Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 303 - 118. Secret

Chapter 303: 118. Secret

The fierce blade slashed straight along the skyline, the pale executioner baring its fangs, spreading its arms wide, seemingly immersed in the recent slaughter.

"So, how does it feel, Mr. Leoz, to lose your comrade?"

Youhe Lai, holding a staff made from Zonia’s spine, walked slowly toward them. His mood was excellent, even humming a tune, with an extraordinarily relaxed expression, while Li Aozi could only watch. The system showed him in a ’secret’ state, with Ether Blood continuously invading his body.

[Detected Ether Blood invading your body. Since your species is not ’C3 Luca Type Aliens,’ a ’Secret Awakening’ check will be performed next.]

[Ether Erosion, performing a [Constitution] check...]

No! There’s still a chance—I still have that specialty obtained from the Mingji Professor—

[Specialty: Decisive Action activated! This time the check will be on [Charm]]

Yes, yes, yes, that’s exactly it, with my high [Charm]—using it for the check, there’s little chance of failure—

[Check failed, your [Charm] is lower than the minimum threshold (1500 points)]

One organ after another necrotized within him, not poisoned, but as if being isolated from connection with his body’s system.

[Awakening failed]

Ether Blood.

What the hell is this thing? Li Aozi had never encountered it in his previous life, nor had he ever seen anything like this in this life.

He had seen the Void Demon Lord detonate a spacetime vortex, seen Outer Society’s Great Demons corrupt and degrade galaxies, and even witnessed the fall of Frost, the God of Cold, stripping the surface of a black hole, which had become a backdrop in daily life for players.

But none of that compared to the Ether before him.

Never had he faced such an overbearing force that left no room for resistance.

[Your implant gear ’Li Aozi’ has been poisoned by Ether Blood, entering near-death state]

No, it’s not over yet!

Li Aozi’s eyes darted rapidly, a purple light glimmering in their depths.

[Blood of Eternity]

His cells rapidly regenerated, the organs previously isolated were outright disconnected, replaced with newly-grown ones. His health points instantly recovered, his motor system reactivated, Li Aozi raised his head and held his breath, immediately drawing the Shadow Blade from his waist.

Swish!

A pale claw instantly gripped Li Aozi’s shoulder, a shark-like maw slowly splitting open with a mocking grin:

"Hey, you’re much quicker now!"

The next moment, Youhe Lai drove a knee into Li Aozi’s abdomen. Li Aozi quickly pulled away, using the gravity to plant his toes firmly on solid ground. Using this rare foothold, Li Aozi twisted his waist and slashed, the vicious samurai materializing behind him. Encased in purple ghostly flames, the blade accelerated briefly, attacking the White Knight!

However, to Youhe Lai, mortals like Li Aozi appeared as if snails racing against turtles—

No real difference.

Bang.

The White Knight almost leisurely pulled away, lightly tapped the ground, instantly burrowing into it, easily dodging Li Aozi’s strike. The next moment, he reappeared behind Li Aozi and slashed his spine with precision.

[Mountain Armor]

Li Aozi’s form quickly became encased in rocks. The blade slashed against the armor, its force greatly diminished. The next moment, the rock encasing exploded, and Li Aozi, wearing heavy armor, switched to wielding the Dust Sealed Sanctum in greatsword mode, charging directly at the White Knight.

Clang!

Youhe Lai casually lifted his left hand, gripping the blade, readying to sharpen it on his hand stone once more.

"Bastard, you’ve been tricked!"

Li Aozi twisted the sword handle, concentrating his thoughts:

"Shipbreaker Master!"

Bzzzzzzzzzt!

The greatsword instantly transformed, its handle extending, nearly causing Youhe Lai to stumble. Then, the high-speed rotating front wrapped in shattered Holy Light, kicked up golden debris, forming a violent drill of light.

Youhe Lai’s hand was caught by the spinning blade, his thin armored suit utterly incapable of withstanding this ship-piercing attack, shredded in an instant.

I’ve got him!

[Pegasus Power]

Li Aozi grasped the extended handle, eyes red with fury, driving the light drill into the opponent’s breastplate, blood splattering, flesh flying. The White Knight’s breastplate was on the verge of being pierced.

Then, his body suddenly stiffened.

[Ether Erosion, implant gear secretizing...]

This can’t be; wasn’t I supposed to hold my breath? Without breath, and with my body sealed by the armor, how could the poison still—

At that moment, Li Aozi froze.

No, there’s one possibility.

If the exterior is blocked, there’s only one other possibility.

...Molecules.

During the regeneration, the molecules in his bloodstream were also absorbed by his body.

[Damn it, screw you, Ether Blood! What kind of wretched thing is this?!]

The White Knight—Youhe Lai—stepped back a few steps, appearing utterly unfazed by the pain, raising his shattered left arm aloft, pouring a silver-white elixir over it.

"Using Ether Elixir for healing is a bit extravagant, but when dealing with the renowned Mr. Li Aozi, I think it’s well worth it."

His arm rapidly set, the sinews and vessels regenerating quickly. The spilled blood seemed to move with a will of its own, swiftly crawling back, reconstructing the wound.

Moments later, Youhe Lai’s arm was fully restored.

"Li Aozi, are you surprised?"

Youhe Lai spoke leisurely, stepping up to Li Aozi, driving a sword through his neck. Ether in the air rapidly entered Li Aozi’s body through his trachea, forcibly combining with his blood. Li Aozi could clearly feel his cells rapidly dying off by the billions under the Ether invasion.

The immune system collapsed.

[Detected Ether Blood invading your body. Since your species is not ’C3 Luca Type Aliens,’ a ’Secret Awakening’ check will be performed next.]

[Ether Erosion, performing a [Constitution] check...]

The motor system was paralyzed.

[Check failed, your [Charm] is lower than the minimum threshold (1200 points)]

The cognitive system was heavily damaged.

[Your implant gear ’Li Aozi’ has been poisoned by Ether Blood, entering near-death state]

"—Nomi!"

Blood of Eternity reactivated, Li Aozi abruptly lifted his head, severing his own neck with his blade, sweeping his leg low to trip the White Knight, throwing him to the ground.

He grabbed his tachi, ready to pounce, but his body froze again.

[Ether Erosion, implant gear secretizing.]

"Damn you!"

The same check repeated, the air filled with Ether Blood, even setting a fire would only spread the Ether further, like tuberculosis spreading with ash.

Damn this! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Li Aozi’s body went limp again, dropping to one knee, the tachi stabbed into the ground. Youhe Lai quickly flipped up, slashing Li Aozi’s spine free, tossing it to the ground.

Qiqiao Network, what did you do, why did this appear on Azure Star?

points in main attributes, you’d need to be at least level 180 to reach that.

Moreover, the term ’secret’ had never appeared before; if he hadn’t seen or heard of it in his previous life, it meant it didn’t fit the game’s original setting.

Such a thing wasn’t even accessible in the third layer of the Starry Abyss.

"I know, Li Aozi, you possess an immortal body."

Youhe Lai shrugged:

"No matter how many times I kill you, you always come back, right?"

[Ether Erosion, performing a [Constitution] check...]

He lifted a foot, crushing Li Aozi’s skull, strolling leisurely around him:

"Rest assured, I, too, am no stranger to death. After dying enough times, one loses the fear of death and respect for life."

[Check failed, your [Charm] is lower than the minimum threshold (1000 points)]

Upon dying once more, Li Aozi had no choice but to reactivate his arcane energy.

[Blood of Eternity]

Suddenly, he quickly approached Li Aozi’s regenerating form, watching with a calm voice:

"But you should know, there are things in this world far worse than death."

At that moment, the giant mecha lying behind Youhe Lai suddenly flickered with light in its eyes.

Long short—long long short—

Was that... Morse code?

Li Aozi had learned it during his vocational studies; he barely deciphered it:

’Watch me, Leoz.’

Meibei—unfortunate fellow, still alive but in such bad condition he couldn’t even spell his name right.

The White Knight squatted down, pressing a foot on Li Aozi’s shoulder, marveling at Li Aozi’s half-regenerated head:

"Wow, this ability is amazing, truly powerful. No matter what, you can regenerate; doesn’t that make you immortal?"

The Mobile Armor’s Fire God Cannon slowly turned.

"How should I torment you then? Li Aozi, you don’t fear death and have no children. The most painful thing is to take away what you hold dearest and destroy it right in front of you."

Li Aozi tightly shut his mouth, trying to forgo all breathing, his body reeling under 180 times gravity. He launched himself once more, headbutting Youhe Lai, but Youhe Lai drove a sword into his chest, tearing through his lungs.

"Gravity has no effect on me, silly child. Nobles of the Secret Society, born as cosmic species. Super Gravity, Zero Gravity, Near-Solar Orbit, even the edges of black holes; under the great Ether’s protection, we are unaffected by gravity and electromagnetic waves."

Youhe Lai pitifully watched as Ether once again invaded Li Aozi, his lungs rapidly secretizing—silver Ether Blood turned his lungs dull and light, as if being peeled away from this world. Even air and wind could not touch these secretized organs, which faded and disappeared.

Li Aozi’s body trembled slightly, feigning fear.

"Don’t be afraid, I know you won’t die. Our joyful journey has only begun."

He yanked Li Aozi’s body up, fingers digging into his shoulder, dragging him toward a car, tearing open the fuel tank, preparing to pour gasoline into Li Aozi’s trachea.

The Mobile Armor slowly raised its lone arm, lifting its Magnum rifle, missile pods standing ready.

"Let me share a secret with you—serving the Infant Eaters isn’t just for the reward."

Youhe Lai chuckled:

"I really relish the experience myself."

The Mobile Armor’s sixteen electronic eyes blinked rapidly, Li Aozi’s retina invaded by Ether, allowing him to barely decipher the Morse code:

’Leoz, Huoxia District.’

He stabbed a sword into Li Aozi’s thigh, watching the rapid spread of silver Ether, expressing wistfully:

"Tender, delicious."

[Explosive Magnum Charge]