Chapter 463: Flying Fish Town’s Wind King Egg

’A Lord of Wind has been born in Flying Fish Town?’ While sensing the wind, Shi Mo, the Grand Elder of the Flying Fish Town Wind King Palace, heard the news that the entire island had changed hands.

A look of confusion and helplessness appeared on his face.

As the Grand Elder, he was naturally privy to deeper secrets—ones he had heard from the wind when he first assumed the title.

That was how he knew about the Wind King, the wars, and other such matters.

And though he had never met a Lord of Wind, he knew exactly what the title signified.

From this moment forward, that person was the true master of Flying Fish Town.

’Use my years of prestige and power to oppose the Lord of Wind and undermine their authority?’

’The very idea is absurd. They have complete control over the entire island. How could I possibly oppose or undermine someone when I’m standing on their territory?’

’With just a few simple tricks, they could make me vanish without a trace.’

’A heavy-handed approach would be to sever my connection to the wind. A more insidious one would be to make the fields barren and the beasts stop reproducing.’

’They could bring me to my knees with ease.’

’They can move the island itself, control hurricanes and Hurricane Beasts.’

’Even if we all banded together to isolate the Lord of Wind and put up a fight, they could simply toss us all into a hurricane.’

’At worst, they could just go to other islands and recruit a new batch of obedient commoners and Windwalkers. Rebuilding the Wind King Palace would be no great challenge.’

Of course, Shi Mo had no intention of resisting or targeting this new Lord of Wind.

His real worry was that he and his people would now be sent to war.

The duty of every Lord of Wind was to fight for the Wind King on the battlefield.

Flying Fish Town could no longer remain in the safe, inner territories of the Wind King.

They struggled just to fight off a band of Wind Thieves, to say nothing of a full-scale, brutal war.

"Sigh... I wonder how many of us will survive." Shi Mo knew all too well how cruel war could be.

Following a Lord of Wind promised a brighter future for anyone who could survive the war, but survival itself was an incredibly difficult feat.

"Don’t worry. We’re not going to the battlefield," Qi Suian said as he walked in.

He wasn’t worried about being recognized as the former owner of the candy shop.

After his virus-based talent had been upgraded to SSS-rank, his health was fully restored. He was no longer the sickly, pain-ridden invalid he used to be.

His entire being—from his spirit and energy to his physical appearance—had undergone a heaven-and-earth-shaking transformation.

"My Lord." Seeing him, Shi Mo offered a greeting before asking, "I don’t quite understand what you mean, my Lord."

"It means exactly what I said," Qi Suian stated plainly. "The Wind King has assigned me a different task."

’You’ll be handling it? Then what about us?’ Shi Mo wondered, though he didn’t voice his doubts about Qi Suian’s claim.

He didn’t believe Qi Suian would risk the Wind King’s punishment just to deliberately stay in the inner territories.

"As for all of you, you have a mission as well."

"I need more Windwalkers."

"Our target this time is the lightning in the skies above the islands," Qi Suian said.

"I’m afraid your mission is something that even veteran Lords of Wind have been unable to resolve." Shi Mo was, of course, aware of the lightning in the sky.

He just didn’t know its origin. It wasn’t that no one had tried to solve the problem; it was that no one had succeeded.

"That’s not your concern." Qi Suian already knew that, of course. "I actually have a question for you," he continued.

"You should know the truth about the source of the wind, so why did you have Flying Fish Town build wind-faring ships? And why hide the existence of the Hurricane Beasts?" Qi Suian asked, his curiosity piqued.

This was a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

"As you know, my Lord, these islands are essentially used to replenish troops for the war."

"The process is for Windwalkers to give birth to Wind Spirits, but the quality of these Wind Spirits is influenced by the Windwalker’s emotions, willpower, and other factors."

"Therefore, to produce higher-quality Wind Spirits, we need to give the Windwalkers a goal to strive for."

"Each Wind King Palace does it differently. Here in Flying Fish Town, we use the ’quest to discover the source of the wind’."

"Of course, the previous Wind Thief Leader was not an orthodox Wind King Palace Elder. He seized his position through slaughter and plunder, so he never acquired the abilities that come with the title."

"As a Wind King Palace Elder, I am able to hear more information and secrets from the wind."

"That is how I know about things like the Lord of Wind and the war." Shi Mo held nothing back, explaining everything he knew.

If a Lord of Wind was the island’s ruler, then a Wind King Palace Elder was their aide—a sort of low-spec version of a Lord of Wind, with none of the permissions.

"I see." Qi Suian now had a much deeper understanding of the Wind King’s methods of control.

"Don’t reveal my existence. In any case, we’re not going to the battlefield."

"However, you should still bolster Flying Fish Island’s military strength as quickly as possible. We’ll need it sooner or later."

"As for everything else, continue managing things as you always have. Just act as if I don’t exist."

Qi Suian had no intention of getting involved in the various affairs of Flying Fish Town. He didn’t have the time or inclination for it.

He would rather spend that time studying the Flying Fish Town Island itself.

As for the Wind King’s mission? It wasn’t compulsory; it was incentivized.

If Qi Suian chose not to go, the Wind King wouldn’t press him immediately. Instead, he would let Qi Suian slack off for a while before ordering him to report to the battlefield.

Don’t do the mission, and you become cannon fodder on the battlefield. It was as simple as that.

So, Qi Suian decided to drag it out for a while.

"This... very well." Shi Mo hadn’t expected this from Qi Suian at all.

He had been prepared to hand over his power, but not only did the new lord refuse it, he wanted Shi Mo to keep doing his job.

This was a good thing for him, in a way. He had worked hard to achieve his high position. While he was willing to relinquish his power, he would have done so begrudgingly.

"I just came to inform you. Also, I should remind you that the island’s position will be changing soon. You need to keep the populace calm to avoid any mishaps," Qi Suian added.

The Flying Fish Town Island was still useful to Qi Suian, and having it maintained at no cost to himself was the best-case scenario.

Therefore, having Shi Mo, the Grand Elder of the Flying Fish Town Wind King Palace, do the work was an excellent arrangement.

Especially since the man couldn’t bear to part with his power. It was a win-win.

Furthermore, judging by his attitude, Shi Mo had no intention of resisting him, which made him the perfect man for the job.

"Rest assured, my Lord. I will manage Flying Fish Town well on your behalf." Shi Mo’s words were pleasing to the ear. The simple phrase "on your behalf" demonstrated that he harbored no ambitions of his own.

Even if he did, it would be pointless. The position wouldn’t fall to him even if Qi Suian were to die.

Besides, if a Lord of Wind died within the inner territories, the Wind King would surely launch an investigation.

To die on the battlefield was an honorable end for a warrior, a common occurrence.

But to die in the inner territories? The Wind King would only assume there was a problem within his own domain and launch a full-scale purge.

"Good," Qi Suian replied, then left without another word.

As long as the man did his job, Qi Suian didn’t care about his attitude or his thoughts. ’Everyone has ambitions, after all.’

After leaving, Qi Suian made his way to the center of the Flying Fish Town Island, deep underground.

After becoming the Lord of Wind, he had discovered a hollow life signature at the island’s core.

He had arranged for Fei and the fiber bodies to start excavating, and had just taken a moment to go speak with Shi Mo.

Now that their conversation was over, it was time to return.

"How’s the digging going?" Qi Suian asked.

[We have broken through. You may proceed to inspect it.]

The fiber bodies were incredibly efficient. As long as they could open their mouths and eat, everything else was simple.

When Qi Suian arrived, he saw a grayish-white sphere about the size of a human head. Its surface was tough, yet it appeared exceptionally soft.

’Fish roe?’ The possibility suddenly occurred to Qi Suian.

[Correct. This is likely an egg of the Profound Mechanism Wind King. However, it is missing the other half of its life force, classifying it as a dead egg.]

"So this is an unformed Wind King." Qi Suian’s eyes narrowed. He knew Flying Fish Town held a fortunate encounter for him, but he never imagined it would be this significant.

"Though it’s highly unlikely to be the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so calm when he met me."

"Let’s not worry about its origin for now. I need to figure out how I can use it."

Qi Suian reached out and took the Wind King Egg. As it settled into his palm, a gust of wind materialized around it.

The wind felt utterly hollow, devoid of any vitality, yet the Wind King Egg itself possessed a life signature. It was a stark contradiction.

[You could attempt to stimulate it using the Thunder God. It might replenish the missing, hollowed-out life force.]

"Well, I’ll be damned..." Qi Suian thought the AI had some good ideas. "But first, I need to figure out what this thing is worth."

If it had no value, why would he invest any resources into it?

He wasn’t the type to do things without expecting a return on his investment.

[It may be helpful in your goal to devour and fuse with the World Core.]

[After all, you possess a ’protagonist’s halo.’ Since this opportunity has presented itself to you, it must be useful.]

[Its usefulness may vary in scale, but it will not be useless.]

The AI spoke with conviction. It didn’t understand the principles behind a "protagonist’s halo," but it certainly understood its effects.

"That logic is sound enough. Alright, let’s make a small initial investment." Qi Suian had been about to say that he already had the Profound Mechanism Wind King, a complete Wind King, so there was no need to bother with an egg that lacked vitality.

But on second thought, it could serve as a backup plan. If he couldn’t rely on the Profound Mechanism Wind King later, he would have another option.

Investing resources didn’t guarantee a return, but if he were ever truly out of options, it would still be a lifeline.

[No. I suggest you prioritize the Wind King Egg over the Profound Mechanism Wind King.]

[Compared to the Profound Mechanism Wind King, the Wind King Egg has one major advantage: it will not resist. You won’t have to worry about any backlash from it.]

"Show me the data." Qi Suian trusted the AI, but he needed to see the report.

It wasn’t that he was overly suspicious; he simply needed to understand the underlying principles and logic.

Qi Suian wasn’t the type of person to be satisfied with knowing the ’what’ without understanding the ’why’.

The AI immediately sent the data report to Qi Suian.

After a quick review, Qi Suian said, "We’ll treat them as equal priorities."

"It has its advantages, but the risks and rewards are proportional. The Wind King Egg is a safe bet, but it won’t meet my ultimate expectations."

Qi Suian knew that choosing the Profound Mechanism Wind King was dangerous, but the potential payoff from success was something the Wind King Egg could never match.

Therefore, he would pursue both paths simultaneously. As long as one succeeded, it wouldn’t be a loss.