# Chapter 4: High-Rank Source Material Chest × 3
[Proceeding with other income settlements.]
[You have obtained the complete notarization of the aggregated chest.]
[You have obtained 987,650 Hunter Gold Coins.]
……
Various materials appeared within Su Xiao's storage space, but he did not let his guard down. He was still within the Dawn ruins, and if his estimation was correct, something major was about to happen.
An intense sensation of teleportation struck. Even for Su Xiao, it caused considerable discomfort. Almost simultaneously, he sensed an item forcibly stripped from his storage space—the「Puppet Mark」within the「Gray Gentleman·Scarlet Card」.
Dawn Paradise had long sealed the「Forbidden Mark」. Due to the previous silence, the「Forbidden Mark」had shattered into five pieces and escaped its seal. Currently, the Dawn ruins' seal on the「Forbidden Mark」had not yet dissipated. Moreover, since this seal was notarized by the Void Tree, it naturally kept the「Forbidden Mark·Puppet Mark」here this time.
When the teleportation sensation subsided, Su Xiao found himself inside a building. This structure resembled a clock tower, very tall. He was now in its empty top floor, with a terrace ahead. He stepped onto the terrace.
Looking down below, the buildings here were chaotic. It was evident that the vast architectural area below was terraced, divided into several major zones. The closer to the high zone of this clock tower, the more magnificent the buildings. The lower city area down the slope, however, was exceptionally dilapidated, with some spots even having makeshift shanties, resembling a slum.
A building entirely of iron-gray caught his eye. The Θ brand on that building made Su Xiao think of a possibility—this seemed to be within Watch Paradise.
The scene before him was hard to imagine as being one of the six major Paradise factions alongside Reincarnation Paradise. But he quickly recalled the number of worlds notarized by each Paradise:
Worlds notarized by Reincarnation Paradise: 175,236 (First Rank to Pre-Transcendent World).
Worlds notarized by Death Paradise: 106,430 (First Rank to Pre-Transcendent World).
Worlds notarized by Apocalypse Paradise: 86,220 (First Rank to Ninth Rank).
Worlds notarized by Holy Domain Paradise: 75,400 (First Rank to Ninth Rank).
Worlds notarized by Holy Light Paradise: 38,662 (First Rank to Ninth Rank).
Worlds notarized by Watch Paradise: 7,260 (First Rank to Ninth Rank).
……
Watch Paradise had declined. The number of notarized worlds was even less than the trailing digits of the second-to-last Holy Light Paradise. Moreover, most of the worlds it possessed were low-rank worlds.
The vicious result of this was that the faction's own mission worlds were insufficient. They had to rely on the Void Tree's notarized transit, paying a certain amount of Space-Time Power, to allow their contractors to enter worlds notarized by other Paradises.
If these contractors were capable enough, they could not only recoup costs but also bring additional Space-Time Power to Watch Paradise. The problem was that not all contractors could achieve such a turnaround.
Conversely, Watch Paradise would raise mission difficulty, forcing contractors to recover the notarization costs. This inevitably led to a surge in mortality rates among Watch Paradise's contractors.
The surge in mortality reduced the number of contractors, leading to the consequence of losing to other Paradise factions in world contention wars, resulting in even fewer notarized worlds, continuing the above vicious cycle.
Worse still, not all mission worlds could be reset. Only low-rank worlds could be reset—meaning derivative worlds could reset. However, the Space-Time Power that contractors could bring to a Paradise faction in derivative worlds was negligible. More often, Paradise factions lost Space-Time Power in derivative worlds but could use them to cultivate stronger contractors.
Primordial worlds could not be reset; they were real, existing worlds. Given the destructive power of contractors on primordial worlds, mid-to-high-rank primordial worlds were destined to be chronic consumables. Only eighth-rank, ninth-rank, Absolute Strong, and Supreme-level primordial worlds were akin to fixed assets.
The reason was that, given the strength of the indigenous forces in these worlds, contractors had to tread carefully inside them. Of course, certain individual hunters were exceptions, even threatening the safety of these high-rank primordial worlds.
Many contractors felt that Watch Paradise's representative class—the Tank System—was truly unremarkable. Early game: tanky. Mid game: tanky. Late game: tanky. They were destined to be punching bags. In reality, the Tank System was not weak; they had simply lost their high-risk advancement channels. Some particularly powerful tank abilities could only be awakened in Watch Paradise.
For example, the three great tank systems—Sky-Supporting, Earth-Shaking, and Eternal Flame Wine—none were to be trifled with. Unfortunately, with Watch Paradise's decline, these tank systems could no longer emerge.
With a thunderous boom, a muffled thunderclap appeared in the sky. Su Xiao looked up to see the sky filled with black lightning.
Below, all the Watch Paradise contractors had emerged from various buildings. They looked up with confusion and shock. A very few high-rank Watch Paradise contractors wore expressions of defeat. An even more horrifying sight was a Watch Paradise guardian, clutching his upper arm in agony, where the Watch Paradise·Guardian Mark was rapidly peeling away and dissipating.
Boom!
A bolt of black lightning struck. The tower symbolizing Watch Paradise exploded. The Θ mark did not shatter but gradually faded.
Dark energy converged, forming a towering, majestic black iron palace at the site of the original Watch tower. The Ξ mark on the palace was especially conspicuous. The Ξ mark represented Dawn Paradise.
The iron-black energy representing Dawn Paradise spread from above, beginning to devour the notarization of this Watch Paradise space, replacing it.
[Announcement (Void Tree): Watch Paradise has fallen silent.]
[Announcement (Void Tree): Dawn Paradise is about to revive.]
……
Su Xiao watched everything unfold before him. He was clearly witnessing history. As for whether he could prevent Dawn Paradise's revival in this Paradise contention war, the answer was absolutely impossible.
First, in this Paradise contention war, Reincarnation Paradise, ranked first in comprehensive strength, surprisingly had no team seat. Therefore, Su Xiao had to rely on Apocalypse Paradise's indirect notarization to participate in this contention war.
The reason for this situation was that Reincarnation Paradise's notarization had denied the convening of this Paradise contention war from the start. Among the six Paradises, Death, Apocalypse, Holy Domain, and Holy Light agreed to the convening of this contention war in terms of notarization, while Watch Paradise abstained.
The vote result was approval. Thus, Reincarnation Paradise was effectively a natural abstainer from this Paradise contention war, naturally having no team slot.
Watch Paradise's abstention vote made the judgment of the participating teams here somewhat ambiguous. Consequently, the notarization of Dawn's impending revival exploited this loophole, resulting in the teams from Watch Paradise this time being violators like Hao Tao, Black Demon, Moon Witch, and Platinum Apostle.
The only team from Watch Paradise that participated was the Knight Team, composed of several guardians from Watch Paradise. As soon as they appeared, they tracked Hao Tao and engaged him. As top-tier guardians of Watch Paradise, the Knight Captain naturally knew what was about to happen. Yet even so, he did not want to be associated with violators like Hao Tao. Hence, before his death, the Knight Captain uttered those words:
"We are the last face of the guardians."
The Knight Captain was not exaggerating. There might never be guardians again.
Therefore, Holy Domain Paradise simply did not send any participants. Instead, it summoned violators from Holy Domain Paradise. The result was that, except for Shenfu, no Holy Domain Paradise violator responded to the summons.
However, compared to these signs of Dawn's revival, there was an even more obvious point—Su Xiao's current「Hunt List·Blood Pact」bounty 5:
「Bounty 5. Dawn Erosion: Witness the erosion of Dawn (Requires payment of a bounty deposit of 20 ounces of Space-Time Power to activate this bounty. Due to its extremely high difficulty, completion will yield 10 to 3000 times additional bounty reward).」
Why was completion extremely difficult? Because only by becoming the victor of this Paradise contention war could one qualify to be here and witness this scene of Dawn eroding Watch.
The revival of Dawn Paradise had a significant impact on Su Xiao. He could confirm that those hidden Supreme-level violators from the past would immediately respond to Dawn's summons after its revival, becoming violators under Dawn Paradise.
Suddenly, Su Xiao thought of one point—why Dawn Paradise was reviving this time. If he was not mistaken, Dawn Paradise's revival would have immense restrictions on recruiting new contractors. It might even be unable to recruit new contractors through normal channels, only able to recruit violators who had defected from other Paradises.
Blocking is worse than channeling. Letting violators from various Paradises run rampant with the Void Tree's public notarization was worse than letting Dawn Paradise revive, thereby restraining the violators of all Paradises.
At the very least, before Dawn Paradise fell silent, there were no such monstrous violators as Gray Gentleman, Shenfu, or Platinum Apostle.
The representative violator of the previous generation, Xiketo, was inwardly shocked when encountering Shenfu and Platinum Apostle. His thought was: Are violators nowadays this absurd? Huh? They can devour Primordial Death? Huh? They dare to use the Forbidden Mark? Wasn't this thing sealed by Dawn Paradise?
As a violator, you could be mediocre, but you could not be a monster.
Therefore, with Reincarnation Paradise's opposition and Apocalypse, Death, Holy Light, and Holy Domain's approval, Dawn revived. From now on, whenever a violator appeared, it would no longer be judged by each Paradise faction. Instead, the Void Tree would conduct a fairness ruling on whether this target had become a violator.
Once someone became a violator, they would initially be hunted by hunters, battle angels, and other strong individuals from various Paradise factions. If the violator survived three hunts, they would receive the Dawn Mark and become a violator of Dawn Paradise.
Su Xiao closed the information he had consulted from the Void Tree. With his Void Tree reputation, he naturally did not have this authority. However, as the victor of this Paradise contention war, he could still view these materials.
[You have completed Bounty 5. Dawn Erosion: Witness the erosion of Dawn.]
[Due to the「Hunt List·Blood Pact」's multiple bounty + bounty correction, you will receive a total bounty reward valued at 60,000 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Space-Time Stone Fragments × 3500 (This is an equivalent item, which can be sold to Reincarnation Paradise at any time for 35,000 ounces of Space-Time Power).]
[You have obtained Heaven's Wrath·Realm Thunder Fall (Unique Trait·Skill Scroll, this item is valued at 25,000 ounces of Space-Time Power in this judgment).]
……
Dawn Ruins, South District.
As Dawn Paradise revived, this place slowly collapsed. Shenfu arrived before the「Puppet Mark」. This was part of the deal—the return for conceding the Paradise contention war. Of course, if it came to a direct confrontation, Su Xiao would still be the winner, but he would not have won so thoroughly, nor obtained the resources for the highest qualification to advance to Supreme.
Shenfu touched the「Puppet Mark」with one hand. The mark sank into his palm. He continued forward and soon arrived before a black iron sanctuary. This sanctuary had multiple seals, but due to the collapse of the Dawn ruins, the seals were riddled with holes.
Entering, Shenfu saw the「Mind Mark」located here. Thus, three fragments of the「Forbidden Mark」were now in his hands.
「Puppet Mark」+「Fate-Determined Mark」=「Mastery Mark」.
Then,「Puppet Mark」+「Fate-Determined Mark」+「Mind Mark」=「Domination Mark」.
Shenfu took out a mass of gray-white fluid. The presence of this thing was exceptionally twisted, causing the surrounding space to twist and tremble. Shenfu used this object to envelop the three marks within.
Boom!
Violent power surged. Shenfu, standing close, had his flesh split open. Dense gray-white tentacles emerged from the cracks, writhing wantonly. He did not care about the physical pain but focused on the marks gradually merging before him.
With a buzzing hum, a black mark formed. This was the「Domination Mark」. Thick, viscous dark liquid dripped from the mark, even polluting the space it touched.
Was Shenfu's goal the「Domination Mark」? Of course not. Ultimately, the risk of holding the「Forbidden Mark」was too high. Moreover, Dawn had already revived. Continuing to be the holder of the Forbidden Mark was akin to seeking death.
Shenfu's hands made a grasping motion toward the「Domination Mark」. In an extremely short time, Shenfu aged to the limit. His skin wrinkled and sagged, his entire body became skin and bones, his hair sparse and withered yellow, his eyes dim and lifeless, devoid of the old fox's former brilliance. But the power of「Primordial Death」was now triggered to its peak.
The gray-white power symbolizing「Primordial Death」spread from Shenfu's hands, climbing onto the「Domination Mark」. A teeth-grinding sound of devouring annihilation came. This old fellow Shenfu was actually… using Primordial Death to pollute the「Domination Mark」!
The surrounding ruins were collapsing. The notarization power here was interrupted. At this moment, all rule powers in the Dawn ruins reached a state close to nothing. This was a migration of Dawn Paradise, completely moving the notarization here to the newly formed Dawn Paradise. Shenfu was waiting for this moment.
This migration of notarization created a vacuum of all rules here. In such an environment, any living thing would inevitably die instantly.
But Shenfu was「Primordial Death」. What he feared least was death. This rule vacuum caused the「Domination Mark」, which relied on such power as its foundation, to suddenly have its power stifled, turning from an endless torrent into a rootless source.
The gray-white power of Primordial Death quickly eroded, polluted, and devoured the dark power of the「Domination Mark」. The entire mark gradually changed from pitch black to gray-white. In the last second before the rule vacuum environment disappeared, the pollution was complete.
A new mark appeared. This was a mark fused with「Primordial Death」, named the「Death Mark」. More crucially, this mark possessed the power of Primordial Death—no, it was even more powerful than before—and no longer carried the tragic curse of Primordial Death.
Shenfu's appearance visibly recovered. The「Death Mark」sank into his chest. Thus, he both escaped the curse of Primordial Death that constantly devoured his flesh and soul, and made this mark, possessing such powerful force, no longer a Forbidden Mark.
Consequently, Shenfu would have no problem going to the revived Dawn Paradise. Moreover, Dawn Paradise might even issue him a mission to use the「Death Mark」to devour the remaining two fragments of the「Forbidden Mark」—the「Devouring Mark」and the「Soul Mark」.
……
[Teleportation complete. You have returned to Reincarnation Paradise.]
The teleportation sensation subsided. Su Xiao leaned back on a single sofa, relaxing from the inside out. This time's gains were excellent, giving him the bargaining chips to advance to Supreme. Resting for a moment, he opened his mail and saw an unread message from Xiao. As expected, this strongest assassin in the myriad realms had indeed found that「Law Destroyer Exclusive Secret Art」deep within the ancient battlefield.
Following convention, Su Xiao chose to recover his injuries. Amu and Baha were also familiar with this routine. They took out the life support device from the team storage space and opened it to reveal his right arm.
There was a minor problem this time. The right arm had been eroded by pure abyss energy in its initial state. It might be necessary to construct a new right arm. Of course, if possible, the original factory arm was better.
[Damage inspection complete. To complete this recovery, you need to pay 1,292,000 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
Becoming stronger also had its troubles. Recovering one right arm required nearly 1.3 million Soul Coins. However, considering that this right arm had been eroded by abyss power, it made sense. To avoid hidden dangers, it was better to pay this fee. Fortunately, the gains this time were very high.
Su Xiao was about to pay the Soul Coins when he suddenly noticed something was wrong. This seemed to be not paying Soul Coins, but… ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands. Yes, no mistake, 1.29 million ounces of Space-Time Power.
Looking at his right arm eroded by pure abyss power, he suddenly had a feeling. This arm seemed to be not simply eroded by abyss power. Rather, due to his high abyss resistance, his body was not so easily eroded by abyss power. In the tug-of-war between the two, this arm had perfectly absorbed these abyss energies. Moreover, those abyss energies came from the previous generation Lord of the Abyss, making them incomparably pure and clean.
Realizing this, Su Xiao knew he could only construct a new arm. He chose the limb recovery authority.
[Prompt: No limb damage detected. Unable to activate this authority.]
[Detected that your right arm is in an abnormal detached state. Notarization complete. This limb recovery authority consumption will correct and treat the current state of your right arm.]
Su Xiao immediately chose to terminate the notarization. He found that this correction notarization was an authority that had already been paid for. In other words, no refunds.
With a snap, Su Xiao's crystal right arm prosthetic shattered. His abyss right arm flew over, connected, and began healing bones, nerves, and flesh.
Good news: the pure abyss energy within the right arm had been perfectly absorbed by the arm. Bad news: the right arm seemed to have undergone some abyss-ization, and it was the highest specification of orthodox abyss-ization, with a specification so high… it reached the level of the previous generation Lord of the Abyss.
At this moment, Su Xiao did not know that the Blade Demon Spirit, sensing this scene, nearly went berserk. Currently, the Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity was 850 points. As it later devoured Supreme-level abyss spawn and even the origin power of abyss races, the Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity would begin to skyrocket. At that point, the Blade Demon Spirit would have the chance to turn from guest to host.
But now, with Su Xiao having such a powerful abyss right arm to hold the blade, even if the Blade Demon Spirit's demon spirit intensity reached 8,500 points, it would be firmly suppressed by him.