Two months later.
Crimson Institute, Training Room One.
Feng Qi, dressed in a crimson martial arts uniform, sat cross-legged before the jade statue, deep in spiritual meditation, strengthening his connection with his other self.
Compared to when he first established the link, the spiritual light in his sea of consciousness had grown more than fivefold.
However, he still couldn't move freely within that space, nor could he merge with the spinning talent spheres to extract talent abilities.
During meditation, his breathing slowed, and he could feel his spiritual energy being absorbed by the jade statue.
It was clear that the absorbed energy had transformed into pure faith power, which was then drawn away by the Miracle Bracelet.
At that moment, the training room door creaked open.
Hearing the sound, Feng Qi's eyes snapped open, and he turned toward the entrance.
A burly middle-aged man strode in, clad in a specialized suit of armor forged from spiritual ore extracted from domain fields. A dagger hung from his left calf, another sheathed at his waist.
The man's entire presence exuded battle-hardened experience.
His armor bore scratches and chipped edges, clear signs of countless battles. His gaze was calm yet cold, carrying a trace of lethal intent.
He walked steadily to the center of the training arena and gestured for Feng Qi to come over.
Feng Qi immediately stood up and strode toward him.
"Gu-shu."
Stopping in front of the man, Feng Qi nodded in greeting.
The burly warrior in front of him was Gu Ke, an old acquaintance across multiple timelines.
Back when the Crimson Institute assembled its special operations team for brain retrieval missions, Gu Ke was the team's commander.
In the previous sacrifice timeline, when Feng Qi and the Mist Lord fell unconscious outside Old Day City, it was Gu Ke's squad that retrieved and escorted him back to the Crimson Institute.
Through Wei Wei's accounts, Feng Qi had learned Gu Ke's past.
Originally, Gu Ke was a frontline warrior.
He had graduated from Winterfell Academy and, as a young man, formed his own battle group with his classmates.
Through sheer determination and hard work, he led his team to become an A-Rank domain combat squad, eventually earning the Outstanding Contribution to Humanity Medal.
In his early years, Gu Ke had been ranked among Winterfell's Top Ten Rising Warriors, receiving numerous honors.
However, his decision to join the Crimson Institute was an accident.
At that time, Gu Ke's squad accepted a mission from the Institute of Technological Research to collect a rare spiritual plant known as "Temptation Grass" from a domain field.
Unfortunately, the mission turned into a disaster—they encountered one of the strongest factions within the domain.
The entire squad was nearly wiped out.
Gu Ke himself was fatally poisoned and narrowly escaped death, only surviving because other battle squads risked their lives to extract him from the battlefield.
He was rushed to Winterfell's medical zone, where doctors struggled to save him.
But the toxins in his body were unknown—no antidote existed.
Developing a cure from scratch would take far too long, and Gu Ke's condition was already critical.
Just as the hospital was preparing to give up, Wei Wei intervened, taking an interest in the mysterious poison within Gu Ke's body.
She dispatched a Crimson aircraft to extract him, bringing him to the Crimson Institute.
By the time Gu Ke arrived, he had already fallen into a coma, his life hanging by a thread.
Thankfully, he had met Wei Wei.
Through her expertise, she successfully neutralized the toxins, saving his life.
But the damage was irreversible.
By the time he was cured, the poison had already destroyed parts of his bodily functions, leaving him permanently paralyzed.
For a time, Gu Ke spiraled into despair.
He had lost his comrades.
He had lost his legs.
His life no longer had meaning.
During that dark period, the Crimson Institute's Director personally counseled him, trying to pull him back from the abyss.
In the end, it was the Director who made him an offer—
To undergo Rune Enhancement Modification.
Faced with the hope of walking again, Gu Ke immediately accepted.
The operation was a complete success.
He became a Rune Warrior and later joined the Crimson Institute, becoming a key member of their battle squads.
For years, Gu Ke made significant contributions to the Institute.
After multiple evaluations and trust assessments, the Crimson Institute granted him full clearance.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been entrusted with missions as critical as brain retrieval operations.
Standing before Gu Ke, Feng Qi took two steps back, adjusting into a Tiger Fist stance.
"Gu-shu, be careful! My punches are hard to pull back!"
"Come on. Don't hold back."
Gu Ke smirked, his tone casual yet firm.
"I'm wearing Rune Crystals from a Behemoth. My regeneration far surpasses that of a Demon Dragon."
"Even if you break my limbs, I'll grow them back given enough time."
Hearing those words—
Feng Qi moved.
His body twisted as he channeled power into his right fist, then threw a devastating punch at Gu Ke.
The flames within his chest suddenly surged.
A crimson fist projection detached from his body, like a sword leaving its sheath, hurtling straight toward Gu Ke's chest.
Gu Ke's reaction was swift.
He crossed his arms before his chest, forcefully blocking the incoming fist shadow. The impact pushed his massive frame several meters backward.
Glancing down at the burn marks on his arms, a grin surfaced on his face.
"Not bad. Now, come at me with everything you've got."
Hearing this, Feng Qi didn't hesitate.
He lunged forward, body twisting with momentum, launching a relentless assault on Gu Ke.
Having chosen the Path of Dominating Fists, there was no retreat in his combat philosophy. Any moment of hesitation would weaken the destructive force of his fist intent.
Their figures blurred as they exchanged blows.
Crimson fist shadows danced in the air, striking against the metal-reinforced flooring.
Even though Gu Ke was engaging in battle, it was clear that he was holding back.
At this stage, Feng Qi's strength stemmed entirely from his fist intent. Without the physical reinforcement from talent abilities, his body was still relatively weak.
If this were a true life-or-death fight, Gu Ke could end it instantly, even at the cost of minor injuries.
But his purpose in coming here was different—this was a training session for Feng Qi to hone his fist intent in live combat. Killing intent was not part of the equation.
An hour later, Feng Qi staggered back, panting heavily.
Looking at Gu Ke, who seemed completely at ease, he raised a hand in surrender.
"Gu-shu, I'm done. I can't even break through your defenses."
"I'll be here again at the same time tomorrow." Gu Ke stated flatly. "The Director assigned me to train with you every day."
With that, he turned and headed for the exit.
Watching Gu Ke's retreating figure, Feng Qi inhaled deeply, then exhaled, reflecting on the fight—analyzing his weaknesses.
This battle timeline demanded absolute strength.
Even though he couldn't yet use talent abilities, he refused to waste time.
He had to push his body and mind to their limits, elevating himself as much as possible.
When the battle line truly opened, there would be countless threats waiting.
The Domain Weak Tribe Alliance, the Night Shadow Clan, the Mist Lord, the hidden forces behind the Institute of Technological Research, the Blue-Skinned Assassins, the Dark God Sect, the Psionic Race…
And even forces yet to be uncovered.
Without enough power, even surviving assassinations would be impossible, let alone leading Dawn's forces against these threats.
With this in mind, Feng Qi turned away from the training ground, stepping toward the jade statue.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes.
Within moments, he entered deep meditation.
One Year Later
Inside the Crimson Institute's Training Room, Feng Qi sat motionless before the jade statue, clad in a crimson martial arts uniform.
Within the spiritual sea of consciousness, his mental light had grown to the size of a thumb.
It pulsed in sync with the fluctuations of the spiritual sea, expanding and contracting like rhythmic breathing.
His consciousness focused entirely on this mental light, attempting to manipulate it.
This was already his fourth attempt in over a year.
The first three ended in complete failure.
Each time he tried to move the mental light, he felt immense resistance press against him from all directions.
Even the slightest shift was excruciatingly difficult.
At this moment, under his control, the mental light trembled slightly, stretching out tiny, imperceptible tendrils toward the golden-red origin sphere.
But before they could extend more than an inch, they were completely blocked.
It felt as though a massive mountain stood in the way.
Faced with this impasse, Feng Qi held his breath, maintaining absolute focus, forcing the tendrils forward.
After a brief stalemate, an overwhelming mental exhaustion washed over him.
Defeated, he exhaled sharply, shaking his head in frustration.
It had been over a year since he established the faith connection.
Yet the growth rate of his spiritual light had no shortcuts—he could only strengthen the bond through meditation, like a devoted believer slowly deepening his faith.
He had managed to extend tendrils of his spiritual light into his other self's mental space, but free movement remained impossible.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
He couldn't afford to waste years—decades, even—just cultivating this connection.
If borrowing talent abilities required ten, twenty years of effort, it wasn't just a question of whether he'd survive long enough—it would completely derail the war timeline's strategy.
Time was running out.
Waiting until Lin Ran and Mu Qing graduated to open the battle line was out of the question.
Feng Qi stood up abruptly, stepping toward the private bathroom.
A few minutes later, now wearing a fresh martial arts uniform, he left the training room.
His destination—
Wei Wei's private laboratory.
Inside the lab, Wei Wei sat at her console, carefully analyzing data.
Hearing him enter, she smirked knowingly.
"Still can't control your mental light freely, can you?"
Feng Qi sat down beside her, frustration evident in his expression.
"Still no progress."
He sighed, then shook his head.
"Honestly, I believe I can eventually move it, but the process is too damn slow."
"I don't have decades to sit around cultivating a connection."
Wei Wei chuckled and nodded. "Then, should we proceed with the second plan?"
Feng Qi leaned back, exhaling sharply. "This is exactly why I came to you."
The second plan Wei Wei referred to was a method to accelerate his spiritual connection with his alternate self. However, it came at a cost.
Before he entered the future dream, he had donated a significant amount of his own blood. At the time, two-thirds of his total blood volume had been extracted by Wei Wei for research purposes. Drinking this stored blood had been proven to enhance his spiritual connection. But there were severe side effects.
His other self's blood contained various powerful energies, including Blood Source energy, Malevolent energy, and other unknown elements. The main timeline version of him had a unique physique, capable of handling these complex energies. But for his current body, it was incredibly dangerous.
Experiments showed that lab mice that were fed diluted samples of his blood became aggressive and bloodthirsty, their bodies undergoing violent mutations before ultimately exploding from within.
If in the divine system, drinking holy water granted divine blessings, then drinking his blood was the equivalent of receiving a curse from the abyss.
Wei Wei had personally experienced the side effects, which was why she had stopped consuming it long ago. She had spent over a year researching methods to filter out the chaotic energy, but eliminating all harmful elements was still beyond her reach.
Hearing Feng Qi's decision, Wei Wei nodded. "Besides what I used to create the second jade statue, as well as the amount consumed in previous experiments, we still have a third of your original blood supply left."
"Let's give it a shot."
She walked to the refrigerated storage unit. A few moments later, she returned, holding a vial of blood.
"This is the diluted version. Try it first—see if your body can handle it."
Feng Qi took the vial from her without hesitation. He popped the cap open, drank a small sip, and immediately felt a surge of heat spreading through his body.
The blood had no taste, but the moment it entered his system, it ignited his veins like a raging inferno, unleashing an overwhelming surge of energy. In an instant, his skin flushed crimson, his muscles trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes glowed with a faint blood-red hue.
The sensation came suddenly, and faded just as quickly. Feng Qi exhaled sharply, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "That's some powerful stuff… but I can handle it."
He looked up at Wei Wei. "Wei-jie, what's the daily limit on how much I can drink?"
Wei Wei shook her head, her voice calm yet firm. "There's no 'daily limit'." She set the screen down and crossed her arms. "Even after dilution, your blood still contains massive amounts of chaotic energy—both positive and negative. Your alternate self's unique constitution allows him to perfectly integrate these energies, but you don't have that ability."
"For you, this isn't medicine—it's poison."
"Every sip you take forces your body to absorb incompatible energies, which put an enormous strain on both your physical body and mental state. The moment the accumulated burden exceeds your limit, you die instantly."
Feng Qi ran a hand through his hair, taking in the information. So it wasn't about how much he could drink in a day—it was about how close he was to dying from it.
Still, he had to try. This was the sacrifice timeline—meant for trial and error. He had long accepted this fate.
With determination in his eyes, he looked at Wei Wei. "Wei-jie, run a full body scan on me."
"I need to know exactly how much my body can take."
Wei Wei hesitated, then shook her head. "I can calculate the physical threshold—but mental damage is unpredictable. My current technology can't measure the psychological strain the blood will put on you."
Feng Qi nodded, his expression resolute. "Then I'll just go by feel."
Wei Wei sighed. Without another word, she turned and walked back to the storage unit.
Two Days Later
Inside Training Room One, Feng Qi sat cross-legged before the jade statue, his entire body hooked up to an array of tubes. A controlled infusion of diluted blood flowed steadily into his veins.
Standing nearby, Wei Wei stared intently at the screen, watching the rising strain levels with growing concern. Her fingers hovered over the emergency cut-off switch, ready to shut it down the moment his body showed signs of failure.
Inside his spiritual sea, Feng Qi focused his awareness on his mental light. As his body absorbed the infused blood, his mental light expanded at an astonishing rate.
It was artificial growth—forced acceleration. But he had no other choice.
As time passed, his entire body turned scarlet, his skin burning hot like molten steel. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and his breathing grew ragged.
At the same time, his mental light had quadrupled in size.
Finally, he attempted once more to extend his mental tendrils toward the golden-red origin sphere. The resistance was immense, as though he was swimming through an ocean of dense liquid. But this time, even though progress was slow—he was still moving forward.
His physical body reached its breaking point. And then—His mental light touched the origin sphere.
At that moment, his mind was sucked into the golden-red sphere. A flood of talent ability traits poured into him, transmitted through their newly established spiritual link.
But in the real world—His body could no longer withstand the strain.
With a deafening explosion, his flesh erupted, torn apart by the overwhelming force. Blood and viscera splattered across the training room, leaving nothing but a lone skeleton standing in its place.
The bone structure was unlike any human skeleton. Crimson and violet runes glowed across its surface, pulsating with eerie power. The next stage of his transformation had begun.