Chapter 72: Teleportation
Among the three reward options, whether it was the [Skill Upgrade Pod Free Use Permission (One Time)] or the [Honor Medal ×16], both were very tempting rewards. Presumably, the [Golden Chest] that appeared alongside them was also a rare item.
However, compared to the first two, Reward 3 held less appeal for Su Xiao. After weighing his options, he ultimately chose Reward 2.
[You have obtained 16 Honor Medals. You can use these medals to exchange for supplies in the Honor Shop.]
[Tip: As the current World War has ended, the stock of rare supplies in the Honor Shop will refresh in 30 minutes.]
...
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao, whose entire body was sore and aching from 70 hours of intense training in the Land of All Beings, had Amu lift the sofa and place it in front of the Honor Shop.
Sitting on the single sofa, Su Xiao felt much more comfortable. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha all gathered around, while Beini jumped onto Bubu Wang's head. They all surrounded the Honor Shop, waiting for it to refresh.
Although his whole body was sore and tired, Su Xiao clearly felt that his current state was vastly different from before. In the past, after more than 50 hours of intense training, he would feel drowsy and on the verge of collapse.
Training for 50 hours meant continuously firing Blood Smoke Cannons at full power during that period. Each time he fired a full-power Blood Smoke Cannon, the over 1,500 Soul Avatars around him would also fire Blood Smoke Cannons of the same caliber. Afterwards, these Soul Avatars would transform into Soul Energy and surge toward Su Xiao.
In other words, firing a single full-power Blood Smoke Cannon in the Land of All Beings was equivalent to using this ability over a thousand times at full strength. Any shortcomings or areas for improvement would become crystal clear.
To put it in data terms: when Su Xiao develops a new skill, its initial level is lv.1. The advantage of self-developing abilities is that they don't consume resources. The disadvantage is that the improvement speed is relatively slow, relying solely on personal refinement, commonly known as accumulating proficiency.
Self-developing abilities have both pros and cons. If someone isn't from the Paradise faction, after developing an ability, they would practice daily. Perhaps after a whole day of practice, they might only gain 3 to 5 proficiency points. After months, a year, ten years, or even twenty years of such relentless training, the ability would finally reach its peak, reaching X. This isn't surprising; it's the advantage of self-developing abilities—they can reach their maximum level through accumulated proficiency.
As a contractor of the Paradise faction, Su Xiao naturally doesn't have ten years, or even longer, to perfect a single technique. Logically, he shouldn't self-develop abilities. But without self-development, the advantages of a Technique Type would be reduced by at least half.
What is a Technique Type? It means that as long as the body can withstand it, the skills derived from techniques have no concept of cooldown time.
How to quickly level up self-developed abilities? The answer is naturally the Land of All Beings. Still using proficiency as an analogy: if the previous Blood Smoke Cannon was lv.25 (1/1300 proficiency), then Su Xiao only needs to fire one Blood Smoke Cannon in the Land of All Beings, and the proficiency of this ability would increase by at least a thousand points.
This is the power of the Land of All Beings, and why the Paradise War was so brutal back then. Even Reincarnation Paradise had to strip this facility from Dawn Paradise's certification rights.
Therefore, training on the eighth floor of the Land of All Beings not only tests the body but also whether one's spirit and will are strong enough. This time, after training, Su Xiao still had the energy to wait for the Honor Shop to refresh because his Willpower attribute had quietly increased significantly, thanks to the boost from the Black King Bracer.
[Soul · King's Coronation]
Origin: Source · Dead Silence City
Quality: Origin Level
Equipment Requirement: Only the King of Silence can wear (Achieved).
Basic Effect: Exempt from dying state until death (This bonus has high priority).
Equipment Effect 1: Extinction (Core · Active)...
Equipment Effect 2: Silence Descends (Core · Active)...
Equipment Effect 3: Soul Nourishment (Core · Passive): Your Soul Power will slowly nourish your Willpower, permanently increasing your True Willpower.
Tip: The higher your Soul Strength, the stronger the nourishment to your True Willpower attribute.
Current Seal Level of [Silence Source]: Five Seals (The fewer the seals, the stronger this equipment).
Warning: If the seals are reduced to one, [Silence Source] will bring many uncertainties and dangers. Only when your own Soul Power is strong enough should you consider completely removing this seal effect, thereby fully releasing the power of [Silence Source].
Rating: 3000 points (As seals are removed, this equipment's rating will increase).
Selling Price: Cannot be sold.
...
Su Xiao's Soul Strength is 650 points. After triggering the [Soul Nourishment] effect of the Black King Bracer, the magnitude of the increase to his Willpower attribute can be imagined.
After successfully sealing the [Silence Source] into his bracer, Su Xiao's Willpower attribute permanently upgraded to True Willpower attribute and was displayed in his personal data list as 210 points. Some time had passed since he first equipped the upgraded Black King Bracer, and the initial stage of triggering the [Soul Nourishment] effect brought the most noticeable increase. Therefore, his current Willpower attribute has increased to:
[True Willpower: 285 points.]
A full increase of over 70 points is both surprising and reasonable. After all, it's 650 points of Soul Strength nourishing the Willpower attribute. If even the most obvious initial stage of nourishment couldn't achieve this effect, then a Soul Strength exceeding 600 points wouldn't be qualified as the main attribute of the Soul System.
Su Xiao was curious whether, if his True Willpower exceeded 300 points, he would need to use the [Iron Forging Invitation] to undergo the most difficult trial, the Iron Trial.
For attributes like Strength, Agility, Stamina, Charm, and Intelligence, if one breaks through the 300-point mark without undergoing the Iron Trial, there will be no attribute reward. It is said that 300 points is the last attribute reward and also the strongest one.
The attribute reward derived from each type of 300-point True Attribute is no less powerful than an X-level Ultimate Passive ability. This gives an idea of its strength.
Su Xiao estimated that when True Willpower, a relatively special attribute, reaches 300 points, it might not require the [Iron Trial]. Whether the derived attribute reward is powerful can be somewhat estimated from the attribute reward obtained when True Willpower reached 200 points.
[True Willpower 200-point Attribute Reward · Fearless Shadow (Special Reward): Completely negates [Will Invasion] caused by Original Sin Objects and Abyss Spawn.]
Back when he didn't know that Original Sin Objects were "Daddy-level" artifacts, Su Xiao only felt this ability was decent. But now, it seems this ability is very powerful.
However, being able to negate the [Will Invasion] of "Daddy-level" artifacts doesn't mean one can safely use them. It only avoids a portion of the risk.
[Tip: The Honor Shop is about to refresh. 3, 2, 1.]
[The Honor Shop has refreshed.]
...
Su Xiao, who had already opened the Honor Shop list, saw that the stock of [Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest] had instantly changed from 0 to 63.
[You have paid 5 Honor Medals.]
[You have obtained Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest ×1.]
[Insufficient stock, cannot continue exchanging.]
...
The 63 [Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chests] turned into a stock of 0 in the blink of an eye, taking less than 0.5 seconds in total. It was understandable; regardless of whether one needed it, buying a [Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest] for 5 Honor Medals was a huge profit.
Although this item couldn't be sold at the Great Gathering Place, it could be sold at a high price to fellow contractors and was particularly easy to sell.
Su Xiao had 12 Honor Medals left. Only then did he have the leisure to look at the newly refreshed Honor Shop list. After scrolling past the various supply potions at the top, several exchange options appeared before him.
[Soul Supply Box (★★)]
Effect: Upon opening, obtain Soul Crystal Core ×10.
Price: 2 Honor Medals (The price of this supply has been significantly reduced).
Total Stock: 17.
Tip: This supply stock refreshes after each World War victory.
...
[Soul Supply Box (★)]
Effect: Upon opening, obtain Soul Crystal (Complete) ×100.
Price: 1 Honor Medal (The price of this supply has been significantly reduced).
Total Stock: 370.
Tip: This supply stock refreshes after each World War victory.
...
[Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest]
Effect: Upon opening, obtain the highest potential [Basic Passive] scroll.
Tip: There are a total of seven types of [Basic Passive], corresponding to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, Charm, Perception, and Soul attributes.
Tip: The Hunter has already mastered five Basic Passive abilities corresponding to Stamina, Intelligence, Charm, Perception, and Soul attributes.
Tip: When opening this chest, it will not produce Basic Passive types that the Hunter has already mastered (Only Basic Passive scrolls corresponding to Strength and Agility attributes will appear).
Price: 5 Honor Medals.
Total Stock: 0.
Tip: This supply stock refreshes after each World War victory.
...
[Bloodbath Frenzy (Overlord Level Equipment)]
Category: Slaughter Characteristics, ??? Rating.
Price: 3 Honor Medals.
Personal Stock: 1.
...
[Emergency Assistance (Permission)]
Effect: This item can be used during a pursuit. After use, you will receive reinforcements from a fellow Ninth Rank Hunter within 5 seconds...
...
[Original Sin Object (Fake)]
Category: Imitation [Original Sin Object] crafted by the Night Witch Guild. After exchanging for this, you will randomly draw one [Original Sin Object (Fake)].
Price: 5 Honor Medals.
Stock: 61 items.
Tip: The price of Original Sin Object (Fake) ranges from 1 to 45 Honor Medals. It can be sold to Reincarnation Paradise to obtain the corresponding number of Honor Medals.
...
[Team Skill Card Chest]
Effect: Upon opening, randomly draw a Team Skill (Draw range: lower limit to upper limit, Team Skill Card lv.1 to X).
Price: 1 Honor Medal.
Stock: 999.
Tip: When the Hunter is promoted to Ninth Rank and the Honor Shop refreshes once, this exchange option will definitely appear.
...
[Soul Blade · Secondary Weapon (Short Sword, Short Blade, or Adaptive Cling)]
List: Skill Scroll. Due to the special nature of this skill, the default level upon mastery is X. The ability's strength is determined by the master's own Soul Strength and maximum Body Energy.
Price: 45 Honor Medals.
Personal Stock: 1 scroll.
...
Seeing the last item, Su Xiao was very interested in it. Although it was called Soul Blade, its usage scope was not limited to blades.
From the description, this ability uses one's own Body Energy as a base for energy materialization, then enhances its lethality with Soul Energy, forming a secondary weapon, such as a short sword or short blade. If needed, it could also cling to the hands and forearms, allowing for heavy blows with fists in emergencies.
Su Xiao felt that this ability had a very high compatibility with him. Not to mention his 650-point Soul Strength, his Body Energy, i.e., Mana Points, was as high as 60,128. Furthermore, he could externalize and crystallize energy to construct Soul Crystal short swords, further enhancing the power of this ability.
In some special situations, such as during negotiations with an enemy, suddenly taking out Dragon-Slaying Flash from the storage space was certainly possible, but it was far inferior to suddenly constructing a Soul Crystal short sword in hand and slicing off half the enemy's head.
This Soul Skill Scroll was good in every aspect except for one thing: it was too expensive. The price of 45 Honor Medals was daunting.
As for the other exchange options, Su Xiao frowned when he saw [Bloodbath Frenzy]. This was an old acquaintance. Ever since this item was refreshed, it had stuck to Su Xiao's Honor Shop like a stubborn plaster. The key point was that it kept lowering its price every now and then. Last time he saw it, it was priced at 5 Honor Medals, but now it had become 3 Honor Medals.
Su Xiao ignored it. As for the [Personal Stock] displayed below the items, this was easy to understand. Items showing [Personal Stock] could only be exchanged in Su Xiao's own Honor Shop. Items without this display meant that other Hunters also had this exchange option in their Honor Shops, sharing a common stock quantity.
The newly appeared exchange option [Team Skill Card Chest] could be exchanged for just 1 Honor Medal. When he first saw this chest, Su Xiao was in a good mood. But after seeing the note below (Draw range: lower limit to upper limit, Team Skill Card lv.1 to X), he knew that if he didn't want to waste Honor Medals, he should pretend this exchange option didn't exist.
Although the Goddess of Fortune's previous mention of the fortune electrocardiogram didn't sound pleasant, the truth often isn't nice.
However, seeing the [Soul Blade · Secondary Weapon] and [Original Sin Object (Fake)] further down made one think that even the fortune electrocardiogram would have its peaks. Moreover, with the 12 Honor Medals on hand, he couldn't really buy much. What if he got lucky and drew the 45 Honor Medal [Soul Blade · Secondary Weapon]? That would be a huge profit.
[You have paid 5 Honor Medals.]
[You have exchanged for Original Sin Object (Fake).]
[Silver Duke]
Category: Original Sin Object (Fake).
Status: Sealed (If you choose to unseal, when selling this item to the Honor Shop, you need to pay 2 Honor Medals for sealing before selling).
Price: 4 Honor Medals.
...
[You have sold Silver Duke.]
[Your current Honor Medals: 11.]
...
After doing all this, Su Xiao closed the Honor Shop, acting as if nothing had happened. He took out the [Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest] he had just exchanged and chose to open it.
[You have obtained Basic Passive · Shadow Speed (Corresponds to True Agility Attribute).]
[Basic Passive · Shadow Speed, lv.1.]
Type: Basic · Passive Scroll.
Prerequisite: Agility Attribute 5 points.
Skill Effect 1: Your Body Speed +2 points (Body Speed includes Movement Speed, Attack Speed, Basic · Nerve Reflex Speed, Basic · Dynamic Vision, Perception Speed, etc.).
Skill Effect 2: The damage tier caused by melee weapons +1 (Adapts upon mastery. If the Hunter masters this ability, it will adapt to: Damage tier caused by blade-type weapons +1).
Skill Effect 3: Your Technique-type abilities, Body Energy, and Core Skills' True Damage increase by 1%.
...
Without any hesitation, Su Xiao directly used this skill scroll.
[You have mastered Basic Passive · Shadow Speed, lv.1.]
After successfully mastering the [Basic Passive · Shadow Speed] ability, Su Xiao tried to consult the imprint authority about the cost of upgrading this ability. The result was:
[To upgrade Basic Passive · Shadow Speed lv.1, requires consuming 1000 Soul Coins (The upgrade cost has been reduced by 20% through the Reincarnation · Honor Medal).]
Seeing this upgrade price, Su Xiao had a vague premonition of doom. This ability would definitely be much more expensive to upgrade than Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness, and it was a very late-stage ability.
It was the kind of ability where investing 100,000 Soul Coins wouldn't bring much improvement to oneself, but once the ability was fully upgraded, the benefits it brought would be astonishingly strong.
Such a late-stage ability made Su Xiao decide not to upgrade it for now. He would wait until he had upgraded [Basic Passive · Spirit Toughness] and [Basic Passive · Blood Awakening] to X, then invest all his Soul Coins into this ability.
[Tip: Your stay time limit has been reached. You are about to return to the Real World.]
[Teleportation begins.]
Su Xiao's vision blurred for a moment, and the next second, he was on the second floor of the Accessory Shop.
The peaceful Real World life began. When Su Xiao went downstairs, Amu had already pulled up the shop's rolling shutter door. Baha was opening windows for ventilation and turning on the sweeping robot. Soon, Beini jumped onto the sweeping robot. But not long after, Bubu Wang discovered the joy in it and decisively jumped on as well.
A moment later, the remains of the sweeping robot were placed on the coffee table. Su Xiao, Baha, and Beini gathered around, preparing to try repairing it. Beside them, Bubu Wang, with a slipper on his head and a few cat scratch marks on his face, yawned, considering what to have for lunch.
Until noon, the sweeping robot was successfully revived. Bubu Wang even modified it, adding functions like magnetic adhesion, automatic trash bin cleaning, automatic mop washing, and a mechanical prosthetic body. It was so practical that Amu, holding a mop in front of the bathroom, looked very confused.
Su Xiao put down the Alchemy book he was reading. This was one of the benefits of his promotion to Ninth Rank. As long as this type of knowledge item was taken out of the storage space and not too far from him, it was within the scope of permission.
Unknowingly, four days passed. Before this, besides reading ancient Alchemy texts, Su Xiao was also considering a problem: how to stably obtain Soul Coins.
His trip to Arcane Eternal Star had brought him a windfall, but this windfall had been completely depleted within a few days. He had over 10,000 Soul Coins left before, but after replenishing various supplies for the new world and the material costs for concocting potions, he only had 3,700 Soul Coins left. This was the insurance he kept, thanks to the lesson learned from Brother Wu San.
Su Xiao wasn't sure which new world he was going to this time, but he was quite confident in hunting down his enemies. First, his strength had been continuously improving recently. Having reached his current level, he couldn't quite gauge his exact standing among the Ninth Rank.
Besides this, due to the contract in Dead Silence City, Saint Poem from Holy Light Paradise's Healing System would accompany him into the new mission world. Having a Healing System member along would undoubtedly make the situation more stable.
[Tip: You are about to return to Reincarnation Paradise.]
The familiar teleportation sensation appeared. When Su Xiao's vision cleared, he had returned to his Exclusive Room. He checked his imprint and saw a pending email. Opening it, he found it was from Saint Poem, indicating that she was ready on her end and was just waiting for Su Xiao's team invitation.
Being in different Paradise factions, as long as it wasn't a World War or a special world progress, they could actually enter a mission world together. However, there was a prerequisite: they had to join one side's team before entering the world. Previously, this required a rather troublesome process to achieve, but after being promoted to Ninth Rank and being able to go to the Great Gathering Place, this was no longer a problem.
When Su Xiao arrived at the Great Gathering Place with Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini, he saw Saint Poem sitting by the fountain pool, exuding the temperament of a friendly older sister. Don't be fooled by this temperament; when Saint Poem held funerals for enemies, her temperament was quite different.
Speaking of which, the team formed by Su Xiao and Saint Poem was quite compatible. Su Xiao was responsible for killing the enemy, and Saint Poem was responsible for burying them. The division of labor was clear.
"Very punctual."
Saint Poem spoke.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't say anything, just sent a team invitation. After confirming that Saint Poem had joined the team, he sat by the pool with a serious expression.
"Are you always this serious?"
"Not really."
"Then what's this about?"
"The world progress starts in five minutes. The teleportation is about to begin."
"So why do you look so serious? By the way, now that we're teaming up, does that mean I'll be teleported into the mission world by Reincarnation Paradise this time? This is my first time being teleported by Reincarnation Paradise. It's a new experience."
As she spoke, Saint Poem looked relaxed. She took out a hair tie, tied her hair into a single ponytail, looked in a small mirror, and nodded with satisfaction.
[Hunt List: Blood Pact has been activated. Teleportation will begin in 10 seconds...]
"Boss, here it comes."
"..."
"Moo."
"Woof!"
"Meow meow meow!"
Beini raised her two front paws and covered the back of her head.
Seeing this scene, Saint Poem felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. She asked, "What are you..."
Boom!!
Before Saint Poem could finish her sentence, she felt as if a heavy hammer had struck the back of her head. There was no real impact, but it felt like her soul was being blasted forward. Then, her vision went completely black. At that moment, she experienced what Reincarnation Paradise's teleportation was like.
However, Saint Poem might not have imagined that after entering this world, she would also get to experience the Demon Race's space teleportation.