Chapter 481: Rolling Cloud Waves Thousand Layers
Chapter 481: Rolling Cloud Waves Thousand Layers
"Alright... next, I'll start with you..."
The lingering shockwave of the light explosion hadn't fully dissipated when Lute redirected her gaze toward the nearby players.
"Hong Hu." Lute called out the player's ID directly. "All things considered... you seem like a decent candidate."
Hong Hu's eyes flickered slightly. "What do you want?"
"Cut off his limbs first and set him aside." Lute didn't answer Hong Hu's question. Instead, she calmly issued another order to Kai Duo.
"You think you can do whatever you like?!"
The Ruyun Step activated with a stomp, and the Shidao King's killing intent surged toward Lute's side.
The long halberd's blade roared forth like a raging dragon.
"Oh?" As Lute turned her head, the long halberd's blade slashed through, severing her head mid-air.
"Not bad..." Lute's head floated mid-air while she spoke.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy..." The Shidao King coldly snorted, immediately executing three swift footwork maneuvers before resuming his halberd assault.
Three purple crescent waves shot upward, targeting Lute's head.
"I'll reduce you to ashes!" The Shidao King bellowed.
After releasing the ranged attack, he didn't stop but immediately leaped back ten meters, widening the distance before raising his halberd again for another strike.
Shua shua shua—the combo created continuous whistling winds.
The ultimate technique erupted, its halberd shadows swarming like thunder, splitting the heavens and shattering stone.
【Name: Rolling Cloud Waves Thousand Layers】
【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered】
【Skill Category: Martial Arts】
【Effect: Launches wave-like multiple combos against targets directly ahead (requires long-handled weapon, 1-hour cooldown).】
【Consumption: 20% of maximum stamina】
【Learning Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency A】
【Background: Created by the famous Feiyun Stick Monk, this technique's immense power created great carnage. The monk never passed it on to future generations, and after his nirvana, this skill vanished from the martial arts world.】
In reality, the Shidao King's physical techniques were extremely formidable, absolutely no less potent than experts like Swords and Laughter. He only seemed inferior when dueling Fei Chai Shu.
Now, without using any studio drugs, he was like someone releasing all the pressure from both real life and the game—unleashing a brutal flurry of halberd strikes with sheer force, turning the Lute before him into a sieve.
"Ahh——" As he unleashed the technique, he roared loudly, pushing the skill's power to its absolute limit. His bloodshot eyes and ferocious snarl revealed a momentum that seemed determined to pulverize his opponent into dust.
Meanwhile, Lute's severed head mid-air was struck by the three purple beams, exploding with a bang, completely disintegrating.
This spectacle forced J1-Kuai Duo to stop in his tracks. He had already rushed within ten meters of Hong Hu, but witnessing Lute's heavy strike from afar made Kai Duo hesitate.
"Strange... it's different from when he used it last time..." Fei Chai Shu thought suspiciously.
Among those present, Fei Chai Shu was undoubtedly the second most familiar with this technique besides the Shidao King himself—he had personally taken two hits from 【Rolling Cloud Waves Thousand Layers】. Once during the previous Kill Game Mode, and another time in this Peak Conquest Tournament.
The problem was... the technique's power shouldn't be this exaggerated. If comparing, Xu Huai Shang's "Eight Phases Hair Break" released in 【Soul Arrival】 state was about this level of power.
Yet the Shidao King before them now was clearly using an even stronger technique.
Similar... yet stronger... The reason was that at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Shidao King had comprehended S-Rank skills... and while unleashing this S-Rank skill, he had simultaneously elevated his martial arts proficiency to S-Rank, becoming the first player in the game to break through the S-Rank proficiency barrier.
Seizing this opportunity, here's a comprehensive explanation of Terrifying Paradise's proficiency levels:
N/A: None, complete ignorance, unable to use the skill system
F: Extremely poor, nearly non-existent, reaching this level grants skill usage with a 20% activation success rate
E: Poor, basic level, reaching this level increases skill activation success rate to 40%
D: Awkward, slightly below common level but better than entry-level, reaching this level increases skill activation success rate to 60%
C: Common, basic mastery, reaching this level increases skill activation success rate to 75%
B: Proficient, better than common level with very high success rates, reaching this level increases skill activation success rate to 90%
A: Masterful, has a chance to self-learn the skill system, reaching this level unlocks 100% activation success rate
S: Divine Transcendence, can only be achieved through obtaining special artifacts, completing special tasks, or triggering hidden plots. Reaching this level allows character-exclusive effects when using skills, with no limit to the number of effects, and multiple effects can be selectively used.
Since he had just broken through to this realm, the Shidao King hadn't yet attached his character-exclusive effects to the skills, but his skills had already evolved.
Just like Feng Bu Jue's 【Hasty Repair】 upgrading to 【Less Hasty Repair】, his 【Rolling Cloud Waves Thousand Layers】 had also transformed.
【Name: Rolling Cloud Waves Ten Thousand Layers】
【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered】
【Skill Category: Martial Arts】
【Effect: Launches wave-like multiple combos against targets directly ahead (requires long-handled weapon, 1-hour cooldown).】
【Consumption: 40% of maximum stamina】
【Learning Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency S】
【Background: A powerful martial art created by the Feiyun Stick Monk and improved by the Shidao King. The technique surges like roaring waves, exploiting every weakness with relentless force, combining brutality, ferocity, speed, and power into one. Its power can split stone and sever gold, reducing enemies to dust.】
Shua shua shua—the combo finally slowed. Though the Shidao King heard several system prompts in his ears, he barely paid attention to what they said. His entire being—mind, body, and spirit—had been poured into that attack.
"Ha... ha..." His technique ended, and he barely managed to stay upright, gripping his halberd with one hand and using it to steady himself. "I... won!"
Perhaps in his heart, what he had shattered wasn't just an enemy, but many other burdens...
Chi——
Blade slicing through flesh sounded again.
J1-Kuai Duo, who had counterattacked from behind, decapitated the now-defenseless Shidao King.
Though dead... his face bore a relieved expression, as if saying: Brothers, this is as far as I can help you.
"Meddling..." Lute's voice resounded again.
Of course, she wasn't dead. She had simply shed another altered form.
Now in her eighth form, compared to the previous ninth form, there seemed no difference. She remained in her liquid-metal humanoid state, though the metallic sheen across her body had dimmed slightly.
This difference in reflectivity was imperceptible to the naked eye. The surviving players here lacked the ability to observe the world through data layers. Therefore, to them, Lute had revived at full strength as if nothing happened.
"He was excellent material too..." Lute shifted her gaze to the Shidao King's corpse, uttering those words with a tone of regret.
"I just..." J1-Kuai Duo seemed to want to explain, but swallowed the words back. Finally, he said, "Sorry... I interfered too much..."
"Might as well... there's plenty of material left." Lute seemed satisfied with Kai Duo's reaction, though it remained unclear what she'd do if Kai Duo had actually defended himself.
"Continue. What are you waiting for?" Lute added. "Must I do everything myself?"
"Understood." Kai Duo responded, rushing toward Hong Hu once more.
"A scholar may be killed..." Hong Hu, having already drawn his longbow moments earlier, blue light reappearing, "but not mutilated!"
Everyone thought he'd say some grand, dramatic line, but it turned out he simply didn't want his limbs severed...
"Ha ha ha!" A long laugh pierced the sky. "Saying lines like that and still claiming to be a 'scholar'?"
Hu——peng!
A crimson beam shot forth like a meteor striking the moon, a falling meteor crashing to earth—slamming into J1-Kuai Duo's advance path.
The ground was smashed into a five-meter-wide crater, surrounding temperatures suddenly rising over ten degrees.
Yet from that pit, a muscular man slowly rose.
"It's you..." J1-Kuai Duo muttered grimly. His eyes showed recognition—and clearly, this opponent was no friend.
"Right! It's me!" The man cupped his hands like in martial arts, pushing his short bangs upward, then spread his arms into a fighting stance.
"Who is this guy...?" All players present wondered the same question.
"You must all be thinking...'Who is this guy?' Right?" The man slightly turned his head toward the players behind him. "Remember my name..." His right hand, raised before him, extended a thumb pointing at his own face. "K1-Scarlet Iron!"
"Huh?"
Though Scarlet Iron introduced himself, players became even more confused... judging by the name, wasn't this guy a derivative being?
"Don't worry, I'm on your side." Scarlet Iron said, refocusing on Kai Duo. "Hey, Hobbit, last time you bested me, but now I've leveled up too. Let's play again?"
"I... hate it... most... when people..." Kai Duo gritted his teeth, enunciating each word, "Call me... Ho-bbit!" He raised both swords, roaring fiercely—but his short stature robbed the moment of any intimidation...
"So what should I call you? Goblin Rogue? Gnome Stalker?" Scarlet Iron laughed.
Kai Duo's eyebrows bristled with fury. He raised one hand, pulling down his goggles from his forehead to his eyes. "Watch me cut you down at supersonic speed!"
Scarlet Iron grinned, his battle aura surging. "Come on! Who's scared?!"
(End of Chapter)
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