Chapter 4027

Under the witness of a crowd of Supreme Contractors in this world, the "God-tier" brawl between the top-ranked players officially began.

Su Xiao's top spot on the leaderboard lasted only a few minutes before a new change appeared, becoming:

First place: Soul Master (Dawn Paradise), 15.46 million points of Sanctuary reputation.

Second place: Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise), 13.42 million points of Empress City reputation.

Third place: Mo'en (Death Paradise), 8,159 points of Sanctuary reputation.

It didn't take a genius to know that the Sanctuary reputation of Soul Master, Priest, and Aurora had all been concentrated on Soul Master. Logically, faction reputation cannot be transferred, but for these three violators, transferring faction reputation was not difficult.

Because the world leaderboard had a tendency for a "God-tier" brawl from the very beginning, no one else had saved up faction reputation, which resulted in everyone having only a few thousand points on average. If it weren't for the doors of the Sanctuary faction shop being taken away, the contractors would have even less faction reputation in their hands.

After the leaderboard rewards were announced, it reached the stage of rushing the rankings. In a leaderboard where the top spot gets everything, usually, only the top five or top three are displayed during the final rush.

The problem was that Mo'en's 8,159 points of Sanctuary reputation compared to the two ten-million-level figures above was a massive difference. It felt like Mo'en had been forcibly dragged onto the leaderboard to be humiliated.

Furthermore, after the leaderboard started the "God-tier" brawl, the World Communication Platform became exceptionally lively.

In the past, these Supreme Contractors were generally cold or serious in their respective adventure groups or circles. The problem was that this was the World Communication Platform for a Supreme-tier world. Everyone was a Supreme, and everyone had climbed up from being an ordinary person bit by bit. Here, there was no need to put on airs or maintain the so-called demeanor of a Supreme Some Qiyuezhe.

Among them, someone like Silo'er, whose personality was particularly jumpy, had the attitude: "Since everyone is a Supreme Some Qiyuezhe, I won't pretend anymore. I'll put on a show for everyone."

Regarding this, Mr. Mo'en had a headache. He was used to Silo'er's personality—like a donkey pulling a millstone while naked, spinning around and embarrassing herself. The key was that he couldn't watch Silo'er embarrass "Death Paradise" like this.

Su Xiao closed the leaderboard. There were still a few days left in this world progress; it wouldn't be too late to pull out his trump card at the very end. He was certain that Priest also had methods on his side; it would then depend on whose methods were more ruthless.

As for whether to split the leaderboard rewards with Caesar, that wasn't necessary. Su Xiao took the mission from Caesar, triggering Caesar's exclusive personal passive "Lining One's Own Pockets Lv. EX." It meant that the more Empress City faction reputation Su Xiao gained, the more benefits Caesar would rake in.

Glancing at the time, all that remained for Su Xiao to do was wait. Whether it was Sanctuary Doan or "Molten City," it was almost time to harvest the fruits.

Su Xiao's hand brushed over the blade of Checking Zhan Long Shan. At this moment, Checking Zhan Long Shan had finally reached +15 reinforcement.

【Checking Zhan Long Shan +15】

Quality: Eternal.

Durability: 589/1350 points (increased by 100 points).

Attack Power: 1120–1315 points (increased by 120–140 points).

Equipment Requirement: Shadow of Law-Breaker.

Basic Bonus: True damage caused by Qing Gang Ying energy increased by 50%.

Supreme Blade Effect 1: Sharpness +2532 points (increased by 200 points).

Supreme Blade Effect 2: Damage Tier +25, Slashing Power Judgment Tier +25.

Supreme Blade Effect 3: Magic Blade (Core/Active)...

Reinforcement Effect: Fate's Choice (Unique effect for +15 reinforcement). After activating this effect, you can perform one characteristic refinement on this weapon and choose one of the following characteristics as the weapon's core characteristic.

1. Balanced Characteristic: After choosing this characteristic, you can "moderately increase" the weapon's attack power, sharpness, durability, Qing Gang Ying true damage bonus, damage tier, slashing power judgment tier, weapon armor penetration, reduced weapon durability consumption, weapon slashing speed, etc., for a total of 30 characteristic bonuses.

2. Ultimate Characteristic: Combine all the power of this weapon (excluding the Magic Blade ability) to increase the weapon's sharpness.

3. Combat Characteristic: Combine all the power of this weapon (excluding the Magic Blade ability) to increase the weapon's maximum durability and sharpness.

Reaching +15 reinforcement, a qualitative change was expected, and Su Xiao was certain this was the most important choice for the development of Checking Zhan Long Shan.

First, he ruled out the first option, "Balanced Characteristic." Choosing it would mean being a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. The "Ultimate Characteristic" and "Combat Characteristic" made Su Xiao feel it was difficult to choose.

If it were before mastering "Perfect Block," Su Xiao would definitely have chosen "Ultimate Characteristic" to let Checking Zhan Long Shan reach the limit on the path of sharpness. But after mastering "Perfect Block," the durability of Checking Zhan Long Shan also became important.

Not to mention, this time it was increasing the "maximum durability," which was enhancing the rigidity and toughness of Checking Zhan Long Shan. If a Checking Zhan Long Shan developed to this level were to break or even shatter in a life-or-death battle, it would be a massive loss even if he won the fight.

Looking at the remaining durability of Checking Zhan Long Shan now, one could tell that "Perfect Block" allowed Su Xiao to develop to the point where he could even block the instant-death dragon roar of an Abyss Ancient Dragon. One could only say that this ability of the Moon Wolves was truly top-tier.

If the Moon Wolves knew Su Xiao's thoughts, even the "Supreme Peak" Moon Wolves would feel a moment of embarrassment. In fact, the "Perfect Block" ability of the Moon Wolves wasn't that strong. The matter of gaining an extra "Supreme Seed" upon ascending to Supreme was something the Moon Wolves hadn't encountered yet.

"Warning: The 'Supreme Seed' is extremely rare and only has a low probability of being obtained when ascending to Supreme at an ultra-high specification. You must choose carefully which ability this 'Supreme Seed' will enhance."

This was the warning prompt Su Xiao received when he first obtained the "Supreme Seed." It wasn't that one could obtain two with a low probability just by ascending to Supreme; it was only by ascending to Supreme at an ultra-high specification—that is, the kind that could reach "Supreme Peak" potential—that there was a low probability of obtaining an extra one.

【Prompt: You have chosen "Combat Characteristic" to advance Checking Zhan Long Shan.】

【This advancement will take a total of 10 hours.】

Black light enveloped Checking Zhan Long Shan. Su Xiao went to the bedroom and placed Checking Zhan Long Shan on the sword rack, while he sat cross-legged on the carpet to meditate. Bubu Wang was sleeping nearby, Amu was taking apart and maintaining his beloved antique clock, and Baha was on the World Communication Platform, trading blows with several heroes who had let themselves go.

Only Benny was absent; she was on her own adventure. He believed that one day, Benny's constant training would, like Amu's eating, bloom into results. Don't look at Benny traveling around so easily now; after returning to Reincarnation Paradise, Benny was the most exhausted.

Meditation made time fly by. When the prompt appeared, Su Xiao opened his eyes.

【Prompt: Checking Zhan Long Shan has completed its advancement.】

【Checking Zhan Long Shan +15】

Origin: Shadow of Law-Breaker.

Quality: Eternal.

Category: Longsword.

Durability: 3000/3000 points (increased by 1650 points).

Attack Power: 1120–1315 points.

Equipment Requirement: Shadow of Law-Breaker.

Supreme Blade Effect 1: Sharpness +4800 points (increased by 2268 points).

Supreme Blade Effect 2: Magic Blade (Core/Active). After activating the Blade Spirit, when attacking an enemy unit with less than 30% of their "total health," you can execute this unit.

Current Blade Spirit strength: 6605 points.

Reinforcement Effect: Peak of Perfection (Passive). Each subsequent +1 reinforcement level will increase this weapon's durability and sharpness by 10%.

Inlay Effect: 3/3 slots.

Soul Gem (Eternal-grade gem): This weapon gains the Soul-Slashing effect.

Score: 13500 points (The score for this weapon is 3000–15000 points).

Introduction: Slay gods and demons, slash souls and evil, seal magic in the blade, slash until nothing is immortal!

All of Checking Zhan Long Shan's bonuses were concentrated on durability and sharpness. For this, the 50% bonus to Qing Gang Ying energy true damage was absorbed by these two bonuses. Calculating it, this reduced Qing Gang Ying's true damage by 24,174 points, leaving 82,592 points of true damage. If it were before, this would be hard to accept, but the current Qing Gang Ying ability had the "Endless Characteristic," so making it up later wouldn't be difficult.

Coupled with reaching the Supreme level, there were several passives on the Awakening Monument that increased Qing Gang Ying true damage. Su Xiao still had 14 empty Supreme passive skill slots. Conversely, the opportunity to increase Checking Zhan Long Shan's maximum durability by 1650 points and sharpness by 2268 points was only this once.

A particularly bold idea gradually appeared in Su Xiao's mind: if Checking Zhan Long Shan were raised to +20 reinforcement, wouldn't it have a maximum durability of 4500 points and a sharpness of 7200 points?

Such a weapon, let alone top-tier Supreme or ultra-top-tier Supreme, even a "Supreme Peak" would be very envious. The bonuses of this weapon were too focused and practical.

Remembering not long ago, the Tuanzhang reinforced that +16 world-class ring and even sent a screenshot of the ring's attributes. There was no other meaning; it was just to make Su Xiao envious.

Speaking of which, Su Xiao was indeed the only person the Tuanzhang could share things with and occasionally want to show off to. With Checking Zhan Long Shan reaching this level, Su Xiao chose to screenshot the attribute data of Checking Zhan Long Shan and then send it to the Tuanzhang via the Reincarnation Brand's friend mail, for free, but in a very slow sending manner.

Checking Zhan Long Shan was sheathed. Just then, Baha flew over: "Boss, Afiya from the Sanctuary wants to see you."

"Let her on the train."

Su Xiao began setting the destination for the Lord Train: Sanctuary Doan.

After the exploration captain Afiya boarded the train, her gaze was somewhat hollow, as if she were still thinking about a certain artifact.

Snap~!

Su Xiao snapped his fingers, causing Afiya to wake up suddenly.

"Recall the fate of Charles and Zdenek."

Su Xiao's words caused the longing and greed in Afiya's eyes to gradually fade. She looked at Su Xiao opposite her and really wanted to jump up and punch him hard in the face. It was this guy who gave Charles that terrifying crown.

"Did Charles win?"

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Afiya answered with a dim gaze, like a deflated ball: "He won, but they also..."

"Oh? Is it more dignified for them, as Supremes, to have their life force devoured by the Ancestral Spirit before the age of 70?"

"I, they..."

Afiya's expression was extremely bitter. Of course, she still remembered that a few hours ago, before Charles died, he watched Sanctuary Doan transform from lifelessness to vitality at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The spread of the Abyss was never lifelessness, but unbridled gain and proliferation. The lifelessness of Sanctuary Doan was simply caused by the Ancestral Spirit; this soul giant had been parasitizing the Sanctuary all along.

What made the Dark Bishop Charles even more furious was an Abyss contract between the Ancestral Spirit and Council Chairman Egu Baya.

This Abyss contract stated that when the Ducain family successfully allowed the darkness to engulf the Cold Region above Eberias that had not yet been invaded by the Abyss, the Ancestral Spirit would stop protecting Doan and let the Ducain family fully possess this world. As a reward, the Ancestral Spirit would have a position on the Ducain family's "Origin Clan Emblem," and it would be a councilor's seat.

Charles closed his eyes with a smile on his face. As for Zdenek, this Pain Priest was left with only a skeleton in the end, but even so, he was still resisting being swallowed by desire, and to a certain extent, he had even gained the recognition of the "Soul Crown."

Zdenek used Pain Miracles as his power source and had strong willpower; this was expected. However, this level of willpower truly made one feel respect.

Afiya looked at the passing scenery outside the window and said: "That crown ignored my request; perhaps I wasn't qualified. Do you have any other similar means that could allow me to quickly gain power?"

The flames of hatred were undisguised in Afiya's eyes.

"You are not qualified."

Su Xiao didn't know how to comfort others, and a Supreme beauty in sorrow was no exception. Afiya's appearance was very striking, but she didn't cherish her own beauty.

"I need this kind of quickly gained power. I will deal with Council Chairman Egu Baya, deal with the Soul Master, and that Priest who can summon gray tentacles. They all deserve to pay the price."

"..."

Su Xiao began to close his eyes for a nap. Afiya opposite him was silent for a moment. Just as she was about to get angry, she realized something herself. Without warning, she stabbed one hand into the back of her neck and used her index and middle fingers to pinch out a wriggling transparent soul worm.

"It seems that the stupid choices I made recently were all because of this thing."

Silver flames appeared on Afiya's hand, burning the soul worm into a gaseous state. She used a hot towel on the table to wipe the blood from the back of her neck and said with a firm gaze:

"I can't die yet. Revenge is secondary. Doan has never needed me to live as much as it does now. I cannot let down those Doan residents who believe in me. If I die now, Charles and Zdenek would have died in vain."

Afiya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her gaze had returned to the firmness of their first meeting.

"You are qualified now."

When Su Xiao spoke, he was still closing his eyes for a nap. Hearing this, Afiya opposite him smiled, shook her head firmly, and asked:

"Has anyone ever said that you are a devil who toys with the hearts of others?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"A friend from the Void Devil race."

"Uh~"

Afiya didn't know what to say for a moment and could only add, "Alright."

When the train stopped, it was already at the central square of Sanctuary Doan. Just after getting off the train, Su Xiao found that compared to the last time he came, Sanctuary Doan was a bit brighter, even though the 【Flame Core】 was nowhere to be found.

This was because the Abyss-type creatures in the surrounding area had been cleared by the Dark Woman, and coupled with the Ducain family being beaten hard by Su Xiao, the darkness spreading here had a tendency to recede.

As for where the Dark Woman was at this time, she had returned to the "Dark Sanctuary" of the Eternal Light World. The current "Dark Sanctuary" was different from the past; that was the Dark Woman's home.

In addition, Su Xiao had the Dark Woman take Shifreya back; this woman was a healer.

【Dark Sun Healing Art, Lv. 98 (Passive): Can use specific tools, herbal preparations, etc., to perform high-tier healing effects.】

For the Molten Giant's old injuries, even Su Xiao had no good solution. His pharmacy tended more toward permanent buff potion preparation. When it came to deep healing, it was indeed not as good as abilities like "Dark Sun Healing Art," which were useless in combat, had long treatment cycles, and were slow to take effect.

Besides that, Yusha, the disciple of the sundries guy Thorne, inevitably got injured every time she went out for training. Having a healer in the Dark Sanctuary was of great help to her.

As for Shifreya's own wishes, in the Eternal Light World, where powerful people gathered and were all on her side, Shifreya was too happy to be there. Perhaps next time she went to the Dark Sanctuary, Shifreya would also treat this place as her home.

The sheathed longsword was inserted into the sword belt at his waist. Su Xiao stepped toward the central torch tower. Entering the first floor, rich soul power spread here, and his health began to slide. However, with his high health and the soul damage resistance derived from his 1650 points of soul strength, he was able to continue deeper.

Following the spiral staircase down a hundred meters and passing through a long corridor, an underground space came into view. A battle had taken place here not long ago, and the surging soul power had left the place riddled with holes.

In this underground space of over ten thousand square meters, fluorescent blue soul energy was distributed on the ground and ceiling like veins. A blood-colored skeleton was in front of a gray-white rotten meat monster. The skeletal index finger pointed downward, keeping the rotten meat monster in a kneeling position even in death. This rotten meat monster was the Dark Ancestral Spirit of the Sanctuary.

Located further back, a translucent blue light film enveloped a "Soul God Tree" over ten meters high. On the main trunk of this "Soul God Tree," there was a translucent blue fruit that looked like a beating heart; it was the "Soul God Tree Fruit."

By the corner of the north wall sat a withered figure with gray hair. He was still wearing the "Soul Crown" on his head; it was Charles.

Stepping forward, Su Xiao reached out to grab the "Soul Crown." Black-red light surged on the crown, but it eventually faded, and it was put away by Su Xiao and resealed in the "Book of Original Sin."

In the final analysis, Su Xiao still held the "Soul Crown" at the causal level. If the "Soul Crown" unleashed the Original Sin of Desire, Su Xiao wouldn't have a good time. But from then on, as long as the "Book of Original Sin" existed for one day, the "Soul Crown" wouldn't be able to get out of it for even a second.

As for why the "Soul Crown" didn't swallow the "Soul God Tree Fruit," it had already eaten one portion by swallowing the Dark Ancestral Spirit. If the "Soul Crown" chose to have it all, Su Xiao couldn't stop it. But from now on, there would be no more decent cooperation; the "Soul Crown" should just stay sealed.

Just as the "Soul Crown" was resealed, the Dark Bishop Charles, who was in a state of death, opened his eyes in a flash of clarity. His first reaction was to raise his hand, preparing to invoke the power given to him by the "Soul Crown," but after seeing the situation around him, his hand dropped powerlessly.

"Bai Ye, I... almost lost. Halfway through the battle, I was swallowed by desire. Fortunately, there was Zdenek, but he didn't hold on for long. In the end, I solved the Ancestral Spirit. How about it? I'm strong, right? Cough, cough, cough!"

Dark Bishop Charles coughed violently and spat blood, but his face was full of a satisfied smile.

"Bai Ye, I leave Sanctuary Doan to you."

"No."

"What?"

Dark Bishop Charles was a bit surprised. After all, such a deathbed entrustment wouldn't usually be refused, even if it was just verbal comfort and not necessarily something one would really do.

"The residents of the Sanctuary have their own choices."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Dark Bishop Charles was stunned for a moment, then laughed with blood overflowing from the corners of his mouth, laughing until he coughed dryly again. He said: "Bai Ye, what you said is too right. It was I who was narrow-minded. The future of the Sanctuary should be chosen by the residents of the Sanctuary."

Speaking to this point, Dark Bishop Charles's breathing began to quicken. He said: "Bai Ye, I... my time is short. I was just trying to hold on to one breath to see if I could see you again. Now, I've seen you. Come closer, closer."

After Su Xiao leaned closer, Dark Bishop Charles whispered:

"Ducain, the Holy Land, is above Molten City. Below it is a trap."

At this point, Dark Bishop Charles's eyes dimmed completely. This Dark Bishop, who should have been evil but was forced onto the right path by the Abyss invasion, died.

Arriving in front of the "Soul God Tree," the protective light film of the God Tree was shattered by blood energy. Su Xiao stabbed one hand into the trunk, and amidst the trembling of the "Soul God Tree" like a living thing, he pulled out the "Soul God Tree Fruit."

【You have obtained the Soul God Tree Fruit.】

【Soul God Tree Fruit: After consumption, permanently increases soul strength by 75 points, soul-type basic ability level increases by Lv. 8, but you will fall into a state of soul rot poison for 35,862 natural days.】

Putting away the 【Soul God Tree Fruit】, Su Xiao turned and walked out of the central torch tower. Because the soul power supporting this place gradually dissipated, the building began to collapse. When walking out of the torch tower, the building had weathered to the point of almost collapsing.

The 【Flame Core】 was nowhere to be found. He guessed it was taken by the Soul Master; that old thing, Priest, wouldn't take such a risk.

In fact, Priest's choice was correct. Before taking out the 【Flame Core】, Su Xiao had signed a contract with this thing. Don't be surprised; when a contract is skilled to a certain extent, signing a time-limited contract with a dead object can still be achieved.

The content of this contract was very simple and could only be fulfilled once: Su Xiao could know the current location of the 【Flame Core】 by fulfilling this contract.

The Lord Train started. Su Xiao's current state was very good. It was time to head to the Giant Kingdom ruled by Council Chairman Egu Baya, which was "Molten City."

Three hours later, in the northernmost region of this world, the darkness here was exceptionally thick, and the sky was pitch black, with not a trace of sunlight's afterglow to be seen.

Two figures, one burly and one slender, both stopped. They were the Abyss Archbishop and Magic Scythe Aina. Both looked at the high wall in the distance; it was the high wall of "Molten City." Among them, Magic Scythe Aina's expression was exceptionally wonderful because, in the current "Molten City," a towering giant mushroom was growing vigorously.

The roar of the train's rapid travel faintly came from the different dimension. A train like a steel beast detached from the different dimension and stopped.

The Abyss Archbishop took off his black robe and threw it aside, looking at Su Xiao who was getting off the train, and said to Magic Scythe Aina beside him:

"Prepare for battle."

"Huh?"

Magic Scythe Aina looked at the Abyss Archbishop suspiciously, which made the Abyss Archbishop's expression look a bit ugly. He corrected: "This is our enemy."

"Don't! This is your enemy, okay, brother? I don't even know him. Besides, we are only cooperating temporarily, ah no, it's a temporary transaction. You help me find a way to safely enter the middle and lower layers of the Abyss, and I help you heal your left arm. As a result, I followed you and sacrificed for others twice in a row. Now, for the Council Chairman we are looking for, I estimate it's also not very optimistic. Look at that big mushroom; you are also too unreliable."

While Magic Scythe Aina was speaking, she took a few steps back, put one hand on her waist, and smiled to indicate that she was not familiar with the Abyss Archbishop.