Chapter 962: Thick Accumulation, Thin Release

Bang!

One shot—the bullet flew past the side of Yulu’s head; the target was a headshot, but Yulu’s flight speed was too fast.

While dodging the shot, several alchemical ravens caught up to Yulu; white feathers shot forth, piercing the ravens, which fell downward.

Bang!

Second shot—Su Xiao’s shooting feel kept improving.

Ssshh~

The bullet skimmed almost against Yulu’s torso; the powerful shockwave altered his flight path as a large flock of alchemical ravens surged forward.

“Yulu, surrender!!”

Some female spectators couldn’t watch anymore— their idol was being mercilessly sniped.

Bang!

Third shot—the bullet left the chamber.

Crack! A burst of blood mist exploded in the sky; one of Yulu’s wings was shattered, and he spiraled downward like a bird with broken wings.

Bang, bang, bang.

After three precise rapid shots, three bursts of blood mist exploded at different altitudes.

Thud—a half-mangled corpse hit the ground.

Su Xiao cycled the bolt; gunpowder drifted as a bullet flew from the barrel—he caught the rising bullet and turned toward the contestant viewing area.

“What? Seed contestant Yulu died just 1 minute 20 seconds into the match?!”

HacK let out an exaggerated shout; among the audience, every male spectator with a female companion felt a secret thrill at Yulu’s gruesome death.

After returning to the contestant viewing area, Su Xiao immediately headed toward the locker room without pause.

Inside the locker room, Lilim, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately activated the teleportation array—she knew Su Xiao was pressed for time.

As the array activated, a hooded female mage in the audience smirked.

“He actually gave me an opening.”

The female mage vanished into thin air.

…

Inside the Blazing Fire Forest.

“Ugh~”

Lilim looked utterly defeated, leaning against a tree trunk as she vomited.

“If you can’t master Alchemical Lifeform Creation soon, I’ll kill you myself.”

Lilim gasped for breath—she now wanted nothing more than to shove Su Xiao into the teleportation array and overload it.

“...”

Su Xiao said nothing, only gestured for Lilim to hurry.

“I’m ready...”

Suddenly, Lilim’s expression changed; her gaze snapped to the right.

A magical array materialized out of nowhere—vast and immense, thick spatial energy surged within it.

Soon, the array ceased its operation; a slender arm reached out, and the Mage Sage·Sephilia stepped forth, having tracked the spatial fluctuations to this location.

“Flamefire.”

Without a word, Sephilia’s hand flared with crimson light—she clearly knew this place was no place to linger.

At that moment, every hair on Su Xiao’s body stood on end—he didn’t need to be told; this was an enemy of the Lawbreaker’s Shadow, likely one of those ancient, undead beings.

“Sephilia, trespassing into another’s territory is extremely impolite.”

A voice, ancient and slow, echoed as tree-like beings fixed their gaze upon the Mage Sage·Sephilia.

“Tree Sage.”

Sephilia’s light faded; her eyes turned to Su Xiao. Within the Tree Sage’s alchemical defense barrier, even she dared not act recklessly—just as no one would dare disrupt her magic tower, here in the Blazing Fire Forest, the Tree Sage’s power was at least dozens of times stronger than normal.

If they fought elsewhere, Sephilia and the Tree Sage were evenly matched; in a life-or-death duel, Sephilia held the upper hand—she was a combat mage, while the Tree Sage was an alchemist.

But here, in the Tree Sage’s domain, escaping alive would be her best outcome.

“Perhaps this is fate—fate decrees you won’t die here today, Lawbreaker. I am Sephilia, a fire mage whose homeland was destroyed by the Lawbreaker’s Shadow, with nowhere left to return to. Between us personally, there is no grudge—but the moment you became a Lawbreaker, you became my target to kill. Kill me, or be killed by me.”

The Mage Sage·Sephilia’s face was icy, yet within her eyes, there was nothing but loneliness and sorrow.

The array glowed; Sephilia stepped into it. She truly bore a mortal grudge against the Lawbreaker’s Shadow, but she wouldn’t die here to kill Su Xiao—because another Lawbreaker still lived in the Void, one far too powerful for her to defeat.

The Void called her “the madwoman”—she had ambushed the Blade Demon twice: once nearly dying, once skinned and thrown into the Black Abyss.

After Sephilia left, Su Xiao’s expression was grim—he had almost died just now, and it gave him a new understanding of the Void’s danger.

He must leave the Void as soon as possible. Before reaching sufficient strength, he would not return here unless absolutely necessary—it was too easy to get caught in the crossfire. Advancing his strength within a derivative world was far more reliable.

“Let’s go.”

Su Xiao walked toward the treehouse room.

“You almost died just now—and you’re calm?”

Lilim exhaled deeply; she was no match for Sephilia.

“The result is I’m still alive—that’s the opportunity.”

“Strange way of thinking.”

The two entered the treehouse; the Tree Sage was gone—likely negotiating with Sephilia. They had no prior grudge.

Su Xiao didn’t want to waste a single second—he plunged into the alchemy lab and began mass-producing alchemical ravens.

He changed his mind on the spot: this would be his last visit here. He wouldn’t raise Alchemical Lifeform Creation for now—creating new lifeforms would slow his production speed. His goal now was to produce alchemical ravens nonstop, accumulating proficiency. His current proficiency had reached: 901/10—enough to elevate Alchemical Lifeform Creation to a very high level.

Half an hour later, the Tree Sage returned to the treehouse—apparently having completed negotiations with Sephilia. The outcome remained unknown.

Su Xiao worked without rest, producing alchemical ravens for nine full hours—his Alchemical Lifeform Creation proficiency reached 1876/10.

Based on his experience with “Alchemical Bomb Creation” and “Alchemical Potion Creation,” this proficiency was sufficient to raise Alchemical Lifeform Creation to Lv.20.

He had originally planned to use the Tree Sage’s guidance to break past Lv.20’s limit—but after Sephilia’s interference, that was now nearly impossible. He must leave quickly. The Tree Sage’s intentions were unclear—he could be aligned with anyone, or simply neutral, avoiding conflict with both sides.

The Tree Sage’s ambiguous stance made the treehouse unsafe to linger in. Though the ideal outcome would be to max out alchemy here and create a high-level alchemical lifeform, ideals are full, reality hides knives.

Alchemy could be fully upgraded later; creating stronger alchemical lifeforms was possible within the Paradise Park—at the cost of some Paradise Coins. There was no need to risk his life here for it.

Though he hadn’t achieved the ideal result, the gains were still substantial. Greed is fine—but there must be limits.

Su Xiao’s next move was simple: stay inside the Void Arena until the match ended and return to the Paradise Park. Once back, Sephilia could only glare helplessly.

Su Xiao, slightly weary, stepped out of the alchemy lab.

“I’m done here.”

“Really?”

Lilim beamed—she didn’t want another long-distance teleport.

“Mm.”

Su Xiao carried a vast quantity of alchemical ravens in his storage space—he didn’t know if they could be brought into the Paradise Park. These were unverified items, and in such large numbers, if they could be taken in, he’d be rich—perfect for selling on the trading market.

As Su Xiao and Lilim left the treehouse, the Tree Sage personally “escorted” them—or rather, he was seeing off a plague.

Su Xiao stood on the teleportation array, gazing at the Tree Sage.

“Tree Sage, thank you for your gift. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”

Su Xiao’s words sounded friendly, but the Tree Sage felt something off—somehow, he pictured Su Xiao, grinning, holding a knife, “asking” him about alchemy.

“If you grow strong enough, we won’t meet again. Not ever.”

The Tree Sage waved his hand—Su Xiao and Lilim were teleported away.

Su Xiao returned to the Void Arena locker room. The results of the second round were out—22 contestants remained.

“Ugh~”

Lilim pushed open the door, tears streaming from her eyes as she gagged—her only thought now was returning home to settle scores with her brother.

With alchemy handled, Su Xiao felt noticeably lighter. The Void Arena should end soon—the fewer contestants, the more frequent the battles. The next matches will test endurance; with 22 left, the champion could be decided within a single day.

Thinking of returning to the Paradise Park, Su Xiao smiled. If he successfully completed the fifth round of the Demon Castle game, he’d earn the Proof of the Strong, breaking through the 80-point attribute barrier. He had long awaited the reward of 80-point attributes—it would be his chance to soar. Advancing all four attributes simultaneously was a method of thick accumulation and thin release. The harvest was coming soon.