The Rule-Breaker of the Doomsday Game

Qi Suian returned to the location of his previous safe house, but he didn’t stay within the Yan Kingdom’s former territory.

Just as the AI had said, King Zhen Ao might know something.

Perhaps this was his ’protagonist halo’ helping him out long ago, only he hadn’t obtained the Taiyin Refining Technique back then.

He hadn’t realized it at the time, so now he had naturally returned to wait.

As for where King Zhen Ao was hibernating or when he would emerge, that was unclear.

The giant clam was just a foot soldier; of course it wouldn’t know.

Qi Suian had also conducted a carpet search of the surrounding area using his reconnaissance network, but he found nothing.

He had also considered going over to the Ice Continent to see if he could find a so-called Blood Heart Worm King.

After all, as cold as the Ice Continent was, it still had cold-resistant insects.

In theory, it was possible for a Blood Heart Worm King to have appeared on the Ice Continent.

But the AI quickly reminded Qi Suian that after the Cold Winter apocalypse began, the Cold Energy Monsters on the Ice Continent had long since been unleashed to hunt.

If he went there now, all that remained would be either the dregs or the truly powerful.

Besides, choosing a Blood Heart Worm King that had lived a long time would be more effective.

At that, Qi Suian gave up on the idea and started capturing survivors and Cold Energy Monsters for his experiments.

With the help of a sufficient number of test subjects, Qi Suian arrived at two conclusions.

First, if a person from the Cold Winter World directly consumed an entire Cold Energy Monster and survived, they would awaken a superpower.

However, if they only ate the Cold Energy Monster’s core, they would only obtain a superpower seed. It wouldn’t awaken directly and would need to be nurtured over time.

The first method was efficient and provided an immediate boost in power.

The second method was different. It allowed the superpower to be nurtured further during its seed stage, resulting in a stronger effect upon awakening—it could even potentially evolve.

In fact, there was a third conclusion: directly consuming Cold Energy Monsters in their embryonic or larval stages.

This would also directly awaken a superpower, but the power would be underdeveloped and require specific resources to be supplemented before it could fully mature.

The strength of the resulting superpower would depend on the resources used.

The blood sacrifice ability obtained from the Blood Sacrifice Chapter was a case like this. But because he later killed so much in the Taiyin and Refining Chapters, he had been able to nourish it by absorbing nutrients in that manner.

Therefore, as long as he killed enough, the blood sacrifice ability would not only avoid being weak but would actually grow stronger.

’It seems the creators already thought of everything for you.’

’So what I need is the core of a Blood Heart Worm King from the previous cold energy era.’

Given the choice, Qi Suian would definitely pick the second method. In terms of both potential and effect, it was clearly the best.

’That’s strange. Why not use the core of a Blood Heart Worm King...? Oh, the annotation is there so that even those in the middle and lower tiers can practice the Taiyin Refining Technique.’

’How could people like that possibly kill a Blood Heart Worm King to get its core?’

’But the eggs... the king can lay tens of thousands at a time. A Blood Heart Worm King wouldn’t even notice if one or two went missing.’

Qi Suian quickly put two and two together, understanding the reasoning behind it.

As for why Blood Heart Worm Kings weren’t running rampant despite laying so many eggs and being so powerful... 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

It was because out of those tens of thousands of eggs, only a single Blood Heart Worm could survive. The moment they were born, they had to feed on their siblings.

The first one to hatch would eat the unhatched eggs. After finishing the eggs, it would move on to its other siblings, until only one victor remained to become king.

So, since they were all going to die anyway, the Blood Heart Worm King didn’t care much if one or two eggs were lost. In the end, only one could survive.

This was assuming one only took one or two. If you reached out and grabbed hundreds or thousands, it would be extremely obvious.

Therefore, in theory, the chances of successfully mastering the annotated version of the Taiyin Refining Technique were much higher than the original version.

’Superpowers and Qi Cultivation Methods are related, but not directly.’

’Unless a superpower and a Qi Cultivation Method are exceptionally compatible, they won’t produce the desired effect.’

’So I just need to reverse cause and effect, and I’ll be able to practice a Qi Cultivation Method the same way I practiced the force of an Ancient Martial Technique.’

Previously, Qi Suian had first used the Power of the Limit to create the force, then modified and optimized an Ancient Martial Technique, which resulted in the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Force.

Now, he naturally planned to repeat the same trick: first create a cold-energy-based superpower, then use that power to modify a Qi Cultivation Method, and then he would be able to practice it.

’Next, I have to consider compatibility.’

’My body already has the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Force and a Spirit-enhancing superpower, so for the final foundation, I’m afraid I’ll still have to use the Umbral Virus.’

’And I must prevent the Spirit-enhancing superpower from conflicting with this second superpower.’

’At the same time, I also need to merge the Qi Cultivation Method with the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Force.’

Qi Suian didn’t think having multiple systems was a good thing. It was best to take the best and discard the rest, ultimately forming a unique system that was most suitable for him.

A system suitable for him would be like a tree trunk, while other Extraordinary systems would serve as nutrients, becoming the many branches of that tree.

He’d had this idea for a long time, ever since he first transformed the seven forces of the Evil Dao into his Primordial Force.

’In the end, everything has to revolve around me.’

And he himself... was the Umbral Virus.

’Wait a minute. The Taiyin Refining Technique fell into my hands... so what’s the protagonist of the Cold Winter World supposed to do?’ Qi Suian suddenly thought of this.

Logically, it would be an injustice against the heavens for something this good not to fall into the protagonist’s hands.

Yet, Qi Suian had obtained it. This was very strange.

’Unless... there’s more than one copy of the Taiyin Refining Technique. Maybe I have the original, and he has a handwritten version.’

Qi Suian considered this possibility.

The reason he had this suspicion was because the giant clam had previously mentioned that King Zhen Ao had once fought a human who practiced a fragmented version of the Taiyin Refining Technique.

If there was only one copy, where did the fragment come from? This suggested that while the original was brought into the divine statue, handwritten copies must exist out in the world.

’If my guess is right, does that mean the Taiyin Refining Technique in his possession has been optimized multiple times?’ Qi Suian pondered the possibility.

This Taiyin Refining Technique was, after all, a Qi Cultivation Method from Ancient Times. It had survived through multiple eras; it was unrealistic to think no one had tried to improve it.

The annotations alone were a form of improvement.

’Still, it seems like they’ve been resting on their laurels. I have so many Qi Cultivation Methods in my possession, yet not a single one can compare to the Taiyin Refining Technique.’

’It can’t be just because the Taiyin Celestial Monarch was too much of a genius, could it?’ Qi Suian couldn’t quite comprehend such a massive, generational gap in quality.

But he didn’t dwell on it. So many years had passed; who knew what the circumstances were back then.

Besides, Qi Suian wasn’t particularly eager to find out. It would be great if he could, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t.

’Next up are the adaptability experiments. First, I’ll complete an embryonic body to serve as a vessel for the superpower.’

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

"Something’s wrong. What happened? Why hasn’t the coup in the Fei Kingdom started?" Tang Qing’s expression was grave.

Events had developed beyond his predictions. It hadn’t been long, yet how could his foreknowledge already be failing?

According to rumors and his own inquiries, if nothing went wrong, the iron-fisted prime minister named Zhu Jingyi should have launched her coup today.

Yet, until now, the entire Fei Kingdom was peaceful, showing no signs of change.

This caused all his plans and preparations in the Fei Kingdom to fall apart at the last second.

In his original vision, he would help the iron-fisted prime minister successfully seize power in the Fei Kingdom, then use that relationship to help himself acquire the opportunities within the nation.

But now, all of it had vanished because the coup never happened.

’What could have caused this change...’ Tang Qing was racking his brain but couldn’t figure it out.

Logically, even if his previous actions had altered the course of history, they shouldn’t have been able to affect the Fei Kingdom.

The two kingdoms bordered each other, true, but the world was a frozen wasteland with all transportation cut off. Besides, the opportunities he’d seized shouldn’t have had any connection to that iron-fisted prime minister.

"No, I have to find out why."

If he couldn’t find the reason, Tang Qing wouldn’t be able to rest easy with any of his future actions.

For a reborn person, the most terrifying thing, aside from their identity being exposed, was events unfolding differently from their past life.

The former would attract covetous eyes, while the latter would cause him to completely lose his advantage.

All of his advantages were built upon his foreknowledge.

Otherwise, with his aptitude alone, he would have no advantage in practicing the Taiyin Refining Technique, to say nothing of the vast amount of resources required.

As his investigation progressed, he actually managed to uncover the truth.

"A ’violator’ attacked the Cold Energy Research Base where she was..."

"This... This isn’t right. In my past life, the ’violator’ didn’t attack the Fei Kingdom’s Cold Energy Research Base." Tang Qing’s expression instantly darkened.

Zhu Jingyi was dead. She had died a meaningless death before she even had a chance to rise to power.

This would have a massive impact on the future.

Without her coup, her control over the Fei Kingdom, and her efforts to help civilian survivors, the other nations’ practice of using civilians as test subjects would not be reined in. Instead, it would become even more rampant.

"Dammit, this is a huge problem!" Tang Qing understood that because of Zhu Jingyi’s death, all of his subsequent plans would likely have to change.

If he couldn’t find a way to cash in on his foreknowledge soon, it would probably become useless.

The death of a single key figure had restricted his own rise to power.

"Why would the ’violator’ suddenly attack the Fei Kingdom’s Cold Energy Research Base? This shouldn’t have happened."

’Is it because of me?’ Tang Qing thought back on the opportunities he had intercepted.

In theory, those opportunities had nothing to do with the "violator."

But that was just a theory. For example, in his past life, the original owners of those opportunities had dealings with the "violator."

It was precisely because of those dealings that the "violator" hadn’t attacked the Fei Kingdom’s Cold Energy Research Base.

Because of him, those dealings no longer existed, creating a small change that caused the "violator" to switch targets.

’It seems I’ll have to find a way to get rid of this ’violator’. Otherwise, an unstable factor like this will cause trouble sooner or later.’ A murderous glint flashed in Tang Qing’s eyes.

The man had ruined his plans. How could he not be furious? How could he not want to kill him?

’I need to speed up my progress with the Taiyin Refining Technique.’ Tang Qing knew the "violator" was a thorny problem, but for his own sake, he had to kill him.

He didn’t care who the man was. Anyone who stood in his way had to die!