Chapter 486: Stuffing a World Fragment into the Stomach: Healthy, Tasty, and Delicious

Qi Suian’s manuscript was highly praised by the Sect Leader of the Yanghuang Sect, who then requested its swift completion.

After that, Qi Suian’s part was mostly done. He simply gave the blueprints to the craftsman Shi Hanwen had brought along.

He just had to continue supervising and wait for the final product.

As for refining the Nine Yang True Flame Red Dragon Technique and the Yang Flame Spirit, that was not Qi Suian’s concern. The Sect Leader of the Yanghuang Sect would have to handle it himself.

Not much changed after that. He spent his days slacking off and observing Zuo Fan’s progress.

Zuo Fan’s progress had been explosive at first, but now he was showing clear signs of fatigue, his motivation dwindling.

This was mainly because his "protagonist halo" was incomplete, causing him to lack staying power.

It had likely exhausted a portion of its power on Qi Suian without getting any positive feedback, which led to this situation.

He had thought Zuo Fan might be a dark horse, but now it seemed unlikely. One wrong move and he could easily crash and burn.

It could only be said that he had a chance of winning, but it was far from the only possible outcome.

After all, the future wasn’t set in stone. The smallest changes could lead to vastly different results.

Especially since the protagonist halo around Zuo Fan hadn’t fully formed, its ability to "anchor" a specific future wasn’t very strong.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have grown so listless after failing to affect Qi Suian.

A complete protagonist halo would have compensated for any failures later on.

Even if someone else snatched away a fortuitous encounter, it wouldn’t hinder the protagonist’s growth.

This sort of thing would only happen to a pseudo-protagonist in a book-transmigration or fan-fiction-type world.

Qi Suian had snatched countless opportunities from other protagonists, but they were never truly affected. They would just find another way to compensate for the loss.

Even Qi Suian himself had opportunities snatched by other protagonists, and he always managed to make up for it later.

"Whew! Mister, how’s my Blazing Flame Sword Qi?" Zuo Fan sensed someone approaching and turned to see Qi Suian, the candy maker.

He was practicing his Blazing Flame Sword Qi, hoping to achieve a breakthrough.

The Pure Yang Fire Seed had compensated for his lack of aptitude to a certain degree, but it was ultimately a slow burn, unable to rapidly increase his Spiritual Power.

"It’s missing something," Qi Suian replied.

This made Zuo Fan look at him doubtfully. ’You’re just an ordinary person, how could you understand this?’

He had just been making small talk, but he hadn’t expected Qi Suian to actually offer a critique.

"It’s the same principle as a customer in a restaurant," Qi Suian said. "I don’t know how to cook, but does that mean I’m not qualified to say whether a dish is delicious?"

"So, you understand Blazing Flame Sword Qi, Mister?" Zuo Fan asked, his curiosity piqued.

He’d assumed Qi Suian was just an ordinary person; after all, the man didn’t show the slightest sign of Spiritual Power.

"I know a little," Qi Suian said modestly.

So-called Spiritual Techniques were simply the output, conversion, shaping, and control of energy. Qi Suian had looked over the Yanghuang Sect’s Spiritual Techniques; to humans, they were indeed profound and unfathomable.

But for Qi Suian, they presented no difficulty whatsoever.

Their level of sophistication wasn’t even as high as the technology used to extract Spiritual Power.

It was as if the underlying operational logic of all Spiritual Techniques was identical.

The only differences lay in the quantity of output, the converted attributes, the manifested forms, and the difficulty of precise control, which then branched out into innumerable different techniques.

Qi Suian could master them with a single glance.

After all, his Profound Elemental Attachment Technique was a self-developed art, created by referencing the energy principles of a high-end Western Fantasy World. He was an expert in energy manipulation.

So, putting on a grand performance in such a tiny arena was no problem at all.

"Really? Then please, Mister, enlighten me." Zuo Fan moved closer, his tone not sarcastic in the least, but completely sincere.

"Fine. The problem with your Blazing Flame Sword Qi is..." Qi Suian began to explain. His whole purpose in coming here was to help Zuo Fan get stronger.

It wasn’t without its benefits. He found that by involving himself in the protagonist’s growth, he could indirectly siphon power from the world and reap some rewards.

In essence, he had become a parasite.

The name wasn’t pleasant, but it was undeniably practical.

If he were to go head-to-head with a complete world, he would certainly lose.

But wasn’t it better to first build up some power and make his move only when he was confident of success?

And as for protecting the protagonist in the meantime? He was just using the kid as a cover. Without the protagonist, wouldn’t all of Qi Suian’s actions be exposed?

"This... I never thought the Blazing Flame Sword Qi could be used this way." Qi Suian’s few words immediately brought Zuo Fan to a state of sudden enlightenment.

After receiving this feedback from Qi Suian, the fortune surrounding Zuo Fan began to churn. While its quantity didn’t increase, its quality did.

"What’s so surprising about that?" Qi Suian replied casually, then added, "But if you want to win the Centennial Sect Tournament with that clumsy Blazing Flame Sword Qi of yours, you’re still a long way off."

"???" Zuo Fan was utterly dumbfounded.

He had never even considered winning.

He was self-aware enough to know that his performance had always been at the bottom of the ranks. If he suddenly won, *that* would be the real problem.

He had improved a lot, sure, but not by that much.

"Mister, you’re overestimating me," Zuo Fan retorted. "Just breaking into the top one hundred would be a comeback story for me."

Qi Suian didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a piece of clothing from his bundle. It was a gaudy, flashy garment designed to draw all attention to its front and back.

Written on the chest was: "A Century of Sugar Artistry - Tang’s Candy Shop." On the back: "High-Quality Syrup, Exclusively for the Yanghuang Sect - Tang’s Candy Shop."

"I’ve given you some pointers. How about you wear this shirt I’m giving you for the sect tournament?" Qi Suian said.

Zuo Fan was mortified by the shirt Qi Suian offered him.

It was just too embarrassing.

"Mister, I couldn’t possibly," Zuo Fan refused tactfully.

"Try it on and see if it fits." Qi Suian simply pulled the shirt over Zuo Fan’s head. "Oh, and when you win, remember to recite the two advertisements on the front and back."

Zuo Fan, now wearing the shirt, felt his spirit breaking. If he’d known this would happen, he never would have asked for Qi Suian’s pointers.

"Come on, Mister," Zuo Fan whined, his face a mask of misery. "You gave me a few pointers and now you expect me to win the whole thing? You’re putting me in an impossible position."

Hearing this, Qi Suian nodded. "You’re right."

"I have two family heirloom Spiritual Techniques I’ll pass on to you now."

"One is the *Pure Yang Wuji Heart Method*, and the other is the *Innate Li Fire Sword Technique*. You can convert your Blazing Flame Sword Qi and transition directly into practicing them."

"If you still can’t take first place with these, I’ll use my family fortune to put out a hit on you. A... very specific kind of hit. I’ll guarantee you die from a ruptured backdoor."

As he spoke, Qi Suian handed over two Spiritual Technique manuals that looked ancient but had, in fact, been created less than an hour ago.

These two were top-tier Spiritual Techniques that Qi Suian had reverse-engineered and upgraded from the Blazing Flame Sword Qi and the Great Blazing Flame Sword Qi.

They far surpassed the two signature Spiritual Techniques of the Yanghuang Sect.

Zuo Fan sucked in a sharp breath, thinking, ’This is terrifying!’

With enough money, Spirit Masters wouldn’t care if it was a simple kill order or something far more depraved. If you refused the job, someone else would gladly take it.

So he really couldn’t guarantee the safety of his own ass.

Still, he figured Qi Suian had to be joking. What kind of normal person would issue such a bizarre contract?

Besides, he thought he and Qi Suian were on pretty good terms.

And with Qi Suian’s net worth, he probably couldn’t afford to post such a bizarre contract anyway.

"This... I can’t accept this. After all, it’s your family’s heirloom Spiritual Technique, Mister. If I were to read it..." Zuo Fan demurred. "I appreciate the thought, but I can’t take the Spiritual Techniques."

"Fine, then call me ’Dad,’ and you can support me in my old age," Qi Suian replied flippantly.

Zuo Fan actually considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "I’m afraid I’d die long before you, Mister."

This wasn’t just him being dramatic; it was a very real possibility.

After completing their training, Spirit Masters only lived for another ten years on average. Any who managed to live to middle age were, without exception, veterans of countless battles.

The elderly ones were even stronger.

In contrast, ordinary people actually had longer lifespans, thanks to Spirit Masters improving productivity, medical care, and so on.

"Don’t feel burdened by it," Qi Suian said. "I’m sponsoring you not just because I have high hopes for you, but also to promote my candy shop."

With that, Qi Suian shoved the freshly-minted Spiritual Technique manuals into his hands.

’If he doesn’t take them, how am I supposed to leech off his protagonist status for my own benefit?’

"Start studying. If you don’t understand something, come find me at the shop tomorrow afternoon. I’ll explain what I can." With that, Qi Suian turned and walked away.

The reason for the afternoon meeting was simple: he had to run the shop in the morning.

Zuo Fan opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing. He simply put away the two Spiritual Technique manuals.

"Thank you, Mister!" he shouted at Qi Suian’s retreating back.

Qi Suian heard him but didn’t respond, simply continuing on his way while testing the effect of his concealment.

’It’s just not fully formed yet. Even indirectly, I can’t truly leech off this Spirit Master World.’ Qi Suian slightly reined in his own indescribable aura.

Previously, the indescribable force field he could create through abilities like Poison Imbuement, Corpse Explosion, and Poison Nova had the inherent ability to devour worlds.

However, he had lacked the strength to activate it back then. Later, after he himself became a world, it combined with the devouring ability of his fibrous body to produce an even more potent effect.

Theoretically, he was capable of directly devouring worlds.

But in practice, if he dared to try, the world would crush him.

That was why Qi Suian could only proceed indirectly.

He had just managed to tear off a tiny piece of the world when he was detected. Thankfully, his temporary identity as the "wise old mentor" to the protagonist allowed him to evade scrutiny.

Qi Suian pondered for a moment, then stuffed the world fragment into his stomach.

’Digestion requires a stomach and intestines. That’s perfectly reasonable.’

’And the fact that I don’t have those structures? No matter. The principle is the same.’

’Is this what they call "the front lines are in crisis while the rear echelons feast"?’

’Oh, wait. I’m not from the Spirit Master World. In that case, it’s perfectly reasonable.’ Qi Suian had almost forgotten his own role in this.

’I’m an invader. This is just weakening the enemy—standard operating procedure.’

Things had been so peaceful and stress-free that Qi Suian was starting to think this whole "slacking off" thing was actually quite comfortable.