With the death of Zombie Chunyu Hu, the Divine Prayer Association first endured a massive power struggle before naturally collapsing.
The survivors immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the zombies were no longer being hunted down and slaughtered.
This time, however, it was the Zombie People’s turn to suffer. Chunyu Hu’s death caused a great deal of technology to be lost, including the drug used to suppress their second consciousness.
It was impossible for everyone to suppress their second consciousness with ease. There were always those with weak willpower, mental instability, psychological illnesses, and so on.
That was why they needed the drug to assist them.
Chunyu Hu, of course, had kept this technology under strict control, never allowing it to get out.
Therefore, after his death, it was lost.
This caused the Zombie People, who had been the most powerful faction, to suffer a continuous decline in strength due to their second consciousness.
None of this, however, had much to do with Qi Suian. He had simply made off with a huge haul of the Divine Prayer Association’s technology and resources and then bolted.
For him, it was a massive score.
Coupled with the Source of Profound Virus he inherited from his old leader, he was suddenly... well, he hadn’t become all-powerful, but it made the journey to becoming so much smoother.
After all, his path was different from that of the survivors, the zombies, and the Zombie People.
’The Source of Profound Virus is only S-rank, so how is Celestial Fate: Profound X-rank?’ Qi Suian wondered, gazing at the black jade stone, confused.
[Source of Profound Virus]
[Quality: S-rank]
[Trait 1: Spirit Attribute Growth +1]
[Trait 2: Profound Virus Growth +1]
[Trait 3: Remove Celestial Fate Restriction]
The effects were quite impressive. Setting Trait 1 aside, Trait 2 alone further raised the upper limit of the Profound Virus within Qi Suian.
The Profound Virus’s potential had originally been capped, only allowing Qi Suian’s virus talent to reach A-rank at most. But with the Source of Profound Virus, he now had a path toward the S-rank.
Of course, the most important part was Trait 3.
His X-rank talent, Celestial Fate: Profound, originally came with three text alerts: a hint, a notice, and a warning.
After he acquired the source, the hint and notice had vanished, leaving only the warning.
This meant that even though he wasn’t a zombie, he could now fully unleash the effects of his Celestial Fate: Profound talent. It also meant he no longer had to worry about the talent’s rank dropping from X to SSS if he were to travel to another world.
It also meant Qi Suian no longer had to worry about being erased by the apocalypse game.
’But it’s fine. As long as I can guarantee the quality of Celestial Fate: Profound won’t drop, that’s what matters most.’
Qi Suian’s reason for seeking the Source of Profound Virus from the very start had been self-preservation, so he wouldn’t have complained even if it were only F-rank.
’Still, there are quite a few threats to me right now.’
’Especially those zombies and Zombie People.’
The reason they were a threat was, of course, because Qi Suian planned to scavenge resources to increase the Tai Sui God’s number of evolutions.
The higher the level of the zombie thrown into the Melting Furnace, the more evolutionary energy he would obtain.
But they couldn’t be too powerful. A Corpse Emperor like Zombie Chunyu Hu, who was far beyond the standard version, was impossible to toss in.
Second, he needed to further analyze the second consciousness of the Zombie People.
If things went as expected, the next time he evolved his virus talent, a similar second consciousness would likely emerge.
His current viral symbiosis was not yet a deep fusion, but an A-rank virus talent would definitely require him to completely integrate the Profound Virus into his own body.
Of course, if he were to truly transform, he wouldn’t become a zombie, but rather an agglomeration of the Profound Virus.
At that point, he would be able to completely control the Profound Virus.
In his state of viral symbiosis, he still couldn’t actively control the Profound Virus within his body; he could only passively accept its protection.
However, he needed to seize the initiative to better study the Profound Virus. Otherwise, how could he ever get his virus talent to S-rank?
The current upper limit of this talent was by no means low. As long as Qi Suian developed it properly, its potential was definitely on par with the Zombie Dominator’s Devour Evolution, belonging to the SSS-rank.
However, compared to the combat power granted by Devour Evolution, Qi Suian’s virus talent didn’t increase his fighting strength by much. It was all geared toward self-preservation.
Thus, Qi Suian’s own combat power was truly pathetic, forcing him to rely on the Tai Sui God.
But there are no gains without pains. If he had single-mindedly focused on developing his combat power, he likely would have become a Zombie Dominator long ago.
It was his resistance that had saved him from the worry of turning into a zombie.
But now, his focus needed to shift. With the threat of the Profound Virus neutralized, all that remained was the issue of his combat power.
Upgrading the Tai Sui God was the quickest shortcut.
It grew stronger just by being fed resources, and with its compatible modules, it was certainly a solid choice.
’Speaking of which, what would happen if I inserted the Source of Profound Virus into the Tai Sui God and turned it into an SSS-rank module?’
Qi Suian mused, ’S-rank is already impressive. SSS-rank would be even more powerful, right?’
[It is recommended that you attempt this only after your virus talent reaches A-rank. At the current stage, you cannot completely control the Profound Virus and have not fully converted, which will lead to unknown effects.]
’Speaking of unknown effects, I remember that after complete infection, recasting through death is supposed to form the prototype of an ability with unknown effects. That’s also on hold, right?’
Qi Suian suddenly recalled this. Because he had been intentionally stalling his condition and avoiding full infection, it had never been triggered.
’It’s probably not a big deal.’
"Unknown effects" didn’t guarantee positive outcomes; they could just as easily be negative.
-----------------
"Father, your fists weren’t vicious enough, and your heart wasn’t cruel enough. That’s why you died."
"But rest assured, I have inherited your position and will definitely bring the Divine Prayer Association back under my control." Zombie Chunyu Bao had erected a cenotaph for Zombie Chunyu Hu, whose body had been completely obliterated.
Standing before the memorial tablet, his expression was stern, showing every intention of regrouping and taking charge.
"The Young Association Leader certainly has lofty ambitions. But all the brothers have their own families now. You’re still clinging to that old feudal mindset. It’s obsolete," a cold voice interjected.
Zombie Chunyu Bao’s expression changed, but he quickly composed himself and turned around.
He saw that all of his father’s most capable lieutenants had arrived.
"I... was just joking with my father, so his old soul could hear me in the afterlife." Zombie Chunyu Bao could only feign civility.
"The Young Association Leader is as filial as ever," one of the Zombie People praised, but his tone immediately shifted. "It’s just that your sincerity is lacking."
"What good is saying it before his memorial? Why don’t you go down and tell the old Association Leader yourself, Young Association Leader?"
The moment the words fell, all the Zombie People present attacked at once.
In a one-on-one fight, Zombie Chunyu Bao might have been evenly matched with any of them, but he couldn’t possibly stand against their numbers.
He had no chance to dodge and was torn to shreds on the spot, utterly and completely dead.
The members of the Divine Prayer Association had been under Zombie Chunyu Hu’s control, and they were loyal to him alone.
When it came to Zombie Chunyu Bao, they could only "tearfully" send him on his way, happy to be rid of a new Supreme Emperor lording over them.