Chapter 47: Hybrid
A badge-sized, dark-golden title appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The title felt heavy and solid, with a six-horned beast design on the front and dense, mysterious inscriptions on the back.
The more Su Xiao looked at this six-horned beast, the more familiar it seemed. Then it clicked—wasn't this the beast *Fei*?
[Guardian Soul]
Origin: Void Tree
Quality: ★★★★★★★★★
Limit Forging: Once.
Title Potential: 72.8%.
Category: Rare · Title
Title Effect: Sacred Guard (Passive) — When the damage received within 0.1 to 3 seconds exceeds 30% of your maximum health, this effect activates immediately, causing the enemy's next attack to deal no more than 10% of your health (i.e., no more than 10% of max health). Additionally, it calculates the health lost during this period and increases your movement speed for the next 10 seconds by 0.152% of the lost health.
Note: This is a diminishing movement speed boost: 100% for the first 5 seconds, then decreasing by 10% per second thereafter.
Description: This is a shield of protection, and also a blade of slaughter.
Selling Price: Unsellable.
...
This title didn't fit many scenarios, but it was a lifesaver. Su Xiao didn't even plan to heavily upgrade it; its current level was sufficient. When exploring extremely dangerous unknown areas, this was essentially an extra life.
Don't think that having 7.61 million health points made one invincible. At the Absolute Strength rank, that was true, but at the Supreme rank—especially when Su Xiao often had to enter ultra-high-intensity Abyss expansion zones where attack power was extreme but the Abyss spawns themselves were fragile—such creatures weren't rare.
If he needed to go to an [Ultra-High-Intensity · Abyss Expansion Zone] in the future, equipping [Guardian Soul] along with the [Blood Spear Grandmaster · Ultimate Ability · Blood Master] would give him dual survival methods.
If he encountered an alien Abyss spawn called [Marrow Leech] in such a zone, he'd have a chance to capture it alive. This thing's attack power and speed were perverse to the extreme. Nine out of ten people encountering it would have it instantly burrow into their brain, leaving them half-dead on the ground, eventually turning into a plant-like state and becoming nutrients for the [Marrow Leech] to shed its shell.
But if captured alive, with some biological and mechanical modification, it could become the best biological trait stripping device. Even if deeply eroded by Abyss power, as long as it hadn't reached the lignified [Abyss Transformation], it could still be removed.
If even Abyss erosion could be removed, other types of erosion were like taking candy from a baby.
This good stuff—Mawen Hua'erzi used to have one. He captured a [Marrow Leech] alive and commissioned alchemists to make it, but later lost it in a bet to Green Gillian. Gillian used it for a few years before being tricked out of it by Ximan Aqide, and it eventually disappeared.
He still had 9,800 Hunter Gold Coins. Su Xiao planned to upgrade the [Old Hunter] title, which was the source of Hunter Gold Coins.
First, he needed to raise the title potential of [Old Hunter] to 100%. This required a combination of [Title Chest ★] and [Title Reforging]. He'd first create a 100% potential reverse-devouring title. Last time, he'd made one, but the devouring upgrade phase failed.
He exchanged 800 [Title Chest ★], opened them all, then activated the Title Forging Disk. The disk had changed from before, now about 1.5 meters in diameter, made of a heavy dark metallic color covered in dark red flame patterns, like flowing magma.
He activated [Title Reforging], and fragments of the same material as the forging disk appeared. These fragments, covered in magma patterns, gathered together to form a large forging hammer. He placed the freshly opened one-star title on it.
Boom!
Good. The title on the disk shattered into gray-white crystalline residue. After setting the one-star title as the base material, automatic reforging began.
In the past, Su Xiao treated [Title Reforging] like a lottery, not expecting much success. But after one upgrade, it now had a safety net.
Each time he reforged a title, he accumulated 10% of this trait's [Exclusive Luck]. When [Exclusive Luck] reached 100%, it would take effect on the next reforging, increasing its success rate.
Did that mean ten attempts guaranteed one success? Of course not. Su Xiao's success rate in title reforging was negative. He observed for a while, and on the eleventh attempt:
Boom!
The forged title wasn't smashed; instead, it glowed with a fiery red light. The reforging succeeded. As a Law Destroyer with extreme bad luck, the flip side was that when success came, the quality was extreme. In other words, his reforging either never succeeded, but when it did, it produced a 100% potential reverse-devouring title.
[Title Reforging Successful.]
[You have obtained the Devouring-Type Title: Spreading Bed.]
[Spreading Bed]
Origin: Void Tree
Quality: ★
Title Potential: 100%.
Category: Title
Title Effect: Potential Nurturing (Active) — Devour a main title for nurturing. During this process, there is a 55.55% chance to nurture the limit potential of that title into the devoured main title.
Selling Price: Untradeable.
...
It was the same as the reverse-devouring title Su Xiao had obtained last time, but last time [Spreading Bed]'s nurturing success rate was 33.33%, while this time it was 55.55%. This was interesting—could there be versions with 66.66% or even 99.99% success rates?
After more than twenty reforging attempts, he succeeded again, getting another [Spreading Bed]. Given Su Xiao's luck, getting the same title twice in a row was very unlikely.
It seemed his guess was correct: there was only one type of reverse-devouring title, but the nurturing success rate varied, and possibly the title potential too.
[Spreading Bed]
Title Potential: 100%.
Title Effect: Potential Nurturing (Active) — Devour a main title for nurturing. During this process, there is an 11.11% chance to nurture the limit potential of that title into the devoured main title.
...
Sure enough, the quality of this thing depended mainly on the nurturing success rate. Su Xiao used the newly obtained [Spreading Bed] on [Old Hunter]. [Spreading Bed] turned into dark red fluid, wrapping around the [Old Hunter] title, but after just over ten seconds, the dark red fluid turned into liquid, indicating the nurturing had failed.
Su Xiao wasn't surprised. He used another [Spreading Bed] on [Old Hunter]. He was waiting for a [Spreading Bed] with a 99.99% success rate; anything less wasn't stable enough.
After spending all his Hunter Gold Coins, Su Xiao had reforged a total of 426 [Spreading Bed] titles. About every 20 reforges, one succeeded—a very high success rate.
Unfortunately, among these 426 [Spreading Bed] titles, only one had a 99.99% nurturing success rate. But there was another, more special one:
[Spreading Bed]
Title Potential: 0.1%.
Title Effect: Potential Nurturing (Active) — Devour a main title for nurturing. During this process, there is an 11.11% chance to nurture the limit potential of that title into the devoured main title.
...
This was probably the lowest potential title Su Xiao had ever seen. He kept it. Normally, this thing would be useless, but Su Xiao knew a friend named Nicholas Kaiser.
He tried using the 99.99% success rate [Spreading Bed] on [Old Hunter]. Unlike previous attempts, this time [Spreading Bed] tightly wrapped around [Old Hunter] and began nurturing and upgrading. This basically meant the nurturing was successful; now he just had to wait.
Pop~
A particularly wonderful fluctuation emerged. Su Xiao frowned slightly. This fluctuation came from [Origin Stone: World] in his storage space. Why would a title potential upgrade trigger this supreme treasure? He checked its attributes, but nothing had changed from what was displayed.
As soon as he started upgrading [Old Hunter], Su Xiao noticed something: among all his titles, the one at the very peak—[Limit Forging · 5 Times · Abyssal Shadow]—could actually be targeted by [Spreading Bed]. This was strange because [Abyssal Shadow]'s title potential was already 100%, and previously, [Spreading Bed] had been ineffective on it.
It seemed this title potential upgrade had unlocked some hidden permissions.
Could it be that [Abyssal Shadow]'s potential cap wasn't 100%? Given Su Xiao's understanding of his own luck, how could he have encountered something so rare—one in a million, or even less?
When Su Xiao had asked Tuanzhang about title potential secrets, Tuanzhang had specifically mentioned this kind of broken potential title, not for any other reason, but because Tuanzhang himself had one, purely to make Su Xiao envious.
Su Xiao began recalling how he obtained [Abyssal Shadow]. This title was originally called [Deep Blue Shadow]. How did he get it? He had performed a random title forging without placing a main title, and got this one. He tried to check the original prompt.
[To complete this title forging, you need to consume 300 Soul Coins. The ★★★★★ title obtained from this forging will have random traits.]
And so, he got [Deep Blue Shadow]. He upgraded it step by step until it reached [Nine-Star Limit Forging · Twice]. On the third forging, it transformed into [Abyssal Shadow].
It seemed like a series of coincidences, but from another perspective, this title, from its very acquisition, was perfectly suited to Su Xiao's traits—an [Exclusive Title]. And [Exclusive Titles] weren't rare; most contractors accidentally obtained their own.
Some even went so far as to consume their own un-evolved [Exclusive Title] as a secondary title. And [Exclusive Titles] weren't necessarily good. It was said this thing was related to one's luck—not that the luckier you were, the stronger the title, but that the stronger your luck, the stronger the title.
Obviously, Su Xiao's inherited Law Destroyer luck caused his [Exclusive Title] to display power matching that luck when it reached [Limit Forging · Three Times], along with the unavoidable fate entanglement between Law Destroyers and the Abyss.
The real question was: what caused this already max-potential [Exclusive Title] to break its potential cap?
Su Xiao had always been self-aware. He never considered himself a child of destiny. Even though [Origin Stone: World]'s description said he was already chosen, he still didn't think he was particularly unique or special. He was just someone walking step by step toward the strongest, not knowing if he'd fall halfway.
But even if he fell halfway, he wouldn't regret it. The scenery along this path was beautiful.
Su Xiao thought of one thing: his most unique experience was undoubtedly gathering all the fragments of [Origin Stone: World] and synthesizing this supreme treasure. It seemed that [Abyssal Shadow], as his [Exclusive Title], had 99% likely received some hidden boost from [Origin Stone: World], giving it this potential.
Previously, Su Xiao had felt regret that [Abyssal Shadow], which he'd painstakingly upgraded to the title rank peak of [Limit Forging · Five Times], was a three-attribute title. Its core trait, [Abyss Walking], could claim 50% of the title potential, while the remaining two traits, [Wrath Shadow] and [Dark Shadow], each got 25%.
Now it seemed that if [Abyssal Shadow]'s potential cap was 200%, then [Abyss Walking] could claim 100% title potential, putting it on par with single-attribute 100% potential ultra-rare titles. The two secondary attributes would each get 50% potential, completely crushing single-attribute 100% potential ultra-rare titles.
If the title potential was 300%, then [Abyssal Shadow] might become the strongest title in history. Tuanzhang's enviable powerful title had a potential of 285%.
He still had many [Spreading Bed] titles left. Su Xiao used them on [Abyssal Shadow] one after another.
Three hours later, Su Xiao looked at the last [Spreading Bed] title that had turned into white powder, then re-equipped [Abyssal Shadow] to his title slot.
[Abyssal Shadow] had unimaginable potential, but this required a sufficient number of 99.99% nurturing success rate [Spreading Bed] titles. In other words, he needed a massive amount of Hunter Gold Coins. The good news was that he had just upgraded the source of Hunter Gold Coins—the [Old Hunter] title.
This time, over ten hours passed before the withered gray-white [Spreading Bed] fell off the surface of [Old Hunter]. The nurturing was complete.
[Old Hunter]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Limit Forging: Three Times.
Title Potential: 100%.
Category: Rare · Title
Title Effect: Old Hunter (Passive) — When killing Violators or Abyss-type enemies, you gain 1 to 10,000 Hunter Gold Coins (based on the enemy's overall strength).
Note: Due to the particularity of this title, you only need to possess it, not equip it, to activate the [Old Hunter] effect.
Description: You are already an experienced old hunter, so... enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
Selling Price: Unsellable.
...
The originally dual-attribute [Old Hunter] had become single-attribute. This made Su Xiao feel he still didn't fully understand the title system. But then, he figured out why.
The title system was actually a powerful system belonging to the Charm attribute. From long ago, contractors had discovered that the Charm attribute's contribution to combat power was far less intuitive than Strength, Agility, Stamina, or Intelligence.
This was because the Charm attribute was never a combat attribute; it required long-term accumulation and development. This was also the core of the title system: accumulation and development.
Su Xiao had developed his title system so strongly entirely because, in the early stages, he relied on the army flow, and later, on his own strength.
Thinking back, most of the titles he obtained in large quantities early on were through the army flow, which gradually allowed him to cultivate the Demon Insect Race.
Speaking of which, the Demon Insect Race was clearly a system that only a powerful Charm summoning class could develop. However, Su Xiao perfectly replaced the summoner subject with the Insect Race Dominator Jila. No, it wasn't just replacement—it was complete crushing.
This upgrade of [Old Hunter] was a qualitative change. Although its combat system bonus was gone, the fact that it could take effect without being equipped freed up a title slot, allowing Su Xiao to equip the combat title [Abyssal Shadow].
He still had 352 nine-star title blanks, to be used later to upgrade [Old Hunter] to [Limit Forging · Four Times].
Su Xiao felt himself. This upgrade was over. All that was left was to wait for the next round of confrontation to begin. Just then:
Dong dong dong~
A knock on the train door. He controlled the train to open it. The visitor was none other than Sacred Destiny Rosa.
At the start of this Paradise War, Sacred Destiny Rosa was a member of Su Xiao's team. He thought she had died in the previous world. When he returned, he didn't see her on the teleportation array. Yet here she was, alive and back at the rest point, without losing her qualification to participate.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Rosa, the captain of the Apocalypse Paradise's Destiny Team this time."
Rosa had a gentle temperament, wearing a gold-white clerical robe with a hood, holding a twisted staff over 1.6 meters long. The staff was straight overall, looking suitable for gripping the thin end with both hands and swinging it overhead to hit someone.
Rosa's gaze was clear and gentle, paired with a beautiful face that wore a kind smile. She seemed to radiate holy light on her own.
Don't be fooled by Rosa's appearance into thinking she was a redeemer type. Having appeared on the [Apocalypse Paradise Annual Fool Ranking] three times in a row couldn't be ordinary. And among those three times, she was first twice and had pre-ordered second place this year.
What truly puzzled Su Xiao was that his previous interactions with Sacred Destiny Rosa hadn't been pleasant by any measure. But now, looking at Rosa's demeanor, it was as if nothing had happened before. The eyes were the window to the soul, and at this moment, Rosa's window showed a clear yet foolish gaze.
"Hello."
Su Xiao wasn't rude and greeted her accordingly.
"Mr. White Night, I've already inquired. Our side's victories in the previous rounds were all thanks to you. From now on, as the captain of Apocalypse Paradise's second team, I will definitely be your reliable partner."
With that, Rosa showed her little fangs in a smile and gave a thumbs up.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He always felt that Rosa wasn't acting. So there was a high probability that the Rosa from the previous world had actually died, and this one was a new Rosa.
Moreover, the previous Rosa and this one had different personalities. Perhaps each Rosa had a different personality. The previous one was more withdrawn and cold, while this one was full of energy and familiar. Within minutes of arriving, she had already fetched herself a cold drink, then crouched in front of Bubu Wang, smiling as she sipped through a straw.
Click~
The sound of Rosa taking a selfie. This girl had already put on headphones, grinning as she took a photo with Bubu Wang.
Su Xiao glanced at the team channel. Team One was still White Night Team, but the members had been automatically replenished:
Captain: White Night.
Members: Fenny (Support/Healing Type), Cannon Harlow (Ranged/Perception Type), Great Mountain (Tank Type), Tyrant (Undead Type).
Seeing the name Tyrant, Su Xiao knew the next round wouldn't be simple. This negative-intelligence-attribute guy might be lacking in brains, but his survivability was unquestionable. He had survived a trip through the Eternal Light World and was part of the Big Smart Three.
"Oh? What are you looking at? Let me see too."
Rosa curiously leaned in as she spoke.
"..."
"Oh, I know! You're looking at the new members in the team, right? Apocalypse Paradise's Battle Angels, I'm familiar with them!"
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak. Baha flew over and landed on his shoulder, saying, "This time, our team has three new ones: Cannon Harlow, Tank Great Mountain, and Tyrant."
"Harlow? Never heard of him. Small fry. Great Mountain, I know him. We teamed up for a World War last time. Tyrant? That idiot still isn't dead? Tough."
Rosa opened up and started chatting with Baha. Before long, Baha asked how Rosa had escaped from the previous world.
"Escape? I didn't escape. I died there. Otherwise, how would I exist? Hehe, I'm Rosa No. 1500. I have a feeling I'll be the last Rosa. The immortal Rosa!"
Rosa might have felt she was exaggerating too much, so she cleared her throat: "Anyway, that's how it is. In the next round, we must cooperate sincerely. Bye~"
Rosa didn't step down the train's stairs but jumped off in one go. Baha saw that outside the train were Rosa's four teammates, all wearing worried expressions. Rosa's reputation for being unlucky for her teammates was well-known. It wasn't that Rosa had ill intentions toward her teammates; on the contrary, she cherished them. The problem was, the more she cared about someone, the worse their fate.
Time flew by, and soon the rest period ended.
[World War · Round Five is about to begin.]
[Total Broken Origins this round: 8.]
[Teleportation is about to begin. Location: Dawn Periphery (Ruins Periphery).]
...
After a hazy teleportation sensation, the surrounding light gradually dimmed. When the spatial fluctuations dissipated, Su Xiao found himself on an old but magnificent teleportation platform.
Looking around, over thirty participants were all here, but each team was separated by a golden light membrane.
[Prompt (Void Tree): This phase is a free exploration phase.]
[Collecting the basic status of the eight team captains: White Night, Shenfu, Haotao, Platinum Apostle, Tailide, Kaien, Dilin, Rosa.]
As soon as the prompt appeared, fine green light particles formed around Su Xiao and then disappeared.
[Successfully collected information on the eight captains. Eight Dark Hybrids will be created.]
[Number of Dark Hybrids: Eight.]
[The combat power, abilities, and traits of the eight Dark Hybrids will be based on their corresponding captains.]
[White Night Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SSS+ (Highest Danger Level).]
[White Night Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Extreme Blade / Space Walking / Backlash.]
[Shenfu Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SSS+ (Highest Danger Level).]
[Shenfu Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Immortal.]
[Haotao Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SSS+ (Highest Danger Level).]
[Haotao Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Strength Giant.]
[Platinum Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SSS+ (Highest Danger Level).]
[Platinum Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Causality · Non-Existent Object.]
[Magic Scythe Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SS.]
[Magic Scythe Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Black Ash.]
[Kaien Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: SS.]
[Kaien Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Steel Demon Heart.]
[Dilin Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: A.]
[Dilin Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Charm Soul Devourer.]
[Rosa Team · Dark Hybrid Danger Level: D-.]
[Rosa Team · Dark Hybrid Traits: Happiness.]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao, Shenfu, Haotao, and Platinum Apostle all felt a sense of unease. The subsequent prompt immediately confirmed this bad feeling.
[Prompt (Void Tree): Each Dark Hybrid has swallowed a [Origin Fragment]. Only by killing these Dark Hybrids can you obtain the [Origin Fragment] they swallowed.]
[Each captain must kill the Dark Hybrid corresponding to their traits to obtain the entry key unique to you. After passing through the Ruins Periphery, you can reach the [Dawn Gate] deep in the darkness, thereby entering the Dawn Ruins.]
[Successfully entering the Dawn Ruins will automatically activate the final phase of the war.]
[Within the Dawn Ruins, a total of 21 [Broken Origins] are distributed. When any team obtains more than 26 [Broken Origins], this round of the war will immediately determine the winner.]
...
Rounds Five and Six of the war seamlessly connected. This meant that whichever team first defeated the Dark Hybrid corresponding to their team could enter the Dawn Ruins first, finding the easier-to-find [Broken Origins]. But the problem was also here: the stronger the captain, the stronger the corresponding Dark Hybrid.
Su Xiao's Dark Hybrid was absurd. Three traits. Extreme Blade and Space Walking were understandable, but how did Backlash come about? This thing gave Su Xiao a faint sense of dread. Now he could only hope that this wasn't derived from sealing too many daddy-level Original Sin objects. If so, the Dark Hybrid he spawned would be unwinnable.
Just as the teams began discussing their strategies, a humanoid creature dashed out from the darkness ahead.
This figure had disproportionately long legs. Its entire body was dark, like a solid humanoid shadow compressed from black mist. Because its legs were too long, it looked somewhat bow-legged. If he guessed correctly, this was one of the eight Dark Hybrids.
The invincible light barrier was still present, so the participants could only watch this Dark Hybrid. The Dark Hybrid also tilted its head, curiously observing the crowd, and scratched its head in confusion.
The light barrier gradually faded. The Dark Hybrid seemed to sense danger and ran past the front of the barrier in large strides.
"Yahahahaha!"
The Dark Hybrid laughed as it ran, with its comical bow-legged long legs and wildly swinging thin arms. It looked extremely happy.
After a brief silence on the teleportation platform, everyone's gaze turned to Rosa. Rosa's four teammates simultaneously took a step back, highlighting her. She watched the running Dark Hybrid, the corners of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
Everyone could see that Rosa's Dark Hybrid was really happy. However, Rosa herself didn't seem so happy anymore.