Chapter 3616: Chance Encounter

Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan had three options for improvement: Sharpness, Reinforcement Limit, and Attack Power. Although Su Xiao wanted them all, since he had already increased the quality limit and the strength of the Demon Blade, plus the durability, the remaining non-characteristic Origin Energy was only enough for one of the three.

【You have chosen to permanently increase Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan's Sharpness by +120 points.】

【This upgrade is in progress and is expected to be completed within 2 hours. During this period, you can use Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan normally, but try to avoid ultra-high-intensity combat to prevent affecting the effect of this upgrade.】

There were many reasons why Su Xiao chose to increase Sharpness. First, he had always been stacking Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan's Sharpness. Including this 120-point bonus, Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan's Sharpness would reach 830 points.

With this level of Sharpness, plus the "Blade-type weapon damage tier" bonus from Su Xiao's various abilities, it would be very difficult for anything other than an Origin-level, full-score defensive gear to withstand a single slash.

Not to mention that stacking a weapon's Sharpness to 830 points was already somewhat insane, the even more terrifying part was the "Blade-type weapon damage tier." In this regard, Su Xiao had Blade Mastery +5, Wolf Blood Pendant +2, Skill Sublimation Passive +1, Deep Blue Shadow Title +1, and Basic Passive: Shadow Step +1.

After this accumulation, he achieved a "Blade-type weapon damage tier +10" bonus, a stat that would make enemies tremble with fear.

The reasons for choosing to increase Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan's Sharpness didn't stop there. Increasing the Reinforcement Limit and Attack Power were less ideal; the former was too unreliable, and there were more ways to increase the latter.

As for reaching a Reinforcement Limit of +16, in Su Xiao's view, it looked impressive but was actually useless. Being able to reinforce Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan to +14—no, +13—was already a breakthrough. Aiming for +15, or the limit-breaking +16, was likely just a pipe dream.

Of course, there was a possibility, such as obtaining rare materials like the 【Soul Gem Disk】. But even if he obtained the 【Soul Gem Disk】 right now, it would be useless, as it was intended for reinforcing Immortal-level equipment.

Even if he later obtained a heaven-defying item that could 100% upgrade Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan to +15, he could still devour other Indestructible-characteristic Abyss-derived creatures to gain the possibility of breaking the reinforcement limit. There were two such Abyss-derived creatures in this world, and presumably, there were others elsewhere; it would just require a life-or-death battle to obtain them.

Sheathing Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan, Su Xiao left the office, went to the first floor, took the central elevator to the underground prison, and then opened the alloy door to the third level of the dungeon.

Following the stairs down to the third level, Su Xiao pressed his hand against the sensor device on the wall. The highest authority for the third level was activated. With his adjustment, all the gravity crystal walls of the cells turned from transparent to pitch black, and the sound-sensing devices were also turned off.

Su Xiao stopped in front of the Deceiver's cell. As the pitch-black gravity crystal wall rose, the Deceiver, who was sitting slumped on a wooden chair inside, looked up at Su Xiao.

"These past few days, I have often thought of Mr. Arcas. A lowly ant like me actually had the honor of following behind him. What an honor it is, if only..."

*Zheng~*

A flash of blade light flickered and vanished, slicing across the Deceiver's throat and leaving a slash mark made of black-blue smoke in the air. Before blood could gush from the wound on the Deceiver's neck, the black-blue smoke surged into his body through the wound.

The Deceiver clutched his throat with one hand, his figure unsteady, and he fell from the chair to the ground with a *thud*. As he crawled forward aimlessly, his other hand reached up desperately, his throat emitting a rattling sound.

The silver-tongued Deceiver could not utter another word before his death; his throat had been severed by the Blade of the Demon Hunter.

Clearly, Su Xiao, who never listened to an enemy's nonsense and never spoke nonsense to enemies, was the Deceiver's ultimate nemesis. By not giving him a chance to speak, the words he used to bewitch others' souls naturally had no room to play.

With a *thud*, the Deceiver's head hit the ground limply. Because his soul had been slain, his pupils quickly became dull and lifeless, eventually turning completely murky.

Su Xiao manifested the "Hunting List: Blood Pact," which floated in front of him. He stroked the blood-stained blade with his thumb, then used the thumb stained with the Deceiver's blood to wipe away the Deceiver's name from the top of the list, along with a long list of names behind it. These characters were very small; they were the names the Deceiver had used throughout his many reincarnations.

When the enemy's name was wiped away with the enemy's blood, the blood patterns on the edges of the Hunting List became denser, and a prompt appeared.

【The Hunter has successfully hunted the first enemy: The Deceiver.】

【The Deceiver's original bounty was 50 ounces of Space-Time Power. Because the "Hunting List: Blood Pact" offers a five-fold bounty, you will receive a total bounty worth 200 ounces of Space-Time Power.】

【You have obtained Space-Time Stone Fragment ×15 (This item is an equivalent; selling it to Reincarnation Paradise will yield 150 ounces of Space-Time Power).】

【You have obtained an Origin-level Gem Box (Opening it will guarantee a full-score Origin-level Gem with random characteristics. In this judgment, this item is equivalent to 50 ounces of Space-Time Power in materials).】

Crystal-like fragments appeared in front of Su Xiao. Each crystal fragment inadvertently flowed with seven-colored light. Staring closely at the flat surfaces of these crystal fragments, it seemed as if one saw nothing, yet it also seemed as if one saw the various changes of the world. These were Space-Time Stone Fragments.

Besides these, there was a small treasure chest. It was several sizes smaller than the treasure chests obtained in the past. It was a Gem Box. Su Xiao had obtained similar chests before, but one of such high quality was indeed a first.

This Gem Box clearly didn't rely on luck; no matter how it was opened, it would always yield a full-score Origin-level Gem. In other words, at least tens of thousands of Soul Coins were guaranteed, which gave Su Xiao a gradual understanding of the value of Space-Time Power.

Su Xiao could confirm one thing: Space-Time Power was different from other materials. Selling this item to Reincarnation Paradise was the choice with the highest return, bar none.

Moreover, the value of Space-Time Power didn't just lie in itself; it was also related to Su Xiao's authority level. In short, the higher Su Xiao's Hunter authority level, the higher the selling price Reincarnation Paradise would offer when he sold the obtained Space-Time Power to them.

To use the simplest analogy, assuming the base price of 1 ounce of Space-Time Power is 1, then selling this 1 ounce of Space-Time Power to the Tree of the Void, or Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, etc., the price would definitely be 1. This was something that could not be changed by any means.

Conversely, if Su Xiao were an 8th-tier Hunter, selling 1 ounce of Space-Time Power to Reincarnation Paradise would result in a final price of 1.8 (Base Price 1 + Base Price × 0.8).

In the past, it was difficult to convert this item into materials of corresponding value because such high-level materials could only be sold to the Paradise. Without corresponding authority, one would just accumulate them after obtaining them.

Besides the Paradise, Su Xiao only knew of two types of people willing to accept this item. One was the absolute neutral entities notarized by the Tree of the Void. Even if these neutral entities accepted them, they only accepted small amounts. Presumably, their quota for selling Space-Time Power was limited.

Besides that, there was that guy Caesar, who accepted anything and everything. He would take as much Space-Time Power as he could get. It was also at that time that Su Xiao confirmed that Space-Time Power must be a particularly high-level resource.

Just the 50-ounce fraction corresponded to a full-score Origin-level random gem. Su Xiao glanced at the traitor on the "Hunting List" with a bounty as high as 1500 ounces of Space-Time Power and suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. With such a high bounty, this traitor must be outrageously strong.

But conversely, this was also an opportunity—an opportunity to push his own combat power to the upper reaches of the 9th tier, or even close to the top of the 9th tier, during his first mission world of the 9th tier.

This was not Su Xiao's delusion. The total reward amount of the Hunting List reached 4000 ounces of Space-Time Power. At his current authority level, Space-Time Power was already very valuable; it was Base Price + Base Price × 0.9. The subsequent gain corresponded to his status as a 9th-tier Hunter.

In fact, before entering this world, Su Xiao had achieved the Three Grandmasters with a massive amount of Soul Coins and resources, upgraded Zhan Checking Zhan Long Shan to the Origin level, and significantly improved various passives, especially in the Blood Qi system. This gave him the strength of the upper-middle 9th tier even though he had just been promoted to the 9th tier and had not yet entered a 9th-tier world.

There was another more important point: no matter what, this was the first world he had experienced after being promoted to the 9th tier. He would not be sent into worlds that were too dangerous within the 9th tier.

Even so, he still entered a world with a danger level of Lv. 56–Lv. 85. This was brought up by his comprehensive combat power judgment. If he didn't have his current combat power, he wouldn't have triggered the Hunting List in this world progress, but would have had to wait at least until the second world experienced in the 9th tier.

Even with the judgment of a 9th-tier newcomer entering a world with mid-9th-tier danger, after entering, Su Xiao felt that the 9th-tier world was still manageable. Tessa, known as the strongest in the Alliance, had a 50/50 chance of winning against him; if it were a life-or-death battle, he would have 60% and Tessa 40%.

He hadn't met the strongest general of the Northern Empire yet, who was said to be similar in strength to Tessa.

The one who truly made Su Xiao feel threatened was the Platinum Bishop, who was usually unconventional and casual in his actions. When meeting him, the feeling that each side had a 50% chance of winning after a life-or-death battle was stronger than with Tessa.

Su Xiao thought of a question: if he really succeeded in defeating the traitor this time, obtained 4000 ounces of Space-Time Power, and found the Demon Hunter's inheritance item, the Awakening Monument, then after converting all the gains into strength, would he be thrown directly into a Transcendent Origin World in the next world progress?

This was not Su Xiao's delusion, but he felt that this was very likely. He had experienced it before: not long after being promoted to a tier, due to his combat power increasing too quickly, he was thrown into a war world after a comprehensive strength judgment.

【Prompt: You have killed the Deceiver.】

【You have obtained 11.9% of the World Source.】

【You have obtained a Reincarnation Box (a special treasure chest item; opening it has a low probability of obtaining Reincarnation Soul Blood, and a high probability of obtaining Soul-type abilities, etc.).】

The kill prompt appeared. Su Xiao had originally thought that since there was a bounty, there would be no kill reward, but it seemed that was not the case.

Flicking the blood off his blade, Su Xiao walked out of the prison. Before the gravity crystal wall fell, he threw a normal Apollo into the cell where the Deceiver was. This was a habit Su Xiao had formed after encountering the Priest, who had died twice but was still alive.

After a muffled sound, Su Xiao left the underground prison. Just as he arrived on the first floor of the asylum, several patients in hospital gowns surrounded him. One bald old man looked at Su Xiao and asked:

"Are you the Dean?"

"Yes."

"Don't put pepper in the lunch soup from now on."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"No."

After saying that, the several patients in hospital gowns walked toward the courtyard, satisfied, hands on their hips, chatting and laughing. As soon as they went out, a nurse chased after them. It was the old man from just now; he hadn't had his injection yet today. Before long, the old man showed off his flashy running skills in the courtyard. The five nurses behind him couldn't surround or intercept him, and they cursed under their breath in anger.

When several nurses were giving a verbal warning, the old man directly said, "Pah, I'm not even afraid of your Dean, why would I be afraid of you?" This made the nurses furious.

In front of the office window, Su Xiao watched the old man running in the courtyard below. Seven or eight nurses couldn't do anything to him. Although this was an asylum, because it was a special department, the patient areas from the first to the fifth floor didn't feel oppressive. After proper treatment, the mental patients here, apart from having somewhat unique ways of thinking, generally had no aggression.

"Boss, someone sent this."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang flew over and placed an invitation on the table. After Su Xiao picked it up, he discovered it was for a high-end restaurant open only to members. The invitation time was noon today.

Su Xiao checked the inviter column and found only a faint lipstick print. The person who left this print must have used very light lipstick to leave such a faint mark.

"Oh ho~"

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's expression on the side was strange, and Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang also leaned over and barked, indicating that the lipstick print wasn't drawn on.

"Boss, you might be having a stroke of romantic luck."

After saying this, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang almost laughed out loud.

"Go find Dre and the other two, and mobilize 50—no, 100 idle guards. Have Amu come back too. Xiang Bubu, go set up comprehensive monitoring equipment around this restaurant."

After Su Xiao finished speaking, he threw the invitation in his hand onto the table. His first reaction to this inexplicable romantic luck was that there was a trap. This location was nine times out of ten arranged for an assassination ambush.

The most likely scenario was a tactic from the Black Rose side, or Black Rose had the people from the Dawn God Sect plan this. Of course, it could also be the remnants under Vice Dean Yasinger who had prepared this plan.

Since the other party had come to his door, there was no need to hide. This was Kuss City. If he didn't dare to confront them here, then Su Xiao didn't need to come to this world to hunt traitors.

After arranging everything, Su Xiao had Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang drive. It appeared he only brought Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang and Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, but in reality, more than a hundred guards, plus the leaders Dre, Silver Face, and Veronica, had already arrived at the designated location and chosen their ambush positions.

The vehicle stopped in front of the pedestrian street. Su Xiao got out of the car and walked on the pedestrian street. Before long, he arrived at a restaurant.

*Ding-a-ling~*

The doorbell chimed. Walking into the restaurant, Su Xiao found there were no waiters, and there was only one guest. Judging from the back, this person was a woman. Her long hair, which was white with a faint hint of light blue, was draped down smoothly. The silver earring on her right ear swayed slightly as she chewed her food slowly. The ice-blue ring worn on her right index finger was clearly not an ordinary item at a glance.

"You finally came."

A clear but slightly lazy female voice came. The person with her back to Su Xiao turned her head to look. Just her side profile was enough to make people lose their souls. Of course, if Dre wasn't on the second floor across the street, holding a metal pineapple-like stun grenade and ready to pull the triple safety at any time, ready to throw the weapon that could stun a 9th-tier leader-level creature into a daze, the atmosphere in the restaurant might have been more romantic.

"I am happy from the bottom of my heart that you could come."

The mysterious woman spoke again. Seeing this, Su Xiao frowned and sat down.

Su Xiao sized up the woman opposite him, who was around 20 years old and beautiful beyond words. The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. This person... looked a bit like the Northern Princess, the Northern Princess who had come to the Alliance a few months ago.

Su Xiao pressed the wireless headset in his ear. A moment later, Silver Face walked into the restaurant and placed a stack of photos on the table. After Su Xiao had Silver Face step back, he compared them with these photos and was very sure this time that the person opposite him was the Northern Princess.

More accurately, it was Crystal Princess + Northern Princess.

After confirming this, Su Xiao took off his wireless headset and had Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang withdraw the people ambushed around the area.

Su Xiao sized up the Northern Princess opposite him, feeling quite surprised. The combination of Northern Princess + Crystal Princess was completely different from other hosts and devourers. Other combinations, such as Boiling Red and Alisa, were symbiotic; both sides had their own consciousness and thoughts and could communicate with each other on a conscious level.

The Northern Princess + Crystal Princess situation was different; the consciousness of both sides had merged without harming each other. The person in front of him was both the Northern Princess and the Crystal Princess.

The Dark Son chosen by Black A grew rapidly using the resources of the Dark God Sect; the Alisa chosen by Boiling Red, who is the younger sister of the Hunter Troop leader Tessa and the apple of the Mono family's eye, also lacked no resources. One can imagine the status of a family capable of nurturing someone like Tessa within the Alliance.

The Crystal Princess would also choose, and having chosen the Northern Princess, this scene had unfolded.

The Northern Princess opposite had finished her meal and sat there with dignity, smiling at Su Xiao. She looked elegant and calm, but her heart rate, which had soared to over 130 beats per minute, indicated that she was actually quite panicked, especially the nervous emotions from the Crystal Princess side, which was an instinctive fear and tension when facing the creator.

"Cherish the leisurely time now. Your kind will come looking for you soon."

Su Xiao poured himself a glass of wine. Hearing this, the Northern Princess, who was about to pick up her tall wine glass, paused. She asked with a hint of cunning in her eyes:

"Kind? Is it Alisa? We have already met, and it can be considered... friendly."

The Northern Princess took a small sip of her meal wine. Hearing this, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang laughed.

"Boiling Red is friendly with you? Crystal Princess, you just don't understand it enough. Do you think, why did Black A, that rebellious son, go to the Ghost City outside the Alliance? It was hiding over there."

Hearing Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's words, the Northern Princess seemed a bit moved, but in fact, she was in a pretty good mood. She had hesitated several times before deciding to take the risk of inviting Su Xiao, who was the master, out.

"Northern Princess, do you underestimate our asylum, or do you look down on the Alliance? Don't say you die here; even if your sister, the eldest princess of the North, died here, the North wouldn't do anything. A war that has lasted for a thousand years won't restart just because of one princess. The Holy Capital is the territory of the Council, Sotto City is the territory of the Hunter Unit, and here, Kuss City, is the territory of our asylum."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang looked at the Northern Princess with burning eyes. Hearing these words, the Northern Princess had a new understanding of the current situation.

"I have high expectations for all five of you. Don't let me down."

Su Xiao put down the empty wine glass in his hand. The Crystal Princess was somewhat different from what he had expected.

"Five, huh? Your world is so big, I've become dispensable."

The Northern Princess's tone was sentimental, her eyes melancholic.

"..."

Su Xiao frowned as he looked at the Northern Princess opposite him. From the moment she entered, he felt that her tone had an indescribable feeling—the feeling of "this second daughter seems to be a failed attempt, should I consider training a new one?"

Thinking about it this way, the five devourers really each had their own merits, namely:

Rebellious son, little cotton-padded jacket, silly rebellious son, filial son, and this one opposite who is half-failed but feels like she can still be saved.

Su Xiao estimated that it was the Crystal Princess's elegant and somewhat cold personality merging with the Northern Princess's calm but somewhat lazy personality that resulted in this strange sentimentality.

"So, in this summer heat, why are you wearing a feather garment when you go out?"

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang pointed to the feather garment hanging on the coat rack behind the Northern Princess. Although this item looked extraordinary, wearing it out in the summer heat really didn't fit the style.

"I am the Northern Princess. The North is cold. Is there anything wrong with me wearing a feather garment?"

"But this is the Alliance."

"Yes, but I am cold in my heart."

"Hiss~"

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang had a belly full of complaints to spit out. It was so uncomfortable that it kept rubbing its face with its wings. As a team mental damage output who had never lost in spitting on people, it was really stumped by the Northern Princess this time. Mainly, it couldn't spit on the Northern Princess.

"Forget it, hurry up and go. I wish you to be cleaned up by Boiling Red soon."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang didn't want to continue talking to the Northern Princess. Seeing this, the Northern Princess sighed pitifully. She turned her gaze to Su Xiao. After making eye contact with Su Xiao, she stood up, bowed slightly, and then put on her feather garment and left.

After the Northern Princess left, Su Xiao began to consider serious matters. The old Dean had already made contact. There was a ship from the Business Alliance heading to Skeleton Island tomorrow morning to purchase extraordinary materials produced by Dark Sea Beasts from the Beast Hunting Group, as well as extraordinary resources unique to the Dark Sea.

Everything was ready. They could set sail tomorrow morning to go to that strange and mysterious Nightmare Island to find the 【Golden Jar】 and confirm whether the Nightmare King there was really the informant. If so, that would be a windfall.

It was true that Nightmare Island had been invaded by Abyss energy in the past, but this had both advantages and disadvantages. After being invaded by Abyss energy, as long as it recovered, the island would begin to produce massive amounts of various extraordinary resources. Over so many years, the Nightmare King must be richer than imagined.

If the Nightmare King was really the informant among the six traitors, then they could act according to the Demon Hunter formula.

Demon Hunter's unique formula: Traitor's wealth = Enemy's wealth = Ownerless wealth = To those who are capable = Awaiting development = Can be privatized = Mine.

Su Xiao left the restaurant and walked on the pedestrian street. As he pondered the matter of setting sail, he inadvertently glanced at the street diagonally opposite. Just because he looked one more time, he made eye contact with a pair of vertical pupils. Those were eyes like a dragon's. The person he encountered was none other than Dragon God Dean and his three teammates.

"It's the Hunter from Reincarnation Paradise. Be careful."

An old man beside Dragon God Dean spoke. A female contractor further behind asked in confusion: "Dean, his aura is locking onto you. Did you have a grudge before?"

"This..."

Dragon God Dean was speechless. He couldn't say that it was more than just a grudge. A long time ago, he thought Su Xiao had killed his younger brother, and then he tracked him unsuccessfully four times, finally succeeding in the Dark Continent, tracking him all the way to the Dead City, and then fighting him to the death with his 9th-tier strength suppressed to the 8th tier, and then he didn't win.

May I ask, is there anything more embarrassing than tracking for four world progresses, failing all the time, finally succeeding, and then not winning?

The answer is, yes. Not only did he not win, but when he ran away, he also blew out a large amount of resources harvested that time, benefiting the enemy.

May I ask, is there anything more embarrassing than resources benefiting the enemy?

The answer is, yes. The revenge all along was actually looking for the wrong person. Dean's brother was not killed by Su Xiao at all.

May I ask, is there anything more embarrassing than tracking for four world progresses, catching up, not winning, and finally discovering that he had found the wrong enemy?

The answer is, yes. All of this was calculated by a dead rule-breaker, and he was calculated clearly.

Dragon God Dean's embarrassment had already broken through the sky. What made matters worse was that his teammates were still present, so when his teammates asked about this, he was speechless and prepared to stay to fight Su Xiao one-on-one to cover his teammates' retreat.

PS: (Resting for one day on Sunday. To save his life, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang will rest for one day every Sunday from now on. Readers, please forgive me.) ===== CHAPTER 3617 =====