"It really was a hallucination." Qi Suian touched the back of his head. ’But with my current strength, it’s highly unlikely for me to have a hallucination.’
Qi Suian felt something was off, but with no leads, he could only chalk it up to an issue with the Doomsday Game.
’It’s probably because my basic attributes reached 9 points.’
After all, the Doomsday Game’s power ceiling was constantly testing Qi Suian’s rock bottom.
’If it were really that powerful, it wouldn’t have just pulled in the Dragon Whale Sect. It should have brought the entire Donglin Wu Kingdom along with it.’
Based on the phantom pain he’d felt, he suspected the Doomsday Game had a power limit for who it could pull in.
But it didn’t matter. This time, there were no new survivors, just the seventy-three who had survived the fourth batch.
Now he could be sure that as long as the survivors weren’t all wiped out, the Doomsday Game wouldn’t bring in new ones.
Theoretically, if it weren’t for an outlier like Qi Suian, the first batch of survivors would likely have become a permanent group.
They wouldn’t have been replaced so quickly.
’What a pain. I wonder if I’ll be able to find the other seventy-three survivors. It’ll be a problem if I can’t.’ Qi Suian had no idea what this Doomsday World had in store.
But the first thing he did was launch the satellite projection into the sky.
This way, mapping the area would be much more convenient.
’No major problems for now. So, has the doomsday not yet arrived, or has it already descended, like in the Sacred Artifact World?’ Qi Suian noted that the environment was perfectly healthy.
There were no strange or chaotic changes.
However, Qi Suian didn’t let his guard down. The Doomsday Game was still out to get him.
It definitely wouldn’t have sent him to an easy Doomsday World.
In every Doomsday World, what you see on the surface is just the tip of the iceberg.
As long as you’re good at digging, you’re guaranteed to witness a true doomsday scenario.
Of course, in Qi Suian’s eyes, he wasn’t just being a troublemaker; he was simply detonating the crisis ahead of time.
A doomsday that arrives at an unknown time versus personally guiding its descent—with the former, you know nothing; with the latter, you’re prepared.
Even if the process was a complete mess, just surviving was enough. It was better than having no response and dying without knowing why.
That was why Qi Suian always planned to make a move after every power-up.
If he could end the Red Blood Dragon early like he did in the Cold Winter World, he could reap a huge reward.
But that was a low-probability event. That was the only time he’d had an easy exit. In other Doomsday Worlds, simply getting out alive was a blessing from his plot armor.
’Found it. A town, and it looks pretty rustic.’ Qi Suian put down the report and looked at the map provided by the Tai Sui God.
He scanned it but didn’t find any red dots.
’Probably because the coverage isn’t wide enough.’
’This world seems very peaceful. No problems.’
’But I still can’t let my guard down.’
Qi Suian considered whether he should go scout the area around the nearby town.
As for entering the town? He definitely wouldn’t.
The reason was simple: he was wearing the Tai Sui Divine Armor, which wasn’t exactly convenient.
Wiping out a sect was easy, but communication was difficult.
Low charisma could be supplemented with blades and spears.
Others at least looked human, giving them a baseline and room for improvement.
Qi Suian was a different story. The Tai Sui God was a metal behemoth, and from the outside, Qi Suian didn’t look human at all.
If he actually met someone, they’d probably try to slay him as a demon rather than have a serious conversation.
"Then again, since I landed here, there must be a big boss or a great opportunity nearby," Qi Suian muttered.
This was a regular occurrence. The Doomsday Game wanted him dead, and his plot armor helped him turn every misfortune into a blessing.
Their tug-of-war was a common sight.
[A tiger has been detected. It may be of use to you?]
"What use could it be? Slaughter it for meat?" Qi Suian retorted sarcastically.
It was just a common beast. If it had some kind of high-energy reading, then Qi Suian might have been a little interested.
[It appears to have some kind of parasite within its body, of an unknown classification.]
This piqued Qi Suian’s interest.
"Are there any Extraordinary reactions?" Qi Suian was more concerned about this.
An Extraordinary reaction meant there were benefits to be had.
If not, it was just an ordinary parasite.
It would be of little use to Qi Suian.
Just a mutation or evolution. Things like that were common in nature.
[There are no Extraordinary reactions at present. However, feedback from the reconnaissance network indicates the parasite is unusually large and seems to have formed a symbiotic relationship with its host.]
[Although it has no Extraordinary reaction itself, it can grant the host Extraordinary abilities.]
Now, Qi Suian’s interest was fully sparked.
If there was nothing special, Qi Suian would have definitely ignored it.
"Let’s go. We’ll check out this tiger," Qi Suian said, and the Tai Sui God carried out the order.
Soon, Qi Suian saw a tiger dozing on a large rock by a stream.
"It’s pretty big. Must be the parasite’s influence." It wasn’t like Qi Suian had never seen a large tiger before.
Back in the Cold Winter World, he had killed many tiger-type Cold Energy Monsters, some of which were even larger than this one.
As Qi Suian spoke, the tiger slowly raised its head, its expression a mix of laziness and human-like intelligence.
This intelligence was unlike that of the Cold Energy Monsters, which was dominated by bestial nature.
In Qi Suian’s eyes, it seemed more like a person who had turned into a tiger.
"Where did this tin man come from? Can’t you see your grandpappy, the Mountain Monarch, is resting here?" the tiger spoke.
Given its human-like intelligence, a talking tiger wasn’t that hard to accept.
"Its intelligence is very high. What’s the data from the reconnaissance network?" Qi Suian asked.
A tiger’s vocal structure meant it shouldn’t be able to speak human language.
And since its overall structure hadn’t changed like the Cold Energy Monsters, its high intelligence and ability to speak must be because of the parasite inside it.
[Report has been generated for you...]
Qi Suian quickly reviewed the report.
Because this was the first contact, the data was limited.
However, it directly confirmed Qi Suian’s suspicion: the changes were indeed due to the parasite.
"You there, why have you gone silent?" Seeing Qi Suian’s lack of response, the tiger snapped impatiently.
Though its words were a bit crude, it had a point.
After all, this was its territory. It was only natural to question some clueless person who had just barged in.
Conversely, Qi Suian was ignoring it. The fact that the tiger hadn’t attacked him outright already showed great restraint.
"What kind of Mage are you, and from where? Don’t you know any better?" The tiger grew even more annoyed when Qi Suian remained silent.
After being ignored several times, the already ill-tempered tiger stood up, its expression turning hostile.
’If he wandered in by mistake, he wouldn’t have this attitude.’
’And if he was here to ask for something, he would have stated his purpose by now, not act like this.’
Therefore, in the tiger’s eyes, Qi Suian had come with ill intentions.
It let out a low growl and said, "If you have no business here, leave at once."
"The worm in your lungs, what is it?" Qi Suian finally spoke.
His words left the tiger completely baffled.
"You’re a Mage, and you don’t know what a Spiritual Root is?" The tiger was bewildered.
’Qi Suian can fly, so he must have a Spiritual Root.’
’Without a Spiritual Root, how could he fly through the sky and burrow through the earth?’
"Oh, so it’s called a Spiritual Root. And the humans who can wield this power are called Mages by your kind."
"Then what about you? What are you called?" Qi Suian’s tone was deliberately impolite.
The tiger said no more. With an attitude like that, it was clear Qi Suian was looking for a fight.
A tiger’s roar erupted, laced with an attack that could damage one’s soul.
It suddenly pounced toward Qi Suian, riding the Gang Wind.
"A single parasite can actually grant attacks of three different attributes." Qi Suian’s expression was one of surprise.
The tiger’s two moves possessed soul, metal, and wind attributes, and their power was indeed impressive.
However, compared to Qi Suian, there was still a gap.
He materialized Fei to battle the tiger.
-----------------
"Is that the Mountain Monarch’s roar? What’s going on?"
"Could it be that something major happened in the forest?" Hearing this, Yuan An’s expression changed slightly.
He could hear the fury in the Mountain Monarch’s roar.
’No, I have to go take a look.’
’The Mountain Monarch and my Vermilion Town have always kept to ourselves.’
’If another Spirit Demon really has come to cause trouble, and the Mountain Monarch is defeated... a new Spirit Demon might not maintain this peace.’
Yuan An was the Mage of Vermilion Town, tasked by the Court with keeping the peace in the region.
Unfortunately, the Court was corrupt, and rebellions were flaring up everywhere. It was already showing the signs of a dynasty in its final years.
Back when the Court was strong, how would the myriad Spirit Demons have dared to act out?
’I only regret that my strength is insufficient. I’m unable to refine a second Spiritual Root. Otherwise, why would I fear a Spirit Demon encroaching on our territory?’
’I’m powerless now, forced to rely on a Spirit Demon. How pathetic.’ A bitter feeling welled up inside Yuan An.
Without another word, he grabbed his things and hurried toward the forest.
His mind, however, was still racing with thoughts.
He had previously heard that the Court was about to undergo reforms, and the imperial system would be no more.
The thought filled Yuan An with indignation.
’And now I have to despise the ministers of the Court, who actually want to give so-called human rights to Spirit Demons and let them become officials.’
The Court’s decline was related to this very matter. The uprisings everywhere all shared the sentiment of rejecting Spirit Demons.
Yet, it was a move made out of desperation. For a hundred years, the number of Spirit Demons had soared, while the number of Human Race Mages had dwindled due to the Court’s internal conflicts.
Although there had been some recovery in recent years, the situation was already beyond saving.
The world today was in a state where evil was rising and righteousness was fading.
However, as long as the Court could turn things around, the decline of the Human Race’s Mages was not irreversible.
But that was easier said than done.
If it were really possible, there wouldn’t be rebel kings all over the land.
Fortunately, while Human Mages were few, humans were many. Overall, the Spirit Demons still didn’t have the upper hand.
But Yuan An didn’t know how long this advantage would last. After all, the world was on the brink of chaos.