Chapter 55: You've Found the Right Person
Su Xiao observed the situation on the World Contact Platform for a while and basically confirmed that the grand melee among the powerhouses was about to begin. The largest piece of the "Primordial Fragment" so far had been discovered in the "Eternal Frozen Icefield."
The "Eternal Frozen Icefield" was located in the northernmost region of the Sea Clan's territory. However, even the Sea Clan, with all their strength, had built towering fortifications along the border adjacent to the "Eternal Frozen Icefield," known as the Winter Wall.
To be precise, there were four major powers in this world: the Beast Clan, the Sea Clan, the Tribes, and the Icefield Clan.
However, due to the prolonged war between the Beast Clan and the Sea Clan, both sides had become the main protagonists of this world. Meanwhile, the Tribes, though possessing strength, were fragmented. More importantly, the Icefield Clan on the "Eternal Frozen Icefield" were not living beings at all—they were essentially inorganic lifeforms.
This caused the Icefield Clan to embody the principle of "If left alone, I won't bother you" to the extreme. Additionally, the resources they needed were vastly different from those of living races. The only energy resources that could be contested were too far from their territory. The "Ancient Ruins" and "Crystal Forest" were located in the gap between the Beast Clan and the Sea Clan, making it impossible for the Icefield Clan to intervene.
Another key point was that extreme cold was a necessary factor for the Icefield Clan's existence, just as living beings need water and oxygen. Without the cold, the Icefield Clan would melt away.
This resulted in the Icefield Clan, despite their ferocity, having little aggression. In fact, the entire Eternal Frozen Icefield was already occupied by them. Even if they wanted to expand outward, it was impossible, let alone the fact that at the edge of the Eternal Frozen Icefield stood the thousand-meter-high Winter Wall. This barrier, made of ice and steel, blocked the Icefield Clan's expansion and their influence on the history of the Wind Sea Continent.
Interestingly, it was precisely because one-fifth of the Sea Clan's legions were stationed at the Winter Wall that the Sea Clan was continuously suppressed by the Beast Clan on the main battlefield. This eventually led the Sea Clan to seek cooperation with Arcane Eternal Star.
If one could obtain a complete map of the Wind Sea Continent, they would see that the southernmost region was the "Black Rain Belt (Severe Abyss Erosion Zone)" and the northernmost was the "Eternal Frozen Icefield (Living Creature Forbidden Zone)."
When Dawn Paradise had transmitted the shattered "Primordial Mark" to this world, approximately 30% of the "Primordial Mark" had scattered across the "Eternal Frozen Icefield."
The current situation was that this 30% of the "Primordial Mark" had mostly been found by the Icefield Clan on the "Eternal Frozen Icefield" and offered to their Elder, the oldest, strongest, and most intelligent among them.
The Icefield Clan could live for over 800 years on average and possessed innate strength without needing to cultivate. They reproduced through division. Apart from the two highest forms of power—Abyss and Elemental—they could absorb any energy for their activities. By all accounts, they were a dominant race. However, they had a fatal flaw: their intelligence was not very high.
Adventurers had summarized that if one encountered an Icefield Clan member on the icefield, even if they tried to offer something valuable to spare their life, it was best to choose rare items in small quantities. The number of items should not exceed seven or eight, because Icefield Clan members typically had eight claws. Once the number exceeded their limited calculation capacity, their "CPU" would overload, causing them to become increasingly irritable and ultimately leading to failed pleas for mercy.
Due to their low intelligence, the Icefield Clan, though ferocious and possessive, lacked aggression. However, they were extremely vengeful. In fact, aside from wandering and idling on the icefield every day, they had nothing else to do. Once one of them held a grudge, they would focus on it with exceptional dedication.
Most of the time, the Icefield Clan stood motionless like ice sculptures in the wind and snow, or slept in ice caves or the cold waters beneath the ice. This meant that disturbing them would provoke indiscriminate attacks.
In simple terms, the Icefield Clan resembled wild monsters that could be negotiated with to some extent, and even the weakest among them were at the elite level.
The most troublesome issue now was that the 30% "Primordial Mark" was in the hands of the Icefield Clan's leader, the Elder. It seemed that the Elder understood the value of this "Primordial Mark."
Once a contractor obtained this piece of the "Primordial Mark," the certification process would begin. First, the contractor who obtained it could choose to set up a defensive point or flee to the ends of the earth with the "Primordial Mark." Once the certification began, the location of this "Primordial Mark" would be announced on the contact platform.
At that point, all contractors would be able to sense its location and compete for it. The holder had to ensure that the "Primordial Mark" was not taken within 40 minutes. If successful, they would officially own this piece of the "Primordial Mark," which could then be stored in their storage space and would no longer be detectable by any contractor.
Additionally, even if the holder failed to keep the mark and abandoned it in a dangerous moment, they would still receive some task rewards as a consolation prize for finding the mark.
One thing worried Su Xiao: if someone like Lightning Mage God Aige or Water Brother obtained this mark, the subsequent competition would likely follow the normal process. However, if the ruthless man obtained it, the nature of the competition was unpredictable. After all, this was the person who had caused the Honor Shop to add a warning.
Su Xiao actually wanted to obtain this mark first. Although it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and if it was later taken away, only the consolation prize would remain, it would allow him to decide where the competition took place. This was the greatest advantage of being the first to obtain it. If he could conduct the competition for this mark fragment in the frozen wasteland, his chances of victory would skyrocket.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao had been busy searching for the Soul Death God, then the Wolf Tomb, followed by fighting the Wolf God and ambushing the Absolute Strong Spellcaster. He simply had no time to prepare for this.
Going to the "Eternal Frozen Icefield" now was too late. It was better to wait for the announcement and then compete for the mark fragment.
Compared to this, there was something more important at hand. After closing the door to the alchemy room, Su Xiao sat at the workbench and took out the sealed box containing the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade."
Since he had just killed Dean Guya not long ago, the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash was still in a semi-dormant state. Having it devour the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade" in this state was undoubtedly the safest option. He never worried about the demon spirit being damaged; it could only go out of control or backfire, and the possibility of damage was negligible.
However, the problem was that when Su Xiao took out the sealed box containing the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade," he noticed a round "gem" embedded on it. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a gem at all—it was the [Source].
Previously, Su Xiao thought that Tide Hunter could be resurrected using the [Source], but the higher the rank, the more impossible this seemed. Regardless, Tide Hunter had served as his secretary for two worlds, so he had to try to keep his promise.
Su Xiao's original plan was that if he had the chance to access the World Source of a ninth-rank world, he would find a way to have that World Source absorb the [Source] and free Tide Hunter from it.
This way, Tide Hunter would shift from relying on the [Source] to relying on the World Core. Although this wouldn't achieve true resurrection, it would allow Tide Hunter to move freely within a vast ninth-rank world. This was a relatively good reward Su Xiao could offer.
Unfortunately, the patience of the First Beauty of Tianba was lacking. Perhaps she felt Su Xiao was about to break his promise, keeping her trapped in the [Source] as a tool. This time, she managed to control the [Source] to some extent, causing it to touch the seal core of the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade."
Under the mutual attraction between the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade" and the [Source], Tide Hunter successfully broke free from the [Source], breaking through the seal Su Xiao had set, and entered the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade."
Now, the situation was that Tide Hunter had been engulfed by the demon spirit energy within the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade." What was more troubling was that if left unchecked, the demon spirit energy within this "Fake Law-Destroying Blade" might develop consciousness. If the Blade Demon Spirit devoured it, whether the demon spirit would gain consciousness was uncertain. If so, the probability of backlash would be much higher.
Therefore, Su Xiao decided to rescue Tide Hunter, who was being invaded by the demon spirit energy, by stripping her soul from the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade" and returning it to the [Source].
From various traces, it seemed that Tide Hunter, upon entering the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade," had already realized something was wrong and tried to retreat. However, the door was already welded shut, and the demon spirit energy surged in, enveloping Tide Hunter's soul.
Su Xiao held the sheathed "Fake Law-Destroying Blade" with one hand. He could still faintly sense Tide Hunter's presence inside, indicating she could still be saved. However, he couldn't rescue her immediately; he had to wait until Tide Hunter was completely eroded by the demon spirit energy. This wasn't intentional sabotage. During the erosion process, Tide Hunter's soul would become tightly intertwined with the energy. If he forcefully pulled her soul out, it might tear it in two.
The effective rescue method was to wait until the demon spirit energy's erosion was complete, when the energy's entanglement and adhesion weakened, and then pull Tide Hunter's soul out. He wondered what changes Tide Hunter would undergo after being baptized by the demon spirit energy.
Once Tide Hunter was rescued, he could safely use Dragon-Slaying Flash to devour the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade." At that point, the Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity, currently at 70 points, would soar to at least 170 points.
This gave Su Xiao an idea: could he develop the demon spirit in a different way? Currently, his use of the demon spirit was mostly limited to swapping positions with it.
Although the demon spirit was nearly indestructible, its attack power at this stage was limited and couldn't heavily injure enemies. Additionally, he had acquired the "Demon Spirit Awakening" ability far too late. He only mastered it at the ninth rank. Under normal progress, he should have mastered it around the fifth rank.
Mawen Hua'erzi didn't want to teach him; he simply couldn't teach it well. Being able to use and master something was different from being able to teach it. Otherwise, the previous Law Destroyers wouldn't have gone to such lengths to create the "Awakening Stele."
As for the old Law Destroyer, he didn't have the ability to release the demon spirit because he had devoured it entirely.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao had a new idea. Previously, the demon spirit had gained a new ability, "Spirit Shadow Constitution (Passive)," which increased all of Su Xiao's potential limit ranks by +8. This enhancement was absurdly exaggerated.
The reason for this was that it had been pent up. The improvements that should have been gradual from the fifth rank to the present were now compressed into a short period, making them seem exaggerated.
However, this gave Su Xiao an idea: each time he devoured an Indestructible Abyss Spawn, half of the demon spirit energy gained would be used to increase his "All Potential Limit Ranks."
This would both solve the problem of potential demon spirit backlash and continuously improve himself. Every time he eliminated an Indestructible Abyss Spawn, his own limits would increase.
Su Xiao had always been self-aware. He never arrogantly believed he was the chosen one. However, his greatest enemy, the Supreme Being, was an existence beyond the "Supreme Strong."
To reach that level, one needed ability, potential, talent, luck, and methods—none could be lacking.
Su Xiao never fantasized that he was born with the potential to reach that level, nor did he think he had good luck. Therefore, he would use acquired effort (hou tian nu li) to continuously improve his potential limits until he had the possibility of reaching that level.
Relying on heaven's favor was too illusory. Instead, he would obtain it with his own hands. The demon spirit was Su Xiao's best current method. By devouring demon spirit energy to improve all his potential limits, he had already verified this through the "Spirit Shadow Constitution."
When he obtained the "Spirit Shadow Constitution" enhancement, he saw a prompt below it:
"Prompt: You can only receive one such enhancement from demon spirit abilities (this trait has absolute priority)."
This prompt seemed to indicate that demon spirit energy could only be absorbed once, but that wasn't the case. It meant that "Spirit Shadow Constitution" could only be triggered once.
Su Xiao didn't need to trigger "Spirit Shadow Constitution" again. Although his Devouring Core had no offensive power, its auxiliary nature (fu zhu xing) had its advantages. He could construct an incredibly precise (jing mi) Devouring Core to filter demon spirit energy to a level he could absorb. After all, he had an X-level top-tier Devouring Core.
Su Xiao wouldn't completely devour the demon spirit like the old Law Destroyer. Instead, he would coexist with it, ensuring he always maintained the upper hand. Each time he devoured an Indestructible Abyss Spawn, half of the demon spirit energy gained would go to the demon spirit, and half to himself.
Although subsequent improvements wouldn't match the "All Potential Limit Ranks +8" from the first enhancement, they wouldn't be low either. Moreover, this was a relatively stable development. Su Xiao had noticed that after reaching the eighth and ninth ranks, his connection with Abyss power had skyrocketed.
More importantly, the Eternal Light World had many powerful Indestructible Abyss Spawns. If he devoured their fundamental source (ben yuan) energy, his various limits would reach an especially exaggerated level.
To achieve this, he needed to construct a Devouring Core similar to the "Spirit Shadow Constitution" operation method. Su Xiao carefully recalled the feeling of activating "Spirit Shadow Constitution" and the energy sequence form at the time. Soon, a crystal-structured Devouring Core was formed.
He tried releasing a tiny amount of demon spirit energy, but as soon as it entered the Devouring Core, the crystal core exploded.
The good news was that in that instant, the crystal Devouring Core had indeed operated, indicating the development direction was correct. However, it exploded immediately, meaning there was a major flaw that needed time to perfect and develop.
As long as he had a general direction, things would be easier. Once this Devouring Core form was developed, he could use Dragon-Slashing Flash to devour the "Fake Law-Destroying Blade."
Just as Su Xiao was pondering this, Baha flew in and said, "Boss, there's a guest."
"Who."
"Demon Scythe Tailed."
...
The steam from the hot tea curled up. In the inner hall on the second floor, Su Xiao and Demon Scythe Tailed sat across from each other with a coffee table between them. Only one cup of hot tea had been picked up. Demon Scythe Tailed, wearing a slightly worn black robe and a hood, seemed half-hidden in the shadows.
"The tea is almost cold. Are you afraid I poisoned it?"
"Yes."
Demon Scythe Tailed admitted without hesitation, making the atmosphere a bit tense. After all, she was a female powerhouse who walked alone in the darkness. Although she had saved countless people, she wasn't good at socializing or scheming. Demon Scythe Tailed was pure strength and focus.
"This is maple tea. Don't waste it."
Su Xiao reached for the cup, but as he did, Demon Scythe Tailed picked up the maple tea and took a sip. Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
"Oh? Not afraid I poisoned it now?"
"Law Destroyer, poison kill, Abyss Demon Scythe, very rare."
With that, Demon Scythe Tailed took another sip of maple tea. The unique soothing effect of the maple tea relaxed her aura.
"Speak. What's so urgent that you'd come to me despite our past differences?"
Su Xiao put down his empty cup, poured himself another, and refilled Demon Scythe Tailed's cup as well.
"Let's work together to drive the ruthless man out of the Eternal Frozen Icefield."
"Good proposal."
As he spoke, Su Xiao, who had been looking at the tea set, glanced up at Demon Scythe Tailed.
"You agree?"
"No."
"Why?"
Demon Scythe Tailed frowned slightly, not understanding why Su Xiao refused to deal with the troublesome ruthless man.
"First, tell me why you want to join forces to drive the ruthless man out of the Eternal Frozen Icefield."
"Because he's a hunter..."
Halfway through, Demon Scythe Tailed realized the person in front of her was also one. She corrected herself, "Because he's a hunter with a Void Tree Reputation of -3800 or more. I've made some mistakes before, and my Void Tree Reputation is -400. I know very well what someone with nearly -4000 reputation can do to manipulate rules. With him in the Eternal Frozen Icefield, we might not even have a chance to compete for that mark fragment."
Hearing this, Su Xiao looked momentarily confused. If he understood correctly, Demon Scythe Tailed had come to him because of the ruthless man's shocking past achievements and low Void Tree Reputation. She wanted to join forces with him to drive the ruthless man, with his -3800+ Void Tree Reputation, out of the Eternal Frozen Icefield, to prevent him from pulling off some mind-boggling move.
Thinking this, Su Xiao stared at Demon Scythe Tailed, which made her uncomfortable. Having spent a long time alone in the Abyss erosion zone, being stared at like this made her frown.
"So, you have a good opinion of my Void Tree Reputation?"
Hearing this, Demon Scythe Tailed paused, then said, "I used some special methods to check your Void Tree Reputation. At least it's not negative."
After hearing this, Su Xiao understood the situation. There weren't many people capable of driving the ruthless man out of the Eternal Frozen Icefield. Additionally, the ruthless man had two low-key collaborators, though it was unclear if they were in this world. This left Demon Scythe Tailed with no choice but to ally with the top contractors, hunters, and battle angels in this world.
The best choice was Lightning Mage God Aige, a proper battle angel with a Void Tree Reputation of over 3000. Unfortunately, Lightning Mage God Aige was nowhere to be found.
The remaining options were Su Xiao, Shenfu, Black Demon, Solomon, Undead Girl, and the Four Ranger Brothers. After a difficult selection, Demon Scythe Tailed chose Su Xiao, who seemed to have the highest Void Tree Reputation.
At this moment, Demon Scythe Tailed didn't know that the hunter sitting across from her didn't just have a non-negative Void Tree Reputation—it was so negative it couldn't even be queried.
However, from a certain perspective, Demon Scythe Tailed had actually found the right person. As the saying goes, only magic can defeat magic. When facing an enemy with a low Void Tree Reputation, find someone with an even lower one, someone with more diverse and jaw-dropping methods.
Just then, a series of announcements suddenly appeared, interrupting Su Xiao and Demon Scythe Tailed's discussion.
[Announcement (Void Tree): The "Primordial Mark" fragment in the Eternal Frozen Icefield region has been obtained by ???. The certification for this competition is about to begin.]
[This "Primordial Mark" fragment is 30.95% of the total "Primordial Mark."]
[The certification for this competition has been completed.]
[Due to the extremely special method by which ??? obtained this "Primordial Mark" fragment, the certification has changed. The original 40-minute competition time limit has been increased to 72 hours.]
[Certification initial area: Eternal Frozen Icefield.]
[During the certification period, all contractors, hunters, battle angels, etc., can sense the exact location of this "Primordial Mark" fragment at any time.]
[Due to the extremely special method by which ??? obtained this "Primordial Mark" fragment.]
[Competition rules for this round: None.]
[Competition restrictions for this round: None.]
[Competition venue restrictions for this round: None.]
—End of Author's Note—
My neck is still a bit stiff, so the update is shorter than usual. Please forgive me, dear readers.