Chapter 486 – Taboo Slayer

“It’s not?” Wu Duanhen was shocked.

Anyone who worked at the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would know that the organization was all about profits. So long as there were sufficient benefits to be had, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce could even disregard its reputation.

Abyss Water was not only a peerless paragon in the Twelve Holy Realms but also a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, a pseudo-apex power. He was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for the extra advanced partnership slot.

Out of everyone participating in the test this time, Wu Duanhen found it hard to imagine anyone else who could bring the Eternal Chamber of Commerce more benefits than Abyss Water.

“Little Wu, in light of your past performances, I can make an exception and tell you that the extra advanced partnership slot was prepared for Xia Qingying,” the leading Elder said as he called up an intelligence report. “I have a detailed report on why this is the case that I can show you, but once you see it, you can’t continue staying on Dark Star anymore. Do you want to see it?”

Prepared for Xia Qingying? How is that possible?!?

Wu Duanhen was dumbfounded when he heard the Elder’s words. He felt that the Elder was playing a joke with him. But, then again, he knew that the Elder in front of him would never play jokes, so he gritted his teeth and said, “I want to see it. Even if I’ve failed, I want to know why!”

“Suit yourself. Have a look, then,” the leading Elder said as he shared the report with Wu Duanhen. “Remember not to share it with others. You’ll know the consequences if you get discovered!”

“I understand.” Wu Duanhen nodded and promptly began scanning the report before him.

“Impossible!” Wu Duanhen exclaimed after a while, his face turning extremely pale. This was because the report’s focus was on none other than Black Flame, the person who had killed Abyss Water.

The intelligence report recorded many astonishing pieces of information regarding Black Flame, and any of these could easily cause a stir among the various powers should they be leaked.

The part where the Paimon Conglomerate suspected there to be an expert rivaling Primordial Gods standing behind Black Flame was especially unbelievable. Yet, no matter how unbelievable it might seem, there was irrefutable evidence showing that Black Flame had the assistance of an expert capable of repelling an Ancient God in the World Passage.

This information was incredibly stimulating news, even for the various apex powers. However, compared to the information the Eternal Chamber of Commerce uncovered, even the news of Black Flame potentially having a Primordial God-level expert backing him was insignificant.

The Taboo Slayer!

Black Flame actually knew someone who could potentially be the Taboo Slayer!

“Now you understand why the higher-ups prepared an advanced partnership slot for Xia Qingying, right?” the leading Elder calmly asked as he looked at Wu Duanhen. However, despite how calmly the Elder spoke, it was still possible to hear a hint of excitement in his words.

“Yes, I understand now. Abyss Water’s defeat was just,” Wu Duanhen said with a bitter smile. “Even if it is only a suspicion, the Chamber of Commerce will undoubtedly side with Xia Qingying.”

The Taboo Slayer’s existence was known to only a handful of powers throughout the entire Greater God’s Domain. In fact, not even the Seven Luminaries Alliance knew about the Taboo Slayer.

As an internal member nurtured by the Eternal Chamber of Commerce since childhood, Wu Duanhen was somewhat privy to the Taboo Slayer’s information.

There were twenty-two monsters that should never be provoked in the Greater God’s Domain. They were existences even Primordial Gods and apex powers were helpless against. In the public’s eyes, these twenty-two monsters were essentially taboo-like existences.

However, only a handful of powers knew that there were, in reality, twenty-three such monsters, not twenty-two. Only, the twenty-third monster had previously inhabited one of the Twelve Sanctuaries, so very few people knew about its existence.

Meanwhile, that twenty-third monster was killed by a mysterious Swordsman, and those who knew about this Swordsman’s feat came to call her the Taboo Slayer.

It was a title with a simple meaning. It meant that the owner of this title could slay the Greater God’s Domain’s Taboos!

The several powers that learned of this news promptly blocked all information from spreading. As it happened, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was one of these powers.

As for why they did so, it was also simple: the news was too shocking, and it might lead to a great upheaval in the Greater God’s Domain.

After all, a player had slain a monster that even the Primordial Gods could do nothing about. Even apex powers wouldn’t be able to sit still on this news, let alone upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers.

However, later on, the Taboo Slayer suddenly disappeared from God’s Domain for some reason, and nobody knew where she had disappeared all these years. The only record left about the Taboo Slayer was that she was a stunning woman with long, light blue hair wielding a sword with a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing. And when this woman went on the offensive, her strikes were as fast as lightning.

Back when the Taboo Slayer had accomplished the unprecedented feat of slaying a Taboo, one of the experts who had witnessed the spectacle from afar had tried to replicate her swordsmanship. In the end, he created a technique called “Void Annihilation,” and it was currently ranked 26th among the 99 Absolute Techniques.

Void Annihilation had power comparable to that of Gold Combat Techniques. With the help of this technique, the expert in question ended up winning the championship of the Seven Luminaries Alliance’s A-League.

Aside from that expert, one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce’s experts also tried to replicate the Taboo Slayer’s swordsmanship and ended up developing a Gold Combat Technique. And because of this achievement, said expert was instantly promoted into a Grand Elder.

Even to this day, the location of the battle between the Taboo Slayer and the 23rd Taboo was kept under lockdown by the several powers. From time to time, these powers would also send some of their talented Swordsmen to get a feel of the battlefield and hopefully gain some enlightenment.

Meanwhile, in the battle at the world passage, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce coincidentally discovered someone who looked strikingly similar to the Taboo Slayer.

—The Glimmering Sword, Laura Crader!

Abyss Water was indeed a powerful and influential expert. Not only was he a peerless paragon of the Twelve Sanctuaries, but he was also a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. However, compared to the Taboo Slayer, he was nothing.

So, the moment Xia Qingying chose Black Flame to become one of her helpers, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce had already chosen to give Xia Qingying an advanced partnership slot. As for Abyss Water, he was never within the Eternal Chamber of Commerce’s consideration.

…

Inside the Dark Star Auction House, a luxurious and spacious elevator the size of a basketball court was currently making its way up the skyscraper.

As the floor count on the elevator’s display kept increasing, a mixture of anticipation and unease filled Xia Qingying.

Although the Eternal Chamber of Commerce recruited many partners every year, if one wanted to truly reach the Greater God’s Domain’s apex, one must enter the Eternal Chamber of Commerce’s inner circles. This, in turn, meant that one had to be qualified to enter the Dark Star Auction House’s 200th floor and above.

Starting from the 200th floor, transactions between players would be strictly based on a barter system. More specifically, Legendary Weapons would become the standard currency for trading, and every transaction would involve at least one Legendary Weapon, and sometimes even Fragmented Divine Artifacts, exchanging hands. On very rare occasions, a transaction could even determine the rise or death of an entire world.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Qingying. You have already received Eternal’s recognition now that you’ve become an advanced partner. Not only are you qualified to enter the floors above two hundred, but you can also bring others with you,” a graceful middle-aged man with a graying beard said to Xia Qingying with a smile. “But I honestly didn’t expect you to become not just an ordinary partner but an advanced partner in such a short time. I should have Weilan learn from you more.”

“Weilan is still young, Uncle Yan Hua. She became one of the top 100 experts on the Sacred Glory List not long ago, and now she has also become the Blaze Conglomerate’s First Successor. I fared much worse than she did when I was her age,” Xia Qingying humbly said to the elegant middle-aged man. “Also, I could only become an advanced partner thanks to my friends. It wasn’t just my own efforts.”

Although the Blaze Conglomerate was not as powerful as the Galaxy Conglomerate, it was still a conglomerate on par with the Paimon Conglomerate. Meanwhile, even a bottom-ranked successor in the Blaze Conglomerate wielded much greater strength and authority than a vice president of the Green God Corporation.

“That girl never gives me any peace of mind,” Yan Hua said, shaking his head. “Rather than talk about that headache, let me tell you more about the 200th floor and above. Stepping onto the 200th floor is no different than stepping into a new world. The environment you will come across is completely different from what you can find below the 200th floor. The items you can come into contact with are also beyond your imagination. Particularly today; today’s auction is probably the biggest one the Dark Star Auction House has hosted in recent years!”