Chapter 452: The Wind-Communicating Windwalker

Qi Suian quickly settled down on this Sky Island. He suspended all his other projects and began to seriously study the World Core.

Qi Suian's previous experience with the World Core had given him a model of the world's rules, built from a series of Extraordinary data points—progenitors, Divine Techniques, Sacred Artifacts, the Red Sea, and more. This made it much easier for him to get started.

'This is not just the core of a world, but its seed.'

'If the environment is right, there's a high probability it will evolve into a world.' This was the conclusion Qi Suian reached after days of research.

He could barely contain his greed.

His lifelong dream was right before his eyes, but unfortunately, he couldn't grasp the key to it. He could only study it slowly.

His natural train of thought was to erode, assimilate, and then fuse with it.

After all, he had experience refining rules. If he could continuously improve and optimize this method, it was theoretically possible to succeed.

But now, the theory wasn't in his hands; it was in the hands of the World Core itself.

'The difficulty is immense, and I'm already losing momentum.' Qi Suian looked at the World Core in his hand, feeling helpless.

Trying to study the seed of a world all by himself... he truly had the will but not the way.

'If only I had asked the world will of the Ghost World for more guidance back then.'

This was the first time Qi Suian had felt regret. In the past, no matter how disastrous his decisions turned out to be, he would stubbornly endure the consequences without regret.

This time was different. He had truly missed out.

But it was understandable. How could he have known he would obtain such a supreme treasure after passing through just one world?

Back when he was in the Ghost World, even refining a single rule was difficult. You could have killed him, and he still wouldn't have dared to imagine he'd have such an opportunity.

Regret was useless now. He had no idea where the Ghost World was, so asking for guidance was impossible. He could only fumble his way forward on his own.

'But it's not like I haven't gained anything.'

'The progress on my SSS-rank virus-series talent is indeed fast.'

'As expected of a World Core, it truly contains all things.' Qi Suian was somewhat speechless at this.

If he kept studying it, he estimated his virus talent would be maxed out in another three to five months.

And that was if progress was slow. If he got lucky and things went smoothly, he might be able to do it within a week.

However, this was also related to the upgrade path Qi Suian had chosen for his virus talent.

After all, his previous plan was to first become an ecosystem himself, and then develop into a world.

Therefore, his virus talent had a tenuous connection to the World Core, and it was precisely this weak link that allowed for such rapid progress.

'I'm not in a hurry to deal with the talent for now. If it gets upgraded as a side effect, that's fine, but it's not worth focusing my research on it.'

At this stage, the virus talent was less valuable than the World Core.

Especially since the virus talent couldn't directly increase his strength; its benefits were mostly indirect.

'Besides the virus talent, I've also made great progress in analyzing the traits and modules of the Tai Sui God.'

'The various data I've obtained from the World Core basically includes everything about me, except for my X-rank talent, Celestial Fate: Profound.'

'It's practically an encyclopedia. Not only can I study it, but it can also compensate for all my various shortcomings.'

'Once I've learned enough, perhaps I can start to utilize the World Core.'

Qi Suian understood one thing deeply: without sufficient knowledge, how could one operate and maintain a world? Let alone become one.

How would you control the rising and setting of the sun? How would you generate the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning in nature? He was learning all this through knowledge, laying the groundwork.

"Uncle, I'm coming in." A voice came from outside the door.

Qi Suian unhurriedly put his things away. The boy pushed the door open and entered, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

The one who entered was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen named Mi Yun, who was Qi Suian's neighbor.

That's right. The safe house his AI had recommended wasn't in some deserted area, but in a human settlement on the island—a town called Flying Fish Town.

Over a hundred thousand people lived here, with a complete society, civilization, and various conveniences.

After Qi Suian arrived, he quickly got settled and blended in as one of them.

This didn't cause much of a stir, nor did Flying Fish Town erupt in commotion over the arrival of a stranger.

The reason was simple: from time to time, people would be swept away by the wind, and it wasn't unusual for them to land on other Sky Islands.

Sometimes, a hundred people might be blown in on a single day, each one from a different island.

People from Flying Fish Town were also swept away, so among its hundred-thousand-plus residents, many were from other islands.

This was nothing rare.

Of course, many more people actually died in the hurricanes rather than successfully landing on another island.

It was only because of the large population and high birth rate that there were no concerns about demographics.

"Mi Yun, here." Qi Suian casually tossed a piece of candy to him. It was just a crudely refined sugar crystal.

But for the people of Flying Fish Town, it was already a rare commodity.

That's right, Qi Suian's cover was a candy shop. He sold various candies at a normal price. Besides looking a bit nicer, their quality was the same as the other sugar on the island.

The manufacturer wasn't Qi Suian, but his fiber-bodies. They were idle anyway, so he had his AI control them to do his bidding.

As for those who coveted his business... well, it wasn't that there were none.

But this was purely a matter of personal craftsmanship; there was no secret recipe. If you were skilled enough, you could make your candy look just as good. Otherwise, even stealing the so-called secret recipe would be useless.

Mi Yun hurriedly caught the candy Qi Suian tossed him, tucked it into his shirt with a grin, and then said, "Uncle, I have news about what you asked me to find out."

"The Wind King Palace is going to start recruiting Windwalkers again in three days, but they only take children, not adults."

There was a sizable number of children like Mi Yun, bribed with candy by Qi Suian. They roamed the streets and alleys every day, listening for all sorts of news, then filtering out the useful bits to trade for candy at Qi Suian's shop.

It wasn't particularly useful, but Qi Suian had the protagonist's halo, so you never knew what kind of intelligence might turn up.

In any case, candy wasn't valuable to Qi Suian.

"So, are you planning to go? I remember you're still young enough, right?" Qi Suian prompted.

The so-called Windwalkers were people who had mastered the power of wind.

On his first day in the Sky Island World, the people Qi Suian had seen piloting what were called "wind ships" were the Windwalkers of the Wind King Palace.

That was why after the wind ship crashed, there were no casualties. Thanks to their own Extraordinary powers, they all survived.

The Windwalker Extraordinary system was rather unique. They awakened by communicating with the wind, and the awakened could obtain corresponding powers from it.

Some gained physical objects, others gained abilities, and still others gained beings from within the wind.

They would then use this power to continue communicating with the wind and deepen their friendship, further expanding their own strength.

However, although Windwalkers mastered the power of the wind, they did not gain effects like immortality or extended lifespans. Their lifespans were normal.

But if they died, they could become Wind Spirits—a special existence similar to Heroic Spirits, but made of wind.

As for where the Wind Spirits ultimately went, according to the Wind King Palace, they returned to the embrace of the wind.

In this Sky Island World, the wind represented gods, nature, and so on. It also represented the repose of death, the birth of life, and more.

And the Wind King Palace was the sole Extraordinary organization, akin to a religion, clan, sect, and Government Office all rolled into one, which managed and ruled most of the islands.

There were no signs of dictatorship or tyranny, at least not on the Sky Island of Flying Fish Town.

Because the various Sky Islands were isolated from each other by hurricanes, the Wind King Palace was not a single entity, but multiple different powers that shared the same name.

For instance, the Wind King Palace of Flying Fish Town upheld the most ancient and simple traditions: exploring the hurricanes and searching for the source of the wind.

"It's a pity, but my mom won't let me go." Mi Yun, of course, wanted to become a Windwalker. It was so prestigious, so cool.

However, it was too dangerous.

Windwalkers not only had to maintain the peace in Flying Fish Town, but they also had to explore the hurricanes.

Although they possessed the power of the wind, hurricanes were violent. It wasn't every time a wind ship was destroyed that all the Windwalkers would escape unharmed.

The last time, they were just lucky there were no casualties. Otherwise, three to five Windwalkers would inevitably die each time.

No one could be sure they wouldn't be among the dead.

Therefore, although the people of Flying Fish Town took pride in being Windwalkers, most didn't want their own children to become one.

Of course, there was another reason: not everyone could become a Windwalker.

Every year, the Wind King Palace would recruit a large number of children as Windwalker candidates, but only one or two out of a hundred could successfully communicate with the wind.

And that was just communication. Awakening was even harder.

So in reality, the number of new Windwalkers appearing in Flying Fish Town each year was not high.

"That's a real shame. I thought I might see you soaring through the sky one day," Qi Suian said with regret.

"Nothing to be ashamed of. I'm my parents' only child." Mi Yun said lightly, "The Wind King Palace won't miss one more Windwalker, but my parents need me."

Mi Yun saw things very clearly. The chances of success were too low, so it was better not to even try.

He didn't have any delusions of grandeur; he understood the importance of being down-to-earth.

"Alright, Uncle, if there's nothing else, I'm heading back. They're waiting for me at home." Mi Yun said, leaving with the candy tucked away.

He wasn't going to eat the candy. It was for trade.

Eating it would only satisfy a craving, but trading it could get his family of three a day's worth of food.

Mi Yun was naturally able to weigh which choice was more valuable.

'The children of the poor grow up fast. Tsk.'

'And Flying Fish Town is certainly poor.' Qi Suian was, of course, aware that Flying Fish Town's production capacity and technology level were not very high.