Seeing Feng Qi about to be pierced by the Burning Heaven Sword, the softest part of Mu Qing's heart was struck hard.
Especially when she caught a glimpse of Feng Qi's now aged, white-haired face—her heart trembled.
In her memory, Feng Qi had always been young.
That bright, carefree smile had always been engraved deep in her heart, a warm and safe harbor she could return to whenever she felt lost or in pain.
Only now did she realize... Feng Qi had grown old.
After repelling the Burning Heaven Sword, Mu Qing slowly raised her head and looked at Jian Ji. The crimson glow in her eyes surged.
That ache in her heart turned into overwhelming killing intent.
The crimson arcs of lightning crackling around her body erupted with blinding light.
Under Jian Ji's stunned gaze, Mu Qing calmly pulled her fist back—then, once more, punched forward with full force.
At the instant her fist launched, it was as if a crimson sun had risen from the earth, its blazing light overwhelming all the stars in the sky. Her qi and blood condensed into a raging tidal wave, crashing toward Jian Ji with a world-destroying momentum.
The attack hadn't landed yet, but its sheer force had already closed in.
Jian Ji acted instantly, recalling the Burning Heaven Sword. With a wave of his hand, thousands of sword shadows split from it, rushing forward to meet the crimson tide.
Boom!
Jian Ji's figure was flung away in a flash, blown back ten thousand meters in the blink of an eye, completely unable to withstand even a single punch from Mu Qing head-on.
Even Mu Yan, who had been fighting not far away, was forced to keep swinging her Silver Dragon Spear just to hold off the invading crimson energy.
Looking up at the crimson shadow floating above Mu Qing's head, Mu Yan's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She knew now that her guess had been right.
That crimson rune crystal could indeed be absorbed and utilized by a human body.
And that indirectly proved that humanity shared some hidden link with the Pillar Gods—something that aligned perfectly with the theory Mo had once proposed.
"Ah Qi, wait for me."
Mu Qing turned back to Feng Qi, her voice soft as she spoke, her gaze tender. Then, her figure vanished from the spot.
Feng Qi instinctively looked up toward the sky.
He saw that Mu Qing had reappeared right above Jian Ji. Her crimson fist came crashing down without warning.
Crack!
Like a bolt of crimson lightning splitting the heavens, Mu Qing's fist crashed through the sky. The crimson glow engulfed everything—like the end of days, descending from the firmament to consume the land.
Jian Ji reacted quickly, pointing forward with his hand.
The Burning Heaven Sword instantly flew to block above his head, clashing with Mu Qing's fist.
Boom!
A violent energy shockwave rippled outward at a frightening frequency, spreading in all directions. Even in the high skies, the impact affected the buildings below.
Winterfell City's eastern district immediately blared a Level-1 disaster alert.
Thankfully, the city's residents had undergone routine emergency training. Everyone rushed into the underground disaster shelters within the buildings.
Even from such a distance, Feng Qi could feel just how intense the battle had become.
The buildings below Mu Qing and Jian Ji's battlefield looked like they'd aged centuries in a matter of seconds. Under the relentless storm of shockwaves, they began to crumble like sand. In the blink of an eye, a barren wasteland had formed around them.
It was clear that Jian Ji was under immense pressure against Mu Qing's barrage.
The Burning Heaven Sword was slightly bent under her crushing blows. The sword trembled violently, as if struggling to withstand the overwhelming power of her punch.
In that moment, Mu Qing's right leg flashed like a bolt of crimson lightning, slamming down hard on the Burning Heaven Sword.
The already weakened blade trembled violently and was knocked flying.
With no more obstacles in her path, Mu Qing's fist slammed directly into Jian Ji's chest.
Instantly, crimson energy engulfed Jian Ji's body. His flesh and blood were completely vaporized by the terrifying force of her punch.
Feng Qi's eyes lit up with joy at the sight.
He had thought Jian Ji's strength was so overwhelming that even Mu Qing and Mu Yan would need to join forces to face him.
He never expected Jian Ji to stand no chance at all before Mu Qing.
"Don't celebrate too soon. That guy's not dead yet!"
Following the sound of the voice, Feng Qi turned his head to see that Mu Yan had somehow appeared beside him, standing on his left and staring at the battlefield ahead with a serious expression.
"Not dead?"
"Not dead," Mu Yan nodded firmly.
Feng Qi quickly looked back to the sky.
There, where Jian Ji had just been vaporized, a glowing fire-red orb had formed. Then, the orb began to take shape, gradually reforming into a humanoid figure.
"What... is that?"
"That bastard, in pursuit of power, transformed himself into a sword spirit. No wonder his fleshly body was so weak—he had already planned to cast off the shackles of mortal flesh and bind himself fully to the Burning Heaven Sword."
Mu Yan's explanation immediately made Feng Qi think of the Demon Blade.
Jian Ji's chosen path was to forge himself into a sword spirit, truly achieving unity between man and sword.
The Demon Blade's choice was to turn himself into a blade, becoming one with it in both form and soul.
Two completely extreme paths.
Or perhaps, it was the Demon Blade's extreme path that had forced Jian Ji to constantly push himself, eventually birthing a heart demon that led him down this same road of extremity.
They watched as Jian Ji's now fiery-red energy body pointed a finger at Mu Qing's next oncoming punch.
In an instant, countless streams of sword energy appeared out of thin air. From Jian Ji's fingertip bloomed flaming sword lotuses. The sharp aura they released tore the air apart, slicing open thin black cracks in space.
Fist and finger collided. Crimson and flame clashed.
Above their heads, a vortex of energy formed, spanning over ten thousand meters wide. Within that swirling chaos, black streaks of lightning burst from the collision of their powers.
At that moment, the crimson shadow behind Mu Qing trembled slightly.
Her power spiked again. Her fist pressed down, inch by inch, against Jian Ji's fingertip.
Realizing that he couldn't win a direct clash, Jian Ji suddenly pulled back, gathering sword energy in front of him to form a dense barrier of sword aura.
He used the momentum of Mu Qing's punch to break the barrier as he quickly retreated.
Once he had widened the distance between them, Jian Ji raised a finger to his brow.
The Burning Heaven Sword, which had been hovering nearby, suddenly shot toward him and stabbed into his energy body.
The moment his sword spirit form merged with the Burning Heaven Sword, the sword aura and flames surrounding him surged even more violently.
He pointed once more at the approaching Mu Qing, his fingers sketching quickly in the air.
Instantly, countless sword energies materialized and rained down like icicles.
But Mu Qing, head lowered, pushed forward step by step through the barrage of sword energy, steadily advancing toward Jian Ji's location.
Each step stirred up a terrifying energy storm.
The earth shook. A massive tremor rolled across Winterfell City. In the sky, spatial rifts kept tearing open, forming turbulent vortexes of reversed flow, then swiftly sealing themselves back shut.
At this point, Jian Ji had completely abandoned frontal confrontation with Mu Qing. He switched to long-range assaults using sword qi.
Sword qi rained from the sky like dense schools of sardines, constantly weaving and dispersing under Jian Ji's control. Mu Qing, caught in the center, was like a predator trapped within a deadly net.
Each time she tried to smash through the densest region of sword qi with her fists, that area would instantly pull back to avoid damage—minimizing the loss of energy—only to quickly regroup and stab at her again.
Whenever she attempted to break out of the encirclement through brute force, Jian Ji would retreat preemptively, always maintaining a safe distance that Mu Qing couldn't reach.
But then, as a roar echoed from the crimson, blurred phantom behind her, Mu Qing's power surged once more.
The crackling crimson arcs of lightning danced wildly over her skin. She slowly raised her fist.
When she threw another punch, a crimson tsunami burst forth again.
It looked like a rising crimson sun. The dazzling light it gave off dissolved the sword qi around her. Her punch shattered through the encirclement and charged toward Jian Ji with terrifying speed.
Jian Ji's response was immediate.
He tapped the space in front of him multiple times. In an instant, the sword qi domain field emerged again, and the aura around him solidified into a dense wall of blades.
When the crimson fist shadow clashed with the sword qi domain field, it was as if night was instantly turned into day—followed by a deafening explosion like a mountain collapsing into the sea.
The flames of sword qi and the crimson light collided, generating energy that blasted out in every direction.
Mu Yan stepped forward right then, swinging her Silver Dragon Spear to block the incoming shockwave for Feng Qi.
The storm of energy raged on for a long time before it finally dispersed.
What lay before their eyes looked like a post-apocalyptic movie. Every visible building was flattened. The ground was scorched black, curling up smoke like it had been seared by a furnace.
Fortunately, Winterfell City had mandated that all buildings include underground air raid shelters and emergency refuge zones, precisely to deal with sudden domain field appearances like this. Otherwise, the aftermath of this battle would have caused a mass casualty event.
The fight between Mu Qing and Jian Ji had already gone beyond the scope of the current human power system. They were two walking nuclear warheads.
After a short stalemate, the fierce battle between Mu Qing and Jian Ji reignited.
It was clear Jian Ji no longer dared to fight her head-on. He dodged constantly, remaining on the defensive. Though at a disadvantage, he was still incredibly slippery, and Mu Qing couldn't finish him off quickly.
But the scales of victory were slowly tipping in Mu Qing's favor.
Jian Ji's power had limits, but Mu Qing—having fused with the crimson rune crystal—could draw a near-endless stream of crimson power from it.
Even without it, her raw physical strength was already monstrous.
As their clash continued, Winterfell City's defense forces began rapid mobilization.
Large numbers of defense soldiers gathered in the eastern district. Within the city, various technological weapons locked onto the areas showing the most intense energy fluctuations and entered a pre-launch state.
On top of that, frontline battle regiments stationed outside the city responded to Winterfell's Level-1 war alert, rushing toward the city as fast as possible.
Among these were hidden domain field factions.
Including Jian Ji's own Sword Clan.
The entire Winterfell City had been caught in the crossfire of the battle between Mu Qing and Jian Ji.
But because the shockwaves from their fight were so vast, the emergency defense troops didn't dare approach the main combat zone. Instead, they used communication equipment to inspect the air raid shelters and disaster refuge areas around the battlefield, verifying casualty status without acting rashly.
Meanwhile, the battle between Mu Qing and Jian Ji had reached a fever pitch.
Mu Qing's power fluctuated with her emotions.
To be precise, she had been restraining herself from the very beginning. Letting her full power loose would weaken her self-control. Her emotions would start to spiral.
Over the years, her strength had grown rapidly, and her ability to control her emotions had improved in turn.
But this time, she was once again on the edge of losing control.
Because in her heart, there was one boundary no one could ever cross—Feng Qi.
Her family had all died when she was young. She thought she'd die alone—until Feng Qi entered her life. He gave her a sense of family, of warmth.
Now, that person she cherished most had been threatened.
Mu Qing couldn't even bear to imagine what might have happened if she hadn't sensed the danger and rushed back in time.
That fury completely ignited her emotions.
Her fists struck harder and faster, forcing Jian Ji into a pathetic retreat.
Right now, as he desperately evaded her relentless blows, Jian Ji's heart was shaken to the core.
He wasn't unfamiliar with Mu Qing.
As the undisputed War God of the Winterfell Supply Zone, he had studied her battle history and performance in great detail.
But he had always believed that no matter how strong Mu Qing got, she could never be his match.
Now, experiencing her strength firsthand, he realized just how terrifying she had become.
And he finally understood why his clan members who'd gone undercover beside Mu Qing had been so cautious. Their fear wasn't unfounded—Mu Qing's growth potential was off the charts.
In the years he'd spent in seclusion, Mu Qing had grown to a level even he struggled to handle.
She was no longer the Mu Qing he once knew.
Fighting her now felt like battling a beast bathed in crimson flames. Her brute force and violent attacks were overwhelming—but more than that, Jian Ji constantly felt an aura of absolute dominance pressing in from every angle.
Sometimes, his vision blurred—and in those flashes, he saw his own corpse buried in a mountain of bodies and a sea of blood.
It shook him to the core.
The savage, overpowering strength of her body, the omnipresent mental pressure… fighting Mu Qing was a brutal challenge to both the body and the mind.
He felt like a small boat caught in a storm, tossed about in towering waves—on the verge of being torn apart at any moment.
That pressure ignited Jian Ji's deep desire to win.
From birth, he had always been a victor.
His enemies changed, but he never truly lost.
Even the Demon Blade—his fated rival—had ultimately been defeated by him.
Now, under Mu Qing's suppressive might, he finally made up his mind to initiate his Sword Spirit Plan ahead of schedule.
Originally, this plan was prepared for the Demon Blade.
But now, he would use Mu Qing as the sacrificial offering to elevate himself—ascending to the true peak and forging the divine prestige of the Sword God.
After dodging one more of Mu Qing's ferocious punches, Jian Ji waved his hand and summoned the Burning Heaven Sword back into his grasp.
Then, slowly, he raised the sword high over his head.
"Mu Qing, you're strong. You're worthy of a battle against me at my peak."
In this moment, Jian Ji acknowledged Mu Qing as an opponent deserving of his full strength.
Until now, only the Demon Blade had ever been worthy of this level of preparation.
The Burning Heaven Sword flared with blinding brilliance as Jian Ji slashed out a full-power strike at Mu Qing. Instantly, a blazing arc condensed in midair, sweeping toward Mu Qing and slamming into her body, sending her flying backward.
Taking advantage of the moment while Mu Qing was occupied dispersing that most powerful sword move, Jian Ji raised the Burning Heaven Sword high over his head once more. Invisible waves of searing flame rippled outward from the sword, gradually spreading across all of Winterfell City.
In the western district of Winterfell, at Winterfell Academy—
Suddenly, flames of sword qi ignited across the bodies of countless students and teachers. The intense pain surged through every nerve, drawing agonizing screams from all directions…
In the northern district of Winterfell, at the Warrior Retirement Home—
The retired veterans who were watching the eastern battlefield via live broadcast all collapsed in pain, their bodies also erupting in blazing sword qi flames.
This scene repeated itself across Winterfell City.
This was one of Jian Ji's long-prepared future plans—the Sword Spirit Array Plan.
He had been preparing this plan for years. From the moment he began popularizing sword-based physical training methods throughout Winterfell, he had already started sowing the seeds for today.
During the plan's implementation, he fused one million ancestral swords into his personal sword qi domain field.
But that was only the first step.
Even with one million ancestral swords, it was still impossible to fully unleash the true might of the sword spirit array.
Because the sword spirit array lacked wielders.
That's where the residents of Winterfell came in—they were the wielders Jian Ji had chosen for the Sword Spirit Array.
Years of spreading sword techniques throughout the city had all been building up to this one day.
The inspiration for this plan had come from an ancient passage recorded in the Sword Clan's ancestral records.
Legend had it that back when the Tool Sect still existed, the Sword Clan—then one of the two strongest factions among the sect's branches—had raised a group of sword slaves.
The purpose of these sword slaves was to nourish sword spirits.
Jian Ji, who had long searched for a way to slay the Demon Blade, took inspiration from this concept and created a technique called the "Sword Slave Technique"—which he then rebranded and promoted throughout Winterfell as a harmless sword-based physical training method.
On the surface, it seemed to enhance the practitioner's physique. But in truth, it used their bodies as incubators—vessels for hatching sword spirits.
Now, standing beneath a sky lit by the blazing glow of the Burning Heaven Sword, Jian Ji's heart surged with unstoppable battle intent.
The seeds he had once sown had finally grown into harvest.
At the call of the Burning Heaven Sword, Winterfell had arrived at the brink of apocalypse.
Countless residents and warriors collapsed. From their rupturing bodies, pure white spiritual entities burst forth—sword spirits—soaring toward the direction of the Burning Heaven Sword.
In an instant, a million sword spirits rose into the air from within Winterfell.
Like birds returning to their nest, more and more pure white sword-shaped spirits surged into the giant array Jian Ji had constructed.
At the same time, the Sword Grave emerged.
One million ancestral swords burst from the ground, drawn forth, then merged with the incoming sword spirits within the sword spirit array.
As sword and spirit merged, the array's power surged dramatically.
With the Burning Heaven Sword and Jian Ji at its core, and one million sword-wielding spirits as its nodes—the Sword Spirit Array was complete.
Looking toward Mu Qing—who had just broken through his most powerful sword move and was once again charging toward him—Jian Ji's lips curled into a cold smirk.
This time, he merely gave a casual wave of the sword.
And instantly, a million sword spirits slashed their swords in unison.
The sword qi born in that moment surged forward like a roaring dragon of blades, sending the charging Mu Qing flying back.
Seeing this, Jian Ji couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Staring at the fallen Mu Qing in the distance, it was as if he were seeing the Demon Blade once again, completely crushed beneath him. That suppressed heart of his finally broke through its bottleneck, and his sword momentum burst into a new blaze of power.
As Mu Qing, with difficulty, broke through the berserk wave of sword qi and prepared to rush back once again, Jian Ji slowly raised the Burning Heaven Sword.
One million sword spirits simultaneously raised their ancestral swords with him.
At this point, Mu Qing was no longer facing Jian Ji alone.
She was up against the heritage of the entire Sword Clan—every ancestral sword represented a forefather of the clan.
In a flash, sword qi pierced the heavens.
Wherever that terrifyingly sharp energy swept across, deep, crisscrossing chasms split the ground open.
The burning sword qi rapidly gathered toward the Burning Heaven Sword, forming a gigantic flaming sword of energy more than one thousand meters long, which came crashing down toward Mu Qing with a roar.
As the giant sword descended, it ripped through space itself, tearing open a long trail of spatial rifts.
Its pressure was so immense it felt like the wrath of heaven and earth themselves. Even space was sealed off—there was nowhere to run, no room to dodge.
Mu Qing, too, sensed the danger. She let out a low growl, then raised her arms to meet it.
The moment her hands made contact with the colossal energy sword, her body was instantly driven downward.
The massive blade pressed down on her relentlessly, and the second her feet touched the ground—boom! Energy exploded outward.
A mushroom cloud of fire and qi erupted violently from the surface.
Mu Qing's body continued to be driven into the ground by the colossal sword, sinking deeper and deeper.
"I'm going to help him!"
Before Feng Qi could respond, Mu Yan waved her hand. A transparent silver barrier enveloped his body, keeping him safe. Then her figure vanished.
When she reappeared, she was already to the left of Jian Ji.
But before she could stabilize herself, Jian Ji simply extended his left hand and tapped in her direction.
Ding!
His finger struck the Silver Dragon Spear. A surge of violent sword qi exploded from the contact point, blasting Mu Yan backward uncontrollably.
After pushing Mu Yan back, Jian Ji's gaze turned once again to Feng Qi, and the killing intent in his heart boiled up.
If the Demon Blade ever managed to fuse with this host… Jian Ji could only imagine how terrifying its growth would be.
He had to destroy this perfect host for the Demon Blade.
His sword hand pointed toward Feng Qi.
The wind howled—one million sword spirits all raised their fingers at once, simultaneously aiming at Feng Qi.
One million streaks of sword qi were unleashed, shooting toward him like a storm of death.
In that moment of crisis, Mu Qing—buried beneath the earth—felt another sharp pain in her heart.
Sensing that Feng Qi's life was once again in danger, Mu Qing completely abandoned her control over her emotions.
The crimson shadow behind her began to materialize.
Mu Qing's body was completely enveloped in crimson light, and her figure vanished from the underground instantly. The next moment, she reappeared right in front of Feng Qi.
Roar!
Mu Qing looked toward the sea of sword qi and let out a bestial howl. With a swing of her arm, three crimson claw marks tore open the air, rising into the sky and shredding through the million streaks of sword qi.
But the sword qi that had splintered off still rained down like a storm, crashing against the silver barrier in front of Feng Qi.
The shield shook violently. Hairline cracks spread across its surface, and faint threads of sword qi pierced through the gaps—slicing into Feng Qi's body.
He coughed up blood on the spot.
By now, Mu Qing's eyes had lost all light, as if she'd been consumed by demonic corruption.
Without hesitation, her figure blinked away again.
She reappeared next to Jian Ji. Her right arm—now fully enveloped in crimson light—whipped down like a monstrous lash, swinging at an eerie angle.
Boom!
Jian Ji was knocked flying, but he wasn't harmed.
Within the Sword Spirit Array, he and the sword spirits were one. Any damage he received was instantly distributed across one million sword spirits.
Layer by layer, the killing blow was diluted into nothing.
After steadying himself, Jian Ji raised the Burning Heaven Sword and aimed it at Mu Qing. A terrifying wave of sword qi surged forward once more.
Mu Qing, already lost in her berserk state, made no attempt to dodge.
She met the attack head-on.
Mu Yan's figure also appeared at this moment, choosing to launch a surprise attack on Jian Ji from behind.
Realizing that he couldn't end the fight in a short time—and with the possibility of unforeseen variables arising—Jian Ji's mind shifted.
He flicked his fingers, and a trace of his consciousness condensed into an energy sword orb, shooting rapidly northward.
Before long, this sword orb was caught by a figure cradling a golden sword.
After receiving the thought embedded within, the figure immediately flicked the sword orb further north, then said in a deep voice, "Elder's command—follow me, we kill one first."
The moment his words dropped, the figure vanished in place, transforming into a golden streak that streaked straight toward Feng Qi's location.
Behind him, a group of Sword Clan warriors who had been standing by followed closely after.
Back on Feng Qi's side.
The silver barrier that Mu Yan had placed was on the verge of collapse. Feng Qi waved his hand and shattered the barrier himself, then staggered in the direction of the airport.
Mu Qing and Mu Yan were still engaging Jian Ji in battle.
This was his best—and perhaps only—chance to escape.
After stumbling forward for some distance, a group of black-clad figures appeared in front of him.
Judging from their uniforms, Feng Qi immediately recognized them as the Tiger Soul warriors who had been on standby at the airport.
They moved swiftly to his side, saying nothing. One of them hoisted Feng Qi onto his back and began sprinting toward the airport.
As they ran, the man in front turned his head toward Feng Qi and spoke, "Elder Feng, the Winterfell City Military Department has locked down the whole outer region. We have to detour—hang in there!"
"Do you have a brain activity needle?" Feng Qi struggled to keep his consciousness, forcing the words out.
"Yes."
"Inject it now. If anything happens, take my brain first."
The lead warrior hesitated for a split second, then quickly pulled out a brain activity needle and stabbed it into Feng Qi's temple.
A surge of active compounds flooded his brain.
Feng Qi, whose expression had been drained of color, quickly regained some alertness.
…
Star City, western supply zone.
Feeling the feedback from the jade pendant, Zhang Daowen's expression shifted dramatically.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
The deputy commander beside him quickly asked, noticing the sudden change of expression during a meeting.
Zhang Daowen didn't answer. He stood up abruptly, stormed out of the building, and shot into the sky, flying toward Star City without hesitation.
Some time later, he arrived at the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
"No, you can't go to Winterfell. That's Elder Feng's direct order!"
Facing the staff's attempt to block him, Zhang Daowen's expression turned cold.
"No matter what, I'm going to Winterfell today. If you won't open the teleportation array for me, I'll open it myself."
Zhang Daowen's forceful tone left the Tiger Soul staff anxious and helpless. One of them tried again to dissuade him.
"The spatial localization teleportation tech is still in its early phase. Unlike stable arrays, it's prone to serious malfunction during transfer—"
Before the staff member could finish, Zhang Daowen shoved him aside and marched straight toward the newly established Spatial Transmission Research Lab.
Seeing Zhang Daowen attempting to force his way in, the staff immediately sounded the alarm.
Guards stationed along the pathway began to appear, stepping in to block his advance.
Tensions rose quickly.
Just then, a towering man with white hair appeared in the corridor.
"Xiao Wen, listen to me. Go back."
It was none other than Xia Long, one of the original founders of Breaking Dawn and the eldest of the three Xia brothers.
For years, he had stayed close by Feng Qi's side. Now, he served as the deputy commander of one of the subordinate squads under Tiger Soul.
He had also been a key witness to the growth of that "brat."
"Uncle Long, I must go."
Facing Xia Long's attempt to stop him, Zhang Daowen's tone lost some sharpness, but his determination was clear.
"Winterfell is under Level 1 war status now. It's a disaster zone. Going alone, you might not make it back. That's not what your Uncle Qi wants to see. Don't throw away the years of cultivation he gave you."
"I haven't even had the chance to take care of Uncle Qi in his old age. If he's in danger now, I have to go help him."
Zhang Daowen's voice stayed firm as he took another step forward.
Xia Long looked at the determined young man and fell silent.
Just as the surrounding guards prepared to restrain Zhang Daowen for crossing the line, Xia Long raised his hand.
"Let him through."
The guards looked puzzled, but still obeyed immediately, clearing the path.
"Uncle Long… thank you."
"If you're going, make sure you survive. And bring Qi-ge back."
"I will!"
As his words fell, Zhang Daowen had already reached the door of the teleportation lab.
He pushed it open and stepped inside, spotting busy staff members and a compact teleportation device.
The lab director stepped forward to try and dissuade him again, but Zhang Daowen's tone remained firm.
Xia Long followed him in and spoke to the lab director himself.
With no other option, the director could only sigh.
"Alright, but the tech is still unstable. There's a high risk of failure during transmission. Your unique physique might withstand the pressure, but your arrival location might—"
"Enough. Just get it going."
Seeing no room for negotiation, the staff guided Zhang Daowen to the teleportation platform.
After over ten minutes of prep, the device activated.
As the spatial portal formed inside the machine, Zhang Daowen stepped in without hesitation.
Pressure crushed down from all directions.
The deeper into the tunnel he walked, the stronger the force pressing on him.
Yet Zhang Daowen didn't even flinch. Calm and steady, he walked on.
When he emerged from the teleportation array, his vision cleared. Snowflakes drifted down endlessly, and a vast forest of snow-covered trees stretched underfoot.
Realizing he hadn't landed in Winterfell City, he immediately checked the coordinates on his wrist locator.
After a brief moment of adjustment, he transformed into a streak of light, flying west.
His flight speed increased with every second.
…
Winterfell City, eastern district.
To avoid the city's military blockade, Feng Qi and his team had been taking a roundabout route.
Just as they were about to break through the blockade, swords of all shapes and colors fell from the sky like a rain of meteors, cutting off their path.
Immediately after, figures of Sword Clan warriors appeared.
Seeing more than a hundred Sword Clan warriors standing in his way, Feng Qi's heart sank.
The escorting Tiger Soul warriors charged forward without hesitation, trying to force open a path toward the airport.
Even though they were all top talents of the human race, they couldn't hold their own against the Sword Clan.
Under the suffocating pressure of that sharp sword qi, the charging warriors were bathed in blood and fell one after another.
When the last person fell, only Feng Qi remained standing.
The Sword Clan commander holding the golden sword didn't hesitate. He raised his blade and lunged straight at Feng Qi.
Staring at the children lying in pools of blood, Feng Qi slowly closed his eyes.
He knew there was no way out.
All the hesitation and concerns that had weighed on him over the years vanished in that moment. Deep within his heart, a firestorm of fury surged uncontrollably.
Without pause, he activated his Blood Source form.
The long-lost blood-colored energy wrapped around his entire body. However, due to years of physical exhaustion, this Blood Source state was no longer as domineering as before—its height had also decreased to just three meters.
But his hunched back straightened once more.
Feeling that familiar surge of blood energy roar to life inside him, Feng Qi took the initiative to charge at the Sword Clan warriors.
In this long-lost, heart-pounding battle, Feng Qi unleashed his fury, killing several Sword Clan members in quick succession.
He tilted his head to the sky and let out a roar that echoed under the stars.
Since becoming the hidden guide behind Star City's rise, he had always restrained his battle instincts, suppressed his desire to fight.
No matter what difficulties he faced, he would always consider the bigger picture, weigh the risks, think ahead.
But now, he threw it all away.
All he wanted was to slaughter freely, to fight without restraint one last time before death.
Flames of fighting spirit burned fiercely in his chest. Sword wounds kept piling up on his body, but his battle intent never wavered.
After slaying dozens more Sword Clan members, another group of over a hundred sword-wielding figures descended from the sky.
Facing an increasing number of enemies, Feng Qi's body heaved with exhaustion, but the corners of his mouth curled into a ferocious grin.
His aged body could no longer keep up. The regenerative power granted by Blood Source was clearly declining—it was no longer like before, where any injury could instantly heal.
Powers borrowed from the main timeline still had to obey the limits of physical capacity.
But he didn't stop. After briefly catching his breath, he threw another heavy punch.
In this battle, Feng Qi unleashed everything he had learned in his lifetime.
Combat techniques and battle experience accumulated across multiple timelines became deadly weapons against the Sword Clan.
Under his rampage, over two hundred Sword Clan warriors fell one after another. Only a handful managed to flee skyward with their swords.
When the battle ended, Feng Qi slowly turned to survey his surroundings. What he saw were corpses soaked in blood—Sword Clan warriors scattered across the battlefield.
He looked up toward the night sky. The starlight was dazzling.
After such a cathartic release, a long sigh welled up silently in his heart.
He knew that the intelligence he'd acquired from Mu Yan could no longer be delivered back to the real timeline.
Once the Blood Source form ended, his life would reach its end too.
At that moment, he actively dismissed his Blood Source state. At the very least, he could still preserve his human form in death.
Staggering a few steps, he finally stood still.
A wave of residual energy from a distant battle blew through, lifting his dry, white hair like wilted grass. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He turned his head and looked in the direction where Mu Qing was fighting.
A faint smile surfaced on his face.
"Mu Qing-jie... I'll go on ahead."
His life force, like a flickering candle in the wind, slowly faded away.
Just then, thousands of figures descended from not far away. These were Sword Clan reinforcements continuing their pursuit.
Turning to face them, Feng Qi's expression showed no joy or sorrow.
He slowly raised his fist, though his gaze had lost its light.
The battle spirit in his heart hadn't yet faded, but his body had already reached its limit.
Just then, a figure fell from the sky. With a wave of his palm, an ice wall abruptly materialized from thin air, intercepting the thousands of sword strikes heading for Feng Qi.
The one who arrived was Zhang Daowen.
After landing, he turned to look at Feng Qi—whose eyes had lost their shine—and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Uncle Qi…"
But this time, there was no familiar voice replying to him.
No scolding, no laughter like in the memories.
Feng Qi now resembled a statue, gazing ahead with eyes full of deathly stillness.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Daowen's heart clenched in pain.
Like a film reel, countless memories flashed through his mind.
Catching loaches together… fishing for lobsters together… going to amusement parks… lying on the rooftop during summer, watching the night sky.
Though he called him Uncle Qi, deep down he had already regarded him as his father.
He remembered how every night as a child, he couldn't fall asleep without hearing a bedtime story from Uncle Qi.
It was Uncle Qi who taught him to work hard, to fight for the future of humanity.
He had always followed the path Uncle Qi envisioned for him.
Now, looking at the tired old man before him, with lifeless eyes, Zhang Daowen still remembered the promise he made when he first stepped onto the frontlines—he vowed to take care of Uncle Qi in his old age.
But now...
With a trembling hand, he stepped forward and placed his palm on Feng Qi's shoulder.
Immediately, a white mist spread from his palm, gently covering Feng Qi's body, gradually encasing it in ice.
The frost continued to spread outward, eventually forming a crystal-clear ice coffin.
"Uncle Qi… I'm taking you home."
Zhang Daowen, body still shaking, lifted the ice coffin. Then, with a rope made from ice mist, he secured it to his back.
At that moment, the ice wall in front shattered.
Thousands of Sword Clan warriors emerged, and behind them, even more figures descended in waves.
Facing the oncoming horde, Zhang Daowen's expression remained emotionless.
As the sword energy surged toward him, he stepped forward. In an instant, the falling snow around him turned into a storm of ice spikes.
Another step.
A faint, towering palace of ice manifested behind him.
The temperature plummeted sharply. Even the Sword Clan warriors felt a bone-chilling cold invade their very core.
Zhang Daowen's gaze grew colder by the second.
Then, a massive hand of frost materialized in midair, aimed directly at his line of sight. It slammed down with a thunderous crash, instantly wiping out a large number of Sword Clan warriors.
"Ice War God… Zhang Daowen!"
Someone among the Sword Clan finally recognized his identity and cried out in shock.
But Zhang Daowen didn't even flinch. The killing intent in his eyes erupted like a blizzard.
In this moment, he had only one thought:
Crush Winterfell City.
You killed my Uncle Qi.
Blood must be paid with blood.