Chapter 376: Name Your Conditions, the World Will Reimburse You

The Plane of Truth collapsed, forcing Qi Suian back to the physical plane.

"More of a hindrance than a help," Qi Suian cursed, his eyes immediately falling upon the Royal Shadow Guard and personnel from the Exorcism Bureau.

He had already figured out why he was here.

It could only be that the "protagonist" survivor had used his time-rewind ability too many times, altering the seal. The personnel from the Celestial Capital Sealing Vault must have then detected the change.

To avoid more serious consequences, they naturally decided to reseal it.

Which, in turn, had screwed Qi Suian over.

Despite his curse, no one dared to argue with him. The head of the Celestial Capital Exorcism Bureau stepped forward and said, "His Majesty instructed me to inform you that, should you emerge, he will be waiting for you in the Imperial Study."

Hearing this, Qi Suian merely gave a calm nod and departed immediately.

As for the aftermath? That wasn’t his problem.

Moving at the speed of the Tai Sui God, he quickly reached the Imperial Study in the Imperial Palace. Perhaps due to prior orders, Qi Suian’s entry was smooth and unobstructed; no one stopped him along the way.

The moment he stepped into the Imperial Study, Qi Suian’s expression changed slightly.

He could clearly sense the change in the Imperial Study.

"You’re here. Sit." Emperor Zhiyue’s form was visible, yet it seemed distorted and surreal.

Qi Suian understood. The person before him likely wasn’t Emperor Zhiyue, but the World Will of the Ghost World.

"I was the one who let that special survivor leave." The entity wasted no time on pleasantries or subtleties, getting straight to the point of Qi Suian’s confusion.

Qi Suian sat down opposite the being and asked, "Why? I need an explanation."

"This probably wasn’t the first time I’ve been reset. He had no chance of winning. As long as I raised my time resistance to its limit, killing him would have been a simple matter."

He was clearly unhappy. If he had just killed that protagonist survivor, his own Protagonist Halo would have reached Enhancement +11.

’That would have given me a much better start and more room for growth in the next Doomsday World, and you just let him go?’

The World Will, however, offered a glitchy smile.

"I know that as a violator, you live in constant danger and rarely have the luxury of planning for the future."

"But his departure will allow us to get a better grasp on the Doomsday Game and the movements within that world."

"I was the one who gave him both the Ghost Control Technique and the Truth Ghost."

"There’s no such thing as a free lunch," the World Will said, giving Qi Suian a firm reply.

For Qi Suian to have killed him would have been to do nothing more than cripple one of the Doomsday World’s assets, but that wasn’t the World Will’s true goal.

The entity wanted more, so using the protagonist survivor as bait and a beacon was where the real benefit lay.

Qi Suian’s expression softened.

"So, you’re telling me that after all the trouble I went through, this thing was your creation all along?" Qi Suian asked, exasperated, as he produced the book on the Ghost Control Technique.

"That’s right. However, it’s only a prototype, and it comes with a prerequisite," the World Will admitted.

"It’s the Protagonist Halo, isn’t it? Without its blessing, whoever uses this dies." Qi Suian had briefly flipped through its contents on his way over.

To put it bluntly, this so-called Ghost Control Technique was never meant to be practiced by anyone.

"Yes. But the Doomsday Game has already obtained this Ghost Control Technique. It won’t skimp on the energy needed to help you develop it into a complete version."

"Once you cultivate the soul seed into a ghost, I will send you to the other world. Until I myself arrive, I won’t interfere with anything you do." The World Will laid out its terms.

’This was basically giving him free rein.’

But to Qi Suian, this carried another implication.

"You want me to act as your vanguard, and there’s nothing in it for me?" Qi Suian demanded.

’What’s that? Be more respectful just because the World Will is stronger than me?’

’That’s the logical thing to do, sure, but who knows if it’ll just get rid of me once I’ve served my purpose?’

’It’s better to cash in on my value now and grab as many benefits as I can. Rather than betting on the mercy of a World Will, I’d rather choose to make myself stronger.’

’The worst-case scenario is just death, anyway.’

"Haven’t you already obtained the Ghost Control Technique? That should be very useful to you."

"Even if it doesn’t meet your requirements, it can serve as a foundation for the Ghost Refining Technique," the World Will teased.

"I want the complete data for the Highly Poisonous Mage class," Qi Suian stated his demand.

The World Will showed no expression at his words, only saying slowly, "That Extraordinary system is obsolete."

"Even if I gave it to you, you wouldn’t be able to use it."

"Besides, the Highly Poisonous Mage doesn’t synergize well with your Profound Virus."

Qi Suian wasn’t surprised by the refusal and said directly, "Then give me one that is."

"I’ll give you Poison Infusion and Venom Burst." The World Will had no intention of giving Qi Suian a complete class system.

"Not enough. I want all the Skill Books," Qi Suian shot back, making an exorbitant demand.

’Since we’re already at this point, I might as well ask for more.’

"It’s not that I won’t give them to you, but they’ve mostly been reclaimed already. They’d be useless to you," the World Will said slowly. "Besides, even if I gave them to you, would you dare to use them?"

"It’s a complete system. It would require implanting the entire Law of Order into you, completely digitizing you."

"You would become a being of pure data and rules. That doesn’t suit the path you’re on."

At these words, Qi Suian fell silent.

’And what if I just took the data? To be blunt, data alone is just theoretical nonsense, no different from being an armchair general.’

"Without the power of a Highly Poisonous Mage, I can’t use Poison Infusion, Venom Burst, or Poison Nova, can I?" Qi Suian said directly.

What he meant was, he was trying to get the World Will to give him the corresponding seed of Extraordinary power.

However, the World Will said with a half-smile, "The Profound Virus can be a substitute. After all, that was your plan from the beginning."

"To be honest, these two little things aren’t enough to get me to do the job." Qi Suian spread his hands, feigning indifference.

"There’s no danger on the other side. They’re all just survivors. The only one who could possibly threaten you is that special survivor."

"However, his innate ability cannot rewind an entire world. He has lost his greatest advantage."

"Killing him won’t be very difficult."

"For you, it’s a benefit, not a danger," the World Will said casually.

However, Qi Suian didn’t believe it at all. "A person who can rewind time... and you’re telling me the world he’s in isn’t dangerous?"

’If he just had infinite revives instead of this ability, I could buy that.’

’But rewinding time upon death? That’s just absurd.’

’It’s even stronger than my own Death Reforging. This is just like saving and loading a game!’

’If I weren’t just as absurdly overpowered, my first instinct upon meeting an enemy like that would be to turn tail and run, not plot to kill them.’

And now the World Will of the Ghost World was telling him that the other world wasn’t dangerous.

’The survivors might not be strong, but what does that have to do with the world itself?’

’The humans on the planet in my home Profound World were weak, too, but what did that have to do with powerful beings like the Profound Gods and the Blood Moon?’

’Einstein was human, and I’m human. Does that mean I’m equal to Einstein?’

’Even the Profound Virus has its own hierarchy. In Chunyu Hu, it manifested as the Divine Spirit Container Technology, capable of easily destroying Ring Island. But in a normal person, it just turns them into a common zombie.’

"Yes, it’s not dangerous. I will give you sufficient help," the World Will continued.

"Such as?" Qi Suian pressed.

"The camouflage and mimicry modules you need, plus a simulation and invisibility module. How does that sound?" the World Will said directly.

Qi Suian’s face fell. ’The entity had perfectly calculated the modules needed for my Tai Sui God’s next evolution.’

’How could it not know about my deal with Emperor Zhiyue?’

’Ten ghosts. Five for fuel, five for accelerant. Just enough for five evolutions.’

’Giving me four modules leaves me exactly one free slot, perfect for installing an elemental defense module.’

’And then it would send me off to the world next door for an "adventure."’

"Is there more?" Qi Suian continued to ask.

’Whether I’m satisfied or not can be discussed later. It costs nothing to ask, so I might as well try.’

"What else do you want? Just say it," the World Will said, letting Qi Suian take the floor. "But be realistic. Don’t make an exorbitant demand."

"I’m not going to haggle. I’ll simply refuse."

Hearing this, Qi Suian fell silent. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What do you think I should ask for?"

He threw the question right back at it.

’The entity was too wealthy; I had no idea what to ask for.’

The World Will pondered for a moment, then said, "Knowledge about ghosts."

With that, a prismatic crystal condensed in its hand and was offered to Qi Suian.

"This is the data on the birth of ghosts. It might be useful to you."

After this item was produced, Qi Suian fell silent as well.

’I truly never expected it would give me something like this.’

’This was basically the complete data on ghosts.’

The World Will seemed to have seen through Qi Suian’s thoughts and said, "Don’t worry, it’s only the birth data. Think of it as the manufacturing process."

"And I have removed a lot of the rule-based data so that you can better create your own unique ghosts."

"It’s like I’ve only given you a ghost framework. The rest needs to be filled in by you."

"So there’s no need to worry about any hidden problems."

Hearing this, Qi Suian immediately accepted it.

’Whether I believe it is another matter entirely. First things first, I’ll take it. It’s not like it costs me anything.’

"When do I leave?" Qi Suian asked directly after taking it.

’As for the Skill Books and modules, I’ll probably get them right before I depart.’

"It will take some time to establish a lock and open a passage."

"That world is not close to me. It will take at least a month, at the fastest."

"Besides, you won’t be going in as the Vanguard Army. I will use the Doomsday Game’s invasion channels to infiltrate with ghosts first, to open up the situation for you." The World Will offered Qi Suian a strong dose of reassurance.

Qi Suian’s face remained impassive, but inwardly, he was much more satisfied.

’But it makes sense. The biggest winner here is the Ghost World itself. Of course its World Will would be fully invested.’