Chapter 58: Return
The meat steak in the thick-bottomed pan sizzled as it fried, the fat rendered out and soaked into the fresh spices surrounding the steak. A peculiar aroma spread, making one salivate as their gaze fell upon the delicacy in the pan.
Zuiyasi hummed a tune while busy in the kitchen. As a father of two, he naturally possessed a cooking skill he rarely showed off.
The reason he revealed it today was that among those present, Wude, who came from a large family, had no connection to cooking. Youyou Na, who lived with her parents, had a culinary limit of frying a decent poached egg when boiling noodles. Su Xiao could cook and did it decently, but having been poisoned and laid flat more than once, both Zuiyasi and Wude refused to let Su Xiao approach within three meters of the kitchen.
Youyou Na, being a city lord's secretary, had intelligence that needed no elaboration. Under Baha's instruction, she mastered several card games in just fifteen minutes. Then Baha, Wude, Youyou Na, and Amu started playing cards. To maintain a harmonious atmosphere, they naturally didn't gamble real money; instead, the loser got sticky notes plastered on them.
After an hour, it became Amu playing cards with three inverted white mops. Even the mild-tempered Youyou Na lost until her neat little white teeth clenched with a clicking sound.
"Why hurt yourselves? Food's ready, let's eat."
Hearing Zuiyasi call for dinner, Amu put down his cards and stood up. Youyou Na was about to speak when Wude flipped over Amu's hand. Seeing the cards, Youyou Na's eyes widened a bit. She questioned life for a moment, then decided that since things had come to this, she'd eat first.
To be fair, Zuiyasi's cooking was quite skilled. About three tiers away from making it onto the "Ten Thousand Realms Food Guide." That was actually impressive, like an amateur facing a professional—different specialties, no one is absolutely perfect.
After the meal, Youyou Na leaned back in her chair, letting out a satisfied sigh. She asked, "Bai Ye, your mission has been submitted successfully. Keeping me tied up seems pointless now. Why not let me go?"
Hearing this, Baha laughed and replied, "Of course not. We haven't received the ransom yet."
"Ransom? What ransom?"
"The ransom your city lord pays."
"This... there was no such step the first two times."
"There is now. Surprise."
"But... kidnapping me to extort ransom from Lord Xia Er Yin doesn't make sense."
Youyou Na was confused. She roughly knew what had caused the world's rebirth-like changes. After all, she was the most trusted confidant of City Lord Xia Er Yin. So in her mind, the Law Destroyer = savior. How could such a person kidnap her and extort ransom from her big boss?
"Let me break it down for you," Baha cleared his throat and said. "We're from the evil faction. We've dealt with Twilight City, the Gods' Religion, and the Soul Academy before, and our faction's style is similar, right?"
"Uh... that seems right."
"Then let me ask you, the Dawn City you're in is a neutral-friendly faction, right?"
"Of course."
"So, we from the evil faction kidnap you, an important NPC from a good faction, and extort ransom from your city lord. There's nothing wrong with that!"
"Uh... that does seem... correct."
Youyou Na forced a strained smile. She felt something was off but couldn't articulate it.
...
At that moment, in Dawn City's Central Building, Grand Meeting Room.
Wearing an outer coat over a white T-shirt, City Lord Xia Er Yin sat in the main seat. On both sides of the seven-to-eight-meter-long meeting table were Dawn City's high-ranking officials, each with several trusted aides standing behind them. These officials all looked as if bathed in spring breeze.
"City Lord, why did you urgently summon us? The work you assigned me has kept me from going home for a good sleep in half a month. So please make it brief."
A man with gold-rimmed glasses and slicked-back hair spoke. He looked about thirty-five, exuding the mature, steady charm of a man that age.
"Well, it's like this. Youyou Na has been kidnapped by the Law Destroyer Bai Ye."
At City Lord Xia Er Yin's words, the room fell silent. A few seconds later, laughter rippled through the officials. They couldn't believe it—today's city lord was unexpectedly humorous. How could it be? The Law Destroyer who defeated the Sun God Clan and made the old days history would do such a thing? Absolutely impossible.
At that moment, the Dawn City officials seemed to trust Su Xiao's Law Destroyer reputation more than he did himself.
However, when City Lord Xia Er Yin played a recording showing Youyou Na with a gleaming, bloodthirsty battle axe at her neck, all the officials' smiles gradually faded. Some directly put on "pain masks." They had all read about the deeds of the First Era Law Destroyers and had once thought Arcane Eternal Star was slandering the Law Destruction faction. Now it seemed... perhaps, probably, maybe... not.
"Is he going to extort Soul Coins?" an old man with a long beard asked gravely.
"No. I offered to pay Soul Coins, but that Law Destroyer's demon eagle follower replied that the Law Destruction faction also has principles—they only trade for items, not extort money..."
As he spoke, City Lord Xia Er Yin was already holding his forehead with one hand. The officials in the room all had expressions so vivid they could form an emoji collection. One burly man rubbed his face with both hands and said angrily:
"What does this Law Destroyer want?"
"Holy Gem."
"If you put it that way... it doesn't seem like extortion. But the act itself is."
The glasses-wearing man rubbed his face with one hand, trying not to put on a pain mask. He said this because that particularly ancient legendary gem was brought to this world by the First Era Law Destroyers and sealed by the Sun God Clan. As the Sun faction declined into the Third Era, this treasure fell into Dawn City's hands.
The reason Su Xiao knew Dawn City had the [Holy Gem] was from Green Gillian's account. He currently held the [Soul Devouring Gem] and [Will Gem (pending recovery)], so he didn't mind holding one more.
The Star Realm had eight strongest gems: Abyss Gem, Element Gem, Holy Gem, Soul Gem, Nature Gem, Death Gem, Will Gem, and Soul Devouring Gem.
Using two of these eight legendary gems simultaneously would trigger a gem curse so fierce that even Su Xiao couldn't withstand it.
Su Xiao was using the [Soul Gem]. As for holding the [Holy Gem], [Will Gem], and [Soul Devouring Gem] simultaneously, there was theoretically risk, but as the owner of the [Book of Original Sin], the risks associated with holding those three gems were completely negligible.
...
Among the eight gems, the [Soul Gem] was the most special. Only those 100% recognized by this gem could use it. In return, this gem required no development—it was at its best state from the start, and the stronger the user, the stronger the soul-slashing effect this gem exerted.
The other seven gems required initial recognition after acquisition, then gradual development to show their power. Among them, the Will Gem was the hardest to develop, while the Abyss Gem, Holy Gem, and Soul Devouring Gem were the most dangerous to develop.
Su Xiao had an incomparable advantage in holding these gems: his Law Destruction fortune had a massive fortune volume. This volume was large enough to "attract" the abilities once possessed by the strongest gems.
For example, with the [Soul Devouring Gem] Su Xiao now held, if he sold it to a destined person and that person died, the [Soul Devouring Gem] would normally have two outcomes: obtained by the killer or immediately return to its original gem pedestal, waiting for a challenger to come through the dangerous area and take it from the pedestal, starting a new cycle of cause and effect.
The problem now was that when the [Soul Devouring Gem]'s holder died, the gem would high-probability return to Su Xiao. In the connection of cause and effect, it wasn't that the [Soul Devouring Gem] chose Su Xiao, but that it was forcibly pulled over.
Moreover, Su Xiao didn't intend to monopolize these strongest gems. After obtaining them, he would definitely sell them, at a fixed price of 500,000... no, 300,000 each. This way, Su Xiao and the three strongest gems formed a mutually beneficial relationship.
If the destined person's fate wasn't strong enough to obtain one of the three strongest gems at the bargain price of 300,000 Soul Coins, Su Xiao would profit 300,000 Soul Coins, and the sold strongest gem would return. If he truly encountered a person compatible with these three legendary gems, it would be the best outcome for them.
Except for the Abyss Gem and Element Gem, the remaining six strongest gems were willing to circulate among users. For them, who had existed for who knows how many ages, whether killing off arrogant holders or cooperating with compatible users, both were rare pleasures.
The Abyss Gem and Element Gem were exceptions because they were too ancient and profound. They couldn't be bothered with compatible users, let alone arrogant holders.
Su Xiao estimated that unless one was a compatible user of these strongest gems, they would be killed off by the gem after holding it for one world. A rare few could last two world progressions before being killed.
Balancing it out, after one world progression, just selling gems would net 900,000 Soul Coins. That was a full 900,000 Soul Coins. Normally, struggling through a high-end copy for one world would yield similar income. Since this 900,000 Soul Coins was like picking it up for free, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't refuse.
As for why the Law Destruction faction sealed the [Holy Gem], it was because this gem would make its compatible user too holy—holy to the point of becoming absolute law. To put it in down-to-earth terms: if the holy one saw someone spitting on the ground, they might be sentenced to capital punishment.
The holder of a legendary gem went through three stages: Use, Resonance, and Assimilation. Don't think higher stages were better. Among the three stages, "Resonance" was the best for the user—it allowed full use of the gem's power without being influenced by it. At the Assimilation stage, the gem's attribute's consciousness would heavily taint the user's mental tendencies.
...
Either holy, or hungry, or full of death, or craving soul devouring, etc.
Interestingly, the negative effects of the [Soul Gem]'s "Assimilation" stage were useless on Su Xiao. As a human who could directly eat Soul Crystals, the Soul Gem had no erosion desire toward him. Therefore, Su Xiao would never reach the "Assimilation" stage with the Soul Gem.
Why wasn't Su Xiao planning to seal the [Holy Gem]? Given the behavior of Reincarnation Paradise's high-rank contractors, even if eroded by the [Holy Gem], it might not be a bad thing—maybe they'd even reform.
At the original site of Twilight City, now the Wild Overgrowth Ruins, near the eastern great swamp.
This place had become a paradise for flora and fauna. The newborn sun's excessive life force had made the plants exceptionally lush. Su Xiao sat on a tree branch, feeling that Dawn City, favored by all major forces, might not become the world's strongest power. Instead, the overlooked plants might rise in the next few years.
The final scenario would be: major forces fighting tooth and nail for the top spot, and when the plant faction rose, all human forces could only watch helplessly as the plant faction grew.
Water spread and formed a figure—a gentle-looking handsome man. His true Charm attribute was probably over 700 points. However, with Su Xiao's Charm attribute of -27 points, he was immune to all Charm-derived negotiation bonuses.
This made the water-attributed man, who started with a relaxed smile, forced to smile under Su Xiao's expressionless stare, and finally break out in cold sweat. Anyone who constantly felt like their head might be cut off would suffer immense mental pressure.
It was like lying on a guillotine, negotiating with the man opposite. The man seemed expressionless, but he held the guillotine's rope, and behind him loomed a massive blood beast with a full mouth of sharp teeth grinning ferociously. Facing such a perception scene, anyone would have maxed-out mental pressure.
The water-attributed man wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out an exquisite wooden box, and threw it. The box suddenly changed direction, as if grabbed by something, heading toward Su Xiao. As it landed on Su Xiao's shoulder, Baha appeared, opened the box, and asked:
"Boss, is this the gem?"
Hearing the demon eagle's words, the water-attributed man grew more nervous. He clearly sensed that if that terrifying man said no, the demon eagle would immediately swoop over, and before he could react, an eagle claw would pierce his skull.
"..."
Su Xiao raised his hand. Baha's eagle claw picked up the [Holy Gem] and placed it in his hand. He held the [Holy Gem] between his thumb and forefinger. Through its reflection, he saw the water-attributed man's serious and dignified expression—exactly the result the [Holy Gem] would cause.
"Item received."
Baha opened an alternate space, and Youyou Na walked out of the space passage. Seeing the water-attributed man, she looked suspicious. Previously, this was a hostile force within Dawn City. Dawn City wasn't ruled solely by the city lord. It seemed this enemy force had been forced to submit to the city lord's faction.
Just as Youyou Na took a few steps, Baha suddenly said, "Wait."
"!"
Youyou Na wasn't scared, but she was definitely nervous.
"Leave a souvenir."
...
Baha on Su Xiao's shoulder tossed out an orange sack. Seeing this, Youyou Na's little white teeth clenched with a clicking sound. These guys had used this thing to kidnap her three times.
"You..."
Youyou Na started to speak but suddenly noticed that the person, dog, and demon eagle behind her had disappeared. Not only that, all the plants in the entire great swamp area were facing this direction. Tree branches bent, grass turned. From above, the entire Wild Overgrowth Ruins had turned into a plant-formed great whirlpool. The gradually awakening intelligent plants seemed to know that the Law Destroyer who had slain the old days had left this world.
...
[Teleportation complete. You have returned to Reincarnation Paradise.]
The teleportation sensation subsided. Su Xiao leaned back in a single sofa, completely relaxed. This level of relaxation had never occurred since he entered Blazing Sun Star.
Activating the recovery function, Su Xiao didn't plan to use the deep recovery permission immediately. Instead, he would first treat injuries like his left arm, then undergo deep treatment for more comprehensive recovery.
The life support device was taken out. Su Xiao's crystal left arm shattered, and his original arm moved over. The bones recovered first, followed by muscles, nervous system, etc. Additionally, the severe burns from fighting the Sun King began to heal, dead skin gradually peeling off.
Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini's injuries began to recover. However, while recovering, Beini pretended nothing had happened. Although this injury was brave, she found it a bit embarrassing. Her entire contribution was one meow, then she was blown away by the enemy's aura and slammed into a wall.
"Meow."
Beini jumped into Su Xiao's arms and curled up. About half a year ago, Bubu Wang saw Beini do this and tried to imitate. But with his size, it wasn't jumping into Su Xiao's arms—it was crashing down on him. After getting hit with his "favorite" big slipper, he never dared to jump-crash like that again.
[You have mail from the Void.]
Su Xiao casually opened his contact list, found the mail section, and saw it was signed by Green Gillian, with a note "sent by a friend." The mail text was blank, and the attachment was an item. After selecting to claim it, a prompt appeared.
[You have obtained: World Pointer.]
[World Pointer]
Origin: Void · Sky Island · Seventh Production Workshop.
Quality: World-Class.
Category: Special.
Durability: 89/100 points.
Equipment Requirement: Sense of direction capable of distinguishing north, south, east, and west.
Equipment Effect: Fog-Revealing Map (Core · Passive). When you enter a world, this pointer will obtain the complete map of that world through the certification authority branch of the Paradise faction/Void Tree. However, due to certification reasons, the map will not be directly displayed to you. The map you can view will be shrouded in black fog. Your movement trajectory will have a fog-revealing effect.
Tip: When a world progression ends and you leave this world, you will gain a corresponding increase in perception based on the fog-revealing range.
Perception Effect: Higher probability of sensing nearby secret treasures, and mastering identification of secret treasures, equipment, and gems will have perception prerequisites.
Introduction: A wonderful journey.
...
Rating: 4872 points (World-class equipment rating is 10~6000 points).
Sale Price: Cannot be sold after equipping.
...
It seemed Green Gillian had remembered that she had repeatedly emphasized leaving Su Xiao particularly interesting and useful treasures. In the end, she didn't leave an address and simply had the friend temporarily holding the [World Pointer] send it to Su Xiao.
This item highly suited Beini. After giving it to her, Su Xiao took out an item called [Greed Orb] from his storage space.
[Greed Orb]
Origin: Gloomy Continent.
Equipment Effect: Omen of Greed (Passive). When carried on person or equipped in a special accessory slot, if there is a secret treasure within 100 meters, this item will emit a unique fluctuation and release a secret treasure glow, drifting toward the secret treasure's location.
Equipment Detriment: Greed's Misfortune (Passive). When carried on person or equipped in a special accessory slot, it will significantly reduce your own fortune (because your fortune lower limit is too low, this detriment is ineffective on you).
Introduction: Those greedy for secret treasures always have occasional bad luck. Of course, if you're already unlucky enough, this orb can't do anything to you.
...
He had obtained this item in the Eternal Light World. Initially, it had activated a few times, but later, for some unknown reason, it never activated again. Not only that, but the orb's surface had even cracked a bit.
Su Xiao felt he should find an opportunity to sell this thing. Otherwise, not only would carrying it be useless, but it might suddenly explode, following in the footsteps of [Demon Hunting King], [Dragon Hunting Glory], and [Inscription Base · Divine Sacrifice].
[Tip: For this recovery, you have paid a total of 38,620 Soul Coins.]
The recovery cost kept rising, but looking at his current Soul Coins, Su Xiao felt reassured.
[Starting world reward settlement.]
Primordial World: Blazing Sun Star.
World Difficulty: Lv.70 ~ Lv.???
World Source: 238.18%.
Number of Tasks Completed: 12 (This world's task bonus judgment, maximum 12, not that the Hunter only completed 12 tasks this time).
Comprehensive Evaluation: S+
Starting world source collection...
World source collection complete. Starting reward calculation.
Rewards Obtained: 100 True Attribute Points (maximum obtainable per world for Absolute Strong rank brand), Origin Stone 30 (this is ordinary Origin Stone), Gold Resin 82 grams.
Tip: True Power · Plunder has been activated. You will gain 1~3 Golden Skill Points.
Tip: You have gained 3 Golden Skill Points (determined by comprehensive evaluation).
Comprehensive Evaluation is S+. Hunter's current brand rank is Lv.95. Brand rank +6.5 (World rank task completion count + Comprehensive evaluation - Task completion time, Upgrade Expert · Title additional +0.1).
Tip: Your brand rank has reached Lv.95 (this is the maximum rank achievable for Absolute Strong rank).
Tip: Your additional permissions +Lv.6.5.
Settlement complete. Rewards have been deposited into the Hunter's brand.
...
This was the most True Attribute Points Su Xiao had ever obtained. But thinking back, the distorted beast deities, tower knight commanders, nuns, divine incarnations, Blazing Sun Lord · Aishiluote, and the Sun King—recalling these powerful enemies one by one, he felt he might have died on Blazing Sun Star. Defeating these strong foes, such world source gains were not surprising.
...
Plus the initial clearing at the God Exile Grounds. Don't forget, the gods had also flourished on Blazing Sun Star for a time. Even if they later distorted, the world source gained from killing them was not low.
Additionally, the [Gold Resin] obtained this time was good stuff. About 100 grams of Gold Resin could seal a nine-star title. Though not all nine-star titles could be sealed.
This wasn't for sealing and selling. Its greater value was for purchasing titles. For example, Su Xiao's current meditation title was the six-star [Natural Resonance]. If he wanted to buy a nine-star meditation title suitable for him, he could leave various requirements for the title on the Great Gathering Place stall, add "Gold Resin ready," and someone would soon contact him to sell the title.
The Great Gathering Place was open to high-rank contractors from the six Paradises. This greatly increased the probability of buying a suitable title. The only obstacle to title trading was that 96% of titles were initially untradeable.
Su Xiao took out the [Reincarnation Treatment Badge (Permission Item)] and selected to use it. The next second, he, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini all gradually floated up. This deep recovery was actually team-based.
Invisible energy particles appeared around them, absorbed by the body, flowing through the blood to perform the deepest recovery. As Su Xiao gradually descended, he leaned back in the single sofa, enjoying the deep recovery. Completely relaxed, he soon fell asleep.
When Su Xiao woke up, over five hours had passed. He stood up from the sofa. Saying he felt like taking off an iron suit was an exaggeration, but he did feel completely light. Not only that, the "souvenirs" he and the Archbishop of the Abyss had left each other had disappeared. Various hidden injuries had recovered. Especially the soul scorched by the blazing sun during the death match with the Sun King—this was the hardest to recover, but now it was fully restored.
[Tip: Abyssal Shadow has completed this upgrade.]
[Abyssal Shadow]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: ★★★★★★★★★
Limit Burn Refinement: Five times (Ultimate).
Category: Title · Highest Rarity.
Title Effect 1: Wrath Shadow (Passive). When fighting world-destroying level existences and Abyss system enemies, deal an additional 50% True Damage.
Title Effect 2: Dark Shadow (Passive). Each point of your Abyss Resistance increases body speed by 1% and Health Points by 5,000 points.
Current Body Speed Increase: 93%.
Current Health Points Increase: 465,000 points.
Title Effect 3: Abyss Walking (Core · Passive). When entering the Abyss, you will not be affected by environmental erosion.
Introduction: As the wrathful shadow in the Abyss, are you really ready?
Sale Price: Cannot be sold.
...
[Detected that this title has been upgraded to the highest tier. You have completed the achievement task: Strongest Title Creator.]
[You have obtained a new permission: Title Reforging!]
[When you activate the Reincarnation Paradise-certified Title Burn Refinement Disc, you can activate this ability. After activation, place the title to be reforged in the burn refinement slot for one reforging. After successful reforging, the title will be upgraded to one-star ??? potential (title potential will be determined by your fortune).]
[Because you have obtained the Title Reforging permission, you can now view the potential level of existing titles.]
...
...
Su Xiao opened the title bar. Sure enough, all titles now had a potential value displayed. Among them, [Abyssal Shadow] and [War Lord] had a potential value of 100%. The former had its potential maxed out when it transformed from [Deep Blue Shadow] to [Abyssal Shadow], while the latter was the representative summoning title of the Demon Insect Race, so its potential was also maxed out.
Apart from these, none of Su Xiao's titles had a "title potential" exceeding 75%. They were: