Whether humans and the Silver Moon Clan were reproductively isolated was clearly a question that Yin Ling and Lin Ran would have to face in the future.
But right now, Feng Qi honestly couldn't come up with an answer.
There were no existing cases to refer to in reality either.
The only way to get an answer to this question was for Yin Ling and Lin Ran to experience it for themselves.
Still, for some reason, Feng Qi had a vague feeling that reproductive isolation probably did exist.
His guess came from the intelligence provided by Mu Yue and Mo.
Mo once said that humans were vessels created to seal powerful beings.
Mu Yue interpreted this to mean that the human body held terrifying potential and unique power, but not everyone could activate the power hidden within. Most humans would live out an ordinary life.
Only a small number could partially awaken their latent potential.
These were the humans Mu Yue had always been searching for—what she called "miracles."
Wei Wei, Mu Qing, Tian Shu… all of them were rare individuals who had activated parts of their body's potential.
Mu Yue's theory at the time was:
The age of the Pillar Gods was ending due to some unknown reason. Knowing they had failed, they sought a way to pass down their life force and knowledge to give the next era a sliver of hope. But any informational vessel would eventually decay over time, so the Pillar Gods created humans—beings who could pass down their knowledge and essence through continuous generations.
What led to this theory was a sentence etched on an island ruin left by the Void Pillar God—a place both Mu Yue and Mo had visited:
[Our continuation shall rise again in another form and challenge the world anew!]
That sentence was something the two of them interpreted back when their relationship was still good.
According to Mu Yue, humans were the carriers of the Pillar Gods' knowledge and power. All divine legacy data had been hidden within human genes. Even the human instinct to reproduce was something the Pillar Gods had designed to preserve that legacy.
From that logic, it was highly possible that reproductive isolation with other races existed—to protect the secret legacy hidden in the human body.
But whether this assumption was true or not would only be confirmed once Lin Ran tried it for himself.
Feng Qi didn't dwell on the topic. He had already arrived at Wei Wei's private lab.
The lab's heavy metal door, once tightly shut, was now open.
Walking in, Feng Qi's gaze landed on Lin Ran, who was sitting on the surgical table. His eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks were still streaked with tears. Wei Wei sat by a nearby control station, flipping through data, paying Lin Ran no mind.
Noticing Feng Qi's arrival, Wei Wei spun her chair around and looked at him with a hint of helplessness.
"Xiao Ran's emotions seem a bit intense. You take him back and comfort him. I'll stay out of it—I'm no good at emotional support."
Feng Qi nodded, then walked up to Lin Ran and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Ah Ran, come with me."
"Qi-ge…"
Lin Ran lifted his head. His red eyes were laced with veins.
The implanted memory brought him a deeply immersive experience. The emotional shifts within the memories were vividly real to him, which was exactly why he had fallen apart emotionally.
While this kind of memory transfer wasn't quite as immersive as a full-brain reading, it still left a lasting impression.
Feng Qi led Lin Ran out of Wei Wei's private lab and brought him back to his own room.
Sitting on the sofa, Feng Qi began gently talking Lin Ran through his grief.
Lin Ran's willpower was extremely strong—no doubt about it.
Back during the sacrifice timeline, he'd even chosen to sacrifice himself so Feng Qi could follow through with their plan and keep making contact with the Lord of the Mist.
But when it came to matters of love, Lin Ran's emotional weakness was clear.
The memory implanted into his mind had been perfectly intact, and right now he was still mentally stuck in the trauma of seeing Yin Ling die.
Feng Qi had never dated before, but comforting someone had never been hard for him.
The best way to help Lin Ran out of his sorrow was to paint a bright future for him.
Sure, the pain was real—but that was in the past.
Now, everything had a fresh start.
Under Feng Qi's steady reassurance, Lin Ran gradually calmed down.
Once Lin Ran seemed emotionally stable again, Feng Qi—who had spent quite a while comforting him—couldn't help but ask:
"Ah Ran, I don't doubt that you'd sacrifice yourself for the greater good of the human race. But you're my brother. I respect your choice. So tell me—do you really want to be with Yin Ling? If you say no, we'll cancel the marriage. I won't force you. You don't need to shoulder the burden of duty just for some ideal. Your relationship with Yin Ling is just the oil that smooths the gears of the human–Silver Moon alliance. It's not the engine driving it. The alliance can still move forward, with or without the marriage."
Faced with Feng Qi's question, Lin Ran's expression turned awkward.
He seemed like he wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how to put it into words.
[Tsk tsk, this kid Lin Ran's getting all shy now and can't even say it out loud. Look at him squirm! I can already see where he stands in the family hierarchy. Embarrassing! Shame on our human race, ptooey.]
Hearing the narrator's mocking tone—and the exaggerated spit at the end—Feng Qi couldn't help but chuckle.
It was obvious that Lin Ran wanted to nod.
But he just didn't know how to say it, probably out of embarrassment or nerves.
By comparison, Yin Ling had been clear and decisive.
Love was love, liking someone was liking someone. She was even bold enough to declare that she'd marry Lin Ran herself.
Next to that, Lin Ran's aura was clearly a few notches weaker.
"Qi-ge, I want to be with Yin Ling."
At that moment, Lin Ran seemed to have made up his mind and finally summoned the courage to speak.
Even though he'd already known the answer, Feng Qi still smiled and patted Lin Ran on the shoulder.
"Being with Yin Ling shouldn't bring you any pressure. I'll take care of everything—explaining it to your family, handling public opinion. You just need to handle one thing."
"What's that?"
"Don't bring shame to the human race. You'd better hold your ground in the family. You've got countless members of both the Silver Moon Clan and the human race watching you two."
Hearing that, Lin Ran looked like his pride had been challenged. He immediately nodded.
"Of course. In this life, aside from you, Qi-ge, there's no one who can stand above me. A little girl from the Silver Moon Clan thinks she can top me? No way!"
Watching Lin Ran spout off with such confidence, Feng Qi considered it for a moment—then simply nodded along to play along.
Just then, the narrator's voice echoed in his mind.
[Anyone can talk tough. Just like a certain someone who used to shout he'd blow up Little Hei with a punch, or grind the Psionic Race into dust. So many sacrifice timelines have gone by and all that bluster still hasn't come true. And now here comes another load of empty talk… Don't take it seriously.]
Feng Qi: …
He wasn't about to agree with the narrator's ridicule.
If it really came down to using Ling Chess to determine family status, with Lin Ran's talent, winning wouldn't be hard at all. During the sacrifice timeline, Lin Ran could've won at any point. He just kept holding back on purpose to get closer to Yin Ling.
"Qi-ge, if it had been you instead, what do you think the outcome would've been?"
Lin Ran's sudden question broke Feng Qi's train of thought.
Thinking for a moment, Feng Qi gave his answer.
"I'm not the same as you. I have memories from multiple sacrifice timelines. The way I look at things has long since changed."
"So what do you think the result would've been?"
"Yin Ling would've probably been wiped from the timeline permanently."
Lin Ran: …
Staring at Feng Qi in shock, Lin Ran was speechless.
Feng Qi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
…
Five days later.
Northern Airport, Winterfell City.
After getting off the plane, snow was falling heavily outside, blanketing the area in a constant storm. The temperature had plummeted.
But this level of cold didn't affect Feng Qi at all.
He walked toward Gu Ke, who was already waiting nearby. After giving him a hug, Feng Qi nodded.
"Uncle Gu."
"Mm, let's talk back at the base."
As he spoke, Gu Ke waved toward the distance, and a rented off-road vehicle drove over.
Once they got in the car, Gu Ke began detailing the findings of the past few days.
Feng Qi nodded along as he listened carefully.
During the past few days before this trip, Lin Ran and Yin Ling's marriage arrangement had already been confirmed. The rest of the time, Feng Qi had been waiting for Gu Ke's report.
But Gu Ke's investigative team didn't have deep roots in Winterfell City. They had no access to the city's core power circles and naturally couldn't determine whether Jian Ji was still alive.
To avoid raising suspicions by digging too deeply, Feng Qi decided to come in person.
After all, if Gu Ke and the others tried to push further, they'd be risking their lives.
Their strength wasn't even on par with an average Sword Clan warrior.
But the main timeline version of Feng Qi was different. Even if Jian Ji personally showed up, he had the power to fight him head-on.
Based on Gu Ke's explanation, Feng Qi quickly understood the current state of their investigation.
But this time, he didn't plan to sneak around or take a cautious approach to probing Winterfell City.
Whether Jian Ji was still alive, he believed there was a direct way to find out.
…
That night, exactly 12:00 a.m.
Floating in midair with the aid of telekinesis, Feng Qi slowly rose into the sky.
Once he hovered above Winterfell City's northern district, he suddenly activated his Blood God form.
With the violent acceleration of his heartbeat, his body began to transform rapidly. Surging blood energy erupted from his chest, flowing outward through his pores, wrapping his entire body in a cocoon of crimson energy.
Just over ten seconds later, Feng Qi raised his hand and tore through the cocoon, revealing his transformed body.
Now over ten meters tall, his figure stood in the sky, radiating menace. A glowing, jagged horn of energy on his forehead shimmered more brilliantly than the stars. Behind him hovered a massive illusory array, inlaid with six crystals of pure Dark God origin power.
The rotating crystals released wisps of hazy energy, linking directly to Feng Qi's back.
His aura kept rising higher and higher.
A terrifying pressure burst out from him and swept downward in all directions.
After a short wait with still no sign of Jian Ji, Feng Qi transformed into a streak of blood-red light and shot down toward Winterfell City's northern forbidden mine zone like a meteor.
He didn't want to cause too big a commotion, so he slowed before touching down, but even so, the ground around him still shook violently. Sirens began blaring one after another.
According to intel from the last sacrifice timeline, Jian Ji typically secluded himself in this area.
His appearance was full of provocation. If Jian Ji was here, he would definitely come out to fight.
But as he scanned the forbidden zone, Feng Qi found no trace of Jian Ji—there wasn't even a familiar trace of sword momentum.
He extended his perception further.
That's when he spotted a woman carrying a blue longsword on her back.
Without hesitation, he shot forward like a cannonball.
Machinery along the way went flying. Buildings crumbled.
By the time the woman sensed something was wrong, it was already too late. In her panicked expression, Feng Qi's massive figure appeared in front of her.
In just a single blink, he was already standing face-to-face with her.
Even before they touched, the overwhelming pressure bore down on her like a mountain.
The woman's expression was one of sheer terror. Her body instinctively shivered. In her eyes, Feng Qi saw uncontainable fear, like a tiny prey animal staring up at a predator. Her body and soul trembled. She even forgot to run.
Feng Qi grabbed her by the neck and lifted her like a chick.
"Where is Jian Ji?!"
The woman with the blue sword on her back seemed to be in shock. She didn't respond, her mouth slightly agape, frozen in fear. The pressure from Feng Qi's life force alone had thrown her own into total disarray.
Feng Qi had experienced something like this before.
Back during the sacrifice timeline when he was escorting the Bloodstone, he had once faced a suddenly appearing super lifeform.
At the time, he'd still been weak. It was his first time seeing such a terrifying domain creature. His body had trembled uncontrollably, his will crushed under the sheer oppressive aura of its presence.
Now, the woman with the blue sword was experiencing something just like that—if not worse.
Understanding what was happening, Feng Qi slowly retracted his aura. His glowing blood-colored eyes locked on hers as he repeated his question:
"Tell me, where did Jian Ji go?"
As her mind slowly returned, the woman took a deep breath, like a soul that had just returned to its body. She regained a bit of clarity, but the fear in her eyes didn't lessen at all.
"I… I don't know where the ancestor went."
Feng Qi frowned slightly at her answer.
"Jian Ji disappeared?"
"Y-yes. The ancestor disappeared. It happened half a month ago."
"Oh, well then—never mind."
Without pressing for more details, Feng Qi crushed the Sword Clan woman in his grasp, turning her into a cloud of blood mist.
The blood mist slowly seeped into his body.
But this time, Feng Qi noticed he hadn't absorbed any new innate ability—only gained a slight increase in bloodline evolution points.
That made sense. After all, he'd already absorbed Jian Ji's innate ability before—"True Understanding of the Demon Sword"—which was split into two components:
One was comprehension of sword momentum.
The other was the ability to use sword momentum to manipulate internal negative emotional energy.
Clearly, this Sword Clan woman's sword momentum comprehension was far inferior to Jian Ji's, so it was understandable that he couldn't steal any more ability from her.
Without lingering, Feng Qi immediately left.
He flew up into the night sky, wind howling past his ears, and mentally confirmed his conclusion.
If Jian Ji were still alive, he would've shown himself the moment Feng Qi released that aura.
Reality confirmed it—Jian Ji of the main timeline had been completely erased.
The woman had said Jian Ji vanished half a month ago, and that was exactly when Feng Qi entered and left the sacrifice timeline.
Just like the narrator had analyzed: Jian Ji's past traces still existed, but the person himself was gone—he didn't even leave a corpse behind.
Thinking about how the major threat of Winterfell City had now been resolved, how one of the biggest obstacles on humanity's path to growth had been shattered, Feng Qi couldn't hide his grin.
He couldn't help but let out a thunderous roar toward the sky.
That roar stirred the surging blood energy within him, forming a blood-red cloud in the sky.
Immediately, air raid sirens blared from below, and surveillance drones took to the air.
Realizing his behavior was a bit reckless, Feng Qi quickly withdrew his aura.
His Blood God form dissipated, and the scattered energy receded back into his heart.
Then, without hesitation, he made his escape.