Chapter 53: Baha's Ancient God Popular Science
Su Xiao had long anticipated this result. [Soul's Whisper] would be used for a long time, making it worth investing resources to strengthen, after all, [Soul's Whisper] was a short blade that could receive all the bonuses from Blade Grandmaster.
[Strengthening has begun. Please ensure you have sufficient Soul of Ba in your possession.]
[Tip: This strengthening will definitely succeed. The strengthening cost will increase according to the strengthening level.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao had an ominous feeling. Using Soul of Ba to strengthen guaranteed success, but the cost...
Five minutes later, steam sprayed out from the equipment enhancement machine. The strengthening succeeded.
[To strengthen Soul's Whisper to +2, requires consuming 2 Souls of Ba.]
The ominous feeling in Su Xiao's heart grew stronger, but he still chose to continue. Ten minutes later, [Soul's Whisper] was successfully strengthened to +2.
[To strengthen Soul's Whisper to +3, requires consuming 4 Souls of Ba.]
Su Xiao's suspicion was confirmed. This time, 4 seemed manageable, but next would be 8, then 16. By the time it reached +8, a single strengthening would require 128 Souls of Ba.
Two hours later, Su Xiao only had 113 Souls of Ba left, and [Soul's Whisper] was successfully strengthened to +8.
Originally, Su Xiao wanted to strengthen [Metal·Tyrant], but unfortunately, the compatibility between the sniper cannon and Soul of Ba was poor, with a strengthening effect of less than 23%.
[Soul's Whisper +8]
Origin: Ten Thousand Beasts Continent · Unique weapon from killing the Alien King
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank+
Category: Weapon (Short Blade)
Durability: 132/132 (Reduced by 20)
Attack Power: 342～382 (Increased by 32～10)
Equipment Requirement: True Agility 149 points, Soul Strength 80 points or above.
Equipment Effect 1: Will·Erosion (Passive), if this weapon is thrust into the enemy's nape or heart, when the enemy's health is below 30%, the weapon holder can control the enemy's actions.
Tip: Can control the enemy for up to 56 minutes (determined by Intelligence attribute), after which the enemy will die.
Tip: This weapon cannot control Chief, Lord, or Overlord rank units.
Tip: While controlling the enemy, this weapon will merge into the enemy's body.
Equipment Effect 2: Soul Resonance (Passive), each point of the user's Soul Strength increases this weapon's sharpness and penetration by 1 point.
Tip: Currently increased by 240 points of sharpness and 240 points of penetration (this is the maximum bonus; excess Soul Strength bonuses are invalid).
Rating: 1150 points (Due to the special strengthening process, this equipment has exceeded the Holy Spirit Rank rating)
...
After seeing the 'Will·Erosion' ability, Su Xiao raised his hand and touched his chin. He felt that this ability, combined with [Primordial Mask], would have unexpected effects.
First, control an enemy, then Su Xiao puts on the Primordial Mask and disguises himself as someone else. This creates a two-person infiltration scenario, where at a critical moment, the puppet can be used to divert the enemy's attention.
Just as Su Xiao was considering how many combinations [Soul's Whisper] and [Primordial Mask] could have, news came from Divine Emperor.
Half an hour later, the Divine Emperor Adventure Group headquarters, third floor.
Su Xiao and Divine Emperor sat opposite each other across a coffee table. On the table was a tea tray with a dozen small oval teacups, steam still rising.
Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha stood behind Su Xiao. Looking at Divine Emperor's side, Divine Emperor sat with authority, beside him stood an OL-dressed mature lady, the chief perception type.
Mad Fox stood behind Divine Emperor, holding a bottle of wine. Behind him were over a hundred members. The reason so many came was Divine Emperor's idea, to get familiar with Su Xiao's face, so that if Su Xiao went to a fifth-rank world in the future, he wouldn't accidentally kill his members.
From earlier, the atmosphere had been a bit off. A young man in the crowd swallowed nervously, sweat beading on his forehead. The feeling of an impending 'negotiation' grew stronger, as if at any moment someone would slam the table, and then both sides would break into chaos.
"The vibe is off. Also, who put on that music? Turn it off."
Matcha was getting a headache. Who knew what was going on? The atmosphere was becoming more and more like a negotiation.
"Mad Fox put it on."
"Mad Fox!"
"Huh? Burp~"
Mad Fox let out a drunken burp, clearly drunk again.
"Dismissed."
Divine Emperor coughed lightly, and the atmosphere suddenly returned to normal. The music stopped, and Mad Fox, who was being glared at by Matcha, looked somewhat confused.
"Ahem, Brother Bai Ye, long time no see. These are some of the more active members. If you encounter them in a mission world..."
Divine Emperor didn't continue.
"Mm."
Su Xiao took out items one by one from his storage space. The old goat beside Divine Emperor was about to step forward but was stopped by Su Xiao raising his hand.
[Mechanical Blueprint 'Hydraulic Impact·High-Pressure Ram'] and [Mechanical Blueprint 'CU·Mantis Style·949·Particle Ship Cannon'] were not taken out by Su Xiao. These were technologies from the Bana Dwarf Clan, obtained during the Strongest Warrior Tournament. These two blueprints were not core confidential technologies, but they were still difficult to master, requiring matching technological expertise.
"Fake King Set and the Archery Grandmaster Scroll, I can trade them to you without taking Paradise Coins."
"Brother Bai Ye, this is..."
"I need a Basic Passive Scroll. After the next world progress ends, getting one Basic Passive Scroll shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"This..."
Divine Emperor hesitated. He naturally knew what [Basic Passive Scroll] was. It was a rare resource produced in low-rank worlds. Of course, mid-rank and high-rank worlds also produced them, but in smaller quantities.
Assuming the drop rate of [Basic Passive Scroll] in low-rank worlds was 3%, then in mid-rank it was 0.5%, and in high-rank, it was below 0.02%.
[Basic Passive Scroll] had a characteristic: a low starting point but a very high ceiling. This was Reincarnation Paradise's favor toward low-rank contractors. Only contractors who dared to explore hidden areas in low-rank worlds had a certain chance of obtaining them.
This kind of scroll, needed across all ranks, was understandably rare. Some low-rank contractors, seeing the initial low bonus of such abilities, thought they were inferior to active skills and traded [Basic Passive Scroll] for active-type skills. When such contractors reached high ranks and recalled this, they wanted to slap themselves.
Su Xiao had seen a [Basic Passive Scroll] in the Trade Market. The ability's bonus was simple: Lv.1 increased stamina recovery speed by 1.2%. He didn't see the price because just as he wanted to check it, intending to buy it if the price wasn't absurdly high, the scroll was bought by someone else in that instant.
"Brother Bai Ye, I'm not sure if I can get one before the next world progress ends. However, I have seven affiliated adventure groups in the first rank. I can assign them tasks specifically to find [Basic Passive Scroll]. This way, the probability of obtaining one is higher. As long as I promise enough resources, there will be people willing to risk their lives."
"Alright."
Su Xiao didn't think Divine Emperor would renege. The Fake King Set was only a Legendary Rank set, worth at most 120 Soul Coins. The set's debuffs were too severe. Ordinary people wearing the Fake King Set could do nothing but get beaten up.
As for the Archery Grandmaster Scroll Lv.1, the price was around 600 to 1200 Soul Coins. For seventh-rank contractors, this was an acceptable price.
Don't think that having an Archery Grandmaster Scroll made one an Archery Grandmaster. That was an illusion. The bulk of resource consumption for technique-type abilities was the growth process.
This process required a huge amount of time and resources, countless Soul Crystals (Complete), usage fees for the Land of All Beings, etc. To better comprehend technique abilities, [Origin Stone] was the best choice. One Origin Stone cost 5000 to 7000 Soul Coins.
Adding all these costs together could instantly crush a large group like the Divine Emperor Adventure Group. Moreover, truly skilled Technique Grandmasters weren't just built with resources; they were forged through battle.
"Brother Bai Ye, draft a contract."
"We draft it? Are you sure?"
Baha spoke.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing. Divine Emperor, your adventure group doesn't often enter fifth-rank primordial worlds, right?"
Baha seemed somewhat emotional.
"Of course. We rarely go to such dangerous places. Derivative worlds are already dangerous enough."
Matcha sat on the armrest of the sofa where Su Xiao was sitting. Compared to Divine Emperor, Mad Fox and Matcha had a closer personal relationship with Su Xiao.
"So far, we've experienced two primordial worlds: Dawn Battlefield and Ghost Continent."
A trace of fear appeared in Matcha's eyes. The experience in Ghost Continent left a deep impression on her.
"Oh? Ghost Continent?"
Baha became interested. That place was barely considered its hometown.
"Yeah. In the Ghost World, we served under the Execution Agency, working under a legion commander named Reinhardt. That man was as strong as a monster, especially in the rain. He beat the fifteen-eyed ghosts like they were nothing. But he often said he wasn't strong enough, that in the entire empire, only Monarch Harold could command him."
Mentioning the name Harold, Matcha instinctively shuddered. The feeling of being controlled from start to finish, with every move already anticipated, was truly terrifying.
"Reinhardt."
Su Xiao muttered softly. This was once a subordinate who worked for him. Taciturn, the lower half of his face disfigured, wearing a high-collared priest's robe to cover it so as not to scare ordinary people. He was extremely cruel when killing ghosts but would actively make way for stray cats.
Reinhardt was very capable. Su Xiao only needed to give orders, and the other party could handle many things independently. He was a trustworthy subordinate who could be entrusted with important tasks.
"The rewards from primordial worlds are astonishingly high, but... too dangerous."
Matcha shook her head, clearly recalling the adventure group's self-imposed isolation journey in the primordial world.
"Your large adventure group is really lucky. I've never even entered a derivative world."
Baha's words left Matcha somewhat stunned.
"How is that possible..."
"Nothing is impossible. By the way, let me tell you some intel. Ghost is a closed primordial world."
"Closed primordial world?"
Divine Emperor became interested. This kind of intel sometimes couldn't be bought with money.
"Yes. The Ghost World isn't actually dangerous. Fully closed means it's a world belonging to Reincarnation Paradise. Only Reincarnation Paradise contractors can enter. Semi-open primordial worlds are the interesting ones."
"Semi-open..."
Divine Emperor squinted. Hearing these three words, he had an ominous premonition.
"In semi-open primordial worlds, 2 to 3 Paradise contractors can enter. Occasionally, there are big free-for-alls. The strongest in single combat include the madmen of Reincarnation, the rangers of Death, and the divine sticks of Sanctuary. Holy Light is strong in group battles, Apocalypse has strong resource acquisition, and Watchful excels in positional warfare, the kind that makes you want to vomit."
Baha's words left Matcha somewhat dazed. Just from Baha's tone, she could tell this was someone who frequently fought contractors from other Paradises, so much so that it had become routine.
"Getting off track. If you have the chance, you can 'visit' semi-open primordial worlds. As for fully open primordial worlds, trust me, if you can avoid them, do so. Ancient Gods and Overlord creatures have a small chance of appearing. If that world is on the mystical side, there might be a bunch of neutral deities. Interacting with combat-type races is daily routine, and 'anomalies' are everywhere."
"Ancient Gods?"
"Ugly things. Worlds where you don't see sunlight for half a year are places with Ancient Gods. They 'suck' on the world, and insane fanatics are everywhere."
Hearing Baha's description, Matcha found it hard to believe. The concept of 'sucking' on a world was something she had never heard of before.
"Fear, dreams, spatial fluctuations, and momentary mental gaps are all things they can use to kill you instantly. As for how to identify an Ancient God, if you see something with black tentacles or full exoskeleton, that's probably one."
With that, Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder and left the Divine Emperor Adventure Group headquarters with him.