level to see if there was any change.
[Tip: Team Skill·Hunting Group has been upgraded to Lv.2.]
[Tip: This ability reaches max level at Lv.10.]
[Tip: After each world progress ends, the Hunting Group ability can only be upgraded by 1 level.]
...
Su Xiao understood the characteristics of the Hunting Group ability. He had obtained this ability a bit late. The earlier it was obtained, the greater the benefit. But there was no helping it. Only at the end of the last world did he promote the adventure group to SSS rank. He couldn't invest too many rewards into upgrading the adventure group's rank.
Previously, because [Hunting Group] increased Charm attribute, Su Xiao didn't plan to upgrade this ability. In fact, even if he wanted to upgrade then, he couldn't.
Su Xiao checked the upgraded Hunting Group ability.
[Hunting Group (Passive Lv.2): At world settlement, increases 1 point of your body attribute (randomly increases one of Stamina, Charm, Luck, or Willpower).]
Although the attribute increase was still 1 point, the lottery pool had expanded from three to four items. This was good for Su Xiao. He used the remaining team skill points on [Vitality Awakening], upgrading it from Lv.18 to Lv.24.
Su Xiao still had 24,829 Soul Coins. He first exchanged all material quotas, prepared various permanent alchemical enhancement potions in the alchemy lab, then had Beini sell them. This was risk-free profit.
Over two hours later, in the alchemy lab, Su Xiao closed the alchemy codex in his hand. The engraving interpretation progress for the sixth page was: 925/1057. After the next interpretation, he could turn to the sixth page and check the formula or blueprint recorded on the back.
After reading [Coin's Alchemy Notes] for a while, Su Xiao's mind, which had been heavy from interpreting the alchemy codex, relaxed significantly.
As a mentor-level figure in Second Era alchemy, Coin's pharmaceutical notes, even just reading the first few pages, greatly benefited Su Xiao.
These experiences and tips honed by time seemed minor, but a 3% purity difference in a potion could result in a difference of over 20% in its effect. The difference between a master and an average alchemist might be that 3% gap.
Unconsciously, Su Xiao became engrossed. When the timer rang, he reluctantly put away [Coin's Alchemy Notes] and headed towards the Skill Upgrade Hall.
Back at the Skill Upgrade Hall, upgrading the basic passive [Spirit Toughness] went smoothly. Pouring in 25,000 Soul Coins, [Spirit Toughness] went from Lv.30 to Lv.35. The bonus to soul damage reached 31%, which was quite formidable. But soul-type abilities, like technique-type abilities, were very expensive to upgrade.
A moment later, on the blood-mist-filled ancient battlefield, a few simple Devouring Cores floated above Su Xiao. This time, he didn't plan to be greedy; he would stop while ahead.
Time passed second by second. Suddenly, a sound of wind breaking came. Su Xiao chose to leave the ancient battlefield.
The surrounding scene changed. Su Xiao had returned to the Skill Upgrade Pod.
[Aura Release has been upgraded to Lv.50.]
This time, he had upgraded 6 levels, which was decent. Su Xiao, with high-temperature blood patterns on his face, exhaled a breath of blood mist.
[Tip: To clear the blood mist erosion from the ancient battlefield, pay 105 Soul Coins.]
[Tip: To remove blood residue from the aura, pay 328 Soul Coins.]
Su Xiao chose to pay. As the Skill Upgrade Pod operated, the blood patterns on his face and neck visibly dissipated, restoring his original appearance.
Checking the remaining stay time, Su Xiao headed towards the training ground. This time, in the Land of All Beings·Seventh Layer, he would focus on upgrading [Ring Break], giving it a transformative major upgrade.
Arriving at the training ground, Su Xiao used all his remaining Soul Coins to purchase 31 hours of stay time in the Land of All Beings·Seventh Layer.
The teleportation array beneath his feet lit up. When the teleportation ended, Su Xiao stood on a water surface. Walking on it felt like walking on rock. No matter how many times he came, seeing those super-large Soul Crystals below made him envious.
Su Xiao assumed a drawing slash posture. Thousands of soul clones appeared around him, assuming the same posture. This was a thousandfold training efficiency.
Although the cost of training here was expensive, the effect of 31 hours of training was no less than years of hard training outside.
In fact, not all contractors could train in the Land of All Beings·Seventh Layer. It wasn't about permissions but soul strength.
After each time Su Xiao slashed out [Ring Break], the thousands of slightly different insights from the [Ring Break] slashes, as the soul clones shattered, would enter his body in the form of soul energy. Without strong soul strength, even this process would be unbearable.
Fundamentally, the Land of All Beings·Seventh Layer wasn't meant to be used this way. Staying for a few hours was considered long. Among the same rank, no one trained continuously for over 30 hours like Su Xiao.
This was why Su Xiao's blade technique was powerful. He had ample time to perfect the blade techniques he developed.
31 hours later, on the flat water surface, Su Xiao maintained the drawing slash posture. But around him, no soul clones were generated. Only he remained.
Su Xiao's physical state was adjusted to the optimum. He was looking for the peak feeling of [Ring Break]. He had slashed it once before. He carefully recalled that feeling.
The sound of air being sucked in came from around. The air around him was drawn in by the unsheathed blade in his hand, causing many fine black marks and wind marks in the air.
'Draw blade.'
'Ring Break.'
Whoosh!
A black ring-shaped blade light slashed out. If viewed from above, one could see a perfect circular black disc around Su Xiao, covering an area of dozens of meters around him. The [Ring Break] slashes within this area were like ethereal black flames, with white wind marks mixed inside and at the edges.
The stay time in the Land of All Beings·Seventh Layer reached its limit. The stay time limit in Reincarnation Paradise was also just reached. Su Xiao was directly teleported back to the real world.
[Tip: You have returned to the real world.]
[Due to the last world progress, over 65% of participants chose to delay the opening of the Treeborn World. In this world progress, all participants must enter the Treeborn World. It cannot be delayed by any means.]
[It is estimated that the Treeborn World will open in 3 natural days. The Hunter must be prepared.]