Tiger Soul Sub-Base.
Rooftop.
Feng Qi sat on a rattan chair, sipping tea as he pondered.
Half a month had passed since he received the reply from the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
By now, most of the spiritual materials on the list had been gathered by the headquarters and delivered to the sub-base.
Among them were one hundred derivative bloodstones from a Miracle Bloodstone.
When he saw the hundred small bloodstones, he immediately suspected that they were likely connected to the Mist Lord.
For other members of the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance, derivative bloodstones were immensely valuable.
They could fundamentally enhance a race's growth potential.
The improvement might be minuscule for an individual.
But from the perspective of a race's future development, it undoubtedly raised the baseline, opening up a broader future.
A treasure capable of altering a race's destiny—many factions, even if they possessed it, might not be willing to part with it.
Only forces with fragments of the Miracle Bloodstone or the Mist Lord himself could afford to provide a hundred at once.
So he speculated that the Mist Lord had likely already established contact with the Domain faction controlling the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Yet, until today, he had received no response from the Mist Lord.
This made him uneasy.
He worried that something unexpected might have happened to the Mist Lord during the investigation.
There was nothing he could do but wait.
He believed that with the Mist Lord's abilities, he could handle any problem.
At least, from a historical perspective, the Mist Lord had successfully infiltrated the Tiger Soul Research Institute and taken complete control over it.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
He pulled it out and saw an unknown number calling.
Without hesitation, he answered.
"Qi-ge, I've successfully infiltrated Tiger Soul headquarters."
Hearing the unfamiliar voice call him "Qi-ge," Feng Qi was momentarily stunned before realizing that the Mist Lord had switched to a new body.
From what the Mist Lord was saying, it seemed he had used this new identity to blend into the faction secretly controlling Tiger Soul.
With that thought, Feng Qi immediately asked,
"Tell me everything you've found."
"Just as you suspected, the Tiger Soul Research Institute has long been infiltrated by a Domain faction."
"They call themselves the Night Shadow Clan. They've been embedded in Tiger Soul for more than a decade. In that time, they've erased the consciousness of Tiger Soul's senior members and taken control of them through mental parasitism, using the Institute's resources to strengthen their race."
"Their current goal is to create a super spell. That's also why they didn't want Lin Ran, a spellcraft prodigy, to venture into martial arts research…"
As he listened to the Mist Lord's explanation, Feng Qi gradually pieced together the truth.
According to the Mist Lord, a few days ago, he had used the "Domain Weak Tribe Alliance" as a platform to make contact with the Night Shadow Clan members controlling Tiger Soul.
Under the guise of a transaction, he successfully took over the body of a Night Shadow Clan member.
But the possession process was not smooth—it almost went wrong.
He was nearly discovered by the Night Shadow Clan members who had come to provide reinforcements. Fortunately, he barely managed to evade them and played dead to survive the initial encounter.
After that, he was taken back to Tiger Soul Research Institute's headquarters while "unconscious."
During his feigned coma, something amusing happened.
After bringing him back, the Night Shadow Clan members conducted a thorough examination of his body.
They were especially puzzled by how his hair and eyes had turned purple.
After extensive testing, an elder of the Night Shadow Clan concluded that his body had been contaminated by some mysterious force during the battle, which caused the color change.
The Mist Lord, who had been racking his brain for an excuse to explain the transformation, suddenly found that the problem had resolved itself.
This made him reflect deeply—pretending to be unconscious really did solve a lot of problems.
During the days he remained "comatose," he carefully sifted through the memories of his new body's original owner.
From these memories, he learned how the Night Shadow Clan infiltrated Tiger Soul Research Institute and what they had been doing since taking control.
By leveraging Tiger Soul's resources, the Night Shadow Clan had grown rapidly in recent years.
They had even managed to infiltrate and seize control of several Domain Combat Squads that answered to Tiger Soul.
Now that their foundation was secure, they had begun planning the next phase of their racial advancement.
One of their core projects was the "Super Spell Concept."
They wanted to develop a perfect super spell tailored for their Night Shadow Clan to enhance their combat effectiveness.
This plan had been initiated even before Lin Ran joined the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
However, before that, the primary research focus of the Institute had been on cultivation techniques, with spellcraft research receiving less than 20% of the allocated resources.
Moreover, there had been no absolute leading figure in the field of spellcraft research within Tiger Soul Research Institute.
As a result, the project to create a Super Spell had been shelved for a long time.
That was until Lin Ran appeared, and the Night Shadow Clan saw hope in realizing their ambition.
From then on, the institute's resources were gradually redirected toward spellcraft research, which was why the Night Shadow Clan continuously assigned spell research tasks to Lin Ran, limiting his freedom.
They wanted to harness Lin Ran's talent to design the spell they desired.
Over the call, the Mist Lord provided a detailed explanation regarding the Super Spell.
The Super Spell envisioned by the Night Shadow Clan was extremely complex—it functioned more like an integrated spell system.
This spell would allow the energy released by Night Shadow Clan members to merge into a single entity, ultimately manifesting as a Divine Avatar.
All clan members' consciousness would unite to control the Divine Avatar in battle.
The more Night Shadow Clan members involved in casting the spell, the larger the Divine Avatar, and the greater its combat power.
Over the years, through assigning research tasks to Lin Ran, the "Divine Avatar" project had been completed one-third of the way.
The Night Shadow Clan was confident that as long as Lin Ran continued his efforts, their Super Spell would eventually become reality.
Essentially, the Night Shadow Clan had been exploiting Tiger Soul Research Institute's resources to fuel their growth.
Resources, talent... everything at their disposal had been converted into nourishment for the Night Shadow Clan's expansion.
However, after uncovering their secrets, the Mist Lord felt even more confident about taking over Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Because, in truth, the Night Shadow Clan's strength was far weaker than he had initially imagined.
Their successful infiltration of the Institute had only been possible due to their unique mind-control abilities and a stroke of luck—accidentally capturing a high-ranking Tiger Soul personnel from the outside world.
This had opened the path for them to infiltrate Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Otherwise, in the Mist Lord's view, the Night Shadow Clan wouldn't even be capable of setting foot inside the headquarters, let alone taking control.
But that was the Night Shadow Clan of the past.
The Night Shadow Clan of today was a completely different story.
With over a decade of resource influx from the frontlines, combined with the Night Shadow Clan's naturally superior resource conversion efficiency, their power had grown at an unprecedented rate.
By digging into the memories of his body's previous owner, the Mist Lord discovered a critical flaw within the Night Shadow Clan.
Despite over a decade of control over Tiger Soul Research Institute, their internal conflicts had intensified, leading to severe divisions.
The primary reason for these divisions was resource distribution.
The Night Shadow Clan's power structure bore some similarities to Star City's high command.
In Star City, the highest authority was held by the Star City Council, whose members consisted of the leaders of the Military Department, major research institutes, and other governing bodies.
Decisions regarding Star City's future and resource allocation were made through council meetings.
The Night Shadow Clan operated in a similar manner.
Their clan was divided into three factions, each controlled by an Elder.
The Clan Chief position rotated among these factions.
Every twenty years, the faction in charge would select a new Clan Chief to take over leadership.
And this was where the problem began.
After infiltrating Tiger Soul Research Institute, the Night Shadow Clan had entered a golden age of development.
With vast resources flowing in from the frontlines, the past twenty years of growth far exceeded any previous twenty-year cycle in the clan's history.
As a small and insignificant race in the Domain World, the Night Shadow Clan had once been categorized as a Domain Weak Tribe.
In their original world, they had been a bottom-tier species, suffering from extreme resource scarcity.
To the Night Shadow Clan, Tiger Soul Research Institute was nothing short of an endless treasure trove.
But the issue lay in unequal resource distribution.
This conflict had been brewing within the Night Shadow Clan for years.
Whenever a faction gained control of the Clan Chief position, they would prioritize their own faction's interests, securing as many benefits as possible.
In the past, when resources were scarce, this issue had been less noticeable.
After all, resources were limited, and the differences in allocation weren't significant enough to cause serious disputes.
Even if one faction lost out, they could simply wait for their turn in the next cycle.
But this time, things were different.
The past twenty years had completely transformed the Night Shadow Clan.
Faced with the massive influx of resources from Tiger Soul Research Institute, all three factions were overwhelmed with greed.
Gaining control over the Clan Chief position now meant obtaining an unimaginable amount of wealth and power.
And the consequences were clear.
After deducting research expenditures, the current ruling faction had seized over 80% of Tiger Soul Research Institute's resources, leaving the remaining two factions to divide the remaining 20%.
This created deep resentment and caused serious fractures within the Night Shadow Clan.
The Mist Lord had his own perspective on the situation.
To him, the Night Shadow Clan's growth was still shackled by the "mentality of the weak."
The internal discord within the Night Shadow Clan stemmed from the lack of a long-term collective goal.
In contrast, the Supreme Council of Star City was different.
Its members shared a common goal—to eradicate domain fields and accelerate human civilization's progress.
Every council meeting revolved around these key objectives.
Discussions on resource distribution and Star City's future plans were also conducted from this strategic perspective.
Although disagreements sometimes arose, the big picture always remained aligned.
But the Night Shadow Clan was different.
Before arriving in the human world, they had always been at the bottom of the Domain World hierarchy.
For them, mere survival was the ultimate priority, and there was no external force compelling them to unite against a greater enemy.
Without a higher-level opponent, they saw the other factions within their own clan as their true rivals.
This mindset shaped their way of thinking, making them inherently selfish.
The three factions within the Night Shadow Clan were more like three rival political groups within a single nation.
While they relied on each other for survival, deep down, they all sought to gain more power.
Their internal conflicts and unequal treatment of their own people were, in the Mist Lord's view, the embodiment of a weak tribe's mindset.
After hearing the Mist Lord's analysis, Feng Qi couldn't help but ask:
"Then what exactly is a 'strong tribe's mindset'?"
In response, the Mist Lord gave an answer filled with certainty:
"Modern humans have a strong tribe's mindset."
Strength and mentality are two different things.
Setting aside actual power, before the arrival of spiritual energy, humans were undeniably at the top of the Earth's food chain.
They dictated the rules of the world.
They decided which species were livestock, which were protected, and how the ecosystem was managed—everything was determined by human hands.
So, when their homeland was invaded, their first instinct was to fight back and reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
At that moment, all internal conflicts transformed into unwavering unity.
In the face of a life-or-death crisis, their immediate reaction was to resist.
That was the true embodiment of a strong tribe's mindset.
If the Night Shadow Clan were put in the same situation, they would have submitted without hesitation, willingly becoming slaves to a new ruler and returning to their previous status as a bottom-tier species.
Feng Qi found himself deeply moved by the Mist Lord's insight.
At the end of the call, the Mist Lord shared his next steps.
The "Fishing Plan" had undoubtedly been a complete success.
This plan was divided into four key phases:
Using the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance platform to determine whether Tiger Soul Research Institute was controlled by a domain faction.
Once confirmed, establishing contact with the domain faction behind Tiger Soul through mission transactions.
Creating an opportunity for possession by leveraging the mission requirements.
Infiltrating the domain faction controlling Tiger Soul Research Institute to gather critical intelligence.
…
Now that all four phases had been successfully executed, the next step was to figure out how to dismantle the Night Shadow Clan's influence and take over Tiger Soul Research Institute.
On this matter, Feng Qi couldn't provide direct assistance or strategic insights.
The Mist Lord stated that his preliminary plan was to foment internal divisions within the Night Shadow Clan and even recruit certain members to his side.
Of course, he would use his current identity within the Night Shadow Clan to achieve this.
He intended to act as a rebellious force, agitating and deepening internal conflicts.
There was also another important reason why he chose this approach.
The Mist Lord explained that when he completed the possession and fell from the sky, he had intentionally closed his eyes and feigned unconsciousness to avoid suspicion.
However, the members of the ruling faction within the Night Shadow Clan—who had come to "rescue" him—did nothing.
They simply watched him plummet.
Even when his body hit the ground, they did not intervene.
In the end, it was the faction he now belonged to that rushed to retrieve him and provided emergency treatment.
This clearly indicated that the internal conflicts within the Night Shadow Clan were already severe.
Rather than using brute force to take control, the Mist Lord preferred to outmaneuver his enemies with intellect.
"Victory through wisdom brings the greatest satisfaction," he remarked confidently.
After hanging up the phone, Feng Qi couldn't help but admire the Mist Lord's capabilities.
However, there was one thing he didn't agree with.
Between using wisdom to defeat an enemy and crushing them with overwhelming force, he felt that using raw power to grind them into the ground was far more satisfying.
Shoving his phone back into his pocket, a grin appeared on his face.
With this conversation concluded, his concerns about the Mist Lord's safety vanished.
History may have been altered by his intervention, but the Mist Lord infiltrating Tiger Soul Research Institute was inevitable.
Feng Qi had no doubt that he would succeed.
And with that, a feeling of anticipation stirred within him.
Once the Mist Lord fully controlled Tiger Soul Research Institute, his growth would accelerate immensely.
At that point, Feng Qi could leverage his position to obtain valuable intelligence.
He could even use the Mist Lord's power to eliminate several domain factions—forcing the truth out of them through sheer violence.
For instance, the Institute of Technological Research.
In the previous timeline, Feng Qi had infiltrated its core research circle, but the information he obtained was extremely limited.
There were still many secrets hidden within its walls.
For example, the mystery surrounding Little Black, as well as the enigmatic genius known as 'Mo'.
With the Mist Lord's influence, Feng Qi could finally dig deeper into these mysteries.