Wang Yi was a spy planted by the domain forces within human society, and Feng Qi found this revelation utterly unexpected.
Yet, upon reflection, there had always been something unusual about Wang Yi.
In the escort mission from a previous sacrificial timeline, Wang Yi had been the commander-in-chief, holding full authority over the scheduling, direction, and decisions of the operation.
During the journey, Wang Yi had approved the inclusion of the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad into the escort team midway.
At that time, Feng Qi believed Wang Yi was a puppet controlled by the shadow forces backing the Institute of Technological Research. However, during the bloodstone struggle, when Wang Yi's disguise shattered, it revealed his purple eyes and hair.
The distinct traits of possession were unmistakable, clearly identifying Wang Yi as the Mist Lord.
At first, Feng Qi couldn't understand how the Mist Lord was tied to the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad, much less how it might be connected to the Institute of Technological Research.
But now, he began to piece together a coherent narrative.
The Mist Lord, after seizing Wang Yi's body, accessed his memories and learned about Wang Yi's connections to the shadow forces behind the Institute of Technological Research.
The Mist Lord then exploited Wang Yi's identity to interact with these shadow forces, aiming to extract greater benefits.
Unbeknownst to the shadow forces backing the Institute, they were being manipulated by the Mist Lord, which might have set the stage for the Mist Lord to infiltrate the Tiger Soul Research Institute in the future by planting its subordinates within the Institute of Technological Research.
The Mist Lord always operated in the shadows, while the Institute of Technological Research was entirely exposed under its watchful eye.
"There's currently a rune mark inside my body. If it's triggered, this body will be severed from life and self-destruct. I need to figure out a way to undo it," the Mist Lord said gravely.
Feng Qi wasn't surprised to hear this.
A common method the shadow forces of the Institute of Technological Research used to control their subordinates was by implanting death marks within their bodies.
Le Ping'an, who had once infiltrated the Institute, had died by willingly activating his own death mark.
Even during one of Feng Qi's sacrificial timelines when he went undercover in the Institute of Technological Research, he had been implanted with a similar death mark.
However, he couldn't reveal this information to the Mist Lord. Instead, he responded, "Do you have a way to break the rune mark?"
"That's simple. I just need to create a counterfeit mark to confuse the detection system, but it will take time to study and prepare," the Mist Lord replied.
Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately thought of Wei Wei.
During his infiltration of the Institute of Technological Research in another timeline, Wei Wei had proposed a similar plan. Ultimately, they succeeded in neutralizing the death mark, rendering it a mere decoration.
It seems that brilliant minds often think alike.
"I see. For now, you should return to the battlefield. The probing skirmish is nearly over; it's time to withdraw."
"No rush. I need to adjust to this body first."
With that, the Mist Lord stood up.
After stretching, it began testing Wang Yi's techniques based on his memories.
Over ten minutes later, it dashed toward the battlefield where the fighting still raged.
The Mist Lord's appearance reignited the morale of the United Combat Squad, which had been floundering without a commander.
However, the sand-based lifeforms escalated their assault as the intensity of the battle grew.
If they continued fighting, there was a high risk of being encircled.
Staying and fighting wasn't the Mist Lord's goal. It began organizing a retreat.
Fighting while withdrawing along the path they had taken, the squad sacrificed many soldiers to finally escape the pursuit of the sand-based domain creatures.
The Mist Lord then led the squad back the way they had come.
Feng Qi, meanwhile, remained at the rear of the squad, communicating with the Mist Lord telepathically.
For over ten days, they trudged through wind and sand until Feng Qi's consciousness-based United Combat Squad crossed the barrier of the Yellow Sand Domain Field and vanished from his sensory range.
Even then, Feng Qi didn't leave immediately.
He stood inside the barrier for a long time before crossing it himself.
The world outside was nearly pitch black. A faint crescent moon, obscured by thick clouds, hung in the sky. The warships and vessels that had been anchored nearby were long gone.
Immersed in icy seawater, he couldn't discern which direction to take.
Opening his backpack, he retrieved a locator device.
After activating it and waiting a moment, the device came to life, displaying his current coordinates.
Confirming his direction, he tucked the locator back into his bag, zipped it up, and began swimming toward "War Dock."
He swam through the night.
As dawn broke, the faint light from the War Dock's lighthouse reached his eyes.
The lighthouse was a crucial landmark for navigating toward ports and docks. Spotting the lighthouse's beacon meant he was approximately 15 to 25 nautical miles away from the dock.
After briefly resting in the seawater, Feng Qi resumed his journey.
The Mist Lord never came to meet him, which was understandable.
At this time, the Mist Lord's public identity was the leader of the Death Star Third Combat Squad. After completing the mission, it was likely busy documenting the detailed processes and outcomes of the operation, leaving it no time to assist him.
Feng Qi didn't mind. He wasn't fragile.
Before seeking out the Mist Lord, he had undergone several years of high-intensity training, significantly improving his physical endurance. Swimming for three days and nights wouldn't pose a significant problem for him.
After another half day of travel, the outline of other buildings behind the War Dock became visible.
Looking up at the blazing sun high in the sky, he lowered his head and kept moving forward.
To break the monotony, he alternated between backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle as he swam forward.
A few hours later, he noticed a gray mist drifting in from the horizon.
Realizing that the Mist Lord had finally finished its tasks and was coming to meet him, Feng Qi immediately stopped swimming.
As he waited, the mist approached rapidly.
When it reached above him, a face emerged from the gray fog, and a familiar voice spoke.
"Why are you swimming so slow?"
"You guys had a boat. I'm swimming. How can you even compare that?" Feng Qi rolled his eyes at the comment.
"Can't you fly?" the Mist Lord asked, its voice tinged with curiosity.
"My flight relies entirely on mental energy. Flying for a few hours isn't an issue, but exhausting my mental energy would probably cause me to faint and sink to the bottom of the sea. So, for safety, I decided to swim," Feng Qi explained.
Hearing this, the face in the mist showed an expression of realization.
A tendril of gray mist extended from the fog, wrapping around Feng Qi and lifting him out of the water. The Mist Lord carried him past the War Dock and flew straight toward the Old Day Supply Zone.
In the following days, Feng Qi joined the Death Star Third Combat Squad as a new recruit.
With the Mist Lord's help, he quickly rose through the ranks.
To ensure his promotion, the Mist Lord even went so far as to assassinate the original deputy leader of the Death Star Third Combat Squad, creating an opening for Feng Qi to advance.
Within just six months, Feng Qi was promoted to the position of deputy leader, responsible for managing the squad's operations.
Initially, there was dissent among the squad members regarding Feng Qi's rapid rise.
However, once he demonstrated the organizational skills he had honed during his time with the Dawn Combat Squad, those voices of discontent quickly faded.
This shift in opinion was particularly pronounced after a new round of recruitment.
The Death Star Third Combat Squad brought in a batch of combat class graduates from Star City Academy. These graduates were well aware of Feng Qi's legendary status. His past exploits, widely circulated among the newcomers, soon silenced any lingering doubts within the squad.
The recognition of his abilities stabilized the squad's internal dynamics.
During this period of growth, the Mist Lord amassed significant resources.
After every mission, the resources obtained were distributed among the squad members, with a portion secretly set aside by the Mist Lord.
According to the Mist Lord, spiritual plants and minerals were considered hard currency for negotiating with other races.
Additionally, the Mist Lord could extract spiritual energy from these resources, converting it into vital energy within its body. This made such resources highly valuable—not just within human society but universally.
Meanwhile, the Mist Lord had also established contact with the shadow forces behind the Institute of Technological Research. It even collaborated with them on a resource plundering mission.
In return, it acquired a wealth of intelligence from the Institute of Technological Research.
This intelligence included information on several domain factions that had infiltrated human society.
Among them was the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance, a group Feng Qi had previously encountered.
This alliance of domain transcenders functioned similarly to mercenaries, willing to perform any task as long as they were paid.
For the Mist Lord, eager to expand its influence, this was a golden opportunity.
Through the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance, it could recruit domain creatures to serve its purposes.
After six months of research, the Mist Lord finally broke the death mark implanted in its body. It then created a counterfeit mark similar to the one Wei Wei had designed, successfully deceiving the shadow forces behind the Institute of Technological Research.
With this threat neutralized, it shifted its focus entirely to expanding its power.
Their next target was to return to the Black Abyss Domain Field and claim the miracle item hidden within it.
However, this required sufficient strength.
During this time, a major event occurred: the Yellow Sand Domain Field, which they had previously explored, was eradicated.
The final battle was led by the Prajna Combat Squad stationed at the northern supply zone of Old Day City.
The number of combat squads participating in this battle exceeded 200.
Feng Qi and the Mist Lord's Death Star Third Combat Squad were also involved.
After 18 days of fierce fighting, all the intelligent tribal groups within the Yellow Sand Domain Field were annihilated. However, the spatial crystal within the domain remained intact.
The reason was simple.
If the spatial crystal were destroyed, the endless yellow sand within the Yellow Sand Domain Field would spill into the Eastern Sea. While the sand sinking to the seabed wouldn't cause much trouble, the vast amounts of unmined spiritual resources within the domain would also sink with it, making extraction significantly more difficult.
To maximize benefits, the combat squads launched extensive resource excavation operations within the Yellow Sand Domain Field.
During this time, the number of ships and warships traveling between the domain and the War Dock increased dramatically. One ship after another transported resources to the Old Day Supply Zone's airport, which then distributed them to Old Day City or other urban centers.
This achievement was prominently displayed on advertising screens across major cities, causing a considerable stir.
Every major event involving the dispersal of a domain field would ignite celebrations among the people in these cities.
However, Feng Qi felt indifferent to these apparent victories.
Through countless sacrificial timelines, he had come to understand the critical importance of "victories built on lies" for humanity as a whole.
Organizations like the Crimson Research Institute and other human-aligned forces working in secret chose to withhold the harsh truth because it was too cruel to bear.
Lies, on the other hand, brought hope to humanity.
They could inspire the younger generation of humans striving for a better future. For them, hope didn't seem so distant.
Revealing the unfiltered truth would only lead to despair. While a few might rise against it with determination, the vast majority would fall into despair and apathy, believing that their efforts were meaningless in a future without any light.
During his time with the Death Star Combat Squad, Feng Qi gained a deeper understanding of humanity's overarching framework.
What shocked him the most was the Mist Lord's astonishing growth rate.
The Mist Lord often boasted that it was an unprecedented genius within its tribe's history.
It was precisely this exceptional talent that had allowed it to rise rapidly and earn the tribe's recognition as their leader.
This claim was something Feng Qi initially doubted.
At first, he believed that Blood Sacrifice was the creation of Wang Jinsheng, with the Mist Lord merely playing a guiding role.
However, the truth revealed otherwise. Even when Wang Jinsheng was replaced by Lin Ran, the Blood Sacrifice still came into existence.
This proved that the groundbreaking cultivation technique, which influenced history and was highly sought after even by domain factions disdainful of human cultivation methods, was indeed developed by the Mist Lord.
This realization highlighted just how formidable the Mist Lord's talent was.
After a year of interaction, Feng Qi was further impressed by the Mist Lord's incredible growth.
According to the Mist Lord, with sufficient resources and vital energy to support its cultivation, it could achieve the power needed to challenge the Black Abyss Domain Field's rulers within two years.
However, even the Mist Lord had its troubles.
One morning, in the Death Star Combat Squad's manor, Feng Qi finished breakfast and headed to the Mist Lord's office.
Pushing open the door, he found the Mist Lord staring intently at a tablet, with a black mask it usually wore outdoors lying on the desk.
"Hey, Old Mist, have you checked out the revenue we've made from the Yellow Sand Domain Field?" Feng Qi said with a grin as he sat down at the desk, pouring himself a cup of tea.
The Mist Lord, however, didn't respond. Its brows furrowed as it focused on the news displayed on the tablet, looking visibly troubled.
"What's wrong?" Feng Qi asked curiously.
"See for yourself," the Mist Lord said, handing the tablet to Feng Qi.
Feng Qi took the tablet and glanced at the screen. It displayed a news headline:
[The Dawn Combat Squad Initiates a Joint Operation, Successfully Disperses the Shield Mountain Domain Field—Mu Qing Awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Humanity Gold Medal!]
Upon reading this, Feng Qi couldn't help but chuckle.
Mu Qing had clearly become a source of unease for the Mist Lord.
The Mist Lord still vividly remembered the brutal beating it had nearly died from and would occasionally bring it up, vowing future revenge.
Yet, Mu Qing's meteoric rise over this period had made her the brightest star on the frontlines of every supply zone.
As Mu Qing's development seemed even more terrifying than its own, the Mist Lord's unease resurfaced.
Feng Qi knew exactly what was bothering it.
The Mist Lord was clearly worried about the day it might encounter Mu Qing during a domain field dispersal mission.
If she didn't recognize it, things might be fine. But if she did, another brutal beating—or worse—was inevitable.
"This won't do. I need to enter seclusion and enhance my strength. The squad's affairs are in your hands for now," the Mist Lord declared solemnly as it stood up.
"Aren't you afraid I'll dip into your share of the resources?" Feng Qi teased.
"Go ahead and use them. What's a little resource-sharing between us? You were willing to risk your life for me before, so why should I care about something like this?" the Mist Lord said nonchalantly, shrugging.
Grabbing the black mask from the desk, the Mist Lord placed it over its face and strode out of the office.