Hu Qi overheard the entire conversation from within the secret room.

With his current strength, even if they were conversing from thousands of miles away, eavesdropping was as easy as if they were whispering in his ear.

His gaze shifted to the side. There, in a corner of the secret room, a figure lay stiffly on the ground, completely motionless. It was Ji Wuxing.

The Celestial Fine Threads bound his Divine Soul to his physical body, leaving Ji Wuxing completely paralyzed.

Sensing Hu Qi’s gaze on him, Ji Wuxing wanted to say something, but found he couldn’t. The only parts of his body he could move were his eyes.

Even his Power of the Heart was restricted.

’He was utterly horrified, completely unable to understand why this was happening.’

’He had been completely powerless before this man, who could even crush the Celestial Punishment Spear with his bare hands.’

’Could this person have already broken through to the Void Realm?’

’But how is that possible? I’m the Person of Celestial Fate, acknowledged by the world will itself! I’m the destined savior.’

’According to my plan, I was supposed to be the one to subdue him, gather the fortune of all nations, and activate the Emperor’s Fusion Map to push my own Realm to the Void Realm.’

’I was supposed to slay Mother Earth, save the Human Race, and become a Martial Arts Venerable.’

’At worst, I should have been defeated by Mother Earth, killed by her hands.’

’So what in the world is this?’

In fact, Ji Wuxing wasn’t wrong.

As someone at the Refining God Limit, bolstered by immense fortune and the fortune of nations, it should have been impossible for him to be captured so easily.

Normally, even if he were outmatched, he should have been able to use a Secret Technique to burst free, or some powerful expert would have intervened. No matter what, various situations should have arisen to obstruct his enemy, allowing him to turn calamity into fortune.

If not for Hu Qi’s existence, he would have been the final savior and hope.

Unfortunately, there were no ’ifs.’

No matter how strong one’s fortune was, it couldn’t make a single ripple in the face of absolute power.

With Hu Qi’s current power, not even the world will of Earth Star itself could protect Ji Wuxing if it personally intervened.

However, perhaps the effects of his fortune were still at play, preventing Hu Qi from killing him immediately.

He cultivated the Emperor’s Fusion Map and had already established a connection with every nation on Earth Star except for the Xia Federation. He had even co-opted sixty percent of the Xia Federation’s national fortune.

Although he had not completely gathered the national fortune of the entire Human Race and thus failed to meet the conditions to become the Celestial Son as described in the Emperor’s Spirit Fusion Map, he had still formed a tight bond with it.

Killing him rashly would implicate countless ordinary people.

At best, they would suffer a lifetime of bad luck, accidental injuries, and chronic illness. At worst, they would die on the spot.

However, letting Ji Wuxing go was also impossible.

In Hu Qi’s eyes, there were only enemies and friends.

This man had attacked him, so he was naturally an enemy and had to pay the price.

Besides, he was very interested in the memories of a Saint Emperor who once stood at the pinnacle of the Miwu Civilization.

He had plenty of ways to dismantle the national fortune attached to the man.

...

「Two days later. Anshan City.」

Inside the top floor of the Zhu Xi building.

Hu Qi’s glowing appearance—a side effect of his breakthrough—had subsided considerably.

Although light still flowed from the surface of his body, his features were now faintly discernible.

Ji Wuxing was propped up to the side, with colorful threads coursing over his body.

He didn’t look much different than before.

But upon closer inspection, one would notice that something about Ji Wuxing had changed.

Although his aura was still that of the Refining God Realm, it had plummeted from the Refining God Limit to the Early Stage Refining God.

The dense national fortune he once possessed had thinned to a negligible amount.

This was all Hu Qi’s doing.

In the past two days, news of Ji Wuxing’s failure and capture had spread.

This led the leaders of the smaller nations who had submitted to him to renounce their allegiance one after another.

While this Inheritance Secret Martial Arts was powerful and allowed for rapid advancement, it had a fatal flaw: its power was dependent on the support of the ephemeral national fortune and the personal fortune of countless people.

Once that support from the national fortune was gone, the power one held became like a rootless plant.

If not for the fact that the Secret Martial Artist cultivation path requires one to open a Divine Treasure to advance, Ji Wuxing might have even fallen out of the Refining God Realm entirely.

Even so, his current, peculiar situation required him to keep the three Divine Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit open.

This placed an enormous drain on Ji Wuxing.

If this continued, only two outcomes awaited him.

Either his Divine Treasures would be depleted and close again, causing his Cultivation to plummet...

...or, if this persisted, it wouldn’t be long before the three Divine Treasures in his body drained him of his life force, killing him.

Hu Qi looked at Ji Wuxing, whose face was ashen. From beginning to end, he didn’t say another word to him.

He reached out his hand and activated his Spirit Devouring Talent.

Under Ji Wuxing’s ashen, despairing, and venomous gaze, his body vanished, leaving behind only a pile of Ashes on the floor.

Modification Point +756 (19%)

A line of Crimson text appeared.

The Modification Points provided by this Ji Wuxing far exceeded that of an ordinary Refining God expert.

However, considering his identity and former strength, it was understandable.

Although his power had dropped, his Life Level remained the same.

But this wasn’t what concerned Hu Qi.

With the current strength of his Divine Soul, reading Ji Wuxing’s memories was not difficult.

But soon, a strange expression appeared on his face.

’There’s something wrong with Ji Wuxing’s memories.’

’No, to be more precise, this Ji Wuxing wasn’t the original Ji Wuxing.’

’The real Ji Wuxing had already been killed and devoured by Mother Earth. Not even his Divine Soul escaped. He was long dead.’

’It was impossible for him to even enter the Sea of Sumeru to be reincarnated.’

The current Ji Wuxing was merely a replica, created by the world will by copying the original Ji Wuxing’s soul imprint.

Simply put.

This Ji Wuxing was just a copy of the former Saint Emperor. Although he possessed most of his memories, he wasn’t the original.

Ji Wuxing himself may not have realized it, perhaps due to the influence of his fortune.

But as an observer, Hu Qi could clearly see the flaws in his Divine Soul.

In other words, this guy was just a tool manufactured by the world will.

At that moment, the Power of Fortune that had been inside Ji Wuxing surged and poured into Hu Qi’s body.

"This was all part of your scheme!"

Hu Qi’s expression was impassive.

He looked up at the azure sky.

It was as if he could see that vast, chaotic mass in the unseen world—the will of Earth Star.

There are two ways to obtain fortune.

The first is Innate, which is bestowed by the world will.

The other is Postnatal, which is to seize the fortune of others.

For example, if someone was fated to find money walking down a certain road, but you got there first and took it, then their luck of finding the money becomes yours.

This is equivalent to snatching a sliver of their fortune.

The former can be refused.

But the latter...

Unless Hu Qi had chosen not to devour Ji Wuxing, the Power of Fortune would have inevitably entered his body.