Chapter 15: Chance Encounter
The three options for enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash were sharpness, reinforcement limit, and attack power. While he wanted all three, after raising the quality cap of Dragon-Slaying Flash, the strength of the Demon Blade, and its durability, the remaining non-characteristic Primordial Life Force was only enough for a three-way choice.
[You have chosen to permanently increase Dragon-Slaying Flash's sharpness by +120 points.]
[This enhancement is in progress, estimated to be completed within 2 hours. During this period, you may use Dragon-Slaying Flash normally, but try to avoid ultra-high-intensity combat to avoid affecting the results of this enhancement.]
Su Xiao chose to increase sharpness for many reasons. First, he had always been stacking sharpness on Dragon-Slaying Flash. With this additional 120 points of sharpness, Dragon-Slaying Flash's sharpness would reach 830 points.
With such sharpness, coupled with the various abilities Su Xiao had that increased the "Damage Tier Dealt by Blade-Type Weapons," one slash from this blade would be extremely difficult to withstand unless it was an Origin-level, full-rated defensive piece.
Setting aside the fact that pushing weapon sharpness to 830 points was already somewhat insane, what was even more terrifying was the "Damage Tier Dealt by Blade-Type Weapons." In this regard, Su Xiao's Blade Grandmaster +5, Wolf Blood Pendant +2, Technique Sublimation Passive +1, Deep Blue Shadow Title +1, and Basic Passive Shadow Step +1.
After this accumulation, he achieved a "Damage Tier Dealt by Blade-Type Weapons +10" bonus that would make any enemy tremble with fear.
The reasons for choosing to increase Dragon-Slaying Flash's sharpness didn't end there. Increasing the reinforcement limit and attack power—the former was too unreliable, and the latter had more ways to improve.
Allowing the reinforcement limit to reach +16, in Su Xiao's view, was completely a case of looking impressive on the surface but being utterly useless in practice. Being able to reinforce Dragon-Slaying Flash to +14, no, to +13, was already pushing his limits. Going for +15, or breaking the limit to +16, was probably a pipe dream.
Of course, it was possible, such as obtaining rare materials like the [Soul Gem Disc], but even if he obtained the [Soul Gem Disc] now, it would be useless, as it was used for reinforcing Immortal-rank equipment.
Even if he later obtained a heaven-defying item that could 100% raise Dragon-Slaying Flash to +15, he could still devour other Indestructible Abyss Spawns to gain the possibility of breaking the reinforcement limit. There were two such Abyss Spawns in this world alone, and there were likely others elsewhere, but they would require a life-or-death battle.
Sheathing Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao left the office. He first went to the first floor, took the central elevator down to the underground prison, and then opened the alloy door to the third level of the dungeon.
Descending the steps to the third level of the dungeon, Su Xiao pressed one hand against the sensor device on the wall beside him. The highest authority for the third level of the dungeon was activated. As he adjusted it, the gravity crystal walls of all the cells turned from transparent to pitch black, and the sound transmission devices were also shut down.
Su Xiao stopped in front of the Deceiver's cell. As the pitch-black gravity crystal wall rose, the Deceiver, who had been sitting slumped on a wooden chair inside, looked up at Su Xiao.
"These past few days, I've often thought of Mr. Arkas. For an insignificant ant like me to have the honor of following behind him, what a privilege. If only..."
*Zheng~*
A flash of blade light streaked by, slashing across the Deceiver's throat, leaving a cut of dark blue smoke in the air. Before blood could spurt from the wound on the Deceiver's neck, the dark blue smoke surged into his body along the wound.
The Deceiver clutched his throat with one hand, his body unsteady. With a thud, he fell from the chair to the ground. As he crawled aimlessly forward, he raised his other hand with great effort, and a hoarse gurgling sound came from his throat.
The silver-tongued Deceiver couldn't utter another word before his death. His throat had been severed by the Blade of Law Annihilation.
Clearly, Su Xiao, who never listened to an enemy's nonsense and never spoke nonsense to an enemy, was the Deceiver's ultimate nemesis. He didn't give him a chance to speak, so his words that could beguile souls naturally had no room to work.
With a thud, the Deceiver's head weakly hit the ground. As his soul was slain, his pupils quickly dimmed and lost their luster, eventually becoming murky.
The [Hunt List: Blood Pact] was manifested by Su Xiao, floating in front of him. He ran his thumb over the blood-stained blade, then used his thumb, now stained with the Deceiver's blood, to wipe away the Deceiver's name at the top of the Hunt List, along with the long list of names behind it. The handwriting of these words was very small; they were the names the Deceiver had used in his repeated reincarnations.
After wiping away the enemy's name with the enemy's blood, the blood patterns on the edges of the Hunt List became denser, and a prompt appeared.
[The Hunter has successfully hunted the first enemy: The Deceiver.]
[The Deceiver's original bounty was 50 ounces of Space-Time Power. Due to the [Hunt List: Blood Pact] having a five-times bounty, you will receive a total bounty worth 200 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Space-Time Stone Fragments ×15 (This item is equivalent in value; selling it to Reincarnation Paradise will yield 150 ounces of Space-Time Power).]
[You have obtained an Origin-level Gem Box (Upon opening, it will definitely grant a random characteristic, full-rated Origin-level gem. This item is equivalent to 50 ounces of Space-Time Power in this judgment).]
...
Crystal-like fragments appeared in front of Su Xiao. Each crystal fragment inadvertently flowed with a multicolored luster. Staring intently at the flat surfaces of these crystal fragments, it seemed as if nothing was seen, yet it also seemed as if one could see all the changes in the world. These were Space-Time Stone Fragments.
In addition, there was a small treasure chest. This was several times smaller than the chests he had obtained before; it was a gem box. Su Xiao had obtained similar chests before, but this was the first time he had obtained one of such high quality.
This gem box clearly didn't rely on luck. No matter how it was opened, it would yield a full-rated Origin-level gem. That meant at least tens of thousands of Soul Coins in income. This gave Su Xiao a gradual understanding of the value of Space-Time Power.
Su Xiao could be certain of one thing: Space-Time Power was different from materials. Selling this thing to Reincarnation Paradise was the most profitable choice, bar none.
Moreover, the value of Space-Time Power wasn't just in itself; it was also related to Su Xiao's authority level. In short, the higher Su Xiao's Hunter authority level, the higher the selling price Reincarnation Paradise would offer when he sold his obtained Space-Time Power.
To put it in the simplest analogy, assuming the base price of 1 ounce of Space-Time Power was 1, then selling this 1 ounce of Space-Time Power to the Void Tree, or Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, etc., the price would definitely be 1. This was something that could not be changed by any means.
Conversely, if Su Xiao was an 8th Rank Hunter, then selling 1 ounce of Space-Time Power to Reincarnation Paradise would be base price 1 + base price × 0.8 = final price 1.8.
In the past, this thing was difficult to convert into materials of corresponding value because this high-level material could only be sold to the Paradise. Without the corresponding authority, after obtaining it, one could only accumulate it.
Besides the Paradise, Su Xiao only knew of two types of people willing to accept this thing: one was the absolutely neutral units notarized by the Void Tree. Even if such neutral units accepted it, they would only accept small amounts. Presumably, their quota for selling Space-Time Power was limited.
Apart from that, there was that bastard Kaisa. That bastard was never picky about Space-Time Power; he would take as much as he could get. It was also at that time that Su Xiao confirmed that Space-Time Power must be a very high-level resource.
Just a fraction of 50 ounces corresponded to a random Origin-level, full-rated gem. Su Xiao glanced at the Traitor on the [Hunt List], whose bounty was as high as 1500 ounces of Space-Time Power, and suddenly had an ominous premonition. With such a high bounty, this Traitor was terrifyingly strong.
But on the flip side, this was also an opportunity. By using the first mission world of the 9th Rank, he could push his own combat power to the upper echelons of the 9th Rank, or even close to the pinnacle of the 9th Rank.
This wasn't Su Xiao's delusion. The total reward quota for the Hunt List reached 4000 ounces of Space-Time Power. At his current authority level, Space-Time Power was already very valuable, being base price + base price × 0.9. The subsequent bonus corresponded to him being a 9th Rank Hunter.
In fact, before entering this world, Su Xiao had used a massive amount of Soul Coins and resources to achieve Three Grandmasters, plus raising Dragon-Slaying Flash to Origin-level, and greatly enhancing various passives, especially in the Blood Qi system. This gave him, who had just been promoted to the 9th Rank and hadn't yet entered a 9th Rank world, the strength of an upper-middle 9th Rank.
More importantly, no matter what, this was the first world he experienced after being promoted to the 9th Rank. Worlds within the 9th Rank that were too dangerous wouldn't have him teleported in as a newly promoted 9th Rank.
Even so, he still entered a world with a danger level of Lv.56～Lv.85. This was his comprehensive combat power judgment being forced up. If he didn't have his current combat power, he wouldn't have triggered the Hunt List in this world progress, but would have waited at least until the second world he experienced as a 9th Rank.
Even with the judgment of a 9th Rank newcomer, entering a world of mid-9th Rank danger, Su Xiao felt that the 9th Rank world was still manageable. As for Tessa, known as the strongest of the Alliance, his odds of winning against her were fifty-fifty. In a life-or-death battle, it would be six for him, four for Tessa.
He hadn't yet met the strongest general of the Northern Empire, who was said to be on par with Tessa in strength.
What truly made Su Xiao feel threatened was the Platinum Bishop, who was usually unreliable in his actions and very casual in his words and deeds. When meeting him, the feeling of a fifty-fifty chance of winning after a life-or-death battle was slightly stronger than with Tessa.
Su Xiao thought of a problem. If he really succeeded in defeating the Traitor this time, plus obtained 4000 ounces of Space-Time Power, and found the Law Destruction inheritance item, the Awakening Stele, then after converting all the gains into strength, would he be directly thrown into a Transcendent Primordial World in the next world progress?
It wasn't Su Xiao's delusion; he felt this was very likely. He had experienced this before. Not long after being promoted to a rank, due to too rapid combat power growth, after a comprehensive combat power judgment, he was thrown into a War World.
[Prompt: You have killed the Deceiver.]
[You have obtained 11.9% World Source.]
[You have obtained Reincarnation Box (Special treasure chest item. Upon opening, low probability of obtaining Reincarnation Soul Blood, high probability of obtaining Soul-type abilities, etc.).]
...
The kill prompt appeared. Su Xiao had originally thought that with the bounty, there would be no kill reward. It seemed that wasn't the case.
Flicking the blood off the blade, Su Xiao walked out of the prison. Before the gravity crystal wall fell, he threw an ordinary Apollo into the cell where the Deceiver was. This was a habit Su Xiao had developed after encountering the Priest, who had died twice but was still alive.
After a dull thud, Su Xiao left the underground prison. As soon as he reached the first floor of the Asylum, several patients in hospital gowns surrounded him. One bald old man looked at Su Xiao and asked, "Are you the director?"
"Yes."
"Don't put pepper in the lunch soup from now on."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"No."
With that, the several patients in hospital gowns, satisfied, put their hands on their hips and walked towards the courtyard chatting and laughing. But as soon as they went out, a nurse chased after them. It was that old man; he hadn't had his injection today. In no time, this old man displayed a dazzling running technique in the courtyard. Five orderlies behind him couldn't even corner him, cursing under their breath in anger.
When several orderlies issued verbal warnings, the old man directly retorted, "Bah, I'm not even afraid of your director, so why would I be afraid of you?" This angered the orderlies quite a bit.
In front of the office window, Su Xiao watched the old man running in the courtyard below. Seven or eight orderlies couldn't do anything to him. Although this was an asylum, because it was a special department, the patient areas from the first to the fifth floor wouldn't have a sense of oppression. After proper treatment, the mental patients here, aside from having somewhat peculiar thinking, generally weren't aggressive.
"Boss, someone sent this."
Baha flew in and placed an invitation on the table. Su Xiao picked it up and found it was from a high-end restaurant open only to members. The invitation time was noon today.
Su Xiao checked the inviter column and found only a faint lip print. The person who left this lip print must have only applied very light lipstick to leave such a faint mark.
"Oh ho~"
Baha's expression was peculiar. Bubu Wang also came over and barked once, indicating that the lip print wasn't drawn on.
"Boss, I think you're having a romantic encounter."
After saying this, Baha almost laughed out loud.
"Go find Dray and the other two. Also, mobilize 50, no, 100 idle guards. Have Amu come back too. Bubu, go set up comprehensive surveillance equipment around this restaurant."
Su Xiao finished speaking and tossed the invitation in his hand onto the table. His first reaction to this inexplicable romantic encounter was that there was something fishy about it. This location was most likely an assassination ambush.
The most likely culprit was the Black Rose's doing, or perhaps the Black Rose had the Dawn God Cult plan this. Of course, it could also be the remnants under Vice Director Yesinger who had orchestrated this plan.
Since the other party had come to him, there was no need to hide. This was Kusu City. If he didn't dare to confront them here, then Su Xiao had no business coming to this world to hunt down traitors.
After arranging everything, Su Xiao had Bubu Wang drive. On the surface, he only brought Bubu Wang and Baha, but in reality, over a hundred guards, along with the leaders Dray, Silver Face, and Veronica, had already arrived at the designated location and chosen their ambush positions.
The car stopped in front of a pedestrian street. Su Xiao got out and walked along the street. Before long, he arrived at a restaurant.
*Ding ling~*
The doorbell jingled as he entered the restaurant. Su Xiao found that there were no waitstaff here, and only one customer. From the back, this person was female. Her long, soft white hair with a faint hint of light blue was smoothly draped down. The silver earring on her right ear swayed slightly as she slowly chewed her food. The ice-blue ring on her right index finger was clearly not an ordinary item.
"You came after all."
A clear but slightly lazy female voice came. The person with her back to Su Xiao turned her head to look. Even just her profile was enough to captivate anyone. Of course, if Dray wasn't on the second floor of the building across the street, holding a metal pineapple-like stun grenade, ready to pull the triple safety and throw this weapon capable of stunning a 9th Rank leader-level creature into the restaurant, the atmosphere inside might have been more romantic.
"I'm genuinely happy that you could come."
The mysterious woman spoke again. Seeing this, Su Xiao frowned and sat down.
Su Xiao studied the woman across from him, who appeared to be around 20 years old, both elegant and breathtakingly beautiful. The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. This person... somewhat resembled the Northern Princess, who had come to the Alliance a few months ago.
Su Xiao pressed the wireless earpiece in his ear. After a moment, Silver Face walked into the restaurant and placed a stack of photos on the table. Su Xiao dismissed Silver Face and compared the photos. This time, he was certain. The person across from him was the Northern Princess.
More accurately, it was Crystal Princess + Northern Princess.
After confirming this, Su Xiao removed his wireless earpiece and had Baha withdraw the people ambushing the surroundings.
Su Xiao studied the Northern Princess across from him, quite surprised. The combination of Northern Princess + Crystal Princess was completely different from other host-Devourer combinations. Other combinations, like Boiling Red and Elisa, were symbiotic. Both parties had their own consciousness and thoughts and could communicate with each other on a conscious level.
Northern Princess + Crystal Princess was another situation. The consciousnesses of Northern Princess and Crystal Princess had merged without harming each other. The person before him was both the Northern Princess and Crystal Princess.
Black A had chosen the Dark Saint, using the resources of the Dark God Cult to quickly grow stronger. Boiling Red had chosen Elisa, the sister of the Hunter Force leader Tessa and the jewel of the Mono family, who also lacked resources. A family that could nurture Tessa could be imagined in terms of its status within the Alliance.
Crystal Princess had also made a good choice, choosing the Northern Princess, resulting in the scene before him.
The Northern Princess across from him had already finished her meal. She sat upright, looking at Su Xiao with a smile. She appeared elegant and composed, but in reality, her heart rate had already soared to over 130 beats per minute, indicating that she was actually quite flustered inside. Especially the nervousness from Crystal Princess's side, which was an instinctive fear and tension towards the creator.
"Cherish your current leisurely time. Your kind will come looking for you soon."
Su Xiao poured himself a glass of wine. Upon hearing this, the Northern Princess, who was about to pick up her tall wine glass, paused in her action. A hint of cunning gleamed in her eyes as she asked, "My kind? You mean Elisa? We've already met. It was... quite friendly."
The Northern Princess took a small sip of her table wine. Hearing this, Baha laughed.
"Friendly with Boiling Red? Crystal Princess, you just don't understand it well enough. Why do you think that unfilial son Black A went to the Ghost City outside the Alliance? He's hiding over there."
Upon hearing Baha's words, the Northern Princess seemed somewhat moved, but in reality, her mood was quite good. She had hesitated several times before deciding to take the risk and invite Su Xiao, the Dominator, out.
"Northern Princess, are you underestimating our Asylum, or looking down on the Alliance? Even if you die here, even if your sister, the eldest princess of the North, dies here, the North won't do anything. A thousand years of war won't restart because of a single princess. The Holy Capital is the territory of the Council, Sotto City is the territory of the Hunter Force, and here, Kusu City, is the territory of our Asylum."
Baha stared intently at the Northern Princess. Hearing its words, the Northern Princess gained a new understanding of the current situation.
"I have high expectations for all five of you. Don't disappoint me."
Su Xiao put down his empty wine glass. Crystal Princess was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
"Five, huh. Your world is so big. I've become dispensable."
The Northern Princess's tone was melancholic, her gaze sorrowful.
"..."
Su Xiao frowned at the Northern Princess across from him. From the moment he entered, he felt that her tone had an indescribable feeling, like a 'second daughter' who seemed to be a lost cause, and whether to consider starting a new account.
Thinking about it this way, the five Devourers really had their own unique traits, namely:
The Unfilial Son, The Little Cotton Jacket, The Foolish Unfilial Son, The Filial Son, and the one across from him who was half-ruined but seemed salvageable.
Su Xiao guessed that it was Crystal Princess's elegant and somewhat aloof personality, fused with the Northern Princess's composed but slightly lazy personality, that resulted in this wonderfully melancholic state.
"So, why are you wearing a feather coat in the middle of summer?"
Baha pointed to the feather coat hanging on the rack behind the Northern Princess. Although this thing was clearly valuable, wearing it out in the summer was really an odd sight.
"I am the Northern Princess. The North is cold. What's wrong with me wearing a feather coat?"
"But this is the Alliance."
"Yes, but my heart is cold."
"Sigh~"
Baha had a stomach full of complaints to make. It was so uncomfortable that it kept rubbing its face with its wings. As the team's mental damage dealer who had never lost a verbal fight, it was truly stumped by the Northern Princess this time. Mainly, it couldn't insult the Northern Princess.
"Oh, cut it out. Hurry up and leave. I hope Boiling Red takes care of you soon."
Baha didn't want to continue talking to the Northern Princess. Seeing this, the Northern Princess let out a pitiful sigh. She shifted her gaze to Su Xiao. After locking eyes with him, she stood up, gave a slight bow, then draped her feather coat over her shoulders and left.
After the Northern Princess left, Su Xiao began to consider the serious matters. The old director had already been contacted. The Merchant Alliance had a ship heading to Skull Island tomorrow morning to purchase dark sea beast-produced supernatural materials and unique supernatural resources from the dark sea from the hunting groups there.
Everything was ready. He could set sail tomorrow morning for the eerie and mysterious Nightmare Island to find the [Golden Pot] and confirm whether the Nightmare King there was the Informant. If so, it would be a windfall.
Nightmare Island had indeed been invaded by Abyss Energy in the past, but this had both advantages and disadvantages. After being invaded by Abyss Energy, as long as it recovered, the island would begin to produce a massive amount of various supernatural resources. Over the years, the Nightmare King was certainly richer than imagined.
If the Nightmare King was indeed one of the six traitors, the Informant, then he could act according to the Law Destruction formula.
Law Destruction's unique formula: The traitor's wealth = the enemy's wealth = unowned wealth = for the capable to possess = to be developed = can be privatized = mine.
Su Xiao left the restaurant and walked along the pedestrian street. As he pondered the sea voyage, he casually glanced at the street diagonally opposite. Because he took that one extra look, he locked eyes with a pair of vertical pupils, eyes like those of a dragon. The person he encountered was none other than Dragon God Dean and his three teammates.
"It's the Hunter from Reincarnation Paradise. Be careful."
An old man beside Dragon God Dean spoke. A female contractor further back asked in confusion, "Dean, his aura is locking onto you. Do you have a grudge from before?"
"This..."
Dragon God Dean was momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn't very well say that it was more than just a grudge. A long time ago, he thought Bai Ye had killed his brother. Then, he had failed in tracking him four times. Finally, he succeeded in tracking him in the Gloomy Continent, all the way to Dead Silence City. There, with his 9th Rank strength suppressed to 8th Rank, he had a life-or-death battle with him and still lost.
Ask yourself, was there anything more embarrassing than tracking someone for four world progressions, failing repeatedly, finally succeeding, and then losing the fight?
The answer was: Yes. Not only did he lose, but he also dropped a large portion of the resources he had gained that time while fleeing, benefiting the enemy.
Ask yourself, was there anything more embarrassing than having your resources benefit the enemy?
The answer was: Yes. It turned out that his long-standing revenge was actually against the wrong person. Dean's brother was not killed by Su Xiao at all.
Ask yourself, was there anything more embarrassing than tracking someone for four world progressions, catching up, losing the fight, and then finding out you had the wrong enemy?
The answer was: Yes. All of this was because Dean had been clearly and thoroughly set up by a dead Violator.
Dragon God Dean's loss of face had already reached the heavens. To make matters worse, his teammates were present at the time. So when his teammates asked about it, he was at a loss for words and prepared to stay behind to duel Su Xiao, allowing his teammates to retreat.
PS: (Rest day on Sunday. To survive, Fei Wen will rest every Sunday from now on. Please understand, dear readers.)