Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 912 Upper Limit
The aged and hoarse voice fell, causing Xin Lailai's pupils to contract slightly. She quickly looked in the direction the voice came from.
It was an old man with a broken horn. His whole body looked as if it had been corroded by something, with signs of decay appearing from his face to his arms. He even needed a cane to barely support his body.

At the same time, just by standing there, he gave them an invisible sense of oppression that made it impossible for them to look at each other, as if he were telling them how dangerous the old man with the broken horn was.

"You are……"

“I am a sinner who served the King of Cinder, and I have come here to witness the rise of the new king and to determine whether he has the capacity to be king.”

As the hoarse voice faded, the old man with the broken horn slowly raised his head and spoke, word by word. With the final word, "capacity," Xin Lailai's pupils constricted sharply. Without hesitation, she immediately raised her shield to block in front of her. The next instant—

clang!
A heavy clang of metal clashing rang out, and almost the instant the words fell, the old man with the broken horn, who was standing in front of the main hall, vanished without warning. When he reappeared, he was gripping his cane and using it as a weapon, colliding it heavily with the shield in Xin Lailai's hand.

"Yes, Not Bad."

As the aged voice finished its assessment, the old man with the broken horn, whose attack had been blocked, showed no dissatisfaction. Instead, he nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his weathered eyes.

Then, he suddenly clenched his other empty hand and flung out several seemingly ordinary pale gold energy swords from the dazzling golden-red light that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They went straight for Xin Lailai's head. Upon seeing this, Xin Lailai's eyes narrowed slightly, and she decisively activated the magic chip attached to her body, manipulating it into flying arrows to intercept the golden energy arrows.

Ping ping ping ping—!!

In the next instant, a series of dense and crisp collision sounds echoed from the main hall. Xin Lailai, who had intercepted the opponent's two attacks in succession, did not relax at all. Instead, she looked at the old man with the broken horn in front of her, whose seemingly turbid but actually unusually clear eyes were filled with light magma cracks, and poured out the magic power in her body.

jingle--!!

As the crisp sound of the bell faded, Xin Lailai, who had instantly switched her shield to the holy bell hanging at her waist using her switching technique, took a step forward. A violent black light burst forth from the blade, causing the old man with the broken horn to blink. With a tap of his toes, his figure vanished from the spot in a flash of golden light, landing on a broken pillar in the hall.

boom!
A burst of violent demonic power shattered the energy weapons that the old man with the broken horn had thrown out before disappearing. Xin Lailai herself instantly switched the Holy Bell into a shield, took a small step back, and looked at the old man with an extremely solemn gaze, without pursuing him.

"Hehe...not bad, it seems you do indeed possess a great capacity."

Upon seeing this, the old man with the broken horn atop the broken pillar narrowed his eyes, scrutinized Xin Lailai, and then his figure suddenly disintegrated, transforming into countless golden and red light spots, leaving only a broken, hoarse admonition echoing within the hall:
“O Ashes, remember this…”

"Power is the only criterion for selecting a king in this world."

As soon as he finished speaking, the countless golden and red light spots left behind by the old man with the broken horn seemed to be attracted by something, all converging towards Xin Lailai, and finally—

Soul Points +1500000 (1000000 + 500000)

"They've left..."

"Hmm...it seems he's not one of Elizid's men."

A golden-red text notification flashed by. Xin Lailai glanced at the rapidly self-repairing hall before her, looked at the spot where the old man with the broken horn had disappeared, stared for a long while, and then let out a long sigh, snapping out of her battle state. She murmured:

"I never expected... that this generation's Lord of Cinder would have someone of this caliber under his command."

Although the old man with the broken horn appeared and left in a very abrupt manner, based on his actions, after ruling out the possibility that he was guarding this place for Ellizid, the only remaining possibility for his origin is that he is a 'guardian' placed here by the last Lord of Cinder.

"If a fight had actually broken out here just now, it would have been really bad..."

"If that's the case, then running away is probably the only option left."

Ling Yuzi muttered to himself, and Xin Lailai nodded slightly in agreement, a look of utmost seriousness flashing in her eyes.

Grandmaster.

Although it was only a very brief exchange, there is no doubt that the old man with the broken horn who just fought them has reached a level in terms of skill that is comparable to, or even surpasses, their peak performance.

In terms of close combat alone, even if they were to recover all their attributes, they would only have a less than 40% chance of winning against their opponent under the rules of the Ash World.

As for facing the opponent with only a physical attribute of around 60 points... Xin Lailai couldn't think of any other solution except to use a trump card they obtained on their way here to escape.

The appearance of the other party made Xin Lailai realize that the Ash World might not be as bad as they had imagined in terms of the quality of its top experts. At least, if three enemies of the level of the old man with the broken horn came at the same time, even they in their prime would probably have no choice but to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

"As expected, I should level up to the maximum level first."

Xin Lailai glanced at the church exit behind her, her gaze shifting slightly.

Although he originally planned to max out his Blessing level before challenging Elizid, their original idea was to first fight their way to the front and back of the gate, then turn back to find the monster with the highest efficiency in farming Soul Points and farm it once.

Now it seems that while this approach can maximize farming efficiency, it is indeed too risky, since there is no guarantee that Elizid may also have subordinates similar to the old man with the broken horn.

"Alright, let's just farm in the inner city. It will take a little longer, but in terms of quantity, we shouldn't be too far behind the Cathedral of the Deep in one round."

Xin Lailai murmured to herself, glanced at the closed doors of the main hall behind her, stared for a moment, and then walked out of the church without hesitation.

Although his intuition told him that with their current strength, they were probably capable of taking on the entire Deep Cathedral by themselves, in a world like Ash World, which was highly corrupted by the power of the abyss, sometimes being a little cautious was not something to be ashamed of.

Ultimately, they had already endured the septic tank in order to survive, so compared to that, spending an extra ten days or half a month to cleanse their souls was nothing at all.

……

……

[Personal Exploration Log of the Ash World]

"The fifty-fifth day."

"Successfully killed the Ice-haired Beast and cleared the Inner City. After entering the Cathedral of the Deep, I encountered an unknown powerful being who appeared to be a member of the last Lord of Cinder. I decided to temporarily retreat and return to the Inner City to level up."

"After asking Wu Huo, Wu Huo said that she had never heard of such a heroic Ash, but it reminded her of a legend that the last Lord of Cinder might not be a single person, but a pair of twins, one in the light and one in the dark. The one in the light controls the overall situation and leads the Ash world, while the one in the dark does all sorts of dirty and unsavory things."

"After discussing with Zero, I judged that this statement is highly likely. Judging from the strength of the Old Man of Broken Light (the nickname Zero gave to the unknown strongman), he has far exceeded the definition of a Heroic Ash in this world, and even surpassed most Lords of Cinder. If he is really just a subordinate of the last Lord of Cinder, with his strength, there is no reason for the last Lord of Cinder to let people like Elriced succeed him, and leave him alone."

"A dual king... I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that, but considering our purpose in this world, it's probably not good news."

...

...

"The fifty-ninth day."

"Day four of staying in the inner city to farm souls."

"I have become quite familiar with the traps throughout the inner city. By using these traps in reverse, I have indirectly sped up the soul-farming speed in some parts, and I have managed to complete two rounds a day."

"It seems that Vic is stuck on the recursion of the matrix... Well, for someone who hasn't received professional training in this area, it is indeed a rather tricky topic."

...

...

"The sixty-second day."

"I tried to recapture the sword technique I learned in the Frankish Fortress, but just like before, I didn't get anything."

Fortunately, the development of the simplified version of the moves is nearing completion (currently, the names of the simplified move series are being debated).

"In addition, there has been good progress in the application of soul energy in this world."

"Due to the lack of soul crystals and sufficient soul energy, soul runic literature and soul arcane arts have limited scope in this world, and most of the content of alchemy is also useless in this world. However, the construction techniques of soul weapon science and the knowledge of biological toxins in alchemical biology have come in quite useful."

"Constructing soul energy into a simple weapon, combined with crystal magic and demonic power, can greatly increase the maximum flight distance and destructive power of ranged attacks in this world." "And by utilizing the retrospective property to keep the state of things constant, it is possible to greatly increase the success rate of concocting certain biological toxins and create some potent poisons that cannot be produced under normal conditions."

"However, because the zombies and wandering spirits in this world have exceptionally high resistance to abnormalities, the current biological venom has not yet achieved the desired effect and still needs further development."

...

...

"The sixty-fifth day."

"The development of the simplified moves has been completed. After consulting with Wu Huo, the new series of moves is tentatively named the 'King Sword XX' series. The 'Three Thousand Crows Kill XX Style' series proposed by Ling Yu Zi will not be used for the time being. (Note: Given that this is one of the more acceptable moves named by Ling Yu Zi, it is hereby added that, according to Ling Yu Zi's idea, the 'Three Thousand Crows Kill' series should be used by shouting the move name loudly.)"

"Tsk, Lai Lai is biased! Why can Sister Wu Huo's suggestions be adopted, but others' can't? I'm not having it!"

"You should be more curious about how I typed these words with a blank expression."

...

...

"The sixty-ninth day."

"The development of the alchemical toxin is complete. The final solution is to add a soul toxin that weakens the connection between the soul and the body to the existing biological toxin, thereby reducing the resistance bonus that units in this world receive from the soul and enhancing the effectiveness of the biological toxin."

"The plan to upgrade the Blessing level is also progressing steadily. Based on the current pattern of soul consumption, it is expected that the Blessing level will be maxed out in about a month."

"Also, Lingyuzi, if you secretly modify my log again next time, I'm going to tell Wuhuo on it."

"Tsk, Lai Lai, you're shameless! And when did they ever edit your log? It should have been called a correction!"

"Pah! Who corrects their name by changing it to someone else's? And when did I ever fantasize about Her Excellency the Sister? That was clearly something from your own dream, okay..."

"But you can completely feel other people's dreams too, Lai Lai! So, rounding it up, it's no different from the dreams you had, Lai Lai! Oh, I forgot to change the nun's name to Sister Wu Huo's name in this part. Lai Lai, wait for me a moment."

"...In conclusion, Haki Zero has become utterly lawless."

...

...

"The seventy-third day."

"Soul farming, looting the inner city."

"The seventy-fourth day."

"Refresh the soul and correct the log that was modified by Zero."

"The seventy-fifth day."

"After searching for souls, I found a treasure map."

"The seventy-sixth day."

"They're all empty mimics!"

"The seventy-seventh day."

"We've found another treasure map."

"The seventy-eighth day."

"Another empty mimic!"

"The seventy-ninth day."

"Soul farming, found a new treasure map, won't fall for it this time."

"The eightieth day."

"Don't let me find out who that beast is who set the trap with the empty treasure chest monster."

"Pfft! Hahahaha! It's all because you're too easy to fool, Lai Lai! You're blinded by greed the moment you see a treasure chest!"

……

Day 81.

Upgrade successful! Current level: LV.76!

[Since I do not yet possess the power of the "King's Soul," I am currently unable to continue leveling up.]

"Ok?"

A slightly surprised, thoughtful voice fell as Xin Lailai stood before the large elevator platform at the highest point of Ishiluel, staring at the information that popped up before her, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lord Black Sword?"

"It's nothing, it's just that this soul-farming might have to end early. It seems that the last part of my attributes can only be improved by obtaining King Souls."

“The King’s Soul…” Upon hearing this, the blindfolded nun paused for a moment, then bit her lip, lowered her head, and said with a guilty tone, “Lord Black Sword, I’m so sorry, I actually…”

"It's alright, after all, no one would record this kind of thing in a book, and Rudolfs wouldn't mention it to you anyway," Xin Lailai said, shaking her head slightly, unconcerned.

Once the blessing level exceeds LV.76, a King's Soul is required to upgrade it. This is one of the most secrets in the Ash World, and even if the blindfolded nun is very knowledgeable, she could not possibly know such a thing.

"Moreover, even if we can't return to our peak condition for the time being, our current attributes are enough for us to deal with Elizid. In fact, thanks to this, we can actually confirm Elizid's attributes and the identity of the Old Man of Broken Light."

Xin Lailai smiled and comforted him, while habitually glancing at the sheer cliff behind her, which seemed like an insurmountable chasm. She narrowed her eyes, a deep glint flashing in her pupils.

As he said, while the introduction of the blessing level cap limited their recovery of strength, it also confirmed the identity of the old man with the broken horn when they first arrived at the Cathedral of the Deep, as well as the specific strength of Elizid, who was hiding at the bottom of the Cathedral of the Deep.

“Let’s go, Sister. Since there’s no need to stay here any longer, it’s time to move on.”

"Yes, Lord Black Sword, please be careful."

As the gentle words faded, the blindfolded nun nodded softly, her body returning from the scattered flames to a warm, ethereal state, allowing Xin Lailai to retract her into her backpack space.

"Please...please wait a moment! Mr. Black Sword!"

Just as Xin Lailai was about to step into the grand elevator and head back to the Deep Cathedral, Vicna, whose true form was suspected to be the large hat, suddenly rushed over from a distance. After panting for a while while leaning against the railing, he finally spoke haltingly:

"Mr. Black Sword, could you... could you... please allow me to enter the Cathedral of the Deep with you?!"

……

(End of this chapter)