"Wow! Wait, does it mean after the Alliance is formed, animals can't evolve into spirits without permission?" After hearing Su Junyu's words, Wang Qi felt a strange, awkward feeling in his chest. "Is the Alliance gonna overthrow all the weird creatures?"
"'Weird creatures'?" Su Junyu looked confused. "Is that some famous beast?"
The other three shook their heads, all expressing they had no clue.
Wang Qi continued, "So, the Alliance can control animals from becoming spirits, right?"
Su Junyu shook his head, saying, "Of course not! Not even true immortals could do that."
Wang Qi, still confused, asked, "Then... how does it work?"
"Simple," Su Junyu said matter-of-factly. "Just kill the ones that evolve without permission."
Wang Qi froze. "What? You mean they can just eliminate those?"
At this point, Wang Qi thought that Su Junyu sounded even more powerful than before.
Members of the Alliance included some of the demon race, but that didn't mean the humans and demons were all buddy-buddy. The Alliance has three main types of warriors: the Boundary Defenders, the Peacekeepers, and the Law Enforcers. The only ones focusing on cleaning up inside the Alliance were the Law Enforcers. The Boundary Defenders were busy guarding the sea regions, while the Peacekeepers had a more complicated job. Their role mainly focused on maintaining peace, and they often had to deal with rogue beasts, including those that might attack humans.
Any animal that turns into a spirit near human settlements or has killed a human before? Kill it. Any animal that shows signs of attacking humans? Kill it. Even if an animal has killed for reasons other than self-defense or hunting? It's also dead.
At the same time, the Alliance was open to some "well-behaved" animals. They'd be given enlightenment and taught the ways of cultivation. This was helpful for researchers from places like Tianling Ridge to study the essence of life. Plus, these animals would become the Alliance's strength.
Currently, a decent portion of the semi-demons in the Alliance were descendants of such animals.
Since the Thunderstorm Giant-Horned Deer were drinking water near the lake, Wang Qi and the others didn't go to fetch water. Wu Fan finally played his part and began closely observing the herd of deer. Wang Qi used his energy waves to carve some wooden sticks and started roasting the meat that Wu Shiqin had brought.
When Su Junyu saw Wang Qi preparing the meat, he reminded him, "Just roast it normally, don't use the Sky Entropy Formula."
Wang Qi slapped his forehead. "Right! I didn't think of that! The Sky Entropy Formula can control the heat! That means I could easily make some crazy dishes that normal people can't even dream of!"
He suddenly became almost excited, and his eyes glinted. "If the dish doesn't glow, is it even considered good food?"
Su Junyu was taken aback. "No! Just stick to regular roasting! If you use the Sky Entropy Formula, it's not going to taste good, not to mention it could be totally inedible!"
Wang Qi paused for a moment, then turned to Mao Zimiao. "Hey, Zimiao, does your friend have picky eating habits?"
Mao Zimiao immediately became cautious. "What are you planning, huh?"
Wang Qi grinned. "Experiment..."
Su Junyu quickly interrupted. "Stop! Using cultivation techniques to cook really needs a lot of control. The Sky Entropy Formula is okay, but if you used something like the Burning Gold Valley technique..."
As Su Junyu spoke, he seemed to remember some unpleasant memories, and he visibly shivered.
"Burning Gold Valley?" Wang Qi asked, curious. "What's that about?"
Su Junyu gave a bitter laugh. "The Burning Gold Valley technique manipulates material properties. All of its techniques are based on that concept. If any cultivator tries to use it for cooking, the ingredients will undergo changes that you can't even imagine. Sure, the best cooks of Burning Gold Valley can make divine delicacies, but a clumsy cook? Well... they'll end up making trash, not food."
After hearing that, Wang Qi immediately gave up on using the Sky Entropy Formula for cooking. After all, he had to eat too.
By the time Wang Qi finished roasting the meat, Wu Fan had also finished his observation. Wang Qi handed him a skewer of meat and asked, "So, how's it look?"
Wu Fan, who rarely stood out, was a bit surprised by the treatment. "Observation complete, data has been recorded."
After finishing the skewer in just a few bites, Wu Fan finally spoke up, and Wang Qi also took a skewer to eat. It turned out, Wang Qi had already used the Sky Entropy Formula on the meat earlier, just a bit before Su Junyu's reminder.
When the group finished dinner, Su Junyu went off on his own again. The less he interacted with Wang Qi's group during the trial, the higher the praise the new disciples received.
Throughout the day, the group's bonds had strengthened naturally. Mao Zimiao had become good friends with Wu Shiqin, and even Wu Fan, usually silent, could now hold a conversation with the others. Wang Qi remained the odd one out, but his new friends had grown used to his occasional strange behavior.
While chatting, Mao Zimiao and Wu Shiqin talked about joining sects after the trial.
Mao Zimiao asked, "Shiqin, which sect are you planning to join?"
Wu Shiqin answered honestly, "The Guoyi Alliance."
"Shiqin, you're so amazing!" Mao Zimiao exclaimed. "Your cultivation technique is the Guoyi Alliance's top one, Tian Ge Xing, right? The one that's said to combine all techniques into one!"
Wu Shiqin nodded modestly. This response made Mao Zimiao more excited. "You're so amazing! You solved that problem! I'm really bad at math and formulas!"
Wu Shiqin just smiled. "Su Junyu said this afternoon that your technique is the Tian Yan Diagram. Are you planning to join Tian Ling Ridge?"
Mao Zimiao nodded. "My senior from Jiyi Valley told me I'm more suited for Spirit Beast Mountain."
"Also very impressive!"
Mao Zimiao then turned to Wu Fan, "What about you, Fan?"
Wu Fan smiled, "I don't have such grand ambitions. I'll be happy just becoming an inner disciple of Mountain River City."
Mao Zimiao felt a little embarrassed hearing that. "It's not a big deal. If I didn't have Sister Ai's advice, I would have picked a sect like Flowing Cloud Sect. What about you, Wang Qi? You're so amazing—what's your goal?"
Wang Qi almost blurted out, "No tooth decay..."
But he quickly caught himself. This time, he gave a rare serious reply. "I don't know."
"Don't know?" Wu Shiqin asked.
Wang Qi shook his head. "Not really."
"What do you mean then?"
Wang Qi shrugged casually. "Either the Wanfa Sect, or the Piao Miao Palace, or I could consider the Guoyi Alliance's Guanghua Hall. But I definitely want to be a direct disciple."
His confident words, combined with his scholarly and almost bossy aura, immediately stunned the three others, who were all still in the Qi Refining stage. However, Wu Shiqin quickly snapped out of her daze and sneered. "Just blowing hot air."
Wang Qi wasn't fazed. He immediately activated his state. Among the many skills he had, there were a few that exuded clear, powerful energy: Tian Ge Xing, Sky Entropy Formula, and the Elephant Wave Skill.
With a flicker of light, Wang Qi's right hand grew warm, and the ground in front of him cracked slightly.
Wu Shiqin instantly stopped speaking.