Chapter 465: The Wind King Egg Activation Experiment Using Thunder Spirits as a Power Source

The effects of the thunderstorm had officially begun, with Thunder Spirits appearing on nine out of ten islands.

This made the war among the Wind Kings all the more brutal.

That’s right. Not only did the fighting not stop, it grew even more ferocious.

They all knew they were about to die, so in a desperate bid to survive, they naturally wouldn’t pass up any opportunity.

This was a bitter pill for the survivors to swallow. They weren’t the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s direct followers, so they were ruthlessly exploited, causing their numbers to plummet once again.

But even if the Profound Mechanism Wind King wasn’t exploiting them, their lives would be no easier. The war had escalated once more, and caught in the middle, they could only grit their teeth and fight.

There were exceptions, however. Take Carl, for instance. His life had gotten much better. Though he was constantly hunting Thunder Spirits, with the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s help, his power was also advancing by leaps and bounds.

In a mere five days, he had leaped from a Fourth-rank Wind Chasing Envoy to an Eighth Rank Wind Chasing Envoy. No one in his home Magic World had ever grown so quickly.

This growth created a virtuous cycle: hunt Thunder Spirits, grow stronger, hunt even stronger Thunder Spirits, grow even stronger.

Then there was the counterexample: Qi Suian.

Because he was constantly running experiments, his efficiency at hunting Thunder Spirits was low. Compared to Carl, his results were simply pathetic.

He had made some progress, but including the very first one, he had only dealt with three Thunder Spirits in total.

Instead, he was constantly pestering the Profound Mechanism Wind King, much to the latter’s extreme annoyance.

But the Wind King couldn’t just say he wasn’t working—only that his efficiency was rather slow.

Eventually, it just started ignoring Qi Suian completely. Unless he completed a hunt for Thunder Spirits, it wouldn’t respond, no matter what he said.

"It’s completely ignoring me now," Qi Suian muttered. He hadn’t been harassing the Profound Mechanism Wind King out of boredom, of course, but to continuously collect data on it.

He had indeed collected a great deal of data over the past few days. He had made substantial progress on both the data needed to perfect and optimize the fusion with the World Core, and on the matter of activating the Wind King Egg.

[Because your clearing efficiency is too low, and the thunderstorm has now officially arrived, the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s antipathy toward you has increased significantly.]

[Therefore, if you wish to continue having opportunities to collect data, you should present the Profound Mechanism Wind King with an impressive slaughter of Thunder Spirits.]

The AI brain offered a reminder.

"By launching the Wind King Egg activation experiment, for example. Right?" Qi Suian said.

The Wind King Egg activation experiment worked by absorbing a massive amount of external energy and converting it into life force, thereby granting the Wind King Egg vitality.

The process was complicated, but the principle was simple: use the Thunder Spirits as a power source.

’Qi Suian himself could actually provide the energy, but why should he, when he could kill two birds with one stone?’

’His own energy was incredibly precious, meant to be used for his Legendary Equipment Stone set to empower himself.’

Unless absolutely necessary, Qi Suian would never choose to use his own energy.

[Correct. Not only can you provide the Wind King Egg with a large amount of life force and vitality, but you can also slay a sufficient number of Thunder Spirits to justify your actions.]

As for how he would justify himself, it was simple: he would tell the Profound Mechanism Wind King that he hadn’t been slacking off, but had been planning a major move all along.

The stark contrast would earn him a great deal of goodwill from the Profound Mechanism Wind King, paving the way for his subsequent research.

And this was indeed the case. While Qi Suian had been busy with his research, he had also used his fibers to connect to a massive number of islands—several thousand of them, in fact.

He was just waiting for the right moment to act, at which point he could annihilate the Thunder Spirits on those thousands of islands in one fell swoop.

’Actually, the Wind King Egg’s vitality is sufficient, but it’s missing the other half.’

’It’s like fish roe—fertilization happens externally. So this Wind King Egg’s vitality is actually sufficient on its own.’

’What I don’t get is why this thing requires sexual reproduction...’ Qi Suian grumbled.

So, the "activation" was essentially Qi Suian using the Thunder Spirits to inject the missing second half.

If he actually succeeded, it would no longer be a Wind King Egg, but a Wind and Thunder Egg.

It would possess the dual bloodlines of a Wind King and a Thunder God.

This led to another problem: Qi Suian had no idea if the activation would even succeed.

The data looked good on paper, and the subsequent simulated models showed no issues.

But the egg was one-of-a-kind, and the experiment, once started, could not be stopped. If it failed, this entire path would be closed to him forever.

Unless Qi Suian could find another Wind King Egg.

However, the chances of that were incredibly low. If such a fortuitous opportunity could be easily replicated, it wouldn’t be an opportunity at all.

[But if you succeed, it will mean your success rate for devouring and fusing with the World Core will increase by at least ten percent.]

Qi Suian’s original plan had been to use Flying Fish Town Island to deflect the backlash from devouring and fusing with the World Core. The Profound Mechanism Wind King would bear the brunt of it for him, and the rest would be manageable.

But if his Wind and Thunder Egg succeeded, he would only need to help the Profound Mechanism Wind King become a Wind God capable of rivaling the Thunder God. Using the Wind and Thunder Egg as a medium, the ones bearing the backlash would then be the Wind God and the Thunder God.

Even if Qi Suian’s fusion failed, the only consequence would be the deaths of those two. He could even preserve the World Core for a second fusion attempt.

The cost of failure would be reduced to its absolute minimum.

And success would bring even greater benefits: he could devour both the Wind God and the Thunder God as nourishment.

It was a true winner-takes-all scenario.

Of course, the risks were just as great.

"I know. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. So, plot armor, I hope you’re ready to work overtime." Having come this far, Qi Suian didn’t hesitate and chose to gamble.

If he lost the gamble, it would just mean his subsequent plans would have to be far more conservative.

The activation experiment required some preparation. The first step was to link up all the fibers he had spread out.

This was the most time-consuming part, taking nearly an hour before Qi Suian finally completed the connection.

’The satellite, signal, and communication modules were definitely worth installing.’

’Without them, completing the connection so smoothly would have been far from easy.’

Unfortunately, Qi Suian’s module slots were limited, and he had no more to spare. Otherwise, he could have boosted his setup even further.

Once the connections were established, Qi Suian took the Wind King Egg to the skies above Flying Fish Town, to the very spot where the first Thunder Spirit had been born.

Then, a massive number of fibers emerged from his hands, wrapping themselves tightly around the Wind King Egg.

This served two purposes: one, to block the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s view, and two, to act as a receiver.

Qi Suian checked everything twice more. After confirming there were no issues, he initiated the activation experiment.

At first, there was no reaction, which was expected. It would take time for the energy to be transmitted.

’Energy transmission will decay by at least ten to seventy percent depending on the distance.’

’But the total amount should be sufficient. After all, a Thunder Spirit isn’t comparable to a Wind Spirit, but to a Wind King—or in other words, a Thunder King, or at least a low-end version of one.’

’Being low-end doesn’t matter. As long as the quality is there and the quantity is sufficient, matching it to the Wind King Egg shouldn’t be a major issue.’

Just as Qi Suian finished his thought, a bolt of lightning was drawn over from the distance. Within it, a Thunder Spirit looked on with panic and confusion.

It had no idea why it was being dragged here.

Then, it saw the oval-shaped object constructed from the fibers.

"No, let me—" it roared, but before it could finish, it smashed onto the fibers with a SPLAT. In an instant, it was broken down and digested, and a shimmering, lightning-infused energy was poured into the Wind King Egg.

A trace of life force emerged from the once-empty Wind King Egg, and faint flickers of lightning could even be seen within.

But it quickly faded, not due to rejection, but because that small amount of energy was simply not enough.

"As I thought. You’re a special one."

"Maybe you’re the true protagonist of this Sky Island World." A look of delight crossed Qi Suian’s face.

’The dominant powers of the Sky Island World are the Wind Kings, so it was perfectly acceptable for the protagonist not to be human.’

The moment he finished speaking, bolts of lightning were drawn over one after another from the distance. They were broken down and digested by the fibers, their energy funneled into the Wind King Egg.

Thunder and wind began to converge within the egg, and a brand new life force slowly began to emerge.

If all went according to plan, once all several thousand Thunder Spirits were infused into the Wind King Egg, there was a high probability it would become a hatchable Wind and Thunder Egg.

As a vast number of Thunder Spirits perished, the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s attention was once again captured.

’How did you do that?’ A gentle breeze swept by, carrying the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s message.

"It’s due to a special ability of mine. As long as I place these near a Thunder Spirit’s lightning form, I can pull them over."

"Then, I use this annihilator I built to kill the Thunder Spirits in batches." As he spoke, Qi Suian used his second consciousness to display the fibers.

’Can you release more of those little bugs? I can use my winds to deliver them for you.’ The Profound Mechanism Wind King suddenly grew enthusiastic, even offering to help Qi Suian with delivery.

It even added, ’I’ll count it toward your achievements and rewards, same as before.’

It had to be said, the Profound Mechanism Wind King was indeed very generous in this regard.

So Qi Suian decisively pulled out a large handful of fibers.

"This is all I have for now. I’ll need time to cultivate more." Of course, Qi Suian could produce more, but he knew the importance of moderation.

’Has the Wind King Egg had its fill? No matter. The excess can be used as fuel for the Tai Sui God.’

The trouble with the activation experiment had been getting the fibers to the Thunder Spirits. With the Profound Mechanism Wind King helping to solve that problem, he was no longer limited to just the experiment.

He could also use this method for general energy collection.

A gust of wind blew past, and the fibers in Qi Suian’s hand scattered, carried away by the breeze in all directions.

The force of the wind wasn’t strong—just enough to carry the fibers—but its speed was incredible, and it was constantly accelerating.

’You’ve done well. What reward do you desire?’ the Profound Mechanism Wind King asked after completing its delivery run.

"I want to know if there’s anything more precious than a Wind King’s scale." Qi Suian was angling for the Wind King’s own flesh and blood.

The Profound Mechanism Wind King fell silent for a long moment before replying, ’There is. I can give you a wisp of my wind.’

The Profound Mechanism Wind King was made of wind, so giving Qi Suian a wisp of wind was like giving him a piece of its own body.