Chapter 62: Mission Settlement
Clouds drifted and sank below. Su Xiao, seated on the dragon's back, attempted to enter a meditative state. After several tries, he found his mind unsettled upon entering meditation. The reason was the previous battle; he had been eroded by Abyss energy. Although his Abyss Resistance was as high as 20 points, preventing any fundamental damage, he was still far from comfortable. He would have to wait until returning to Reincarnation Paradise to cleanse it.
The good news was that this world's progress was nearing its end. The remaining time on the Initial Mark Leaderboard was less than six hours.
Su Xiao raised his crystal left arm and noticed that the originally translucent blue crystal arm had now turned a deep blue, making it less flexible to control.
With a crackling sound, his crystal left arm, left shoulder, and a small portion of the crystal body on his left side shattered. New translucent blue crystals emerged, forming a new shoulder and arm.
Due to mastering the Blood Spear Grandmaster ability at Lv.73, Su Xiao's control over Spirit Shadow Threads was likely among the top in the history of Law Destroyers. Additionally, through the permanent enhancement of "Banishment" via the Necronomicon—originally a mid-range weapon that, after permanent enhancement by the Necronomicon, gained semi-biological, semi-energetic properties—he had an edge.
Previously, when forming crystal arms and crystal calves, Su Xiao experienced some lack of flexibility. However, after integrating the semi-biological, semi-energetic "Banishment" into the crystal prosthetics and using Spirit Shadow Threads as nerves, his crystal prosthetics had reached a level usable in combat, preventing a sharp decline in combat effectiveness due to limb loss.
This was one of the most practical abilities Su Xiao had developed. As Mawen Hua'erzi put it, if Su Xiao could one day advance to Supreme and perfect this ability to its utmost, inscribing it on the Awakening Stele as a mandatory ability for the new generation of Law Destroyers would be entirely feasible.
Interestingly, neither Mawen Hua'erzi nor the old Law Destroyer ever urged Su Xiao to restore the former glory of the Law Destruction faction. Moreover, the attitude of these two old fellows was to let everything take its natural course. If Su Xiao ever found a disciple he deemed worthy, he could teach one; if not, that was fine too. And if he was interested, he could inscribe abilities he found satisfactory on the Awakening Stele, but if he was too lazy to do so, that was also acceptable...
It was evident that the Law Destruction faction had no interest in becoming the overlord of the Void again. More accurately, when they became the Void overlord back then, it was because there were too many Supreme-level powerhouses in the Law Destruction faction, and they were inexplicably pushed into that position.
Even after becoming the Void overlord, the Law Destruction faction did their own thing, completely indifferent to faction reputation or prestige in the Void. Apart from balancing natural elements everywhere, dealing with ancient gods, and guarding the Abyss, they did whatever they pleased at other times. This factional atmosphere naturally wouldn't compel new Law Destroyers to revive the Law Destruction faction.
After Mawen Hua'erzi and the old Law Destroyer became residual souls, they did whatever they wanted even more. Interestingly, their former archenemy, the Black Mist Figure, was now hanging out with these two old fellows, forming a trio of black-hearted old men.
These three black-hearted old men had caused countless young men and women who considered themselves chosen ones to stare at their empty storage rings, shouting in disbelief as they questioned their lives. Then, they would regain their items, and the old men would kindly tell the "chosen one," "Silly child, grandpas were just teasing you." Then they would lose them again, repeating the cycle several times. The "chosen one" would gradually realize the malice of these three unscrupulous old men and continue their battle of wits.
Speaking of which, although these "chosen ones" often suffered mental blows, overall, they gained quite a bit, at least in terms of a sharp increase in strength improvement speed.
The clouds ahead dispersed, and the temperature plummeted, indicating they had reached the Eternal Frost Icefield region. This caused Baha, whose feathers had mostly fallen off, to shiver. Earlier, when the old Beast King pulled out the Abyss War Spear, Baha had lunged over to stop him. Although successful, it was a messy affair. Fortunately, after returning to Reincarnation Paradise and recovering from injuries, the fallen black-blue feathers would grow back.
For now, the situation in the Eternal Frost Icefield had stabilized. Or rather, on the world communication platform's contact list, names were disappearing one after another. Anyone would find that horrifying, so naturally, no one came to the Eternal Frost Icefield anymore.
If it were just one hunter like the ruthless brother, it would be at most a chase. The key was that this ruthless brother also had a partner whose strength was not inferior to his. This partner was quite low-key, hiding until now despite having such power.
When Su Xiao approached the hundred-meter-tall ice palace, he found that the Icefield Tribe had all withdrawn. The Storm Flame Dragon landed on the ice, and Su Xiao led Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha toward the ice palace.
The ice palace's door was open about a meter wide, with bloodstains splattered on the door panels, all frozen. Entering the ice palace, it wasn't as cold as expected; instead, it was somewhat warm, with mostly wooden furnishings.
"You're too picky. Isn't this grilled fish fragrant? I spent two hours carefully grilling it, and you took one bite and spat it out? Such deliciousness, don't you dare get tempted when I eat it—ugh~, what kind of fish is this? Why does it smell like stinky feet? Ugh~"
The ruthless brother in front of the grill tossed aside a large piece of grilled fish. Nearby sat a somewhat dazed Bee, possibly sleepy, as she yawned.
If you saw Bee for the first time, you'd think she was a petite girl with a cold demeanor and an expressionless face. In reality, Bee wasn't aloof at all; she was just a bit dazed.
"Bai Ye, my luck was average this time. Among the three of us, we drew lots, and I got stuck with Bee. Next time you encounter Bee, you might have to take her. She's too picky and completely ignores me."
Hearing this, Su Xiao felt a slight confusion. He didn't know about the lottery. At the start of this world, he woke up in the prison of the Beast Clan's Eternal Ring City, a bit late, so he must have missed something.
As if noticing Su Xiao's arrival, Bee shifted her gaze. She clearly recognized Su Xiao. Then, she picked up the skewer of grilled fish that the ruthless brother had discarded, raised her fair arm, and said, "For you. Eat."
"Huh?"
The ruthless brother was very surprised. Since the beginning of this world, this was the first time he had heard Bee speak. However, this dazed girl seemed to enjoy sending emoticons on the world communication platform.
Facing Bee's "kindness," Su Xiao didn't take the stinky-socks-flavored grilled fish. Instead, he took out Gray Gentleman's Scarlet Card and tried to bring it close to Bee.
Buzz~
A faint blood glow emerged on the Scarlet Card. Seeing this, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. Then, he took out a charcoal box, placed the Scarlet Card inside, and sealed it at the level of an Original Sin Object, storing it at the very back of his storage space.
"It seems you were quite injured defeating the Beast King."
A voice that was both seductive and commanding came through. It was a tone that, despite being smiling and having a figure that could melt bones, made one dare not harbor any improper thoughts.
Su Xiao looked toward the source and saw a figure wearing a fox mask. The figure was clad in a loose black robe. Although the robe was monochrome, it had a kind of pure-colored elegance. The fox mask was metallic, with the number "2" on the right side of the forehead. At the bottom hung a small ornament—a little doll in a Gothic dress.
"What are our chances this time?"
The masked woman spoke. Hearing this, Su Xiao took out the current 48.85% of the "Initial Mark."
"Oh ho, looks like our chances aren't bad."
The ruthless brother also took out the 30.95% "Initial Mark" he held.
"The amount of 'Initial Marks' we hold is quite different. Should we split the final gains based on the proportion of marks held?"
The masked woman's suggestion made the ruthless brother nod. Although this would mean they'd get a smaller share, it was clearly fairer.
"No need. We'll split fifty-fifty as agreed."
Su Xiao had no habit of changing the split terms just because he had gained more benefits. The agreement was a fifty-fifty split between the two parties, so that's what it would be. He and the ruthless brother would each get fifty percent. How the ruthless brother and the masked woman split their share was up to them.
"Then I won't be polite. Sigh~, I've been dirt poor lately, selling everything I have to get Primordial Fragments."
The ruthless brother took out the half-bottle of Elemental Brew left over from before, uncorked it, took a big gulp, and his smile deepened.
It was understandable that the ruthless brother was so poor. Su Xiao needed a total of 14 "Primordial Fragments" to break through three techniques to Lv.80 and advance to Absolute Strength. The ruthless brother needed 17, and the masked woman wasn't much better off, needing 16.
Actually, Su Xiao had an advantage he hadn't realized: his Law Destruction abilities didn't consume "Primordial Fragments" during his advancement to Absolute Strength. Otherwise, given the intensity of his inherited profession, he would need at least 6 "Primordial Fragments," bringing his total requirement to a staggering 20.
Although mastering Law Destruction abilities came with high risks, once successfully mastered, the subsequent advantages were a lifetime of benefits. Of course, if you failed during the mastery process, your life would end right there.
Su Xiao and the ruthless brother both looked at the masked woman. She flicked the little doll hanging under her mask, indicating she had no objection to the split.
With five hours left until settlement, they should concentrate all the "Initial Marks" on one person. The masked woman was the first to state that, due to her world mission being different from the others, she theoretically couldn't appear on the Initial Mark Leaderboard.
In the end, the three decided to give all the Initial Marks to the ruthless brother. The reason was that Su Xiao's Void Tree Reputation was -??? , while the ruthless brother's was over -3000 points. Although that was a lot, at least there was still a numerical value.
However, ensuring an accurate distribution of gains was a problem. When Su Xiao took out a contract, both the ruthless brother and the masked woman looked particularly serious.
"This is a legitimate contract."
Su Xiao spoke in his usual tone.
"Cough~, Bai Ye, I don't doubt your character, but I've mainly heard about your reputation in the contract world."
The ruthless brother forced a smile as he spoke.
"Reputation?"
Su Xiao frowned. He hadn't heard that he had any reputation in the contract world.
"I personally have some skill in contracts, so when I saw that thing in your hand, I got dizzy."
"..."
Su Xiao examined the contract in his hand. It was just an ordinary contract. It seemed the ruthless brother was quite cautious. In the end, the three signed a Reincarnation Paradise Hunter's contract. This was very reliable, but the downside was that the contract drafting fee was a bit high.
The hall fell silent. It was clear that the ruthless brother and the masked woman weren't close acquaintances. From casual conversation, Su Xiao learned that the ruthless brother did have a female partner, but it wasn't the masked woman. It was a friend of the masked woman's, who had gone to Doom Star. The ruthless brother had been summoned by the world mission of Wind Sea Continent, so they split up. The ruthless brother met the masked woman in this world, and they started cooperating after the Eternal Frost Icefield became a mixed battle zone.
According to the masked woman, the ruthless brother's female partner was usually quiet and a bit shy, but in battle, she was even more ruthless than the ruthless brother. After killing too many enemies, she would fall into a chaotic frenzy. Once, she beat the injured ruthless brother half to death, almost nailing him into a hedgehog.
With nothing to do, Su Xiao took out a large amount of high-purity Crystal Resin. This was one of his gains in this world. Its purpose was to replace Soul Crystals when making Blazing Sun Wrath: Apollo, significantly reducing production costs.
Su Xiao activated his Hunter authority and attempted to consume Space-Time Power to notarize all this highest-purity Crystal Resin, allowing it to be taken out of this world. The result was that it could be notarized, but it would cost 100 ounces of Space-Time Power.
Su Xiao weighed the pros and cons and felt it was still quite profitable. One "Sun Holy Sword" required 600 Blazing Sun Wrath: Apollo as materials, and making 600 Apollos consumed a lot of Soul Crystals. If he notarized this amount of high-purity Crystal Resin, it would be enough for a long time to come for making "Sun Holy Swords."
He chose to notarize these high-purity Crystal Resins. The notarization was faster than expected, but the Space-Time Power deduction was still painful. With nothing else to do and unable to meditate, Su Xiao took out various materials and began making Blazing Sun Wrath: Apollo.
Initially, the ruthless brother and the masked woman had no reaction. But after Su Xiao made over a hundred Blazing Sun Wrath: Apollo, liquefied them, sealed them in bottles, and set them aside to cool, the masked woman couldn't hold out anymore. The sense of danger was too strong.
"Bai Ye, although it's impolite to interrupt someone's hobby, your hobby is a bit... testing the perception of nearby teammates. So~"
"Mm, sorry."
Su Xiao put away the bottled liquid Apollo. After a while, he took out the [Ember Flame] to study and tried to slightly loosen its seal. The ruthless brother, who had just dozed off, jolted awake and sat up.
"Bai Ye, you'd better go back to your previous hobby. This thing is even more unsettling."
"Mm."
Su Xiao put away the [Ember Flame], then took out the sealing box and began layering seals on it using Sealcraft. Seeing this, the ruthless brother nodded and smiled. He had never interacted with Su Xiao before and didn't expect the Night of Decapitation to be so easy to get along with. Apart from being a bit taciturn, he was someone worth befriending deeply.
"Bai Ye, this box looks pretty high-end. What's sealed inside?"
"Some artifacts."
"What kind of artifacts need so many seals?"
The ruthless brother became interested and stopped dozing.
"Original Sin Objects."
"?"
The ruthless brother's smile suddenly froze. The masked woman, sitting atop a tall bookshelf, held her forehead with one hand and rarely commented, "Your daily life is really exciting."
"I heard these things are very dangerous? How dangerous exactly? Give me a rundown. Of course, I can pay for this information."
The ruthless brother took out a Soul Coin savings card.
"No need."
Su Xiao tapped the bottom corner of the sealing box, and a hidden compartment popped out, containing Su Xiao's collected "Original Sin Object Notes." Perhaps because it was stored in the sealing box, too close to three big-daddy-level artifacts, or for other reasons, this "Original Sin Object Notes" had a faint trace of Original Sin fluctuation, though very weak.
Su Xiao tossed the "Original Sin Object Notes" to the ruthless brother. The ruthless brother was initially puzzled, but after flipping through two pages, his eyes gradually widened. His expression was basically: 'Damn, knowledge I hope I'll never need has increased.'
After the ruthless brother finished reading the "Original Sin Object Notes," he had a somewhat enlightened expression and sighed, "Bai Ye, your experience is quite rich. But speaking of which, where did you hear about these Original Sin Object records?"
"Except for the Collector, I've seen all the other Original Sin Objects with my own eyes."
"Holy crap."
The ruthless brother handed back the "Original Sin Object Notes." The masked woman on top of the tall bookshelf spoke, meaning she wanted to borrow the notes to read.
With the ruthless brother's reaction as a warning, the masked woman had already mentally prepared herself before opening the "Original Sin Object Notes." But after reading a few pages, her eyes gradually widened. Her expression was: 'Knowledge I hope I'll never need has increased.'
[Announcement (Void Tree): The current Mark Battle is about to end.]
[Settlement of held marks in progress...]
[Initial Mark Fragment Holding Ranking as follows:]
First Place: Ruthless Brother (Reincarnation Paradise), holds 79.8% of Initial Marks.
Second Place: Shenfu (Sanctuary Paradise), holds 70.2% of Initial Marks.
Third Place: Heimo (Reincarnation Paradise): holds 6.5% of Initial Marks.
[Settlement complete.]
[Winner of this Mark Battle: Reincarnation Paradise.]
...
After these announcements, Su Xiao immediately received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Your World Mission has been completed. You will receive 50% of the total reward for this World Mission (allocated according to the contract you signed).]
[The rewards for this World Mission will be distributed within the next 5 hours. The Hunter must wait patiently.]
[Tip: Your Main Mission: Lord of the Eternal Frost has been completed.]
[Current Eternal Frost Fiefdom Evaluation: S-rank (Highest Evaluation).]
[Your Main Mission Completion Rate: 950% (Severely Overflowing).]
[Determining the mission rewards you can obtain...]
[You have received Honor Emblem (After use, you can raise your Honor Shop to the highest level).]
[Current Honor Shop Level: Level 9 (The highest level of the Honor Shop is Level 15).]
[Yes/No to use the Honor Emblem immediately.]
[Warning: The Honor Emblem is extremely rare. Each Hunter can obtain at most one in their lifetime. Unless necessary, please do not trade this item to other Hunters.]
[Warning: Unless necessary, please do not sell this item!]
[You have used the Honor Emblem.]
[Your Honor Shop has been raised to Lv.15, the highest level of the Honor Shop.]
[Your Honor Shop will be raised to the highest tier. In this Honor Shop, your Honor Medals will be converted into Space-Time Power. You can use your existing Space-Time Power to exchange for highly rare supplies in the Honor Shop that has been raised to the highest level (including but not limited to Primordial Fragments, Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chests, full-score Overlord Equipment, random attribute Source Matter, random attribute Origin, etc. The above items have limited stock, but the stock quantity will refresh each time the Honor Shop refreshes).]
[Your free potion supply quota in the Honor Shop has been increased from 2/2 to 5/5.]
[The quality of potions you can replenish for free has been significantly improved due to the Honor Shop being raised to the maximum level.]
[The number of potions available for free replenishment has been increased from six types to twelve types (some potions have limited stock; you need to choose as soon as possible after each Honor Shop refresh).]
[Teleportation begins. You are about to return to Reincarnation Paradise.]
I'm in average condition today, so the update is a bit shorter. Please forgive me, dear readers.