Star Trace Gate

Chapter 954 First Encounter, The Sufferers

Yang Sanhai is a member of Wang Tudou's team, holding the position of "general" within the team and possessing a clearly defined independent function. He has known Wang Tudou for over ten years and is the most senior member of the team.

Yang Sanhai is also from Blue Star, and his real age this year is already sixty-three years old. He is currently at the fourth rank. He has a bold and cheerful personality, is easy-going, calm in the face of adversity, and has a firm mindset. His only flaw is his love of gambling, making him a seasoned gambler.

In the few days since arriving in Beifeng Town, Yang Sanhai, when not on missions, often spent his time with a group of civil officials from the Inner Court, engaging in gambling. Since the Inner Court was currently under the control of Moro, and Wang Tudou and his group had entered the city with Moro, Yang Sanhai was considered a familiar face to his superior among the officials. When they first started gambling, they all intentionally let him win, giving him whatever they could.

However, these civil officials hadn't expected that Yang Sanhai was so fond of playing games. He would organize games almost whenever he had free time. The local officials were also avid players, so they frequently gathered to play, and no one was going to give way to anyone else. After all, losing every day was something no one could afford to do.

Today, Yang Sanhai had the worst luck ever. He lost more than ten rounds in a row playing Pai Gow, and lost nearly 200,000 Star Yuan.

Finally, he drew a "heavenly pair" in this hand, thinking he was about to dominate the game, but unexpectedly, his right little finger suddenly twitched twice.

This is a pre-arranged communication code within the team, meaning that he must immediately put down everything he is doing and take his place according to the pre-agreed details.

"Damn it...!" Yang Sanhai cursed angrily as he looked at the pair of cards in his hand. He then decisively slammed down his cards, stood up without hesitation, and said, "I have something to do, I'm done playing."

The civil official beside him was stunned for a moment, then picked up the card that Yang Sanhai had put down, and said with extreme astonishment, "Holy crap, did someone in your family die? You don't even want the Heavenly Pair anymore?!"

"Go burn it for your father...!" Yang Sanhai replied politely, and as he spoke, he had already walked out of the gambling den's side room.

……

In the East Courtyard of the Inner Palace, in a quaint and elegant private room, Wang Tudou sat on a couch, his gaze calmly fixed on the red sphere in front of him. His right hand tapped lightly on his leg, and he waited patiently for feedback.

The fist-sized crimson sphere in front of him was called the "Blood Soul Sphere," a special magical artifact that Wang Tudou had developed himself after advancing to the third rank. It wasn't particularly ingenious, nor was it a masterpiece; in fact, its effects and grade were rather mediocre. However, it was extremely practical and possessed a very subtle effect.

This seemingly ordinary Blood Soul Orb actually reflects Wang Tudou's personality, life experiences, and so on. He is like the Blood Soul Orb: he started from a very low point, and whether you look closely or at first glance, he seems unremarkable. But he can maximize his effectiveness in certain situations, proving that mediocrity doesn't preclude practicality.

Wang Tudou appears to be a young man, but due to his inherited abilities, his physical body is extremely resistant to aging. Therefore, although he looks young, he is actually much older than Ren Ye. However, in cultivation, time has no bearing on age; fifty years is considered a generation. From this perspective alone, he and Xiao Huaiwang can be considered contemporaries.

Before his enlightenment, Wang Tudou was a wanted criminal on Blue Star. He accidentally entered a secret realm and, after a period of enlightenment, was guided to escape to Black Cage Fortress and became a member of the Bell Society.

Outsiders only know that Wang Tudou has never been defeated since entering the migration area, enjoying smooth sailing and overwhelming success, quickly becoming one of the most outstanding young talents in the chaotic camp. But they don't know how Wang Tudou got to this point, and they've almost forgotten that he was once recognized by the Bell Society as the least talented person.

After Wang Tudou attained enlightenment, his title at the first level of the realm was "The Sufferer".

Just hearing this term evokes a sense of how ominous it is, as if it were the ultimate summary of all human misfortune and disaster. Wang Tudou himself, who received this title, seems to embody this ultimate summary, exuding an aura of loneliness and sorrow.

Wang Tudou received a disordered inheritance, which lacked strong "transmission" and "guidance." To put it simply, consider the inheritance of the little songstress Tang Feng. This was an ordered inheritance, meaning that at each level of cultivation, one could learn the secret techniques and mental scriptures appropriate to that level. A complete inheritance system also allowed one to master stronger and more advanced defensive and offensive methods. For example, upon reaching the second or third level, he gained new means of controlling his desires.

But Potato Seed didn't. Because his lineage was disordered and his system incomplete, he had to explore and comprehend many things on his own in his cultivation journey, without receiving clear guidance.

If it were merely a disordered inheritance, that would be fine, because the Star Gate Secret Realm itself contains countless possibilities. Even among those who inherit disordered knowledge, many exceptionally talented geniuses have emerged, and some have even become supreme beings who have seized godhood.

But Wang Tudou, this "victim," didn't receive a single hair when he was in the First Rank Realm.

[Traveler: Wang Tudou]

[Inherited Class: Dark Arts]

[Title for the First-Rank Realm: The Sufferer]

[The Sufferer: God said, "May humanity prosper, be peaceful and harmonious"; Man said, "Can God see the suffering of humanity?" Congratulations, in this land of plague, you have received the legacy of someone who has truly witnessed human suffering. He calls himself the Sufferer, having endured the torment of illness and bloodshed, but he also possesses the power of enlightenment and transcendence.]

[First-Rank Realm Inheritance - Natal Magic Treasure: None.]

[First-Rank Realm Inheritance - Inheritance Secret Technique: None.]

[Through prolonged suffering from illness and the torment of foul blood, the sufferer comprehended a unique cultivation method—the "Holy Blood Heart Sutra"—to nourish the star core within the abdomen with the essence and blood of one's own flesh. You can cultivate according to the Holy Blood Heart Sutra by burning the flesh of others, melting it down, and then using a secret method to condense a drop of physical essence and blood, which you then swallow to nourish the star core and increase your physical strength. However, this process is extremely painful. The stronger the physique, the more essence and blood you absorb, and you must also bear certain karmic consequences. Having obtained the essence and blood of others, you must naturally bear the various pathogens, hidden ailments, toxins, etc., contained within that essence and blood… For the sufferer, each drop of essence and blood refined strengthens the physique, but it is also equivalent to experiencing a life-or-death ordeal…]

[Born with an Unparalleled Technique: Because the Holy Blood Heart Sutra nourishes the star core with the essence and blood of others, its cultivation method is extremely unique. It is difficult to absorb and retain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the star core, coexisting with the impure blood; it is also impossible to nourish one's own soul with spiritual power. Therefore, those who inherit this technique cannot learn or use any divine arts or secret techniques, but can only use it to enhance their physical body, hence it is also known as the "Born with an Unparalleled Technique Body." However, because the sufferer must constantly refine the essence and blood of others, this will also generate a special and mixed bloodline power within themselves. This bloodline power can activate sinister magical treasures, talismans, formations, corpse puppets, and other external objects. The sufferer will be more at ease in dark and gloomy places filled with corpses and filthy blood, and can also absorb the surrounding blood energy to enhance their physique, giving them stronger five senses, a more powerful physical body, and more acute reaction and attack capabilities.]

[The Suffering's Advancement Task: Successfully refining one thousand drops of the flesh and blood essence of fellow travelers, alien races, or beasts of the same rank will grant you advancement to the Second Rank. Special Reminder: The remnant soul body is an evolution of the Heavenly Dao. Simply hunting remnant souls and absorbing their essence will not provide you with any assistance; on the contrary, it will annoy the Heavenly Dao, increase the difficulty of your task, and thus punish you.]

These are the "extraordinary" powers that Wang Tudou gained after achieving enlightenment and entering the first-grade realm.

Don't mention Ren Ye, don't mention the divinely ordained son, don't mention Ding Hun with his extremely strong physique, and those arrogant geniuses of the Nine Li Continent. Just compare Wang Tudou to the worst group of people, such as Huang Ge, the highest administrative officer of Qingliang Prefecture, known as "Red-Eyed Berserker".

Brother Huang inherited the martial arts lineage. Although he would briefly lose his mind and become indiscriminate in his senses when awakening his bloodline power and using the inherited secret techniques, he could still use the spell "Blood Sacrifice" and possessed a powerful natal magic weapon upon enlightenment—the Crimson Iron Greatsword.

A single horizontal slash from his sword can unleash the power to cleave water and split rocks. Furthermore, Brother Huang's red eyes can see through evil spirits and discern the weaknesses in an opponent's vital energy.

However, after Wang Tudou entered the First Rank Realm, he had no personal secret realm, no special talents, and no inherited magical treasures. Most importantly, he could not learn or cast any spells; all he possessed was the extraordinary ability to absorb blood essence to enhance his physical body under specific conditions.

This is indeed "extraordinary," because objectively speaking, he is indeed a little stronger than ordinary people.

The so-called special environment is far too restrictive. When a cultivator gets into a conflict with someone, they can't very well say, "Brother, I'd be too weak to fight you in the street, so we'd better settle it in the morgue or a graveyard..."

The disordered inheritance was bad enough, but the inheritance ability of the first-grade realm was also so poor. Therefore, after Wang Tudou escaped to Black Cage Fortress and had his inheritance checked, he became one of the lowest-ranking people there.

Even those at the bottom of society have to do everything they can to survive! Moreover, for a mortal fugitive, being able to become a traveler and a player by chance is already a very lucky thing. So, although outsiders look down on Wang Tudou, he himself is still content.

After killing that despicable man in the north of Blue Star, he thought he was doomed, but God finally smiled upon this "victim" and let him live, so he cherished this opportunity immensely.

During his arduous time in Black Cage Fortress, Wang Tudou learned from the disdain and evaluations of others that he possessed extremely poor talent and a bleak future. Therefore, he clearly realized that his only chance of surviving in Black Cage Fortress was to do everything possible to absorb the essence and blood of cultivators of the same level and then slowly improve himself.

During his enlightenment mission, he received a small reward of Star Source, just enough to pay his rent in Black Cage Fortress for three months. After paying the rent, he had no Star Source left for food. So, he had to beg from other people of his kind... but he only received extremely indifferent responses. The people there struggled to survive themselves and viewed each other as competitors, so they all wished for him to starve to death.

Having no other choice, Wang Tudou decided to take a gamble. He went to the landlord of Black Cage Fortress and got a refund of one and a half months' rent. Then he prepared to go out and fight with his back against the wall.

Black Cage Castle's principle is that anyone can come and go as they please. With Star Source, you can climb the ladder, live in a better place, and enjoy better treatment; if you don't have the money to pay the lease term, no matter how many people outside want to kill you, the landlord will ruthlessly kick you out.

So, when the landlord saw that he wanted to terminate the lease, he didn't stop him, but simply returned some of his Star Coins. That's right, just some Star Coins; the rest was considered a penalty for breach of contract.

After receiving the meager "refund," Wang Tudou only ate one full meal at Black Cage Fortress, and it was the cheapest kind of meal. After that, he bought three more days' worth of food, and finally used all the remaining refund to purchase some insidious talismans and treacherous hidden weapons.

But what good things can he buy with the little star energy he has left? It will definitely be the lowest quality, with many restrictions, very low lethality, and the shallowest divine energy and spiritual energy.

After buying all these things, Wang Tudou prepared to set off.