Chapter 3: Having a lot of free time, a lord with a fief is quite leisurely, and by then, he can complete the "Hunt List: Blood Pact" and compete for the fragments of the "Initial Mark." If he encounters significant resistance during that time, he can consider transferring the legions from the main battlefield.
For now, what Su Xiao had to deal with was the trouble brought by obtaining the lord's position. Without a doubt, he had been dragged into the conflict between the Beast King and the family forces. This time, he was teleported to the wilderness teleportation array of the Sea Clan because, among the seven great families of the Beast Clan, the Jackal and Serpent Witch families had secretly made a move.
One should return a favor with a favor. As Su Xiao pondered this, he had already arrived at the teleportation tower in the southern part of the city. This time, he didn't take out his lord's badge but instead pulled out a Soul Crystal (Large) and quietly tossed it to the squad leader in front of the space tower.
The Wild Boar-headed squad leader cleared his throat, raised his snout, and crossed his hairy arms over his chest, as if there was something interesting in the sky. The other Wild Boar clan members under his command also struck the same pose. Only after Su Xiao entered the space tower did the Wild Boar squad leader return to his previous stern expression.
At the top floor of the space tower, a crisp clicking sound came as Su Xiao adjusted the dial, gradually activating the teleportation array, which finally started.
Everything around blurred for a moment, and as the spatial gray mist dissipated, everything became clear. The early autumn chill of the main city drifted in through the window. As Su Xiao walked out of the teleportation tower, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha were already waiting there. Originally, the three of them had planned to go to the outskirts outside Iron Fort City to provide reinforcements, but Su Xiao had them stay in the main city to investigate a few matters.
Seeing Su Xiao emerge from the teleportation tower, Baha flew over and said, "Boss, I've investigated everything. This was done by the Jackal and Serpent Witch families, with the Iron Pattern family's shadow as well. But I estimate that the Iron Pattern family only provided the spatial technology; they probably aren't too clear on the specifics."
The intelligence Baha gathered was similar to what the Sea Clan dwarf vice-officer had said. The masterminds behind this matter were three parties: the Jackal family, the Serpent Witch family, and the Sea God Cult on the Sea Clan's side. These three parties had joined forces, using each other's hands to eliminate their own enemies.
As for the Sea God Cult, Su Xiao wasn't planning to deal with them for now. They were already an enemy faction, so it was normal for them to oppose him. But the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family were allies within the faction. Such backstabbing behavior had to be dealt with first.
Arriving at the hotel Bubu Wang had booked, it had to be said that within this world, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha could move around very conveniently. This was the Beast Clan's kingdom. Canine creatures with high intelligence were not uncommon, and talking eagles were even more plentiful. As for Amu, anyone who didn't know would think he was a local.
After taking a hot bath in the guest room's bathroom, Su Xiao's fatigue grew stronger. He picked up the intelligence Baha had gathered and looked it over, finding that there was still plenty of time. He would deal with it after waking up. Last night, he had been killing enemies in his Bloodthirsty Battle Armor all night long. Now that he was relaxing, he felt a slight sense of exhaustion all over.
When Su Xiao woke up, it was already noon. The first thing he did upon waking was to check his own information. As expected, his Charm Attribute, which had gone from blood red to dark red at -17 points, could no longer hold and had slipped to -18 points.
Last night, he had nearly annihilated a Sea Clan legion, causing his Charm Attribute to shift from dark red toward black. It looked like when the Charm Attribute reached -20 points, the displayed value would turn pure black.
Compared to the golden font of his True Attributes like Strength and Agility, the black Charm Attribute was the most eye-catching.
Compared to the Charm Attribute, what Su Xiao couldn't understand was that he had killed so many enemies last night, yet not a single treasure chest had dropped. However, the good news was that his faction reputation had gone from -38,950 points to -15,480 points. This meant that eliminating an enemy legion could earn him about 20,000 reputation points.
Su Xiao needed to quickly turn his reputation positive and accumulate over 28,600 reputation points. The reason was that he wanted to exchange all the [Soul Crystal] in the faction shop as soon as possible.
[Soul Crystal]
Stock Quantity: 22 pieces (replenished irregularly).
Exchange Prerequisite: Reputation Rank: Lord Rank (Achieved).
Single Exchange Price: 1,300 reputation points.
...
The [Soul Crystal] he had obtained before was sold by Su Xiao to the Goblin Merchant Guild. One of these was roughly equivalent to 120 Soul Crystal Cores, a 120-fold difference in price between the two.
But in the Beast Clan's faction shop, [Soul Crystal] cost 1,300 reputation points each, while [Soul Crystal Core] cost 120 reputation points each, a reputation price difference of only about 10 times.
The reason for such a huge profit wasn't a pricing error in the reputation shop. Rather, in the exchange prerequisites, exchanging for Soul Crystal Cores only required reaching the "Chieftain Rank" reputation tier, while exchanging for [Soul Crystal] required the "Lord Rank" reputation tier. That was the reason for the huge price difference.
Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be much urgency. The "Lord Rank" threshold was a barrier, and other competitors probably wouldn't be that fast. But the situation in this world was different.
It seemed that, in some intangible way, he could sense three pairs of undead-system eyes staring at these [Soul Crystal]. But the good news was that these three people would find it harder to gain a high status than others. Major powers were very wary of the undead system.
The problem was that a guy skilled with a broadsword, a divine stick, and a female powerhouse with Abyss System abilities were all in this world.
The broadsword user was naturally Big Brother Henren. The "Lord Rank" prerequisite in the faction shop might not necessarily stop this guy. Who knew what he would do?
Shenfu also needed to be guarded against. This old fellow had too many tricks. Although he was a Violator, this world was certified by the Void Tree, meaning Shenfu could normally use the faction shop and communication platform.
The female powerhouse with Abyss System abilities was naturally Demon Scythe: Talid. Her abilities were strong, no doubt, but the cost of improving them was really no lower than that of the undead system, technique type, or magic type.
The situation was now very clear: many wolves, little meat. Su Xiao never considered himself a chosen one. As for the idea that only he could obtain the lord position and others didn't have such means, he had never had that thought. Therefore, among a pack of wolves, he would be satisfied to snatch 5 to 10 of the 22 [Soul Crystal].
Moreover, the faction shop would be replenished later, meaning the total stock of [Soul Crystal] wasn't just the 22 pieces currently seen.
Just as Su Xiao was preparing to deal with the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family, a notification from the Void Tree appeared.
[Notification: All contractors have been in this world for 24 hours. The first certification will begin.]
[First certification content: Void Tree Basic Certification Mechanism, Legend Rank Leaderboard.]
[Legend Rank Acquisition Method: For every 1 point of faction reputation gained, 10 points of Legend Rank are obtained. Legend Rank cannot be used for exchange or transfer, only for ranking purposes.]
[As this is a Transcendent Primordial World, leaderboard rewards are increased by 50%.]
[Due to the danger level of this world, leaderboard rewards are increased by 12%.]
[The rewards for this round of the Legend Rank Leaderboard are as follows:]
First Place: Origin Stone: Extreme Luck (Significantly increases Luck Attribute. This item is closely related to fortune, karma, etc. After acquisition, it will be in an untradeable, non-transferable bound state).
Second Place: Overlord Badge (After use, can be converted into 85% to 90% World Source in any Primordial World. The specific amount obtained depends on the world rank, world danger level, etc.).
Third Place: Ritual: Soul Awakening (Ritual scroll, can deeply strengthen Soul System basic abilities).
Fourth Place: Evening Banquet Invitation (With this invitation, you can participate in the Bloodthirsty Evening Banquet and obtain Hunter qualifications during the Hunting Blood Night, fully savoring the 'sweetness' of the hunt. Finally, you can sell the obtained spoils to the Greedy, thereby gaining a 'massive' amount of Soul Coin income).
Fifth Place: Crimson Fragment (Abyss characteristic item).
Sixth to Tenth Place: Can obtain corresponding 10 to 50 Soul Crystal Cores.
Tenth to Fiftieth Place: Can obtain 2,000 to 9,000 Soul Coins.
...
Seeing the first-place reward, Su Xiao's brow furrowed slightly. He had naturally heard of [Origin Stone: Extreme Luck]. This was an Origin Stone in the tier just below "Origin Stone: World." If not for the BUG-level "Origin Stone: World," [Origin Stone: Extreme Luck] could be called a top-tier Origin Stone.
However, due to the characteristics of [Origin Stone: Extreme Luck], it couldn't be transferred after acquisition, similar to the Black King Bracer or Wolf Blood: Moon Ornament. Once obtained, it underwent a soul binding. What [Origin Stone: Extreme Luck] did was a binding related to karma.
The problem was, could this Origin Stone really enhance the Law Destruction faction's fortune? Even the Goddess of Fortune, the strongest luck-type deity, had no way to enhance the Law Destruction faction's fortune, unless she consumed divine blood to achieve a temporary boost.
Therefore, Su Xiao estimated that obtaining this [Origin Stone: Extreme Luck] would most likely be useless. No, it would be useful. Using it to strengthen Dragon-Slaying Flash to +14 would definitely be 100% successful, but he felt that would be a terrible waste.
Compared to raising Dragon-Slaying Flash from +13 to +14, the second-place reward, [Overlord Badge], was clearly better. Using it in other ninth-rank worlds in the future would at least yield a benefit of 35 to 40 True Attribute Points.
The third-place [Ritual: Soul Awakening] was useless to Su Xiao. He didn't have a Soul System "Basic Ability." "Basic Ability" and "Basic Passive" were two different concepts.
The fourth-place [Evening Banquet Invitation] was decent, but not as practical as [Overlord Badge].
From this perspective, Su Xiao really needed to strive for second place this time. That was the way to maximize benefits. Looking at the communication list in the contact platform, which included Big Brother Henren, Demon Scythe: Talid, the Ranger Quartet, Solomon, the Undead Girl, the Antlered Man, Shenfu, and Black Demon, Su Xiao felt the pressure to compete for second place was considerable. He chose to check the current leaderboard.
[Leaderboard refreshed. Current ranking as follows:]
First Place: Big Brother Henren (Reincarnation Paradise), 85,500 Legend Rank.
Second Place: Demon Scythe: Talid (Holy Light Paradise), 85,410 Legend Rank.
Third Place: Shenfu (Sanctuary Paradise), 72,900 Legend Rank.
Fourth Place: Aige (Apocalypse Paradise): 71,850 Legend Rank.
Fifth Place: Enzuo (Death Paradise), 68,950 Legend Rank.
Sixth Place: Kaiyin (Death Paradise), 62,350 Legend Rank.
Seventh Place: Black Demon (Reincarnation Paradise), 58,320 Legend Rank.
Eighth Place: Antlered Man (Death Paradise), 46,600 Legend Rank.
...
...
Three hundred sixty-ninth place: Bee (Reincarnation Paradise): 1 Legend Rank.
Three hundred seventieth place: Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise): -154,800 Legend Rank.
...
Su Xiao's gaze lingered on the name "Bee" for a few seconds, then, thinking he roughly understood what was going on, he stopped paying much attention.
Due to the opening of the leaderboard, Su Xiao found the communication channel particularly lively. Before opening the communication channel, he first checked the contractor list beside it, finding that the number of people on this list had increased significantly. It was clear that the second batch of contractors had entered this world. He scrolled down, glanced at it casually, and then closed it.
Just as Su Xiao was about to open the contact platform, his eyes narrowed slightly. He reopened the contractor list and scrolled to the middle-lower section. Three names appeared in his vision. For some reason, he suddenly felt a windfall coming his way.
Su Xiao reopened the communication channel.
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "The Violators have formed an alliance. Is there any Hunter, Death Ranger, or Battle Angel to take care of this?"
Big Brother Henren (Reincarnation Paradise): "Is that so? Tell me more. Where are you? Let's meet and talk."
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Uh... can someone else handle this?"
Big Brother Henren (Reincarnation Paradise): "Do you not trust me, a Hunter?"
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Bro, last world, snowfield, lonely city, campfire. The one hanging upside down by the campfire was me. Have you forgotten? Who hung me up? Who extorted... who demanded 50,000 Soul Coins from me?"
Big Brother Henren (Reincarnation Paradise): "Oh, it's you. Well, we do have some fate. But the me you knew was the me from not long ago. The current me has already turned over a new leaf. So don't worry. Tell me your location, and I'll help you deal with the Violators. I hate Violators the most. Speak, where are you?"
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Bro, your malice is practically overflowing."
Demon Scythe: Talid (Holy Light Paradise): "Location."
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Location shared. I'm saved this time. The few surrounding me, aren't you leaving yet?"
Xiao Ge (Sanctuary Paradise): "You're lucky."
Big Brother Henren (Reincarnation Paradise): "Sigh, people's hearts are not what they used to be. I'm so sincere, and you still don't believe me."
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Everyone, I have a question I'd like to ask you."
Undead Girl (Reincarnation Paradise): "Let's hear it?"
Thunder Mage: Aige (Apocalypse Paradise): "Who did you offend again?"
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Aren't you our faction's combat powerhouse? How do you know me?"
Thunder Mage: Aige (Apocalypse Paradise): "How could I not know the 'World of Paintings Live Stream Sisters'? Your great name, I saw it on the 'Apocalypse Paradise Top Ten Sandbag Events List.' This time, your old father Bai Ye is also here."
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Old father?"
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Let's get to the point. I... I have a friend. She accepted a quest, but the quest initiator has a... not very friendly, but definitely not hostile relationship with her. Question: How can she give up this quest without any cost?"
Hao Mei (Apocalypse Paradise): "No, I can't help but start laughing already."
Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "Just seeing the phrase 'I have a friend' tells me this is no simple matter."
Xiao Ge (Sanctuary Paradise): "There are many methods, but you'd have to dare to use them."
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "I am a Battle Angel. I won't use illegal methods. Whether it's Battle Angels, Death Rangers, or Hunters, we all have our bottom lines."
Enzuo (Death Paradise): "Hearing that makes me feel a bit ashamed."
Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise): "Kill the quest initiator, and the quest will naturally be canceled."
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "No need, no need. Besides, the power gap between me and the quest initiator is huge."
Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise): "Which faction is the quest initiator from?"
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Sea Clan."
Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise): "Give me a price I'm satisfied with, and I can help you eliminate this person."
Molei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Well... it's really not a matter of money."
Hao Mei (Apocalypse Paradise): "Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter."
Bee: "╰(*°▽°*)╯"
...
Closing the contact platform, Su Xiao took out the map of the main city. Just then, a knock came at the door. Amu opened it and found darkness outside. An eerie, pitch-black thick fog spread through the corridor. The next instant, the entire hotel, no, the entire city district, was shrouded in this darkness.
Amu saw a waiter pushing a cart in the corridor, standing dumbfounded in the black fog. Whether it was body, soul, or consciousness, everything was frozen in that instant. In this darkness, time had stopped flowing. Only the guest room where Su Xiao was located was not enveloped by the black fog.
A figure in slightly tattered clothes stopped outside the guest room. It was an existence that living beings could not look upon directly. Because Amu had met its gaze, black, woody branches immediately began to grow on its body. Not only that, but its eyes also showed signs of turning white. Fortunately, the newcomer raised a hand, causing the woody branches on Amu's body to wither and decay. The life force that had been draining from Amu also gathered back.
The newcomer took something from his bosom and tossed it to Su Xiao. The object left a trail of black smoke in the air, which caused the space and time in the living room to become unstable.
The newcomer was actually not a stranger; it was the Immortal Old Man. Although in the Starry Sky Seat, this was an old man in somewhat tattered clothes with a withered figure, in the outside world, this was a terrifying existence that could not be looked upon. Just meeting its gaze would cause mindless creatures to fall into chaos and intelligent creatures to go mad. This one often ate Ancient Gods.
Crack, crack, crack~
The space around the Immortal Old Man emitted sounds like glass about to shatter, indicating that this world was rejecting him.
In the black fog that had stopped time, the Immortal Old Man nodded to Su Xiao, then walked into the spatial rift behind him, leaving this world that constantly rejected him.
In a very short time, the black fog that had enveloped the entire city district evaporated. The people whose thoughts had been frozen moments ago continued doing what they had been doing, completely unaware of anything.
Su Xiao weighed the crystal object in his hand. It was the [Container Core], the transaction item promised by the Immortal Old Man during the previous Starry Sky Seat banquet.
He took out the [Primordial Container] and touched it with the [Container Core]. The next second, the [Container Core] merged into it. Now, looking at the attributes of the [Primordial Container]:
[Primordial Container]
Origin: Void: Shadow of Law Destruction.
Category: Container (Equip in special equipment slot to take effect).
Durability: 816/850 points.
Equipment Requirement: Shadow of Law Destruction, Silver Moon Wolf.
Equipment Effect: Absorption (Core: Passive), can automatically absorb scattered Primordial Life Force within a 1,000-meter radius (This ability is unavailable as the equipment is in an incomplete state).
Note: This effect can be briefly activated. After activation, the absorption range increases by 70 to 80 times. This state lasts for 30 seconds. Can only be activated once per natural day. Multiple activations will cause significant durability consumption of this equipment.
Stored Primordial Life Force: 0%.
...
Su Xiao's "Law Destruction Talent: Shadow Hunt" worked by absorbing the undispersed Primordial Life Force of enemies after killing them through the Devouring Core, converting it into Soul Energy. When Soul Energy reached 100%, he gained 1 Law Destruction Skill Point.
Su Xiao himself also had limits. Therefore, after killing enemies, it was difficult to completely absorb all the scattered Primordial Life Force in the vicinity, wasting a lot. If he was in a chaotic melee with many enemies, he had no time to absorb it and could only let the Primordial Life Force dissipate. For example, last night, he hadn't absorbed much Primordial Life Force because he couldn't spare the energy.
But with the [Primordial Container], it was different. As long as it was equipped in the "Special Equipment Slot," after killing enemies in a melee, this item would automatically absorb the Primordial Life Force that appeared in the vicinity.
If he had had this item last night, he would definitely have obtained a large amount of Primordial Life Force. But not everything goes as planned. Activating this equipment now wasn't too late either.
After equipping the [Primordial Container] in the "Special Equipment Slot," Su Xiao took out the map of the main city and began to prepare arrangements for the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family. Among the 190 city districts of the main city, these two great Beast Clan families were located in District 6 and District 10, respectively.
In fact, whether it was the Jackal family or the Serpent Witch family, their current family heads were on their respective fiefs, that is, within their own High Wall Cities, not in the main city, Eternal Ring City. However, this led to one thing: these families were increasingly moving away from the center of power and becoming more independent.
To avoid this, the former family heads of the seven great families would move to the main city, Eternal Ring City, and obtain a manor in one of the most prosperous districts.
What Su Xiao had to deal with now were the two former family heads of these two parties. He tossed a Soul Crystal Core to Baha. Baha grabbed this Soul Crystal Core engraved with spatial runes with both claws, activated it, and locked onto a temporary coordinate already set in District 6.
With a muffled bang, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha appeared in a dimly lit basement. Su Xiao placed one hand on his sword hilt, confirming that the Demon Blade ability was not in its cooldown phase. His Blade Demon Spirit had recently devoured two Abyss Spawn with indestructible characteristics, so after killing ordinary enemies, it would end its slumber quickly.
Su Xiao released the Blade Demon Spirit. Under his control, the Blade Demon Spirit merged into Bubu Wang's body. The next second, Bubu Wang's eyes turned dark blue. He tilted his head, showing his full goofy nature, indicating that he was not being controlled by the demon spirit at this moment. Su Xiao had done this intentionally.
Su Xiao took out a wooden box. Bubu Wang pressed his dog paw onto it. A stream of eerie green smoke surged out from the wooden box. Because Bubu Wang's body contained the Blade Demon Spirit, and more importantly, this was Su Xiao's Blade Demon Spirit, the eerie green smoke gradually retreated back into the wooden box.
Finding that no drastic change had occurred, Bubu Wang put the wooden box into his own small storage space, then merged into the environment and left the dark basement.
Su Xiao began to wait. Nearly an hour later, Bubu Wang returned.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, meaning the deed was done. Seeing this, Su Xiao took out another Soul Crystal Core engraved with spatial runes and tossed it to Baha. Baha crushed it, locking onto the temporary coordinate in District 10.
After the spatial teleportation was complete, the surroundings were still dark. Su Xiao took out another wooden box. This time, what emanated from it was a black smoke that was still pitch black even in the darkness, with a hint of crimson within.
It was the same process as before. The demon spirit was released and merged into Bubu Wang's body. Then Bubu Wang pressed his dog paw onto the wooden box. After confirming there was no danger, Bubu Wang left with the wooden box again.
This time, Bubu Wang returned only after more than two hours. Seeing Bubu Wang return, Su Xiao activated the disposable spatial array diagram on the ground, heading to District 3, where Baha had also set a coordinate.
At 5:00 PM that day, at the residence of Grand Commander: Kane. The lights were on, and the banquet hall was brightly lit. Grand Commander: Kane, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu were having dinner together. When dinner ended, a servant brought up light tea.
"Bai Ye, are you just going to let the Jackal and Serpent Witch families' scheming against you go?"
Grand Commander: Kane picked up his tea, about to take a light sip.
"Of course not. This afternoon, I already made them pay the price."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Grand Commander: Kane was not surprised. This afternoon, both the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family had experienced some commotion. However, Kane's subordinates hadn't yet found out the cause of the commotion, so he was simply probing Su Xiao.
"What method did you use? Poison?"
Grand Commander: Kane spoke with a hint of a smile. The reason they had gotten to know each other was precisely because the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family had poisoned Su Xiao.
"I have two Abyss: Original Sin Objects here. This afternoon, I sent them over to those two families."
Hearing this, Grand Commander: Kane, who was about to take a light sip of tea, nearly snorted the tea up his nose. It wasn't that he lacked composure, but what he had heard was too earth-shattering.
"You... this move is ruthless enough."
Even though Grand Commander: Kane was an old fox, a hint of satisfaction couldn't help but appear in his eyes. But this satisfaction lasted only 0.01 seconds before disappearing. He thought of another problem: even if the Jackal family and the Serpent Witch family were enemies, they were still members of the Beast Clan faction. In other words, it was now as if the Beast Clan had acquired two "wild daddies"?
After confirming this, Grand Commander: Kane's blood pressure spiked. He was about to speak when Baha comforted him:
"Don't worry too much about the Original Sin Objects. Actually, we have one more. Look at this third one. Which Beast Clan family should we send it to?"
Hearing this, Grand Commander: Kane's vision blurred for an instant. He supported himself with one hand on the armrest of his chair, his gaze extremely grave.
Seeing this, Baha said with a smile, "Look at you, old fox, so happy. Let me tell you some good news. We have a friend who should be arriving soon. He also has an Original Sin Object. Counting that, we'll have four Original Sin Objects."
Hearing Baha's words, Grand Commander: Kane's head buzzed.
"Oh, right. If that guy who is both friend and foe to us is also in the Beast Clan faction, then counting the Magic Mirror, we'll have five Original Sin Objects. Surprised? Old fox, why are you swaying?"
A moment later, the banquet hall was filled with the startled cries of servants and the sound of a chair falling. Then, a maid's tearful voice shouted, "Someone come quickly! Lord Kane has fainted!"