Chapter 27: The Hymn Choir and the Choice
In the Sacred Ten Church, as the gate closed, the mechanisms at the top of the church began to operate, the sound of gears and chains grinding out. At the top of the church, a massive clock with only a single hand began to count down moment by moment. With each tick, a heavy *click-clack* sound echoed out.
One full cycle of the massive clock was 160 ticks, which, converted to minutes, was over 30 minutes. When the countdown of the massive clock ended, the sealed gate of the Sacred Ten Church would open. If the chosen one survived until then under the siege of the Hymn Choir, they would pass the challenge and could temporarily take away the Source Stone kept by the Hymn Choir.
If the chosen one died in the subsequent battle, the Hymn Choir would temporarily leave the Sacred Ten Church, retrieve the Source Stone in their care, and await the arrival of the next chosen one.
This was also why the Wolf Knight at Wolf Mound had become the last Wolf Knight. Over there, they were known alongside the Hymn Choir as the two main combat forces of the Healing Church. However, the Wolf Knights specialized in slaughter. They did not accept challenges. Anyone who came was a warrior. To take the Source Stone, one had to use a more direct method: the battle began, and it was a matter of life or death.
To this day, only one Wolf Knight remained from the first Wolf Mound. But unlike the Hymn Choir, no matter how many Wolf Knights remained, only one would step forward to duel the chosen one. The other Wolf Knights would watch the entire battle from the sidelines, ensuring no third party intruded to interfere with this life-or-death fight.
Inside the Sacred Ten Church, the spacious grounds were filled with ethereal murmurs and vivid reliefs on the walls. But the most eye-catching were the five members of the Hymn Choir.
Su Xiao placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. The long knife was drawn at a moderate speed, the edge humming softly. The powerful enemies dozens of meters away did not immediately charge.
These five Hymn Choir members wielded: a spiral spear, a rhombus shield + long knife, a soul bow, a soul warhammer, and a crystal scepter.
Standing at the front was the Hymn Choir member holding the rhombus shield + long knife. Compared to the others, she was noticeably more robust, clad in full metal golden armor. Her name was Sacred Heart Seventeen.
This was, of course, not her original name. It was derived from her ranking within the Hymn Choir, combined with being crowned Sacred Heart, resulting in this title. She was commonly called Saint Seventeen.
Don't think ranking seventeenth was low. During the Age of Gods, the Hymn Choir simultaneously had 30 members crowned Sacred Heart. Ranking seventeenth was already considered excellent.
From Saint Seventeen's weapons and attire, it was clear she belonged to the front line among the five Hymn Choir members, specializing in control and defense. Shield Grandmaster lv.68 + Blade Grandmaster lv.52 indicated she was not only good at defense.
To Saint Seventeen's left was Sacred Heart Ten, wielding a translucent soul warhammer. Although Sacred Heart Ten appeared slender and wore no metal armor, her right arm was completely encased in metal, with a cast-like metal layer tightly adhering to the skin of her right arm, giving her a somewhat fierce look.
To Saint Seventeen's right was Sacred Heart Seven, holding a soul great bow. Compared to the other Hymn Choir members, she was petite but gave off a sharp feeling, like a golden venomous wasp staring into one's soul.
Behind Saint Seventeen, Sacred Heart Ten, and Sacred Heart Seven, standing in the C position and half a head taller than the other Hymn Choir members, was naturally the big sister of the Hymn Choir, Sacred Heart One.
Sacred Heart One held a spiral spear with one hand. This spiral spear was long and sharp. Her armor was made of golden scales and dark blue fabric, unlike the hardness of typical armor, it gave a sense of beauty while also providing strong dual physical and energy defense.
Needless to say, Sacred Heart One's Spear Grandmaster lv.70 was dizzying to look at. There was a considerable gap between Grandmaster abilities at lv.69 and lv.70.
Standing at the back was naturally the little sister of the Hymn Choir, Sacred Heart Thirty. She wore a golden robe and a hood, holding a crystal scepter. From her aura fluctuations, it was guessed she was not a melee type.
The situation was clear: the Hymn Choir had three melee and two ranged fighters. Among them, Sacred Heart Ten, who used the soul warhammer, and Sacred Heart Seven, who used the soul bow, had their soul attacks responsible for the deaths of countless challengers.
Sacred Heart One, as a Spear Grandmaster lv.70, would bring all-around pressure.
*Clang!*
Sacred Heart One's spear blade rested on the ground, clearly announcing the start of the battle.
*Boom!*
Blood Qi erupted from Su Xiao as the center point. This eruption of Blood Qi was exceptionally violent. The reason was that Su Xiao was one against five. He had to first suppress them with Blood Qi, or else this fight was unwinnable.
As the Blood Qi exploded, cracks appeared on the church floor. Even Sacred Heart One and the other four Hymn Choir members felt the oppressive force bearing down on them. They instinctively raised one arm in front of their faces, lowering their postures. Yet even so, they were slowly being pushed back.
Through the violently erupting Blood Qi, Sacred Heart Thirty saw a figure standing ahead, eyes glowing blue, holding a single knife.
*Bang!*
A sound of breaking wind appeared. It was Sacred Heart Seven releasing her bowstring. A translucent arrow made of soul energy broke through the Blood Qi, pierced through layers of air waves, and shot towards Su Xiao's forehead. It ultimately pierced through his head and embedded itself in the wall over a dozen meters behind him, exploding with a *boom*, sending rubble flying everywhere.
Su Xiao, whose head had been pierced, not only did not fall but actively charged forward. Seeing this, Saint Seventeen, holding the rhombus shield + long knife, met him. She held the shield in her left hand and the knife in her right. The handle of her knife was slightly longer.
*Zheng~*
Dragon-Slaying Flash tore through space, leaving a black scar as it slashed towards Saint Seventeen's sturdy shield. Facing this slash, Saint Seventeen's expression under her visor tightened. This oppressive battle quickly awakened her long-dormant mind, bringing it to its peak at an incredible speed.
The long knife slashed onto the sturdy shield, but surprisingly, Dragon-Slaying Flash passed through it as if cutting through nothing.
This was because, when Su Xiao dodged Sacred Heart Seven's arrow earlier, he had used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to enter a state of Space Penetration, which could last for 3 seconds.
From his charge to Saint Seventeen's front to this slash, the total time was 1.83 seconds. So, he was still in the Space Penetration state. Dragon-Slaying Flash and Saint Seventeen's sturdy shield were not in the same realm, so they naturally could not collide, allowing it to pass through.
But the moment Dragon-Slaying Flash passed through the sturdy shield, Su Xiao exited the Space Penetration state. The long knife aimed straight for Saint Seventeen's neck. If this slash hit, even if Saint Seventeen's neck wasn't severed, she would be severely wounded and near death.
A piercing wind pressure came head-on. Golden light flashed before Su Xiao's eyes. A long spear thrust past Saint Seventeen's neck, *clanging* against the inside of her shield. This long spear precisely blocked the incoming blade.
This process seemed long, but in reality, it was only an instant. Even though the battle had just begun, if there was a mistake, even the Hymn Choir would suffer casualties.
*Clang!!*
The long knife slashed onto the spiral spear. The resulting impact caused the surrounding stone floor to explode and crack.
The blade and spiral spear pressed against each other, emitting a *crackling* sound. Sacred Heart One stared at Su Xiao, her calm gaze seeming to say two words: "No way."
*Whoosh!* A sound of a heavy weapon swinging came. If Su Xiao retreated now, he would surely be suppressed by Sacred Heart One. So, he raised his left forearm, letting a crystal layer form on it, and braced for the heavy weapon strike from his left. Fighting multiple opponents was like this; it was impossible to avoid all attacks.
*Bang!!*
The long-handled soul warhammer smashed onto Su Xiao's left forearm. Although the exposed lower half of Sacred Heart Ten's face had a bit of baby fat, when she swung the soul warhammer, she gritted her teeth fiercely.
Blocking four members of the Hymn Choir alone, Su Xiao not only did not retreat, but a Blood Qi phantom formed above him. Nearly ten meters tall, the upper body of the Blood Qi phantom gathered a massive blood blade in its hand, clearly about to slash down.
Almost simultaneously, Little Sister Sacred Heart Thirty moved behind Saint Seventeen, who held the sturdy shield, and placed her small hand on Saint Seventeen's back.
The pupils in Saint Seventeen's eyes became as brilliant as crystal. She pushed forward with all her strength with a straight kick.
'Crystal Explosive Bomb.'
*Thump!*
A wave of air with crystal patterns exploded. Su Xiao was sent flying backward.
Mid-air, Su Xiao, his left hand wrapped in a crystal layer, grabbed at the ground. The moment his fingers touched the ground, they plowed through, sending rubble flying everywhere.
Su Xiao stabilized himself in a half-squat position. Without needing to look, he knew that Sacred Heart One, Sacred Heart Ten, and Saint Seventeen, the three melee fighters, had already charged forward.
Su Xiao tightened his grip on the rubble in his left hand. The erosion of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy and crystallization caused these rubble pieces to become crystalized. Additionally, the injection of Blood Qi gave each crystal fragment a fine, web-like distribution of Blood Qi.
*Bang!*
Su Xiao threw the crystal fragments with all his strength with one hand. These fragments flew like shotgun pellets towards the three sisters of the Hymn Choir. Saint Seventeen pressed her sturdy shield forward, and a golden barrier covered in patterns appeared.
The crystal fragments hit the barrier, causing successive Blood Qi explosions. Along with them was a blood shadow.
*Whoosh!*
Su Xiao streaked through like a blood shadow, launching a surprise attack to the front of Sacred Heart Seven, who held the soul great bow. In this situation, it was a huge crisis for Sacred Heart Seven.
'Sacred·Penetration.'
Sacred Heart One leaped up. The golden energy on her body instantly merged into her spiral spear. She threw the spear.
*Pfft!*
The spiral spear obliquely pierced through Su Xiao's body, pinning him to the ground. Blood flowed from the wound on his side, quickly forming a large pool beneath him.
Seeing this, Sacred Heart One's brows furrowed tightly. She didn't believe that an enemy who could bring her such pressure would be pierced to death like this.
*Crackle crackle crackle~*
The 'Su Xiao' pinned to the ground quickly crystallized. It was clearly a crystal shell, filled with Blood Qi. Due to the transformation of Blood Qi, it gave the illusion of blood splattering when injured. What made it even harder to distinguish was that this crystal shell had also been injected with soul energy and physical energy, further enhancing the deception.
Realizing it was a crystal shell, Sacred Heart One's pupils suddenly constricted. She understood what was happening and quickly looked towards her little sister, Saint Thirty.
*Whoosh!*
A blood shadow cut through the air. Su Xiao had already appeared behind Saint Thirty. Accompanying him was Baha, who had helped him hide and lurk. No one had stipulated that one couldn't bring attendants to fight the Hymn Choir, after all, the Hymn Choir had five people.
*Zheng!*
The long knife slashed through, leaving a black scar in the air that represented the unfolding of space. Saint Thirty was beheaded with one slash. Blood droplets splattered everywhere. The headless body slowly fell.
'Sacred Heart·Convergence.'
Sacred Heart One raised one hand. The pupils in her eyes completely turned golden-white. Almost simultaneously, Sacred Heart Seven, Sacred Heart Ten, Saint Seventeen, and even the beheaded Sacred Heart Thirty, all turned into golden fluid, converging towards Sacred Heart One.
A form-fitting golden armor covered Sacred Heart One's body, wrapped externally in dark blue fabric. Her golden fishtail braid hung down from the back of her helmet. Midway, the fishtail braid split into five, each thin braid ending in a ring-like golden circle. Each ring bore an ancient number, representing 1, 7, 10, 17, and 30.
This was the true Hymn Choir. Led by Sacred Heart One, the other four assisted her in battle. Entering this state, their conditions all returned to their peak.
Su Xiao activated the All-Seeing Eye behind him, beginning to detect the Hymn Choir's data. He had been puzzled earlier. Although the Hymn Choir had numerical superiority, they hadn't given him a particularly strong sense of danger. Now, it was different.
[Comparing intelligence attributes between both sides. Comparison complete. Own intelligence attribute is ??? times that of the enemy. 42.3% of enemy data has been detected.]
Name: Hymn Choir
Category: Sacred Heart Clan / Immortal.
Health Points: 500%
Sacred Power: 90152/95000 points (Physical energy can only provide partial buff stacking.)
Strength: 273 (True Attribute)
Agility: ??? (True Attribute)
Stamina: 270 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: ??? (True Attribute)
Charm: 279 (True Attribute).
Skill 1, World Shackle (World Passive, x): This unit's comprehensive abilities have been permanently reduced. All attributes, technique abilities, passive abilities, etc., have been permanently reduced.
Skill 2, Sacred One (Passive, lv.82): Health Points +32000, ignores all control effects, reduces 92% of Sacred damage, counters same-rank 'Evil Characteristics'.
Skill 3, Sacred Weapon (Passive, lv.79): All attacks deal an additional 500 points + Intelligence Attribute × 4.5 of Sacred damage.
Skill 4, Soul Symbiosis (Passive, lv.78): All attacks deal an additional 470 points + Soul Strength × 6.7 of soul damage.
Skill 5, Technique Grandmaster (Technique Passive, lv.70): Melee attacks deal an additional 350 points + Agility Attribute × 2.7 of True Damage.
???
Skill 6, Spear Grandmaster (Passive, lv.70): ???.
Skill 7, Shield Grandmaster (Passive, lv.68): ???.
Skill 8, Warhammer Grandmaster (Passive, lv.69): ???.
Skill 9, Archery Grandmaster (Passive, lv.69): ???.
???
???
Skill 12, Dead Silence Immersion (Passive, x): During combat, own comprehensive abilities will continuously decrease, up to a maximum reduction of 45% comprehensive ability.
???
Skill 14, Sacred Bloom (Ultimate Skill, ???): This ability has been rendered unusable due to Dead Silence erosion.
Skill 15, Blazing Sun Judgment·Polar Day (Ultimate Skill, x): This ability has been rendered unusable due to Dead Silence erosion.
???
Skill 18, Sacred One·Ascension Blood Song (???): Due to World Shackle (Passive), this ability cannot be used.
...
Obviously, the Hymn Choir was once very powerful. After all, they were one of the two main combat forces of the Healing Church. Considering the original rank of the Gloomy Continent, the Hymn Choir having such combat power was not surprising.
Speaking of which, the strong ones on the Gloomy Continent had their own world's dimensionality reduction attack, which greatly weakened the Hymn Choir's combat power. Subsequently, the Dead Silence outbreak was another major weakening. Being in Dead Silence City for so many years was yet another weakening.
Measured by the current rank of the Gloomy Continent as a top-tier Eighth Rank world, the Hymn Choir, after three layers of weakening, was still powerful.
Currently, the main consciousness of the Hymn Choir was Sacred Heart One. The tip of her spiral spear lightly touched the ground. From the start of the battle, Su Xiao had noticed that the tip of Sacred Heart One's spiral spear was broken off by a small section, about 1 centimeter at the very tip.
Sacred Heart One disappeared from her spot. The next instant, she was in front of Su Xiao, thrusting her spiral spear.
A spiral spear light came head-on. Su Xiao did not dodge or evade. He slashed heavily, diagonally forward.
*Clang!!*
Sparks flew everywhere. The clash of blade and spear tip sent a shockwave spreading out, hitting the surrounding walls. The walls in the rear half of Sacred Heart One's area were covered in slash marks. The walls in the rear half of Su Xiao's area were full of spiral holes.
"Sur (Ancient Language)."
Sacred Heart One shouted lowly. She stepped forward with one foot. Crystal appeared on the ground. Spike-shaped crystal shot towards Su Xiao's chest and face. He immediately leaped backward.
*Crackle crackle crackle~*
Crystal spikes spread, nearly touching Su Xiao's eyeballs. When he leaped back to a safe distance, a gust of wind came head-on. It was Sacred Heart One swinging her spiral spear, smashing it towards him.
It was hard to believe that Sacred Heart One, a Spear Grandmaster at lv.70, would use her spiral spear to smash people.
Just as the spiral spear was smashing down, soul energy appeared. The spiral spear transformed into a long-handled soul warhammer, smashing towards Su Xiao.
*Thump!*
The soul warhammer smashed onto the ground. Su Xiao, who had leaped back again, dodged this strike.
The marble floor was smashed and cracked. After the soul warhammer smashed down, a soul shockwave spread out, catching Su Xiao within it.
Su Xiao's ears buzzed, experiencing brief tinnitus. After that, there was no discomfort.
On the opposite side, as the soul shockwave passed, the soul warhammer in Sacred Heart One's hand transformed into a soul great bow. She leaped backward, drawing the bow and shooting an arrow mid-air. Her golden fishtail braid flew, appearing agile and heroic.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Three soul arrows were shot in succession. For anyone with a soul strength below 500 points, after enduring the previous soul shock, they would enter a 2-3 second stun state. These three arrows would be impossible to dodge. What was even more despairing was that the Pale Hunters were originally hunters trained by the Hymn Choir, showing the strength of the Hymn Choir's archery skills.
*Clang, clang... clang!*
After three rhythmic, crisp sounds, Su Xiao slashed away two soul arrows and horizontally blocked the last one.
For others, soul arrows might be an undefendable attack. But for Su Xiao, as long as he switched the 'Soul Severing Shadow' ability to 'Soul Slash·Soul Core', he could slash away or block soul arrows with his knife.
Su Xiao tilted his head to dodge another soul arrow while pointing his left hand, wearing the Black King Bracer, at Sacred Heart One, who was mid-air. Blood Qi compressed to its limit gathered at his fingertip.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
*Bang!*
A straight Blood Qi blast shot out, breaking through layers of small air waves along the way. It ultimately grazed Sacred Heart One's neck, plowing a semi-cylindrical wound on her neck. The blood that just gushed out from the wound turned into Blood Qi and merged back into the wound.
'Resonance Blood Explosion.'
Blood light surged in Su Xiao's pupils. Almost simultaneously, an explosion occurred on the side of Sacred Heart One's neck, causing her head to tilt.
*Bang!* Blood and bone fragments splattered everywhere. But another surge of golden-white energy appeared on the wound, healing it at a visible rate. It was not surprising that the Hymn Choir had such healing abilities.
A towering Blood Qi phantom appeared above Su Xiao. The half-human, half-Fei phantom raised its beast claw, pointing at Sacred Heart One. A massive amount of Blood Qi gathered at its fingertip, beginning to compress.
'Super·Blood Smoke Cannon!'
*Thump!*
A half-meter thick Blood Smoke Cannon blasted onto the sturdy shield. Even with the defense, Sacred Heart One was sent flying backward.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
*Zheng!*
A blue-green slashing light flashed. Mid-air, a forearm flew out, landing on the ground with a *slap*. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao pointed at this forearm, firing a Blood Smoke Cannon to shatter it. This was to prevent Sacred Heart One from picking up the arm, pressing it to the wound, and healing it. The Hymn Choir could do such a thing.
Seeing the forearm shattered, Sacred Heart One frowned. Flesh surged at the stump of her left arm, quickly growing a fair new arm.
Fighting to this point, Sacred Heart One's eyes were brighter than before. She looked Su Xiao up and down, remembering this person in her heart. The golden energy on her body began to overflow, her aura growing stronger.
Su Xiao retracted the Blood Qi phantom. After the Blood Qi was completely internalized, Cyan Steel Shadow Energy nearly burst forth. Blue arcs of electricity covered the long knife in his hand.
*Boom!* Su Xiao and Sacred Heart One simultaneously disappeared from their spots. When they reappeared, the spiral spear pierced through the air, while the long knife precisely slashed onto the tip of the spiral spear. Normally, this would be a disadvantage, but the tip of Sacred Heart One's spiral spear was broken, which was a weakness.
*Zzzt!* The long knife actually cut into the spiral spear. This caused Sacred Heart One to immediately transform her weapon. A soul warhammer appeared, smashing towards Su Xiao.
A crystal layer climbed onto Su Xiao's left hand, followed by his soul energy covering it. He applied that wonderful feeling of slashing souls with his blade to his fist, then swung his fist sideways, smashing into the incoming soul warhammer.
*Slap!*
Su Xiao shattered the soul warhammer with one punch. This scene caused Sacred Heart One's eyes to widen slightly. She looked at Su Xiao with some incomprehension. She couldn't understand why Su Xiao's soul was so strong.
What made Sacred Heart One even more incomprehensible happened next. Su Xiao performed a straight kick, kicking towards Sacred Heart One.
*Thump!!!*
Sacred Heart One turned into a straight line, flying backward in a straight line. She crashed heavily into the wall, sending rubble flying everywhere as dust surged.
Originally combined into the Hymn Choir, Sacred Heart One, Sacred Heart Seven, Sacred Heart Ten, Saint Seventeen, and Sacred Heart Thirty were now kicked somewhat apart. In the pit on the wall, their upper bodies suddenly separated, one becoming five. Then, they simultaneously spat out a large mouthful of blood. Except for Sacred Heart One, the other four looked at each other, all a bit stunned by the kick.
Su Xiao would not give the Hymn Choir time to breathe. After his right calf regained sensation, he sheathed his long knife, preparing to use 'Blade Path: Blood Shadow' for a single-slash surprise attack charge.
Just then, the five members of the Hymn Choir turned into five streams of golden energy. After each restored their physical bodies, they leaped onto five platforms at the back of the church.
On the platforms, the five Hymn Choir members bowed respectfully, indicating that Su Xiao had not just passed the trial but had defeated them. Among them, Sacred Heart One removed the key pendant from her neck and tossed it to Su Xiao.
[Prompt: You have obtained the Secret Treasure Vault Key.]
[Because you have defeated the Hymn Choir and completed the Warrior Trial, you have obtained 10% World Source (this is a trial reward).]
[Your reputation with the Hymn Choir has increased massively, reaching the highest reputation level.]
[You have obtained the Hymn Choir Mark (this mark will disappear after leaving this world).]
...
A golden mark appeared on the back of Su Xiao's hand. This mark looked somewhat similar to the Healing Church's but seemed simpler.
The gate behind him gradually opened. Not only did this gate open, but a stone door at the back of the Sacred Ten Church also opened.
On the platform above the stone door, Sacred Heart One drew a dagger, stabbed it into her chest, then cut open the wound. Ignoring the spurting blood, she inserted two fingers into her heart and extracted a black crystal from within. It was the Source Stone.
Sacred Heart One tossed the still-bloodied Source Stone over. Su Xiao caught it. He did not immediately absorb it with the Black King Bracer but temporarily stored it away.
Sacred Heart One pointed to the door beneath the stone platform she was on, indicating for Su Xiao to enter.
Baha, who was in the alternate space, appeared. Although Su Xiao had the advantage earlier, Baha was also ready to help fight. But after seeing Sacred Heart One leap back and fire three arrows in succession, it triggered Baha's traumatic memories.
"Boss, the Hymn Choir isn't suddenly going to shoot us a few arrows, are they?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang, who had once been shot in the butt, barked.
Leading Bubu Wang and Baha, Su Xiao walked through the opposite door. This was the back door of the Sacred Ten Church. As soon as he stepped out, he saw several Church Knights stationed in the long courtyard.
Upon seeing the mark on the back of Su Xiao's hand, the several Church Knights stood ramrod straight with a *clang*. They also lowered their heavy shields slightly and bowed their heads slightly to Su Xiao. Only after Su Xiao left the long courtyard did the several Church Knights raise their heads and continue guarding.
Obviously, within the sphere of influence of the Hymn Choir, Su Xiao could now move freely. After passing through the long courtyard, he came to a street lined with rows of Church Knights on both sides. The number of Church Knights was greater than expected.
Continuing forward, Su Xiao arrived inside a palace. After entering, there were three doors in three directions within the palace.
The metal door on the left was half-damaged. Looking inside, it was a huge room with a pond. The scene inside was dilapidated. The water in the pond had dried up, and the aquatic life inside was nothing but bones. There was nothing worth exploring here.
Su Xiao looked at the metal door on the right. This metal door was intact, with a circular groove in the center. This reminded him of the [Hymn Choir Badge] he had obtained earlier.
Having just fought the Hymn Choir, even though the Hymn Choir's condition worsened the longer they fought due to Dead Silence erosion, Su Xiao's current state was not as good as imagined. To be safe, he would wait until the effects of the recovery potion fully manifested before opening this door.
The door at the back of the palace was also closed. Su Xiao approached the door and took out the [Secret Treasure Vault Key] that Sacred Heart One had given him earlier.
The key emitted a faint light and was attracted. Then, the metal door in front opened automatically with a *click-clack*.
Walking inside, Su Xiao first saw empty armor or battle suits on both sides. These were remnants left by members of the Hymn Choir throughout the ages. After passing through this corridor, stairs leading underground appeared ahead.
Descending the stairs, after walking for a few minutes, a silver-gray metal door blocked the way. A circular lock plate was embedded in the door. On the lock plate, a face appeared and said, "Password."
Su Xiao had seen this kind of lock plate face once before. The five Hymn Choir members clearly knew that Su Xiao didn't need a password to enter.
Su Xiao stepped back a few paces. Just as he was about to charge forward for a straight kick, the expression on the lock plate face twisted. It shouted with a breaking voice, "Wait a minute!!"
*Click! Click... Click!*
The lock plate face, at the fastest speed of its life, achieved an excellent time of 0.28 seconds to complete this door opening.
"Three guests, please come in."
The lock plate face smiled with extraordinary enthusiasm.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Baha through the silver-gray metal door. Looking around, it was a treasure vault filled with shelves.
What was even more surprising was that there were people inside. The Anonymous Deer Ge, whom Su Xiao had met a few times before, and the Valhalla Member Snow Monster were currently inside this treasure vault. Each was carrying a bag, both filled with quite a few things.
Hearing the door open, Deer Ge and Snow Monster both stopped their actions and held their weapons, staring at the entrance. When they saw that it was Su Xiao who had entered, Deer Ge quickly hid the short knife in his hand behind his back. Snow Monster was even more straightforward. He sucked in his stomach and tightened his rear, then fell to his knees with a *thump*.
Meanwhile, in a certain building in Dead Silence City, Valhalla Leader Cain was waiting with some anxiety for Deer Ge and Snow Monster to return successfully. Nearby, a figure draped in a dark golden robe and wearing a hood sat nearby. It was none other than Duke.
"Are you sure the treasure vault is there?"
Cain spoke. He never trusted Duke, although the number of teammates he had sold out himself probably amounted to several hundred.
"Of course I'm sure. Because that treasure vault was built by me."
Duke spoke with a metallic electronic voice. For some reason, his tone was somewhat different from when he was in High Wall City.
At this moment, inside the treasure vault.
Su Xiao looked at the two not far away. He didn't feel anger or anything like that, but was puzzled. How did these two get in?
Deer Ge, frozen stiff beside the shelf, swallowed his saliva. He said extremely sincerely, "Bro, if I said I just happened to end up here, would you believe me?"
Su Xiao placed his hand on the hilt of his knife. He obviously didn't believe it. Logically, this treasure vault was managed by the Hymn Choir. After he defeated the Hymn Choir, they gave him the key. That meant this was his property.
Now, Deer Ge and Snow Monster had appeared here and were preparing to loot the contents. This was clearly encroaching on Su Xiao's property, which meant encroaching on the property of a Law Destroyer. However, Law Destroyers were also reasonable. They generally offered the following choices:
a. Immediate execution.
b. Surrender all taken treasures + execution later.
c. Surrender all taken treasures + additional compensation for mental anguish + consider whether to execute.
After Su Xiao defaulted to option 'a' for Deer Ge and Snow Monster, he drew the long knife from his waist, preparing to send these two on their way. Seeing this, Deer Ge and Snow Monster shouted in perfect unison, "We will definitely compensate you for your mental anguish!"
Obviously, a strong will to survive made both Deer Ge and Snow Monster want to choose option 'c'.