Chapter 2821: Strength and Luck

A hand wrapped in a crystal layer reached out from the river water, grabbing the square stone on the riverbank, and the crystal layer shattered.

Su Xiao, completely naked, stepped onto the path on the shore. The river surface behind him was steaming; this section of the river was boiling.

In the dark nearby, spying eyes appeared. After all, this was the territory of the Magic Association.

Several figures wearing masks walked out from a narrow alley diagonally opposite. These people were all wearing leather clothes, with metal collars around their necks. Around the collars were circles of glass tubes, inside which iron sand-like substances were drifting.

"Mr. Bai Ye of the Black Tower, now is..." The leading man raised his hand and looked at his palm, where a watch face was embedded, with an hour hand and a minute hand on it.

Judging by the voice, the masked man should be a middle-aged secret mage. His aura was strong, close to Xiuxiu Luo's.

It could only be said that the City of Smoke didn't have much else, but it had many powerhouses. If a Qiyuezhe from the mid-tier of the seventh tier arrived here, they might really not be able to beat even a small leader, let alone elite units or leader-level units.

"It is now 12:19 PM. There are 5 hours and 41 minutes left until the lifting of the ban at 6 PM. According to the treaty between the Magic Association and the Black Tower, you have no right to enter this place before 6 PM."

When the masked man said this, the three people behind him stepped back slowly, already prepared for battle.

"Our Magic Association is an organization that knows how to be inclusive. Please take this. This is a special permit. With it, you can enter most places in Districts 4 to 9 all day."

The masked man took out a small notebook and tapped his temple with his index finger. A rod-like object protruded from his ear. The masked man pulled a pen from his ear, wrote and drew rapidly on the notebook with this pen, his hand appearing as an afterimage.

With a *rip*, the masked man tore a page from the notebook and handed it to Su Xiao.

After Su Xiao took it, he found that the front of the paper was a neat pattern as if printed by a printer.

His name, background, height, and even a photo of his upper body were all on it. What was even more wonderful was that this drawn photo was actually full-color, drawn exactly as he appeared now, with even the water droplets on his hair tips drawn clearly.

Baja also saw this special permit and suspected that the masked man opposite was a printer in his previous life.

"Bai Ye, if you have time, you can visit the Magic Association branch in District 4. We welcome Black Tower members to visit."

The human full-color printer, the masked man, looked at Xiuxiu Luo nearby, as well as the large cloth bag carried on the opponent's shoulder, seemingly not caring that his organization's female secret mage had been captured.

"Secret mage, tell your president, Rogesh, that someone is 'missing' him."

"Obey your will."

The masked man bowed slightly, but in the next moment, Xiuxiu Luo appeared in front of him and kicked his lowered face, the reason being his respectful attitude.

With a *boom*, the masked man sank into the building behind him, crashing through several walls in succession.

The three secret mages who had been standing behind the masked man all raised their hands. Several water thorns as thick as fingers spread over, instantly surrounding Xiuxiu Luo, about to pierce him.

"Stop!"

The masked man's voice came from the hole in the building, and the three secret mages immediately retreated.

The masked man walked out of the hole in the wall with his head tilted, using both hands to correct his head while walking.

"Excuse me."

Hearing this, Xiuxiu Luo raised his hand.

"Do you... want to die that much."

A soul mark invisible to outsiders appeared beside Xiuxiu Luo.

"Not yet. I haven't seen the final battle between you and that lord. How can I die."

The masked man saluted Xiuxiu Luo again.

"Wish you well, Lord Xiuxiu Luo."

Leaving these words, the masked man took the three secret mages and left.

"Bai Ye, give me a cigarette. Although I don't know how you got cigarettes in the Western Continent, give me one."

Xiuxiu Luo sat on the stone pillar by the riverbank, took the cigarette and metal lighter thrown by Su Xiao, and lit the cigarette.

"This thing is pretty good. The more I look at it, the more I like it. There are even words on it. This is really... an extraordinary thing."

Xiuxiu Luo threw the metal lighter back to Su Xiao, exhaled smoke, and said: "Curious, right? Since that's the case, I'll tell you a story..."

"Not curious."

Su Xiao walked along the riverbank. He prepared to find an inn in District 17 for a temporary stay. District 17 was located in the center of the City of Smoke. No matter where the node appeared, he could rush there as soon as possible.

Xiuxiu Luo sat alone on the stone pillar by the riverbank, looking up at the dim sky.

"Cold as death, but a guy you can't hate. Yeah, everyone has secrets."

Xiuxiu Luo, with a cigarette in his mouth, smiled. A drop of rain fell on his face. He wiped the rain away with his finger, but a moment later, his eyes suddenly widened, looking at the black trace remaining on his index finger.

"This... this is, Black Tide Rain!"

Xiuxiu Luo immediately put on his hood and tucked his hands into his sleeves, walking forward with his head down. A raindrop fell on the glass window by the path, and the water stain flowed down along the peeling, not showing black.

Half an hour later, in an inn in District 17, in a guest room on the second floor, the window was filled with mist.

"Baja, where did Xiuxiu Luo go?"

Su Xiao wiped the rain from his hair with a towel. On the way to District 17, a sudden heavy rain started, but this heavy rain only lasted for ten seconds before stopping. After the rain, the gray-black dust particles drifting in the sky dissipated, and the City of Smoke was bathed in sunlight for the first time in a long time.

"Went to District 18, said he was going to find an old flame, and also told us not to go to District 5 recently."

"..."

Su Xiao didn't care about Xiuxiu Luo, who went to District 18 to find an old flame. The next node wouldn't appear for several hours. What he wanted to do most now was to find a way to leave the Western Continent.

Between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent was a sea. Taking a ship was impossible; that required a transit permit from the Magic Association, and it would take about a month of sailing on the sea to reach the Eastern Continent.

Crossing the sea on his own was also unreliable. Heaven knows how many extraordinary creatures were in the sea of this world. These sea beasts absorbed the primitive soul energy integrated into the seawater, and their bodies were huge. Plus, there were too many of them. Without the special steel giant ships manufactured by the Steam Alliance, it was impossible to avoid these sea beasts.

Shipping was controlled by the Steam Alliance, but the one that obtained the most resources from the Western Continent was the Magic Association.

In the Western Continent, the Steam Alliance and the Magic Association could not be judged as good or bad. They were not good things, but the refugees could not do without them.

The Magic Association here was playing the role of an evil force, without even pretending. They blockaded the Western Continent and supplied the black crystals produced here to the civilians of the Eastern Continent. Of course, the civilians of the Eastern Continent had to pay Gulang to buy them. Gulang was the currency issued by the Magic Association.

As for the Steam Alliance, they set up secret experiments in the Western Continent while opening huge factories, allowing the refugees of the Western Continent to work in exchange for meager income.

Not only that, the Steam Alliance also controlled shipping. They manufactured daily necessities in the Eastern Continent and sold them at high prices after transporting them to the Western Continent.

The only ones who really thought about the refugees of the Western Continent were the Holy Domain God Church.

They were stationed in Districts 1-3 only to minimize the casualties of refugees when the Black Tide erupted, and then blockaded the eruption area, not participating in the contention for primitive soul energy.

Using soul energy to defeat soul energy was the coping method they chose because they really had no other way.

Precisely because of this, Districts 1-3 where the Healing God Church was stationed were the most stable. The refugees were not stupid. When they were in despair, it was the Healing God Church that reached out a helping hand to pull them out of the mud. The iron law of the City of Smoke: those who dared to cause trouble in Districts 1-3 would die without a whole corpse.

The Steam Alliance controlled shipping, and the Magic Association acquiesced to this and had never shown any covetousness. Was the Magic Association generous? Not really. The Magic Association likely controlled other transportation routes.

Compared to daily necessities, the profit of transporting black crystals from the Western Continent to the Eastern Continent was dozens or even hundreds of times that of daily necessities. The black crystals in this world were similar to the oil resources in the real world—no, this was a higher-level man-made energy.

Su Xiao felt that the Magic Association's method of transporting black crystals was the key to his reaching the Eastern Continent. Besides that, other methods were not very feasible.

The previous two battles allowed Su Xiao to obtain a total of 13 points of Reincarnation Paradise Merit and 33 Scarlet Medals.

10 Scarlet Medals could be exchanged for a blood-colored weapon of the lowest rating. With 33, exchanging for a blood-colored weapon of mid-to-low rating should be no problem.

Su Xiao opened the exchange list, preparing to see what was different about blood-colored weapons.

【You have activated the blood-colored weapon and special item exchange list. Current Scarlet Medals: 33.】

1. Scarlet Box.

Exchange price: 5 Scarlet Medals.

Origin: Tree of the Void.

Effect: After opening the Scarlet Box, you can obtain 1-10 Scarlet Medals and are guaranteed to obtain 1 Soul Crystal (Complete). There is a small probability of obtaining an Immortal-grade equipment or Immortal-grade treasure.

Inventory: 12.

Introduction: Luck is also a part of strength. Are you lucky today? Try it boldly.

... ===== CHAPTER 2822 =====