Chapter 13: Star
Among the four resources obtained, the first, "Initial State Precipitated Glass," Su Xiao directly sold to the Void Tree, netting a total of 105,600 Precipitated Glass.
The "Ancient Bones" were useless, so Su Xiao sealed them and had Tuo, Enta send people to deliver these sealed items to the Abyss Spreading Zone where the "Empire Squad" was located, and toss them into the Abyss Passage.
As for the "Unknown Abyss Creature Corpse," Su Xiao observed this three-armed, one-eyed Abyss creature standing five meters tall. Its lower body seemed composed of numerous tentacles, and a crude weapon made from a long tooth was embedded in its chest.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer climbed onto Su Xiao's hand, forming a crystal short blade. He tried to stab the abdomen of this unknown Abyss entity, but failed to penetrate. A strange resistance prevented the crystal blade from going any further.
After pondering for a moment, Su Xiao took a condensation device from the team storage space. This was created using his Devouring Core ability, combined with Bubu Wang's tech-side abilities, designed to collect precious energies that are difficult to gather and store.
He connected the device and attempted to activate it. Initially, it just ran without any reaction. However, after a few minutes, black smoke began to emanate from the corpse of this unknown Abyss entity, which was absorbed into the storage device and crystallized for storage.
Half an hour later, the corpse of the unknown Abyss entity became withered and dry, like weathered, decayed wood that crumbled at a touch, turning into gray powder. A pitch-black heart lay within the black powder, beating slowly.
Su Xiao chose to seal this "Black Heart" and put it away. Conservatively estimating, this unknown Abyss entity had been dead for many years, yet its heart still beat, showing its former power.
He picked up the nearby "Demon Scythe's Eye," a good item that could be sold to Demon Scythe·Aina. However, he needed to be cautious during the transaction to prevent her from causing any trouble, after all, her surname was Green.
Overall, the "Abyss Sacrifice" carried considerable risk. As for the reward, it could be nothing at all, or it could lead to instant wealth.
Opening the team communication list, he checked the messages Bubu Wang had sent. Before Su Xiao upgraded his "Soul Strength," he had sent Bubu Wang to track the location of that "Star Heart," or rather, to track any one of the three World Children.
...
Southwest of the "Royal Capital·Star Radiance City·Insedon."
This area was the jurisdiction of "Anfeng City." "Lugang City," as a directly governed trade city of "Anfeng City," was second only to the Empire's three directly governed cities in prosperity.
Because "Lugang City" was a coastal city on the "Guerte Sea," one of its four major ports was called the "Blood Port." In the early years, when trade was underdeveloped, the residents here made a living by hunting sea beasts.
Not all sea beasts could be killed at sea. Some that produced rare materials required specific environments and special slaughtering methods. This caused the originally named Moonlight Port's seawater to often be stained red. Over time, it became known as the Blood Port.
Because this was a source of marine supernatural materials, such materials were 30% to 40% cheaper here than elsewhere, sometimes even lower. This naturally attracted many supernaturals to this place. Over time, some supernaturals began to settle here, making public security a top priority.
Prosperous yet chaotic, peaceful by day, but at night, supernaturals often clashed over various interests, leading to fights and bodies on the streets being a common occurrence.
Vinis, male, 25, unmarried, was currently in the top-floor suite of the only platinum-grade hotel in the Blood Port. Generally, a small place like the Blood Port shouldn't have such a luxurious hotel, but it was too special. Merchants coming to purchase supernatural materials were endless, and demand created a market.
If there was such a thing as a life winner, then Vinis was half of one. He was born with power that others pursued for most of their lives with a 99.9% chance of never obtaining. What was even more enviable was that he only needed to continuously use various rare treasures to supplement his bloodline power, and he would become even stronger.
As for why he was only half a life winner, it was because Vinis's luck with women was not just weak, it was practically non-existent. Of course, this was directly related to the fact that after he turned 12, his father had been training him like crazy, only releasing him half a year ago.
Among his three companions, except for Ms. Sajin, the other two had partners. Even Burman, the oldest in the team, had his own family and a cute daughter.
Thinking about how recently, that kid Di often unintentionally brought his girlfriend to show off their love during breaks, and since his girlfriend had some intention of joining the team, Vinis felt his perfect life was gradually becoming less wonderful.
"Ms. Sajin, what exactly is she thinking? Why is she always so distant?"
Vinis was troubled. He scratched his semi-long gray hair, chose to put these thoughts aside, and began to consider the invitation from the mysterious man in black robes and what exactly that thing called the "Star Heart" was.
The identity of the mysterious man in black robes had been preliminarily investigated. He was one of the three Grand Ministers' men. This made Vinis feel uneasy. This was the top power group of the Empire. Once involved in the conflicts of these major forces, his Absolute Strength level was really not enough.
Achieving Absolute Strength at 25 was astonishing, but if you considered "World Child" + "Beast Arena Bloodline" + "Semi-Transcendent Realm Growth Environment," it was no longer surprising.
The Beast Arena Bloodline was indeed like this, with rapid early growth. This was still in the early Second Era, and the root of the Beast Arena Bloodline had been damaged. Otherwise, this was a powerful race that could reach Rank 9 to Absolute Strength combat power upon adulthood. Conversely, the more powerful they were before reaching Supreme, the lower their probability of advancing to Supreme.
Everything had a price. The ultra-high failure rate of advancing to Supreme was the price the Beast Arena Clan had to pay.
Vinis naturally knew this too. Although he wasn't in a hurry and couldn't attempt to advance to Supreme in the next few decades, the promise made by the man sent by the three Grand Ministers made it hard for Vinis to resist.
The problem was that this opponent was not to be underestimated. It was the Lone Walker·Tamatoa, whom he had fought over a dozen times. Although the other party was alone and hadn't reached the top of Absolute Strength in terms of power level, when it came to a real fight, this guy who was gradually becoming Abyssal was very troublesome.
Moreover, every time he fought the Lone Walker·Tamatoa, Life Winner·Vinis had a feeling that this might be his lifelong nemesis.
"Ha~, all small problems. First, fill my stomach!"
Vinis sat up from the bed. He was about to call room service when the communication device inside his shirt rang. He picked up his shirt, fumbled for a moment, and irritably pulled out the ringing device. He answered, and Ms. Sajin's voice came through, immediately turning Vinis's impatience into a slight smile:
"What are your orders, my beautiful lady?"
Hearing this, Ms. Sajin on the other end was silent for two seconds, once again questioning her life choices regarding joining the team.
"There's a lead on the 'Star Heart.'"
"Where?!"
"On a deserted island in the Guerte Sea."
...
Guerte Sea, two days' sailing distance. On a medium-sized island with lush vegetation, looking down from above, you could see abandoned stone buildings in the center of the island. It was said that a great noble of the Empire, tired of power struggles, had come to settle on this island.
The result was that the bottom of this island sealed an unknown, eerie existence. The fate of that great noble was predictable. Because of his prominent status, after his entire family died in this huge castle, the Empire's relevant departments came to investigate and ultimately chose to banish that unknown, eerie existence from this world.
The Star Realm was like this, full of unknowns and dangers. If you tried to fight everything head-on, such a force would never last long. The procedure was: first, probe; if you could handle it, deal with it; if not, banish it from the world; if you couldn't banish it, call for help; if you still couldn't handle it after calling for help, call for more people. After that, it was no longer this person's concern, nor something they could handle.
A cooled space formation diagram was located in the courtyard in front of the abandoned castle. It could be seen that the team's space user, Di, had a very accurate positioning ability. Of course, this time his girlfriend was also participating in the adventure, which made Di even more eager to show off.
However, the plan was completely different from what Vinis's team had anticipated.
At this moment, in the seemingly endless underground palace corridor, that former great noble of the Empire had a strong death-seeking spirit to have built such an underground palace. Or perhaps, his claim of being tired of conflict was just a pretext.
His real purpose was to build this underground palace to study that unknown, eerie existence, hoping to use the fact that it had survived over 800 years of sealing to save his own dwindling life. To this end, he didn't hesitate to move his entire family to the island to minimize suspicion.
Now, in this seemingly endless corridor, a bloodied Vinis was striding forward, pulling the shoulder of a person beside him to prevent the severely injured individual from suddenly collapsing. Vinis never imagined he would one day be fleeing for his life with his sworn enemy, the Lone Walker·Tamatoa.
On Vinis's left and right were the others fleeing for their lives. Among them was the giant Burman, who had a wife and daughter; the light blonde beauty, Ms. Sajin, who had almost hooked Vinis completely; and further over, the space-using blonde Di and his round-glasses-wearing, gentle-looking Beibei Si.
The fleeing individuals were all more or less bloodied. After a fierce battle, their panting during the run sounded like a symphony of broken bellows.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The Lone Walker·Tamatoa, who was already staggering, coughed up several mouthfuls of blood while running. He shook his arm, trying to shake off Vinis, and said weakly but firmly:
"Leave me alone. Our grudges are settled. You, go first. I'll, hold the rear!"
"You hold the rear for nothing! The space here is sealed. Only you know the way out. You hold the rear?"
Vinis grabbed the Lone Walker·Tamatoa's shoulder and was about to continue running. Di and Beibei Si, the couple, leaned against the wall. Their pale faces already told the story. After fighting at full capacity, no, beyond their physical limits, they couldn't move another step now.
"If we don't escape, we die. Keep going!"
Ms. Sajin gritted her teeth and spoke. She didn't want to die here. She was sure to have a more exciting life.
Tap, tap, tap~
The sound of metallic footsteps came from the darkness behind. A figure wearing a priest's robe, with spiky, upright hair and eyes replaced by mechanical monocle-like prosthetics, appeared. He was wrapped tightly, even wearing black leather gloves. In his left hand, he carried a lantern. Even more astonishingly, with each step he took, the surrounding walls, ceiling, and floor turned into writhing flesh.
This was one of the Archbishops of the Mechanical God Cult, Archbishop·Mick, more commonly known as the Flesh Archbishop·Mick, or the Flesh Fortress·Mick. Even among the Empire's high ranks, he was a notorious tough guy.
In the eyes of Life Winner·Vinis and the Lone Walker·Tamatoa, the appearance of the Flesh Archbishop·Mick was no different from a catastrophe. In fact, since he appeared, he hadn't really attacked, only using his own influence to affect the surrounding environment.
But even so, the two World Children and their teammates had nearly died. Being able to escape until now was a miracle.
Seeing the Flesh Archbishop·Mick approaching, Vinis continued dragging the Lone Walker·Tamatoa to escape. Di and Beibei Si, the young couple, gritted their teeth and continued running as well.
The giant Burman remained silent, regretting this adventure in his heart. As for Ms. Sajin, she let out a bitter laugh and continued to flee, thinking: 'Why haven't those bastards from the Soul Clock Tower arrived yet!'
Vinis ran in large strides. Finally, the seemingly endless corridor came to an end. Vinis felt a sudden openness. The scene before him was a vast underground space, dozens of meters high, without any of the stuffiness of being underground. Numerous cables clung to the surrounding walls, and the dome above illuminated the place brightly.
It was like an arena. The center was an open area over a hundred meters in diameter, surrounded by rings of ascending steps. In this central area stood several rock pillars less than ten meters high. It looked like a ritual site that was only half-constructed.
"Young people, so full of energy."
The Flesh Archbishop·Mick walked out from the corridor behind. He raised his right hand, opened his palm, and a pocket watch hung down. He checked the time.
"Mm, the time is about right."
Hearing the Flesh Archbishop·Mick's words, Life Winner·Vinis's heart sank. He thought of a possibility. The "Star Heart" in his hand, which had a warm feeling, had a faint sense of danger when first obtained. But now, that sense of danger had diminished by ninety percent. He finally understood why the Flesh Archbishop·Mick hadn't attacked all this time.
"After all this nonsense, I've finally temporarily sealed your fortunes. Now, I can kill you."
The lantern in the Flesh Archbishop·Mick's left hand glowed with a golden-red light.
The Flesh Archbishop·Mick raised his right hand, still in its black glove, towards Vinis and the others. At that moment, whether it was Vinis, the Lone Walker·Tamatoa, or Ms. Sajin and the others, despair welled up in their hearts. This feeling of death approaching left no room for hope or struggle.
Suddenly! The flesh aura emanating from the Flesh Archbishop·Mick paused. He seemed to sense something, looking around in a somewhat flustered manner, even taking several steps back. Finally, his gaze fixed on the top of a rock pillar diagonally ahead.
On top of this rock pillar, over two meters in diameter, sat a figure. He was wearing a common black shirt. Due to the high temperature in the underground palace, only the lower buttons were fastened. His sitting posture was casual. In his right hand, he held a half-empty bottle of fine wine, his arm resting on his knee. In his left hand, which wore a crimson metal bracer, he held a "Soul Crystal" that was only a small piece left.
This person tossed the last small piece of "Soul Crystal" into his mouth. His pupils, faintly bloodshot, crunched and crunched as he chewed. Finally, he took a large gulp of wine, seemingly ending his dinner.
At this moment, the Flesh Archbishop·Mick no longer had his previous composure. His lips trembled slightly as he struggled to suppress the urge to turn and flee. Just then, the man sitting on top of the stone pillar spoke:
"I'll give you 3 seconds. Disappear."
Su Xiao spoke. After all, he was going to discuss an alliance with the Leader of All Gods·Primordial Origin·Harota in the evening. Killing the other party's subordinate directly would be somewhat inappropriate.
"I obey the God Lord's divine decree, to retrieve..."
Before the Flesh Archbishop·Mick could finish, with a bang, Su Xiao's blood aura erupted from where he sat. This crimson blood aura did not spread but formed a Blood Beast above him.
At that moment, seeing this massive Blood Beast, Vinis only felt one thing: his heart went numb with fear. With a thud, the space user Di's head hit the ground heavily. His dilating pupils showed how dire the situation was. His little girlfriend had collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide open, a strange smell spreading. She seemed about to open her mouth to scream but couldn't make a sound.
The moment the massive Blood Beast appeared, the Flesh Archbishop·Mick turned to flee. But the manifested Blood Beast's semi-human, semi-beastly claw was already in a grasping position, causing the Flesh Archbishop·Mick's steps to halt abruptly. His entire body emitted a horrifying crack, crack, crack sound.
"Wait, wait..."
Just as the Flesh Archbishop·Mick said this, his hands and feet began to twist and break. As the massive, grinning Blood Beast gradually clenched its claw, the Flesh Archbishop·Mick's whole body began to crack and pop, constantly being compressed and shrinking. After he let out his final miserable howl, his head was even crushed into his abdominal cavity.
When the massive Blood Beast completely clenched its claw, the Flesh Archbishop·Mick had been reduced to a marble-sized ball of flesh. As the massive Blood Beast dissipated, this ball of flesh fell, hitting the ground with a crisp sound like a marble, shattering into pieces.
The Flesh Archbishop·Mick was a Supreme, but there was a huge difference between Supremes. Su Xiao, who had all three Technique Grandmasters at X and had mastered "Heavenly Edge Shadow Slash," had a comprehensive strength that was already "Super·Top Supreme." Not to mention that his exclusive Supreme passive "Power Origin" had been activated.
Originally, Su Xiao thought he was a "Super·Top Supreme." Now it seemed that judgment was very inaccurate. This "Veteran Supreme" Archbishop seemed a bit weak.
Jumping down from the stone pillar, Su Xiao looked at Vinis. After being stared at for 2 seconds, Vinis chose to throw the "Star Heart" in his hand.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer formed a teleportation formation diagram under Su Xiao's feet. The diagram instantly spread to under Vinis and the others.
Boom!
After a dull thud, everyone disappeared.
In the garrison fortress of Abyss Spreading Zone 24, a dull thud spread. The soldiers stationed there immediately became alert. One of the squad leaders was about to shout a question when the newcomer said:
"Hand them over to Leshima."
"You are..."
"Leshima's superior."
"Understood."
The squad leader almost gasped. Leshima's superior? That was the Minister of the "Empire Special Affairs Department"!
Boom!
Space fragments scattered everywhere. The Law-Destroying Teleportation Array activated again.
In the backyard of the "Empire Special Affairs Department" headquarters, the imprint of the teleportation formation diagram on the ground stood out. This reinforced rock material was very good. Every teleportation back to headquarters had a solid, forceful feeling.
Handing the protagonist team over to Leshima was just a casual act. As for whether the protagonist team would live or die, that was up to their own abilities.
Just as he walked into the first floor, Su Xiao saw the Gray Hound Brothers. He paused for a moment, thinking of the correct way to deploy these two brothers.
"You two, come to my office tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir!"
The elder of the Gray Hound Brothers immediately slapped his chest with one hand. The younger brother, a beat slower, grinned foolishly.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment. Considering that like attracts like, he asked, "I'm in urgent need of people recently. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Yes, sir."
The elder Gray Hound was extremely excited. His ears, one drooping and one standing, both perked up.
"Oh? Who."
"My younger brother."
The elder Gray Hound said with particular pride, forcefully slapping his younger brother on the back, causing him to stumble forward half a step, showing how sturdy his younger brother's physique was.
"..."
Su Xiao suddenly understood why, despite the severe shortage of Supremes in the "Empire Special Affairs Department," these two were still kept at home.
These two could become Supremes because they could eat anything. As long as it wasn't Abyss-type, they would accept it without exception.
As a result, after eating a terrifying amount of "Divine Flesh" that could supply 35 people for transplantation, the two brothers gained their current power. It was said that before eating such a horrifying amount of "Divine Flesh," their brains weren't so pure. This seemed to be one of the side effects of eating too much "Divine Flesh."
"Sir, we are actually very capable fighters," the elder Gray Hound's voice gradually lowered as he spoke, then continued, "If there were more Divine Flesh, we could actually be stronger."
"Follow me."
Su Xiao went up to the third-floor office, sat behind the desk, opened a drawer, searched for a moment, found an approval slip, wrote the content, and stamped it with the Minister's seal.
"Take this to Tuo, Enta. You can have as much 'Divine Flesh' as you want."
"Really, sir?"
"Don't eat yourselves to death. Get lost."
"Yes, yes, yes, sir. I thank you, thank your grandparents, thank your ancestors, thank your..."
Just as the elder Gray Hound was speaking, he suddenly felt his younger brother jab him hard in the lower back. He then noticed that Mr. White Night across the desk seemed to have a murderous look in his eyes. The Gray Hound Brothers quickly fell to the ground and curled up, and then... they really rolled out.
After this small interlude, Su Xiao came to the meeting room on the second floor. This place had been completely transformed into his rest room. The formation diagram in the room had been cleared away, replaced by various furniture and a bed. The floor was covered with short-pile carpet. More importantly, the defensive wards of this room had been heavily reinforced.
Opening the sealed barrier of this room, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the floor and took out the "Star Heart" he had obtained.
[Star Heart]
Origin: Star Realm Summit·Land of Origin and End.
Quality: -- (Not Certified)
Effect 1: If used when advancing to "Supreme Peak," the success rate of advancement increases by 19.85%.
Effect 2 (Targeted for the Hunter personally, this characteristic will change based on the holder): If this Curio is used immediately, you can choose to enhance the current Blade Grandmaster/Melee/Blood Spear Grandmaster (choose one of the three abilities, or enhance them in a balanced manner).
Tip: If balanced enhancement is chosen, Blade Grandmaster increases by 20%, Melee Grandmaster increases by 20%, Blood Spear Grandmaster increases by 20%.
Tip: If a single Technique Grandmaster ability is chosen for enhancement, its overall strength will increase by 50%.
Warning: The effect of this item on "Supreme Peak" level individuals will be greatly diminished, possibly even having no benefit.
Rating: -- (Not Certified)
Introduction: This is a choice between "Courage" or "Cowardice."
...
Su Xiao did not plan to keep the [Star Heart]. The reason was that his success rate for advancing to "Supreme Peak" could be increased by raising the level of "Heavenly Edge Shadow Slash" and using "Power Origin" to devour Supreme passives, gradually stacking it to 100%. On the other hand, opportunities to significantly enhance X Technique abilities were truly rare, decreasing with each encounter.
Snap!
Su Xiao crushed the [Star Heart] using the method described in the detailed attributes. A few drops of his blood merged into the crystalline energy that the [Star Heart] had turned into. This crystalline energy entered his body, and a feeling similar to mastering the "Shadow of Law Destruction System" ability surged within him. The next second, he was sent into a dream.
When Su Xiao woke up, three hours had passed. The reason he dared to enhance his abilities like this within the mission world was that the three old immortals behind the Empire would not let him die now. If a hidden powerful enemy from outside the Empire's forces truly attacked, these three old immortals might even intervene to buy Su Xiao some time.
Of course, once the "Causal Lock Ring" was resolved, these three old immortals would become the enemies who most wanted Su Xiao dead.
After meditating and calming down for a moment, Su Xiao felt that his Blade Grandmaster ability had reached an unprecedented peak. Indeed, he had used this entire [Star Heart] to enhance his Blade Grandmaster.
[Blade Grandmaster: X (Technique Core·Passive)]
Skill Effect: Blade weapon damage rank +1300 (increased by 300), Blade weapon slashing force judgment rank +1300 (increased by 300), Blade weapon armor-breaking judgment rank +1300 (increased by 300).
Soul Severing Strength: 80 points (increased by 20 points).
Blade Heart: 8/8.
X Ultimate Ability: Extreme Realm·Star Realm (Transcendent Level·Passive), you fully release your Technique Grandmaster's might, affecting the Star Realm's operation within a 500-meter radius (increased by 200 meters), causing it to enter a "Star Realm Stasis" state for 5 seconds (increased by 2 seconds). During this time, you can move within this range at 50% of your speed (increased by 20%) and perform slashes at full speed.
Tip: If encountering other "Star Realm Stasis" abilities, this ability will determine its final strength based on duration, either canceling each other out, being suppressed, or successfully suppressing the other.
Warning: Can only be used once every 3 natural days (reduced by 2 natural days).
...