Chapter 65: Trump Card
More and more contractors gathered around the stall. Seeing this, the stall owner, shrouded in black mist, changed the price of [True Power: Plunder] to 5,000 Soul Coins and activated the bidding mode.
This black mist stall owner was shrewd. Among the dozens of people in front of his stall, there were certainly those he couldn't afford to offend, but judging by the numerous skill scrolls displayed, the people backing him were equally formidable.
As soon as the price of [True Power: Plunder] was changed, bids came in one after another, skyrocketing from 5,000 Soul Coins to 7,900 before finally stopping.
By now, Su Xiao had been pushed out of the crowd. This was intentional on his part. No one was paying attention to him anymore, which was good.
Su Xiao turned and left. After all, he had only recently advanced to the Seventh Rank. As for a feat like eliminating Feishi, it wasn't likely to spread widely. Those who witnessed it were either Battle Angels or Pioneers.
Had Su Xiao given up? Of course not. He was preparing to use a trump card he had been cultivating for a long time. This card would likely help him secure [True Power: Plunder], something he was determined to obtain.
From the current situation, the black mist stall owner wouldn't sell [True Power: Plunder] anytime soon. He would keep the buyers hooked, refusing to let go until he maximized his profits.
After returning to his exclusive room, Su Xiao quickly walked to the alchemy laboratory. Over half an hour later, he emerged, his attire completely changed.
Now, Su Xiao wore a pale gold robe with a hood, a flame pattern on his back, and Beini followed behind him.
Beini's appearance had also changed. Her fur was longer, turning white with a pale gold sheen at the tips, especially the fur under her belly, which hung a few centimeters longer.
Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha stayed in the exclusive room. Before leaving, Bubu Wang handed Su Xiao an exquisite wooden box.
When Su Xiao was full of blood energy, outsiders would be wary of trading with him, fearing that if they offered too low a price, he might retaliate later. Would Su Xiao do that? The answer was yes if he was severely cheated. He wasn't a saint and wouldn't let blatant exploitation slide. But if it was just a minor rip-off, he wouldn't bother. He occasionally traded with black market merchants.
Becoming the Holy Flame Alchemist made trading much easier. In the outside world, the Holy Flame Alchemist was known as a somewhat lazy and casual person, with a characteristic of fixed prices. Even if his potions were hyped to several times their value, the potions he personally sold remained unpriced.
Su Xiao was well aware that the potions he made were being hyped to high prices. Did he not want to raise prices? Of course not. He was cultivating the identity of the Holy Flame Alchemist. Now, it was time to profit from this identity.
Moreover, this transaction would test whether the Holy Flame Alchemist identity had influence and recognition. If it didn't work well even within the Reincarnation Paradise, spreading this reputation to the Void would be a pipe dream. If it didn't achieve the desired effect, he would stop cultivating it, and permanent enhancement potions would no longer have a "kind father price."
Walking quickly, Su Xiao returned to the trade street. As expected, the stall was still surrounded by people.
"Move aside. What's the point of crowding here? Have you killed a Seventh-Rank Lord-level unit?"
A bald, burly man pushed into the crowd. He had prepared Soul Coins, but by the time he squeezed to the stall, the price of [True Power: Plunder] had reached 8,500 Soul Coins. He only had 8,100, and the extra 400 Soul Coins felt like an insurmountable mountain.
Using the gap created by the bald man, Su Xiao reached the stall. The area was no longer crowded. Five people stood in front of the stall, all potential buyers for [True Power: Plunder].
The black mist stall owner behind the stall wiped the sweat from his forehead. The situation was more explosive than he had imagined, drawing out the top five of the Seventh Rank's elite. If the combat power of Seventh-Rank contractors were ranked, these five could all be in the top 20, with some even in the top five.
Just as the black mist stall owner was feeling overwhelmed, he noticed a person in a pale gold robe with a hood, accompanied by a cat crouching beside them.
The black mist stall owner's heart stirred. He tentatively asked, "This... sir? Are you the Holy Flame Alchemist?"
"Mm."
Su Xiao, crouching in front of the stall, spoke. Under his robe, a micro-device attached to the side of his neck made his voice sound somewhat lazy.
The other five in front of the stall immediately looked at Su Xiao, their expressions varied. Normally, they would choose to befriend the Holy Flame Alchemist. Permanent enhancement potions were valuable items.
In their view, if someone could concoct permanent enhancement potions, then all kinds of functional potions and recovery potions would be a piece of cake, with no difficulty at all.
None of the five spoke now. The Holy Flame Alchemist appearing at this moment was a competitor, a rival for the treasure.
The black mist stall owner looked around and eventually asked for temporary contact information from the nearby people. The buyers were among them; the rest were just spectators.
The five near Su Xiao agreed with the black mist stall owner's approach. Private transactions were safer. Although they were strong, they didn't want to buy [True Power: Plunder] in such a public setting.
The stall closed, and the surrounding contractors gradually dispersed.
"Holy Flame Alchemist, follow me."
The black mist stall owner spoke in a low voice, walking past Su Xiao. The other five nearby each followed a figure shrouded in black mist and left.
The seller of [True Power: Plunder] had simultaneously found six groups of buyers and sent six subordinates to negotiate separately. This way, they could falsely report other buyers' bids to drive up the price while ensuring transaction secrecy, trying not to offend anyone.
Su Xiao and the black mist stall owner left the trade street, found a quiet cold drink shop, and sat down in a corner.
"Holy Flame Alchemist, to be honest, on the way here, my boss gave me a minimum price: 4,000 Soul Coins."
The black mist stall owner cut the price by more than half as soon as he spoke. Su Xiao could already guess what he would say next.
"However, as a return, all the potions you concoct must be sold exclusively to us. We'll sign a contract, valid for 20 world progressions."
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't consider such a near "indenture contract."
"Of course, this is just our proposal. Actually, we'd prefer you to join us. If you're one of us, everything is negotiable."
"I haven't considered it for now."
"Pity. How much are you willing to offer, Holy Flame Alchemist? Honestly, we'd rather deal with you. Compared to the credibility of the other five buyers—sorry, I shouldn't compare their credibility to yours."
The black mist stall owner laughed heartily. This wasn't just flattery. Dealing with an alchemist was far better than dealing with those strong individuals. As long as they didn't cheat the alchemist, they could come to Su Xiao for custom potions in the future.
For a large group, befriending an alchemist was far more beneficial than befriending a strong person. Moreover, those five strong individuals weren't easy to befriend, and their reputation and credibility were on a completely different level from the Holy Flame Alchemist.
"I only have... 2,300 Soul Coins."
"That's a bit difficult."
"Indeed. But I have some very good items that can be discounted in this transaction."
Su Xiao took out several items from his storage space: [Filthy Blood], [Ancient Clockwork], [Main Mission Failure Exemption Certificate], and [Ancient God Soul Blood (???)].
These items had been sitting in Su Xiao's storage space for a long time. [Filthy Blood] was a growth-type bloodline, while [Ancient Clockwork] and [Main Mission Failure Exemption Certificate] looked high-end and impressive—one could forcibly escape from a world, and the other could exempt the penalty for failing a main mission.
In reality, that wasn't the case at all. These were items Su Xiao obtained at lower ranks and had been stored for a long time. [Ancient Clockwork] could forcibly escape from worlds up to the Fifth Rank, which was useless for Su Xiao now.
[Main Mission Failure Exemption Certificate] was also completely useless. From the First to Fourth Ranks, it was a lifesaver. After the Fifth Rank, its exemption power weakened. It could indeed exempt one forced execution but would deduct 20% of all attributes.
By the Sixth Rank, the exemption power decreased further. Failing a mission would exempt forced execution but deduct 50% of all attributes. By the Seventh Rank, this item turned gray in Su Xiao's storage space, completely unactivable, meaning it was entirely ineffective for him at the Seventh Rank.
As for [Ancient God Soul Blood (???)], it was a high-rank item obtained after killing the Archbishop. But Su Xiao wouldn't forget how eerie and powerful the Ancient Gods in that world were—almost undying gods. In the town of Doom, only scattered Ancient God energy remained, yet it unconsciously gathered the energy of the strong there, reviving the Ancient God. To this day, Su Xiao didn't know the name of that Ancient God.
For such items, Su Xiao adhered to a policy of not easily analyzing them. The more Ancient Gods he encountered, the more he understood their power, eeriness, and terror.
And the more he knew about them, the closer he got to them, the faster and more tragically he would die. Gusi, Dawn, and Laurent were all examples.
Su Xiao wouldn't think Ancient Gods were weak just because he had killed a few. Ancient Gods were almost always the strongest bosses in their worlds, except for Ursula the half-breed. When she saw Ironfeather King, she was so scared she couldn't speak properly. If not for being half-acquainted with Ironfeather King, she would have died in Sera.
Su Xiao took out these items, giving the impression of selling off old stock. These were items he could no longer use, but at first glance, they all looked high-end and impressive, very intimidating.
The black mist stall owner was clearly intimidated, but after examining them for a moment, he understood. These items plus 2,300 Soul Coins were far from enough.
"Holy Flame Alchemist, I'm in a difficult position."
Before the black mist stall owner could finish, Su Xiao placed a wooden box on the table. For him, the box itself cost more than its contents, but to make it look high-end, he had specially crafted it from gold-quality materials.
The black mist stall owner put on gloves and carefully opened the box, revealing a fingernail-sized piece of wood. It felt like warm jade but lacked the coldness of jade, leaning toward the warmth of wood, yet its density was very high.
"Black Maple Tree?!"
The black mist stall owner sat up straight. Where was the Black Maple Tree most expensive? The answer was the Void, where too many races needed it.
The black mist stall owner fell silent. He had heard of the Black Maple Tree but had never seen a branch of it in person. He truly couldn't judge its value.
"Wait a moment."
The black mist stall owner seemed to contact someone. After a moment, he sighed regretfully.
"Holy Flame Alchemist, unfortunately, one party has already raised the bid to 10,000 Soul Coins."
Tap, tap, tap.
Su Xiao lined up five bottles of [Tree of Life] potions on the table. The total price of these five bottles was only 50 Soul Coins, but presenting five at once carried a different meaning. It proved he was indeed the Holy Flame Alchemist, not an impostor, and that there would be future dealings with the black mist stall owner's team.
"Deal."
The black mist stall owner stopped mentioning the 10,000 Soul Coin bid. As for the source of the Black Maple Tree, he didn't care. He only knew it was very valuable and had only recently appeared in the Reincarnation Paradise, making it an extremely scarce resource. Nothing else mattered.
Su Xiao weighed the gains and losses. [Filthy Blood] + [Ancient Clockwork] + [Main Mission Failure Exemption Certificate] + [Ancient God Soul Blood (???)] would be worth at most 2,000 Soul Coins, with [Ancient God Soul Blood (???)] accounting for over 70% of that value.
Adding the 2,300 Soul Coins he had taken out, Su Xiao had effectively spent 4,300 Soul Coins and a small piece of Black Maple Tree branch that Bubu Wang had gnawed on to secure [True Power: Plunder]. Yes, this branch was from a piece Bubu Wang had bitten out of curiosity, nearly dying in the process. From then on, Su Xiao's team concluded that Black Maple Tree branches weren't edible, but the leaves could be brewed as tea.
Beyond this, Su Xiao also discovered that the Holy Flame Alchemist identity was very useful and worth continuing to cultivate. If managed well, combined with the Reincarnation Paradise's disguise, he felt he could even use this identity to personally see the scenery of the Arcane Eternal Star.
Imagine a group of spellcasters welcoming a Law Destroyer with smiles. What a sight that would be.
[Prompt: You have obtained 'True Power: Plunder'.]