Chapter 28: Sand and Death?

Su Xiao gripped his long blade, extending his arm fully straight.

Though he hadn’t reached the point where the weapon became an extension of his body, his feeling toward the blade in his hand had changed.

Achieving that state would not happen overnight.

Though he had spent 1000 Paradise Coins in just one hour, Su Xiao believed it was worth every coin.

Kusagari had taught him no techniques, yet opened a new door for him.

“Summon Kusagari again.”

Su Xiao’s condition was excellent now, so he summoned Kusagari once more.

【Cannot summon specified mirror image.】

【Ding, Hunter Permission activated. Please select summon duration.】

Su Xiao smirked—his Hunter status had some use after all.

“Three hours.”

【Kusagari—Mirror Image Summoning in progress. Summon complete.】

Kusagari reappeared, nodded to Su Xiao, and offered no introduction.

Su Xiao was startled—Kusagari seemed to recognize him.

“Let’s continue from where we left off. You’ve already begun perceiving the weapon in your hand.”

Kusagari’s words made Su Xiao understand why the Paradise didn’t offer the same mirror image twice.

When the same mirror image reappeared, it retained memories from the previous session—undoubtedly beneficial for Su Xiao.

“You’re now qualified to spar with me. Come.”

Kusagari drew his weapon for the first time—the blade Su Xiao recognized: Daikatana No. 21, Wado Ichimonji.

Su Xiao rose and charged at Kusagari with his blade; time was precious, and he must seize every second to grow stronger.

The crisp clash of blades echoed—fighting a master like Kusagari was invaluable experience; outside the Paradise, Su Xiao would never have such an opportunity.

During the fight, Su Xiao observed every movement of Kusagari, absorbing sword techniques like a dry sponge soaking up water.

After an hour of continuous sparring, sweat soaked Su Xiao’s clothes, steam rising from his body.

“Rest now. There are a few points you must note…”

During the rest, Kusagari pointed out Su Xiao’s previous shortcomings.

Because he was a mirror image, Kusagari taught Su Xiao without holding back anything.

Three hours passed quickly, yet Su Xiao still felt unsatisfied.

“Time’s up. Until next time.”

Kusagari faded away. Su Xiao wanted to summon him again, but seeing only 4027 Paradise Coins left, he had to abandon the idea—for now.

Su Xiao took a deep breath; the sensation of being able to shatter anything vanished—it was a side effect of his rapid stat growth.

He clenched one fist; crisp pops echoed. He had grown accustomed to his sudden stat increases—now he only needed to complete the final step.

“Paradise, activate combat mode.”

【Combat mode consumes 10 Paradise Coins per minute. Pay? Yes/No.】

“Pay.”

【Combat mode activated. Mechanical dolls will appear in thirty seconds. Prepare accordingly.】

The surroundings shifted—from the sword hall to a desert.

The sword hall had been an auto-generated scene when Kusagari appeared; this scene was the combat mode.

The combat mode would end only when Su Xiao was “killed.”

Of course, dying in the【Training Ground】did not mean true death.

Wind whipped up yellow sand, turning the surroundings hazy. A silver-white iron sphere rose from the sand.

It wasn’t an iron sphere—it was the head of a mechanical doll.

One by one, mechanical dolls made of steel emerged from the sand, dozens of red electronic eyes locking onto Su Xiao.

More and more mechanical dolls appeared, soon numbering over a hundred, surrounding Su Xiao completely.

【Time’s up. Combat training begins.】

“Click-click-click~.” A synchronized clang of metal echoed as the mechanical dolls surged toward Su Xiao from all directions.

The dense swarm of mechanical dolls forced Su Xiao to stay alert; he quickly adjusted his breathing rhythm.

Countless weapons attacked from all sides, engulfing Su Xiao.

Several flashes of silver blade-light cut through—dozens of mechanical dolls shattered.

Su Xiao was no longer the same; his physical condition and swordsmanship had both improved drastically.

Metal shattered, sand sprayed—brutal combat began…

Ten minutes later, Su Xiao was teleported to the entrance of the【Training Ground】.

As soon as he appeared, he reached up to feel his head—confirmed it was intact; during the mechanical dolls’ assault, his head had been shattered.

“So realistic.”

Su Xiao left the【Training Ground】with a smile; though he’d spent over 4000 Paradise Coins, he had now adapted to his new body.

And his gains weren’t limited to that—his swordsmanship proficiency had also improved.

Skill Two.

Swordsmanship Proficiency: Lv.2. (Passive)

Skill Effect: Increases close-combat attack power by 12%, and proficiency with blade weapons.

……

Swordsmanship Proficiency had leveled up. According to Su Xiao’s knowledge, improving Swordsmanship Proficiency was extremely difficult—it required one Small Soul Crystal and 1000 Paradise Coins.

To upgrade his【Shadow of Annihilation】skill, he could either train himself or use Soul Crystals and Paradise Coins.

Now Su Xiao understood the value of Soul Crystals—he’d barely managed to obtain one Small Soul Crystal by killing an Elite creature.

He had searched the Paradise’s trading market for Soul Crystals, but none were for sale.

Not just for sale—even most Contracted Ones didn’t know what Soul Crystals were.

Thus, the Small Soul Crystal in his possession was invaluable.

Returning to his personal room, Su Xiao spent 100 Paradise Coins to expand his space, adding a bedroom, bathroom, and other rooms, then arranged the furniture he’d bought.

After the renovations, his personal room transformed—spacious and luxurious.

Sitting on the soft, 40-Paradise-Coin bed, Su Xiao fell into thought.

He now possessed one Small Soul Crystal. He had two choices: upgrade an existing skill, or unlock a new one.

Given his current situation, aside from【Qinggangying】and Swordsmanship Proficiency, Su Xiao had few combat skills.

But he already had a clear goal: to make swordsmanship his primary combat method, with other abilities as support.

This was a promising path—many powerful beings in derivative dimensions followed it.

In the Pirate World, the world’s greatest swordsman, Mihawk, fought solely with swordsmanship.

Though called “swordsmanship” in the Pirate World, Mihawk used a blade; so did Shanks and others.

Clearly, specializing in one ability held great potential.

Su Xiao wasn’t yet proficient with【Qinggangying】, so he wasn’t in a hurry to gain new skills.

Thus, he needed to choose between upgrading【Qinggangying】or Swordsmanship Proficiency.

After much hesitation, Su Xiao chose to upgrade Swordsmanship Proficiency—it would yield more noticeable power growth.

【Consume Small Soul Crystal, 1000 Paradise Coins, to upgrade Swordsmanship Proficiency.】

Su Xiao blinked for a few seconds, then felt new knowledge flood his mind—knowledge of swordsmanship.

He checked Swordsmanship Proficiency again.

Skill Two.

Swordsmanship Proficiency: Lv.3. (Passive)

Skill Effect: Increases close-combat attack power by 14%, and proficiency with blade weapons.

……

Upgrading a skill with a Soul Crystal brought no difficulty—it required no adaptation, only immediate mastery.

No wonder Soul Crystals were so rare; such an overpowered item—Su Xiao’s luck in obtaining one from a Green Chest was exceptional.

It wasn’t just luck—in Nightmare-difficulty worlds, Su Xiao’s enemy-killing rewards were greatly increased; such fortune might never come again.