Welcoming Party

"Absorbing other powers caused a mental rampage? That didn't happen to me."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei asked in confusion.

"What? While I was suffering, you didn't feel a thing?"

Shen San Qi Fei looked utterly incredulous.

"No way. Today, you're going to experience my pain."

With Pain's twisted expression, he pounced on Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei.

The moment they made contact, the Sharing ability activated.

Shen San Qi Fei saw what Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei had experienced after accepting the Sharing.

His cultivation had surged, the essence of his Life Bead had improved, and his Will Jewel had gained two new attributes: life and Destruction.

Then came the difference.

Part of the special power Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei had acquired merged with the Destruction attribute of his Will Jewel, while the rest fused with his soul.

And throughout the entire process, no outside power had poured in.

"Why is that?"

Shen San Qi Fei opened his eyes, unable to make sense of it for a moment.

"Could it be because there's already a Destruction in his world?"

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei guessed.

Hearing that, Shen San Qi Fei remembered too.

In the world of Heavenly Jewel Change, the final boss belonged to the Destruction faction.

In other words, the Heavenly Jewel Change World already had a county magistrate named Destruction.

That magistrate had collected every tax the Heavenly Jewel Change World could levy—the powers related to Destruction.

So when Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei arrived as the new magistrate, there was nothing left for him to collect.

Although the God Three World should have had a magistrate in the past, the position had been vacant for who knew how many years.

And there was no one else in the county who could inherit it.

So the tax revenue had simply remained there.

Until today, when Qi Fei arrived as the new magistrate.

"So I'm guessing you'll keep absorbing power from now on, until you become something like Brahma."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei continued speculating.

Brahma, a big shot of unknown rank—whether Golden Core or something else.

He was currently sleeping somewhere around the Himalayas.

The ancestor of Kushan had discovered Brahma while he slept, then began creating a god through visualization, drawing life essence from him.

Even though centuries of extraction amounted to less than what Brahma could recover in an instant,

it was still enough for the Kushan Empire to have the most Internal Qi Separation cultivators among the great empires.

Of course, these cultivators who'd been rushed through their training weren't especially strong.

How to put it? Kushan had the highest number of Internal Qi Separation heads taken by ordinary soldiers.

The Han Dynasty, Rome, Parthia, and the Xiongnu couldn't match Kushan even combined.

"I have a feeling that becoming Brahma wouldn't end well."

Remembering all the things the Three Great Empires had done to Brahma, Qi Fei's mouth twitched.

"Don't worry. You're still developing. Even if someone wanted to drain you, they wouldn't be able to get anything out of you."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei had come to his senses. He patted Shen San Qi Fei on the shoulder, trying to reassure him.

A mere Boundary Breaker thought he could compare to Brahma?

The life essence people had already drained from Brahma could probably nourish who knew how many Boundary Breakers.

"Then I'm truly grateful."

Shen San Qi Fei said.

"No need to thank me."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei smiled and gave Shen San Qi Fei a thumbs-up.

"..."

Shen San Qi Fei just stared at him without saying a word.

"Ahem, ahem. Guess how many beads my cultivation has reached now?"

Feeling awkward under Shen San Qi Fei's gaze, Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei awkwardly changed the subject.

Only then did Shen San Qi Fei look away.

"Ten-Bead?"

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei guessed.

"Ten-Bead, but I'm only one level away from Eleven-Bead."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei filled in the answer.

"Honestly, I'm a little lost right now."

In just three months, he'd gone from a worthless nobody at the very bottom to one of the strongest people in the world.

Was this cheat skill turned up too high?

"I sincerely recommend that you go to work for a couple of days."

Shen San Qi Fei patted Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei on the shoulder with a serious expression.

"Once you get busy, you'll stop overthinking things."

That was how it had been for him before he joined Liu Bei.

He trained his mental power in his spare time, studied military strategy when he could, and even practiced Internal Qi whenever he had a moment.

If he could still overthink things in that state, that would really be something.

"Or how about switching places with me? My world has a higher ceiling, so I don't have to worry about this."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei chimed in.

In his world, a mere Saint Realm expert could only run wild on the Material Plane.

If they went to one of the Four Supreme Planes—the planes corresponding to the Four Rules—even Saint Realm experts weren't treated as people.

"Forget it. I'll stay at Vastness Palace and enjoy myself."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's confusion instantly dissipated.

"Come to think of it, besides the boost to my cultivation, I also gained three clusters of strange power that I can't quite describe."

Two of them were faint and indistinct, as if they might disappear at any moment.

"Two of them should be my Legion Talent and Mental Talent."

Shen San Qi Fei picked up the conversation.

"But neither has fully taken shape on my end. It'll probably take longer for them to develop on your side."

He'd only just broken through, so both powers were probably still just rough outlines.

"You have both a Mental Talent and a Legion Talent? That's pretty impressive."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei couldn't help exclaiming.

"Don't flatter me. I had nothing to do with it."

Shen San Qi Fei waved a hand. He knew his own limits.

"I figure one of them is related to Destruction, and the other to this Shared Space."

His own talent probably hadn't contributed even a fraction.

"Are you really going to become Brahma?"

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei couldn't help asking.

If he really gained the ability to share his power and help other people break through, wouldn't that make him Brahma?

"Wait, Brahma presides over creation. He should be Shiva."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei corrected him.

"Brahma, Shiva—whatever. Whoever wants the job can have it."

Shen San Qi Fei said indifferently.

"Anyway, I've already decided. I'll pour all the power that gathers around me into the Nine Phoenix Sword from now on."

Nine Phoenix had originally formed from a gathering of all this miscellaneous stuff, so she was perfect for consuming it.

If he fed all this stuff to Nine Phoenix, surely he wouldn't still inherit the position of county magistrate?

"I think he's probably stuck with it."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei whispered into Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's ear, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"I think so too."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's whisper was just as loud.

Shen San Qi Fei stared at the two of them with dead fish eyes.

"I think I know what the rest of my power is."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's expression changed, and he immediately started talking about something else.

"I'm guessing it corresponds to your Nine Phoenix. It just hasn't taken shape because I don't have a weapon spirit."

"Why not pick out a suitable weapon and try fusing it with the power?"

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei began offering advice.

"Maybe it'll have some unexpected use."

"That makes sense."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei agreed.

For a moment, the two of them acted as though they'd been discussing something serious all along.

"We have Physical Jewels, so we won't be short on weapons in the future. Why not use your Forming Pen as the vessel?"

Shen San Qi Fei suddenly thought of that.

His Nine Phoenix had been a complete accident. There was no need for anyone else to make something similar.

The equipment manifested from their Physical Jewels would be the weapons best suited to them.

So they might as well choose something with a support function, like a secondary-profession tool.

"Good idea. I'll go try it. Wait for my good news."

With that, Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei logged off.

"In that case, I'll head out too. I still have to finish dealing with the castle's aftermath."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei gave a perfectly reasonable excuse.

The commotion caused by the Supreme God of Destruction's arrival had affected almost the entire castle.

Before Shen San Qi Fei had arrived, he'd been handling the matter at home.

"Wait."

Shen San Qi Fei called after him.

"I saw that you two practiced the Sharing ability before, right?"

For the sake of making cultivation easier, Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's Will Jewel had copied one or two skills.

Among them were Mental, Time, and Space.

They happened to conflict with the abilities occupied by the God-Devouring Rat's Innate Ability.

Then the two Qi Feis had discovered that they could adjust the Sharing ability within certain limits.

For example, they could move a shared Will Jewel skill to a different position, or reject the shared power entirely.

This discovery was tremendously important to Qi Fei.

Qi Fei no longer had to worry that if he got hit with some kind of negative effect, it might spread through space and affect everyone else.

"What are you getting at?"

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei swallowed nervously.

"Heh heh heh. Since you can reject my power, then feel my pain!"

Shen San Qi Fei spoke in the voice of an old hand from the Soul Hall.

"Yamete."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei bolted.

Having to endure the pain without getting any of the benefits was not something he wanted to experience.

"Heh heh heh. You can't escape."

To keep the Sharing ability from activating completely, Shen San Qi Fei tore off part of his forearm and hurled it at Coiling Dragon Qi Fei.

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei failed to dodge in time and took the piece of forearm right to the head.

Then he experienced Shen San Qi Fei's entire breakthrough.

At the same time, he had to reject Shen San Qi Fei's power, just in case he accidentally broke through himself.

"Hahaha! How was that throw?"

Shen San Qi Fei laughed heartily.

When Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei returned, this was the strange sight he saw.

Shen San Qi Fei, missing half an arm, stood there laughing at the sky like some kind of villain.

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei was sprawled on the ground, wriggling away from the severed forearm like a caterpillar.

"What did you two do?"

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei asked in confusion.

"Just catching up. How did it go? Any results?"

Shen San Qi Fei picked up his arm and reattached it.

"Yes. My Heavenly Power and Forming Liquid circulate more smoothly now, and writing has become much easier."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei answered.

"It just doesn't seem to have much sentience. It can't act on its own like yours."

The weapon spirit of the God Boundary Breaker could fly off and fight on its own, even without a user.

His Forming Pen couldn't do that.

"As long as it's useful."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei got up from the ground.

"And considering it needs time to adapt, it's already pretty powerful."

"Definitely."

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei agreed.

"But I'm wondering how I should use this ability once I get it."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei raised the question.

"Just use it on whichever piece of equipment has the higher level, I guess? Your secondary profession over there doesn't seem to require any particular equipment anyway."

Shen San Qi Fei replied offhandedly.

Secondary professions in the Coiling Dragon World were basically determined by one's level of insight into the laws.

If the consumables they made didn't involve the laws during refinement, they were useless to Deities.

As for weapons and equipment—

In the Coiling Dragon World, artifacts were nurtured from a Deity's Divine Power.

Even a mere branch, if placed in a god's hands and used and strengthened over a long period, could reach the standard of an artifact.

So the Artifact Refiner profession, which existed in most worlds, had been rendered obsolete.

"That makes sense. I'll see if I can get a Godhead Weapon from my teacher later."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei made up his mind at once.

He wasn't counting on getting a Sovereign Artifact.

After all, there were many restrictions on those among the Chief Gods, and Beirut probably couldn't just give him one.

A Godhead Weapon, on the other hand, was as hard as a Sovereign Artifact, wasn't subject to restrictions, and was far more convenient.

Actually, after copying Beirut's Innate Ability, he'd be able to make Godhead Weapons himself once he became a god.

But refining a God Spark took far too long.

And he also needed to use that God Spark Essence to strengthen his body.

So he could only think of a way to get something out of his teacher.

"Speaking of which, couldn't you ask for one..."

Just as Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei was about to say something, another person suddenly appeared in the space.

The three Qi Feis froze for a moment, then immediately grew excited.

"A newbie!"

Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei lunged straight at him.

His movements were so contorted that he looked like a giant spider.

"What the hell is going on?"

The moment the newbie opened his eyes, he saw someone dropping from above and rushing straight at him.

Startled, he scrambled away from Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's attack.

Before he could even feel relieved, another figure charged at him.

This one launched an attack with a sliding tackle.

The newbie sprang straight up, narrowly dodging the flying tackle.

"Why are you running, newbie?"

Shen San Qi Fei asked after missing.

"You're all attacking me! You expect me not to dodge?"

The newbie called back over his shoulder.

"Don't worry. It might take some getting used to at first, but you'll soon start enjoying it." (Referring to Sharing.)

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei had somehow circled around behind the newbie and went for a groin attack.

The newbie watched in utter horror.

At that moment, a fear unlike anything he'd ever felt before unleashed every ounce of his potential.

The Qi Feis watched as the newbie shot into the air at nearly instantaneous speed, then flew off into the distance.

"Crap, we got too carried away and scared him off."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei said with some regret.

If he'd known the newbie could move that fast, he wouldn't have held back so much.

"It's fine. He'll probably come back on his own after a while."

Shen San Qi Fei gazed at the newbie growing farther and farther away, making no move to chase him.

"True. Once he sees the information in his mind, he'll understand."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei agreed.

He'd even have to come back and find the three of them... three?

"Wait, aren't we missing someone?"

As soon as Coiling Dragon Qi Fei finished speaking, the newbie's startled cry rang out in the distance.

Without a doubt, it was the work of the missing Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei.

"Hope the newbie's okay."

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei and Shen San Qi Fei exchanged a glance and smiled in perfect understanding.