In Qi Ze's eyes, Li Ziqian was a dense, inky-black cloud of demonic aura, his features almost indistinguishable. Seeing the other's incredulous expression, Qi Ze continued, "If I'm not mistaken, you weren't injured by the Zerg Queen, but rather from an explosion similar to the one at the Mu family's old residence."
Li Ziqian's skeptical attitude shifted instantly. After a long hesitation, he slowly said, "The Master is indeed a Master, your insight is truly remarkable. That's right, I wasn't injured by the Zerg Queen, but I can't divulge the specifics of the incident to anyone. I hope the Master doesn't take offense."
"I know even without you saying," Qi Ze lightly tapped the table, his tone casually indifferent. "To shatter the Zerg Queen into pieces, the power must have been immense. Even if you self-destructed on the spot, at most you would have severed one of the Queen's tentacles. How is the super mech of your Li family holding up?"
The last question finally elicited a look of astonishment from Li Ziqian, plunging the already quiet room into a deathly silence. Without a doubt, the Master had just revealed the Li family's well-guarded secret. The Li family, without their super mech, would eventually lose control over the First Legion.
The once formidable and elite army would crumble someday, and Li Ziqian was desperately trying to prolong that deadline.
"The Master is indeed a Master." He indirectly acknowledged the previous guess. Before a master craftsman of godly talent, all concealments were futile. From just one wound, he could deduce the entire story. In the Black Eye Galaxy, who else had such discerning eyes?
The dejected mood came swiftly, but the excitement in his heart quickly took over. He asked urgently, "The Master once said that you can create and repair anything. Can you repair a super mech?"
Qi Ze waved his hand. "That's another transaction, we'll discuss it later."
"Okay!" Li Ziqian barely contained his excited emotions. The Master didn't immediately refuse, and that was good enough. As for the price, the Li family wasn't afraid to pay, nor would they be stingy. A super mech was the ultimate weapon of every legion and the foundation of the six major families. If word got out that the Li family had lost their super mech, they would be destroyed in an instant.
He spent every night tormented by anxiety and self-blame, never expecting such a turning point. When he clicked on the Master's online store in jest, luck must have been perched on his shoulder.
"Master, as long as you can repair Tianzhu, the price is up to you." His intuition told him that adding this tacky sentence was necessary.
"Hmm?" Qi Ze's interest was indeed piqued, and he nodded. "Alright, another day you can take me to see the mech. Called Tianzhu, huh? What a fine name."
"I can, as long as the Master is free, I can take you to see it anytime." Li Ziqian saw 'greed' in a new, endearing light for the first time. Now, he finally had a renewed appreciation for the group of mech manufacturers.
Qi Ze recalled the information he found online about the Li family and couldn't help but ask, "Your former fiancée wasn't Mu Yun's daughter and Mu Ran's elder sister? Your Li family should be quite close to the Mu family, so why didn't you have them repair the mech when it broke, instead choosing to conceal it from the outside?"
Thinking of the dead woman, Li Ziqian's eyes dimmed, and he shook his head. "Most of the rumors outside are not to be believed. In fact, our Li family's relationship with the Mu family isn't harmonious. My...fiancée died on the battlefield, and I survived. The Mu family blamed all of it on my poor command, so they've never forgiven me. My current state is a gift from the Mu family." As for the destruction of the super mech, how could the Li family let the Mu family know? They would rather it stayed broken than trust any member of the Mu family again.
The words were vague and not entirely true, but Qi Ze wasn't particularly interested. He had long wanted to observe a super mech, and now that he had the chance, he wouldn't let it slip away.
"I accept both deals, put your clothes on." He picked up a shirt and draped it over Li Ziqian's legs, saying slowly, "Hands and feet broken, dantian destroyed, but that part is still intact. Don't blame the heavens for being unfair, they left your root intact."
Li Ziqian, who was methodically dressing, fell silent.
He wheeled himself around, facing away from the Master, the sound of rustling clothes filling the air until he finally got dressed. His face was void of expression, but his ears were slightly red. So, the Master, besides being greedy, was also quite unrestrained.
"Master, how do you plan to repair my body?" He asked after regaining his composure.
"There are two ways: First, completely rid your body of demonic aura; Second, transform you into a full-blooded demon. Both have advantages and disadvantages, it's up to you to choose." Qi Ze pondered. "Ridding your body of demonic aura will turn you into an ordinary person. Transforming into a demon will allow you to recover your special abilities, but you will have to endure a hundredfold, a thousandfold of pain during ascension. The demonic aura will rush through your meridians, causing them to continuously tear and regenerate. Believe me, anyone without exceptionally strong willpower would choose suicide before long."
Li Ziqian held his breath and asked, "I can recover my special abilities?"
"Of course, I can create a lower dantian for you. With a lower dantian, you have special abilities."
"I can ascend?" Li Ziqian gripped the armrest of the wheelchair.
"The condition is that you find a suitable demonic seed for yourself."
"What is a demonic seed?" It was clear he had made a choice. No matter how painful, it was a million times better than the lingering existence he currently had.
"A seed stored in your lower dantian, it must possess demonic aura to replace the function of a spirit core." Seeing the confusion on Li Ziqian's face, Qi Ze patiently explained, "Let me put it this way, if you were a mech, then your lower dantian would be the energy chamber. Without an energy stone, you cannot function. The demonic seed is the energy stone, allowing you to emit special ability attacks. The higher the grade of the energy stone, the stronger your special ability. Of course, it will also run out of energy one day, when that happens, come find me, and I'll help you replace it."
With this explanation, Li Ziqian immediately understood, applying the concept to other situations. "If I want to ascend, I must find a more powerful demonic seed, right?"
"Right, you can't become a giant in one bite, so at first, you can only use a low-grade demonic seed, allowing your body to gradually adapt to the transformation by demonic aura. Using a high-grade, energy-rich demonic seed from the start might lead to your demise."
"Having said so much, what is a demonic seed?" Li Ziqian's tone was urgent.
"What did you get blown up by?" To Qi Ze, the so-called radiation contamination was simply demonic aura invasion, and any substance that could produce radiation could become a demonic seed. It was just that some substances had dense demonic aura, while others had faint demonic aura. Since Li Ziqian had been contaminated to such an extent, he might as well use the poison to counteract the poison. Of course, completely removing the demonic aura would be easy for Qi Ze, but he preferred the second option. He was never a rule-abiding person and was more interested in so-called 'unorthodox methods,' and he was rather proficient in them.
"Can you find that R-type mineral?" He casually mentioned.
Li Ziqian's body stiffened, and he stared straight over.
Qi Ze instantly understood, coming to a realization. "You were blown up by the R-type mineral?"
Li Ziqian no longer bothered to hide the truth before the Master because he was too knowledgeable. Deducing the truth in conversation wasn't such a difficult task. Many of the professional terms he used were things Li Ziqian had never even heard of.
"It was indeed the R-type mineral explosion. Someone mistook a piece of R-type mineral for an energy stone and placed it in the energy chamber of my mech."
"I see, your fiancée betrayed you." Qi Ze didn't want to be nosy, but he had guessed it all accidentally. Who else could tamper with a super mech besides a mech manufacturer?
"You're right, she was my exclusive mech engineer." Li Ziqian's jaw tensed, clearly suppressing intense emotions. Even to this day, he still couldn't understand why Mu Qi would do such a thing, and he couldn't forget the pain of betrayal. They had once been such an enviable pair.
"Be cautious when choosing a partner!" Qi Ze offered a not-so-sincere consolation.
"Yes, you're right," Li Ziqian seemed comforted.
"So, that's it for today. I'll think about how to help you transform your body. In the meantime, you should find a suitable demonic seed, not too high in energy, but not too low either. Your mental power is still at peak state, so a demonic seed of level seven or eight should be enough."
"You mean you can help me recover to a level seven or eight special ability? Such a demonic seed should have a specific energy reserve, right? Tell me, I'll have someone find it." Li Ziqian asked respectfully.
Qi Ze casually waved his hand. "How would I know the exact reserve? You find it yourself."
Li Ziqian was silent. "The Master is truly a spontaneous person. Alright, I'll find several radioactive sources with different energy reserves and ask the Master to appraise them."
"Alright, I'll be going ahead." Qi Ze stood up to leave, but Li Ziqian blocked his way.
"Master, how do we keep in touch? Through the online service number?" The online service number wasn't a smartbrain communication number. If the Master didn't log in, he could only wait silently. Honestly, it felt not much different from waiting to die, it was unbearable.
Qi Ze removed his hood, dispelled the barrier, and pointed at his face. "Recognize me?"
How could Li Ziqian not recognize the youth who leaked the Mu family's source code? He was stunned, reflexively nodding. "I recognize you, you're Qi Ze." The face was unspeakably handsome and exotic, and anyone who saw it once would find it hard to forget.
"Good, see you." Qi Ze put his hood back on, set up the barrier, and left at a leisurely pace. He originally hadn't wanted to reveal his identity, but Li Ziqian's situation made him dismiss his concerns. A half-dead man dependent on him to live, and a family that had to seek him to avoid annihilation, posed little threat to him.
Even if these people would one day turn on him, it would be far into the future. By then, Qi Ze would no longer be the Qi Ze of now, and it was uncertain who would devour whom.
Qi Ze was more careful than anyone when he needed to be, and he was bolder than anyone when it was time to take risks. He needed a powerful ally desperately now, and the Li family was the best choice at the moment.
As he gradually moved further away, Li Ziqian struggled out of his shock. The godly Master was actually Qi Ze? An eighteen-year-old, frail carbon-based human? How could that be possible?
Back at the dormitory, Qi Ze set up a defensive spell formation and a soundproof barrier before entering the hall of the Grand Occult Divine-Forge School and offering three incense sticks to his ancestors.
"Father, this is the Black Eye Galaxy, there is no distinction between right and wrong, or between human and demon. Son creating a demon, you should have no objections?"
The hall was deathly silent. Qi Ze perked his ears, as if listening to something. In the end, he nodded and said, "Understood, son will not betray your entrustment." In truth, he heard nothing, felt nothing, but if he didn't act this way, the emptiness and helplessness in his heart would drown him.
He knelt in silence for a few minutes, allowing the guilt in his heart to torment him again and again, before slowly standing up and pulling out a pocket-sized Qiankun Bag from his sleeve.
Turning a human into a demon wasn't a rare occurrence on the Qianyuan Continent, but Qi Ze faced a significant challenge: a lack of materials. The most suitable materials he could think of weren't available in the Black Eye Galaxy, and the treasures in his Qiankun Bag were nearly depleted.
"Bones, meridians, muscles, dantian, none can be missing." He muttered as he sorted through the treasures in his Qiankun Bag, carefully picking and choosing.
"Ten-thousand-year jade marrow, this can be used to make bones; hell dragon sinew, this can be used to make meridians; use realm stone for the dantian, but how about the muscles? What kind of material can be used for the muscles?" He was stumped.
The body of a demon was unbreakable and could absorb demonic aura on its own. Given this, Qi Ze also needed to find a material that was incredibly hard and pure in demonic aura. This material must also have excellent isolation properties and conductivity, so it could tightly wrap around the demonic seed in the dantian, preventing its dense demonic aura from leaking out and harming others around; and at the same time, transmit the seed's energy when needed to form an attack.
He sifted through a pile of treasures, finally picking up a small black crystal the size of a fingernail. This was the impurity stripped from the energy stone during purification, very hard, full of demonic aura, but not radioactive, and could be instantly penetrated by divine sense. What did this mean?
This meant he had found the best material to make the muscles. Qi Ze smiled happily, thoroughly enjoying the process of exploration.
Just then, the door was knocked on. He immediately put away the Qiankun Bag, removed the barriers, changed into pajamas, and went out to check.
"Young Master, we have a new roommate in our dormitory." Ouyang Ye's cheeks were slightly flushed, looking somewhat excited. Mo Tianlei quickly ran into his room, changed into a neat military uniform, put a bit of hair gel in his hair, and only then walked out properly.
"Who?" Qi Ze, with his hands in his pockets, slowly entered the living room, then raised his eyebrows.
A young man sat in the living room, his eyes narrow, his nose high, wearing a pure black military uniform, using a pair of sharp golden-brown vertical pupils to stare straight over. Yan Junyu sat across from him, a serious expression on his face.
"Why did you suddenly want to come back to school?" he asked with confusion. "The school environment isn't suitable for you."
"When I had the accident, I was only twenty-six, not yet an adult, and hadn't graduated from the Imperial Academy. Headmaster Helian preserved my student status and welcomed me to return to complete my studies whenever I wanted." Li Ziqian gave a gentle smile. "Isolation from the world for too long can make a person become increasingly depressed. My doctor suggested that I should contact the outside world more, it would be good for my health."
"This advice is sound." Yan Junyu extended his hand sincerely. "Senior, welcome back."
"Thank you," Li Ziqian extended his hand wearing pure white gloves, shaking hands with him just as sincerely. "I might need your help in the future, I'm not as good as I used to be now."
"Senior, you're too polite." Yan Junyu looked at Qi Ze and said gently, "This is my exclusive mech engineer, his body is also quite special, please bear with him, Senior."
"Your exclusive mech engineer?" What kind of shit luck was this? Li Ziqian's calm mask nearly cracked a fine line.
Ouyang Ye was also unhappy and immediately retorted, "He's only temporarily your exclusive mech engineer. When Qi Ze graduates, the guarantor relationship between you will automatically be dissolved, and he has the right to choose another partner. Do you think I don't know? You brought Mu Ran into your team, he's the mech engineer you've chosen, right?"
"When I choose a partner, it's for a lifetime." Yan Junyu emphasized each word, and finally beckoned to Qi Ze, his tone becoming especially gentle. "Qi Ze, come meet Senior Li Ziqian. From now on, he will be our new roommate."
"Senior, hello. You're much more handsome in person than in photos." Qi Ze's single sentence froze Yan Junyu's smile at the corner of his mouth, and also made Li Ziqian feel thoroughly refreshed. Ouyang Ye remembered that Young Master was a face-con, the joy of meeting his idol was immediately washed away by a sense of crisis.
"Hello." Li Ziqian extended his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, please take care of me."
"Take care of each other." Qi Ze grabbed the mechanical hand, shook it up and down, only to hear a snap. The screw embedded in the bone broke, and the heavy arm fell out of the sleeve.
The living room fell silent for a moment. Qi Ze held five cold metal fingers, looking left and right, with an innocent expression. He was now just an eighteen-year-old boy, wearing a sky-blue loose pajama top, fluffy slippers on his feet, his black and bright eyes wide open, as if scared by the incident.
If not for the previous meeting, Li Ziqian would never have believed that this was the unfathomable godly Master. His disguise was impeccable.
Mo Tianlei's psychological quality wasn't as good as the other few. Pointing at the mechanical arm, he said tensely, "What do we do if the arm breaks? Should we quickly find someone to repair it?"
"It's okay, this happens frequently, I've already gotten used to it." He gave Qi Ze the most gentle smile, comforting him. "My body has been tainted with too many destructive elements, so mechanical devices will rust in a short period of time. I carry many spare parts with me, just assemble them and put them back on. I heard you're from the mech manufacturing department? I have the blueprint here, can you help me repair it?"
"Qi Ze just started class today, he might not be able to assemble it. You should still call your mech engineer. I heard these devices were designed by Deng Feng for you, the structure is both complex and ingenious, even using some of the embedding techniques of T1, which is beyond Qi Ze's skill level." Yan Junyu explained while picking up the broken arm, also reassuringly rubbing the top of the youth's head.
Li Ziqian was truly impressed by this insensitive junior. He must not know that the head he was stroking possessed such a terrifying ability, nor did he realize that his seemingly helpful words were actually a kind of belittlement to the Master. Clearly picking up a priceless treasure, but treating it as a fish eye, how could such a fortunate and foolish person exist in the world? How nice would it be if he could switch places with him?
Amidst Li Ziqian's wild thoughts, Qi Ze took the blueprint, carefully looked at it twice, and nodded. "Alright, I'll assemble it for you immediately."
"You can?" Yan Junyu looked surprised.
Mo Tianlei was a man who knew his stuff. He came to the table to admire the blueprint and exclaimed, "This is the mechanical blueprint personally drawn by Master Deng Feng? It's so complicated! Qi Ze, why do you have no expression? You don't know Master Deng Feng, do you? He is a 3S-level mech engineer, all the mechanical production equipment of the Mu family's military factory comes from his design, the impulse-type energy chamber is his greatest masterpiece, and it also led to the birth of the T-type mech, sparking another mechanical revolution. He..."
Mo Tianlei's endless voice gradually lowered, until it disappeared, and Yan Junyu also became serious.
Qi Ze sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding a small wrench in his hand, assembling the precision parts spread all over the table one by one. From fingertips to wrists, to upper arms, during this time, he didn't look at the blueprint once, obviously already having a plan in mind.
Ouyang Ye polished Wind Forest and Fire Sea while revealing a proud smile. You thought such a little contraption could stump Young Master? What a fucking low opinion of people.
Li Ziqian leaned leisurely in his wheelchair, his originally cold golden-brown vertical pupils now filled with brilliant starlight. The Master was indeed a Master, his level was far beyond Deng Feng's. The people present saw these parts for the first time, so they didn't know how many complex procedures were required to assemble them. Even someone as skilled as Deng Feng would need over an hour to completely assemble an arm, but the Master only took ten minutes.
He was seeing this blueprint for the first time, touching these parts for the first time. It must be said that some people possessed such talent, as if they knew instinctively how to manipulate machines. And it was this one percent of talent that created the unbridgeable gap between geniuses and ordinary people.
If Deng Feng were here, his pride would take a heavy blow. In Li Ziqian's pleasant imagination, Qi Ze assembled the arm and ordered matter-of-factly, "Take off your clothes."
"Okay..." The respectful "Master" nearly slipped out of Li Ziqian's mouth, fortunately, he stopped in time.
Yan Junyu wasn't as dull as Li Ziqian assumed. Even if he were a fool, he knew that to understand Deng Feng's blueprint and assemble such a complex mechanical arm in just ten minutes was something an ordinary person could never do. Qi Ze's talent far exceeded his expectations. Was his seemingly meticulous protection actually a hindrance?