Qi Fei's Attempt

Just as Qi Fei was about to go over and introduce himself to Linley, that bizarre and kaleidoscopic world vanished.

His vision returned to the mundane once more.

As his vision faded, a thirst from the depths of his soul gradually manifested in Qi Fei, accompanied by the overwhelming exhaustion that comes with the depletion of mental energy.

Qi Fei collapsed and lost consciousness on the spot.

"Junior brother? Junior brother?"

Harvey hurriedly grabbed Qi Fei by the collar to keep him from face-planting into the ground.

"Is this... the exhaustion of soul power?"

After a careful examination, Harvey discovered that Qi Fei's symptoms were exceptionally dangerous.

He immediately took out a Soul Gold Bead.

This was a special product that could only be refined by those who practiced the Rules of Death, containing a vast amount of refined soul essence.

Once absorbed and refined, soul essence could strengthen one's own soul without any risk.

While this sounded like something from a devilish path, in the Coiling Dragon Universe, it was merely considered a somewhat precious cultivation resource.

This was thanks to the unique circumstances of the Coiling Dragon Universe itself.

The Coiling Dragon Universe lacked a complete reincarnation system.

When a living being died, unless there were special circumstances, they would automatically head to the Netherworld and be transformed into an Undead.

And once an Undead died, it was true death—the kind where the soul dissipates completely.

However, once an Undead reached the Saint Realm in cultivation, they gained eternal life and would never die naturally.

With an incomplete reincarnation system, combined with the nearly infinite number of living beings across the countless planes of the Coiling Dragon Universe, the total number of souls in the Coiling Dragon Universe was constantly increasing at a frantic pace.

While killing to refine souls would not earn one any commendation from the universe, it would not incur any punishment either.

Devilish Cultivators from Xianxia worldviews would cry out in injustice at the sight of this.

Harvey placed the Soul Gold Bead in front of Qi Fei, and the next moment, the golden soul essence within drifted out, flowing into the Overgod Artifact that Qi Fei carried.

Under the influence of the soul-defensive Overgod Artifact, the soul essence was easily refined, and the color began to return to Qi Fei's face at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But one Soul Gold Bead was clearly not enough; within seconds, the soul essence inside was completely consumed.

Harvey hurriedly took out a box and placed it beside Qi Fei.

Rich soul essence flew out from the numerous crystal balls in the box, forming a golden mist that almost completely enveloped Qi Fei.

At this moment, Linley on the opposite side also noticed the situation here.

With the reminder from his portable elder, he was able to roughly discern what the power enveloping Qi Fei was.

He therefore decided to change direction and leave, staying far away from such characters who clearly looked like trouble.

"Please wait a moment, my friend."

Nourished by the soul essence, Qi Fei quickly recovered and regained consciousness.

However, the moment he opened his eyes, he saw Linley preparing to leave, so Qi Fei spoke up to stop him.

"Junior brother, are you alright?"

Upon hearing Qi Fei's voice, Harvey quickly flew in front of him.

That sudden incident just now had truly scared him.

"I am fine, thank you for saving me, senior brother."

Qi Fei thanked him.

Seeing the box of empty crystal balls beside him and the golden power nearly overflowing from his Overgod Artifact, he roughly understood what had happened after he fainted.

Hearing Qi Fei's words, Harvey finally let out a sigh of relief.

"It's nothing. What did you do just now? How could your soul power be depleted so severely?"

He asked with some curiosity.

"I saw it—my future in the Rules of Fate."

Qi Fei did not answer directly, instead sending a mental transmission to Harvey.

"The future in the Rules of Fate? This kid from the Dragonblood Family?"

There was a hint of surprise in Harvey's transmission.

He did not doubt the truth of Qi Fei's words.

Those who practiced the Rules of Fate were mostly a bit eccentric before they fully grasped the rules and became Highgods.

Qi Fei was considered normal by comparison.

What Harvey found strange was, besides being an equal partner to a God-Devouring Rat, was there something else special about this little guy from the Dragonblood Family?

"Yes, that's him."

Qi Fei recalled the world he had just witnessed.

The destiny of Linley Baruch himself, which resembled a black hole, was, for him, the absolute best textbook on the Rules of Fate.

If he could observe it more often, he might just achieve the rank of a low-level god of fate within a year.

This was an opportunity he could not let slip by.

"Then let's go have a chat with him."

Harvey ended their telepathic communication with that sentence.

Immediately, the two of them walked toward Linley.

Linley and Alice were filled with a mix of confusion and panic.

According to the basic common knowledge of the Yulan Continent, only Magical Beasts of the Saint Realm could speak human language.

A Saint Realm rodent-type Magical Beast, accompanied by a junior whose strength was unknown, had inexplicably stopped them in their tracks.

This clearly did not seem like a good thing.

However, while Alice was purely panicked, Linley was different.

His previous experiences training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range had allowed Linley to gradually regain his usual composure.

He was already prepared.

If the other party harbored any ill intentions, he would simply take Alice and run. As long as they could make it into the Radiant Church, they shouldn't be killed on the spot.

It wasn't just Linley who was prepared.

The grandfather figure in his ring, Doering Cowart, was also ready to burn his soul.

Although he currently only possessed a soul and lacked the Magic Power to manipulate the elements of heaven and earth.

If he were to burn his soul, he could still unleash earth-style magic nearly equivalent to the Saint Realm level.

That should be enough to buy Linley some time to escape.

However, contrary to the master and disciple's expectations, the expression on the man opposite them was extremely friendly.

No, "friendly" wasn't even enough to describe it.

The way he looked at Linley didn't seem like he was looking at a person, but rather like he was observing an incomparable treasure.

Doering Cowart couldn't help but associate this with some unpleasant things.

As a former court mage, he had seen his fair share of the world.

Just as Doering Cowart was hesitating whether to warn Linley, Qi Fei spoke up.

"Hello, I believe you must be that famous heir of the Baruch family, the number one genius of Ernst Magic Academy, Linley Baruch, right?"

Qi Fei smiled and extended his right hand.

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

Linley honestly shook hands with Qi Fei.

"Qi Fei Cadmus, very pleased to meet you."

Qi Fei shook Linley's hand enthusiastically.

While observing Linley, he successfully reopened the vision from just a moment ago and attempted to interfere with the threads of fate surrounding Linley.

However, even though he shook Linley's hand until it went somewhat numb, Qi Fei still failed to stir those threads of fate around him.

Qi Fei had no choice but to let go with a look of regret.

"Your strength is a bit weak; you have absolutely none of the power a Dragonblood Warrior of the past should possess."

To match his expression, Qi Fei said this.

"..."

Although he was told he was weak, Linley did not refute it.

His mind was in complete chaos right now.

Linley clearly remembered that the powerhouse who had just sought revenge on Clayde had shouted the name Cadmus.

In other words, the person before him was the murderer who had killed the King of Fenlai.

After committing a homicide within the Holy Union, this person not only didn't think about fleeing but was actually strolling around Fenlai City.

After running into him, this person even directly called out the origins of their Baruch family.

Why?

"Let me think, consider this your reward; take this."

Qi Fei tossed the Space Ring he had seized from Clayde to Linley.

A trace of Qi Fei's Dou Qi was hidden within the Space Ring.

As it landed in Linley's hand, Qi Fei's Dou Qi sliced through Linley's skin, instantly causing the ring to complete its blood-binding process.

According to the original plot, this ring should have been the spoils Linley obtained after slaying Clayde.

Therefore, the ring shared a certain level of connection with Linley.

By utilizing this ring, Qi Fei successfully channeled his power into the Black Hole of Fate within Linley, placing him just one step away from the Thread of Fate.

Qi Fei observed his surroundings and discovered that the threads connected to Bebe, Doering Cowart, and Alice were the clearest.

Without hesitation, Qi Fei chose Alice.

From Alice's Thread of Fate, Qi Fei could see her future.

She would forsake her first love (Linley) and become engaged to her childhood sweetheart (Kalan), yet she would never experience a true marriage in her lifetime.

This matched the plot described in the original book.

However, Qi Fei noticed that Linley's name was unstable, flickering from time to time.

He figured this was likely because Linley was a person of uncertain destiny, and the two had not yet fully established their relationship.

Qi Fei decided to try touching this Thread of Fate.

As for adjusting the Thread of Fate or altering destiny, Qi Fei had never even considered it.

Even a fool would know that modifying destiny was not something a small fry like him could do; it was hard to say if even a Chief God could manage it.

Therefore, this was merely a simple touch.

BOOM—

A massive backlash surged from the thread, instantly shattering Qi Fei's internal organs and most of his muscles.

Qi Fei became like a fountain of blood, spurting gore from every inch of his body.

"Holy shit."

Harvey was so startled he started cursing.

Even he couldn't understand how Qi Fei had been injured; it was far too terrifying.

Harvey hurriedly cast magic to heal Qi Fei, while simultaneously ordering his divine clone to summon his father, Beirut.

This kid in front of him had some serious issues.

Linley and his companions, having witnessed Qi Fei's performance, were also stunned.

Linley even ignored the inexplicable stinging sensation that had just appeared on his hand.

Doering Cowart, who had always prided himself on being knowledgeable, no longer dared to make such claims after seeing this scene.

Who gives a gift and ends up in such a state?

"It's fine, just a minor injury, not fatal."

As the fountain-like Qi Fei spoke, he coughed up a few more fragments of his internal organs.

Because of the coughing, the blood spraying from his wounds surged even more violently, and a pool of blood quickly spread across the ground.

"I beg you, just stop talking."

Harvey quickly sealed Qi Fei's mouth and continued to frantically cast magic to heal him.

The aura of fate within Qi Fei was already hindering the healing effects, and yet he insisted on making things harder for himself.

Harvey was truly afraid to let Qi Fei continue to struggle.

If he kept at it, he feared Qi Fei would die right in front of him.

Qi Fei looked at Harvey with a slightly apologetic gaze.

In reality, he hadn't acted rashly.

Qi Fei had clearly confirmed through his perception of the Rules of Fate that he would face no fatal crisis before attempting to touch the power of fate on Linley.

As for the slight danger involved.

Since this was something even a Chief God couldn't see, wasn't it normal for a Level 8 Warrior to face danger while trying to touch it?

It wasn't fatal anyway, and since his senior brother was right there, he could just treat the injuries on the spot.

It was just that Qi Fei hadn't expected the backlash to be this severe.

Just as Qi Fei was feeling guilty toward Harvey, Beirut arrived.

Even as a Chief God, Beirut couldn't help but be surprised by the extent of Qi Fei's injuries.

With such a dense aura of fate, yet managing to be injured without dying, even an average Highgod of the Fate attribute would find it difficult to achieve.

Where on earth did a commoner like Qi Fei get this?

Although Beirut couldn't understand it, he landed beside Qi Fei and took over the healing task from his son.

With Beirut's intervention, the aura of fate within Qi Fei was purged, and his injuries vanished instantly.

"You're quite lucky; although that aura of fate hindered Harvey's healing, it also happened to sustain your life."

Beirut waved his hand to isolate the surroundings, speaking with a complex expression.

No, he still couldn't understand how such complex injuries had come to be.

"Disciple was fortunate enough to gain entry into the Rules of Fate today, and upon suddenly seeing this youth from the Dragonblood Warrior clan, I discovered that he holds the direction of my future Rules of Fate."

Qi Fei reported honestly.

"Disciple was overcome with curiosity and wanted to test what I had just comprehended, but ended up being injured by it instead, causing Master and Senior Brother to worry. I beg Master's forgiveness."

Having said this, he bowed deeply to Beirut and his Senior Brother.

In this matter, he had indeed been somewhat reckless.

"I am overjoyed that you were able to gain entry into both the Laws of Fire Elements and the Rules of Fate today; why would I blame you?"

Beirut helped Qi Fei up.

The faster Qi Fei cultivated, the sooner he could escape his cage.

"However, I hope that before you attempt such things next time, you will consider your own safety."

This sentence came entirely from the bottom of Beirut's heart.

Thinking back, he had known Qi Fei for less than two days, yet he had already treated him three times.

Except for the first time, which was due to the Supreme God of Destruction, the other two times were entirely Qi Fei's own doing.

Beirut was now genuinely worried that Qi Fei might accidentally end his own life.

"Yes, Master."

Qi Fei said earnestly.

At the very least, before becoming a god, he would not touch Linley's Thread of Fate again.

"Right, you said you saw the direction of your future in this youth?"

Beirut asked, looking at Linley on the other side of the divine power barrier.

"Yes."

Qi Fei nodded.

"Ha, this is likely a joke played by the Supreme God of Fate."

Beirut sighed.

He had originally been hesitating over whether to kill Linley to set Bebe free.

Now, he could not bring himself to act at all.

"Master, is there something wrong?"

Qi Fei asked, pretending to be ignorant.

"Nothing, I am just lamenting that this youth and we share quite a bond."

Beirut said casually.

"I told you before that I am not a human, but a special Divine Beast."

Yes, just this morning.

"Could it be that you mean, Master?"

Qi Fei looked at Bebe on Linley's shoulder in surprise.

"If nothing goes wrong, he is likely of my own kind."

Beirut also looked at Bebe, his eyes filled with doting affection.

A kin he had only been able to see once in tens of thousands of years.

"Go and chat with them; I will wait for you outside."

Beirut knew that his presence here would only affect the little ones.

Therefore, he vanished directly, leaving space for Qi Fei and the others.

"Respectfully sending off Master."

Qi Fei said respectfully.

After he finished speaking, the barrier Beirut had left behind gradually dissipated.

Linley and the others were finally able to see Qi Fei and the mouse once again.