Once Geng Muquan was restrained, he was quickly tormented by a host of afflictions.
However, compared to the natives of the Sacred Artifact World, Geng Muquan possessed greater resistance due to his formidable individual power.
The gunpowder used was essentially a highly toxic chemical, but his enhanced immune system gave him greater resistance against the mutated strains.
This resistance allowed him to survive longer inside the Mad Cathedral.
Fortunately, the AI managed to extract some intelligence from Geng Muquan through interrogation.
Perhaps because the survivors were newcomers, not yet hardened by war, interrogation tactics were still effective.
Things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly with a native of the Sacred Artifact World—unless they were as unlucky as Harrington, who had been subjected to an intelligence-lowering effect.
After some work, Qi Suian obtained the first six levels of the *Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill* and a portion of the black and white gunpowder.
He did manage to extract other intelligence, but it was all related to the Dragon Whale Sect’s strategy against the Eternal United States and the Xuan Empire—and only a fraction of it at that.
’This habit of hoarding techniques for themselves is disgusting!’ Qi Suian grumbled.
The *Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill* had thirteen levels, split into five parts. The first twelve levels corresponded to four ranks: Miscellaneous Tasks, Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and True Disciple.
The final level was a Secret Technique, not to be taught to anyone without great merit.
The Dragon Whale Sect’s other Quenching Method, the Cloud Dragon Celestial Patrol Skill, was the same—both were incomplete versions.
As for the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill? Only the Sect Leader of the Dragon Whale Sect could cultivate it. It was impossible for anyone else.
This was just the monopoly on Quenching Methods. The black and white gunpowder was also divided into four grades, each corresponding to a set of three levels of the cultivation methods.
Despite this strict system, there were still paths for advancement.
Talent. If you were a genius, you could receive unconventional promotions.
The downside was also obvious: you’d easily become a target of jealousy.
The Dragon Whale Sect was bound by strict rules, and its benefits were already carved up.
Your unconventional promotion would infringe upon the interests of others. And since everyone possessed Extraordinary power, killing intent would naturally follow.
This made you an easy target. Fortunately, this problem had been significantly mitigated since their arrival in the Sacred Artifact World.
More often than not, the Dragon Whale Sect stood united against external threats. After all, with such immense outside pressure, internal conflicts naturally subsided.
After looking over the first six levels of the *Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill*, Qi Suian immediately determined that it was impossible for him to cultivate it.
Then he turned his attention to the black and white gunpowder.
’I can’t use this either. The fourth batch of survivors can cultivate and become stronger with it because of their evolved, different human body structure.’
’But as for the principles... I’ve certainly gained a lot of insight.’ Qi Suian was dissecting Geng Muquan’s corpse.
He was indeed tough, but that didn’t mean he could hold on forever.
’Spirit and Intent... in essence, they represent development on a spiritual level.’
’They stimulate their bodies with toxic chemicals to evolve their brains. An analogy would be Martial Dao Will.’
’But compared to the esoteric Martial Dao Will, Divine Intent is actually an externalized application of Spiritual Power after the brain has evolved.’
’In terms of universality, it is far more useful than Martial Dao Will, and has higher development potential. However, Martial Dao Will needs to be coordinated with Ancient Martial Techniques, so they each have their own merits.’
In Ancient Martial Technique, Martial Dao Will is more of a derivative ability, whereas Divine Intent is the core ability of the Quenching Method.
Physical growth was also straightforward. The body was used to enhance the Spirit, and during this process, the Spirit would, in turn, protect the body.
Thus, the two attributes of physique and Spirit achieved balance.
So while they cultivated their Spirit, it also drove their physical growth, leaving the Cultivators without any shortcomings.
’And for me, the biggest problem is that I can’t use the Quenching Method, this targeted evolution program, and the external stimulant, the black and white gunpowder, to make my Spirit produce a similar externalization ability.’
Qi Suian quickly saw the essence of it. Having experienced Extraordinary systems like Ancient Martial Technique, cold energy, and fire seeds, he had a sense that understanding one opened the door to understanding them all.
Even if these few Extraordinary systems were inferior to the Divine Intent system in terms of their upper limits.
For Qi Suian, however, what mattered wasn’t the unique ability to project his Spirit as a Divine Intent phenomenon, but its function of helping him break his limits and obtain higher attributes.
Attributes might just be an accessory in the eyes of the fourth batch of survivors, but for Qi Suian, they represented his upper limit.
Only by raising his upper limit could he possess a stronger learning ability and more efficient research capabilities.
"You have to be strong to forge strong iron." That principle was timeless.
As for combat power, to put it bluntly, once his silos and intercontinental missiles were built, he could have as much combat power as he wanted.
If it was just about fighting and killing, Qi Suian could completely replace all the modules on the Tai Sui God with combat-type modules, such as weapons, shields, and other related modules.
But one couldn’t get far without learning and thinking.
Especially as an "Abyssal Human," Qi Suian’s potential, both high and low, was far inferior to the natives of the Doomsday Worlds and the survivors of the doomsday games he had encountered.
If all he knew was how to fight, the Tai Sui God would sooner or later be unable to protect him.
His goal was simple: for the enemy to dismantle the Tai Sui God only to discover that Qi Suian, the pilot, was even more formidable than the Tai Sui God itself.
Then, with one huge slap, he’d spin the enemy’s head a full 360 degrees.
It was just a shame the "Eternal Beloved" series had gone awry. Otherwise, Qi Suian would have had another path: directly merging with the Tai Sui God to obtain its four special traits and numerous modules.
That would have been a shortcut straight to the top, bringing the difficulty down in an instant.
’Fortunately, the focus is on the Spirit and doesn’t involve the physical body, so I don’t need to make too many major changes.’
’I just need to find the "targeted evolution program" and the source of the physical stimulation, and the rest won’t be a big problem.’
’So, I need the Dragon Whale Sect’s Quenching Methods and its disciples.’
The former would naturally be for research and reference, the latter for experiments.
He needed to understand how the Quenching Method used external substances to stimulate and guide targeted evolution and enhance Spiritual Power. He also needed to understand the principles behind this externally stimulated, targeted evolution, and the operational logic of how it influenced the Spirit through the physical body.
This meant he would need a large number of test subjects.
But the real problem wasn’t the Dragon Whale Sect disciples, but the Quenching Methods that Qi Suian needed.
From the looks of it, the fourth batch of survivors were all under the jurisdiction of the Dragon Whale Sect. The best Quenching Methods he could obtain were the Cloud Dragon Celestial Patrol Skill, the *Giant Whale Ocean Hegemony Skill*, and the Dragon Whale World Suppression Skill.
To get his hands on them, he would have to make a move on the Sect Leader of the Dragon Whale Sect.
But the problem was... Qi Suian wasn’t confident he could get them.
He was confident he could kill the Sect Leader of the Dragon Whale Sect, but it was unrealistic to think he could just take the Quenching Methods from him.
Setting aside his unfinished silos and intercontinental missiles, he could still use his Floating Cannons, anti-ballistic missile defense system, and high-speed, multi-dimensional interception technology to assassinate his target.
If it came to a head-on confrontation, he was indeed no match.
Let’s put it this way, without these two modules, it would have been difficult to even kill Sharp. His Elemental Chalice puzzle Sacred Object was just too powerful.
As for Geng Muquan? He foolishly stumbled into the Mad Cathedral on his own, and his Divine Intent was inferior to the Elemental Chalice in every way.
Although their overall strength was similar, if they actually fought, Sharp could have used the Elemental Chalice to toy with Geng Muquan until he was dead.
Besides the difference in equipment, Geng Muquan was also too young.
If he had launched a sneak attack right from the start, Qi Suian might not have been able to react in time to stuff him into the Mad Cathedral.
Survivors have their advantages, and natives have their strengths.
Furthermore, Qi Suian also felt that the strength of the Dragon Whale Sect’s Sect Leader was not to be underestimated.
It was precisely because of his power that the survivors were able to gain a foothold.
Without a sufficiently powerful expert holding down the fort, the survivors most likely wouldn’t have lived this long.
This Sect Leader of the Dragon Whale Sect had very likely already crossed hands with the King of the Eternal United States and the Emperor of the Xuan Empire.
The two of them acknowledged the strength of the Dragon Whale Sect’s Sect Leader, which led the war to a stalemate.
’It’s a pity I really can’t get away.’ Qi Suian’s gaze fell on the missile silos and intercontinental missiles that were under construction.
It was too dangerous outside. Without these things to protect him, he worried he’d die on the way before he even reached Longjing City where the survivors were.
The Divine Intent system was all about dragons and whales, or lower-tier Divine Intents like snakes and carp.
Sacred Artifacts were different. On their home turf, they could produce extremely bizarre effects.
Don’t be fooled by how easily he seemed to be killing his way through; he’d run into plenty of tough nuts to crack.
-----------------
"Judging people by their status... Despicable!" Nalan You cursed after being stonewalled several times.
The classmates from wealthy backgrounds had greeted him warmly enough, but as soon as he brought up his idea, they all suddenly had this or that excuse.
Their words sounded nice, but Nalan You could feel the cold indifference that kept him at arm’s length.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a total loss. There were still people willing to go with him.
It was just that their strength was considerably weaker, and the Sacred Artifacts they possessed were of a lower grade.
’But it’s fine. I have a Forbidden Sacred Object. I still have a chance.’ A cold glint flashed in Nalan You’s eyes.
The so-called Forbidden Sacred Objects were puzzle Sacred Objects assembled from Sacred Objects of the same series.
From the outside, you couldn’t tell the difference.
This was a secret he had overheard back in Duke Feng’s Mansion.
But there were two problems with assembling a same-series Sacred Object. First, you needed to possess multiple Sacred Objects from the same series, which was heavily dependent on luck.
Second, you needed the discernment to identify whether the original Sacred Artifacts belonged to the same series to be assembled. This relied on a keen eye.
Coincidentally, Nalan You had both, which is how he succeeded.
’The Destiny Spear, a Forbidden Sacred Object that can slay the fate of all things... Unfortunately, I’ve only managed to collect three of the original Sacred Artifacts so far.’
’If I had more, I’d dare to go kill that so-called Iron Armor Man by myself.’