The Crimson Research Institute's Supreme Meeting.
Feng Qi looked at the high-ranking members of the Crimson Research Institute, who were all waiting in anticipation. At that moment, he relayed what the Narrator had explained to him.
The Crimson Director nodded. "I understand now. What you need is a devout believer."
Silence filled the room.
A believer wasn't something that could be created on demand. True faith was the key. Only through sincere devotion could pure faith energy be generated.
The meeting quickly turned into a discussion.
Some members expressed willingness to try becoming believers, but the problem remained: how could they cultivate genuine devotion?
This was a headache for Feng Qi as well.
If he were in their shoes, suddenly being asked to worship someone with complete sincerity, he knew it would be impossible for him.
Simply kneeling and pretending to be devout wouldn't work. Faith energy couldn't be produced that way, and without it, establishing a spiritual connection was out of the question.
"Let me go first."
Just as everyone was struggling with the issue, Wei Wei suddenly spoke.
Feng Qi turned his gaze toward her.
"Someone has to step up. Why not me?" Wei Wei said casually. "I'll take the statue with me first. Kneeling in public to pray… honestly, I don't even know how to describe how that would feel."
She winked playfully, then walked over to the jade statue and reached out to pick it up.
The half-meter-tall statue was crafted from special jade material sourced from the Heavenly Collapse Domain Field, which had far superior properties compared to the jade from the Black Absolute Domain Field.
That superiority was also reflected in its weight.
As Wei Wei lifted the statue, she struggled slightly under its weight.
"I'll take this back to study. See you at the next meeting."
With that, she prepared to leave.
"Wei-jie, let me help you."
Feng Qi stepped forward, effortlessly taking the jade statue from her hands before following her out of the meeting room.
For the next few days, Wei Wei barely left her room except for meals.
She was fully immersed in trying to figure out how to become a devout believer.
As for what exactly she was doing, Feng Qi had no idea.
Then, in the early hours of the third day, while Feng Qi was in his room reading the latest Star City news, something unexpected happened.
The Miracle Bracelet on his right wrist suddenly began to glow faintly.
At the same time, he felt a mysterious force seep into his body through the bracelet.
The energy was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
Had the Miracle Bracelet not reacted, he wouldn't have even noticed it.
Just as he was about to investigate further, a faint whispering sound emerged in his mind.
Focusing his spiritual perception, the whisper gradually grew clearer.
At that moment, Feng Qi realized something.
Wei Wei had succeeded.
Not only had she successfully provided faith energy, but she had also established a spiritual connection with him.
The connection was weak, so fragile that even the slightest external force might break it.
Yet at the same time, it was tenacious, stretching across space to form a link with him.
For the first time, Feng Qi experienced the mysterious nature of faith energy.
It was a pure force, and as it entered his body, it nourished both his physical body and his consciousness.
At that moment, he finally understood why the Dark God Sect had built its plans around faith energy.
This pure energy had a significant effect on power enhancement, and the best part—it had no side effects.
But deep down, Feng Qi rejected the very concept of faith-based power.
Growing stronger by gathering faith meant manipulating people, placing oneself above all others, and shaping a system where followers were exploited.
It was a different kind of oppression—one that directly opposed the future he envisioned.
The Narrator chimed in:
[Faith-based power is nothing more than a trick. The real reason you built this statue was to connect with your sacrifice-line self and test if you can transmit power across timelines… Faith-based ascension is meaningless. Even if people worship you, you yourself know you're not truly omnipotent. That doubt alone makes you vulnerable.]
Feng Qi pondered for a moment before asking, "Then what mindset does a true supreme being need?"
[A heart filled with nothing but muscle. Only then can you be unstoppable, invincible, and unshakable!]
Feng Qi: "..."
He felt like the Narrator wasn't describing a supreme powerhouse, but rather a muscle-bound idiot.
Ignoring the Narrator's nonsense, Feng Qi calmed his mind and attempted to communicate with Wei Wei.
"Wei-jie, can you hear me?"
But there was no response.
Instead, she continued her soft chanting, completely unaware of his voice.
Realizing that Wei Wei couldn't hear him, Feng Qi decided to deepen the connection.
He immersed his consciousness into his Mental Sea.
The moment his mind descended, he found himself standing in a vast golden ocean.
Every drop of golden liquid in the ocean was a fragment of his spiritual energy.
If the golden liquid ever ran dry, it would mean that his mental strength had been completely depleted.
Feng Qi's gaze swept across the Mental Sea, searching for any signs of a connection.
If he had truly established a spiritual link with Wei Wei, there had to be a medium anchoring the connection.
However, no matter how carefully he searched, he found nothing unusual.
When in doubt—ask the Narrator.
"Hey, Narrator. Find the connection point for me. Time to put your detection skills to use."
But the Narrator didn't respond.
Just as Feng Qi was about to ask again, the Narrator's voice finally echoed.
[Capitalist! Look near your 'Origin Pearl'—that's where you should be focusing!]
Feng Qi immediately shifted his consciousness toward the Origin Pearl.
His Life Pearl was a golden-red sphere, with a golden exterior and a crimson core.
The golden color represented his human form, where his spiritual power was strong but his physical body was weaker.
The red core represented his combat form, where his spiritual power weakened, but his physical strength became dominant.
He could switch freely between the two forms, and every time he did, the pearl's color inverted accordingly.
The Origin Pearl hovered above the Mental Sea, surrounded by dozens of talent pearls, which constantly rotated around it like stars orbiting a sun.
Each colored pearl represented a different innate ability.
As Feng Qi approached the Origin Pearl, he carefully scanned the area.
Yet nothing seemed out of place.
He expanded his spiritual perception, probing the surrounding space for any irregularities.
Focusing his scan, Feng Qi quickly detected an anomaly.
Near his Origin Pearl, he spotted a faint golden light, barely visible even under his heightened spiritual perception.
Had it not been for the Narrator's reminder, he would never have noticed it.
[That faint golden glow is your spiritual connection with Wei Wei. It's currently very weak, making it nearly imperceptible. You should try using your consciousness to communicate with it. Whether that will work or not… well, that's up to you to find out.]
Hearing the Narrator's explanation, Feng Qi nodded and extended his consciousness toward the golden light.
The closer he got, the clearer Wei Wei's soft murmurs became in his mind.
Wrapping his spiritual awareness around the golden light, he called out:
"Wei-jie, can you hear me?"
His sudden voice caused Wei Wei's whispering to abruptly stop.
The golden glow flickered violently, on the verge of extinguishing.
Feng Qi held his breath, thinking the connection might have failed.
But at that moment, Wei Wei's voice sounded in his mind:
"Ah Qi? How are you talking to me from across space?"
She sounded genuinely surprised.
Her response confirmed it—the spiritual connection had worked.
Feng Qi quickly explained everything, repeating the Narrator's earlier explanation.
At the same time, curiosity filled his heart.
How had Wei Wei managed to achieve this?
Trust, friendship, love—these emotions could be cultivated through interaction.
But faith was different.
You couldn't turn friendship into faith, nor could you transform any emotion into belief.
Faith was a form of reverence, often tied to the unknown and mysterious.
In Feng Qi's eyes, faith was fundamentally an illusion—the strength of a god came from the imaginations of their followers.
But as he pondered further, a possibility struck him.
The Mist Lord had once proposed a concept called "Heroic Faith Theory."
Unlike traditional religious faith, Heroic Faith wasn't built on myths or divine mystery.
Instead, it was grounded in real achievements, shaping an image of a hero through deeds rather than miracles.
It was the direct opposite of god-worship, a faith that grew from admiration, respect, and unwavering trust.
This idea had only just taken root in a previous sacrifice line before it was derailed by the Dark God Sect.
A chain reaction followed, ultimately leading the Mist Lord to his demise.
Yet Feng Qi had already seen proof that Heroic Faith Theory was viable.
During the unveiling ceremony of his statue in Star City's Central Park, he had sensed faint faith energy from the children presenting him flowers.
This meant that faith didn't always require supernatural reverence—it could be built on trust, admiration, and inspiration.
With this realization, he asked:
"Wei-jie, how exactly did you achieve this?"
Wei Wei responded thoughtfully:
"It wasn't complicated. I spent several days reviewing the historical records you left from past timelines… especially the messages I left for you in each of them. The more I read, the more my mindset changed."
"It was a strange experience. Reading those messages, I could feel how much the other versions of me believed in you. Just like what I wrote in those timelines… You are the culmination of all my hopes and dreams."
"This isn't the same as worshiping a god. There's no fear, no hesitation, no blind obedience. Just unwavering belief in you. I never expected that this kind of conviction could actually create a spiritual link between us."
"Now I see—faith isn't just about reverence or fear. The most important thing is trust. Absolute, unshakable trust. That, too, is a form of faith."
Feng Qi was enlightened by Wei Wei's words.
Even the Narrator gave an unexpected compliment:
[I have to admit, this old woman is exceptional. No matter what she does, she always manages to analyze the root of the problem and find the answer. With an ally like her, how could your dream of saving the future not come true?]
With the spiritual link established, the next step was testing power transmission.
Feng Qi left his room and walked toward Wei Wei's door.
After knocking, he waited a few seconds before the door swung open.
Wei Wei stood there, dressed in loose sleepwear, her curves visible even in the dim lighting.
"Come in," she said. "Let's test how power transmission works."
Feng Qi nodded and followed her inside, sitting down on the sofa.
How did one transfer power to a believer through a faith connection?
Or more importantly—how could a believer borrow power from their source of faith?
This was something that even the Mist Lord had only theorized.
Whether it was actually possible remained unknown.
And even if it worked in the present timeline, it was uncertain whether it would function in the sacrifice lines.
After all, in this reality, there were no time and space barriers between them.
But in the sacrifice lines, there was a gap of 1,500 years.
If power transfer worked, it would mean that his future self could send power across centuries to his past self.
That was an unprecedented concept.
If successful, it would change everything.
Taking the first step toward their goal, Feng Qi remained patient and focused.
He and Wei Wei continued discussing methods for power transmission.
During their discussion, the Narrator offered a potentially workable solution:
"Try bringing one of your talent pearls into contact with Wei Wei's spiritual link in your consciousness sea. See if that establishes a connection."
To test this theory, Feng Qi once again entered his spiritual sea.
Approaching the orbit of his Origin Pearl, he removed the Malice Talent Pearl and guided it toward Wei Wei's spiritual medium—the faint golden glow representing her connection to him.
He slowly nudged the Malice Talent Pearl toward the golden light.
But the fusion he expected didn't happen.
Wei Wei also showed no signs of sensing any change in her body.
Their first attempt failed.
Feng Qi fell into deep thought.
At that moment, the Narrator interjected again:
[Why not try reversing the process?]
Feng Qi raised a brow. "Reversing it? What do you mean?"
[Think about what you just did. You removed the Malice Talent Pearl from its orbit. That's like taking the batteries out of a remote control and handing it to someone. No matter how much she presses the buttons, the remote won't work because it's not powered.]
[Try this instead—place the Malice Talent Pearl back into its orbit so it's powered again. Then, instead of sending the pearl toward Wei Wei, send her spiritual link into the pearl. See if that makes a difference.]
Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately took action.
He returned the Malice Talent Pearl to its orbit.
The moment it reconnected with the orbit, it resumed its normal trajectory, circling his gold-red Origin Pearl.
Following the Narrator's suggestion, he wrapped his consciousness around Wei Wei's spiritual medium and guided it toward the Malice Talent Pearl.
The result was instantaneous.
Wei Wei's spiritual medium slowly fused into the Malice Talent Pearl.
Feng Qi's eyes snapped open, his gaze meeting Wei Wei's equally astonished expression.
"Wei-jie, how do you feel?" Feng Qi asked.
Wei Wei furrowed her brows slightly as she focused.
"I can feel a strange power flowing into my mind. It's… fascinating. It doesn't feel foreign at all—more like something I was born with. It's as if I've always had this ability."
Feng Qi nodded thoughtfully.
"I just integrated your spiritual medium into my Malice Talent Pearl. What you're feeling now is the power of psychokinesis. I explained its details to you before—try testing it."
Wei Wei took a deep breath and stretched out her right hand, pointing at a glass cup on the nearby table.
Nothing happened.
The cup didn't levitate.
Feng Qi couldn't sense any psychokinetic fluctuations coming from Wei Wei either.
She frowned but didn't give up.
This time, she focused more intensely, using her mind to forcefully push the cup.
Still, nothing.
Frustrated, she tried poking at the air as if physically pushing the cup with an invisible force.
It didn't budge.
After several more attempts, Wei Wei sighed and turned to Feng Qi.
"I think I know the problem."
Feng Qi leaned forward. "What is it?"
Wei Wei explained, "Our spiritual link is still too weak. It's like trying to release a flood through a hole the size of a pinprick. No matter how much power is stored behind it, the opening is too small to let it through effectively. We need to strengthen the link."
She paused before adding, "But this isn't a big issue. Now that the link is established, deepening it should be much easier."
Feng Qi nodded.
He had reached the same conclusion during Wei Wei's attempts.
Just as she said, the solution was simple—strengthening the faith connection.
They needed to widen the gap so that energy could flow freely between them.
To confirm their theory, Wei Wei spent the next few days strengthening her faith connection.
The process was straightforward—she focused on Feng Qi's existence with unwavering sincerity, reinforcing her belief in him.
During this period, Feng Qi often heard her voice whispering in his mind.
At first, it was manageable.
But as Wei Wei's faith deepened, her whispers became constant, sometimes even waking him from sleep.
Feng Qi felt tormented.
Wei Wei had a notorious habit—once she set her mind on something, she would commit to it completely.
Especially with research projects, she often worked for days without sleep.
Now, she was treating strengthening their faith connection as a scientific endeavor.
The result?
Feng Qi woke up multiple times at night to the sound of Wei Wei's devout whispers echoing in his mind.
He grimaced.
There had to be a way to filter out the noise.
If gods with millions or even tens of millions of followers had to endure constant prayers from every believer, wouldn't they all go insane?
Imagining millions of voices whispering in his mind 24/7, Feng Qi shuddered.
That sounded like pure psychological torture.
Unable to bear it any longer, he turned to the Narrator for answers.
"Hey, Narrator… how do gods deal with this? Do they have a way to filter out the constant prayers?"
The Narrator's response was as ridiculous as ever:
[Easy. They just scream in their minds: 'All of you with open mics, shut up! Especially the loud one, mute yourself, or I swear I'll smite you!']
Feng Qi: ...
He let out a long sigh.