Chapter 1: The Choice
[A new derivative world will open in 1 hour. Please prepare, Hunter.]
In his exclusive room, Su Xiao put down the tablet in his hand. The lazy expression he wore in the real world gradually faded. A new derivative world was coming.
This time, it was neither a war world nor a trial world, but a normal derivative world.
With only one hour left, Su Xiao checked his recovery item reserves. He had previously asked Bubu Wang to sell some miscellaneous items, earning a total of 80,000 Paradise Coins. Using these 80,000 Paradise Coins, he concocted seven bottles of [Ancient Secret Medicine].
His recovery item reserves included:
Ancient Secret Medicine (Gold) ×7
Crystal Vial (Special Equipment, can be used 3 times)
Honor Vitality Potion (Third Rank) ×1
...
These recovery items were sufficient for the derivative world. He still had one Apollo left, and one portion of Netherworld Flame: Hades.
After checking his material reserves, Su Xiao left his exclusive room and headed straight for a remote street.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the Shia Blacksmith Shop.
The name of this blacksmith shop was quite unique. One of the primordial worlds Su Xiao had experienced was called the Shia Continent, and the one who opened this blacksmith shop was none other than the former strongest of the Shia Continent, Lide.
Lide showed no signs of being the strongest of some world. Thinking about it, having been beaten into a state of self-isolation by a golem puppet of the Shadow of Law Destruction, how could he continue to regard himself as the strongest? That was a disgrace to him. Now, he was just a blacksmith, devoted to forging.
Or rather, Lide had discovered what he truly enjoyed. Compared to fighting others, the feeling of sweating profusely in front of the forge was much more satisfying.
Su Xiao stood at the entrance of the Shia Blacksmith Shop. He wasn't surprised by the shop's name. He had seen not only people from primordial worlds like Lide but also plot characters from derivative worlds.
That was a minor character. His only role in the original work was to highlight the protagonist's strength. He didn't even have a single scene; after being defeated, he fell among a pile of people.
A certain contractor saved him. Because he was relatively insignificant, that contractor didn't pay a high price to bring him into Reincarnation Paradise. From then on, that guy was unstoppable. When Su Xiao met him, that guy was even stronger than the original protagonist. Perhaps a bit arrogant, after a 1v1 with Su Xiao, he was finished, and incidentally, he got the contractor team that saved him killed.
Clang, clang, clang...
The sound of a hammer striking came from inside the blacksmith shop. Three female contractors were waiting at the door. They were charm-type specialists from different adventure groups. It had to be said, with Lide's forging skills, he could definitely become a guest of honor for large adventure groups.
As soon as Su Xiao walked into the blacksmith shop, Lide spoke without looking up.
"Forging will take at least 10 days. My schedule is full for the near future."
Lide, who had his head down, wiped the sweat from his forehead. He exhaled a puff of white steam. His body temperature had reached a terrifying level. Su Xiao walked over and sat down on a wooden chair in the room.
"What I just said..."
Lide looked up as he spoke. Seeing it was Su Xiao, he nodded.
"That thing is done."
Lide put down his hammer, opened a small freezer beside him, took out a can of ice-cold beer, and tossed it to Su Xiao.
"I brewed it yesterday. The taste is pretty good."
Lide turned and walked towards the back room of the blacksmith shop, as if to fetch something.
With a *pfft*, Su Xiao pulled the tab on the beer can. White foam overflowed. He took a tentative sip. The taste was unexpectedly rich, with a refreshing aroma of fermented wheat.
"Sir... may I ask how you managed to negotiate with this forging master?"
A female contractor at the door spoke. As a charm-type contractor, her allure was self-evident.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at the female contractor. After a few seconds, she stopped talking. She had confirmed it with her eyes; this was someone not to be trifled with.
Before long, Lide came out from the back room of the blacksmith shop, holding a necklace pendant in his hand.
"It's done. The Paradise Coins you left with me before, there are still 20,000 left."
Lide tossed the pendant in his hand. Su Xiao caught it and didn't bother with the 20,000 Paradise Coins Lide mentioned. Lide naturally knew what was going on. He went back to the forge to continue forging equipment. As a collaborator, even if Su Xiao sat in the blacksmith shop for a whole day, Lide wouldn't kick him out. He might even provide a meal, though Su Xiao didn't have that kind of leisure.
[You have obtained 'Space-Time Dominator']
[Space-Time Dominator]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise · Shia Blacksmith Shop
Quality: Legendary
Category: Necklace Pendant (Jewelry-type equipment is a rare item)
Durability: 83～83
Equipment Requirements: True Intelligence Attribute 85 points or above, Basic Blade Technique Level Lv.40 or above
Equipment Effect: Space Severance (Active), consumes 10% Mana Points. The next slash can penetrate alternate spaces, spatial rifts, eleven dimensions, etc., dealing 500 points + the damage attached to this slash to the enemy, and forcibly expelling the enemy from their current alternate space.
Tip: This skill has a cooldown of 10 minutes.
Rating: 511 points (Legendary equipment rating 400～530 points.)
Introduction: No place is safe, including within spatial rifts.
Price: 220,000 Paradise Coins
...
After checking the attributes of [Space-Time Dominator], Su Xiao was very satisfied. Although it deviated slightly from his original plan, overall, it was quite good.
[Space-Time Dominator] was a special piece of legendary equipment. It only had one ability. Lide had deliberately done this. In Lide's words, every piece of equipment has its 'total capacity'. The more branching abilities it has, the more restrictions those abilities have.
Lide had condensed the total capacity of [Space-Time Dominator] into a single attribute: space.
Su Xiao had fought against space-type assassins many times. Those people hid in alternate spaces. Even if he fully activated the Devouring Core and saw the enemy's position, he had no way to deal with them.
[Space-Time Dominator] gave him a way to deal with these enemies. One slash down, even if the enemy hiding in the alternate space didn't die, they would be forcibly expelled from that space. Then, Su Xiao could grind them into the ground as he pleased.
"Satisfied?"
Lide paused his hammering motion.
"Very satisfied."
"Good."
Clang!
Sparks flew. Su Xiao walked out of the blacksmith shop. After wandering around the Trade Market for a while, he returned to his exclusive room. He was about to enter a derivative world. Although Reincarnation Paradise was an absolute safe point, entering a derivative world from within his exclusive room was clearly more secure.
[Tip: The Hunter will enter the derivative world in 3 minutes.]
[Dawn Adventure Group team skill 'Elite Team (Passive) has been activated. An additional optional derivative world ×1 has been added.]
[The Hunter can choose one of the following derivative worlds to enter.]
[The Fifth Holy Grail War]
[Bleach]
...
A choice between two. Su Xiao had participated in a Holy Grail War once before, but that time it was only second rank.
The Holy Grail World was one of the most special derivative worlds because its power system was suppressed by rank.
For example, the Golden Flash in a second-rank Holy Grail World, no matter how strong he was, couldn't exceed the limits of the second rank. As for a fourth-rank Golden Flash, that would be terrifying. Not to mention his 'King's Power' fully unleashed, the Ea would also be his main weapon. He wouldn't be like the neutered version in the second-rank world. Facing a group of fourth-rank contractors, the Golden Flash would have no choice but to use Ea as his main weapon.
However, compared to the Holy Grail World, Su Xiao was more interested in the Bleach world, because this world had many blade-type weapons.
If it were before obtaining the Elegy Gem, Su Xiao would have hesitated about whether to preserve the enhancement level of Dragon-Slaying Flash. But with the safety net of 'Elegy', he could clearly let loose during enhancement.
In other words, Dragon-Slaying Flash could be pushed to a higher level. As his main weapon, the higher the quality of Dragon-Slaying Flash, the better.
Besides, the +13 level wasn't without its benefits. Although the enhancement level would decrease when advancing ranks, at +13, it would at most drop to +10, or maybe not even that far.
Having made up his mind, Su Xiao chose the Bleach world.