"Since you’re here, stop skulking around."
A voice suddenly sounded in Geng Muquan’s ear. He was startled for a moment before quickly composing himself.
He hadn’t expected the other party to be able to transmit their voice to him so silently.
’It must be some kind of sacred artifact, item, or piece of equipment.’ Geng Muquan had never encountered modern technology.
His world had a semi-feudal social structure, and its technology was undeveloped.
Then, he saw the rumored Iron Armor Man.
The man appeared to be constructing some kind of building that Geng Muquan couldn’t comprehend.
"Geng Muquan, Outer Sect Chief Disciple of the Dragon Whale Sect," Geng Muquan said, cupping his fist in greeting.
Qi Suian’s expression froze when he heard this. ’What the hell was that?’
"I belong to no sect or school. Just a Loose Cultivator. My name is unimportant," Qi Suian said, not intending to reveal it.
’What if he learns my name and uses some powerful puzzle-piece sacred artifact to curse me directly? You can’t be too careful when you’re out and about.’
As for the heart to harm others, Qi Suian had always possessed one. He was as black-hearted as they come.
"You’re not from the Donglin Wu Kingdom, are you? You’re a survivor from the last batch," Geng Muquan said without hesitation, exposing Qi Suian’s identity.
Qi Suian couldn’t care less. The first, second, and third batches of survivors didn’t even need to guess. With the "Permanent Event: Violator" and the one-kilometer warning, they could immediately know his official status.
Geng Muquan, however, was only guessing. He didn’t know Qi Suian’s full identity, only that he was a survivor.
"That’s right. I’m a survivor from the last batch," Qi Suian said, playing along.
’The fourth batch of survivors seems to have misjudged the difficulty of this Doomsday Game.’
"That’s wonderful! The Dragon Whale Sect sincerely invites you to join us."
"If you’re willing, you can become the Outer Sect Chief Steward of the Dragon Whale Sect and a first-class dignitary of Longjing City. We can provide you with..." Geng Muquan’s face lit up with joy as he spoke hurriedly.
Only after the other man had finished listing the benefits did Qi Suian speak up.
"So... what’s the difference between the Dragon Whale Sect and Longjing City?" Qi Suian asked.
"The Dragon Whale Sect is a martial arts school that governs all of Longjing City. So its disciples, Stewards, Elders, and so on are similar to the officials of the Xuan Empire," Geng Muquan explained.
After grasping this, Qi Suian asked, "So what kind of system do you use? How is it powerful enough to contend with sacred artifacts?"
"’Gunpowder, of course," Geng Muquan said proudly. "Black powder refines the Spirit, white powder refines the Intent. When Spirit and Intent unite, one can manifest celestial phenomena."
Geng Muquan then proceeded to explain this so-called gunpowder system to Qi Suian.
To be honest, it was a bit of a shock to Qi Suian’s worldview.
’He knew what gunpowder was, but wasn’t it a raw material for things like bullets and explosives? How could it be used to refine one’s Spirit and Intent?’
’Black powder, fine, but what the hell was white powder? Gunpowder didn’t come in that color.’
As Geng Muquan continued his explanation, Qi Suian finally began to understand.
It was actually a stimulating, highly toxic chemical substance. By ingesting trace amounts, it stimulated the body and Spirit, and then through a Quenching Method, the toxins were converted into a unique power called "Combustion Qi."
’Qi Suian really wanted to make a sarcastic comment about that. It’s a good thing their science was underdeveloped; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hear the term "gas" without thinking of something else.’
Of course, that was just the short name. The full name was "Internal Combustion Qi."
Its effects were simple and brutal: immense destructive power and the bestowal of a powerful Divine Intent.
Once a battle began, as long as their vital spots weren’t hit, they would continue fighting no matter how grievous their injuries.
And the Dragon Whale Sect’s Quenching Method was considered a top-tier one even in the survivors’ original world.
Qi Suian stroked his chin, pondering something. ’Could it be that the world the Dragon Whale Sect comes from has even more powerful beings?’
’Perhaps the Doomsday Game couldn’t pull everyone over as survivors, which is why it only took an entire city.’
The thought flashed through his mind and was just as quickly dismissed. Instead, he asked about something that concerned him more.
"In your Dragon Whale Sect, do you have any junior martial brothers who have obviously mediocre talent but progress with incredible speed?"
"Or a top prodigy who can fight opponents far beyond their own level?"
"Or maybe someone who had a sudden change in personality, like a prodigal son returning to the righteous path?"
"Or it could be..."
Qi Suian listed several classic protagonist tropes, hoping to get a lead on the "protagonist" among the survivors from Geng Muquan.
As for finding the protagonist among the natives, he had no good leads.
Besides, the combined population of the Eternal United States and the Xuan Empire was massive. Given Qi Suian’s methods, he could only rely on luck.
Geng Muquan looked a little confused by Qi Suian’s questions. ’Why are you asking about this stuff?’
"Well... I can’t say I’ve paid much attention to that sort of thing."
"However, if you’re willing to join our Dragon Whale Sect, you can investigate for yourself as the Outer Sect Chief Steward." Geng Muquan was, after all, the Outer Sect Chief Disciple.
He spent his days either fighting or on his way to a fight. A rare trip out like this to find someone was an exception. He had no time to pay attention to such gossip.
"Joining is out of the question, but we can make a trade."
"I need the black and white gunpowder and the Quenching Method. You can name your price," Qi Suian said, planning to get his hands on the items first.
’Then he’d just go back on his word. He had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain.’
’He wasn’t a good person, so why would he ever keep a promise?’
Besides, it was only a matter of time before he had a complete falling out with these survivors anyway.
Geng Muquan frowned. He wasn’t interested in some trade. His orders from the Dragon Whale Sect were to bring the man back.
Especially now that he’d confirmed the man was a survivor from the last batch. The orders were to bring him back alive.
"That’s certainly possible, but only if you join the Dragon Whale Sect."
"The sect can teach you the Cloud Dragon Celestial Patrol Skill and the Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill. Of these two Quenching Methods, one excels at refining the Spirit, and the other at refining the Intent."
"We can even provide you with high-quality black and white gunpowder for your quenching. With these two secret arts, you could definitely become the Inner Sect Chief in the shortest possible time."
"If you perform meritorious deeds in the future, it’s not impossible that you’ll be taught the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill." Geng Muquan wasn’t just making empty promises.
Everything except the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill could be given to Qi Suian, as long as he was willing to reveal all the secrets of the Doomsday Game and the Doomsday World after joining.
The offer was, in fact, incredibly generous.
Yet Qi Suian shook his head. "The Dragon Whale Sect is indeed sincere, but I refuse."
"We are not on the same path. A temporary partnership is possible, but if I truly joined you, it would be a bad thing for both of us."
Qi Suian’s tone was resolute.
Geng Muquan’s expression turned ugly. He had laid out such a generous offer—an offer that would be considered exceptional in Longjing City.
But Qi Suian was refusing to do this the easy way.
"It seems dealing with those losers from the Eternal United States and the Xuan Empire, who only know how to rely on external items, has made you think our Dragon Whale Sect is also a pushover."
"Today, you’re coming with me whether you like it or not."
"You’ve squandered the goodwill of the Dragon Whale Sect. Now you’ll just have to be our prisoner." Geng Muquan had little patience.
He felt he had said all he needed to. Since Qi Suian still refused, force was the only option.
"Don’t think you’re invincible just because you’re wearing a suit of iron."
"Today, I’ll break all your limbs and drag you back to the Dragon Whale Sect."
The moment the words left his mouth, Geng Muquan attacked.
A phantom image of a giant whale materialized around him. This was the Divine Intent formed from his Internal Combustion Qi, stimulated by the gunpowder.
The Quenching Method Geng Muquan cultivated was, of course, the Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill.
In addition to being good at refining the Spirit, it also strengthened the physique.
Refining the Spirit enhances the strength of the Divine Intent, while refining the Intent enhances its size.
As for the physique, it determined the Divine Intent’s endurance.
’So, they call it a gunpowder system, but it’s really more like a Stand system, isn’t it?’
They controlled their Divine Intent to launch powerful attacks.
And it wasn’t necessary to only have one Divine Intent.
Because Geng Muquan only cultivated the Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill, he only possessed the Giant Whale Divine Intent.
There were two paths forward from here. One could simultaneously cultivate the Cloud Dragon Celestial Patrol Skill as a prerequisite for the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill.
Alternatively, one could choose not to cultivate both and instead continue to specialize, transforming the Giant Whale Divine Intent into the Ocean Hegemony Divine Intent.
Of course, it would be far inferior to the World Suppression Divine Intent from the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill.
However, to master the World Suppression Divine Intent, one needed to cultivate both the Celestial Patrol and Ocean Hegemony Divine Intents to an extremely advanced stage.
Those with insufficient talent wouldn’t become stronger; on the contrary, they would be dragged down by the three Quenching Methods.
"’You survivors are far more arrogant than the natives," Qi Suian said with dissatisfaction.
The power Geng Muquan was displaying was no less than that of Sharp, the Chief Judge of the Eternal United States’ secret unit, the Seventh Execution Chamber.
’The survivors may be fewer in number than the natives,’ Qi Suian estimated, ’but their overall strength and high-end combat power are much greater.’
However, the Qi Suian of today was not the same man who had been forced to flee in disgrace after three punches from Sharp.
The Tai Sui God directly blocked the attack. The plague-cursed Mad Cathedral materialized and swallowed Geng Muquan whole.
"Behold, my treasure!"
Only after Geng Muquan was trapped deep within the Mad Cathedral did Qi Suian leisurely shout.
’It was a sneak attack, after all. Who shouts before they attack? You shout afterward, obviously.’
"’Once you’re inside this cathedral, your life and death are out of your hands," Qi Suian said, then instructed his AI, "Find a way to torture the Quenching Method and gunpowder formula out of him."
This task could only be left to the AI; Qi Suian wasn’t skilled in the art of interrogation.
"’Time to start another major overhaul on myself and the Abyssal Virus.’"
"’Oh, and this Quenching Method and gunpowder won’t escape, either. Once they’re in my hands, I bet even the creator of this Extraordinary system wouldn’t recognize the modified version.’"
Qi Suian couldn’t use it directly, of course. He wasn’t from the Divine Intent World. So, if he wanted to grow stronger, he had to study, research, and improve it until it became an Extraordinary system he could use.
But this was a good thing. It meant he could continue to grow stronger.