Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Su Xiao looked down at the fragment of an organ that was still twitching slightly, and remained silent for two seconds.

He raised his head and his gaze swept across the corridor.

More pieces of debris were scattered on the ground, and bloodstains radiated outwards, filling the air with a strong smell of blood.

Judging from the traces at the scene, the battle here ended very quickly—so quickly that it didn't even give the other side any chance to fight back.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a safe zone?"

The thought flashed through Su Xiao's mind, but her expression remained unchanged.

He stepped around the pool of blood and continued walking forward.

Having spent so many years in the Paradise of Reincarnation, he had long understood one thing: the so-called "safe zone" is nothing more than a relative guarantee at the level of rules.

Whether those rules can still be effective when certain fundamental boundaries are truly crossed is another matter entirely.

He stopped at the entrance of the corridor, his gaze sweeping over the oil paintings hanging on the walls.

Anna's portrait was not far away. Su Xiao glanced at it, but did not linger. He turned around and continued walking towards the treasure room ahead.

-

Meanwhile, in lounge number 1005.

Lin Yi had just recovered from the weightlessness of the teleportation when the light and shadows in front of him gradually stabilized.

He found himself standing in the center of the lounge, surrounded by familiar surroundings.

The electronic eye on top of the butler robot flashed red light, scanned Lin Yi for a few seconds, and after confirming that he was not an intruder, the red light turned into a soft green.

It emits a soft "beep" sound, then moves aside and enters standby mode.

"Meow!"

A white shadow leaped up from the sofa and landed lightly on Lin Yi's shoulder.

It's Benny.

Her jewel-like cat eyes were fixed on Lin Yi, her tail flicked gently, and she made rapid meows as if asking something.

Lin Yi understood what she meant—Where is Su Xiao? Where is Bubuwang? Where is Baha?
"They're fine." Lin Yi reached out and rubbed Benny's head. "They should be back soon."

Upon hearing this answer, Benny noticeably slowed down the frequency of her tail wagging.

She tilted her head and looked at Lin Yi for a few seconds to make sure he was not injured, then meowed and jumped off his shoulder, landing on the ground.

Her gaze quickly shifted to the butler robot next to her.

Ever since Bubuwang changed its permissions and renamed it "Friendship Little Bubu," this round robot has been on Benny's "focus" list.

Benny walked gracefully to the robot and patted its shell with her paw.

The electronic eye on top of the robot flashed, projecting a semi-transparent control panel.

Benny's eyes lit up immediately.

She discovered that this thing not only provided services, but also connected to the Goblin Merchant Guild's trading window—meaning she could browse products, check prices, and even place orders directly in the rest area.

For Benny, who loves "treasure hunting" and "trading," this is more attractive than a hundred dried fish.

She crouched next to the robot, her cat face almost pressed against the control panel, her two front paws pressing the virtual buttons, occasionally letting out a satisfied "purr" and occasionally a dissatisfied "meow," clearly studying some prices she felt were unreasonable.

Lin Yi glanced at Benny's "business activities" but didn't disturb her. Instead, he turned his gaze to the other side of the lounge.

Am was lying on the floor in the corner, her arms crossed over her chest, snoring softly and evenly.

Its massive body lay on the ground like a small mountain, its chest rising and falling slowly with its breath, clearly fast asleep.

Lin Yi walked to the sofa and sat down, asking the butler robot to bring him a glass of warm water. He then leaned back on the sofa to relax.

While the experience at the House of Death was very rewarding, it was also incredibly draining.

Now back in the rest area, Lin Yi's nerves could finally relax a little.

About ten minutes later, the door to the lounge was pushed open.

Su Xiao walked in.

He was still wearing that black trench coat, with Baha on his shoulder and Bubuwang following at his feet.

All three seemed to be in good condition, but the exertion during the final period in the Death House left Su Xiao with a barely perceptible trace of fatigue between her brows.

Following closely behind was Shangyue.

Her black wings folded slightly, and the tear marks on her leather armor were still clearly visible, but the wounds had been treated and her mental state had recovered considerably.

Mond was at the very back.

This demon clan's clumsy fellow looked quite miserable—his entire face was swollen like over-fermented dough, his eyes were just slits, his nose was crooked to one side, and his lips were swollen so much that it looked like he had been repeatedly hit with a hammer.

His simple leather vest was torn in several places, revealing bruises and even signs of bone deformation in some areas.

But what's most eye-catching is his head—his head, with its shaved white short hair, is a size larger than usual, shiny and greasy, looking just like a large, freshly boiled hard-boiled egg.

Lin Yi paused slightly when he saw Mond's appearance.

He looked at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao's face remained expressionless. He simply walked to the sofa, sat down, took out a cigarette from his storage space, lit it, and took a deep drag.

His posture was so relaxed, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Yi then looked at Baha.

Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder, met Lin Yi's gaze, and shrugged in a human-like manner, its eyes saying, "Don't ask me about this."

Lin Yi looked at Bubuwang again.

Bubuwang was lying at Su Xiao's feet. Sensing Lin Yi's gaze, it raised its head, revealing an extremely innocent expression on its dog face, before quickly lowering its head and pretending not to see anything.

"White Night!" Mond saw Lin Yi, a glint of light flashing in his swollen eyes. He strode over, "You be the judge! I didn't do anything, I just followed them, and then that old bastard—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because Su Xiao turned her head, her half-closed eyes calmly looking at him.

Mond's voice abruptly stopped.

He hesitated for two seconds, then reluctantly chose a corner furthest from Su Xiao to sit down, muttering something under his breath. But because his mouth was so swollen, the content of his muttering was completely inaudible.

Shangyue glanced at Mondstadt, said nothing, and simply sat down on the sofa on the other side.

Her posture remained elegant, but Lin Yi noticed that before she sat down, her gaze lingered on Mond's bald head for a moment, and then the corners of her mouth curled up very slightly.

That expression vanished so quickly it was almost impossible to catch, but Lin Yi definitely saw it.

He withdrew his gaze, having roughly made a judgment in his mind.

Seeing Su Xiao's nonchalant demeanor, Lin Yi felt that Mond was already quite lucky to have walked out of the Death House alive.

Mond sat in the corner, raised his hand to touch his swollen face, then touched his head, which had grown larger than usual, his face full of grievance.

He really didn't do anything!

He had no idea how he got beaten up like that.

"Alright, now that you're all back, take a rest," Lin Yi said, breaking the brief silence.

Lin Yi stood up and walked towards his room.

As he reached the door, he stopped and turned to look at Mond.

"The demon race has a strong recovery ability; they'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

Upon hearing this, a hint of emotion flashed in Mond's swollen eyes.

"Doctor, you're so good..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yi had already pushed open the door and entered the room.

The door closed behind him.

Mond stared blankly at the door.

No, wasn't this supposed to be comforting him? Why did he leave halfway through comforting him?

-

inside the room.

Lin Yi lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to think.

Although he had not yet received official notification from the Paradise of Reincarnation, he knew that the third round would begin soon.

And most likely, it's in a vast sea area.

The tide compass he chose would soon come in handy.

Time passed in meditation.

About two hours later, a series of notification sounds rang in Lin Yi's ears.

He opened his eyes, sat up, and looked at the semi-transparent light screen that appeared in front of him.

[Hint: The Hunter has passed the second round of the Battle of the Strongest.]

[Number of players participating in this round: 3 (Reincarnation Paradise).]

[Number of players promoted this round: 2.]

[Number of deaths on our side this round: 1.]

[Our team eliminated 19 members from other factions this round.]

Lin Yi's gaze lingered on the last line for a moment.

19 people.

Lin Yi stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.

Almost at the same time, Su Xiao also pushed open the door to the room next door.

The two looked at each other without speaking, but both understood the same thing from each other's eyes.

They walked to the sofa in the center of the hall and sat down.

The butler robot quickly drove over, placed two drinks on the low table in front of it, and then stepped aside to wait.

Su Xiao took out a cigarette from his storage space, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

“I know the other contestant.”

Lin Yi didn't speak, but just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Su Xiao continued, "I've encountered him in the arena before. His profession is very special; it's a bloodline-based profession."

He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"It's a bit like a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball. But the Saiyan's growth rate is much faster."

Lin Yi nodded. He understood the analogy.

“We fought in the arena, but stopped halfway through,” Su Xiao said. “Both of us sensed something was off about the other. After probing each other, we discovered we were also hunters. We then became friends and chatted occasionally.” “This guy didn’t lose face before he died,” Su Xiao said, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

For Su Xiao to say "I didn't lose face," the giant's performance before his death was absolutely worthy of his status as a contractor of the Paradise of Reincarnation.

A few seconds of silence followed between the two.

Then Su Xiao raised her head and looked at Lin Yi.

When does the third round begin?

Lin Yi shook his head: "We haven't notified them yet. But it should be soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the butler robot suddenly emitted a soft "beep" sound.

They both looked at it at the same time.

The electronic eye on top of the robot flashed a few times, projecting a semi-transparent information panel.

[Notice: The third round of the Battle of the Strongest will begin in two days.]

[Third Round Location: The Viking Sea.]

[Note: The third round is a naval battle. All participants will be randomly teleported to various locations throughout the Viking Sea. Please prepare accordingly.]

The information panel remained suspended in the air for about ten seconds before slowly dissipating.

Lin Yi and Su Xiao exchanged a glance.

Naval battlefield.

This information confirmed their previous guesses—the third round would likely involve all participants in the same location or the same area.

Now, the location is clear.

The Viking Sea.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past two days, Su Xiao has spent most of her time meditating in her room.

For those who destroy the law, maintaining peak condition is a basic prerequisite for survival.

Especially after learning that the next round would be a naval battle, he needed to adjust his mindset even more.

Lin Yi has had a very fulfilling two days.

After the third round of the battle for supremacy, most of the participants from the smaller races had been eliminated.

The vast majority of the remaining ones were either representatives of the Void races that Lin Yi was familiar with, or contractors from other Paradises.

Among these people, quite a few came specifically to visit Lin Yi in lounge number 1005.

Lin Yi naturally wouldn't put on airs and refuse someone's visit.

What he needs is to make a lot of friends.

Whether in the brutal competition of the battle for supremacy or in the vast void, connections are an important resource.

Moreover, given his status as an Abyss Physician, cultivating good relationships with the elite representatives sent by these major powers would only bring benefits, not harm.

In the past two days, he has received more than a dozen groups of visitors.

A young warlock from the Star Clan entered and immediately bowed deeply, saying that his elders had specifically instructed him to treat the Abyss Healer with the utmost respect.

A merchant from the Demon Clan brought a list of various rare materials, saying he wanted to make a deal with Lin Yi.

A young witch from the witch community, whose attitude was much gentler than Dylin's, chatted briefly, left a message talisman, and then left.

Several representatives from the Feathered Clan expressed their envy of Shang Yue's ability to team up with Lin Yi, and also brought greetings from their clan elders.

Benny has had a very fulfilling two days.

After discovering the new features of the butler robot, she spent almost all her free time studying that trading window.

She learned how to browse product catalogs, how to check prices, how to compare quotes from different vendors, and even how to bargain.

Although her bargaining method involves patting the item she likes with her paws and staring at the screen with an expression that says, "I'll keep patting it if you don't give me a discount."

Thanks to her constant tinkering, the housekeeping robot has been running continuously for over forty hours without stopping.

Fortunately, this Bana Dwarf Clan product is indeed of excellent quality, and it still runs stably even after being tinkered with by Benny.

For the past two days, Amu has been lying on the ground sleeping. When she wakes up, she eats, and when she's full, she sleeps again.

Its snoring became the background noise in the lounge, from morning till night, and from night till morning.

Occasionally, when someone turns over, the entire floor of the lounge will vibrate slightly.

By the afternoon of the following day, the statistics window for the second round of the Battle of the Strongest had officially closed.

Three hours later, all the participants who advanced to the next round simultaneously received a notification from the World Tree.

[Hint: The third round of the battle for supremacy is about to begin.]

[Location for this round: The Viking Sea.]

[Rule for this round: Survival at Sea. All participants will be randomly teleported to various locations throughout the Viking Sea. No supplies will be provided after teleportation.]

[Teleportation countdown: 10 minutes.]

Lin Yi stood up and looked at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao had already come out of the room and was standing in the center of the hall, with the Dragon Slayer Sword hanging at his waist. He had adjusted himself to his best condition.

Shangyue also walked out of the room, her black wings slightly folded, her silver eyes flashing coldly in the dim light of the lounge.

Mond stood beside her, the swelling on his face completely gone, and he had returned to his previous reckless appearance.

He saw Lin Yi and grinned.

"Survival at sea," Mond said. "I love the sea! I'm a super swimmer!"

Shangyue glanced at him without saying a word, but the meaning in her eyes was clear: You?
Mond met her gaze, and just as he was about to say something, the teleportation light began to appear.

[Teleportation countdown: 3, 2, 1 —]

[Teleportation initiated.]

The world before my eyes was instantly swallowed up by an endless expanse of aquamarine blue.

A feeling of weightlessness occurs.

It wasn't the feeling of emptiness you get during teleportation; it was a real fall.

Lin Yi opened his eyes.

A vast, azure sea unfolded beneath his feet, stretching endlessly to the horizon.

A few gray clouds drifted in the sky, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, casting dappled light and shadow on the sea.

Several seabirds flew past him, startled by his sudden appearance, and cried out in alarm before flapping their wings and flying away into the distance.

With a thought, Lin Yi instantly created a foothold made of force field beneath his feet, forcefully stopping his falling body.

He stood there in mid-air, with an invisible force field beneath his feet and the whistling wind all around him.

Holy crap!

A loud shout came from above.

Lin Yi raised his head.

Several hundred meters above, several figures were falling rapidly.

They clearly didn't have Lin Yi's ability to stand in the air, and could only let gravity pull them toward the sea.

Among them, Lin Yi spotted a familiar figure.

Sad Moon.

Her black wings unfurled in mid-air, flapped forcefully a few times, and quickly stabilized her falling body.

She looked around and soon spotted Lin Yi standing in mid-air.

Without hesitation, she changed direction and flew towards Lin Yi.

Other participants were not so lucky.

Thump, thump, thump—

Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, one figure after another fell into the sea, splashing up water droplets of all sizes.

Some people are lucky enough to fall into the water far away from others, surrounded only by the vast ocean.

Some people are unlucky; they fall into the water in the wrong position and slam hard onto the surface of the sea with a loud "smack," leaving them completely stunned.

"Sea rafting? At least give us a kayak."

Some people floated on the surface of the water, spitting out the seawater that had gotten into their mouths while complaining.

"A kayak? You must be half asleep."

The person next to him sneered and pointed to the vast sea around them, "I haven't even seen a single rock to stand on. Now, even a plank of wood would be a valuable thing."

"Damn it, why can't I fly?!"

A third voice rang out, filled with unspeakable envy and resentment.

Lin Yi stood in mid-air, his gaze sweeping across the area below.

The participants were not too far apart, but not close either. Roughly estimated, there were about a dozen people scattered in this sea area.

They kept a watchful eye on each other, floating on the water and using various methods to maintain their balance.

Further out on the sea, more figures could be vaguely seen.

The Viking Sea was much larger than he had imagined.

Just then, the attention of those fighting below began to gradually shift upwards.

They saw Lin Yi and Shang Yue standing in mid-air.

To be precise, I saw the Moon of Sorrow.

The characteristics of the winged race are too obvious.

None of those who have made it this far are fools.

They knew very well that anyone who could associate with the Feather Clan was definitely not simple.

The gazes that had initially been eager to cause trouble quickly subsided after they noticed Shang Yue.

Some people have already begun to quietly swim further away, trying to get away from this area.

Some people remained where they were, scrutinizing Lin Yi with critical eyes, as if trying to remember his face.

Lin Yi ignored those gazes.

He took out the tide compass from his storage space.

A palm-sized, dark bronze compass lay quietly in his palm, its central pointer slowly rotating until it finally pointed steadily in a certain direction. (End of Chapter)