Divine Beast Creator

The research on the Qi Realm Stance hasn’t gone too deep, or rather, even though everyone knows about this thing, because of its side effects during the outbreak of war, no one wants to research it now.

After all, not researching it might not cause any trouble, but if researched, the probability of problems arising is too high, at the very least, an internal collapse is highly likely.

Since it can’t bring about a qualitative change in the war, the United Army chooses to postpone it, waiting to resolve The Imperial Timeline before addressing this matter. As for the Alliance and various nations not involved in the counterattack against the Empire, though having the leisure, they dare not.

If an internal collapse happens at this time, the Divine Beasts might not come to help, or rather, aside from supporting their own Divine Beasts, all other Divine Beasts are on the United Army’s side now. They are already scorned by those Divine Beasts for being unwilling to fight, and now dragging their feet would simply be asking for trouble.

Even if most of the time they don’t need it, that does not mean they completely don’t need the help of other Divine Beasts. Establishing enmity with the Divine Beasts for something intangible isn’t smart.

Precisely because of this, the current situation of the Qi Realm Stance is quite awkward. Apart from a few research institutions within the United Army, it’s as though the people of the Main World act as if the thing doesn’t exist.

There’s no option here; not researching it means the Qi Realm probably won’t cause trouble, but researching risks turning into a calamity. Without the matter of The Imperial Timeline, it wouldn’t be a significant issue. But now that they’re engaged in counterattack operations against The Imperial Timeline, dealing with two battle fronts is hardly fun.

There’s no need for it, so everyone is trying their best to avoid this from happening.

"Did you borrow the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus from Fortune Full Building?"

At the entrance of Maomu Academy, Qi Chen, who happened to meet Feng Yuan, looked somewhat confused at the octopus following him. Although there was no reason, Qi Chen could feel that the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus was from Fortune Full Building.

He wasn’t sure what Feng Yuan intended with it. The Shallow-Dwelling Octopus’ combat ability is worrying; even in the Crystal Domain era, it did not rise up. What he thought of surprised him as he exclaimed,

"You wouldn’t be trying to let it enter the Qi Realm Stance, would you?"

"Mm-hmm, I figured since there’s nothing else to do, why not test that hypothesis."

Feng Yuan chuckled without denying it, showing it was exactly what he was thinking. Veronia rolled her eyes and said in exasperation,

"This guy is pretty reckless, knowing there’s a compatibility requirement for the Qi Realm Stance."

This was something humans discovered through research. The combined effects of the Taming Beast Contract and the Spirit Beast Contract to form a Beastmaster’s unified contract with a Spirit Beast for Qi Realm Stance needs compatibility as support.

If both parties have no mutual compatibility, trying to have the Beastmaster initiate the test and go through it together with the contracted Spirit Beast, like before, is impossible.

Does Feng Yuan have compatibility with the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus? Veronia absolutely doesn’t believe it, and saw it when Feng Yuan took over the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus from the person in charge of Fortune Full Building, using the most common Spirit Beast Contract. Nor did she see any cultivation of compatibility these days.

However, she’s somewhat doubtful about whether this could limit Feng Yuan, given that his capabilities could transcend the world’s rules. Yet... Could such a rule-breaking method truly yield the correct outcome?

With doubt in her heart, Veronia didn’t voice it. After all, just like Feng Yuan said, they have nothing else to do now, looking for some fun shouldn’t be a big deal.

"What brings you here to see me? I’ve already concluded my research on the Qi Realm Stance and temporarily... may not be able to offer much help."

Seeing Feng Yuan visiting, Meng Binglan was a bit puzzled. Since he seldom approached her research institute, if there’s anything that might attract him, it would probably be the research on the Qi Realm Stance.

But she’s not a professional in this, and after completing Feng Yuan’s request for help, she didn’t plan to continue. It’s not within her research scope, and forcing the research isn’t feasible, nor efficient.

In peacetime, wasting time might be negligible, but now they’re racing against time to give more advantages to the United Army and simply can’t spare more time on these matters.

"Do you still have the Qi Realm Stele with you? I want to experiment with some things."

With a smile, Feng Yuan wasn’t being polite. Looking at Feng Yuan, Meng Binglan said,

"Yes, it’s still here, but others have already left. If it’s just for your own use, then have at it. Others..."

"Rest assured, I’m not that stupid."

Getting the answer he wanted, Feng Yuan readily agreed. Or rather, it should have been this way from the start. Now without supervision, he definitely won’t let Qi Chen and others get near the Qi Realm Stele because it could cause them permanent aftereffects.

As for himself? Each family knows its own affairs; Feng Yuan really doesn’t take the side effects of the Qi Realm Stance seriously.

To put it bluntly, that thing isn’t qualified to affect him.

Meng Binglan didn’t repeatedly remind him—though she didn’t know Feng Yuan’s details, she clearly knew that Feng Yuan wasn’t ordinary. So, reminding once was enough; he could certainly handle things properly.

The Qi Realm Stele is placed in a vacant laboratory within the research institute, where Meng Binglan moved it after finishing her research.

It’s unavoidable. Though moving it short distances is fine, transferring it over long distances without the involvement of Divine Beasts is exceedingly challenging, as prolonged contact activates the effect of eroding sanity.

Of course, short-term contact doesn’t present such cases, or the influence may be too slight to be detected, at least not necessary. Even Meng Binglan doesn’t want to touch the thing.

Because of this, the laboratory is quite remote, located in a corner of the research institute. It was originally a reserved space, and unless the other laboratories in the institute become insufficient, it won’t be utilized.

"This is pretty isolated, which is convenient; if any accidents happen, it wouldn’t affect them."

Holding the key card given by Meng Binglan to open the door, Feng Yuan inspected the interior, mumbling to himself, while the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus following him shivered with a feeling of following a miscreant.

Thankfully, Feng Yuan didn’t continue saying things that would scare the octopus.

The Qi Realm Stele was boldly placed in the middle of the laboratory, surrounded by special isolation devices to separate it from the external space. Though knowing it probably won’t happen, Meng Binglan treats it as a quarantine source capable of spreading a pandemic through space.

Having used it once before, Feng Yuan was familiar with the thing, but unsurprisingly, the Qi Realm Stele only enveloped Feng Yuan and his Taming Beast, not including the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus.

That’s quite normal; Feng Yuan and the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus have no compatibility, so the test of the Qi Realm Stance naturally won’t include it.

"Even knowing this would happen, it’s indeed troublesome."

Taking out the Ancient Black Book, Feng Yuan said as he swiped his finger over the book cover, with golden text emerging from the Ancient Black Book circling the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus before infiltrating its body.

"Are you purely deceiving it? Will this work?"

Although not very familiar with the Ancient Black Book, Veronia could see what Feng Yuan did, which astonished her, recognizing that Feng Yuan’s approach was merely attempting to deceive the rules into thinking there’s a deep bond between the parties.

"By trying, we’ll know, won’t we? It’s indeed possible to forcefully break through rule restrictions, but this way of doing things just feels like trouble brewing."

Given that the Qi Realm itself, as the Qi Realm Stance’s source, is relatively sinister, Feng Yuan refrains from recklessness. At least as long as alternatives are available, he doesn’t intend to mess around.

Originally, Veronia thought Feng Yuan’s approach would inevitably fail, considering the Qi Realm Stance’s chaotic nature, where the compatibility restraint likely isn’t just a simple conditional limitation.

However, unexpectedly to her, Feng Yuan’s deceitful method actually circumvented the rules, allowing the test of the Qi Realm Stance to proceed normally.

"What is this? A purposely set restriction? This is too bizarre."

Seeing Feng Yuan and the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus undergo the test, Veronia couldn’t help but mutter, as Tamur gently swayed and said,

"Reasonable protection."

"What do you mean?"

"Spirit Beast Contract has no upper limit."

Though rare, there are indeed people with a multitude of Spirit Beasts contracted using Spirit Beast Contracts. In such cases, the compatibility restriction prevents the Qi Realm test from pulling that entire crowd into the examination.

Of course, if compatibility fully meets the standards, that’s another story. But according to Veronia’s knowledge, currently, there’s no such person.

"What will the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus look like?"

Witnessing the proper progression of the test, Veronia became curious whether the Shallow-Dwelling Octopus in the Qi Realm Stance would be as special as Feng Yuan thought?