Chapter 95: The Hunting Ring
In the end, the Fake Smile Man reached a deal with Su Xiao, trading the [Hunting Ring] plus 107 seventh-rank Soul Coins for the item.
The Fake Smile Man wasn’t after the [Heavenly Fall Tribulation] equipment itself; he wanted the +12 enhancement level. What he paid with the [Hunting Ring] was in exchange for that +12 enhancement level, to be used as a gimmick for some auction. Aside from the enhancement level, [Heavenly Fall Tribulation] was worth about that much. At the end of the day, it had been modified into a mining shovel, and almost no one in Reincarnation Paradise actually mined.
According to Beini’s knowledge of trading trends, at higher ranks, whether it was merchant guilds, adventure groups, or lone wolves, everyone preferred to trade using seventh-rank Soul Coins. The price list was as follows:
- Legendary equipment or items: 3–6 Soul Coins (seventh-rank).
- Epic equipment or items: 15–19 Soul Coins (seventh-rank).
- Holy Spirit equipment or items: 50–120 Soul Coins (seventh-rank).
These prices were just references. Some equipment with high enhancement levels or multiple embedded gems could break through the limits of quality-based pricing.
One Soul Coin could be exchanged through Reincarnation Paradise for 150,000 Paradise Coins. This exchange could not be done while inside a world; it was only possible after returning to Reincarnation Paradise.
If selling Soul Coins (seventh-rank) to a merchant guild or high-rank contractor, the price was 151,372 Paradise Coins. This price only ever rose, never fell, since Reincarnation Paradise maintained a baseline of one Soul Coin equaling 150,000 Paradise Coins.
After completing the [Heavenly Fall Tribulation] transaction with the Fake Smile Man, the [Doom Number] was also sold off. That thing was a ticking time bomb. If it hadn’t been for the hint about the “Sea” obtained from the Violent Rat back then, Su Xiao would never have chosen it.
The Fake Smile Man was the type of merchant who never refused a deal. His exact words were that he himself wouldn’t use the [Doom Number]; there would always be someone who thought they were the “protagonist,” able to withstand the curse of the Demon Sea, not only turning danger into safety but also gaining some miraculous fortune.
The Fake Smile Man offered 30 Soul Coins, classifying the [Doom Number] as an item between Epic and Holy Spirit rank. In reality, the [Doom Number] definitely belonged to the Holy Spirit rank.
Su Xiao agreed to the price of 30 Soul Coins, which made the Fake Smile Man inwardly uneasy. In his view, someone who could produce equipment like [Heavenly Fall Tribulation] was certainly not weak.
Now, Su Xiao had a total of 322 Soul Coins (seventh-rank). This included what he had left over before, the proceeds from this transaction, and the Soul Coins from selling [Raging Sea Soul Refining].
[Raging Sea Soul Refining] was simply impossible to sell to contractors. As for using the Gate Technique to return to the Viking Sea, it wasn’t worth it. The Ancient God boss of that world had already been killed by Su Xiao, and the benefits to be gained had shrunk dramatically. Going into a world just for a single “Soul Refining” was highly inefficient.
[Raging Sea Soul Refining] wasn’t an item of extreme rarity. On the Viking Sea, opportunities for Soul Refining occurred every decade or so.
Holding so many Soul Coins, if he encountered a suitable Holy Spirit equipment, Su Xiao naturally wouldn’t hesitate.
Keeping the Soul Coins was also fine; after killing a high-rank boss, they could be used to exchange for more kill rewards.
Su Xiao looked at the metal bracelet in his hand. It seemed ordinary, but on its outer ring, there were eight slots.
[Hunting Ring]
Origin: War World · Innocold
Quality: Holy Spirit
Type: Special Equipment
Durability: 8/8 (This equipment’s durability cannot be repaired.)
Equipment Effect: Gem Hunting (Active) – When activated, this ability forcibly plunders gems already embedded in other equipment.
Note: Can only forcibly plunder gems of Holy Spirit quality or below.
Note: To ensure the forcibly plundered gem is undamaged, each plunder consumes one Soul Crystal (Large).
Note: The forcibly plundered gem will be embedded into the Hunting Ring.
Embedding Slots: 0/8.
Rating: 953 points (Holy Spirit item rating range: 700–1000 points).
Description: The Queen has permitted me… to plunder everything; her greatest love is gems.
Price: 586,000 Paradise Coins.
The reason Su Xiao had to make a deal with the Fake Smile Man was precisely for this special equipment called the [Hunting Ring].
Beini had found many buyers, most of whom offered higher prices than the Fake Smile Man, but none of them could produce equipment or items similar to the [Hunting Ring].
Su Xiao intended to use the [Hunting Ring] to strip gems from the Dragon-Slaying Flash. The four [Soul Severing Shadow Stones · Incomplete] absolutely could not be damaged.
Currently, the Dragon-Slaying Flash had seven gems embedded. The highest quality was one Epic-rank gem, and the rest were Legendary-rank. All of them needed to be replaced.
Safely removing the existing gems and replacing them with Holy Spirit-rank gems would significantly boost the Dragon-Slaying Flash’s attributes.
The combined attributes of the four [Soul Severing Shadow Stones · Incomplete] didn’t even match the sharpness increase from a single Flowing God gem. However, considering that the Soul Severing Shadow Stones were only Legendary-rank and were also power inheritance stones, the gap was acceptable.
As for the Spirit Cat (Legendary-rank) and Moon’s Grace (Epic-rank), they would be forcibly stripped directly.
Su Xiao sat behind the stall, unfastened the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist. At the end of the sword’s hilt, a ring of grain-sized gems was embedded, seven in total. Due to the embedding position, these gems had become very small.
Pressing the [Hunting Ring] against the end of the Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao received a prompt.
[Do you wish to consume Soul Crystal (Large) ×1 to perform gem plundering?]
Su Xiao took out five Soul Crystals (Large) and began the gem stripping process.
[You have consumed Soul Crystal (Large) ×1.]
[‘Soul Severing Shadow Stone · Incomplete’ has been safely stripped and embedded into the special equipment ‘Hunting Ring’.]
[You have consumed Soul Crystal (Large) ×1.]
[‘Soul Severing Shadow Stone · Incomplete’ has been safely stripped and embedded into the special equipment ‘Hunting Ring’…]
The four [Soul Severing Shadow Stones · Incomplete] were stripped smoothly. After consuming another Soul Crystal (Large), Su Xiao also stripped the Elegy Gem.
Su Xiao put away the [Hunting Ring] and pressed his fingers against the Spirit Cat gem.
Crack, crack—both the Spirit Cat and Moon’s Grace gems shattered during the forced stripping. Gems were not fragile, but forced stripping involved a judgment; if the judgment failed, the gem would directly break.
All gems had been successfully stripped. Now, the Dragon-Slaying Flash could be embedded with Holy Spirit-rank gems. However, only three Holy Spirit-rank gems could be embedded.
Su Xiao spent 400,000 Paradise Coins to repair the four embedding slots at the end of the Dragon-Slaying Flash, leaving only three symmetrical slots. If not embedding gems, it was best not to open slots—this was a piece of advice Lide had once given.
Su Xiao did not plan to enhance the Dragon-Slaying Flash to +13. The risk was too high. Currently, the Dragon-Slaying Flash’s enhancement level was +12, which was already very strong for this stage.
After winning the Strongest Warrior Tournament, Su Xiao had obtained the [Proof of Triumph]. Using this scroll on equipment would make the success rate 100% from +1 to +13 during enhancement.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash was currently at +12. Even if he tried his luck, attempting to push it to +13 while preserving the Elegy Gem would have an extremely low success rate.
Even with the [Proof of Triumph] as a safety net, if the Dragon-Slaying Flash’s enhancement level reset to zero, he could still enhance it to +13. However, that would be a waste of resources.
Su Xiao could instead use the [Proof of Triumph] to enhance another piece of equipment. This way, he would retain the Dragon-Slaying Flash’s +12 enhancement level while gaining another piece of equipment at +13, resulting in a greater overall boost to his combat power.
When Su Xiao had enhanced the Dragon-Slaying Flash before, even the +1 enhancement level had reset to zero. He didn’t believe he could rely on luck alone to push the Dragon-Slaying Flash from +12 to +13 without any item bonuses. Some things simply couldn’t be left to luck.
All the resources he had obtained were earned by risking his life, so there must be no waste of resources.
Leaving the Trade Market, Su Xiao headed straight for the Equipment Enhancement Hall. As he walked in, he saw three familiar figures beating up an equipment enhancement machine.
“Ura, ura, ura!”
“Crow rides a plane.”
“Eat shit, you piece of junk! Ao liu gen, jia jia bu liu gen!”
Inside the Equipment Enhancement Hall, a crowd was watching. The three men were ganging up on an enhancement machine. Such a joyful scene could only be the Three Brothers of National Football.