Chapter 2: Immediately Activate the Quick Auction Platform's Fast Auction Function. Within the Following 10 Minutes, This Permission Will Be Auctioned.
...
Su Xiao chose the second option, and subsequent prompts appeared.
[Pay 50,000 Soul Coins to allow more contractors to see this quick auction, or consume one use of 'Quick Auction Permission 2/2' to bid on this item.]
Su Xiao hadn't previously known he had this permission. After checking the detailed information, he realized it wasn't that he had overlooked it; this permission was only activated after his brand reached Lv.95. Generally, it was a privilege for high-ranking merchants or workers in the mid-to-late stages.
After setting a starting price of 1 Soul Coin, the auction began. The permission for the World of Paintings was notarized into a 'Permission Item.' Beside it was the current bid price, and below were three operations Su Xiao could perform: 'Settle in 5 Seconds,' 'Settle Immediately,' and 'Failed Auction.' An unjustified failed auction would deduct a certain penalty fee.
The popularity of the 'World of Paintings Revenue Share Permission' far exceeded Su Xiao's imagination. He had always felt this item was somewhat useless, but to all the bidders present, the sentiment was: someone is actually willing to sell this thing?
After a round of bidding, the World of Paintings Revenue Share Permission was finally sold for 968,530 Soul Coins. Strangely enough, both the buyer and seller felt they had made a profit. For Su Xiao, how many world progressions would it take to earn 960,000 Soul Coins? At least 20 to 30? Perhaps more.
His wallet had been bolstered again, but compared to the extravagance of having over 5 million Soul Coins earlier, he was now only moderately wealthy. Technique-type contractors had exorbitant costs for improving their abilities in the later stages.
Checking his storage space, Su Xiao sold the 42 ordinary Origin Stones he had accumulated at a market price of 5,160 Soul Coins each. These items sold very quickly. As soon as he handed them to Beini to put on the stall, a passing merchant bought them, netting him another 200,000 Soul Coins.
Su Xiao took out [Ancient Dragon Soul Stone · Unique (Ultra-High Rarity Item, ???)]. This was one of the rewards for killing the Ancient King. He had originally planned to keep this item for further study, but he was currently too poor to even upgrade his three main technique abilities. Moreover, his power system was unrelated to the Ancient Dragon faction. Keeping this rare item, which was 99% likely to be a skill inheritance stone, would probably be useless.
He placed it into the team storage space. Beini, who was in the Great Gathering Place, began contacting buyers. Such items were relatively easy to sell, especially with the intimidating 'Unique' suffix. However, the buyers she contacted were also old foxes.
Ultimately, the item was sold for 510,000 Soul Coins. The reason was that the Ancient Dragon faction was a Transcendent Primordial World that had already declined. If it were a unique item from an existing Transcendent Primordial World, the price would definitely be over a million Soul Coins.
With this income, Su Xiao continued to upgrade Melee Grandmaster and Blood Spear Grandmaster, consuming a total of 1,567,500 Soul Coins and 165 Soul Crystals. Both Melee Grandmaster and Blood Spear Grandmaster reached Lv.91.
[Melee Grandmaster: Lv.91 (Technique · Passive)]
Skill Effect: Kick damage rank +47 (increased by 13), Physical toughness increased by 58% (increased by 5.5%).
Lv.10 Ultimate Ability: Power Penetration · Kick Basic Enhancement (Arcane Level · Passive)...
...
...
Lv.70 Ultimate Ability: Power Penetration · Kick Sixth Enhancement (Arcane Level · Passive)...
Lv.80 Ultimate Ability: Power Penetration · Kick Seventh Enhancement (Arcane Level · Passive): Kick attack judgment upgraded to 'Flight Level,' with a chance to trigger the 'Death Regression' effect on the enemy, thereby reducing the enemy's evasion probability.
Lv.90 Ultimate Ability: Power Penetration · Kick Eighth Enhancement (Absolute Strength Level · Passive): Kick attack judgment upgraded to 'Annihilation Level,' with a chance to cause a moderate separation of the enemy's body and soul, resulting in a strong control effect of soul characteristics.
...
[Prompt: Your Blood Spear Grandmaster ability has been upgraded to Lv.90. Your passive ability 'Death and Rebirth' has been absorbed by Blood Spear Grandmaster.]
[Death and Rebirth (Passive): When your HP drops to a near-death state, your soul power will be fully activated. During this period, all your melee attack damage is increased by 65%.]
[Blood Spear Grandmaster: Lv.91 (Passive)]
Skill Effect: Blood Qi attack rank +54 (increased by 21). Any Blood Qi-based attack will reduce the enemy's total defense by 30% (increased by 7%).
Blood Qi Intensity: 440 points (increased by 105 points).
Basic Effect: When your HP drops to a near-death state, your soul power will be fully activated. During this period, all your melee attack damage is increased by 65% (current near-death HP is when maximum HP is below 20%).
Lv.90 Ultimate Ability: Blood Master (Absolute Strength Level · Passive): When your HP is only 1%, all your remaining soul energy, mental energy, and 80% of your body energy will be instantly transformed into Blood Qi power through the Devouring Core. This massive amount of Blood Qi power will protect your 'Primordial Life Force' for 6 seconds...
Prompt: During the 6 seconds of activating 'Blood Master,' the basic effect of this ability, 'all melee attack damage increased by 65%,' is temporarily increased to 'all melee attack damage increased by 100%.'
...
Soul Coins remaining: 127,750. The good news was that the mining team's earnings had arrived, still delivered by Crystal Ji.
"Hoo~"
Crystal Ji took a sip of Maple Tea. Her slightly pale complexion indicated she was recovering from an injury, but she deliberately tried to hide it with light makeup. Strangely, her 'makeup skills were poor,' so she couldn't fully conceal it. This gave the impression: 'I'm injured, afraid you'll worry, so I won't let you know, but the makeup didn't work, and you found out anyway. I can't help it.'
"Sigh~, every time I come here tirelessly, you always ask why my sister didn't come. It's fine, I won't be sad."
As Crystal Ji spoke, Baha, crouching on the back of the sofa nearby, felt a headache. She was his ultimate nemesis.
"So, that's your reason for stabbing Boiling Red through the back with your bare hands?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Crystal Ji, holding her teacup with both hands, averted her gaze slightly and argued, "A little conflict between sisters is normal."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He slammed the terminal onto the table with a crack. On the terminal's screen, Crystal Ji was walking and talking side by side with Boiling Red. As they walked, Crystal Ji's pace slowed slightly, then she suddenly stabbed Boiling Red through the back with her bare hand. While pressing Boiling Red's head to the ground with one hand, Crystal Ji, her pale cheeks stained with specks of blood, showed a barely suppressed, gleeful smile.
Seeing these images, Crystal Ji's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. She muttered softly, "It must be that bastard Sun Apostle. Black A would never do something like snitching behind my back."
"10 seconds. I'll give you 10 seconds to explain."
Su Xiao set a mechanical pocket watch timer and placed it on the table.
"I just wanted to see you. If I don't see you for a day, I... I..."
Tick, tock, tick, tock~
As the countdown entered the last five seconds, the pocket watch emitted a crisp, pleasant mechanical sound. This made Crystal Ji's breathing quicken. She couldn't withstand the overwhelming pressure coming her way. Just as she was about to fabricate another excuse, the countdown ended. The Demon Spirit appeared beside her, slinging an arm around her shoulder.
"Let me explain again, I..."
The Demon Spirit enveloped Crystal Ji and walked towards the planting area, followed by a splash of water.
Half an hour later, Crystal Ji, barely alive, lay by the Eternal Spring pool. Her clothes were soaked, and tears hadn't yet been wiped away. Although she could still maintain some elegance and composure, she was terrified. The experience of being dragged by the Demon Spirit and drowned in darkness and liquid was unforgettable for Crystal Ji.
"I really just suddenly felt like doing it. I don't know the reason myself."
Crystal Ji looked at Su Xiao with innocent eyes, as if she had been wronged.
Su Xiao had always acknowledged Crystal Ji's acting skills. He recalled the Demon Spirit, turned around, and walked away, saying, "Is that so? Then I wronged you."
Crystal Ji left, still shaken. After she left, Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder and asked, "Boss, those guys are up to no good again. Should I go and knock some sense into them?"
"No need."
Su Xiao knew the Devourers wouldn't behave. Black A, Boiling Red, Sun Apostle, and Crystal Ji—except for Boiling Red, who was trustworthy like a biological daughter, the others were either rebellious sons, filial sons, or elegant, scheming bitches with a bit of a twisted side.
This time, the mining team's total earnings were 358,600 Soul Coins. After deducting the shares for other parties, Su Xiao received 179,300 Soul Coins.
After meditating to stabilize his aura, Su Xiao attempted to upgrade Blade Grandmaster.
[To upgrade Blade Grandmaster Lv.95, you need to consume 100 Soul Crystals + 750,000 Soul Coins, and 1 'Primordial Core.']
The cost of upgrading Blade Grandmaster was simply outrageous. This was actually normal because after this technique ability reached Lv.95, it reached the conventional maximum level. For Technique Grandmasters to further upgrade this ability, they needed to undergo 'Extreme Enlightenment.'
Sometimes, this enlightenment was triggered after a deadly battle, allowing a one-level upgrade in Blade Grandmaster. Other times, it came from arriving in a brand-new world. More often than not, they were forever stuck at this point.
The reason Su Xiao was so smooth, breaking through the limit immediately after reaching the 'Conventional Maximum Level' of Blade Grandmaster, was due to the effect of [Origin Stone · World].
[Equipment Effect 2: Power (Passive), You will gain a permanent boost. The level cap for all skills in your skill list is increased by Lv.10 (This bonus can only be triggered when your True Stamina attribute reaches 500 points).]
This meant that Su Xiao's Blade Grandmaster ability would have a smooth path until it reached Lv.105. Although the resource consumption for upgrading was astonishing, other Technique Grandmasters would be more than willing to have this opportunity. Compared to the elusive 'Extreme Enlightenment,' this tangible and achievable upgrade requirement was much more reliable.
This was the only bonus Su Xiao had ever seen that increased the level cap of a 'Basic Technique Ability.' Other bonuses, such as 'Increase level cap of all technique abilities' or 'Increase level cap of blade abilities,' actually upgraded the blade abilities derived from the 'Basic Technique Ability,' not the basic ability itself.
Su Xiao checked his remaining 291 Golden Skill Points. He opened his skill list, pondered for a moment, stood up, and went to the upgrade room. He opened the Skill Upgrade Pod, sat inside, and enjoyed the buff that reduced the mortality rate when upgrading skills. Only then did he begin upgrading his Law Destruction faction abilities.
Su Xiao first upgraded the 'Spirit Shadow Constitution' ability, investing 10 Golden Skill Points. He immediately fell into a dream.
When he woke up feeling a bit lightheaded, the 'Spirit Shadow Constitution' ability had returned from X to X. After reaching max level, the light golden shimmer on the skill name reappeared.
[Spirit Shadow Constitution, X (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect 1: Mana and body merge, creating a wonderful resonance. Mana and HP form a good cycle, greatly enhancing HP. The increase is 100% of total Mana.
Note: Current Mana: 116,779 points. HP increased by 116,779 points.
Skill Effect 2: Movement speed +45%, Dynamic perception +95% (Speed increased by 30%, Dynamic perception increased by 15%).
Skill Effect 3: Body perception potential limit +7 (increased by 3).
Skill Effect 4: Current total HP increased by 20% (no increase).
Skill Effect 5: Body adaptability to all Law Destruction faction energies increased. When mastering new Law Destruction faction abilities and upgrading such abilities, mortality rate reduced by 60% (increased by 15%).
...
Seeing the improvement in 'Spirit Shadow Constitution,' Su Xiao felt much more at ease. Combined with the 'Unyielding Shadow (Exclusive Passive)' obtained after reaching 300 points in Stamina, the two together reduced the mortality rate for upgrading Law Destruction faction abilities by 85%.
With this foundation, Su Xiao used 30 Golden Skill Points to max out 'Indestructible Constitution,' 'Dragon Shadow Flash,' and 'Soul Electrification.' The next second, he fell into a dream again. It had to be said, the sleep quality today was truly top-notch.
An hour later, Su Xiao sat up. This time, he didn't feel lightheaded. He checked the three upgraded abilities.
[Indestructible Constitution, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect: When your HP drops to 70%, your body defense will be 'massively' increased based on your True Strength, True Agility, True Stamina, and True Intelligence attributes.
Increase amount: True Strength + True Agility + True Stamina + True Intelligence, total × 0.5 (Maximum increase of 950 body defense points, already reached the limit).
...
This improvement was a qualitative change. Previously, it was triggered only when Su Xiao's HP was below 50%. Now it was raised to 70%. Moreover, the maximum increase limit was raised from 800 points to 950 points.
In comparison, the 'Soul Electrification' ability only increased the trigger probability, from 15% per slash to 25%. At first glance, this seemed like a small increase, but for Su Xiao, it mainly improved the efficiency of accumulating to 100% for a guaranteed trigger.
[Dragon Shadow Flash: X (Active Ability)]
Skill Effect: Can teleport through space for 50 meters (increased by 15 meters). Free choice between 0 to 50 meters (This ability has the highest priority space judgment).
Prompt: Dragon Shadow Flash cooldown is 2 minutes (this is the most stable interval).
Prompt: Each use of Dragon Shadow Flash consumes 1,500 points of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy.
Prompt: Space penetration state can be maintained for 0.2 to 3 seconds (duration determined by user's will).
New Feature 1: For every 1 hour this ability is not used, it stores one use. Current maximum storage is 3/3. Before all uses are consumed, this ability will not enter cooldown.
New Feature 2: If a vitality-rich enemy target is successfully killed, its life force will be devoured through the Devouring Core, converted into space-attribute, attribute-less energy, immediately replenishing 1 use of Dragon Shadow Flash.
...
Simply put, Dragon Shadow Flash would now only enter cooldown after three uses. In a one-versus-many group battle, Su Xiao could use Dragon Shadow Flash very frequently.
Su Xiao continued to check his skill list. With the previous foundation, he selected five abilities to upgrade: 'Technique Resonance · Burst,' 'Devouring Core,' 'Adaptive Force,' 'Soul Severing Shadow,' and 'Demon Spirit Awakening.' After investing 50 Golden Skill Points, he fell into a dream once again.
Two hours later, Su Xiao sat up. He first checked the 'Technique Resonance · Burst' ability and found it was still pure, only increasing body speed, but the increase was greater. It had skyrocketed from a 2.604x body speed increase to a 4.155x body speed increase. This made Su Xiao feel like everything around him had slowed down, and he needed a moment to adapt.
Such an increase was already exaggerated in the mid-game, and even more so in the late game. Su Xiao felt that he could now face the terrifying speed of the Initial Witch without fear.
[Devouring Core: X (Active Skill)]
Skill Effect: Can absorb high-level biological energy/rare soul energy to nourish Cyan Steel Shadow Energy. Based on the level and quality of absorbed energy, it increases the level and intensity of Cyan Steel Shadow abilities.
Passive Effect 1: Filtered energy purity +90% (increased by 14%).
Passive Effect 2: Energy absorption speed increased by 15 times (11.8 times).
Passive Effect 3: Devouring Core energy storage limit increased by 800% (no increase).
Passive Effect 4: When absorbing high-level biological energy/rare soul energy, it will inflict an energy paralysis effect on the enemy (this paralysis effect has priority but can only be triggered when absorbing high-level biological energy).
Passive Effect 5: Gain sensory enhancement for high-level biological energy/rare soul energy. Your sense of smell and taste will incorporate these two types of energy into the cognitive judgment of 'delicious delicacies.'
...
Su Xiao's Devouring Core ability previously had the characteristic of devouring high-level biological energy to increase the level of Cyan Steel Shadow abilities. The problem was that it was difficult to encounter targets with such high-level biological energy.
Now, the scope of devouring had broadened slightly, including not only high-level biological energy but also rare soul energy. Although these two types of energy were still scarce, Su Xiao could now detect their presence through his sense of smell, like smelling the aroma of food.
[Adaptive Force, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect: Based on the enemy's characteristics, increase 70 to 100 points of non-reducible True Resistance!
Prompt: 'True Resistance' has absolute priority. Enemies cannot reduce this resistance through any means.
...
This ability was low-key yet powerful. It had already saved Su Xiao's life countless times. Now its intensity had skyrocketed. The specific intensity would need to be experienced in actual combat.
[Soul Severing Shadow: X (Active)]
Existing Soul Cores: Cyan Steel, Burst, Soul Sever, Blade Spirit, Thunderclap, Darkness.
Total Soul Core Slots: 6/15 (6 Soul Core slots occupied).
...
The maximum number of Soul Core slots had increased from 12 to 15. This would only show its effect when further developing the Soul Severing Shadow ability in the future.
At this stage, Su Xiao was still in the preliminary mastery phase of Soul Severing Shadow. Although the ability had been upgraded to max level, it wasn't that he didn't want to develop it further. Deep development before advancing to Supreme Rank could easily cause his body to be unable to withstand it, leading to sudden death.
[Demon Spirit Awakening: X (Unique Skill)]
Passive Effect: Fully release the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash. For the next 30 seconds, the Blade Demon Spirit will enter 'Rampant Devouring State.' During this period, if it attacks an Indestructible · Abyss Spawn (increased by 20%) with HP below 30%, the Blade Demon Spirit will devour all the primordial power of this Abyss Spawn and seal it within Dragon-Slaying Flash.
...
In layman's terms, this raised the devouring/kill line for Indestructible · Abyss Spawns from the original 10% to 30%. Very practical.
The upgrades weren't over yet. Su Xiao selected five more abilities: 'Time · Dominator,' 'Perfect Constitution,' 'Combat Prosthesis,' 'Supreme Blade,' and 'Magic Null Constitution.' Among them, 'Magic Null Constitution' hadn't reached X before, so he invested an additional 5 Golden Skill Points.
With a total of 55 Golden Skill Points invested, Su Xiao fell into a dream for the fourth time today. When he woke up, over three hours had passed. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini were all gathered around the bed, extremely worried. Seeing Su Xiao awake, they all visibly relaxed.
Su Xiao checked 'Time · Dominator' and found that its intensity had only increased. The duration of the time field within a 10-meter diameter range had increased from 0.2 to 0.5 seconds to 0.2 to 1 second. Don't underestimate this increase. In the current tier of combat, a 0.5-second difference was the distance between life and death.
[Perfect Constitution, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect: For every 5 points your True Strength, True Agility, True Stamina, and True Intelligence attributes increase, this ability will grant an additional 1 point to the corresponding body attribute.
Prompt: For every 10 points you increase your main body attributes, you will permanently increase 1 point of abnormal attribute resistance.
...
The characteristic of the Perfect Constitution ability was that the earlier you mastered it, the stronger its features would be. Unfortunately, Su Xiao only mastered this ability in the late Ninth Rank stage.
However, upon careful calculation, the subsequent bonuses from this ability were still quite strong. Su Xiao's Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence attributes were all at 634 points. They were still 166 points away from 800 points each. This meant that the Perfect Constitution ability could subsequently increase abnormal attribute resistance by over 60 points, not to mention that after advancing to Supreme Rank, body attributes could be increased beyond 800 points.
Checking the 'Supreme Blade' ability, its characteristic was that Dragon-Slaying Flash could now only devour Eternal-level blade-type weapons. As a benefit, Dragon-Slaying Flash's rating cap had increased to 12,000 points.
It was important to know that Eternal-level was the highest quality in the equipment system, with a rating of 3,000 to 6,000 points. Previously, Dragon-Slaying Flash's rating could reach 3,000 to 10,500 points, which was already extremely rare. Now, reaching 3,000 to 12,000 points was the absolute pinnacle.
Dragon-Slaying Flash's potential had skyrocketed, but to cultivate it, many Eternal-level long blades were needed. At a price of 400,000 to 500,000 Soul Coins per Eternal-level high-rating long blade, Su Xiao's wallet ached faintly.
[Combat Prosthesis, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Increase Aoge state intensity by 960% (increased by 140%). Crystal formation and attachment speed increased by 98% (increased by 6%). Crystal stability super-massively increased.
Skill Effect 2: If upper or lower limbs are missing (arms and legs), combat prostheses can be quickly formed using Aoge crystals to replace the function of the missing limbs. Combat prostheses can stably exist for 45,000 natural days.
Combat Prosthesis Strength: 99% restoration (increased by 4%).
Combat Prosthesis Speed: 98% restoration (increased by 5%).
Combat Prosthesis Touch: 95% restoration (increased by 5%).
Combat Prosthesis Nervous System: 93% restoration (increased by 8%).
Prompt: During the existence of combat prostheses, the current Mana cap is reduced by 5% to 10% (depending on the number of prostheses formed). The reduced Mana cap is used to stabilize and maintain the combat prostheses. When the combat prostheses are deactivated, the reduced Mana cap is immediately restored, but the equivalent amount of Mana is not restored.
...
The restoration degree of the combat prostheses was already quite high, but honestly, original limbs were still better to use. Although the difference was only slight, it still existed in life-and-death battles. However, compared to having no arms or legs after amputation, Combat Prosthesis was a divine skill.
[Magic Null Constitution, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Cannot master/learn any spell-type skills.
Skill Effect 2: Immune to 70% of magic-type damage.
Prompt: This passive ability has the highest priority and can immunize against True Magic Damage, Holy Magic Damage, and Execution-type Magic Damage.
...
The effect of Magic Null Constitution was still so simple and unadorned, and it made magic-type users despair. No matter how you looked at it, immunizing 70% of magic damage was an incredibly outrageous passive ability. However, considering the ratio of numbers and casualties when Law Destroyers clashed with Spellcasters, the existence of this ability was perfectly reasonable.
After upgrading over a dozen abilities in succession, Su Xiao meditated for a moment to stabilize his aura. When his condition recovered, he simultaneously upgraded seven basic passives and one basic technique passive: 'Basic Passive · Power Source,' 'Basic Passive · Shadow Speed,' 'Basic Passive · Recovery,' 'Basic Passive · Body Soul,' 'Basic Passive · Awakening,' 'Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness,' 'Basic Passive · Blood Awakening,' and 'Technique Sublimation.'
With a total of 80 Golden Skill Points consumed, Su Xiao fell into a dream for the fifth time today. The excellent sleep quality meant he wouldn't feel like sleeping much for the next few days.
This time, Su Xiao woke up in less than half an hour. Although it seemed like he had upgraded many types of abilities, the gains from these abilities were actually quite simple: increased attack power, strength, speed, perception, and stamina cap. This stamina cap was unrelated to HP; it was about endurance in battle.
There were still four abilities Su Xiao wanted to upgrade. He assessed his condition and, feeling he could handle it, maxed out 'Soul Blade · Secondary Weapon,' 'Ultimate · Basic Passive · Overlord Power,' 'Technique Sublimation · Supreme Blade,' and 'Body Sublimation · Ascension Power.' This time, the feeling was similar to upgrading Law Destruction faction abilities, so the sleep quality was very good.
When Su Xiao woke up, the first thing he saw was Bubu Wang yawning. As he stood up, compared to the previous times, his condition upon waking was unprecedentedly good. He checked the time and found he had slept for ten hours. It seemed that upgrading over 20 abilities in a row had been too much for his body, causing him to fall into a natural sleep.
[Soul Blade · Secondary Weapon (Passive, X)]
Skill Effect 1: Your Aoge ability's overall intensity increased by 80% (increased by 50).
Skill Effect 2: You can use crystals generated by your Aoge ability to form adaptive weapons. The slashing, blunt, and penetrating power of this weapon will be based on your soul strength and body energy cap.
...
This ability was originally intended for the Demon Spirit to form weapons. However, in actual combat, Su Xiao found that the Demon Spirit wasn't very good at using this ability, but he himself found it exceptionally handy.
For example, when an enemy was too strong, he would attach a large amount of crystals to Dragon-Slaying Flash and slash at the enemy. The crystals on the blade would explode, both cushioning the blow and providing lethal sharp crystal fragments.
[Technique Sublimation · Supreme Blade: X (Technique Type · Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Blade-type weapon attack power increased by +1580% (increased by 300%).
Skill Effect 2: Blade technique power increased by 1580% (increased by 300%).
Skill Effect 3: Blade technique potential rank +27 (increased by 6).
Skill Effect 4: Blade technique upgrade cost +50%, upgrade effect +50% (this characteristic cannot be improved by any means).
...
[Body Sublimation · Ascension Power: X (Technique Type · Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: In melee combat, kick attack power increased by 480% (increased by 110%).
Skill Effect 2: In melee combat, kick attack power increased by 780% (increased by 210%).
Skill Effect 3: In melee combat, kick attack power increased by 1420% (increased by 320%).
Skill Effect 4: Melee Grandmaster upgrade cost +50%, upgrade effect +50% (this characteristic cannot be improved by any means).
...
What was the advantage of Su Xiao's direct kick ability? The answer was focus. All his skills that enhanced direct kicks were dedicated to stacking attack power to the extreme, resulting in this monstrous ability.
[Ultimate · Basic Passive · Overlord Power, X]
Skill Effect: Increase HP by 250,000 points. All attributes +40 points. Immunize 25% of physical damage (increased by 5%). Immunize 25% of energy damage (increased by 5%). All potential limit ranks +11 (increased by 3). All technique ability level caps +11 (increased by 3, basic technique skills cannot trigger this bonus).
...
Another 50,000 HP gained. This brought Su Xiao's HP cap to 2.08 million points.
There were still Golden Skill Points remaining, but the problem was that there were no more skills to add. In fact, the [Origin Stone · World]'s effect of increasing all skill level caps by Lv.10 also had exceptions. 'Magic Devouring Constitution' was one such exception.
[Magic Devouring Constitution, X (Passive)]
Skill Effect: When the Demon Spirit devours the primordial energy of an Indestructible · Abyss Spawn to gain Demon Spirit energy, you can use the Devouring Core to seize 50% of the Demon Spirit's gained Demon Spirit energy. Then, using the Devouring Core, convert it into permanent beneficial energy that your own constitution can absorb, thereby increasing your 'all potential limit ranks' and 'Abyss Resistance.'
...
Why wasn't this ability upgraded? The reason was that upgrading the level cap of this ability had over a 90% chance of bringing fatal consequences. 'Magic Devouring Constitution' was stable in its current state, but once changed, it would immediately become extremely unstable. Therefore, under the judgment of Reincarnation Paradise, the upgrade for this ability was rejected, triggering the protection mechanism of the Hunter's Brand.
Of course, if one didn't need this protection mechanism and insisted on upgrading 'Magic Devouring Constitution,' it was possible, but Su Xiao didn't plan to do so.
Arriving at the planting area, he sat under the Black Maple Tree, listening to the sound of the Eternal Spring water cascading down. Su Xiao meditated with an unusually calm heart. This gradually stabilized his aura, which had become unstable due to the massive power increase. The ability of Heart Meditation seemed useless in the early stages and a waste of time to upgrade, but in the late game, it was definitely one of the divine skills.
Speaking of which, although Su Xiao had upgraded many abilities, his combat system was becoming more refined. He stacked various passives, making the concept of 'normal attacks being ultimate moves' increasingly powerful. Of course, he would also use other ultimate moves in battle, such as Azure Shadow King, Heaven's Wrath · Torrent Slash, and a few other abilities.
Su Xiao raised his four main attributes to 646 points, upgraded Blade Grandmaster to Lv.95, Melee Grandmaster and Blood Spear Grandmaster to Lv.91, and a total of 26 abilities broke through their limits, reaching unprecedented heights. The combination of these power increases left him with a slight sense of confusion: where exactly did his combat power stand in the tier system?
Top tier of Absolute Strength? Definitely stronger than that. The absolute pinnacle of Absolute Strength? Not quite there yet, but probably not far off. Moreover, his power increase this time wasn't over. He still had 31,455 ounces of Space-Time Power to use and 80 Law-Destroying Skill Points that hadn't been added.
In the past, to judge his own strength, he could go to the Tree Arena notarized by the Void Tree. Now, they wouldn't let Su Xiao participate. While browsing the function list, he casually opened the Tree Arena list and unexpectedly found that the match prompt had changed from the previously untriggerable gray to a triggerable gold-red color. He tried to match.
[Welcome to the Tree Arena.]
[As the Hunter's combat power exceeds 99% of the competitors, regular competitions are no longer open to you.]
[You can participate in: Overlord Arena.]
[Yes/No Participate.]
...
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao was quite surprised. He could actually fight against Overlord units in the arena. This was pretty good. He chose to match.
[Prompt: You have matched as an Overlord unit.]
[As you are the Overlord unit, you do not need to pay Ancient Coins (this currency can only be used in the Tree Arena shop to purchase Tree Arena exclusive supplies).]
[Competition rules: Each challenger pays 100 Ancient Coins. If the challengers win, they will receive double the reward. If you, as the Overlord unit, win, you will receive all the Ancient Coins prepaid by the challengers (if cheating such as collusion is discovered, both parties' arena participation rights will be permanently revoked).]
[Number of challengers this time: 58.]
[Total Ancient Coin pool this time: 5,800 coins.]
[The competition will start in 30 seconds. Please prepare your equipment.]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao realized he had guessed wrong. This wasn't him fighting against an Overlord unit; he himself was the Overlord unit.
At this moment, in a luxurious waiting room in the Tree Arena, the 58 competitors here all received the match success prompt. These Apocalypse Paradise contractors were initially surprised, then burst into cheerful chatter. They weren't members of the same adventure group or team. After each world progression, they would come to the Tree Arena to challenge Overlord units to obtain Ancient Coins. They had even formed a small faction called the Overlord Hunters.
Now, 58 Overlord Hunters had all matched into a single battle. How to deal with large-sized Overlord units? They knew it all too well. So, the air in the luxurious waiting room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. However, it remained to be seen whether these Overlord Hunters had any experience dealing with a humanoid Overlord unit.