# Chapter 3: Su Xiao Breaks Free from Scorpion Lady's Control
Su Xiao breaks free from Scorpion Lady's control, ideally provoking her to a certain degree, causing her to activate the restraining mechanism and kill the avatar (if Scorpion Lady doesn't act, activate backup Plan D).
The plan went relatively smoothly. Scorpion Lady chose to activate the restraining mechanism. Or rather, at that time, Scorpion Lady was backed into a corner. So many Dukain Family members had gone to surround and kill Su Xiao, only for him to leave openly and brazenly, practically rubbing their faces in it. Snake Sir, who had been used as a laborer, was crushed so badly that his guts were practically sprayed out.
Under these circumstances, if Scorpion Lady didn't display some means, those Abyss Descendants would inevitably start having thoughts. After all, the recent large-scale sale of secret medicines from the Empress City couldn't be hidden from these Dukain Family members.
The avatar rapidly lost its life force. It had to be said, Scorpion Lady's killing method was quite powerful. This scene drew everyone's attention. Dark Bishop, Afia, Selene, and others all crowded forward. Black Leech originally wanted to continue being aloof, but since everyone else had gone forward, and it was indeed somewhat curious, it also stepped forward.
Everyone saw the black liquid surging from the sunken chest of the avatar, rapidly infecting and wrapping around the sheets of Contract Parchment. What was this? The answer was the "Revenge Contract" that Su Xiao had drafted.
The "Revenge Contract" was a powerful but narrowly applicable contract—so narrow that it could only be used on oneself. Its effect was that it could establish a contract with a target who had harmed the user, thereby imposing minor restrictions and contract terms. The severity of the injury determined the binding force of the contract.
The strongest binding force occurred when the Revenge Contract drafter was killed. If it were any other target, Su Xiao would have no way to draft this Revenge Contract. The key point was that this was his "Self Avatar," so he could draft the "Revenge Contract."
With contracts, the greater the restriction on oneself, the greater the price paid, and undoubtedly the stronger the binding force. The "Revenge Contract" restricted itself to personal use, with death as the price. These two factors nearly maxed out the contract's power.
In the past, Su Xiao's contracts with others relied on small or even weak contract forces. But this time, to put it simply, in all his history of contract drafting, he had never been so wealthy.
Threaten Scorpion Lady with the contract to make her hand over all her assets? Of course not. Su Xiao never doubted that the seemingly gentle but actually ruthless Scorpion Lady had preparations for a fight to the death.
Next, it was Kaisa's turn to take the stage.
After Su Xiao solidified all the contracts, he handed them to Kaisa. Kaisa put the "Abyssal Jar" over his head, took the contracts, and pulled out an old POS machine—the "Endless Greed Worn-Out POS Machine."
Kaisa "fed" all the Contract Parchment to this POS machine. The old POS machine seemed to transform into a paper shredder, breaking apart various contracts.
After doing this, Kaisa took out a large pile of authority badges and began picking out those certified by the Void Tree. Seeing so many authority badges, Selene's eyes gradually widened. All the authority badges she had seen from First Rank to Supreme Rank combined didn't match what Kaisa had just taken out.
"Debt not repaid! Void Tree, do justice for me!"
Kaisa let out a miserable wail and pounced on a tree-stump-like object formed from a large number of Void Tree authority badges, snot and tears flowing freely.
Seeing this, Selene, Dark Bishop, Afia, and even the expressionless Painful Sacrifice Priest and aloof Black Leech all took a step back in unison. The reason was that they were truly afraid Kaisa would suddenly turn around, grab their legs, and extort them.
Almost simultaneously, in District 1, a thousand miles away, Scorpion Lady had just returned to her bedchamber and was considering how to proceed with the promotion ritual when she suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation. She said:
"El, help me predict the upcoming attack."
Hearing this, the worm-man El, composed of milky white worms, raised his hand, gouged out his own right eye, and swallowed it. Flowing light representing cause and effect and fate appeared in his left eye. After a moment, Worm-Man El shook his head, indicating there would be no attack.
"No attack, then..."
Just as Scorpion Lady said this, she suddenly felt a sensation of teleportation. Worm-Man El, who was guarding a few meters away, rushed forward recklessly, transforming into white worms that wrapped around Scorpion Lady. Not only that, Evil Hao instantly appeared beside Scorpion Lady, its entire body of black fat surging like semi-fluid liquid, wrapping around Worm-Man El, thereby protecting Scorpion Lady at the innermost layer.
The teleportation's activation speed wasn't fast—it was even slow, taking a full 10 seconds to fully activate. However, this teleportation had an unstoppable absolute authority.
When the teleportation fluctuations dissipated, Scorpion Lady arrived at District 20, inside the building where Su Xiao and the others were. Both sides were momentarily stunned.
Just as Afia and Painful Sacrifice Priest were about to act directly, the Void Tree's certification arrived. Dark Bishop, Afia, Painful Sacrifice Priest, Worm-Man El, and Evil Hao were all expelled outside the building. The building itself, due to the eruption of their auras, shattered into pieces.
A faint golden, house-sized cube enveloped Su Xiao, Kaisa, and Scorpion Lady. Scorpion Lady could barely maintain her usual gentle smile and mild temperament. The next second, all three parties simultaneously received a notification from the Void Tree:
[Notification: Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress, 5 natural days ago, formally signed a loan agreement with Nicholas Kaisa.]
[During this period, Nicholas Kaisa provided sufficient resources to "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress" to complete the promotion of "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress." During this period, "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress" may not sign any form of interest agreements, contracts, oaths, etc., with other parties. If this rule is violated, "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress" must immediately fulfill the "Repayment Agreement."]
[Repayment Agreement as follows: According to Nicholas Kaisa's loan terms, i.e., "Goblin Compound Interest," you must repay the principal while additionally paying interest equivalent to principal × 32.9% + Nicholas Kaisa ?? .]
...
Seeing this "additionally paying interest equivalent to principal × 32.9% + Nicholas Kaisa ??," Scorpion Lady's face clearly showed some disbelief. She truly couldn't understand what "principal × 32.9% + Nicholas Kaisa" meant. Was this some unique mathematical calculation method from some world?
Actually, saying that wasn't wrong. This "Goblin Compound Interest" was fundamentally one of Kaisa's shameless abilities.
Before Scorpion Lady could figure out what was happening, she received subsequent notifications from the Void Tree:
[Notification: All resources in your current "Void Tree · Personal Vault" have been fully deducted as debt repayment.]
[Because the interest you need to repay far exceeds the total assets stored in your "Void Tree · Personal Vault," Article 153,679 of this "Loan Agreement" has been triggered, i.e., "Kaisa's Mercy."]
[Loan Agreement · Kaisa's Mercy: If the debtor is unable to repay all amounts, Kaisa will grant merciful forgiveness. However, in return, the debtor will have an equivalent amount of "Void Tree Reputation" deducted to ensure punishment for debt non-repayment.]
[Nicholas Kaisa's passive skill "Public Expense Reimbursement" has been triggered.]
[According to this skill's effect, "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress," as the core unit of this judgment, will have the "Public Expense Reimbursement" ability judged based on the faction centered around you.]
["Public Expense Reimbursement" Effect: The expenses to be borne will be fairly distributed to each member of the faction, using their wealth to complete this reimbursement.]
[Because "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress"'s debt amount is too large, and the members of her subordinate faction have not actively applied for certification from the Void Tree, according to initial regulations, the Void Tree will not enforce execution in such cases.]
[As compensation, resources will be extracted from the corresponding treasury of this faction's "Faction Store" to compensate for the unexecuted resource amount.]
[All treasury resources of this faction have been fully extracted to repay "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress"'s debt.]
[After this certification is completed, if "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress" is dissatisfied with this result, she may appeal to the Void Tree.]
[Notification: Due to the numerous intermediate pathways in this certification judgment, "Abyss Descendant · Scorpion Empress"'s appeal success rate is 99.99%.]
...
Yes, this was Su Xiao and Kaisa's operation. One thing should not be forgotten: earlier, Kaisa had disguised himself as the Goblin Merchant Guild's General Manager, Jin Guwo. That is to say, every revenue stream from Scorpion Lady's medicine sales had to pass through Kaisa's hands.
Once Soul Coins passed through Kaisa's hands, how could they still belong to anyone else? This was the first pit Scorpion Lady stepped into.
In other words, every payment Kaisa gave Scorpion Lady from medicine sales was fundamentally a loan judgment, and one certified by the Void Tree at that.
The truly ingenious part of this loan was that the loan content had no issues whatsoever—it was even equivalent to a gift. This "Peaceful Characteristic" judgment of a gift naturally wouldn't trigger the Void Tree's warning notifications. Additionally, Scorpion Lady only had the Void Tree's certification authority, not a Void Tree brand or similar, so her notification trigger authority was inherently low.
This loan gift was fine, but once breached, one would taste the "Goblin Jump." As for how Scorpion Lady breached it...
The pile of contracts Scorpion Lady signed by killing Su Xiao's "Self Avatar" was the process of her breach. These particularly powerful contracts didn't harm Scorpion Lady. There were 30 main contracts in total, with simple content: each was Scorpion Lady's compensation repayment contract, 100 Soul Coins per instance.
Contracts could never be "hexagonal warriors." Conversely, when contract content was lenient, the contract enforcement would be particularly strong.
A total of 3,000 Soul Coins in compensation, executed with the "Contract Power" of a Revenge Contract, was truly lenient to the extreme. Correspondingly, the contract enforcement would reach its limit.
The key point was here. In Scorpion Lady and Kaisa's loan agreement, it was clearly written that during this period, she could not sign any form of interest agreements, contracts, oaths, etc., with other parties.
At this moment, Scorpion Lady, standing opposite Su Xiao and Kaisa, had her gentle smile completely vanish. She coldly looked at the two across from her:
"Other than making me angry, this is meaningless."
Scorpion Lady said this because this seemingly clever trap was actually a failure. She only needed to wait for this round of the Void Tree's ruling to end, then immediately appeal to the Void Tree to reclaim all her losses from the above judgment.
Just then, Su Xiao received a notification:
[According to the cooperation distribution agreement between you and Nicholas Kaisa, you will receive 50% of this debt repayment.]
[Scorpion Lady's "Personal Vault" certified by the Void Tree has been emptied.]
[The faction treasury of the faction Scorpion Lady governs has been emptied.]
[According to your prior agreement with Nicholas Kaisa, among the 50% proceeds you receive, more will be resources needed to enhance your own abilities.]
[You receive Soul Crystal × 2,580 pieces.]
[You receive 3.5 million Soul Coins.]
[You receive Abyss Source Matter × 35 portions.]
...
Seeing these notifications, Su Xiao knew that Scorpion Lady had used most of the proceeds from this medicine business, through the Goblin Merchant Guild, to purchase [Abyss Source Matter]. This was one of the two most top-tier "Supreme Source Matters." Presumably, it was also what Scorpion Lady needed for her promotion to Council Leader.
Presumably, the Goblin Merchant Guild had contacted various major merchant guilds in the Star Realm to gather this much [Abyss Source Matter], undoubtedly profiting greatly from it. After subsequently selling these [Abyss Source Matter], Su Xiao's expenses for advancing his technique abilities could be considered secured.
"These riches do not belong to you."
Scorpion Lady spoke in a deep voice. As she spoke, she chose to appeal to the Void Tree to reclaim the resources just taken from her. However, the notification she received was:
[Notification (Void Tree): Your Void Tree reputation is too low to submit this appeal.]
...
Seeing this notification, Scorpion Lady's expression nearly cracked. She had accumulated resources for so many years, and in just a few rounds of judgment and certification, she had lost everything?!
Clearly, Scorpion Lady had overlooked one point earlier: Article 153,679 of the "Loan Agreement," "Kaisa's Mercy."
With Kaisa's various loan terms, the interest Scorpion Lady had to repay would be particularly astonishing, far beyond what the resources in her Void Tree "Personal Vault" could cover. This meant that "Kaisa's Mercy" would cause Scorpion Lady to deduct a massive amount of "Void Tree Reputation." The calculation method was: Scorpion Lady's unpaid amount × 15.5 = Void Tree Reputation deducted.
A dead loop thus appeared. Scorpion Lady now had a massive negative "Void Tree Reputation." Until her "Void Tree Reputation" returned to positive, she couldn't submit an appeal to the Void Tree.
If Scorpion Lady wanted to quickly restore her "Void Tree Reputation" to positive, there was a way: she only needed to repay the unpaid debts to restore her "Void Tree Reputation," then she could appeal and reclaim the large amount of resources lost this time.
The problem was, assuming Scorpion Lady's resource loss this time was 1 million, she would need to repay Kaisa 50 million in resources to restore her "Void Tree Reputation" to positive. This created an unsolvable situation where she needed to pay 50 million to reclaim 1 million.
After understanding this, Scorpion Lady became resigned. She let out a long sigh and decided to...
No, very wrong. Scorpion Lady suddenly realized that her plan to forcefully reclaim her losses through military force was also unworkable. The Law Destroyer before her had, when Beast Lord came knocking, defeated Beast Lord one-on-one without any dirty tricks or schemes. And she couldn't defeat Beast Lord, so she certainly couldn't defeat this Law Destroyer either.
After at least half a minute of silence, Scorpion Lady thought of one possibility, igniting her last glimmer of hope. She chose to report to the Void Tree these two who were toying with contracts and regulations. Her "Void Tree Reputation" was negative, so she couldn't appeal, but she could always report, right?
[Notification (Void Tree): Your report this time is successful.]
[Report Target: Hunter · Kukulin Bai Ye, Arbiter · Nicholas Kaisa.]
[Report Content: Profiting through contracts and regulations.]
[Because the prerequisite for this report is that a total of three parties are in conflict within the Transcendent Realm, according to initial regulations, the Void Tree cannot use coercive means to rule on such situations.]
[This Ruling Method: Super-massive deduction of "Void Tree Reputation"!]
[This ruling has failed.]
[Reason:]
[Arbiter · Nicholas Kaisa Void Tree Reputation: -???]
[Hunter · Kukulin Bai Ye Void Tree Reputation: -????]
...
These notifications nearly made Scorpion Lady cough up blood in anger. She raised her index finger, pointing at Su Xiao: "You, you..."
Seeing this, Baha, crouching on Su Xiao's shoulder, had its eyes light up. This was its home turf. Baha tried to issue a 'sparring' request.
Scorpion Lady had already closed her eyes and taken a deep breath. At this point, she couldn't outmaneuver, couldn't outrule, couldn't outfight, and more frustratingly, couldn't even out-argue.
PS: (Tomorrow is Sunday, a day of rest. Dear readers, please forgive me.)