Galaxy Academy, Training Grounds.
After many years, old classmates reunited.
At the moment Xiao Xin saw Feng Qi, her expression froze in shock, and countless memories flooded her mind.
She knew that, to Feng Qi, she was merely a passing figure in his life—insignificant.
Every challenge she had issued to him had been met with his indifferent attitude, as if he had never taken it seriously.
But to her, Feng Qi represented a key part of her growth.
During her six years at Star City No.1 High School, he had always been an insurmountable obstacle.
At first, she had not set her sights on Feng Qi.
During the initial entrance exam, her performance was unremarkable, even leaning towards the lower middle ranks of the school.
With her strong competitive nature, she decided to challenge the top-ranked student.
Step by step, she defeated one opponent after another, until she finally encountered Feng Qi.
She still vividly remembered the day she chose to view him as her ultimate target.
That was six years ago, on a morning when the school principal awarded Feng Qi the "Outstanding Student" certificate. He stood on the stage, smiling brilliantly.
From that moment on, she made him her next goal.
The moment class ended, she rushed to his classroom, pointed at him, and declared a challenge.
But rather than accepting, he simply gave her a confused look and hesitantly asked:
"Do you need me to take you to the school infirmary?"
From that day forward, after every test, she would challenge him again.
Perhaps Feng Qi never cared, but she took it extremely seriously.
Through each challenge, her ranking climbed higher and higher, drawing ever closer to Feng Qi.
In the process, she was also promoted to class president.
Victory over Feng Qi seemed just within her reach.
No matter how many times she failed, she never gave up—the desire to surpass him only burned stronger.
She had never forgotten the words her mother told her before heading to the frontlines:
"Only by conquering the mountain before you can you climb to even greater heights. If you choose to take a detour, that mountain will remain in your heart forever, an insurmountable obstacle."
Feng Qi was never meant to be her final goal.
But before she could set her sights on the next opponent, she had to conquer the peak before her.
Yet… now, she had to admit a painful truth—Feng Qi's growth speed had far surpassed her expectations.
The graduation exam had been, in her mind, the ultimate showdown.
She had been confident that she would defeat him in that final test before moving on to Galaxy Academy to chase after new challenges.
But the news that Feng Qi had been directly admitted to Star City Academy was a thunderbolt out of the blue.
Afterward, he continuously developed groundbreaking cultivation techniques, further widening the gap between them.
For a time, news reports about him flooded every channel.
Many media outlets speculated that he might be the greatest genius of this era, or even a once-in-a-millennium prodigy.
Even within Galaxy Academy, Feng Qi remained one of the most frequently discussed topics.
Every piece of information she received only reinforced the growing distance between them.
She realized that the mountain she had nearly climbed had already soared into the clouds, rising to a height she could no longer touch.
Their lives would likely diverge into two completely different paths.
Though this realization weighed on her, it also fueled her determination. Night after night, she lay awake in bed, silently vowing to surpass him.
To her, the challenge was all about the process.
The harder the struggle, the more satisfying the victory—the exhilaration of success, the fulfillment, the honor.
She didn't know if she would ever surpass Feng Qi.
But she knew she would continue challenging him, even if it took a lifetime to prove herself.
During her studies at Galaxy Academy, she frequently heard news about Feng Qi.
While she was still absorbing basic knowledge of cultivation sciences, he was already pioneering new techniques.
As the mountain she sought to climb loomed ever higher, she intensified her studies.
At the same time, she didn't neglect physical training.
To her, surpassing Feng Qi had become a marathon—endurance and health were essential.
When she first entered Galaxy Academy, she was far from outstanding—she hadn't even made it into the top 1,000 rankings.
But she improved steadily. Every monthly test, her rank would rise by dozens of spots.
During this period, however, Feng Qi suddenly disappeared from the public eye.
The genius who carried humanity's hopes seemed to have faded from existence.
Rumors swirled that he had exhausted his potential, that he had encountered an insurmountable bottleneck, that perhaps his legend had ended before it had even begun.
But she never put stock in such talk.
The Feng Qi she knew always created miracles.
And, as she expected, a year ago, Tiger Soul Research Institute suddenly announced that Feng Qi had developed a new cultivation technique.
When she heard the news, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep.
It felt just like that moment before the high school graduation exam, when she had suddenly learned that Feng Qi had been admitted to Star City Academy.
This prodigious genius had once again proven that he had never truly fallen.
She studied the concept documents released by Tiger Soul Research Institute over and over.
Although the material lacked substantial details, she was still awestruck by Feng Qi's creativity.
Bloodline potential enhancement… If this concept could be realized, she could only imagine its significance for all of humanity.
The difficulty of her challenge had increased yet again—but rather than feeling discouraged, she was more determined than ever.
She felt an endless surge of motivation welling up inside her, an unstoppable urge to break the legend that Feng Qi had created.
In her final year at Galaxy Academy, her growth had accelerated tremendously.
And now, graduation was just around the corner.
The prestigious "Outstanding Graduate" honor, awarded only to the very best students each year, included her name.
More importantly, she had already received invitations from both the Galaxy Research Institute and the Crimson Research Institute, meaning she wouldn't even have to take an entrance exam to join either of them as an intern researcher upon graduation.
Feng Qi was growing, and so was she—she had never stopped moving forward.
Today marked her final day at Galaxy Academy. After this, she would report to the Galaxy Research Institute, continuing her challenge against Feng Qi.
But she never expected to see him again at the graduation ceremony.
Four years had passed. She had assumed that Feng Qi might have long forgotten about her, given that he had never truly regarded her as a rival.
Yet now, as she watched him waving at her with a smile, a sense of heroism surged through her chest.
Without hesitation, she raised her fist and extended her index finger, pointing directly at him.
Seeing this all-too-familiar challenge pose, Feng Qi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
She's a grown adult now, yet still acting like this?
But at the same time, he understood that it was this very purity that gave Xiao Xin her extraordinary perseverance and relentless drive to push forward.
At that moment, a voice interrupted Feng Qi's thoughts:
"Is Teacher Feng Qi here? Please proceed to the backstage."
After hearing the announcement repeated a few times, Feng Qi smiled and waved at Xiao Xin before turning to walk toward the backstage area.
His reason for being here today was as a special guest at Galaxy Academy's graduation ceremony.
When he arrived backstage, the academy's staff was already waiting for him. The moment they saw him, they stepped forward to greet him.
After a brief conversation, Feng Qi quickly understood the situation.
Before long, the graduation ceremony officially began.
The principal of Galaxy Academy walked onto the stage.
After delivering a passionate speech filled with inspiring words, he finally announced:
"Next, let us welcome our distinguished guest for this year's graduation ceremony, Teacher Feng Qi, to share a few words with everyone."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qi, who had already been prepared, stepped out from backstage.
He walked up the steps onto the stage and took the microphone from the principal.
As his gaze swept across the crowd below, a warm smile appeared on his face.
Before he even spoke, a thunderous round of applause erupted from the audience.
The name Feng Qi had already become a legend in the field of cultivation sciences. He was recognized as the brightest star among the new generation of scholars and a role model for many aspiring students.
At 17 years old, he had been awarded the Humanity's Outstanding Contribution Medal, a record that had already been written into history textbooks.
For anyone entering the field of cultivation sciences, Feng Qi was a name that could not be ignored.
Although he had been relatively silent in recent years, a paper published by Tiger Soul Research Institute a year ago had once again ignited the "Feng Qi Fever" in cultivation research circles.
That publication had proven to the world that Feng Qi had never run out of potential—he had merely been biding his time, preparing to break through limitations and create new miracles.
Now, the legendary figure that students had only seen in news reports or magazines was standing before them in person.
Many students were visibly excited.
Faced with such an overwhelming response, Feng Qi remained calm and composed.
He then began sharing his personal growth journey.
When the Q&A session arrived, students bombarded him with questions about his study methods.
Feng Qi, unfazed, answered eloquently.
It didn't matter what he said—he just had to make something up.
After all, he knew his true abilities all too well.
In a normal timeline, his talent was decent, but nowhere near the level of someone like Lin Ran, whose name would be immortalized in history.
He was merely a hardworking genius who had managed to secure a place at Galaxy Research Institute through relentless effort.
The historical assessment of him had only been a simple phrase:
"A talented researcher who passed away too young."
So when asked about his secrets to success, the real answer would have been:
"If you could also travel 1,500 years into the future, you too would become a genius like me."
After half an hour of speech and Q&A, he stepped down from the stage amidst enthusiastic applause.
The Galaxy Academy Graduation Gala concluded just before midnight.
As Feng Qi was preparing to leave, Xiao Xin found him.
Seeing her standing before him, Feng Qi wasn't surprised.
History had long proven that Xiao Xin had never once given up on challenging him—declaring war before graduation was perfectly in line with her character.
"Congratulations on receiving the Outstanding Graduate honor."
Before Xiao Xin could even declare her bold ambitions, Feng Qi preemptively smiled and offered his congratulations.
"This honor is nothing in front of you, Feng Qi… I challenge you!"
Hearing this, Feng Qi didn't reject her. Instead, he curiously asked:
"I heard that both Crimson Research Institute and Galaxy Research Institute invited you. Which one are you planning to choose?"
"Of course, I'm choosing Galaxy Research Institute." Xiao Xin answered without hesitation.
"Let me give you a suggestion. If you truly want to surpass me, you might want to consider joining Crimson Research Institute instead."
"Why?" Xiao Xin frowned, slowly lowering her raised hand.
"You must have heard about the new cultivation technique I'm about to release. But do you know why it's been stuck in testing for an entire year?"
"Is there a problem with the technique's testing phase?"
"Exactly. If this issue isn't resolved, the technique will never pass the trials and officially launch."
As he spoke, Feng Qi reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded document, handing it to Xiao Xin.
She took the document, unfolded it, and began reading carefully.
After a long moment, Xiao Xin's expression changed.
"This technique is restricted by another technique? If the other technique is activated, the cultivators of this one will become blood sacrifices?"
Clearly startled by the sinister implications, Xiao Xin's face showed a hint of shock.
Revealing the secret of Blood Sacrifice to Xiao Xin was part of Feng Qi's plan.
After all, if he didn't explain the core issue, how could she take up the challenge of resolving it?
"That's right. Because of this flaw, I developed another technique that specifically counters the first one. The problem is, unless this issue is solved, my first technique can never be released."
"Then why not just release the second technique instead?"
"It's too complicated. From the perspective of advancing human cultivation, this second technique is too difficult to promote. Just reaching the starting point of cultivating it could take decades of effort, which would actually hinder the development of cultivation sciences."
"I see… Then why are you telling me all this?"
"I know why you came to find me. You want to challenge me again. So I'm giving you a chance to challenge me—solve the flaw in my technique before I do."
"Why can't I just challenge you at Galaxy Research Institute?" Xiao Xin frowned, her expression full of confusion.
"These two techniques are highly classified. For safety reasons, Star City has decided not to promote them outside its borders. Even Galaxy Research Institute won't receive detailed information on them. If you want to take on this challenge, you have only two options: Tiger Soul Research Institute or Crimson Research Institute."
"As of now, Crimson Research Institute has already received the full details of both techniques and has formed a new research team to study them. If you join them, you'll immediately become one of the leading researchers. But if you choose Galaxy Research Institute or Tiger Soul Research Institute, you'll start as an intern, with no priority access to resources."
"Of course, whether or not you accept this challenge is entirely up to you. My main reason for coming here was to attend the Galaxy Academy graduation ceremony. But when I saw you, I had a sudden idea—I wanted to see if you could break the flaw in my technique."
Xiao Xin's expression shifted slightly as she absorbed Feng Qi's words.
After a long pause, she lifted her head, looking straight at him.
"Do you believe you can crack your own technique?"
"Breaking it is far harder than creating it. It could take five years, ten years, maybe even longer. You'll have plenty of time to catch up to me."
"I wasn't asking how long it would take—I just wanted to gauge the difficulty of solving it." Xiao Xin responded with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Think it over. My task here is done."
With that, Feng Qi turned and walked toward the academy gates without waiting for Xiao Xin's answer.
Watching his composed, distant figure fading into the night, Xiao Xin clenched her fists in frustration and swung them twice at his retreating back.
But his words had shaken her original plan to join Galaxy Research Institute.
Just as Feng Qi had said, if she joined Galaxy Research Institute, she would start as a mere intern researcher, with little access to key resources.
However, if Crimson Research Institute was actively forming a new research team, joining them now would make her one of the leading figures, securing resources and authority far beyond what she could get at Galaxy Research Institute.
Most importantly—Crimson Research Institute already had the complete data on Feng Qi's new technique.
She would have direct involvement in solving the flaw.
Challenging Feng Qi had been her ultimate goal for years, and now, the opportunity was right in front of her.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Xiao Xin turned and sprinted after Feng Qi's departing figure.
When she caught up to him, she found him standing there, watching her with a knowing smile.
A wave of embarrassment rose in her chest—he had seen through her decision before she even made it.
But she still confidently raised her right hand, pointed her index finger straight at his nose, and declared:
"Feng Qi, I, Xiao Xin, accept your challenge! I will break your technique!"
"This time… I accept your challenge."
For a brief moment, it felt like time had frozen.
Letting Xiao Xin join Crimson Research Institute had been a carefully prearranged decision between Feng Qi, Crimson Research Institute, and Tiger Soul Research Institute's senior leadership.
At present, Old Wang had already relocated to Tiger Soul Research Institute.
And in truth, Xiao Xin's true challenge was never Feng Qi—but rather Old Wang, who remained hidden behind the scenes.
Keeping distance between them was essential—otherwise, the truth would be exposed.
Xiao Xin was a special talent. Historical records described her as a tightly wound spring—the greater the pressure, the stronger her talent would shine.
But how strong was her true potential? History had never provided a clear answer.
Letting Xiao Xin work on breaking the flaw in the Blood Sacrifice technique was a test to see whether her talent was as extraordinary as history claimed.
As for how they would continue applying pressure on Xiao Xin… they had already devised a plan.
In previous timelines, Old Wang's research results had been systematically preserved.
Whenever Xiao Xin made any breakthrough, they would reveal a research result from Old Wang's past work—always keeping her feeling as though she was just one step behind, constantly pushing forward.
This way, Xiao Xin's true challenge wasn't just against Feng Qi. It was against the accumulated knowledge of Old Wang across multiple timelines.
To surpass him, she would either have to retrace his research path and go even further—or forge an entirely new path of her own.
This was an immensely difficult road.
Her true opponent wasn't a single person—but the collective research efforts of Old Wang across multiple lifetimes.
Feng Qi would give Xiao Xin time to catch up.
As long as she could prove that she had the talent to break the Blood Sacrifice technique, then in every timeline moving forward, she would become his companion in research.
He would let Xiao Xin step onto her own shoulders, continuously surpassing herself until she completely cracked the Blood Sacrifice technique.
Feng Qi was filled with anticipation for Xiao Xin's progress.
Old Wang had already reached his limit. The progress of deciphering Blood Sacrifice had come to a standstill.
Feng Qi fully understood this.
Old Wang's talent was extraordinary, but he was still bound by his own limitations.
The Blood Sacrifice technique was derived from tracing and refining the imprints of a Miracle Artifact. To break it was essentially an attempt to decode the secrets of a Miracle Artifact itself.
With the current knowledge foundation of human cultivation sciences, solving Blood Sacrifice came with countless challenges.
It was akin to giving a primitive human a blueprint for a modern aircraft.
Creating an actual aircraft wasn't just a matter of understanding the blueprint.
This was a journey that required building everything from scratch.
Feng Qi had once considered asking Old Mist to tackle the Blood Sacrifice flaw.
But Old Mist was beyond his control. When Feng Qi proposed the idea, Old Mist rejected it outright, refusing to spend time cracking Blood Sacrifice.
Feng Qi did not press the issue.
If Blood Sacrifice lost its sacrificial properties, its temptation for Old Mist would drastically decline.
Even though Blood Sacrifice was technically superior to the Mist Clan's cultivation method, the gap was not significant enough for the powerful races to care about it.
It was the weaker races that saw Blood Sacrifice as a desperate solution.
After parting ways with Xiao Xin, Feng Qi returned to Tiger Soul Research Institute.
To better train the little one, he brought him along.
In the days that followed, while undergoing longevity training, Feng Qi also continued raising the little one.
During this period, four major events took place.
First Event: Xiao Xin officially joined Crimson Research Institute.
She returned to Star City, where she became one of the founding researchers in the newly established Cultivation Technique Division at Crimson Research Institute.
With access to Blood Sacrifice and Flesh Cauldron, she had already begun her research on deciphering the flaw.
Feng Qi did not concern himself too much with this.
Breaking Blood Sacrifice would be a long process—one that could span multiple timelines.
At least in this sacrifice timeline, he wouldn't live long enough to see it completed.
Second Event: The Initial Promotion of the Virtual Game Began in Star City.
Having learned from past mistakes, the virtual game's content was further reduced, now retaining only 80% realism and limited exclusively to a trial run in Star City.
In the war timeline, the promotion had been rushed, which alerted hidden enemy forces, drawing unwanted attention to Star City.
That had ultimately led to Star City being besieged.
This sacrifice timeline took a different approach, opting for a gradual rollout—like boiling a frog slowly.
Third Event: Star City Academy Decided to Build a New Institution on the Scale of Star City Academy.
Talented individuals were the foundation of Star City's future.
To elevate Crimson Research Institute into a comprehensive institution, it needed a steady supply of talent.
The success of Galaxy Research Institute had been largely dependent on the talent pipeline provided by Galaxy Academy, allowing it to surpass Tiger Soul Research Institute and become the leading cultivation research institution.
Similarly, Future City's Institute of Technological Research and Future Research Institute drew specialists from the Technology Academy and Future Academy.
While knowledge reserves were the backbone of any research institute, talent was the true driving force of progress.
For any institute to sustain long-term development, it required a steady influx of skilled personnel.
The new academy was planned for construction in Star City's southern district.
After discussion, its official name was decided as Dawn Academy.
The three initial major fields of study were Technology, Biology, and Cultivation Techniques.
Other disciplines were still under consideration.
In the future, Dawn Academy would become the strongest supporter of Crimson Research Institute, continuously providing it with elite researchers.
Fourth Event: Mu Qing's Meteoric Rise.
It had been over a year since Mu Qing graduated, and Feng Qi had kept close tabs on her progress.
In the original timeline, Mu Qing had shattered the Silent Domain Field single-handedly, making her name famous overnight.
Even though history had changed, her unstoppable rise remained unchanged.
She joined a small Domain Combat Squad as a rookie, but quickly led the squad to B-Rank and was now charging towards A-Rank.
In just one year, she had crushed several Domain Fields with her sheer strength.
She had already risen to become one of the top ten rookies in the Winterfell Battle Zone.
Even though history had been altered, her legend was unfolding once again.
Recently, Feng Qi had spoken with Mu Qing over the phone.
During their conversation, Mu Qing mentioned that she was learning how to manage a Domain Combat Squad from her leader.
Her next step—forming her own squad.
Feng Qi congratulated her and told her that if she ever encountered difficulties, she could always reach out to him.
After hanging up, Feng Qi knew that the Dawn Battle Squad was about to be born.
However, the Dawn Army was still far from reality.
For now, all he had to do was stay low and survive.
He had no intention of dying halfway through building his vision.
Even though dying young seemed to be his fate, this time, he was determined to break the cycle.
With the current situation stabilizing, the only true threat to his survival remained the Blue-Skinned Creatures.
In this sacrifice timeline, Feng Qi had already encountered three assassination attempts from the blue-skinned creatures. Each time, they appeared suddenly and launched a direct attack.
At his current strength, the assassins sent so far had posed no real threat, and he had dealt with them effortlessly.
But the most troublesome thing about the blue-skinned creatures was their unpredictability.
The next assassin could be weak, or it could be strong—possibly even strong enough that he wouldn't be able to handle it.
The origin of the blue-skinned creatures remained a mystery that Feng Qi had never been able to unravel.
They were unnervingly strange, seemingly existing outside the flow of time. Their appearances in future timelines varied, and their existence was not bound by historical events.
Furthermore, blue-skinned creatures could not be recorded on any form of media—they left no traces in images, surveillance recordings, or videos, as if they did not belong to this reality.
At this point, one thing was certain—there was definitely an entity behind them, controlling their actions.
Their presence felt eerily like "players in a game."
As for just how powerful the blue-skinned race truly was, it remained an enigma. What was confirmed, however, was that they were a dominant force that still existed 1,500 years into the future.
According to Old Mist's descriptions in the future, the blue-skinned race had never directly participated in territorial wars or resource conflicts.
Instead, their only objective seemed to be the pursuit of Miracle Artifacts.
Based on their actions, it was highly likely that their overall strength was comparable to that of the Eight Royal Clans.
The primary gauge of their power lay in their potential control over Miracle Artifacts.
Over 1,500 years of history, how many Miracle Artifacts had the blue-skinned race accumulated? No one knew the answer.
But one thing was certain—they wouldn't have fewer than the Eight Royal Clans. In fact, they might even have more.
His thoughts returning to the present, Feng Qi lifted his head and gazed at the little one, who was training diligently.
Just a few days ago, the little one's bloodline strength had broken into the Bronze tier.
What did this mean?
When Feng Qi first awakened his Blood Source Talent, he had also been at Bronze-tier strength.
If the little one went all out, his combat power was no weaker than Feng Qi when he had first activated his Blood Source abilities.
And this was just in terms of bloodline growth.
The little one was highly intelligent, capable of drawing inferences from a single example. His only flaw was his childish naivety—aside from that, he had no weaknesses.
For example, his memory was almost photographic.
The little one could recall everything he read at a glance.
Feng Qi finally understood why history had called him a "universal genius."
Although his ability was not the same as Infinite Memory, and was nowhere near as powerful, his talent was already terrifying.
If the little one chose to, he could master every known human field of study in record time.
In reality, the biggest obstacle to human technological and cultivation advancements had always been lifespan limitations.
Even if someone studied their entire life, they still couldn't fully grasp the entire breadth of a specialized field.
This bottleneck had made progress in many areas increasingly difficult.
There were only two ways to solve this issue:
Extend Lifespan – By breaking through the constraints of mortality, people could gain more time to learn, allowing them to advance knowledge in their fields.
Increase Learning Efficiency – By optimizing comprehension and memory, individuals could master complex subjects much faster.
The little one possessed both of these advantages simultaneously.
His ancestors had laid the perfect foundation for him.
Despite his young age, he had an exceptionally high learning efficiency, and his body had near-perfect self-purification abilities, granting him an incredibly long lifespan.
If nothing unexpected happened, the little one could very well survive long enough to meet Feng Qi again in the year 3,528.
"Qi-shushu, I'm hungry."
The little one's soft, childish voice pulled Feng Qi out of his thoughts.
Looking up, he saw that the little one, who had been focused on practicing Tiger Fist just moments ago, now looked utterly exhausted—like a deflated balloon, slumped over weakly.
Hearing this, Feng Qi instinctively glanced at the digital clock hanging on the wall.
It had only been an hour and a half since their last meal.
The little one's training and study efficiency were extremely high, but his biggest drawback was his constant hunger.
On an average day, he had to eat six full meals.
This was primarily due to his extremely fast metabolism. His body processed food at an incredibly high rate, which meant he needed constant energy replenishment.
And this was even with spiritual ingredients supplementing his diet.
If he were to consume only regular food, given his absorption rate, he would probably need twenty meals a day just to sustain himself.
The only way to keep him full for longer was to provide food with higher energy density.
Feng Qi stood up, waving to the little one who was still slouching weakly.
"Come on, let's get something to eat."
The moment he heard this, the little one instantly perked up. His eyes lit up with excitement, and he bolted to Feng Qi's side, grabbing onto his right hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
At this point, the sacrifice timeline had finally settled into a stable trajectory.
The truth behind the Dawn Army's massacre, the secrets Mu Yan possessed, the reason for Mu Qing's eventual death—all of these mysteries would gradually unravel as he continued to grow older.
And the little one—he would be one of the keys to Star City's future.
"Qi-shushu, I want to eat the red spirit fruit today! I love the sweet taste!"
"Qi-shushu, what story are you going to tell me today?"
"Qi-shushu, where did my parents go?"
As they walked toward the cafeteria, the little one kept chattering non-stop, asking one question after another.
Feng Qi patiently answered each one.
He wanted to give the little one the happiest childhood possible.
He hoped that this bond they shared would one day become the reason the little one chose to protect humanity in the future.