Chapter 59: The Strongest
Inside the Torture Dungeon, Su Xiao stood before iron bars as thick as a human thigh. Within the spacious cell ahead, most of the area was shrouded in darkness.
The Sun Warrior was inside the cell, eyes closed, silent in the darkness. After a moment—
"Outsider, leave. Return to the desolate village, keep heading in that direction, the Sun Gate is over there."
The Sun Warrior spoke, his voice deep and resonant, giving the impression of a stalwart fighter.
"I'm not planning to leave just yet."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette and tossed an apple into the cell.
"So you understand our language. Truly a strange foreigner. What did you come to Chiriad for? Immortality? The Dark Mask? Or the Prophet's Tablet? Ah, right, you outsiders call it the Ouroboros Tablet."
The Sun Warrior inside the cell wasn't opposed to conversation—after all, staying alone here was unbearably dull.
"The Prophet's Tablet?"
Su Xiao took out the Ouroboros Tablet.
"You've already obtained the Prophet's Tablet? Then you must want immortality, or the Dark Mask. Or perhaps both?"
"Immortality..."
Su Xiao exhaled a plume of smoke. He had little interest in immortality. The reason was simple: once one pursued that, his blade techniques could hardly advance further. A single thought could reach the divine—such was the way of the blade. Not to mention that immortality itself was often a deceptive trap; practicing blade techniques meant pursuing infinite extremes within a finite life.
"You have no interest in getting out?"
"I do. I very much want to get out. But... I made a promise to Xi Wu that I would not leave this place."
"Xi Wu?"
"Yes, Xi Wu. The strongest in Chiriad. He is an immortal. The only one ever qualified to challenge him, Rogge Sh, ultimately fell to his hands as well. Unfortunately, in the end, Xi Wu still put on the mask. He missed his offspring too much—Rogge Sh took them away. My brother Xi Wu, all these years, how much pain has he endured? Pain to the point of not wanting to move, not wanting to speak, not wanting to see anyone."
The Sun Warrior inside the cell sounded somewhat emotional, still chewing on the apple Su Xiao had tossed in.
"You mentioned... Rogge Sh?"
Su Xiao spoke with a faint smile. He had gathered quite a bit of information, and he already had a way to get this Sun Warrior out of the cell.
"You've heard of him? Rogge Sh... hmm, how should I describe him? Even when he wasn't strong, I felt a deep fear of him from within. Those eyes of his... too hard to describe. If you encounter him outside, it's best to stay far away."
"What if we encounter him in the Holy Land?"
Baha spoke up. Its Charm Attribute was slightly higher than Su Xiao's, which might yield better negotiation results.
"That's impossible. Rogge Sh can never set foot in Chiriad—"
"He's already here. To be honest with you, we entered the Sun Gate together with Rogge Sh."
Hearing Baha's words, the Sun Warrior inside the cell chuckled, not believing it.
"Look at this."
Baha tossed a photo into the cell. It was a group photo of Su Xiao, Rogge Sh, the Guild Leader, and others.
"This is technology from the outside world. You can call it a photograph—it freezes an image into a picture."
"..."
No sound came from the cell, but Su Xiao could sense the Sun Warrior's aura fluctuating intensely.
"He can't possibly return to the Holy Land. Xi Wu has already stripped him of his Solar Force. Even with the secret medicine of the Healing Church, it's impossible—unless he..."
The Sun Warrior inside seemed to realize something.
"That bastard... did he 'consume' Xi Wu's children? That's the only possibility. Xi Wu had... spared his life!"
Boom!
Golden flames surged from within the cell, as if a beast of fire was coalescing inside.
Crack, crack...
The ground split apart. Darkness was driven away by the flames. The Sun Warrior, his body clad in armor plates, stepped forward, his presence overwhelmingly powerful.
The Sun Warrior pulled a massive sword, nearly one meter and twenty centimeters long, from the ground. With a single slash, the thigh-thick iron bars melted into molten iron.
Su Xiao looked at the approaching Sun Warrior. He lowered his head slightly—not because he was overwhelmed by the presence, but because to meet the other's gaze, he had to look down a bit. His line of sight was too high to find the person.
This Sun Warrior, whose aura was explosive to the point of bursting, stood "a full" 1.3 meters tall. He carried the great sword on his shoulder, had a black beard on his chin, dark golden eyes, and a metal horn on his head.
This Sun Warrior was no dwarf; his proportions were quite balanced. He seemed to belong to some race within the Holy Land.
"Uh..."
Baha was momentarily stunned. In its imagination, the other should have been as tall as Amu. But in reality, if you reversed Amu's height, you'd get this one's stature.
"May I ask your esteemed name?"
Baha's expression returned to normal.
"What?"
"How should I address you?"
"I am Wu Qi. Where is Hugh Gro?"
Wu Qi had a fiery temper. Judging by his expression, he was ready to go fight Rogge Sh to the death.
"He's in that direction."
Su Xiao pointed in the direction Bubu Wang had previously locked onto. Wu Qi thought for a moment, then said, "Inside the royal city? That's a bit troublesome. How do you plan to enter the royal city?"
"Pass over the city wall."
"Are you insane?"
Wu Qi was somewhat shocked. He seemed about to say something but held it back. In truth, he could enter through the city gate—many Sun Warriors had been trained by him.
"No need for all that trouble. Wait for me a moment. I'll gather some people. This is Chiriad—Rogge Sh doesn't get to call the shots here."
Wu Qi strode off into the distance. Judging by his direction, he intended to first reach the desolate village, then circle around under the city wall to the gate, where he would rally Sun Warriors.
After Wu Qi left, Su Xiao began to contemplate the current situation. If he could really use this Sun Warrior Wu Qi to reach the central area of the Holy Land, Chiriad, that would be a good thing.
About ten minutes or so later, Su Xiao heard hurried footsteps from the opposite direction.
"Run!"
Wu Qi, carrying his great sword, sprinted at full speed. His legs were short, but he ran extremely fast.
"What the hell!"
Baha nearly jumped out of its feathers. Bubu Wang also turned and fled. Behind Wu Qi, a dense swarm of Sun Warriors was in pursuit—conservatively estimated at nearly a hundred.
When the chase subsided, Su Xiao was already atop the city wall. He looked down at the climbing shaft below. This was an excellent combat location. If any Sun Warriors came up from here, they'd be feeding themselves to him one by one.
"These traitors! Have they forgotten all the kindness I, Wu Qi, showed them? They've defected to Rogge Sh? Shameless!"
Wu Qi trembled with rage. Perhaps because he had been imprisoned for so long, his former subordinates had all turned enemy.
"Stop your impotent rage. As a Sun Warrior, do you have any way to get through here?"
Baha pointed its wing at the steps ahead. Beyond these steps lay the top of the city wall—this was where Shenfu had been killed earlier.
"Without shutting down the mechanism on the opposite side, no one can withstand the attacks of the Flame Spirits. Even Xi Wu couldn't charge through."
Wu Qi wasn't lying. The Flame Spirits' attacks were inescapable. Baha had tried entering an alternate space to cross the wall, but as soon as it entered the alternate space, the Flame Spirits shifted from light red to transparent, nearly shooting Baha dead inside the alternate space.
"Mechanism?"
"Yes, a mechanism. Keep walking forward, and you'll see—"
"Woof!"
Bubu Wang barked, meaning: move aside, I've got this.
Bubu Wang vanished. It took a few tentative steps forward, reaching the top of the steps, waiting for the Flame Spirits' attack.
Silence. Nothing happened. Seeing this, Bubu Wang puffed out its chest and trotted cheerfully up the city wall.
After advancing about a few hundred meters, Bubu Wang took out a candy stick, stood it on the ground, and followed the method Wu Qi had described—searching by the direction of the shadow. Before long, it found three metal rods. Without Wu Qi's method, these mechanisms embedded in the inner wall of the city would be hard to find. Bubu tried moving one of them.
Rumble...
The city wall shook. The section of wall where Bubu Wang stood began to lower. Seeing this, Bubu quickly pushed the metal rod back and tried another.
Click.
It sounded like a gear locking into place. On the outer side of the city wall, crystal spheres the size of washbasins flipped over, no longer absorbing sunlight but hiding within the wall.
Receiving Bubu Wang's signal, Su Xiao stepped onto the city wall. True enough, the mechanism wasn't triggered. He walked several dozen meters and began to observe the "Soul Skeleton" here.
"What are you looking at? Let's go. We need to find Rogge Sh quickly."
Wu Qi walked past Su Xiao and stepped on the leg bone of the "Soul Skeleton." The leg bone turned phantom-like.
This made Su Xiao realize that without a Paradise Mark, one couldn't see the "Soul Skeleton." So there was no need to worry about the natives of this world discovering and destroying it.
Su Xiao's hand touched the metal cup held up by the "Soul Skeleton." As before, the skeleton shifted to a kneeling posture, and reverse-flow incense overflowed from the metal cup.
[You have activated the 'Soul Skeleton.']
[Location: Top of the city wall.]
[Total 'Soul Skeletons' activated: 2.]
[Hint: If you activate the 3rd 'Soul Skeleton,' the value of items exchangeable in the Soul Shop will greatly increase.]