Chapter 101: The Distressed Black Merchant
After a brief rest, Su Xiao's energy recovered somewhat. This was one of the benefits of fighting in the arena; even if completely exhausted, one could recover in a short time. Otherwise, after battling Huang Fen, Su Xiao wouldn't have had the energy to continue fighting Kuang Hu.
Su Xiao equipped the arena title [Good Fighter]. The effect of increasing Health Points and Mana Points by 800 was immediate. He could clearly feel a boost in his vitality, and the perception of his Mana Points was even more pronounced. Due to his Spirit Shadow Constitution ability, his Mana Points weren't stored in his brain but dispersed throughout his body.
With the bonus from [Good Fighter], Su Xiao's Mana Points reached an astonishing 5426. Most of his abilities had high consumption, and this 800-point Mana boost slightly improved his endurance.
The [Good Fighter] title was very special. It was exclusive to the arena and couldn't be obtained through any other means.
Originally, Kuang Hu held the [Good Fighter] title. After losing to Su Xiao, Kuang Hu fell to second place. The second place also had a title, but it wasn't as strong as [Good Fighter].
[Good Fighter] was different from [Arena King (Mark)]. Arena King was a temporary mark, while [Good Fighter] was a permanent title.
However, this "permanent" didn't mean permanent ownership, but rather permanent existence. The reason for this was the characteristic of [Good Fighter].
[Good Fighter] appeared once every ten derivative world cycles. During that period, the arena would only reward one [Good Fighter] title. Defeating the third-rank arena guardian was required to obtain the right to use [Good Fighter]. To fully own this title, one needed to maintain the first-place position in the arena and successfully advance to the fourth rank. Only then could one permanently possess the [Good Fighter] title.
No matter how the contractors competed during these ten derivative world spans, there was only one [Good Fighter] title. Whoever could maintain first place and advance to the fourth rank with it would be the ultimate victor. Other contractors were merely escorts.
If Su Xiao advanced to the fourth rank with the [Good Fighter] title, counting from the world he advanced in, after a span of ten derivative worlds, a new [Good Fighter] title would appear.
Don't think that [Good Fighter] would appear every ten worlds. To obtain [Good Fighter], two conditions had to be met. First, one had to reach the third place in the arena, thereby obtaining the best attribute [Glory of Victory (Mark)]. Second, one had to consecutively challenge the second and first place, with the interval not exceeding three natural days.
Kuang Hu was once the holder of the [Good Fighter] title. After taking a side kick from Su Xiao, Kuang Hu clearly didn't want to take a second one and was forced to give up the [Good Fighter] title.
There were actually three types of titles in the arena. The one with the strongest attributes was [Good Fighter], followed by [Arena Soul], which was the reward for reaching first place at a snail's pace. It was generated every five derivative world spans. The second-place reward was [Admiration Medal], generated every three derivative world spans.
Therefore, there was no situation where contractors could farm titles from each other. Within a certain period, there was only one title. It was either yours or mine. If you missed it, you missed it forever.
What Su Xiao didn't know was that [Good Fighter] wasn't just a simple title. It could be manifested in battle, without any attack or defense bonuses, but 80% of adventure groups knew about it. What [Good Fighter] represented was... the strongest of the third rank!
If Su Xiao fought a third-rank contractor in a derivative world, and the opponent knew what [Good Fighter] represented, then Su Xiao wouldn't even need to make a move. The opponent would definitely flee as far as possible.
However, Su Xiao wasn't yet aware that [Good Fighter] had this function. In his eyes, [Good Fighter] was just a top-tier title. Of course, it was also a symbol of being the strongest of the third rank. Compared to manifesting this, he trusted the long blade in his hand more. Scaring enemies to death was a more reliable method.
The Spark Adventure Group had been scared witless by Su Xiao, so their remnants didn't dare to come looking for revenge. Stubborn fools like Bana Hua were rare.
Su Xiao left the arena. The trade market was nearby. He first passed through the trade market and headed straight for a shop.
At this moment, the front of this shop was bustling. More than ten men dressed in black robes with black face veils were waiting at the entrance. If one didn't know their identities, they would surely mistake them for a gang or some strange organization.
Watching Su Xiao approaching from the direction of the trade market, these "black-robed men" exchanged glances, their eyes full of distress. A fat man in an oversized black robe walked out of the shop.
That's right, Su Xiao had come to the Black Sail Merchant Guild to collect a debt. This shop was one of the Black Sail Merchant Guild's strongholds. They had agreed to meet here.
The president of the Black Sail Merchant Guild, Qian Dapang, had a worried expression. He was the only black merchant who didn't wear a face veil. Qian Dapang was known as a smiling tiger, but at this moment, he had become a "fat tiger."
If the debt was owed to some adventure group, Qian Dapang would definitely resolve it through negotiation. It was unlikely to be paid in one lump sum. He would pay in installments, at most adding a bit more interest. This was an unwritten rule between factions.
Unfortunately, their creditor this time was a lone wolf. There was no possibility of multiple payments. When Su Xiao came, they had to come up with 880,000 Paradise Coins + 22 large Soul Crystals, principal and interest, to compensate Su Xiao.
Coming up with 480,000 Paradise Coins was nothing for the Black Sail Merchant Guild, but 12 large Soul Crystals was somewhat difficult. Soul Crystals were in a constant state of short supply. After the Black Sail Merchant Guild obtained Soul Crystals, they would sell them at exorbitant prices to large adventure groups. These groups not only had to pay a large number of Paradise Coins but also owed the Black Sail a small favor.
It was easy to imagine that with such a tight supply of large Soul Crystals, black merchants wouldn't hoard too many. The ten large Soul Crystals Su Xiao had taken out earlier were too tempting. If it were another merchant guild, they might have refused due to the high risk, but black merchants were different. They were a group of reckless worker contractors who had risen by selling recovery items in derivative worlds.
Reckless merchant sounded intimidating, but when they encountered a "professional killer," they were just merchants.
"What a rare guest."
Qian Dapang greeted Su Xiao with a beaming smile, as enthusiastic as could be.
"880,000 Paradise Coins, 22 large Soul Crystals."
Su Xiao didn't exchange pleasantries with Qian Dapang. Now wasn't the time for that.
"Mr. Bai Ye, we've done business before. Those low-quality equipment pieces were really hard to sell."
Qian Dapang wasn't annoyed. Instead, he put his hand on Su Xiao's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Let's talk inside?"
As he spoke, Qian Dapang tilted his chin toward the shop.
"Then let's talk inside."
Su Xiao walked into the shop. When he had previously sold equipment to the black merchants, they had offered a fair price. Moreover, they had cooperated multiple times. Except for a few cases, black merchants weren't actually that black.
The reason black merchants weren't black wasn't that they had changed their business strategy, but that they didn't dare to be black with Su Xiao. A powerful lone wolf like Su Xiao was the last person black merchants wanted to offend.
Although lone wolves didn't have faction support, it also meant they feared nothing. Whoever provoked them, they would kill. In contrast, if they coexisted peacefully, they could gain considerable benefits. Lone wolves were rarely stingy.
Take Su Xiao, for example. Although he killed without blinking, he wasn't stingy. When the black merchant had previously helped him convert his equipment into a more consolidated form, he hadn't even haggled over the price.