Chapter 25: Chips
The dark-golden [Power Fragment] floated before Su Xiao. He had once thought this [Power Fragment] would be beyond his reach, but unexpectedly, a fate-type ability user he hadn't anticipated allowed him to obtain it.
However, even now, Su Xiao still couldn't figure out why the old monster of the Great Library, the Eyeless Sage, had invited this fate-type user through his trusted subordinates and paid a heavy price to enhance the fortune of the opposing side.
Given the current situation, Su Xiao and the Great Library were clearly enemies, and the attitude the Great Library had previously shown only deepened this hostility. This recent action was truly baffling.
That old monster, who had survived from the First Era using Abyss power, with a soul aura so decayed it stank, had unfathomable schemes.
Even more perplexing was that, among the two major forces of Twilight City—the Monarch Faction and the Great Library—the one that had helped Su Xiao more was actually the Great Library, his enemy.
On the Monarch Faction's side, Blazing Sun Monarch·Ashrot had never shown himself, not even indicating a desire to meet Su Xiao. His three trusted aides—Finance Minister·Blackbersha, the Sun Warrior leader, and the old noble·Augustus—also had no intention of meeting Su Xiao, except for Augustus, who occasionally came forward to negotiate.
Su Xiao was currently representing Twilight City in the [King's Trial]. If he truly completed this trial, the Monarch Faction would have to hand over the [Blazing Sun Blood] as per the initial agreement. This also meant that Blazing Sun Monarch·Ashrot, having lost the [Blazing Sun Blood], would die within a few months.
Do not forget, the [Blazing Sun Blood] was the symbol of the Sun God Clan, the blood of power passed down from the first Sun King to the present. No matter how one looked at it, even if Su Xiao completed the King's Trial and emerged as the final victor among the three teams, the Monarch Faction had no intention of handing over the [Blazing Sun Blood].
Moreover, Blazing Sun Monarch·Ashrot was currently the strongest on the surface in Twilight City, at the peak of his personal power as a Supreme. Although he was at the lower-middle tier of Supreme, do not doubt the might of a Supreme. Even the least substantial Supreme could single-handedly take on a large group of Absolute Strong.
The Absolute Strong level was more of a transitional and accumulation phase, while the Supreme level was the highest echelon in the Star Realm. Even now, only the Supreme Being and the Tuanzhang had surpassed this limit.
Given that the Monarch Faction would inevitably renege on their promise later, the help from the Great Library's old monster no longer seemed out of place.
Su Xiao estimated that after he defeated the fourth strong enemy, the Monarch Faction might turn hostile. Because of this, they weren't urgent about demanding the [Sun Source Stones]. After defeating the Beast God and the High Tower Knight, he already held two [Sun Source Stones]. For the Monarch Faction, this wasn't enough to provoke a full-blown conflict with a Law Destroyer, but what about four or more?
Conversely, the Great Library's old monster had a low desire for the [Sun Source Stones]. Their intention was likely the [Blazing Sun Blood]. That old monster had survived into the Third Era, probably at his limit. To continue living, targeting the Sun God Clan's treasure, the [Blazing Sun Blood], was only natural.
This clarified Su Xiao's strategy. Initially, he would continue cooperating with the Monarch Faction, which would likely last until he defeated the fourth strong enemy. After that, he would consider cooperating with the old monster to scheme against the Monarch Faction and seize the [Blazing Sun Blood], which he needed to complete his main mission.
Until he obtained the [Blazing Sun Blood], cooperation with the Great Library's old monster would be stable. However, once he had it, the old monster might immediately turn on him.
It might seem like Su Xiao was constantly switching sides, but that wasn't the case. From the moment he entered this world until now, he had never joined any faction. He himself was an independent faction. His cooperation with the Monarch Faction and the old monster wasn't submission but equal partnership.
If either side showed disrespect, Su Xiao would make them understand that something called a [Sun Holy Sword] could instantly raise their politeness to a full 100 points.
In simple terms, cooperation with individuals, like with the great noble·Lucius, required trust and personal rapport, balancing both before considering profit. Conversely, cooperation between factions had only one standard: profit.
For example, if an enemy of Su Xiao approached the Monarch Faction and told Blazing Sun Monarch·Ashrot that they had a way to resolve the blood curse weakening the Sun God Clan, restoring their prosperity, with the condition of eliminating Su Xiao, then Ashrot and his trusted aides would immediately mobilize all forces in Twilight City to surround and kill Su Xiao, leaving him no escape.
With the subsequent plan becoming clearer, Su Xiao weighed his options again. Having only the Monarch Faction and the Great Library made the waters a bit too clear. It would be best to involve another faction to muddy them.
The soul madmen of the Soul Academy seemed like the best choice, but in reality, they weren't. After visiting the Soul Academy, Su Xiao found that those madmen weren't mad at all. While their power system development was indeed extreme—no longer satisfied with opening holes in their heads, they started opening holes in their torsos and limbs—if one observed closely, they would see that beneath the madness, the Soul Academy had a very rational development path. They invested 80% of their resources into techniques and array diagrams. For soul-type users, the strength of technique studies had little impact.
The problem was that constructing a [Super·World-Level Teleportation Array] to break through the world's prison required the highest-level technique studies, array studies, and space studies as a foundation.
Additionally, the Soul Academy was located in [Spirit Crown City], a large city with a population of several million. Compared to Twilight City's hundreds of millions, [Spirit Crown City] was insignificant. Yet, this city allowed the Soul Academy to develop in an orderly manner, with technological advancement and economy several tiers above [Sacred Heart City], which had tens of millions of people.
So, never mistake the Soul Academy for irrational madmen; doing so would cost dearly. In contrast, the Divine Cult of [Sacred Heart City] were the real madmen.
The Divine Cult believed in distortion and pain, trusting that after enduring immense physical suffering, the body would undergo a rebirth-like transformation. The Giant Armor Knights and Holy Preachers still had some rationality, but the Ascetics bearing the Mark of Pain had negative sanity. The Ascetics' power came from pain; the more injured they were, the stronger they became. When severely wounded and near death, they might even mutate into divine beasts, though this was only a rumor.
If this were true, then the [Mutated Beast God] in the Divine Exile Grounds might indeed have been formed from the mutation of a divine existence.
Following this line of thought, the existence in the Divine Exile Grounds might have been the result of the Divine Cult's all-or-nothing attempt, which ultimately failed.
The [Mutated Beast God] they raised by feeding it mutated gods did not respond to their prayers and even killed Divine Cult members who dared appear before it. The 'god' they created neither reached the expected top-tier Supreme strength nor possessed divinity.
This caused the Divine Cult, which had once threatened Twilight City as a top-tier power in this world, to decline into a super-first-rate force.
The Divine Cult was unwilling to accept this. They even captured [Immortals] one by one and fed them to the exile grounds. The result was that the [Mutated Beast God], having devoured too many [Immortals], also became an [Immortal], completely ruining the Divine Cult's plan.
After lying dormant for years, the Divine Cult was now stirring again, but they lacked a reason to enter the fray. Thinking of this, Su Xiao took out a communicator and contacted Xiao. When the connection was established, he asked:
"Where are you?"
"Behind you."
"..."
Su Xiao put down the communicator. He had to admit, as the strongest assassin, he hadn't sensed her presence at all. He took out a bottle of Elemental Brew and poured wine into two glasses on the coffee table.
Xiao, who had sat down on the single sofa opposite, declined: "I don't plan to drink today."
Hearing this, Su Xiao looked up at Xiao and said with slight regret: "Is that so? This is a fine wine aged for a hundred years under the Starry Sky Giant Tree."
Su Xiao's words, along with the faint wood-element aura slowly emanating from the Elemental Brew, made Xiao silent for a few seconds before she picked up the glass and took a sip. This caused her slightly furrowed brows to relax.
"An assassin should adapt to circumstances."
Xiao even defended her earlier statement about not drinking today. It seemed the infamous Lady Xiao wasn't as cold and indifferent as the rumors suggested.
"Who's the target?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He took out a photo. It was a mid-level member of the Divine Cult, information found by Bubu Wang after hacking into the Soul Tower's spiritual network.
The Soul Academy's technology tree leaned toward biological characteristics, but with Bubu Wang's skill, hacking a biological characteristic spiritual network was no problem. However, a dog wearing an auxiliary operation claw and manipulating a bunch of tech-side processors was indeed a sight to behold.
Strangely enough, Su Xiao initially thought Bubu Wang would develop in a support direction, but instead, he became the team's tech specialist.
Bubu Wang liked this kind of combat support that required no movement, only brainpower. Laziness was the biggest driving force behind his tech tree skill upgrades. After reaching the Absolute Strong level in frontal cortex strength, he even dared to use a neural output system to fight enemies in the public void network.
If he went to a tech-side world, Bubu Wang would undoubtedly become the team's main damage dealer. Against pure mechanical tech or enemies with transplanted tech prosthetics or combat prosthetics, Bubu Wang, equipped with the neural output system, could achieve wireless intrusion. He could then issue wrong or overload commands to such enemies, leaving them dead or half-dead.
However, this tech-side powerhouse was currently pressed tightly against Su Xiao's leg, staring at the terminal screen showing a horror movie. He was both scared and wanted to watch.
"I'm curious, how do you communicate so seamlessly with your follower?"
Xiao finished the wine in her glass, stood up, and left. Su Xiao picked up the remaining half-bottle of Elemental Brew and tossed it to Xiao.
After Xiao left, Su Xiao took out the [Power Fragment·Golden Annihilation]. If he hadn't used two portions of [Power Source Matter] earlier, bringing his true stamina attribute to 777 points, he definitely wouldn't have absorbed the [Power Fragment·Golden Annihilation] in this world. The reason was that its boost to his straight kick was too terrifying, potentially causing a situation where the kick was too strong for his right leg to handle.
In simple terms, the current straight kick enjoyed attack power bonuses from both strength and agility attributes. The strength bonus ratio was 0.8, and agility was 0.4. With his current 732 points of true strength and 732 points of true agility, the total attack power bonus for kick techniques was 878 points.
More importantly, this was the kick technique's [Base Attack Power]. All subsequent damage increases would be built upon this base.
The boost from [Power Fragment·Golden Annihilation] changed the calculation for the kick technique's base attack power bonus to: (Strength × 0.6) + (Agility × 0.6) + (Stamina × 0.6) + (Soul Strength × 0.3) = Kick Technique Base Attack Power.
According to this formula, Su Xiao's current 878-point kick technique base attack power would immediately skyrocket to 1684 points. Such a [Base Attack Power] increase was truly absurd. [Base Attack Power] and [Kick Technique Damage Tier] were at the very bottom. After combining them, various percentage bonuses and the nine kick technique enhancements from Melee Grandmaster would be calculated upward.
Su Xiao grasped the [Power Fragment·Golden Annihilation] with one hand. As he exerted force, the dark-golden energy within the fragment surged into his body, and the enhancement began.
At 8:30 PM, at the Roast Rare Chicken Restaurant in the southern part of the inner city.
The restaurant was packed, filled with the noise of conversations. After tasting a few slices of crispy-skinned, tender roast chicken, Su Xiao ate a lemon white shrimp, which completely cleared the greasy feeling. He was about to pick up more roast chicken when, at the recommendation of the owner's daughter, he wrapped it in a rough-looking vegetable leaf. The first chew felt a bit strange, but combined with the oily, flavorful juice of the roast chicken's crispy skin, a peculiar yet delightful taste filled his mouth.
Who said the strong must live ascetically? The countless worlds of the Star Realm had too many things worth experiencing. Experiencing them firsthand made the path to strength more exciting.
"I've lived in the inner city for so many years and never knew this place existed. I'll have to come often."
The great noble·Lucius spoke. This time, he had stayed in Twilight City for quite a while. Normally, he would have returned to the Vanguard Fortress long ago, leading his hunting group to explore the dark zones.
At a nearby seat, Lucius's sister, the slacker girl·Delona, was eating with both cheeks bulging. In truth, Delona wasn't gloomy; it was just that everyone except her brother saw her as an omen of misfortune and refused to interact with her, making her appear cold.
"Someone asked me to pass along a message."
Lucius put down his napkin, took out a round pipe, stuffed it with tobacco leaves grown near the Vanguard Fortress, and offered it to Su Xiao. When Su Xiao declined with a gesture, he lit it himself and exhaled a puff of light blue smoke.
"A Sun Scholar from the Great Library wants to meet you on the fifth underground floor of the Great Library. I think it's best not to go. Those scholars are always up to no good."
Lucius took another puff, clearly having suffered at the hands of the Great Library's scholars before.
"Did they ask you to pass the message directly, or was it relayed through the old noble·Augustus?"
Hearing Su Xiao's question, Lucius didn't answer. The implication was clear. If the Sun Scholar had asked him to pass the message, he would have said so directly. But since the old noble·Augustus was Lucius's superior, if Augustus had asked him to relay it, he could only remain silent.
"I see. I'll go later."
Su Xiao planned to visit the Great Library. As for whether the Great Library would take the opportunity to ambush him, the probability was too low to worry about.
"You're really going?"
Lucius, who had just taken a puff from his pipe, thought for a few seconds before saying: "I'll go with you. Before I settle my sister's matter, don't you dare die."
Lucius was the type to say good things in a harsh way. But to be fair, among the many natives Su Xiao had encountered in this world, only Lucius, the hunting group's legion commander, was a trustworthy partner.
"I'll go too."
The still-eating slacker girl·Delona raised her hand to express her opinion. Whether it was due to the impending dark awakening caused by her symbiosis with an unknown Abyss entity or other reasons, the slender and short Delona had an appetite comparable to one-fifth of Amu's.
After the meal, with Bubu Wang leading the way, the group arrived at a cold drink shop. This was also recommended by the [Ten Thousand Realms Food Guide]. Su Xiao wasn't interested in cold drinks, so he didn't enter the shop. Instead, he sat on a bench by the roadside, watching passersby under the streetlights.
Just then, Su Xiao sensed a fluctuation within Dragon-Slaying Flash. This fluctuation was all too familiar, and the opportunity couldn't be missed. He activated the [Soul Devouring Constitution] ability, seizing the 50% demon spirit energy that the Blade Demon Spirit had absorbed from the [Immortal·Abyss Spawn Origin Energy] and converted. Through the dual filtration and conversion of [Soul Devouring Constitution] + [Devouring Core], he obtained a type of [Permanent Enhancement Energy].
After absorbing this [Permanent Enhancement Energy], a notification appeared.
[Your Abyss Resistance has permanently increased by 2 points.]
[All your potential limit tiers have permanently increased by +2.]
[Your Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity has permanently increased by 60 points.]
...
The demon spirit intensity reached 740 points, requiring 1170 points of soul strength to stably suppress. With Su Xiao's 1130 points of soul strength, the Blade Demon Spirit would gradually become more active, but not to the point of losing control.
Additionally, the task completion for [Abyss Task·Death's Grant] was accumulating faster than expected. The situation was as follows:
[Abyss Task·Death's Grant]
Difficulty Level: Lv.98～???
Task Description: Eliminate the [Immortal·Abyss Spawn].
Task Duration: No limit.
Task Reward: Determined by the final accumulated task completion.
Hint: The task completion accumulation method is: After successfully killing a target unit, increase the task completion by [Target Unit Danger Level Corresponding Task Completion] + [35% of Current Existing Task Completion].
Current Task Completion: 28.36%
Task Scope: Any world.
Task Penalty: None.
Hint: This task can be abandoned at any time. Abandoning it will permanently forfeit the right to accept it again.
Hint: When task completion exceeds 15%, the task can be completed with the minimum reward. After completion, you can choose to accept the task again, but the task completion will reset to 0%.
...
Based on Su Xiao's testing, eliminating one [Immortal·Abyss Spawn] increased the task completion by 1%. This seemed small, but once the completion stacked up, the returns became significant. Currently, eliminating one [Immortal·Abyss Spawn] yielded 9.926% + 1% task completion.
The Divine Cult still had two [Immortal·Abyss Spawns] sealed away, but they hadn't sent an invitation for Su Xiao to eliminate them. Moreover, such matters couldn't be approached proactively; he would definitely be turned away.
The Divine Cult had clearly realized that Su Xiao could gain benefits from eliminating [Abyss Spawns], so they were in no hurry. Faced with this situation, Su Xiao commissioned Xiao to visit them and give them a reason to wade into these troubled waters. How could the Divine Cult, which had once tried to create a god, not covet the [Blazing Sun Blood] passed down by the Sun God Clan?
Just then, a somewhat familiar figure approached from the south side of the pedestrian street. It was Aikelulu.
Previously, Su Xiao and Aikelulu had agreed that she would help him deal with the High Tower Knight, and in return, he would give her the [Dark Moon Star Ring]. Ahem, Su Xiao had made the [Dark Moon Star Ring] himself. As for the real [Dark Moon Star Ring], that would require another cooperation. How could he let go of such a high-damage super fighter? At least not within this world.
The problem was that Su Xiao had fought the High Tower Knight to the point of chaos yesterday, and Aikelulu hadn't shown up at all.
Aikelulu stopped in front of the bench. She looked at the calm Su Xiao, took a deep breath, and said: "Regarding my mistake yesterday, I hope I can explain."
"..."
Su Xiao took the cup of light tea Bubu Wang had bought for him and raised the hand holding the tea, signaling for Aikelulu to continue.
"I did intend to help you defeat the High Tower Knight yesterday, but..."
Before Aikelulu could finish, Su Xiao continued her sentence: "But you encountered a two-headed wolf, heavily eroded by the Abyss. You fought with all your might, nearly dying, and managed to kill it?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Aikelulu felt a sense of being set up wash over her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and repeatedly chanted in her mind that the [Dark Moon Star Ring] was still in the hands of the man opposite her. Only then did she manage to force a smile.
"So, I've already helped you deal with the High Tower Knight. Where's my reward?"
"Repeat our cooperation terms."
"That's not the point. I almost died yesterday..."
"Repeat them."
"You..."
Aikelulu suppressed the anger in her heart and reluctantly said: "I help you deal with the High Tower Knight, and you give me the Dark Moon Star Ring."
"So, did you do it?"
"I... did."
After saying this, Aikelulu guiltily looked away.
"Alright, since you believe you did, as a Law Destroyer, I can't tarnish the reputation of the Law Destroyers."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Bubu Wang and Baha, one on each side, simultaneously lowered their heads and recalled all the sad things in their hearts to keep from laughing. It wasn't that their humor threshold was low, but hearing the words "reputation of the Law Destroyers" was just too hard to hold back.
"You..."
Aikelulu was stunned. She really hadn't expected the Law Destroyer opposite her to actually fulfill the promise. This caused her flowing hair to turn into a suspicious crimson, a characteristic of Aikelulu's—her hair color changed with her mood.
Under Aikelulu's completely bewildered gaze, Su Xiao took out the [Dark Moon Star Ring] and placed it in her extended right hand.
"You... you're just giving it to me like this? I..."
Aikelulu's emotional control slipped slightly, her hair turning into a confused milky white before gradually shifting to a pleasant light gold.
"Don't get so excited. It's just a Dark Moon Star Ring."
Su Xiao's tone was calm, as if the star ring wasn't precious at all.
"Just a Dark Moon Star Ring? Do you even know the value of this star ring?"
"Of course. I made it."
"???"
Aikelulu couldn't immediately understand what "I made it" meant. Holding the 'Dark Moon Star Ring' in her right hand, she stood frozen like a statue.
Aikelulu's hair changed from light gold to crimson confusion, then gradually to angry deep red, then to murderous light blue, and finally to a deep blue of intense killing intent.
"You, shameless..."
"Hold on!" Baha, perched on Su Xiao's shoulder, interrupted Aikelulu's 'casting' and asked: "Spellcaster lady, tell me, when we made the promise, did we show you this Dark Moon Star Ring?"
"Yes."
Aikelulu practically ground her teeth as she forced out the word.
"There you go. We promised to give you this Dark Moon Star Ring, and now we have. Is there a problem? No problem at all!"
Baha spoke vividly, while Aikelulu listened with her anger maxed out. Beside Su Xiao's leg, Bubu Wang thought: 'Lemon honey water is really good. I'll buy another cup later.'
Aikelulu was furious. In Arcane Eternal Star or anywhere in the Ten Thousand Realms, when had she ever suffered such humiliation? She was a peak Absolute Strong spellcaster. Could this situation be tolerated? Of course... it could. The opponent was a Law Destruction Shadow, who countered elemental spellcasters.
Aikelulu took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Ding~
Su Xiao flicked a ring into the air. This ring was several times larger than a finger ring, about the size of a wine glass opening. It was dark purple all over, with endless darkness inside, seemingly containing vast stars. This was indeed the real [Dark Moon Star Ring], obtained by Su Xiao after defeating the High Tower Knight.
Aikelulu, who was about to leave, immediately stopped. The moment she saw this [Dark Moon Star Ring], she knew it was genuine. Although the 'Dark Moon Star Ring' in her hand felt like a treasure, it felt different when held. This [Dark Moon Star Ring] radiated an extraordinary quality just by looking at it.
"Our cooperation in the ancient tower was quite pleasant, wasn't it?"
Su Xiao spoke.
"Quite... pleasant."
Aikelulu said this against her conscience.
"So, we should continue cooperating."
Hearing this, Aikelulu pondered for a few seconds before choosing to turn and leave. She just needed to confirm who held the [Dark Moon Star Ring]. She couldn't continue being manipulated by this Law Destroyer, or she wouldn't even know how she died.
Aikelulu took her first step. Su Xiao gripped the [Dark Moon Star Ring] tightly. She took her second step, and he squeezed it until it creaked. This made Aikelulu, whose pupils had contracted slightly, step back. She could feel that if she continued to test this Law Destroyer, he would really crush the [Dark Moon Star Ring].
"You're ruthless. You're truly ruthless. Who's the next enemy?"
"The owner of the Dark Moon Nightmare."
Having said that, Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the west side of the inner city. He needed to go to the Great Library to meet the fate-type user who could enhance his Law Destruction fortune, and also to hear about the secret of a Law Destruction Shadow's ascension to Supreme.
Back when he advanced to Absolute Strong, Su Xiao had used a [Unique Secret Method] from a previous Law Destroyer. Originally, the limit was to absorb 5 Primordial Fragments to advance to Absolute Strong, but through this [Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Method], he absorbed 11 Primordial Fragments. As a result, he gained the strongest [Absolute Strong Lv.EX] ability and 11 Primordial Skill Points.
He used 6 Primordial Skill Points to enhance his blade technique, and later, when upgrading his Blade Grandmaster, the core technique ability's potential increased significantly.
Now, the [Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Method] for advancing to Supreme was right in front of him. He couldn't miss it. Even if it was just a clue to the [Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Method], it was worth the trip. However, the experience of advancing to Absolute Strong was still fresh in his mind. This Supreme-level [Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Method] would undoubtedly be more effective but also riskier.
Su Xiao glanced at the [Spirit Shadow Constitution] skill's description: "When mastering new Law Destruction abilities, as well as upgrading and using such abilities, mortality rate reduced by 60%." This gave him some reassurance.
Combined with the [Passive Ability·Unyielding Shadow]'s 25% reduction, the total exemption reached 85%. Seemed high? Not really. Given the tier and intensity of the Supreme-level [Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Method], previous Law Destroyers might have developed a secret method with a 100% mortality rate upon use.
A 100% mortality rate against an 85% mortality exemption equals a 15% mortality rate. Never mind the peculiar calculation method. By Law Destruction ability standards, this level of risk was worth attempting.