Chapter 41: Fortune
Inside the restaurant, the three members of the Big Brain Team were wolfing down the food on the table. It seemed that to deal with their fourth formidable enemy, the exiled Sun Warrior leader, they had been roughing it for some time. Among them, the Star Devourer was eating the most happily. Having only recently been born from the Giant Star Tree, it was in the stage of exploring the myriad realms of the void. Unlike the absolute cruelty of the previous Star Devourer, this newly born one was erratic in its morality, neither good nor evil.
This was not mere speculation; there was evidence. Previously, Su Xiao had entrusted the Three Scoundrels of the Arbiters to secretly assist the Big Brain Team, lest their questionable intellect prevent them from defeating the Bloodthirsty Beast. It wasn't until the Black Demon joined the team that this squad representing the Soul Academy became stable.
According to the Toad's covert observations, the Star Devourer, which resembled a ten-year-old boy with porcelain-like cracks on its face, hands, and other areas, had previously rested in the Soul Academy's Spirit Crown City. During that time, the Star Devourer was curious about everything. A roadside meat pie caught its attention, and to the Toad's surprise, the Star Devourer actually knew to pay and wait for change.
Seeing this, the Toad's eyes bulged to their limit. This was a being capable of becoming a world-destroying existence, yet it knew to pay and wait for change. Although the Star Devourer, holding a large paper bag of meat pies, spent a long time calculating whether the change was correct, and ultimately failed to figure it out, leaving with a displeased expression.
When the Star Devourer passed by an alley, something even more astonishing happened to the Toad. The aroma of the meat pies in its hand attracted the attention of a few stray dogs near a trash can. Then, the Star Devourer clumsily began to feed these strays.
Don't mistake this for kindness. A few days ago, in the Dark Moon Nightmare, it encountered a group of explorers and slaughtered them all. In more detail, the Star Devourer had gotten separated from the Tyrant and the Immortal Brother in the Dark Moon Nightmare. Bored from wandering, it happened upon these explorers.
The Star Devourer was curious about one thing: how sturdy these explorers' bodies were. So, it unilaterally negotiated with them to play a ball-tossing game. Anyone who dodged the dark matter pellet it threw would be allowed to leave.
Hearing this, a one-eyed tough guy among the explorers stepped forward, not to be the first to participate, but to kill the Star Devourer. The result was obvious; the one-eyed tough guy died horribly, so gruesomely that even the other explorers, brave enough to venture deep into the Dark Moon Nightmare, were filled with terror.
Under the threat of death, these explorers had no choice but to play the ball-tossing game with the Star Devourer one by one. Half an hour later, only one healer remained, her eyes filled with despair. Her teammates were evenly scattered across the ground within a few dozen square meters around her. What awaited her was a marble-sized dark matter pellet, resembling black iron.
Beside the dining table, Su Xiao put down his utensils and looked at the Star Devourer, still feasting. The current problem was that if he directly attacked and killed it, and it managed to escape, they would become mortal enemies. Remember, the Star Devourer was destined to reach the "Top Supreme" level; this was the power granted to each generation of Star Devourers by the Star Realm.
In other words, even if the Star Devourer did nothing, it would grow stronger every day. It was currently at the Absolute Strength level, but after some time, it might reach the Supreme level. The reason was that the Star Devourer wasn't increasing its power; it was recovering it. It initially had an upper limit of "Top Supreme."
As for whether it could achieve "Supreme Peak," that depended on each generation of Star Devourer. Each generation was a different individual. Some eras could achieve it, while others could not.
The Star Devourer was part of the Star Realm's rules. Within the Star Realm, some decaying stars needed something to devour them. Otherwise, they would not only hinder the birth of new stars but also, as they gradually decayed, breed terrifying entities. The Star Devourer's mission was to devour these decaying stars.
The Star Devourer could be good or evil, varying by generation. Some Star Devourers only devoured decaying stars or those with unstable energy that were about to explode and destroy surrounding planets. Others became addicted to stellar power, devouring thriving, healthy stars. Such Star Devourers would gradually transform into world-destroying existences.
Those who only devoured decaying stars and stabilized the Star Realm's rules would gradually transition toward the Star Dragon system. This didn't mean their form permanently became a Star Dragon, but they gained a transformation-like ability, allowing them to become a Star Dragon for a limited time. Each Star Devourer's appearance and form were fixed at birth and would not change thereafter.
Becoming mortal enemies with the Star Devourer was clearly not worthwhile. It wasted time and offered little gain. However, if left unchecked, the Star Devourer would likely become a world-destroying existence, making it a future mortal enemy. The ideal scenario was to steer this Star Devourer toward the Star Dragon system.
Realizing this, Su Xiao recognized that this situation was very suitable for triggering a task's prerequisites. He attempted to consult the Reincarnation Paradise for an advisory certification regarding the Star Devourer and the Star Dragon system.
To his surprise, after applying for this advisory certification, he actually received relevant prompts. This wasn't due to luck but was a corresponding authority derived from having a Void Tree Reputation exceeding 70,000 points.
[Tip: A task related to "Star Devourer" and "Star Dragon System" has been detected.]
[Total number of tasks: 1.]
[Task certification party: Void Tree.]
[Prerequisite to activate this task: Void Tree Reputation of 50,000 points or more.]
[Special Task: Star Realm Rules.]
Difficulty Level: Lv.94 (This task's level will increase in real-time based on the Star Devourer's comprehensive strength growth).
Task Description: Guide the current Star Devourer to evolve toward the Star Dragon system, rather than becoming a world-destroying existence.
Task Duration: 1200 natural days (not restricted to the current world).
Task Reward: Star Realm Chest (one of the highest-level chests).
Task Penalty: Deduct the current lowest physical attribute (current value + 10 absolute points).
...
The penalty for this task was quite severe. "Deduct the current lowest physical attribute (current value + 10 points)" meant that if, for example, Su Xiao's Luck attribute was his lowest, his 94 points of Luck would be deducted by 94, becoming 0, and then further deducted to -10. Having a negative Luck attribute would be extremely dangerous.
However, Su Xiao's lowest attribute was Charm. With his -27 points of Charm, he was completely unafraid of this penalty. If his Charm attribute ever dropped below -50, he would find a way to obtain a higher-starred [Exemption Badge].
The question was how to accept this task. Su Xiao contacted Kaiser via the communication channel. Kaiser replied quickly but said it was impossible to accept the task; the matter was very difficult.
Kaiser's claim that he couldn't accept the task was beyond doubt. But his subsequent remark that the matter was very difficult meant he had some methods, just with prerequisites and the need for more payment.
Su Xiao knew what the prerequisite was without Kaiser saying it. At the very least, someone needed to retrieve this task from the Void Tree's task pool. This would require someone with a Void Tree Reputation of over 50,000 points.
Once someone could retrieve the task, Kaiser could then find a way to transfer it from the task recipient to Su Xiao's task list. This would cleverly bypass the prerequisite of "Void Tree Reputation of 50,000 points or more," which Su Xiao could never achieve.
Regarding a Void Tree Reputation of over 50,000 points, Su Xiao thought of someone. Previously, using the "Emergency Aid" authority with the Fierce Brother and Xi'er, they had hooked the Battle Angel of this world, Zelina. Her Void Tree Reputation was indeed over 50,000 points.
When he let Battle Angel Zelina go earlier, Su Xiao had added her to his contact list using her Battle Angel imprint number. He now contacted her via text.
Bai Ye (Hunter): "Reply when you see this, or I'll have Xi'er find a way to locate you."
Zelina (Battle Angel): "I'm here."
Bai Ye (Hunter): "Interested in a deal?"
Zelina (Battle Angel): "Honestly, not really."
Bai Ye (Hunter): "Alright, sorry to bother you."
Zelina (Battle Angel): "You... don't be so polite. What are you plotting?"
Zelina (Battle Angel): "You're not sending Xi'er after me, are you? No need to do this to me. Don't send that seemingly shy lunatic after me!"
Zelina (Battle Angel): "Hey! Reply!"
Zelina (Battle Angel): "Fine, what's the deal?"
Bai Ye (Hunter): "Accept a special Void Tree task. Name your price for the reward."
Zelina (Battle Angel): "Urgent?"
Bai Ye (Hunter): "No."
Zelina (Battle Angel): "Give me five days. I'm on a Hunter chain quest in Sacred Heart City. Meet me in Twilight City when I'm done."
Bai Ye (Hunter): "."
Zelina (Battle Angel): "By the way, you didn't really send Xi'er to track me, did you? Honestly, let's handle matters between us ourselves. No need for outsiders. Did you or did you not send that lunatic to catch me? Reply quickly."
Bai Ye (Hunter): "No."
...
Su Xiao closed the contact list with Battle Angel Zelina, then opened the chat with Xi'er, telling her she didn't need to go. He sent her 800 Soul Coins via imprint mail. Receiving 800 Soul Coins for doing nothing made Xi'er quite happy, and she left a message saying she was available for similar tasks in the future.
Closing the communication list, Su Xiao began to consider how to make the Star Devourer abandon evil and evolve toward the Star Dragon system.
Looking around at the people present, Zuiyasi, who had a son and that son was particularly mischievous, was undoubtedly the best person to ask. Using the team's private communication function, Su Xiao texted Zuiyasi about this issue. The answer he received was quite concise: beat it.
The well-fed and watered Star Devourer leaned back in its chair, contentedly mumbling, "Humans only process food to satisfy their oral desires. This is a sign of lower intelligent life forms. Burp~"
After burping, the Star Devourer seemed ready to take a short nap before departure. Where it learned this was anyone's guess.
"..."
Su Xiao took out a bottle of [Dark Potion]. This wasn't really a beneficial elixir; it was generally used to enhance the properties of "Water-Type Potions." However, for the Star Devourer, [Dark Potion] was an excellent permanent enhancement potion.
Placing the [Dark Potion] on the table, the Star Devourer immediately perked up. It looked at the [Dark Potion] on the table, then at Su Xiao. Even with its not-so-bright little brain, it could sense a trap. So, pretending not to care, it picked up the water glass beside it and took a sip.
"To be honest, I killed the previous Star Devourer."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, the Star Devourer showed no reaction. It had already guessed as much. Otherwise, it wouldn't have received the inherited memory from the "Star Devourer's Inherited Power" upon birth, telling it to seek revenge on the Law Destroyer.
"So, you want to kill me too?"
The Star Devourer's pitch-black pupils narrowed, looking like it wasn't afraid and was ready for a one-on-one fight at any time.
"As a Law Destroyer, I wouldn't do something so barbaric."
"Cough!"
Ailukulu, who was drinking lily porridge, nearly choked. The crimson-haired Ailukulu glanced at Su Xiao but said nothing.
"Then what do you want?"
The Star Devourer felt something was off but didn't think much of it.
"I plan to give you some compensation."
Hearing this, the Star Devourer looked confused. Wood, Zuiyasi, Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss all stood up one after another, saying they were full and wanted to go outside to see if the train had arrived. These five old yinbis were clearly trying to avoid getting splattered with blood later.
"My goal is to take revenge on you, not to get compensation. Even if you give me more..."
The Star Devourer couldn't finish its sentence because Su Xiao had Amu bring out a case of [Dark Potion], neatly arranged with 24 bottles.
"Gulp~"
The Star Devourer swallowed hard. After repeatedly telling itself not to be tempted by this enemy, it angrily said, "Even if you! Even if you give me this much, I... can still consider it."
The Star Devourer's tone shifted from anger to softening, and finally, its eyes became clear. Presumably, one case of 24 [Dark Potions], one case of 24 [Miracle Potions], one case of 20 [Dark Life Secret Potions], and one case of 22 [Starry Sky Potions].
Four cases of potions stacked together on the table in front of the Star Devourer. As compensation for resolving the conflict, this was ridiculously generous, which explained why the Star Devourer's eyes grew clearer.
Next to the Star Devourer, Ailukulu quietly stood up, moved to the adjacent seat, and kept her distance. Her intuition told her that this generation's Star Devourer was about to be fooled into a daze.
"If you insist on seeking revenge on me, that's fine too."
Su Xiao said, then signaled Amu to take all the elixir cases off the table. This was the difference between promising and actually presenting the items. If Su Xiao had only promised these elixirs and then withdrawn them, the Star Devourer would only be angry and feel tricked.
Now, the Star Devourer had seen them and felt as if it already owned these elixirs. Taking them away under these circumstances wouldn't just cause anger or rage; it would be the pain of loss. Having something that felt like its own taken away would naturally create reluctance. Reluctance bred desire, desire bred greed, and greed was a weakness.
"Alright... alright, I'll pretend the past never happened. Besides, the previous Star Devourer was a world-destroying calamity, and you're a Law Destroyer. This is... factional hostility? In that case, we should indeed reconcile."
The Star Devourer had already started making excuses for itself. Seeing this, the Spellcaster Ailukulu sighed softly. She knew this Star Devourer was completely fooled.
Although the plan was to beat the Star Devourer to make it reform, it couldn't be done directly. That would only max out its anger, which would then escalate into hatred.
But if goodwill was built first, like now, because Su Xiao gave so much, the Star Devourer's favorability had already risen from -50 to 68. In terms of cost, there was basically none. The potions Su Xiao brought out were potent and precious, but their manufacturing cost was low; the value was in the craftsmanship.
With favorability at 68, given the current relationship, the Star Devourer wouldn't drop into negative favorability again. Instead, favorability would hit 0, then transition to anger. When anger maxed out at 100, it would then transition to hatred.
Thus, as long as the beating stayed within 168 points of favorability, preventing the Star Devourer's anger from breaking 100 and turning into hatred, it would be fine. Afterward, giving various potions and using persuasion to clear the anger, raising favorability back above 50, would solve the problem. This was commonly known as "controlling the anger while beating."
During this process, the Star Devourer would realize the dangers of becoming a world-destroying existence. As long as its brain was even slightly normal, it would definitely evolve toward the Star Dragon system.
The plan was becoming clearer. Su Xiao felt that the chances of completing the [Special Task: Star Realm Rules] were high. He had never obtained a [Star Realm Chest] before and was curious about what rare treasures it might contain.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, signaling that the Lord's Train had arrived. Su Xiao stood up and went to the courtyard, where he saw the Lord's Train, like a steel beast, and Delona stepping out of the carriage.
"Hello, everyone."
Delona's smile was exceptionally bright. Even though there were Ancient God system beings, humanoid Ancient Gods, Fate Devouring system beings, the Black Demon from the Abyss, and the Star Devourer present, Delona wasn't intimidated at all. If anyone tried to harm her, she could just call her sister Ayesha out. The Dark Cradle was one of the most powerful Abyss Spawns.
Due to the current situation in Twilight City, the great noble Luciwa, who had been forced to return, was now overwhelmed with work. Naturally, he didn't need the Lord's Train, so Su Xiao borrowed it.
As for Luciwa's sister Delona, this girl couldn't stay idle. Knowing they were going to the Dead City, she naturally wanted to tag along. However, Luciwa had instructed that she not be allowed into the Dead City. Once there, Delona wasn't to get off the train; the Lord's Train would bring her back.
Everyone boarded, and the door closed. Including Delona, there were fifteen passengers. Fortunately, the carriage was spacious enough, not crowded, with room for Delona to chase Bubu Wang around wildly.
The train started, and as it entered the alternate space, the wilderness scenery outside the window flew by. Su Xiao was about to pass the time with meditation when the Toad sent a message. He had previously asked the Toad to investigate the whereabouts of the Fate Hand, Ashwiss. The randomly generated [Power Fragment: Soul Will] was too tempting to pass up; he had to secure it by any means.
According to the Toad's investigation, the Fate Hand, Ashwiss, hadn't left this world. This genuinely surprised Su Xiao. The last time he saw Ashwiss, the guy looked like he never wanted to set foot on Blazing Sun Star again for the rest of his life.
From the Toad's description, Su Xiao understood what happened. The plot was quite amusing. After escaping the Great Library, Ashwiss naturally wanted to leave this world as quickly as possible. According to the agreement, the Great Library had brought him here and would also send him out. But Ashwiss, who had nearly been killed by the Great Library, no longer dared to trust it.
Blazing Sun Star had a world-level seal, making it easy to enter but hard to leave. Only with certification from the Void Tree or a Paradise faction could one leave easily. Ashwiss obviously didn't have that.
Thus, Ashwiss had to find a powerful local faction and use their world-level teleportation array to first go to a small satellite of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom, Eberyas, and then use another world-level teleportation array there to reach the Void. Once in the Void, things would be easier.
The problem was that there were very few factions in this world with world-level teleportation arrays. In Twilight City, the Great Library, old nobles, and new power brokers had them. Next were the Soul Academy and the Pantheon of Gods. After weighing his options, Ashwiss decided to use the Soul Academy's world-level teleportation array to leave.
After some searching and inquiries, Ashwiss finally found a particularly reliable teleportation array master. According to the referrer, the Soul Academy's world-level teleportation array was built by this master. However, what Ashwiss didn't know was that this teleportation array master was none other than the infamous Nicholas Kaiser.
Don't laugh. Although Kaiser wasn't a teleportation array master, he did know how to operate a world-level teleportation array, and his skills were slightly better than the current teleportation master at the Soul Academy. Having been paid, the Three Scoundrels of the Arbiters had Ashwiss standing on the Soul Academy's world-level teleportation array early the next morning. There were many details, but don't mind them; just look at the result.
The spatial light on the world-level teleportation array lit up, almost bringing tears to Ashwiss's eyes. As it turned out, he was celebrating too early. The moment the array activated, the space in this world suddenly trembled. It felt as if an invisible world-burning flame was about to incinerate this world. Although, for some reason, the flame didn't actually ignite, it caused a momentary stutter in the world's spatial system.
There were no other effects, except that a certain unlucky soul using the world-level teleportation array had their teleportation coordinates deviated due to the spatial stutter. They were now in the darkness of the Lightless Zone.
The Three Scoundrels of the Arbiters were indeed a collection of unscrupulous, treacherous, cunning, insidious, and greedy individuals. But once things entered the "paid for service" process, they became very reliable. Kaiser and the other two rushed to rescue Ashwiss, who had mistakenly entered the Lightless Zone. They had already arrived at the Vanguard Fortress.
After reading the intelligence provided by the Toad, Su Xiao rubbed his forehead. He suddenly wondered if his previous draw of [Power Fragment: Golden Annihilation] was due to this Fate system's boost. This guy's own fortune could be so unlucky that it was hard to describe.
Was Ashwiss unlucky because of his own bad fortune? Of course not. He was a Fate system. If he couldn't even manage his own fortune, he would be a joke within the high-threshold Fate system ability system.
Everything started when Ashwiss, to gather resources for advancing to Supreme, stubbornly chose to boost the fortune of the Third Era's only Shadow of Law Destruction. From that point on, Ashwiss had his ultimate nemesis. Yes, it was that Law Destroyer whose fortune he had temporarily boosted.
Earlier, after escaping the Great Library, Ashwiss was in a daze, weak and exhausted, walking the streets of Twilight City. He had already sensed something was wrong.
In just one hour, he had his feet stepped on over 20 times by passersby, nearly hit by a car 5 times, passed by as underground pipes burst 3 times, had billboards fall near him five or six times without wind or rain, choked on water twice (once dislocating his back), and slipped on a wet floor, nearly doing a full split. Ten minutes later, a disheveled Ashwiss crouched by the roadside as passersby began tossing coins at him. He finally realized the severity of the situation.
If Ashwiss was unlucky just being in the same big city as Su Xiao, he would be grateful. But now, as long as Ashwiss was in the same world as Su Xiao, he would suffer intermittent bad luck.
For example, while using a world-level teleportation array, he happened to coincide with a Law Destroyer sealing an Original Sin object, causing Ashwiss to be inexplicably teleported to the world's dangerous area, the Lightless Zone.
The good news was that this bad luck would completely disappear once Ashwiss left this world, or Su Xiao left. Ultimately, the karmic backlash from daring to boost a Law Destroyer's fortune wasn't easily dispelled. Only a sufficiently large physical distance could completely sever this faint karmic backlash, allowing it to dissipate entirely.
To put it more intuitively, Su Xiao's bad luck was now being continuously absorbed by the big unlucky soul, Ashwiss. This was why, when refreshing the [Power Lord]'s constructible power fragments, [Power Fragment: Soul Will] appeared.
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't go to the Lightless Zone. The Three Scoundrels of the Arbiters, having been paid, were reliable. The most important matter now was dealing with the God Incarnation.
The lineup for dealing with the God Incarnation this time was quite powerful. The problem was, within this powerful lineup, who would betray whom was a huge question. Moreover, the God Incarnation's combat power was bound to be ridiculously strong.
This was evident from the task difficulty. Previously, the task to kill the Nun was Lv.95++. Now, the task to kill the God Incarnation was Lv.95+++++.
More critically, the task penalty was "All attributes -3%, forcibly teleported out of this world." By the standards of main quest penalties, this was essentially no penalty at all.
As the Lord's Train decelerated, the surrounding environment grew dim. The carriage door opened, and everyone disembarked one by one. A smell of decay mixed with blood permeated the air. Looking at the sky, it was pitch black with an unsettling dark red hue. The wind howled in their ears.
The ground underfoot was dry and brown. In the distance, a large city with crumbling walls and a long slope of piled bones in front of them came into view. They had arrived at the "Dead City" in the Northern Continent.
Just facing the Dead City gave a heavy, oppressive feeling. This sensation made Ailukulu, in her gold-white robe, slowly exhale. However, the team's lineup this time gave her some comfort. She looked at her temporary teammates, only to suddenly notice that in the brief time since getting off the train, Wood and Zuiyasi had disappeared without a trace, without any perceptible fluctuation.
Ailukulu looked the other way and "happily" discovered that Bubu Wang, the Platinum Apostle, and Delona had also vanished into thin air. This made her suddenly feel that this trip to the Dead City was becoming exceptionally dangerous.