Chapter 31: Preparations
In the Myriad Races Realm, the imperial capital, Starlight City.
After the five main war zones achieved victory, the Void Tree's corresponding notarization was activated. The natives of these five worlds were successively teleported outside the shelters, and their memories of this period were somewhat unclear.
It wasn't memory erasure or tampering; all ordinary people felt as if they had taken a long journey. Some had gone to relatives in remote rural areas to avoid war, others to other large cities to escape natural disasters.
Basically, all transcendent beings below the Fifth Rank had an enhanced version of this feeling. Those at the Fifth to Eighth Rank who sensed something amiss chose to remain silent. As for those stronger, reaching the Ninth Rank meant reaching the lower limit for conscription.
To use an analogy: consider a family with considerable power, whose old patriarch was a Ninth Rank powerhouse. The old patriarch suddenly disappeared, but before that, he had vaguely expressed that he had reached the lower limit for conscription in some terrifying event and would be forcibly conscripted. Under such circumstances, would the other transcendent beings in this family dare to publicize this? They'd be scared shitless, let alone dare to spread it around.
So the Myriad Races Realm was very peaceful now. The imperial capital, Starlight City, which had been teleported back to its original surface location from underground by the Void Tree, displayed a different kind of vitality. Of course, this was because the Abyss/Elemental balance in this world had been achieved.
One thing was certain: if their side won this Abyss War, the five worlds that had served as main battlefields would, due to their abundance of various transcendent resources, bloom into brilliant and distinct transcendent civilizations.
The light of the teleportation array subsided. Su Xiao took out a Soul Coin and gave it to the courteous teleportation tower staff. It was worth mentioning that this teleportation tower had been contracted by the Goblin Merchant Guild. Moreover, they had reduced the original cost of 9 Soul Coins for a world-level teleportation to a near-loss-making 1 Soul Coin.
This was the marvelous aspect of the Goblin Merchant Guild. They never showed their greed from the start. Only when customers became accustomed to their services would they start raising prices on some inconspicuous but frequently used service routes. Because they had a complete system, when customers calculated the total, they would feel that although some of the Goblin Merchant Guild's services were expensive, the overall cost was still about 5% cheaper than others. Coupled with the quality of service provided, it was definitely the ceiling among similar types.
Even more ingenious was that wherever the Goblin Merchant Guild went, the small and medium-sized merchant associations in that area would gradually become 'Goblinized'. The reason was that the Goblin Merchant Guild would always provide the cheapest and highest quality commercial channels.
For example, this teleportation tower, which was priced down to just covering costs. Given the choice, small and medium-sized merchant associations or individual merchants would definitely choose this teleportation tower, which was cheap, stable, and didn't charge extra for carrying up to 0.5 tons of cargo per person.
Because the three teleportation towers in this district were cheap, a corresponding industrial chain had formed. Merchants from other worlds, even if they were going to other cities in this world, like the various towns under the jurisdiction of 'Anfeng City' to do business, would all teleport here first. Other teleportation towers, even unstable ones, cost at least 5 Soul Coins per trip, and stable ones cost at least 7 Soul Coins.
The merchants calculated that teleporting to the imperial capital first, then performing intra-world teleportation, even with expenses like food and lodging for people and horses along the way, was still more profitable overall. This directly led to District 17 of the imperial capital becoming the district with the largest daily import and export trade volume in this world.
Not to mention, the Goblin Merchant Guild had other strategies, such as bulk commodity transportation within the world, a series of luxurious hotels, the most prosperous luxury goods street in the Star Realm, an underground jewelry wholesale market, and one-third of the management rights for the royal capital's gambling district.
As long as you came here, you would definitely spend your money comfortably. For kind-hearted people, there was fine food and local souvenirs for their families. They were strictly prohibited from entering the underground jewelry market and gambling district. As for receiving those desperate outlaws who lived on the edge, there was no need to be polite; everything was laid out for them, as that was exactly what they came for.
Su Xiao walked on the bustling street. Truly, everyone had their own expertise. If he were given the helm of the Goblin Merchant Guild, he definitely couldn't have created such prosperity in such a short time. This recognition that he wasn't omnipotent prevented him from ever feeling consumed by his own power.
An overly inflated ego, believing oneself to be powerful and capable of anything, was not far from losing one's way.
Over in the Void War Zone, things were completely settled within three days. The Tuanzhang had more than one trump card. Besides 'Past Repetition', the Tuanzhang used a second trump card called the 'Realm of No Killing'.
The principle was that the Tuanzhang overlapped the world he had been building with the Void on a spatial level, creating a world rule in the current Void battlefield. Once a killing occurred, it would immediately suffer severe backlash. This finally gave their side, which was about to retreat to the base camp, a breathing space. The war situation was so dire that it really couldn't be blamed on their side's participants. With the death of Shadow of the Dark Tide, Eivora, the Abyss faction was completely enraged.
The Abyss Gates had opened from three to five. The First to Ninth Legions, all nine Abyss Legions, simultaneously launched a fierce attack on the Void battlefield. If not for the Tuanzhang's trump card, the Void battlefield would have been a living hell.
With a three-day buffer, Su Xiao didn't rush himself. Even though the Abyss was gradually eroding the Star Realm, their side's participants were no longer dying every second. And in three days, he would either have already killed his way from the Underworld into the Abyss, or they would all defend the base camp together. There were no other possibilities.
What Su Xiao needed to do now, besides improving himself, was to relax his mind and body, recovering from a supreme battle against the Time System to his peak state before a life-or-death battle.
The Tuanzhang using this trump card clearly indicated that it was already determined: if they lost this time, there was no possibility of using that world to shelter survivors and survive the Abyss Era.
The Hunters 001 and 002 of Reincarnation Paradise were truly too reliable this time. One had thrown two crucial trump cards in a row onto the Void battlefield. Without him, the Void base camp would have been overrun by now. The other had won four consecutive main battlefields and was now preparing to go fight the Lord of the Abyss to the death. In the hearts of nine out of ten participating contractors, they had secretly shouted: 'Reincarnation Paradise is awesome!'
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Beini rode the tram, watching the street scenes outside the window. Su Xiao's heart grew calmer. This was good.
The tram stopped midway, and a few young people got on. They looked like teenage students. But one boy and one girl caught Su Xiao's attention, as he discovered they were actually two Children of Destiny.
They would be hostile to each other in the future, and to a certain extent, influence the structure of the Myriad Races Realm, having connections with major powers like the Goblin Merchant Guild, the Giluers Family, the Feather Race, and the Star Clan.
Su Xiao found it quite interesting. He was amused, but he never considered how terrifying his gaze was for a Child of Destiny who had just awakened their destiny power.
"Alisa, what's wrong?"
A girl with fiery red hair heard a classmate's low, concerned voice. Alisa, trembling slightly and staring at her own shoes, felt as if the sky was about to collapse. The always excellent and smooth-sailing her had never experienced such fear before.
It was like a small bird being stared at by a massive Blood Beast. Even if the bird wasn't even enough to fill the Blood Beast's teeth, it wasn't that it couldn't be harmed, but that it wasn't worth harming. But that didn't stop the little bird from being scared.
Interestingly, the already dead Boiling Red was also named Alisa.
Alisa barely suppressed the urge to jump out of the window and flee throughout the ride. She finally endured until the tram stopped. She grabbed her friend and quickly got off. Since they had originally planned to get off here, her friend, though puzzled by her haste, didn't press further and they parted ways.
Alisa was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she found a figure, accompanied by a dog and a cat, getting off the tram that hadn't started moving yet. At that moment, Alisa's sky completely collapsed. She hesitated for only two seconds before deciding to walk in the opposite direction of her home, not allowing this unknown existence to get near her family.
In Alisa's perception, this was no longer just terrifying or horrible, but a more profound, indescribable, unknown fear.
Had Alisa perceived Su Xiao's power? Of course not. Even if she reached the limit of her destiny as a Child of Destiny, she wouldn't be able to sense Su Xiao's threat. It was Bubu Wang, who had just come down from the war zone, carrying the aura of Abyss erosion, that caused Alisa's reaction.
Alisa walked quickly, only to find that the one person, one dog, and one cat were following her. At this moment, her heart completely froze. She knew that today she would...
Alisa stealthily glanced back and was stunned. The one person, one dog, and one cat had stopped in front of a street-side food stall, bought over a dozen skewers of grilled meatballs, and then, on a bench on this pedestrian street, sat in a row, habitually eating the grilled meatballs.
"?"
Alisa, who had already felt her life was in danger, was completely dumbfounded. If not for her long-cultivated gentle and elegant habits, she didn't know what expression she would have made. Then, Alisa was amused by her own stupidity. If such a powerful existence harbored ill intentions, she would have died silently long ago. They came here because they knew there was a good food stall here, stopping by on their way to do other things.
Su Xiao watched the departing Child of Destiny and felt a bit emotional. He had killed many such Children of Destiny, but he truly hadn't expected to encounter one during this Abyss War phase. Or perhaps, this was an inevitable part of a world's operating system? Like the switch that starts a huge machine?
Tasting the grilled meatballs he had visited several times before, Su Xiao, amidst this daily routine, completely recovered his state. Even if he were to go fight the Lord of the Abyss right now, his condition would definitely be at its peak.
The kind-faced couple at the stall opposite the bench could never have dreamed that their small food business, which they had diligently run for over 20 years to raise their children and support their parents, would one day make such a great contribution to the continued existence of the Star Realm. Of course, it was also unlikely that this couple would ever know about this. Fate was often so marvelous.
After eating several dozen skewers of grilled meatballs, Su Xiao got up and walked towards the west side of the pedestrian street. Soon, he arrived at a street with a heavy forging atmosphere. He came to the largest forging workshop in the back block. Passing through an invisible barrier, he heard the rumbling sound of the furnace.
Inside the vast workshop, three figures were either sitting or lying down. They were the three legendary blacksmiths. Their appearances had changed drastically. The Molten Giant was still tall but had become a skeleton of a giant, his large frame the only thing preventing him from looking emaciated.
The sturdy Dwarf King was no longer strong. His arms were just rough skin wrapped around thick bones. The Demon Blacksmith was in the best condition, but he was also somewhat gaunt. His demonic eyes, which once flowed like magma, were dim, and his goat-like curled horns were covered in fine cracks.
The Molten Giant and the Dwarf King were both half-lying down in exhaustion. When they sensed Su Xiao's arrival, they sat up with the help of the Dwarf King's disciples.
"You came just in time."
The Demon Blacksmith stood up. As he opened the furnace, a wave of heat hit him. He used tongs to clamp out a red-hot mold and threw it into the cooling liquid. With a hiss, steam rose. It took a while for the exhaust system to clear the air in the workshop.
Bang!
A forging hammer struck the iron-black mold, but the mold didn't budge. The Demon Blacksmith gathered his strength for a moment and struck again.
With another bang, the mold was broken open, revealing a dark gold ring. The Demon Blacksmith put on thick leather forging gloves, picked up the mold along with the ring, and said:
"Don't put it directly on your hand."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, just raised his crystal left arm slightly. Seeing this, the Demon Blacksmith nodded.
Su Xiao took out the Book of Original Sin. Seeing this, the weakened Molten Giant and Dwarf King, supported by their forging disciples, moved further away.
He appropriately opened the seal of the Book of Original Sin. The first thing released was the Deep Sea Ancient Urn. At the same time, he activated the Endless Ring, which was still in the mold within his crystal left arm. Compared to being sealed in the Book of Original Sin, entering the Endless Ring was clearly a better choice.
Dark blue elemental power surged into it, followed by the pitch black representing the Abandoned One, the bright red of the Ancient Eye, the gold-red of the Coin of Fate, the dark red of the Soul Crown, the ghostly green of the Nether Bone Ring, the golden yellow of the Sun Mask, the scarlet of the Scarlet Scepter, the deathly gray of the Necronomicon, and finally, released from the Book of Original Sin, the dark gold original sin representing the Collector.
The ten Original Sin Objects were successively sucked into the Endless Ring. An invisible shockwave, originating from the Endless Ring, spread outwards until it disappeared at the edge of the world.
[Endless Ring]
Origin: Abyss.
Quality: Abyss Rank.
Type: Enhancement-type Equipment.
Equipment Effect: Endless Bearing (Core · Passive). This equipment can bear Original Sin Objects. For each true Original Sin Object borne, it gains one layer of the 'Endless Power' effect.
Each layer of Endless Power effect: Increases 100 points of Abyss/Elemental Resistance (this bonus can exceed the cap), increases all attributes by 2%, and 'slightly' increases the coronation and devouring of Abyss/Elemental power. Current total gains are as follows: