As Night Shadow Second Elder and the other Night Shadow Clan members stared in disbelief, Feng Qi completed his Blood Source transformation.
Standing over three meters tall, he wasn't as overwhelming as his full transformation in the main timeline, but the sheer presence he exuded was enough to instill terror.
Purple and blood-red runes twisted and writhed across his body in sync with his breathing, their patterns flickering eerily beneath the glow of dark green flames. The flames coiled around him like a wrathful dragon, a force of nature ready to erupt at any moment.
Just standing there, he radiated an authority that needed no words.
Feng Qi's transformation had caught the Night Shadow Clan completely off guard.
Night Shadow Second Elder's once-calm expression was gone, replaced by sheer panic.
His composure had completely shattered.
A primal fear gripped his heart, an instinctive terror stemming from a bloodline-level suppression. The mutated Feng Qi standing before him was now an existence far beyond his own.
His throat tightened as he swallowed hard. His body trembled involuntarily.
The Night Shadow Clan members couldn't comprehend what was happening.
When they received Feng Qi's request to visit Tiger Soul Research Institute, they had thought he was merely walking into their trap.
They had planned to give him one last chance—either he would willingly join them, or they would resort to their last resort: complete mental domination.
The Night Shadow Clan had even mapped out his future for him.
First, under their control, Feng Qi would resign from Star City Academy and apply to join Tiger Soul Research Institute. From there, he would be fully integrated into their Super Spell Project, dedicating the rest of his life to perfecting the spell they sought.
It would be a waste of some of his potential, but at least he would still be useful.
In their eyes, this plan was flawless.
After all, they had thoroughly investigated every aspect of Feng Qi's background.
At the end of the day, he was just a seventeen-year-old human student.
But now, staring at the crimson giant before them, they realized—
Everything had spiraled out of control.
"Feng Qi… perhaps we can reach an agreement?" Night Shadow Second Elder stammered, trying to suppress his fear.
"We're willing to make concessions. This is Tiger Soul Research Institute—if our conflict escalates, it could expose your identity. I'm sure you wouldn't want that."
Clearly, he had mistaken Feng Qi for another domain creature that had infiltrated human society.
Desperate to survive, he forced himself to remain calm and attempted to negotiate.
Feng Qi's lips curled into a sinister smile.
On this battle timeline, there was no room for negotiation.
He would never let the Night Shadow Clan continue rotting Tiger Soul Research Institute from the inside.
He didn't reply.
Instead, he stepped forward and clamped his hand around Night Shadow Second Elder's throat.
With a sudden, explosive slam, he smashed him into the ground.
Blood and bone splattered in every direction.
The remaining Night Shadow Clan members bolted for the door.
Their species specialized in mental manipulation, not physical combat.
Even their movements appeared sluggish to Feng Qi.
With a flicker of motion, he blocked their escape, his towering form looming before them.
He swung his massive palm downward.
Smack!
Two Night Shadow members were sent flying, their bodies slamming against the wall.
Boom!
The impact was deafening.
Half their bodies embedded into the concrete, blood pooling at their feet.
They were dead on impact.
The last two Night Shadow Clan members froze in terror, watching the blood-red fist racing toward them.
Boom!
One punch—
A violent explosion of pure, unrestrained force surged through their bodies.
The shockwave obliterated their torsos, shattering the wall behind them, leaving behind only a massive crater.
The two Night Shadow Clan members stood still for a moment, their faces blank with shock.
Then—
Their bodies crumbled into a mist of blood and bone fragments.
With the room now silent, Feng Qi exhaled slowly, his grin widening in satisfaction.
He turned his head toward the corner of the room.
"Director Liu."
His voice was death's whisper, echoing like the call of a soul-reaping specter.
A shudder ran down Director Liu's spine.
His forehead was drenched in sweat, his lips ghostly pale.
Faced with imminent death, his body quaked uncontrollably.
The terror was suffocating.
It consumed him, until—
His mind snapped.
He collapsed to his knees, crawling toward Feng Qi.
"I—I surrender!"
"I'll serve you! I know all of Tiger Soul Research Institute's secrets!"
"You need me! With me, you can take full control—"
His voice cracked in desperation.
Gone was his former composure.
Gone was his confidence.
The man who once thought he held absolute control now begged for his life like a worm groveling in the dirt.
Feng Qi stared down at him coldly.
"I've seen domain creatures display far greater resolve than you."
His voice was laced with disdain.
"But you? A spineless traitor like you?"
"You disgust me."
Without hesitation, Feng Qi raised his fist.
Director Liu's eyes widened in horror—
Boom!
Blood mist erupted.
His head was gone.
A lifeless body slumped forward, collapsing into a heap.
Feng Qi exhaled, then turned toward the locked door.
Boom!
His fist flew forward.
The flames of battle intent within Feng Qi surged, empowered by the activation of Blood Source mode. Green-black fire spiraled around his right fist, condensing into a spectral flame mirage as he swung at the reinforced metal door.
Boom!
The thick metal warped under the immense force, twisting inward at a visible rate. A moment later, a deafening explosion rang out as the entire door was blasted off its hinges, soaring through the corridor and crashing into the far wall with a resounding impact.
Stepping out of the Mind Control Chamber, Feng Qi found the outside already in chaos.
His gaze shifted toward the Tiger Soul Central Command Console, where Yang Xiaoxin was swiftly operating the system. Under her control, the core zone's security gates were descending, sealing off the area.
This was the first step of the plan—seizing control of the Central Command Console to isolate the Tiger Soul Core Zone, preventing any information leaks.
The next step was to cut off the institute's network, ensuring that all surveillance feeds were disabled.
Just then, a heavy impact resounded to his right.
Boom!
Mu Qing slammed into the ground, gripping the throats of two Night Shadow warriors. Under her overwhelming strength, their bodies were forcefully embedded into the reinforced flooring, leaving deep craters in the special alloy surface.
She lifted her gaze to meet Feng Qi's.
An oppressive aura erupted forth.
A suffocating pressure pressed down on him, momentarily making his heart clench.
For an instant, standing before him was not a human, but a primordial beast cloaked in demonic flames.
Her blood-red eyes glowed with a chilling light, gazing at him as if he were already a corpse.
Their eyes met—
And suddenly, a hallucination flooded his mind.
He saw mountains of corpses stretching endlessly into the horizon, their bones piled high as though forming an altar of death.
At the peak of this bone-laden hill, a terrifying entity bathed in crimson light stood, wielding death and calamity like a divine decree, its mere presence dominating all life beneath it.
Feng Qi snapped back to reality and immediately spoke:
"It's me!"
Mu Qing's expression shifted in an instant.
"Oh! Sorry!"
Her previous cold-blooded killing intent vanished, replaced by an apologetic look.
She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, her fierce presence now nowhere to be seen.
"I actually wasn't planning to attack you. I already sensed your familiar aura," she explained hurriedly. "I just didn't have time to adjust my emotions. You know how hard it is for me to regulate my emotions right now."
Feng Qi smiled and waved it off.
"It's fine. Keep going, Mu Qing-jie."
At this stage, Mu Qing was not yet the Dawn Army's terrifying overlord, nor was she the unstoppable war deity of the future.
She still had trouble controlling the immense power coursing through her. It was natural for her emotions to fluctuate.
He still remembered when they first met—
Back then, she had almost crippled him with an accidental punch by the lakeside at Star City Academy's dormitory area.
Even years later, in the battle against the Mist Lord, she had momentarily lost control.
Clearly, she still had a long way to go before fully mastering her power.
Mu Qing nodded obediently before vanishing into a crimson blur, charging into another room.
Moments later, the ground trembled as a series of violent impacts followed.
Feng Qi turned back toward the battlefield.
Two Night Shadow warriors lay half-buried in the floor beside him, their bodies brutally shattered.
This brutal combat style reminded him of Suction Cup—
That little monster had completely inherited Mu Qing's battle style.
Pure brute force.
One punch to break all spells.
It was the complete opposite of the Mist Lord's intricate spellcasting techniques.
Shifting his gaze elsewhere, Feng Qi spotted Lü Yue.
He stood motionless in place, surrounded by a storm of sword qi.
His right hand was formed into a sword seal, and with every precise movement, streaks of razor-sharp sword energy shot out, effortlessly slaughtering the fleeing Night Shadow warriors.
Nearby, the Xia family's three brothers fought brutally.
Each wielded a massive metal door, using them as both shields and weapons.
The ground was littered with Night Shadow corpses, crushed beneath their sheer strength.
Not far away, something seemed wrong—
Yan Yue and Cai Guo stood motionless, their eyes turning pale white, their bodies swaying slightly.
A group of Night Shadow warriors stood opposite them, hands outstretched.
Faintly glowing purple threads stretched from their fingertips, latching onto Yan Yue and Cai Guo.
Mind control.
The Night Shadow warriors were attempting to dominate their minds.
Feng Qi's foot dug into the ground, leaving behind a deep imprint.
In a flash, he lunged forward like a predator.
Before even reaching them—
His right arm rose, green-black flames swirling violently.
His heart pounded faster, accelerating the flow of blood energy. The air thickened with raw killing intent.
His body tilted forward—
Then, his fist swung out.
Boom!
A colossal, dragon-shaped fist mirage surged forward, devouring the Night Shadow warriors in its path.
They barely had time to react—
By the time the impact hit, their bodies had already been reduced to skeletons.
Their flesh disintegrated instantly under the raging inferno.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Bones snapped one after another, shattering into dust.
The Night Shadow warriors attempting mind control were utterly annihilated.
Yan Yue and Cai Guo's eyes gradually regained clarity.
Between the two, Yan Yue—a seasoned fighter from the frontlines—quickly composed himself.
But Cai Guo…
She had never seen such a battlefield before.
Her face turned pale.
She covered her mouth, trembling slightly as she took in the gruesome scene before her.
But to her credit—
She didn't vomit.
Instead, she took several deep breaths, trying to stabilize herself.
"Yan Yue, take Cai Guo to the command console and let her rest. Leave the rest to us. Your job is to protect her—she's the only battlefield medic we have in Dawn right now."
"Got it!"
Realizing that the crimson giant standing before him was indeed Feng Qi, Yan Yue nodded without hesitation and immediately led Cai Guo toward Yang Xiaoxin's position at the Central Command Console.
After confirming that they had reached safety, Feng Qi turned his gaze toward a room not far away.
Inside, a Night Shadow warrior with violet skin was absorbing the power offered by its kin.
Its body swelled as the gathered energy continuously surged into it.
Feng Qi recognized this figure immediately.
In a previous timeline, the Mist Lord had orchestrated a civil war within the Night Shadow Clan, successfully wiping them out but sustaining severe injuries in the process.
By the time the Mist Lord had called him to report the victory, he had been utterly exhausted.
Later, the Mist Lord had detailed the entire conflict, and the greatest obstacle in that battle had been this very individual—
The current chieftain of the Night Shadow Clan.
As the head of one of the three dominant factions within the Night Shadow Clan, this chieftain had been secretly draining Tiger Soul Research Institute's resources for years, steadily growing stronger.
Its power was far from weak.
The spell it was using now, extracting energy from its own kin, was something developed by Tiger Soul Research Institute's spellcraft division.
Feng Qi had already studied the Night Shadow Clan's Super Spell Project in past timelines.
The entire spell framework was designed around channeling the collective power of the clan to form an external manifestation, enhancing the wielder's combat ability.
The greater the number of kin contributing power, the stronger the recipient would become.
At this moment, a pale blue energy field enveloped the Night Shadow chieftain, forming an external construct around its body.
This blue energy avatar had eight arms, a grotesque visage, and a towering frame surpassing three meters.
As if sensing Feng Qi's gaze, the chieftain turned its head, its eerie purple eyes locking onto him.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Then, the chieftain suddenly took a deep breath.
Immediately, the Night Shadow warriors standing around it collapsed, their faces twisted in exhaustion.
Feng Qi slowly clenched his fist.
A sharp crack echoed as the joints in his knuckles popped.
A wicked grin crept across his lips.
Then, he raised his hand and beckoned provocatively.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the Night Shadow chieftain, cloaked in the eight-armed blue energy construct, smashed through the doorway, sending shards of debris flying as it charged straight at him.
Feng Qi tightened his grip—
And swung his fist.
A hurricane of dark green flames and blood mist surged around his arm, condensing into a massive fist mirage that hurtled toward the chieftain's face.
Bang!
His fist slammed into the energy construct's face, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.
The Night Shadow chieftain was sent flying backward, crashing into the reinforced wall, scattering blue energy particles through the air.
Clearly, it had underestimated Feng Qi's strength.
But—
Without hesitation, the chieftain tore itself free from the broken wall and lunged at him again.
Seeing that the chieftain had foolishly chosen to engage in close combat, Feng Qi couldn't help but smirk.
His right fist clenched tightly, blood mist swirling around his body in a vortex.
With each thunderous heartbeat, power surged through his veins, condensing into pure, explosive strength.
"Ha!"
A burst of superheated steam escaped from between his lips as he exhaled, his muscles becoming even more defined under the pressure.
Then—
His right fist shot forward like a cannon shell, aiming straight for the chieftain's face, seeking to end this in a single strike.
Just as his fist was about to connect—
The Night Shadow chieftain shifted its position, dodging at the last second.
Instead of striking its face, his devastating punch slammed into its right shoulder.
Crack!
The blue energy construct buckled under the sheer force of the blow, the chieftain's body shuddering violently as a web of fractures spread across its frame.
Fragments of blue light splintered through the air, and the distinct snap of breaking bones echoed.
But there was no room for hesitation in a battle to the death.
Grinding its teeth through the pain, the Night Shadow chieftain retaliated—
Its eight energy arms surged forward in a blur.
Two clamped onto Feng Qi's arms, while the remaining six became a flurry of phantom-like strikes, raining down on him like an unrelenting storm.
Each blow carried a hidden force—
A spiritual invasion technique unique to the Night Shadow Clan.
Feng Qi could feel it.
An insidious mental energy was attempting to seep into his consciousness.
The chieftain's plan was clear—
It wanted to continuously inject its mental corruption energy into him, accumulating power until the moment of full activation, at which point it would attempt to completely dominate his mind.
However—
It was unfortunate that this particular strategy was completely useless against him.
The purple soul runes branded into his skin possessed a purification effect.
The moment the mental corruption tried to take root, it was immediately dispelled and scattered, unable to accumulate any influence.
Feeling the lingering pain from the repeated strikes, Feng Qi decided to end this battle.
The Night Shadow chieftain's power was formidable—
Had its super spell been developed for a few more years, and had Lin Ran been recruited into its research, its capabilities could have evolved significantly.
Even in the future, the Mist Lord had struggled against it, proving its potential.
At this point, the Night Shadow Clan's super spell project was far from completion—nowhere near its true potential.
Feng Qi sneered.
"You done yet? Now it's my turn."
Even as the six energy arms rained down relentless blows upon him, he slowly raised his head, revealing a wicked grin.
The moment he spoke, his power erupted.
His heartbeat surged, like an engine pushed to its limit, roaring with sheer force.
Bang!
He smashed his forehead into the energy construct's head, and at the same time, his knee drove upward with devastating power, slamming into its abdomen.
The blue energy construct was sent flying from the sheer force of the knee strike.
Feng Qi wrenched his arms free from the energy restraints.
"ROAR!"
With a fierce battle cry, his right foot stomped down.
The ground trembled, his Blood Source Form surged to its peak, qi and blood bursting forth, merging seamlessly with the martial will in his strikes.
Then—
He shifted into his Tiger Fist stance.
Right fist first!
A blood-red fist mirage tore through the air, striking the chieftain's blue energy construct square in the chest.
Before the impact even faded—
Left fist followed immediately!
His arms blurred into afterimages, fists relentlessly hammering forward.
Dark green flames coiled around his left arm, while his right arm burned with surging blood energy.
Two distinct forces—colliding and merging into one unstoppable assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Night Shadow chieftain was sent crashing through the ceiling, embedded deep within the earth above.
It tried to break free, but—
The onslaught continued.
Blue energy fragments scattered as the spell-forged construct could no longer endure, shattering into countless streaks of dissipating energy.
Then—
Each subsequent fist struck flesh.
With every devastating impact, the chieftain's expression twisted in disbelief.
It couldn't accept this ending.
But the final sight in its eyes was an endless storm of fists.
BOOM!
When Feng Qi finally drew back his fists, the ceiling crumbled, and the ruined body—now a pulverized mass of flesh—collapsed beneath the falling rubble, completely buried.
"Next time, don't play at close combat. It's not for you."
Feng Qi gave one last glance at the mound of crushed rock, then turned toward the remaining rooms.
His mission was clear—
Eliminate every last Night Shadow Clan member in Tiger Soul Research Institute's core zone.
Not a single one was allowed to escape.
His Blood Source Form was on the verge of collapse, but—
That only meant he had to finish this quickly.
His figure flashed—
And everywhere he passed, Night Shadow warriors fell one after another, their lives snuffed out in an instant.
This was the first time in a sacrifice timeline that Feng Qi had felt the sheer thrill of close combat.
The sensation was intoxicating.
For once—
He could finally unleash himself without restraint.
Another fist swung forward—
Another Night Shadow warrior exploded into blood mist.
As he turned, Mu Qing's figure flashed past him at barely perceptible speed.
A gust of wind swept over his face—
Then—
Several Night Shadow warriors in the distance erupted into blood mist before they could even react.
"Are you two even human?!"
Lin Ran's shouting voice echoed from afar.
"We're fighting for our lives over here, and you two are steamrolling through everything! We're not even in the same battle, are we?"
Feng Qi turned to see Lin Ran struggling against three Night Shadow warriors, clearly having a tough time.
He grinned.
"If you need help, just say '1'."
"F**k that! Who do you think I am?! I'm no helpless kitten!"
Lin Ran's hands quickly formed seals, spell trajectories unfolding in front of him.
But before he could even finish casting—
Mu Qing moved.
A crimson afterimage streaked past.
Before Lin Ran's opponents could react, their bodies burst apart into blood mist.
"...Did I just witness a 'Summon Mu Qing' spell?" Feng Qi grinned.
Lin Ran: …
"...Yeah. That was totally my spell. Absolutely."
Feng Qi burst into laughter at Lin Ran's expression.
Then, without pause, his body shot forward toward the last few Night Shadow warriors desperately trying to reach the command console.