Chapter 2: After seizing the ability, use the Devouring Core to devour it, converting it into Soul Energy, storing it to enhance Azure Steel Shadow and Azure Shadow King.
Su Xiao didn't hesitate and directly chose Gray Gentleman's most core ability, "Puppet Master, Lv.72," devouring it with the Devouring Core.
Soon, the primordial energy extracted within the Devouring Core was converted into Soul Energy and stored, bringing the Soul Energy reserve to 172%.
To put it in perspective, it would take consuming 172 Soul Crystals (Complete) to convert this much Soul Energy. Now it seemed that killing enemies to extract primordial energy and then converting it into Soul Energy was far more reliable.
Furthermore, Su Xiao discovered that seizing primordial energy from humanoid or humanoid-like units wasn't that substantial. Seizing it from large beast-type enemies or dragon-type foes would yield an astonishing amount of Soul Energy.
There was another issue: the Shadow Hunt ability was currently only an S-grade talent. After devouring an ability once, it needed a "digestion" period, meaning he couldn't consume too aggressively. This wasn't a problem for now; if he could upgrade this ability to SSS-grade later, the issue would be resolved.
After having Baha bury Gray Gentleman, Su Xiao arrived at the entrance of the "Abundant Water Chamber." Following the descending stone steps, he returned to the Dark Domain.
Eliminating Gray Gentleman indeed made Su Xiao feel much more relaxed, but he didn't let his guard down entirely. Gray Gentleman's previous astonishing plan not only highlighted how formidable this enemy was but also revealed another issue: the threat from Arcane Eternal Star to him was growing increasingly severe.
The "Dawn Paradise Revival Plan" that Gray Gentleman had prepared required, among other things, a massive amount of resources. Not to mention the early-stage setups and the consumption of various preparatory items, just securing the "tickets" to the Treeborn World for the contractors entering this world was an astonishing expense.
To enter the Treeborn World, one needed to rank in the top ten during the seventh-rank Treeborn Arena, which guaranteed a ticket. The top fifty had a certain probability of obtaining one.
In this opening of the Treeborn World, nearly 1,300 participants entered, and over 95% of the violators among them entered using "pirated tickets."
These "pirated tickets" were provided by Gray Gentleman. Su Xiao truly didn't believe that Gray Gentleman could produce Void Tree-certified "pirated tickets" without paying equivalent resources.
From this deduction, for Gray Gentleman to produce these "pirated tickets," he must have paid a huge sum of resources. With such an exaggerated resource requirement, was Gray Gentleman paying out of his own pocket?
No, Gray Gentleman wasn't that foolish. He had brought in a sponsor he could exploit for free: Arcane Eternal Star.
Whether it was this batch of resources or the deposits paid to the violators after entering the Treeborn World, it was all sponsorship Gray Gentleman obtained from Arcane Eternal Star.
Arcane Eternal Star naturally knew Gray Gentleman wanted to exploit them, but after learning about his core plan, they were quite tempted. They had long coveted the unique resources produced by the Paradise faction.
Since this was just an investment, Arcane Eternal Star wouldn't miss out. As the strongest overlord force in the Void and possessing the Black Maple Tree, they lacked nothing in terms of wealth.
Gray Gentleman was indeed formidable, but this time, the capital behind him—Arcane Eternal Star—was Su Xiao's greatest enemy. Without that capital support, no matter how capable Gray Gentleman was, he couldn't sustain such a grand plan alone.
There was one thing that puzzled Su Xiao: why hadn't the Crow Woman sent by Arcane Eternal Star come to find him yet?
If she used assassination methods, even with Su Xiao's current strength, she might succeed. The Crow Woman's overall combat power was judged as a Overlord unit, and when she assassinated enemies, her lethality would skyrocket.
Could it be that there was a conflict between Arcane Eternal Star and the Crow Woman, causing her to turn against them temporarily and abandon the assassination plan?
In reality, Su Xiao was mistaken. The Crow Woman had been dutiful all along. After entering the Treeborn World, she entered assassination mode, determined not to be outsmarted by Su Xiao again.
As the saying goes, fate is wonderfully unpredictable. The Crow Woman happened to encounter Fairy Princess in the Cold Cemetery. With a common enemy, they decided to cooperate. Fairy Princess and her team would engage head-on, while the Crow Woman would leverage her powerful assassination skills.
As the saying also goes, things are hard to predict. Before the Crow Woman could even act, she was poisoned by Su Xiao in the White Swamp to the point of doubting her existence.
Poisoned to the brink of despair, the Crow Woman didn't give up. She decided to rejoin Fairy Princess's team, thinking the previous incident was just an accident.
Later, the Crow Woman arrived at Bay City and prepared for an assassination. But just as she was about to strike, Su Xiao was assassinated first, leaving her utterly speechless. What the hell, she had run into a colleague.
Back when Su Xiao was assassinated at the main gate of the royal palace, the palace became like a hornet's nest that had been violently poked. Unless the Crow Woman had lost her mind, she wouldn't choose to act at that time.
As a notorious assassin in the Void, the Crow Woman chose to bide her time. Finally, two days later, she got another opportunity. The Elf King decided to hold a kingdom council to determine whether Su Xiao or the Priest had "poisoned" the groundwater in Bay City.
This pleased the Crow Woman. Regardless of the outcome, she could seize the chance to assassinate. But the result completely exceeded her expectations. She witnessed the Priest, Fairy Princess, and their group being besieged, while Su Xiao, along with the Elf King and the five royal descendants, watched from the stands, drinking fine wine and enjoying the spectacle of Fairy Princess and her team being surrounded.
This made the Crow Woman hesitant to act rashly. She wasn't a fool, so she continued to bide her time and follow. A few days later, she found another opportunity. Tracking Su Xiao as he went to explore Bay City, she rushed over immediately, planning to backstab him while he was locked in battle with a powerful enemy.
Then, in the Great Ruins, the Crow Woman saw Su Xiao, Wood, Zuiyasi, Yuer, and Solomon traveling together as a team. At that moment, she faced a choice.
Should she charge in and die for nothing, or bide her time again? The Crow Woman chose the latter. She'd endure this time. Next time, next time for sure.
After waiting for a while, the Crow Woman finally got her next chance. Hearing that Su Xiao was about to have a decisive battle with Gray Gentleman, she perked up, thinking, "Oh, what luck?"
She rushed to the battleground, monitoring Su Xiao from a distance. Then she witnessed from afar Su Xiao throwing a "Sun Pillar" into the Dawn Paradise and the final explosion of the "Sun Holy Sword." At that moment, the Crow Woman thought, "Maybe I should retreat first. Next time, next time for sure."
On her way back, the Crow Woman suddenly stopped. She condemned herself internally. When had she become so indecisive? Where was her willingness to face death?
With these thoughts, the Crow Woman resolved to fight to the death, continuing to track Su Xiao. Then she "happily" discovered that Su Xiao seemed to have gone to the far north, and the entire central continent had turned into a super-massive magma lake, making it extremely difficult to cross.
This nearly made the Crow Woman spit out a mouthful of old blood in frustration. She had decided to fight to the death or die together with her enemy, only to find she couldn't even locate him. Her mental state collapsed.
Leaving aside the nearly emotionless assassin, Crow Woman, Su Xiao walked through the Dark Domain, heading straight for a stone house in the farthest corner.
Stopping before the wooden door, Su Xiao sensed inside, but his perception was blocked by the door and the building. This was typical of structures in the Dark Domain, heavily eroded by Abyss energy.
Knock, knock, knock.
Su Xiao knocked on the door while taking out a metal shard and pressing it against the lower part of his cheek.
"Who is it?"
A weak and drowsy voice came from inside.
"It's me."
"Huh?"
The Bee inside was confused. Once she was starving to the point of being dazed, she couldn't distinguish between humans and beasts, let alone recognize anyone.
"Have you eaten?"
Su Xiao spoke in Gray Gentleman's voice. Hearing this, the wooden door was immediately opened. In a flash, Su Xiao pulled the door open and, with a single punch, sent the Bee inside flying into the wall at the back of the room.
Before the Bee could react, she felt a hand pressing toward her face. The next second, light and shadow flickered before her eyes. When the spatial teleportation ended, she found herself sitting inside a metal box that resembled a large safe.
The viewing window of the large metal box was pulled open, and a big-headed figure, resembling an alien, peered inside. The Bee, ready to fight, jabbed at the enemy's eyes.
"Ah, damn! My eyes!"
Inside the old-style aircraft, Paul covered his eyes, hopping in pain. After calming down, he blinked his reddened eyes and, still fuming, ordered the hippo pilot to depart. Their destination: Reincarnation Paradise.
Back in the stone house in the Dark Domain, a blood-colored spatial imprint on Su Xiao's palm gradually dissipated. The task given to him by Reincarnation Paradise wasn't to kill the Bee. In fact, the Bee herself wasn't important. What mattered was the Dawn Paradise, which, after its remnants were shattered, chose to reside within the Bee's imprint.
Whether it was the last Paradise War or this one, it was impossible to completely destroy the Dawn Paradise. Su Xiao wasn't sure of the specific reason, but the Paradise faction was "indestructible." Even when weakened to the Dawn Paradise's current state, it remained "indestructible."
Although it couldn't be destroyed, if the Bee were brought into Reincarnation Paradise, it would be equivalent to bringing the Dawn Paradise there. From then on, it would have no chance of recovery, completely cutting off any hope of revival.
Simply put, the Paradise faction couldn't be sentenced to death, and nothing could achieve that. While a death sentence was impossible, a life sentence was feasible, as was the current situation with the Dawn Paradise.
[Reminder: You have completed the War Task: Once Again Stifle the Dawn!]
[You will receive the following rewards.]