Chapter 3: Authority "Fate Summoning"
After Su Xiao finished handling the matters in the exclusive room, he arrived at the Trade Market. The Trade Market was still as lively as ever, with contractors coming and going, and various stalls set up on both sides of the street.
Su Xiao walked straight to the depths of the Trade Market, where a massive black stone gate stood. This was the teleportation array leading to the Void Tree. After paying the required Paradise Coins, Su Xiao stepped into the teleportation array.
With a flash of light, Su Xiao appeared in the central area of the Void Tree. The environment here was completely different from the Reincarnation Paradise. The sky was a deep purple, and strange plants grew everywhere. In the distance, a huge tree could be seen piercing the clouds, its trunk so thick that it was impossible to see its full extent at a glance.
Su Xiao did not linger and headed straight for the Honor Shop. The Honor Shop was located in a magnificent building in the central area of the Void Tree. Pushing open the heavy metal door, a spacious hall came into view.
The hall was filled with various display cases, inside which were all kinds of rare items. Su Xiao walked up to a display case, inside which lay a black crystal the size of a fist, emitting a faint black-blue smoke.
"Law-Destroying Skill Point, price: 50,000 Void Tree Reputation points."
Su Xiao looked at the item introduction. This was one of the items he needed most at the moment. After his breakthrough to the eighth rank, many skills could be further enhanced, but the skill points he had were far from enough.
After a moment of thought, Su Xiao decided to purchase this Law-Destroying Skill Point. He currently had 120,000 Void Tree Reputation points, which was enough to buy two, but he needed to save some for other uses.
After completing the purchase, Su Xiao left the Honor Shop and went straight to the Skill Upgrade Hall. The Skill Upgrade Hall was located in another building, which was even more magnificent.
Entering the Skill Upgrade Hall, Su Xiao found an empty skill upgrade pod. This was a cylindrical device about three meters high, with a transparent outer shell and complex runes flowing inside.
Su Xiao placed his hand on the upgrade pod, and a prompt appeared in his mind.
[Detected that the contractor has a Law-Destroying Skill Point, do you wish to use it?]
[Yes/No]
Su Xiao chose "Yes." The next moment, the skill upgrade pod began to operate, and a powerful energy enveloped him.
[Skill upgrade in progress...]
[Upgrade target: Blade Path Sword: Time]
[Current level: Lv.10]
[Upgrade to: Lv.15]
[Consuming Law-Destroying Skill Point x1]
[Upgrade successful!]
A warm current flowed through Su Xiao's body. He could feel that his understanding of the Blade Path Sword: Time had deepened significantly. This skill was one of his core abilities, capable of briefly freezing time, and was extremely useful in battle.
After exiting the skill upgrade pod, Su Xiao checked his attribute panel. In addition to the skill upgrade, his attributes had also improved somewhat after breaking through to the eighth rank.
[Contractor: Su Xiao]
[Rank: Eighth Rank]
[Life Value: 100%]
[Mana Value: 32,500 points]
[Strength: 285 points]
[Agility: 310 points]
[Endurance: 270 points]
[Intelligence: 250 points]
[Perception: 260 points]
[Charm: 5 points]
[Luck: 18 points]
Seeing the Charm attribute of 5 points, Su Xiao's mouth twitched slightly. This attribute had always been his weakness, but it didn't matter much; he relied on strength to get things done.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave the Skill Upgrade Hall, a familiar voice came from behind.
"White Night, long time no see."
Su Xiao turned around and saw a man in a black robe walking over. The man had a pale face and a strange smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Hui Shen Shi." Su Xiao said calmly.
"It's been a while. I heard you broke through to the eighth rank. Congratulations." Hui Shen Shi said with a smile.
"Mm." Su Xiao responded lightly, not intending to say much.
Hui Shen Shi didn't mind Su Xiao's attitude and continued, "I came to find you this time because I have a mission that requires cooperation. Interested?"
"What mission?" Su Xiao asked.
"An exploration mission in a Primordial World. I heard there's a treasure related to the 'Supreme Being' inside." Hui Shen Shi lowered his voice.
Su Xiao's eyes flickered. The Supreme Being was a legendary existence, said to be the strongest being in the Void. If there really was a treasure related to the Supreme Being, its value would be immeasurable.
"Details." Su Xiao said.
Hui Shen Shi smiled and took out a scroll, handing it to Su Xiao. "This is the mission information. Take a look. If you're interested, come find me."
Su Xiao took the scroll, glanced at it, and put it away. "I'll consider it."
"Alright, I'll be waiting for your good news." Hui Shen Shi turned and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Su Xiao looked at Hui Shen Shi's retreating figure, a thoughtful expression flashing in his eyes. This guy was a dangerous character, but his information network was indeed impressive. If the mission was real, it was indeed worth considering.
After leaving the Skill Upgrade Hall, Su Xiao returned to the Reincarnation Paradise. He planned to rest for a while before deciding whether to accept Hui Shen Shi's mission.
Back in the exclusive room, Su Xiao sat on the sofa, took out the scroll, and carefully examined it. The mission was to explore a newly discovered Primordial World, which was said to contain the ruins of the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization. The most important thing was that there were clues related to the Supreme Being inside.
"Second Era: Alchemical Civilization..." Su Xiao muttered to himself. This civilization was extremely powerful, and many of the alchemical techniques used today originated from that era. If he could find some ancient alchemical knowledge, it would be a huge gain.
Just as Su Xiao was deep in thought, a prompt suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Warning: Detected that the contractor's 'Fate Summoning' authority has been activated.]
[Fate Summoning: A special authority that can summon a contractor from another paradise to assist in battle. Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 30 days.]
[Do you wish to use it?]
[Yes/No]
Su Xiao was slightly startled. This authority was something he had obtained after breaking through to the eighth rank, but he had never used it. He didn't expect it to be automatically activated at this time.
"Use." Su Xiao chose "Yes."
The next moment, a golden light appeared in the exclusive room, and a figure slowly emerged from the light.
It was a woman with long silver hair, wearing a white robe, holding a staff, and exuding a powerful aura.
"Who summoned me?" The woman looked around, her gaze finally landing on Su Xiao.
"I did." Su Xiao said calmly.
The woman looked Su Xiao up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "Eighth Rank? Not bad. I am Mage Sage Seraphilia, from the Holy Light Paradise."
"Su Xiao, from the Reincarnation Paradise." Su Xiao introduced himself.
"Reincarnation Paradise?" Seraphilia's expression changed slightly. "I've heard of that place. It's said that the contractors there are all battle maniacs."
"Mm." Su Xiao didn't deny it.
"Since you summoned me, you must need my help. But let me make this clear, I won't do anything for free." Seraphilia said.
"Of course. I'll pay the corresponding price." Su Xiao nodded.
"Good, I like straightforward people." Seraphilia smiled. "So, what mission do you need my help with?"
Su Xiao briefly explained the mission information from Hui Shen Shi. After hearing it, Seraphilia's expression turned serious.
"Second Era: Alchemical Civilization ruins? And clues related to the Supreme Being?" Seraphilia pondered for a moment. "This mission is indeed dangerous, but the rewards are also considerable. I'm willing to cooperate."
"Alright, we'll set off in three days." Su Xiao said.
"No problem." Seraphilia agreed.
After sending Seraphilia away, Su Xiao began to prepare. This mission was no small matter, and he needed to make sufficient preparations.
First, he went to the Equipment Enhancement Hall to strengthen his main weapon, the Dragon-Slaying Flash. After consuming a large number of Paradise Coins and materials, the Dragon-Slaying Flash successfully broke through to the Holy Spirit rank.
[Equipment: Dragon-Slaying Flash]
[Rank: Holy Spirit]
[Attack Power: 385-420]
[Effect 1: Ignore 50% of the enemy's defense]
[Effect 2: Increases Blade Path skill damage by 30%]
[Effect 3: Has a certain chance to trigger instant kill effect]
Seeing the enhanced Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao nodded with satisfaction. With this weapon, his combat power had improved significantly.
Next, he went to the Attribute Enhancement Hall to further enhance his attributes. After consuming a large number of True Attribute Points, his attributes improved once again.
[Strength: 300 points]
[Agility: 330 points]
[Endurance: 285 points]
[Intelligence: 265 points]
[Perception: 275 points]
After all the preparations were done, Su Xiao returned to the exclusive room and began to rest, waiting for the departure time three days later.
Three days passed quickly. On the morning of the third day, Su Xiao arrived at the teleportation array, where Seraphilia was already waiting.
"You're late." Seraphilia said.
"Just in time." Su Xiao replied calmly.
The two stepped into the teleportation array together, and with a flash of light, they disappeared from the Reincarnation Paradise.
When they reappeared, they were in a strange world. The sky here was blood-red, the ground was covered with black crystals, and the air was filled with a pungent sulfur smell.
"This is the Primordial World?" Seraphilia looked around, a hint of caution flashing in her eyes.
"Mm, according to the information, the ruins should be ahead." Su Xiao said, pointing to a huge black mountain in the distance.
The two moved forward cautiously. Along the way, they encountered many strange creatures, all of which were extremely powerful. Fortunately, Su Xiao and Seraphilia were both top-tier experts, so they easily dealt with them.
After about half an hour, they finally arrived at the foot of the black mountain. At the foot of the mountain, a huge stone gate could be seen, covered with complex runes.
"This should be the entrance to the ruins." Seraphilia said.
Su Xiao walked up to the stone gate and carefully examined the runes. "These runes are from the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization. It seems the information is correct."
"How do we open it?" Seraphilia asked.
Su Xiao didn't answer, instead taking out a black crystal and placing it into a groove on the stone gate. The next moment, the stone gate emitted a low rumble and slowly opened.
A dark passage appeared before them, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.
"Let's go." Su Xiao took the lead and walked into the passage.
Seraphilia followed closely behind, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
The exploration of the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization ruins had officially begun.