Chapter 3: Power Source Matter (One Standard Unit)
The moment Su Xiao opened his eyes, he found himself in a familiar environment—his exclusive room in the Reincarnation Paradise. The room was spacious, with a simple and practical layout. The walls were made of a special alloy, emitting a faint metallic luster.
He sat up from the bed, feeling the changes in his body. After this battle, his strength had clearly improved. He raised his hand, and a wisp of dark blue smoke rose from his palm, carrying a trace of destructive aura.
"Not bad."
Su Xiao muttered to himself, then stood up and walked toward the center of the room. There, a transparent screen floated, displaying various data.
[Contractor: Su Xiao]
[Rank: Eighth Rank]
[True Strength: 285 points]
[True Agility: 290 points]
[True Stamina: 270 points]
[True Intelligence: 260 points]
[True Charm: 15 points]
[Luck: 18 points]
Looking at his attribute panel, Su Xiao nodded with satisfaction. After this battle, his true attributes had improved across the board, especially agility and strength, which had reached a new level.
He then opened the skill panel.
[Blade Path: Azure Demon: Lv.68]
[Blade Path Sword: Time: Lv.62]
[Blade Path Sword: Extreme: Lv.60]
[Azure Steel Shadow Energy: Lv.70]
[Devouring Core: Lv.55]
[Blade Demon Spirit: Lv.50]
"Skills have also improved quite a bit."
Su Xiao closed the panel and walked toward the door of the exclusive room. He planned to go to the Attribute Enhancement Hall to further strengthen himself.
Just as he was about to step out, a prompt suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Ding! Detected that the contractor has obtained a special item: Power Source Matter (One Standard Unit).]
Su Xiao paused, then opened his storage space. Sure enough, a fist-sized crystal emitting a faint golden light lay quietly inside. The crystal was transparent, with strands of golden energy flowing within, exuding an extremely pure power fluctuation.
"Power Source Matter..."
Su Xiao murmured, recalling the origin of this item. It was obtained from the battle with the Archbishop of the Abyss. At that time, after defeating the opponent, this crystal automatically fell into his storage space.
He took out the Power Source Matter and carefully examined it. This thing was extremely precious; it could directly enhance the contractor's true attributes and was even rarer than True Attribute Points.
"Should I use it now?"
Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then decided to go to the Attribute Enhancement Hall first. There, he could better utilize the effects of the Power Source Matter.
Leaving the exclusive room, Su Xiao walked along the corridor of the Reincarnation Paradise. The corridor was spacious and bright, with various contractors coming and going. Some were rushing, others were chatting in groups.
"Hey, isn't that Bai Ye?"
A surprised voice came from behind. Su Xiao turned around and saw a familiar figure—it was Bubu Wang.
Bubu Wang was a dog-type contractor, covered in snow-white fur, with a pair of intelligent eyes. At this moment, he was looking at Su Xiao with surprise.
"Bubu Wang, long time no see."
Su Xiao nodded slightly. He had a decent relationship with Bubu Wang; they had teamed up several times before.
"Yeah, I heard you went to the Eternal Light World? How was the harvest?"
Bubu Wang trotted over, his tail wagging.
"Not bad."
Su Xiao replied succinctly, not intending to go into detail.
"By the way, have you heard? There's a big event happening in the Trade Market recently."
Bubu Wang lowered his voice, looking mysterious.
"Oh? What big event?"
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. The Trade Market was the busiest place in the Reincarnation Paradise, where contractors traded various items. If something big was happening there, it was definitely worth paying attention to.
"I heard someone got a batch of Black Maple Tree products and is auctioning them off."
Bubu Wang's eyes sparkled.
Black Maple Tree products? Su Xiao's heart stirred. The Black Maple Tree was a legendary item in the Reincarnation Paradise, and its products were extremely rare, each one priceless.
"Who's auctioning them?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I heard it's a big shot from the Goblin Merchant Guild."
Bubu Wang shrugged.
The Goblin Merchant Guild? Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. This guild was one of the most influential merchant groups in the Reincarnation Paradise, with vast resources and connections. If they were auctioning Black Maple Tree products, it was definitely a major event.
"Thanks for the info, I'll go check it out."
Su Xiao nodded to Bubu Wang, then turned and walked toward the Trade Market.
The Trade Market was located in the central area of the Reincarnation Paradise, a massive square. At this moment, the square was packed with people, and various stalls were set up, selling everything from weapons and equipment to potions and materials, covering all categories.
Su Xiao walked through the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding stalls. Occasionally, he would stop to examine some items, but most were of average quality and didn't catch his interest.
Soon, he arrived at the center of the square, where a high platform stood. At this moment, the platform was surrounded by a dense crowd, and a goblin in a suit was standing on it, holding a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this auction! I am the representative of the Goblin Merchant Guild, and today, we have prepared many rare items for everyone!"
The goblin's voice was loud, instantly drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
"First up is the first lot: a Holy Spirit-level treasure chest, starting bid at 50,000 Paradise Coins!"
As soon as the words fell, the crowd erupted in discussion. Holy Spirit-level treasure chests were quite rare, and the items inside were usually of high value.
"55,000!"
"60,000!"
"70,000!"
Bids rose one after another, and soon the price was pushed to 100,000 Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao watched all this calmly, not in a hurry to bid. He was waiting for the main event—the Black Maple Tree products.
The auction continued, with one lot after another being sold. Although the items were good, they didn't quite meet Su Xiao's expectations.
Finally, when the auction was nearing its end, the goblin auctioneer's tone suddenly became excited.
"Next is the final lot of today's auction—Black Maple Tree branches!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire square fell silent, then erupted in an uproar.
"Black Maple Tree branches?!"
"Oh my god, is this real?!"
"Quick, call the boss!"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the stage, where a goblin carefully carried up a tray covered with red silk.
The goblin auctioneer lifted the red silk, revealing a dark brown branch about half a meter long. The branch was covered with fine grain patterns, emitting a faint woody fragrance.
"This is a Black Maple Tree branch, sourced from a high-level world, with extremely high value. It can be used to craft top-tier equipment or refine special potions. Starting bid: 500,000 Paradise Coins!"
The moment the starting price was announced, the crowd fell silent again. Five hundred thousand Paradise Coins was not a small amount; ordinary contractors might not save that much in a year.
But soon, someone broke the silence.
"600,000!"
"700,000!"
"800,000!"
Bids rose rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the price exceeded one million Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao watched all this, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. Black Maple Tree branches were indeed valuable, but for him, they weren't urgently needed. He had a better use for his Paradise Coins.
Just as the auction was reaching a fever pitch, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Two million!"
The crowd instantly fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.
It was a contractor in a black robe, his face obscured, making it impossible to see his true appearance.
"Two million, going once! Two million, going twice!"
The goblin auctioneer's voice trembled slightly, clearly excited by the high price.
"Is there anyone higher? Two million, going three times! Deal!"
The hammer fell, and the Black Maple Tree branch was sold for two million Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao shook his head slightly, turned, and left the Trade Market. He had no interest in such auctions; his goal was the Attribute Enhancement Hall.
Soon, Su Xiao arrived at the Attribute Enhancement Hall. The hall was spacious and bright, with various enhancement pods neatly arranged. Each pod was filled with a faint golden liquid, which was the enhancement fluid.
Su Xiao walked to an empty pod, opened the hatch, and stepped inside.
[Ding! Detected that the contractor has entered the Attribute Enhancement Pod. Do you wish to begin enhancement?]
"Yes."
[Please select the attribute to enhance.]
"Strength."
[Enhancement begins, consuming 10,000 Paradise Coins.]
As the prompt sounded, the golden liquid in the pod began to churn, continuously seeping into Su Xiao's body. A warm sensation spread throughout his body, and his muscles subtly twitched.
After about five minutes, the enhancement ended.
[Ding! Enhancement complete. True Strength +3 points.]
Su Xiao opened his eyes, feeling the surge of power in his body, and nodded with satisfaction. He then took out the Power Source Matter.
"Use Power Source Matter."
[Ding! Detected Power Source Matter (One Standard Unit). Do you wish to use it?]
"Yes."
The next moment, the Power Source Matter in his hand suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light, then turned into a stream of golden energy that surged into Su Xiao's body.
A powerful force spread through his limbs and bones, as if every cell was cheering.
[Ding! Use successful. True Strength +10 points, True Agility +10 points, True Stamina +10 points, True Intelligence +10 points.]
A series of prompts made Su Xiao's eyes light up. The effect of the Power Source Matter was indeed formidable, directly increasing all four main attributes by 10 points.
He clenched his fist, feeling the unprecedented power within him, and a confident smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Not bad."
Su Xiao stepped out of the enhancement pod, ready to leave the Attribute Enhancement Hall and continue his next plan.
Just then, a communication request suddenly came through.
[Kaisa requests to communicate with you.]
Kaisa? Su Xiao was slightly surprised. This guy was a famous profiteer in the Reincarnation Paradise, usually hard to find. Contacting him now probably meant there was something important.
"Accept."
The next moment, Kaisa's voice came through.
"Bai Ye, long time no see! How have you been lately?"
Kaisa's tone was enthusiastic, but Su Xiao knew this guy's nature well—he was definitely up to something.
"Straight to the point."
Su Xiao said calmly.
"Hehe, I heard you got a batch of good stuff in the Eternal Light World? How about we do some business?"
Kaisa chuckled.
"What do you want?"
"I heard you have a Holy Spirit-level treasure chest? I'm willing to buy it at a high price."
Kaisa stated his purpose.
Holy Spirit-level treasure chest? Su Xiao thought for a moment. He did have one, obtained from the battle with the Archbishop of the Abyss. The items inside were decent, but not particularly useful to him.
"How much?"
"200,000 Paradise Coins, how about that?"
Kaisa offered a price.
"Too low."
Su Xiao directly refused. The market price for a Holy Spirit-level treasure chest was around 250,000 to 300,000 Paradise Coins, and Kaisa's offer was clearly trying to take advantage of him.
"Then 250,000, that's the highest I can go."
Kaisa gritted his teeth.
"Deal."
Su Xiao agreed readily. 250,000 Paradise Coins was a fair price, and he wasn't interested in haggling.
"Great! Where do we meet?"
"Trade Market, at the entrance."
"Got it, I'll be right there."
After ending the communication, Su Xiao turned and walked toward the Trade Market.
Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the Trade Market, where a fat goblin was already waiting—it was Kaisa.
"Bai Ye, long time no see!"
Kaisa greeted him warmly, his small eyes darting around.
"Mm."
Su Xiao nodded, then took out the Holy Spirit-level treasure chest from his storage space and handed it to Kaisa.
Kaisa took the treasure chest, carefully examined it, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Good stuff! Here's 250,000 Paradise Coins."
He handed over a bag of Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao took the bag, weighed it, and nodded.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Pleasure doing business! If you have any good stuff in the future, remember to contact me!"
Kaisa laughed heartily, then turned and left.
Su Xiao put away the Paradise Coins and was about to leave when suddenly, a familiar aura came from not far away.
He turned his head and saw a figure in a white robe standing in the crowd, looking straight at him.
It was Mage Sage Seraphilia.
Su Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly. Why was this woman here?