Chapter 42

Xie Huitian, upon hearing Zhuo Chuan's question, shook his head disapprovingly, "That's more of a formality. It's like the lottery in ancient times, which was used to deceive ordinary people. There are limited slots and quantities. For low-grade items, there are ten exchange slots per day; for mid-grade items, ten per month; and for high-grade items, you have to wait a year. Each time, you have to queue up and draw lots among a trillion people. How low are the odds? Only a very few private markets have circulation, but it's easy to exchange soul crystals for money, while the reverse is a hundred times harder. After all, the true value of this thing is to exchange for soul repair services provided by the Earth Mother. No one would think it's too much, making it the most valuable item, but its liquidity is very poor."

"Hmm, I know this. After atomic-level body repair, ordinary people's bodies are no longer troubled by aging and diseases, but the soul is slowly eroded by time. Some say it's because the brain cannot be truly repaired, only cells can be, but physical repair at the quantum level is theoretically impossible, which leads to the soul's inability to be repaired. Only something like soul crystals, which break the laws of physics, can repair the soul," Zhuo Chuan said.

Zhuo Chuan, of course, also understood the ultimate value of soul crystals, which was greater than the practical value of other items—buying life. In theory, everyone's life is priceless, so its theoretical value is also infinite.

"Right, these are common knowledge. So, your friend is truly rare. It's quite rare for someone to invest so much in you," Xie Huitian said, shaking his head again. "But you're also unlucky. Your predecessor must have done something that consumed a lot of resources, leaving you with no soul crystals. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in such a difficult situation."

Zhuo Chuan nodded. The other party's guess was probably correct. Time travel was something the predecessor had done, and he likely took all his wealth to the modern world, leaving no soul crystals behind. The only expensive item, the immobile rabbit, probably had some restrictions, preventing it from being taken. As for where the wealth went after being packed, it might have been destroyed after the time travel failed.

After the casual chat, only the two of them were left. Xie Huitian formally began to discuss the duel with Zhuo Chuan.

"Earlier at the fighting arena, I checked your records. From your performance after rebirth, it seems you didn't inherit much of your predecessor's memory, right?" Xie Huitian looked at Zhuo Chuan with a serious expression.

"Yes, that's right. Apart from having an adult's mindset and some habits upon waking up, I have almost no other memories," Zhuo Chuan naturally knew this couldn't be kept secret, but no one had ever doubted him, including the citizens he had met, so he wasn't worried.

"Right, this situation occasionally happens among us soul successors. If the predecessor's soul died too thoroughly or suddenly, this can occur. It has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that you need to start learning from scratch like other backup citizens, and you can't know many important secrets. Learning isn't a big issue, but since you have a citizen's body, you usually learn very quickly, mastering common knowledge in a few days. However, the knowledge your predecessor worked hard to accumulate is wasted," Xie Huitian explained slowly.

Zhuo Chuan listened very attentively, not interrupting. After all, it was rare to receive advice from someone of the same kind, and he needed such support to stand firm in this new world, just like Old Xu.

"There are also advantages. You are essentially free from the various growth pitfalls left by your predecessor, giving you a chance to start anew. Your growth potential may not be limited to the scope of your predecessor's soul," Xie Huitian continued.

Zhuo Chuan nodded, thinking to himself that this was indeed the case, and another doubt in his heart was resolved. His actual situation was different; he was a soul from the modern world that had taken over the body of a predecessor in this world. But it matched the situation described by Xie Huitian, which was why he had been in this new world for two or three months without anyone suspecting him of usurping someone else's body.

"Now, there are ten days left before your duel with that E-class citizen. I don't need to encourage you. Your predecessor was a B-class citizen, and if he had left you enough memory and knowledge, you would know how to handle such situations. But given your current situation, I'll share some of the information my predecessor left me, which you can use as a reference," Xie Huitian said.

"Thank you very much," Zhuo Chuan couldn't help but marvel. After all, he had come to a highly civilized society, not a barbarian one. Despite attracting a powerful enemy due to this body, he had made more friends.

"Citizens have never dueled with backup citizens in history. In the early days, it was common to crush them easily, but after the Earth Mother was created, the order of human society was strengthened, and such things no longer happened. The information I have is about duels between citizens."

Zhuo Chuan had never seen the power of the Earth Mother, which was understandable, as he had been living a low-profile life in the new world. If Jie Cheng hadn't suddenly appeared, he might not have any real enemies. This was similar to ordinary people in the modern world, many of whom never see the power of the law in their entire lives.

But since Xie Huitian said this, it was clear that the other party had the power to crush most citizens, maintaining the order.

He continued to listen.

"In duels between citizens, there are usually measures to ensure their survival. The Earth Mother mostly protects them, as each citizen's growth is hard-earned, and they are the only source of soul crystals. Their fighting style is somewhat similar to that of ancient knights. They never ambush their opponents, as this is an internal power struggle among humans, not a survival struggle like in ancient times. The purpose of duels is generally for improvement, not out of emotion or dislike. They usually let the opponent prepare and fully demonstrate their strength, …"

Xie Huitian didn't say much, but every point was useful. Zhuo Chuan, connecting this with his previous experiences, knew that what he said was true. However, his duel with Jie Cheng was different. When he fought He Qiang, he realized that the other party wanted to kill him so that this body could produce a new successor soul.

As for the three months, either the other party wanted to give him another chance, or they had other intentions.

Zhuo Chuan didn't think it was out of kindness. He believed it was the latter, given the unmasked malice the other party had shown.

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