REINCARNATION PARADISE

Su Xiao stood still, holding his sword, [Dragon Flash], as the scene grew silent.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing broke the stillness. Xiluo stared at Su Xiao's back, her big, watery eyes sparkling. It was clear—she recognized Su Xiao.

At this moment, in Xiluo's mind, several tags hovered above Su Xiao's head: "Powerhouse," "Super Carry," "Big Boss"...

Xiluo suddenly felt a bit of regret. If she had known how strong Su Xiao was, she would have gotten his number earlier to ask for help in future derivative worlds, offering a heavy reward for his assistance.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Jason lost his previous excitement. His eyes were locked on Su Xiao, and his kagune quickly covered one of his arms. Jason's kagune was a rin-kaku type, located near the kidney, which granted him immense regenerative abilities and formidable attack power, though his defense was relatively weak.

In the world of ghouls, there are four types of kagune: ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku, and bikaku. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses, and they take shape based on the ghoul's imagination.

Right now, Jason's kagune reflected his fighting style and instincts.

"Who am I? Hmm… You can call me White Night. Your kagune? I'll be taking that."

Su Xiao activated his Shadow of Extinction's ability for the first time, turning on [Azure Steel Shadow]. His mana was immediately drained by 2 points and would continue to decrease by 2 points every minute.

Once [Azure Steel Shadow] was activated, Su Xiao felt a mysterious energy stirring inside him—his mana. As the mana circulated within his body, it underwent a strange transformation, becoming a new kind of energy. This energy flowed into his arm and enveloped his sword, [Dragon Flash], in a glowing blue light. If you looked closely, you could see faint blue-white sparks dancing across the blade.

These weren't lightning bolts; they were traces of the special energy formed when Su Xiao's mana was transformed by [Azure Steel Shadow]. This energy is the core of the ability.

[Azure Steel Shadow] is a state-based active skill that drains 2 points of mana every minute while active. That might not seem like much, but if Su Xiao fights continuously for an hour, he would lose 120 mana points. Right now, with only 153 total mana points, that's enough to push his limits.

The advantage of having abundant mana became clear—it gave Su Xiao the ability to sustain long battles.

While [Azure Steel Shadow] was active, every strike Su Xiao landed would burn 10 points of his opponent's mana.

It might not sound like a lot at first, but after being hit several times, the cumulative mana loss could become devastating. Imagine if Su Xiao and his opponent were locked in an intense battle, both preparing to unleash their most powerful moves—only for the enemy to realize they were out of mana. The despair would be overwhelming.

Additionally, [Azure Steel Shadow] didn't just burn mana—it dealt true damage equivalent to the mana consumed.

Su Xiao had asked the Reincarnation Paradise what true damage meant.

The response: "Damage that ignores all defenses. No matter how strong the enemy's protection is, they will still be hurt."

Su Xiao rolled his shoulders and took off his shirt, revealing his bare upper body. He had a habit of fighting shirtless—it made his senses sharper, though perhaps it was just psychological. Regardless, it was his routine.

With 13 points in Strength, 13 in Agility, and 12 in Intelligence, Su Xiao was eager to see how powerful these attributes made him in battle.

Don't think that Intelligence is useless in close combat. Increasing Intelligence doesn't just boost magic damage and mana capacity—it also sharpens one's perception, which is invaluable in close-range fighting.

"Well then, let's test you out. You look tough enough to not break too easily."

Su Xiao kicked off the ground, charging at Jason with incredible speed. With 13 points in Agility, his pace surpassed everyone present. Jason only saw a blur before Su Xiao was right in front of him, a glowing blue blade slashing toward his neck.

This strike was razor-sharp and precise, the kind of technique honed through Koushirou's teachings, elevating Su Xiao's swordsmanship.

With both hands gripping the sword, Su Xiao's blade was about to slice through Jason's neck. Although ghouls had incredible regenerative abilities, losing their head was still fatal.

At the last second, Jason roared and quickly shielded his neck with his kagune. There wasn't enough time to block with his arm, but his rin-kaku kagune was close enough to cover his vital area.

Shhhk!

The sound of flesh being sliced rang out, but no blood splattered.

Su Xiao's blade had cleaved through Jason's kagune as if it were nothing. Jason's face contorted beneath his mask in disbelief. What kind of monstrous cutting power was this? He knew that Su Xiao's weapon wasn't even a quinque—it was just a regular sword, yet it had cut through his kagune so easily.

Escape. Jason's mind screamed. He had to escape. This human was too strong. It wasn't even a battle anymore; it was a one-sided slaughter.

As Jason attempted to retreat, he suddenly felt a searing pain from his damaged kagune. A strange energy was burning away his Rc cells—the cells that gave ghouls their extraordinary abilities.

Along with the burning Rc cells came unbearable agony, unlike anything Jason had ever felt. Despite his usual tolerance for pain, he let out a scream. The true damage from Su Xiao's [Azure Steel Shadow] was taking effect.

Su Xiao's ability didn't just burn mana. If an enemy had no mana, it would target any other form of energy—like Rc cells in ghouls, chakra, nen, or spirit particles. The effect was slightly less potent, burning 7 to 9 units instead of 10, but it still caused significant harm.

The burning of one's internal energy was excruciating, and the pain was almost as debilitating as the damage itself.

As Jason howled in agony, Su Xiao's second strike came swiftly.

The blade whistled through the air, cutting with terrifying speed, creating a small shockwave.

Shhhk!

An arm and half an ear flew through the air. Su Xiao's second strike had also aimed for Jason's neck, but Jason sacrificed an arm to block the blow and desperately tilted his head, barely avoiding decapitation.

In just two strikes, Jason had been half-crippled. His kagune was severed, and he had lost an arm. His combat effectiveness had dropped by at least fifty percent.

Witnessing this, the beauty Rize felt her scalp tingle with fear. Internally, she lamented, "Are all the humans in the 20th Ward this strong?"

Fighting a ghoul without using a quinque and still winning in direct combat—no, this wasn't a fight. It was an outright massacre.

Rize's first instinct was to flee, but she quickly realized Su Xiao's cold gaze had locked onto her.

"Where do you think you're going, Rize Kamishiro?"

(End of Chapter)

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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.