# Chapter 49: Demon and Alice
A choice lay before Su Xiao, and his time to consider was limited. The Gotei 13 was rapidly approaching the vicinity.
If he chose to activate the third ring of the main quest, Su Xiao would enter Hueco Mundo and participate in the subsequent Karakura Town melee. Without a doubt, that was a battlefield where only fifth-rank contractors could survive.
The captains with strength at the forefront of the Seireitei, the Espada, the Privaron Espada, Aizen in his Hogyoku state, the plot-armored protagonist, and a large group of fifth-rank contractors—all these forces clashing together. The intensity could be imagined. Figures like Tosen Kaname and Komamura Sajin would clearly be at the bottom of the food chain; calling them background extras wouldn't be an exaggeration.
After considering for a moment, Su Xiao checked the rewards he had already obtained.
[World Source: 91.3%.]
...
[Blue Treasure Chest × 42.]
[Purple Treasure Chest × 26.]
[Dark Purple Treasure Chest × 12.]
[Light Gold Treasure Chest × 6.]
[Gold Treasure Chest × 5.]
[Legendary Treasure Chest × 2.]
...
[True Attribute Point × 3.]
...
The types of benefits Su Xiao had gained were not numerous—only World Source, treasure chests, and True Attribute Points. But treasure chests represented a multitude of things.
Su Xiao had created the spirit particle pulse using his own abilities, so it was judged as his personal skill. He used his own ability to kill enemies; the value of these treasure chests could be imagined. Moreover, the Bleach world was a large, open world, which further increased the value of the chests.
Not to mention anything else, if Su Xiao converted all the gains from these chests into combat power, his fighting strength would see a significant boost.
However, the high rewards of the third ring also tempted Su Xiao. Opportunities like this weren't common.
After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Su Xiao completed the main quest (second ring) without activating the third ring. The reason was simple: his combat power couldn't keep up with the "Karakura Town Melee."
Based on Su Xiao's self-assessment, if he went to the arena now, he could probably rank around the top hundred. If he activated Demon Hunting Hour, he could fight against the top twenty, or even the top ten.
Although the arena couldn't fully reflect life-or-death combat ability, it gave Su Xiao a basic understanding of his own combat power.
He had not yet reached the level of being invincible within the fourth rank. As for fighting against those fifth-rank contractors, it was clearly too early. Crossing a rank in battle was no joke. Not to mention those contractors at mid-level strength within the fifth rank, even those who had just advanced to the fifth rank might be opponents Su Xiao couldn't defeat.
By the fourth rank, contractors generally had one or two True Attributes. As for the fifth rank, it wasn't something achievable just by having enough levels and passing the promotion assessment. It required another trial. Because Su Xiao had a good relationship with Kuang Hu, and Kuang Hu was the second-in-command of a top-tier fourth-rank adventure group, he had appropriately revealed some information about advancing to the fifth rank to Su Xiao.
Kuang Hu's exact words were: once you advance to the fifth rank, you enter a different tier. Ranks 1-4 were one tier, and ranks 5-? were another tier. More interestingly, upon reaching the fifth rank, you could encounter some "very interesting" contractors and get involved in some worlds within the void.
The intelligence Kuang Hu provided wasn't much, but it was still a significant favor. As thanks, Su Xiao helped Kuang Hu get an introduction to the forging master, Lide. Because the Divine Emperor Adventure Group behind Kuang Hu had a strong reputation, Lide agreed to give members of the Divine Emperor Adventure Group a 10% discount, which really delighted Kuang Hu.
Or rather, this was a win-win situation for Lide and Kuang Hu. Su Xiao didn't gain any direct benefits from it; he was just repaying a favor to Kuang Hu. Besides, Lide had always been forging and repairing equipment for him at cost price, so naturally, he needed to look after Lide's business.
Su Xiao made up his mind. Compared to rushing into Hueco Mundo now to take risks and gain benefits, it was clearly more reliable to digest the gains he already had. Moreover, he still needed to deal with the issue of Blade Awakening.
After a period of observation, Su Xiao had vaguely discovered what Dragon-Slaying Flash was lacking. Or rather, Dragon-Slaying Flash would become his first piece of equipment to break through the Legendary quality.
It wasn't just Blade Awakening; Blade Grandmaster also needed to be improved as soon as possible. Currently, Blade Grandmaster was only at Lv.1. In the near future, improving Blade Grandmaster was the fastest way for Su Xiao to increase his combat power, bar none. This was the result of accumulated effort.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking, several sounds of wind breaking came. Yamamoto Genryusai and the others had arrived.
At that moment, four beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping Aizen, Ichimaru Gin, and Tosen Kaname.
"Hmm?"
Aizen turned his head to look at one beam of light that was empty. When the beam had descended, Su Xiao had actually leaped away.
Aizen said nothing. Or rather, he was now inside the "Reverse Barrier," which existed in a space that couldn't interfere with the Soul Society's space. Aizen inside the Reverse Barrier couldn't harm those outside, and the same went for the surrounding Shinigami.
A large group of Shinigami rushed over, including several captains, as well as Kurosaki Ichigo and the others. But by the time they arrived, Aizen was inside the Reverse Barrier, and Su Xiao's body was gradually fading and becoming transparent. From beginning to end, no desperate battle had occurred here. Yet the Gotei 13 had suffered a major defeat. With three long-planted traitors within their ranks, it would be strange if they didn't lose.
Su Xiao, who was gradually fading, glanced at the few captains who had arrived. Choosing to enter the Bleach world had already been a risky move. If he had chosen to enter the Holy Grail world earlier, the battle might have been earth-shattering, but he definitely wouldn't have obtained the gains he had now.
[Hunter is about to return to Reincarnation Paradise. Transmitting...]
...
Void, Mamomode Fortress.
This towering fortress was located on a shattered continent. Behind Mamomode was one of the entrances to the Black Abyss, and to its side was the "City of Vanishing Fall." The one responsible for guarding Mamomode Fortress was one of the long-standing races in the void: the Demon Race.
Although the Black Abyss was dangerous, it was also full of opportunities. There were a total of 16 entrances here. In front of each entrance stood a fortress, magic tower, or other war bastion, prohibiting "suspicious individuals" from entering.
Given the danger level of the Black Abyss, most void races wouldn't easily enter. But it wasn't a place you could just enter whenever you wanted either. The 16 entrances—entering from any one of them required paying a toll. As for the most primitive entrance, unless someone was too poor to pay the toll, no one would jump from there, because it might cause them to fall directly into the deepest layer of the Black Abyss, which basically meant certain death.
Mamomode Fortress, 178th Floor, Demon Judgment Hall.
Clang, clang, clang...
The old demon sitting in the high seat repeatedly struck the metal table in front of him with a bone hammer in his hand. This old demon had two twisted horns on his head and a goatee on his chin. From his appearance, he looked very much like an old male goat. But his eyes, which seemed to have flames burning within them, gave people a feeling of dread.
"Continue to the next judgment. The owner of Demon Castle, Alice, and her old butler? And a demon can serve as a butler?"
The goat-bearded old demon glanced at the parchment in his hand, then turned to look at the demon councilor juror beside him.
"Lord, that's correct. The situation is like this..."
The juror demon whispered a few words to the goat-bearded old demon.
"Oh? So that's how it is. Interesting."
The goat-bearded old demon perked up significantly.
"Go, bring that woman—no, bring both parties of the judgment up here."
The old demon's mouth curled up. Although he didn't yet know the full details of this matter, he understood one thing: a piece of tender, juicy fat was about to be delivered into the Demon Race's mouth. As one of the organizers of the Void Arena, Alice must be very wealthy.
The old demon waited for a long time, but Alice was not brought into the Demon Judgment Hall.
"What's going on?"
The old demon's expression showed some displeasure. The space around him twisted, and a smell of sulfur spread out.
"Lord, Alice... was 'taken away' by people from Arcane Eternal Star."
"Oh."
The old demon was very calm. The space around him stopped twisting.
"Go, release that thing from the Black Abyss entrance."
"Lord, that thing has been hungry for fifty years. This seems a bit..."
The juror demons in the Demon Judgment Hall were greatly alarmed. Thinking of the thing imprisoned at the Black Abyss entrance, they all shuddered. Clearly, the Demon Race had a conflict with Arcane Eternal Star, and the two sides were about to start annoying each other.