Chapter 245 – Hope You Succeed

After storing the Bloodburn Potion in his backpack, Su Ming took out Mo Leng’s alchemical weapon—the broadsword.

This broadsword gave Su Ming quite a pleasant surprise.

Fierce Carnage: Alchemical weapon, ranked 99th on the Weapon Leaderboard. Forged using Demon Ore from the Spirit Demon Abyss Volcano and the bones of three large Hazardous Species as Materials, it possesses extremely high attack power and can enhance the user’s physical strength. Its performance far surpasses that of ordinary alchemical weapons. It is suitable for all strength-type Hunters but offers limited enhancement to Professionals other than strength-type Hunters.

“So this is actually something famous enough to be on the Weapon Leaderboard?”

Su Ming was genuinely surprised.

He knew a thing or two about the Weapon Leaderboard.

Although the Weapon Leaderboard wasn’t very prominent in Longyao City, it was said that in the heartlands of the continent, this ranking was not only well-known but also closely watched by major forces and Professionals.

After all, it was a ranking of the one hundred strongest alchemical weapons in the world, excluding Divine Artifacts. Every alchemical weapon on the list could be considered a divine armament. While they might be far inferior to Divine Artifacts, they were still much more powerful than ordinary alchemical weapons.

Especially the top ten alchemical weapons on the list—it was said that each of them had been passed down from ancient times and had never been rendered obsolete by the passage of eras. They were already considered antiques and national treasures, with astonishing power. Some enthusiasts even referred to them as Sub-Divine Artifacts, which gave an idea of how famous and powerful they were.

If a Professional wielded an alchemical weapon from the Weapon Leaderboard, the boost to their combat strength would be significant.

Take Fierce Carnage, for example. It had greatly enhanced Mo Leng’s combat power. Without it, given the tenfold strength of Su Ming’s right hand, combined with the attack power of Fire Tusks and the Demon Blade Art, the Mo Family Head would have been utterly overwhelmed and unable to block Su Ming’s attacks so many times.

If Mo Leng’s weapon had been any more ordinary, Su Ming might have already shattered it and delivered a fatal blow.

In that case, none of the subsequent events would have happened.

Thinking of this, Su Ming fiddled with Fierce Carnage for a moment and muttered to himself, “The Mo Family seems to have quite a deep foundation. They even have something from the Weapon Leaderboard. As expected of a Family from one of the large Base Cities in the heartlands of the continent. Even in decline, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.”

At the very least, Su Ming had never heard of anyone in Longyao City possessing a divine armament from the Weapon Leaderboard.

Perhaps the Six-Star Professionals at the pinnacle of Longyao City, backed by the six top-tier Families, had such weapons. But Su Ming had never heard anything about it. He didn’t know if it was because their intelligence management was too tight or because the era of their prominence had passed long ago, causing such rumors to fade away.

As for the Four-Star and Five-Star Professionals, they might not even have an ordinary alchemical weapon, let alone one from the Weapon Leaderboard.

Longyao City was, after all, just a rural Base City in the coastal borderlands of the continent and couldn’t compare to the large Base Cities in the heartlands.

For Mo Leng, a Five-Star Professional, to possess an alchemical weapon from the Weapon Leaderboard was already surprising enough.

“It’s a pity the ranking is a bit low, though.”Su Ming couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret as he thought this.

Ranked ninety-ninth meant that this Fierce Blade was second to last among the hundred divine weapons on the Weapon Ranking, with only one weapon below it and a full ninety-eight above it.

In other words, on the Weapon Ranking, Fierce Blade was practically a junior.

“Well, I should be content.”

Su Ming quickly let go of his disappointment.

There were only a hundred divine weapons on the global Weapon Ranking, and for him to obtain one in a rural Base City like Longyao City was already incredibly fortunate.

Moreover, Su Ming believed that his own Flaming Fang wouldn’t lose to Fierce Blade or any other divine weapon on the Weapon Ranking.

Otherwise, an ordinary alchemical weapon clashing with a ranked divine weapon like Fierce Blade would have long since shattered.

Yet Flaming Fang remained completely intact from start to finish, even subtly overpowering Fierce Blade, sufficiently proving its superior performance.

Su Ming estimated that if Flaming Fang were known to the world, it could at least rank around eightieth on the Weapon Ranking.

The reason it remained unknown was simply because this alchemical saber was something Su Ming had unboxed from a package, originally nonexistent in this world.

Of course, Flaming Fang definitely couldn’t compare to the top-tier divine weapons on the Weapon Ranking, much less a Divine Artifact like the Demon Emperor Sword.

Remembering the matter of the Demon Emperor Sword gave Su Ming another headache.

“After returning, I need to quickly address this stubborn issue.”

Otherwise, being subtly threatened by the Demon Emperor Sword all the time, unable to freely use his right hand or Demonization, would be truly terrible.

“I hope Yun Langyue has some good news.”

With this thought, Su Ming stored Fierce Blade in his backpack, setting aside other concerns to focus entirely on his journey.

Before long, Su Ming leaped and landed in the center of a ruined area.

This was where Little Hai’er was evolving.

Under the devastation of Su Ming’s [Silver Arm], this place had unsurprisingly turned into ruins—not a single human shadow remained, not even half a Ghost Shadow.

Those Mo Family disciples were naturally no longer here—either annihilated on the spot by the [Silver Arm]’s power or blown away to other locations, likely struggling to survive.

This was a dangerous wilderness area teeming with Phantom Demons. Even though this route was specifically chosen by the Mo Family as relatively safe, “relatively safe” didn’t mean completely safe. Phantom Demons still roamed here, just at lower Ranks.

As one might expect, even with the lower-ranked Phantom Demons here, survival would be extremely difficult for those Mo Family disciples who were only lower-rank Professionals.

Therefore, Su Ming didn’t bother pursuing the Mo Family disciples, leaving them to fend for themselves.

He only cared about one thing now.

That was Little Hai’er’s condition.

Looking at Little Hai’er before him, Su Ming’s expression gradually turned grave.

“Miling—”

Little Hai’er was still bathed in towering blood energy, her entire body roiling with magical power. Extreme cold energy spread out, gradually forming frozen phenomena.

Hundreds of meters of ground had already transformed into an icy wasteland, with snow and ice constantly drifting through the air. A small blizzard centered around Little Hai’er continuously raged, the low temperature and chilling cold making even Su Ming somewhat wary.“Since when could that girl unleash power of this magnitude?”

Su Ming was both surprised and frowning as he sank into contemplation.

Sensing the continuously rising aura emanating from Little Hai’er as she evolved, Su Ming had a premonition.

“Perhaps this evolution isn’t just about Little Hai’er achieving Nightmare Species status—it might also further unlock the potential within her Bloodline, awakening the true power of a high-ranking Phantom Demon lying dormant within her.”

What did this mean?

It meant Little Hai’er wasn’t just evolving—she was growing stronger.

Already at the brink of the lower-tier Phantom Demon limit, Little Hai’er might now awaken her slumbering power in one go through this evolution, becoming a true high-ranking Phantom Demon.

“Is this a good thing?”

Su Ming couldn’t make an effective judgment. He could only watch silently and generously supply his Spirit Power to Little Hai’er.

Gradually, the area where Little Hai’er was became engulfed in a blizzard.

Su Ming could no longer see Little Hai’er’s figure.

But he didn’t rush in.

Because he knew it would be futile even if he did.

Once a Phantom Demon’s evolution began, there was absolutely no possibility of stopping it.

This time, either Little Hai’er would succeed in her evolution, advancing from a Hazardous Species juvenile to a Nightmare Species juvenile, thus gaining the qualification to gaze upon the Peak.

Or she would fail, torn apart by power she couldn’t withstand—at the very least severely injured, losing all possibility of becoming a Nightmare Species, remaining stuck at the Hazardous Species mutant level like her progenitor.

Su Ming couldn’t help Little Hai’er, except by using the Exorcism Spell Formula to provide her with Spirit Power, helping suppress her rampaging Bloodline power.

The rest depended entirely on Little Hai’er herself.

“I hope you succeed.”

Su Ming gazed at the icy landscape before him, murmuring these words.

……

“————”

This was the heart of the blizzard-ravaged frozen wasteland.

Unlike the howling winds and relentless snowfall outside, it was eerily quiet here—nothing but extreme cold permeating the air.

Little Hai’er hovered at the center of this frozen expanse, surrounded by the blizzard, her life force trembling violently.

By now, Little Hai’er had closed her eyes, floating mid-air with her knees drawn to her chest, curled up like a mermaid frozen in ice—a strangely beautiful sight.

Yet beneath this beautiful scene lay a heart-stopping moment between life and death.

Little Hai’er could no longer feel pain or perceive the outside world. Even her consciousness had grown hazy and faint, like a flickering candle flame in the darkness, teetering on the verge of extinction.

She wanted to cry out loudly but found herself unable to make a sound.

She wanted to sing freely but discovered she couldn’t open her mouth.

Cold.

Loneliness.

Sorrow.

Despair.

These were the things enveloping Little Hai’er now, making her truly consider giving up, sinking into oblivion.

But whenever such thoughts arose, her heart would pulse with powerful, rhythmic beats.

“Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump—”

The steady heartbeat rose and fell in her chest.

Simultaneously, Spirit Power surged around her heart like a final ember of warmth, a glimmer of light illuminating her fading consciousness.Little Hai’er’s hazy consciousness followed this warmth, this radiance, until she finally saw the glowing spear shining within her own heart.

As if yearning for something, Little Hai’er reached out toward the spear of Spirit Power.

Finally, she grasped it, allowing it to gradually sink into her palm as though seeping into her body.

“Hum!”

The brilliance of Spirit Power enveloped Little Hai’er’s entire form.

Only then did the mermaid maiden’s consciousness begin to rise, until it plunged into a sea of light.

7017k

(End of Chapter)