Chapter 108: Sharing and Sharing
Inside the dilapidated temple, blood trickled down the walls. A figure sat slumped against the wall, his face and exposed skin covered in star patterns — he was a member of the Star Clan from the Void.
"Who... are you? I don't have... any Scroll Fragments. What's the point of killing me?"
The Star Clan member's expression remained calm. In truth, he wasn't born a Star Clan member, but a prisoner bought by them. When he woke up, he found himself transformed into a Star Clan member, and then they sent him to participate in this Scroll Struggle.
This was very much in line with the Star Clan's style. Among all the major Void races, the Star Clan was the most exclusive. Anyone who married into the Star Clan, whether as a bride or a husband, had to become a Star Clan member through Acquired Transformation.
But one thing — although the Star Clan was exclusive, once someone married into the clan, they were considered one of their own. The Star Clan was famously protective of their own and united.
Sending prisoners transformed into mixed-blood Star Clan members was a common tactic for them. They cherished their true clansmen. The Star Clan was the type that, if you didn't provoke them, they'd smile and be friendly. If you did provoke them, they'd still smile and try to reason with you. But if the other side refused to be reasonable, the Star Clan would kill their entire family, leaving no one alive.
Initial contact was gentle and kind, with pride hidden deep within. Once the Star Clan felt that someone had become their enemy, they would immediately turn into executioners, as ruthless as could be.
Inside the dilapidated temple, the mixed-blood Star Clan member was on the verge of death. The next second, a water mark appeared across his neck. Water Brother, sitting in the darkness opposite, opened his lifeless eyes.
Water Brother, three kills. At this rate, he'd be unstoppable soon.
...
After a hearty meal, Su Xiao leaned back in his chair, a cigarette between his fingers. Although none of the people present were particularly skilled at cooking, this Sunbird stewed with mushrooms was incredibly delicious. If Amu were here, there definitely wouldn't be enough.
A warm feeling spread through his stomach. After this meal, Su Xiao's Health Points permanently increased by 128 points, plus his Fire Resistance increased by 1 point. Without any corresponding abilities, he still got a boost from this meal, so Bubu Wang's improvement could be imagined.
Bubu Wang was already drowsy. Sometimes it would suddenly disappear from Su Xiao's perception, then reappear a while later.
"Should we wait for the Blazing Sun Lord, or start the plan directly?"
Zuiyasi spoke while picking his teeth with a toothpick. This meal had satisfied him completely, but what satisfied him even more was the [Sunbird·Primordial Blood] he'd obtained. He only dared to absorb half of it; the other half, Zuiyasi planned to take back to his wife. This was a rare and precious treasure.
"Let's start directly. The Blazing Sun Lord might be having problems. Waiting for him to attack isn't wise."
Wude meant they should immediately proceed with arranging things on the Sea God's side.
"Start tomorrow."
Su Xiao spoke. Given Bubu Wang's current state, today wasn't suitable for executing the plan.
"Alright, we'll start tomorrow morning."
"See you tomorrow morning."
Wude and Zuiyasi left one after another. The servants sent by Boluos entered the room to clear the dishes.
Following the principle of not wasting anything, Su Xiao took out a lunch box and had the servants pack the remaining Sunbird stewed mushrooms from the iron pot. This was a rare ingredient, and food stored in the storage space wouldn't spoil. He could save it for later, letting Amu and Beini also have a taste.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha to the adjacent standalone courtyard. Entering the gate, the ground was covered with yellowing fallen leaves, and there was a fountain pool. Inside the two-story mansion, Su Xiao sat down on the sofa. The major threat of the Sunbird was finally dealt with, which made him feel somewhat relieved.
Checking the announcements, Su Xiao found that after the Sanctuary Paradise participant, two more had been eliminated — the participants from Wind Sea Continent and the Star Clan.
Looking further back, the ones who hadn't yet participated were mostly medium-sized races from the Void. If the first three couldn't hold their ground, the later ones would be eliminated even faster.
Someone was clearing people out, specifically participants who had just entered the World of Paintings and didn't have any Scroll Fragments. This was abnormal no matter how you looked at it — the risks taken didn't match the rewards.
Unless someone was helping the Crow Woman clear people out. Previously, Arcane Eternal Star had been temporarily eliminated. When the participant rotation reached a certain point, the Crow Woman would be able to enter.
The only ones who would help the Crow Woman enter were two parties — Water Brother and the Apocalypse Sisters. Lilim's side was impossible; the Demon Race and Arcane Eternal Star had been at odds for a long time.
The Apocalypse Sisters were unlikely to do this because hiring these two little rich girls for dangerous work would require an astonishing amount of Soul Coins. They were already extremely wealthy themselves. Unless offered a very high price, they wouldn't consider it. And if it was too dangerous, even a high price might not move them.
Few people hired assassins to kill Apocalypse Paradise contractors because they were too rich. When the assassin arrived, they would offer several times, even dozens of times the price to buy off the assassin and kill the employer.
This wasn't uncommon. Being an assassin wasn't a glorious job, nor was it a mysterious profession. Su Xiao had done this work before. Someone paid, he took lives, by any means necessary. It was that simple.
If the target offered too high a price, especially to a solo assassin, it would basically develop into: "Need to add more money."
Eliminating that possibility left only Water Brother. Water Brother had already gotten three kills. When his kill streak stopped, that would basically mean the Crow Woman had entered this world.
Regarding how to deal with the Crow Woman, Su Xiao already had a rough idea. He had just killed the Sunbird, so going one-on-one with the Crow Woman in the short term wasn't wise.
In that case, he needed to prepare how to arrange her. He narrowed his eyes, starting to conceive various possibilities in his mind.
Perhaps the Crow Woman never dreamed that before she even entered the World of Paintings, someone was already preemptively planning to deal with her.
That afternoon, Su Xiao finished his daily meditation. He took out [Thunder Spirit], which looked like a tangled mass of fine tree roots. After being used to attract lightning once, its surface showed signs of turning golden.
This time when Su Xiao attracted lightning, he discovered an additional gain. Now, inside [Thunder Spirit], some World Lightning was stored. This World Lightning had been transmitted into [Thunder Spirit] through resonance.
In other words, the lightning stored inside was World Lightning that Su Xiao had attracted through Elemental Affinity, without being weakened by seawater.
Realizing this, a slight smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. This was an opportunity for lightning body tempering. The World Lightning inside [Thunder Spirit] was pure enough, and the quantity wasn't large. This was good.
To be safe, Su Xiao took out a bottle of [Vitality Essence] and placed it on the table. He called Baha over, telling him to administer a Recovery Potion if something went wrong.
"Boss, I heard lightning can temper the body?"
"..."
"If it works, should we all give it a try?"
Baha's eyes were shining. Su Xiao didn't speak, but activated the World Lightning inside [Thunder Spirit].
Crackle~
Golden arcs of electricity spread. Su Xiao's mind went blank for a moment, nearly saying goodbye to this world. With [Sacred Cross Emblem] as insurance, his attempt was naturally much bolder.
Three hours later, Su Xiao placed [Thunder Spirit] on the coffee table. It turned out that World Lightning couldn't temper the body. After three hours of this Tempering, Su Xiao's Strength, Agility, and Stamina attributes hadn't increased at all. However, his Lightning Resistance had increased from 124 points to 130 points.
This was only natural. Getting electrocuted constantly — it would be strange if Lightning Resistance didn't increase.
"Boss, can it really temper the body?"
"Yeah."
Su Xiao didn't say anything else and closed his eyes to meditate. Baha got excited. Using its follower Authority, it tried to activate [Thunder Spirit]. It couldn't attract lightning, but activating this equipment to release the lightning inside was no problem. Adjusting it to medium-low frequency, Baha also began "body tempering."
Zzzzz~
Baha was electrocuted until all its feathers stood on end. A few minutes later, it spat out a puff of black smoke. It wanted to ask something, hesitated for a moment, felt it might not have been long enough, and pressed its claw back onto it.
"Yayayaya..."
After enduring a few more minutes, Baha collapsed and stopped moving.
At 9 PM that day, Bubu Wang, who had been sleeping soundly until then, finally regained consciousness. Digesting the Sunbird's flesh and blood had given it a completely refreshed spirit.
As soon as Bubu Wang walked out of the bedroom, it saw flashing golden arcs of electricity and Baha shivering.
"Bubu, come quick! This is the new body tempering method Boss developed. Stamina attribute is skyrocketing!"
Baha was holding [Thunder Spirit]. After being electrocuted by World Lightning all afternoon, it had no other gains, but its Lightning Resistance had increased from 26 points to 39 points. It rose quickly at the beginning, slowed down after passing 50 points, and became even slower after exceeding 100 points.
This was a characteristic of World Lightning. If you were frequently electrocuted by it and didn't die, your Lightning Resistance would skyrocket. As for the experience during this process, one could guess from Baha's "sincere invitation" to Bubu Wang.
Bubu Wang looked at [Thunder Spirit] and suddenly remembered a long time ago when Su Xiao ate an orange, said it was very sweet, and gave the rest to Baha. Baha also ate it, then gave some to Beini. Beini ate a segment and said it was great, then gave it to Bubu Wang. After Bubu ate it, it almost passed out from the sourness. Who knows if that orange had an affair with a lemon — the sourness was explosive.
Bubu Wang backed away shaking its head, while Baha maintained a normal expression and said, "Yeah, you just improved. It's fine to wait until you stabilize before improving again."
Hearing this, Bubu Wang hesitated a bit. It thought, maybe it should give it a try?
"Woof."
"Catch."
Baha threw [Thunder Spirit], activating it at the minimum level. Bubu caught it with its mouth.
"Owooo."
Tutututu...
Bubu started an awkward dance on the spot. Who knows why its mouth was getting electrocuted, but its hind legs were kicking so fast.
Su Xiao ended his meditation and watched Bubu Wang's "awkward dance" without stopping it. In the future, he would still use "Heaven's Wrath·Thunderfall." Not only Bubu Wang and Baha, but Beini and Amu's Lightning Resistance also needed to be raised. As the saying goes, no one gets left behind, just like that green orange long ago.
Checking Bubu Wang's information, Su Xiao found that Bubu Wang had made significant improvements this time.
**Void-Rending Hound·Bubuteni**
**Class:** Follower
**Health:** 100%
**Mana:** 5400 points
**Strength:** 105 points
**Agility:** 192 (True Attribute, +9 points)
**Stamina:** 190 (True Attribute, +13 points)
**Intelligence:** 72 points
**Charm:** 225 (True Attribute, +16 points)
**Skill 1, Aura Specialization (Passive, Lv.40):** Permanently sets the level and range of all aura skills mastered by Bubuteni. All aura skill levels and ranges are based on this skill.
All Aura Skill Level: Lv.40.
All Aura Skill Range: 970 meters.
All Aura Skills are boosted by: True Charm Attribute.
Mastered Aura Skills are as follows:
Blessing of the Ice Goddess·Lv.40: All friendly targets within the aura range recover 490 Health Points and 40 Mana Points per minute.
Spirit Grant Aura·Lv.40: All friendly targets within the aura range have their maximum Health Points increased by 30%.
Awakening Aura·Lv.40: All friendly targets within the aura range have their Stamina recovery speed increased by 35%.
Swift Aura·Lv.40: All friendly targets within the aura range have their movement speed increased by 15%.
**Skill 2, Advanced Creature (Active X):** No change.
**Skill 3, Utterly Loyal (Passive X):** No change.
**Skill 4, Scent Tracking (Passive Lv.65):** Bubuteni can lock onto a known scent/smell/trail for continuous tracking.
**Skill 5, You Can't See Me (Passive, Self-Learned Skill):** Bubuteni can blend into the environment to hide. Current hiding types: 1977 (increased by 439). Hiding Rank +3 (newly added trait).
**Skill 6, Stare (Active, Self-Learned Skill):** After blending into the environment, Bubuteni can activate this ability to continuously stare at an enemy, causing them to feel an inexplicable threat and unease.
**Skill 7, Ah, I'm Dead (Passive, Self-Learned Skill):** After blending into the environment, Bubuteni can enter a feigned death state, greatly enhancing the environmental blending effect (Hiding Rank +1).
**Skill 8, Knows How to Share (Active, Self-Learned Skill):** Bubu Wang can grant a 'Shared State' to one friendly unit. When an enemy releases a large-scale healing ability, friendly units with the 'Shared State' who are within the range of the enemy's large-scale healing ability will also receive the healing effect.
**Tip:** If a friendly unit with the 'Shared State' uses their body to intercept, or grabs an enemy's single-target healing skill, or a flying, projectile-based buff skill, they will forcibly intercept this skill, gaining the healing/buff effect for themselves.
**Tip:** This skill consumes 50% of Bubuteni's maximum Mana Points.
**Tip:** This skill has a cooldown of 12 hours.
**Tip:** The 'Shared State' lasts for 10 minutes.
**Tip:** This ability evolved from the 'Life Energy Manipulation (Passive)' ability.
...
**PS:** (Today's update was quite late, but the total update was 10,000 words, so it took a bit longer to write.)