# Chapter 5: Absolute Strength
Inside the several thousand square meter hall, all the plant faction high-levels stared at Su Xiao. With a boom, the metal giant door behind Su Xiao closed, and a translucent blue crystal layer climbed and sealed over it.
Blood energy surged like tidal waves toward the surroundings. In the eyes of the plant clan high-levels, within the surging blood energy ahead was a figure holding a long blade, along with eyes emitting red light.
Under such intense pressure, a Soul Parasite Clan member roared angrily and charged at Su Xiao. The so-called Soul Parasite Clan seized the bodies of other intelligent races through parasitic means. Humans and half-beasts were their primary targets.
This Soul Parasite Clan member had parasitized and seized a human body. It stood over two and a half meters tall, with sparse light gray fur on its body—a physical mutation caused by plant life parasitizing living beings.
This Soul Parasite Clan member was not weak; it even possessed a certain royal bloodline. Don't underestimate the plant clan's royal bloodline, also known as the Golden Bloodline—it was a genuine source of power.
The wind pressure was fierce. The Soul Parasite Clan member's arms sprouted plant roots that hardened and crystallized, attacking Su Xiao. Not only that, from beneath Su Xiao's feet and from the walls behind him, black plant tendrils surged forth, poised to bind him.
Wave~
As if ripples spread through the air, the three-eyed Soul Parasite Clan member suddenly froze mid-air. Its entire body struggled with cracking sounds, and its only movable part—its head—twisted and flailed wildly.
"Ah!!"
The three-eyed Soul Parasite Clan member's eyes bulged as if about to burst. Unfortunately, under the absolute disparity in strength, it remained frozen in mid-air. This was the effect of "Blade Path Sword: Time." When facing powerful enemies like the Sun King, it slowed time flow to reduce their speed. Against this three-eyed Soul Parasite Clan member, when the slowing effect reached its limit, it became complete immobilization.
Su Xiao stepped forward. As he walked past the three-eyed Soul Parasite Clan member, he raised his long blade and, continuing his advance, slowly sliced through its throat. The three-eyed Soul Parasite Clan member's anger and wailing ceased abruptly, leaving only gurgling sounds as blood sprayed from its throat.
Seeing this, the plant clan high-levels exchanged glances. Regarding monopolizing the water source, they had been retaliated against many times before. They had even killed several World Children. But this time, the one who came for them was not a righteous companion—it was a death-dealing Yama who wouldn't speak a single word of nonsense with them, nor listen to half a sentence of their excuses.
"There might be some misunderstanding between us, friend from afar. Whatever the matter, we can talk..."
A Poison Dart Clan member, resembling a cross between a human and a poison frog, walked over with a full-faced smile. As it spoke, it raised both hands to show it meant no harm.
"Blade Path Sword: Flow."
Clang!
The ethereal wind scar of Flow slashed through. The smiling Poison Dart Clan member had half its head sliced off diagonally. Its corpse dragged a trail of falling blood and fell with a thud.
The sour, pungent smell of blood spread. The unique bloody scent of the Poison Dart Clan further stimulated the plant clan high-levels present—or rather, the plant clan powerhouses. The "Dense Canopy Royal Capital" followed the forest law of the strong. The Three Elders were the three strongest among the plant clan. Below them, the plant clan high-levels were all powerful combatants from various tribes.
"Roar!!"
A Giant Tree Clan member roared in fury. The axe in its hand had an ancient handle and a sharp blade. Just as it prepared to use spatial ability to instantly appear behind Su Xiao, the Blade Demon Spirit materialized among the plant clan high-levels.
At the sudden appearance of the Blade Demon Spirit, the plant clan high-levels were both shocked and terrified. All kinds of attacks rained down on it. If not for the sealing runes on this hall, it would have shattered on the spot. But the deafening sound from this concentrated attack caused the ground over most of the Dense Canopy Royal Capital to tremble.
There was one thing the plant clan high-levels tacitly understood: none of them wanted to be the first to charge at Su Xiao. Not to mention his formidable blood energy, the aura so sharp that just walking past left several black slash marks in the space along the way indicated he was a Blade Grandmaster.
While the Demon Spirit was being focused, Su Xiao sheathed his long blade and assumed a charging draw-slash stance. After a short but successful charge, black flames ignited on the blade handle and scabbard. He swapped positions with the Demon Spirit, appearing among the plant clan high-levels.
The needle-prick sensation of danger made the surrounding plant clan high-levels' hair stand on end. Those with steadier minds had their pupils sharply constrict; those less experienced simply let out terrified roars.
"Blade Path Sword: Super·Ring Break!"
Whoosh! A black circular blade aura slashed open at the center of the plant clan high-levels. Looking down from above, the slashes around Su Xiao were like a black circular disc, engulfing all the plant clan high-levels around him. The circular slash marks in this area were like ethereal black flames, mixed with white wind scars inside and at the edges.
After this slash, the hall fell into dead silence, followed by falling black fire rain. Looking closely, this wasn't black fire rain—it was the shattered remains of plant clan high-levels, ignited by black flames and falling. The scattered blood covered the ground in a layer, creating a cruel beauty against the black flame embers in the air.
As the Ring Break spread, a few clanging sounds came through. It seemed the plant clan still had a few tough characters. Wind pressure came from the side—it was the Giant Tree Elder among the Three Elders. Over ten meters tall, like a burly tree spirit, it wielded a long-handled warhammer with a handle made of tree roots and a head like obsidian.
As the warhammer came down, Su Xiao raised his left hand. With this motion, most of the blood on the ground gathered together, forming a blood wall with blood energy.
Thud!
The warhammer struck the blood wall, which had vein-like protruding meridian structures. The blood wall wasn't particularly hard but was extremely tough, causing the Giant Tree Elder's warhammer to sink into it. It roared and pulled it out, the blood wall's structure stretching like threads.
Pfft!
A dark green short dagger stabbed into Su Xiao's back, piercing through his chest. The Poison Dart Clan member behind him gradually showed a look of satisfaction on its face.
Crack~
Su Xiao's torso showed ceramic-like cracks. This was a crystal shell. The assassination-type Poison Dart Clan member was immediately overwhelmed by immense fear. At just over 1.4 meters tall, it suddenly felt a hand pressing down on its head.
Crack, crack, crack~
Holding his blade in one hand and pressing the Poison Dart Clan member's head with the other, Su Xiao used the assimilation and erosion properties of Proud Song to crystallize the assassination-type Poison Dart Clan member's head. That wasn't all—he tossed it toward an approaching Soul Parasite Clan member, one with a wild beast's head and over five meters tall.
Among all the plant clan present, aside from the Three Elders, this wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member was the strongest. Facing the flying assassination-type Poison Dart Clan member, it hesitated for a moment.
Using an enemy's friend to coerce the enemy—Su Xiao had no psychological burden about this. This was one of the conveniences of being in the Neutral Evil faction. He stepped forward and delivered a straight kick to the assassination-type Poison Dart Clan member.
The assassination-type Poison Dart Clan member, whose body interior had already crystallized, was kicked to pieces. The flying crystal fragments and bone shards immediately riddled the wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member's burly body, causing intense unwillingness to flash in its eyes.
With an instant spatial penetration, Su Xiao appeared in mid-air behind the wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member. As his long blade emitted a metallic ring, he flipped the blade and held it in reverse, then deeply stabbed it from the side of the wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member's neck into its torso.
The wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member fell to its knees with a thud, its head dropping powerlessly and hitting the ground with a heavy sound.
Su Xiao withdrew the long blade from the wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member's neck, siphoning and absorbing all its blood to empower Dragon-Slaying Flash, temporarily extending it by over 30 centimeters into a blood blade.
Besides the Three Elders, there were actually two more plant clan high-levels still alive. But after witnessing the wild beast Soul Parasite Clan member's tragic state, they immediately chose to lie down and play dead.
Thus, Su Xiao faced a three-on-one situation. As for why the Three Elders hadn't taken the opportunity to suppress him earlier, it wasn't that they didn't want to—the Demon Spirit's "Substitution" and Dragon Shadow Flash abilities prevented them from locking onto Su Xiao. If they acted rashly, they had a high chance of accidentally injuring or killing the plant clan high-levels, causing the encirclement to collapse faster.
The Three Elders truly hadn't expected that one Ring Break from Su Xiao would clear out all the plant clan high-levels present. This made the Soul Parasite Elder's eyes bloodshot. These plant clan high-levels were trusted subordinates it had cultivated for years. Seeing them cleared in an instant naturally made it furious.
The Soul Parasite Elder's appearance was terrifying. Its form resembled a humanoid, but its head, arms, etc., were pieced together from multiple races. It had clearly collected the arms, heads, and organs of powerhouses and stitched them together for strength.
The Giant Tree Elder beside it was tall and large, with root-like whiskers under its chin like a black beard. Besides three eyes, it had a giant eye on its chest containing scorching heat. The warhammer in its hand had turned blazing red, the high temperature distorting the surrounding air.
Beside the Giant Tree Elder was the Poison Dart Elder. Its appearance resembled a sickly, thin little old man with dry, gray-white hair. But its eyes were oily green and venomous. Its body was covered in densely packed pinhole-sized openings. Looking closely, one could see white threadworms inside, occasionally poking out a segment and wriggling.
All three Elders were at the pinnacle of Absolute Strength. That was why they remained so calm. After all, Su Xiao was also at Absolute Strength. With three against one, even if Su Xiao's aura was terrifying, they were confident of victory.
"Su Gu Wa (Tree Clan language: Don't relax, don't be careless)."
The Giant Tree Elder spoke in a deep voice. Its tone was deep and steady. It was apparent that the Three Elders weren't of plant clan royal birth—they had fought their way up through courage and strength, accumulating and settling for several hundred years as rulers to develop their current aura field.
Among the Three Elders, the Giant Tree Elder was clearly the frontliner, responsible for holding the enemy. The Soul Parasite Elder was responsible for suppression. The final one, the Poison Dart Elder, was the true killing master.
Scorching energy flowed from the giant eye at the center of the Giant Tree Elder's chest, spreading through its limbs and bones like molten magma clinging to its body surface. It charged out fiercely, leaving layers of spatial ripples and even cracks in the space along the way.
With a boom, everything in the hall was covered in scorching sparks. The Giant Tree Elder swung its warhammer with one hand, stretching the arc to its maximum, and at a speed faster than perception could track, hammered down at Su Xiao.
Seeing that Su Xiao showed no intention of dodging, the Soul Parasite Elder and Poison Dart Elder, who knew how fierce this strike was, felt even more confident of victory.
Clang!
The descending fierce warhammer was blocked by the long blade. Due to mutual reaction force, it was the Giant Tree Elder that took a big step back. It was clearly surprised. After realizing what had happened, as if enduring immense humiliation, it gripped the hammer handle with both hands. The surrounding World Force and fire elements were instantly drained. A巨大 vortex appeared in the sky above the hall. The sky was covered by a firestorm. The royal capital's sky burned because of the Giant Tree Elder's fury.
"Roar!!"
The Giant Tree Elder in the hall roared. The warhammer in its hand, bursting with blazing red flames, smashed down.
Clang!
Under perfect parry, sparks flew everywhere. The Giant Tree Elder was knocked back half a big step by the shock from the weapon clash.
"Blade Path Sword: Extreme."
Su Xiao slashed forward. There was a huge height difference between him and the Giant Tree Elder—the latter was 16.5 meters tall. But the Giant Tree Elder immediately blocked this slash with its warhammer. Its frantically warning perception told it that if it underestimated this slash because of the size difference, it would be cut in half from the middle.
Clang!!
The warhammer successfully blocked this slash. The problem was, a force that made the Giant Tree Elder's eyes bulge wide and its bark skin explode like fish scales spread from the warhammer through its entire body. The Giant Tree Elder's upper body staggered violently. Its lower body went numb, causing it to fall to its knees. Only by propping itself up with its weapon did it avoid having its chin intimately contact the stone floor.
This scene was shocking. The towering Giant Tree Elder had delivered two consecutive full-power heavy strikes, both blocked by Su Xiao with one hand without being shaken in the slightest. But when Su Xiao delivered a heavy slash, the Giant Tree Elder was almost knocked flat. Not only was it kneeling there, but the branch braids tied up on its head exploded, leaving it with a disheveled, messy hairstyle.
Su Xiao suddenly turned his head. Whoosh—a white hair-like object, actually a straight threadworm, flew past his face and embedded into the stone pillar behind. In the blink of an eye, the stone pillar was riddled with white threadworms, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.
A twisted blade slashed toward him. This blade was about two meters long and very heavy. As the blades clashed, ice climbed over Su Xiao's body surface, freezing him. Almost simultaneously, the environment outside the hall was already covered in heavy snow. When Absolute Strength powerhouses fought, even if they deliberately suppressed the range of their abilities, the impact on the surrounding environment was still significant.
The moment Su Xiao was frozen, the warhammer came down, and tens of thousands of white threadworms shot toward him. Amidst these attacks, he confirmed one thing: the Three Elders hadn't hidden any methods. This... was indeed their true level. They were already fighting at their peak state.
This was actually something Su Xiao had been concerned about since the battle began. Looking at it now, after getting used to fighting absurd enemies at the Absolute Strength level like the Initial Witch, Demon Scythe Nun, Divine Incarnation, and Sun King, facing normal Absolute Strength-level big bosses felt quite unfamiliar. He had almost been fighting against shadows.
Since Su Xiao advanced to Absolute Strength, every time a world progress ended, he significantly enhanced his strength with generous rewards. But when entering a new world progress, it seemed like nothing had changed—he was still fighting to the death against powerful enemies.
Looking at it now, it wasn't that his improvement was not obvious. It was that the difficulty curve of the enemies he faced was problematic. Since advancing to Absolute Strength, he hadn't encountered many big bosses corresponding to his imprint level.
Now, Su Xiao had finally encountered a big boss-level unit corresponding to his LV.95 imprint level: the Three Elders.
There was one problem. When the battle started, the Three Elders all thought that since both sides were at Absolute Strength, even if Su Xiao was a notch stronger than each of them, three against one was still a sure win. After all, they were all at the pinnacle of Absolute Strength. Even if he was a notch stronger, how much stronger could he be?
In reality, the Three Elders hadn't understood one thing. Their pinnacle of Absolute Strength was the upper limit they could reach. Su Xiao's Absolute Strength level was because the absolute limit of Absolute Strength was exactly this combat power level.
To put it more intuitively: normally, only after advancing to Supreme would one have the resources to breakthrough technique abilities to LV.95. Now, Su Xiao, with all four main attributes at 800 points, had already raised Blade Grandmaster and Melee Grandmaster to LV.95. It was precisely this absurd technique ability level that allowed him to contend with powerful enemies like the Nun, Divine Incarnation, and Sun King.
Around him, the twisted blade, warhammer, and pale threadworms attacked simultaneously.
Boom!!
A shocking amount of blood energy exploded with Su Xiao as the center point. He instantly disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, he was in front of the Poison Dart Elder. Before the Poison Dart Elder could understand what this absurd speed was, Su Xiao had already delivered a straight kick.
"Melee Grandmaster LV.95 Ultimate Ability: Power Penetration·Kick Technique Nine-Time Enhancement (Supreme Level·Passive): Kick technique attack judgment elevated to 'Stellar Level.' Each use of kick technique has a probability of receiving 'Primordial·Stellar Force' enhancement, causing the next attack to deal 5 times overall damage.
Note: Due to the properties of 'Primordial·Stellar Force,' each time you receive 'Primordial·Stellar Force' enhancement, it will nourish your physique simultaneously. Your attack properties will receive permanent improvement. If using kick technique triggers 'Primordial·Stellar Force' enhancement, your kick technique power will increase by 0.25 times. Until this enhancement reaches 5 times, you will no longer trigger 'Primordial·Stellar Force' enhancement."
...
The moment it was hit by this straight kick enhanced by "Primordial·Stellar Force," the Poison Dart Elder felt as if enveloped in white light. In a daze, it seemed to return to its childhood, playing with companions in the Gray Forest. Its life experiences, like projecting film, rapidly and clearly emerged until the film finally broke, and it sank into endless darkness.
A hole appeared in the hall's wall. The Poison Dart Elder, kicked into a meteor, flew out from there. Its body shattered from the immense force. Then, during high-speed flight, it burned away like a falling meteor due to high temperature. When the impact force from the straight kick disappeared, only a few embers remained falling—this was all that was left of the Poison Dart Elder.
As for the so-called Undying Worm ability of the Poison Dart Elder, don't joke about that. Those so-called undying worms were these embers dissipating during the fall. So-called immortality, under absolute power, was this powerless.
The Soul Parasite Elder and Giant Tree Elder stared in shock at this scene. Unfortunately, Su Xiao wouldn't give them time to continue watching. He suddenly appeared in front of the Soul Parasite Elder and slashed down with his long blade.
Clang!!
The Soul Parasite Elder fell to one knee with a sound. Su Xiao, holding the blood blade, delivered high-speed consecutive slashes. Blood marks traced in the air. Although the Soul Parasite Elder barely blocked with its weapon, the flying severed arm, half a head, half a shoulder, etc., indicated it was about to be killed.
Wind pressure came from the side—it was the Giant Tree Elder swinging its heavy hammer.
Clang!
A heavy slash opened the swung warhammer. The blue light in Su Xiao's eyes turned blood-red. The blood on the ground instantly climbed onto the Giant Tree Elder's body surface, and dense sparks appeared.
Boom!
Blood energy exploded. The Giant Tree Elder's arm holding the warhammer was blown off. The giant eye at the center of its chest half-closed.
Taking this opportunity, the Soul Parasite Elder, bleeding all over, finally got a moment to catch its breath. But the Demon Spirit didn't let it retreat. Crystal long blade slashed repeatedly. Just as the crystal long blade was raised again, Su Xiao swapped positions with the Demon Spirit and delivered a heavy slash.
Clang! The Soul Parasite Elder fell to one knee, its whole body numb. Su Xiao raised his left index finger, and blood energy compressed to the extreme gathered at his fingertip.
"This, can't be..."
"Blood Smoke Cannon."
Bang!
The Soul Parasite Elder's head was pierced through. It fell backward with a thud and died on the spot. The echo of its dying words still lingered in the air.
Roaring, the Giant Tree Elder charged in, preparing to leave Su Xiao with a painful lesson before dying. But "Dead Silence Annihilation" was already aimed at it. His index finger pulled the trigger.
"Equipment Effect 2: Super·Annihilation Bullet (Core·Active): Instantly consume all 'Annihilation Bullets' of Dead Silence Annihilation. This attack's bullet flight speed increases by 5.86 times, bullet power increases by 1500%. After hitting the enemy, this 'Super·Annihilation Bullet' will form an explosive attack rather than a bullet penetration attack. Therefore, this attack possesses 'Certain Interruption properties,' capable of interrupting, stopping, or preventing the enemy's attack or ability about to be used or in use.
Note: If this attack successfully interrupts the enemy's attack or ability, the enemy will enter a parry-breaking body paralysis state. The ultra-high concentration Dead Silence Force exploded by this 'Super·Annihilation Bullet' will be immediately withdrawn by the Dead Silence Annihilation in your hand, forming a 'Super·Annihilation Bullet' that can exist for at most 3 seconds. If not fired within 3 seconds, this 'Super·Annihilation Bullet' will dissipate..."
Bang!
The gray-black Annihilation Bullet flew out of the gun barrel, flying with a slight spiral. This bullet was extremely fast. Almost simultaneously with the gunshot, the Annihilation Bullet had already hit the Giant Tree Elder's chest.
After the "Super·Annihilation Bullet" hit the Giant Tree Elder, it caused its body to go numb. Combined with the "Certain Interruption properties," the Giant Tree Elder's charge deformed, causing it to crash down in front of Su Xiao and uncontrollably slide forward.
The Dead Silence energy that had exploded on the Giant Tree Elder's chest instantly gathered back into Dead Silence Annihilation, forming another "Super·Annihilation Bullet." Almost simultaneously, the fallen Giant Tree Elder slid to Su Xiao's front. Its huge head was inches from the muzzle of "Dead Silence Annihilation."
Bang!!
The "Super·Annihilation Bullet" hit the Giant Tree Elder's head. The huge head shattered, splattering backward into broken wood and dark green blood. This shot was full of power.
This battle seemed intense, but there was one problem: the Three Elders hadn't managed to hit Su Xiao even once throughout. Also, they had never used their respective ultimate moves. Was it underestimation? Of course not. They simply couldn't use them. The Poison Dart Elder was preparing to use one, but in the second before unleashing its ultimate move, Su Xiao's straight kick turned it into light.
With this bloody lesson, the subsequent Soul Parasite Elder and Giant Tree Elder dared not use theirs. This was the frustration and despair of fighting a technique-type.
With the death of the Three Elders, three "Broken Origin" fragments floated up from their corpses. These were semi-transparent crystal-like objects, each bearing the Ξ mark of Dawn Paradise.
Kill notifications appeared, but Su Xiao didn't check them for now. He had more critical matters to attend to. He stopped beside a Soul Parasite Clan high-level who was lying on the ground playing dead.
"Can you stabilize the situation?"
Su Xiao spoke calmly. He could certainly perceive that the fighting outside the hall was becoming increasingly chaotic. Amu and Baha were blocking the overwhelming royal capital army.
"Yes!"
The Soul Parasite Clan high-level answered decisively. Its four vertical pupils contained not only determination but also gradually igniting ambition.
"Good."
Clang!
Su Xiao made a virtual slash, killing a Thorn Vine Clan high-level lying dead over ten meters away.
"Name."
"Ge. Wogoshi."
Soul Parasite Clan·Ge. Wogoshi spoke in a deep voice, neither bowing and scraping nor wildly arrogant.
"Good. You're the elder here now. One hour to calm the chaos outside. Three hours to open the royal capital's Great Water Source outer gate."
"I'll try my best..."
As soon as Ge. Wogoshi said this, it found Su Xiao staring intently at it. It could only steel itself and promise: "I will definitely do it."
Ge. Wogoshi hurriedly left the hall. After a moment, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha entered the hall. Bubu Wang took out various detection devices. After defeating a powerful enemy, searching their lair was a necessary procedure.
After a while.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked in front of the innermost wall, indicating there was a secret door here.
Approaching the secret door, Su Xiao took out the "Mysterious Eye," adjusted it to unlocking mode, and attached it to the wall. Several slender mechanical tentacles extended from the "Mysterious Eye." After a while, they opened the lock disc hole of the secret door, and the mechanical tentacles probed inside to unlock it.
After waiting a few minutes, a click sound came from the lock disc. The longer the wait, the better the news—it meant the lock disc was more advanced, and the treasures inside would naturally be more precious.
The secret door opened. Instead of the imagined display racks and treasures, the somewhat empty secret room had a huge machine nearly ten meters high and five meters wide at its center.
The overall appearance of this thing looked somewhat unfamiliar. But if looking at the front, aside from the different paradise mark on it, Su Xiao was all too familiar with this thing. It was clearly a Skill Upgrade Pod.
Approaching this Dawn Paradise Skill Upgrade Pod, he placed one hand on it. Reincarnation Paradise's notification appeared. He learned one thing: this Skill Upgrade Pod had been damaged when it fell out of Dawn Paradise. That was why it hadn't been included into the loot notarization later and was temporarily stored by Void Tree.
Preliminary estimation of the damage degree showed that although it could be activated, it couldn't complete ability enhancement by paying Soul Coins. Su Xiao wasn't disappointed about this because the enhancement he wanted to perform wasn't through Soul Coins—it was using Law-Destroying Skill Points.
Using Law-Destroying Skill Points to enhance abilities didn't require activating the Skill Upgrade Pod, but it still needed the notarization environment attached to the Skill Upgrade Pod to complete it with lower risk. That was why Su Xiao never used Law-Destroying Skill Points to enhance Law-Destruction abilities within mission worlds.
Regarding this, the Ancestral Law Destroyers had similar practices. However, the Ancestral Law Destroyers used the Law-Destruction Hall, an environment exclusive to the Shadow of Law Destruction, to reduce the risk of enhancing Law-Destruction abilities.
Seeing this Skill Upgrade Pod, Su Xiao felt an opportunity appearing before him. If he handled it well, he could subsequently raise the "Azure Shadow King" ability to max level. This way, facing the subsequent rounds of World Domination Wars, he would have an ultra-powerful trump card.