Chapter 24: God Hunting
Inside the main hall at the deepest part of the ancient ruins, after Su Xiao tossed the Soul Crown into the spatial vortex, the previously trembling vortex suddenly came to a halt, and the main hall, which had been shaking along with it, also calmed down.
This silence lasted for a few seconds before a muffled *bang* came from within. The Soul Crown shot back out, forcibly expanding the spatial vortex, leaving jagged cracks along its edges.
The moment the Soul Crown flew out, Su Xiao had already taken out the Abyssal Jar. He caught the Soul Crown with the wide-open jar, snapped it shut with a *smack*, and activated the sealing runes on it.
As for why the Soul Crown couldn't break free from him, Su Xiao himself wasn't sure. He speculated that this was one of the rules of the "Original Sin Object." For now, he and the Soul Crown were stuck with each other, mutually disdainful, but since they hadn't yet encountered a "suitable person," they couldn't get rid of it.
After putting away the Abyssal Jar, Su Xiao signaled the Goddess of Fortune to begin. Beside him, the Goddess of Fortune's aura erupted. Pale golden rings appeared in her pupils, and she took on the majesty and sanctity of a goddess. A mass of divine blood spread from her palm, and as her long hair fluttered, she grasped the divine blood with one hand.
*Thump~*
A golden shockwave radiated from the Goddess of Fortune, spreading outward. Ancient, irregular patterns climbed up her right arm. She gently pressed her right hand against Su Xiao's chest. The next second, all the golden radiance on her body surged into Su Xiao's chest.
This caused the Goddess of Fortune, whose hair had been billowing without wind, to suddenly turn pale. The pale golden rings in her eyes vanished, and she seemed completely drained.
"Who says the Fortune Divine Throne can't boost a Law Destroyer's luck? See, it works."
The Goddess of Fortune spoke breathlessly as she floated back up. Most of the time, if she could float, she wouldn't bother walking.
[Prompt: You have received the "Divine Blessing" effect from the Goddess of Fortune.]
[Your Luck Attribute is temporarily increased by 149 points! Duration: 2 hours (original duration was over 750 hours; due to your immense luck as a Law Destroyer Shadow, this bonus time has been greatly reduced).]
...
Su Xiao carefully sensed his own luck, but felt nothing. He hadn't developed abilities in this area, so his perception of it was naturally poor.
Su Xiao's Luck Attribute upon entering this world was 58 points. He had permanently increased it by 2 points using the Misfortune Stone Statue. Later, the upgrade to Fate Dominator further increased the Luck Attribute bonus from that equipment by another 2 points, bringing his Luck Attribute to 62 points.
Not only that, but due to his earlier elimination of the "Indestructible Abyss Spawn" and the Nightmare King, and his role in getting the Gluttony Clan to start clearing the nightmare zones on Nightmare Island, he received a reward from this world: while in this world, his Luck Attribute was increased by +10 points.
This brought Su Xiao's Luck Attribute to 72 points. Adding the temporary boost of 149 points, his Luck Attribute reached an all-time high of 221 points.
But that wasn't all. Su Xiao took out Fate Dominator. The current Fate Dominator no longer provided a fixed increase to the Luck Attribute; instead, it offered a powerful percentage boost, increasing the current Luck Attribute by 45%.
Su Xiao had already fully charged Fate Dominator with Soul Crystals (Large), so he could activate it immediately.
*Wave~*
A pale golden ripple spread outward from Su Xiao, and a prompt appeared.
[Prompt: Your Luck Attribute has reached 300 points (this is the maximum Luck Attribute value for this world).]
Even Su Xiao, who had no mastery over causal or fate-based abilities, could vaguely sense his own luck. But the feeling was blurry and only lasted a few seconds after his Luck Attribute hit 300 points.
Su Xiao took out the [Silver Moon Blade] and cut his palm with it. No blood appeared; instead, moonlight force erupted and attached itself to Dragon-Slaying Flash.
He snapped his fingers with a *crack*, activating the [Spirit Blade] with sound as the trigger. The "Soul Resonance: Sharpness" effect was applied to Dragon-Slaying Flash.
After doing all this, Su Xiao stepped into the spatial vortex ahead and headed to the Divine Domain.
After a brief spatial fluctuation, the scene before Su Xiao opened up. He didn't see the imagined blazing flames or the pervasive yellow smoke. Instead, the air was exceptionally fresh. The view was like being at the peak of clouds. Beneath his feet was a layer of clouds nearly 20 centimeters thick, settled on the ground, with smooth stone slabs further below.
Su Xiao took off his gas mask and threw it away. Behind him, the space rippled—it was the Goddess of Fortune, floating two meters above the ground. Bubu Wang and Baha couldn't come to this battle; they might get struck by World Thunder. The Goddess of Fortune, however, was different; there was absolutely no chance she would be hit by World Thunder.
Su Xiao surveyed his surroundings. The sky was clear, and clouds settled on the ground. The scene truly lived up to the name "Divine Domain." However, a hundred meters ahead, large amounts of fine powder were falling. It looked like the remnants of a magnificent building that had been blasted to pieces.
The reason was simple. The two shoes Kaiser had thrown into the spatial vortex earlier had been sacrificed into the temple. The Radiance God was furious at such an offering, but before he could take countermeasures, the murky yellow smoke spread. What shocked the Radiance God even more was that he began to continuously suffer soul damage.
That wasn't the worst part. This unknown yellow mist was highly flammable. Under these circumstances, three detonated Apollos were sacrificed over. With a *boom*, not only did the Apollos explode, but the yellow mist inside the temple also detonated.
That was why three Apollos had reduced the Radiance God's temple to powder. Given the material strength of a ninth-rank world and the multiple high-level runes reinforcing the Radiance God's temple, it shouldn't have been reduced to rubble so easily.
After all the powder settled, Su Xiao saw a figure further back. This figure was over four meters tall, with wings on its back covered in golden-scaled feathers that looked metallic.
Yes, this four-meter-tall, oppressive figure was the Radiance God. His entire body was covered in golden-white scales, including the backward-curving horns on his forehead. On his face was a half-mask made of scales, with dense air holes around the mouth area.
At this moment, the Radiance God held the [Blazing Light Spear]. His golden vertical pupils were cold and angry, and his fierce gaze was imposing.
Of course, this didn't change the fact that the Radiance God's health was only at 85.7%, and he was suffering from a negative luck status.
As a light-aligned deity, the Radiance God undoubtedly had powerful regenerative abilities. Kaiser, with his experience, naturally guessed this. That was why the gifts sacrificed to the Radiance God earlier included some "special ingredients," which suppressed the Radiance God's recovery ability for about ten minutes.
This also meant one thing: if Su Xiao couldn't finish the fight within ten minutes, the Radiance God would quickly return to full health. This was the main reason the Radiance God ranked second in combat power in this world.
The Radiance God lightly swung the [Blazing Light Spear]. The blade of the spear cut through the air, leaving a shallow black spatial crack. This showed the lethality of the [Blazing Light Spear]. The highly concentrated light made the spear's blade as sharp as the current Dragon-Slashing Flash.
This also meant that although both Su Xiao and the Radiance God had powerful physiques, their weapons and combat techniques were both absurdly strong. Either could potentially kill the other in a short time. It was like two high-attack, high-strength, high-agility, medium-defense powerhouses engaged in a life-or-death battle.
The [Eye of the Gods] behind Su Xiao disappeared. At the ninth rank, the Holy Spirit-rank detection equipment [Eye of the Gods] could no longer properly detect enemy data. As a result, Su Xiao only learned the enemy's name and remaining health.
*Zheng~*
Su Xiao drew his long blade. A blue light appeared in the center of his pupils, indicating he had switched to the "Speed Soul Core." Using the Speed Soul Core was the best choice. He couldn't afford to take the enemy's attacks head-on. The blade of that [Blazing Light Spear] would cut through anything it touched. If it struck his neck, his journey of growth would end here.
Su Xiao slowly exhaled. No matter how much he had weakened the Radiance God before the battle, once the fight began, he would remain fully vigilant.
*Boom!*
Blood energy erupted from Su Xiao like a shockwave, spreading outward. On the opposite side, dazzling golden light burst forth. Blood energy and light collided with a *bang*. Where the two auras met, crackling sounds echoed as they corroded each other.
"Law Destroyer."
The Radiance God's golden vertical pupils narrowed. He now knew why a powerful enemy had come. Suddenly, his eyes turned blazing gold, indicating that his power seal was fully released. Against a Law Destroyer, the Radiance God would not be careless or hold back.
The clash of auras caused a series of air explosions and thunderous sounds. A muffled thunderclap cracked in the sky. Watching from a distance, the Goddess of Fortune swallowed nervously. She felt that being a kilometer away was still unsafe and began floating further back.
Just as the Goddess of Fortune thought Su Xiao and the Radiance God would exchange a few opening remarks, both of them retracted their auras completely.
Su Xiao held his blade with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, his body slightly lowered. On the opposite side, the Radiance God, who had been about to spread his wings and fly, stopped for some reason. His perception was continuously warning him that if he flew, even at light speed, he would be shot down.
*Boom!*
With a thunderous sound, Su Xiao and the Radiance God both vanished from their spots. When they reappeared, they had already charged to each other's front.
*Clang!!*
The long blade and the Blazing Light Spear clashed. After a moment of silence, the space within a kilometer around them cracked with a *crack*, full of fissures. Layers of shockwaves radiated from Su Xiao and the Radiance God, causing the clouds on the ground to surge. From above, the scene would be incredibly shocking.
However, the Goddess of Fortune, the sole observer of this battle, didn't feel shocked. She was now regretting her decision to watch a life-or-death battle between a Law Destroyer and an evil god. Looking at the cracked, glass-like space just ten meters away from her, she estimated that if she had been within that range, she might have cracked too. Although her body hadn't cracked, her mental state certainly had.
The blade of the long sword and the edge of the Blazing Light Spear pressed against each other, emitting a grinding sound. Su Xiao and the Radiance God locked eyes. At that instant, Su Xiao felt a faint tingling numbness at the back of his neck—a perception sting. He instinctively twisted his body.
*Zheng~*
The edge of the Blazing Light Spear swept past, cutting off a few strands of Su Xiao's black hair as he twisted. Because of his twist, his long blade could no longer block the opposing spear. The Radiance God withdrew his spear and thrust it forward in one fluid motion. This simple thrust felt unavoidable, as if his body, soul, and spirit were all being drawn to the incoming spear tip.
"Divine Combat Technique."
Su Xiao immediately identified the fighting style. Simply put, Divine Combat Techniques were very similar to Technique-type abilities, but they were exclusive to the user. For example, the Radiance Combat Technique could only be mastered by the Radiance God and was only suitable for him. A god with such techniques was undoubtedly battle-hardened.
The Blazing Light Spear pierced through Su Xiao's head, but the Radiance God's gaze didn't waver. Holding the spear with one hand, he casually swept the blade, dispersing the afterimage Su Xiao had left behind.
A dozen meters away, Su Xiao emerged from his Space Penetration state. Blood trickled from the corner of his eye. That thrust had nearly pierced his skull. However, compared to that nearly unavoidable thrust, the earlier sweeping strike from behind was actually more dangerous.
In Su Xiao's perception, that should have been a clone-like ability. Unlike ordinary clones that persisted, the Radiance God's clone only lasted 2-3 seconds. The problem was that the clone would manifest a Blazing Light Spear identical to the original.
Compared to a persistent clone, Su Xiao felt that this ability to suddenly create a clone at any location was more dangerous. Another issue was that if the Radiance God could swap positions with his clone, it would be even more troublesome than teleportation.
Su Xiao's left hand seemed to move casually, but he was actually activating the [Thunder Spirit] hidden in his sleeve, using his Luck Attribute to attract lightning.
Because Su Xiao had only performed the most basic lightning attraction, the World Thunder didn't strike immediately. However, the Radiance God immediately became alert and looked up.
*Bang!*
The ground beneath Su Xiao's feet cracked, and the clouds around him scattered. He himself turned into a blood shadow streaking through the mist.
"Blade Path: Blood Shadow."
Su Xiao charged to the front of the Radiance God, his long blade turning blood-red as he swung it down with tremendous force.
*Clang!*
The Blazing Light Spear blocked the long blade. At the same time, a tall phantom made of blood energy appeared beside the two, wielding a massive blood blade and slashing down at the Radiance God.
*Bang!*
Blazing golden light flashed. The Radiance God had already retreated a dozen meters, causing the massive blood blade from the side to miss and instead cleave through the rock layer, creating a chasm several meters wide, a hundred meters long, and of unfathomable depth.
The Radiance God not only dodged this strike but also pointed his Blazing Light Spear at Su Xiao.
"Light: Convergence!"
*Thump!*
A cannon-like beam of light shot straight at Su Xiao. Su Xiao immediately controlled one of the five Blood Souls behind him, merging it into his body. He pointed his index finger forward, where a massive amount of blood energy had already gathered and compressed.
"Blood Smoke Cannon."
A compressed blood-red beam shot out, breaking through layers of small airwaves along the way, colliding with the incoming golden light beam. A deafening explosion echoed.
Amidst the light explosion, Su Xiao sensed that the Radiance God's aura had disappeared. When the god reappeared, he was a hundred meters above.
*Buzz!!*
A terrifying sound of light energy gathering echoed. Judging by the posture, the Radiance God was a ruthless deity. Although the fight had just begun, he was already preparing to unleash a powerful move.
Seeing the Radiance God above, Su Xiao's only thought was that his chances of winning had increased by at least 20%.
*Crack!* A World Thunder exploded. Hearing this thunder, the Radiance God's eyes showed a hint of amusement. This was his Divine Domain. Summoning World Thunder here was suicide!
Just as this thought formed, the Radiance God's golden vertical pupils widened to an unprecedented degree. He saw that the nearly ten-meter-thick World Thunder, which had originally been aimed at Su Xiao, somehow seemed to be deflected by an invisible hand. This originally several-hundred-meter-wide but highly condensed ten-meter-thick World Thunder seemed to take a turn and head straight for him.
By the time the Radiance God realized this, the incredibly fast World Thunder was already in front of his face, striking him head-on.
Watching from a distance, the Goddess of Fortune saw this and covered her face. Being struck by World Thunder like that looked painful even to her.
*Boom!*
The World Thunder struck. Fragments of scales scattered around the Radiance God. The god, now somewhat charred and crackling with golden arcs of electricity, not only failed to unleash his powerful move but also fell like a bird with broken wings.
Mid-fall, the Radiance God clenched his hand, gradually forming a clone a hundred meters away.
On the ground, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. He immediately formed a blood-energy phantom with only an upper body, positioning it above himself. He used two Blood Souls—one to strengthen himself and one to strengthen the phantom.
"Super: Blood Smoke Cannon."
The blood-energy phantom pointed its thumb-thick finger at the falling Radiance God. Su Xiao consumed nearly 50% of his blood energy to condense this Blood Smoke Cannon.
The gathering of the Super Blood Smoke Cannon caused a crimson radiance to bloom. A hundred meters away, the falling Radiance God had already formed a clone and was about to swap positions with it.
*Snap~*
A cracked Banishment pierced the forehead of the Radiance God's clone, shattering it.
Seeing this, the Radiance God's vertical pupils contracted. His two strongest abilities had failed to work. If not for being outmaneuvered, how could he be so embarrassed? But now, thinking about all this was meaningless.
*Thump!!*
The Super Blood Smoke Cannon shot out, hitting the Radiance God square in the chest. He turned into a blur and, a second later, slammed into the spatial barrier at the edge of the Divine Domain, several kilometers away.
Divine blood splattered on the barrier. The Radiance God slid half a meter down the barrier before beginning to fall freely, landing with a *plop* on the rocky ground.
Looking at his chest now, the flesh was torn and ragged. The bones of his divine biological structure jutted out messily. A shattered divine heart core fell to the ground with a wet *splat*, like a pile of rotten meat. This organ was similar to a human heart, but the Radiance God had three such cores.
The Super Blood Smoke Cannon, empowered by two Blood Souls, was undoubtedly Su Xiao's most powerful blood-based move at this stage. The Radiance God had taken a World Thunder strike and then this. If his strength weren't so formidable, he would have already fallen.
Blood seeped from the air holes of the Radiance God's mask. He pressed his hand to his chest, and his injuries began to heal at a visible rate.
Just as both sides had estimated before the battle, this fight would be decided quickly. Both had overwhelming offensive capabilities.
As the Radiance God's injuries visibly healed, a sound of air being torn came from ahead.
*Boom!*
A Blood Smoke Cannon flew past the Radiance God's ear, hitting the barrier behind him. The impact from the energy explosion behind him caused the weakened Radiance God to stumble forward two steps.
*Zheng~*
The long blade cut through the air, leaving a black mark as it slashed toward the Radiance God's head. The Radiance God immediately ducked, moving so fast he left afterimages, but he still couldn't dodge the blade. His horn was severed with a crisp sound.
This infuriated the Radiance God. The enemy's weapon was sharper than he had imagined. However, this strike was also within his expectations.
*Crack!* The mask on the Radiance God's face shattered, revealing his mouth full of sharp teeth. He was smiling now. His left eye burst with dazzling golden light.
*Bang!*
The Radiance God's left eye exploded, releasing a blinding radiance. In this intense light, which could burn the body and sear the soul, Su Xiao felt a ringing in his ears and instinctively raised his blade to block.
The crisp sound of weapons clashing echoed. The one-eyed Radiance God pointed his Blazing Light Spear at the sky. Cones of light, piercing heaven and earth, began to rain down.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!...*
Su Xiao, covered in a crystal layer, was blasted backward by the light cones. The crystal layer on his body cracked one after another, and pain continuously assaulted him.
But that wasn't all. The Radiance God formed a clone high in the sky. The clone pointed its Blazing Light Spear downward.
*Boom!* A beam of light dozens of meters thick struck Su Xiao, forcing him to crouch. The intense pain throughout his body made him frown.
A sharp hissing sound came. Su Xiao could only continue blocking with his blade. The Radiance God fought more fiercely, swinging his Blazing Light Spear in close combat while continuously forming clones to rain down light beams. Moreover, each of the Radiance God's attacks produced a sharp golden ring that spun around Su Xiao, cutting at him.
For a time, Su Xiao received a barrage of attack prompts. Although he had no time to pay attention, the waterfall-like stream of damage judgments showed how fierce the Radiance God's storm-like assault was. Even if those rings were somewhat superficial.
*Thump!*
A domain ability radiated from Su Xiao: [Blade Domain]. Within this 100-meter-diameter domain, Su Xiao gained a 10% reduction to all damage and could parry strong attacks with a Strength Attribute not exceeding his own by more than 25 points. Upon successful parry, his knockback and knock-up resistance were temporarily and greatly increased.
Additionally, his Dragon Shadow Flash and blade techniques were enhanced within this domain. Furthermore, although the domain was invisible, it moved with Su Xiao as its center.
Of course, there was a downside. The mana cost of 1500 points per second meant Su Xiao could only maintain this domain for about 40 seconds.
After activating the domain, Su Xiao entered a very brief, less-than-0.5-second state of strong super-armor. For a Blade Grandmaster, this was already a powerful state.
*Clang!* Su Xiao blocked the Radiance God's Blazing Light Spear with his blade, sending sparks and light particles flying. Then, using his current super-armor state, he delivered a straight kick.
*Thump!!!*
The Radiance God vanished from his spot, leaving only scattered blood droplets where he had stood. As for the god himself, he was now sitting against the spatial barrier, his vertical pupils trembling. After a second of recovery, he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments. This ninth-rank deity was stunned by that straight kick.
Su Xiao, still in his kicking posture, withdrew his leg. He wiped the blood from his chin and looked at the distant Radiance God. He had almost been comboed to death by this guy. Fortunately, he was one step ahead.
If the Radiance God knew this thought, he would probably die of anger on the spot. His series of attacks just now was the most satisfying combo of his divine life. In contrast, the guy opposite him had only used a straight kick.
This was the difference between developing a bunch of active abilities and stacking passives. Su Xiao's kick seemed like a simple melee move, but all the bonuses from [Melee Grandmaster, Lv.70] were concentrated in that one straight kick.
What Su Xiao didn't know was that he wasn't just the first to master the negative Charm Basic Passive; he was also the only one to use a Lv.70 Grandmaster-level technique ability to enhance just one ability. And that ability was the most basic melee move: the straight kick.
The Radiance God, with a large hole in his abdomen, was about to get up from the ground when a World Thunder struck down. Almost simultaneously, a Super Blood Smoke Cannon shot toward him. Su Xiao had exhausted the five Blood Souls he had accumulated over the past few days and would need to gather more.
"How... could I... lose... here..."
The Radiance God supported himself with one hand on the ground, his body broken and bleeding. He knelt on one knee.
Su Xiao didn't say a word or hesitate. He used Dragon Shadow Flash to charge in front of the Radiance God.
"Blade Path: Extreme."
*Zheng!*
The long blade swept through. The Radiance God's head was severed, flying up with a trail of blood. Until the moment of his death, the Radiance God never imagined he would die like this, in his own Divine Domain.
As the Radiance God's head flew through the air, his consciousness didn't die immediately. At first, he was only shocked and incredulous. But when he saw his own headless, scale-covered body, he suddenly realized something. It seemed that only evil gods grew scales. When had he become an evil god? Was it after being nearly killed by the Deer God? Or was it when he started using methods he once despised to gain faith?
The former guardian deity of the Saint Lan Kingdom, a neutral god who had slain the Raging Beast God, had somehow grown scales himself.
The Radiance God's head hit the ground, and his eyes slowly closed.
"Did... did we win?"
The Goddess of Fortune floated over, still somewhat incredulous. She had thought the battle would last for days. Instead, although the fight was more dangerous than she had imagined, it ended quickly.
[Prompt: Your equipped Nine-Star Title, God Hunter, has been activated.]
[God Hunter]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: ★★★★★★★★★
Category: Title · Rare
Title Effect 1: God Slayer (Passive): Deals an additional 15% to 30% True Damage against divine units...
Title Effect 2: God Hunter (Passive)...
Title Effect 3: Hunt and Seize (Passive): This ability can be triggered after killing a god.
Prompt: This ability has been activated. Due to your killing of the Radiance God, you have successfully seized the "Radiance Divine Soul." This divine soul has been stored in this title and can be retrieved at any time.
Maximum Storage: 1/5.
Stored Divine Soul: Radiance Divine Soul (Ninth-Rank Divine Soul).
Description: While wearing this title, you will be recognized as holding a "Hunter Badge" and can accept or post commissions at the "Hunter Guild."
Price: Unsellable.
...
The God Hunter title was activated. A walnut-sized golden sphere was drawn from the Radiance God's headless body and absorbed into the God Hunter title. Truly worthy of a Nine-Star Title.
Su Xiao reached out with one hand toward the Radiance God's headless body. Golden-red divine source blood dispersed. Additionally, his Law-Destroyer talent [Shadow Hunt] activated, absorbing the Radiance God's source power, granting him 10 Law-Destroyer Skill Points. His talent ability [Soul Devourer] also activated, absorbing the Radiance God's soul source matter to enhance his own Soul Strength.
Witnessing all this, the Goddess of Fortune suddenly felt weak in the knees. The title seized the divine soul, the talent absorbed source energy and soul source matter, and the user collected divine blood. Nothing was wasted, especially when the target was a divine unit. This made the Goddess of Fortune think that if she had pretended to cooperate and then sought revenge later, she might have been subjected to the same process.
"Something wrong?"
After collecting the divine blood, Su Xiao looked at the Goddess of Fortune.
"N-no... nothing. We'll definitely become great friends."
"..."
Su Xiao looked at the Goddess of Fortune with confusion, not understanding what she meant. He had Bubu Wang and Baha bury the Radiance God's remains, then sat down on a crystal seat he had just formed. This battle had been very dangerous. He had just advanced to the ninth rank and still needed to accumulate strength.
Su Xiao checked his data. His Luck Attribute was still at 300 points. This made him decide to take advantage of this opportunity to open all the treasure chests he had obtained and see what good things he could get.