Su Xiao held the long knife, stretching his arm straight.
Although he hadn't yet reached the point where the weapon felt like an extension of his limb, the feeling he had towards the blade in his hand was already different.
Achieving that kind of level is not something that can be done overnight.
Although he spent 1000 Paradise coins in just an hour, Su Xiao thought it was worth it.
Geng Si Lang didn't teach him any moves but opened a new door for him.
"Summon Geng Si Lang again."
Now Su Xiao was in great shape, so he summoned Geng Si Lang again.
[Unable to summon specified mirror image]
[Beep, Hunter Permission activated, please select summon duration.]
A smile appeared at the corner of Su Xiao's mouth, it seemed his identity as a Hunter had some uses.
"Three hours."
[Geng Si Lang・Mirror Image summoning in progress, Summoning complete.]
Geng Si Lang appeared again, nodded at Su Xiao after appearing, without any self-introduction.
Su Xiao was somewhat surprised, Geng Si Lang seemed to recognize him.
"Then, continue the last training. You have already initially sensed the weapon in your hand."
Geng Si Lang's words made Su Xiao understand why Reincarnation Paradise doesn't offer the same mirror image summon.
When the same mirror image appears again, it continues its previous memory, which is undoubtedly a good thing for Su Xiao.
"Now, you are qualified to spar with me, come on."
Geng Si Lang drew his weapon for the first time, Su Xiao recognized that knife — Great Swift Sword Twenty-one, Wado Ichimonji.
Su Xiao stood up, holding the knife, rushing towards Geng Si Lang. Time was precious now, he had to seize every second to become stronger.
The crisp sound of blades colliding echoed, fighting against an expert like Geng Si Lang was undoubtedly a very valuable experience. If not for Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao wouldn't have had this opportunity.
During the combat, Su Xiao paid attention to every move of Geng Si Lang, quickly absorbing sword skills like a dry sponge.
After a continuous hour of sparring, sweat soaked Su Xiao's clothes, and his whole body emitted warm steam.
"Now take a break, there's something you need to pay attention to..."
During the break, Geng Si Lang began to point out Su Xiao's prior deficiencies.
At that moment, because Geng Si Lang was a mirror image, he taught Su Xiao without any reservations.
Three hours quickly passed, Su Xiao was still somewhat unsatisfied.
"Time's up, see you next time."
Geng Si Lang gradually disappeared, Su Xiao really wanted to summon Geng Si Lang again, but upon seeing only 4027 Paradise coins left, he could only temporarily give up.
Su Xiao took a deep breath; the feeling of being able to crush everything disappeared. That was the aftereffect of a rapid attribute increase.
Gripping his fist single-handedly, a crisp sound of "Kaka, Kaka" echoed. He had become quite accustomed to the sudden growth of attributes, now only needing to complete the final step.
"Paradise, start Actual Combat Mode."
[Actual Combat Mode consumes 10 Paradise coins per minute, do you/do not pay.]
"Pay."
[Actual Combat Mode activated, Mechanical Puppet will appear in thirty seconds, please prepare in advance.]
The surrounding scene began to transform, turning from the original Sword Hall into a desert.
The Sword Hall was a scene that automatically generated after Geng Si Lang appeared, whereas now, the scene represented Actual Combat Mode.
Actual Combat Mode ends only when Su Xiao is 'killed'.
Of course, in the [Trial Field] death does not mean real death.
The fierce wind raised yellow sand, the surroundings hazy, a silver-white iron ball emerged from the sand.
It wasn't just an iron ball, but the head of a Mechanical Puppet.
Numerous iron-made Mechanical Puppets drilled out from the sand, dozens of red electronic eyes staring sharply at Su Xiao.
The number of Mechanical Puppets kept increasing, soon surpassing hundreds, encircling Su Xiao entirely.
[Time's up, actual combat practice begins.]
"Kaka kaka~." A neat metal collision sound echoed, those Mechanical Puppets quickly surrounded Su Xiao from all directions.
The densely packed Mechanical Puppets around him made Su Xiao nervous, quickly adjusting his breathing rhythm.
Countless weapons attacked from all sides, enclosing Su Xiao heavily.
Several silver blades flashed by, large chunks of Mechanical Puppets shattered.
Su Xiao was already different from before; his physical fitness and swordsmanship had greatly improved.
Metal shattered, yellow sand splashed, a fierce slaughter began...
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao was teleported to the entrance of the [Trial Field].
As soon as he appeared, Su Xiao felt around his head to ensure it was intact; just a moment ago in the siege of those Mechanical Puppets, his head was smashed~.
"So realistic."
Su Xiao left the [Trial Field] with a smile. Though he spent over 4000 Paradise coins in total, he was already adapting to his current body.
Moreover, he gained not only these benefits; his Swordsmanship Mastery also improved.
Skill 2.
Swordsmanship Expertise: LV.2. (Passive)
Skill Effect: Increases Close Combat Attack Power by 12%, and Sword Skill Proficiency.
....
Swordsmanship Expertise increased by one level, according to Su Xiao's understanding, upgrading Swordsmanship Expertise is very difficult, requiring a small Soul Crystal and 1000 Paradise coins.
For his [Shadow of Annihilation Law] skill to upgrade, besides self-training, he needed to use Soul Crystals and Paradise coins for upgrading.
Now, Su Xiao understood the value of Soul Crystals. When he killed an elite creature by chance, he only got a small Soul Crystal.
He had searched for Soul Crystals in the trading market of Reincarnation Paradise, but no one sold them.
Not to mention selling, most Contractors didn't even know what Soul Crystals were.
So the small Soul Crystal in his hand was extremely precious.
Returning to his exclusive room, Su Xiao spent 100 Paradise coins to expand it, adding a bedroom, bathroom, and placing bought furniture appropriately.
After some arrangement, Su Xiao's exclusive room transformed — not only becoming spacious but a lot more luxurious.
Sitting on that soft big bed bought with 40 Paradise coins, Su Xiao fell into contemplation.
Now holding a small Soul Crystal, he had two choices: either upgrade existing skills or unlock new skills.
Judging by the current situation, besides the [Blue Steel Shadow] skill and [Swordsmanship Expertise], Su Xiao didn't have many combat skills.
However, he already had a general goal, which was to make swordsmanship the main force in his combat, with other abilities as support.
This is a very potent route; in many Derived Planes, there are such strong individuals.
Hawkeye・Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman in Pirate World, fights solely with swordsmanship.
Even though it's called swordsmanship in Pirate World, what Hawkeye used was a knife. Not only Hawkeye, but even Red Hair and others were the same.
Thus, specializing in one ability has great prospects.
Su Xiao wasn't yet proficient in the application of [Blue Steel Shadow], so he wasn't eager to obtain new skills.
Thinking this way, it would be a choice between [Blue Steel Shadow] and [Swordsmanship Expertise] to upgrade one skill.
After hesitating for a long time, Su Xiao ultimately chose to upgrade [Swordsmanship Expertise]; this would make his strength increase more noticeable.
[Consume small Soul Crystal, 1000 Paradise coins, to upgrade Swordsmanship Expertise.]
Su Xiao was momentarily dazed; afterwards, he felt a gain of knowledge in his mind — knowledge of sword skills.
Check Swordsmanship Expertise again.
Skill 2.
Swordsmanship Expertise: LV.3. (Passive)
Skill Effect: Increase Close Combat Attack Power by 14%, and Sword Skill Proficiency.
....
Using Soul Crystals to upgrade skills. It was effortless, surprisingly requiring no adaptation, but mastering directly.
No wonder Soul Crystals are so rare; such an extraordinary item, Su Xiao was lucky to obtain from a Green treasure chest.
Actually, it's not just good luck; in the Nightmare Difficulty world, Su Xiao's rewards from killing enemies saw a significant increase. This kind of opportunity may rarely occur in the future.