Chapter 42: I Should Give Him a Chance to Catch Up

Good heavens! Song Qi could not help but exclaim. So this is what a Saint Spirit-level summoned spirit is like? Each of these five skills is more outrageous than the last!

"Dominion of the King"—there's no need to say more; it directly creates a vast domain, weakening enemies while empowering allies. Most importantly, no matter how strong the foe or ally, the minimum boost or reduction is 20%! That means, even against a city lord-level powerhouse, Ying Zheng can enhance or diminish their strength by a fifth.

"Unified Script" is a conceptual skill—though it doesn't directly enhance combat, it allows Ying Zheng to read and interpret any written language. Even encrypted messages from the demon race become open books to him. It’s practically a divine skill for breaking ciphers!

"Unified Axles" is even more absurd. Select two targets and forcibly equalize their agility stats. So, if an enemy has an agility of ten thousand, but Ying Zheng binds them to a mere earth chicken with agility one, that enemy’s agility will be forcibly reduced to one. It’s an absolute single-target hard control miracle!

"Sweeping the Six Directions" is essentially a group berserk effect without any side effects. While its buff may not match Lü Bu’s "Unbridled Fury," the key is that it can be used on others, and the number of targets increases with his spirit attribute. Combine this with "Terracotta Army," and imagine dozens of versatile warriors, each with stats in the tens of thousands, fearless of death, charging the enemy.

"From the looks of it, Ying Zheng is a support-type summoned spirit," Song Qi muttered. "Only the Terracotta Army skill is purely offensive. But that makes sense—when does an emperor ever spend his days fighting and killing?" Nodding in satisfaction, Song Qi was very pleased with Ying Zheng’s profile.

In pure combat power, Ying Zheng couldn’t compare to Lü Bu. But in terms of overall ability, Ying Zheng was superior by far.

He opened his inventory and took out the "Mirror Image" skill book Principal Shen had given him. Now, it seemed a little less appealing. The mirror images created by that skill didn’t even have stats as high as Ying Zheng’s Terracotta Warriors. After considering for a moment, he put it back into his bag.

"I’ll wait. If I can’t find a better skill book later, I’ll reconsider. There’s no rush anyway," Song Qi thought, glancing at the time. "It’s half past one. Time to head to the weapon shop to meet that person. Today counts as a day off, too."

He had already informed the city lord about this matter the day after accepting the burly man’s invitation.

Song Qi cherished his life. No matter how generous the offer, to avoid any accidents, he reported to his "guardian." Unexpectedly, the city lord was not only unopposed but supportive.

“With your strength, grinding low-level dungeons is of little training value. You should go out and test yourself in the wild,” the city lord said, granting him a day’s leave.

Song Qi left his room. The guard turned at the sound. "Well, kid, how’s the quality of your second summoned beast?"

"Not bad," Song Qi replied with a smile. "Also, thank you for the skill book—it helped a lot."

The guard waved him off. "Glad it helped. The skill book would’ve been wasted on me. Hurry up and get stronger—don’t let me down."

Song Qi nodded and headed downstairs, making his way to the blacksmith’s shop as agreed.

...

Meanwhile, in the city lord’s mansion, the city lord stood before a shimmering screen, his expression dark. On the screen appeared an elderly man with snow-white hair, yet energetic and sharp.

“I’ll say it again—Song Qi is a treasure not just of our Seventh District, but of all humanity! By the rules, with his talent, he should receive three bottles of Origin Water every month.” The city lord’s anger was palpable.

Origin Water was a rare elixir produced only in the First District, or more precisely, harvested from deep beneath it. Its enhancement properties far surpassed the demon elixirs. However, its yield was so meager that demand vastly outstripped supply. Later, high-level alchemists combined it with various medicines and monster essences to create the demon elixirs. All the so-called demon elixirs distributed among the districts were, in truth, diluted Origin Water with added ingredients.

Yet, to nurture true prodigies, a certain quota of pure Origin Water was reserved each month.

The old man on the screen narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within. “Fu Tianqi, let me reiterate: your assessment of Song Qi’s talent alone is not enough to convince me. If the youth is as extraordinary as you claim, let him prove it at the upcoming Genius Tournament.”

City lord Fu Tianqi nearly laughed in frustration. His word, untrustworthy? He was a city lord-level powerhouse, one of humanity’s top combatants, and yet his statement was questioned? He knew perfectly well the old man was deliberately making things difficult. Yet, as long as the man insisted Song Qi’s talent was unconfirmed, there was nothing Fu Tianqi could do.

Furious, Fu Tianqi glared for a long moment, barely suppressing his rage. Just as he was about to give up—

Sizzle—

The image of the elderly man flickered. When he reappeared, his demeanor had completely changed.

“Fu Tianqi, it’s not that I don’t trust you; it’s just that procedures must be strictly followed. But since you’re the city lord of the Seventh District, I doubt you’d lie. Very well, I’ll trust you this once. I’ll arrange for three bottles of Origin Water to be delivered—they should arrive tomorrow.”

Fu Tianqi was stunned, unable to make sense of what had happened. Such a drastic change in attitude? But the old man gave him no chance to question further.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.” The screen went dead, leaving Fu Tianqi baffled and alone in his office.

...

In the most prosperous tower of the First District, the white-haired elder who had just spoken to Fu Tianqi approached a meditating youth. Though his manner was respectful, doubt lingered in his gaze.

“Young master, why did you—”

“Old Liu, you want to ask why I would cut my own allotment and send out Origin Water, is that it?”

The youth slowly opened his eyes; his pupils shone with a golden radiance. A faintly searing aura radiated from him, and behind him a phantom sun appeared, making him seem even more extraordinary—like a god descended to the mortal world. Even the white-haired elder, a high-level professional himself, was momentarily dazed.

“Old Liu, you don’t understand. A life without rivals is far too dull.”

“But... if that Song Qi’s talent is truly remarkable and he gets three bottles of Origin Water, he might compete for resources that should have been yours,” the elder said, worried.

Humanity’s upper echelons never spared resources in cultivating talent. The old man could stall Fu Tianqi due to procedural requirements, but if Song Qi displayed the proper aptitude, not a single resource owed him would be withheld.

Still, the elder wasn’t truly worried that Song Qi would surpass the youth, only that the youth’s share of resources might be reduced if Song Qi’s talent was recognized.

“It doesn’t matter,” the youth replied calmly. “I’ll give him every chance to catch up—until he can only gaze at my back from afar.”

His words were serene, yet revealed immense confidence and presence, as if merely stating a fact.

The youth’s composure moved the old man nearly to tears.

“Young master, you are destined to ascend to the highest throne!”