The short-distance teleportation from Blink was incredibly fast—a spatial-type ability. The Divine Lord didn't even have time to react before Feng Qi suddenly appeared in front of him and sent him flying with a single slap.
After landing the blow, a savage smile spread across Feng Qi's face.
At first, his plan for talent development was to break down most active-type talents, keeping only "Blood Source" and a few passive talents.
That path had led him to dismantle a bunch of useful abilities.
Looking back now, he kinda regretted it.
After all, back then, he hadn't considered building a skill set based on belief. He figured most active talents were useless, so better to break them down for talent evolution points to level up Blood Source.
But among all the talents, there was one active ability he never dismantled and had kept until now.
That ability was [Blink].
It allowed short-range teleportation—perfect for suddenly closing in on highly mobile enemies.
How he got this talent was a bit of a fluke.
In that future dream timeline, he and the Mist Lord had gone to Shadow City, only to be caught by the Shadow City Lord.
The guy really extorted them hard.
Luckily, Little Black had shown up just in time and drew the City Lord away to fight.
Feng Qi took advantage of that opening to loot the Shadow City Lord's vault and unlocked a berserk Blood Source mode close to the level of the Dark God.
After smashing through the Shadow Pagoda, he caused massive destruction across the city, killing off a bunch of domain creatures and stealing their talents.
Blink was among them.
As for which creature gave him that talent, he had no idea.
It had been total chaos at the time. He hadn't even summoned his Reality Feedback Panel. Once he went into Dark God mode, he'd just gone wild smashing everything.
Getting Blink was pure dumb luck.
The Narrator's analysis back then was that the creature with Blink must've had an ancestor who mastered spatial power, and that latent ability had been passed down and pulled out by Feng Qi's talent extraction.
Now, Blink had become his fourth-strongest talent—just beneath Blood God, Purple Soul, and Divine Body.
The strength and weakness of this ability were both pretty obvious.
The upside: it fixed his mobility weakness and let him pull off surprise attacks.
The downside: each short-distance teleport burned through a lot of blood energy. Outside of combat, he could use it ten times max.
But in combat, or while using high blood-energy-consuming modes like Blood Source, he could only manage five.
So it had a strict usage limit, unlike Blood God which gave sustained boosts in battle.
Right now, after knocking the Rift Heaven Divine Lord flying, Feng Qi didn't pause.
He activated Blink again, teleporting close. His right arm suddenly expanded to more than triple its original size.
Dark red flames swirled around it, with bulging veins clearly visible.
He smashed down with that arm like a flaming battle axe, crashing it directly into the Divine Lord's chest. The impact sent the guy crashing down in a streak of golden light, slamming into the heart of Dawn City.
Below, large sections of buildings collapsed instantly. Dust billowed everywhere, and the ground caved into a massive crater.
Before the Divine Lord could even recover, Feng Qi flared his flame wings and dove down like a fiery meteor.
He already had a rough idea of the Divine Lord's powers.
Nothing else stood out—but that guy had a ridiculously powerful Miracle Item.
That Miracle Item had sealing powers. Feng Qi remembered it clearly—Suction Cup, who had fully awakened his Crimson Rune Crystal, was completely disabled in front of that seal.
Same with the Mist Lord.
In that future timeline, the Mist Lord had become a sovereign ruler and was gearing up to challenge the Eight Great Royal Clans.
But even in his peak state, he had been suppressed by the Miracle Seal, falling into a dazed state for a while before finally breaking free.
That was one reason the Mist Lord had always hesitated to go after the Rift Heaven Divine Lord—he was wary.
Miracle Items drew power from the Pillar Gods. Even the Mist Lord, at full strength, couldn't fully resist that kind of power.
Feng Qi figured the Mist Lord may have only escaped thanks to some kind of internal Miracle of Will that helped neutralize the seal.
If the Divine Lord got a chance to activate the seal, Feng Qi knew he'd be screwed. There'd be no way to fight back.
Once sealed, he'd just be a lamb waiting for slaughter.
So, if he wanted to kill this Divine Lord, the window to strike was razor-thin.
He couldn't let the Divine Lord catch his breath—not even once. He had to keep up the pressure so the guy never had a chance to use the Miracle Seal.
Diving through the rising dust cloud, Feng Qi locked his gaze on the still-dazed Divine Lord below. Flames burned across his right arm as he reeled it back.
Roar!
A thunderous roar ripped through the air as Feng Qi's right fist came crashing down.
Boom!
The earth trembled violently. The shockwave spread out from him like a blast wave, clearing the dust in every direction.
And there, in the heart of the newly-formed crater, lay the Rift Heaven Divine Lord.
That punch had landed square on his cheek, smashing his head into the dirt. His legs were still up in the air from the impact.
Whoosh!
Feng Qi opened his mouth and spat out a puff of dark red flame. He drew in a deep breath, then launched into a flurry—his fists raining down like a torrential storm.
Under the violent barrage, the crater continued to sink deeper.
As Feng Qi kept punching, the energy horn on his forehead began to gather power. Above his head, a rift-like formation emerged, pulling in streams of free-floating dark-element particles from the air.
The glow from the horn grew stronger and stronger.
Behind him, the massive golden-armored battle formation was rapidly approaching.
Feng Qi abruptly stopped his assault and looked up toward the sky.
After gaining his new talent ability, he'd discovered that he could instinctively cast some dark-type spells—as if the knowledge had been imprinted onto his soul.
In that instant, the horn released a black beam of light.
The beam slashed across the sky, ripping through space and instantly slicing through the golden-armored formation. Countless figures tumbled from the air, while those hit directly were instantly vaporized.
Blood energy gathered in the sky, forming a crimson cloud that surged toward him.
But Feng Qi didn't pay it any mind. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and smashed his fist down toward the Rift Heaven Divine Lord once more.
From above, the battle unfolding below looked like a brutal display of violent beauty.
Power, muscle, savagery—chunks of stone flying through the air, the ground caving in around him... Every flex of muscle exploded with terrifying strength.
With each punch, the dark red flames surrounding him pulsed like the beat of a drum—writing a symphony of power with every blow.
Faced with this relentless assault, the Divine Lord was clearly stunned, golden light spraying off his body in bursts, unable even to think about how to retaliate.
After the hailstorm of blows...
Feng Qi suddenly stomped down hard with his right foot, driving it into the Divine Lord's chest.
Dark red flames ignited from the Divine Lord's torso, spreading outward and quickly forming the Flame Hell Domain Field.
In the rising inferno, Feng Qi looked like a demon straight from hell.
Ferocious, domineering, wicked... In his Blood God state, he was the embodiment of every dark and terrifying word imaginable—his very aura sending chills down anyone's spine.
With a wave of his hand, the flames condensed into a totem pillar.
Flame chains burst from the totem, wrapping tightly around the Rift Heaven Divine Lord.
"Look at me, bastard!"
Gripping the Divine Lord's head, Feng Qi growled viciously. Flames surged from his body and engulfed the Divine Lord entirely in searing heat.
The Divine Lord immediately let out a scream of pain.
But the flames quickly covered his figure.
Then, a blinding golden light erupted from within the fire.
"How interesting... Is this the power granted to you by your Miracle Item?"
From inside the flames came the Divine Lord's voice, filled with laughter.
Hearing that, a flash of killing intent sparked in Feng Qi's eyes.
In that previous future dream timeline, he had already learned that the Rift Heaven Divine Lord had the ability to sense Miracle Items—a trait quite similar to the Blue-Skin Clan's abilities.
To uncover the hidden Miracle Item within his body, the Rift Heaven Divine Clan had once thoroughly examined both his body and spiritual sea.
He'd nearly died from it.
If not for the Mist Lord's timely arrival, who wiped out the Rift Heaven Divine Clan, he would've been finished back then.
Now, the Divine Lord clearly misunderstood—thinking Feng Qi's power came from some Miracle Item.
Which only proved one thing: the Divine Lord wasn't actually out of combat strength. All that earlier beating wasn't because he was holding back—he was testing, trying to probe the Miracle Item's capabilities.
[Doesn't this guy seem kinda dumb to you? I mean, if we actually had a Miracle Item like his "Seal," the kind that ends a battle the moment it's activated, using yourself as a test dummy sounds suicidal. There's no way this guy lived this long by being stupid. Honestly, I think you just caught him completely off guard with that Blink sneak attack, and your follow-up was so brutal he's only now getting his bearings.]
"Who cares?"
Realizing the dark-element flames weren't doing much damage, Feng Qi decided to use brute force diplomacy.
At that moment, the flame totem pillar shattered.
The Divine Lord, now seated cross-legged in midair and bathed in golden light, revealed himself with a calm smile.
"A descendant of the human race? You're still a far cry from your ancestors."
"Good enough to kill you."
As the words fell, Feng Qi's form flickered and reappeared behind the Divine Lord. He launched a savage knee strike straight at the Divine Lord's back like a fired cannon shell.
Boom!
The Divine Lord immediately turned into a stream of golden light, soaring into the sky—unable to predict the direction or range of Feng Qi's Blink.
But just as Feng Qi was about to chase him down, the Divine Lord raised a hand and slapped the air.
In an instant, a golden light barrier unfurled and spread throughout the Flame Domain Field.
Gold and dark red clashed, and the overlapping of the two domain fields caused extreme instability.
The smiling Divine Lord steadied himself. With a casual gesture, golden light gathered ahead of him, forming a golden formation that stopped Feng Qi's charging punch.
"Go on," the Divine Lord said with a smirk, mocking him.
Fueled by negative emotions, rage exploded in Feng Qi's chest.
His body kicked into overdrive, and his strength instantly surged several levels higher.
Under his furious assault, it didn't take long for the Divine Lord's golden defense to crumble—Feng Qi's fists smashed through it and landed directly on his face.
The momentum kept going—blow after brutal blow.
The Divine Lord finally couldn't withstand it anymore. He coughed up golden blood.
But the smile on his face only grew clearer.
"Hahaha... Interesting. That Miracle Item of yours—I'm taking it."
"Take your damn mother!"
Feng Qi roared and slammed a powerful kick into the Divine Lord's face, distorting his smile and scattering golden light everywhere.
The Rift Heaven Divine Lord, who'd been knocked away, still didn't retaliate. Instead, he chuckled and said,
"Do you believe it? I could take you down in an instant."
Feng Qi didn't respond. He kept swinging his fists, hammering the Divine Lord—who was blasted into a stream of golden light and slammed into the chaotic domain barrier.
"How about a bet? If I can subdue you instantly, you hand over your Miracle Item and swear loyalty to me?"
[Well damn, no wonder this guy didn't fight back right away after recovering—turns out he's trying to recruit you as his underling… You sure you don't wanna consider it?]
Feng Qi ignored the narrator and began squeezing out every drop of blood energy to unleash an even fiercer assault.
He could sense that the Rift Heaven Divine Lord had been injured.
This was his chance to go for the kill—even if the odds weren't great.
"Seems like there's no room for negotiation then. In that case… I grant you death."
The Divine Lord's smile turned sinister. As he spoke, strange golden characters engraved on his skin began peeling off. They floated into the air, then spiraled toward Feng Qi.
Feng Qi's heart sank at the sight.
He'd seen something similar before—with Suction Cup.
In his memory, Suction Cup had chosen not to dodge and took the golden characters head-on.
The result? Instant unconsciousness and total sealing.
Having learned from that, Feng Qi decisively tried to dodge the incoming characters.
But what he didn't expect was that even after brushing past him, the golden characters ignored all inertia and curved back in an instant, slapping right onto his back with full speed.
The characters then spread from his back out toward his arms, legs, and head.
In a blink, golden glyphs covered his entire body.
The moment they converged at his chest, Feng Qi's Blood God form was forcibly deactivated. His pupils dimmed, and his body fell limply from the air.
At that moment, the narrator's voice sounded in his mind:
[Tsk tsk, this Miracle Seal really is a solo-duel killer. Just straight-up insta-killed my boy… Huh? Wait, how come I didn't get sealed? Clearly, I—the narrator—am the strongest of all. Hahahaha.]
But by then, Feng Qi's consciousness had been completely shut down. He couldn't hear any of the narrator's wisecracks.
...
No one knew how much time had passed when Feng Qi's awareness slowly began to return.
Then he realized—his sense of physical touch was gone.
"You're awake?"
A voice echoed in his mind.
Then his consciousness projected outward, and he finally saw his surroundings.
The Rift Heaven Divine Lord sat cross-legged in midair before him, and Feng Qi had been reduced to nothing but a single pulsing brain.
"Tell me. Where's the Miracle Item on your body?"
The Divine Lord's voice rang out again.
Feng Qi didn't even bother to respond.
"If you won't speak, I have plenty of ways to make you suffer. Think carefully—die quickly, or endure endless pain…"
The Divine Lord's voice turned cold, but before he could finish, his eyes suddenly snapped to the east.
Sensing the terrifying presence heading his way, the mysterious golden characters engraved on his body began glowing and activating on their own.
Without hesitation, he raised a hand and fired a golden beam into the sky.
Immediately, the golden-armored army retreated, soaring up into the Cloud Temple. The Divine Lord followed, choosing to retreat of his own accord.
A few minutes later, Little Black, surrounded by flickering divine patterns, appeared at the spot where the Divine Lord had just been floating.
With a single inhale, Little Black sucked in and devoured every last bit of Feng Qi's shattered body.
But after consuming him, Little Black didn't leave.
He lifted his gaze toward the sky—and vanished.
...
Inside the moving Cloud Temple, Feng Qi began suffering.
The Divine Lord's power repeatedly shattered and pieced together his consciousness, using torture to force out the truth about the Miracle Item's whereabouts.
But the torment didn't last long before the narrator's voice rang out once more:
[Oh ho! Little Black really is true love. He came chasing after you again. Guess even your consciousness is too precious to let go.]
Hearing that, Feng Qi knew salvation had come.
As for the Rift Heaven Divine Lord, it was clear he had no clue he was Little Black's real target. Odds were, he was done for.
No matter how strong the Miracle Seal was, it wasn't gonna cut it against Little Black.
Just as Feng Qi expected, the Divine Lord soon left the palace to confront Little Black outside.
At that point, Feng Qi relied on the narrator's commentary to mentally fill in the fight.
Little Black had already been ramped up to full combat power by Suction Cup—no longer moving like an old man stalking prey.
In the narrator's words: he was savage as hell, and even devoured half the Cloud Temple right out the gate.
Even when the Divine Lord used the Miracle Seal again, it only trapped Little Black for a short while before he broke free.
To be more precise, Little Black seemed to adapt to the seal's power. Even with the golden characters branded on his body, he could still move freely.
It was eerily similar to the last time, during the war timeline, when the Psionic Race's time-reversal had initially affected him—but soon, it stopped working altogether, like Little Black had built up a resistance to the Miracle Item's power.
Facing the unstoppable Little Black, the Divine Lord clearly began to feel that same hopelessness he once experienced.
With the narrator narrating the action play-by-play, Feng Qi mentally pictured the whole thing.
And in the end, the Rift Heaven Divine Lord was completely wrapped up—devoured into nothingness.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Serves you right."