Chapter 31: The New King
"Wufu, every soldier who participated in this battle shall be rewarded 500 Black Stones, those on standby 30 Black Stones, the wounded 2000 Black Stones, and the fallen 10,000 Black Stones as compensation, with their families receiving the posthumous treatment of a thousand-man commander."
The Black Stones Su Xiao mentioned were the highest denomination currency in the Black King World.
"As you command."
Wufu replied very succinctly, though inwardly he was quite uneasy. This was a massive expenditure, but since the empire's financial backer was on their side, it wasn't a problem.
With Wufu's order, the surrounding soldiers quickly retreated, leaving only the personal guard.
Su Xiao stood up from his seat and slowly walked over to Di Ya.
"Not... not bad, using... the method... I always... use... against me."
Di Ya wasn't dead yet. Her abilities were very special, which allowed her to reap high rewards in every world. After all, having experienced such treatment, how could she be willing to fight and struggle like a contractor?
Just as Di Ya thought Su Xiao would mock her a few times or say something like "farewell," Su Xiao had already drawn the longsword from his waist and swung it down. When he could kill an enemy, he never wasted words.
[You have completed the Hunter Mission.]
[Evaluating...]
[Evaluation complete. The hunter did not cause large-scale destruction to this world during the mission.]
[Evaluation: Extremely Excellent.]
[Violator No. 9744 has been eliminated.]
[Your overall Hunter evaluation has increased. You have obtained the special title: Old Hunter.]
[Due to the Hunter Mission evaluation being Extremely Excellent, you have received 28 Gold Honor Medals.]
...
[Old Hunter]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Special (Obtainable only by Hunters)
Category: Title
Title Effect 1: Blood Mark (Active). Can track targets using blood. Even if the prey is located in a derivative world, primordial world, or trial world, it can still be accurately tracked.
Tip: This skill has no cost. Each tracking lasts up to 12 hours. If the prey is located in another world, the coordinates of that world are obtained, and the tracking effect ends immediately.
Tip: This skill can be used once per world and refreshes upon entering a new world.
Rating: Special item, no rating.
Description: Flee in despair, and then... obediently die at my feet.
Selling Price: Cannot be sold.
...
A smile gradually appeared on Su Xiao's face. He had been exhausted after entering this world. This violator was as slippery as an eel. If he hadn't seized the initiative and quickly killed the two usurpers, things would have become troublesome to an unknown degree.
As soon as the violator died, the body of the Saber-faced girl not far away gradually became transparent. Her mission was complete.
"Paradise Arena, do you dare to come?"
The Saber-faced girl suddenly spoke.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at the Saber-faced girl with confusion.
"You used my close friend, Pei Daila. I am no longer a king, but I am her guardian knight. Her departed soul weeps to me."
"..."
Su Xiao stopped paying attention to the Saber-faced girl. Clearly, their beliefs were severely incompatible. The only reason they hadn't fought to the death was that Arbiters and Hunters couldn't conflict with each other.
"You cowardly villain..."
Before the Saber-faced girl could finish her sentence, she suddenly disappeared. Her provocation was only half used.
"Indeed, a harsh environment cannot completely change a person's convictions."
Su Xiao wasn't concerned about whether the Saber-faced girl would cause him trouble. Barring any accidents, their interactions would be minimal, at most encountering each other in some war world.
...
Within a starry expanse, the Saber-faced girl suddenly appeared. She subconsciously looked around, and her gaze suddenly froze.
"Little cutie, your performance hasn't satisfied me. Guardian knight? What were you thinking?"
The Toad had somehow already appeared beside the Saber-faced girl.
"So, you need to be remade."
The Toad smiled, a very 'benevolent' smile. Seeing this, the Saber-faced girl instinctively took two steps back.
"Can... I not go?"
The Saber-faced girl clearly had a shadow over the Black Abyss.
"What do you think?"
The Toad gulped down a few mouthfuls of wine. Heaven knows where it would throw the Saber-faced girl this time.
...
With the violator dealt with, Su Xiao felt completely relaxed. Bubu Wang even lay directly on the ground, starting to bask in the sunlight.
The most troublesome problem was now solved. Su Xiao needed to focus his energy on the Black King Set. Obtaining this set would be very difficult.
Su Xiao had already obtained one piece. After completing the second ring mission with the World Core, he would obtain the second piece. As for the last piece, the previous prompt from Reincarnation Paradise had already indicated that to obtain the third piece, he would either need to rely on luck to purchase it in the Reincarnation Paradise trade market or enter the Dead Silence City.
Su Xiao knew a bit about the situation in Dead Silence City. It was a sixth-rank area, swarming with powerful beings. If he entered there, whether he could even come out alive was uncertain.
Having roamed Reincarnation Paradise for so long, Su Xiao had summed up a principle: either wait to die in place, or charge forward bravely and continuously grow stronger.
Of course, even if Su Xiao were to enter Dead Silence City, he would need to make thorough preparations. The immediate task was to resolve the issue of royal power struggle and let a new king emerge.
According to the old divine stick, if a new king didn't appear within ten or so days, Dead Silence City would rapidly assimilate this continent. The new king was the one who could suppress Dead Silence City.
If Su Xiao wanted to enter Dead Silence City, he would definitely have to create a new king. The candidate, Pei Daila, had died in an accident. Su Xiao himself had no intention of sitting on the throne; that wouldn't be a wise decision.
However, before doing these things, Su Xiao wanted to maximize the benefits from the power in his hands. Of course, there had to be a limit. The way the violator died was still fresh in his memory.
The battlefield was quickly cleaned up. Reconstruction work was handed over to an imperial official. Su Xiao returned to the Right Imperial Manor, dispatching Zuo Si and Wufu to collect certain items. Su Xiao himself didn't leave the Right Imperial Manor for a single step.
Time passed quickly as Su Xiao delved into his blade techniques. In the blink of an eye, eight days had passed.
In a room on the second floor of the castle, Su Xiao put down the test tube in his hand. Over the past few days, besides studying blade techniques, he had been concocting potions.
Su Xiao had concocted a total of 69 bottles of [Active · Power] potions. He owned these potions, but since the Black King World was a primordial world, to bring these potions into Reincarnation Paradise, they needed to be notarized.
If the quality of these [Active · Power] potions was good, Su Xiao would definitely be willing to pay the notarization fee. Unfortunately, the Black King World lacked professional concoction facilities, and the materials were barely adequate substitutes, resulting in a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the finished potions.
Su Xiao had anticipated this. He had encountered this situation in the One Piece world, which was still a derivative world under Reincarnation Paradise. However, what he wanted was the proficiency in Plant Harmony, which was almost equivalent to Paradise Coins.
[Plant Harmony: Lv.25 (Proficiency: 2497/250)]
This was Su Xiao's harvest. Besides this, his insight into blade techniques had also expanded considerably.
The time limit for the second ring of the main mission was still ample, but in the past few days, the old divine stick had become even more cryptic. In his words, Dead Silence City was very close.
Su Xiao sealed the potions he had concocted, brought Bubu Wang and Amu, and left the manor.
At nine o'clock that morning, in the Imperial Council Hall.
Originally, this was a place for five people to sit facing each other, but now only two remained: Su Xiao and the Princess, Sha Ye Tuo.
Sha Ye Tuo seemed to have not slept well recently; obvious dark circles could be seen under her eyes.
"You have no other opponents left. Are you preparing to declare war on me?"
Sha Ye Tuo had shed her usual fiery temper. With silver hair and red pupils, she was actually quite beautiful, but she followed a tomboyish path. It was said that after she personally killed a suitor at the age of eighteen, no one dared to pursue her anymore. She was secretly nicknamed Saintess Sha Ye Tuo.
"The new king will be enthroned by you."
"Wha, what?"
The tomboy Sha Ye Tuo suddenly stammered. She felt she might have misheard.
"If we continue fighting, Dead Silence City will assimilate the entire continent. From the very beginning, I was never interested in the throne. The Pei Daila I cultivated died in an accident. You're not bad, so you will be the new king."
Su Xiao's tone was calm, as if he were casually saying that dinner tonight would be seafood.
"You..."
Sha Ye Tuo's first thought was that this was a conspiracy. Clearly, Su Xiao had given her persecution mania.
"From the very beginning, I had no interest in the throne. Returning to the Holy City was only because Dead Silence City was becoming more active. It was the responsibility that came with wearing this," Su Xiao raised his left arm and continued:
"Power is just a means. You've disappointed me a bit, but compared to the three of them—Silver Feather, Bloomer, and the Little Duke—you are still excellent. So, you are the new king."
"What a joke!"
Bang! Sha Ye Tuo's fist slammed onto the council table. She felt humiliated, a humiliation from the depths of her heart. The thing she had pursued her entire life was casually tossed to her by someone, who told her, 'This is yours now, be careful not to break it.'
"What? Not interested? Then forget it. Among the orthodox successors, the Little Duke is also a decent choice."
Su Xiao made a move to stand up and leave.
"Wait."
Sha Ye Tuo calmed her breathing and began to scrutinize Su Xiao from head to toe, as if she were seeing him for the first time today.
"Was your power struggle with us... truly to prevent this continent from being assimilated by Dead Silence City?"
Sha Ye Tuo stared intently at Su Xiao's eyes as she spoke.
"Have you ever seen anyone seize power like I did? The remnants of Silver Feather and Bloomer have been watching me. Those two were too much in the way. By the way, let me tell you something: within a week, Dead Silence City will begin to assimilate this continent."
"..."
Sha Ye Tuo fell silent. She felt even more humiliated because, compared to her power struggle driven by selfish desires, Su Xiao was clearly considering the entire human race.
"Will you... support me?"
"Of course. Finance and military power are in my hands. If I support you becoming the new king, no one will dare to oppose it."
"Aren't you afraid I'll retaliate against you after becoming the new king?"
"..."
Su Xiao turned and walked away.
"Wait, I agree."
Sha Ye Tuo quickly stood up. However, she had no idea what it would cost to become the new king. Only the old divine stick knew that. In fact, he even knew what it felt like to become a resident of Dead Silence City, as he had personally experienced it.
Su Xiao wasn't worried at all about Sha Ye Tuo retaliating after becoming the new king, because the Sha Ye Tuo who became the new king would no longer be the same Sha Ye Tuo before him.