Li Yao was placed under house arrest, while Wei Jiang was assigned to track the Iron Armor Man’s location.
As for Fan Fengfei, she was engrossed in studying the Celestial Patrol and Sea Domination Skill she had obtained from Qi Suian.
Because Qi Suian chose to wreak havoc in Longjing City, quite a few disciples of the Dragon Whale Sect went missing.
However, this situation didn’t attract much attention. After all, during a time of war, a few deaths were not a big deal.
Until... Wei Jiang was also captured by Qi Suian.
Qi Suian immediately dissected him and began experimenting.
This was mainly because he had been relentlessly tracking Qi Suian, who found him incredibly annoying.
Eventually, luck was on his side, and he caught him in one fell swoop.
Normally, he only captured Outer Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples. Someone of Wei Jiang’s status was a rare catch indeed.
The main reason was that he couldn’t defeat Fan Fengfei, so he planned to provoke them both at the same time later on.
But Wei Jiang was like a persistent pest, leaving Qi Suian with no other choice. He ultimately fell into Qi Suian’s hands.
With the help of the Sect Leader’s eldest disciple, Qi Suian’s research on Divine Intent progressed very quickly.
He soon deciphered the secrets of the Spirit’s directed evolution and also found a substitute for the effects of the black and white gunpowder.
In essence, it was about completing a directed evolution program, and one focused on the Spirit.
There were drawbacks, of course. After all, he wasn’t a "Divine Intent human," so he couldn’t just copy it completely.
His dual attributes could be raised to 9 points, which was Fan Fengfei’s level.
However, his Divine Intent couldn’t achieve the same level of power and flexibility as hers.
This was a special structure that their kind had evolved over hundreds of millions of years. Naturally, Qi Suian couldn’t replicate it perfectly.
Even if he could replicate it, Qi Suian had to consider whether it was worth it.
The reason was simple: humans from every world were different, so their Extraordinary systems were naturally dissimilar.
To achieve the full effect, Qi Suian would need to transform himself into their human race and eliminate any conflicting structures.
But Qi Suian’s previous incarnation was a "Profound Human," so even if the transformation was successful, his potential wouldn’t increase.
The final result would be becoming a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. It was better to follow his own path. Although difficult, at least he could see a higher ceiling.
The process of taking the essence and discarding the dross would make his own Extraordinary system seem inferior to others’, but with gradual accumulation, it would become the most suitable for him.
Of course, this would naturally cause Qi Suian to miss out on some opportunities, like not having to think and just periodically switching Cultivation Techniques.
Whenever he got his hands on one, he could never use it directly; he always had to modify it himself.
’Actually, I’m a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster right now, but that’s fine. When I’ve acquired enough knowledge and become strong enough, then it will be time to unify all my skills.’
’My strength is insufficient for now, so I’ll keep patching things together. As long as I can survive and kill my enemies, that’s enough.’
’Truly making my own Extraordinary system shine is a matter for the future.’
’I’ll use the multiplication tables when they’re needed. I can’t be thinking about solving university-level advanced mathematics while I’m still in elementary school.’
He wasn’t that much of a genius.
Not to mention, his "genius" was essentially artificially created through luck and drugs. He was originally just an unremarkable, ordinary person.
If it weren’t for his protagonist halo, he’d be nothing more than a zombie.
He’d never have achieved his current level of strength.
"I wonder how deep your master’s feelings for you are," Qi Suian said directly as he watched Wei Jiang slowly regain consciousness.
Wei Jiang’s gaze was calm. He had been tracking his opponent; getting caught was not a surprise.
’As for the torture I’ve suffered? It was to be expected. How could an enemy possibly let me go?’
But the question did leave him at a bit of a loss.
"You want to use me as bait?" Wei Jiang’s voice was hoarse.
It was because the wounds from the dissection hadn’t healed yet. Every time he spoke, he was wracked with pain.
"No, I was thinking of trading you for Li Yao. But judging by your response, I guess that’s not going to work," Qi Suian said, his tone laced with regret.
Wei Jiang grew puzzled. "Junior Brother Li... how did he offend you?"
He didn’t understand why Qi Suian was so fixated on Li Yao. The two of them had never even crossed paths.
"Oh, I’ve taken a fancy to his life," Qi Suian said bluntly.
’Whatever secrets he has don’t matter. Killing him is what’s important.’
In fact, Qi Suian had even considered launching an intercontinental ballistic missile to flatten Longjing City.
But according to his AI’s calculations, Fan Fengfei’s Divine Intent had a certain probability of intercepting the missile.
Her Divine Intent couldn’t withstand it directly, but she didn’t just have Divine Intent; she had Sacred Artifacts too.
So, the best method was to find a way to assassinate Li Yao secretly.
If he had Wei Jiang’s cooperation, it would be even better.
It was just that Wei Jiang had betrayed him once before, so Qi Suian didn’t really trust him.
Besides, Qi Suian was thinking of killing him directly to vent his frustration.
"Pah! You’re just coveting Junior Brother Li’s innate talent and opportunities. Why dress it up in such high-sounding words?" Wei Jiang spat out.
He truly couldn’t stand Li Yao, but the guy was his junior brother, after all. He wouldn’t allow outsiders to mess with him.
"You’re wrong about that. I honestly have no such thoughts about killing him for those reasons."
"However, seeing your situation, you have no value and show no inclination to cooperate. I can only send you on your way." Seeing this, Qi Suian had no intention of interrogating him.
’I definitely won’t get anything out of him. I might as well shove him into the Melting Furnace for fuel.’
Wei Jiang stiffened his neck, adopting an attitude of "kill me or torture me, do as you please."
Qi Suian was happy to oblige.
He shoved him directly into the Melting Furnace. To his credit, the man was tough; he didn’t make a single sound.
"Tsk, compared to that Sacred Artifact from before, the difference is huge." Qi Suian checked the estimated evolutionary energy he would get from burning him.
Having grown accustomed to feasting on rich meals, suddenly taking a bite of a small pickle was rather jarring.
’In future Doomsday Worlds, it’ll be hard to find an Extraordinary system as memorable as the one in the Sacred Artifact World.’
He suspected that items containing principles of the world made for excellent fuel.
’Unfortunately, I have no solid proof. I’ll have to wait for a future Doomsday World to verify it.’
Of course, if he could get a reward from the doomsday game, like a Skill Book, item, or something similar, he could try burning it to see.
It was just that such rewards were incredibly rare. He had personally witnessed how stingy the doomsday game was.
Getting a reward from the doomsday game, while not as difficult as ascending to the heavens, was still something only the top-tier survivors had a chance at. Everyone else could forget it.
Then, he turned his gaze to the Ring of Unwavering Loyalty.
’To kill Li Yao, the only method I can think of right now is to lure the tiger away from the mountain.’
’Using you as bait might give me a chance of success.’
The reason it was only a "chance" was because Fan Fengfei might keep Li Yao with her at all times, causing the plan to fail.
’Good thing I can lower her intelligence.’ Faced with this possibility, Qi Suian naturally chose to use his protagonist halo to achieve his goal.
What else could he do? He wasn’t some master strategist, nor was he some guru who understood human nature so well he could make Fan Fengfei leave in three sentences.
’Trying to do this by myself without relying on my protagonist halo is impossible.’
’Trying to win big with a small stake without cheating? Where would I find such a good deal?’
"Protagonist halo, I’m counting on you."
"Hey, that’s right. Can you contact Li Yao’s protagonist halo? Just tell it that Fan Fengfei is going to absorb Li Yao and that it should hurry up and help eliminate this threat."
’For example, by making Fan Fengfei die or having Li Yao successfully escape the Dragon Whale Sect.’ Qi Suian thought for a moment. If Li Yao escaped on his own, and then he lured the tiger away from the mountain...
...it wouldn’t be a foolproof plan, but the chance of success would be much higher than just relying on making his enemy stupid.
The protagonist halo remained dumbfounded and unresponsive. Qi Suian had no idea if they had any way of contacting each other.
’Next up is contacting Fan Fengfei.’
’Looks like I killed Wei Jiang too soon.’
’Good thing Fan Fengfei has plenty of other disciples.’
Contacting her wasn’t the problem. The problem was whether Qi Suian should blow up the entire Longjing City after killing Li Yao.
’Bomb it. I absolutely have to bomb it, but I need to get the timing right.’
’Fan Fengfei definitely has ulterior motives for Li Yao. So I can kill Li Yao first, then use his corpse as a delaying tactic.’
’As long as the timing is perfect, Fan Fengfei won’t be able to intercept the ICBM in time.’ Qi Suian was naturally planning to solve this problem once and for all.
Without Li Yao and Fan Fengfei, the other survivors who were lucky enough not to be blown up wouldn’t pose a threat.
By then, even if Qi Suian didn’t act, the Eternal United States and the Xuan Empire wouldn’t let those survivors go.
-----------------
"This... This is control..." Li Yao panted heavily.
A few minutes ago, he had experienced a nightmare, and then successfully awakened the bloodline he had inherited from a powerful being from beyond the heavens.
The Dragon Whale Bloodline continuously provided him with its legacy.
Among the inheritance, there was a part that he found very familiar: the two Quenching Methods of the Dragon Whale Sect.
Riding the impact of his bloodline awakening, he successfully broke free from the control of the "Eternal Beloved" series of Sacred Artifacts and recovered his senses.
’Master... she’s been controlling me all this time.’
’She’s definitely plotting to take something of mine.’
’No, I have to find a way to leave Longjing City.’ Li Yao keenly sensed the problem.
’Without the Dragon Whale Bloodline, she can’t cultivate the Dragon Whale Sect’s Quenching Method to Supreme Perfection.’
’From the very beginning, Master knew I possessed the Dragon Whale Bloodline.’
With that, the rest was easy to explain.
Therefore, he had to escape.
’As for cultivating Divine Intent... I don’t need it. Divine Intent is just a crude imitation of a bloodline.’
’I just need to survive and continuously increase the concentration of my bloodline until it reverts to its ancestral form—a true dragon or a Divine Whale.’
’Why would I need Divine Intent? I myself will be a True Dragon, a Divine Whale!’
Through his bloodline’s legacy, Li Yao learned of his situation.
’But if I want to leave, I’ll need to make some preparations. I’m afraid Master won’t let me go so easily.’
’Before, she was at least indirect about it. But ever since the encirclement of the "violator" failed, she must have sensed that my Dragon Whale Bloodline was about to reawaken.’
’That’s why she put me under stricter house arrest, to prevent any unexpected complications.’
’It’s a pity, Master. You still underestimated me.’ A sharp glint flashed in Li Yao’s eyes.
On the surface, he had indeed been flirting with female disciples, projecting the image of a libertine.
In reality, it was all part of his own planning, and now it would serve as his means of escape.