Chapter 97: Allied Forces?
Su Xiao closed the information on the Gun Grandmaster skill. The cost increase for Gun Grandmaster was quite perplexing—expensive in the early stages, normal in the early-mid stages, expensive again in the mid-stages, and gradually becoming normal after reaching Grandmaster Lv.20. This was likely the peculiar cost curve resulting from forcefully pushing a Technique-type ability.
Compared to the cost of improving Blade Grandmaster, Gun Grandmaster was nothing. Su Xiao attempted to improve Blade Grandmaster, and a prompt immediately appeared.
[To improve Blade Grandmaster Lv.60, you need to consume Soul Crystal Core ×10 + 650 Soul Coins.]
After Blade Grandmaster broke through the Lv.60 threshold, the required Soul Coins, in Su Xiao’s view, weren’t that much. The main issue was the Soul Crystal Cores—that was the real headache.
Aside from this, Su Xiao noticed something through the cost of improving Blade Grandmaster. Previously, raising Blade Grandmaster from Lv.59 to Lv.60 cost Soul Crystal Core ×10 + 8.5 million Paradise Coins.
Once Blade Grandmaster reached Lv.60 and above, the Soul Crystal Cores required per level remained unchanged, but the other cost became 650 Soul Coins.
The price difference between 650 Soul Coins and 8.5 million Paradise Coins was staggering. One Soul Coin was equivalent to 150,000 Paradise Coins.
Seeing the current cost of improving Blade Grandmaster, Su Xiao’s most intuitive feeling was that the previous cost of improving abilities was too cheap, almost like a preferential treatment.
Or rather, the existence of Paradise Coins itself was a kind of barely noticeable preferential treatment—an advantage for contractors in the early and mid-stages. It was worth noting that Paradise Coins were only valid within Reincarnation Paradise. In other Paradises, such as Apocalypse Paradise or Death Paradise, Paradise Coins were not accepted.
Reincarnation Paradise’s currency was Paradise Coins, Apocalypse Paradise’s currency was Paradise Points, and Death Paradise’s currency was Death Gold Coins. These were unique currencies for each Paradise.
These currencies were not interchangeable between Paradises, and their purchasing power differed. This was a form of preferential treatment—if they were universal, it would cause all sorts of chaos.
Using one Soul Crystal (Small) as a reference, among the several currencies, Paradise Coins had the strongest purchasing power.
This also meant that Reincarnation Paradise provided the greatest preferential treatment to its contractors. Since its side often won World Wars, Reincarnation Paradise seized more resources, further enhancing the purchasing power of Paradise Coins.
The trade-off was that experiencing worlds within Reincarnation Paradise was the most dangerous and had the highest mortality rate.
Paradise Coins being a form of preferential treatment wasn’t just Su Xiao’s speculation. He reached this conclusion based on Soul Coins. Soul Coins were a universal currency across Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, Death Paradise, and other Paradises. Moreover, the Void Tree also accepted Soul Coins.
When Su Xiao improved skills in the early and mid-stages, the costs were all in Paradise Coins. But when improving late-stage abilities, such as Technique Sublimation or Blade Grandmaster Lv.60, they required Soul Coins. After conversion, it became clear that once a skill upgrade required Soul Coins, the price skyrocketed. This likely meant that in the later stages, once a contractor’s strength grew to a certain level and they could stand on their own, the preferential treatment from Reincarnation Paradise gradually decreased.
Su Xiao attempted to convert all 10,000 Soul Coins into Paradise Coins. After converting 217 Soul Coins into 32.55 million Paradise Coins, the conversion abruptly stopped. He also received a prompt that, with his current authority, within this world progress, he could only convert this many Soul Coins into Paradise Coins. It would refresh only after two world progresses. Furthermore, his Reincarnation Imprint showed a cap on Paradise Coin transactions, also refreshing after two world progresses. This fully confirmed that Paradise Coins were indeed a preferential treatment for the early and mid-stages, while Soul Coins were the universal currency of each Paradise and the basic currency for high ranks.
Su Xiao activated the Skill Upgrade Pod. At the cost of 5,000 Soul Coins per level, he improved Technique Sublimation Lv.58. Seeing this cost, he somewhat missed the feeling of just upgrading his gun-related abilities.
Three hours later, Su Xiao, seated cross-legged inside the Skill Upgrade Pod, opened his eyes. Faint slashing marks appeared around him. His Technique Sublimation ability had been raised to Lv.65, even higher than his Blade Grandmaster level. As a cost, he only had 2,911 Soul Coins left.
[Technique Sublimation: Lv.65 (Technique Type · Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Increases self-developed blade technique power by 153% (increase of 26%).
Skill Effect 2: Blade talent rank +9 (increase of 2 ranks).
Skill Effect 3: Base · Neural Reflex Speed +75 points (increase of 33 points), Base · Dynamic Vision +75 points (increase of 33 points).
…
Su Xiao didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he began to stabilize his physical condition. Although he didn’t plan to invest resources into the Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness ability at this stage, he still needed to master it first. This would increase soul damage by 3% and raise soul energy rank by +1. He wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to strengthen himself. Now that all other abilities were upgraded, he didn’t have to worry about mastering Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness and then experiencing a “body drained” state, unable to improve abilities for days.
This wasn’t Su Xiao having persecution paranoia. Some abilities of the Shadow of Law Destruction had this characteristic. The initial mastery would leave one weak for at least a few days before recovery. During that time, even practicing blade techniques would leave one breathless. Going to the Skill Upgrade Hall to improve Technique Sublimation? That would be asking for trouble, a fancy way of seeking death.
Su Xiao crushed the Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness scroll in his hand. The next instant, he felt a bang before his eyes, everything turning white. Amid the blur, he vaguely saw a stretch of trees. These trees were all semi-transparent, their drooping semi-transparent branches emitting a light blue glow, looking magnificent.
These were Soul Trees. Su Xiao wasn’t sure how he knew this, but the moment he saw these Soul Trees, he instantly understood their names, origins, and so on.
Su Xiao’s soul body floated upright. Normally, entering such a soul state would cause instinctive fear in a living being, since the soul lacked the protection of the body. But Su Xiao was different—his physical body was strong, and his soul was not weak either.
Su Xiao looked ahead. Among the large expanse of Soul Trees, a black tree stood out conspicuously. This was a Black Maple Tree. The more Su Xiao looked at this Black Maple Tree, the more familiar it seemed, especially the patch of bark torn off the trunk and the finger marks at the gap.
Looking around to confirm no one was nearby, Su Xiao floated toward the Black Maple Tree, his hand forming a claw.
“Ahem!”
An aged dry cough came from the Black Maple Tree. The surrounding light and shadow blurred, and an old man with pitch-black eyes sat beneath the Black Maple Tree. It was the Old Law Destroyer.
The Old Law Destroyer looked at Su Xiao’s soul body, his cheek twitching almost imperceptibly.
“You little bastard, you’re really just like me when I was young.”
As the Old Law Destroyer spoke, he waved his hand, and a vortex sucked Su Xiao’s soul body in, causing it to disappear.
The Old Law Destroyer sat beneath the Black Maple Tree, his expression shifting repeatedly. He appeared here for a reason. Two months ago, he was still in the Origin and End Place, where his Black Maple Tree also was.
Originally, the Old Law Destroyer planned to keep the Black Maple Tree there permanently, until Su Xiao was teleported to the Origin and End Place while improving Blade Grandmaster. At that time, the Old Law Destroyer realized that the Origin and End Place was no longer safe—his Black Maple Tree could go bald at any moment.
When Su Xiao was teleported to the Origin and End Place a second time, the Old Law Destroyer had gained a certain understanding of Su Xiao. He found that if he kept the Black Maple Tree in the Origin and End Place, it might go bald the next time he went out and came back.
So the Old Law Destroyer transplanted the Black Maple Tree to the Soul Forest. This was a major project. Three days after the Old Law Destroyer finished, just as he was about to stabilize his residual soul, Su Xiao arrived.
…
Su Xiao suddenly opened his eyes. He was still inside the Skill Upgrade Pod.
[You have mastered Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness.]
Su Xiao sensed his own condition. His body didn’t feel weak. His earlier concerns were unnecessary, but when it came to self-improvement, caution was always wise. Mastering a new ability and becoming weak, thereby being unable to improve currently mastered abilities for several days, would be a terrible situation.
The door of the Skill Upgrade Pod opened. After leaving the Skill Upgrade Hall, Su Xiao headed to the Trade Market. Someone was waiting for him there.
Arriving at the agreed-upon stall, Su Xiao saw a figure draped in a black feathered cloak. The person wore a helmet resembling a skull, and behind them followed a Skeletal Death God, a Dark Undead Knight, and a Blood Wraith.
Within a 10-meter radius, no contractors approached. The stalls were empty. The three leader-rank undead summons were too intimidating. More critically, their eye flames seemed ready to devour anyone, a greed for life energy.
One thing universally acknowledged among contractors in Reincarnation Paradise was that even if someone was an ally in a mission world, don’t get close to undead-type contractors. You never knew how long their summons had been hungry, or if they might take a big bite out of your soul.
The contractor sitting behind the stall was named Solomon. In Reincarnation Paradise, Technique-types, Mage Lords, and Undead-types were recognized as the strongest, and also the poorest.
Solomon’s strongest point was that among the three poor types, he occupied two. He was both a Mage Lord and an Undead-type. If he also mastered a Technique-type ability, he’d be soaring—poorly soaring.
Su Xiao stopped five meters away. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get closer. Although Reincarnation Paradise was an absolute safe zone, being bitten by an undead summon wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. Just the smell alone was imaginable.
“White Night, thanks this time. You kept it for me for so long.”
As soon as Solomon finished speaking, the three undead summons behind him all stared straight at Su Xiao, their eyes boiling with killing intent. Their entire group’s “rations” had dropped by seven or eight standards recently, and their soul cores were “hungry” to the point of losing rationality, all because of the weapon this human wanted to sell.
“Withdraw.”
Solomon spoke in a low voice. The Skeletal Death God, Dark Undead Knight, and Blood Wraith all retreated behind him. They dared not disobey Solomon’s orders.
Su Xiao took out [Death Weeping] from his storage space. This undead-type bone staff was originally agreed upon at 14,000 Soul Coins, and he had kept it for Solomon for a long time.
Before the transaction was complete, Su Xiao noticed that Solomon had actually transferred 14,900 Soul Coins. The extra 900 was a thank-you fee for Su Xiao keeping [Death Weeping] unsold for so long.
Su Xiao glanced at Solomon. A sense of strength and poverty seemed to hit him simultaneously. He didn’t refuse the extra 900 Soul Coins. He would lend Soul Coins to Solomon, but he wouldn’t give charity—those were two different concepts.
“White Night, will you go to the Treeborn World?”
Solomon spoke calmly, his black-green eyes revealing unknown thoughts.
“Yes.”
“I see. Then be careful of Huishenshi and Shenfu. I clashed with Shenfu in the last world. That seemed like… an Ancient God? Very strange. I’ve fought other Ancient Gods before, but when dealing with Shenfu, his aura…”
Solomon frowned, thought for a moment, and then continued:
“Unfortunately, in the Treeborn World, I can’t travel with you. Heimo will also go to the Treeborn World. I have a score to settle with him. He devoured my Daina.”
Hearing this, Baha, beside Su Xiao, perked up.
“Oh? Daina? Your summon?”
“Yes.”
“So, you had a thing with her?”
“No.”
“Then what’s this about?”
“Before Daina was devoured by Heimo, she was wearing 5 Holy Spirit-rank equipment pieces and 2 Overlord-rank equipment pieces.”
Solomon said this, his pale face darkening.
Upon hearing this, Su Xiao turned and left. Earlier, when he heard that both Solomon and Heimo would enter the Treeborn World, Su Xiao was in a good mood. These were potential allied forces.
After understanding the grudge between the two and assessing Solomon’s financial situation, Su Xiao knew that Heimo and Solomon had an irreconcilable death feud. The style of Undead-types was always: “You can provoke me, even attack my summons—that’s fine. But you absolutely cannot threaten my property, or I’ll kill you first, resurrect you as a rotting creature, kill you again, resurrect you as a skeleton, kill you again, resurrect you as a wraith, and in the end, even scatter your ashes.”
Bidding farewell to Solomon, whose killing intent was already set, Su Xiao headed toward his Exclusive Room. Just then, he received a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Prompt: The Wood Spirit has completed its transformation.]