Chapter 184: Purple-Striped Belt

Gong Xiao was held in his arms. From her angle, she could clearly see his handsome profile, which she found captivating. Hearing his words, she subtly bit her lip. “I thought if I killed that lion-scorpion monster, I would gain Spiritual Sources, and any severe wound would heal. How was I supposed to know the Spiritual Source would take so long to appear? So don’t flatter yourself and think I sacrificed my life to save you. I wouldn’t be that foolish.”

Su Li looked down at her. He thought: The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast appeared suddenly and attacked. Everything happened in an instant. In that split second, I could only instinctively try to pull her away. I had no time to think. How could she have thought of so much, and then rushed forward to block that fatal blow for me?

But if she could think of so much, why didn’t she have time to deploy ‘Storm Shield’?

However, Su Li did not press the matter. He knew Gong Xiao was strong-willed and stubborn; questioning her would be pointless.

Su Li and the pursuing Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s speeds were both astonishing. Su Li quickly sprinted to the front of the building. He stomped his foot, leaped into the air with Gong Xiao, and landed on the 31st-floor balcony. Only then did he release her.

In that brief time, Gong Xiao had fully recovered. Her once bloody, mangled back was now smooth, flawlessness, and snow-white. Not a single scar remained. However, the Spiritual Source could restore her body, but not her clothes.

The back of her upper clothing was completely shredded, leaving her shoulders and back exposed. The remaining half of her top barely clung to her body, threatening to fall off at any moment.

The situation was critical. The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was right behind them. Su Li ignored her revealing state. Gong Xiao was equally unconcerned. The moment Su Li set her down, they both quickly climbed to the roof.

They reached the roof one after the other. The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was only a step behind. It erupted from the water with a “BOOM,” leaping five or six meters into the air, and landed on the roof.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast had just landed and was barely stable when Su Li drew his dual swords and charged, cleaving at the monster.

Gong Xiao took a deep breath. Fire-red energy surged from her chest, extending outward. It grew longer and longer, reaching over a meter long, and continued to extend.

She gripped the fire-red energy with both hands and fully drew it out of her chest. The fire-red energy condensed, forming a nearly two-meter-long, dark-red spear.

Gong Xiao held the spear with both hands, her face beaming with joy.

A message appeared in her mind.

“Unquenchable Spear. Contains the terrifying Unquenchable Fire. When Spiritual Source is activated, the Unquenchable Fire erupts and can burn everything to ashes.”

Unquenchable Spear. Gong Xiao tightly gripped the spear, deeply sensing its terrifying power.

At the edge of the roof, Su Li and the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast were already locked in combat.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s attack was primarily its ramming ability. The purple stripes on its body were blade-proof. Even the Dragon Rhino Sword and Ice Python Sword couldn’t cut through the stripes covering its entire body.

However, the black skin without the purple stripes lacked this defense. That was why Su Li’s previous strike had penetrated its chest.

Su Li quickly realized the weakness. He re-entered the “Demon Muscles” state and activated “Spider Walk.” He circled the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast, attacking its unarmored flank. The dual swords avoided the purple stripes and plunged into the black skin.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s speed was astonishing. It violently pushed off with its feet, leaping into the air, charging Su Li.

Su Li roared. This time, he did not dodge. The demonic face appeared on his chest. All his muscles swelled, forming a thick layer of armor over his body. He activated “Silver Armor Coating.”

With the double protection of the “Demon Muscles” Second Form and “Silver Armor Coating,” Su Li actively met the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s charge. He used “Spider Walk” to retreat in the direction of the monster’s charge, continuously dissipating the force. The two swords struck simultaneously.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast clearly hadn’t expected Su Li to use this injury-exchange tactic. The moment it struck Su Li, the Dragon Rhino Sword and Ice Python Sword bypassed the purple stripes, plunged into its black skin, and emerged from its back.

Blue-white electric light erupted from the dual swords.

“High-Voltage Electrocution” was fully unleashed, utilizing the dual swords as conductors, erupting inside the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s body.

Gong Xiao, holding the Unquenchable Spear, was about to strike but paused. She knew her help was no longer needed.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was ultimately a level lower than the Lion-Scorpion Cinder Beast. In terms of combat effectiveness, it was inferior. Furthermore, they were on the roof, not underwater. The tables had turned. Even if it were the Lion-Scorpion Cinder Beast, Su Li would have been unafraid to fight it on land.

The High-Voltage Electrocution erupted inside the monster’s body. With continuous “crack-crack” sounds, the air was filled with a burning, acrid smell.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was instantly electrocuted into near-death. It had no power to resist. Su Li violently twisted his dual swords, slicing its body open. The upper body collapsed, and the lower body fell away, dead.

Su Li’s mind received a message.

“Level 7 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 100/110”

Slaying the Level 8 Rare Beast had granted Su Li twelve Spiritual Sources in one go.

Immediately after, the purple stripes on the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast’s body began to change.

All the purple stripes peeled off its corpse, transforming into streaks of purple light that shot toward Su Li.

Su Li knew the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was a Rare Beast. Killing it granted him a special reward in addition to Spiritual Sources.

Killing a Common monster only granted Spiritual Sources. Killing an Elite Beast granted Spiritual Sources and a chance at a special ability. Killing a Leader Beast guaranteed a powerful special ability.

As for Rare Beasts, they granted Spiritual Source equipment, which could be a weapon or a piece of armor.

The streaks of purple light gathered at Su Li’s waist, lining up and fusing together, forming a ring of purple light around his waist.

Messages continuously appeared in Su Li’s mind.

“The purple stripes have merged with Spiritual Source, enhancing the body. Provides an extra offset of 500 jin of attack force. Enhances stamina, extending the maximum power output time by 5 minutes.”

The light subsided, and a purple belt, about ten centimeters wide, appeared around Su Li’s waist. It had intricate, ornate patterns.

A new message appeared in Su Li’s mind.

“Name: Purple-Striped Belt. Ability: Increases defense by 500 jin. Extends stamina by 5 minutes.”

Su Li felt the energy continuously released from the purple belt around his waist, merging with his body. It granted him enhanced defense and, most astonishingly, extended his maximum stamina by 5 minutes.

In his current full-power attack state, he could sustain max output for ten minutes. This was now extended to fifteen minutes. This was an incredible boost.

Gong Xiao, seeing the purple belt appear on Su Li’s waist, asked, “So there are Spiritual Source armors in addition to Spiritual Source Weapons? Do these armors also have special abilities?”

Su Li shook his head. “Armor doesn’t have techniques like weapons do, but it enhances other abilities, like strength or defense.”

Gong Xiao looked at Su Li’s right wrist and then his waist. She realized he already possessed two pieces of armor, plus two weapons—four pieces of Spiritual Source equipment. Meanwhile, she had just acquired her first piece of Spiritual Source equipment. The sudden realization that she was still far behind dampened the joy she felt from acquiring the Unquenchable Spear. She needed to try much harder to catch up.

The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast was dead, but they were still several kilometers from the Golden Eagle Alliance. Without rafts, they would have to swim back.

Just then, Su Li noticed a large raft approaching in the distance. The people on the raft were all familiar. One person was waving at him.

The person waving was Jiang Shuijue.

Besides her, Ling Yi and Xu Xuehui were also on the raft. A person was swimming behind the raft—it was Ding Longyun.

“They didn’t leave? How did they know to come here to pick me up?” Su Li was both surprised and delighted. He instantly remembered Xu Xuehui’s super vision.

“Gong Xiao, they’re here to pick us up.” Su Li looked at Gong Xiao. He suddenly remembered her tattered clothes and stripped off his outer jacket. Although it was wet, it was better than nothing.

Gong Xiao’s upper body was badly torn, exposing her body. Su Li didn’t want her to show herself to others.

Gong Xiao did not refuse. She took Su Li’s jacket and wrapped it around herself. Although it was wet and uncomfortable, everyone had been soaking in water for days and was slowly getting used to the feeling.

Su Li touched the belt and bracer on his body. These Spiritual Source equipment pieces did not get wet or absorb water. He wondered if, one day, he could be fully covered in Spiritual Source armor. Even diving into the water wouldn’t leave him wet and cold. But that was still a long way off. He only had two pieces of armor now.

(End of Chapter)

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