Applied Immortality

“Ripple power is sun power! Die, you monkey!”

The golden Waveform Essence gushed as Wang Qi shouted. The unstable probability wave collapsed into golden lightning. Wang Qi’s Waveform Essence was somewhat lacking in amount, but it made up for it in quality, many times above the primate demon’s demonic energy. As the two clashed, the demonic energy crumbled like snow on a hot spring day.

Waveform Essence punched a hole in the Ghost Ape’s demonic energy defenses, and the Thunder Clap Stag’s lightning arched through from its antlers and hit it right in its chest.

There was an electric potential difference between Ghost Ape and Stag King, making the strike deadly. The Ghost Ape shrieked in agony, and Wang Qi used the chance to turn the remnant ripples into a wave, driving it straight into the primate demon’s wound.

Without the demonic energy stopping it, the ripples pierced the skin and wreaked havoc. The wound wasn’t deep, bleeding just a little, but it might as well be life-threatening in this situation.

Thanks to generations upon generations of battling Thunder Clap Stags, the Ghost Ape developed highly electrical-resistant skin. It could be crafty all it wanted, it could even be ingenious in its tactics, but it could never change its blood to be an insulator. Demons even more so couldn’t rely on talent alone to copy Wang Qi’s tactic of making electromagnetic fields within itself to block electricity. The Stag King’s lightning strike followed the blood and coursed through the primate’s body, leading to its chest rupturing. 

The primate demon didn’t even get the chance to wail in pain before dying.

Wang Qi eased his breath and his grip, sitting on the Stag King in relief. Then he felt a sudden jolt and was thrown off the impromptu chair.

The Stag King lowered its head as it approached him. Wang Qi was tense, charging an attack in his left hand, out of view. The Stag King, however, sniffed, snorted, and covered his face in slime before leaving in disdain.

“Tch, spare me the tough guy act.” Wang Qi wiped his face of drool. 

“Little Qi! Little Qi!”

Wang Qi turned to see the rushing Mao Zimiao waving around. She slammed into Wang Qi and squeezed his shoulder as she asked in deep concern, “Little Qi, are you hurt?”

The girl sounded frightened, even forgetting her trademark ‘nya.’

Wang Qi wrestled out of her hands and rubbed her head hard. “You think a bookworm like me can get hurt? You’ve got to be joking, Ah’Zimiao. You didn’t get a word from my explanation, did you? That was the highlight of this fight, my greatest moment!”

Mao Zimiao wiped her tears. “It’s great you’re alright, nya… So great.” She didn’t even register Wang Qi taking advantage of her ears.

A cough caught the two’s attention. “Ahem, don’t you find your action indecent? Zimiao, it’s best you come down first.”

Mao Zimiao finally felt the inertia. She was hanging on Wang Qi’s body. The girl flushed hard and jumped off, keeping her distance.

Wang Qi huffed in annoyance. He had no nasty thoughts for the girl, but having such a pretty thing hanging on his arm sure was great. As an extra bonus, he got to rub her cute head—he did save her life, no? It was the least he deserved.

Wu Shiqin snapped at his look and said, “I’m a disciplinary officer. It’s my duty to stop any fraternization!”

With cultivation being the talk of the ages in Divine Province, there were plenty of female cultivators around. Despite today not having the same prevalent male superiority as the ancients did, fraternization was still avoided. 

Wang Qi sneered, “Tch, a bachelor’s envy, so-called righteous fury against the impure. Hey, ever heard of starting with emotion and stopping at propriety?'” 

A few lights flew over from Argent Mountain while they argued. The new, stronger cultivators took it over from here. Su Junyu landed before the four. He nodded and tossed Wang Qi a pill. “Good work.”

Wang Qi popped the pill in his mouth. “Only so-so.”

Su Junyu clapped to grab their attention. “The barrier in the forest collapsed and needs to be remade. This puts an end to the trial. Get some rest, and then we’ll return.”

Wang Qi asked, “What about merits?”

Su Junyu answered, “As your trial was terminated due to unforeseen circumstances, your evaluation will be based on your work so far. It will determine how much merits you deserve.”

Wang Qi nodded, happy with that answer. Su Junyu raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re not going to demand to complete the rest? Aren’t merits important to you?”

Wang Qi took out a paper from his storage bag and said, “My need for them is the same as your desire for this.”

“What?”

Wang Qi gave Su Junyu Hilbert’s note. “Take it as gratitude. Here is the original writing of the Arbiter of Arithmetic. I’ve already copied it anyway.”

Su Junyu beamed, “Wow! Such gratitude…”

“Senior Brother Su, you sure love this stuff. But at the same time, you won’t feel crushed if you can’t have it.” Wang Qi smiled, “Joy, and the meaning of joy; I understand it now.” 

[I will pay back what I owe. Imperial Celestial Rift Sect, ancient cultivation remnants, I will eradicate you. But I can’t let it affect my pursuit of Dao.]

“Eh?” Su Junyu was careful when placing the note in a transparent box, not paying attention to his words.

Wang Qi’s mouth twitched, feeling like he had misjudged him.

[This guy is a nerd through and through, even after finding his true self. I must’ve gone mad thinking he could ever have the demeanor of a true cultivator.]

Su Junyu smiled and said, “You should raise your expectations a bit. Your assistance in helping the Stag King of the exploration zone kill the fighting zone’s Ghost Ape will not go unnoticed. It will earn you good merits. It aligns perfectly with preserving the exploration zone and killing in the fighting zone. It also counts as working in the Immortal Alliance’s best interests during an accident. All in all, you should earn about fifty merits.” 

“Fifty?” Wang Qi jumped. “Hey, guys, let’s celebrate when we get back!”

The mention of celebrating had Su Junyu pulling a face. He pulled Wang Qi to the side and whispered, “You’re not planning on following tradition with a crowd, right?” 

“Senior Brother Su, get your mind out of the gutter.”