The Rule-Breaker of the Doomsday Game

"Your speed is impressive. Combined with your Ancient Martial Technique, you actually managed to break through the firepower screen created by my Floating Cannons."

"But I have to say..." Qi Suian countered with a sharp blow. "You didn’t get here on strength. You got here on luck."

’Did Qin Sheng really think getting close to me meant it was all over?’

If this were still the Qi Suian from the Profound World, that would indeed have been the case.

But now, even though his overall stats couldn’t match Qin Sheng’s, he was no pushover.

He sent Qin Sheng reeling with a single blow.

The man’s condition was clearly abnormal; he was in a powered-up state.

"It’s over," Qi Suian said, as nineteen Floating Cannons fired in unison.

But Qin Sheng struggled back to his feet, defiantly brandishing the Longquan Treasure Sword.

"BREAK!!!" he roared, but the Dark Energy Beams struck him.

Logically, Qin Sheng should have been as good as dead.

But a brilliant glow suddenly erupted from his body, forming a protective barrier that shielded him for a crucial moment.

"Young man, be merciful where you can," an ancient voice intoned.

"Don’t burn all your bridges. Have you ever considered that with such vicious methods, you might one day suffer the same fate?" another voice added.

Immediately, Qi Suian saw seven figures appear within the protective barrier surrounding Qin Sheng.

This time, Qi Suian didn’t say a word. He simply ordered the AI to increase the power without a moment’s hesitation.

The nineteen Floating Cannons began to combine, activating the same overload mode he had once used against the Blood Moon.

In an instant, the Dark Energy Beam pierced through the protective barrier around Qin Sheng. The seven figures, having not even fully materialized, were swallowed by the beam along with the barrier and Qin Sheng himself.

He was deader than dead.

"If I spare him today, will he spare me tomorrow?"

"If I’m not ruthless today, I won’t be alive tomorrow," Qi Suian said coldly.

’Of course I know what they were trying to do. It was nothing more than a cheap trick to stall for time.’

’Trying to sway my will with just a few words? How laughable.’

’Besides, why should I give a damn about my enemy’s well-being?’

’Behind Qin Sheng, there are still seven old geezers. I need to find a way to kill them and eliminate this problem for good.’ Qi Suian understood the principle: if you’re going to do something, either don’t do it at all, or see it through to the absolute end.

’If I’m going to survive this month, it looks like it’s going to be on your dime.’

’That mysterious Protective Divine Light was able to briefly block a Dark Energy Beam. That’s no small feat.’

He might have missed out on obtaining that treasure by destroying it.

But Qi Suian didn’t care at all. Qin Sheng being dead was the greatest help he could ask for.

After all, he had plundered the man’s protagonist halo, and his own had been enhanced to +4.

[Enhancement +4: Warlord]

’I know this word, but "Warlord" is a bit broad.’

’It’s not something as simple as a boost to my martial luck, is it?’

For the moment, Qi Suian didn’t feel any changes.

He asked the AI, but naturally, it couldn’t detect anything either.

After all, Celestial Fate: Profound was Class-X, far beyond the AI’s observational capabilities.

’Still, Kaiyang and Warlord seem to be a matching set of enhancements.’ Qi Suian could tell that, compared to the protagonist pair from the ’reincarnator’ storyline, Qin Sheng and his counterpart were a much better fit.

The most obvious example was that the female lead’s protagonist halo required Qin Sheng to act as a stage for its effects, rather than functioning on its own.

Therefore, a single enhancement might not have much of an effect; they only realize their full potential as a set.

’I can only observe for now.’ Qi Suian didn’t have any other options.

These two words weren’t like the previous enhancements, where the effect was spelled out in the name.

After stretching a bit, Qi Suian walked over to where Qin Sheng had died and began to inspect the area and clean up.

’I got the protagonist halo, so that confirms he’s dead.’

’But he came from an unusual background. Maybe he left something behind.’

’If I find anything, I’ll have hit the jackpot. Time to sweep the battlefield.’

It was a nice thought, but he quickly realized he’d been too optimistic. Nothing could have possibly survived the Dark Energy Beam from nineteen combined Floating Cannons.

’Sigh. If only that item that generated the Protective Divine Light had survived, I would’ve really hit the jackpot.’

’That thing could have been used as a shield module, and a high-quality one at that.’

An item capable of briefly blocking the Floating Cannons had to be at least S-rank.

Qi Suian didn’t dare to guess it was SSS-rank because the Floating Cannons hadn’t been at their full power.

’If I’d gotten my hands on it, I could have shored up one of my own weaknesses.’

But regrets were just regrets. If given the choice again, Qi Suian would still unhesitatingly choose to sacrifice the item to kill Qin Sheng.

To miss out on a protagonist halo for a piddling profit would have been the real loss.

’Not getting the item meant I didn’t profit. But letting Qin Sheng escape? That would have been a net loss.’

After tidying up, he prepared to leave. He had no choice—that swarm of Ashen Bandage Men, the Sun Puppets, was already closing in.

He didn’t know if they had sensed the commotion or if they were drawn by the final backlash from Qin Sheng’s protagonist halo as he died.

’It seems there are differences between protagonist halos.’

’If I hadn’t obtained the protagonist halos from the male and female leads of the reincarnator’s world, the protagonist halo from the Profound World would probably be weaker than the one from the Ancient Martial World.’

’The Ancient Martial World must hold other secrets. The Ancient Martial Technique Qin Sheng used at the end was infused with a higher level of power, especially during that final rescue attempt.’

’So, to ensure my own protagonist halo maintains its superiority, I must kill the protagonists of more worlds and absorb their halos.’

’Is this like the difference between a small town and a big city?’

The more Qi Suian thought about it, the more sense it made. His own protagonist halo was just a remnant left behind after the death of the Profound God. It sounded impressive, but in reality, it was just scraps.

When faced with protagonists from more powerful worlds, his advantage wasn’t nearly as pronounced.

If Qi Suian hadn’t already killed the seven female protagonists and taken their halos, the ones coming to rescue Qin Sheng wouldn’t have been seven mere projections, but the seven old masters themselves, descending in person.

’But those seven are probably no saints themselves. Cultivating Qin Sheng so deliberately... they must have their own agenda.’

The fact they could briefly block a Dark Energy Beam was proof enough that they were far from ordinary.

’Seven powerhouses like that, all focused on cultivating a single person?’

Of course, the most crucial point was the pattern of this doomsday game. It selected and deployed survivors in groups, based on factions or families.

Theoretically, Qin Sheng shouldn’t have arrived alone; he should have been with his seven masters.

But clearly, he had lost contact with them. Instead, his seven masters had all been deployed to the same location, separate from him.

This meant Qin Sheng wasn’t really their disciple at all. He was more like a tool.

And that’s why Qin Sheng was all alone.

Otherwise, if it had been Qin Sheng plus his seven enigmatic masters, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Qi Suian to succeed.

It would be unrealistic to expect a win without paying a steep price.

’There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’

’So... how do I find those seven mysterious old geezers?’

Qi Suian wanted them dead, but first, he had to find them.

[You may continue to rely on your luck, especially in the absence of clues.]

’Luck can only get you so far. Once, maybe twice, but you can’t count on a third time.’

’Whatever. My protagonist halo just got an upgrade, so let’s test it out.’

Qi Suian wanted to argue, but when he considered his situation, he had to admit that relying on luck was his only option.

The circumstances left him no room to protest, and time was running short.

"I’m proud to rely on my luck. Not everyone gets the privilege," Qi Suian thought without a shred of shame.

After all, as the old saying goes, luck is a part of strength. His good luck was a natural extension of his power.

Especially since his luck came from a protagonist halo. He wouldn’t just rely on it; he’d abuse it for all it was worth.

"Bring out a compass," Qi Suian said. The AI cooperatively projected a virtual one.

He gave it a spin, and once it settled on a direction, he set off without the slightest hesitation.

Qi Suian didn’t care where he was going. He simply started cultivating his energy while mentally reviewing the data from the Blood Moon Organization sample.

The Tai Sui God was handling locomotion anyway, so he wasn’t needed. When something actually happened, it wouldn’t be too late to deal with it then.

-----------------

"He’s dead." An old man’s eyes narrowed, but the killing intent emanating from him was impossible to conceal.

"The one we finally found to pave our way... dead, just like that."

"We waited a thousand years for him to break through to the realm beyond Terrestrial Immortal, and he ends up dying at the hands of a complete nobody."

The old man’s rage began to boil over.

If Qin Sheng were still alive, he would have recognized this man as his ever-kind and benevolent First Master.

A man who was never supposed to get angry.

"There’s no use talking about it. Ever since this doomsday game abducted us and threw us into this world to survive, everything has been beyond our control," another old man said, though he managed to restrain his own killing intent.

"This world is undergoing a drastic transformation. Rather than worry about the future, we should focus on the present," a third elder spoke softly. "At the current rate the temperature is rising, the seven of us have twenty days to live, at most."

"That leaves ten days we can’t survive. We need a plan for them."

"To say nothing of the Sun Puppets."

At this, the other six fell silent.

"I don’t care. That brat who ruined everything for me must die." After a long silence, the first elder finally spoke again. "If none of you will go, I’ll go myself."

"What’s the point of practicing martial arts if you can’t act on your own convictions?"

"I can’t stomach this. Even if I live, this grievance will stall my cultivation forever. I might as well die avenging him!"

One of the other elders heard this and found it strange.

’Why is he being so narrow-minded? A true martial artist should be indomitable. How could he let such a small setback ruin his future?’

They had all faced countless difficulties and setbacks on their path from energy training to the realm of Terrestrial Immortals. For their First Master, the most level-headed of them all, to act this way was bizarre.

But he kept this thought to himself. Voicing it aloud when the First Master was in such a state would only be asking for trouble.