Chapter 3958: A Strange Standoff

Click, click~

The antique clock emitted a mechanical sound, which, combined with the white noise generated by the rotation of the gear structure, made one feel drowsy. A hand pressed onto the top of the antique clock, and the mechanical sound it emitted temporarily ceased.

Su Xiao rose from the recliner and glanced at the time; he had rested for half an hour. His original plan was to study Seal Studies for 50 consecutive hours, then rest for one hour, and then continue to immerse himself in the mastery of Seal Studies. After actual operation, however, after just 24 hours, he felt his brain becoming numb and had to rest for 20 to 30 minutes to recover his state.

This was still due to the powerful mental strength brought about by his real intelligence attribute, which was as high as 800 points; otherwise, studying "Master-level Seal Studies" for 24 consecutive hours at the current intensity would inevitably result in mental damage.

Under the blessing of "Abyss Contract" + "Original Sin Scholar Title," Su Xiao's learning efficiency was increased by 2640 times, meaning that studying for 1 day was equivalent to 7.23 years. Note that this was still under the premise that he possessed the 320-point knowledge mastery characteristic.

There was an issue that could not be ignored: from the first tier to the ninth tier, Su Xiao had raised Alchemy to Lv. 95, and his basic learning ability had inevitably increased by more than a hundredfold. His learning ability in Alchemy was in the upper echelon, even looking at the Second Era, which was full of geniuses.

Judging by this, the learning ability of a high-tier Sealer was at most 50 to 80 points. Calculating with 80 points, Su Xiao's basic learning ability was equivalent to 4 times that of a Sealer of the same tier. Calculating on this basis, the situation was very outrageous; Su Xiao studying for one day now was equivalent to 28.92 years of hard study by a Sealer of the same tier.

This was still 28.92 years without sleep or rest, without eating or drinking. If one only practiced for 8 to 9 hours a day, it would be equivalent to more than 80 years.

This was also why so many people would fall into the abyss; 1 day was equivalent to more than 80 years of hard study. If Su Xiao did not make a bunch of "constraints" and "costs" and used the "Abyss Contract" completely in the way of falling into the dark abyss, this magnitude would increase by more than a hundredfold again.

With such a clear and intuitive gap, and considering that those who fell into the abyss could no longer make any progress in their respective fields of pride, suddenly facing such a change, they would inevitably change from "I am just borrowing the power of the abyss slightly" to gradually thinking that borrowing some was fine, and borrowing a little more would definitely be fine, and that their willpower could withstand it, eventually sinking into the darkness and never recovering.

In fact, it was not that one could not appropriately obtain power and knowledge through abyss energy, but one must remember one point: to ensure that the "constraints" set and the "costs" paid were sufficient to match the power/knowledge obtained.

It was not that just anyone was qualified to fall into the abyss. For example, Su Xiao's friend Sha; the effort and sweat Sha put into the path of becoming stronger were actually no less than Su Xiao's. Her problem was that she was too eager to become strong when she was weak, which led to exhausting her body's potential to the limit.

Because of this, after Sha fell into the abyss, she became strong so quickly, and there was no sense of urgency for strength; the efforts she had made were worthy of her current strength.

The reason Su Xiao dared to use the "Abyss Contract" like this this time was that, theoretically speaking, the maximum cost he bore for using the "Abyss Contract" was "Original Sin Descent · Super Large Magnitude," and the "Original Sin Book" allowed him to be exempted from this cost. In other words, compared to saying that he was using the "Abyss Contract," at the level of causal destiny, it was the "Original Sin Book" that was using the "Abyss Contract."

Although Su Xiao was the beneficiary, he was also the limiter of the "Original Sin Book." What was even more obvious was that the "Original Sin Book," this thing, did not have the concept of falling into the abyss. To a certain extent, it was the ultimate original sin and abyss. The relationship between the abyss and original sin had rarely been figured out so far, and those who had figured it out would probably become like the Ancients.

Since the "Original Sin Book" did not have the concept of falling into the abyss, then Su Xiao using the "Original Sin Book" to separate himself from the "Abyss Contract," the falling into the abyss caused by using the "Abyss Contract" this time would definitely not be transmitted over.

Su Xiao took advantage of the rest time to open the prompt that had just appeared:

【Prompt: You have successfully challenged the special area · Soul Hall.】

【Combat evaluation is about to be conducted (rated from E- to S+).】

Enemy kills: S+ (All enemies in the Soul Hall have been killed, including all neutral units).

Time limit evaluation: S+ (A total of 5 hours and 21 minutes were spent killing the Soul Hall · Lord Unit · Soul Ascender).

Number of deaths: S+ (Cleared with 0 deaths).

Mission evaluation: E- (No mission triggering or clever strategy was conducted in any form).

Comprehensive rating: A+ (A slaughter lacking strategy, but it is also a way to deal with the conspiracy of the Soul Hall).

【You can obtain the following settlement gains:】

1. 1.5 ounces of Condensed Cursed Matter (can be used at the "Nightmare Sanctuary" to exchange for Ancient Coins, and subsequently use Ancient Coins as a cost to use the ascension device within the "Nightmare Sanctuary" to improve the body attributes of the combat avatar).

2. Thin Empty Shell of Soul Spirit (Cursed Wonder · D-rank).

3. Burning Invitation (After burning this item in the deepest part of the Soul Hall, the entrance to the Pain Hall can be opened; the Pain Hall is a Lv. 20 danger area).

4. Tree Badge × 1 (When the final settlement is conducted at the end of this round of competition, using the "Tree Badge" can appropriately improve the final rating).

The four types of gains obtained were not given directly to Su Xiao, but were rewarded to the Magic Spirit avatar, only the ownership was with Su Xiao. For example, just now the Magic Spirit avatar wanted to use the "Burning Invitation," Su Xiao received the prompt at the first moment, and only after he gave the usage permission could the Magic Spirit avatar use it successfully.

It was expected that the Magic Spirit avatar would clear the "Soul Hall," but this rating structure could be said to be very Magic Spirit-like; combat and killing enemies were S+, but when it came to the strategy part, it became E-. This was not to say that the Magic Spirit was weak in strategy, but that there was simply no such behavior.

What to do when seeing the giant mechanism gate in front? The answer was to slash it with a blade; if one slash couldn't cut it open, then smash it with a crystal hammer. The "Soul Weapon" produced by the Nun's treasure chest was used by the Magic Spirit avatar.

【Soul Weapon】

Origin: Overlord Creature · Twin of Stars.

Quality: Overlord-level.

Equipment effect: Soul Adaptation Power (Unique · Passive), this weapon has three forms: long blade, soul bow, and crystal hammer. After the holder chooses to soul-bind this equipment, these three weapon forms will adapt to the corresponding weapon characteristics according to the wearer's own technique ability type.

Rating: 6000 points (Overlord-level equipment rating is 1 to 6000 points).

Introduction: Gorgeous, elegant, deadly.

This weapon perfectly matched the skills of this "combat avatar," and even without forming a "Soul Crystal Bow," directly using the "Soul Weapon · Soul Bow" to shoot soul arrows could trigger the corresponding skill "Soul Weapon · Arrow" possessed by this combat avatar.

The combination of the two caused the original 152-point soul characteristic attack power of the soul arrow to soar to 325 points, so the Magic Spirit avatar cleared the Soul Hall all the way by killing everything in seconds. Only when fighting the final big boss · Soul Ascender did it exchange a few rounds with the opponent, but after a set of elegant combos, the Soul Ascender died on the spot.

At present, the Magic Spirit has almost cleared the "Pain Hall." After clearing this level 20 dungeon, the Magic Spirit will go to the nearby "Nightmare Sanctuary" to improve according to the constraints of the contract, which is commonly known as leveling up.

Not only that, after Bahamut died three times and had a total of 1.5% stamina attribute and 2% intelligence attribute deducted, he made the special areas of this world appear on the map. As for Bahamut's loss, if he wins this time, he can get a super high-intensity "Potential Awakening" after returning to the Reincarnation Paradise. This is the main way for Xiang Bubu Wang, Amu, Bahamut, and Benny to improve their body attributes.

Su Xiao opened the map of this world, and after checking it, he began to formulate the subsequent movement and combat flow of the Magic Spirit avatar, which was:

1. After clearing the Pain Hall, go to the Nightmare Sanctuary, sell all gains except the "Tree Badge," obtain enough "Ancient Coins," and raise the avatar level to Lv. 30.

2. Go to the Giant Kitchen (Special Area · Lv. 25) and kill through this place.

3. Go to the Forest of Corruption (Special Area · Lv. 30) and kill through this place.

4. Card Tower (Special Area · Lv. 40), this place is a strategy-based clearance method, the Magic Spirit avatar cannot go to this place.

5. Go to the nearest Nightmare Sanctuary to level up and rest.

6. Go to the Land of Ashes (Special Area · Lv. 45), kill through, but be sure to obtain the "Old Dragon Essence" of this place, and there is a high probability that "Broken Origin" is hidden here.

7. Go to the Weeping Black Nest (Special Area · Lv. 60), kill through, but this area is rich in resources, so pay attention to collecting.

8. Go to the Decaying Blood Sea (Special Area · Lv. 70), kill the monsters encountered along the way, because there are too many monsters in this place, there is no possibility of killing through.

9. Go to the nearest Nightmare Sanctuary to level up and rest.

10. Go to Skeleton Island · Smile Town (Special Area · Lv. 85), kill through, and find the possibility of going to the Secret Island here to complete the "Hidden Mission · Root of Curse" received in the first round of competition.

11. Go to the Eternal Clock (Special Area · Lv. 90), ring the Eternal Clock, the result is unknown.

The Magic Spirit avatar must complete the above matters within 8 days. The time limit for this round of competition is 12 days. The subsequent 4 days will definitely be when all parties use all their means. Su Xiao wants to fully unfold his plan before this, and he estimates that the "Abyss Contract" should only be able to withstand eight days of use before it will be scrapped.

It was time to continue improving Seal Studies. Su Xiao rose from the recliner and sat down at the desk. His index finger skipped over one ancient book after another, and finally stopped at an ancient book about seal extension and expansion. He pulled it out from the stack of books, and after opening it, the first page was full of various inscriptions and seal structures that were enough to shatter an ordinary person's mind.

After interpreting the content of the last page, Su Xiao pressed one hand on the closed book. To say that he fully understood and mastered it would be overestimating himself. He estimated that the master who wrote this ancient book on Seal Studies was at least at the level of Seal Studies Lv. 98 to Lv. 99, at least three tiers beyond the limit.

Re-opening the first page, tasting the first "Seal Formula" again at this time was completely different from when he first read it. There was a wonderful realization that this thing could still be used this way, and such a universal and practical way, why hadn't he thought of it before? As the saying goes, a true master will definitely not be proud of flashy skills, but will return to the basics and be practical.

This was also a universal method for judging seal formulas. Seeing those crazy, cool, and colorful seal formulas, don't worry, that thing doesn't have much ability, it just looks high-end. On the contrary, those seal formulas that look like they only have traces, or are gray-white or pure black, run away! Heaven knows how much binding power that thing has.

Unknowingly, Su Xiao immersed himself in the mastery of Seal Studies. When he came back to his senses, he felt that he had a further understanding of Seal Studies. He picked up the "Original Sin Book" on the side. The seal structure that he felt was proper in the past now felt full of mistakes and omissions, and he felt lingering fear that these seals did not collapse in a chain. He checked the current Seal Studies.

"Seal Studies: Lv. 93."

As expected, his Seal Studies level had increased. The powerful effects brought about by the "Abyss Contract" + "Original Sin Scholar Title" + "Master-level Seal Studies" allowed him to spend only... Su Xiao glanced at the time; it had taken only 48.5 hours to raise Seal Studies by 1 level.

Feeling the burden of massive knowledge intake on his spirit and body, Su Xiao stood up, preparing to stroll around Yu Hui City a few times to alleviate his mental fatigue. Just as he stood up, his vision plunged into darkness.

When Su Xiao reopened his eyes, he discovered it was already 25 hours later. This meant he had been unconscious for a day and a night. The excruciating pain in his brain, as if pierced by ten thousand needles, nearly caused him to pass out again. He took out a bottle of "Ocean Stock Solution (Miracle Grade)." This item was originally intended to permanently increase mana, but if consumed in small amounts over multiple times, it was the best mental nourishing potion.

After drinking six full bottles of "Ocean Stock Solution," Su Xiao finally recovered. At least his vision was no longer blurred. After meditating for a moment, the intense feeling of mental exhaustion faded.

A large number of notifications he hadn't had time to check appeared. He opened the first one.

【Notification: The Sanctuary Team has obtained a Fragmented Origin in the Giant's Kitchen. Remaining Fragmented Origins in this world: 4/5.】

【Notification: The Sanctuary Team has obtained a Fragmented Origin in Yu Hui City. Remaining Fragmented Origins in this world: 3/5.】

【Notification: The Sanctuary Team has obtained a Fragmented Origin in the Sea of Death Blood. Remaining Fragmented Origins in this world: 2/5.】

The Priest found three "Fragmented Origins" so quickly; this is very abnormal. According to the Priest's style, he shouldn't be drawing so much hatred. If this continues, the Cain team, the Magic Scythe team, and his own Bai Ye team will all be eyeing this side.

In other words, the original three-on-one situation of Priest, Platinum Apostle, and Hao Tao vs. the Bai Ye team has turned into three-on-three. Inferring this, there is only one possibility that could make an old guy like the Priest act so abnormally: the other party sensed something.

Thinking carefully, the plan is still in its budding stage; there shouldn't be any exposed areas. Suddenly, a possibility appeared in his thoughts: this time, letting the Magic Spirit control the combat avatar while he himself remained shut in the safe zone—did that seem a bit too passive? This excessive passivity aroused the Priest's suspicion.

Originally, he intended that it wouldn't matter if the Priest noticed by the last three days of the plan, but now it seems that the plan was noticed by that troublesome old guy just as it began, and the old guy's response was simple and efficient.

Since he couldn't deduce Su Xiao's plan, the Priest chose to obtain the five "Fragmented Origins" of this world at the fastest speed and at any cost. As long as this situation occurs, this round will end immediately, and even if Su Xiao's plan is terrifying, there will be no room for it to play out.

The method to crack the Priest's tactic is actually quite simple: as long as one obtains any one of the five "Fragmented Origins" in this round, one is in an invincible position. But relying solely on the Magic Spirit avatar to do this is too unstable.

The remaining two "Fragmented Origins" are likely in three places.

1. The Eternal Bell area.

2. The Secret Island area corresponding to the "Hidden Mission: Curse Origin."

3. The Lv. 85 difficulty area: Skeleton Island · Smile Town.

Relying on the Magic Spirit avatar to brute-force it obviously won't work. Su Xiao opened the World Contact Platform, found Magic Scythe · Tailide in the list of participants, and attempted to communicate with her via text.

Bai Ye: "Within three days, get a 'Fragmented Origin' and hand it to me."

After about half an hour, Magic Scythe · Tailide replied.

Tailide: "?"

Tailide, who is always indifferent and coldly dark, has been completely confused by Su Xiao.

Bai Ye: "I've tested it. Before the end of a round of competition, the 'Fragmented Origins' obtained during this round can be transferred."

Tailide: "This isn't a question of whether it can be transferred; there is no possibility of such a trade. Abandon your current idea."

Bai Ye: "【Sin Eye Magic Scythe】."

Tailide: "..."

Bai Ye: "Three days. I'll wait at most three days. The areas where 'Fragmented Origins' are most likely to appear now are: Eternal Bell, Corrupt Blood Sea · Secret Island, Corrupt Blood Sea · Skeleton Island · Smile Town."

Tailide: "I... will try my best."

Why did Magic Scythe · Tailide compromise? Because the 【Sin Eye Magic Scythe】 is the exclusive weapon of the Magic Scythe system, and there is only one in the entire Void. It was previously with Magic Scythe · Nun. After Su Xiao defeated the Nun, he obtained it.

For this one-of-a-kind exclusive weapon, Magic Scythe · Tailide could not refuse. As for the outcome of this World Competition, there are fifty "Fragmented Origins" in total; one "Fragmented Origin" really cannot play a decisive role.

Furthermore, "Fragmented Origins" are tradable. Trading "Fragmented Origins" with each other is itself part of the strategy.

The key point is not obtaining more "Fragmented Origins," but who can obtain 26 "Fragmented Origins." After that, the remaining "Fragmented Origins" have no meaning.

Su Xiao currently holds 10 "Fragmented Origins," far from the critical number. This is one of the reasons why Magic Scythe · Tailide agreed to the trade.

As for whether Magic Scythe · Tailide's combat power will soar after obtaining the exclusive weapon 【Sin Eye Magic Scythe】, becoming a hidden danger in subsequent rounds of confrontation, this definitely won't happen.

If Magic Scythe · Tailide dares to immediately replace her current main weapon with the 【Sin Eye Magic Scythe】, her combat power will decrease rather than increase. This powerful weapon requires sufficient time to adapt, and there is no opportunity to adapt during the World Competition.

As for whether it is worth giving out the 【Sin Eye Magic Scythe】 now, if he wins this round of the game, Su Xiao's base gains are as follows:

1. Fragmented Origin x5.

2. A harvest of at least 40,000 ounces of Space-Time Power.

3. A probability of obtaining "Permission Belonging to This World."

If he were to acquire another world, he wonders if he would receive recruitment from Apocalypse Paradise again. Judging from the last recruitment content, Apocalypse Paradise seems to have never encountered a contractor who acquired a world during a World Competition, and because of this, the outrageous situation of attempting to recruit a Samsara Paradise faction · Peerless-level · Hunter occurred.

Closing the notifications related to "Fragmented Origins," Su Xiao continued to check other notifications. They were the clearance settlements for two 'dungeons.' As expected, the Magic Spirit avatar killed its way through the "Hall of Pain" and the "Giant's Kitchen." From the "Mission Evaluation: E-" in these two dungeon evaluations, one could imagine the general scene.

【Tree Badge】 accumulated to three. Other gains were sold for Ancient Coins to increase the combat avatar's level. Killing through the "Giant's Kitchen," a Lv. 25 dungeon, would yield a B-grade "Cursed Item" in the clearance settlement. Subsequently killing through the Lv. 30 "Corrupt Forest" would have a high probability of obtaining an A-grade "Cursed Item."

At that time, he could go to the black market, find that member of the Hunting Church to exchange for 【Ancient Hatred】, and finalize the specific price for the "Mysterious Eye Core."

Su Xiao took out the projection device and obtained the third-person perspective footage of the other party through the micro-monitoring device Xiang Bubu Wang left on the Magic Spirit avatar. Seeing this, Xiang Bubu Wang, Baja, and Benny all gathered around, with Xiang Bubu Wang and Benny even having popcorn and juice ready.

In the footage, the Magic Spirit avatar was walking on a street. The buildings on both sides were bizarre, and some houses reflected a psychedelic purple faint light. Seeing this feature, Su Xiao judged that the Magic Spirit was inside some Nightmare Shelter.

At present, the Magic Spirit avatar's level has reached Lv. 30. The reason the leveling speed isn't fast enough is that the Magic Spirit isn't good at selling things. There are many profiteers in the Nightmare Shelter. Every time the Magic Spirit takes various dungeon gains to exchange for Ancient Gold Coins, it can only obtain 30%–40% of the normal gains. Su Xiao didn't care about this; nothing is perfect. If the Magic Spirit really knew how to haggle, that would be what truly made him feel uneasy.

Of course, when the plan succeeds, none of those profiteers will be able to escape; they will face a situation more terrifying than death.

In the footage ahead, the Magic Spirit avatar walked out from the main entrance of the Nightmare Shelter.

At this time, at the exit of Nightmare Shelter No. 3, the Magic Spirit avatar was walking on the barren scorched earth. Before taking a few steps, a black afterimage attacked from the side. It was a mechanically infected magic snake that bit the Magic Spirit's forearm. The Magic Spirit raised its forearm, looked at the magic snake suspiciously, and even used the index finger of its other hand to tap the magic snake's head.

Seeming to find it a bit fun, the corners of the Magic Spirit's mouth curled up slightly. The next second, the mechanical magic snake's bright red vertical pupils were eroded by black and blue. It coiled around the Magic Spirit's arm, and after releasing its snake mouth, it lowered its head submissively.

An even more astonishing scene appeared: the Magic Spirit's eyes turned into the same bright red vertical pupils as the magic snake just now. It successfully obtained thermal imaging vision. Looking around the empty scorched earth plain, it saw two figures in the distance.

The thermal imaging vision didn't last long before the mechanical magic snake on the Magic Spirit's arm withered and turned into ashes. It seems that borrowing abilities causes a huge burden on the borrowed.

Whoosh~

After the wind-breaking sound ended, the Magic Spirit disappeared from where it was. When it appeared again, it was already a few meters away from the two figures in the distance, sitting on a raised dead tree stump.

A breeze blew by. The appearance of this avatar had long been assimilated by the Magic Spirit into a female form. Its physique was a bit thinner, its fingers were slender, its nails had a long feel, and its hair was casually tied into a ponytail to reduce the probability of getting stained with blood. Its facial features were different from Su Xiao's; it was a stunningly beautiful face more like Hunting Tide. When the Magic Spirit form was feminized, it was because it almost swallowed Hunting Tide. Now, this facial feature is not worth being surprised about.

Facing the suddenly appearing Magic Spirit, both people on the scene were very nervous. One of them was a female hunter from the Hunting Church, with a gentle temperament but firm eyes, showing she was a hunter who often went out of the city with an avatar.

The other person was very surprising; it was Fanny in avatar state.

"Uh~, Captain?"

Fanny was stunned. In her notification, she received "Your captain-related judgment is already within 10 meters of you," but the person in front of her didn't look like her captain, Kuku Lin · Bai Ye, no matter how she looked at it. However, Fanny, whose strange knowledge had surged recently, immediately thought that this must be an operation pulled off by her own captain, the kind of operation that makes people stunned to the point of brain-death.

"Excuse me, you..."

Before Fanny finished speaking, she suddenly felt a blur before her eyes and felt the warm spray of fresh blood on her face. She retreated half a step with starry bloodstains on her face and tilted her head to look. The female hunter who brought her on the mission this time was standing there in the shape of a headless corpse. After a spurt of blood from the broken neck, she fell down with a thud.

Opposite. The Magic Spirit squatted on the raised dead wood, holding the female hunter's head in its hand, looking at the other party, as if wondering why the other party died just like that. The ugly monsters it dealt with before were each very tough.

The Magic Spirit released the female hunter's head. While the head was falling, the Magic Spirit had already appeared beside Fanny, with one arm draped over Fanny's shoulder.

"Gulp~"

Fanny swallowed her saliva. This kind of oppression made her scalp numb, to the point that she forgot for a moment that this was an avatar state.

Suddenly, Fanny felt herself being hugged from behind, which made her expression stiffen. Just as she was about to try to beg for mercy, she felt the arms hugging her gradually tighten, followed by darkness before her eyes.

When Fanny opened her eyes, she was already in the terminal. She lay back on the terminal chair in a daze. A few seconds later, she got up and walked out of the room, going up to the third floor.

Knock, knock, knock!

Knocking hard on the door.

Being in the safe zone, she is just that confident!

The door was opened by Amu. After Fanny walked into the room, she found Su Xiao, Xiang Bubu Wang, and Baja watching the projection on the wall. The scene in the projection was exactly her being hugged to death by the Magic Spirit, and then the Magic Spirit casually throwing her dead avatar aside.

The Magic Spirit stood in place for a while, seeming to feel bored, so it yawned and walked in the direction of the "Corrupt Forest."

Fanny glanced at the Magic Spirit avatar in the projection screen, then looked at Su Xiao, making an "oh, so that's how it is" expression. She turned and left.

Bang~

The door was closed by Amu. Fanny, who could be considered a senior victim... cough! A senior member of the Bai Ye team, immediately felt that things were not good. She said:

"Captain, I should immediately reconstruct an avatar and try my best to find 'Fragmented Origins'."

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak. Seeing this, the feeling of something being wrong in Fanny's heart became even stronger. Just as she was thinking of reasons in her head, Su Xiao asked:

"Do you want to become the second place in this round of individual battles?"

"!"

The corner of Fanny's eye twitched imperceptibly, and her little heart started beating faster, bang, bang, bang, uncontrollably.

"No, no..."

Fanny really wanted to say she didn't want to, but second place equals 9,000 ounces of Space-Time Power. That is... 9,000 ounces of Space-Time Power! As a healing type, it's enough to change her fate against the heavens in subsequent strengthening.

Looking at the captain two meters away with a kind smile on his face, Fanny felt that this was a fatal temptation from the big villain boss. However, she was really tempted. She simply hardened her heart:

"I want to, I want to become second place!"

"Then you've thought too much."

Su Xiao's tone was calm, but these words reached Fanny's ears like a strong impact, as if someone had pressed her face against her.

"???"

Fanny looked at Su Xiao with her expression management almost breaking down.

"If you fail, you die. Decide after thinking it through."

Su Xiao's words made Fanny feel as if she had been pulled back and forth by a powerful force. Her expression was tangled to the extreme. A moment later, she let out a long breath and nodded: "I've decided. I'll participate. So, Captain, what should I do next?"

"Ensure I don't die."

"Huh? Aren't we in the safe zone? Could it be that you want to leave Yu Hui City? The curse intensity outside is too high..."

Su Xiao raised his hand to indicate that it was not the situation Fanny was worried about.

"Ensure that I don't die in the safe zone next."

"Hiss~"

Fanny gasped, already feeling how dangerous what she was about to do was.

"Do you have healing for mental power?"

"Captain, what are you talking about?" Fanny suddenly took a step forward, close to Su Xiao's face, and said very seriously: "In terms of conventional healing abilities, I am indeed not as good as Sovia, but in terms of mental power healing, she... is not even fit to... tie! my! shoes!"

Fanny stood up for herself. Actually, she was a bit guilty about the team's healing this time. Except for the healing type, others rarely know a little bit. Every healing type has their own secrets. Some healing types are better at vitality attachment, while others are better at mental power healing. The former is suitable for assisting melee types, and the latter is more suitable for assisting magic/warlock/energy types.

The difference between Fanny and Sovia is that Sovia was unwilling to join Su Xiao's team from beginning to end. In Sovia's view, Peerless-level is safe enough for a healing type, and continuing to advance only increases risks. Fanny, because of the warning from her divination-type best friend, was told to advance to the Supreme level, even if it meant taking life-threatening risks.

So Fanny seemed to be forced to join Su Xiao's team at the beginning, but actually, she was playing hard to get. However, Fanny had one thing she felt guilty about, which was that she was better at mental power healing. If her vitality healing was 10, her mental power healing could reach 13. Therefore, when assisting the melee-type Su Xiao, Fanny always felt a bit guilty.

Otherwise, at the Lord's mansion, Fanny was frequently "pseudo-deeply healed" to the point of trembling while walking. If it were any other healing type, they would have exploded mentally and applied to Apocalypse Paradise for a notarized ruling.

This time, Fanny finally waited for the field she was good at. For a moment, she could be said to be proud and refreshed.

"Oh? Are you sure?"

Su Xiao looked at Fanny's eyes, which were less than 10 centimeters away. Fanny's eyes were even a little curved with a smile.

"I am... very sure."

After Fanny said this firmly, she only felt cool in her heart! From the start of the competition until now, she finally felt proud. This is the aura of a Peerless-level healing type.

"..."

Su Xiao stared at Fanny for a moment longer, until Fanny moved her gaze away a bit weakly. He made a decision. Relying on the Magic Scythe move alone is really unstable. At present, although "Seal Studies" has been raised to Lv. 93, there is only a 70% probability of achieving the envisioned plan.

If he raises Seal Studies to Lv. 94, it will definitely be a 100% achievement of the plan, and there is a high probability of exceeding the plan, thereby winning "Permission Belonging to This World."

Taking out the "Abyss Contract," Su Xiao decided to turn the power of this thing to the maximum. As a price, after this use, the "Abyss Contract" will definitely be scrapped.

It was still the original connection method: "Abyss Contract" connects to "Original Sin Book," and "Original Sin Book" connects to Su Xiao. It's just that this time, the price was raised from "Original Sin Descent · Super Large Scale" to "Original Sin Descent · Limit."

As this price took effect, magma patterns appeared on the cover of the "Original Sin Book," and the gem in the center, which looked like a beating heart, really started to beat one by one.

【Notification: As the holder of the "Original Sin Book," you can currently exempt "Original Sin Descent · Limit" for 65 hours and 10 minutes.】

Su Xiao would rather bear the risk of Original Sin invasion than choose to cut corners when facing the Abyss. With the previous price, he could further improve the efficiency of the "Abyss Contract," but he has always firmly believed that one cannot get carried away just because one has found the correct way to use the "Abyss Contract" and think that one can obtain something without a price.

Once one starts obtaining something from Abyss power without a price, it represents the beginning of falling into the Abyss. On the contrary, the current "price" and "harvest" are equal, and there is "restriction" as insurance, which is the most stable way. And as a Law-Breaker, one must face the fate of the Abyss, and one really cannot always fear the Abyss.

Because of this, Su Xiao invested a massive amount of Space-Time Power to improve "Abyss Studies," and what is currently happening is the harvest brought by the "Abyss Studies" he has mastered.

Su Xiao checked the storage space and took out more than 20 types of permanent buff potions, all used to increase mana, or stabilize mental power, stabilize origin vitality, etc.

Trading these potions to Fanny made Fanny look suspicious, and she said a bit embarrassedly: "Captain, we are all in the same boat. There's no need to be so polite and prepay the reward. But I won't be polite about this good intention."

"Don't overthink it..."

Su Xiao spoke, and before he finished, Fanny said:

"I'm not overthinking it. I know this is the Captain's good intention."

Fanny smiled in a sunny mood. After all, it's really hard not to be in a good mood with these 20+ types of permanent buff potions.

"These potions have nothing to do with the reward. Drink them all now."

Hearing this, Fanny asked suspiciously: "Then what is this?"

"To ensure you won't die in the subsequent healing."

"Huh?!"

Fanny realized that things were not simple. Ignoring Fanny's surprised eyes, Su Xiao put on the "Original Sin Scholar" again and activated the "Abyss Contract." This time, the bonus magnitude of the "Abyss Contract" was 500 times.

Originally, Su Xiao was prepared to set it to 300 times. Since the Peerless-level healing type Fanny is so confident, she naturally has corresponding skills, so it should naturally be played reasonably.

Su Xiao picked up an ancient book on Seal Studies and began to study the spell structure on this ancient book, immersing himself in it without realizing it.

Deep in the Corrupt Blood Sea, more than ten kilometers south of Skeleton Island · Smile Town.

The Soul Chain Net hung high. Inside the net, the Death Soul Girl's expression was ugly to the extreme. Her avatar ability this time was truly a dream start. As long as she could reach Lv. 40, beating a 70-level dungeon would be no problem. Therefore, being led by 30 levels, she could also accept it and quickly close this gap.

The problem was that the Death Soul Girl covered by this Soul Chain Net was herself a long-range avatar with a weak physique. Coupled with contact with the Soul Chain Net, her soul energy was absorbed. She was now weak even when speaking. As for using abilities to commit suicide, she thought too much. Her soul energy was on the verge of exhaustion. Let alone using abilities, even if she bit herself, she couldn't bite out a tooth mark.

In order to end this avatar, the Death Soul Girl even tried to hold her breath to suffocate herself, but after trying, she found that she was not a melee type and didn't have such strong body control, so she couldn't do it at all.

This Soul Chain Net is equivalent to trapping the Death Soul Girl's spiritual body inside this avatar. What's even more frustrating is that the teleportation array is just over ten meters away.

"Don't let me know whose trap this is. Are you sick? Setting a trap in an 85-level area at the start, who would come to step on it!!"

The Death Soul Girl's mentality almost collapsed. She was very sure that this was a trap set by other participants. The ability characteristics are right here. If she guessed correctly, the other party might have set a trap in an 85-level area when they were at level 1, at most level 10, and then she, who was only level 1, stepped on it. If this were said out loud, no one would believe it.

"Help!!"

The Death Soul Girl shouted. This was actually not for help, but to attract the weirdness in the nearby "Smile Town." In this way, she could 'resurrect' and restart.

At this moment, in the black fog on the edge of Smile Town, more than a dozen weirdos were looking at the Death Soul Girl. These dozen or so weirdos, whether in distorted forms or ghost/hatred forms, looked at each other, not understanding what kind of performance art the guy in the net in the distance was doing.

After these dozen or so weirdos communicated in their own unique ways, they reached a conclusion: this must be a bait trap set by those crazy hunters of the Hunting Church. Sure enough, one cannot leave the black fog. Look, the bait is still shouting for help, and shouting so loudly. Who would not be afraid of death and shout in this kind of area? It's definitely a trap.

The dozen or so weirdos who saw through this all showed proud or arrogant expressions. The Death Soul Girl's shouts for help in the distance became lower and lower. After accumulating physical strength for half a day, she finally shouted for help and exhausted it.

And at this moment, a few kilometers north of the trap, several hunters from the Hunting Church were watching the Death Soul Girl hanging in the net from afar. Several hunters looked at each other and confirmed their eyes: this must be a trap.

Just like that, the Death Soul Girl was forced to survive in a crisis-ridden area, and with a level of Lv. 1, she held back more than a dozen weirdos around Lv. 85 and several powerful hunters with an average level of Lv. 87.

A few kilometers east of the trap, the Priest, who was looming in the black fog, looked at the Death Soul Girl hanging in the net. For a moment, he looked suspicious. Even a super old schemer like the Priest found it hard to understand what kind of situation this was.

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