Reincarnation Paradise

She chewed on the soul crystal, crunching it up before swallowing it.

"This is the hope of freedom..."

Sha's mouth curved into a smile as a wisp of black mist escaped her body, gradually dissipating into the air. Seeing the black mist, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but after that wisp left Sha's body, he sensed her aura grow slightly stronger—though the change was almost invisible.

Specifically, Sha hadn't gotten stronger; instead, her strength had partially recovered.

"It seems pure souls are quite beneficial to you," Su Xiao speculated.

"Of course. As long as I have enough pure souls, I can regain my freedom and escape Alice's control."

She didn't hide the truth. She sat on the bed, crossing her legs.

"Alice, that bitch, sealed me. If it were an unbreakable seal, I wouldn't have lasted long before giving up. But that bitch is smart—she left me a sliver of hope. As long as I consume pure souls, the seal within me will gradually peel away. Once the seal is completely gone, I'll be free."

"It's not just me. The others in the castle are the same. That little girl, Anlia, needs candies to break her seal. Since candies are relatively easy to obtain, she can only eat three per day. That little girl has a hoarding instinct, so she stores candies. A certain 'bat' needs human blood, specifically the blood of someone with considerable power. Another prisoner, a buffalo, requires holy artifacts, which are what you call equipment."

She was straightforward. She was a tough fighter with eight-pack abs, although her physique wasn't overly bulky. If she were wrapped up tightly, an enemy might mistake her for a tall woman.

Through Sha's explanation, Su Xiao understood more about the first floor of the demon castle. Apart from the 'game room,' the other rooms were all prison cells.

There were 48 storyline creatures, originating from different worlds and various races, each with unique skills. Only some people were qualified to be imprisoned here.

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Before these prisoners could break their seals, they couldn't leave their rooms or the castle, or the wolf butler would eliminate them.

The wolf butler and the demon servant weren't prisoners. Their roles in the castle were similar to 'staff members,' directly under Alice's command.

Some prisoners were stubborn and refused to be manipulated by Alice. They couldn't be negotiated with, and even with an introduction letter, it was almost impossible to communicate with them.

Others had resigned themselves to their fate, hoping to break their seals and regain their freedom as soon as possible, like the little hamster Anglia.

And some prisoners were conflicted. They had been imprisoned for so long that they wanted to break their seals but didn't want to be manipulated by Alice, like Sha.

Hence, Sha had set two criteria: sufficient strength and likability.

Su Xiao met the strength criterion but could have been more likable. However, he had many introduction letters, which annoyed Sha immensely.

Frustrated, Sha chose to let Su Xiao in to give him a beating. But after fighting him, Sha inexplicably changed her mind and decided to negotiate. The exact reason remained unclear.

"In the spirit of fair trade, you gave me pure souls, so you can learn a skill from me. I don't have many skills, just this."

She raised her fist.

"I'm not interested in close combat. I fight with this," Su Xiao said, tapping the scabbard of Dragon Flash with his finger.

"Ha, a weakling relying on external tools."

She scoffed at Su Xiao's fighting style. But was that the reality? No.

There was a thirty-centimeter-long scar on Sha's collarbone—a sword wound. Seeing the scar, Su Xiao immediately deduced it was a sword injury.

In every sense, Su Xiao's swordsmanship countered hand-to-hand combat specialists. Moreover, a sword wasn't an external tool. When he held the sword, Dragon Flash became an extension of his arm. He could even feel the breeze on the blade.

Sha's dismissal of swords likely stemmed from a past defeat by a swordsman, knowing well how swordsmanship could counter hand-to-hand combat.

"Not interested in close combat? Then what do you want to learn? My strongest abilities are two: Scorpion Tail Strike and Punching. If you're not interested in those, I can't help you."

She yawned, seemingly about to renege on the deal.

"I want to learn that beast-like intuition you have."

"It's instinct, not intuition. Intuition warns, while instinct enhances perception in combat."

"Whatever it is. What's the cost of learning it? How much do I have to pay?"

Su Xiao wanted Sha's 'Beast Instinct.' He was intrigued by Sha's skill levels. Those high-level active skills might look formidable, but they needed to be more suitable for him. The best skills were those that fit his style. A powerful skill that didn't suit him was useless.

Su Xiao had his eyes on two of Sha's abilities:

Skill 3: Beast Instinct

Skill 4: Combat Mastery

As for 'Close Combat Mastery,' it seemed suitable for Su Xiao but wasn't. Every person's close combat foundational skills had their inclinations. For Su Xiao, his 'Sword Mastery Lv.39' leaned towards swordsmanship. If he were to teach someone boxing, he would be equally clueless.

She was similar. Her 'Close Combat Mastery' leaned towards boxing, unrelated to swordsmanship.

"Beast Instinct... are you sure?"

Sha said, "are you sure?" almost one word at a time. Hearing her tone, Bubuwang couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"I'm sure."

"If you die, don't blame me. Also, the pure souls you've given me so far aren't enough to learn this ability."

"Name your price."

"A hundred of those pure souls."

"Two."

"A hundred."

"Two."

Listening to their bargaining, Bubuwang rolled his eyes. He wanted to complain: "Isn't this price difference a bit too large? Is it because of middlemen?"

After a dramatic negotiation, Su Xiao settled on seven soul crystals for Sha to guide him in mastering 'Beast Instinct.'

Previously, Su Xiao thought the first floor of the demon castle was somewhat similar to the trial grounds in Reincarnation Paradise. But it turned out to be different.

In the trial grounds, learning skills from the mirror image was difficult—mostly, you could enhance already-known skills. The mirror image's primary function was to teach combat techniques.

But on the first floor of the demon castle, it was all about teaching skills. As long as you are paid enough, you can learn the desired skills.