Chapter 3815: Choosing an Identity

Star Fall City, East Side, coastline. A cylindrical watchtower over 500 meters tall stands here. With a diameter of nearly 100 meters, it is effectively a fortress, built to guard against attacks from the Sea Tribes.

The Sea Tribes of the Witch World are different from those of the Wind Sea Continent; the ones here are closer to low-intelligence beast-kin, more commonly referred to as Sea Beast Tribes. They often clash with the small and medium-sized cities near the coast of the Witch faction.

The underground portion of this coastal watchtower is its true core. Nominally, it is for defense against the Sea Beast Tribes, but in the last hundred years, they have landed nearby fewer than ten times. In reality, this is a secret prison holding heinous criminals.

This underground prison has ten levels in total. Su Xiao is currently on the tenth level. Due to the increasingly rampant activities of the Dark God Sect, the number of criminals held here has grown. Originally, the tenth level consisted of single cells, but due to overcrowding, Su Xiao was placed in a double cell, waiting for the interrogation by Arthis, an officer of the Hunter Organization.

Su Xiao had just mastered "Heavenly Wrath: Torrent Slash," and the Demon Spirit within Checking Zhan Long Shan was becoming increasingly active. This was supposed to be a stage requiring quiet meditation, but his current cellmate was somewhat neurotic, constantly muttering to himself and letting out strange laughs from time to time.

It wasn't until Su Xiao used Spirit Shadow Threads to hang him up that the man stopped. After struggling and kicking for a while, and then being suspended by the neck for a few minutes, this neurotic cellmate with a mouth full of rotten teeth finally went quiet. Hanging there motionless, even his breathing ceased, showing a qualitative leap in his politeness and quality.

The jailers had been watching from behind the half-meter-thick crystal-grease wall the entire time. As for why they didn't come in to intervene, the various sealing formations on Su Xiao were like mere decorations; the jailers certainly wouldn't come in to throw their lives away. After notifying the members of the Hunter Organization, they waited outside the cell. As long as Su Xiao didn't attempt to escape, the jailers wouldn't take any action.

Su Xiao closed his eyes to steady his breath. Wisps of black-blue energy drifted out from his storage space and were absorbed by him. This was the Demon Spirit energy he had seized. Now, with the "Demon-Eater Physique" ability, he no longer needed cumbersome operations; he could directly absorb this Demon Spirit energy to increase his "All Potential Upper Limits" and "Abyss Resistance."

Besides this, the title he had been wearing, 【Old Hunter】, had also improved after he killed the Dark Twins. The extent of the improvement was:

【Old Hunter】

Origin: Reincarnation Paradise

Quality: Special (Only obtainable by Hunters)

Category: Title

Title Effect 1: Hunting Mark (Active)...

Title Effect 2: Ruthless Hunter (Active)...

Title Effect 3: Old Hunter (Passive). Each time a target is successfully hunted, this title will permanently stack 1 layer of "Hunting" effect. Every 5 accumulated layers of "Hunting" effect will bring a permanent combat-related buff to this title (every 5 layers provide one effect; the effect is random but must be related to combat assistance, combat gains, or combat enhancement).

5 Layers of Hunting Effect · Spoils of War (Passive): After wearing this title and successfully hunting and killing an enemy, there is a 20% probability of seizing one of the enemy's abilities (randomly seized) and converting it into a skill scroll through the notarization of Reincarnation Paradise.

Hint: This "skill scroll" can be transferred, traded, etc., and is a high-quality gain after complete notarization.

The new characteristics of the 【Old Hunter】 title were quite good, but it also involved a problem: whether to be greedy for maximized gains when fighting strong enemies. One must know that the 【Old Hunter】 title has no combat power bonus, unlike 【Deep Blue Shadow】, which boosts combat power by a significant margin.

If one could obtain the opponent's "Ultimate-level ability" skill scroll through the Spoils of War ability while fighting a strong enemy, it would definitely be a huge profit. At the Absolute-Strong level, the cheapest "Ultimate-level ability" would cost hundreds of thousands of Soul Coins, and values reaching a million were common.

After weighing the pros and cons, Su Xiao abandoned this idea. The strong enemies he fought were already ridiculously powerful; the Old Hunter title was more suitable for fighting elite bosses. He had already experienced the feeling of fighting strong enemies without the 【Deep Blue Shadow】 title when he fought the Dark Twins earlier.

Putting away the title, Su Xiao looked at the dozens of jailers outside the crystal wall, which made them nervous; some even took a few steps back. Seeing this, Su Xiao felt puzzled. He hadn't released his aura, and these jailers, who were used to seeing heinous criminals, shouldn't be like this.

Crack, crack, crack~

A black-blue crystal layer formed, starting from Su Xiao's shoulder, constructing a crystal arm that reached out to choke his neck. When it was only half a centimeter away from his neck, the crystal arm stopped abruptly and then crumbled inch by inch.

Coldness and darkness were the most intuitive feelings the Demon Spirit gave Su Xiao. Realizing this, he felt relieved. His biggest worry was that once the Demon Spirit awakened its consciousness, it would develop a personality like Baha's. He wasn't afraid of the Demon Spirit's erosion or challenges, but he truly couldn't handle Baha-style mental attacks.

Su Xiao chose to release the Demon Spirit. A figure made of iron-sand-like black-blue smoke stood in front of him. Its physique was female, and its face wore a bone mask. There were a few faint blue lines on the right side of the mask, like naturally formed cracks. It could be said that the Demon Spirit had a mature, elegant figure like Hunting Tide, but it was more of a physical resemblance; it had no skin or flesh, and was composed of black-blue Demon Spirit source energy.

This state was the strongest, capable of ignoring physical and energy attacks. If it were converted into a physical body, it would be a self-weakening. The purpose of the Demon Spirit's existence was combat, not beauty. Besides, the current Demon Spirit had a dark style of aesthetic.

Another point was that the Demon Spirit would not speak. Regardless of any language, the Demon Spirit would not speak, nor would it even make sounds. It wasn't just Su Xiao's Demon Spirit that was like this; all Law-Breaker Demon Spirits were the same. The Demon Spirit would never speak or vocalize; this was like a law, or even a rule.

After Su Xiao's Demon Spirit gained some consciousness, its first emotion was coldness. But this coldness didn't last long before it gradually derived some anger. It was understandable—could it not be angry? After painstakingly devouring the source energy of an Undying/Indestructible Abyss-Nourished Creature and converting it into delicious Demon Spirit energy, it was just about to take a big bite when 70% of it was snatched away. And through its senses, it learned that 50% of all the Demon Spirit energy it converted in the future would have to be given away.

Su Xiao observed for a moment and, confirming that his Demon Spirit was the cold type, felt secretly relieved. However, he immediately thought that since the Demon Spirit had consciousness and self-judgment, could he trick... *cough*... persuade it? At the very least, he shouldn't let it backfire. Once his soul strength increased, he would suppress it again; by then, the Demon Spirit would be at his mercy.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao began to organize his words in his heart. Since he wasn't good at persuasion—he usually negotiated with people physically—he spent a full few minutes brewing his words before he spoke:

"To some extent, I can be considered your father."

Hearing this, the black-blue smoke on the Demon Spirit clearly accelerated its drifting. It was understandable; the guy opposite him first took 50% of its Demon Spirit energy, and then wanted to be its father. This was simply too bullying. The Demon Spirit didn't pounce on him immediately only because it had been suppressed by Su Xiao's powerful soul for too long and hadn't adapted yet; it had already been reborn.

"I understand your excitement at seeing your father for the first time. Later, I will..."

Before Su Xiao could finish his sentence, the Demon Spirit pounced. Checking Zhan Long Shan, still in its sheath, appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The Demon-Sealing Scabbard was truly activated, and a suction force that the Demon Spirit found hard to resist erupted, sucking the Demon Spirit back into Checking Zhan Long Shan.

After putting away the sheathed Checking Zhan Long Shan, Su Xiao felt that his Demon Spirit was cold, arrogant, and violent. If Grimm Gillian were present, she would definitely be envious, because her Demon Spirit almost lost control the first time and nearly devoured her.

But it was also that time that allowed Grimm Gillian to awaken a strange attribute. However, Grimm Gillian already had many strange attributes, so one more didn't matter.

As the "Demon-Eater Physique" ability converted the Demon Spirit energy absorbed this time into energy he could absorb, Su Xiao felt himself gradually improving, but the aspects of improvement were hard to perceive. Potential-type improvements were always like this. A moment later, a hint appeared.

【Your All Potential Upper Limit Tier +11.】

【Your Abyss Resistance increased by 7 points.】

Su Xiao checked his data. His Abyss Resistance had reached 60 points, which was already a quite high amount. Scrolling down, he saw "All Potential Upper Limit Tier +36."

After the "All Potential Upper Limit Tier" passed 30, it was very difficult to improve. He estimated that to achieve the potential for 800 points in Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence, he would need at least "All Potential Upper Limit Tier +45."

It seemed close, but in reality, he would need to absorb nine more portions of "Demon Spirit Source Matter" to achieve it. This time, he was lucky to have devoured an Absolute-Strong/Undying/Indestructible Abyss-Nourished Creature; he wouldn't have such good luck later.

Although he had temporarily suppressed the Demon Spirit, it wasn't secure enough. Su Xiao took out his communication device and dialed the Moon Witch. As soon as it connected, the Moon Witch, Cecily, said:

"I know the situation. Someone will come to pick you up in two hours. There is a dying Filthy One looking for you everywhere. Within two hours, my subordinates will deal with him."

The Moon Witch was still very reliable. As for the Filthy One she mentioned, a dying Filthy One was very troublesome. Even if killed, one might be infected by the "Violent Malignant Change" triggered by them. "Malignant Change" only erodes Witches, but "Violent Malignant Change" can attack all living beings.

Su Xiao contacted the Moon Witch this time not just because of this. He said: "There is one more thing."

"Not lending."

"..."

Both sides fell into silence. It wasn't that the Moon Witch was stingy; of the 3.5 million Soul Coins used to hire Su Xiao, a significant portion came from the Moon Witch's own pocket. Plus, having been in her position for so many years, she cared more about the development of the Witch World and naturally wouldn't use her authority for personal gain.

"I need a Sealing Master."

"No problem."

This time, the Moon Witch agreed very readily.

"Arrange for me to meet that Sealing Master as soon as possible."

"I can't do that; it depends on you."

"..."

Su Xiao felt slightly puzzled. The way the Moon Witch handled this was very confusing.

"Haven't I told you? Alana is one of the top ten Sealing Masters in the Witch World—no, in the Ten Thousand Worlds. Otherwise, why do you think I let her be your assistant?"

"Isn't Alana the top mystical scholar in the Witch World?"

"Yes, that doesn't prevent her from also being a top Sealing Master."

The Moon Witch's tone already carried a hint of a smile.

"You should have said so earlier."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Moon Witch on the other side said with an even richer smile:

"Dream on. Our Alana is beautiful and kind, with outstanding abilities. Except for her own strength being average, she is simply perfect. Such a talent, what if you trick her into going to the Paradise faction?"

"Cecily, you should trust the reputation of a Law-Breaker."

"The reputation of a Law-Breaker..."

The Moon Witch Cecily's tone was very hard to describe. And indeed, the reputation of Law-Breakers was truly too hard to describe.

Ending the communication, Su Xiao began to ponder the subsequent matters. What exactly did Black Hole Azle want to steal from that bank to go to such great lengths, even going so far as to blow up District 10 of Star Fall City? This would definitely invite fierce retaliation from the Witch faction, especially since the current City Lord of Star Fall City had always been vengeful—the type who was particularly vengeful even among Witches.

Su Xiao didn't have to wait long for the answer. Celine's family members were indeed experts in intelligence, and they quickly identified what Black Hole Azle had stolen from the bank.

In the Dawn Team's team channel, Su Xiao looked at the photo sent by Xiang Bubu Wang. In the photo was a gold ring. This item was called the Champion Ring, obtained by the champion of the previous "Golden Arena."

Besides this, Xiang Bubu Wang also sent another photo. This was what it found in the center of District 10 according to Su Xiao's request. This was the "Humid Life Formation," an extremely evil dark formation. Its function was to absorb the not-yet-dissipated painful souls in the surrounding area, convert them into energy with resentful characteristics, and store them within it.

The explosives planted by the Madman in District 10 would kill many innocent civilians. When that happened, this "Humid Life Formation" would activate, absorbing the souls of the civilians in their painful stage to obtain a large amount of energy with resentful characteristics.

Su Xiao's arrival undoubtedly interfered with Black Hole Azle's plan. In fact, the other party didn't even have anyone remove the "Humid Life Formation." Whether this was exposed or not, Black Hole Azle didn't care.

Combining the clues collected by Xiang Bubu Wang and Baha, as well as the intelligence provided by Celine's family, Su Xiao confirmed one point: Black Hole Azle was very interested in the upcoming "Golden Arena," and that Champion Ring was the best way to participate in the "Golden Arena." This was much better than using a "Golden Invitation," and would definitely provide many advantages.

Black Hole Azle himself couldn't participate in such a duel. Thus, it must be the Madman participating. With sufficient preparation, the Madman's combat power was not weaker than the Dark Twins. Knowing what kind of enemy he was facing, the Madman would only be stronger. This guy was a phantom-level duelist, but his performance in encounter battles was relatively average.

One hour later, Star Fall City, District 15, third-floor interrogation room of the Hunter Organization branch.

The reason Su Xiao was transferred here was that the warden of that secret prison had spoken up, refusing to continue holding Su Xiao regardless of what documents the Hunter Organization presented. Arthis, the officer of the Hunter Organization in charge of this case, had no choice but to transfer Su Xiao here. Along the way, Arthis's female adjutant and several hunters were all terrified.

The interrogation room was about 20 square meters and somewhat crude, with only a wooden table. The incandescent light illuminated the room brightly. Su Xiao and Arthis sat across from each other at the heavy wooden table. Next to Arthis was his female adjutant, holding a thick stack of documents. This was the information she had collected about Su Xiao. The more she read, the more shocked she became, especially the content about the destruction of the Arcane Eternal Star's resource planet.

Arthis had originally suspected that the incident in District 10 might have been the work of the Madman. Now it seemed the main culprit was right in front of him.

This confirmed to Arthis that it was this notorious Law-Breaker opposite him who had blown up nearly half of District 10, and combined with the various traces at the scene, everything verified this point.

As Arthis spoke, he patted the stack of documents on the table and said: "These are ironclad proofs. You can't deny them. Just confess quickly to save everyone's time."

"Your name is?"

Su Xiao sized up the man opposite him. He was in his early 30s, with stubble on his chin and a firm, spirited gaze. However, judging by the fact that his subordinates were all young people, this person wasn't doing well in the Hunter Organization; only new members would be assigned to him.

If one were to ask about the ability of the Hunter Organization, it was trash. If the Hunter Organization had any ambition, the Moon Witch wouldn't have invited Su Xiao here at such a high price. Simply put, the Hunter Organization was timid when dealing with the Dark God Sect but punched hard when fighting internally.

In such a department, how could someone like Arthis, who had both ability and a sense of justice, be favored? When the incident in District 10 occurred, Arthis, who was responsible for monitoring District 15, arrived at the scene before the Hunter squad leader of District 10 and arrested Su Xiao.

"My name is Arthis. Although I don't believe you were wronged, if you can produce evidence, I will submit it to my superiors and give you a fair trial."

Arthis stared at the man opposite him. Although he was full of anger, he tried his best to suppress it. He really wanted to send this villain who had caused the deaths of millions of civilians in the explosion to the undersea prison to pay for his crimes. But before the trial, he couldn't do that, nor would he allow himself to do so.

"Breaking your word is not a good habit. Your adjutant said earlier that she would provide dinner. It's almost ten o'clock."

"?"

Arthis froze for a moment. After staring at the villain opposite him with astonishment for a moment, the anger in his heart almost couldn't be suppressed. This villain opposite him, after harming so many civilians, actually still cared about dinner.

"What time is it?"

"What time it is no longer has any meaning for you. What you need to do now is confess and repent, and hope the judge won't send you to the Dark Prison..."

Before Arthis could finish his sentence, the door was knocked. This made Arthis look dissatisfied. One of his subordinates walked in with a communicator, whispered something to Arthis, and Arthis took the communicator and walked quickly out of the interrogation room, closing the door.

A few minutes later, Arthis returned with a gloomy face. After sitting down, he stared at Su Xiao with lowered eyelids. The female adjutant beside him sensed that something was wrong, quietly pushed the thick stack of documents to the inner side, and then turned her head, saying nothing.

"My pig-brained superior has limited me to letting you go within an hour. There are now... 53 minutes left."

Arthis picked up the timer on the table, clicked it to set it for 53 minutes, and placed it on the table. Then, he stared fixedly at Su Xiao opposite him. As a hunter, before resigning from this position, he wouldn't act recklessly according to his own judgment, but he chose to let this evil ghost opposite him stay here until the last second he could restrain him before letting him go.

At this moment, Night City, Rear District.

Explosive music, burning oil drums, an octagon cage stained with dried blood, spectators cheering and cursing outside the cage, and two fighters dueling to the death inside.

A fat man wearing a custom floral shirt, weighing at least 500 pounds, was sitting on a sofa, filling it entirely by himself. He held a glass of wine in his ring-covered hand, and his eyes, which revealed a fierce light, were very inconsistent with his physique.

This was the boss of this place and the monopolist of all gambling duels in Night City. He was once the strongest fighter in Night City, Giant Fighter Yup. Of course, only the strongest in Night City of that era.

Just as Yup was enjoying the gambling duel tonight and feeling bored because the quality was average, a figure in a black robe and hood blocked his path.

"Law-Breaker, Kuku Lin, Bai Ye, where, is."

A female voice with a sense of hesitation came, lacking the softness of most women, but slightly hoarse.

"Never heard of it, and I don't know. Move aside."

Giant Fighter Yup looked displeased. He actually knew the approximate location of that Law-Breaker—either in Moon Ring City or Star Fall City. However, out of interest, Yup wouldn't reveal such intelligence to a stranger.

"Fight one round. If you lose, tell me."

The black-robed woman spoke. Hearing this, Giant Fighter Yup became interested. He grinned, revealing a few gold teeth.

"Good. I'm bored tonight anyway. But I can't guarantee you'll still be alive after one round."

"Then, start?"

"Good..."

Boom!

The black-robed woman, who was Sha, punched Giant Fighter Yup in the chest. The fat all over Giant Fighter Yup's body spread like liquid, and then, along with blood, exploded out of his body with a *pop*. With one punch, the 500-pound Giant Fighter Yup turned into a large skeleton of white bones. His lips trembled, and the teeth in his mouth, totaling no more than five remaining, were sparsely distributed. He said tremblingly:

"What I... just wanted to say was, good, let's... enter the gambling cage, not, start directly."

After speaking, Giant Fighter Yup vomited a large amount of blood and organ fragments like a fountain.

"Then, sorry."

Sha reached into her hood and scratched her head. She grabbed Giant Fighter Yup's hair with one hand and threw him into the octagon cage. Then she also jumped in, squatted beside Giant Fighter Yup's massive head, and said:

"Let's, start, then."

Hearing this, Giant Fighter Yup's eyes moistened. It wasn't fear; it was that this guy who had done many bad things realized that his final ending wasn't what he had imagined—being defeated by a righteous strong person and then facing trial—but being hammered to death by someone else like a small minion.

Slap, slap~

Sha patted Giant Fighter Yup's face like a ball and said: "You first, don't die. Tell me, Kuku Lin, Bai Ye, where are they."

Before Sha could finish her sentence, Giant Fighter Yup died on the spot. Sha tilted her head and pondered for a few seconds, then stabbed her hand into Giant Fighter Yup's skull and pulled out his soul. Giant Fighter Yup's soul looked completely bewildered.

Star Fall City, District 3, inside a seafood restaurant.

Su Xiao, Xiang Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Alana, and Celine were enjoying dinner. Alana was eating with a look of happiness, sighing: "I've been to Star Fall City many times, but this is the first time I've known there's such a delicious restaurant."

"..."

Su Xiao put down his cutlery, picked up the Goddess of Luck's "Ten Thousand Worlds Food Guide," and wrote the address of this restaurant on the blank page at the back.

This caught Celine's attention. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she asked: "Mr. Bai Ye, may I see this food guide?"

"..."

After Su Xiao handed over the "Ten Thousand Worlds Food Guide," he continued to enjoy his meal. Celine read it with great interest. For the first 80%, she nodded repeatedly, deciding that when she traveled through the Ten Thousand Worlds in the future, she would taste these delicacies in various worlds. But as she reached the later parts, her eyes gradually became confused. The names of these restaurants and the delicacies, no matter how she looked at them, were somewhat special, especially the restaurant of Xia; those signature dishes challenged her cognitive views.

After finishing dinner, Su Xiao began to consider the subsequent plan. To deal with Black Hole Azle, there were two key points. First was his wife, Dancer Fulaer, who was Black Hole Azle's soft underbelly. The other was the Madman. If the Madman were eliminated, it would be equivalent to cutting off Black Hole Azle's arms.

【Hint: Because you hold a Golden Arena entry ticket, you can decide whether to participate in this Golden Arena.】

【This arena will open on time at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Golden Arena entrance location: Witch World, Star Fall City, District 16, Central Square.】

【If you need to participate in this Golden Arena, you need to choose an identity.】

【Available identities are: Overlord Unit (1/1 quota available), Challenger (30/30 quotas available).】

【Because the risks assumed by the Overlord Unit and the Challenger identity are different, the Overlord Unit's profit ratio is increased by 420%, while the Challenger's is the standard profit ratio.】

【There are no rules in this Golden Arena. The one who survives to the end can become the champion.】

... ===== CHAPTER 3816 =====