Sharp’s death was a surprise to the leadership of both the Xuan Empire and the Eternal United States.
What was supposed to be a sure thing had turned into this mess.
Normally, the next step would be to suppress Qi Suian, just as they had the Survivors.
But Qi Suian was different from the Survivors. He was a single person, not a group.
More importantly, Qi Suian had immediately turned around and launched an attack on the Eternal United States. This made the Xuan Empire, which had been preparing to make a move, halt its actions at once.
They were more than happy to watch two of their enemies kill each other rather than get their own hands dirty.
This was also one of Qi Suian’s methods for mitigating the danger. If he remained on the battlefield, he would be attacked by both sides.
So he changed his thinking. Rather than face that, he might as well pick one of them and beat them to death.
In a fight, the biggest taboo is to split your attacks. This is especially true when you’re being ganged up on. Grab the leader and beat the ever-living shit out of them. In the worst-case scenario, you’d at least take one down with you.
Sharp, the Chief Judge of the Seventh Execution Chamber, was from the Eternal United States, so Qi Suian obviously couldn’t choose the Xuan Empire.
Besides, he needed to get some payback and vent his anger.
Thus, his killing spree became increasingly vicious.
He started dropping the Holy Orchestra directly on the border cities of the Eternal United States.
Horrifying plagues broke out one after another.
Although limitations prevented the infected from turning into zombies, the various diseases severely weakened the border defense capabilities of the Eternal United States.
This action, naturally, provoked the fury of the Eternal United States.
But that didn’t matter. They were already furious with him anyway. No matter how much their rage intensified, he’d be the one to bear it; they couldn’t just transfer it to someone else.
Killing Sharp had already made them his mortal enemies. There was no need to consider their life or death.
Later, he fought another battle with them on the border, and his War Zombie was beaten to a pulp.
And just like that, Qi Suian was completely unrestrained.
He used a whole series of tactics: throwing zombies into water sources, driving diseased animals, destroying plant ecosystems, and more.
He played the advantages of his myriad diseases to their fullest extent.
This gave the Xuan Empire and the Survivors a golden opportunity to break through the Eternal United Empire’s defense lines.
Although they couldn’t just march straight in, the enemy still lost a good deal of territory.
"Pah, what a load of crap." Qi Suian cursed as he squatted in a safe place.
His recent killing spree had been smooth sailing, but at the same time, the number of his enemies had continued to grow.
He was starting to see that war was no good. At first glance, it seems to support you, but in reality, it also throws powerful enemies your way.
Qi Suian was lucky. After his killing spree, he could rely on his plot armor to get away scot-free.
Otherwise, if he had gotten any more entangled, he probably would have lost his life.
The reason he went on a rampage along the Eternal United States’ border was, of course, to collect the materials needed for a missile silo.
And War was indeed generous. After witnessing the destructive power of the missile, it not only intensified the pursuit but also unsparingly sent resources Qi Suian’s way.
So he played a trick on War, collecting everything he needed before making a clean getaway.
During this time, he also managed to scoop up a large number of Sacred Artifacts to use as fuel.
Among them were two Sacred Artifacts that left Qi Suian very satisfied. One was from the Eternal Love series.
[Eternal Love: Hand Bracelet of Sea Vow and Mountain Oath]
[Quality: A]
[Trait 1: Hearts in Unison]
[Trait 2: Red Bean Longing]
This Sacred Artifact was a bracelet that could create a psychological suggestion of a telepathic connection between the user and the target.
That’s right, not a true telepathic link, but a psychological suggestion. As this suggestion persisted over time, the target would gradually fall in love with the holder.
On its own, the effect might be of little value, but when combined with the Mutual Aid Necklace, the effect became incredibly powerful.
This perfectly aligned with Qi Suian’s previous idea: a series of Sacred Artifacts that offered both psychological and physiological control.
As for the side effect, if it wasn’t part of a completed puzzle of Sacred Artifacts, the psychological suggestion would backfire and erode the holder.
Over time, ulterior motives would turn into genuine affection.
So, Qi Suian used himself as a test subject and began to study it in depth, making considerable progress with his Spirit.
The other item was named the Crucible of the God of False Faith and Disease.
He had also found another Sacred Artifact from the same False Faith series, called the Sword of the God of Strength.
However, Qi Suian had tossed the latter into the Melting Furnace for fuel, while the former became a module for the Tai Sui God.
In addition to the manufacturing materials, Qi Suian’s rampage—at the cost of the War Zombie—had also yielded a large number of Sacred Artifacts.
This brought the Tai Sui God’s armor value to 92, unlocking an extra module slot.
After installing it, he obtained the final module for the Plague Disease combo set, officially announcing the set’s completion.
[SSS·Plague Disease’s Filthy Cross]
[SSS·Mad Cathedral of Plague Disease (Combo Module)]
The former directly evolved his original Cursed Verses, completely detaching them from plague-related content and turning them into a new, terrifying curse no longer limited to sight and hearing.
From now on, touch, taste, and smell could also carry the terrifying curse formed from the Abyssal Virus.
The latter integrated all six Plague Disease modules into one, transforming his domain into a great cathedral.
It also gained abilities like regeneration and high-speed movement, and its range was expanded.
It also gained the power to imprison enemies, control zombies, and directly absorb and convert Plague Disease as a source of energy.
At the same time, the Priests and nuns within the cathedral were no longer the music-playing puppets they once were; they would now transform into grotesque biochemical monsters.
As for their strength, it depended on Qi Suian’s Abyssal Virus and the Tai Sui God’s evolution level.
So Qi Suian could now use the Plague Disease set as a triple-effect module for attack, control, and summoning.
Because the cathedral was alive. It wouldn’t just stay put after being released; it would run, jump, and eat people.
It was, in essence, a terrifying, living building formed from a swarm of Abyssal Viruses.
After that, the Tai Sui God began handcrafting a missile silo and an ICBM.
What about the Tai Sui God having no more module slots? No problem. The Sacred Artifacts in the Melting Furnace were still burning.
By the time the Tai Sui God finished its work, enough energy for the next evolution would likely have been produced.
Unfortunately, as the Tai Sui God evolved, the combustion efficiency of the Sacred Artifacts grew lower and lower.
However, through his research on the Eternal Love series of Sacred Artifacts, he discovered something important.
It wasn’t that the fuel quality of the Sacred Artifacts was dropping, but that the more Sacred Artifacts he destroyed, the less evolutionary energy he received from them.
This was likely some kind of antibody-like mechanism.
This mechanism didn’t come from Qi Suian, but from the Sacred Artifact World itself.
So, in reality, Sacred Artifacts could still contribute to the progress bar, but the effect would get progressively worse until it vanished completely.
To put it bluntly, he’d been beating up the Sacred Artifact World’s kids, and now Daddy World was pissed and messing with him.
Therefore, to enjoy the original benefits, Qi Suian needed to escape this antibody mechanism.
He then gave up on the idea. It was far easier to use the natives and Survivors as fuel than to try and escape that mechanism.
’Is that something a normal person can even do?’
That would mean confronting the entire world. To put it harshly, even the Destructive Sacred Object that he steered clear of was just one part of the Sacred Artifact World.
’Where does he get the confidence to go head-to-head with a world? Does he have a death wish?’
Because of this, an idea suddenly sprouted in Qi Suian’s mind.
"If I have to have a goal, what do you think about me becoming a world?" Qi Suian asked the AI.
[Your idea is wildly imaginative, but even if you are an Abyssal Virus aggregate and not a person, you are still worlds away from being a world.]
That was the polite way of saying it. The blunt version would be: ’You’re thinking way too much, kid.’
"I can imitate it, starting with the most basic ecosystem."
"The Plague Disease module set gives me this possibility."
"I can use them to expand, creating a basic, microscopic ecosystem." Qi Suian felt the idea had potential.
No matter how powerful an expert was, they still grew up within a world. The so-called laws and esoteric principles were just a part of the world’s operation.
As for experts who could destroy worlds with a single blow? Perhaps they exist, but were they born that strong? They surely couldn’t have done it without the world’s help.
It’s not like someone could be born a powerhouse, or get stronger out of thin air without relying on any of the world’s resources, right?
If that were truly the case, Qi Suian would have nothing to say.
Otherwise, as long as one relied on the world’s power, regardless of the Extraordinary system, threatening the world was just a fool’s dream.
Using the world’s power to fight the world itself was wishful thinking.
It was just like how Qi Suian knew he struggled to break free from the Doomsday Game because he was using a portion of its power.
That was why he constantly strove for independent growth, changing himself and letting his own Extraordinary system gradually swallow the power given to him by the Doomsday Game.
He treated the Doomsday Game as a platform, not a source of power. Only by accumulating his own strength would he have a chance to successfully break free, rather than being forever constrained by it.
[You will need sufficient power and knowledge to realize your idea.]
The AI’s meaning was clear: now is not the time for fantasies. Talk again when you’re stronger.
Qi Suian didn’t argue. It was just a sudden thought. With his current strength, there was indeed no possibility of implementing it.
If you want to become a world, you need a vast amount of knowledge. Otherwise, how would you know how to balance an ecosystem or regulate the climate?
"Yes, it’s just a wildly fanciful idea."
"For now, let’s just build the superweapon. I’m going to use an ICBM to utterly humiliate the Eternal United States and show them what justice is!" Qi Suian suppressed the thought.
[An ICBM can humiliate more than just the Eternal United States. You could even humiliate the Xuan Empire and the Survivor City at the same time.]
[But before that, there is a piece of intelligence that requires your attention.]
[The visitors appear to be from the Xuan Empire. It seems they are preparing to fund you to continue your retaliation against the Eternal United States.]
Qi Suian received the data report from his reconnaissance network, and a smile spread across his face. "Killing with a borrowed knife, huh? Standard procedure."