Chapter 26: Upgrade
Su Ke focused his attacks on the man's back, launching continuous spinning strikes. He actually managed to carve several wounds into that hardened body.
Seeing his defense breached, the tough guy clearly grew anxious, and his attacks became increasingly disordered. Su Ke seized the opportunity, stopped spinning, and wrapped his tail around the man's ankle, yanking hard and tripping him to the ground.
Next, Su Ke repeated his old trick. Just like in his battle with Supersonic, he spun in place to build momentum before hurling the man off the stage.
It had to be said that the man's weight after hardening was truly terrifying, and Su Ke almost failed to throw him out. Fortunately, everything ended without further incident.
He won the match once again. 200,000 yuan secured.
The 30% reward from the betting pool had nothing to do with the odds; it depended entirely on how much the spectators outside the arena had bet on him. For example, if someone bet 300,000 yuan on him, he would receive 30% of that amount, which was 90,000 yuan.
Essentially, the more matches he won, the more people would bet on him, and the more money he could earn. This time, because of his winning streak, most of the spectators placed their bets on him.
There was about 500,000 yuan in the pool, and his 30% share came to 150,000 yuan. Combined with the base reward of 50,000 yuan, the total reached 200,000 yuan.
After six matches, Su Ke had earned nearly 1,000,000 yuan in total.
Lin Ning said, "It's getting late. Let's head back." Wang Zhong laughed and said, "Earning so much today feels amazing!"
Su Ke said, "Facing different enemies and different Supernatural Abilities has given me a deeper understanding of how to apply tactics in real combat." Lin Ning nodded and said, "When we go back to the wilderness this time, it'll definitely be better than before."
Su Ke suddenly asked, "By the way, A Ning, didn't you say before that you really want to fight too? You're not satisfied with always staying in the rear as a Support Class, right?"
Lin Ning sighed and said, "Yeah. Don't be fooled by my quiet appearance; I actually love fighting. Unfortunately, the Supernatural Ability I awakened is Support Class, and even if I absorb crystal cores later, I can only learn Support Class Spirit Skills."
When she said this, her tone was filled with regret. Su Ke smiled mysteriously and said, "Next time we go to the wilderness, bring more weapons and equipment. Of course, no guns."
Guns were banned in Huaxia, so even if she wanted one, she couldn't get it. Lin Ning frowned and said, "As a Support Class, carrying more weapons to protect myself makes sense, but why are you saying this?"
Su Ke replied, "It's a secret." No matter what Lin Ning said after that, he refused to explain, only insisting that she prepare more weapons.
Her mood was like watching a preview stream, knowing there were many rewards and exciting events in the next update, but having to wait half a month to experience them. That sense of anticipation was agonizing.
The three of them agreed to head into the wilderness again in a week. Su Ke went to other Spirit Medicine shops and spent 600,000 yuan to buy 3 more Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions.
He did not expect to break through to the eighth stage in a single week. He only hoped to advance further within the seventh stage to increase his Spiritual Qi reserves, since anything could happen in the wilderness.
More strength meant a higher chance of survival, and more importantly, a greater harvest.
After returning home, Su Ke immediately locked himself in his room to take the potions and cultivate. As expected of potions made from diluted crystal cores, the effects were extremely powerful.
As soon as he swallowed one, a massive surge of spiritual power nourished his body. The power was vast but not violent, and its dissipation rate was slower than that of lower-grade potions.
Su Ke quickly transformed to fully absorb the medicinal effects. His Rank advanced by about 10% within the seventh stage.
"It's a pity I can't drink too many Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions," Su Ke muttered. "Otherwise, I really might have a chance to break through to the eighth stage within a week."
Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions involved crystal cores, so the required rest period after consuming one was longer than for Elementary potions. More importantly, he simply did not have enough money to buy enough of them to force a breakthrough.
With no other choice, Su Ke continued cultivating steadily. A week later, his Realm had reached the Peak of the seventh stage, just a tiny step away from breaking through to the eighth stage.
Early that morning, the three of them arrived at the meeting point. Lin Ning brought all their armor with her.
Su Ke and Wang Zhong still wore their original sets, but Lin Ning now carried far more equipment. In addition to her original gear, she had a long saber and a spear on her back, a shield in her left hand, and a triangular military spike at her waist alongside her spiritual energy dagger.
Su Ke glanced at her and said, "You're certainly well prepared." Lin Ning rolled her eyes and replied, "Didn't you tell me to prepare more? What exactly are you planning to do?"
Su Ke smiled and said, "I'll tell you once we're out there." After showing their identification to the soldiers and passing several checkpoints, the three of them entered the wilderness again.
Wang Zhong said nervously, "It's already the second time, but I'm still tense." Lin Ning snapped, "Forget being nervous. I want to know right now, Old Ke, what exactly are you planning!"
Clearly, Lin Ning's patience had reached its limit. She also longed for battle, and although Su Ke had never said it outright, he had clearly been hinting that he had a solution.
Su Ke said calmly, "What's the rush? Watch carefully." He raised the dial, turned it several times, and switched to a new Alien Hero.
He pressed the dial down, and after a flash of green light, a strange creature appeared in his place. It had a white belly, a black back covered in green circuit-like lines, a ring-shaped structure on its head, and the Omnitrix symbol on its chest.
"Upgrade!"
This was Su Ke's new Alien Hero, Upgrade. Its race was the Galvanic Mechamorph, a lifeform composed of billions of nanobots.
Its entire body was essentially liquid metal, allowing it to liquefy at will. This made it nearly immune to physical attacks and capable of withstanding most energy attacks.
Because of this nature, it could reshape any part of its body into any form. Upgrade could possess machines to upgrade or destroy them, and even ordinary metal objects were sufficient.
Wang Zhong and Lin Ning stared in shock at yet another new form. Although they had expected it, they were still amazed.
Wang Zhong asked, "Old Ke, what abilities does this new form have?" Su Ke replied, "Just explaining it is boring. Why don't you experience it yourself?"
Before Wang Zhong could react, Su Ke acted without hesitation. He directly possessed Wang Zhong's battle armor.
"Ah!!!"
Dear Readers,
I have an important favor to ask of you today. If you've been enjoying the story, please consider switching to Patreon to support me directly.
By joining, you will instantly unlock 20 chapters and gain access to a total of 50 to 55 chapters every month.
To be honest with you, I am currently in deep financial trouble, and your support would mean the world to me during this difficult time. Furthermore, if I can get more members, I plan to add even more new fanfics by the end of this week!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon so I can continue creating content for you.
Thank you for your help
patreon.com/anish_44