Chapter 3527: The Importance of Survivability

Everything went as smoothly as expected. After Su Xiao arrived at the forge, Reid's expression shifted slightly, but upon seeing the liquor Su Xiao was carrying, his demeanor softened considerably.

Su Xiao left behind the Dragon Flash, the Black King Armguard, and other equipment for repair and maintenance. Reid welcomed such metal gear; after all, he was a blacksmith, and repairing and maintaining such items was his professional duty, something he could do with ease.

Until Su Xiao left, Reid did not see that piece of armor that always made him put on a "mask of pain." This put Reid in a great mood. Looking at the box of liquor in his hands, he felt quite gratified, and a hint of a smile appeared on his long-tense face.

After Su Xiao exited the forge, he hadn't gone far when he heard a vigorous roar from behind, which made him quicken his pace.

Half an hour later, inside the Attribute Enhancement Hall.

Su Xiao stopped in front of an attribute enhancement chamber and placed one hand on it. The metal door opened with a sound, and after he stepped inside, the door behind him closed.

【Welcome to Attribute Enhancement Chamber No. 1316.】

【Current available real attribute points: 42 (can be freely allocated by the Hunter).】

Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the floor. He did not immediately activate the chamber, but instead took out the 【Type II Concentrated Cell Fluid】 and the 【Plasma Extraction Fluid】.

These two permanent buff items—one slightly increases survivability, the other increases lightning resistance.

He took out an injection gun, slotted in the 【Type II Concentrated Cell Fluid】, and administered an intravenous injection. As for the 【Plasma Extraction Fluid】, it was for intramuscular injection; if this stuff were injected intravenously, he would likely die instantly.

Neither of the two buff agents took effect quickly. Su Xiao activated the attribute enhancement chamber to begin improving himself. Recently, he had no equipment or abilities that required specific body attributes, so balanced development was the most prudent choice. His attribute allocation was: Strength +11, Agility +11, Stamina +10, Intelligence +10.

Hum—

The attribute enhancement chamber began to operate. Feeling himself becoming stronger bit by bit, no matter how many times it happened, it was hard not to be addicted to the sensation.

However, this time, Su Xiao had a different realization: he felt an upper limit. It wasn't the usual sense of a limit before breaking through an attribute barrier, but a much stronger one, like touching a ceiling.

Su Xiao could feel that he was still some distance away from this limit. Although this ceiling-like limit felt unbreakable, he was certain it could be shattered. In fact, he had already obtained the opportunity to break through it.

Within the Tree-Born World, Su Xiao had blown up the Dawn Paradise, killed the Gray Gentleman, and captured the Dawn Paradise's final contractor, Bee, causing the Dawn Paradise to lose all hope of a comeback. Such achievements led to an excessively high evaluation of Su Xiao in the Tree-Born World's settlement, earning him a rare item.

【Iron Refining Invitation (Can be used after promoting to Tier 9 and reaching 300 points in main attributes. This is a highly rare item. If the Hunter wishes to sell this item, it can only be sold to the Reincarnation Paradise for a price of 6530 ounces of Space-Time Power). Warning: The Hunter may only use this item personally or sell it to the Reincarnation Paradise. If the Hunter transfers, discards, etc., you will be punished to a certain degree (Reincarnation Paradise reputation reduction, Brand authority level reduction, etc.).】

Su Xiao was still some distance away from reaching 300 points in his main attributes. When the attribute enhancement chamber stopped, he checked his data.

Some Qiyuezhe No. 13013. (This is a fake ID; no means can lock onto the Hunter.)

Name: Su Xiao (Hunter)

Level: LV. 80 (Tier 8). Every 10 levels constitute a tier. Level increases provide no attribute bonuses; they represent the Hunter's authority within the Reincarnation Paradise, corresponding to world difficulty, mission difficulty, etc.

Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully quantified; it changes according to the severity of injuries).

Blood Qi: 120%

Mana: 58698 points

Strength: 263 points

Agility: 263 points

Stamina: 264 points

Intelligence: 262 points

Charisma: -13 points

Luck: 55 points

Soul Strength: 620 points

Willpower: Cannot be viewed.

Lightning Attribute Resistance: 175 points

Elemental Affinity: 970 points

Su Xiao sat quietly for a moment. After adapting to his noticeably stronger body, he exited the attribute enhancement chamber and headed toward the trading market.

He wandered around the trading market but still couldn't find any treasures. The rumors about picking up treasures just by strolling through the market were indeed false. From Tier 1 to Tier 8, every time Su Xiao finished improving his physique in the Attribute Enhancement Hall, he would wander the nearby trading market a few times, only to find that picking up treasures at low prices was not in his destiny.

After a few laps, Su Xiao headed toward the Skill Upgrade Hall. This time, he had many abilities to improve.

At the entrance of the Skill Upgrade Hall, he saw Gulu already waiting there.

"Errand fee."

Gulu said, holding a box.

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak.

"Tch~"

Gulu handed over the box reluctantly. After Su Xiao opened it, 20 Soul Crystal Cores were displayed inside.

Previously, in order to secure the 【Star Inscription】, Saintess had lost her head and offered a high price of 300 Soul Crystal Cores directly.

Given the shortage of soul stones in the Void, and the fact that Saintess's family also desperately needed such resources, she couldn't produce them all at once, so naturally, she opted for an installment plan.

This was essentially taking the 【Star Inscription】 first and paying back later. Given Saintess's temper, if she really couldn't pay it back, she would likely use other items to settle the debt. She was a renowned powerhouse in the outside world and had to maintain her dignity, but in the Star Seat, she didn't care about such things. Last time, she even bit Su Xiao...

"By the way, our leader said that if you are going to take the Tier 9 promotion assessment, you must tell him. He said you should choose the most difficult Origin-level assessment, and there will be mysterious assistance during the process."

When Gulu said this, she smiled with a bit of mischief.

"My next world progress will be it."

"So fast? But that makes sense."

Gulu thought for a moment, then smiled meaningfully, as if to say: "No more pretending, I'm laying it out—the super thigh you'll be holding in the promotion world is yours truly."

"The leader said that he thanks you for the Dawn Paradise matter last time. It was a hidden danger he left behind due to a certain mistake. He didn't tell me the specifics."

"..."

Su Xiao still didn't speak. Seeing this, Gulu wasn't annoyed; she had long been accustomed to this way of conversing.

"So the leader gave this thing to me. In your promotion world, you absolutely cannot use it. When the time comes, I will act as the tool person... ah, ptooey, I will act as the super thigh to help you use this thing. Tell me, what world are you going to for your tier assessment?"

Gulu tossed a golden marble-like ball; this was clearly the trump card the leader had given her.

Hearing Gulu's words, Su Xiao felt puzzled. If the leader owed him a favor, he should have given the reward at the Empty Seat Banquet, rather than sending Gulu to help now.

Then, Su Xiao thought of a possibility: the matter the leader had been preparing for should have reached a very critical stage now that he had the space stabilization device he had crafted.

At this juncture, the leader desperately needed the help of an alchemist, to the point where success or failure hinged on this one move. That was why the leader had Gulu bring a certain item to assist him in passing the Tier 9 promotion assessment, within the limits allowed by the rules.

Theoretically, with the leader's arrangement, the promotion should be stable. The problem was that Su Xiao was going to the Dead Silence City this time, which made the leader's arrangement unstable.

It was imaginable that under the constraints of various rules, the item the leader gave Gulu, no matter how strong, wouldn't reach an outrageous level. Therefore, after arriving at the Dead Silence City, this help might at most get him through one crisis.

Thinking this through, Su Xiao said: "Dead Silence City."

"Huh? What?"

"My assessment world is the Dead Silence City."

"Eh? I think I've heard of this place. Oh, the Dead Silence City of the Black Throne Continent. How could that be an Origin-level world difficulty?"

"..."

Su Xiao didn't offer much explanation, leaving his back for Gulu to figure it out herself.

"What on earth is the situation? Or does the Dead Silence City have hidden secrets? Whatever, with this thing here, they're all scum."

After Gulu put away the golden ball, she took out a key and aimed it at Su Xiao's back. This made Su Xiao pause his pace, glance at Gulu sideways, and then continue toward the Skill Upgrade Hall.

"Just tracking you in is enough. Dead Silence City? Sounds pretty intimidating."

Gulu tossed the key in her hand and then grabbed it. At this moment, she couldn't imagine what kind of suffering she would encounter in the Dead Silence City. If she had a chance to regret it, let alone the 50,000 soul coins of hard work money the leader gave her, even if it were 100,000, Gulu wouldn't go.

Pshhh~

The chamber door behind him closed, and the gushing steam dissipated. Su Xiao pressed one hand on the screen in front of him to check his skill list. The overall list was as follows:

Law-Extinguishing System:

1. Blade Master (Passive Skill) Lv. 65.

2. Melee Master (Passive Skill) Lv. 60.

3. Blood Gun Master (Passive Skill) Lv. 60.

4. Qinggang Shadow (Active Skill) Lv. 46.

5. Qingying King (Ultimate Skill) Lv. 31.

6. Soul-Severing Shadow (Passive Skill) Lv. MAX.

7. Demon-Extinguishing Physique (Passive Skill) Lv. MAX.

8. Supreme Blade (Active Skill) Lv. MAX+.

9. Spirit Shadow Physique (Passive Skill) Lv. EX.

10. Dragon Shadow Flash (Active Skill) Lv. EX.

11. Slaughter Shadow (Passive Skill) Lv. EX.

12. Devouring Core (Active Skill) Lv. EX.

Talent Abilities:

1. Spirit Eater (Slaughter Talent, SSS-rank).

2. Blood Beast (Growth Talent, SSS-rank).

3. Hunter Shadow (Law-Extinguishing Shadow, Unique Talent, S-rank).

Buff System:

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1. Intuition (Passive Skill) Lv. 69 (This ability can only be improved through self-training).

2. Heart Meditation (Passive Skill) Lv. 73 (This ability can only be improved through self-tempering).

3. Aura Release (Active Skill) Lv. 50.

4. Blade Soul (Technique Passive) Lv. 65 (Grows according to Blade Master level).

5. Technique Sublimation (Technique Passive) Lv. EX.

6. Goddess's Favor (Passive Skill) Lv. EX.

7. Soul Gaze (Soul Passive) Lv. MAX.

8. Basic Passive: Body Soul (Stamina, Basic Passive) Lv. MAX.

9. Basic Passive: Recovery (Intelligence, Basic Passive) Lv. MAX.

10. Basic Passive: Awakening (Perception, Basic Passive) Lv. 27.

11. Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience (Soul, Basic Passive) Lv. 50.

At first glance, Su Xiao had numerous abilities, as many as 26. But if one looked closely, they would find that most were passive skills. In battle, he didn't need to be distracted by these abilities. Or rather, Su Xiao only used two active abilities in battle: 1. Activating Qinggang Shadow energy buff at the start of battle, 2. Dragon Shadow Flash for dashing or evading attacks.

The remaining abilities were all self-created or derivatives of Qinggang Shadow energy. Among them, the self-created abilities were becoming smoother to use.

Su Xiao's combat system could be described as simple and brutal, with various passive abilities providing buffs in the background, highlighting the power of the three master abilities during combat.

Su Xiao activated the Skill Upgrade Chamber, and a prompt appeared.

【Welcome to Skill Upgrade Chamber No. 1163. Please select the ability you wish to improve.】

Su Xiao had one "Free Skill Upgrade Chamber Usage Permission." He attempted to activate this permission. On the skill list in front of him, there were three abilities that could be improved using this permission:

"Aura Release, Lv. 50."

"Basic Passive: Awakening, Lv. 27."

"Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience, Lv. 50."

Su Xiao didn't want to die during the ability improvement process, so he ignored the Spirit Resilience ability, took out a pill used to stabilize mental power, swallowed it, and then took out an inhibitor. The original purpose of developing this thing was to seal others' perception; he hadn't expected to use it himself.

As Su Xiao chose to improve "Basic Passive: Awakening" using the "Free Skill Upgrade Chamber Usage Permission," the chamber began to operate. Strands of translucent, thread-like energy spread from the surroundings and seeped into every part of Su Xiao's body, with the most entering his brain.

Su Xiao's vision turned completely white, and the invading pain was like a tide. In the end, he truly felt as if he had fallen into white, boundless water.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Su Xiao opened his eyes. His pupils contracted rapidly and then recovered. Various sounds came from the surroundings: mechanical operations, low-voiced conversations, even the friction between skin and clothing. All kinds of sounds gathered and multiplied, appearing exceptionally noisy.

This was severe perception overload. Su Xiao picked up the inhibitor and injected it into his body. The chaotic sounds around him quickly subsided and faded away.

Su Xiao let out a long breath. The improvement of perception was not about meaninglessly accepting all kinds of external information. The current change was the discomfort brought by a massive surge in perception. It would fade after adapting for ten-plus hours. With the help of the agent, it would likely subside in a few hours.

【Basic Passive: Awakening has been improved to Lv. MAX.】

【Basic Passive: Awakening, Lv. MAX.】

Skill Effect 1: Perception +157 points.

Skill Effect 2: Body Perception Potential Upper Limit +10.

Skill Effect 3: Efficiency of perception ability, meditation, natural comprehension, ability development, etc., improved by 551% (this is an improvement on the sum of all existing bonuses).

Su Xiao adapted for a moment before regaining the feeling he had just now. He had several other abilities to improve. Given his current physical tolerance, improving several skills and then adapting to them all at once was the best choice.

【Yes/No to improve Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience: Lv. 50. Improving this ability requires 4800 Soul Coins (originally 6000 Soul Coins, Reincarnation Glory Badge has waived 20% of the usage fee).】

Su Xiao checked his current number of Soul Coins. The items on Benny's side were relatively easy to sell, and now only the 【Dark Soul Fire (Skill Scroll)】 remained.

The 【N-Command: Pseudo-Biological Mechanical Prosthesis: Nervous System: Golden Viper】 listed on the auction platform was eventually sold for 10570 Soul Coins.

After pondering for a moment, Su Xiao decided to push Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience to Lv. 70. Not to mention anything else, Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience could improve soul damage and his own soul energy tier. After mastering the "Soul-Severing Shadow" ability, both were crucial.

After paying a total of 108,000 Soul Coins, the skill upgrade chamber began to operate, stopping only after more than two hours.

It is worth mentioning that with the 【Reincarnation Glory Badge】 obtained from the leader, this improvement of the Spirit Resilience ability saved a full 27,000 Soul Coins, which was equivalent to a huge profit.

Su Xiao's feeling this time wasn't very intense. The sensation of soul energy expanding was wonderful and easy to adapt to, but one shouldn't be deceived by this feeling. Once this kind of improvement exceeds the body's peak tolerance, one will die on the spot.

Precisely because of this, Su Xiao improved his soul-type abilities step by step. As for the 20-level single-time improvement of Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience, his 620 points of Soul Strength were not just for show. As long as he didn't try to push this ability to the max in one go, he could withstand it.

【Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience has been improved to Lv. 70.】

【Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience, Lv. 70.】

Skill Effect 1: Soul damage dealt increased by 90% (increased by 39%).

Skill Effect 2: Soul energy tier +7 (increased by 2 tiers).

Skill improvement requirement: Soul Strength above 580 points.

Considering he would be exploring the Dead Silence City, survivability certainly couldn't be neglected. Su Xiao began to use Golden Skill Points to improve "Basic Passive: Body Soul, Lv. MAX." There was no need to worry about physical limits with this ability; or rather, this was the ability that improved physical limits.

With a few Golden Skill Points added, a kind of invisible energy quietly seeped into Su Xiao's body, causing some potentials in his body that couldn't be improved to begin rising rapidly.

Sweat vapor mixed with blood mist drifted from Su Xiao's body. The intense heat throughout his body made him frown, but fortunately, this feeling subsided after lasting for more than an hour.

【Basic Passive: Body Soul has been improved to Lv. EX.】

【Basic Passive: Body Soul, Lv. EX.】

Skill Effect 1: Total/Basic Health increased by 100%.

Skill Effect 2: Physical potential upper limit tier +15 (increased by 5 tiers of potential upper limit).

Skill Effect 3: Resistance to all abnormal attributes such as severe poison, erosion, paralysis, dizziness, etc., +170 points (increased by 32 points).

Skill Effect 4: Every point of your real Stamina attribute will derive an additional 0.35 points of physical defense.

Skill Effect 5: Your maximum Stamina upper limit increased by 45% (this is Stamina/Endurance value, not Stamina attribute or Health).

The discomfort caused by improving "Basic Passive: Awakening" and "Basic Passive: Spirit Resilience" faded away like a tide, and even the inhibitor was metabolized rapidly.

Perception returned to normal, no longer accepting external information indiscriminately. The whole world became quiet, and he felt refreshed. Su Xiao expanded a perception circle with a diameter of 10 meters, and an astonishing scene appeared: after he fully opened his perception, a spherical perception circle with a diameter of 10 meters, faintly white, truly appeared.

Click~

Su Xiao's hand subconsciously pressed on the hilt of his blade. This kind of extremely high perception intensity, the feeling that everything within the perception circle was under control, was the "Full Concentration" pursued by those who used blades—concentrating everything about oneself and then slashing out a strike. This strike would surely be as swift as a startled swan.

Facts proved that this adventurous use of 【Beginning of Nightmare】 to go to the Alien Star Battlefield was worth it; otherwise, these improvements would have been impossible.

He still had 8 Golden Skill Points left. Su Xiao estimated that he should be able to push another Lv. MAX ability to Lv. EX.

After weighing it, he decided to improve the Qingying King ability rather than pushing some ability to Lv. EX.

The reason was simple: after Qingying King was improved to Lv. 31, the buff that appeared was Battle Soul Shadow.

"Battle Soul Shadow (Passive): Physical strength increased by 3%."

Physical strength was not just physical defense; physical defense generally referred to skin and muscles, a kind of external defense.

Physical strength, however, included the strength of skin, muscles, bones, organs, and even the nervous system, all included.

Using Golden Skill Points to improve the Qingying King ability would certainly provide a huge boost to survivability. Having almost been killed by the Great Emperor previously made Su Xiao doubt his own survivability.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao took a deep breath and chose to improve the Qingying King ability by 8 levels consecutively. As the ultimate ability of the Law-Extinguishing system, the process of improving Qingying King was fast—at least, the feeling Su Xiao had every time he improved it was fast.

Su Xiao chose to improve, felt intense pain throughout his body, fainted on the spot, woke up three hours later, and the improvement was complete.

For Su Xiao, improving Qingying King was indeed fast. It started with a hum in his brain, and after waking up dazed, the improvement was done. One could only say that the ultimate moves of the Law-Extinguishing system were developed quite thoughtfully.

Su Xiao rested against the chamber wall for more than half an hour before recovering. As he had estimated, he could withstand improving the Qingying King ability by 7–8 levels in a short time. He checked the Qingying King ability.

【Qingying King: Lv. 39 (Ultimate Skill)】

Effect 1 (Battle Soul Shadow, Passive): Physical strength increased by 27%.

Effect 2 (Qingying King, Active): Immediately consume 6500 points of Qinggang Shadow energy to construct a weapon of any form within 0.01 seconds. This weapon can only attack once, dealing (Enemy's lost mana x 2.7 + 7200) points of real damage.

The active effect of Qingying King was becoming increasingly terrifying. Combined with the Blood Qi phantom Su Xiao had developed, its lethality went a step further, transforming from a melee ability into one that could be used both near and far, and it was crisp and efficient to use.

As preparation for heading to the Dead Silence City, having only attack was not enough. Currently, Su Xiao had stored 437% soul energy through the Law-Extinguishing talent "Hunter Shadow," which meant he could improve the Qinggang Shadow ability by 4 levels.

Su Xiao now had a full 864 Soul Crystals (Complete). Because all master abilities had been improved to Lv. 60, he no longer had a need for Soul Crystals (Complete). As for selling them, he was indeed reluctant.

Since that was the case, using Soul Crystals (Complete) to improve the Qinggang Shadow ability, which couldn't be improved in the Skill Upgrade Chamber, was a very good choice.

Don't forget, Su Xiao could absorb Soul Crystals (Complete) through the Law-Extinguishing talent "Hunter Shadow." One crystal could convert into 1% soul energy. With over 800 crystals, he could improve the Qinggang Shadow ability by 8 levels.

As long as he could improve his own abilities, there was no talk of loss or gain. Su Xiao always firmly believed in one point: resources that could be used on oneself were the most important.

One by one, the Soul Crystals shattered around Su Xiao, and the soul energy inside was completely absorbed by him. The soul energy within his Devouring Core grew wildly, then converted into a colorless energy that surged into his body and was rapidly absorbed by the Qinggang Shadow energy, which in turn began to expand.

【Qinggang Shadow has been improved to Lv. 59.】

Su Xiao had only 1 Soul Crystal (Complete) left. There was no need to keep it this time; either he would get through the Dead Silence City crisis, or he would die there. There was no third option.

Having improved several abilities in succession, although Blood Qi and Blade Master hadn't been improved, he needed to take it slow.

After leaving a message in the team channel, Su Xiao exited the Skill Upgrade Hall and headed straight for the east district. Arriving at a quiet and clean small street, he saw Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, Amu, Baja, and Benny were all present. When there was gourmet food to taste, they arrived quickly.

Ding-a-ling~

Pushing open the shop door, Su Xiao saw Xia sitting at the dining table waiting boredly. Hearing the door open, Xia's eyes lit up.

"What strange ingredients did you bring this time?"

Xia was very expectant, to the point that she had been tossing and turning before sleep for the past few days. Her cooking ability didn't improve quickly when cooking other ingredients, but when cooking the unknown strange ingredients Su Xiao brought back, her proficiency rose faster than her heartbeat.

Su Xiao didn't speak. After sitting down, he poured himself a cup of clear tea. Amu, on the side, began to take out ingredients one by one: first, a large piece of tenderloin, estimated to be several dozen pounds, followed by some mushrooms and ribs that looked like wild boar. These ribs, already divided, were larger than the entire dining table.

Before long, the dining table was filled with a dazzling array of ingredients. Sweat seeped from Xia's forehead; she felt a bit of pressure.

While waiting for Xia to cook in the back kitchen, Su Xiao received a contact from Caesar. He exited the restaurant and went to a grocery store on the street.

For this trip to the Dead Silence City, Su Xiao naturally had to trick Caesar into going. When the matter was first mentioned, Caesar's head shook like a rattle.

After Su Xiao revealed that there was a secret treasure in the Dead Silence City, Caesar immediately agreed for the sake of "friendship."

As for whether there was a secret treasure in the Dead Silence City, there certainly was. Even if there wasn't, Su Xiao would find a place, throw 150 ounces of bottled Space-Time Power there—wasn't that a secret treasure? Who stipulated that a secret treasure must be purely natural?

After discussing with Caesar, Caesar was very happy. Su Xiao had originally invited Caesar to dine together, but Caesar actually declined. This clearly meant he really had urgent business; otherwise, with Caesar's personality, he would never miss a chance for someone else to treat him.

Inside Xia's restaurant, various delicacies were already on the table. After Su Xiao returned and sat down, he said: "Eat."

Hearing this, Amu was the first to start devouring. Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang and Baja's eating manners weren't much better. Opposite them, Benny and Xia were significantly more elegant.

Su Xiao picked up a piece of Evil God Sweet and Sour Tenderloin and chewed slowly. The taste was quite good, especially with rice.

After a full meal, Su Xiao arrived at the "Material Exchange Point" near the "Adventurer Team Guild."

This place was a spacious hall with only a few people present. Su Xiao came to a machine that looked like an ATM, raised his hand, and pressed it to complete identity verification.

【Please select the type of material you wish to exchange.】

1. Pending materials.

2. Supply materials.

3. Material exchange.

Su Xiao chose material exchange. A metal tray slid out. Seeing this, he materialized 100 Proofs of the Guardian, piled them on the tray, and the tray retracted.

【Detected 100 Proofs of the Guardian.】

【You have obtained a material box, inside of which is sealed the Immortal-grade set: World Guardian Set.】

【Hint: This set is unique. After acquisition, it can only be traded, gifted, etc., with your own contractors, Hunters, Arbiters, and Employees.】 ===== CHAPTER 3528 =====