Chapter 30: Soul Arena
Looking at the holy serpent inside the hollow gem, which was nearly swollen into a ball from being overstuffed, Su Xiao felt that this luck charm meeting him could be considered a kind of fate. As long as it wasn't burst from overeating, it would grow to a very strong level, after all, the supply of misfortune was guaranteed.
If one were to ask the holy serpent's thoughts at this moment, it would definitely give a triple denial: "I don't want it, I don't need it, I won't eat it, please spare me."
Su Xiao looked at the tearful holy serpent and asked, "Full?"
The serpent inside the gem nodded repeatedly, signaling for him to put it away quickly so it could digest, as it felt like it was about to explode.
"So, you're saying you're willingly helping me devour misfortune?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the holy serpent was about to shake its head when it saw Su Xiao's eyes tinged with a faint red glow, forcing it to nod with tears in its eyes.
After 'persuading' the holy serpent not to entertain thoughts of escape, Su Xiao put it away. This thing could be worn when exploring dangerous places in the future, but not when fighting powerful enemies.
When fighting a strong opponent, every second involved massive changes in life, death, and fortune. If he wore the holy serpent during battle, it might go 'bang' and explode shortly after the fight began.
The sky was still somewhat overcast, but not as dim as when he was in Bay City. Su Xiao gazed into the distance at Bay City. The beautiful scenery of Bay City when he first arrived still lingered in his mind, but now, looking at it from afar, he could feel the dampness, coldness, darkness, and the intense aura of mutation.
Following the path he came from, he traveled unimpeded to the Mushroom Village in the Sunlit Wetlands. Su Xiao pushed open the door of the village chief's house, which was the treehouse of the Mushroom Prophet.
As soon as he entered the treehouse, the burnt aroma of walnut tea hit his nose, a specialty of Mushroom Village.
Inside the treehouse were only Wood, Zuiyasi, and the Mushroom Prophet. The others hadn't returned yet. Wood and Zuiyasi needed no introduction, but the Mushroom Prophet looked worried. Having his home vicinity turn into a high-risk area would trouble anyone.
"Bai Ye? Is this really the end for the Elf race? They've been passed down for a thousand years..."
"Is this kind of thing really that rare?"
Su Xiao's words cut off the Mushroom Prophet mid-sentence. He raised his hand to continue speaking but eventually sighed. As a neutral unit certified by the Void Tree, he had been to hundreds of primordial worlds and had certainly seen plenty of such things. But when it happened near his home, the feeling was different. Having been neighbors with the Elf race for hundreds of years, to say he had no feelings at all would be a lie.
"In the end, they couldn't defy fate, but at least they had their time of prosperity."
The Mushroom Prophet sighed again. Compared to the fall of the Elf Dynasty, he was more concerned that his neighbor had turned into a bad one.
Su Xiao saw through the Mushroom Prophet's thoughts. He manipulated the [Sun Ring] in his arms, releasing a trace of faith energy—Solar—and traced back to the scene where this faith energy was generated.
Particles of light floated up, forming an image of the depths of the [White Swamp] in the Northern Continent.
On the endless wetlands, various multi-story wooden structures had been built. Countless mushroom people were busy. Not counting those transporting building materials, there were tens of thousands of mushroom people just building wooden houses.
These wooden structures were multi-story with pointed roofs, a style from the Sun Civilization. Even unfinished, they had a unique charm and beauty, the allure of cultural style.
For a long time, the mushroom tribe in the Northern Continent had been the underdog. The Mushroom Prophet had tried more than once to support them, but it never worked out. Even so, he often acted as an intermediary, using the specialties of the White Swamp to trade for resources the mushroom tribe needed in Bay City.
Seeing the scene in the White Swamp, the Mushroom Prophet's eyes gradually widened, and his expression shifted from shock to relief.
The change in the mushroom tribe brought him great comfort, as it meant he had a new place to settle. After all, he had taken care of the mushroom tribe for many years.
With a way out, the Mushroom Prophet's demeanor was noticeably different from before. Wood and Zuiyasi, who were sipping tea nearby, both noticed this. These two scoundrels simultaneously sensed that there was profit to be made, otherwise Su Xiao wouldn't have stabilized the Mushroom Prophet's mind for free.
The Mushroom Prophet also sensed something. Although this old fellow didn't dare to make a sound when bullied by the Law Destruction faction, he was actually quite cunning.
"..."
Su Xiao tapped his finger on the table. Starting from his fingertip, two crystal boxes formed. One of the external characteristics of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy was [Crystallization]. The more Su Xiao used it, the more practical he found this ability.
After constructing the crystal boxes, Su Xiao took out 30 metal syringes, 15 in each box, and tossed them to Wood and Zuiyasi respectively.
"What's this?"
Wood took out a metal syringe to examine. Meeting Wood's gaze, Su Xiao replied:
"Once Bay City completes its mutation, this will be the 'ticket' to enter there. You can think of it as needing a 'ticket' to enter any high-risk area."
In fact, the ticket to a high-risk area wasn't about entry qualifications but about ensuring survival after entering. For example, Dead Silence City, Doom Town, Holy Land Chiriad, etc. Without protective items—the ticket—surviving 10 seconds after entering would make you a tough guy, 1 minute a true powerhouse, and 10 minutes... impossible. Even Black Demon couldn't last 10 minutes.
Wood and Zuiyasi quickly understood Su Xiao's intention. After Bay City mutated into a [Fetid Land], many participants would come here, trying to enter Bay City for benefits.
At that time, these tickets would be hot commodities. Apart from what they used themselves, the rest could be sold to other participants.
Zuiyasi pondered for a moment and said, "I've found the exact location of the Soul Arena. Let's head over in a bit."
This was good news. Su Xiao had previously learned that the Soul Arena was near Bay City, but later found out it was very mysterious, appearing in the area around Bay City at irregular times.
Just seeing the arena was useless; without a key, you couldn't enter.
Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi all had keys. Now that Zuiyasi had the location, they could take advantage of the few hours before Bay City's mutation to challenge the Soul Arena.
Wood took out two maps drawn on parchment from his pocket and gave one each to Su Xiao and Zuiyasi. These were complete maps of Bay City, even marking the passages leading to the Great Relic.
Su Xiao had already obtained the key to the [Earth Gate], and with this map, things would be twice as effective with half the effort.
The time wasn't right yet. Once Bay City's mutation stopped and the Great Relic, Talent Awakening Device, etc., stabilized, Bay City's danger level would skyrocket. Trying to storm the city would be a pipe dream.
As the saying goes, when there's good fortune, you need to know how to 'share.' Su Xiao's idea was that since it was dangerous, he'd lure in more participants to spread the risk. Then he could take the opportunity to delve deeper into Bay City and reach the Great Relic.
As for others seizing the [Talent Awakening Device], first, that thing was an immovable giant device, and second, the Great Relic was even more dangerous. Without the key and method provided by the Elf royalty, entering it was suicide.
Inside the treehouse, after sharing resources and information, Wood and Zuiyasi headed out. Su Xiao had taken out 30 [Life Secret Medicines] earlier to shut them up.
As soon as Wood and Zuiyasi left, the Mushroom Prophet smiled, his old face full of wrinkles. He said, "I estimate that Bay City's mutation will attract many participants. As a neutral unit certified by the Void Tree, I can't bear to see them suffer without tickets."
The Mushroom Prophet gradually revealed his shameless nature. Even if he was about to make a killing, he had to sound compassionate.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, waiting for the Mushroom Prophet's sincerity.
"Given the current situation, if I can stockpile a large number of [Life Secret Medicines], and then submit a fairness request to the Void Tree, I might temporarily become a derivative neutral unit for Bay City."
The Mushroom Prophet meant he had a way to become an NPC specifically selling tickets, with a certified identity from the Void Tree.
If that happened, it would be 'official ticket sales,' and the credibility would be incomparable to Su Xiao's 'private sales.'
Moreover, Su Xiao had a notorious reputation. If participants came to him to buy tickets, they'd at least come in groups to avoid being robbed.
"Let me make it clear, selling [Life Secret Medicines] through my channel is indeed stable, but because of the Void Tree's certification constraints, we can't charge exorbitant prices, and your supply must be sufficient. By the way, how many [Life Secret Medicines] do you have now? The Elf race is gone; without their channel, it'll be hard to get the materials for concoction later."
The Mushroom Prophet took a sip of tea and added, "Calculated by standard syringe doses, how many [Life Secret Medicines] do you have now?"
"Tens of thousands."
"Crack! Cough, cough, cough~"
The Mushroom Prophet picked up a towel to wipe the tea that sprayed from his nose and asked, "You concocted so many... oh, I see."
Mid-sentence, the Mushroom Prophet understood. The previous buyer was the Elf race, so of course the quantity had to be large. Tens of thousands might just be a single transaction volume.
"I wish us a pleasant cooperation. Although the price through my channel isn't high, the volume will definitely be large. Later, I'll entrust Kaisa to dilute these potions with water... cough~, improve them together with Kaisa."
The Mushroom Prophet was indeed quite cunning, already in cahoots with Kaisa. Heaven knows what tricks they'd pull when the [Life Potions] went on sale.
Su Xiao contacted Kaisa and found that he had already arrived at Mushroom Village and was on his way. Before long, Kaisa hurried into the treehouse.
"My dear friend, leave the potion improvement to me."
Kaisa had a sly grin on his face. Soon, the three of them sat around a low table, discussing the sale of the potions.
Su Xiao was only responsible for providing the potions and then sitting back to collect the money, acting as both supplier and manufacturer.
Kaisa was in charge of the later 'improvement' of the potions (improvement: diluting with water while ensuring the potion's effects remained unchanged, but shortening the duration to increase demand). Kaisa was also responsible for subsequent promotion and in-city sales.
In-city sales meant Kaisa, wearing the Abyssal Jar on his head, wandering around Bay City. When he encountered participants trapped and about to lose the effect of their [Life Secret Medicine], Kaisa would sell them a potion at a 'life-saving price.'
With Kaisa's original survival ability, he could already enter high-risk areas, let alone now in his human-jar fusion state. Kaisa had tested it earlier; he found an elite fishman monster, gave it a kick, and the fishman just grunted.
These giant monsters, which roared and charged at Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi with weapons raised, would first endure when facing the human-jar fused Kaisa. Only when they couldn't take it anymore would they angrily pounce at him.
Compared to selling potions in the city, diluting them with water required more technical skill. Kaisa couldn't handle concocting enhancement potions, but when it came to shady mixing, his skill level shot up.
The last one, the Mushroom Prophet, was responsible for acting as the neutral NPC selling potions in Mushroom Village. He would consume his contribution points with the Void Tree to temporarily turn Mushroom Village into a [Safe/Neutral Area], making it a foothold for participants.
Imagine, after fighting in Bay City and being severely injured, having such a haven—who could refuse?
Plus, Mushroom Village was surrounded by vine walls, like an inverted bowl, with only an entrance and skylights above. Entering here gave people a strange sense of security and relaxation.
In this matter, without any one of Su Xiao, Kaisa, or the Mushroom Prophet, it couldn't be done big and strong, so the profit-sharing ratio was important.
In the end, Su Xiao would take 50% of the profits. Without him, this business was nonsense. Kaisa would take 30%, and the Mushroom Prophet 20%.
After the profit-sharing was settled, the Mushroom Prophet took out two pendant-like idols. These were smaller [Ancient Idols], similar in ability to the [Ancient Idol] Su Xiao possessed, but could only record up to 2 initial trees, unlike Su Xiao's large idol, which could record twenty initial trees.
To Su Xiao's surprise, the treehouse, which was converted from an initial tree stump, still had some vitality. As long as the [Ancient Idol] was pressed against the still-living part of the treehouse, it could be recorded like an initial tree.
In the past, when the fog walls on both sides of the Ancient Capital weren't open, the Northern and Southern Continents were separated. The Mushroom Prophet used his treehouse and the initial tree in the Black Forest to travel between the two continents.
Su Xiao used his own ancient idol to record the treehouse. Once the Mushroom Prophet's application to the Void Tree was approved and Mushroom Village became a safe zone, this place would have strategic significance.
This way, Su Xiao's teleportation points would become: Black Forest, Ancient Capital, Safe Treehouse, Bay City Central District.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Su Xiao felt that Kaisa and the Mushroom Prophet had a sense of meeting too late. Indeed, the Mushroom Prophet was quite cunning. Although he had little combat power, he was sly.
As for Mushroom Village becoming a safe zone, it would take at least a day. That was fine. Bay City would finish mutating in a few hours and officially become a high-risk area, but it would take some time for participants scattered across the Treeborn World to arrive.
Before that, Su Xiao had many things to handle. The six portraits he got from Gulu had unknown uses for now. He planned to return to the far north's [Dark Domain] to try what these six portraits could do.
Additionally, he had a residence in the [Dark Domain] that was very safe. If time permitted, he planned to challenge the [Greed Chapter] and test the strength of the first soul image of the Greed Chapter, the first witch in history, Dark Crow.
But before returning to the [Dark Domain], Su Xiao had something more urgent: to check out the Soul Arena. If he missed this time window, finding the Soul Arena's location again would take a lot of time.
Wood and Zuiyasi had already gone to the Soul Arena. Not just the two of them; Bubu Wang and Aido'er, whom they met on the way, also went along.
Aido'er had the key to the Soul Arena. As for how she got it, originally, Aido'er was supposed to pay 10,000 Soul Coins daily as a 'security fee.' However, after paying for two days, Aido'er ran out of money.
Aido'er claimed she had no more Soul Coins, but Su Xiao didn't believe her. Sure enough, after arriving at Bay City, Su Xiao took out a [Dark Stone], and Aido'er pawned everything she had, scraping together another 5,000 Soul Coins. This time, she was truly drained, not a drop left.
With the [Dark Stone], Aido'er naturally exchanged it for the key to the Soul Arena. According to Aido'er, in every Treeborn World opening, the Soul Arena would randomly appear in some area of the Ancient Capital, and many participants had challenged it.
The reason it appeared near Bay City this time was that the Void Tree didn't interfere, so the Soul Arena's appearance location wasn't forcibly corrected.
It was said that the Soul Arena had five levels. Being an arena, it naturally involved one-on-one challenges. Strangely, most challengers went there not to win.
Su Xiao and Baha left Mushroom Village, heading straight for Bubu Wang's location, where the challenge had already begun.
After traveling for over an hour, Su Xiao entered a lush deep forest. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees ahead, making him squint and raise a hand to shield his eyes.
A majestic palace stood ahead, made entirely of a black stone like obsidian, with a crystalline crown on top.
Su Xiao walked up the black stone steps and arrived at a black stone door with a keyhole. Instead of inserting a key, it was embedded.
With a click, Su Xiao embedded the soul key he had obtained earlier into the lock. The black stone door slowly rose.
[Prompt: You have opened the Soul Arena. This location is now certified by the Void Tree.]
[Your Hunter's Mark has been detected. No temporary semi-data certification is needed (within the Soul Arena, all data is presented in semi-data form).]
[Warning: This is an absolute safe zone. Attacking other challengers will result in immediate forced teleportation out of the Soul Arena, and you will never be allowed to enter again.]
[You must enter the Soul Purification Pool within 5 minutes for baptism. The initial baptism will increase soul strength and temporarily seal all your abilities (this seal will disappear upon leaving the Soul Arena). After completing the baptism, you will be temporarily granted the means to challenge within the Soul Arena.]
...
After walking through a corridor, Su Xiao arrived at a small room with a pool of translucent white liquid.
As soon as Su Xiao approached the Soul Pool, Bubu Wang suddenly appeared beside him.
[Prompt: Because you have obtained entry to the Soul Arena, your followers and permanent summons also enjoy this baptism, thereby increasing their soul strength.]
This was the benefit of exchanging the Dark Stone for the Soul Arena key. No wonder many participants in the past, even if they didn't challenge, tried to come here.
[Prompt: Detected that your follower, Winter War Bull Amu, and Shadow Hunter Beini, are 1,000 kilometers away. Will you pay 2,953 Soul Coins to temporarily teleport Winter War Bull Amu and Shadow Hunter Beini here for soul baptism? This is an inherent authority of the Soul Arena. After the baptism, the teleported followers and permanent summons will be sent back to their original locations.]
...
An expenditure of nearly 3,000 Soul Coins, equivalent to about one-tenth of Su Xiao's earnings from a previous world. But being able to increase Amu and Beini's soul strength, Su Xiao felt it was worth it. He chose to pay.
Space rippled, and with a splash, seawater scattered, evaporating before hitting the Soul Pool.
Amu and Beini appeared, both looking confused. Beini looked around, saw Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Meow~ Meow meow!"
Beini, like a flying squirrel, pounced onto Su Xiao's head, then burrowed into his clothes. After turning around, she poked her little head out from the collar.
Beini was truly wronged. After entering the Treeborn World for over ten days, she and Amu had been swimming in the sea for over ten days. Although they later met Black Rose, Beini found that she was also a 'fellow sufferer,' a fellow sufferer of thalassophobia.
"Moo."
Amu was more easygoing. Having been beaten to the brink of death in every bloody battle, his endurance was naturally stronger.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't say anything else. He jumped into the Soul Pool. When he was completely submerged, he felt the world around him flip once, then flip back.
Soul energy surged from all around into his body, absorbed by it, and then... nothing. Su Xiao checked his soul strength—still 590 points, not a single increase.
A force pushed him from below, and Su Xiao gradually rose to the surface. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini did the same.
Bubu's soul strength increased by 20 points! Beini by 17, Amu by 13, Baha by 15. As for Su Xiao, he checked his data again, confirming his soul strength was still 590 points. This was likely because his soul strength was too high, causing this situation.
Su Xiao wasn't disappointed. He steadily increased by 30 points per world progress; he didn't miss the 10 or 20 points.
The pool Su Xiao was in had a wall in front of him before, but now it had changed. The back became a dead end, and a black stone passage appeared ahead. The walls on both sides of the passage were carved with dense patterns.
As soon as the soul baptism was complete, Amu and Beini felt a pulling force, making Beini's expression freeze.
"Meow?"
Beini guessed what was happening.
"..."
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha all said nothing.
"Woo meow meow!"
Beini, who was curled up inside Su Xiao's clothes with only her head out, was pulled out by the spatial force, leaving a trail of crystal tears in the air. With a 'pop,' she was sucked away and disappeared, continuing her 'Sea Adventure' with Amu and Black Rose.
"She fell into the sea again."
Baha hit the nail on the head. Or rather, the fact that Amu and Beini hadn't gathered for so many days made it easy to guess their whereabouts.
Su Xiao walked along the black stone passage ahead. Reaching the end, he arrived at a circular arena. The arena wasn't large, surrounded by tiered spectator seats, with a sandy field in the middle.
Wood, Zuiyasi, and Aido'er were sitting in the spectator seats. Wood was deep in thought, Zuiyasi was cursing under his breath, and Aido'er was lying flat on a seat, looking lifeless.
"How was the challenge? Difficult?"
Hearing Su Xiao's voice, the three all looked at him and said:
"Not bad."
"Not too hard."
"A piece of cake."
Hearing them say this, and seeing their earlier expressions like they had lost a whole family, it could be guessed that they had eaten 'sour grapes.' Seeing Su Xiao arrive, they quickly praised the grapes as sweet.
Through Wood's explanation, Su Xiao learned the situation. The Soul Arena had a total of five levels. As long as the sandy field was empty, anyone could challenge. Each victory earned a prize.
After completing five challenges, one could issue a final challenge to the Soul Lord. What could be obtained by defeating the Soul Lord, Wood and the others didn't know.
Wood pointed to a spot higher up in the spectator seats. There was a stone platform with an open metal book on it. Placing a hand on it would grant the means to fight in the Soul Arena; all other methods were prohibited.
Su Xiao approached the stone platform, which was half a meter wide and a little over a meter tall. He placed one hand on the open metal book. In an instant, the scene before him changed drastically, as if he were seeing endless stars or the myriad living beings.
[Prompt: You have activated the Book of Granting. This item will temporarily grant you soul-type abilities (only these abilities can be used when fighting in the Soul Arena).]
[Detected that the Hunter primarily cultivates melee combat. The Soul Arena is for training, challenging, and honing skills. It will not grant you the ability types you are proficient in.]
[This temporary granting of soul abilities will be based on your soul strength.]
[Your soul strength is 590 points.]
[Prompt: Detection interrupted. The Soul Lord requests a re-evaluation of your soul strength.]
[Re-evaluation complete. Your soul strength is 590 points.]
[The following is your basic data.]
Challenger: Kukulin Bai Ye.
Health: 100%.
Body Attribute Reduction Rate: 0%.
Soul Energy: 42,000 points.
Soul Skill Slots: 24 (the more powerful the soul skill, the more slots it occupies).
Note: Although the strength of lower, middle, and upper soul skills differs greatly, combinations of multiple lower soul skills can lead to a qualitative change.
...
[The following are soul-type skills temporarily available to the Hunter. You need to choose combinations based on your number of skill slots.]