Chapter 48: Soul
Dawnlight City, Southern District.
The Southern District was once the most chaotic area of Dawnlight City. After Shalein was elected city lord, the black-market industries and gangs in the Southern District suffered a fatal blow. After years of governance, in last year's Rain Festival district security evaluation, the Southern District achieved an impressive second-place ranking among Dawnlight City's 26 districts.
Southern District, Tower Sand Port, Pier 5 Residential Area.
The early morning sun filtered through the gap in the curtains. City Lord Secretary Yuyuna was lying sideways on the bed, straddling the blanket, enjoying the comfort of staying in bed. Her mother's knocking and gradually irritable tone, threatening to show maternal care, forced her to get up. She lazily responded that she would get up soon, which finally appeased her mother. Then she lay back down and fell asleep again.
Half an hour later, Yuyuna sat at the dining table, yawning, eating breakfast. The delicious home-cooked meal gradually awakened her taste buds. Just then, her mother stopped beside her, leaned in to look at her for a few seconds, muttered something strange, then turned to cook breakfast for Yuyuna's father.
Yuyuna glanced at the time. It was already 7:30. She needed to hurry. She quickly walked to the bathroom mirror. Just as she cupped water to wash her face, she suddenly felt something was off. She looked up at the mirror. She seemed no different from usual, but when she touched her facial skin and observed carefully, she found her skin had improved dramatically.
Due to staying up late and high-intensity work, even though Yuyuna was still young, her skin was worse than her peers. But now she found she had dream-level skin condition. This immediately reminded her that the night before last, after returning home, she had diluted one-fifth of the bottle of moisturizing and beautifying potion given by the Holy Soul Master into her bathtub and soaked in it, almost falling asleep drowsily.
The next morning, there was no change. But remembering that it required once a week for a month to take effect, and since it was a gift from someone else, she couldn't complain whether it worked or not. As for the claim that it could keep skin healthy and fair until after age 50, Yuyuna just listened casually. Such nourishing secret medicines certainly existed, but they weren't something she, as a city lord's secretary, could access.
Yuyuna didn't like driving. She took the rail bus to the central building. On the way, she couldn't help cupping her face with both hands, touching her skin, a smile spreading across her face. A nearby little girl was startled stiff. People around gradually moved a few steps away. Passengers farther away started pointing and whispering, muttering that young people today were under too much pressure, leading to some mental issues. Noticing this, Yuyuna maintained her composure, though inwardly she felt so embarrassed she wanted to jump off the bus.
Half an hour later, finally arriving at her 33rd-floor office in the central building, Yuyuna took a sip of hot drink and let out a long sigh. Seeing the several large stacks of various documents on her desk, she tied up her hair, put on her glasses, and began a new day's work.
While reviewing the second document, Yuyuna's expression turned serious. According to the report from the visitor hotel, the Apocalypse Paradise contractor who called himself Holy Soul Master would leave Dawnlight City today. From what he said, he intended to return to Apocalypse Paradise, meaning he would leave this world.
Yuyuna brought the document to the city lord's office. Moments later, City Lord Shalein, behind the desk, put down the document, gently rubbed her temples with her fingers, and asked casually, "Yuyuna, how trustworthy do you think this Holy Soul person is?"
"City Lord, I believe no contractor is completely trustworthy. They are travelers when they enter a world. Even if they commit heinous, appalling acts, they can just leave."
At this point, Yuyuna paused. City Lord Shalein raised her hand, signaling her to continue without concern.
"If I were to evaluate contractors by their orderliness and moral standards, I personally feel that Mr. Holy Soul could be called a good-natured person, though a bit lazy and laid-back."
Hearing this, City Lord Shalein nodded. She shared Yuyuna's feelings, but somehow, Shalein had a vague intuition that it was best not to trust this self-proclaimed Holy Soul Master. Letting him leave like this might be the best outcome.
"Yuyuna, go to the city bank and find Vice President Lales. Have him take you underground to see the tree. Take a photo of it and bring it back to me as fast as possible."
Receiving this task, Yuyuna didn't ask a single question. Over 40 minutes later, returning to the office, Yuyuna placed a somewhat surreal-colored photo on the desk.
The photo showed a tree shape. Due to the surreal colors, darkness could be seen rising from underground, spreading to the tree's trunk and roots. The erosion was already quite severe. If left unchecked, this unknown light tree would surely be in trouble.
"Eroding this fast..."
City Lord Shalein threw the photo into the shredder. The whirring sound of the exhaust fan made her gaze distant. After a moment, she finally made a decision and said, "Contact Holy Soul Master. Tell him I have urgent business with him."
...
Dawnlight City, Eastern District, a gem workshop.
Since it didn't process decorative gems but catalyzed and embedded supernatural gems, this gem workshop was in a somewhat remote location. Compared to the high rent of prime locations, this gem workshop was like good wine needing no bush—it had more business from regular customers than it could handle.
But today, the owner of this gem workshop faced the biggest crisis of his life. A group of people who looked like good people but weren't, after entering, forcibly broke the door bolt and pulled down the iron outer door with a clatter.
When the high-hired guard shouted and charged forward, he was slapped into a spinning top by the minotaur. Then, when the guard's killing intent surged and he counterattacked lethally, the minotaur crushed his head like a watermelon with one hand. The workshop owner's eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted.
The workshop owner held on and didn't faint. He witnessed the five black-clad figures behind skillfully cleaning up the splattered biological tissue and packing it together with the body. The workshop owner almost burst into tears. If the watermelon-crushing scene was terrifying due to visual shock, this skillful cleanup was fear seeping into every pore.
Then, a large bag of currency—Jiaosi—placed on the display counter diluted the owner's fear. Learning that this was just a deposit for using the shop, with more payment to come, the fear vanished. A smile uncontrollably spread across his face. As for the dead guard, he didn't care. This was a thug placed here by the local gang to collect protection money. This ruffian was also a talent—he said he wanted to further protect the gem workshop but demanded an extra payment from the owner, essentially forcing himself into a job.
The reason for choosing this place was that it was both within Dawnlight City and remote enough, not far from the city wall—an ideal spot for a kidnapping.
Setting down a dark red gem, Su Xiao prepared to kidnap Secretary Yuyuna. Just then, the communicator on the shelf suddenly rang. Picking it up, he found it was Yuyuna calling. After thinking for two seconds, he guessed what was happening. The trap he had set up since entering Dawnlight City had finally been triggered by the target.
When he first arrived in Dawnlight City, due to the passive effect of the Devouring Core, Su Xiao smelled an enticing aroma. Only high-level biological energy or rare soul energy could produce such a fragrance. The difference was that rare soul energy had a refreshing, lingering scent, while high-level biological energy was like a delicious feast, making one salivate, eyes glinting red, revealing a beast's sharp teeth, eager to devour a meal.
Why did Su Xiao use the identity of Holy Soul Master? When he first arrived in Dawnlight City and smelled that refreshing lingering scent, he detected a hint of discordant dark aura. This dark aura was all too familiar to him—it was darkness with certain Abyss characteristics.
He guessed it was a dark-type energy extremely enhanced by the Abyss. These dark energies then bred and grew, during which they invaded the exotic plant with rare soul energy.
In such a situation, someone skilled in soul-type treatment was needed to help remove the dark erosion. It was like when people get sick, they see a doctor; when animals get sick, they see a vet. If a soul-type exotic plant had problems, naturally, a soul healer or a divine system ability user was needed. But given the distorted sun of Blazing Sun Star, divine system users dared not stay long here.
As for this suddenly appearing soul treatment specialist, City Lord Shalein naturally had doubts. But Su Xiao was just giving it a try, not expecting much from this trap. He needed a disguise anyway, and disguising as a summoner and soul treatment specialist didn't cost anything extra.
To his surprise, this disguise actually worked, but it went a bit sideways. Previously, City Lord Shalein invited him not to treat the exotic plant with rare soul energy, but to heal the Goddess of Fortune's soul injury. Still, overall, there was gain.
Now, Yuyuna's contact was likely City Lord Shalein wanting to take a risk. Su Xiao answered the communicator, and the voice on the other end said:
"Mr. Holy Soul, do you have time now?"
"No time."
Hearing this, Secretary Yuyuna on the other end said, "Well, Mr. Holy Soul, I have a commission here and would like to invite you."
At this point, Yuyuna lowered her voice, as if afraid others might hear: "The reward is very high."
One had to say, this was worthy of City Lord Shalein's most trusted secretary. If this were said in a serious tone, it would feel condescending and patronizing, making the listener displeased. But Yuyuna's youthful, playful tone, as if not wanting others to hear, implying they were acquaintances and she had good news first, was more likely to win favor.
"It's not about the reward. I don't have time recently. At the latest, tomorrow, I'll be leaving here. I might never come back. Fate willing, we'll meet again, Yuyuna."
With that, Su Xiao was about to hang up. The communicator came through: "Wait, wait!"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, nor did he hang up. Yuyuna on the other end said, "Mr. Holy Soul, can you tell me where you are? How about we meet?"
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak, as if considering and hesitating.
"It's almost noon. Let's meet at Pinecone Restaurant. I'll reserve a spot. Just take some time to come. No matter where you are, you have to eat lunch. Dawnlight City has convenient transportation. It'll take at most 10 minutes, ah no, 20 minutes."
Hearing this, Su Xiao thought for a few seconds and replied, "Alright, see you at the restaurant."
Hanging up, Su Xiao was certain that City Lord Shalein wanted to commission him to treat the exotic plant with rare soul energy. As for why he kept refusing, this was just the beginning. He would need to refuse a few more times to be safe.
People had a habit: if help came out of nowhere, the first thought was not gratitude but vigilance—was this a scam, a trap? Conversely, if cooperation was achieved after great effort, multiple rejections, and barely holding on, there would be no doubt.
As the saying goes, heaven never invites proactively; only hell beckons. But if hell starts playing hard to get, well, that's why old schemers are terrifying.
That noon, at Pinecone Restaurant, two streets away from the central building, the restaurant wasn't luxurious, which helped bridge distances. The atmosphere was like inviting a friend for a casual meal, making cooperation easier without formality.
In the private room, Yuyuna fully displayed her negotiation skills. Unfortunately, she felt her excellent eloquence met a man who always smiled but kept ruthlessly refusing. This left Yuyuna helpless.
However, when City Lord Shalein entered the private room and offered a reward Su Xiao couldn't refuse, Su Xiao considered for half a minute before finally nodding in agreement. But he also set conditions: he would leave tomorrow, with limited time left in this world. He would start treating the Soul Sacred Tree this afternoon, but couldn't guarantee follow-up treatment since he was about to leave.
From the refreshing lingering scent of the rare soul energy, Su Xiao guessed Dawnlight City had an exotic plant, but he didn't expect it to be a Soul Sacred Tree. In the ranking of soul food expectations, the Soul Sacred Tree ranked ninth.
Over ten minutes later, Su Xiao sat in the back seat of a car, with City Lord Shalein on the right and Yuyuna on the left. Although this was a good opportunity to kidnap Yuyuna, compared to seeing the Soul Sacred Tree, this matter could wait.
The car's material was special. With Su Xiao's disguised perception as a summoner, he couldn't penetrate the vehicle. So he occasionally glanced out the window. Acting required attention to detail. Being taken in such a vehicle and appearing calm would be suspicious.
"Mr. Holy Soul, we're going to the city bank. Don't worry, we really mean no harm."
Yuyuna spoke to reassure him. Su Xiao turned to look at Yuyuna. What a good kid. I'll tie you up later, and tell Amu to tie you loosely.
When the car stopped at the city bank's main entrance, as soon as they got out and entered, Su Xiao saw two teams of security personnel. Escorted by one team, they came to the innermost part of the first floor, a vault-level private room. This room only had an elevator door, completely old-fashioned mechanical structure, from a different era than the luxurious elevator in the bank lobby.
Boarding the elevator, several security personnel pulled down the iron gate. The elevator descended. Estimating at least several thousand meters down, the elevator jolted and stopped. The group stepped out. The scene before them was like a dreamy fairyland. Various colored light insects fluttered. Flowers and grass emitting faint white fluorescence grew on the ground, changing light and dark when stepped on. A few brightly colored birds flew by, landing on a rare small tree.
The five security personnel around had pseudo-absolute strength combat power. So-called pseudo-absolute strength was unique to Blazing Sun Star. The hearts of blood beasts, moon beasts, and wild beasts that came out at night contained distorted solar power. By absorbing these beast hearts to quickly advance, they were called pseudo-absolute strength. Though powerful, they were generally short-lived, with a peak period of less than 10 years. From the start of absorbing beast hearts, their remaining lifespan was only about 12 to 13 years.
However, the security captain among them indeed had true early-stage absolute strength. With Su Xiao's disguised summoner combat power, he would certainly be crushed by the security captain. As for if it really came to a fight...
Following the winding path, after a few minutes of walking in this underground space, a Soul Sacred Tree appeared ahead. It was over ten meters tall, with a semi-transparent trunk and branches hanging down, emitting a soul-light blue glow.
Originally, this Soul Sacred Tree had a soulful, ethereal, dreamlike beauty. But now, faint black smoke was drifting from it. Seeing this, City Lord Shalein's brow furrowed deeper.
Everyone had different tastes. To Su Xiao's eyes, the Soul Sacred Tree's current state was perfect. If the normal Soul Sacred Tree was an ingredient, then the current one was like food that had been marinated and then properly cooked, retaining its original flavor with a natural sweetness from coarse salt. Moreover, the Soul Sacred Tree wasn't woody; its texture was more like fresh bamboo shoots.
"Holy Soul, can you dispel the dark aura from the Soul Sacred Tree?"
City Lord Shalein spoke. Hearing this, Su Xiao pondered for a moment and shook his head.
"You can't?"
"It's too far away. I can't sense it clearly. How strong do you expect a summoner's perception to be?"
Though the delicious feast was before him, he still had to control the details of his acting.
Hearing this, City Lord Shalein felt awkward. But if they got closer, they would enter the barrier range. While she hesitated, Su Xiao said:
"I think this Soul Sacred Tree can continue like this without major problems. At least no risk of withering. In my opinion, you should find a more professional soul plant healer. I specialize in treating the souls of living beings. Though I could try treating this Soul Sacred Tree, it's not my specialty."
Su Xiao's attitude was clear: the Soul Sacred Tree's situation was bad. Facing such a troublesome matter, of course, it was best to avoid unnecessary trouble. He had important things to do.
Seeing Su Xiao's attitude, City Lord Shalein was secretly relieved rather than worried. She feared most those who had little ability but made big promises, only to mess everything up. In contrast, someone cautious like Holy Soul, even if he couldn't cure it, would leave room for failure.
After a moment's thought, City Lord Shalein removed the ring from her index finger and tossed it forward. The barrier ahead opened. The group approached to within five meters of the Soul Sacred Tree.
"Holy Soul, what do you think? Can you treat it?"
"Yes."
Hearing this, it was hard not to feel joy. City Lord Shalein didn't show it but asked, "To what extent can you treat it?"
"Complete cure."
Hearing this, City Lord Shalein was first stunned, then her pupils violently contracted.
Boom!!
Crimson blood energy erupted, forming a massive blood beast behind Su Xiao. The blood beast opened its huge mouth wide and bit toward the Soul Sacred Tree.
Squelch~!
The Soul Sacred Tree's trunk splattered juice everywhere. The ground, air, and ceiling were covered with sacred tree juice. The blood beast turned its head and swallowed the entire Soul Sacred Tree in one bite, leaving only less than 10 centimeters of stump. A complete cure... seemed... not wrong.
Drops of soul juice splattered on City Lord Shalein's cheek. With her pupils contracted to the extreme, this city lord experienced the greatest loss of composure in her life.
The blood beast chewed the Soul Sacred Tree and then swallowed it with a gulp. Due to the delicious taste and flavor, the blood beast grinned, baring sharp fangs. Some soul tree juice remained between its teeth. The blood beast's tongue licked it clean, not wasting the sweet soul juice.
At the center of the surging blood energy was Su Xiao, his eyes faintly red, his disguise passive deactivated.
"Kukulin... Bai Ye!!"
City Lord Shalein stared at Su Xiao. This city lord, with only an ordinary person's physique, showed no fear or retreat when facing Su Xiao's blood energy head-on.
How did he know she wasn't afraid? The blood beast, with its blood energy fully unleashed, could smell the unique scent of fear.
Leaving aside City Lord Shalein's anger, the surrounding security personnel were truly brave. They lunged at Su Xiao, their weapons aimed at his throat or heart.
Su Xiao raised his hand, palm up, and clenched it. The next second, several dull thuds sounded. The four pseudo-absolute strength guards in the blood energy instantly exploded into blood. Their blood immediately formed into blood spears, piercing the security captain's body from all directions.
Snap~!
Su Xiao snapped his fingers to trigger the explosion. All blood spears detonated. The blood splattering in the air, before it could scatter, was gathered and compressed under his control, forming a marble-sized black blood core. It shot out in a straight line, killing a completely invisible guard.
A trace of blood appeared and spread in the air, then revealed the image of an invisible man with his forehead pierced, followed by his thudding fall.
Su Xiao looked to one side. A black afterimage charging at ultra-high speed suddenly stopped. This assassin met Su Xiao's eyes. This was the most wrong and terrifying act of his life.
[King's Crown·Full Score·World-Class Equipment·Equipment Effect 2: Malicious Gaze (Core·Passive): When you have killing intent and gaze into a target's eyes, they will suffer immense psychological pressure and mental damage, taking (difference between your true willpower and theirs × 52.6) times True Mental Damage per second, along with Immobilization and Gaze Lock effects that the target absolutely cannot remove, until the target dies.]
Su Xiao raised his hand, using his middle and index fingers to clamp the long-toothed blade that had stabbed near his neck. He casually flipped it, now holding the weapon, and calmly yet cruelly stabbed it into the assassin's neck, until it pierced through the back of the neck.
"You'd better kill me too, or I'll never stop until one of us dies."
City Lord Shalein said this not as a provocation or to save face, but to indicate that if Su Xiao thought he could kidnap her and extort benefits from Dawnlight City, that was impossible. She had contingencies.
"Is that so? How terrifying."
Su Xiao didn't intend to kill City Lord Shalein. The reason was that if he didn't kill her, this city lord, who had developed Dawnlight City to such prosperity, would never put the city in danger. She would eventually endure it. If he killed City Lord Shalein, that would be an open war with Dawnlight City, forcing him to raze this large city to the ground. Whether in terms of time lost or gains obtained, it wouldn't be worth it.
A Law-Destroying Teleportation Array formed under Su Xiao's feet. City Lord Shalein, whose mentality was somewhat shattered and not yet fully recovered, said, "You're leaving just like that? Don't you want to say something?"
City Lord Shalein's tone had calmed, without the earlier anger.
"Thank you for hosting the sacred tree lunch. It was delicious."
With that, the Law-Destroying Teleportation Array activated with a thud, leaving City Lord Shalein, whose mentality shattered again, breathing heavily from anger. She asked without turning her head, "Yuyuna, are you okay? Yuyuna? Yuyuna?"
City Lord Shalein turned around. Behind her was empty.
At that moment, a heavily modified steam car sped down the main street. Bubu Wang was in the driver's seat, making the car race along with drifts. Baha was in the passenger seat, Amu in the back. As for Yuyuna, she was in the VIP seat—the trunk—in a custom orange sack.
When the car stopped, Yuyuna felt someone lift the sack she was in. Her mouth was bound, and she made whimpering sounds of struggle. An hour later, in the basement of the gem workshop, a white incandescent light hung from the ceiling. Yuyuna was tied to a wooden chair, blindfolded, her mood extremely anxious. The last image she saw was a dull thud. When she came to, she was already in the orange sack.
Just then, someone dragged a wooden chair over and placed it opposite Yuyuna. The person sat down. Soon, Yuyuna felt someone come behind her and remove her blindfold. As she opened her eyes, the light stung, making her turn her head and close her eyes. After adjusting, she looked at the man opposite her and suddenly felt he looked very familiar.
Thinking carefully, this seemed to be the infamous villain, Law Destroyer Kukulin Bai Ye. This was bad.
Yuyuna looked around, saw Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, and the clever girl immediately connected Holy Soul Master with Law Destroyer Kukulin Bai Ye, realizing Holy Soul Master was a fake identity.
"And I trusted you so much. I won't let you succeed, whatever you want to do."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. The quiet atmosphere made Yuyuna want to cry. She finally couldn't hold it in and asked, "What... what exactly is your purpose?"
Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder and said, "You are a certified Dawnlight City faction unit, so we're here to submit a few commission tasks to you."
"Ah?!"
Yuyuna was stunned. Her innocent big eyes were full of confusion about the world's dangers, and the bewilderment and daze of a sparrow being bombarded by a siege cannon.
As one of the two faction units certified by the Void Tree in the Dawnlight City faction, Yuyuna had naturally encountered many Apocalypse Paradise and Holy Light Paradise contractors coming to her to submit tasks. Her impression was that Apocalypse Paradise contractors were polite and wealthy, while Holy Light Paradise had many young ladies, though a small portion of the pretty ones seemed mentally unstable.
Su Xiao opened the task list and selected the following tasks to submit: