Among the non-traceable statistics, i.e. those records that were deeply intermingled in the soul of every living being included resistances, defenses, vital power, etc.
In fact, as time went on Bai Zemin realized more and more that the traceable statistics, i.e. Magic, Mana, Strength, Agility, Health, Stamina... These six statistics were nothing more than a summary of the soul of each living being.
What about Resistance, for example? These were incredibly difficult to get, and there were practically no living beings that had them.
To say that among the countless billions of lives in the universe only 1% had any Resistance against any particular element would not be too much of an exaggeration, and although that 1% was a large number it was still insignificant in comparison to the other 99%.
Bai Zemin, for example, was a rarity whose Fire Resistance exceeded 20% not only thanks to his Soul Contract with the Endless Blue Lotus Flame but his Blacksmithing skill also helped a bit.
Having 20% in any Resistance was insane, to say the least.
20% represented 1/5th of the other party's power when it came to that element, and if Feng Tian Wu was taken as an example, the power of her flames would be 20% less effective against Bai Zemin; even Eternal Phoenix was no exception!
Of course, unless Bai Zemin had 100% Fire Resistance, Eternal Phoenix could kill him with a spark even if he ignored 20% of the damage.
Still, having Resistance against a particular element was very, very rare.
Then, how rare were the skills? Bai Zemin wasn't sure, but he was definitely confident that probably less than 0.01% of all life in the universe had one.
[Poison Resistance (Fifth Order Passive Skill) level 1: This skill passively grants 40% Resistance against any poison below Rank 6 at all times. Poisons above Rank 6 are 10% less effective than normal against the subject].
'A simple and concise explanation. I like it.' Bai Zemin smiled slightly despite feeling considerably exasperated.
Although he had only been standing seemingly without doing anything to justify his exhaustion, the internal battle he fought against the Flesh Devouring Poison was as fierce as his battle against any other powerful enemy fought so far.
A single mistake would have led him straight to the gates of hell, where King Yama would probably be gladly waiting to welcome him into his realm of the dead.
'Still, this Poison Resistance skill is probably the easiest Resistance-type skill to obtain.'
Resistance-type skills were a mystery probably on the same level as Manipulation-type skills, if not a much higher mystery. After all, Resisting a universal law was no less of a mystery than being able to Manipulate said law.
But how could a living being gain Resistance against a law? The answer was as simple yet difficult.
By forcibly withstanding such a high lethality poison, Bai Zemin's blood had immediately produced antibodies such that poisons of that leve would no longer be deadly to him; similar to a vaccine.
Of course, mana and magical power had boosted that effect so that the skill Poison Resistance was born to build a new record in his soul.
However, what about Resistance to Lightning or other elements?
Bai Zemin certainly had no interest in walking into a volcano or a hell of flames to obtain higher Fire Resistance.
"I..."
"Mm?"
Bai Zemin looked down in astonishment.
He had been lost in thought and analysis for longer than he intended, apparently.
Wu Yijun's beautiful innocent face had a faint layer of blush on her cheeks as her tear moistened eyes looked up at him somewhat evasively, "I think we need to move..."
Even her voice sounded innocent and harmless.
'Really... this little succubus.' Bai Zemin had to use a good deal of his willpower to suppress the desire to tease the little beauty in his embrace.
The funniest thing was that Wu Yijun herself probably had no idea that her innocent personality and movements were this fatal!
"Sorry, I got lost in my own world." He released her and while looking around the area began to speak calmly, "We should first explore the buildings in this area. From there and depending on what we find, if we find anything at all, we should be able to judge how high the odds are of getting our hands on an item of value. If we don't find anything then we might as well just go find the others as soon as possible."
While Wu Yijun felt like slapping herself for stupidly interrupting the closest moment the two of them had shared so far, Bai Zemin had gone into Leader mode once again.
Now that Wu Yijun was with him he didn't have to worry so much, as Shangguan Bing Xue had enough strength to take care of herself even if she encountered an enemy like Corruption Demon Shun.
Even Xian Mei'er should be able to protect herself for a while. She was a genius capable of skipping levels to fight after all, and with her level being 187 she should be able to fight any soul evolver below level 300.
As for Elanora...
She and Bai Zemin weren't that close, but he still cared for her a bit anyway. At the end of the day, her special skill to read minds was a unique rarity that quite possibly only she possessed in the entire cosmos.
Soon, Bai Zemin led Wu Yijun to one of the nearest buildings; a two-story house that despite looking normal in Hero City would easily be labeled as a luxury home outside regardless of what part of the world.
"Uh... There really is furniture here." Wu Yijun was surprised as she didn't expect to find this kind of thing.
The furniture was normal, nothing too strange apart from the extremely pure mana circulating within the wood. However, each and every one of them would probably be worth at least a hundred thousand American dollars in the previous world just for their luxurious appearance.
"Pans, pots, silverware, dishes..."
"This looks like one of the bedrooms..."
"Wah! Bai Zemin, can we take this bed? It reminds me of Queen Isabela's royal bed!"
"Ah? You mean that old thing that won't die?"
"She did pass away..."
"... I'd say may she rest in peace and may God have her in his glory were it not for the fact that her soul probably disintegrated into nothingness to join the records of Earth."
"You're so mean..."
"Anyway, leave that bed first. We'll probably find better things."
"Okay!"
Five minutes later, Bai Zemin pulled Wu Yijun out of that house and headed straight for the tallest building in his range of vision.
Although Bai Zemin made Wu Yijun leave the bed behind, he himself took several pans, pots, and all kinds of kitchen utensils.
This was because even a simple frying pan was a Rank 1 item that, while not particularly useful in combat, had properties that would definitely make anyone with the Cooking skill interested in such activity drool.
Bai Zemin was taking them as a gift for his mother who loved to cook.
Now that Ye Linger's level was over 200 by a good margin after absorbing the pearl with Thao Zhi's records, Bai Zemin wouldn't have to constantly worry about her safety. As long as a talented Third Order soul evolver or a Fourth Order soul evolver did not appear, only Ye Linger's overwhelming stats would be enough to give her security.
Approximately five or six minutes later, Bai Zemin and Wu Yijun entered a building that appeared to have approximately 15 floors in total.
Fortunately, Bai Zemin's concerns did not come true.
"It seems that this building was not used as a hotel or any other type of accommodation." Wu Yijun walked up to the counter about 15 meters from the front entrance and skimmed through some sheets that were there. After a few seconds, she exclaimed with great delight, "Looks like we hit the jackpot this time!"
Actually, Bai Zemin was more amazed by the fact that those sheets of paper that were surely billions of years old were there without a speck of dust or damage despite their age.
When he picked up another of the sheets of paper, however, his eyes twinkled.
For the next 10 minutes, Bai Zemin seemed to turn into a stone statue as he perused the more than 50 sheets of paper on the counter.
"Zemin, look at this!"
Bai Zemin put down the sheet of paper that had the recipe for creating a Rank 1 armor with sufficient capabilities to compare to a Rank 2 armor and advanced with large steps towards Wu Yijun.
"... What's the matter?" he asked, puzzled.
Wu Yijun was just showing him a wall and that was it.
Was a white wall really that attractive?
At his inquisitive eyes, she smiled like a little fox who managed to steal the roast chicken from a group of furtive hunters.
"You don't find anything strange about this place? Look around a bit."
Bai Zemin did as she told him and, in less than 5 seconds, he noticed something that effectively confused him greatly.
"What on earth...? What kind of ghost building is this!"
Throughout the reception room where there was a desk, four large leather armchairs and a small glass table with soldiers' magazines located in the center, a small green plant in the corner... There was only the entrance/exit.
There was nothing else.
"No stairs or elevators... not even hallways? How are we supposed to get to the upper floors?" Bai Zemin was really confused, "Don't tell me the people who lived in this place broke the windows or walls every time they wanted to go to another floor?"
"Hehe... You really are funny." Wu Yijun let out an amused chuckle as she raised her left hand, showing a sort of blue-colored sphere made of crystal.
"That's...?" Bai Zemin noticed that beyond the crystal, there were tiny specks of yellow dancing amidst the deep blue.
Wu Yijun did not answer his question with words but with actions.
She turned gracefully, leaving him with the view of her slender, wonderful back partially covered by her long black hair.
Bai Zemin silently watched Wu Yijun putting her hand on the white wall, and soon, he felt the mana in her starting to flow.
A few seconds later, a flash of almost translucent blue light covered the entire wall and the next instant a small fist-sized hole was revealed.
Bai Zemin's eyes flashed with astonishment as he saw Wu Yijun putting that sphere, or rather, the nucleus, into the hole.
Rumble...
Perhaps it was because it had been countless years since someone had used this mechanism but, the entire building shook slightly as the wall slowly opened, revealing a corridor properly lit by magic chandeliers.
At the end of the corridor, there was an elevator whose doors were open, as if waiting for the next guest.
Wu Yijun turned and faced him with a big smile, "How is it?"
She looked like a little kitten waiting for praise after doing something good.
Bai Zemin stroked her head, feeling a little strange as this gesture he usually only shared with little kids like Luo Ning, Xiao Xiao, Xiang Feng, Bai Shilin, the Wen twins, or even Kali.
However, he soon dismissed those thoughts and asked in confusion, "Yijun, how did you discover all this...?"
Besides, she did it in such a short time!
Wu Yijun narrowed her eyes enjoying the warmth of his palm on her head and thrust out her already prominent bosom as she proudly announced about herself, "It was all thanks to that little girl. Looks like they were all able to stay alive thanks to the mana machine somewhere in Hero City."
"That little girl?"
Bai Zemin looked to where Wu Yijun was pointing and almost fell to the ground when he saw the little green plant waving one of its branches as if it was saying hello.
"All of them have been living practically since Hero City was built so they know a lot of secrets... And I, who have the fragment of the World Tree Heart, can communicate with all the plants in Hero City to know the secrets of this place!"
Bai Zemin looked at Wu Yijun, and after several seconds, he couldn't help but mumble his true feelings.
"You are a great treasure aren't you, little Yijun?"
Among the non-traceable statistics, i.e. those records that were deeply intermingled in the soul of every living being included resistances, defenses, vital power, etc.
In fact, as time went on Bai Zemin realized more and more that the traceable statistics, i.e. Magic, Mana, Strength, Agility, Health, Stamina... These six statistics were nothing more than a summary of the soul of each living being.
What about Resistance, for example? These were incredibly difficult to get, and there were practically no living beings that had them.
To say that among the countless billions of lives in the universe only 1% had any Resistance against any particular element would not be too much of an exaggeration, and although that 1% was a large number it was still insignificant in comparison to the other 99%.
Bai Zemin, for example, was a rarity whose Fire Resistance exceeded 20% not only thanks to his Soul Contract with the Endless Blue Lotus Flame but his Blacksmithing skill also helped a bit.
Having 20% in any Resistance was insane, to say the least.
20% represented 1/5th of the other party's power when it came to that element, and if Feng Tian Wu was taken as an example, the power of her flames would be 20% less effective against Bai Zemin; even Eternal Phoenix was no exception!
Of course, unless Bai Zemin had 100% Fire Resistance, Eternal Phoenix could kill him with a spark even if he ignored 20% of the damage.
Still, having Resistance against a particular element was very, very rare.
Then, how rare were the skills? Bai Zemin wasn't sure, but he was definitely confident that probably less than 0.01% of all life in the universe had one.
[Poison Resistance (Fifth Order Passive Skill) level 1: This skill passively grants 40% Resistance against any poison below Rank 6 at all times. Poisons above Rank 6 are 10% less effective than normal against the subject].
'A simple and concise explanation. I like it.' Bai Zemin smiled slightly despite feeling considerably exasperated.
Although he had only been standing seemingly without doing anything to justify his exhaustion, the internal battle he fought against the Flesh Devouring Poison was as fierce as his battle against any other powerful enemy fought so far.
A single mistake would have led him straight to the gates of hell, where King Yama would probably be gladly waiting to welcome him into his realm of the dead.
'Still, this Poison Resistance skill is probably the easiest Resistance-type skill to obtain.'
Resistance-type skills were a mystery probably on the same level as Manipulation-type skills, if not a much higher mystery. After all, Resisting a universal law was no less of a mystery than being able to Manipulate said law.
But how could a living being gain Resistance against a law? The answer was as simple yet difficult.
By forcibly withstanding such a high lethality poison, Bai Zemin's blood had immediately produced antibodies such that poisons of that leve would no longer be deadly to him; similar to a vaccine.
Of course, mana and magical power had boosted that effect so that the skill Poison Resistance was born to build a new record in his soul.
However, what about Resistance to Lightning or other elements?
Bai Zemin certainly had no interest in walking into a volcano or a hell of flames to obtain higher Fire Resistance.
"I..."
"Mm?"
Bai Zemin looked down in astonishment.
He had been lost in thought and analysis for longer than he intended, apparently.
Wu Yijun's beautiful innocent face had a faint layer of blush on her cheeks as her tear moistened eyes looked up at him somewhat evasively, "I think we need to move..."
Even her voice sounded innocent and harmless.
'Really... this little succubus.' Bai Zemin had to use a good deal of his willpower to suppress the desire to tease the little beauty in his embrace.
The funniest thing was that Wu Yijun herself probably had no idea that her innocent personality and movements were this fatal!
"Sorry, I got lost in my own world." He released her and while looking around the area began to speak calmly, "We should first explore the buildings in this area. From there and depending on what we find, if we find anything at all, we should be able to judge how high the odds are of getting our hands on an item of value. If we don't find anything then we might as well just go find the others as soon as possible."
While Wu Yijun felt like slapping herself for stupidly interrupting the closest moment the two of them had shared so far, Bai Zemin had gone into Leader mode once again.
Now that Wu Yijun was with him he didn't have to worry so much, as Shangguan Bing Xue had enough strength to take care of herself even if she encountered an enemy like Corruption Demon Shun.
Even Xian Mei'er should be able to protect herself for a while. She was a genius capable of skipping levels to fight after all, and with her level being 187 she should be able to fight any soul evolver below level 300.
As for Elanora...
She and Bai Zemin weren't that close, but he still cared for her a bit anyway. At the end of the day, her special skill to read minds was a unique rarity that quite possibly only she possessed in the entire cosmos.
Soon, Bai Zemin led Wu Yijun to one of the nearest buildings; a two-story house that despite looking normal in Hero City would easily be labeled as a luxury home outside regardless of what part of the world.
"Uh... There really is furniture here." Wu Yijun was surprised as she didn't expect to find this kind of thing.
The furniture was normal, nothing too strange apart from the extremely pure mana circulating within the wood. However, each and every one of them would probably be worth at least a hundred thousand American dollars in the previous world just for their luxurious appearance.
"Pans, pots, silverware, dishes..."
"This looks like one of the bedrooms..."
"Wah! Bai Zemin, can we take this bed? It reminds me of Queen Isabela's royal bed!"
"Ah? You mean that old thing that won't die?"
"She did pass away..."
"... I'd say may she rest in peace and may God have her in his glory were it not for the fact that her soul probably disintegrated into nothingness to join the records of Earth."
"You're so mean..."
"Anyway, leave that bed first. We'll probably find better things."
"Okay!"
Five minutes later, Bai Zemin pulled Wu Yijun out of that house and headed straight for the tallest building in his range of vision.
Although Bai Zemin made Wu Yijun leave the bed behind, he himself took several pans, pots, and all kinds of kitchen utensils.
This was because even a simple frying pan was a Rank 1 item that, while not particularly useful in combat, had properties that would definitely make anyone with the Cooking skill interested in such activity drool.
Bai Zemin was taking them as a gift for his mother who loved to cook.
Now that Ye Linger's level was over 200 by a good margin after absorbing the pearl with Thao Zhi's records, Bai Zemin wouldn't have to constantly worry about her safety. As long as a talented Third Order soul evolver or a Fourth Order soul evolver did not appear, only Ye Linger's overwhelming stats would be enough to give her security.
Approximately five or six minutes later, Bai Zemin and Wu Yijun entered a building that appeared to have approximately 15 floors in total.
Fortunately, Bai Zemin's concerns did not come true.
"It seems that this building was not used as a hotel or any other type of accommodation." Wu Yijun walked up to the counter about 15 meters from the front entrance and skimmed through some sheets that were there. After a few seconds, she exclaimed with great delight, "Looks like we hit the jackpot this time!"
Actually, Bai Zemin was more amazed by the fact that those sheets of paper that were surely billions of years old were there without a speck of dust or damage despite their age.
When he picked up another of the sheets of paper, however, his eyes twinkled.
For the next 10 minutes, Bai Zemin seemed to turn into a stone statue as he perused the more than 50 sheets of paper on the counter.
"Zemin, look at this!"
Bai Zemin put down the sheet of paper that had the recipe for creating a Rank 1 armor with sufficient capabilities to compare to a Rank 2 armor and advanced with large steps towards Wu Yijun.
"... What's the matter?" he asked, puzzled.
Wu Yijun was just showing him a wall and that was it.
Was a white wall really that attractive?
At his inquisitive eyes, she smiled like a little fox who managed to steal the roast chicken from a group of furtive hunters.
"You don't find anything strange about this place? Look around a bit."
Bai Zemin did as she told him and, in less than 5 seconds, he noticed something that effectively confused him greatly.
"What on earth...? What kind of ghost building is this!"
Throughout the reception room where there was a desk, four large leather armchairs and a small glass table with soldiers' magazines located in the center, a small green plant in the corner... There was only the entrance/exit.
There was nothing else.
"No stairs or elevators... not even hallways? How are we supposed to get to the upper floors?" Bai Zemin was really confused, "Don't tell me the people who lived in this place broke the windows or walls every time they wanted to go to another floor?"
"Hehe... You really are funny." Wu Yijun let out an amused chuckle as she raised her left hand, showing a sort of blue-colored sphere made of crystal.
"That's...?" Bai Zemin noticed that beyond the crystal, there were tiny specks of yellow dancing amidst the deep blue.
Wu Yijun did not answer his question with words but with actions.
She turned gracefully, leaving him with the view of her slender, wonderful back partially covered by her long black hair.
Bai Zemin silently watched Wu Yijun putting her hand on the white wall, and soon, he felt the mana in her starting to flow.
A few seconds later, a flash of almost translucent blue light covered the entire wall and the next instant a small fist-sized hole was revealed.
Bai Zemin's eyes flashed with astonishment as he saw Wu Yijun putting that sphere, or rather, the nucleus, into the hole.
Rumble...
Perhaps it was because it had been countless years since someone had used this mechanism but, the entire building shook slightly as the wall slowly opened, revealing a corridor properly lit by magic chandeliers.
At the end of the corridor, there was an elevator whose doors were open, as if waiting for the next guest.
Wu Yijun turned and faced him with a big smile, "How is it?"
She looked like a little kitten waiting for praise after doing something good.
Bai Zemin stroked her head, feeling a little strange as this gesture he usually only shared with little kids like Luo Ning, Xiao Xiao, Xiang Feng, Bai Shilin, the Wen twins, or even Kali.
However, he soon dismissed those thoughts and asked in confusion, "Yijun, how did you discover all this...?"
Besides, she did it in such a short time!
Wu Yijun narrowed her eyes enjoying the warmth of his palm on her head and thrust out her already prominent bosom as she proudly announced about herself, "It was all thanks to that little girl. Looks like they were all able to stay alive thanks to the mana machine somewhere in Hero City."
"That little girl?"
Bai Zemin looked to where Wu Yijun was pointing and almost fell to the ground when he saw the little green plant waving one of its branches as if it was saying hello.
"All of them have been living practically since Hero City was built so they know a lot of secrets... And I, who have the fragment of the World Tree Heart, can communicate with all the plants in Hero City to know the secrets of this place!"
Bai Zemin looked at Wu Yijun, and after several seconds, he couldn't help but mumble his true feelings.
"You are a great treasure aren't you, little Yijun?"
