Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Training Room.
After hanging up the call from Mu Qing, Feng Qi fell into deep thought.
He had never paid much attention to Lu Changkong before. All he knew was that he was the founder of the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad.
But in history, his presence wasn't particularly strong.
If events followed their natural course, Lu Changkong would die in a few years at the hands of the Mist Lord, disappearing from history entirely.
It wasn't until he received the action report from Li Xingchen that Feng Qi took the time to look into Lu Changkong's background.
By using his access privileges, he was able to read through classified information and piece together a clearer picture of Lu Changkong's betrayal.
The call from Mu Qing had only confirmed his suspicions.
Based on Lu Changkong's profile, he was never someone who would betray humanity.
As an outstanding graduate of Winterfell Academy, his record was flawless.
His combat history on the front lines proved his steadfast determination, having risked his life multiple times to shield his teammates from attacks by domain creatures.
The most brutal case was when he carried an injured teammate for over a hundred miles through a domain battlefield, barely escaping death.
Even in the direst moments, he never abandoned his comrades.
This alone proved his integrity.
Someone like him would never willingly defect to a domain faction.
In fact, if given a choice between dying and betraying humanity, he would have chosen death.
So what changed him?
The only plausible explanation—his sister's mysterious illness.
Feng Qi suspected that it was the forces behind the Institute of Technological Research that manipulated him during his sister's critical condition, luring him into servitude.
Faced with the choice between his sister and the fate of humanity, Lu Changkong had chosen his sister.
After reading through the details, Feng Qi couldn't help but think of Le Ping'an.
A similar situation had occurred with Le Ping'an's parents.
They had made the exact same choice as Lu Changkong.
This method of manipulating human emotions reminded Feng Qi of the Mist Lord.
But Lu Changkong's betrayal had nothing to do with the Mist Lord—it was the shadows lurking behind the Institute of Technological Research that were the true culprits.
In fact, Feng Qi suspected that Lu Changkong's sister's illness had been deliberately engineered by those very forces.
He had three key reasons to believe this:
First, after the Great Cataclysm, humanity had entered a new era infused with spiritual energy.
Although this era was fraught with crisis and danger, the presence of spiritual energy subtly enhanced the physical constitution of all humans.
Even ordinary, non-cultivating civilians were physically stronger than professional athletes from five hundred years ago.
Second, Feng Qi had examined Lu Changkong's sister, Lu Xiaoli's, medical records from the time of her illness.
The diagnosis provided by Future City Hospital described a condition that had never existed in historical records.
In other words, this was an entirely new disease.
Third, Lu Xiaoli had been perfectly healthy before she suddenly fell gravely ill.
This was the most suspicious point.
Lu Xiaoli was a student at Future City's Third Middle School.
Although middle school students weren't subjected to as frequent health checks as those in academies, they still underwent routine bloodline assessments every three months.
Her illness had appeared just over half a month after her last checkup.
These three key factors led Feng Qi to strongly suspect that Lu Changkong's betrayal had been entirely orchestrated—from his sister's sickness to his eventual recruitment into the Institute of Technological Research's secret faction.
As for why they chose Lu Changkong…
After analyzing his profile, Feng Qi had a rough idea.
Lu Changkong's background and achievements made him an ideal target.
Graduating from Winterfell Academy with top honors was only a fraction of his accomplishments.
During his time on the front lines, he was even recognized as one of the top ten rising stars in the Future City Supply Zone.
Had he survived and continued his growth, he would have eventually earned the Human Elite Medal.
At the time, Lu Changkong was at the peak of his development—his rapid rise had undoubtedly caught the attention of the shadowy forces behind the Institute of Technological Research.
And Lu Changkong had not disappointed them.
Starting from nothing, he built the third-ranking combat unit under the Institute of Technological Research—the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad.
A squad of undeniable elite status.
In the previous timeline, he had led the squad as its commander.
Even after the Mist Lord slaughtered the higher-ups, Devouring Wolf remained a force to be reckoned with.
After carefully analyzing the situation, Feng Qi couldn't help but sigh.
He understood Lu Changkong's choice.
But being understandable didn't make it right.
And he had to pay the price for his betrayal.
Perhaps that was why Lu Changkong never revealed the truth to his sister.
He had spent his life protecting her from the shadows, yet he had become a hidden executioner within human society.
Feng Qi took a deep breath.
If he had been in Lu Changkong's position, what would he have chosen?
But he only hesitated for a second before shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Putting himself in Lu Changkong's shoes, he imagined his own parents instead of Lu Changkong's sister.
Would he have made the same choice if someone promised to bring his parents back to life?
If he chose to betray humanity to resurrect his parents, they would most likely send him off to reincarnation themselves. His parents would suffer a fate worse than death. So this question was essentially a test with an obvious answer.
But everyone processes dilemmas differently. He understood Lu Changkong, yet he would never forgive him.
As for whether he could change Lu Changkong's fate, after careful thought, he decided against it.
The reason he could save the Mist Lord wasn't just because of the potential for human civilization to rise rapidly—there was another crucial factor: in the main timeline, the Mist Lord had never harmed a single human.
Lu Changkong, however, had blood on his hands—an untold number of innocent lives lost.
Feng Qi had no right to forgive him on behalf of those who had died at his hands.
He could alter the future, but he could never change the past.
With a sigh, he put the matter out of his mind.
According to the action report sent by Li Xingchen, part of the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad, led by Lu Changkong, had launched an attack on the Beastheart Domain Field. Their objective was to wipe out another domain combat squad.
Feng Qi found this deeply suspicious.
What exactly was the shadow faction's motive behind this?
While sending Mu Qing to eliminate Lu Changkong, he had also tasked her with investigating this matter.
During their earlier phone call, Mu Qing reported that she had already questioned members of the targeted squad—the Blazing Fire Domain Combat Squad.
However, the Blazing Fire Squad themselves had no idea why they had been targeted.
The trail had gone cold.
But Feng Qi had a strong intuition.
Clearly, the Blazing Fire Squad had stumbled upon something important, which prompted the shadow faction to take swift action and attempt to erase them.
The problem was that the members of the Blazing Fire Squad were completely unaware of what they had discovered.
Feng Qi could understand the shadow faction's paranoia.
As a covert force infiltrating human society, staying hidden was their top priority.
Even if exposure was only a possibility, they would eliminate the risk immediately.
To the shadow faction, it didn't matter if the Blazing Fire Squad had actually uncovered anything or not—the fact that they might become a potential threat was reason enough to wipe them out.
This reminded Feng Qi of Old Mist.
When Old Mist controlled the Tiger Soul Research Institute, he had operated in the same way.
For example, back when the Dark God Sect still existed, even if it posed no immediate danger, he would still find ways to eliminate it just in case.
Now that he had pieced together the sequence of events, Feng Qi stood up from his seat in front of the jade carving.
Leaving the training room, he made his way to the "Huang" Laboratory inside the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Tiger Soul Research Institute primarily focused on cultivation sciences, and its eight core laboratories were named Tian, Di, Xuan, Huang, Yu, Zhou, Hong, and Huang.
Each lab had its own dedicated research project.
Pushing open the door to Huang Lab, he was greeted by a dimly lit interior with a black-themed aesthetic.
Various research instruments were arranged into four sections, while a large information-processing machine stood in the center.
The black décor gave off a slightly oppressive feeling, but it was necessary for their experiments.
The walls were coated with a special black substance extracted from a spiritual plant found in domain fields, which effectively sealed off spiritual energy.
Thanks to this unique material, the lab's annual spiritual energy loss had been reduced by 20%.
Stepping into the left section, he saw several Tiger Soul Research Institute scientists working at control panels.
Among them was a short-haired, glasses-wearing researcher with delicate features, who was staring intently at a transparent containment chamber housing a faintly glowing blue energy cluster.
"Uncle Hei, how's the progress?"
Hearing the familiar voice, the researcher turned around, his expression lighting up when he saw Feng Qi.
"Progress has been slow these past few days, but we've made some discoveries."
"What exactly is this thing?" Feng Qi asked immediately.
"We don't know yet. We can't extract any substance from the blue energy cluster, but your earlier hypothesis was correct—it does respond to willpower."
Under Feng Qi's curious gaze, Uncle Hei stepped forward, unlocked the glass containment unit, and grabbed the energy cluster with his bare hand.
"Let me show you. It's too complicated to explain in words."
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Uncle Hei focused his will, and suddenly, the blue energy began to twist and deform.
A few seconds later, a softly glowing white orb emerged from within.
He caught the orb in his palm and handed it to Feng Qi.
Taking it in his hand, Feng Qi examined it closely.
Then, bringing it to his nose, he took a whiff before gently squeezing it—the orb shattered instantly, and a surge of dense spiritual energy burst out, rapidly dispersing in the lab.
"A spiritual stone?"
"That's right," Uncle Hei nodded. "It's a spiritual stone. I created it using my willpower."
Feng Qi's eyes widened in shock.
"Created…? Uncle Hei, are you saying this blue energy can manifest objects out of thin air?"
"You got it wrong. The blue energy cluster doesn't just create matter from thin air—it responds to willpower. Just now, I strongly desired a spiritual stone, and under the influence of my will, the energy cluster created one for me… But this ability has many limitations. My willpower couldn't manifest a high-quality spiritual stone—its limit was just that small bead you held."
Hearing this explanation, Feng Qi was stunned.
Suddenly, he understood something that had puzzled him for a long time.
Every time the Mist Lord exhausted his qi and blood, his body would inexplicably generate massive amounts of life force.
In the future, there was a moment when Lin Ran had already shattered the Mist Lord's consciousness cluster—yet, somehow, it had reformed itself.
And in the most absurd scenario, when he had followed the villainous path, the Mist Lord's corpse had practically turned cold, and Feng Qi had already given up on reviving him.
Yet somehow, the Mist Lord had reconstructed his essence and resurrected himself on the spot.
The root cause was clear now—the blue energy cluster.
The Mist Lord's desperate desire to live, combined with his overwhelming willpower, had influenced the blue energy to restore his origin and create qi and blood out of nothing.
Feng Qi had always thought that the Miracle Bloodstone, which could endlessly produce smaller bloodstones, was already unbelievably powerful.
But now, he realized that the Mist Lord himself had something even more ridiculous inside him.
A literal protagonist template.
At this point, Feng Qi was completely convinced—the blue energy cluster was a Miracle Item.
Only a Miracle Item could possess such an extraordinary ability.
"Don't get too excited," Uncle Hei interrupted. "Like I said, this blue energy cluster has limits. Even if I imagine an entire mountain of spiritual stones, it will still only create a bead the size of my fingertip."
"And if I envision a more precious material than spiritual stones, the output shrinks even further. Everything is constrained by the strength of my willpower."
Feng Qi nodded immediately.
A Miracle Item with restrictions—that made sense.
If it could truly create matter without limits, then it would surpass even the Pillar Gods, making the user akin to a Creator.
The Mist Lord desired survival, but he also craved absolute power—his goal was to ascend to the status of a Pillar God.
If this Miracle Item were truly omniscient and omnipotent, it would have already made him a god.
But even with its limitations, this Miracle Item was still incredibly powerful.
Many special materials produced in domain fields could not be replicated—once depleted, they were gone forever.
If this Miracle Item could reproduce such materials, it could greatly accelerate the progress of human civilization.
Just as he was imagining how to utilize it, Uncle Hei shook his head again.
"The blue energy cluster has another issue that we need to talk about."
"An issue?" Feng Qi frowned.
"Yes. A serious one. If we don't find a solution, we won't be able to use this artifact safely."
As he spoke, Uncle Hei wiped away a thin trickle of blood from his nose and continued,
"Through these past few days of experiments, we've discovered that every time someone uses the blue energy cluster, a faint consciousness emerges within their body. If usage continues, this consciousness grows stronger and stronger, until it completely takes over the host."
"If my guess is correct, this is the Mist Lord's lingering will. The blue energy cluster is helping him reincarnate by taking over a host body."
Feng Qi: !!!
Uncle Hei then walked over to the control panel and tapped the shoulder of another researcher who was working nearby.
"Pull up yesterday's video," he instructed.
The researcher swiftly operated the console, and soon, a video appeared on the main screen.
As the footage began playing, the scene showed the interior of the containment chamber.
Inside, the blue energy cluster pulsed rhythmically, expanding and contracting like it was breathing.
However, unlike its current state, it had traces of pinkish-red matter mixed in.
Uncle Hei turned to Feng Qi, his expression serious.
"In addition to generating a fragment of the Mist Lord's consciousness inside the user, the blue energy cluster has another issue—it produces flesh."
"Flesh?" Feng Qi narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. The surface of the energy cluster slowly grows biological tissue. The growth rate is very slow, but if given enough time, I believe… the Mist Lord will be reborn."
"So to prevent his resurrection, we need to regularly remove the biological tissue."
Hearing this explanation, Feng Qi's gaze toward the blue energy cluster changed entirely.
Uncle Hei's analysis had just confirmed something terrifying.
If the Mist Lord's will couldn't be purged, then this Miracle Item was bound to him forever.
It would continue to manifest his will, endlessly responding to his desperate desire to live, and bring him back to life.
And if they continued using this artifact without resolving the issue, someone would eventually become the host for his reincarnation.
"Undying specter" was just a phrase—but in the case of the Mist Lord, it had become a literal reality.