Chapter 27: 34%
The battle entered a bizarre state. The honey badger actually bit down on Su Xiao's blade and refused to let go, curling its body into a ball.
Su Xiao began trying to kill the honey badger on his sword. First, he slashed at hard objects, but for some reason, the honey badger remained unharmed. This was likely due to its teeth, which could bite through a Counter Shield. Because its teeth clamped onto Dragon-Slaying Flash and it used its body to absorb the force, the blade couldn't directly cut into the honey badger.
Finding slashing ineffective, Su Xiao tried burning it.
After using three incendiary grenades, Su Xiao discovered that the honey badger's black exoskeleton seemed to have heat-insulating properties. Fire was also useless.
After trying several methods in succession, Su Xiao grew frustrated. He couldn't let his guard down now—who knew if the honey badger would suddenly release Dragon-Slaying Flash and bite his throat?
Should he just let the honey badger keep biting? That wouldn't work either. Su Xiao couldn't use his blade to strike enemies now; he could only use the honey badger to smash them. Dragon-Slaying Flash had become a hammer, with the honey badger as the hammerhead.
Moreover, in the heat of battle, if the honey badger suddenly let go and attacked Su Xiao, it would be trouble.
"Let go. We'll settle this life and death."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the honey badger opened one eye. Su Xiao, proficient in interpreting animal gazes, immediately understood what the honey badger meant. It was roughly: "Idiot, I won't let go. What can you do about it?"
Su Xiao's finger, wrapped in a metal arm guard, stabbed toward the honey badger's eye. The honey badger quickly closed its eye and protected it with its exoskeleton.
Clang.
Su Xiao's finger struck the exoskeleton.
Flexing his slightly numb fingers, Su Xiao had an idea. While this method wouldn't kill the honey badger, it could keep it from bothering him for a short time. Killing the honey badger wasn't the priority now; shaking it off and finding the Soul Lamp was the best choice.
Su Xiao raised Dragon-Slaying Flash, took a deep breath, and tensed the muscles in his leg.
Dragon-Slaying Flash suddenly vanished into thin air. Su Xiao had stored it in his storage space. Since the honey badger was a living creature and couldn't be stored, it began to fall naturally.
The honey badger, suddenly losing its grip, looked visibly surprised. Su Xiao had already sidestepped, gathering strength, and kicked the honey badger with all his might.
Bang.
The honey badger flew like a ball, whooshing into the distant sky. Due to its speed, it even broke through layers of airwaves.
Su Xiao watched the honey badger, which let out an unwilling roar as it gradually disappeared into the horizon. A smile appeared on his face. He had successfully broken into the main offering hall area and shaken off his pursuers.
Su Xiao's strength attribute, including equipment bonuses, was a full 67 points. This was already monstrous strength, enough to dismantle a Gundam barehanded. His full-power kick had likely sent the honey badger flying several kilometers, possibly even over ten kilometers.
Having shaken off his pursuers, Su Xiao began searching the courtyard of the main offering hall. Since he didn't know the location of the Soul Lamp, he had to search room by room.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao had searched almost every room in the main offering hall area, leaving only the main hall itself.
As the name "main offering hall" suggested, this was a place for displaying and worshiping divine statues.
Su Xiao stood before the main hall's door. He had chosen to investigate this last because it gave him an ominous feeling. If not absolutely necessary, he didn't want to enter.
Pushing open the main hall's door, the first thing that caught his eye was a large pool. The pool was rectangular, filled with a light green liquid that was bottomless. This liquid emitted a strong aura of vitality.
[Tip: The Hunter has arrived at the main offering hall of Liudong Temple.]
[Talent Awakening Quest (Second Ring): Soul Lamp (Completed)]
The second ring of the talent quest was completed because Su Xiao had already seen the Soul Lamp.
Deep inside the main hall, a skeleton sat cross-legged on an altar. Before the skeleton was a lamp. The lamp looked ancient, with nothing special about it, except that at the wick's position was a Soul Crystal. This was the wick of the Soul Lamp.
As the Soul Crystal burned, it emitted a white smoke. This white smoke was absorbed by the skeleton. Undoubtedly, this lamp, fueled by a Soul Crystal, was the Soul Lamp.
[Talent Awakening Quest (Third Ring) has been activated. This is the final stage of the talent quest.]
[Tip: If this quest is completed, the Hunter's talent will awaken.]
[Talent Awakening Quest (Third Ring): Destroy the Soul Lamp]
Difficulty Level: ★★★★★
Quest Brief: Use any method to destroy the Soul Lamp.
Quest Info: Don't think what you see is the threat. The threat is hidden in the shadows.
Quest Time Limit: 30 minutes
Quest Reward: None
Quest Penalty: Lose one chance at talent awakening. No further talent awakening quests can be accepted in this world.
...
Su Xiao was about twenty meters from the Soul Lamp, separated by a pool. Fortunately, the pool could be bypassed.
Raising Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't choose to slash out a Blade Aura. If a Blade Aura could shatter the Soul Lamp, the talent awakening quest would be far too simple.
White spiders crawled out from Su Xiao's sleeve. He planned to test with an Alchemy Bomb.
Dozens of small white spiders crawled toward the Soul Lamp. Su Xiao's gaze gradually sharpened, ready to respond to any sudden enemy.
As the white spiders neared the Soul Lamp, Su Xiao unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword handle. According to convention, the final big boss should jump out now.
When the white spiders were three meters from the Soul Lamp, cold sweat seeped from Su Xiao's cheeks. The situation was truly strange.
When the white spiders were two meters from the Soul Lamp, Su Xiao squinted, his gaze fixed on the skeleton behind the Soul Lamp.
One meter, fifty centimeters, ten centimeters.
When all the white spiders climbed onto the Soul Lamp, Su Xiao squinted and decisively detonated the Alchemy Bomb.
Boom.
Flames surged. The Soul Lamp was shattered, and so was the skeleton. It wasn't some final big boss at all—just an ordinary skeleton.
[Talent Awakening Quest (Third Ring): Destroy the Soul Lamp (Completed)]
[Tip: The Hunter has completed the talent awakening quest. The talent ability 'Soul Devourer' can be awakened at any time.]
[Tip: When awakening the talent, the Hunter will be extremely weak. Be sure to choose a safe location for awakening.]
[Congratulations to the Hunter for completing the talent awakening quest.]
[Tip: The completion rate of the talent awakening quest is being determined. The Hunter's actions over the next five hours will decide the final completion rate. Current completion rate: 34%.]
Su Xiao's heart began to race. There was joy from completing the talent quest, but also a sense of palpitation—a feeling of facing imminent death.
Su Xiao didn't hesitate. He turned and fled. But the hall doors behind him slammed shut. He raised his blade and slashed at the doors.
Clang.
Su Xiao's palm went numb. He was sent flying by a barrier.
The moment the Soul Lamp shattered, ten layers of barriers appeared both inside and outside Liudong Temple. Even if Su Xiao had left the main hall earlier and detonated the Alchemy Bomb from a distance to destroy the Soul Lamp, he would have been trapped within the barriers. In that case, the risk he faced wouldn't have decreased—it would have been greater.
★★★★★ difficulty. How intimidating. By normal logic, the Soul Lamp should have been very hard to destroy. Approaching it might trigger traps or summon enemies. So Su Xiao's act of blowing up the Soul Lamp wasn't meant to destroy it—he was trying to lure out the unknown enemy.
In reality, the risk during the quest wasn't high. The difficulty of this quest wasn't in destroying the Soul Lamp, but in how to survive escaping Liudong Temple after destroying it.
Gurgle～
A string of bubbles rose from the pool in the main hall. This pool was the Eternal Life Pool.