Chapter 23: Reputation Mission
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the barn roof, meditating as snowflakes drifted down. Not far away, Xianlulu stood on the eaves, looking around restlessly. Unlike Beini, who was usually aloof, Xianlulu had a lively personality and rarely stayed quiet.
After confirming that Thunder Mage Sage·Aige had gone far, Su Xiao ended his meditation. He leaped down from the barn roof, took out a soul crystal core engraved with runic arrays, and began drawing a summoning array on the ground.
Seeing the summoning array, Xianlulu perked up. She jumped down from the barn roof, curiously observed for a moment, then happily asked, "Bai Ye, are you summoning something? A battle companion?"
"Something like that."
"Is this companion easy to get along with?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused for a moment before replying, "Fairly easy to get along with."
"Really?"
Xianlulu's eyes brightened. She knew all of Su Xiao's followers, but due to feline instincts, she was a bit afraid of Bubu Wang, so she didn't interact much with him. As for Baha, Xianlulu was terrified of him. Every time she saw this demon hawk with its dark blue-black feathers and murderous gaze, her heart trembled.
As for the taciturn Amu, who would chop off someone's head with a single axe swing, Xianlulu was even more scared. The only one she was close to was Beini, who was still traveling in this world. If Beini were here, she'd have someone to back her up, and Xianlulu wouldn't be as afraid of Baha and Amu. But with Beini absent, Xianlulu instinctively wilted at the sight of them.
Now, learning that a temporary new member was about to be summoned, Xianlulu was naturally happy. But when she saw the summoning array Su Xiao was drawing on the ground, her expression turned serious. The array was quite large, but she tried to comfort herself—big guys could be gentle too, maybe...
With a bang, Su Xiao's unique summoning array activated. Under the notarization authority of Reincarnation Paradise, accompanied by the spread of spatial gray mist, a massive creature was summoned.
As the gray mist dispersed, Xianlulu, standing in front of the array, looked forward expectantly. But the next second, a hot breath blasted toward her, so strong that Xianlulu had to dig her claws into the ground while her hind legs were lifted off the ground.
A pair of cold, vertical pupils looked down at Xianlulu. Dragon wings spread through the spatial gray mist. Unlike other dragons with rough dragon hide or scales, the storm dragon in the mist had large, dark blue-black feathers, giving it a sleek, fierce appearance rather than the bulkiness typical of most dragons.
"Y-you... hello there."
Xianlulu was terrified. She could feel the storm dragon's gaze full of malice—the look of wanting to taste what a light spirit was like, completely undisguised.
"Dis, if you swallow Xianlulu, I'll roast you tonight."
Su Xiao's tone was calm, without any hint of threat, but this made Storm Flame Dragon·Dis withdraw his gaze from Xianlulu. Sometimes, a non-threatening tone was more frightening because it stated a fact.
Su Xiao climbed onto Storm Flame Dragon·Dis's back via the dragon's wing and sat cross-legged, feeling quite satisfied. Compared to riding the Abyss Dragon's eldest son, which felt like sitting on a pile of mud, this was a true dragon ride.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Xianlulu, who stubbornly shook her head, meaning she absolutely refused to get on the storm dragon's back.
A few minutes later.
"Yahoo~! Flying is so great!"
At an altitude of ten thousand meters, Xianlulu lay on top of Su Xiao's head, looking down at the clouds, feeling the wind whistling past her ears, and watching other flying creatures within several kilometers flee far away.
Meanwhile, in the Midwinter City fiefdom, within Snowwind City, one of the ten major cities, inside a temporarily rented mansion.
Spatial fluctuations faded, and Aige appeared with only one arm remaining. After being beaten for over half an hour and participating in a somewhat humiliating sacrifice, he was physically and mentally exhausted. As the teleportation completed, he nearly stumbled.
"Looks like you had a 'fierce battle,'" said Nightmare Ghost·Kain with a smirk. Earlier, at the central command post in White Hoof Port, he had heard about the Sea Clan Commander·Penero's assassination mission against Bai Ye and the subsequent faction mission. He had no interest in it because he had been dealt with by Su Xiao before—first nearly wiped out by world thunder, then summoning Soul Master and other soul experts, a scene Kain would never forget.
Back at the White Hoof Port command post, Kain had maliciously thought that if Aige, who specialized in magic, soul, and lightning systems, took this assassination mission, there would be a good show. But the next second, Kain heard Aige, standing behind him, say, "I'll handle this."
Kain had originally wanted to go watch the fun, but having been thoroughly traumatized by Su Xiao before, he didn't want to meet him again, so he didn't go in person.
Besides Aige and Kain, there was another person in the mansion. This person lounged lazily on the sofa, dressed as a witch. Though her clothes weren't revealing, her lazy, voluptuous aura sparked all sorts of fantasies. She was called Witch·Lilia, and the fact that she could temporarily cooperate with Kain and Aige spoke volumes about her strength and methods.
After treating his injuries, Aige sat down and said solemnly, "That hunter counters me somewhat. I fought a hard battle with him and found a chance to escape."
"How much did he extort from you?"
Kain spoke with a sly grin. Hearing this, Witch·Lilia turned her gaze, her long pipe drooping as she exhaled a wisp of dark purple smoke from her crimson lips.
"Extort? What are you talking about? I don't understand at all..."
Aige looked at Kain with confusion.
"I'll take a wild guess—if you didn't sign a contract, Bai Ye wouldn't have let you leave alive. At least 150,000 to 200,000 soul coins plus a contract to let you go."
Kain's words made Aige's face turn ashen. He narrowed his eyes at Kain and said, "So, you've fought the Beheader's Night before. As a soul specialist, you must be countered by him."
"Countered? It was an eye-opener."
Kain sighed as he spoke. Though he didn't tell his story, his face was full of it.
"So, you knew he counters soul specialists, yet you didn't say a word to warn your temporary teammate? You really live up to your name—the teammate-devouring Nightmare Ghost Kain."
"You're wrong."
Kain picked up his wine glass and took a casual sip.
"Oh? So I misunderstood you."
"Not exactly. What I mean is, I not only knew Bai Ye counters soul specialists, but also that he counters lightning specialists. That guy directly draws natural world thunder, and his lightning resistance is absurdly high."
Hearing this, Aige laughed in anger but ultimately said nothing more. Clearly, these three had formed a temporary team to accomplish a specific task, one that required each of their unique abilities—none of them could be missing.
"Witch, how about transferring this faction mission to you? As a causality specialist, want to give it a try?" Aige looked at Witch·Lilia.
Lilia gave him a surprised look and asked lazily, "You mean for me to use causality abilities against a Shadow of Law Destruction?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"In short, it's a long story."
Witch·Lilia said no more, and the room fell silent. After a moment, Aige broke the silence, asking, "Any news on that thing?"
"Yes, it's with the Evil God faction."
Kain's smirk disappeared, as if nothing had happened before.
"The Evil God faction?"
Aige frowned, sensing trouble.
"Yeah, over 80% chance it's there. But as long as it's not with Bai Ye, it doesn't matter where it is."
Nightmare Ghost·Kain's words made Thunder Mage Sage·Aige and Witch·Lilia silently agree. Coincidentally, all three members of this temporary team were naturally countered by Su Xiao—one was a soul ghost specialist (soul system), another was divination + causality, and the last was even worse: magic, lightning, and soul systems.
...
Fierce Winter City, Lord's Manor, Back Courtyard.
Storm Flame Dragon·Dis was devouring the flesh of a large raptor, an eighth-rank overlord-level predator that Dis had caught and turned into dinner.
Being targeted by Dis was utterly hopeless. If you weren't his match, there was no chance of escape. Dis was a storm dragon, and his flight speed was top-tier even among ninth-rank overlords.
Inside the ancient castle's study, the gas lamp flickered. Su Xiao was eating dinner while reviewing documents sent by Piro. These were matters Piro had already handled but needed Su Xiao's signature to take effect.
"Bai Ye, have you considered it? About rescuing my master," said the rune master across the table, his gaunt face showing some hope.
"What makes you think I can bring back the Dwarf King from the Sea Clan?"
Su Xiao poured melted sealing wax onto a document and pressed down the lord's seal.
"As an outsider Law Destroyer who got a fiefdom among the Beast Clan, isn't that obvious enough?"
The rune master's eyes burned with intensity. Though his demeanor was weak, he was full of energy when it came to rescuing his master.
"What do I get?"
"My master is skilled in forging armor, and I specialize in inscribing runes. The reward will surely satisfy you."
"..."
Su Xiao paused his movements, shook his head, and said, "I'm from Paradise. I don't lack armor-type equipment."
"Then name your price."
"I'm very short on Primordial Fragments lately."
Su Xiao didn't continue, but the meaning was clear. One Primordial Fragment, and he would take the job. Coincidentally, he was already hostile to the Sea Clan, and Kaisa's progress was smooth—he had become the quartermaster of the faction shop at the Sea Clan's main base.
"Primordial Fragments, huh."
The rune master hesitated, frowning, which added a sickly look to his already weak face.
"My master and I recently completed a piece of work, and funds are tight. At most, I can offer three Primordial Fragments as thanks. What do you think..."
Hearing this, Su Xiao's face remained expressionless by habit, but the lord's seal in his hand nearly punched through a stack of documents into the wooden table. However, that didn't happen. He calmly pressed the seal onto a pool of sealing wax and said evenly, "I'll think about it. Your master isn't in immediate danger. We have plenty of time to plan this."
"Alright. Let me know when you've decided. I'll head back to the workshop in the backyard."
The rune master stood and left. Perhaps only his master's safety was worth leaving the workshop he had set up in the backyard.
Half a minute after the rune master left, Baha confirmed he was far away and muttered, "Damn, those two are loaded."
As Baha spoke, his eagle eyes suddenly sharpened, and his aura changed. Xianlulu, sleeping on the bookshelf, immediately woke up. Though groggy, she spoke rapidly, "Intruder detected. Target location: due south, 1,850 to 1,900 meters away. Aura suggests poison type. Life fluctuation at least 200 years. Based on this world's conditions, it's likely a voodoo warlock. Be careful of his voodoo."
Such detailed perception impressed Baha. He shuttled into alternate space and disappeared, returning a few minutes later. "Boss, it's that voodoo warlock."
Su Xiao ordered Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to leave the castle. He had Xianlulu take Little Lord·Gulvi and all the servants out through the back door. Finally, he gave Storm Flame Dragon·Dis a mental command: as soon as he received Su Xiao's signal, he would burn the entire castle to ashes with storm dragonflame.
After that, Su Xiao went to the inner hall on the first floor, sat on the sofa, and faced an empty sofa across the coffee table.
Outside, the night was pitch black. A few minutes later, the castle's main door was pushed open. A voodoo warlock with primitive-style face paint and wearing exotic beast fur walked in. He closed the door against the wind and walked to the inner hall, sitting opposite Su Xiao.
This man was called Herui·Baze. Among the tribes, only a few in history had been honored with the title Herui—only the strongest voodoo warlock of the era could earn it. Besides voodoo warlocks, the tribes also had witch doctors, and the strongest among them was called a Druid. Generally, Herui and Druids were among the top combatants of the tribal faction.
This voodoo warlock named Baze was hard to deal with. For one thing, he was carrying over a dozen types of alchemical toxins but remained unharmed—the first time Su Xiao had encountered such a person.
Voodoo Warlock·Baze sat on the opposite sofa, his painted, wrinkled face showing seriousness and vigilance—the expression of meeting a worthy opponent.
He placed a wooden jar, about the thickness of an arm and 20 centimeters tall, on the coffee table and said in a cold, hard tone, "This is our tribe's fine wine. I've aged it for decades. Let's share it."
Hearing this, Su Xiao took two wine glasses from under the table, placing one in front of himself and the other in front of Voodoo Warlock·Baze. Seeing this, Baze's wrinkled old face showed a hint of a smile. He thought Su Xiao wanted him to drink first to check for poison—but in reality, there wasn't a drop of alcohol in the jar.
Actually, Baze misunderstood Su Xiao's intention. Su Xiao also took out a bottle of wine, uncorked it, and poured a glass for Baze.
Looking at the full glass, Baze uncorked his wooden jar and poured a glass for Su Xiao.
They sat across the coffee table, neither reaching for their respective glasses. The situation froze. After dozens of seconds, Su Xiao picked up his glass. He looked at the liquid—it seemed rich, with a faint fruity aroma.
Seeing Su Xiao pick up his glass, Baze did the same, his expression calm, though inwardly uncertain. After all, they had clashed before, and it was a true match of equals.
"..."
"..."
Su Xiao and Voodoo Warlock·Baze silently clinked glasses. The two drinks looked different, but both were voodoo and poison flavored like wine—not a drop of alcohol inside.
It seemed both would drink it all, but after a moment, they both set down their glasses. Both were old schemers; unnecessary formalities could be skipped. Everyone's time was valuable.
Sometimes, negotiations between two old schemers were more direct because they knew that scheming against each other was a waste of time. Since neither could gain the upper hand, they cut to the chase. Voodoo Warlock·Baze got straight to the point:
"My eldest grandson is being eroded by residual Abyss power. I was competing with you for Primordial Fragments to brew a medicinal soup for him."
"You can't handle residual-level Abyss erosion?"
Su Xiao frowned at Baze. He felt the man wasn't lying—if he were, he wouldn't use such a clumsy excuse.
"It's eroded into his soul."
Baze's eyes showed some pain. His eldest grandson was the most talented among his descendants, with potential to surpass him. But because of that expectation, the grandson worked too hard and was too ambitious, ultimately getting his soul eroded by Abyss energy.
"Don't bother with those two Primordial Fragments. I have a way to deal with your grandson's problem—about a 30% chance of a cure."
"30%? That's low."
"A hundred times better than using Primordial Fragments to brew medicine. In poison crafting, your voodoo is unmatched by me. But in potion crafting, you're far behind."
As Su Xiao spoke, he rolled up his right sleeve. The green lines on his arm from the voodoo poison had completely disappeared.
Facts spoke louder than words. Seeing Su Xiao's right arm, Baze basically acknowledged Su Xiao's alchemy skills. He knew his own voodoo well and understood what level of alchemy was needed to neutralize it so thoroughly. This wasn't something a high-tier secret medicine or an antidote treasure could achieve.
"What reward do you want?"
Voodoo Warlock·Baze was direct, clearly wanting to reach a cooperation.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, waiting for the other to make an offer.
"I know a secret—about our tribe's lost treasure, the Soul Gem."
"Soul Gem?"
Su Xiao was interested in this treasure. With "soul" as a prefix, it couldn't be bad.
"A supreme treasure that brings lifelong luck..."
Before Baze could finish, Su Xiao raised his hand, indicating no interest. This made Baze look suspicious—it was the first time he'd met someone uninterested in such a treasure. He said with a smile, "Don't believe in luck? Only trust your own ability?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't respond, which made Baze respect him even more. Clearly, this voodoo warlock also didn't believe in the benefits of luck.
"Soul Death."
Su Xiao's words made Baze's expression change slightly. After a moment, he nodded and said, "If I were young, this would be impossible. But now, I've long seen through it. The so-called Soul Death is just a very powerful soul entity."
With that, Voodoo Warlock·Baze placed a feather on the table, indicating agreement to the cooperation terms and that this was how to contact him.
Cooperating with Voodoo Warlock·Baze had more pros than cons. Later, to complete the Absolute Strong·Spellcaster hunt on the Hunt List: Blood Pact, he would need this voodoo warlock's help.
With dozens of voodoo poisons and dozens of alchemical toxins, even an Absolute Strong·Spellcaster would find it hard to handle.
After Voodoo Warlock·Baze left, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Xianlulu, Little Lord·Gulvi, and all the servants returned to the castle. As Su Xiao entered the study, he received a message from Kaisa.
The message was simple: preparations were almost complete. It was time to start grinding Sea Clan reputation.
Regarding grinding Sea Clan reputation, Su Xiao already had someone in mind. He contacted Hao Mei in his team and learned she was at the Hunter Guild picking commissions. She could arrive in about an hour. But when she learned Su Xiao was enjoying Elemental Brew alone in the study, Hao Mei pushed open the study door half an hour later.
Sitting across the desk, Hao Mei first chugged a few mouthfuls of Elemental Brew, let out a satisfied sigh, and asked, "Bai Ye, what do you need?"
"Are you currently in the Beast Clan faction?"
"Yeah."
"Interested in joining the Sea Clan faction?"
Hearing this, Hao Mei immediately tried to leave but found Amu blocking the door. Muttering under her breath, she sat back down, enjoying the wine while pulling out a parchment list to check the commissions.
"These commissions are practically suicide missions, but the soul crystals are too tempting. I want to take them."
Hao Mei sighed, pretending to put away the list, sneaking a glance at Su Xiao. He didn't seem to care about her words.
"If you don't want soul crystals, these commissions can also pay in soul coins. Too bad teaming up for commissions is more efficient."
Hao Mei chugged more wine, but Su Xiao remained unmoved.
"Tch, still not interested. But this Hunter Guild is weird. Sometimes the rewards are only Precipitated Glass. Selling it feels wasteful, but keeping it doesn't give many chances to open the Abyss Shop. 100 ounces of space-time power to open it—too expensive."
"..."
Su Xiao paused his adjustment of the Mysterious Eye, set it down, and gestured for Hao Mei to hand over the list.
After reviewing the incomplete commission list, Su Xiao became interested in the Hunter Guild. It wasn't a faction of this world; its existence was somewhat similar to the Soul Library, with entrances possibly appearing in any world.
His nine-star title, God Hunter, informed him of the Hunter Guild's existence. The title's description read:
"God Hunter·Description: When wearing this title, you will be recognized as holding a Hunter Badge, allowing you to accept or post commissions at the Hunter Guild."
That was the original intent. However, Su Xiao was a Law Destroyer. Due to several ancestral Law Destroyers' grudges with the Hunter Guild, and the fact that three consecutive guild masters had been killed by ancestral Law Destroyers, the Law Destruction faction was blacklisted by the Hunter Guild. They wouldn't actively provoke Law Destroyers but forbade them from becoming hunters.
After reviewing part of the list, Su Xiao became even more interested in the Hunter Guild. Its structure was simple: four parts—clients, commissions, hunters, and rewards.
Clients posted commissions, hunters completed them for rewards—a very straightforward model. The key was the commission content and rewards.
The Hunter Guild offered three types of rewards: soul coins, soul stones, and Precipitated Glass.
Currently, Su Xiao needed Precipitated Glass because the Abyss Shop, notarized by the Void Tree, sold Primordial Fragments.
[Primordial Fragment]
Category: ???
Stock: ??? (Hunter reputation too low to view).
Exchange Price: 3,820 Precipitated Glass.
...
Su Xiao didn't know where the Hunter Guild got Precipitated Glass, but for those who needed it, completing commissions for Precipitated Glass was more cost-effective.
Most importantly, many of the commissions on this list aligned with things he planned to do, such as hunting certain marked exotic beasts. If the Hunter Guild's main list included commissions related to Soul Death, it would be even more worthwhile to become a hunter there.
This way, he could both claim the bounty for Soul Death on the Hunt List: Blood Pact and receive the Hunter Guild's commission reward—double the profit.
As for how to join the Hunter Guild, that wasn't a problem. He still had one use of the World Passage Qualification permission. Last time, he used it to create the Holy Flame Alchemist alias. Now, he could create a hunter alias. He hadn't decided on a name yet but would think of one.
"My dear friend, are you ready on your end?"
Kaisa's voice came, not loud but startling Hao Mei, who jumped. Kaisa's appearance had no aura or fluctuation.
"We can start."
As Su Xiao spoke, he removed Hao Mei from the Beast Clan faction. Hao Mei was currently under the jurisdiction of the Beast Clan's Midwinter City fiefdom, and as the lord of Midwinter City, Su Xiao had that authority. The next second, Hao Mei received a series of notifications:
[You have been removed from your current faction. As you are not at fault, your existing faction reputation will be retained. It will be restored when you rejoin this faction or will improve your overall evaluation during this world's settlement.]
[You have received a warm recruitment from Sea Clan faction quartermaster·Nikolas·Kaisa.]
[You have successfully joined the Sea Clan faction. Current faction reputation: 0 points.]
[Due to Nikolas·Kaisa's unique skill·Faction Bully (Active, X), you receive the following effects.]
[Due to this effect, your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is reduced by 99.99% (this applies to all reputation acquisition methods).]
...
Hao Mei stared at these notifications in shock. Before she could speak, more notifications appeared:
[Notification: As quartermaster·Nikolas·Kaisa has voluntarily initiated a notarization review with the Void Tree, and the Void Tree has verified that Nikolas·Kaisa has indeed severely shortchanged you, you will receive the following compensation from Nikolas·Kaisa.]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 55% (this applies to all reputation acquisition methods).]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 32.8%.]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 9.8%.]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 23%.]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 5%.]
[Your faction reputation gain in the Sea Clan faction is increased by 3.4%.]
[Total faction reputation gain increase: 129%.]
[As the current world is a Transcendent Primordial World, this bonus is halved. Remaining faction reputation gain increase: 64.5%.]
[You have received a faction mission from quartermaster·Nikolas·Kaisa.]
[Emergency Mission·Theft.]
Mission Content: Immediately go to the enemy stronghold, Midwinter City, and enter the lord's manor in this high-danger area. From the study of Fierce Winter Lord·Kukulin Bai Ye, steal classified intelligence.
Mission Difficulty: ★★★★★★★★★
Mission Danger: ★★★★★★★★★
Mission Reward Reputation: ★★★★★★★★★★★★ (Compensatory excess reward).
...
Seeing these notifications, Hao Mei was stunned. Seeing this, Su Xiao behind the desk took out an intelligence file, tossed it on the table, and symbolically turned his chair away.
Hao Mei tentatively picked up the file and handed it to Kaisa, who was a meter away. The next second, the mission she had just received was completed. This left Hao Mei utterly baffled, her eyes slightly dazed.
Failing to adjust to the time difference, insomnia is quite severe.