Tiger Soul Research Institute Headquarters.
Core Zone.
After hanging up the phone, Feng Qi set down his toothbrush.
The Mist Lord's encounter in Twilight City was completely unexpected.
But the Psionic Race's secret laboratory and the captured Blue-Skinned Assassins weren't enough to prove that the Blue-Skinned creatures were their creation.
If anything, Feng Qi suspected that the Blue-Skinned Assassins had been caught in the act of trying to steal the Sacred Spirit Consciousness Repository.
That would explain why they had ended up as test subjects.
It was even possible that the Psionic Race had long been troubled by these elusive assassins—
And the experiments were merely an attempt to counter their ambush tactics.
Despite experiencing multiple timelines, Feng Qi's understanding of the Blue-Skinned Assassins was still extremely limited.
He didn't even know where this mysterious faction originated from.
Pondering over the clues regarding the Blue-Skinned Assassins, he left the bathroom and sat down on the sofa in his bedroom.
Then, a sudden realization struck him.
He had overlooked a crucial detail.
Across multiple sacrifice timelines, nearly every one of them featured an assassination attempt by the Blue-Skinned Assassins—
Except for one.
That was the timeline where he infiltrated the Institute of Technological Research as an undercover agent.
In that particular timeline, he had survived far longer than his current iteration—
At least long enough to witness the destruction of Twilight City's Crimson Research Base.
Yet, in that timeline, he had never once encountered a single Blue-Skinned Assassin.
This was extremely unusual.
Previously, there had been sacrifice timelines where he also hadn't been attacked—
But in those cases, he had died early, before reaching the time frame where assassinations typically occurred.
That had been understandable.
But in the Institute infiltration timeline, there was no logical reason why the assassins had never targeted him.
He considered several possibilities, but each theory had significant flaws.
One thing, however, was certain—
The Blue-Skinned Assassins did not always appear at the same time in every timeline.
Their numbers also varied.
It was as if their existence was influenced by changes in the timeline itself.
But it wasn't entirely random.
Feng Qi had at least identified a general time period—
A window of roughly six months where they tended to appear.
The assassination patterns across timelines were largely consistent.
So, he could roughly predict when the Blue-Skinned Assassins would show up.
But the Institute infiltration timeline was highly irregular—
He had survived until the age of 37—
Twenty years into the sacrifice timeline, yet he had never been targeted.
This was a stark contrast to the other timelines.
The Blue-Skinned Assassins had never cared about location—
As long as there was an opportunity, they would materialize and strike.
This anomaly led him to suspect that his lack of encounters with the Blue-Skinned Assassins in that timeline was directly linked to the Shadow Force behind the Institute of Technological Research.
But the Shadow Force seemed to be focused on the Black Reaper Project—
It was unlikely that they were the ones who had created the Blue-Skinned Assassins.
As he thought further, he arrived at two potential explanations—
First:
Since he had spent most of that timeline within the Institute, it was possible that the Blue-Skinned Assassins had appeared—
But they were eliminated by the Institute's Shadow Force before they could get close.
If that were the case, it would explain why he had never personally encountered them.
Second:
The Blue-Skinned Assassins were indeed creations of the Psionic Race—
Designed specifically for the purpose of collecting Miracle Items.
This theory seemed highly plausible.
The monk had once described in detail the function of the Sacred Spirit Consciousness Repository—
It was a Miracle Item capable of recording the knowledge of all Psionic Race members, allowing each new generation to inherit the accumulated wisdom of their predecessors.
Like a vast neural network, where the core database served as the central hub.
Any Psionic Race member could access it and "download" the knowledge they needed—
This included a wealth of information on creation and engineering.
Their potential for technological innovation was terrifying.
So, it was entirely possible that the Blue-Skinned creatures were an artificial race designed for the purpose of gathering Miracle Items.
To further enhance their efficiency, the Psionic Race might have also developed the black orbs used for locating Miracle Items.
If this theory held true—
Then the Shadow Force, which had split from the Psionic Race, was likely aware of the existence of the Blue-Skinned Assassins.
They might even have developed countermeasures against them.
For example, Wei Wei had once discovered that the Blue-Skinned Assassins were constantly receiving mysterious external signals.
Perhaps the Shadow Force that split from the Psionic Race had discovered a way to block these signals.
This could also explain why, during his undercover mission at the Institute of Technological Research, he never encountered the Blue-Skinned Assassins.
Both theories suggested that the Blue-Skinned Assassins might be weapons created by the Psionic Race.
But the exact reason behind their existence remained unknown.
For some reason, he had a strong feeling that things weren't that simple.
He distinctly remembered an escort mission where the Blue-Skinned Assassins had engaged the Psionic Race in battle at a canyon pass—
They didn't act like they were under the Psionic Race's control.
But he also couldn't rule out the possibility that it was all an act, staged by the Psionic Race to mislead other factions.
Taking a deep breath, he shook off his distracting thoughts.
He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a Tiger Soul Research Institute uniform.
After dressing neatly, he stood in front of the mirror and examined his reflection carefully.
Today was the day when the first phase of testing for the Flesh Sacrifice cultivation technique would be publicly released.
In three hours, the press conference would begin.
Although the Mist Lord hadn't explicitly stated it, Feng Qi knew that he cared deeply about the promotion of this event.
Even during their phone conversation earlier, he had asked about it.
Since this sacrificial timeline was now aligned with the Mist Lord, he had to ensure that every task benefiting him was executed perfectly.
The stronger the Mist Lord became, the more intelligence Feng Qi could gather through his influence.
That was why he took this press conference very seriously.
After tidying up his appearance, he stepped out of his room.
Inside the Core Zone, researchers were still busy with their equipment, too preoccupied to pay him any attention.
However, the Nightshade Clan members under the control of the Mist Lord cast wary glances at him, their eyes betraying a hint of unease.
Leaving the Core Zone, he headed straight for the Tiger Soul Research Institute cafeteria.
Taking a tray, he began selecting his meal.
The breakfasts at the Tiger Soul Research Institute were remarkably luxurious, even more extravagant than those at Star City Academy.
But recently, the quality of the meals had noticeably declined.
When he had first arrived at Tiger Soul Research Institute Headquarters,
The cafeteria offered a vast selection of signature dishes from various major cities—
Along with numerous spiritual ingredients harvested from domain fields.
For example, Golden Glow Grass from the Twilight Domain Field—
A low-grade spiritual material that nourished the body, sold for at least ten thousand credits per stalk on the market.
Yet, at Tiger Soul Research Institute, it had been freely available in unlimited quantities.
This extravagant food supply was not considered wasteful,
As it was directly tied to the well-being of the researchers.
Most researchers spent their days deeply engrossed in experiments, leaving them little time to cultivate.
With their minds constantly under pressure, many frequently stayed up late, sometimes pulling all-nighters for days on end.
As a result, researchers across various project teams frequently suffered from health problems,
Which ultimately slowed down research progress.
To address this issue, Tiger Soul Research Institute's senior management allocated a portion of their monthly spiritual resource quota
To provide researchers with bodily nourishment.
Various low-grade spiritual materials were made freely available in the cafeteria—
And the results were impressive.
Many researchers, after pulling all-nighters, would restore their energy by consuming spiritual foods—
Allowing them to quickly recharge and return to their work.
But after the Mist Lord had taken full control of the Tiger Soul Research Institute, everything changed.
Unlike the Nightshade Clan, he had no intention of using Tiger Soul Research Institute's technological advancements to strengthen himself.
He considered providing spiritual materials to researchers a waste of resources.
So, he cut spiritual food supplies by 90%,
Limiting distribution to a weekly quota per researcher.
This was why the quality of meals at Tiger Soul's cafeteria had plummeted.
Food infused with spiritual energy, nourished by heaven and earth,
Was undeniably far superior to mass-produced modern food.
For the food lovers among Tiger Soul's researchers, this change was a devastating blow.
After spending half an hour finishing his meal,
Feng Qi grabbed the soy milk on his tray and downed it in one gulp.
Rising from his seat, he left the cafeteria and returned to his room.
Two hours later.
At the Tiger Soul Research Institute Headquarters Plaza—
Journalists from major cities had gathered on both sides of the seating area.
As Feng Qi appeared,
Flashes of camera lights filled the air, and the continuous sound of shutters clicking echoed throughout the venue.
Stepping up to the main seat, he gazed at the sea of reporters before him.
At this moment, there were only five minutes left before the results of the first-phase cultivation technique testing were announced.
The first segment of the press conference was dedicated to revealing the consolidated evaluation report.
Feng Qi turned to glance at the countdown timer displayed on the massive screen behind him.
As the clock ticked down, the once noisy crowd gradually fell silent when the timer reached the ten-second mark.
The countdown ended—
And the first evaluation report appeared on the screen.
[Galaxy Research Institute – Flesh Sacrifice Evaluation]
First-phase test results: Perfect.
Participating evaluation departments:
Cultivation Technique Research Division
Cultivation Technique Testing Division
Cultivation Simulation Division
Human Anatomy Research Division
Virtual Technology Testing Division
Advanced Spell Research Division II
…
Lead Evaluator: Li Zhou, Director of the Cultivation Techniques Department at Galaxy Research Institute.
Cultivation Technique Review: ….
As soon as the evaluation report from the Galaxy Research Institute displayed a "Perfect" rating, the entire press area erupted into an uproar. The sound of camera shutters clicking became nearly continuous, blending into a single, deafening wave of noise.
This result, however, did not surprise Feng Qi in the slightest.
If humanity had been able to identify any flaws in Flesh Sacrifice, then the Mist Lord wouldn't have been able to snap his fingers in the future and make history.
Looking at it from another perspective—
Old Wang had spent multiple timelines trying to decipher the secrets of Flesh Sacrifice, but his progress had always been slow, and a complete breakthrough remained a distant dream.
This only further proved that Flesh Sacrifice, as derived by the Mist Lord from the Bloodstone, was far beyond the capabilities of modern cultivation research techniques to unravel.
At that moment, the screen displayed a second evaluation report—
This one was from the Victory Research Institute.
The results were exactly as expected—another "Perfect" rating.
Furthermore, the Vice President of Victory Research Institute, who served as the lead evaluator, had written a 300-word review praising the technique.
As more evaluation reports poured in, the atmosphere in the press conference reached a fever pitch.
Meanwhile, in various live broadcast rooms, audiences were losing their minds.
Initially, many had doubted the sensational claims made in the media.
But now, all skepticism had been completely erased.
These reports were from the most authoritative cultivation research institutions, and every single one had given a "Perfect" rating.
In the streaming chat, the comment sections were overloaded with bullet comments, flooding the screen:
"Before I saw the evaluation results from the major research institutes, I was skeptical about Flesh Sacrifice. The internet hypes things up too much... Turns out it was my ignorance. Feng Qi is a genius!"
"No more words needed—Feng Qi is the real deal!"
"This is a historic moment! Never thought I'd live to witness this firsthand! (Watching a livestream still counts as witnessing, right? Hehe.)"
"The first test results are out—will it officially launch within a year? I can't wait! When it's available, I'm definitely trying it. In fact, I'm considering making Flesh Sacrifice my primary cultivation technique!"
In total, 38 institutions participated in the first-phase testing.
Among them, eight of the top-tier cultivation research institutes all gave it a "Perfect" evaluation.
Now, the press conference moved into its second phase—the Q&A session with journalists.
The first to stand up was an official representative journalist from Victory City.
She smiled at Feng Qi and asked:
"Professor Feng, may I ask where your inspiration for developing Flesh Sacrifice came from?"
Feng Qi nodded calmly and replied:
"Back when I was teaching at Star City Academy, I always dreamed of developing a supreme cultivation technique that could revolutionize modern cultivation studies. That was when the idea for Flesh Sacrifice first emerged."
The female journalist nodded in understanding before following up with another question:
"Did you leave the academy specifically to focus on developing Flesh Sacrifice?"
Feng Qi smiled and replied:
"Yes. While teaching at Star City Academy, I was constantly bogged down by trivial matters, which made it impossible for me to focus fully on research. So, I resigned from my position to dedicate myself entirely to developing Flesh Sacrifice."
The female journalist sat down, and then a journalist from Winterfell Academy stood up.
She introduced herself:
"Professor Feng, I am from Star City Academy, just like you. I was your junior during my time there. Throughout my years at the academy, I constantly heard legends about you. I wanted to ask—what is your opinion on being called 'The Rising Star of Tomorrow' by the public?"
Feng Qi chuckled and responded humbly:
"I don't dare accept such a title. My only goal is to focus on research..."
The press conference continued for another two hours.
Feng Qi answered every question with a polite smile, always giving well-prepared, strategic responses.
But this press conference wasn't just about boosting the influence of Flesh Sacrifice—
It served a more critical purpose.
It was a step in the greater plan—to shape Feng Qi's public image.
And from there, gradually guide the public's perception of him toward something greater—toward divinity.
The press conference for the first-phase test results was merely the first stage of the God-Making Plan.
The Mist Lord would continue manipulating public opinion in the following steps.
In each phase of the plan, the Mist Lord would ensure that Feng Qi inspired awe in the masses.
Only through successive waves of psychological impact could people's perception of him undergo a fundamental transformation.
At the final stage of the plan, the Mist Lord, under the name of Tiger Soul Research Institute,
Would officially announce the construction of a divine statue in Feng Qi's honor.
If everything proceeded smoothly, as long as a fraction of humanity started worshipping him,
He would gain an endless stream of faith-based power.
As the Mist Lord had once said:
"If you use the Miracle Bracelet correctly, its effects may even surpass those of the Bloodstone within your body."
He had even joked that if the plan succeeded, Feng Qi's potential in the future might exceed even his own.
Hearing that, Feng Qi wasn't so sure.
If this sacrificial timeline truly unfolded as planned—
Would he really get the chance to meet another version of himself?