# Chapter 9: Dragon Shadow Flash (Each upgrade requires consuming 2 [Soul Energy Crystals])
...
The first to be eliminated was [Devouring Core]. No matter how one looked at it, upgrading [Devouring Core] to increase the success rate of advancing to [Supreme Peak] provided no benefit whatsoever.
[Demon Spirit Awakening] and [Demon Devouring Constitution] were also eliminated. These two abilities required accumulating 10 [Soul Energy Crystals] to upgrade together before their effects could be realized.
Furthermore, the two abilities [Demon Spirit Awakening] and [Demon Spirit Awakening] — when first mastered, due to their similar names, they were easy to confuse. Simply put, [Demon Spirit Awakening] was activated to slay [Indestructible Abyss Spawn].
Meanwhile, [Demon Spirit Awakening] was for increasing Demon Spirit strength and its applications, such as [Substitution], [Instant Recovery], and [Causal Severance], all of which were auxiliary abilities derived from [Demon Spirit Awakening].
[Absolute Demon Constitution] was also eliminated. For the same reason as above, its contribution to this [Supreme Peak] advancement was minimal.
[Demon Spirit Awakening] was likewise eliminated.
This left four abilities:
[Time: Dominator]
[Combat Prosthetic]
[Adaptive Force]
[Dragon Shadow Flash]
[Time: Dominator] required five [Soul Energy Crystals], while the three abilities below it each required two. Upgrading all three once would consume exactly six crystals.
From a practical combat standpoint, [Combat Prosthetic] + [Adaptive Force] + [Dragon Shadow Flash] was the optimal choice. However, if the goal was to increase the success rate of advancing to [Supreme Peak], upgrading [Time: Dominator] which enhanced [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] seemed like the better option.
Five [Soul Energy Crystals] shattered in Su Xiao's hand, transforming into a stream of dark blue energy that climbed up his right arm, spreading, penetrating, and invading. Only after combining with the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within his body did the enhancement take effect.
Su Xiao felt his right arm burn as if on fire, but the excruciating pain lasted only a few seconds. He leaned back against the sensory mechanical tentacle arm and drifted into sleep. This device was invented by Bubu Wang, specifically designed to monitor Su Xiao's Primordial Life Force fluctuations when upgrading Law-Destruction abilities. Once the Primordial Life Force showed signs of depletion, it would begin to sound an alarm.
Three hours later, Su Xiao opened his eyes. Returning to Reincarnation Paradise this time, the "sleep quality" could be described as "improving by leaps and bounds."
He checked the upgraded [Time: Dominator].
[Time: Dominator, X (Passive).]
Skill Effect (Passive): The duration of [Star Realm Stasis] caused by [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] ability is increased by +1 second.
...
All of [Time: Dominator]'s previous effects had disappeared, replaced by a simple yet powerful effect. It seemed like just a 1-second increase, but the duration of [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] accumulated bit by bit like this.
It wasn't about fearing too little improvement; it was about fearing having no way to improve at all. Five [Soul Energy Crystals] for 1 second. If more [Soul Energy Crystals] could be obtained later, the duration of [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] would gradually accumulate.
As for why he was so fixated on accumulating the duration of [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] — when fighting the Ancestral God, Su Xiao had just used [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] when the other party suddenly blurted out:
"Supreme."
Su Xiao had never heard of a Supreme system ability. He was more inclined to believe it referred to the Supreme Being.
That is to say, the Supreme Being might also possess an ability capable of causing [Star Realm Stasis]. And as the owner of this ability, he was more certain than anyone else of its unsolvable nature. The only thing that could resist [Star Realm Stasis] was another who also mastered [Star Realm Stasis].
At that point, both sides' [Star Realm Stasis] would envelop each other. The contest would be about who could keep the Star Realm frozen longer. Whichever side's [Star Realm Stasis] disappeared first would most likely become the loser.
Su Xiao didn't expect his own [Star Realm Stasis] ability to surpass that of the Supreme Being. After all, that was the strongest being who had mastered this ability since the First Era. He only needed the duration of his [Star Realm Stasis] ability to not be weaker than the Supreme Being's — only then would there truly be a fight.
Su Xiao checked his current success rate for advancing to [Supreme Peak]. It had reached 99.85%. Only 0.15% remained, but this 0.15% should not be underestimated. Falling short here would be far too costly. Additionally, the -280,000 luck was by no means a decoration.
He opened the Honor Shop. At the price of 7,500 ounces of Space-Time Power per crystal, he exchanged 20 [Primordial Cores] from his personal inventory. Additionally, he used [Reincarnation Medals] to exchange for two portions of [Primordial Source Matter].
[You have paid 150,000 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Primordial Core × 20.]
[You have paid 2 Reincarnation Medals.]
[You have obtained Primordial Source Matter × 2 portions.]
...
[To upgrade Heaven's Edge Shadow Slash, Lv.86, requires consuming 80,000 ounces of Space-Time Power, Primordial Core × 10, and one portion of [Primordial Source Matter].]
160,000 ounces of Space-Time Power + 20 [Primordial Cores] + two portions of [Primordial Source Matter] were consumed, and the upgrade began.
This time, only two levels of [Heaven's Edge Shadow Slash] were upgraded, but Su Xiao still stabilized for several hours before completely calming his aura. He checked the success rate for advancing to [Supreme Peak] again — it was now 100%. Sitting cross-legged before the [Awakening Stele], he did not hesitate and chose to advance to [Supreme Peak].
This time, there was no advancement trial. He could clearly feel faint barriers throughout his body. These barriers sealed a golden energy representing [Supreme Power] in various parts of his body. After his physical attributes exceeded 3,000 points, he began to sense, and even draw upon, the [Supreme Power] within himself.
With his will, the [Supreme Power] dormant throughout his body began to activate. When an invisible barrier above his heart was permeated and dissolved by the Supreme Power, golden Supreme Power surged into his heart. Following an exceptionally powerful heartbeat, as blood reached every part of his body, the Supreme Power throughout his entire body was fully activated.
Su Xiao felt the surrounding world fade away into the distance. He stood alone in a desert. The sand grains of this desert were pitch black. As far as the eye could see, there was endless black sand. The sky above was blood-red, and the sun was a dark crimson. A black liquid substance dripped down along the bottom edge of the sun. At first glance, the sun seemed like a magnificent blood-red ring seal at the edge of the sky.
The black sand beneath his feet gradually became stained with blood. Countless dead crawled out from the blood-soaked sand. Seeing the face of the first dead person, Su Xiao knew their origins. The person before him had a stunningly beautiful face with specks of blood — it was Xi, a former contractor of Apocalypse Paradise.
Aside from enemies from derivative worlds that could be reset, all those Su Xiao had killed from the First Rank to the Realm of Gods began to appear on this blood-stained wasteland.
Clang~
Su Xiao drew the long blade at his waist. With each step forward, the surrounding horde of dead transformed into dark blood, climbing onto his body surface and beginning to harden, forming a black shell, trying to stop him here.
Crack, crack~
He walked forward step by step. The black shell on his body surface partially cracked and fell off due to his movement, but the surging dead were endless. He had reached today by fighting all the way here.
He looked into the distance. There, a beam of golden dawn light shone down, illuminating a tall, dark-golden metal door — that was his destination.
Forward. No matter what obstacles he faced, even if his vision was blocked and his other senses grew increasingly faint, Su Xiao never stopped moving forward, step by step, slow but steady. If he stopped even for an instant, the swarming dead around him would give him no chance to take the next step.
Every time Su Xiao was about to exhaust his strength, new power burst forth from within his heart. The value of a 100% success rate for advancing to [Supreme Peak] — take a moment to understand it.
Of course, one must never think that a 100% success rate meant certain success. On this journey forward, if even a momentary thought of giving up appeared, this 100% would immediately reset to zero. Having the strength of 100% to reach the end did not mean having the mental fortitude to definitely persevere.
He had already forgotten how long he had walked. When Su Xiao pressed his single hand against the towering dark-golden metal door that was right before him, everything around except this dark-golden door panel shattered with a bang. He was now inside the [Grandmaster Hall] where he had previously undergone his three-technique advancement.
The dark-golden door ahead was none other than the tallest door he had seen when he came last time. As a Technique-type, being guided here when advancing to [Supreme Peak] was unexpected yet reasonable.
Su Xiao was currently in the main hall of the [Grandmaster Hall]. The floor was made of gray-white stone slabs. The vast hall was filled with a sense of history.
Clatter~
The tall dark-golden door ahead opened, and intense light radiated outward. Su Xiao raised one hand to shield his eyes. When his eyes had initially adapted to the strong light, he walked into this room filled with white light.
Beneath his feet was a transparent floor. Below was a profound darkness, while the surrounding white light kept the darkness below at bay, preventing it from spreading upward.
Two stone steles appeared ahead. One was dark blue with a crystalline texture. The other was entirely blood-red, with what seemed like magma surging inside.
This was the most important choice in Su Xiao's advancement to Supreme.