Chapter 53: Convergence
Watching the "Primordial Mask" that had already become a mask of agony, Su Xiao tossed it into the darkness in the distance. The next moment, this withered wooden mask vanished, yet for some reason, Su Xiao had a feeling that he would likely encounter this mask again in the future.
Checking the flood of reward notifications that had stopped scrolling, the death of the Dark Hybrid had terminated the income of "Hunter Gold Coins." However, surprisingly, these Hunter Gold Coins did not go directly to Su Xiao but entered a settlement phase. It seemed this was a side effect of the numerous intermediate judgments, but it was probably not a big issue.
Ignoring this for now, Su Xiao needed to complete one task before the final melee began. He took out Gray Gentleman's Scarlet Card. Earlier, he had maneuvered the Lord's Train to travel through the Dawn Ruins. This place was vast, with some areas nearly boundless, but the activity zones for contractors with basic infrastructure could be crossed by the Lord's Train in a few hours.
Even so, he still felt the vastness of the Paradise. No wonder he often saw paid teleportation arrays in Reincarnation Paradise. However, every time he returned, he focused on enhancing his combat power and rarely wandered around Reincarnation Paradise.
The reason for having the Lord's Train cross the Dawn Ruins was to use Gray Gentleman's Scarlet Card to resonate with the puppets that still survived here. He had thought Dean was the last puppet, but when the Lord's Train arrived at Zone 4 of the Dawn Ruins, this Scarlet Card reacted again.
After waiting for over ten minutes, Baha flew in from the distance. As for Amu and Beini, their whereabouts were unknown for now. Using the team positioning function, it showed that Amu and Beini's locations were unknown, but judging from their vital signs, there was no danger.
Returning to the train with Bubu Wang and Baha, he set the course, and the train started. Kaiser was already waiting there.
Meanwhile, at the Dawn Paradise, Far East District, Contractor Prohibited Area.
Gray mist dispersed, and everything in sight was a black ocean. This was actually a sea of darkness. On this boundless black sea, a slowly drifting piece of ice was particularly eye-catching.
Amu sat on the ice surface, beside him was Beini, whose cat eyes had lost their luster. Miss Beini had never imagined that entering the Dawn Ruins would teleport her onto the ocean. It seemed Mother Ocean's favor toward her was higher than she had thought.
"Meow~"
Beini let out a weak meow, no longer the angry and frustrated roar of the past. She was tired. Let it all be destroyed—this damn teleportation mechanism.
In her boredom, Beini yawned, as if sighing. Take things as they come. Being teleported here wasn't all bad; at least it was peaceful.
Just as Beini was thinking this, a pale hand, like that of a female ghost, reached out from the black seawater and climbed onto the ice. A pale face gradually emerged from the black water, its pitch-black eyes staring straight at Beini.
Beini, who had been listless moments before, instantly perked up. Her little head, like a CPU running at full capacity, quickly pondered what was happening. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. This black seawater was so similar to Dark Soul Liquid. Her owner was an expert in souls, and through constant exposure, Beini had learned quite a bit.
Beini immediately realized what this black sea was for. It was used by Dawn Paradise to cultivate dead souls, wraiths, vengeful spirits, and other consumables to maintain the daily consumption of the Soul Trial Tower. Not only Dawn Paradise had such facilities, but Reincarnation Paradise did too. However, only those specializing in soul-type abilities would spend a fortune to climb the tower.
Although Beini understood the situation, the circular ice surface, five meters in diameter, was now surrounded by pale-faced, pitch-black-eyed wraith sisters. Beini swallowed her saliva. A moment later.
"Meow!!"
A cat roar spread. It seemed Beini had regained her former spirited shouts.
...
The Lord's Train, like a steel beast, came to a stop. This was an exceptionally dim and desolate area. Stepping off the train, Su Xiao felt a chilling sensation. A hall forged from black iron stood ahead. The existence that resonated with Gray Gentleman's Scarlet Card was inside this building ahead.
Logically, upon discovering such a hidden threat, it should be eliminated immediately. However, this black iron hall was completely sealed, and entry was prohibited by authority.
Indeed, Dawn Paradise was in a dormant phase, but that didn't mean all its former certifications were invalidated. Su Xiao approached the black iron giant door and placed one hand on it.
[Warning: This location is a certified restricted zone. Hunters must leave immediately.]
Su Xiao checked the certifying party of this warning. It came from the Void Tree, which relieved him somewhat. He took out the Mysterious Eye. Based on his previous experience dismantling the "Potential Transcendence Device," Dawn Paradise's certifications were still in place but had lost their timeliness. In simple terms, this black iron hall was indeed a restricted zone, but the sealing certification on it had expired.
Switching the Mysterious Eye to lockpicking mode, he pressed it against the black iron door. Since the door had no keyhole, the Mysterious Eye transformed into a mechanical tentacle state and penetrated inside.
The precise sound of mechanical operation came from within the black iron door. The next second, a notification appeared.
[Warning: You are attempting to open a certified restricted zone.]
[Despite repeated warnings, you continue with your current action. Your Void Tree Reputation -85 points.]
[Your Void Tree Reputation -92 points.]
...
A series of blood-red notifications appeared. In just a few seconds, Su Xiao had lost several hundred points of Void Tree Reputation. This puzzled him. He glanced at Kaiser beside him. Kaiser shrugged and spread his hands, indicating he didn't quite understand either. Why would violating Dawn Paradise's residual certification deduct Void Tree Reputation?
If it were anyone else, they would now be regretfully stopping the lockpicking. But Su Xiao and Kaiser were very calm. One had a Void Tree Reputation of -????, the other -???. In this regard, they were evenly matched.
After more than ten minutes, Su Xiao had lost at least tens of thousands of points of Void Tree Reputation when the black iron door ahead creaked open. He tried to step inside. An invisible squeezing force came from ahead. It felt like walking into a building filled with resin. The further he went, the greater the resistance. After taking half a step, he could no longer advance.
It seemed that even 900 points of True Strength could not resist the residual certification power. This was the essential difference between a powerful individual and a Paradise-level entity.
Stepping back, Su Xiao looked at Kaiser beside him. Kaiser scratched his head and said, "My dear friend, this matter... it's not easy to handle."
According to Kaiser's Law:
Not easy to handle = Relatively simple.
Hard to handle = Some difficulty.
Very hard to handle = Quite difficult.
Extremely hard to handle = Need to add money.
Can't do it = This can be done, but the consequences are hard to bear.
This can't be done = Although it can be done, the subsequent backlash is exceptionally severe.
...
"100 ounces."
Su Xiao made a flat offer. This made Kaiser, who had expected only 85 ounces of Space-Time Power, brighten up, a sly smile spreading across his face.
Don't think Kaiser's asking price was low. Su Xiao had built a good foundation. By defeating the Abyssal Shadow·Siman·Archid in a near-certain death situation, he had obtained the "Hunt List·Blood Pact" as a way to acquire Space-Time Power. Of course, Siman·Archid had gone easy on him due to past ties and other motives... cough~, let it flow like the sea, and Su Xiao survived.
For a normal Absolute Strong contractor, 500 ounces of Space-Time Power would take some time to accumulate. Don't forget, in the Honor Shop, a [Absolute Strong·Passive Skill Scroll Chest] costs only 500 ounces of Space-Time Power, and this was a foundational passive ability.
A small vial sealed with 10 [Space-Time Stone Fragments] was tossed to Kaiser. Kaiser's only good quality began to show: once he received payment, he actually got things done, and very efficiently. He took out a blood-red mark and threw it into the black iron hall's door.
With a crack, the invisible chains collapsed, and the certification of this black iron hall instantly crumbled. Did Kaiser have such great ability? Of course not. This blood-red mark was a certification characteristic mark from Reincarnation Paradise. Reincarnation Paradise and Dawn Paradise were hostile factions, so their certifications would inevitably conflict. Kaiser exploited this.
Kaiser never thought that he, as an insignificant being, could shake the certification. He only used strength to challenge strength.
Although the certification was lifted, the interior of the black iron door ahead remained pitch black, with faint starlight, looking both dark and magical. Su Xiao reached his hand inside. His crystal right hand felt a slight chill, followed by a strong pulling force.
His vision flickered for an instant. Su Xiao stumbled a step before regaining his balance. The next second, Baha was dragged in by the pulling force, cursing as he flew past him, landing like an old hen and rolling into a ball. As for Bubu Wang, Su Xiao didn't let him in.
Starlight-like particles floated like fireflies inside the black iron hall. There were rows of metal square pillars, each dozens of meters tall and five meters wide, giving an idea of how spacious the hall was.
In this hall, seemingly built for giants, a massive heart hung in midair. More surprisingly, pieces of "Broken Origin" were embedded on the surface of this heart, flickering with each beat of the giant heart. Preliminary observation showed a total of 9 pieces of "Broken Origin."
Seeing this, Su Xiao finally understood why entering this place caused such a massive loss of Void Tree Reputation. The final melee hadn't even started. If he obtained these 9 pieces of "Broken Origin," it would be 19+9=28, making him the winner of this round of the competition, and the final phase wouldn't need to begin.
Although the 9 pieces of "Broken Origin" were right ahead, Su Xiao didn't rush forward. His instinct told him that within that heart, multiple forces were converging.
Gurgle~
The sound of flesh squirming and growing came. With the giant heart ahead as the core, black flesh spread, quickly forming a humanoid shape.
Clang!
A blade light flashed, but before it could hit the squirming flesh, it was swallowed by a layer of light membrane. More surprisingly, a notification appeared.
[Your Void Tree Reputation -12 points.]
Attacking the flesh derived from this giant heart actually deducted Void Tree Reputation. Su Xiao frowned in thought for a moment and decided to wait. If this was a powerful enemy, he would fight while losing Reputation to kill it.
The fact that he wasn't directly teleported away by the Void Tree meant his current actions violated the certification but didn't breach the initial regulations.
It seemed Su Xiao wasn't afraid of losing Void Tree Reputation, but he had a bottom line: he couldn't touch the initial regulations. Although he didn't understand the origin and details of the initial regulations, one thing was certain: the operation of the Paradise factions largely depended on the provisions of the initial regulations.
The flesh ahead spread, and the humanoid outline became clearer. In just a few minutes, a figure over four meters tall with eight arms of varying thickness appeared.
Although this being was generally humanoid, its head was relatively large, with a blue, jellyfish-like, translucent, and soft texture at the back of its head. It had a single soul-blue eye, and its face was protected by a faceplate densely covered with pores.
Flesh tentacles broke off, and the humanoid creature fell from midair, landing with a thud, representing the power of its lower limbs. Among the eight arms, the uppermost left and right arms were the thickest. The thickest upper right arm held a heavy round shield, two meters in diameter, over 30 centimeters thick at the center, thinning toward the edges. The edges had sun patterns and the heat of Solar Force radiating.
In its upper left arm was a two-meter-six-long, frost-covered ice greatsword. This greatsword was likely an Eternal Rank +10 or higher powerful weapon.
As the invisible light membrane dissipated, Su Xiao learned through detection that this humanoid creature was called the Convergence. The reason was its eight arms.
In its middle right arm was an Earth Scepter. This arm was far less thick than the greatsword and shield arms but still had a sense of strength. The left hand held a Necromancer Bone Staff, this arm withered to skin and bone, the thinnest of all arms.
The middle right hand held no weapon; each of its five fingers wore a light ring. This arm was relatively slender, only slightly thicker than the Necromancer arm. The left hand and arm were pitch black, the same thickness as the light arm.
The lower right arm was covered in branches, holding a withered tree with sprouting buds, representing natural power. This arm was only slightly thinner than the greatsword arm. The left hand held a translucent pink spear, with powerful mental force distorting the space around the spear.
Ice, Blazing Sun, Earth, Death, Light, Dark, Nature, Mind—eight attributes were already absurd, but don't forget the Convergence's jellyfish-like back of the head and its soul-blue single eye, which undoubtedly represented soul characteristics.
Even among the top Absolute Strong, the Convergence was a major boss with great presence. No wonder it symbolized a full 9 pieces of "Broken Origin."
Just then, spatial fluctuations came from behind. It was Fenny, forcibly dragged here by the Captain's summon. Upon arriving, Fenny received a flood of warnings. Seeing the notifications about deducting Void Tree Reputation, Fenny almost fainted from happiness.
A blade tip pressed against Fenny's throat. The clever Fenny immediately understood this was an opportunity. She transformed from an accomplice into a victim. So she quickly applied all her blessing-type abilities to Su Xiao. After a few heart-pounding seconds, no warning appeared.
Baha swooped by and dragged Fenny into an alternate space. Inside the alternate space, Fenny could still see the situation in the hall, but everything turned black and white. She observed the Convergence, confirming it was a super boss that could kill her with one hand.
Thud!
The Earth Scepter slammed into the ground, shaking the entire black iron hall. The Convergence's single eye looked around. After the initial confusion, the peaceful soul-blue light in its eye turned to a dangerous dark red.
"Roar!!!"
Layers of air waves spread outward, accompanied by layers of soul shockwaves.
The wind pressure hit Su Xiao. He raised one hand to block, peering through his fingers at the powerful enemy at the center of the soul tide.
The Convergence's roar continued. It slowly lifted its right foot and stomped the ground.
Boom! Metal-like stone spikes erupted from the ground.
Clang!
A blade chirped. As Su Xiao leaped up, the spikes covering the entire hall floor shattered, falling as debris. But the next moment, the Convergence's light hand clenched, and the fallen debris all turned into light particles. With a wave of its hand, they converged and shot toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao landed and immediately backflipped. Beams of light tracked him, crashing to the ground.
Bang! The Convergence's dark hand slapped the ground, turning it pitch black. The Convergence pulled its dark hand, as if lifting a dark carpet from the ground. Darkness enveloped Su Xiao, instantly bringing him before the Convergence.
The ice greatsword slashed down fiercely.
Boom!!
Shards flew everywhere. Although Su Xiao successfully performed a perfect block, the ice spreading from the greatsword extended to his arms and shoulders.
The soul power in the single eye had already gathered and shot straight at Su Xiao's chest. Su Xiao was blasted away, crashing into the black iron door behind him. The bucket-thick soul ray continued unabated, spraying crystal debris everywhere.
An even more astonishing scene appeared. The Convergence slammed the Earth Scepter onto the Sun Shield, causing magma patterns to appear on the ground. Two magma giant arms emerged and smashed toward Su Xiao.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
The magma arms struck with afterimages, the power so terrifying that space was riddled with cracks.
The light hand and dark hand touched, unleashing a power called annihilation, forming a spear. Strengthened to be several times thicker than the shield arm, the nature arm held it and threw it with a sonic boom.
Boom!
The magma fists paused for an instant but immediately grabbed Su Xiao, engulfing him in magma.
The light hand pressed onto the Sun Shield, emitting intense white light that decomposed everything, evaporating half a meter of the black iron floor.
Light + Dark + Nature formed a dragon-eye-sized, intensely white Ultra-Annihilation Light Orb. The Convergence's mouth under the faceplate split into a cruel and delighted smile. It had been sealed and sleeping for too long. Killing this intruder and then participating in one more round of combat would allow the Void Tree to grant it freedom.
"Too weak (Void Language)."
The Convergence's light hand elegantly flicked its index finger forward. The Ultra-Annihilation Light Orb turned into an afterimage in an instant, shooting straight at Su Xiao, who was wrapped in magma.
The magma giant hand shattered, crystal layers flying everywhere. Standing in place, Su Xiao had a look of confusion in his eyes. This major boss, which he would have had to risk his life to fight in the past, today... why... was it so weak?
The long blade slashed horizontally. The terrifying cutting force sent the incoming Ultra-Annihilation Light Orb flying, forming an L-shape as it crashed into the wall beside Su Xiao and exploded. The annihilation brought wind pressure, causing the hem of his long leather coat to flutter. His eyes, glowing red, signaled that the Convergence was in for big trouble.
Spatial ripples spread. Su Xiao vanished and reappeared directly in front of the Convergence.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Boom! It was hard to imagine that the clash between the long blade and the greatsword would produce such a sound.
With one slash, the Convergence, twice Su Xiao's height, staggered back a large step. The powerful cutting force forced it to hunch over, pressing its light hand to the ground to avoid kneeling on one knee.
Su Xiao stepped forward and slashed again. After all his accumulated experience, he finally began to appreciate the sweetness of normal attacks being ultimate moves and the pleasure of shaking enemies with every slash.
Clang! The long blade struck the ice greatsword. The ice on the greatsword's surface shattered, and the edge of this Eternal Rank weapon actually cracked a bit.
Inside the alternate space behind, Fenny's eyes gradually widened. For a moment, she forgot whether this was a challenge against a major boss or the major boss beating up an 800-year-old man with eight arms.
With a gush, the Convergence spat blood from the cutting force. Its single eye's pupil contracted, even trembling slightly.
"Sun (Void Language)."
The Convergence planted the Sun Shield on the ground, ready to unleash a solar shockwave. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao's straight kick came.
A brief silence.
Boom!!!
The Convergence felt the world shake before its eyes. Then its body became light, floating backward. The feeling of total relaxation reminded it of its days as a king on the Storm Continent. Those were truly brutal yet beautiful times... Wait!!
The Convergence's single eye snapped open. It had just seen its life flash before its eyes. A sharp pain came from its back as it crashed into the black iron wall behind. That wasn't all. The Sun Shield, carrying immense power, slammed against its body, causing it to spew blood and organ fragments like a fountain.
A faint wind sound came from ahead. The Convergence saw that the terrifying humanoid creature had already charged forward and was delivering another straight kick.
The storm howled outside the castle. The Convergence sat before the fireplace, savoring the blood wine in its hand, its eyes narrowing in enjoyment... !!!
The Convergence suddenly opened its eyes. Damn it, the life flash was like a continuous series, connecting.
The straight kick hit the Sun Shield.
Outside the black iron hall, Shenfu and the Platinum Apostle watched the hall ahead.
"Shenfu, should we go in?"
Just as the Platinum Apostle finished speaking.
Boom!!!
The ground trembled beneath their feet. Shenfu answered the Platinum Apostle with a kind smile. If you want to go in, go ahead. The Platinum Apostle was silent for a few seconds and decided not to enter.
Inside the black iron hall, the Convergence, now a sandwich filling, was turned into a blood fountain again by the force on the shield. Even the Sun Shield was dented and covered in cracks.
'Blade Path Sword: Flow.'
An elegant wind mark slashed through. The Convergence had no choice but to raise its arms to block. With a splash, four of its arms were severed, barely blocking the attack.
"Ah!!"
The Convergence roared in fury. Its back of the head expanded, soul power reaching its limit. In an unstoppable manner, it gripped the ice greatsword with both hands and slashed down at Su Xiao. However, "Dead Silence Annihilation" was already aimed at it. Su Xiao pulled the trigger with his index finger.
[Equipment Effect 2: Super·Annihilation Bullet (Core·Active): Instantly consumes all "Annihilation Bullets" of Dead Silence Annihilation. This attack's bullet flight speed increases by 5.86 times, bullet power increases by 1500%. Upon hitting the enemy, this "Super·Annihilation Bullet" will form an explosive attack rather than a bullet penetration attack. Therefore, this attack has a "Guaranteed Interruption Property," capable of interrupting, halting, or preventing the enemy's attack or ability that is about to be used or in use.
Tip: If this attack successfully interrupts the enemy's attack or ability, the enemy will enter a state of body paralysis from broken defense. The ultra-high concentration of Dead Silence Force exploded by this "Super·Annihilation Bullet" will be immediately recovered by your Dead Silence Annihilation, forming a "Super·Annihilation Bullet" that can exist for up to 3 seconds. If not fired within 3 seconds, this "Super·Annihilation Bullet" will dissipate...]
Bang!
A gray-black Annihilation Bullet flew out of the gun barrel, spiraling slightly. The bullet was incredibly fast. Almost as soon as Dead Silence Annihilation fired, the bullet hit the Convergence's chest, immediately interrupting its attack.
The Convergence's body went numb. Combined with the "Guaranteed Interruption Property," its furious slash deformed, turning into a crash landing in front of Su Xiao, sliding forward uncontrollably.
The Dead Silence Force that had exploded on the Convergence's chest instantly retracted into Dead Silence Annihilation, forming another "Super·Annihilation Bullet." Almost simultaneously, the Convergence, now prone, slid in front of Su Xiao. Its single eye was less than two meters from the muzzle of "Dead Silence Annihilation."
Bang!!
A powerful shot. The "Super·Annihilation Bullet" hit the Convergence's head, flipping it from a prone position to a backward arch, crashing into the wall again.
This time, the Convergence directly spewed various organs. Yet it still roared and charged forward.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Boom! Everything around slowed down, but Su Xiao was unaffected. He delivered a straight kick.
Bang!
After an exceptionally clear and satisfying force penetration, the Convergence crashed to one knee, its head forced down.
'Extreme Blade: White Night.'
Clang! A furious slashing sound. The surrounding world lost its color. After a brief silence, a trace of bright red appeared in the black-and-white world. It was the wound on the Convergence's neck. The Convergence lowered its head. Outmatched, it had no regrets.
The massive head fell. Su Xiao flicked the blood off his blade, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground. He waited quietly. Instead of a second phase from this major boss, he received a kill notification.
This made Su Xiao look somewhat puzzled. Then he realized it wasn't that the Convergence was too weak, but that he, having increased all four main attributes by 100 points and broken through the Absolute Strong level's physical attribute cap, was now too strong.
[Warning: You have killed the final enemy before the start of the final phase.]
[You have obtained "Broken Origin Mark" x9.]
[You have obtained Convergence Chest (Exclusive Chest for Paradise Competition).]
[Due to the incomplete certification of this chest, you can only open it after completing this Paradise Competition.]
[Warning: Due to the current state of this chest, it has the property of guaranteed drop upon killing.]
...
Seeing these notifications, Su Xiao suddenly understood why entering this place had started deducting Void Tree Reputation, and why killing a major boss had cost him tens of thousands of points. The Convergence was actually the final boss of this round of the Paradise Competition. But this boss hadn't even made its appearance before he killed it.