I Don't Agree to the Terms

The world probably had the same idea, letting Wang Qi use Godslayer Alliance as a steppingstone to practice, and once he became proficient enough, he would then move on to confront the Divine beings.

In fact, Gu Shanhai was also wondering what methods Wang Qi would later use to destroy or suppress the Divine beings. As it stood, the power emanating from the opponent also came from a Divine being—even though it was from Gu Shanhai, who was this whitewashed odd Divine being, its essence was not from Wang Qi himself.

Therefore, in normal circumstances, there was a great possibility of developing a new system. The problem was that the circumstances were anything but normal, especially after Gu Shanhai's interference...

"Selection, huh? That really takes time, let's take it one step at a time, shall we? With my little vessel, I'm not exactly in a position to attract recruits." Wang Qi hadn't thought about gathering crew members at this stage; for him, paying Tribute to a Divine being was indeed a big issue.

He knew Gu Shanhai was a Good God, but others didn't, and it would be natural for barriers to arise.

"But I have a question, do we really stand a chance using Divine Power to fight against Divine beings?" Wang Qi asked somewhat perplexedly.

"Not really, look at me, even as a Divine being, I ended up like this. Let alone you all," Gu Shanhai didn't offer comfort but maintained his Divine facade as usual.

"If we could get enough support from Good Gods, would we then have the power to resist?" Wang Qi said, contemplating; in his eyes, one Gu Shanhai wasn't enough, but maybe ten or eight would suffice. He didn't have much of a concept of the number of Divine beings.

"Where are you going to find Good Gods? The fact that I'm alive is pure luck," Gu Shanhai said, making Wang Qi sober up.

"Shanyuhai, are you saying that Evil Gods will gang up against Good Gods?" At this point, Wang Qi also grasped the severity of the situation.

"It's more than that, you still don't understand how I ended up in such a miserable state..." Gu Shanhai deliberately steered the topic towards the Godslayer Alliance, as a rationale for cleaning up this front organization in the future.

"Sea people, huh?" Wang Qi muttered quietly.

Yes, if a Good God was willing to help them, then relying on other Evil Gods' powers to manipulate this Good God and gain its power or even become a Divine being was a temptation not everyone could resist. After all, Divine beings were such a powerful existence that they just couldn't be resisted.

"It's good you understand. Many things aren't as simple as you imagine, the plight of Good Gods is pretty much the same as that of good people," Gu Shanhai directly sweet-talked him.

"Okay, I'll be careful," Wang Qi said after moseying around the small place for a while before finally returning to the vessel and setting off.

He also took that mimic chest monster with him to directly offer up as a Tribute to Gu Shanhai.

"You're so reckless, forget about getting off the blacklist in this lifetime..." Gu Shanhai commented upon seeing this.

"It's fine, I've already given up on getting off the blacklist now; dark cuisine is also edible," Wang Qi reasoned empathetically; even the benevolent would turn hostile if you fed them such stuff.

After the Tribute was given, the mimic chest monster transformed into a bowl of mush.

"It looks normal enough, no apparent problem with the flavor, so is this something your true form enjoys?" Wang Qi picked it up, scrutinized it closely, and found no issue.

"Just take a taste and you'll know," Gu Shanhai said with a cold laugh.

This made Wang Qi shudder, for the laughter of Gu Shanhai was far too ominous. Hence, it was certain that this dish was definitely dark cuisine, the more ordinary it seemed, the more vile the taste would be upon entering the mouth.

Seeing this, he definitely wouldn't take a taste as Gu Shanhai suggested but instead drank it down in one gulp.

Without even a taste, he simply swallowed it down to his stomach.

At that instant, a terrifying flavor assaulted his taste buds and spirit; his life flashed before his eyes, he even saw his deceased parents coming to pick him up.

"Ugh—what is this stuff? I almost lost my life with that one gulp..."

After nearly an hour, he finally regained his senses. However, there was a silver lining; he had acquired a Transcendent ability called "spiritual resistance." It significantly bolstered his resistance in the spiritual realm, whether against charm or direct spiritual power attacks, and could grant reductions in their effects, truly a first-rate ability.

"Century egg and lean pork congee, the dark version," Gu Shanhai spoke up.

Dark cuisine wasn't just those famous dishes; even food with a terrifying appearance could be considered dark cuisine.

Creating a gourmet dish was difficult, but producing a dish that was endlessly dark was easy.

"I just saw my parents came to pick me up, and I almost went with them. I also had a life-flashing-before-my-eyes moment, a feeling like I had reached the end of the road," Wang Qi said with a hint of complaint. This was the closest he had ever been to death.

Now he understood that although those dark cuisines with off-putting looks and smells were bearable if you gritted your teeth, it was the seemingly ordinary ones that brought true despair once ingested.

"Well, what you experienced just now might not have been an illusion. If you hadn't pulled through, your life really might have come to an end," Gu Shanhai warned him.

Wang Qi's eyes bulged, and then he asked in disbelief, "This stuff could actually kill someone?"

He had thought that being disgustingly unpalatable was the limit, but it seemed there were life-threatening risks as well.

"It has less to do with the food itself and more with you being too weak. You think it's food? But in essence, it's still a Transcendent item."

"So, even without any enhancement, some foods do have a threshold for consumption."

Gu Shanhai indicated that these items ranged in various qualities.

"I see, so the spiritual resistance I acquired is the most powerful Transcendent ability I've gained so far." Wang Qi did not ask why it wasn't mentioned before, nor did he question why Gu Shanhai hadn't stopped his previous attempt at eating. He figured Gu Shanhai let him eat the century egg and lean pork congee because he saw Wang Qi had eaten and not died.

"That's right, the more powerful the Transcendent ability, the more it requires your own strength as a foundation, or else you'd be overwhelmed. This bowl of century egg and lean pork congee was right on the pass mark. Eating it would be uncomfortable, but it wouldn't be life-threatening. Besides, the spiritual strength you gained from eating the 'Stargazing Pie' and the 'Isatis Root Instant Noodles' earlier played a big part; otherwise, you definitely wouldn't have been able to acquire the spiritual resistance ability."

Even though Wang Qi hadn't asked, Gu Shanhai felt the need to explain—some things just needed to be said openly to prevent issues.

"However, this is also an opportunity, isn't it? As long as I can tough it out on the edge of passing, I can gain strength to the greatest extent possible." Wang Qi wasn't frightened at all; on the contrary, he was eager to try. For him, power was truly important.

"Right, these Sea Beast tributes, wouldn't your true form prefer them? Otherwise, why would you send me a bowl of century egg and lean pork congee? Previously, the tributes I offered with those random things yielded only average rewards." Wang Qi had naturally noticed that the century egg and lean pork congee was of a higher quality.

"Not necessarily," Gu Shanhai answered vaguely. He certainly couldn't reveal that these things were all based on his mood.

"I see, what a pity I've never received what you call 'homework' as a reward. Otherwise, if I used that for Tribute, I might have gotten more," Wang Qi said with some regret.

"No worries, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future," Gu Shanhai said meaningfully. It was the first time he had encountered someone who actually wanted his 'homework.'

Then, he'd wait for next time to teach him what 'homework' could really be like.

If it didn't leave a psychological scar regarding homework, how could he consider them a person trained by him?

"Alright then, Shanyuhai, why don't you tell me what 'homework' really is," Wang Qi asked.

"How should I put it... I'm not good at describing it. You'll know once you get it next time, but it's definitely a good thing for boosting your strength," Gu Shanhai certainly wouldn't reveal it.

Hearing this, Wang Qi became even more expectant about the homework, believing it could enhance his strength, especially since it was personally stated by Gu Shanhai, a Divine being, so it had to be true.