Chapter 48: Clever Use
The moment the light curtain vanished, Rosa charged out first, chasing after her own Dark Hybrid. The four teammates behind her hesitated for a moment before gritting their teeth and following.
Boom!
Blood energy erupted violently. Su Xiao vanished from his original position and reappeared beside the Platinum Apostle. He was not the type to swallow an insult after being schemed against.
"Blade Path: Extreme."
Clang!
The blade was bitingly cold. The Platinum Apostle, currently in the form of a middle-aged man with a ponytail, had his head severed in an instant. As his head flew up, a smile still lingered on his face as he said, "This blade... is ridiculously sharp."
With a thud, the Platinum Apostle's head hit the ground. Blood flames ignited at the severed neck and on the head, burning everything to ash.
Su Xiao naturally knew this couldn't completely kill the Platinum Apostle, but depriving him of his vessel would silence him for a while. That was enough.
This lightning-fast strike, which made everyone's heart skip a beat, prompted the others to quickly leave. Just then, Shenfu sent a message:
'Bai Ye, I suggest we split up.'
Shenfu's face wore a benevolent smile, but Su Xiao knew this old bastard clearly didn't want to face his own Dark Hybrid, which had three characteristics.
Seeing Su Xiao's tacit agreement, Shenfu soon disappeared into the distant darkness, leaving only Su Xiao's team.
Baha flew over and landed on Su Xiao's shoulder, its gaze sweeping over Cannon Halo, Tank Jushan, and the dark-skinned Tyrant, who looked at everyone with hostility. Especially when he saw Su Xiao, the flesh on Tyrant's face trembled.
"Three of you, you have two choices now. Pay 300,000 Soul Coins for a safe exit, or join us for the rest of the battle..."
Before Baha could finish, Cannon Halo interrupted, "Spare us the nonsense. The three of us brothers aren't backing out of this melee."
Cannon Halo's meaning was clear: since the team leader was domineering and dangerous, and the healer Fenny sided with him, the three of them would tacitly unite.
"Who's your brother? Who do you think you are?"
Tyrant coldly glanced at Cannon Halo, catching him off guard. Halo had heard that the undying Tyrant wasn't good at strategy, but now it seemed he was simply brainless.
Tyrant snorted and strode into the distant darkness. Halo and Jushan exchanged glances before quietly following Tyrant, planning to use this simpleton as a pathfinder. On the outskirts of this dark ruin, perception was suppressed. Even a Perception-type contractor could only sense within a one-kilometer diameter, while ordinary Absolute Strength-level beings had their perception crushed to less than ten meters.
Just as Cannon Halo stepped forward, he suddenly felt a warmth on his hand. He raised it in confusion to see hot blood splattering across it.
"Huh?"
Cannon Halo was bewildered. He hadn't even sensed danger, as if everything was normal. Jushan, seeing this, widened his eyes in fury.
"Halo, you!"
Jushan shouted, then froze, because he too couldn't detect where the danger came from. In his perception, there were no enemies nearby.
A spine-chilling scene unfolded. An invisible blade slowly slit Cannon Halo's throat, yet Halo himself remained calm, even wiping his blood-stained hand with a wet towel, as if it were just dirt rather than the blood of danger and death.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Cannon Halo turned his head to Jushan and asked, "Let's go. What are you standing there for?"
"You, you, you!"
Jushan had never seen such a bizarre scene. As a Tank-type who grew up in an adventure group, he had faced many powerful enemies and grand spectacles, but this high-level strangeness was beyond his experience.
The invisible short knife carved open Cannon Halo's chest, ripped out his still-beating heart, and placed it in his hand.
"Huh? What's this? Looks familiar. Jushan, did you hand this to me?"
Cannon Halo held his own heart in one hand, completely unconcerned about the blood spraying from his throat, and looked at Jushan.
Jushan took several steps back, swallowed, and asked, "Captain, what is this?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, but he roughly guessed what it was. This was most likely the Dark Hybrid corresponding to the Platinum Apostle, with the characteristic of "Causality: Nonexistent Object."
He didn't attack recklessly. From what he knew, half of the Platinum Apostle's strangeness came from his own ability system, and the other half from the "Forbidden Mark: Fate."
Back then, Dawn Paradise had sealed the "Forbidden Mark." The fact that it required a Paradise faction to seal it showed how troublesome the "Forbidden Mark" was. Fortunately, it had shattered into five pieces. Each time it found a host, it started weak, but the stronger it grew, the more formidable its abilities became.
Su Xiao had dealt with such strange abilities many times. He estimated that this Dark Hybrid could ignore 99.99% of attack types, with only a specific type of attack capable of harming it. Conversely, when facing that specific attack, it would be extremely fragile, possibly dying after one or two hits.
Snap!
Su Xiao's crystal right arm shattered, putting Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha on high alert.
Su Xiao raised his half-destroyed crystal right arm. He could sense that he had been attacked, but the feeling and fact of being attacked were being devoured by an unknown, massive, invisible entity.
He couldn't see where this massive invisible entity was, only vaguely sensing its direction. Since it liked to devour things, he would satisfy it. The "Book of Original Sin" appeared in his hand, and he tossed it toward the invisible entity.
The devouring suction, which was imperceptible yet real, suddenly vanished from in front of him. The invisible entity had fled. This proved that this level of strangeness was not enough to shake Su Xiao's causality. Law-Destroying luck plus Original Sin causality—even stronger causality-type strangeness wouldn't dare approach him.
Moreover, if the five "Forbidden Mark" fragments fused together, that would be truly terrifying. The Puppet Mark, Devouring Mark, Fate Mark, Soul Mark, and Mind Mark—their abilities complemented each other. The person who once had the qualifications to gather all five marks and knew the fusion method had already been killed by Su Xiao.
As the invisible entity retreated, Cannon Halo collapsed. His pale, dead face looked as if he had been dead for a long time. Seeing this, Jushan's cheek twitched violently.
"300,000 Soul Coins, right? Deal."
Jushan had realized this wasn't the high-end battle he had thought it was. This was a purgatory. Without real strength, coming here was just suicide.
"Cough!"
Baha cleared its throat. It was time for it to shine. "300,000 was our offer. Now that you've come to us, it should be 500,000..."
[Tip: You have received a 500,000 Soul Coin savings card (certified by the Void Tree).]
Such a quick payment made Baha want to slap itself. It had gotten used to steady income and forgotten that no more participants would enter. Then again, these were contractors who had climbed to the Absolute Strength level. Even though the Apocalypse Paradise environment was gentler, making it easier to reach this point, if it squeezed too hard, this Tank-type wouldn't lack the courage to fight to the death.
After a familiar process, Jushan was kicked out of the team with a bewildered expression, followed by a prompt that he would be withdrawn in 30 minutes.
"Phew, this damn place, I can't stand a second..."
A faint sound of a blade piercing flesh came. Jushan felt a chill in his chest. Looking down, a black knife shrouded in black mist had pierced from his back to his chest. He could even clearly see the blood dripping from the tip.
One strike dropped Jushan's health by 85%, making his eyes widen. But the next moment, a hand grabbed his neck from behind and dragged him backward.
Clang!
A long blade slashed from in front of Jushan. This time, he judged that it was the Hunter who had been in front of him. Even though he was being ambushed, the Hunter was trying to kill him on the spot!
"Wait..."
Jushan barely shouted "wait" when the space-penetrating Dragon-Slaying Flash cut through his throat without resistance. Jushan wasn't stupid. He knew this was a space-penetrating divine skill. Envious, he also realized this was a rescue after payment. He immediately cooperated, and golden scales spread across his back.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. After the long blade pierced Jushan, it slashed toward a figure behind him. This figure was about Su Xiao's height, composed of black mist, with a bare upper body, a long leather coat hem, a belt with a scabbard strap at the waist, and eyes emitting a dark blue glow.
When Su Xiao struck, he usually aimed for the enemy's throat. This strike was no different. Dragon-Slaying Flash was sharp enough to tear through space. It cut into the Dark Hybrid's neck without resistance, sinking into the flesh. But the next moment, it abruptly stopped.
Such a fierce slash suddenly halting caused the wind pressure from the strike to roar. The Dark Hybrid seized the opportunity, grabbing Jushan's neck and leaping into the interlaced space behind.
As the Dark Hybrid landed in the distance, Jushan's body was sliced into pieces by spatial cracks, falling one by one. The Dark Hybrid stood there, looking at Su Xiao. It raised its black knife with one hand, while the index finger of its other hand, emitting black mist, flicked the blade with a clang.
Buzz!
The space around the Dark Hybrid twisted into a vortex, swallowing it.
Blood trickled down Su Xiao's neck. He was now certain that this was the Dark Hybrid corresponding to him: Extreme Blade / Space Walker / Backlash.
The "Backlash" characteristic was extremely troublesome. Any damage inflicted on the Dark Hybrid during combat would be reflected back onto the attacker. For example, the throat-slashing strike he had just made was fully reflected onto himself.
The key was that, judging by its form, cutting off its head probably wouldn't kill it.
Su Xiao didn't believe this thing was unsolvable. He looked around. The teleportation platform behind him had disappeared, meaning the Dark Hybrid had taken this entire surrounding space with it during its spatial movement. So much for the "Space Walker" characteristic. He had thought it could walk within space, but it turned out it could walk with an entire space.
He took out a "Colored Stone," an alchemical creation. Smashing it on the ground would contaminate the surrounding space, using it as a coordinate.
Snap!
An orange "Colored Stone" shattered on the ground, forming a stain-like colored zone that fixed itself in place.
Su Xiao stepped forward. At first, he began to distance himself from the stained zone, but after a few steps, he found that the zone behind him was moving with him. He stopped. Without a doubt, this large area of space was moving with him, but he wasn't the center.
Being targeted by his own Dark Hybrid made Su Xiao think of one thing: if killing the Dark Hybrid brought him benefits, would killing him bring benefits to the Dark Hybrid? For this Void Tree-created Dark Hybrid, the most precious thing was undoubtedly freedom.
Putting himself in its shoes, for a newly born Dark Hybrid, this was like its first trial after birth. Completing this trial would allow it to survive and see the vast world outside.
Confirming this, Su Xiao signaled Baha to take Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and Fenny into the alternate space. He wasn't worried about the Dark Hybrid chasing them there. The alternate space Baha had opened was more like a sanctuary, not easy to breach, and the Dark Hybrid's target was Su Xiao.
Alone now, Su Xiao began to ponder the thing's weakness. Logically, even in a dangerous Paradise battle, the Void Tree shouldn't create such an unsolvable thing. Moreover, risk and reward were proportional. The stronger the Dark Hybrid reflected from oneself, the richer the reward after killing it.
The most crucial thing now was to find the Dark Hybrid's weakness. The dumbest method was to try various attacks. Su Xiao wouldn't do that. He had a Law-Destroying ability:
"Adaptive Power, X (Passive)
Skill Effect: Increases 70-100 points of irreducible True Resistance based on the enemy's characteristics!
Tip: 'True Resistance' has absolute priority. Enemies cannot reduce this resistance through any means."
When Su Xiao was hit by the backlash earlier, it should have increased "Physical Resistance," but instead, it increased True Dark Resistance by 95 points. This meant that all of the Dark Hybrid's abilities, no matter how strange, powerful, or unsolvable, originated from darkness.
A flashbang grenade from his lower rank appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He pulled the pin and threw it.
Boom!
A bright light flashed. The surrounding space rippled faintly, telling Su Xiao what to do next. Bright light was effective against the Dark Hybrid, but the flash from the grenade wasn't strong enough.
One of the top alchemical creations of the Second Era Alchemical Civilization, the "Mysterious Eye," appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Its strongest feature was allowing the user to develop it freely according to their needs.
He had developed three functions: 1. Enemy data detection (suppressed by certification after entering Dawn Paradise), 2. Lockpicking tool, 3. Flashbang.
If the old alchemist who created the Mysterious Eye knew it had been developed like this, he would definitely grab a handy tool, hit Su Xiao with it, and curse, "You disgrace of mechanical alchemy!"
As much as potion alchemists admired Su Xiao, mechanical alchemists wanted to clean house. That was Su Xiao's alchemy.
However, the always useless flashbang function of the Mysterious Eye could finally be put to use.
Activating the Mysterious Eye in his hand, the intricately structured mechanical eye rotated like a super multi-layered Rubik's Cube, finally using its mysterious engravings to form a "Light" character in the Abyss Language.
Su Xiao threw the Mysterious Eye.
Boom!!
A blinding light erupted, illuminating an area several kilometers around. Earlier, he had traded with the "Hunting Church" to obtain the lost core of the Mysterious Eye. With the complete Mysterious Eye, all its characteristics had increased by over a hundred times.
The range wasn't the point; the intensity was. This flashbang caused "Pseudo-Light Elements" to inversely spawn on the outskirts of the dark ruins.
A scream came from a hundred meters away. The space-stealthed Dark Hybrid was forced to reveal itself. Its entire body emitted white mist, trembling from the burning.
"Roar!"
The Dark Hybrid roared in anger, sending layers of black air waves spreading.
With a whoosh of spatial movement, the Dark Hybrid appeared in front of Su Xiao, their blades clashing.
Clang!
Blades met. Good, the "Extreme Blade" characteristic had allowed the Dark Hybrid to inherit Su Xiao's slashing power and force. However, the combat techniques of a Blade Grandmaster weren't something it could use immediately after inheriting.
Clang, clang, clang!
Su Xiao struck three times in quick succession.
"Blade Path: Time."
Thump~
The Time wave spread, slowing everything around. The Dark Hybrid immediately raised its blade to block.
Another clang, as Su Xiao stepped onto the Dark Hybrid's horizontal blade, backflipping into the air.
"Blade Path: Flow."
In midair, an elegant wind scar slashed out. It seemed light but possessed terrifying cutting power.
Clang!
The black knife was knocked upward by the wind scar. On the other side, Su Xiao was still in midair, not yet landing.
"Blade Path: Swift."
Su Xiao turned into a blur, instantly closing in on the Dark Hybrid.
Clang~
A slash mark appeared on the Dark Hybrid's chest. After this strike, Su Xiao leaped back a few meters and casually slashed out a deep blue blade aura. With a clang, the black knife was forced to meet the aura, the force of the slash stopping the pursuing Dark Hybrid in its tracks.
Su Xiao felt his chest. No slash backlash. He looked at the Dark Hybrid. Due to the earlier flash, a white smoke-like substance covered its surface, slowly dissipating.
4, 5.
Counting to the fifth second, he found that the white smoke on the Dark Hybrid's surface disappeared. This meant that after each strong light attack, the Dark Hybrid had at least 5 seconds where it couldn't reflect the damage back to the attacker.
The Dark Hybrid let out a low growl from its throat, revealing interlocking sharp teeth, indicating it was transforming into a beast. But the next second, the Mysterious Eye flew in front of it, and it covered its face with one claw.
Boom!
Clang, clang.
The blade was fierce. The Dark Hybrid's two claws were severed, forcing it to kneel on one knee, its teeth grinding audibly. But the next moment, even with the Dark Hybrid's ferocity, its dark blue pupils rapidly contracted. A powerful wind pressure hit it head-on as Su Xiao delivered a straight kick.
Boom!!!
The space within a radius of dozens of kilometers trembled, as if struck by an invisible ten-thousand-meter giant standing between heaven and earth.
This time, the Dark Hybrid wasn't hit by a flash attack; it had become light itself. Su Xiao's straight kick was simply inhumane. The entire Melee Grandmaster system had 99% of its enhancements poured into this straight kick.
Combined with various other passive boosts, this straight kick had reached the power of a top-tier Absolute Strength-level ultimate move. No, if "Origin: Star Power" was triggered, the power would increase fivefold.
Boom!!!
A loud crash echoed as the Dark Hybrid slammed into a pitch-black steel giant door. This was the Dawn Gate. This kick had sent it flying at least fifty or sixty kilometers.
Before the Dark Hybrid could get up, a spatial shockwave came. The Law-Destroying Teleportation Array appeared near it, followed by a blood-red beam tearing through the air.
"Blood Smoke Cannon."
Boom! The Dark Hybrid dodged by tilting its head. It threw away its black knife, choosing the path of a raging beast over technique.
"Roar!!"
A powerful dark roar shockwave spread from the Dark Hybrid as its center. It began transforming from humanoid to half-human, half-beast. Due to the beast transformation, one of its front claws slammed into the ground, claws growing wildly, saliva dripping from its mouth, eyes turning into blood-red vertical pupils.
Locked in the Dark Hybrid's blood-red gaze, Su Xiao felt a bad premonition. He had to finish this quickly. This thing was getting more and more wrong.
"Blade Path: Azure Demon."
A blue-green blade aura shot out. Azure Demon was fast, but the next second, the Dark Hybrid shattered it with a claw. The raging beast itself was stunned for a moment, looking at its own claw in confusion.
Buzz~
The Mysterious Eye was thrown over. The Dark Hybrid, deliberately showing a flaw, gradually formed a cruel smile on its lips. Its eyes grew even redder.
Suddenly, the Dark Hybrid vanished from its spot. Not by hiding in space, but truly disappearing. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao's eyes turned blood-red. He flipped his long blade, pressing it against his own neck, preparing to sever his own head.
As a Blade Grandmaster, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't be mind-controlled. The Dark Hybrid's move was to cover Su Xiao's body with dark backlash power. Logically, this was an invasive type, a dual control of soul and body. But after attempting to invade, it decisively gave up. A Lv.95 Blade Grandmaster with 1500 Soul Strength—invading such an existence's body and soul was simply wishful thinking.
Just as the blade touched Su Xiao's neck, about to cut into the flesh, the previously thrown "Mysterious Eye" flew back in a curve. Yes, this was the "Returning Flashbang" Su Xiao had developed long ago, which had always been useless. He had thought this move would never work, but now it had a miraculous effect.
A hint of confusion appeared in the Dark Hybrid's eyes. With its intelligence, it couldn't understand why such a move existed. But it didn't need to understand; it just needed to get beaten.
Boom!!
A blinding light erupted. The Dark Hybrid let out a wail, forced to leave Su Xiao's body, stumbling and falling in front of him, trying to flee in the light.
"Blade Path: Extreme."
The long blade cut a black scar through space, also slicing through the Dark Hybrid's neck. Its head flew up as its body froze.
With a pop, the Dark Hybrid's body shattered into black flesh fragments. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao received a prompt.
[You have killed Dark Hybrid: Phase 1 (This unit has a total of seven phases).]
[You have obtained "Dark Hybrid Source." This item can be submitted to Reincarnation Paradise to complete "Bounty 3: Spawn."]
[You have obtained Origin Fragment ×1.]
[Because you have not completely killed the Dark Hybrid corresponding to yourself, you cannot yet obtain the Dawn Ruins "Entry Key."]
[It has been detected that your Dark Hybrid has an extremely high kill difficulty. After successfully killing this Dark Hybrid, you will receive the following resources.]