Classic Otherworldly Combination

What did this mean?

It meant he could fight and cast, that CC + C = B. It meant that the instant Si Ming clenched his fist, the Night Battle Qi surging and roiling within his body turned into a boiling tide.

Whoosh—

A violent wind rose from nowhere.

The Gene Lock opened in response, finally bringing under control the Night Battle Qi that had swelled dramatically inside Si Ming due to the attribute conversion. As always, it obeyed him, gathering at his lower abdomen's dantian as he focused completely.

The immense quantity caused a change in form. In an instant, an unstable dark vortex formed within Si Ming.

It was highly unstable, ready to collapse at the slightest touch. Yet that also meant it had risen to a new level in the realm of Battle Qi. The next moment, Si Ming exhaled sharply and threw a powerful punch at the open ground ahead!

Bang—

A dusky cloud of qi burst violently from his fist. It crossed more than ten meters and lightly tore open the ground. A crater the size of a bowl exploded open, scattering stone chips everywhere.

Battle Qi Release, Hundred-Step Divine Fist.

He had mastered Battle Qi Release long ago. He could fire Battle Qi outward or infuse it into physical objects. Before, however, its released power had at most been enough to shoot birds or drive off insects. Now, it possessed close-range stopping power comparable to a large-caliber firearm.

Thump— The vortex inside him suddenly contracted. Just before it collapsed, the released Battle Qi abruptly flowed back—high-level Battle Qi used vortices as a marker of advancement because they could greatly improve Battle Qi circulation and recovery speed. A mere increase in quality and quantity could not compare to a difference at the level of underlying mechanics.

"Whew..."

The vortex dispersed, then gathered again within Si Ming, faintly on the verge of contracting once more. CC + C ultimately could not fully equal B. He still needed further improvement before he could gain a foothold in this field.

"I need techniques for using Battle Qi, pills to replenish qi, or perhaps natural treasures."

Si Ming knew that what he had cultivated was most likely not actually "Battle Qi." But since it could manifest a Battle Qi vortex and be released as projectiles, that meant qi-type martial arts were probably compatible with it. Combat skills could be used, and naturally, so could support resources. And besides...

With a shift of thought, the Night Battle Qi transformed back into Necrotic Aura. The ritual materials he had purchased from the Main God descended once more. This time, a full three... no, four Skeleton Soldiers were successfully raised at Si Ming's will.

The Necrotic Aura flowed back, and the skeletons turned back into bones. Raising more undead brought back more miscellaneous fragments. As a result, the summoning technique could not be used continuously.

It needed adjustment. It needed purification. Or perhaps...

"Transform."

Transform, then transform again. Deathly qi became Battle Qi, and Battle Qi became deathly qi. The Battle Qi vortex easily cleared away the fragments that caused the Necrotic Aura to become inert. Though the transformations still took time, this nonetheless meant one thing.

Rapid qi recovery, regardless of what kind of qi it was.

"Heh." Si Ming smiled. "Looks like I've become one of those damned dual-enhancement builds too."

By this point, he already counted as an overpowered character. But Si Ming was practical and unwilling to rest on his laurels. There was still more he wanted to obtain, more he wanted to verify.

A sphere appeared in his hand.

It was his first acquisition in the AVP world: that Sharingan eyeball with One Tomoe. Aside from being largely unused in the final battle, it had played a significant role when he dealt with Xenomorph encirclement and infiltrated the United States military base. Now, it had essentially reached the limit of its usability.

The eyeball was now little more than a keepsake. If he activated it one more time, it would turn to dust. Yet its very existence had already confirmed something for Si Ming: his Night Battle Qi could animate dead objects, even dead objects that possessed supernatural power.

Did ordinary Battle Qi have this function? Perhaps some specialized, high-end types of Battle Qi possessed such animation effects. His initial attempt had only been because the original Naruto story contained a similar operation—placing a removed Sharingan inside a crow, then casting genjutsu remotely. But looking back now, he immediately realized that chakra and Battle Qi were fundamentally different!

So...

He would give it a try.

"Main God, exchange for a corpse of a... wind-element Magic Wolf."

—[Request accepted.]

Two hundred reward points were spent. The corpse of a huge wolf appeared before Si Ming, snow-white all over, without the slightest mixed color in its fur. Even in death, it faintly exuded a biting presence—he waited until the newly formed Battle Qi vortex had refined away all impurities from his power, then transformed it back into Necrotic Aura. Then he raised it.

The white Wind Wolf swayed as it stood. Raising this corpse consumed Necrotic Aura equivalent to that needed for two Skeleton Soldiers. Under Si Ming's command, it ran and maneuvered, displaying speed and power worthy of its price. But that was all it could do.

"Use Wind Bullet on the ground ahead."

The command was issued, but there was no response.

The Wind Magic Wolf, its eyes glowing with dark light, stood quietly in place. As a corpse, it possessed only the ability to control its muscles and bones.

Si Ming walked over.

He reached out and touched the Wind Magic Wolf's body. The remaining half of his Necrotic Aura, gathered at his brow, transformed into Night Battle Qi. This transformed power then seeped in, penetrating deep into the corpse just as when Si Ming used the Battle Qi Projection technique.

He quickly found the corresponding supernatural organ. There was a necrotic region in the Magic Wolf's chest and lungs that had already gone inactive. Once he injected Night Battle Qi into it, that dead portion reactivated, producing a clear energy response.

He issued the same command again. This time, the raised Magic Wolf under his control suddenly threw back its head. Energy surged once more through the depleted energy circuits in its shell—

Boom—

A spiraling Wind Bullet erupted from the Magic Wolf's mouth. Its power was just as Si Ming had once seen, capable of splitting mountains and shattering stone. Yet neither his Night Battle Qi nor the activated supernatural Magic Wolf organ suffered any depletion from that attack.

So that was it. When the corpse was intact, what was animated was not merely the organ, but the entire energy system as well, temporarily activated together. The consumption was therefore borne by the Magic Wolf's entire body rather than the Battle Qi or the supernatural organ. And if that was the case...

Night Battle Qi flowed into its brain.

The next moment, the dark glow in the Magic Wolf's eyes intensified considerably. Visibly, the entire wolf became quicker and more agile.

It could now carry out somewhat complex commands. It could lie in ambush and employ tactics. Performing a four-legged tap dance on tiptoe was admittedly a little difficult, but without question, this was an extremely crucial gain.

"Necrotic Aura can be improved through cultivation in graveyards. As for Battle Qi, that will require dietary supplements, qi circulation, or pills and treasures."

Reincarnators would almost never visit peaceful worlds. There would be plenty of opportunities to encounter graveyards and mass burial pits. But that was a slow process that consumed time, so if he wanted to maximize efficiency, he had to approach it from another angle.

He thought for a moment.

"Main God, give me all information related to the Xenomorph series and the Yautja series."

A huge quantity of documents appeared, directly on the office desk Si Ming had purchased for 1 reward point. They were automatically imported into the high-performance office computer that came with the desk, making them convenient for Si Ming to read.

Some intelligence was confirmed, and some conjectures were verified. Of course, the most important thing was the secret from his memories of the third generation. Deep within the ruins beneath the abandoned Antarctic research station lay a precious treasure known as Death Divinity.

That hidden divinity was an important reason why he had chosen the Necromancer enhancement. Next, he would naturally act to obtain this treasure.

"I might not necessarily have to go to Antarctica. There are many places on AVP Earth with remnants of Yautja ruins. They may all have been erased in explosions during failed hunts, but the Maya and Aztec civilization ruins in Central and South America should surely be able to offer me some additional gains."

Even if they could not, he could take a trip to Africa or the Middle East. AVP 1 and 2 both took place in 2004. Earth at that point in time was not short on wars. So long as he participated in them, he could hone his skills, while the large numbers of corpses and bones he encountered would also boost his Necrotic Aura.

Therefore, he needed a suitable identity.

He browsed through the entertainment section of the exchange list and quickly found the corresponding entry. Reincarnators would originally receive local identities granted by the Main God when they descended into reincarnation worlds. So long as they used an item, they could make a certain degree of adjustment.

—[Identity Adjustment Card—Special item. Reincarnators may use it when traveling to worlds they have already cleared. It can grant an identity in a designated direction that does not involve the world's main theme. Until this card is destroyed or the Reincarnator voluntarily exposes their identity, the Reincarnator will receive passive recognition of their new identity in that world. This item is single-use and does not alter interpersonal relationships within the setting.]

A small card costing two hundred points looked like something meant for leisure travel. Naturally, it could not make him a Xenomorph, a Yautja, or someone closely associated with them in the AVP world. And since it did not alter interpersonal relationships, even if he used the card to gain the identity of President of the United States, no one would support or acknowledge him. They would only think there had been some sort of system error. The same would naturally apply to sects and organizations in high-difficulty worlds.

"But it is enough to make me an archaeologist specializing in ancient civilizations... no, an explorer would be more suitable."

With a new identity, he could naturally use all kinds of transportation normally, and he would not get entangled in the Xenomorph disaster in that Colorado town. Furthermore, the survivor who witnessed everything in the first AVP film was also a world-renowned top explorer. If necessary, he could use that connection in identity to try contacting her.

Then, the next essential item should be—

—[Dimensional Ring—Origin: Pan-Fantasy setting. A spatial item without any additional functions, capable only of storing objects. This item will record the energy frequency of its first user and, after binding, open a standard spherical space with a radius of three meters. Time does not pass within this space, but it cannot contain living individuals with intelligence.]

—[Exchanging for this item requires 1 D-rank side quest and 1,500 reward points.]

He waved a hand, and both the Skeleton Soldiers and the Magic Wolf were placed into the summoning space that came with the Necromancer enhancement—a small space filled with negative energy. While it could preserve the undead's condition and repair their damage, it would severely corrode any other items with negative energy.

So he needed to buy an extra ring. The firearms, explosives, medicine, food, precious metals, and other things he would buy later would then have a suitable place to be stored. Beyond that came the purchase of pills for advancement.

—[Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill—Origin: Battle Through the Heavens setting. Can greatly raise the Battle Qi level of C- to B-rank Battle Qi and Battle Qi-like users. This medicine is a perfect specimen; its side effects and uncertainties have been eliminated. Exchanging for this item requires 1 D-rank side quest and 1,000 reward points.]

With that, he had nearly used up all his side quests.

What remained was the final key item.

"Main God, I want to buy a dead Burrowing Devil Worm!"