Chapter 29: Mind
Void · Arcane Eternal Star · Underground Prison, Warden's Office.
Although located underground, there was no feeling of stuffiness here. In the office of over a hundred square meters were a frowning, miserable-looking Deputy Warden, a blankly staring, bewildered Captain of the Prison Guards, a sorrowful, confused Chief Accountant, a depressed female secretary who looked like she was questioning her life choices, and finally, the relaxed Warden leaning back in a leather chair with his legs crossed on the desk.
Like master, like men. Among Huge's trusted subordinates, not one looked proper; they all had various quirks and bad habits. But this didn't overshadow the fact that they were top-notch in their respective fields.
"Shh, don't make a sound. It will disturb Lord Huge's thoughts."
The Captain of the Prison Guards made a silencing gesture. The female secretary beside him glanced at this top-tier sycophant and slammed her fist on the desk.
Bang!
"Hmm? Is it mealtime?"
Startled awake, Huge swallowed his saliva, sat up straight, adjusted his warden's hat, and discreetly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Lord Warden, have you decided how to deal with the Crow Woman?"
The old, miserable-looking Deputy Warden spoke.
"Ah, this matter. The Crow Woman must be dealt with, but we need to discuss it thoroughly before deciding how."
Huge cleared his throat, finally putting on a somewhat serious demeanor.
"Lord, we've been discussing this for two months. The Arcane faction has come seven or eight times, demanding we give them a ruling document quickly."
The female secretary's gaze was sharp, after all, she had been the one holding off the pressure from the Arcane faction these past two months.
"How could we issue the ruling document? That's the Judgement Hall's job."
Having said that, Huge took a big gulp of hot tea, savoring the bitterness. He was deliberately stalling. He had never believed the Crow Woman was a traitor. The Arcane faction's stance was clear: after Arcane Eternal Star suffered losses from Original Sin objects several times, someone had to take the blame. The Crow Woman, who always did the dirty work, was the perfect scapegoat.
Huge and the Crow Woman were friends. More importantly, Huge's own elder brother also did dirty work for Arcane Eternal Star. Whatever fate befell the Crow Woman this time, his brother would suffer the same. So, this matter got stuck with Huge.
Huge looked at the photo on his desk, at his brother in the picture. His most vivid memory was how much his brother's punches hurt, and how delicious the roasted sweet potatoes were when they were kids. Every time he roasted them, his brother couldn't bear to eat them himself and gave them all to Huge. After Huge was full, his brother would bring out all sorts of good food, eating them while watching a furious, crying Huge.
Suddenly, Huge felt an unprecedented sense of terror. It felt like an invisible hand had fiercely gripped his heart and was squeezing it with all its might. Accompanied by the sharp pain of palpitations, he felt a surge of immense primordial life force flooding into his body. This life force was so abundant that it nearly caused cracks to appear in his flesh and blood.
When Huge finally caught his breath, his subordinates were all looking at him with worried expressions. He pressed his ten fingers against his forehead, using his thumbs to massage his temples, and said in a calm voice, "Everyone, leave."
The female secretary wanted to ask something but was stopped by a cold glare from the Deputy Warden. The few of them filed out of the warden's office.
"Before I go, at least let me see you one last time."
Huge murmured to himself, a different glint appearing in his eyes than before.
These two brothers: the elder had talent far surpassing genius-level in cultivation, and the younger had unparalleled talent in the soul system. If their abilities were combined, their power would surely be astonishing.
In fact, these brothers had a secret. Years ago, their father left them an inheritance and a curse: when one of the brothers died, the other would plunder everything from him. And now, Huge had plundered the primordial life force at the peak of the Absolute Strength level from his elder brother.
...
Ancient Battlefield · Giant Beast Burial Ground.
Su Xiao was familiar with the Ancient Battlefield and had naturally been to the Giant Beast Burial Ground. As the teleportation mist dissipated, he found himself beneath a massive skeleton.
The skeleton was rib-shaped, several thousand meters long. Even half-buried in the soil, it must have been over five hundred meters high. Standing beneath this skeleton was awe-inspiring. Faint black mist drifted from the pale bones, giving a sense of the giant beast's former majesty.
Various weapons were stuck in the flat ground. A hundred meters away, sitting on a strange rock, bare-chested, was the Madman.
Unlike the powerful enemies he had faced before, the Madman didn't have the oppressive aura of a big boss. He couldn't compare to the presence of the Wolf God, the Old Beast King, the Scarlet Monarch, and other strong foes. This guy was wolfing down a large roasted beast leg, his mouth greasy with oil.
"White Night, don't mind me. It's not that I don't respect our decisive battle. I was thinking, there's a fifty percent chance this is my last meal. I gotta eat my fill, right? Hahaha."
The Madman laughed heartily, quickly finishing the fatty, juicy leg meat, crunching the bone with his beast-like fangs, and finally sucking the fragrant grease from his fingers. He stood up on the strange rock and asked tentatively:
"White Night, how about I trade you one 'Primordial Core' for the championship? This deal shouldn't be a loss for you, right?"
The Madman had absolutely no bearing of a big boss, even trying to bribe Su Xiao.
This was the Madman's true nature. He was once just a street thug who stumbled upon a blueprint for explosive devices. Using this, he climbed higher and higher. As long as it allowed him to defeat the enemies blocking his path, no matter how despicable or shameless the method, he would consider it a viable strategy. He never forgot his humble origins; everything had to be taken with his own hands.
Clang~
The long blade in Su Xiao's hand was drawn. Compared to a single 'Primordial Core', over a hundred Golden Skill Points were more important to him. Besides, the enemy's promises were not to be trusted.
The golden chains coiling around Su Xiao gradually dissipated, signaling the imminent start of the final round of this Golden Arena. Opposite him, the Madman bit down on his own forearm, leaving circular tooth marks. Blood gushed out, but before it could drip, it evaporated into transparent mist.
The golden chains floating around the two grew fewer and fewer. When they completely disappeared, a blood qi phantom appeared behind Su Xiao. It drew a massive soul bow, and the Blade Demon Spirit transformed into a black smoke arrow. This was something Su Xiao had discovered by accident. The Blade Demon Spirit was usually hard to control, but after killing an enemy and causing the spirit's consciousness to fall into slumber, it became much easier to manage.
Bang!
The black smoke arrow pierced through layers of air, arriving in front of the Madman in an instant. He reached out with one hand, and a dark suction force emerged, causing the black smoke arrow to distort. Then, as if being torn apart by space, the arrow twisted and exploded.
However, neutralizing the black flame arrow's attack was meaningless. Su Xiao swapped positions with the Blade Demon Spirit, appearing two meters in front of the Madman.
'Blade Path Sword: Absolute Nether.'
In the Madman's vision, the surrounding world suddenly turned pitch black. All he could see were three dark blue-black slashing marks rushing towards him.
'Directional · Detonation.'
Boom!
An explosion appeared out of nowhere. Amidst the spreading flames, Su Xiao wasn't blasted back. Intersecting slashing marks appeared on the Madman's chest. As he was sent flying backward, blood spraying, he let out a hoarse scream. Unbelievably, the Madman was in so much pain that he cried out like this.
'Darkness · Devour.'
With a face twisted in pain, still mid-flight, the Madman clasped his hands together. A black dot the size of a grain of rice appeared in front of Su Xiao's chest and expanded in an instant, engulfing him.
The spontaneously formed black hole churned. Dark blue smoke gradually drifted out. Naturally, it wasn't Su Xiao who had been sucked in. At the critical moment, he had swapped positions with the Blade Demon Spirit. Don't underestimate this ability of the Madman's. It was a sinister instant-kill technique. If hit, anyone below the Supreme level in physical strength would be torn to pieces.
With a thud, the Madman, who had flown back over ten meters, hit the ground. When he got up, his entire body was convulsing. He slammed his fists against his head twice, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Su Xiao, who was dozens of meters away.
"What kind of ghost energy is this? It hurts... hurts like hell! Damn, I almost went into shock."
The Madman's muscles were spasming uncontrollably. It was worth noting that, from the First Rank to the Absolute Strength level, having faced so many bosses, the intense pain caused by the Cyan Steel Shadow energy was having such a pronounced effect for the first time. This multiplied pain was one of the prices the Madman paid for his power.
Boom!
Another explosion appeared out of nowhere around Su Xiao. When the smoke cleared, a thick layer of crystals had formed on his body. As the crystal layer shattered, the surrounding flames dissipated.
Witnessing this, undisguised disappointment showed in the Madman's eyes. These abilities were all developed based on his own talent. They worked exceptionally well against those so-called 'powerful' figures who were all bark and no bite. But now, facing a true powerhouse, his abilities were having little effect.
Root-like dark lines spread from the center of the Madman's chest. The darkness gradually began to stain the depths of his eyes. The sound of his bones and muscles expanding was somewhat eerie. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a humanoid monster over four meters tall, emitting dark mist, with a mane of wild hair like a lion.
Crack, crack~
The Madman clenched his fists. His skin took on a metallic, hard, dark sheen. Pores appeared on his upper arms and shoulders, spewing flames fueled by his life force. The area around his heart turned blazing red. His heart, beating like an engine, made him look like a brutal and powerful killing machine.
"ROAR!!"
The Madman let out a roar. With a deafening crash, the ground within a radius of over ten kilometers violently cracked open, as if a Titan giant had stomped down, unleashing the wrath of heaven. This was the real Madman, Su Xiao's final opponent in this Golden Arena.
Boom!!
Flames of life spewed from the holes on the Madman's back. The corresponding reaction force allowed him to shatter layers of space. He clenched his face-sized right fist, charged forward, and threw a punch.
The long blade met the heavy fist. With a sound like shattering glass, the space within a few kilometers around Su Xiao and the Madman exploded, like a broken mirror.
Inside the Golden Arena, the audience, who had been complaining about the Madman's lack of imposing presence, suddenly fell silent. They stared in shock at the images on the big screen. Even through the broadcast, they felt a soul-deep terror, fearing that those terrifying attacks might reach them through the screen.
The audience's panic soon subsided. The image on the big screen had gone completely black.
At this moment, at the Giant Beast Burial Ground in the Ancient Battlefield, the long blade and the heavy fist were locked. The Madman's heavy fist was tough, but the Dragon-Slaying Flash, a weapon exceeding the Eternal Rank's rating cap at 7150 points, was no decoration. It first broke through the outer defensive layer, then smoothly cut through flesh and bone.
Clang~
Half of the Madman's right fist was slashed off. As black blood sprayed, Su Xiao leaped backward.
With a tearing sound, the ground eroded by the black blood quickly decayed. The air and even space along the path of the falling black blood were corroded, leaving mottled rust marks.
Black tendrils writhed on the wound of the Madman's right fist. The severed part of the fist rapidly healed. Moreover, the surface of this right fist evolved a honeycomb-like exoskeleton with nerve fiber structures inside, designed to maximally hinder slashing attacks.
Furthermore, the Madman's neck, head, and other vital areas quickly evolved this exoskeleton as well. Bone spurs protruded from his back to enhance defense against slashing attacks from behind.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
A Blood Smoke Cannon blasted towards him. The Madman blocked it with his left hand. This shield-sized left hand completely stopped the Blood Smoke Cannon. Although it blasted him back half a step, he was about to charge at Su Xiao.
Boom!
A golden world thunderbolt struck down, causing the Madman to stumble. He instinctively raised his left hand to block again.
Clang!
The blade hummed. The Madman's thick left arm was severed. His eyes narrowed. Even after evolving his defense against slashing attacks once, he was still disarmed in one strike. This made him feel a sense of foreboding. Even with the 'Abyss Contract' activated, facing this big boss, the Law Destroyer, he was under immense pressure.
"ROAR!!"
The Madman let out another roar. Layers of black sound waves spread outwards, causing the surrounding space to vibrate with a buzzing sound. Just as he was about to take the opportunity to stabilize his internal energy, the long blade screamed as it slashed towards him.
Clang!
This time, the Madman blocked with his right arm, which he used as a weapon. But after blocking this strike, every cell in his body seemed to be wailing and struggling. The powerful cutting force from the blade forced him, despite his larger size, to one knee.
Amidst the fierce wind pressure caused by the clash of attacks, the Madman looked at his opponent two meters away. The blood-red glint in the depths of the other's pupils made his pressure skyrocket once more. His only thought was: 'This monster... is it really human?'
Clang!
The long blade severed the Madman's weaponized right arm. This caused the corner of his left eye to twitch violently. With no other choice, he had to throw a punch at his opponent, hoping to force this humanoid monster back.
Bang! The wind pressure spread. The Madman's thrown left fist was struck by the pommel of Su Xiao's horizontally swung blade. In an instant, the Madman felt his left arm and most of his left side go numb with a buzzing sensation. This was the terrifying aspect of fighting a Technique Grandmaster. What seemed like a normal melee attack contained an extremely dangerous effect.
The Madman stared at his opponent's long blade. Half his body was numb now. He absolutely couldn't let this blade fall. Black tendrils emerged from the stump of his right arm, wrapping around the opponent's blade. At the same time, the Madman opened his massive mouth. A small, black hole-like core condensed in his mouth, ready to spit it out at his opponent.
What the Madman didn't expect was that his opponent didn't choose to force the blade through. Instead, he delivered a straight kick. Compared to taking a terrifying slash from that blade, he would rather take a close-range straight kick.
This realization only lasted 0.5 seconds in the Madman's mind before being permanently changed. The intense wind pressure accompanying the straight kick blew towards him. The Madman's wild hair was blown straight back.
At that moment, the Madman felt time slow down. Various memories and experiences from his past flooded his mind. Suddenly, he shook them all away, his pupils trembling slightly as he realized: 'This is... seeing my life flash before my eyes!'
Boom!
The Madman took the straight kick head-on. In that instant, he saw light. This wasn't a metaphor; it was a physical phenomenon. Because he was flying backward so fast, his eyes couldn't collect the surrounding light along the path of retreat, only the stronger light, creating the visual illusion of seeing light.
Besides this, the Madman also felt that taking this terrifying straight kick didn't hurt at all. His whole body went numb immediately, as if his flesh was trying to throw his soul out.
When the Madman's vision returned, he was lying in a wide, deep ditch. The moment he opened his eyes, the tip of a long blade was thrusting towards him. The pressure was simply insane.
The Madman used his newly regenerated right arm to block the blade. As the long blade pierced his palm, he forcefully shifted his hand sideways, causing the thrusting blade to stab into the dirt beside his head.
Having dodged this lethal strike, the Madman was about to counterattack when he felt his right arm go numb, followed by it being severed again. He didn't have time to think about how his opponent had done it; he could only use a trump card.
'Black Hole · Devour All Beings.'
Darkness eroded the surrounding tens of kilometers. Then, with the Madman at the center, the darkness was absorbed by him. Countless energy blades made of darkness attacked indiscriminately. After all the dark energy blades converged around the Madman, cutting everything around them to shreds, he released them all in an energy burst.
After unleashing a big move, the Madman finally had a chance to catch his breath. Unfortunately, a long blade slashed towards him. The Madman looked on in disbelief, seeing his opponent, whose eyes glowed with blue light, completely unaffected by the dark energy blades.
Clang~
Half of the Madman's head was slashed off. This caused his right eye to tremble up and down in its socket before being restored as his head regenerated.
"Pfft~"
The Madman couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments. This was the price of taking that kick earlier. However, in his assessment, the battle's win rate had gradually increased from thirty percent to fifty percent.
His greatest advantage was his ability to produce temporary evolutions based on the enemy's attack characteristics. For example, against his current opponent, the first strike had cleanly severed his arm. Now, although the blade was still sharp, there was a noticeable resistance when cutting off his arm.
The Madman didn't show his inner joy. He planned to continue dragging it out until he evolved enough to kill his opponent.
This thought had just surfaced in the Madman's mind when he sensed something was wrong. For some reason, the surroundings had become very quiet. This Technique Grandmaster opponent hadn't continued attacking and had even jumped back a few times.
The Madman saw a set of crimson regalia appear on his opponent. This crimson regalia had a slight feel of battle armor, but was mostly thick fabric. Its purpose was clearly not to defend against physical attacks. Moreover, the collar of this crimson regalia was very high, and with a low hood, even the face wasn't visible. This was clearly not a form for active combat. A complex array of runes at the waist seemed designed to suppress lightning conduction. The Law Destroyer, wearing this crimson regalia, floated a few meters above the ground.
Seeing this, the Madman knew his plan to stall for time had been seen through. Before he could react, he felt an unprecedented sense of dread. Without even needing to sense it, he instinctively looked up at the sky. A massive vortex of dark clouds slowly rotated overhead, golden lightning brewing within.
The Madman stared in shock at the sky. His only thought was: 'This... is this really an ability that an Absolute Strength level cultivator is qualified to use?'
Boom!!!
A lightning pillar dozens of kilometers thick descended, standing between heaven and earth, continuously pouring down golden thunder. The massive beast skeletons in the Giant Beast Burial Ground evaporated. Because this area was under the Void Tree's arbitration, the world thunder didn't spread further into the Ancient Battlefield.
Within the golden lightning, Su Xiao was protected by the crimson regalia. His 'Thunderfall · Soul Core' and 'Limit Constitution · Heaven's Wrath' passive abilities were all activated, granting him high lightning resistance. As his health points dropped, 'Indestructible Constitution' also activated, providing high physical defense.
Even though he wasn't in the Void or a Transcendent Primordial World, using 1180 points of Elemental Affinity to summon lightning was still very dangerous. Fortunately, Su Xiao had 1.66 million health points and various passive abilities boosting him, plus his newly developed crimson regalia, which was an external defense specifically against world thunder.
Su Xiao had obtained the [Blood Soul Grasp], an Eternal Rank necklace, from the Scarlet Monarch's chest. Its core ability was:
'Protective Soul Blood (Core · Passive): Upon activating this ability, immediately consume 95% of soul energy to form a Blood Armor equal to 100% of your maximum health points to protect yourself. After formation, the Blood Armor can maintain a good state for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, even without being attacked, the Blood Armor's health and defense will rapidly decay until it completely shatters after 10 seconds. (Due to your 890 points of Soul Strength, after formation, the Blood Armor will have 712 points of heavy armor-level defense, equal to your Soul Strength × 0.8).'
Su Xiao always believed in using abilities flexibly, not just his own but also equipment abilities. During the formation of this Blood Armor, by manipulating it with his mental energy and stimulating its core structure to formulate lightning defense, he didn't need to interfere further. The Eternal Rank equipment's good adaptability naturally resulted in the crimson regalia.
Inside the crimson regalia, Su Xiao could still feel the pain of world thunder invading his body. As the thunder continued to pour down, the crimson regalia on him gradually tore apart, completely shattering after five seconds.
Within the world thunder domain, Su Xiao landed from mid-air. He slowly swung his long blade forward. With the activation of the 'Heaven's Wrath · Torrent Slash' ability, all the world thunder in the surrounding area was gathered, attaching to the blade. This caused the Dragon-Slaying Flash's durability to suddenly drop by a fifth, but it could be restored through Lide's repairs.
Su Xiao crouched low. The ground around him exploded with a boom, golden lightning spreading from the cracks. With a roar, he vanished, turning into a golden arc of electricity. He reappeared in front of the Madman, slashing down with a blade fully charged with lightning.
Pfft~!
The long blade slashed diagonally across the Madman's chest, cutting him in two. A large spray of black blood droplets flew, and a golden arc of electricity formed the slashing mark, quite spectacular. A clap of thunder sounded in the sky. Having successfully killed his enemy, Su Xiao flicked his blade, and the golden lightning on it dissipated.
The Madman, cut in two, fell to the ground with a thud. World thunder clung to his wounds, preventing regeneration. His originally wild and violent gaze calmed. His body was covered in scorch marks, and lightning patterns climbed from his neck to his cheeks. He let out a long sigh. In truth, after the world thunder had poured down, he had no chance of survival. The 'Abyss Contract' had allowed him to survive the falling thunder. The subsequent 'Heaven's Wrath · Torrent Slash' had sealed his fate. In fact, he owed Su Xiao over half a health bar's worth of damage. Not dying immediately was also due to the 'Abyss Contract' briefly prolonging his life.
Defeated.
This thought surfaced in the Madman's mind. He had one last mutual destruction method, a final ability called 'Glorious Finale'. However, the previous battle had consumed too much of his soul energy.
Just then, the Madman suddenly realized his soul was being ignited. He had activated the 'Glorious Finale' ability without even noticing. This first surprised him. After figuring out what was happening, anger surged within him. This betrayal and scheming from his closest kin drove him nearly mad with rage. But then, he felt a sense of relief, because his own ultimate goal had also been betrayal.
"Heh."
The Madman smiled in the end. The soul explosion spread extremely fast, instantly enveloping a large area around them.
Boom~!!
A blinding white light engulfed everything. Su Xiao, covered in a crystal layer, crouched within the explosion. After a few seconds, the continuous shockwaves weakened and finally subsided. The crystal layer on his body shattered.
Su Xiao wasn't seriously injured. This attack only looked terrifying. The Madman had consumed a lot of soul energy during his constant evolution earlier. Without sufficient soul energy to detonate his own soul, the explosion's power wasn't as terrifying as imagined.
Su Xiao took out a recovery potion, pressed it into an injection gun, and injected it into his arm for the fastest effect. He looked around. The enemy, the Madman, was completely obliterated. His final act of self-detonation was indeed somewhat incongruous.
Especially the relieved look in his eyes during the self-detonation. Logically, when performing a soul self-detonation, he should have been staring intently at his enemy, Su Xiao. Instead, his gaze was somewhat vacant, looking at the sky.
What the truth was, Su Xiao couldn't guess for now. But he knew one thing: the Madman died without a trace, so he couldn't extract his soul memories. Consequently, he couldn't use this to find where Black Hole · Azle was.
Black Hole · Azle possessed 'Dark Blood · Mind', the power to manipulate minds. This explained all of the Madman's actions before his death.
[Prompt: You have killed the Madman.]
[You have obtained 12.6% World Source.]
[You have obtained Eternal Rank Chest · Black Hole · 50% (This chest can be synthesized).]
[You have obtained Abyss Contract (Sealed, this is one of Black Hole · Azle's power sources).]
...
[Prompt: You have defeated this round's opponent.]
[You have become the champion of this Golden Arena. Do you wish to go to the Arena to enjoy the cheers and applause, and participate in the subsequent exhibition match?]
[You have declined to participate in the exhibition match.]
[As the champion of this Golden Arena, you may choose one of the following rewards.]