Three months later.
Inside Feng Qi's private office at Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Sitting at his desk, Feng Qi was scrolling through the latest news on his tablet.
Opening the news app, countless articles related to him filled the screen.
[The Rising Star Shines Once More—After Years of Silence, Feng Qi Successfully Develops a Super Technique Capable of Changing Human History: Flesh Sacrifice]
[Currently in Testing—Flesh Sacrifice Receives Unanimous Praise from Major Cultivation Research Institutes, Feng Qi Proves His Worth Upon Return]
[Lin Ran Reviews Flesh Sacrifice—Calling It a New Milestone in Human Cultivation Science]
[After Years of Dedicating Himself to Research, Feng Qi Finally Returns as a King—With Flesh Sacrifice, He Proves He Is Still the Brightest Star in the Field of Cultivation Studies]
…
As he read through the reports, Feng Qi remained expressionless.
Just a few days ago, the test version of Flesh Sacrifice had been officially submitted to major cultivation research institutes for initial evaluation.
Naturally, none of these institutes could detect any underlying issues with Flesh Sacrifice.
The only conclusion they reached was that this was a groundbreaking, revolutionary technique.
Some even declared that with Flesh Sacrifice, human cultivation science was on the verge of entering a new golden era.
At the same time, behind the scenes, the Mist Lord had orchestrated a massive media campaign through Tiger Soul Research Institute. He had reached out to numerous cultivation research journals and mainstream media outlets, launching an overwhelming wave of public opinion manipulation.
He even used Lin Ran's name to continually broadcast glowing praise for Flesh Sacrifice, amplifying its prestige.
Under the deliberate push of the Mist Lord, even though the final version of Flesh Sacrifice had yet to be released, it was already causing an uproar in the outside world.
Many cultivators were eagerly anticipating its official launch.
And, as the publicly acknowledged creator of Flesh Sacrifice, Feng Qi had become the hottest topic of discussion.
Praise flooded in from all directions.
Public perception of him had undergone a drastic shift.
People no longer believed that his long period of silence was due to stagnation. Instead, they saw it as him dedicating himself to the creation of Flesh Sacrifice, a technique that would change the world.
With public opinion steering the conversation, many voices had begun to defend him.
As he continued scrolling through the comments, he saw a variety of reactions.
"I always knew Feng Qi's talent was boundless. How could someone like him just fade away? Turns out he was merely preparing to unveil something truly earth-shattering. To live in the same era as him is my greatest honor."
"Back when I first entered Star City Academy, I often heard upperclassmen talk about Feng Qi. Now I finally understand why they admired him so much. I can't believe he single-handedly advanced modern cultivation science."
"I feel ashamed. I used to join discussions questioning whether Feng Qi had lost his touch. Now I realize how shortsighted I was. He truly deserves the title of 'Humanity's Brightest Star of the Future.'"
This was the true power of public opinion.
Whoever controlled it could easily spread and promote whatever narrative they desired—convincing the masses to accept it as undeniable truth.
This was also why the once-low-profile Crimson Research Institute had struggled against the Institute of Technological Researchs' propaganda campaigns.
But this time, the Mist Lord was manipulating public opinion for a different purpose—crafting a legend around Feng Qi.
Laying the groundwork for the eventual construction of a "divine statue."
This process bore a striking resemblance to what had happened in the previous timeline when the Mist Lord had taken over Lin Ran and built his reputation.
The only difference was that this time, it was being executed even more thoroughly.
Under the influence of the Miracle Bracelet, the Mist Lord was no longer satisfied with merely creating a historical luminary or a war hero.
Now, he wanted to create a living god.
By continuously accumulating faith and belief, he planned to harvest that spiritual energy to fuel his own power.
And now, the first step of the plan was in motion.
Once Flesh Sacrifice successfully passed the joint review of the cultivation research institutes, it would be officially introduced to the public.
By then, public praise for Flesh Sacrifice would further bolster the foundation of the "godhood persona."
Feng Qi had no doubts about the feasibility of the Mist Lord's plan.
In fact, public perception was already beginning to shift toward deification.
Setting the tablet aside, he looked toward the Mist Lord, who was hovering above the sofa with his eyes closed.
Thick mist shrouded his body as his form levitated slightly in midair.
On the coffee table before him, eight high-purity S-tier spiritual stones were arranged in a row, radiating dense spiritual energy into his body.
These spiritual stones were extremely rare, typically found only in highly catastrophic domain fields, and their value was astronomical.
Moreover, such high-purity spiritual stones were exclusively distributed to top research institutes and military sectors. Private companies had no way of obtaining them.
But ever since the Mist Lord had taken control of Tiger Soul Research Institute, these resources had become his personal fuel for strength enhancement.
Compared to the past, when he had controlled the Third Death Star Battle Regiment in Old Day East Supply Zone…
The benefits brought by Tiger Soul Research Institute were exponentially greater.
The institute's monthly resource allocation alone far exceeded what the Third Death Star Battle Regiment had received in its entire history.
Over the past few months, the Mist Lord had been systematically restructuring the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
His method of control was vastly different from that of the Night Shadow Clan.
When the Night Shadow Clan had infiltrated the Tiger Soul Research Institute, they still allocated a significant portion of their acquired resources back into its subsidiary research projects.
In particular, they had heavily invested in spellcraft studies.
This was a deliberate strategic decision—one that the Mist Lord actually agreed with.
After all, the Night Shadow Clan lacked true scientific and research talent.
Even though they could leverage Tiger Soul's resources to rapidly enhance their species' power, they would inevitably hit a growth ceiling.
Especially in terms of spellcraft.
The Night Shadow Clan possessed only a handful of mental enslavement techniques and had virtually no offensive capabilities.
If they did not address this glaring weakness, their long-term development would stagnate.
Thus, by controlling Tiger Soul Research Institute and using the most brilliant human researchers to build a foundation for their species, the Night Shadow Clan was making a smart investment.
In the short term, the results might not seem obvious.
But as more cultivation techniques tailored to their race were developed, their strength would grow exponentially.
The Mist Lord respected this kind of strategic planning.
As he once said, "The Night Shadow Clan is weak, so they must rely on these methods to advance their civilization."
However, he was different.
Unlike humans, the Mist Clan possessed countless techniques and cultivation methods that far surpassed human cultivation science. To him, investing Tiger Soul Research Institute's resources into various projects was a waste—using them for his own growth was a much better option.
This was what the Mist Lord considered the most efficient path to growth.
Over the past few months, he had already begun cutting funding for various research projects within the institute.
The resources siphoned off were funneled directly into his own hands.
Currently, the Mist Lord was taking 15% of the allocated resources every month for his own cultivation.
And his goal was to gradually increase that percentage to around 70%.
His decision not to take everything wasn't due to mercy.
Rather, he understood that if he wanted to leverage the influence and authority of Tiger Soul Research Institute to create an advantage for himself, the institute had to continue functioning.
Just like a parasite—if it wanted to keep draining nutrients from its host, it couldn't let the host die completely.
The same principle applied to Tiger Soul Research Institute under his control.
Even if research progress slowed down drastically in the future, there still had to be occasional breakthroughs—something to show the outside world that the institute was still operational.
If the institute went too long without producing any results, its influence would decline, and its monthly resource allocation would inevitably be reduced.
To the Mist Lord, that was an unacceptable loss.
Watching the series of structural changes the Mist Lord had implemented at Tiger Soul Research Institute, Feng Qi once again saw just how deeply he understood human society.
Just then, the Mist Lord, still levitating above the sofa, slowly opened his eyes.
The high-quality spiritual stones on the coffee table had turned completely transparent, their pure spiritual energy fully absorbed into his body.
Taking a deep breath, he shifted his gaze to Feng Qi, who was sitting at his desk.
"How does it feel to be praised by the masses?"
Hearing the amusement in his voice, Feng Qi responded indifferently,
"It's nothing special. You finished cultivating?"
"This round is over. Have Night Two bring me more resources this afternoon."
The "Night Two" he mentioned was one of the 23 remaining members of the Night Shadow Clan.
The Mist Lord had no interest in remembering their names.
Instead, he had assigned them new identities, using "Night" as a surname followed by a number from 1 to 23.
After settling into the chair in front of the desk, the Mist Lord continued,
"Now that our control over Tiger Soul Research Institute is stable, it's time to start working on infiltrating the Institute of Technological Research. I need to uncover the secrets of the 'Black Reaper Project' as soon as possible. It could significantly impact our future development."
Feng Qi nodded in agreement.
"So, what's your plan? It's impossible to train spies from within Tiger Soul Research Institute—the youngest researchers here are already graduates. We can't expect them to start over and learn technological research from scratch, right?"
"Of course not," the Mist Lord shook his head firmly. "If we plant spies from within Tiger Soul Research Institute, it'll be too easy to trace them back to us. And right now, we're definitely no match for the forces backing the Institute of Technological Research. That kind of move would be far too reckless."
"Then where do you plan to find candidates for infiltration?"
"Finding and training them would be too troublesome. Instead, I plan to use the Night Shadow Clan's abilities to control a few promising talents and have them infiltrate the Institute of Technological Research for us. This method has another advantage—even if they get exposed, as long as we sever the psychic connection, no matter how deep the investigation goes, they won't be able to trace it back to us."
Hearing this, Feng Qi suddenly had a realization.
It now made sense why, in a previous timeline, even when the Institute of Technological Research's shadowy forces discovered spies sent by Tiger Soul Research Institute, they were never able to extract any useful intelligence from them.
Clearly, this was due to psychic control.
Looking at it now, it was a wise decision for the Mist Lord not to completely wipe out the Night Shadow Clan.
They might have been weak in direct combat, but their bloodline abilities in psychic control could yield unexpected benefits at critical moments.
He was also looking forward to the infiltration of the Institute of Technological Research.
Once the spies successfully infiltrated, they might be able to uncover the key information that his sacrifices in previous timelines had failed to obtain.
After discussing this plan in detail, the Mist Lord suddenly spoke again.
"Besides infiltrating the Institute of Technological Research, I've also been considering a new plan. If it succeeds, it will significantly accelerate our growth."
Hearing this, Feng Qi raised an eyebrow.
"What plan?"
"A plan targeting the Crimson Research Institute."
Feng Qi's expression immediately turned serious.
"Why target the Crimson Research Institute? We don't have any direct conflicts with them. Besides, even with Tiger Soul Research Institute's authority, we can't access any meaningful information about them. Their true strength is completely unknown."
"We haven't fully secured our position within Tiger Soul Research Institute yet. If we move against the Crimson Research Institute too soon, we could be bringing disaster upon ourselves."
The Mist Lord chuckled and nodded.
"You're right on most points. I agree that attacking the Crimson Research Institute recklessly would be too risky… but there's one thing you got wrong. We actually do have a fundamental conflict of interest with them."
Feng Qi frowned.
"How so?"
"The spiritual resources gathered from the frontlines are transported to Star City Airport for sorting and redistribution. The smaller research institutes in Star City receive only a tiny fraction—most of the resources are allocated to the military, the Crimson Research Institute, and Tiger Soul Research Institute."
"If we want more resources, we have to take down the other two major forces."
"The military is untouchable. Its status is unique, and it has deep ties to the United Military Department. Besides, the resources it requires don't overlap much with ours."
"By comparison, the Crimson Research Institute is our biggest competitor in terms of interests."
"If we can bring down the Crimson Research Institute, the amount of resources we receive in every allocation will increase significantly."
Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately understood the Mist Lord's intentions.
However, the Crimson Research Institute was a crucial factor in this timeline. There was no way he could allow the Mist Lord to make a move against it.
Moreover, in the previous timelines, there was no record of Tiger Soul Research Institute taking action against the Crimson Research Institute.
With this in mind, he immediately spoke up,
"I get your reasoning, but targeting the Crimson Research Institute is far too risky."
The Mist Lord smiled and nodded.
"That's exactly what I wanted to explain to you. I never intended to confront the Crimson Research Institute directly. Instead, we can use external forces to weaken them."
"Explain in detail."
"It's simple. We create the conditions for the Institute of Technological Research to take action against the Crimson Research Institute. I believe that as long as the Institute of Technological Research and the shadowy force behind it make a move, they will be able to crush the Crimson Research Institute."
Hearing this, Feng Qi's heart trembled.
In a previous timeline, the Crimson Research Institute had retreated into a hidden base ahead of time due to pressure from the Institute of Technological Research.
Now, hearing the Mist Lord's plan, he couldn't help but wonder if this event had been orchestrated by him all along.
He immediately asked,
"Do you have a detailed plan for this?"
"I have a plan, but it still needs some refinement."
"Step one is to create friction between the Institute of Technological Research and the Crimson Research Institute."
"For this, I've chosen the Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad as my target. I recently accessed the frontline mission lists and found that in forty days, the Devouring Wolf Squad will be sent to Old Day City to assist in a reconstruction project. I plan to ambush them at that time."
"Of course, I won't wipe them out completely. I'll only eliminate their leadership while letting most of their soldiers escape. That way, they can return and report back to the shadowy force behind the Institute of Technological Research."
Devouring Wolf Domain Combat Squad?
Feng Qi suddenly recalled a major event from when he had infiltrated the Institute of Technological Research.
Back then, the entire leadership of the Devouring Wolf Squad had been mysteriously wiped out, leaving the unit leaderless.
That was the moment he had chosen to undergo biochemical modification, eventually becoming the new commander of the Devouring Wolf Squad—earning himself a place in the Institute of Technological Research's core second-tier leadership.
Now, it was clear that the sudden deaths of the squad's leadership had been the work of the Mist Lord all along.
But what puzzled him was this—after killing the Devouring Wolf Squad's leaders, what exactly had the Mist Lord done to make the Institute of Technological Research turn against the Crimson Research Institute?
He turned to the Mist Lord and asked,
"Then what? After killing the Devouring Wolf Squad's leadership, how do you shift the blame onto the Crimson Research Institute?"
The Mist Lord's lips curled into a smile.
"The Devouring Wolf Squad's mission involves assisting the satellite city of Twilight City, which happens to house a branch of the Crimson Research Institute."
"I still don't get it."
"Don't forget, I once possessed Wang Yi's body. He was a first-tier core member of the Institute of Technological Research. I know how the institute transmits internal intelligence."
"During the mission, the Devouring Wolf Squad will have contact with the Crimson Research Institute's Twilight City branch. I'll use that window to strike."
"After eliminating the squad's leadership, I'll use my knowledge of their internal communications to send a fabricated report to the shadowy force behind the Institute of Technological Research."
"The exact content of the report doesn't matter. What's important is making them suspect that the Crimson Research Institute's Twilight City branch is running research projects targeting them."
"Better yet, I'll make them believe that the Crimson Research Institute has discovered their infiltration of human society."
"If this plan works, it will plant a seed of doubt in the shadowy force's mind. And as long as they still want to continue with the Black Reaper Project, they will have to find a way to suppress the Crimson Research Institute, treating them as a serious threat."
"After all, the shadowy force behind the Institute of Technological Research is also using humanity's strength to grow. The last thing they want is to be fully exposed to the world. As long as the Crimson Research Institute remains standing, they can never feel secure."
"To escalate the conflict further, I'll carry out a series of additional maneuvers."
"The core of this plan is to use the Institute of Technological Research's strength to take down the Crimson Research Institute for us, achieving our ultimate goal."
"Once the Crimson Research Institute falls, Tiger Soul Research Institute will undoubtedly become Star City's top institution. The resources originally allocated to the Crimson Research Institute will be redirected to us..."
Listening to the Mist Lord's analysis, Feng Qi felt a chill run down his spine.
A clear timeline pieced itself together in his mind.
Many of his previous doubts were finally answered.
The mysterious deaths of the Devouring Wolf Squad's leadership.
The sudden assault on the Crimson Research Institute's Twilight City branch by the Institute of Technological Research.
The subsequent propaganda war and sabotage efforts launched against the Crimson Research Institute.
All these past events, which had once baffled him, were now perfectly explained.
As he stared at the Mist Lord, still refining and perfecting his plan, only one thought remained in Feng Qi's mind.
This man is terrifying beyond words. He cannot be allowed to live.