Chapter 397: The Green Tide Lord is Brutally Beaten...

[Detecting...]

The AI immediately sent Qi Suian an alert, along with a report.

A smile touched Qi Suian's lips after he reviewed it.

'Looks like you couldn't hold back after all. Just as I expected.'

The report detailed the deaths of survivors in several regions.

Other than the Green Tide Lord, no one on this Exhausted Planet could cause so many casualties in such a short time.

Not even ghosts could do it. There's a certain logic to how ghosts kill.

They are, after all, lifeforms governed by rules and must operate within them.

Even when they kill, it results in widespread deaths, not the complete annihilation of a specific region.

There is a difference between the two. The former is concentrated in one place, while the latter is scattered.

And this was the former. The only one capable of inflicting this kind of damage, besides Qi Suian himself, was the Green Tide Lord.

"Looks like it's ready to burn its bridges. AI, use the satellites to lock onto it for me," Qi Suian said.

The Green Tide Lord had only survived this long because Qi Suian was still acclimating to his sudden surge in power. Otherwise, even if it could hide, where would it possibly go?

The form of Fei materialized, and Qi Suian vaulted onto its back.

After he fused the Tai Sui God into the SSS-class talent, Human World Tai Sui God, the AI could no longer control it on his behalf. He would have to fly it himself.

But Qi Suian couldn't be bothered to fly, so he had to use Fei as a mount.

After all, the AI could control Fei, so all Qi Suian had to do was sit tight.

It was a good thing Qi Suian had used Fei from the start. If he had chosen something like a dragon or a phoenix, it would have been a real pain to manage.

Fei was, after all, a white-headed, single-eyed ox.

Oxen certainly can't fly, but Fei wasn't an ordinary ox, so flying wasn't out of the question.

Following the satellite data, Fei carried Qi Suian swiftly toward the Green Tide Lord's location.

The modules were no longer based on the Tai Sui God's armor rating but on Qi Suian's own power, which made all of them significantly stronger.

Fei's flight speed, naturally, was in a class of its own.

They arrived at the designated area with incredible speed. The sight that greeted them was an endless sea of alien Cyanobacteria.

In the center stood a bloated Armored Man, clad in emerald-green shell armor, perfectly still.

BOOM!

Fei didn't stop. It thundered forward on its hooves, crashing directly into the Green Tide Lord.

However, bolstered by its battle armor and the environment, the Green Tide Lord actually managed to block Fei's charge head-on.

"That equipment and this environment have certainly made you a lot stronger," Qi Suian remarked.

'So what if it blocked Fei's charge? Fei is just a mount. The gap in power between it and me is far too vast.'

"Hmph. You've entered my domain, and you can still afford to laugh?" the Green Tide Lord said coldly. "With that look of a middle-aged man on his last legs... you think this is still yesterday?"

Qi Suian's expression darkened. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the Green Tide Lord, throwing a simple, unadorned punch.

The punch pierced straight through the Green Tide Lord's skull, shattering its battle armor in the process.

He could point out others' flaws because he was strong enough to back it up. But for a weakling like this to dare touch on his sore spot? That was just asking for death.

Qi Suian was, in fact, middle-aged.

Back in the history of the Ancient Dian Kingdom, he had fast-tracked his doctorate and, after graduating, worked at the Watchman Morning Company for several years.

Someone had eventually set him up on a blind date, but the zombie apocalypse erupted before he ever got a chance to meet her.

As a result, Qi Suian never paid much attention to his appearance, which was why he looked the way he did.

"Impossible... How can you be this strong?" After regenerating, the Green Tide Lord used the environmental advantage to rapidly restore its injuries and armor.

It retreated a great distance as it spoke, its expression on the verge of collapse.

'It's only been a day! How did he get so strong?'

It hadn't even been able to react to Qi Suian's last punch; it didn't even know how it had been hit.

There was no special power or technique involved—just the raw might of extreme speed and strength.

"Nothing is impossible," Qi Suian's voice came from right behind the Green Tide Lord.

He reached out, easily crushing the armor around its neck. His hand plunged through and grabbed the Green Tide Lord's throat from behind.

"What, are you the only one who's allowed to improve?" As Qi Suian's words fell, an immense force erupted from his grip.

He snapped the Green Tide Lord's neck and ripped its entire head clean off.

However, because the armor was so tough, the head had already been turned to pulp by the time he tore it free.

The Green Tide Lord continued to absorb the surrounding alien Cyanobacteria to regenerate.

It then forced a spatial jump with its bio-armor to break free from Qi Suian's grasp.

Fueled by a desperate will to survive, the entire sequence happened in a flash.

But escaping was incredibly difficult. Qi Suian was no pushover, so even though it managed to break free, it left half of its body behind in his hand.

This severed half of its body met a terrible fate. Qi Suian swallowed it whole, sending it directly into his Melting Furnace as fuel.

Meanwhile, the Green Tide Lord had only one thought in its mind: escape.

It was no match for Qi Suian. If it stayed any longer, death was certain!

As for whether escape was even possible? That wasn't something it could afford to consider right now.

It couldn't just give up because the chances of success were low. That would be no different from suicide.

THUD~

But just as it turned, a kick from Qi Suian sent it flying back.

With only half a body, it was instantly kicked into a mist of emerald blood that dispersed over the field of alien Cyanobacteria.

"I'll leave this planet right now! Let me go!" the Green Tide Lord shouted, having absorbed a massive amount of the alien Cyanobacteria to barely reform its humanoid shape.

Its battle armor, of course, was destroyed.

"Are you dense? If I kill you, all of this will be mine," Qi Suian said, feigning a pained expression.

'This thing really doesn't get it at all.'

But that was fine. Qi Suian would teach it just how treacherous the human heart could be.

"Did you know? My home world was destroyed. My entire race was wiped out, leaving only me," the Green Tide Lord said suddenly.

Qi Suian's hand paused. He didn't think the Green Tide Lord was telling a sob story; it was threatening him.

"So, you have some kind of Cosmic Treasure that can attract a powerful civilization," Qi Suian said, following its train of thought.

'It didn't matter if he guessed wrong. It would tell him anyway.'

"No. We never obtained it. It was merely suspected to be there," the Green Tide Lord said with a bitter smile.

"In other words, you don't have the Cosmic Treasure, but you know how to attract that civilization," Qi Suian said.

"Correct. The infamous Grox Empire."

"They inhabit and occupy the disk region near the galactic core, blockading every direct route to the center. They've established a kill zone there, tearing to shreds any fleet that dares to approach."

"They do all this for the Cosmic Treasure: the Staff of Life."

"What do you think would happen if I sent them a signal indicating that the Staff of Life is here?" the Green Tide Lord said.

The name Grox Empire sounded vaguely familiar to Qi Suian, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. Who cared about some Grox Empire?

"The universe is vast. What makes you think..." Qi Suian wasn't threatened; rather, an idea was taking shape in his mind.

"The Grox Empire monitors the entire universe. With their technology, they can capture my signal instantly and arrive here almost immediately," the Green Tide Lord interrupted.

Then, it added with a disdainful sneer, "Your understanding of the universe is far too limited."

Hearing this, Qi Suian nodded in agreement. "You're right about that. My knowledge is indeed limited."

"So? You think that's enough to threaten me?"

"Yes. If worst comes to worst, we'll die together," the Green Tide Lord said calmly.

Hearing this, Qi Suian deliberately put on a hesitant expression.

"You guessed right. I do value my life."

"I can let you go, but you'll have to cooperate with some of my research first," Qi Suian said.

"Impossible! I'll never—" The Green Tide Lord's rejection was absolute. It was a complete insult.

"Twenty-four hours. Cooperate, or we both go down together." Qi Suian didn't even listen to its refusal, cutting straight to his final offer.

The reason for the twenty-four-hour deadline was that the formation array would be completed the next day. He wanted to see which was stronger: the so-called Grox Empire or the will of the Ghost World.

"Then how can I be sure you'll keep your promise?" Seeing how decisive Qi Suian was, the Green Tide Lord could only ask for some form of assurance.

'An insult was an insult, but staying alive was what mattered most.'

"Well... what do you propose?" Qi Suian was nonchalant. The research was just a pretext; he didn't actually care about the Green Tide Lord's physical structure.

He was just trying to stall for time so he could have the Green Tide Lord summon the Grox Empire at the opportune moment.

"I need..." Hearing this, the Green Tide Lord unhesitatingly listed its conditions.

"Fine. We'll do it your way," Qi Suian agreed to everything.

'Making a promise didn't mean he had to keep it. This wouldn't be the first time Qi Suian had gone back on his word.'

His quick agreement made the Green Tide Lord suspicious, but as the fish on the chopping block, it could only accept the terms with doubt in its heart.

"And I also need..." It continued, proposing another condition to test him.

"It's only for twenty-four hours. You're asking for too much," Qi Suian refused this time.

The first request was understandable, but a second one was pushing his luck.

If Qi Suian had actually agreed, it would have only made the creature more suspicious.

So he refused before it could even finish.

This refusal actually helped put the Green Tide Lord somewhat at ease. If he had agreed unconditionally, that would have been a real cause for concern.

"A deal's a deal. But first, you have to tell me what it is you're building," the Green Tide Lord asked, voicing its suspicion.

"Something to help me break through to an even higher level of power, of course. I can't possibly tell you the details," Qi Suian said mysteriously.