Chapter 37: Praise the Sun
Above the diagonal of the Celestial Palace, water vapor rose and churned. Bahamut streaked through the mist, but its flight path wasn't heading straight for the top of the Celestial Palace—it was flying in the opposite direction.
Bahamut was experienced. If it flew vertically upward, any alert measures at the top of the Celestial Palace would detect its presence and take precautions against high-altitude approaches.
The wind howled past his ears. Su Xiao watched the scenery below shrink. The reason he was making his move now was that the Divine Realm wasn't suitable for prolonged exploration. His purpose in coming here was simple: to reap a massive haul of benefits to enhance his own strength.
The Empty Seat Banquet was about to begin. He would then head to a certain location within the Void. Based on his understanding of the Starry Sky Seat, this mysterious organization was very loose, had few members, and shared no common ambitions. The Empty Seat Banquet, held periodically, was the core of this organization, where members traded items among themselves, bartering goods.
Known intelligence indicated that the Starry Sky Seat had around 6 to 8 members. Within the Void, no major race would actively provoke the Starry Sky Seat. The reason was the painful cost of doing so, plus the fact that the Starry Sky Seat had no conflicts with any faction—they neither seized territory nor plotted schemes.
More importantly, unless all members were gathered, even if one person was missing, the alliance of the others couldn't represent the Starry Sky Seat. Personal grudges were settled personally.
This system meant many wanted to join the Starry Sky Seat. Its known members were all extremely powerful, represented by the Blade Demon and the slightly weaker Saintess Seat, among others. Being able to barter with these people promised immense gains, but there was a prerequisite: one had to offer items they deemed valuable.
Su Xiao judged that, given the Starry Sky Seat's loose nature, they wouldn't care if participants in the Empty Seat Banquet died en route. Although once at the venue, there would be no external threats, how to get there was still unclear to Su Xiao.
Direct teleportation would be ideal, but if not, the journey might be dangerous. He was a Law Destroyer, the mortal enemy of the current Void's supreme overlord, Arcane Eternal Star.
For this reason, before attending the Empty Seat Banquet, Su Xiao had to enhance his strength as much as possible. Even with risks, the Empty Seat Banquet was something he absolutely had to attend—it was an opportunity.
The Black Maple Tree he had planted was now 3.12 meters tall, giving him the feeling of having a treasure mountain but no way to use it.
The Empty Seat Banquet was the chance. As long as he didn't clash with the Blade Demon, he was sure to obtain a large amount of resources or extremely rare items.
Putting these thoughts aside for now, Su Xiao first had to deal with the Tianba Clan in the Celestial Palace. The Drowning Leader was still alive. That slash from earlier still made his back ache faintly.
Su Xiao had already consumed a bottle of [Honor Recovery Potion (Sixth Rank)], but the wound wasn't healing as fast as expected. The blade in the Drowning Leader's hand was like an enhanced version of the clan leader's "Wind's Passing." Even though he was wounded from a distance, the wound healed very slowly.
Soon, Bahamut flew above the Abyss. Here, it began to gain altitude, then flew several thousand meters high to above the Celestial Palace. This was the safest approach.
With nothing to do during the flight, Su Xiao looked down at the Abyss. It was over two kilometers wide, pitch black, with no bottom visible.
Just as Su Xiao was about to look away, he spotted a figure lying on a protruding stone platform inside the Abyss, seemingly sleeping. The figure was none other than the Giant King.
The Giant King's purpose for entering the Divine Realm was still unclear to Su Xiao. He hadn't gone after the Tianba Clan.
As Bahamut gained altitude, the Giant King's figure gradually became a small black dot, finally disappearing from Su Xiao's sight.
While Bahamut was still flying, Su Xiao checked the recent reward notifications.
[You have killed Tianba Clan · Lisha.]
[You have obtained 12 Soul Coins.]
[You have obtained Ba's Soul ×3.]
[You have killed Elite Tianba Clan · Haohun.]
[You have obtained 42 Soul Coins.]
[You have obtained Ba's Soul ×12.]
[You have killed Drowning Leader · Tide Hunter.]
[You have obtained Holy Spirit Chest (42%).]
[You have obtained Drowning Soul (Special Item). Using it grants a certain amount of World Source. This item can only be used within this world.]
[Hint: Holding the Drowning Soul, if you find the One-Armed Blacksmith · Lagren in the Divine Realm, you can forge a 'Source-Property' ranged weapon. This weapon will be imbued with the Drowning ability (when enhanced onto a weapon, the Drowning ability's effect will be reduced).]
[Hint: Returning to Reincarnation Paradise with the Drowning Soul allows you to use this item to enhance a ranged weapon. The enhanced weapon will gain the 'Water of Life' property.]
[You have killed Tianba Clan...]
A large number of reward notifications appeared. After reviewing them, Su Xiao found that whether it was ordinary Tianba Clan members or the Drowning Leader · Tide Hunter, killing them didn't directly grant World Source.
The only way to obtain World Source was to use the "Drowning Soul." Using it granted 10% World Source.
Su Xiao decided to keep it for now. His current World Source acquisition was 117.85%. If there was really a chance to push it to 150%, he would use the Drowning Soul then. Otherwise, it would be too wasteful.
The One-Armed Blacksmith · Lagren mentioned in the hint was familiar to Su Xiao. He had once obtained a weapon called [Asasaye], which was forged by a blacksmith in the Divine Realm.
A blacksmith capable of forging Holy Spirit-level weapons wouldn't be easy to find. Su Xiao even suspected that the three Tianba Clan treasures—Dragonheart Axe, Heart-Piercing Blade, and Source Bow—were all forged by this One-Armed Blacksmith.
After tallying all the rewards, Su Xiao had obtained 850 Soul Coins and 210 Ba's Souls. Killing five elite Tianba Clan members yielded a lot of Ba's Souls.
The Dead Silence Descent, which could only be used once per world, hadn't been wasted. Compared to previous gains, this was a massive resource haul. But compared to what Su Xiao planned to do next, these gains were just an appetizer.
Bahamut spread its wings and had already flown to over 5,700 meters above the Celestial Palace. Directly below was the Celestial Palace.
Su Xiao and Bahamut were now below the clouds. Looking down at the Celestial Palace from this height, the entire structure seemed to be built on a spiral giant peak, magnificent beyond words.
Such a magnificent Celestial Palace, from Su Xiao's current height, already looked somewhat small.
Su Xiao exerted force in his arm and moved from below to Bahamut's back. Due to Bahamut's size, Su Xiao could only stand on one foot on its back. This stance wasn't suitable for what he was about to do.
"Boss, step on my head."
"Mm."
Su Xiao placed his left foot on Bahamut's head and his right foot on its back. The high-altitude airflow made his clothes rustle loudly.
A scorching red gelatinous object appeared in Su Xiao's hand. It was [Blazing Sun's Wrath · Apollo]. He didn't throw Apollo down immediately to treat the Tianba Clan in the Celestial Palace to a "big pineapple." The coordinates weren't set yet.
After waiting a few minutes, the communicator in Su Xiao's pocket rang. Bubu Wang, who had infiltrated the Celestial Palace, had set the coordinates, choosing an area with the densest concentration of Tianba Clan. The signal meant Bubu Wang had already withdrawn.
"Turn to ashes, Tianbas."
As Bahamut spoke, Su Xiao activated the Apollo in his hand. In 15 seconds, Apollo would explode.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer climbed up Su Xiao's right hand. The Apollo in his hand emitted a strong light, like a small sun in the sky.
Su Xiao assumed a throwing posture. When Apollo had 3 seconds left before exploding, from a height of over 5,000 meters, given the speed of his throw, 3 seconds was enough.
When Apollo had 3 seconds left, Su Xiao threw it with all his might.
Boom!!
The air exploded, leaving a lingering sound. A blinding streak of light shot straight downward, leaving behind a trail of fire that gradually thinned and dissipated.
Meanwhile, inside the Celestial Palace, many Tianba Clan members stood on the rooftops of various pavilions, already on alert.
Inside a relatively low building, the Drowning Leader sat cross-legged. Behind him was a deep blue, irregularly shaped crystal. Upon closer inspection, there was an inconspicuous chip at the lower left corner of the crystal, as if a small piece had been knocked off.
In the quiet room, the Drowning Leader was deep in thought, considering whether to prioritize finding the outsider or guarding the [Source].
Just as the Drowning Leader was troubled, something that could "cure" his troubles arrived.
In an instant, the Drowning Leader's sense of crisis was triggered to the maximum. His first reaction was that someone was coming to assassinate him, but he quickly abandoned that idea. The sense of crisis wasn't coming from one direction—it was from all directions.
Thud!!
The Drowning Leader felt the floor beneath him shake. The entire building was lifted off the ground.
Blinding golden-red light surged from ahead. This wasn't light—it was surging Solar Flame.
Whoosh! The Solar Flame surged around the Drowning Leader. The building he was in turned to ash inch by inch, and the ash was vaporized into gas by the high temperature.
The Drowning Leader didn't even feel the pain of being burned by the Solar Flame at first. He wanted to know what had happened to the Celestial Palace.