Chapter 25: No Solution
In the ruined city, central district, Abandoned Park.
Su Xiao stood atop a dilapidated high-rise building on the inner side of Abandoned Park. Without a storage space, he could only rely on his eyesight to observe the distant situation.
The park was overgrown with weeds and twisted trees. A statue of a Compassionate Saint, over ten meters tall, served as a landmark. This statue was built in an artificial pool about 30 meters in diameter. The pool was filled with light green water that overflowed, and the slightly tilted water bottle in the Compassionate Saint's hands continuously spilled the Fountain of Life.
The Fountain of Life showed signs of slow evaporation. Around this life pool, fluorescent green particles drifted. Anyone staying here would recover 1% of their health per second, along with healing any injuries.
Logically, some faction should have occupied this place. The problem was that the ruined city only had two factions: the Gluttonous Horde and the Scavengers. The former had stronger combat power, but this faction consisted of mad beasts and wild animals. The Scavenger Alliance was weaker, but they had mastered firearms. Don't underestimate guns—here, firearms were highly effective. Currently, Su Xiao's physical attribute was only 8 points; being shot through a vital point would mean certain death.
This was also the interesting part of the Golden Arena. Many participants didn't fall to other strong enemies but to these gunpowder weapons they usually ignored.
More intuitively, the process from lv.1 to lv.50 tested participants' control and adaptability over power. True strength wasn't about having power; it was about being able to reach the pinnacle of that level with the means available at any stage.
This was the difference between power and wealth. Someone who amassed great wealth, once falling into poverty, might never rise again and die in depression. But a strong person with power, even if they lost it, would surely make a comeback as long as there was even a sliver of opportunity.
Su Xiao had Baha scout from above to prevent anyone from approaching. He came near the Fountain of Life. A fresh, grassy scent drifted over, and after inhaling it into his chest and abdomen, he felt a sense of relief.
The entire pool was over 30 meters in diameter, so the surrounding open space was not small. Under these circumstances, setting up a single Crystal Bomb wasn't very useful. Its trap range was only one meter, and even if someone came, they might not step on it.
The good news was that he had just killed the second of the four brothers, and the Ultimate Secret Art: Crystal Blazing Bloom came with a death trait. Its effect was: if this attack causes the challenger's death, your level will immediately increase by lv.2 (maximum can be raised to lv.50).
Additionally, Su Xiao could level up by killing other participants. As a result, he gained 3 levels, reaching lv.4. However, he hadn't chosen to level up yet.
When Su Xiao chose to level up, there was no grand phenomenon like a burst of light. He felt a surge of energy enter his body, and several of his physical attributes skyrocketed. Agility and intelligence both reached 26 points, and his body energy cap reached 6090 points.
Besides that, he also gained 3 skill points. He chose to raise the level of Ultimate Secret Art: Crystal Blazing Bloom to lv.2.
[Prompt: Your arena skill level has increased. You will receive a corresponding amount of Golden Power.]
[You have gained 30% Golden Power. When Golden Power reaches 100%, you will have completed one of the conditions for passing this round.]
...
Compared to these physical attributes and skill points, Su Xiao cared most about the Golden Power. The former two would lose meaning after this Golden Arena ended, while the latter—Golden Power—was his ultimate purpose here. It represented how many Golden Skill Points he could obtain. Only by using Golden Skill Points to enhance his true self would this improvement be permanent, something no one could take away.
As a Overlord unit, Su Xiao's disadvantage was that he had no guaranteed reward for passing each round. Unlike others, who could gain 5 levels by passing one round, representing 50% Golden Power acquisition.
The advantage of being an Overlord unit was that he gained more experience from killing other participants. For example, when Lightning Mage: Aige killed the eldest of the four brothers, Aige could only level up half a level. In contrast, Su Xiao, as an Overlord unit, could level up one level.
However, if other participants could kill Su Xiao, they would hit the jackpot—not only gaining 5 levels immediately but also obtaining the Overlord unit identity.
In simple terms, others were playing a PvE game of leveling up by killing monsters, where the risk of PvP outweighed the reward. They had too few revives—only one per round. Su Xiao, on the other hand, was a pure PvP player who could revive 47 times.
Su Xiao checked his current body energy. It had to be said that the recovery rate was quite fast. That made sense—each round of the arena wasn't very long, only 36 hours, and some rounds were even shorter. If body energy recovered very slowly, he wouldn't be able to use many skills throughout the entire arena. Despite having 6090 points of body energy, normal arena participants at level 4 only had around 140–150 points.
Setting up a Crystal Bomb near the spring wasn't clever. But what if he set up a dozen, dozens, or even hundreds?
Su Xiao checked the cooldown of Ultimate Secret Art: Crystal Blazing Bloom. It was still 7 hours and 5 minutes. The eight-hour cooldown for this ultimate skill was indeed quite long.
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang tilted his head in confusion. The next moment, Su Xiao dismissed him from the summon state and then summoned him again.
Rending Sky Hound (Active, lv.1): Summon your partner, the Rending Sky Hound, to assist you in battle... (If your partner, the Rending Sky Hound, is not dead and you dismiss it, this ability will have no cooldown...).
Origin Stone: World (Arena Attribute): Body Energy +5900 points. When using a skill, there is a 15.9% chance to refresh the cooldown of all skills (including ultimate skills).
Checking the ultimate, a 16% chance wasn't easy to trigger. Su Xiao dismissed and summoned Bubu Wang again. Bubu Wang's dog face was utterly confused.
This time, when he checked again, it still hadn't refreshed. This made Su Xiao's expression grow serious. Logically, the Law-Destroying Fortune should be his true fortune. Now that he was in the arena body, could the Law-Destroying Fortune have followed him?
Dismiss, summon, dismiss, summon...
Su Xiao experimented repeatedly. After five consecutive attempts, the ultimate successfully refreshed. This confirmed that the Law-Destroying Fortune had followed him, but not completely. If it were the full Law-Destroying Fortune, even summoning Bubu Wang hundreds of times might not have refreshed it. So, this time, only a very small amount of Law-Destroying Fortune had come with his consciousness.
Seeing that the combination of Origin Stone + ultimate really worked, Su Xiao had Baha return. As long as he successfully set up one Crystal Bomb, he wouldn't fear enemies approaching.
Su Xiao pressed one hand to the ground. Crystal spread out like a gradually blooming crystal flower. As it bloomed, it adhered to the ground, accompanied by the precise sound of crystal mechanisms operating. If this Crystal Bomb were taken apart, it would be found that it wasn't just a large lump of crystal. Its internal structure was extremely precise, with thousands of crystal components. The semi-energy crystal could replace springs and trigger mechanisms, and it was more sensitive and undetectable.
When the setup was complete, Ultimate Secret Art: Crystal Blazing Bloom entered a transparent + camouflage state. Not even the naked eye could detect it. Only when someone actually stepped on it and heard a crisp "click" would they discover it.
After finishing the setup, Su Xiao looked at the ultimate, now in an 8-hour cooldown. He repeated the previous process: dismissing and then summoning Bubu Wang and Baha. This was equivalent to using two skills quickly, and the ultimate immediately refreshed.
The second Crystal Bomb was successfully set up. Half an hour later, a total of twelve Crystal Bombs were placed around the spring. Su Xiao formed a crystal blade in his hand, slashed it across his chest, and sat leaning against the pool edge. The crystal weapon in his hand dissipated, and he gradually lowered his head.
Three hours later, aside from a few wild beasts coming here, no participants had approached. Bubu Wang dealt with these beasts, which made him feel a bit cocky. His expression clearly said, "Who dares to fight me?"
With body energy fully recovered, Su Xiao set up another 10 Crystal Bombs. A total of over 20 Crystal Bombs were now around the spring. If any arena participant came here, there was a decent chance they would step on one.
Confirming this, Su Xiao left the spring area and came to the top of a building near the park, observing the spring area from a distance. This passive style of killing enemies didn't suit his habits, but at this stage, it was the only option.
Another three hours passed. During this time, aside from one mad beast, no other creature came to the spring to recover. After body energy was fully restored, Su Xiao set up another 10 Crystal Bombs around the spring.
Sitting atop the ruined building, the setting sun dyed the horizon red. A quarter of the first round had passed, but Su Xiao hadn't ambushed a single enemy. If this continued, he would be eliminated.
This was the high risk of being an Overlord unit. Compared to being killed, being eliminated was a greater loss. Not only would he be unable to continue gaining Golden Skill Points, but his true body's enhancement in the Golden Lake would also be interrupted, and he would be forcibly teleported away.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, meaning he could go out and wander around to lure enemies here.
"Boss, let me go."
Baha spoke. His taunting ability was far stronger than Bubu Wang's. When encountering an enemy, he would first launch a mental attack to lure them into the trap zone.
Su Xiao didn't let Baha do this. The opponents this time were all Absolute Strength. With Baha's level as a Key Technique Grandmaster, he could indeed anger enemies, but getting them to chase him all the way was unlikely.
[Announcement: This round's Arcane Eternal Star participant, Hughn, has obtained the Golden Book and gained 500% Golden Power.]
[Because the Golden Book has been activated, the communication channel for this round of the Golden Arena has been opened (if you are in the Spectator Seat of the Dead, you can view the content of this communication channel but cannot send messages).]
[Prompt: Your name in the arena communication channel must be related to your true self or the profession you have obtained.]
[You have successfully set your communication channel name: Secret Art Master.]
...
With nothing else to do, Su Xiao opened the communication channel to check.
Blazing Flame (Death Paradise): "This channel is nice. Everyone, anyone want to team up to deal with the Gluttonous Lord? The best solution for this round is to quickly eliminate this **boss. As long as its body is big enough and there's enough edible flesh, we don't need to be hostile to each other. Before the seventh round, we should cooperate more. Don't forget, as challengers, we represent herbivores. That Overlord unit is a carnivore. We need to be on guard against that person."
Second Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Don't be paranoid. The Overlord unit is Bai Ye from Reincarnation Paradise."
Rain Pheasant (Apocalypse Paradise): "This intel is highly reliable."
Earth Titan (Apocalypse Paradise): "Too bad we don't know what Bai Ye's name is in this channel."
Shadow Qin (Death Paradise): "Anyone want to team up?"
Most Handsome Guy in the Arena (Reincarnation Paradise): "I can, can I?"
Luo Luo (Apocalypse Paradise): "This... such a strong name. How did you do that? I tried dozens of times, but I could only fill in my code name or profession-related terms. Nothing else works."
I'm Here for a Visit (Reincarnation Paradise): "Just fill in whatever you want, sis. You have to be bold."
Toad Wants to Eat Swan (Reincarnation Paradise): "It's just a temporary channel name. No need to worry."
Blazing Flame (Death Paradise): "Honey, I can already feel the difficulty of this game."
Shadow Qin (Death Paradise): "Me too, dear."
Third Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Damn, we've run into the Three Pranksters."
Earth Titan (Apocalypse Paradise): "Could it be that the brother upstairs has also been victimized by the Three Pranksters?"
Third Brother (Watchful Paradise): "More than that. Once, in a world war, we should have won, but those three *** used the Void Tree's notarization mechanism to change the coordinate attributes of our World Core storage location. Because of the continuous notarization by the Void Tree and interference from Reincarnation Paradise, Watchful Paradise couldn't issue error warnings. We guarded that coordinate for 5 days! 5 days! We guarded that coordinate for Reincarnation Paradise for 5 days! Can you imagine how we felt when the final result came out?"
Earth Titan (Apocalypse Paradise): "Don't say anymore. I can't help but laugh."
Third Brother (Watchful Paradise): "You have no sympathy at all."
Secret Art Master (****): "A paid message has been posted. To view this message, you need to pay 0.15% Golden Power. [To ensure the poster's safety, their faction has been hidden as requested. This paid message has been notarized. Its actual value is definitely higher than 0.15% Golden Power.]"
Rain Mage (Apocalypse Paradise): "This intel is worth it. Friend, want to team up?"
20 minutes later...
Rain Mage (Apocalypse Paradise): "You **, may you die a horrible death. You buried Crystal Bombs to blow me up."
Big Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Hahaha."
Second Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Hahahaha."
Third Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Hahahahaha."
Fourth Brother (Watchful Paradise): "Wahahahaha."
Rain Mage (Apocalypse Paradise): "Everyone, don't go near the spring in Central Park. There are Crystal Bombs there. Step on one and you're instantly killed."
Second Brother (Watchful Paradise): "No mistake. Secret Art Master is Bai Ye. His Crystal Bombs are ridiculous. Everyone, don't go near the spring in Central Park."
...
Su Xiao closed the communication platform. As far as he knew, there was a healer from Apocalypse Paradise. That meant the healer hadn't chosen a healing-type profession, so their teammate, Rain Mage, needed the spring to heal. It was perfectly normal for a healer not to pick a healing class. Su Xiao, a three-technique melee grandmaster, had even started setting up traps and waiting for prey.
After the message was posted, with the help of Rain Mage's testimony, the effect should be quite good. Su Xiao checked his current level, which had reached lv.5. He had also tested the ultimate's scarlet trait, and the effect was outstanding. This was clear from Rain Mage's attitude. After being revived, his health cap had become 80%, and he was furious.
All the challengers in the communication channel said they would never go near the spring, to prevent Su Xiao, the Overlord unit, from developing by killing challengers. However, the reality was that the limping violator, Iron Fist: Barul, was approaching. From his gloomy gaze and bruised face, it was obvious he had been betrayed by Shenfu and Yuewu.
Iron Fist: Barul was nearly three meters tall. Even in his arena body, his intimidating presence was evident. Barul grabbed a bag of stones and, with every few steps, threw them forward. Each throw produced a dull "bang," like a shotgun blast.
"If there are Crystal Bombs, just clear them out. A bunch of idiots, not using the spring."
Iron Fist: Barul stepped onto a small stone crater. The next second, he heard a "click" under his foot. Instantly, he knew he had stepped on a trap, and that this trap was an explosive. He chose to activate his melee ultimate, covering his entire body with a tungsten steel sheen, greatly increasing his defense.
Unfortunately, Iron Fist: Barul was unlucky. He had stepped on a Nether-type Crystal Bomb, which had a 450% increase in attack power.
The next second, Iron Fist: Barul felt the surroundings shake. He was now standing in a clean white room. The room had bright lights, a large screen at the back, and two rows of seats along the walls. This place was the Spectator Seat of the Dead.
Iron Fist: Barul didn't react for a moment. He sat down and muttered, "I'm gone just like that?"
Before he could resolve his confusion, a semi-transparent figure suddenly appeared in the seat next to him. It was the fire-type brother from the Apocalypse Paradise six-person team.
"Could it be that you also..."
Iron Fist: Barul's initial frustration and anger suddenly improved a lot.
"I followed the path you took to approach the spring, and then in that explosion crater, I stepped on a Crystal Bomb. This thing doesn't chain detonate."
The fire-type brother rubbed his forehead. Having only one revive per round, and it was about to be used, he was extremely frustrated.
Just as the fire-type brother was feeling down, another figure flashed into existence, sitting next to him. It was his teammate, the assassin girl, Rain Pheasant. She and the fire-type brother had been injured while dealing with a Golden Beast, so naturally, they needed the spring to recover.
As soon as the assassin girl appeared, she covered her face with both hands.
"So, you also..."
"Yes~"
"Could it be that you walked into the explosion crater I left..."
"Yes!"
The assassin girl lowered her head. The fire-type brother's face twisted, and he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Suddenly, the earth-type powerhouse, Titan: Gritz, appeared next to the assassin girl. As soon as he appeared, he cursed, "That bastard named Bai Ye, how did he bury four Crystal Bombs in a row?"
"Hahaha."
The fire-type brother finally couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud. They all had gambler's mentality. After Iron Fist: Barul stepped on a mine, the fire-type brother thought that the explosion area must be free of Crystal Bombs, or else the explosion would have triggered them.
This was a misunderstanding caused by conventional explosives. Crystal Bomb: Crystal Blazing Bloom was a mechanism-type ultimate. There were only two ways to trigger it: 1. Su Xiao detonates it, 2. Stepping on it with sufficient force and a complete motion. Violent impact couldn't achieve this.
A flash of light appeared, and the healer, Luo Luo, appeared. The four people present all looked at her. The fire-type brother asked, "Could it be that you also..."
"Also what? You all got blown up by Crystal Bombs. I'm a summoner, and I was about to be caught by Blazing Flame and Shadow Qin, so of course I ran to the spring."
Luo Luo, usually good-tempered, was a bit angry. Just then, Rain Mage suddenly appeared next to her. Rain Mage had already died once, meaning he couldn't revive again this round and would have to wait for the next match.
Rain Mage said nothing. The five teammates present didn't dare ask how he died. After a few seconds of silence, Rain Mage sighed and said, "The four brothers from Watchful Paradise arrived. I couldn't beat all four of them and lost."
Hearing this, everyone understood. Luo Luo comforted him, "One against four, losing isn't shameful."
Just then, a teleportation light flashed, and the third of the four brothers appeared. As soon as he appeared, he gritted his teeth and said, "Rain Mage, your profession is ruthless enough."
After saying this, the third brother leaned back in his seat and let out a long sigh. Rain Mage asked with a hint of mockery, "So, you were killed by my curse poison? Strange, doesn't the ghost state have a kill notification?"
"When I was about to die from the poison, I ran full speed to the spring. Then I suddenly rose up, and when I opened my eyes, I saw you all."
The third brother shrugged. He had also been killed by a Crystal Bomb.
"Wait, let me sort this out. Me, you, you, you, you, and you—all six of us were killed by Bai Ye's explosive ability? And he's the Overlord unit. Am I right?"
When Iron Fist: Barul said this, everyone present fell silent. This Overlord unit must have gained several levels from harvesting such a wave.
At this moment, around the spring area, various mad beasts gathered nearby. Many arena participants also lurked in the vicinity. Several explosions that echoed through the ruined city had made this place a focal point. The instigator of all this was sitting on top of a building near the park, using a telescope made from scrap by Bubu Wang to observe the spring area.
After killing six arena participants in a row, Su Xiao's level skyrocketed. After using his ultimate dozens of times, he had triggered three traits: Death, Scarlet, and Nether. The Death trait had the highest frequency, almost a guaranteed probability. The Scarlet trait had about a 15% trigger rate. As for the most powerful Nether trait, he had only made one so far.
He had triggered an ultimate with two traits at once once, but one with all three traits hadn't happened yet.
The high frequency of the Death trait caused Su Xiao's level to soar. Killing six participants had raised him by 14 levels, bringing him to lv.19. He now had 15 skill points, and his body energy had reached an astonishing over 10,000 points.
The smooth leveling was largely thanks to the Apocalypse Paradise six-person team. They had apparently defeated a hidden boss, gaining rich rewards but all being injured. They could only try to approach the spring, or the spreading scent of blood from their wounds would attract mad beasts, leading to their team wipe.
Su Xiao was well aware of his ultimate's weakness. He had to lie in wait. If he had even a slightly decent profession, with his three arena equipment pieces, he would already be dominating. But now, to solve his current predicament, he had to keep leveling up his ultimate. This was the only choice.
The ultimate could be leveled up to a maximum of 10. At levels 5 and 10, there were optional enhancements. He had seen this information when he first learned the ultimate. With a total of 15 skill points, he could raise the ultimate by 5 levels in a row. He chose to do so.
[Your Crystal Blazing Bloom ability has been raised to lv.7.]
[Because this is an ultimate ability, when it reaches lv.5 and lv.10, you can choose an enhancement and a trait transformation (lv.5 is an enhancement, lv.10 is a trait transformation).]
[You can choose one of the following enhancements.]