Chapter 10: Death House
The pneumatic door closed and locked. Su Xiao surveyed the room, which was about a hundred square meters in size, with all living facilities readily available.
As soon as he entered the rest area, Amu went straight to the nearly three-meter-tall double-door refrigerator. After passing the biometric scan, it immediately opened the fridge door, only to be disappointed—it was filled entirely with injectable painkillers and healing medications.
[Tip: The Hunter has arrived at Rest Room 1005.]
[Coordinates being determined...]
[Determination complete. Before the end of the Strongest Warrior Tournament, the Hunter may rest here for 1 to 2 natural days after each round of advancement.]
[Tip: Some participants have already begun their second round of advancement.]
[Will the Hunter immediately start the second round of advancement? The Strongest Warrior Tournament consists of five rounds total, with the final round being the Ten Strongest Warrior Tournament.]
...
Su Xiao dismissed the prompt and sat down on the leather chair in the room. Just then, a round robot stopped at his feet, and a translucent blue holographic projection popped up.
This was a butler robot, mainly used for cooking, cleaning, and the like. If bored, one could also disable its silent mode, and this little thing could chat to pass the time.
Su Xiao swiped through the holographic images in front of him, instructing the butler robot to brew a cup of light tea.
As soon as Su Xiao gave this command, dozens of lines of text appeared. These were various languages from the Void, all repeating the same content: 'Silent mode will be deactivated for 15 seconds. Please understand, participants.'
After these dozens of lines of text appeared, an electronic voice sounded.
"This product is specially provided by the Bana Dwarf Clan and has been certified by the Void Tree. All participants can use it with confidence. Participants only have access to first-tier authority services. To unlock second-tier authority, please pay one Soul Crystal (Medium). To order this product, please contact..."
Hearing this electronic voice, Su Xiao was momentarily stunned. Was that... an advertisement sponsorship inserted? And from the Bana Dwarf Clan?
Thinking about it, this wasn't the first time the Strongest Warrior Tournament had been held. Some items unrelated to advancement, as long as they were certified by the Void Tree, could appear before participants and serve them.
As the certifying body for the Strongest Warrior Tournament, the Void Tree didn't necessarily provide all resources.
Moreover, Su Xiao felt that there were simply too many participants from the Void. This was likely because the factions within the Void had supplied materials to the 'Strongest Warrior Tournament,' so they deserved more slots.
The Void Tree's certification gave the Strongest Warrior Tournament credibility, and it would provide the venues and most of the resources needed for the tournament.
Su Xiao suspected the Void Tree wouldn't offer these resources for nothing. As for what the Void Tree gained from the tournament, that was beyond Su Xiao's current knowledge.
One thing was certain: regardless of which side, the Strongest Warrior Tournament was a grand event. This was evident from the representatives sent by various factions.
Su Xiao's goal in participating was simple: to break into the top three and obtain a certain authority, which would allow him to awaken the Azure Shadow King.
Before long, the butler robot slowly approached, carrying Bubu Wang on its back. What was even more interesting was that Bubu Wang had unlocked the robot's Platinum authority—the highest level—unlocking over 300 auxiliary functions, with 16 of the paid functions becoming free.
When the robot's permissions were first modified, the Bana Dwarf Clan noticed. Instead of stopping it, they renamed the robot 'Friendship Little Bu' and transferred the permissions to Bubu Wang.
Bubu Wang declined, as items not certified by Reincarnation Paradise couldn't be brought back.
Bubu rode the 'Friendship Little Bu' around the room, having a great time.
Bang!
A dull thud, followed by the clatter of items falling, and Bubu, with a bump on its head, finally settled down.
The second round of the Strongest Warrior Tournament could begin at any time, but before that, Su Xiao needed to open the [Sealed Box].
Su Xiao took the [Sealed Box] from his bag on the table. Opening it didn't require any Lucky King blessing; the rewards inside were fixed.
Su Xiao opened the sealed box, and a prompt appeared.
[You have obtained Soul Crystal (Complete) x50.]
[You have obtained Mechanical Blueprint: 'Liquid-Impact High-Pressure Ram.']
[You have obtained Mechanical Blueprint: 'CU·Stinger Mantis Type·949·Particle Ship Cannon.']
[You have obtained Alchemy Formula: 'Tree of Life.']
[You have obtained Large High-Vibration Steel Mine Claim Certificate (Permanent).]
...
Su Xiao looked at the two mechanical blueprints in his hand. He suspected that the Bana Dwarf Clan was a weapons manufacturer in the Void, and a household name at that.
Initially, Su Xiao thought the Bana Dwarf Clan was a medium-sized race that made a living by mining. Later, he discovered that mining was just their hobby; producing high-tech mechanical items was their main business.
These two mechanical blueprints were of little value to Su Xiao. After all, everyone has their specialty; he could barely understand the content and might consider selling them when the opportunity arose.
The Large High-Vibration Steel Mine Claim Certificate could also be sold. The Demon Race wouldn't refuse such an item.
The Soul Crystals (Complete) were definitely to be kept. The more, the better. After raising Blade Grandmaster to Lv.41, each subsequent level required 30 Soul Crystals (Complete).
As for the final 'Tree of Life' alchemy formula, Su Xiao used it directly. The formula shattered in his hand, and a flood of chaotic knowledge surged into his mind. The sheer volume of information caused a slight stinging sensation in his brow.
After about ten minutes, the stinging in his head completely disappeared. He had a basic understanding of the nature and effects of 'Tree of Life.'
[You have unlocked a new formula: Tree of Life.]
[Tree of Life: Each creation requires 1300 mana points. Materials needed: Blazing Fire Wood Core, Soul Crystal (Small) x1, Wood-Type Life Essence, Revival Water, Crystal Vial.]
[Effect: After drinking/injecting, permanently increases True Stamina attribute by 3 points. (This potion is effective for attributes below 150 True Points. Repeated use is ineffective.)]
...
The newly acquired Tree of Life formula had a simple effect: a permanent +3 to Stamina. But this kind of straightforward, brutal enhancement was also the most popular.
Undoubtedly, if Su Xiao's success rate in creating Tree of Life exceeded 50%, the profits would far surpass those of [Radiance Potion].
Radiance Potion increased '8% Neural Reflex Speed and 8% Dynamic Vision,' which was quite effective, but not all contractors needed it.
The Tree of Life potion was different. No contractor would refuse an increase in Stamina attribute. In many situations, having a slightly higher Stamina could be the key to survival.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao didn't have the alchemical equipment or materials now. Otherwise, he would immediately brew a few bottles—one for himself, and one each for Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini.
Su Xiao leaned back in the leather chair and began to contemplate the rest of the Strongest Warrior Tournament. First, the initial round was just an 'appetizer,' weeding out participants of varying strengths. Those who remained were all formidable.
That meant in the second round, the opponents would start to become troublesome, and the situation of the second round was unknown.
The fourth round was the Colosseum mode, meaning the second and third rounds were unlikely to be similar.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiao decided to take a short nap. He didn't plan to rest for two days; instead, he would rest for a few hours and then start the second round.
Three hours later, Su Xiao ate a meal cooked by the butler robot. The taste was acceptable, but he felt something was missing.
[Hunter has chosen to participate in the second round of advancement.]
[Second round advancement location being randomly selected...]
[Selected: Death House.]
[Current participants in Death House: 3 (Hunter included).]
[Hunter must wait 1 to 3 hours until the participant count reaches 6.]
...
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao's brow gradually furrowed. He felt the term 'Death House' was familiar. He had definitely seen it somewhere before.