Chapter 244 – Cannot Think, Must Not Think

“Swish!”

Amidst the faint sound of cutting through air, Su Ming’s figure flashed like lightning as he rushed toward the direction where the blood Qi soared to the heavens.

While traveling at high speed, he continued taking pills, using alchemical potions to restore his consumed stamina, energy, and injuries, gradually improving his somewhat poor condition.

Feeling his physical state gradually recovering, Su Ming couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional.

“I truly didn’t expect that dealing with that Mo Family Head would be much more difficult than imagined.”

Su Ming had to admit that he had somewhat underestimated Mo Leng, this Five-Star Hunter, at the beginning.

There was no helping it – having fought against and defeated members of the ‘Ten Demons,’ who were among the elite even among Six-Star Professionals, Su Ming indeed felt somewhat lacking in pressure when facing an opponent only one star higher than himself.

Although his victory against a powerful enemy like Lord Crow relied on the combination of multiple factors, after encountering enemies of that level and being able to easily instant-kill opponents of the same star rank, Su Ming had subconsciously stopped considering opponents only one star higher than himself as powerful enemies.

After all, when Su Ming was still a Three-Star Hunter, he had already been capable of challenging opponents above his level, even crossing the major Realm boundary between Upper and Lower Ranks.

Even though Su Ming at that time was not only a Three-Star Hunter but also a genuine Four-Star Sorcerer – strictly speaking also an Upper-Rank Professional, so it couldn’t be considered truly successful cross-Realm challenge – compared to cross-star challenges, the former was clearly more difficult.

Under such circumstances, now that Su Ming had successfully advanced to become an Upper-Rank Hunter with both professions at Upper Rank, his power had surged dramatically, allowing him to instant-kill opponents of the same star rank as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. It was only natural that he would consider challenging opponents one star higher than himself not particularly difficult.

It could only be said that Su Ming’s conditions were too excellent – not only was he an Upper-Rank Dual Professional, but his abilities in each profession were also beyond what ordinary Professionals could achieve.

Whether it was the powerful mutation characteristics in the Hunter aspect and the exaggerated amplification multiple of his Demonization ability, or the vast Spirit Power far surpassing others of the same star rank and the diverse variety of Spirit Arts in the Sorcerer aspect, all gave Su Ming the capital to challenge opponents above his level.

When these dual profession abilities stacked together, they became even more extraordinary and remarkable. Unless facing someone truly two star ranks or more above Su Ming, it would be genuinely difficult to defeat him in his current state.

Even though Mo Leng, this Five-Star Hunter, was already just one step away from becoming a Six-Star Hunter, this step remained exceptionally distant, making Su Ming feel no pressure whatsoever.

Therefore, Su Ming believed that if he went all out, defeating an opponent only one star higher than himself shouldn’t be difficult.

As it turned out, Su Ming nearly failed spectacularly.

Mo Leng was considerably stronger than Su Ming had imagined, forcing Su Ming to employ all his skills and only achieve victory after paying some price.

Although, if the matter of the Demon Emperor Sword hadn’t emerged, allowing him to freely use his right hand’s power and Demonization ability, Su Ming probably wouldn’t have had to struggle to this extent and could have won more easily – and if he could unrestrainedly use Advanced Spirit Arts, it would have been even easier – this was still considerably worse than Su Ming’s initial expectation of not taking Mo Leng seriously.In the end, Su Ming had to resort to Demonization to secure victory in this battle, which spoke volumes.

“It seems I’ve underestimated the world,” Su Ming reflected, quickly adjusting his mindset.

After advancing both his professions to the Advanced level and significantly boosting his strength—even defeating one of the Ten Demons, who stood out among Six-Star Professionals—Su Ming had grown somewhat complacent.

Repeatedly and effortlessly overwhelming opponents of the same star rating had led him to believe that adversaries just one star higher were nothing to worry about.

But reality harshly woke him up, reminding him that even though he had now made his mark and no longer needed to lie as low as before, he was still far from his ultimate goal.

After all, Su Ming’s ambition was to become invincible.

What did invincibility mean?

It meant being so powerful that no one could rival him!

Whether it was the Seven-Star Professionals at the peak of humanity or the terrifying species at the end of the Phantom Demon life cycle, none would be his match—that was true invincibility.

Only then would Su Ming have the freedom to act as he pleased.

For now, he was still a long way off.

Not to mention the terrifying species or Seven-Star Professionals, even whether he could currently defeat a Six-Star Professional remained uncertain.

Even if that Six-Star Professional wasn’t a top-tier existence like Lord Crow within that star rating, but merely an average one, Su Ming couldn’t guarantee victory.

“With my current strength, I should still be able to easily challenge and defeat opponents one star higher than me,” Su Ming assessed objectively while traveling.

“Even against someone like Mo Leng, who stands at the peak of Five-Star Professionals, if I go all out with both professions, I still have a decent chance of winning.”

“But if the gap is two stars, it becomes risky.”

If he only displayed the abilities of one profession, he could likely only hold his own against opponents one star higher.

If he could showcase both professions, he could even defeat adversaries one star above him.

Of course, this was without factoring in game-changing trump cards like the Silver Arm and Advanced Spirit Art, which could completely overturn the battle.

With these two ultimate moves, he could unleash devastating power, potentially overwhelming opponents even two stars higher.

These two trump cards had become Su Ming’s reliance for overcoming stronger foes.

Given this, there was no need for Su Ming to undervalue himself. As long as he remained grounded, objectively speaking, his strength was still sufficient to establish a firm footing in the upper echelons of the professional circle.

At the very least, in a place like Longyao City, aside from the few top-tier Six-Star Professionals, Su Ming no longer needed to fear anyone.

With such strength, a little bit of complacency was somewhat understandable.

“Provided my opponents don’t follow my example and take pills,” Su Ming suddenly recalled Mo Leng’s desperate final move. He flipped his hand and retrieved a vial of alchemical potion from his backpack.

After defeating Mo Leng, Su Ming had reclaimed his weapon and the alchemical potion, storing them both in his Golden Finger backpack.After all, both were a high-quality alchemical weapon and a potion treated as a last resort by a Five-Star Professional. They were undoubtedly treasures, and Su Ming wasn’t so indifferent as to ignore such valuable items without claiming them.

Thus, relying on his Golden Finger’s ability to appraise Extraordinary Items, Su Ming first examined the alchemical potion.

Bloodburn Potion: An alchemical potion crafted using a fragment of a Lava Demon’s heart as the core material, supplemented by thirteen other precious Materials. It ignites the user’s Bloodline, converting it into power to drastically enhance combat prowess. Even if the user is an Upper-Rank Professional, it allows them to overcome an opponent one star rank higher. This potion is exclusively for Hunters. After the effects wear off, the burned Bloodline cannot be restored, potentially reducing the user to an ordinary person stripped of supernatural abilities. At the very least, it will severely diminish their strength, carrying immense side effects.

“No way?” Su Ming was stunned. “He actually resorted to using something this terrifying?”

Su Ming had heard of the Bloodburn Potion before. It was reputedly infamous among all alchemical potion series, with both its effects and terrifying side effects making it a topic of both fascination and fear. The ability to enable an Upper-Rank Hunter to defeat an opponent a full star rank higher placed it at the pinnacle of combat-enhancing potions, nearly unrivaled.

Yet its side effects were equally horrifying. At best, it would severely damage the user’s Bloodline and drastically reduce their power; at worst, it could completely incinerate the Bloodline, turning them into an ordinary mortal. The mere thought was terrifying. Some would rather die in battle than use this potion to survive, only to suffer as a commoner in the world. This had nearly rendered it a forbidden drug. Without absolute resolve and unwavering will, even the bravest warrior would hesitate to consume it.

Such was the dread inspired by the Bloodburn Potion.

Su Ming never imagined that Mo Leng would use such a thing against him. Given Mo Leng’s cruel, merciless nature and his obsession with his Family’s Bloodline honor, it seemed unlikely that someone like him would possess the resolve to willingly burn away his Bloodline and become ordinary just to defeat an opponent.

However, upon second thought, Su Ming understood. “For the Mo Family Head, who has already obtained a Nightmare Species offspring, his own limited-potential Bloodline probably isn’t something he’d regret losing, even if it were completely consumed.”

After all, Mo Leng had planned to replace his own Bloodline with Little Hai’er’s evolved Nightmare Species Bloodline. In that case, his original Bloodline had become worthless. Even without the Bloodburn Potion, Mo Leng would have proceeded with the Bloodline replacement ritual, discarding his exhausted, useless Bloodline. If burning it out could secure victory over Su Ming, Mo Leng would likely welcome the opportunity.

“Thankfully, I stopped him in time,” Su Ming couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Had Mo Leng successfully consumed the Bloodburn Potion, he would have had no reason to fear even a Six-Star Professional and could have potentially emerged victorious.Being entangled by an opponent of that level would be no less challenging than fighting Lord Crow all over again, or even battling an enemy stronger than Lord Crow.

If it really came to that, even Su Ming didn’t think he could win.

“This Mo Family Head truly possesses remarkable courage.”

Su Ming could only sigh again as he tossed the Bloodburn Potion into his backpack, storing it away on a high shelf.

He would definitely not use this item.

With such severe side effects, if he were ever forced to use it, that would prove he had truly reached a dead end.

Su Ming hoped such a day would never come.

“Feels a bit like setting up a death flag…”

Su Ming quickly shook his head, frightened by the thought that flashed through his mind.

Mustn’t think about it, absolutely mustn’t.

After all, as everyone knows, minor characters always get their lunchboxes right after setting up death flags.

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(End of Chapter)