Vital energy surged wildly into his body.
Feng Qi felt like he was soaking in a pool of scorching lava, his blood boiling like water as it surged through his veins. Every cell in his body greedily absorbed the pure vital energy flooding into him.
At that moment, his pores opened up, and streams of hot steam gushed out of them.
The process of bodily transformation felt like the legendary phoenix nirvana. The terrifying heat made him feel as if his body was being cooked alive, giving him the illusion that he might actually burn to death.
[Muscle Strength +1, Muscle Strength +1...]
The narrator's teasing echoed in his mind, but Feng Qi had no energy to respond.
The purification brought by Jian Ji's vital energy was still ongoing. His body swelled like an inflating balloon.
He summoned his attribute panel and saw that his bloodline evolution points were skyrocketing.
Each increment was over 100 points, and the value increased even more as his physical strength improved.
This terrifying growth was both exhilarating and painful.
Normally, killing a single ordinary Domain Beast in the future dreamscape would only give him a few dozen points.
Now, every single surge was like killing several Domain Beasts at once.
His consciousness entered his spiritual sea.
In an instant, the vast, starry spiritual sea unfolded before him.
Unlike the one in the Sacrifice Timeline, the spiritual sea in the Main Timeline was unimaginably vast, with a starfield formed by talent abilities floating above it.
Talent orbs spun along different orbits, releasing streams of energy mist that gathered into a ribbon, connecting to the dark gold origin orb at the center.
At this moment, a grayish-white talent orb was slowly forming on the sixth orbit.
Seeing this, Feng Qi was truly surprised.
Right now, he categorized his main talents into three tiers.
The first tier was the miracles, namely the True God on the third orbit and the Evolution Token on the fourth.
These two miracles weren't primarily about boosting combat power, but their functions were undeniably powerful.
The Evolution Token was his key to enhancing his talent strength.
The True God Bracelet was the most critical factor in determining whether the path of faith growth could succeed.
The second tier included the Blood God talent orb on the fifth orbit, the Divine Body on the eighth, and the Purple Soul on the ninth.
Other abilities like Malice and Regeneration belonged to the third tier.
Though these abilities held great growth potential, they were mostly passive abilities.
Jian Ji's death had granted him a talent placed in the sixth orbit, which meant its quality was extremely high.
The only higher-ranked ability he'd gained was the Blood God talent from killing the Dark God.
In terms of bloodline potential, Jian Ji obviously couldn't compare to the Dark God. The gap was huge.
His consciousness exited the spiritual sea, and Feng Qi slowly opened his eyes.
The intense transformation in his body was gradually subsiding but still ongoing.
His bloodline evolution points had now reached 65240/100000.
Killing Jian Ji had brought him more progress than all his previous gains combined.
It showed just how much terrifying vital energy Jian Ji still held at the moment of death.
This was clearly related to Jian Ji's fighting style.
When he killed the Dark God, he didn't gain much because the Dark God's fighting style consumed massive amounts of vital energy. Under Zhang Daowen's overwhelming pressure, the Dark God had burned himself out completely, leaving little vital energy behind.
But Jian Ji's fighting style relied on sword qi and the cultivation of momentum, barely consuming any vital energy.
That's why Feng Qi had gained so much this time.
When his bloodline evolution points reached 72080, they finally stopped.
Feng Qi summoned the attribute panel again and noticed a brand new talent ability had been added.
[True Understanding of the Demon Sword (Sixth Sequence)]
Talent Description: Comprehend the ultimate darkness, a sword momentum realized through endless despair and pain.
Talent Effects:
Sword Momentum Comprehension (Passive Ability): Significantly enhances understanding of swordsmanship, removing all barriers to sword control.
Demon Sword Comprehension (Passive Ability): Greatly enhances understanding of swordsmanship, allowing sword techniques to carry the power of one's negative emotions.
...
Feng Qi wasn't surprised at all that he had extracted Jian Ji's sword mastery as a talent.
After all, Jian Ji had spent his entire life practicing the sword. His strongest abilities were all sword-related.
What did surprise Feng Qi was that the sword momentum he had obtained turned out to be the Demon Sword Momentum.
He tried lifting his hand and casually slashing forward.
A sharp sword qi materialized out of thin air, shooting forward and carving a trench over ten meters long in the ground.
Feng Qi had only intended to test it, but he hadn't expected to actually unleash sword qi without even holding a sword. It showed just how terrifying Jian Ji's mastery of sword momentum had been.
The moment the sword qi appeared, Demon Blade let out a loud hum and suddenly pointed its blade at Feng Qi.
"Brother Blade, don't misunderstand, I just extracted Jian Ji's ability."
"I know, it's just instinct. Don't panic."
As Demon Blade's voice faded, it lazily floated back into Xiao You's hand.
Feng Qi hesitated for a moment about whether he should dismantle Jian Ji's talent, but ultimately decided to keep it.
The construction of the faith-based growth system was still in the planning stages. He needed a wide variety of talents to fill the skill library.
Otherwise, with the limited talents he currently had, there was no way he could support all of humanity.
He wouldn't be able to promote diversified development.
Too few options would severely limit the future potential of most people.
Keeping the True Understanding of the Demon Sword might allow humanity to produce a sword genius in a future Sacrifice Timeline.
He already had a perfect candidate in mind—Lü Yue.
When the faith-based growth system was complete, a wide range of talents would be necessary to cultivate a wide range of geniuses.
Though he hated Jian Ji, Jian Ji was already in the past. It no longer mattered.
Taking a deep breath, Feng Qi started to sense the changes in his body.
While his bloodline evolution points hadn't reached the threshold for the next evolution, the improvements to his body were significant.
He could feel that his blood had started to take on a faint dark-gold hue.
It was precisely this change that had massively boosted his physical strength.
Just as Feng Qi was wondering why his blood was turning dark gold, the narrator's voice suddenly sounded.
[That's actually easy to understand. Think about how Mu Qing grew stronger. When she fought, she was initially surrounded by jade-colored light, but as her strength improved, that jade-colored energy gradually turned crimson. That's a clear sign of progression brought by strength advancement.]
[It's the same with the Psionic Race. Haven't you seen Ling Zhan's memories? After completing their semi-energy transformation, their blood starts turning golden. When it fully turns gold, they'll become the Holy Spirits in Ling Zhan's vision. If you can fully transform your blood into dark gold, you're probably about to undergo a brand new evolutionary leap in life form.]
[I'm actually curious—what comes after high-level humans? Could Mu Yan be right? Is humanity really an extension of the Pillar Gods' power? Is this change pushing you toward returning to the origin state of the Pillar Gods? Is the final goal to evolve from human to Pillar God?]
After hearing the narrator's explanation, Feng Qi nodded.
The narrator might sound unreliable sometimes, but its analyses had always been spot on.
Mu Yan once said that humanity was likely an extension of the Pillar God's life force. If that theory was correct, then wasn't his evolutionary path exactly that—heading back toward the origin of the Pillar Gods?
But that question was far too distant for him right now.
There were probably many more evolutionary thresholds waiting for him beyond high-level human.
Even though he could now crush every Domain Beast in Star City's ruins and even contend with some of the weaker future forces, he was still far from being able to fight the top-tier powers.
The Psionic Race, the Blood Soul Clan, the Blue-Skin Clan… even Xiao You's current Blade Demon Squad.
Against these factions that had developed for 1500 years, his strength wasn't even worth mentioning. He stood no chance at all.
The road ahead was still long.
After understanding the changes in his strength, Feng Qi turned to look at Xiao You and asked the question that had been bothering him:
"Xiao You, where's Taihang? I haven't seen him."
Xiao You gently shook her head.
"Qi-ge, Taihang couldn't break through the shackle of life. He's already at the end of his lifespan. I couldn't find any matching cultivation techniques that could help him break through. I've settled him in a quiet place, and his life is almost over."
A flash of sadness passed through Xiao You's eyes as she spoke.
Feng Qi fell silent.
Back when he was in the Blade Demon Squad, Taihang was the one who got along with Xiao You the best. Every time Lei Ting tried to bully her, Taihang was always the first to stand up for her.
But life and death were part of the natural order.
If you couldn't break through the shackles at each stage of life to achieve transformation, you would eventually be buried by time.
Not everyone had bloodline talents like Xiao You.
Most life forms couldn't even reach Xiao You's natural lifespan, no matter how much they cultivated.
It was cruel, but it was reality.
Every step taken by their ancestors was a step toward extending life for future generations, building a higher starting point for them.
If they wanted their descendants to have broader skies, each generation had to work hard to pave the way forward.
That was also why Feng Qi refused to give up on the Blood Flesh Sacrifice across multiple timelines—because it was the only shortcut he'd found so far to enhance humanity's bloodline potential.
Feng Qi didn't ask Xiao You any more questions.
The time he could stay in the future dreamscape was very limited, and there were still many unanswered questions. He had to get to Dawn City as soon as possible to find those answers.
Like the matter of the Elf King.
Whether the Elf King could be an ally would determine the planning direction of the next few timelines.
He had already assigned that task to Star City's top brass back then.
If Star City's development had gone smoothly, he would get that answer in Dawn City.
Just then, Xiao You suddenly spoke, interrupting Feng Qi's thoughts:
"Qi-ge, let me try facing Little Black."
Feng Qi was startled by that.
Xiao You wasn't like Old Mist.
Old Mist always put the development of the human race above everything else. No matter how deep her feelings for him were, they came second to the survival of the species. That's why Old Mist wouldn't sacrifice herself for him in the future or give up on the future of their people.
But Xiao You was different. Feng Qi knew she would truly be willing to risk everything for him.
He remembered that in the harshest environments when they couldn't find any food, Xiao You would tell him:
"Qi-ge, why don't you just eat me?"
Maybe she had gone through a lot over the long years and had grown up in many ways, but Feng Qi still believed that Xiao You would fight Little Black to the death for him.
But he felt that Xiao You still had a long road ahead and shouldn't end it here.
What happened after his death—whether time would reset or branch off into a brand new timeline—was still an unanswered question.
Both possibilities existed.
The narrator had analyzed it before. The miracles that got taken away would also disappear when they returned to reality, which really did seem like time resetting.
It was as if, on a complete timeline, the number of miracles was fixed.
If he took a miracle item from the timeline, that item wouldn't reappear after the timeline reset.
Another point supported this theory.
That was the talent-plundering ability. Once a life form was killed and absorbed by him, it would no longer appear in the timelines that followed that point in reality—just like the miracles.
Based on this reasoning, after he died, everything would reset to the beginning again, meaning time really had been reversed.
But the things taken from the timeline had a unique, non-reproducible nature.
If that guess was correct, then Xiao You in this Sacrifice Timeline would revert to the beginning of that Domain Field, but she would still be the same Xiao You.
However, this theory had a fatal logical flaw.
He was able to read the memory data from his own brain.
If time had really been reversed, there shouldn't be two versions of himself, and he definitely shouldn't be able to access the memories of another version of himself.
From this angle, it seemed to prove that time hadn't been reversed, and a brand-new timeline—or parallel timeline—had started instead.
That explained why he could see the brain of his Sacrifice Timeline self.
But this answer also had a logical issue.
If it was really a brand-new timeline, why did the miracles have a one-time existence? Why did the killed Domain Creatures disappear?
If it was a new timeline, everything should have been perfectly replicated. There shouldn't have been any uniqueness if time followed normal logic.
If there really was uniqueness, then two timelines couldn't possibly share the same historical developments.
And that was exactly where the problem lay.
The uniqueness of the timeline proved time reversal, yet the existence of two versions of himself proved the branching timeline theory.
Both possibilities had fatal, unavoidable logical contradictions.
It seemed like either could be true.
But as for the real answer, it was completely beyond his reach right now.
If it really was a branched timeline, then this timeline would keep progressing, and his death wouldn't stop it from moving forward.
That was also why he didn't want Xiao You to fight Little Black to the death.
Xiao You still had a much bigger future ahead of her, a future he could no longer witness, maybe even the chance to personally see the arrival of the Great Momentum.
If she chose to end it here, all it would achieve was giving him a little more time to stay in the future dreamscape.
As for whether Xiao You could really fight Little Black, or even kill it, he felt that was absolutely impossible.
He could more or less gauge Xiao You's strength through comparison.
In the future, the Demon Blade had once fought Old Mist. The result was Old Mist narrowly winning.
He didn't know if the wielder of the blade back then was stronger or weaker than Xiao You, but their power level should've been in the same range.
Even peak Old Mist would hesitate before facing Little Black. The odds of Xiao You winning were almost nonexistent.
Little Black had proven its terrifying adaptability—growing stronger the tougher the opponent. Its magic immunity and physical immunity made it unbeatable in every fight.
Just relying on the Demon Blade to counter Little Black was nearly hopeless.
Facing Feng Qi's firm refusal, Xiao You only showed a bright smile.
"Qi-ge, I knew you'd say no. But I promise you, if I can't beat Little Black, I'll leave before it overwhelms me."
"That's too risky. I forbid it," Feng Qi said seriously, rejecting her again.
Seeing that he was genuinely angry, Xiao You playfully stuck out her tongue and pouted.
"Qi-ge, I know how terrifying Little Black is, but its target has always been you. I'll retreat with a spatial jump the moment I can't hold on anymore. Once I disappear, Little Black will switch back to targeting you again. We've already seen this happen in previous timelines. I'll control the risk. Don't worry."
Seeing Feng Qi's stern expression as he was about to speak again, Xiao You quickly added with a grin:
"Qi-ge, I'm also a leader now. I know what it means to carry responsibility. There are still so many younger brothers in the Blade Demon Squad. I can't just abandon them and throw my life away. Losing you already showed me how painful it is when the pillar in your heart collapses."
Tears welled up in Xiao You's eyes.
"I know you'll leave again sooner or later, and I'm not that little girl anymore—the one who just wanted to eat, mess around, and sleep. I grew up under your protection. Before you go, I want to give it my all… This time, let me protect you!"
The wind blew, lifting Xiao You's hair and revealing a glimmering tear.
Hearing her words, Feng Qi placed his hand on her head, feeling proud.
"Xiao You, you've really grown up."
"Heh, without Qi-ge's protection, it's only right that I learn to grow. I'll keep pushing the Blade Demon Squad you left behind forward. Our journey is still far from over."
"Oh, right. Our next target is the Blood Soul Clan—to avenge Lei Ting. But their overall strength is way higher than ours. We already fought them once, and we got totally crushed and even got chased for a while."
"That's why fighting Little Black will also be the perfect challenge for me to push toward godhood. Little Black grows stronger depending on the opponent's strength. My godhood trial works the same way. I'll try to suppress my strength to hold out as long as I can. When my power finally matches Little Black's, it'll become the best grindstone for my breakthrough."
"The future is still long, with many challenges ahead. I'm not about to miss out on a chance to fight someone like Little Black."
Hearing this, Feng Qi's stubborn resistance started to soften.
Xiao You's reasoning actually made a lot of sense, and he couldn't even find a good reason to scold her.
He reached out again and rubbed her head.
"Fine. You can challenge Little Black, but you have to stay safe. Remember, you're the leader now. Don't go pulling a certain someone's stunt—dropping dead out of nowhere and making someone cry their heart out."
"∠(°ゝ°) Roger that, Qi-ge."
Xiao You puffed out her chest and gave him a salute just like she used to.
Right then, the narrator's voice suddenly rang out in Feng Qi's mind:
[Your buddy Little Black is coming, dragging two forty-meter-long giant blades, leaving a trail of sparks and lightning behind. Time to bring out our little cutie to block it. Presenting today's featured weapon: Demon Blade You!]
Hearing the narrator's joke, Feng Qi turned to look into the distance.
But Little Black was nowhere to be seen yet.
Xiao You seemed to sense something too and also turned to look toward the west.
After a brief wait, a black dot appeared at the far edge of the sandstorm-filled horizon.
Seeing Little Black appear, Xiao You raised her right hand and clenched her fist. Purple light burst from her palm.
At that moment, the nearby Blade Demon Squad members rushed over, gathering behind Xiao You.
"Blade Bro!"
At her call, the hovering Demon Blade shot toward her right hand, and she caught it firmly.
Facing the direction Little Black was approaching from, intense fighting spirit filled Xiao You's face. The sudden shift in her aura felt almost unfamiliar to Feng Qi.
This was the first time he had ever seen Xiao You enter a fully serious battle state.
Little Black was still some distance away, and Xiao You turned to Po Jia and spoke:
"Po Jia, take Qi-ge to Dawn City. Everyone else, set up the spatial formation and get ready to retreat at any moment."
At Xiao You's command, the Blade Demon Squad members immediately sprang into action.
Po Jia also stepped forward, placing his hand on Feng Qi's shoulder.
"Qi-ge, I'm the fastest. I'll take you to Dawn City."
Feng Qi glanced at Xiao You, who had already taken her battle stance, and nodded right away.
He knew staying here would only hold her back. He couldn't solve the Little Black problem anyway.
The only thing he could do now was make good use of the time Xiao You was buying him and gather as much critical information as possible.
At that moment, Po Jia's figure floated into the air, and the massive, mountain-like Soul Phantom appeared once again.
He reached out and grabbed Feng Qi, pulling him into his palm, then carried him straight over Little Black's head, flying toward Dawn City.
Little Black immediately turned to give chase.
But Xiao You intercepted it, swinging the now plain-looking Demon Blade—its purple glow gone—straight down on Little Black's head.
The swing was impossibly smooth, like slicing through air, cleaving Little Black cleanly in half.
But this level of damage was obviously meaningless to Little Black.
As Feng Qi was being carried away at high speed, he looked back toward Xiao You.
He could see her locked in combat with Little Black, their figures growing smaller and smaller in his field of view, until they vanished entirely.
After this brief reunion, they were once again separated.
For Xiao You… this time might be forever.
Po Jia's speed was incredible. The howling wind roared past Feng Qi's ears as the ruins of Star City quickly shrank from view.
Feng Qi shifted his gaze westward.
The old Bone Pile Zone had long since vanished from the timeline along with the silence of the Flesh Sacrifice and the resolution of Star City's internal crisis.
In its place now stood a thriving forest of domain plants.
These plants grew wildly under the Blood Moon, twisting their strange forms and swaying their branches in the eerie crimson light.
Po Jia sped up even more.
The scenery blurred until the sensation of weightlessness finally stopped, and Feng Qi realized they were now high above a grand city.
From this height, the city didn't seem as vast as Star City.
But the planning and construction were clearly much more advanced.
A thin, translucent blue energy barrier covered the entire city.
Just then, a blood-winged bird swooped by and crashed into the barrier, sending ripples across the surface. The pale blue color deepened for a moment as if the barrier had activated.
When no further impact came, the barrier slowly faded back to its lighter shade of blue.
Feng Qi wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of barrier.
He was the one who had first proposed this concept.
He had based his idea on the defenses of Elf City and Mist City.
Elf City had its sprawling canopy defense, and Mist City was shielded by a thick layer of permanent mist.
Feng Qi had believed that humanity needed its own air-defense barrier to survive the brutal competition of the future.
But back then, he had only proposed the idea.
He had no practical theory for building a full-city defensive barrier.
Clearly, Dawn City had made some revolutionary breakthroughs in the years since.
Feng Qi felt genuinely proud.
From a future where no one had survived, humanity had finally gained the ability to stand its ground.
Though still far from matching the peak races, it was a massive step forward.
The future was worth looking forward to.
Their arrival had already triggered the city's defense response.
From the citizens' perspective, a towering red figure had suddenly appeared in the sky, its oppressive aura suffocating.
Dawn City's alarms blared, and soldiers quickly assembled at the eastern gate.
From above, Feng Qi could see their coordinated response—clearly the result of extensive training.
Feng Qi had two options to enter the city.
He could either break the energy barrier or enter through the gates after passing verification.
Obviously, he wasn't about to destroy the barrier. Rebuilding it would cost manpower and resources.
He immediately turned to Po Jia and said:
"Po Jia, take me through the gate."
Po Jia nodded and, in a flash, carried Feng Qi down to the city entrance.
The massive red Soul Phantom surrounding Po Jia faded away.
As the human soldiers gathered at the gate, Po Jia took a step back, standing behind Feng Qi.
"Qi-ge, you handle it."
Feng Qi nodded and started walking toward the gate, with Po Jia following behind.
When they reached the semi-transparent barrier, Feng Qi noticed armed soldiers lining the walls above them. They held silver-white weapons, their sharp eyes locked onto him and Po Jia.
Just as Feng Qi was about to explain, the barrier in front of him suddenly shattered like a popped bubble, expanding rapidly as blue light flickered from within the city.
His vision blurred for a moment.
A figure had appeared before him.
The man had ice-blue hair, crystal-like eyes, and wore a blue robe. He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling calmly.
Compared to the version Feng Qi had seen in the last timeline, Zhang Daowen looked much younger.
Clearly, the reduced pressure and improved cultivation methods of this timeline had paid off.
"So strong."
Po Jia's expression turned grim.
Even though Zhang Daowen kept his aura restrained, Po Jia could still feel an overwhelming chill that seemed to freeze the soul itself.
Without even fighting, Po Jia knew he couldn't win.
But Zhang Daowen didn't even glance at Po Jia.
Instead, he smiled at Feng Qi.
"Qi-shu, I've been waiting for you."
The soldiers on the walls, who had been tense and ready to fight, froze.
Had they heard that right? Their ancestor had just called this terrifying domain creature "uncle"?
Before they could recover, they watched in shock as the mysterious man reached out and patted their ancestor on the shoulder.
"Xiao Wen, you've worked hard all these years."