Chapter 2: This title is devoured in turn, and the new title that devours this title will inherit its star rating.
Tip: If this title devours more than 3 titles in succession (the devoured titles must be no lower than four stars), this title will enter a period of "satiated state." During the "satiated state," this title is more easily devoured in turn.
Su Xiao's idea was to use the title shop within this world to exchange ancient gold coins for 6 six-star titles, then feed them to the [Holy Meal] title. This would ensure that [Deep Blue Shadow] could, with a very high probability, devour [Holy Meal] in turn, thereby leaping to become a seven-star title.
Theoretically, [Holy Meal] only needed to devour 3 six-star titles to enter a strong "satiated state." However, Su Xiao was so confident in his own luck that even with a 99.99% success rate, he would still find a way to gamble on that 0.01%. If he happened to be unlucky, it would be too frustrating.
This time, the impact of [Deep Blue Shadow] toward the eight-star level was not only to safely explore the "Wadi Manor" but also to prepare for entering the root of Dead Silence City.
Using his own Reincarnation Paradise mark as a medium, Su Xiao opened the Void Tree-certified title shop. The next second, a large book materialized in front of him.
This book, over 1 meter tall and 50 centimeters wide, slowly opened. On the first page, it was densely packed with thumbnail-sized titles. One-star titles were generally this size. As the star rating increased, the titles gradually grew larger. By the time they reached eight stars, they were two sizes larger than a gold coin.
On the first page, about a third of the one-star titles had been exchanged, leaving grooves in the thick pages.
Su Xiao tried to turn the page with his mind, and the page indeed moved. The second page was entirely two-star titles, about a third fewer in number than the first page.
He flipped all the way to the sixth page before stopping. There were seventh and even eighth pages, but because the total World Source obtained by contractors in this world hadn't reached a certain threshold, the seventh and eighth phases of the title shop hadn't been unlocked yet.
This also meant that the four-star to six-star titles in the shop wouldn't sell out. The contractors who dared to enter the Gloomy Continent this time were all confident in their own strength, so they were saving up ancient gold coins, waiting to snatch the seven-star and eight-star titles that would appear later.
Su Xiao didn't hold much hope for this. He was here to end the karmic ties with Dead Silence City. Surviving would be an unprecedented victory. As for saving ancient gold coins and waiting to compete for the seven-star titles or even the sole eight-star title in the shop, that would be left to fate.
One thing was certain: the eight-star title that appeared in the title shop would definitely be so expensive that it would make people doubt their own existence. There might even be a situation where a group of people saved up ancient gold coins, waiting to buy it, only to find that their hard-earned coins only covered the last few digits of the eight-star title's price, which was quite frustrating.
Don't think this was Su Xiao's speculation. He had obtained two eight-star titles before. The first was [Sky-Plundering Storm], a mission he worked on from the first rank to the seventh rank before completing it. The second was the recently consumed [Doom Monarch], a trophy from flattening the Underworld. From this, one could imagine how difficult it was to obtain an eight-star title.
Now that he had the opportunity to promote [Deep Blue Shadow] to eight stars, it was entirely due to the legacy of [Doom Monarch].
The eight-star title that would easily appear in the title shop this time had a low threshold, so one could imagine how high its selling price would be.
Su Xiao checked the 25 six-star titles embedded in the title book. Six of them had already been exchanged by others. The remaining 19 were priced between 97 and 180 ancient coins.
Su Xiao needed quantity first, then quality. He had obtained a total of 662 ancient gold coins from the Duke. Based on cost-effectiveness priority, he began exchanging titles.
[You have obtained the six-star title: Gloomy Spirit Touch.]
[You have obtained the six-star title: Wild Beast Hunter.]
[You have obtained the six-star title: Wanderer.]
[You have obtained the six-star title: Wall Guardian.]
[You have obtained the six-star title: Mechanical Pioneer.]
[You have obtained the six-star title: Fortune Reversal.]
After obtaining the 6 six-star titles, Su Xiao only had 5 ancient gold coins left.
Among the 6 titles, Su Xiao was most interested in [Fortune Reversal]. The description of this title stated that it could greatly boost the Luck Attribute based on the wearer's fortune.
With such a good thing, Su Xiao naturally had to try it. He equipped the [Fortune Reversal] title, then checked his personal information, carefully observing the changes in his Luck Attribute.
Time passed minute by minute. After a while, Su Xiao found that [Fortune Reversal] was useless. He calmly unequipped this trash title. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, who had come to watch the title forging, all pretended nothing had happened. When it came to pocket money, they had to act like nothing was going on.
Su Xiao removed the wax seal from the [Holy Meal] title, activated its effect, and used it to devour all 6 newly exchanged six-star titles.
In terms of resource allocation, Su Xiao's current choice would consume more resources to raise [Deep Blue Shadow] to an eight-star title. However, he had done something similar before, using the [Dream Chaser] title to upgrade War Lord. Even now, he didn't regret it.
After more than ten minutes, [Holy Meal]'s attributes had changed significantly, becoming:
[Title Effect: Reverse Devour (Passive) – Can select 1 three-star to six-star title for this title to devour. This title will definitely be devoured in turn. The new title that devours this title will inherit its star rating and gain a potential stacking effect.]
Su Xiao had [Holy Meal] devour [Deep Blue Shadow]. Rather than devouring, it was more like the semi-fluid [Holy Meal] title wrapped around the round [Deep Blue Shadow] title, which had blade engravings inside.
The transformation was faster than expected. After more than half an hour, [Deep Blue Shadow] completed the reverse devour.
[Deep Blue Shadow has been upgraded to a seven-star title.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao activated the title forging disc covered in magma patterns and pushed it further away with his mind. It was too close and a bit hot on the face.
With a crisp clang, the newly upgraded Deep Blue Shadow embedded itself in the center of the forging disc. The five surrounding grooves were sequentially embedded with 5 seven-star titles (no attributes).
[Yes/No to proceed with this title forging? If proceeding, 5000 Soul Coins must be paid.]
[Tip: The success rate for this forging is 100%.]
Su Xiao currently had 3909 Soul Coins. This was the leftover money after each upgrade, ever since he witnessed the umbrellaless guy jumping without a parachute.
He needed more Soul Coins, and he had a way to get them. Kaisa was still in the Central District. Su Xiao took out his communicator and contacted him. Hearing that business was coming, Kaisa's efficiency immediately increased by 500%.
A few minutes later, in the office.
"My dear friend, I heard you're in urgent need of money? Just sell your goods to Kaisa. I guarantee fair dealing. You have to trust my character."
"..."
Hearing Kaisa's last sentence, Su Xiao was silent for a moment. What he wanted to sell wasn't anything else, but a few pieces of "Star Flow Ore" that the two mining idiots had just dug up.
Amu had been watching over there for a while. The two idiots were now deep underground. Unless they were particularly unlucky, the probability of problems was low.
Su Xiao placed the 6 pieces of "Star Flow Ore" on the table. Seeing this, Kaisa's eyes gleamed with a thief's light. This guy had somehow put on a monocle and white gloves, and he picked up a piece of "Star Flow Ore" to examine.
"Good stuff, really good stuff. My dear friend, Kaisa will give you a high price. 500 Soul Coins per piece, how about it?"
Kaisa was putting on a cunning front. This guy was like that. When faced with huge profits, he never got greedy. Every time he split the spoils with Su Xiao, even if it was over 100,000 Soul Coins, he would pay Su Xiao every single coin. But when faced with small profits, Kaisa would show his unique greed.
"How about 600 per piece? That's the highest price."
Kaisa probably felt he was giving too little, so he chose to raise the price. However, on Trade Street, this stuff sold for 700 Soul Coins per piece and would be gone in a few minutes.
"650, no higher."
"Deal."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, Kaisa grinned with particular delight. He had saved 50 Soul Coins per piece, but this guy was happier than when he got 50,000 Soul Coins from the spoils.
The deal was done. Before leaving, Kaisa conveniently went to the cafeteria for a visit. Learning that the treatment center provided late-night snacks all year round, Kaisa greatly praised this and mooched a meal.
Ignoring Kaisa, who had gone to mooch a late-night snack, Su Xiao reactivated the title forging disc, embedded the six titles, and began forging.
Hum~
The magma patterns on the forging disc became more prominent. The office began to heat up. Su Xiao concealed the forging disc. It would take 13 hours and 21 minutes to complete this forging.
Meanwhile, on the east side of the Central District, in a residential area.
It was already 10 PM. A man, slightly thin and sweating profusely despite the cool summer night, stood in front of a private courtyard. Behind him was a two-story civilian house with a combined front and back yard of over 200 square meters.
In the man's anxious wait, the little secretary, Lisi, finally arrived. She was very confused at the moment. They had agreed to complete the property transaction tomorrow morning, but the other party said there was an urgent matter and it had to be done tonight, and they even lowered the price by another 10%.
For an ordinary person, they would have been suspicious. How haunted must this house be for them to be so eager to sell?
But for Lisi, this was meeting a benefactor. She worked at the treatment center and shared an office with Su Xiao every day. So she had become indifferent to ghosts and the like. Ghosts and spirits were nothing compared to the terrifying aura of their vice director.
In the courtyard, Lisi paid, and the other party quickly completed the transfer of the deed and contract. The transaction was done. The other party had already greased the wheels through connections for all the procedures. As long as the money was paid and the contract signed, the transaction was complete.
"I finally have a place of my own."
Lisi muttered, looking at the two-story civilian house in front of her, feeling a bit excited.
Looking at the two-story house, Lisi couldn't help but think, if she invited their vice director to stay for one night, this place would definitely be completely safe by tomorrow.
Lisi used the key to open the door. Entering, it wasn't as cold as she imagined. Instead, because the windows were closed, the room was a bit stuffy.
After turning on the lights and opening the windows, Lisi began to explore her new home, which was ready to move into. On the first floor, except for the bedding, everything was 90% new, no, it was brand new. Some cups and utensils were still unopened.
Going up to the second floor, Lisi held a short knife in one hand. After a careful inspection, she found nothing. The only thing that caught her attention was an old floor-standing round mirror in the second-floor living room.
Standing in front of the floor-standing mirror, Lisi pressed the tip of her short knife against the mirror surface and tapped it lightly. Nothing unusual happened.
"Could it really be a ghost or something?"
Lisi thought about the recent drastic changes at the treatment center, which made it impossible to handle supernatural incidents within the High Wall City. This also meant that for haunted houses like this, if there were ghosts causing trouble, it would be an extremely tricky problem. It was hard to find someone specialized in dealing with this, and even if you did, unlike the treatment center which handled it for free, you would have to pay a high fee.
Thinking of this, Lisi's smile gradually brightened. She had really gotten a great deal this time. As soon as this thought appeared, she suddenly found that she couldn't move.
Lisi, holding the short knife in one hand, stood motionless in front of the floor-standing mirror. Or rather, her body below the neck couldn't move.
"Lucky one, I am the Magic Mirror. I can fulfill all your wishes."
The Lisi in the mirror spoke, her smile somehow carrying a hint of eeriness and mockery, completely lacking the comforting feeling of Lisi's real smile.
"You're just a dangerous object. Fulfill all my wishes? Dangerous objects nowadays sure know how to brag."
Although Lisi was quite timid in front of Su Xiao, she wasn't a coward. On the contrary, having passed the rigorous selection to become a new member of the treatment center, Lisi had high talent and excellent courage.
Hearing Lisi's words that hit a sore spot, the mirror Lisi smiled even more eerily. Suddenly, Lisi herself and the mirror Lisi swapped positions. More precisely, the mirror evil spirit had seized control of Lisi's body, while Lisi's consciousness was trapped inside the mirror.
"Your name is... Lisi, Lisi. Given your disrespect towards me, I will slowly kill everyone related to you. Your parents, friends, even the people you work with. They will all die because of you."
The evil spirit Lisi pressed her fingertip against the mirror surface, smiling at the real Lisi, who was trapped and unable to move inside the mirror.
"The emotions of intelligent beings are fascinating. I am the evil spirit in the mirror, feeding on your despair. Despair has a freshness. For example, if I go kill your parents now, you will erupt with immense despair. But afterwards, when I kill your friends, your despair will be weaker. So, targeting your parents first is the worst choice."
The evil spirit Lisi smiled even more eerily. She continued, "I can track your life trajectory, so finding your relatives and friends is simple. Merciful as I am, I will start with your friends and colleagues. Using their deaths, I will slowly pile up the despair in your heart until your despair erupts."
The evil spirit Lisi looked extremely pleased. But inside the mirror, hearing these words, the real Lisi finally felt relieved. She had worked hard to join the treatment center, so she had no friends. As for colleagues, great, please go ahead and attack her colleagues. Going to the treatment center to cause trouble was no different from seeking death.
"If you have a job, I will kill your boss first, then your friends. Wait here in despair."
After leaving these words, the evil spirit Lisi walked towards the first floor of the house. Hearing this, the real Lisi inside the mirror was not only no longer afraid but was even curious about what would happen tomorrow morning. She really wanted to see the expression on the evil spirit's face when it disguised itself as her and pushed open the door to that office.
The night quietly passed. When the pale light of dawn appeared on the horizon, a cool morning arrived. Lisi woke up to the crisp chirping of cicadas in the tree branches, but she immediately realized she was still trapped in the mirror.
"You're awake."
The evil spirit Lisi tapped the corner of her eye with her middle finger. She had put on light makeup, giving her a bit of the charm that the real Lisi lacked.
"I have to admit, among the many targets I've hunted, you are one of the two most attractive to the opposite sex."
The evil spirit Lisi pursed her lips at the mirror, very satisfied with her current appearance.
"Well, thank you for the compliment, dangerous object."
The real Lisi spoke. Hearing this, the evil spirit Lisi smiled without saying a word. Although she couldn't casually peek into Lisi's memories, she could track her previous trajectory.
"I'll bring you souvenirs, like your friends' eyes."
With that, the evil spirit Lisi walked out. She left the house and, based on the trajectory Lisi had recently taken most often, headed towards Central Street.
In less than half an hour, the evil spirit Lisi arrived on foot at the main gate of the treatment center compound. She seemed to repeatedly confirm Lisi's trajectory in disbelief, realizing that Lisi's recent movements for the past few days were all to and from this place. Her charming smile gradually faded.
Although the evil spirit Lisi was eerie and vicious, she wasn't stupid. Killing someone inside the treatment center was something she couldn't do. In fact, her current thought was whether she should go back to the real Lisi and apologize to settle this matter.
Just as the evil spirit Lisi was about to turn and leave, an old voice came, "Lisi, what are you looking at? Hurry up, you're almost late."
Old Chaman walked over, carrying breakfast. He had gone home last night and had instructed his wife to make extra breakfast this morning, including portions for Su Xiao, Silver Wolf Girl Marina, and others.
Seeing Old Chaman, a memory image flashed through the evil spirit Lisi's mind. This was one of the abilities of temporarily controlling this body. When encountering an acquaintance, she could "recall" their identity and such to a certain extent.
Actually, she didn't need this memory image. The evil spirit Lisi already knew who Old Chaman was. Or rather, she knew better than others that this thin, dry old man was a terrifying hunter.
The evil spirit Lisi was caught in a dilemma. She could only walk side by side with Old Chaman, crossing the yard, entering the main building, and going up to the third floor, stopping in front of the vice director's office door.
When the evil spirit Lisi saw the nameplate on the vice director's office door, with the words "Kukulin Bai Ye" engraved below, she felt her ghostly life had come to an end. This world was too surreal. As an evil spirit, she had kidnapped the assistant of Kukulin Bai Ye, the vice director of the Healing Church's treatment center. It felt like a dream.
In reality, the evil spirit Lisi didn't know that she had actually kidnapped the director of the treatment center.
With an extremely nervous heart, the evil spirit Lisi raised her hand, ready to open the door.
"Lisi, what's wrong with you? You look strange."
Old Chaman spoke. In fact, this old hunter had already noticed something was off. He found it interesting and also wanted to test the safety of the real Lisi, so he didn't expose her directly.
"It's nothing."
The evil spirit Lisi pushed open the office door. In her spiritual perspective, as soon as the door opened, a bloody aura that caused her whole body to ache spread out.
Ordinary people couldn't see this unconsciously spreading bloody aura, but for a spiritual body, this aura was like highly corrosive blood flames. Just getting close seemed to cause a shudder from the depths of the soul. How many living beings would one have to slaughter to have such a bloody aura?
To be precise, on ancient battlefields, many races had been wiped out, completely annihilated. As for the war dead of other races, it was hard to calculate.
The evil spirit Lisi contracted her spiritual body to the limit before she could use this body to avoid the erosion of the unconsciously spreading bloody aura. She walked into the office.
Behind the desk, Su Xiao looked up at the evil spirit Lisi. Recalling that Lisi had been excitedly talking about buying a haunted house last night, he had already guessed the general situation.
At this stage, aside from waiting for news from Lady Smoke, there was really nothing else to do. Thinking of this, Su Xiao said, "Lisi, the office hasn't been cleaned in a long time. Your job today is to clean this place."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, Baha quickly added, "And while you're at it, weed the backyard."
"O... okay."
Under Bubu Wang's guidance, the evil spirit Lisi found the cleaning tools in the small room and began wiping down the cabinets, floors, etc.
Su Xiao glanced at Baha. Baha understood and quietly signaled to Old Chaman. The two of them made an excuse and went out together. Baha had understood Su Xiao's intention to find the real Lisi's whereabouts.
To be fair, this evil spirit wiped the cabinets quite clean, and the floor was even a bit shiny.
After observing the evil spirit Lisi for a while, Su Xiao habitually took out a Soul Crystal, bit off a large piece like eating an apple, and crunched down. The evil spirit Lisi, who caught this scene out of the corner of her eye, almost had a mental breakdown on the spot.
Soon, Baha returned. He had found the real Lisi. Aside from being trapped in the mirror, she was fine.
"Mirror?"
Su Xiao looked at Baha as he spoke.
"Yeah, a mirror. A very peculiar ability. I can't get Lisi out anyway."
Baha spread his wings, indicating helplessness.
The evil spirit Lisi, who was wiping a vase, stopped. Her teeth ground together. At this point, how could she not know she had been exposed?
'Fight it! Kill everyone in the room!!'
The evil spirit Lisi thought this, a fierce glint in her eyes. She turned around, her hair spreading out, ready to strike. But at that moment, her eyes met Su Xiao's. In that instant, the evil spirit Lisi seemed to see behind Su Xiao a massive blood beast, its mouth full of sharp teeth, grinning at her, just waiting for her to charge forward so it could bite her to pieces and devour her.
The evil spirit Lisi knelt down properly and said as sincerely as possible, "I am a benevolent spirit. Spare me this once."
"Can you enter the mirror?"
Su Xiao spoke thoughtfully.
"Yes."
The evil spirit Lisi didn't dare to hide anything. As for threatening with Lisi's body's safety, she had thought about it, but considering the strength of Su Xiao's bloody aura, she didn't think someone like Su Xiao would become hesitant due to threats.
"What is it like inside the mirror?"
"It's a pseudo-realm where spirit and dreams are interconnected."
The pseudo-realm the evil spirit Lisi referred to meant that although the mirror world existed, it was a bizarre and surreal scene.
To be precise, it was a pseudo-realm formed by the combination of mirror + spirit + dream, all three in one.
Su Xiao was sure he couldn't enter the pseudo-realm. Even if he could, he wouldn't strip his spiritual body to enter. That would be a very unwise choice.
However, he didn't need to enter himself. He could let this evil spirit enter. For example, if he needed to steal something important, and sending Bubu Wang was too risky, he could send this evil spirit.
Or, if he needed to gather particularly dangerous information, sending Bubu would make him worry about accidents. Sending this evil spirit, he wouldn't care about its life or death.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao's gaze towards the evil spirit Lisi softened. Such a conveniently delivered evil spirit cannon fodder would be a waste not to use.
"You are good. I should reward you."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, the evil spirit Lisi was very confused.
"Huh?"
The evil spirit Lisi looked up blankly at Su Xiao. At that instant, a translucent crystal needle appeared in Su Xiao's hand. This needle was nearly 20 centimeters long, covered in dense patterns. Su Xiao flicked his hand.
Pfft~
The evil spirit Lisi suddenly tilted her head back. The translucent crystal needle pierced her brow. Her hands formed claws, trembling as she tried to clench them, but she couldn't clench them at all.
The translucent crystal needle quickly dissolved, merging into the head of the evil spirit Lisi's soul body, forming a crystal core. If Su Xiao wanted, this crystal core would erupt with soul energy and explode, shattering the evil spirit Lisi's soul body.
"I'll give you 10 minutes. Go and swap Lisi back. When I need you, I'll have Lisi inform you."
Su Xiao's tone was calm, without any hint of threat. But if the evil spirit Lisi dared to object, Su Xiao would make her soul scatter in the next second.
The evil spirit Lisi lowered her eyelids and said, "Impossible. Even if I'm fast, I can't make that woman appear before you in 10 minutes."
Hearing this, Xiusi, who was nearby, pointed at himself, then looked at Old Chaman. After asking for the address, he opened a Space Ghost Gate.
5 minutes later, the Space Ghost Gate opened in the office. As soon as the two appeared, Lisi burst into tears, startling Xiusi beside her, causing the small language booklet in his hand to fall.
However, Su Xiao was still reading the ancient book he had obtained from the Dragon Academy, not even looking at Lisi, who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. Finding that playing pitiful was useless, Lisi winked at Xiusi, meaning, "The boss usually favors you the most. Help me plead."
Xiusi's head shrank, his high collar covering his nose bridge. He looked up at the ceiling, as if there were the sacred marks he was cultivating on it.
Lisi then looked at Old Chaman and Ms. Marina. Old Chaman looked half-asleep. Marina wanted to speak, but after being glanced at by Baha, she pretended nothing had happened.
"Lord Bai Ye, I was wrong."
Lisi spoke, her head lowered like a scolded elementary school student.
"You are the director, and I am the vice director. I cannot judge your right or wrong. Don't you agree, Lisi?"
Hearing this, Lisi knew she had to recognize her mistake in one sentence, or she would no longer be a member of the treatment center.
"I shouldn't have become arrogant just because I joined the treatment center."
Saying this, Lisi's tears fell. Her attitude of admitting fault was quite good.
"Boss, how about we let it slide this time?"
Baha spoke at the perfect moment.
"I will work even harder in the future."
After saying this, Lisi wiped away her tears and went back to her desk to review documents.
Seeing this, Su Xiao was quite satisfied. Even though he was almost ninth rank, playing the good cop/bad cop routine still worked.
Old Chaman and Ms. Marina by the door naturally saw some clues but pretended not to know anything. Young Xiusi breathed a sigh of relief. Lisi was his peer, so he naturally didn't want her to be fired.
Time passed while waiting. Around noon, Baha returned through the window, breaking the air. He said loudly, "Boss, news from below. There's movement at the Wadi Manor in the North District."
Hearing this, Xiusi immediately opened a Space Ghost Gate. Su Xiao brought Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Old Chaman, and Silver Wolf Girl Marina inside.
As soon as they exited the Space Ghost Gate and arrived at the North District, Su Xiao felt a cold purple mist spreading towards him. The sky was dim, not the darkness of night, but a kind of oppressive gloom.
The Wadi Manor ahead was still the same. The main gate was twisted and deformed, with purple-black tumors seeping out from inside the two metal doors.
The front part of the entire Wadi Manor, the planting area, was filled with large patches of purple-black flesh, with highly corrosive purple mist spreading above.
The castle further back was pierced by a purple beam of light descending from the sky. The castle as a whole seemed to have been forced to grow, its volume at least several times larger than before, giving the impression that this building had come to life.
The backyard was still a viscous, surging purple-black semi-fluid. Something was clearly hidden there. Even when looking from such a distance, Su Xiao could feel that there was a pair of eyes in the darkness staring back at him.
At this moment, the main gate of Wadi Manor was wide open. The corpse of half a Silver Armor member lay there, clearly indicating that the Silver Armor's deep incursion into Wadi Manor had not gone smoothly.
Currently, the Healing Church, the Steam Church, and the High Wall Council had all deployed a large number of combat forces to guard the perimeter of Wadi Manor. However, the only departments daring to enter the manor were the treatment center, the Hammer of Wrath organization, and the Silver Armor Squad. Others weren't necessarily weak, but they lacked the experience and training to handle such incidents. To each their own, as the saying goes.
Shortly after Su Xiao arrived, the Duke also came with his people. Notably, the noble son, Kelanke, had also come. This new World Child looked in good spirits. The look in his eyes was different from before, as if he had already experienced the immense pleasure brought by the "Traitor's Will" when betraying others.
"Bai Ye, Lady Smoke's Silver Armor Squad seems to have been completely wiped out inside. She herself unfortunately perished..."
The Duke's words were cut short as a hand covered in mottled bloodstains reached out from the half-open main gate, gripping the doorframe. The seemingly slender and fair fingers left deep indentations on the over 10-centimeter-thick metal door.
"You're the one who's dead."
Lady Smoke walked out, her hair disheveled, her smoke dress partially torn. Behind her were over 20 Silver Armor guards, several of whom were seriously injured.
Lady Smoke had led over 200 Silver Armor guards into Wadi Manor, but only brought out over 20. This showed how brutal the battle inside had been.
"It's great that you're okay, Lady Smoke. Tell us, what's inside?"
The Duke's words made Lady Smoke feel even more annoyed. She then looked at the Duke with a half-smile and said, "There are many creatures with bizarre abilities inside."
"Bizarre? In what way?"
The Duke became interested. The information Lady Smoke had obtained by sacrificing nearly 200 people, almost the entire Silver Armor Squad, was naturally valuable.
"Let's not rush into that. It was probably this morning when I led my people to charge to that place."
Lady Smoke pointed to the distant castle shrouded in purple-black smoke. She continued, "In the library of the Wadi family castle, I found a letter on a desk."
As she spoke, Lady Smoke had inadvertently moved closer to Su Xiao. Seeing this, Su Xiao's hand naturally rested on his sword hilt.
"A letter? What letter?"
The Duke's mechanical eye seemed to faintly glow red, and the efficiency of the heart core in the center of his chest had increased.
"A letter you wrote to the current head of the Wadi family, Wadi Lifake."
As she spoke, Lady Smoke took out a letter and moved even closer to Su Xiao. She was injured, clearly wary of the Duke silencing her, and was confident that Su Xiao wouldn't let her, who had the letter, be attacked.
The Duke calmly looked at Lady Smoke, looking a bit tired.
"..."
Su Xiao glanced sideways at Lady Smoke, giving her a look for her to figure out.
Lady Smoke was a person who valued relationships, was extremely trustworthy, treated her subordinates well, and was strong. But she also had a flaw: she held grudges. If someone inadvertently offended her with a word years ago, she would hold a grudge for many years and find an opportunity to get back at them.
There was a half-joking saying in High Wall City: if you offend Kukulin Bai Ye of the Healing Church, you'll die on the spot or that very night; if you offend the Duke of the Steam Church, you'll die at any time; but if you offend Lady Smoke of the High Wall Council, you'd better choose to die yourself.
"You suspect I'm framing the Duke?"
Lady Smoke's aura changed; she was genuinely angry.
"I believe you wouldn't do such a thing."
The Duke spoke and even nodded at Lady Smoke, again expressing his trust.
One could only say that the Duke had high emotional intelligence. Although his original meaning was "I don't think you have the intelligence to orchestrate this," he perfectly replaced it with the more pleasant-sounding "I believe you."
The appearance of this framing letter gave Su Xiao a feeling of a sudden turn of events. He was now basically certain that the head of the Wadi family, Wadi Lifake, wasn't dead but had instead achieved his goal.
Su Xiao wasn't afraid of enemies plotting something. What he dreaded were enemies who thought, "As long as I die fast enough, you won't know what I'm going to do." Those kinds of enemies were too confusing and gave him a headache to deal with.
"Lady Smoke, when you went deep into the castle, did you find a key?"
Su Xiao didn't hide his purpose. There was no need to. Given the current situation, his interests aligned with those of the Duke and Lady Smoke.
This was also why Su Xiao was certain that the Duke wouldn't collude with the Wadi family. In other words, even if they had colluded before, it was now best to pretend nothing had happened. There was no need to turn a potential scapegoat "ally" into an enemy. That would be very unwise.
"Key?"
Lady Smoke's gaze towards Su Xiao became noticeably more wary. After a few seconds of hesitation, she replied, "I not only saw the key but almost died at the hands of its owner."
Hearing this, Su Xiao felt the situation had become clear and simple. The key Lady Smoke had seen was almost certainly the Sanctuary Key. Everything the Wadi family had done was based on the Sanctuary Key, which could be inferred from the promotion mission.
The situation was now very clear. The treatment center was severely weakened. Excluding Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, the only combat-ready forces the treatment center had left were Black Axe Chaman and Silver Wolf Girl Marina.
The Silver Armor Squad was half-dead. The remaining combat power consisted only of Lady Smoke and her dozen or so trusted subordinates.
The best-off was the Hammer of Wrath organization. The Duke was at full strength, and his subordinates, the Hammer of Wrath members, as well as his eldest son, Kelanke, had no casualties. They were at full capacity.
No matter how you looked at it, a three-way alliance to delve deep into Wadi Manor was the best choice. At least, that's how it seemed to the Duke, Lady Smoke, and even all the high-ranking officials of High Wall City.
But Su Xiao had other ideas. He no longer wanted to recklessly charge into Wadi Manor. Now that he was certain the Sanctuary Key had a protector, everything was simple.
Were there many extraterrestrial beings inside Wadi Manor? Was it eerie and dangerous inside? No problem. Let the extraterrestrial beings inside praise the sun together. Su Xiao had even blown up the remnants of Dawn Paradise. He didn't believe that, with the resources of High Wall City to manufacture Apollo, he couldn't level Wadi Manor.
His thoughts became clearer. Su Xiao's view of Wadi Manor changed. If the plan succeeded, this place would be a pile of treasure chests and World Source that could still move. Such an opportunity had to be seized.
Just as Su Xiao was about to implement his plan, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Prompt: Title forging successful.]
[Deep Blue Shadow has been promoted to an eight-star title.]
PS: Feiwen is back, 10,000-word update, asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month.