Crimson Research Institute.
Data room.
On the ninth day after returning to the real world, Feng Qi was still busy in the data room, recording knowledge.
In Feng Qi's eyes, the construction of Dawn City was extremely important.
It was a necessary step for the human race to move toward becoming a powerful species.
A city matched to the cultivation system would serve as a solid foundation for development.
City defense systems, energy distribution infrastructure, functional buildings—these facilities would not only keep the city running but also let all branches of human technology develop more efficiently.
That's why he had to record as much as he could from the Dawn City data center, even the seemingly unimportant bits. Some of that knowledge might take the human race years—or even generations—to fully reconstruct without his help.
Every detail he recorded now would elevate the starting point of the next sacrifice line's city-building efforts just that much more.
And beyond that, there was still plenty left to record.
The talent abilities not written down in his notebook still needed to be fully cataloged in the database.
Before launching the faith-based growth system, he had to first build a full illustrated archive of talent abilities within the Crimson Research Institute's database. Each ability's effects, potential, and other key data had to be documented.
This would help believers select and borrow powers more effectively when the faith system was activated.
He had brought back more than 1,200 talent abilities from the future Dream Realm.
Each one needed to be turned into a complete entry in the archive. Feng Qi, who hadn't slept in days, had only gotten through half of them so far. It would take a while longer to finish the rest.
While he was busy, the entire Crimson Research Institute entered a phase of knowledge digestion.
The knowledge he provided would be sorted by the Institute's staff, and different departments would file relevant tech into development queues. Each project would be numbered and worked on sequentially.
These days, Feng Qi would usually rest for a few months after returning to the real world.
It helped ease the emotional strain brought on by negative emotions, and more importantly, it gave the Crimson Research Institute time to organize the flood of data and knowledge he brought back from the future.
Otherwise, from their perspective, it was as if he returned from the future with new information every other day. There wouldn't be time to breathe, much less process it all.
It took nearly a month before Feng Qi finished recording all the knowledge he brought back. It was a painstaking task.
It also made him look forward even more to the creation of the pseudo-Spirit Consciousness Vault.
In the next timeline, developing this pseudo-archive would become one of the Crimson Research Institute's main goals.
If they succeeded, the process of recording knowledge would become far more efficient.
According to Wei Wei, if the pseudo-Spirit Consciousness Vault could be created, memory extraction methods could be upgraded.
They'd no longer need to extract from the brain—they could pull memories directly from the spiritual sea of consciousness.
But the risks were also obvious.
The real Spirit Consciousness Vault was a miracle artifact, almost impossible to destroy. But his spiritual sea wasn't like that. If it were damaged, all the data stored in the pseudo-archive could be lost or corrupted.
Though the design drew from the real Spirit Consciousness Vault, there was still a massive gap between the two. These design flaws could only be improved over the course of many future timelines.
Once he finished his documentation work, Feng Qi decided it was time to go meet with Yin Ling.
Before that, he made a stop at the Tiger Soul Research Institute to explain his intentions to the current director.
After all, Yin Ling was the director of the Energy Research Institute.
On paper, Feng Qi was still a teacher at Star City Academy, and seeing Yin Ling wasn't something he could do on a whim. It required an appointment.
But with help from the director of Tiger Soul, he could bypass all those formalities.
A single call was all it took to schedule a meeting with Yin Ling.
Tiger Soul Research Institute was one of Star City's three top-level authorities, and the Energy Research Institute fell under its jurisdiction.
Anytime a new energy grid plan for the city was drafted, Tiger Soul was always involved in the discussions.
8:00 PM that evening.
Feng Qi took a Tiger Soul special car to the gates of the Energy Research Institute.
As he got out of the vehicle, his gaze passed through the gates and into the distance.
He could see several energy plants belching thick smoke into the sky, the plumes blending with the clouds overhead. The air carried a foul stench that was hard to ignore.
Compared to the Eastern District, the air quality here was drastically worse.
The Western District of Star City was the heavy industry zone. The Energy Research Institute, in particular, was the area with the most pollution and radiation.
Without protective gear, long-term exposure to the air here would definitely cause serious harm to the body.
In a way, the prosperity of Star City came at the expense of its Western District.
Nowadays, many residents from the West had relocated to other districts. The ones who remained were mostly Energy Research Institute personnel, people from the Star Energy Research Institute, and staff from other chemical and materials science divisions.
Pollution and radiation weren't problems that could be solved easily.
Even in the future, they were never fully resolved.
Star City's various research institutes consumed massive amounts of energy, but the city's geographical layout made wind, solar, and hydro power difficult to implement at scale.
The only energy source in Star City that was both highly efficient and clean was the spirit stone power station.
But those required vast quantities of spirit stones and couldn't be widely deployed either.
In the future, as humanity grew stronger and their ability to acquire resources increased, spirit stone power stations eventually replaced most other types.
Still, Feng Qi felt they were too backward compared to the energy systems used by other races.
The principle of a spirit stone power station was to crush spirit stones, extract their spiritual energy, and then convert it into electricity to power Star City.
But that process involved converting high-quality energy into low-quality energy—and losing some in the conversion.
This kind of energy usage was extremely wasteful and very inefficient.
Feng Qi's vision for a cultivation-based city didn't mean electricity would be entirely eliminated, but spiritual energy would become the primary power source for city operations. Only spiritual energy could power the cultivation-based architecture.
But there was still a long road ahead before such a city could become reality.
As he breathed in the foul air, Feng Qi's mind was full of thoughts.
He didn't dwell too much on the energy problem for now. His purpose in coming to the Energy Research Institute was Yin Ling. The issue of energy could be addressed in later timelines.
He stepped up to the front gate of the energy base.
A guard on duty stepped forward, his eyes scanning the Tiger Soul vehicle before respectfully asking Feng Qi,
"Who are you here to see?"
"I have an appointment with Director Yin Ling. I have important matters to discuss."
"One moment."
The fully armed guard raised a scanning device and swept it lightly across Feng Qi's face. Instantly, relevant information appeared on the screen.
Once the identity check was complete, the guard nodded respectfully.
"Your identity has been verified. Please proceed."
Feng Qi got back into the Tiger Soul car. As the barrier lifted, the vehicle slowly drove into the energy base.
Along the way, workers could be seen all wearing protective suits, their bodies tightly sealed.
After traveling for a while, the vehicle came to a stop in front of the energy building.
Getting out, Feng Qi followed the staff guide up to the office door of Yin Ling.
He knocked, and a pleasant voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Upon hearing it, Feng Qi pushed open the door.
What greeted him was a simple office. The furnishings were minimal, mostly in warm tones. A young woman in the Energy Research Institute's uniform sat at the desk, turning to look at him.
By human standards, Yin Ling's appearance was stunning—long black hair cascading smoothly over her shoulders, eyes subtly enchanting, with a charm that could steal one's soul.
A charming smile appeared on her face as she gestured to the seat in front of her.
"You must be Feng Qi. Have a seat. Director Qi mentioned you had thoughts about energy grid planning."
Feng Qi nodded and stepped forward to sit in the chair. He locked eyes with Yin Ling and smiled faintly.
The reason he chose to engage the Silver Moon Clan in the real timeline was because they were already under control.
Even if they rebelled in the future, they wouldn't escape the fate of being bound to reality.
Whether it was their predecessor, the Silver Serpent Empire, or the path the Silver Moon Clan would take in the future—he knew it all.
He had already planned how to negotiate with Yin Ling.
Friendship and trust with the Silver Moon Clan could be built gradually over time.
But this negotiation had to be led by him. He had to make Yin Ling understand that everything was within his control. She had to recognize his strength, and the potential of the human race.
Only once she understood these things would the cooperation move in the direction he envisioned.
Between races, trust was the most useless thing.
Only interests were the foundation of inter-race relationships. Trust was just a lubricant for alliances.
When she saw the smile on Feng Qi's face, Yin Ling's brows furrowed slightly.
She could clearly feel a shift in the aura around Feng Qi—growing more and more oppressive.
Just then, Feng Qi's eyes swept toward the window, locking on the swaying curtain.
"Come out."
"What do you mean?"
Yin Ling immediately asked, her eyes filled with confusion. But Feng Qi caught the flash of panic that crossed her gaze.
He didn't answer her. Still staring at the window, he spoke again.
"Yin Xiao, stop hiding. Come out."
When Feng Qi said Yin Xiao's name, the confusion in Yin Ling's eyes turned into sharp killing intent. Her black hair danced without wind as she slowly stood up.
At that moment, a ripple distorted the air beside the window, and a figure holding a jade flute emerged—Yin Xiao.
Yin Xiao's handsome face was cold, his eyes filled with killing intent as he looked at Feng Qi.
"State your purpose."
Yin Ling's smile vanished completely. Her voice now cold as ice.
She didn't know where things had gone wrong. How had their identities been exposed? But the Silver Moon Clan's plan allowed no errors.
No matter what, she had to see it through.
Any obstacle had to be destroyed. Feng Qi had just touched her bottom line.
"Sit. Let's talk. Don't try to fight me… even if you do, you're not my match."
As his words fell, Feng Qi's aura shifted.
A terrifying pressure burst forth like a storm, causing both Yin Ling and Yin Xiao's expressions to change dramatically.
In that instant, it was as if a monstrous beast stood before them, its boiling blood as scorching as the sun and as overwhelming as tidal waves crashing against their senses.
They immediately realized—even together, they wouldn't be able to defeat this human-shaped beast.
Such overwhelming physical strength was completely beyond anything they could counter.
Taking a deep breath, Yin Ling slowly sat down. Then she looked coldly at Feng Qi and asked,
"Fine. Say it. Why are you here? And how do you know about me and my brother?"
"How I found out is a long story, not worth going into now. What I want you to understand is—I came here to cooperate with the Silver Moon Clan. I'm not here to cause trouble. If I really wanted to kill you, it would've been easy. I wouldn't need to come talk to you face to face."
As he spoke, the oppressive aura around Feng Qi gradually faded, letting Yin Ling and Yin Xiao finally catch their breath.
"How much do you know about us?" Yin Ling suddenly asked.
"I know a lot. I know you've already embedded yourselves deeply within human society. The entire energy infrastructure of Star City's Western District is completely infiltrated and controlled by you. And your team of Silver Moon Clan vanguard warriors is just waiting for the right time to cut off the city's energy supply and use it all to set up a massive cross-space teleportation array above Star City—to move your whole clan here."
"The final goal is to take over Star City, then use Star City as the foundation to develop the Silver Moon Clan. By then, all of Star City's resources will be yours, and the humans of Star City will become slaves to your future expansion."
As Feng Qi calmly revealed the Silver Moon Clan's most deeply hidden plan with a smile on his face, Yin Ling's pupils trembled, and her eyes filled with fear.
This plan had been hidden extremely well.
To ensure nothing went wrong, she hadn't tried to control Star City's energy infrastructure by manipulating the higher-ups. Instead, she had taken the slowest, clumsiest route—infiltrating from the bottom up, gaining understanding and control from the most basic levels of the energy network.
No matter how someone tried to investigate them, there shouldn't have been any flaws.
Yet what she thought was foolproof had already been completely exposed under this mysterious man's watchful eyes.
With the plan blown and their strength clearly inferior, Yin Ling knew she had lost control of the negotiation.
"Can you at least tell me—where exactly did we slip up? And what is it that you want from cooperating with us?"
Yin Ling tried to suppress the panic and anxiety in her heart. She forced herself to stay calm and looked at Feng Qi as she asked.
"Where you slipped up doesn't matter. You'll know the answers to everything you're wondering about soon enough. What matters is that I came to work with the Silver Moon Clan—not to bully you."
Hearing that, countless possibilities flashed through Yin Ling's mind.
This mysterious man had met with her through an arrangement made by Director Qi of the Tiger Soul Research Institute. She couldn't help but suspect that he had already secretly taken control of the Tiger Soul Institute. And maybe, just like her, his goal was to control all of Star City.
That would explain why their plans had collided, and why he had suddenly shown up like this.
Thousands of thoughts rushed through her head. But the one thing she never considered was that Feng Qi was human.
After all the years she had spent hidden in human society, she knew just how weak their foundations were.
Sure, humans had their geniuses—but their bloodline potential limited their growth. Their cultivation system was still in its early, trial-and-error phase. With all these limitations, there was no way a human could have the overwhelming vitality this man displayed—like a blazing sun.
So he couldn't possibly be human. He had to be another lifeform from the Domain World.
And if he had embedded himself into human society, there had to be something worth gaining.
Aside from seizing control of Star City, she couldn't imagine what else could be worth it for a powerhouse like this to infiltrate human society.
In that moment, Yin Ling began to imagine all sorts of potential reasons Feng Qi might want to cooperate.
But none of them ended well for the Silver Moon Clan. Every scenario pointed to either massive losses, plan failure, or a price too heavy to bear.
Seeing the shifting expressions on Yin Ling's face, Feng Qi couldn't help but laugh.
He could guess what she was thinking—definitely cooking up all sorts of wild guesses in her mind.
But her assumptions were off from the start. How could she possibly predict his intentions?
The value of the Silver Moon Clan had already been proven in previous timelines. He and Old Mist had even tried "killing the goose for the golden egg"—sacrificing the entire Silver Moon Clan to refine their bloodstones as a resource reserve.
But this time, he genuinely wanted a win-win cooperation with them.
With that in mind, Feng Qi reached into his pocket and pulled out two vials of memory fluid, placing them on the desk.
"Inject this into your brain, and you'll get all the answers you're looking for."
At this point, Feng Qi didn't feel like explaining anything further. Watching memories was way easier than all this guessing. Let the facts speak for themselves—let Yin Ling see the benefits of working with the human race, and the cost of refusing.
Someone as smart as Yin Ling would know what choice to make.
After the stick, it was time to offer the carrot.
Friendship and trust could come later. For now, Yin Ling needed to recognize the reality of the situation.
She looked at the two vials on the table, eyes full of suspicion.
"What is this?"
"A liquid that can store memories. Once injected into your brain, it'll release its contents. You'll experience the stored memories from a first-person perspective—as if you lived through them yourself."
"And why are you giving this to me?"
"Didn't you want to know why I came to you? Why I know all about your Silver Moon Clan's plan, and all your secrets? Inject that memory fluid, and you'll have all your answers."
Yin Ling glanced over the vial again, then locked eyes with Feng Qi.
"How do I know this stuff isn't dangerous? What if it lets you take over my mind and turn me into your puppet?"
"You don't have a choice. Face reality. Right now, I'm not asking you to inject it—I'm telling you."
"The entire energy system of the Western District is under my control. If anything happens to me or my brother, Star City's energy network will collapse. Even if you end up taking Star City, you'll be left with a broken shell—no power, no function."
Feng Qi nearly burst out laughing at her threat.
She wasn't wrong, though. In one of the previous timelines, he had also needed to raise a team of specialists ahead of time to slowly dismantle the Silver Moon Clan's hold on the energy infrastructure before finally removing them completely.
If news of Yin Ling's death spread to the other Silver Moon vanguard warriors, they might even blow up all the power plants for a scorched-earth endgame.
But he had never planned to harm Yin Ling.
Uninterested in dragging this out, Feng Qi reached out and grabbed Yin Xiao with a burst of telekinesis, yanking him directly into his hand.
With his fingers wrapped around Yin Xiao's throat, Feng Qi slowly stood and looked down at the seated Yin Ling.
"Yin Ling… you don't want anything to happen to your brother, do you?"