Chapter 9: Disciple of an 'Old Acquaintance'
Near the fountain tower at the center of Twilight Island.
The morning weather was exceptionally clear, with the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects filling the air. Dewdrops slowly slid down the leaves, and the slightly cool air was very fresh.
The sound of splashing water came from nearby. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a long stone bench, holding a tablet computer in his hand.
Twilight Island was originally a tourist destination in the Void. Due to unknown reasons, the space here began to destabilize, causing many deaths at the time. It had only recovered in the last century, but the bad reputation had already spread, so no one was willing to spend the resources to rebuild the island's structures.
After a day, Su Xiao had cleared out all the participants in the right district of the island. Only Nita and that female member of the Feather Race remained. The rankings for the Seventh War Zone were as follows:
First Place: Reincarnation Paradise (47 points)
Second Place: Death Paradise (40 points)
Third Place: Feather Race (3 points)
Fourth Place: Whisper Race (2 points)
Fifth Place: Gruye Race (1 point)
Current factions in the Seventh War Zone: 6.
The Twins were located in the right district of the island. After midnight last night, no sounds of battle could be heard from over there, meaning the Twins had likely finished their cleanup as well.
Although both Su Xiao and the Twins were clearing the area, Twilight Island was quite large. Additionally, some races were very skilled at hiding, so it was normal to have a couple of stragglers.
If this were a zone like the Mocking Skull Fortress in the Second War Zone or the Ancient Tree Sanctuary in the Seventy-Ninth War Zone, Su Xiao would have finished clearing it long ago. Compared to those zones, Twilight Island was far too large.
This was only the first round of the Powerhouse Battle Royale. For the Seventh War Zone, known as the Nightmare Zone, as long as there was no conflict between Su Xiao and the Twins, the current situation was to be expected.
The Doom Star had been shut down and forced into seclusion; their participants were eliminated right from the start. As for the Feather Race, their main forces weren't in the Seventh Zone.
"Oh? So you're here."
The Twin Brothers stood on the long stone bench opposite the fountain tower. Their appearances, clothing, and even their auras were completely identical.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't respond, continuing to work on his puzzle-solving game. He had previously tried to meet the developer of this game, Pi Pang, but the latter was currently inside some world.
"Cold guy."
The Twin Brothers sat down on the stone bench opposite him. They took out two 17x17x17 Rubik's Cubes. At that moment, their auras became slightly distinguishable, likely because they had deactivated their mental link.
The Twins appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. But within the Paradise, age was never the key factor in judging strength. On the contrary, surviving to this age at all only meant they were more dangerous and stronger than ordinary contractors.
The Twins were most likely Punishment Knights from Death Paradise (similar to Hunters), and they were also very skilled at tracking enemies.
The crisp sound of twisting Rubik's Cubes came from them. Not to mention the complexity of a 17x17x17 cube's structure, its volume was nearly the size of a basketball.
After a while, the Twins looked at each other. From the looks of it, they seemed like they might start fighting. The brotherly bond was strong, but the older brother beating up the younger brother was definitely not a one-time thing.
Half an hour later, the Twins were sitting side by side. Bubu Wang also sat down next to them, holding a 17x17x17 cube in his hand. Before long, Baha felt that the three of them might end up fighting. The 17x17x17 cube was practically a source of rage.
A strange yet harmonious scene unfolded like this. After all, if either side attacked now, they would both suffer heavy losses.
"Friend from Reincarnation Paradise, how about... we bring out some specialties to trade?"
The younger of the Twins spoke. He was clearly a bit bored. Though he said "trade," it was really just small talk.
"..."
"Our specialty from Death Paradise is the 'Death Saint Emblem.' That's not exactly a secret. Do you guys have any specialties over there?"
While chatting, the Twins had already started playing cards with Bubu Wang and Amu. Clearly, they didn't know how lucky Amu was when it came to card games.
"Space-Time Power."
Su Xiao put away his tablet.
"Uh... impressive."
The Twins were speechless. What did Reincarnation Paradise have the most of? The answer was, of course, Space-Time Power, since they often won World Wars. As for Death Paradise, the perennial second-place, it was rich in an item called the 'Death Saint Emblem.'
"The specialties from Apocalypse Paradise are pretty good. Comparatively, the higher the rank over there, the more contractors there are."
The Twins simultaneously threw down their cards. Their chips, which were Soul Crystals (Small), had dwindled from 30 to 4.
"You guys."
The voice of Lord Mouse came from high above.
At that moment, Lord Mouse was standing on a circular flying device. Its diameter was about 1 meter, and its thickness was no more than 5 centimeters.
"There are only five participants left in the Seventh Zone. In 10 minutes, the first round of the Seventh War Zone will end. Oh, and the seal on that box will be lifted early."
Leaving these words, Lord Mouse controlled the flying device under his feet and flew away.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As soon as the time limit was up, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Notification: The Hunter has successfully advanced in the first round.]
[Number of friendly participants in this round: 3.]
[Number of friendly participants advancing in this round: 3.]
[Number of enemies killed by friendly forces in this round: 85.]
[Teleportation commencing. Destination: Powerhouse Battle Royale Exclusive Rest Area.]
[Notification: The rest area has been certified by multiple factions including the World Tree, Reincarnation Paradise, Death Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Watchful Paradise. It is an absolute safe point.]
[Teleportation begins.]
...
Without the expected dull impact to the back of the head, Su Xiao's vision was flooded with light. When his sight returned, he was in a spacious and bright hall.
"Freshly mined ores! All currencies accepted..."
A hawking voice came from nearby. Su Xiao turned his gaze. Because the teleportation array was built somewhat high, he saw a burly man with a mining pick hanging from his waist sitting against the wall. In front of him was a small stall displaying various ores. Crouching beside this burly man was a very timid-looking little girl.
A semicircle of people had already gathered around, mostly participants from Void factions.
"Come on, don't miss out..."
The burly man was enthusiastically hawking his wares.
"Is... is this a bit embarrassing?"
The timid little girl looked like she might cry at any moment. But having advanced from the first round, she was definitely not as cowardly as she appeared.
Su Xiao ignored those two Battle Angels. As for why he could sense they were Battle Angels, it was simply because he had killed so many that he had become familiar with them.
Su Xiao looked at the metal plate in his hand. It was inscribed with the number 1005. On both sides of this seemingly endless hall were rows of metal doors.
Among the passing 'pedestrians,' none had weak auras. However, most were from Void factions. The participants from the various Paradises followed an elite path, as did the major races of the Void. As for the small and medium-sized races, their strength varied greatly, and they made up the largest proportion of participants in the Powerhouse Battle Royale.
Su Xiao quickly found the metal door engraved with 1005. He pressed the metal plate into the groove on the door, and the metal door opened.
"Hey, Law Destroyer, you actually dared to come? Got some guts, huh."
A female voice came from behind. Su Xiao paused in his steps and turned to look at the speaker. It was a short-haired woman wearing a red mage robe, her ears covered in earrings. She was a Spellcaster from Arcane Eternal Star.
Seeing her, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao began to stir.
"My mentor told me to kill you. So, I hope I run into you in the next round..."
Before the female Spellcaster could finish, a figure quickly ran over, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and dragged her backward. The newcomer wore a hood, and his mage robe was predominantly black and gold.
Strangely, upon sensing this person's aura, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao did not become as active as before.
"Sorry, she didn't take her medicine today. Sorry about that."
The hooded male Spellcaster, whose specific features were unclear, smiled apologetically at Su Xiao. There was essentially no malice detectable from him.
"Xiu Ge, ugh~ let go! It hurts! Let me go, Xiu! You're the one who didn't take your medicine..."
"Sorry for the trouble."
The man called Xiu Ge left these words and dragged the short-haired female Spellcaster away.
Watching the female Spellcaster being dragged away, Su Xiao frowned. The elemental fluctuations on her felt somewhat familiar. It was the aura that came from forcibly stripping and aggregating elements to form a different element.
This was the second time Su Xiao had sensed this kind of elemental aura. The first time was when he encountered Mage Sage Seraphilia.
And this female Spellcaster had just mentioned that her mentor told her to kill Su Xiao. From this, Su Xiao deduced that she was most likely a disciple of Mage Sage Seraphilia.
Back in the Void Arena, Mage Sage Seraphilia had nearly trapped Su Xiao there forever. Fortunately, the Violent Mouse had come to the rescue; otherwise, Su Xiao would have been left there permanently.
Connecting these dots, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. He might have just... encountered the disciple of Mage Sage Seraphilia.