# Chapter 5: The Gileu Family (Main Business: Long-term Investment, Currently Holding Shares in Goblin Merchant Guild, Giant Bank, and Underworld Bank)
...
The first four factions all looked familiar. As for the fifth-ranked Gileu Family, if one mentioned the Saintess Seat, they would certainly not be unfamiliar. That's right, the Saintess Seat was one of the main members of this family.
Originally, the family elders had been grooming her as the successor. Later, they discovered that this child's investment talent was so atrocious that they should probably check whether she was actually a member of the Gileu Family.
And so, with her industry-wide "guiding light of misfortune" investment talent, the Saintess Seat successfully elevated her cousin to become the next reserve successor of the Gileu Family. In response, the Saintess Seat's biological brother wept tears of joy—the reason being that his sister no longer focused on beating him up. Not long after, the cousin shed tears of regret. After becoming the family's reserve successor, he really did get beaten up.
To this day, the cousin, who now holds twenty percent of the decision-making power in the Gileu Family, would first respectfully address the Saintess Seat as "cousin" upon seeing her, then watch her warily. Others might consider status, position, and such, but this cousin of his—once provoked—would genuinely beat him up.
The teleportation sensation was steady but somewhat uncomfortable for Su Xiao. This soft, weak teleportation felt vastly different from the usual teleportation experience. When the spatial fluctuations subsided, he found himself in the passenger transit hall of District 5.
His destination was the Central Building, where the City Lord of Twilight City, Xia Er Yin, conducted her work. Rumor had it that City Lord Xia Er Yin was a workaholic. To find her, going to her office in the Central Building was the most reliable approach.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked at a roadside barbecue stall. Speaking of which, Su Xiao had been to many worlds. As long as the city's living conditions weren't too harsh, roadside barbecue stalls were a must. It seemed that no matter which world people came from, they all had a special fondness for the charred aroma of fire-grilled food.
Ten minutes later, on a public tram heading toward the Central Building, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha sat in a row, each holding a large skewer of meat—no, Amu was gripping a handful. He always ate skewers like that.
Such synchronization caused a girl with glasses and a single ponytail across from them to secretly snap a photo. Her boyfriend beside her smiled apologetically and nodded toward Su Xiao's group.
The tram stopped and started intermittently. Su Xiao looked out the window at the scenery. The residents here probably couldn't imagine that the sun in the sky was truly about to fall.
This was especially noticeable when in the Northern Continent. Looking at the sun from there, the entire sun was dim and lusterless, with even black ring-like erosion at its edges. It felt like the darkness of the Abyss was slowly corroding the sun.
In contrast, on the Southern Continent side, the closer one got to Twilight City, the brighter and hotter the sun appeared. Since Twilight City was only a few hundred kilometers from Dusk City, the weather here was sunny and bright.
Su Xiao had been to the Lightless Zone, Black Mist Island, the Ancient High Tower, the Dark Moon Nightmare, and other places. After observing the sun from these locations and synthesizing the information, he judged that the Blazing Sun Lord of Dusk City's Central District, Ai Shi Luo Te, couldn't hold on much longer.
The old nobles publicly claimed this lord could last another hundred years, at minimum several decades. In reality, it was at most a few years. The erosive nature of the "Blazing Sun Blood" was fiercer than imagined. This was never meant to be borne by the current Blazing Sun Lord alone. The "Blazing Sun Blood" should have been divided into eight portions. Ai Shi Luo Te bore the largest share, while his seven knight commanders beneath the throne bore the remaining seven portions.
But now, let alone the knight commanders beneath the throne, even the true Sun God Clan had only Ai Shi Luo Te left. This monarch, bearing the entire "Blazing Sun Blood" alone, surviving until now was already remarkable.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking this, he suddenly smelled an unprecedented fragrance. This wasn't the scent of flowers or ordinary food. It was a fragrance that immediately captivated him, refreshing his heart and mind.
"This aroma."
Su Xiao spoke. Baha beside him looked over in confusion and asked, "Boss, is there some smell?"
After speaking, Baha nudged Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang, who was drinking honey lemon water through a straw, twitched his nose and barked once, indicating he didn't smell anything.
Amu also sniffed and let out a "moo." If there really was the scent of delicious food, Amu's sense of smell could surpass Bubu Wang's.
In just a few seconds, the refreshing scent disappeared. Su Xiao activated his "Hunting Vision." Everything around him lost its color, leaving only a strand of golden light particles spreading into the distance, intermittently.
Seeing this, Su Xiao understood what was happening. He opened his skill list and checked the Devouring Core ability.
[Devouring Core: X (Active Skill)]
Skill Effect: Can absorb high-level biological energy/rare soul energy to nourish Cyan Steel Shadow Energy. Increases Cyan Steel Shadow ability level and intensity based on the grade and quality of absorbed energy.
Passive Effect 1: ...
Passive Effect 4: When absorbing high-level biological energy/rare soul energy, applies energy paralysis effect to enemies (this paralysis effect has priority but can only be triggered when absorbing high-level biological energy).
Passive Effect 5: You have gained enhanced perception for high-level biological energy/rare soul energy. Your sense of smell and taste will categorize these two types of energy within the cognitive judgment of "delicacies."
...
Su Xiao estimated that this was "rare soul energy," hence the refreshing lingering fragrance. If it were "high-level biological energy," it would likely be like a "delicacy," giving a scent that made one want to wolf it down.
Taking out the "Soul Delicacy Guide," Su Xiao flipped to the latest page. Since he didn't yet know what this was, the name and hand-drawn illustration were left blank. Below, under the aroma section, he noted: "Refreshing to the soul when smelled, lingering fragrance in the mouth and nose."
Su Xiao closed this delicacy notebook. Since the Goddess of Fortune had shared the "Myriad World Delicacy Guide" with him, he also shared this "Soul Delicacy Guide" with the Goddess of Fortune. But who would have thought that after seeing it, her face turned pale, without the joy of a foodie encountering a delicacy.
As the saying goes, fine cuisine can satisfy the taste buds and appetite, while soul food can heal the heart. Such healing cuisine, yet meeting no one who recognized its value, and sharing the "Soul Delicacy Guide" with her—truly a pity.
This refreshing soul fragrance added another purpose to Su Xiao's visit to Twilight City. In total, he had two goals: to accept a large number of tasks from City Lord Xia Er Yin, and to find the source of this soul fragrance, so he could have a feast.
Thinking this, Su Xiao felt a bit hungry. Originally, he planned to try meeting City Lord Xia Er Yin as a summoner. Now, he needed to change that. His main profession was summoner, and his secondary profession was soul healer. Although this fishing method wasn't particularly clever, it was effective because soul healers were rare.
Moreover, Su Xiao didn't rely entirely on this fishing method succeeding. If it didn't work, he would later lock onto the location of the soul fragrance from above, descend from the sky, smash through all obstacles, and naturally discover what it was.
However, if he could use the fishing method to learn the source of the soul fragrance through City Lord Xia Er Yin, he would only need her to take him to the fragrance's origin. Once close to the source, he would need just 1.5 seconds. Su Xiao's "Blood Beast," manifested with blood energy, could swallow that soul object in two bites—the first bite taking half, the second devouring the rest.
The tram stopped. After getting off, Su Xiao saw the Central Building. This structure wasn't particularly imposing, carrying a sense of historical sedimentation. The outer walls showed slight signs of weathering. On the large paved square in front, flower beds were bursting with blooms. A dozen cats lounged among the flowers, looking at passersby with the arrogant gaze of feline royalty.
Entering the Central Building, Su Xiao went to the visitor reception area. Perhaps it was common for contractors from Apocalypse Paradise to come here, so his arrival didn't arouse much suspicion. However, when the reception staff heard that Su Xiao's secondary profession was soul healer, the pen in their hand paused. To conceal this action and the hidden irritation after the slip, the subsequent few questions carried a slight tone of difficulty.
If not for superior instructions, the staff member wouldn't have reacted that way. The pen paused because the brain received magnetic information that resonated with memories, instinctively considering and recalling.
"Alright, I understand your situation. This is the hotel for visiting guests. Please stay here for a few days. If the City Lord wishes to see you, someone will notify you immediately. I wish you a pleasant journey in Twilight City."
The female receptionist, who could score an 8 in appearance, smiled politely. It seemed she frequently dealt with contractors from Apocalypse Paradise.
At lower ranks, the relevant Paradise rules strictly prohibited contractors from exposing their identities. Back then, it felt like the Paradise behind them was worried about exposure causing unnecessary trouble. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all. Not allowing new contractors to reveal their Paradise faction was a protective mechanism for the individual contractors.
Leaving the Central Building, Su Xiao walked in the direction the female receptionist had indicated. After a few minutes, he arrived at the hotel for visiting guests. He registered at the front desk, got his room card, and took the elevator. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand reached in.
"Brother, your hearing isn't great. I called 'wait' just now."
A burly man stepped onto the elevator. His two teammates were one tall and one short. The short one looked like a dwarf, but his full medieval plate armor combined with a cigar pinched between his fingers created a truly unique style.
"Brother, from Apocalypse Paradise?"
The cigar-dwarf exhaled smoke from his mouth and nose.
"Oh."
Su Xiao replied calmly, pressing the button for the 12th floor.
As the elevator ascended, the three contractors from Sanctuary Paradise on the left occasionally glanced at Su Xiao. If any fate-type ability user were present, they would surely think their eyes were playing tricks on them. These three flickered intermittently, transforming into scarlet treasure chests—truly dancing on the edge of death.
When the elevator stopped, the three chatted and laughed as they left. Su Xiao pressed the elevator's door-close button.
'Contract, signed.'
Voluntarily delivered cannon fodder to attract attention at critical moments—of course, he wouldn't miss this opportunity. When the elevator reached the 12th floor, Su Xiao used his room card to open the guest room door and found it was a luxurious single room. It seemed Twilight City knew that Apocalypse Paradise contractors were relatively wealthy.
After discovering that most things in the room required extra payment at not-low prices, Su Xiao understood Twilight City's attitude toward Apocalypse Paradise contractors: warmly welcome, then ruthlessly fleece them. After all, these weren't natives of this world.
Su Xiao had just left the Dark Moon Nightmare yesterday. Although he hadn't fought much there, the nightmare erosion had still fatigued him. Resting for two days in Twilight City before going to fight the Nun to the death was the best choice. Against the Nun, Su Xiao's chances of victory were too low.
Trying to take shortcuts was impossible. Against a powerful enemy like the Nun, the more one thought about taking shortcuts, the higher the probability of defeat and death. Only by relying on one's own hard power to fight could there be a chance of victory.
Suddenly, Su Xiao felt fluctuations within Dragon-Slaying Flash. He was already familiar with this fluctuation—it was the Blade Demon Spirit successfully absorbing the "Undying Immortal Abyss Spawn Origin Energy" and converting it all into demon spirit energy.
Activating the "Demon Devouring Constitution" ability, he seized 50% of the demon spirit energy converted by the Blade Demon Spirit. After double filtration and conversion through "Demon Devouring Constitution" + "Devouring Core," he obtained a permanent enhancement energy, which his own physique absorbed.
[Your Abyss Resistance has permanently increased by 2 points.]
[Your all potential upper limit rank has permanently increased by +2.]
[Your Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity has permanently increased by 60 points.]
...
Su Xiao's Abyss Resistance reached 93 points, and his "all potential upper limit rank" reached +44. Regarding potential upper limit, he was only one step away from his expectation. As long as his "all potential upper limit rank" reached +45, then his Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence attributes could have a potential upper limit of 800 points.
Currently, this method of improvement wasn't particularly efficient, but it was far more stable than absorbing "Elemental Origin Matter." Not to mention that a single "Elemental Origin Matter" cost several million, even tens of millions of Soul Coins to buy. The principle behind improving "all potential upper limit rank" was something that those seeking the strongest couldn't accept.
Using secret methods to absorb "Elemental Origin Matter" was about amplifying one's own potential upper limit. Simply put, it was like expanding one-fifth of a cup of water into a full cup. This self-increase and expansion of the water in the cup would inevitably cause changes in the water's nature.
Conversely, Su Xiao's method was to obtain more source water, pouring it into the cup repeatedly until it was full. Doing this required far more effort and very rare means to achieve.
When it came time to advance to Supreme, each would drink their cup of water. Su Xiao drinking a full cup of source water would only feel unsatisfied. As for those who used secret methods to absorb "Elemental Origin Matter" to get a full cup of water, if they didn't die from drinking it, they were already lucky to successfully advance. Don't expect to feel unsatisfied or experience the internal nourishment of source water.
However, Su Xiao's method also had a downside. The Blade Demon Spirit, with a demon spirit intensity of 800 points, was increasingly "angry" at him. That's right, angry. Thinking about it, every time the demon spirit exhausted itself to near slumber within Dragon-Slashing Flash, converting precious demon spirit energy, before it could devour it, the guy outside the blade would snatch away 50%. How could it not be angry?
After meditating for a moment, Su Xiao calmed his breath. The Blade Demon Spirit's speed in absorbing the "Undying Immortal Abyss Spawn" origin energy was becoming astonishing. This was both good and bad. He looked at the black mist humanoid form a few meters away, its smoky long hair flowing without wind. 800 points of demon spirit intensity required 1200 points of soul intensity to suppress. This meant the demon spirit would be active for a while.
Dong dong dong~
The door was knocked. Su Xiao forcibly withdrew the demon spirit. After feeling obvious struggle and resistance, the demon spirit was sealed back into Dragon-Slashing Flash.
"Is this Mr. Soul Healer?"
A steady male voice came from outside the door. The title "Soul Healer" was what Su Xiao had thought of on the way here. Originally, he wanted to use the pseudonym "Xiu Ge," but considering that Xiu Ge was quite famous in the Void, he didn't do so.
"Yes," Su Xiao replied, then felt he couldn't be as silent as usual. Details in acting were important. He continued, "It's me."
"The City Lord has agreed to meet with you, but she is busy with work and can only see you in the restaurant."
Hearing this, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. It seemed City Lord Xia Er Yin was quite eager to find a soul healer. Otherwise, delaying the meeting by a day would be more in line with her status.
Under the guide's lead, half an hour later, on the 30th floor of the Central Building, in a private dining room, there were many types of food on the table, but they had nothing to do with delicacies. Everything was boiled very soft, including the vegetables.
The private room door opened. A woman with wavy brown hair, tall stature, not extremely beautiful but with a gentle temperament and very bright eyes, walked in. She looked around 30 years old. Although she took good care of herself, the strain of work inevitably gave her a sense of maturity. When she entered the room, her gentle temperament made people subconsciously feel safe and trustworthy, as if no matter what happened, they could safely rely on her.
One could only say, look at the leader-level figures of the friendly faction. The leader-level figures of the evil faction were all monsters and demons. Unless one was their absolute confidant, daring to fully trust them—one might as well quickly choose their initial attributes after reincarnation to avoid randomly reincarnating after sudden death.
City Lord Xia Er Yin sat down and said, "In my early years, I was assassinated by an assassin from the Soul Academy, which injured my heart and stomach. These dishes must not suit your taste. Whatever you like to eat, don't be polite."
After speaking, the secretary beside City Lord Xia Er Yin handed over a menu. Su Xiao raised his hand to decline. Seeing this, City Lord Xia Er Yin signaled her secretary to leave first.
The door gently closed. Su Xiao got straight to the point, "I see that City Lord's time is precious, so I won't be polite. My purpose in coming here is tasks—enough tasks to bring more profit."
"That's best. Most of the people I meet daily are false and hypocritical. Someone as sincere as you is rare. To have climbed to your height as a contractor without being entangled by the karma of slaughter shows that Mr. Soul Healer is a kind-hearted person. I appreciate your sincerity and kindness."
City Lord Xia Er Yin's words caused Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment three meters away, to twist his dog face in distortion. He recalled all his sad memories to suppress his laughter. The main issue was City Lord Xia Er Yin praising Su Xiao's sincerity and kindness—that was truly outrageous.
Faced with such praise, Su Xiao simply raised his hand to modestly indicate she was flattering him. But speaking of which, he indeed wasn't entangled by the karma of slaughter. The reason was that once he activated his blood energy, the karma of slaughter would immediately evaporate, with no chance to accumulate.
This was also the main reason City Lord Xia Er Yin fell into the pit today. She could perceive others' karma of slaughter, no matter how well hidden. The problem was that City Lord Xia Er Yin truly never imagined that someone's aura power could be as fierce as blood energy. Since blood energy could evaporate the karma of slaughter completely clean, in City Lord Xia Er Yin's eyes, Su Xiao became a kind and friendly person.
[Prompt: You have gained the initial approval of City Lord Xia Er Yin.]
[You have successfully activated Twilight City's task list. As long as you are in Twilight City, you can activate this task list at any time in any area to accept tasks.]
[To submit "Tasks Issued by Twilight City," you need to find City Lord Xia Er Yin or her secretary, You You Na, to submit tasks. Only after successful task submission and completion will the Void Tree give the task completer the glimmer silver coins reserved by Twilight City.]
[The task list is as follows:]
...
Su Xiao didn't continue browsing. He had previously thought he needed to find City Lord Xia Er Yin to accept tasks, then find her to submit them after completion. This would make subsequent acceptance and completion troublesome. Now it seemed the situation was far better than expected.
First, City Lord Xia Er Yin didn't know what tasks he accepted. Second, finding her secretary, You You Na, was also acceptable for submitting tasks. This meant that even if City Lord Xia Er Yin later saw through his identity, there was still a place to submit tasks. Who said one couldn't kidnap the secretary You You Na to submit tasks?
Please don't laugh. The operation of kidnapping a "neutral NPC" to submit tasks was theoretically feasible. As for what to do if Secretary You You Na didn't agree to the task submission? Then it was time to switch Charm attribute modes—restoring the 366/-27 point Charm attribute to -27 points. Activate blood energy, place Dragon-Slashing Flash against her neck, and begin Su Xiao's specialty: physical negotiation.
"Actually, this meeting, I have a favor to ask."
City Lord Xia Er Yin put down her utensils and sighed.
"Please, speak freely."
"It's like this. I heard you are a soul healer? I'm not doubting the authenticity of this..."
Hearing this, Su Xiao took a potion bottle from his storage space and tossed it to City Lord Xia Er Yin. His foundation for disguise as a soul healer was alchemy.
"The thing is, I have a friend who suffers from soul injuries. She foresaw that recently, she might be able to cure her years-long soul injury in Twilight City of the Blazing Sun Star. That's why she specially came here. Because this involves her own future prying, the results of her prying weren't detailed, only a few brief pieces of information. But your arrival in Twilight City shows her precognition was correct."
After hearing City Lord Xia Er Yin's words, Su Xiao became very interested in this friend of hers. He was extremely eager for divination-type individuals. Unfortunately, every time he encountered a divination-type, they either fled overnight or hid somewhere.
"This friend of yours is?"
"Actually, I don't know her name either, but people mostly call her the Goddess of Fate."
City Lord Xia Er Yin spoke with a smile. She didn't even mention how much the reward would be. After all, who could refuse the Goddess of Fate owing them a favor?
Hearing the title "Goddess of Fate," Su Xiao remembered—wasn't this the close friend of the Goddess of Fortune? He had tried several times to catch... ahem! Sincerely invite her to meet, but was always politely declined. Logically, she shouldn't walk into the trap willingly.
But then he recalled that he had recently raised the upper limit of the Law Destruction faction's fortune. The resulting consequence might be that when the Goddess of Fate made precognition involving the Law Destruction faction's fortune, she would be limited, just like when she precognition her own future—with huge limitations.
In fact, the Goddess of Fate walking into the trap this time had stacked a double buff. When she precognition her own future, she could see fragmented, disconnected images. Coupled with the influence of the Law Destruction faction's fortune this time, what the Goddess of Fate could precognition directly dropped from images to information mode. This information was: going to Twilight City could cure her soul injury.
In the past, the Goddess of Fate might not have come. The problem was that Twilight City was her friend's territory. If she didn't come to try her luck, she would definitely regret it later. Moreover, compared to her close friend the Goddess of Fortune, who would immediately back down at the sight of risk, as the Goddess of Fate, occasionally not challenging herself would be a disservice to the "Divine Soul" that symbolized the God of Fate.
"I can't guarantee a complete cure. And since it involves soul injuries, the treatment methods will inevitably be special. It might leave your friend with some memorable memories."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, City Lord Xia Er Yin was inwardly pleased rather than worried. Generally, therapists with real skills wouldn't claim a 100% cure rate and would mention in advance any drawbacks after treatment, asking if the patient could accept it, to avoid subsequent unpleasantness where kindness turned into enmity.
"Compared to soul injuries, what you call 'leaving some memorable memories' is nothing. Please, follow me."
City Lord Xia Er Yin made the commitment on behalf of her friend, the Goddess of Fate. At this moment, on the 35th floor above, in the City Lord's office, the Goddess of Fate was sitting in a leather chair, stretching lazily.
Her head full of milky white hair cascaded down. On her fair hands were very faint pale gold patterns. Her golden-red pupils seemed capable of perceiving everyone's fate.
The Goddess of Fate looked out the window. A few birds flew by. She had experienced precognition like this—being able to cure soul injuries—more than once. Previous times, she had also encountered powerful beings who could treat soul injuries. Unfortunately, none could do anything about her soul injury. So-called precognition about curing soul injuries was probabilistic. Even so, the Goddess of Fate was still happy to try.
But to be safe, the Goddess of Fate decided to precognition her own future once more. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. For some reason, in the past two days, when she precognition herself, she felt even more blurry. It seemed the traitless divine blood her close friend had given her last time was truly a divine system treasure, greatly enhancing her strength. The Goddess of Fate couldn't help thinking this, feeling pleased.
In this pleasant mood, the Goddess of Fate began to precognition. The environment she saw was somewhat dim. But in the next second, a massive blood beast composed of blood energy appeared before her. This enormous blood beast looked down at her, then grinned at her with bared, gleaming fangs.
"!"
The Goddess of Fate's eyes suddenly snapped open. Her pupils rapidly contracted in fright. She immediately wanted to stand up and leave this terrifying place. But in the next second—
Dong dong dong~
The office door was knocked. The Goddess of Fate swallowed her saliva. After weighing her options, she slumped back into the leather chair. Her eyes, which had already lost their luster, seemed to know who was already standing outside the door.