Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 203 Khorne? A Special Bloody Key!
"Bang!"

Inside the top ten's private room, someone smashed their wine glass and left with a livid face.

Some people stood there blankly, seemingly still reeling from the lightning-fast exchange.

Some people raised their hands and cheered, and immediately began a completely new setup.

Some people's eyes flickered thoughtfully, pondering the information revealed by this battle.

These different reactions and outcomes constitute the myriad forms of sentient beings.

"Dead? He's dead just like that?"

After thinking for a moment, Starlight directly dialed Behemoth's private chat; this friendship was forged through countless interactions.

"Is it convenient for me to come over or you to come over?"

OK!"

Just as the communication ended, two figures slowly emerged from the VIP room of the top ten.

Behemoth's rugged face was furrowed with thick eyebrows, and Lisa kept taking out her communicator to make calls.

They might have thought Baal would lose, but they certainly didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

The guild's countermeasures department hadn't even prepared a contingency plan.

The Brotherhood of Steel and Arcane have a decent relationship, much like the Freemasons of Light and Hellfire have a good relationship.

It was precisely because of this delicate relationship that Lyle of the Freemasons of Light agreed to cooperate with Baal.

"You had a conflict with Baal, what do you say?"

As soon as he appeared, Starlight couldn't wait to ask a question. He didn't know much about Baal, but as the top player in the arena, his strength was definitely sufficient.

But his performance in the deathmatch was simply a joke!

"It's hard to say—"

Behemoth withdrew his gaze from Lisa and the old man. The two guild's second-tier affairs officers were already discussing in hushed tones, presumably plotting how to seize the spoils.

However, none of this concerned him; he just needed to follow instructions.

"Baal is an A+ level demon bloodline, with the ability to manipulate emotions."

The time I fought him, I almost lost. Luckily, after transforming, I could go berserk, only able to distinguish friend from foe, and losing my sanity.

Behemoth's eyes held a hint of memory:

"That ability is terrifying. There are no signs of anything unusual, and you fall victim to it without even realizing it."

Starlight paused, stunned:
"Judging from the battle just now, Xia didn't seem to be affected at all, and quickly killed his opponent."

Behemoth scratched his head and said uncertainly:
"Is it too fast, so it hasn't fully realized its potential yet?"

"No need to guess anymore—"

Lisa's voice came over, interrupting their conversation. They both turned to look at her and saw her wave her hand.

The virtual light screen then projected out:

"This is some information about Baal that I just retrieved using the guild's advanced privileges. Take a look."

While alive, apostles are protected by relevant rules, but once they die, there is naturally no need for such protection.

Especially for top-tier guilds with considerable authority, it's not difficult to access information about a deceased apostle, provided they pay a price.

Name: Baal (Second Tier - Hell Echo)

Power: 16
Dexterity: 20
Intelligence: 22
Spirit: 22
Physique: 20
Skill 1, Demon Bloodline (Passive): Physical Strength +2, Self-Healing Ability +300%
Skill 2, Demon Whispers: Judges based on willpower level. If the judgment fails, the user will be mentally manipulated, and the manipulation will deepen over time.

Skill 3, Kyo Kusanagi Ancient Martial Arts Style LV3: A fighting style combining fire and fist techniques.
Skill 4, Demon Contract: A contract can be signed at a price; the higher the price, the stronger the contract effect.

Skill 5, Demon Transformation: Unleash demonic power and transform into a demon state, increasing Strength by 3, Physique by 3, and Physical Strength by 1.

Skill 6, Soul Devouring: Can devour the souls of killed targets, slowly increasing the fusion level of the demon bloodline.

Skill 7, Demon Flame: Unleashes black flames that can scorch the soul and cannot be extinguished by conventional means.

"Bali's skills are all developed with the demon bloodline as the core, and his main output method is black flame combined with the Kyo Kusanagi ancient martial arts style."

Lisa said quickly:

"Once the black flames touch your soul, the burning will affect your willpower level, thus influencing you with demonic whispers."

The demon transformation granted him considerable endurance, and combined with his impressive stats and the equipment provided by the guild, Baal was indeed very strong.

Starlight stared silently at the panel. How many tricks could a second-tier apostle possibly have?
Just like a mage, whose skill system isn't even fully developed yet, Baal's playstyle is truly terrifying; the Demon Contract is just too versatile.

For example, a short-duration movement restriction skill lasting 10 seconds will not come at a high price.

In addition, there's the continuous burning of the black flames and the whispers of the demon, as well as the Kusanagi Kyo Ancient Martial Arts Style LV3, which is definitely top-tier at the second tier.

"So—our new supreme being."

He spoke slowly with a complicated expression, saying that the seemingly strong Bali was instantly defeated shortly after they met.

This is even with the main weapon sealed.

"It has at least LV4 level melee combat skills? And also explosive skills?"

He recalled the power of that final strike, that terrifying force—could a second-tier apostle really unleash such an attack?

"Based on the analysis, Xia uses martial arts from the modern East—"

The elder of the High Council of Arcane then added:

"According to the investigation, Eastern martial arts emphasize moves and power generation. If the level is high, there is a high possibility of additional power generation or damage bonus."

There are already people specifically investigating and tracking this. If that's true, we've probably discovered a very powerful skill!

Silence fell over the private room, each person lost in their own thoughts, as time ticked by.

After a while, Lisa looked up in astonishment and stared at the message screen in disbelief.

"There's news—good news: Eastern martial arts can indeed be developed into skills, but they are not as powerful as we imagine. At a low level, they are even inferior to close combat."

However, this skill can be combined.

The bad news is that merging costs 15000 Hall Points and 15 Merit Points.

merge?

These apostles are no strangers to merging skills. As long as the skills have similar characteristics, they can be merged. Merging is not simply 1+1, but rather taking the best from each other and making up for each other's weaknesses.

However, the cost of merging is extremely high; merging two basic skills simply requires 10000 Hall Points and 10 Merit Points.

The more skills you combine, the more exorbitant the cost becomes.

Because the cost of merging skills doesn't increase by a factor of two, but by an exponential increase!

The cost of merging three times has reached (1 Hall Points + 10 Merit Points) * 2.

The fourth power is simply two to the power of three, and the fifth power is simply four to the power of four.
In other words, from the perspective of the apostles, the more times skills are merged, the lower the cost-effectiveness, and the terrifying resource consumption far outweighs the slight increase in attributes.

"That kind of attack power would require at least three combined attacks, right?"

Behemoth silently summoned his calculator and did some calculations:
"4 Hall Points and 40 Merit Points? Plus six Time-Space Copper Coins infused to LV3 or higher?"

"Where did he get so many resources? Even the emperor's favorite son wouldn't have so many resources to combine, would he?"

Starlight cried out. He was fine with Hall Points, but he didn't even have that many Time-Space Coins; he only had five in total!
The old man spread his hands: "I don't know, after all, we can only investigate based on what we already have."

"after all--"

Lisa picked up the conversation, saying meaningfully:

"This is a palace."

Private room

Li Xia lay wearily on the sofa; he didn't even really want to see the results.

I just want to get a good night's sleep.

Especially during the fight against Baal, I don't know why, but it felt like someone was talking in my ear the whole time.

The incessant chatter was so soothing it made me drowsy. The stillness of the night seemed to transform into lightning bolts, flickering through the room as if trapped before the anger could fully subside.

Aowu and Heitan had witnessed the entire battle and were now full of energy.

But seeing Li Xia's tired face, he very considerately brought her a comfortable little blanket.

Then she tiptoed to close the door and went out for a stroll.

The fire in the fireplace was burning fiercely, and the orange flames licked the firewood with a crackling sound.

Outside the massive glass curtain wall, snowflakes fell gently like goose feathers, creating a unique sense of tranquility and peace.

In this environment, Li Xia slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When I woke up again, it was already the next day.

Strange noises came from the living room. When I opened the door, I found Awoo and Black Charcoal playing Monster Hunter again.

Because of their body structure, they are difficult to use with a controller, so they rely entirely on cheats to defeat monsters.

Later, they got bored and agreed not to use cheats. It's been two days, and they still haven't left the Ancient Forest beginner map.

Upon seeing Li Xia, the dragon and the cat immediately dropped their controllers and rushed over.

Count the harvest!

Li Xia directly selected the team shared panel.

First is the "Path of Glory" quest, which spans nine tiers.

As expected, the completion rate has reached 10%!

It at least meets the minimum requirements for the Faded Honor Badge: Proof of Breakthrough.

Secondly, there are competition badges.

【Competitive Showdown - Supreme (Tier 2)】

Type: Badge

Quality: No grade/Special
Special equipment: Does not occupy an equipment slot
Wearing Effect 1: Gain an additional 5000 Hall Points at the end of each derivative world.

Wearing Effect 2: After advancing while holding this badge, you will gain an additional 2 Enlightenment Points and +2 Gun Skill Talent (trait compatibility).

Wearing Effect 3: After advancing while holding this badge, you will gain an additional 14 attribute points.

Wearing effect 4: Fixed increase of 500 health points and fixed increase of 250 mana points (adjustable).

Special Effect 1: If your arena ranking drops, your attributes will be adjusted according to your ranking.

Special Effect 2: Proof of Supreme Power. This badge will be permanently retained after successful advancement. Effects 1, 2, and 3 will be removed upon advancement.

[Evaluation: With this badge, you are now the strongest at Tier 2]

The golden badge occasionally emitted a faint glow. The design on it was simple, with the words "Supreme" followed by the capital letter "2".

It seems that even the badges are projected from the subconscious.

"Your Highness, this bonus is amazing!"

"Awoo exclaimed in surprise, '1, 2, and 3 are all pie-shaped items, but effect 4 is different. It's a solid 500 points of health and 250 points of mana.'"

The key is that it can be adjusted. Your Highness definitely doesn't want the life points, but if you convert them all into mana, that would be 500 mana points!
Keep in mind that Li Xia's current True Qi value is only 440 points, and adding that would make it a terrifying 940 points!
You'll never have to worry about mana again; your mana cap will be the highest in the entire group!
Currently, at the second tier, 1 point of spirit is converted into 10 points of mana. At the third tier, it will be 1 point of spirit converted into 15 points of mana.

Before the mana is diluted, this bonus is enough to make mages weep and warriors fall silent.

Still hanging the badge on his belt, Li Xia took out the bloody key from his personal space.

The moment it was taken out, a distant horn sounded in the room, followed by a huge roar.

The bloody key trembled and floated into the sky, and a circular vortex appeared with the key at its center.

Boundless blood energy dissipated from the vortex, and rolling waves of blood surged out.

The aura of violence and terror was like the dark clouds in the sky.

Within the vortex, a blood-red figure roared with laughter, perched atop a massive brass throne.

Beneath the throne was a base made of bloodstained corpses and piles of skulls.

what is this?
Suddenly, streams of data appeared on the panel.

[A ninth-order world extreme individual has been detected attempting to infiltrate]

[Detecting]

[The intruder is a distorted collection of ninth-order world rules/concepts: Khorne]

[Locked]

[Lock successful. According to the Hall's fundamental rules, the Hall must not arbitrarily destroy the original world.]

Suddenly, countless rays of light coalesced into threads that appeared abruptly above the brass throne.

The tall, blood-red figure stood up and roared to the sky.

The seemingly thin rays of light were like unbreakable chains, firmly binding the figure.

Immediately afterwards, the countless rays of light converged into a gigantic whip of light that stretched from heaven to earth.

As it lashed down with a whoosh, the sky shattered, revealing a hazy space that defies description.

The blood-red wasteland is breaking apart, and countless bones and blood have turned into nothingness.

The terrifying figure's roar abruptly ceased; it cast a resentful glance in this direction before exploding into pieces.

The vortex disappeared, leaving only the message from the Hall of Light floating lightly before my eyes.

[Shatter the conceptual body; estimated re-condensation time: 2.1 standard time units]

[Blocking successful]

All the strange phenomena disappeared, and the heavy, oppressive feeling vanished as well.

Li Xia took a breath. He recognized what it was. Wasn't that Khorne, one of the four Chaos Gods, representing negative emotions such as hatred and killing?

Is the Warhammer world Tier 9?

No, the key point is that Khorne was whipped into pieces by the Temple of Light!

Has this abstract, distorted concept been dismantled?
The Hall of Light is terrifying!
But why did Khorne come about?
Just as I was frowning in thought, I suddenly heard a somewhat surprised "Awoo":

"Your Highness, this bloody key seems a little different."

Li Xia was taken aback and indeed noticed something amiss.

The original blood-red key was now gleaming with a faint white light.

The blood-red key gleamed with a white light?

【Bloody Key - Baal (Permission Fusion)】

【Quality: Special】

[Type: Consumable Item]

[Effect: Guaranteed to grant the most valuable loot upon activation; can only be used once]

[Comment: Khorne's reward attracted attention, eventually leading to this peculiar access key.]

Li Xia raised her eyebrows and couldn't help but smile.

It's likely that Baal possesses some kind of authority, which is related to Khorne, and his encounter with the Blood Key has drawn Khorne's attention.
Regardless, this key is definitely not cheap.

Since we're guaranteed to get the most valuable loot, what's there to hesitate about?

open!

The key vanished suddenly, and a deep purple light flashed!
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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)