The tiger was on its last breath. Fei, on the other hand, was watching with predatory eyes, just waiting for Qi Suian to finish his dissection so it could eat.
Qi Suian pulled the parasite out of the tiger’s lungs.
In Qi Suian’s hand, it appeared very active and was still struggling.
It seemed that the parasite would not die for a short time after being separated from its host.
The parasite was fine, but the tiger was not.
With the parasite gone from its lungs, Qi Suian could keenly sense that the tiger’s intelligence and human-like spark had simply vanished.
The tiger was still alive, but it had reverted to being a mere beast.
He had thought its consciousness would transfer to the parasite, but that wasn’t the case either.
The tiger at least had a brain; the parasite didn’t even have that, relying entirely on instinct.
’Intelligence is a special reaction formed between the parasite and the host. Once the two are separated, the resulting intelligence disappears.’
’So, in essence, it’s a third-party consciousness, not the consciousness of the parasite or the host?’
Qi Suian couldn’t understand why.
’And then there’s the parasite’s Extraordinary ability. It must inhabit a host to be used by that third-party consciousness.’
’Otherwise, it can’t even use it itself.’
’What was the point of you evolving like this...’ It was the first time Qi Suian had encountered such a baffling Extraordinary system.
He could accept using Extraordinary Items to enhance one’s strength, or gathering great power within oneself, and he could even accept collective power.
But this method of evolving oneself into an Extraordinary power for others to use truly challenged his worldview.
’It’s not like you got no benefits at all, though. At least your body is tough enough.’
Qi Suian pulled on the parasite, stretching its body to nearly five times its length without any issue, and it instantly snapped back to its original shape.
Its self-healing and regenerative abilities after injury were also extremely powerful, even stronger than the top-tier mutants from the Wasteland World.
’If I cut you in two, would you regenerate into two separate ones?’ Qi Suian suddenly wondered.
After all, without a brain, it was unlikely there was a primary and secondary part.
Combined with its regenerative ability, it was indeed possible for one to become two.
’Judging from your condition, it must be asexual fission.’
"After all, there’s only one of you so-called Spiritual Root parasites in this tiger," Qi Suian muttered to himself.
So sexual reproduction was unrealistic; it probably split on its own.
Furthermore, upon closer examination, Qi Suian found no orifices for reproduction or even excretion.
The whole thing looked incredibly bizarre.
’Come to think of it, could this world’s apocalypse be related to these parasites?’ Qi Suian figured he wasn’t far from the truth. This world’s Extraordinary system was undoubtedly built on them.
’However, the tiger’s own strength didn’t rely entirely on the parasite.’
Qi Suian temporarily placed the parasite in a nutrient solution and began dissecting the tiger.
Its bone and muscle density had increased, and the strength of its internal organs had also been enhanced.
It was like it had gone from a one-star tiger to a two-star tiger.
Overall, there were no evolutionary changes or Extraordinary organs, just enhancements to its existing foundation.
It was basically attribute stacking.
And then, it would gain Extraordinary power through the parasite.
After all, using Extraordinary abilities required a certain attribute foundation.
If the old Qi Suian, with his 0.5 physique, had tried to use Fei, he probably would have died within three seconds, unable to withstand the divine will.
[A native is approaching. According to data feedback, they also have a parasite in their body, but it is of a different type.]
The AI’s feedback was instantaneous.
Qi Suian didn’t ask where they were coming from; they had to be from the nearby town.
However, they were still some distance away from Qi Suian.
"Do you think the parasite can provide enough fuel value?" Qi Suian asked.
He was a bit skeptical about the parasite’s combustion value.
Generally, things with high fuel value had one thing in common: they were strong.
But the parasite... its fluctuations made it hard for Qi Suian to judge.
On the one hand, it was indeed strong.
An ordinary tiger could easily gain intelligence and Extraordinary power.
But on the other hand, it wasn’t *that* strong. Besides being durable, it couldn’t even control its own power.
So it was a case of Schrödinger’s strength.
[Unable to provide an effective estimate. It is recommended you send it directly into the Melting Furnace for real-time combustion.]
The AI didn’t know either. After all, it had never burned one before, and the data Qi Suian had uploaded was insufficient.
"I plan to, but there’s no rush. Didn’t you just say someone was coming? Let’s see if we can squeeze some intel out of them." Qi Suian thought he could use the parasite as bait.
Judging from the intelligence gathered from the surrounding data, this tiger must have been a hegemon of this mountain forest.
The parasite from its body surely had considerable value. Perhaps he could use it to pry open the newcomer’s mouth and get the information he needed.
’I should prepare a little, give him a show of force.’
’Otherwise, if he comes here and doesn’t know his place, I’ll have to get my hands dirty.’ Qi Suian was not a good-tempered person. Even though he had left the Sacred Artifact World and was no longer so bloodthirsty, he was not one to endure disrespect.
Qi Suian began to set the scene. About half an hour passed.
Only then did a middle-aged man in clothing resembling a magua jacket arrive, looking travel-worn.
The first thing he saw was the flayed tiger skin hanging from a tree, a bloody tiger head tossed to the side, and its flesh and bones scattered on the ground.
The scene truly stunned him.
"I wonder which sir I have the honor of addressing? I am Yuan An, a Ninth-Grade Mage from Vermilion Town. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir." Yuan An recognized the dismembered tiger; it was the Mountain Monarch that had dominated the area around Vermilion Town.
He then looked beside the Iron Armor Man and saw the Spiritual Root sealed in a crystal-clear, glass-like substance—it was the Low-Grade Spirit Root·Mountain Monarch Order.
The Mountain Monarch had owed its former might entirely to this Low-Grade Spirit Root·Mountain Monarch Order.
In Yuan An’s mind, this Iron Armor Man’s Mage rank was definitely not low, and he likely possessed more than one Spiritual Root.
"Tell me about Mage ranks and Spiritual Roots," Qi Suian said directly.
He didn’t beat around the bush, asking his question without any attempt at concealment.
’Playing mysterious or putting on an act requires a significant information gap to work.’
’Since I know nothing right now, it’s better to be direct.’
’As for him hiding things or lying? With his level of strength, he couldn’t deceive the AI.’
Yuan An was puzzled, but he began to speak.
"The Mage ranks follow the ancient system and are divided into nine grades."
"Ninth Grade is the lowest, and First Grade is the highest."
"Spiritual Roots are divided into three tiers: Top, Middle, and Lower. Each tier corresponds to three Mage grades."
"The Mountain Monarch you killed, sir, possessed a Low-Grade Spirit Root·Mountain Monarch Order." Yuan An gave a brief summary of the Spiritual Root system.
In Yuan An’s mind, Qi Suian had to be at least a Fifth-Grade Mage and must possess a Middle-Grade Spiritual Root. Otherwise, how could he have this Divine Iron Armor?
This armor must be a treasured artifact formed from refining a Spiritual Root.
Lower-Grade Spiritual Roots only grant access to spells. Middle-Grade Spiritual Roots can be transformed into treasured artifacts, while Top-Grade Spiritual Roots grant a Taoist Scripture.
Unfortunately, Yuan An had only heard of such things. He was just a Ninth-Grade Mage, and his master was only a Seventh-Grade Mage, so they had never had the chance to encounter a Middle-Grade Spiritual Root.
Let alone a Top-Grade one.
He had never even seen a treasured artifact, to say nothing of a so-called Taoist Scripture.
"Continue. I want more details," Qi Suian said.
In response, Yuan An could only elaborate further.
He explained the details of Spiritual Root tiers and Mage grades, and also described the method for refining a Spiritual Root.
The first two topics didn’t faze Qi Suian much, but he found the refining method rather interesting.
It wasn’t a cultivation method, but something more akin to a transplant surgery.
It just wasn’t as scientific as modern methods, relying more on things like ingestion, subcutaneous placement, and so on.
The so-called "refining" was the process of eliminating rejection.
From the description, Qi Suian guessed it was likely related to an individual’s constitution and the type of parasite.
From Yuan An’s explanation, Qi Suian also learned that the parasite he’d obtained from the tiger was a Lower-Grade Spiritual Root called the Mountain Monarch Order.
It had three abilities: Soul-Shaking Roar, Ghastmancy, and Geng Metal Gang Wind.
Soul-Shaking Roar was a roar with a soul-attribute attack, and Geng Metal Gang Wind was a wind-type attack with an added sharpness attribute.
He hadn’t seen Ghastmancy in action, as the tiger had been bitten by Fei and left on the verge of death.
As for how Yuan An knew all this, it was simple: he was a Mage of the Court, which naturally came with certain benefits.
One of these benefits was a copy of the *Catalog of Spiritual Roots*, which recorded every Spiritual Root collected by the Court, complete with all Top, Middle, and Lower grades.
It was required reading for all Mages.
It not only listed the Spiritual Root’s name, form, and abilities but also described on which Spirit Demons they were most likely to appear.
Spirit Demons were the flora and fauna that lived in symbiosis with Spiritual Root parasites.
That’s right—it wasn’t just animals that could form a symbiosis with Spiritual Root parasites, but plants as well.
Fortunately, compared to the human population and the sheer size of the region, the number of Spirit Demons was still relatively small.
Take Vermilion Town for example: the only Spirit Demon in the vicinity was this tiger that called itself the Mountain Monarch.
However, wandering Spirit Demons would occasionally pass through, as not all of them had a fixed territory like the tiger near Vermilion Town.
But most of these wandering Spirit Demons were taken care of by the tiger.
And according to the classification system, the tiger’s strength was also at the level of a Ninth-Grade Mage.
However, because the Low-Grade Spirit Root·Mountain Monarch Order was more compatible with tiger-type Spirit Demons, it could unleash even greater power.
That was why Yuan An’s overall strength was inferior to the tiger’s.
If he really had to kill it, he could, but it just wasn’t worth it.
Even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, and other Spirit Demons would surely come in the future.
It was better to leave the tiger be. Besides, it didn’t eat people; the prey in the mountain forest was enough to keep it fed.
What if a different, more ferocious Spirit Demon took its place?
Moreover, with the tiger around, if any other Spirit Demons entered the vicinity of Vermilion Town, the tiger would be the one to deal with them.
Unfortunately, this fine balance had been shattered by Qi Suian.
The tiger was dead, and now Yuan An would have to shoulder this burden once more.
Yet he didn’t dare complain about Qi Suian. The man was far stronger than him; he had to address him respectfully as "sir."
’If I could get some benefit from him, it would be enough to last me a lifetime.’
’If my grade improves, maybe I could get a promotion.’
When Mages served the Court, they were judged not only on their achievements but also on their strength.