Chapter 47: The Importance of Survivability
Everything went as smoothly as anticipated. When Su Xiao arrived at the forge, Lide's expression shifted slightly, but upon seeing the wine bottle in Su Xiao's hand, his demeanor softened considerably.
Su Xiao left behind the Dragon-Slaying Flash, Black King Bracer, and other equipment for repair and maintenance. Lide welcomed such metal gear, as he was a blacksmith by trade, and repairing and maintaining this type of equipment was his specialty, something he could handle with ease.
It wasn't until Su Xiao left that Lide realized he hadn't seen the piece of armor that would have made him put on his "pain mask." This put Lide in a great mood. Looking at the wine box in his hand, he felt deeply gratified. His perpetually tense face even showed a hint of a smile.
After leaving the forge, Su Xiao hadn't walked far when he heard a furious roar from behind. He quickened his pace.
Half an hour later, inside the Attribute Enhancement Hall.
Su Xiao stopped in front of an Attribute Enhancement Pod. He placed a single hand on it, and the metal door opened with a click. He stepped inside, and the door closed behind him.
[Welcome to Attribute Enhancement Pod No. 1316.]
[Available True Attribute Points: 42 (Hunters may freely allocate).]
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the floor. Instead of activating the pod immediately, he took out [Type II Concentrated Cell Fluid] and [Plasma Extraction Fluid].
These two permanent enhancement items—one slightly improved survivability, the other increased lightning resistance.
He picked up an injection gun, loaded the [Type II Concentrated Cell Fluid], and administered an intravenous injection. As for the [Plasma Extraction Fluid], it required intramuscular injection; intravenous use would likely cause instant death.
Both enhancement agents took effect slowly. Su Xiao activated the Attribute Enhancement Pod and began improving himself. Recently, no equipment or abilities had required specific attribute thresholds, so balanced development was the safest approach. He allocated his attributes as: Strength +11, Agility +11, Endurance +10, Intelligence +10.
Hum~
The Attribute Enhancement Pod hummed to life. Feeling himself grow stronger bit by bit—no matter how many times he experienced it, it was always intoxicating.
But this time, Su Xiao had a different realization. He sensed a limit—not the usual barrier before breaking through an attribute threshold, but something more intense, like touching a ceiling.
Su Xiao could feel that he was still some distance from this limit. Though this ceiling-like barrier felt unbreakable to his senses, he was certain it could be shattered. In fact, he had already obtained the key to breaking it.
In the Treeborn World, Su Xiao had blown up the Dawn Paradise, killed Huishenshi, and captured the last contractor of Dawn Paradise, Bee. This had completely crushed any hope of Dawn Paradise turning the tables. Such feats had caused his world settlement evaluation in Treeborn World to be excessively high, earning him a rare item.
[Iron Refining Invitation Letter (Usable upon promotion to Ninth Rank and reaching 300 points in main attributes. This is a highly rare item. If the Hunter wishes to sell this item, it can only be sold to Reincarnation Paradise. Selling price: 6530 ounces of Space-Time Power.) Warning: The Hunter may only use this item personally or sell it to Reincarnation Paradise. If the Hunter transfers, discards, etc., you will receive a certain degree of punishment (Reincarnation Paradise reputation decreased, imprint authority level decreased, etc.).]
Su Xiao was still some distance from reaching 300 points in his main attributes. When the Attribute Enhancement Pod stopped, he checked his own information.
Contractor No. 13013. (This is a false number; no method can lock onto the Hunter.)
Name: Su Xiao (Hunter)
Level: LV.80, (Eighth Rank). Every 10 levels is one rank. Level increases grant no attribute bonuses; they correspond to the Hunter's authority within Reincarnation Paradise, world difficulty, mission difficulty, etc.
Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully datafied; it changes based on injury severity.)
Blood Energy: 120%
Mana: 58,698 points
Strength: 263 points
Agility: 263 points
Endurance: 264 points
Intelligence: 262 points
Charm: -13 points
Luck: 55 points
Soul Strength: 620 points
Willpower: Cannot be viewed.
Lightning Resistance: 175 points
Elemental Affinity: 970 points
...
Su Xiao sat quietly for a moment, adapting to his noticeably stronger body. He then exited the Attribute Enhancement Pod and headed toward the Trade Market.
After circling the Trade Market, he still couldn't find any bargains. The stories about casually stumbling upon treasures while browsing the market were indeed just rumors. From First Rank to Eighth Rank, Su Xiao had always visited the nearby Trade Market after enhancing his physique in the Attribute Enhancement Hall, only to find that finding cheap treasures was simply not in his fate.
After a few rounds, Su Xiao headed toward the Skill Upgrade Hall. This time, he had several abilities to improve.
At the entrance of the Skill Upgrade Hall, he saw Gulu waiting there.
"Delivery fee."
Gulu held up a box as she spoke.
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing.
"Tch~"
Gulu reluctantly handed over the box. Su Xiao opened it to find 20 Soul Crystal Cores inside.
Previously, Holy Maiden had been completely fixated on securing the [Stellar Imprint], directly offering a high price of 300 Soul Crystal Cores.
Given the scarcity of Soul Stones in the Void, coupled with Holy Maiden's family's urgent need for such resources, she couldn't produce them all at once. Naturally, she opted for installment payments.
This was essentially securing the [Stellar Imprint] first and paying off the debt slowly. Given Holy Maiden's temperament, if she truly couldn't pay, she would likely use other items to settle the debt. Outside, she was a renowned female powerhouse who had to maintain an image of strength, but in the Starry Sky Seat, she couldn't care less about such things. Last time, she had even bitten Su Xiao...
"By the way, our Tuanzhang said that if you're going to take the promotion assessment to Ninth Rank, you must inform him. He said to choose the most difficult Origin-level assessment, and there will be mysterious assistance during it."
Gulu said this with a somewhat mischievous smile.
"That's my next world progression."
"So soon? Well, that makes sense."
Gulu thought for a moment, then smiled meaningfully, as if to say, "No more pretending, I'll come clean—the super thigh in your promotion world is me."
"Tuanzhang said thanks for handling the Dawn Paradise incident last time. That was a lingering problem caused by some mistake of his. He didn't tell me the specifics."
"..."
Su Xiao remained silent. Seeing this, Gulu wasn't annoyed; she was long used to this style of conversation.
"So Tuanzhang gave me this. In your promotion world, you absolutely cannot use this thing. I'll be the tool... ah, spit, I'll be the super thigh and use it for you. Spill it, what world are you going to for your rank assessment?"
Gulu tossed a golden bead the size of a marble—clearly the trump card Tuanzhang had given her.
Hearing Gulu's words, Su Xiao felt puzzled. If Tuanzhang owed a favor, he should have paid it back at the Starry Sky Seat banquet, not now by having Gulu help.
Then, Su Xiao considered another possibility. The matter Tuanzhang had been preparing for, with the space stabilization device Su Xiao had made, should have reached a critical juncture.
At this point, Tuanzhang desperately needed an alchemist's help—perhaps success or failure hinged on it. That's why Tuanzhang had Gulu bring some item to assist him in passing the Ninth Rank promotion assessment, within the bounds of the rules.
Logically, with Tuanzhang's arrangement, the promotion should have been secure. The problem was, Su Xiao was heading to Dead Silence City this time, which made Tuanzhang's arrangement unreliable.
It was easy to imagine that, bound by various rules, the item Tuanzhang gave Gulu, while powerful, wouldn't be absurdly so. Therefore, in Dead Silence City, this assistance would at most help him through one crisis.
Realizing this, Su Xiao said, "Dead Silence City."
"Huh? What?"
"My assessment world is Dead Silence City."
"Hey? I think I've heard of that place. Oh, Dead Silence City on the Black Throne Continent. How could that be an Origin-level world difficulty?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't explain further, leaving Gulu to figure it out on her own from his retreating back.
"What's the deal? Or is there something more to Dead Silence City? Whatever, with this thing, everything else is trash."
Gulu put away the golden bead, then pulled out a key and aimed it at Su Xiao's back. This made Su Xiao pause mid-step. He glanced back at Gulu before continuing toward the Skill Upgrade Hall.
"I'll just track you in. Dead Silence City? Sounds pretty intimidating."
Gulu tossed the key in the air, then caught it. At this moment, she had no idea what suffering awaited her in Dead Silence City. If she had a chance to back out, even if Tuanzhang offered 50,000 Soul Coins as compensation—no, even 100,000—Gulu wouldn't go.
Pfft~
The door behind him closed, and the burst of steam dissipated. Su Xiao pressed one hand against the screen in front of him, checking his skill list. The overview was as follows:
Law Destruction Faction: