novelno Chapter 1287 Return to Paradise
Chapter 1287 Return to Paradise
Su Xiao gripped the Dragon Slayer Blade, a few drops of residual dark red blood sliding off the blade and dripping onto the snow, leaving a small, dark red wet stain on the white surface.
There was a long, thin tear on the left arm of the black trench coat. The fabric at the edge of the tear was cut open by the sword blade, revealing a long, thin bloodstain inside.
His left hand hung at his side, his fingers slightly open and closed, confirming that the movement of his left arm was not greatly affected.
Although the wound on his left arm involved muscles, the injury was within an acceptable range and would not significantly interfere with subsequent combat.
Su Xiao raised her head and looked at Quan Yu, who was more than ten meters away.
Those half-closed eyes held no extraneous emotions, only a chilling calm—like the scrutiny of a predator before confirming the complete death of its prey.
He gripped the hilt of the Dragon Slayer again with his right hand, his thumb resting on the guard, and raised the blade half an inch upwards.
In swordsmanship, this movement is a prelude to launching a series of attacks, meaning that the swordsman's center of gravity has shifted from a stationary state to an attacking state, and the body is ready to unleash maximum speed in the next second.
On the blade of the Dragon Slayer, the blue-green arcs of electricity that had just dimmed lit up again in an instant, leaping across the blade and emitting a faint crackling sound.
Su Xiao was waiting, waiting for Quan Yu to reveal a weakness.
Quan Yu stood among the rubble below the mountain wall. From his angle, the blue-green arcs of electricity that had re-lit up on the Dragon Slayer were drawing streaks of blue light in the air.
The wound on his chest throbbed with pain, as if someone were piercing his skin with a red-hot wire.
Quan Yu glanced at his chest, where two parallel wounds stretched across his entire chest, dividing it into three equally wide areas.
The wound wasn't deep; Su Xiao had managed to reduce the force of the knife the moment it touched his skin, otherwise he would have been disemboweled by now.
However, the corrosive effect of the Blue Steel Shadow Force does not change depending on the depth of the blade entering the flesh. As long as you are cut, even if it is just a scratch, it will continue to corrode.
Quan Yu exhaled a breath of white mist, which condensed into tiny ice crystals in the air and drifted in front of him.
He was thinking.
The situation has changed.
Hugh is dead; it's now one-on-one.
Su Xiao's condition cannot be described as completely unharmed, but Quan Yu herself is not in much better shape. After using her soul-type abilities continuously, her mental energy has been largely depleted.
If he wants to continue playing, this is his last chance.
But Quan Yu wasn't confident.
Su Xiao's fighting style left him with no openings to exploit. They fought for so long in the valley, from the snowfield to the mountains, and from the mountains to the mountaintop, and Su Xiao never made a single mistake.
Quan Yu had only ever seen this fighting style in the elders of the Feather Clan who had lived for thousands of years. The combat experience of those elders was accumulated through countless life-and-death battles; it was the sedimentation of time and the gift of the years.
But how old is Su Xiao?
Quan Yu couldn't understand it, but he didn't need to.
He only needed to know one thing—he was truly no match for them.
He is not a stubborn person. In the Winged Clan's education system, the four words "assess the situation and act accordingly" are engraved in the bones and blood of every Winged Clan disciple.
Knowing when to advance, when to retreat, when to fight desperately, and when to admit defeat—these are lessons that the Winged Clan children must learn from a young age.
Those who are out of touch with reality will not live long, and those who will not live long are not qualified to represent the Feathered Clan in the battle for supremacy.
Quan Yu pressed the tip of his silver-white slender sword downwards, turning the blade from pointing at Su Xiao to pointing at the ground.
In swordsmanship, this gesture usually indicates a surrender of the offensive stance, a signal of cessation of hostilities or surrender.
Su Xiao watched Quan Yu's movements without making a move.
The Dragon Slayer Sword remained horizontally in front of him, the blue-green arcs of electricity on its blade still crackling, and his center of gravity remained in a posture ready to charge forward at any moment.
Among the contractors in the Paradise of Reincarnation, no one has ever been unfamiliar with the practice of feigning surrender.
Someone might slip a dagger from their sleeve and stab you in the throat the moment you surrender; someone might activate a disposable item hidden in their belt as they put down their weapon; and someone might launch a fatal attack from behind as you turn to leave.
More contractors died from feigned surrender than from direct combat, so no one can afford to be careless in this aspect.
Su Xiao's perception spread outwards the instant Quan Yu lowered the sword tip, covering every inch of space within a hundred meters.
Quan Yu noticed Su Xiao's reaction and knew he needed to do more to prove his sincerity.
Quan Yu released his right hand, and the silver-white slender sword slipped from his hand, the blade twirling a few times in the air before the tip stuck down in the snow.
"I'm not fighting anymore, I can't beat you."
Su Xiao looked at Quan Yu and sensed that the other party had absorbed all the energy fluctuations into his body.
The blue-green arcs of electricity on the Zanpakuto gradually dimmed. Su Xiao sheathed the Zanpakuto, and a clear, resonant hum was heard as the blade rubbed against the scabbard.
He didn't speak, but glanced at Quan Yu to make sure the other party wasn't hiding any intention to attack. Then he turned around and walked out of the valley.
Quan Yu stood amidst the rubble, took out a deep red vial from his pocket, uncorked it, and poured the vial onto the wound.
The moment the medicine touched the wound, a burning sensation surged up from it. He frowned slightly, but made no sound.
The bluish-green light gradually dimmed under the wash of the medicine, and the skin at the edges of the wound began to heal slowly.
He bent down and pulled the silver-white slender sword from the snow, shook off the snowflakes from the blade, and then sheathed it.
Quan Yu looked up in the direction where Su Xiao had disappeared, remained silent for a few seconds, and then sighed softly.
The third-place prize is a 3700-gram black maple branch.
This reward is just as attractive to the Feather Clan as anything else.
In the void, the Black Maple Tree is one of the resources that all factions covet.
Arcane Eternal possesses the most Black Maple resources, which is one of the key reasons why they can maintain their superior status in the Void.
Other forces don't lack the desire to do it; they simply can't.
Black maple trees have extremely demanding planting conditions; they cannot be planted on just any piece of land.
For a faction to establish its own black maple tree plantation, the resources required are astronomical, and there is no return to be seen in the short term.
Therefore, comparatively speaking, it is more cost-effective to buy it.
When Su Xiao walked out of the valley, Lin Yi was leaning against a pine tree trunk, with Bubuwang lying beside his legs.
Lin Yi held Bubuwang in his arms. Bubuwang curled up into a ball, its head resting on Lin Yi's arm, its tail swaying gently in the blanket.
Hearing footsteps, its ears perked up immediately, and it lifted its head from Lin Yi's arm to look in the direction of the valley's exit.
"Finished?"
Su Xiao nodded.
Lin Yi didn't ask him how he won, nor did he ask about Hugh and Quan Yu's situation.
Having spent so long in the Paradise of Reincarnation, his judgment on such matters no longer needed to be confirmed by language.
The fact that Su Xiao was able to walk out of the valley alive already speaks volumes.
Lin Yi took out the Overlord Medal from his pocket and then tossed it from his hand.
The Conqueror's Medal struck the snow, creating a small dent, and snowflakes flew in all directions.
The notification sound from the Paradise of Reincarnation rang in his ears, indicating that the Overlord's Medal was lost and he would be eliminated if he failed to retrieve it within the specified time.
Ten minutes later, the Void Tree sent an announcement to all participants who remained in the competition area.
[Announcement: The participant, a medic, has lost their Conqueror's Medal. The Conqueror's Medal has been retrieved.]
[Announcement: Round 5 of the Battle of the Strongest has concluded.] [The final rankings are as follows—]
[First Place: Bai Ye. Affiliation: Samsara Paradise.]
Second Place: Healer. Affiliation: Samsara Paradise.
Third Place: Quan Yu. Affiliation: Feather Clan.
[Fourth Place: Hugh. Affiliation: Arcane Eternal.]
Fifth place: Waldy. Affiliation: Demon Clan.
[Sixth Place: Night Witch. Affiliation: Night Witch Guild.]
Seventh place: Mondstadt. Affiliation: Demon.
[8th Place: Gemini. Affiliation: Death Paradise.]
[Ninth Place: The Nameless Saint. Affiliation: Apocalypse Paradise.]
[10th Place: Aphrodite. Affiliation: Holy Light Paradise.]
[Rewards have been distributed. Please check your accounts.]
[This year's Tournament of Champions has now come to a successful conclusion. Thank you to all the participants.]
Lin Yi stood at the edge of the valley, feeling the teleportation fluctuations around his body.
The unseen forces in the void enveloped him like a thin membrane, severing his spatial connection with the frigid land bit by bit, and then dragging his body into another spatial passage.
Just when Lin Yi thought he was about to be teleported back to the Paradise of Reincarnation, the announcement from the Paradise of Reincarnation sounded first.
[Announcement: You have secured second place in the Battle of the Strongest. The reward for second place is "Abyss Baptism". The reward details are as follows:]
[Abyss Baptism (Special Permission)]
[Effects: Performs a cleansing of power from the abyss, profoundly transforming the contractor's body. Clears all hidden damage and accumulated impurities, activates abyss-related talents, and increases affinity with abyss power. Increases the effectiveness of abyss-related skills by 100%, with the specific increase depending on the user's current state.]
[Risk of Use: The Abyss Baptism will generate violent soul tremors and energy shocks, lasting approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the user's willpower and Abyss resistance. During this time, the user will be completely defenseless and cannot interrupt the baptism process. After the baptism is completed, the user will enter a period of weakness of no less than 48 hours, during which all attributes will be temporarily reduced by 70%.]
Just after Lin Yi finished reading the introduction, he felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head.
He tumbled a few times in the darkness before crashing into a soft surface.
The spatial passage closed behind him, completely isolating the gray skies and white snowfields of the frigid land into another dimension.
When Lin Yi opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his personal room in the Paradise of Reincarnation.
The Hunter secured second place in the Battle of the Strongest.
[The basic reward this time is high-level access, which allows hunters to temporarily simulate the "Abyss Healer's Heritage Site." Note that this access is time-limited, valid for thirty calendar days, and will automatically expire after that.]
[Additional rewards are under evaluation...]
The assessment is complete.
The hunters have obtained the core of the world; the Paradise of Reincarnation has established numerous spatial coordinates in the extreme cold region.
[The following are additional rewards—]
You have gained 21 True Attribute Points.
[You have obtained the Proof of Grace (Special Item). Using this item will upgrade a set item or a single piece of equipment within a set by one grade, up to a Holy Spirit grade. Note that the upgraded equipment will inherit all enhancement levels and socket effects from the original equipment.]
[Note: Special mission activated.]
Mission Information: Reclaim Krann.
Mission requirement: Obtain access to the planet Kran.
Task deadline: 1 day.
Task Reward: Authority Level +1, Cranstar Authority (1% equity) (only obtainable at Tier 9 and above).
Lin Yi sat up from the floor and rubbed the back of his head.
No one would believe it if you told them you were hit by a heavy hammer and sent into another spatial passage while passing through the Void Tree teleportation channel.
In the Void, the Void Tree's teleportation mechanism is recognized by all factions as one of the most stable and secure teleportation methods.
The fact that this teleportation process can be interfered with by external forces indicates that the Paradise of Reincarnation is forcibly altering the teleportation path of the Void Tree.
All I can say is that the Paradise of Reincarnation is truly formidable. I wonder if the Void Tree will lower the Paradise of Reincarnation's credit rating because of this.
But it doesn't matter anyway, since the Paradise of Reincarnation has never been highly regarded by the Void Tree.
However, what attracted Lin Yi's attention was the latest special mission.
Kranstar.
This name isn't one of those randomly generated alphanumeric combinations; it's a real name.
In the void, a planet being given a name signifies that it is not an ordinary resource planet, but a planet with civilization.
More importantly, the fact that the name of Cran Star appeared in the intelligence networks of various forces in the void indicates that its civilization level is not low, at least to the point that it has developed to the point of being able to make contact and communicate with the outside world.
The recapture of such a planet cannot be achieved through military force. If the civilization level of Planet Krak is high enough, the cost of military force would be higher than any other method.
A civilization possessing Void-level technology or magical technology has a defense system strong enough to deter contractors below the ninth rank.
Lin Yi put his legs down, stood up from the sofa, and began to search for intelligence data on Planet Kran.
The information about Planet Kraken in the Paradise of Reincarnation is limited, consisting of only a few pages that record the basic information about Planet Kraken.
The planet Kran is located in the southeastern quadrant of the void.
The civilization primarily developed through a combination of technology and magic. Sixty-five percent of the planet's surface is covered by oceans, and the landmass is divided into several continents and numerous islands.
The population is approximately 400 million, with humans as the main race and a small number of other races living together.
The social structure is federal, with the highest authority being the Federal Parliament of Ukraine.
The resource status section reads "Pending investigation".
The defense strength section reads "Level 8".
Level eight defensive power is a tough nut to crack even for an eighth-tier contractor.
It wasn't that Lin Yi couldn't overcome it; the key was how to overcome it.
The planet Kran is civilized, with a social structure, a power structure, and a diplomatic system; these are all potential entry points.
Lin Yi doesn't need to conquer Kran Star by force; the Paradise of Reincarnation will naturally send people to help him when the time comes.
The planet Kran is a federal system, with the Kran Federal Parliament as its highest authority.
His mission would be accomplished if he could get the Croatian Federal Parliament to pass a resolution granting him authority.
This process doesn't require any fighting; it only involves negotiation and bargaining.
The civilization level of Cran is not high, ranking in the middle to lower range in the void.
Civilizations of this level typically choose cooperation over confrontation when faced with colossal entities in the void.
It wasn't out of cowardice, but because survival in the void requires allies, not enemies. (End of Chapter)