Realizing that the incoming human soldiers mistook him for a Domain Transcendent Creature, Feng Qi understood that he had to end the battle first before any proper explanation could be made.
The Demon Blade in his hand trembled lightly under his will.
Immediately, a terrifying pressure swept forward.
The oppressive aura of the blade was the manifestation of the momentum Feng Qi had refined over the course of his century-long God Ascension Challenge journey.
It was domineering, unyielding, and unstoppable... The aura of the blade carried his principles and beliefs within it.
The soldiers, who were less than ten meters away, were suddenly frozen in place by the overwhelming pressure as the blood-red formation beneath their feet began to stir.
They could feel an unprecedented terrifying vitality emanating from Feng Qi.
It was as if they were staring into the eyes of a fierce beast, the overwhelming ferocity turning into a tangible spiritual blow. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably under the pressure, their heartbeats quickened, and sweat dripped from their foreheads.
Looking at Feng Qi, who stood holding the Demon Blade but hadn't yet made a move, fear filled their eyes. They realized that an uncontrollable force had arrived in the human world.
If this being were to get close to Star City, it would surely spell disaster.
The middle-aged team leader at the forefront trembled, gritting his teeth as strands of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth:
"Let's go for broke!"
Realizing that the middle-aged leader was about to risk his life against him, Feng Qi decisively withdrew the pressure of the blade.
He then kicked Lei Ting by his side:
"Help me out."
"Why do you always ask for so many favors?" Lei Ting grumbled as he scratched his behind, then bent down and pressed his hand to the ground.
Blue arcs of electricity erupted from Lei Ting, spreading forward. The human soldiers tangled in the blue electric arcs collapsed to the ground, temporarily paralyzed.
After completing this, Lei Ting stood up, blew on his fingers, extinguishing the electric sparks that still lingered there.
Feng Qi now approached the middle-aged team leader, crouching down and smiling:
"I'm Feng Qi. I think there's been a misunderstanding between us."
He didn't say much more, knowing that simply saying "Feng Qi" would be the best explanation.
Upon hearing the name Feng Qi, the middle-aged team leader, whose face was scruffy, paused for a moment. His eyes, hidden beneath his metal helmet, scrutinized Feng Qi's face.
The smiling man before him resembled the illustration of Feng Qi in his textbooks.
But there were some differences—there was a noticeable aura of age about him.
"Feng Qi... Are you really back?" the middle-aged leader murmured, his eyes full of disbelief.
They had all heard the stories of Feng Qi.
However, to their generation, Feng Qi seemed more like a legendary figure from the previous century, no longer belonging to this time.
Creator of the Dawn Academy, founder of Star City's Spatial Technology Department, planner for the 3.0 version of Cultivation Techniques, eternal friend of the Mist Clan, architect and driving force behind the virtual game Dawn, the pioneer who eradicated internal threats in Star City, and the reformer of Star City's education system... To the people of Star City, Feng Qi was an immortal legend.
Statues of his heroic faith stood in every park and square in Star City.
Even after his disappearance, Star City continued to develop along the path he had set, growing more prosperous with each passing year.
The last description of Feng Qi in textbooks was that he had left Star City for the Domain World to explore the endless unknowns.
This was how Feng Qi's story ended, as seen by their generation.
The final description of his departure was filled with romance and poetry. Feng Qi chose to become an adventurer, venturing toward a new and vast world.
There had always been rumors that one day, Feng Qi would return.
But as the story mixed with too many legends, it became harder to believe, taking on a fantastical hue.
There were many versions of Feng Qi's ending circulating in Star City.
But the majority of people regarded the idea of his return as a legend, something they did not truly expect to happen.
Still, many believed in the tale, especially those in high positions within Star City.
When the smiling face before him aligned with the image in the textbook, the middle-aged leader's heart was struck with shock.
"Are you really... Feng Qi?"
"That's right. I'm back."
Feng Qi reached out to help him up, brushing off the lingering electric arcs from his body.
With another wave of his hand, the arcs around the fallen soldiers were dispersed.
Naturally, the soldiers who had collapsed heard their conversation.
Like the middle-aged leader, they were filled with shock and disbelief.
The legend had just become a reality.
They all stared at Feng Qi, examining his appearance.
Dressed in a black robe, with a domineering black long blade floating beside him, a radiant smile on his face.
Compared to the image of Feng Qi they had envisioned, he seemed less intimidating, lacking the sternness that came with the aura of a great man. Instead, he felt like a peer, radiating a sense of familiarity and ease.
Feng Qi could see how stunned these soldiers were at his return.
But he understood what was running through their minds.
After his departure from Star City, what exactly had he been doing? The human leaders at the time didn't know everything.
After all, his challenge against Jian Ji was an enormous matter, one that couldn't be leaked, especially not to Jian Ji in Lidong City. They could not let it be known that he had obtained the Demon Blade.
For safety's sake, only a few knew the true purpose of his journey.
To most people, it appeared as if he had set off on a long journey with no clear way back.
So, his return felt like a character from a story suddenly appearing before them.
It was both magical and surreal, with the sense of the past century lingering in the air.
"We're back!"
At that moment, Xiao You flew to Feng Qi's side, raising her right hand and cheering toward the shocked human soldiers.
"You idiot, you've never even been here, why are you saying 'we're back'?" Lei Ting said with annoyance.
"The boss's home is my home, Xiao You's home, no problem!" Xiao You proudly placed her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest and acting smug, as if this land beneath her feet was her own hometown.
After explaining his identity, Feng Qi followed the middle-aged leader onto the vehicle.
The convoy, which had originally been heading toward the western Domain Field, turned around and headed toward the western supply zone of Star City.
It was clear that the middle-aged leader was quite curious about Feng Qi's experiences during his journey.
But Feng Qi did not satisfy his curiosity. If he truly wanted to talk, he could go on for days and nights, recounting all his experiences on the long journey.
So instead, he chose to ask first, inquiring about the glowing crystal in the middle-aged team leader's hand.
As he had guessed earlier.
The middle-aged team leader explained that the crystal he was holding was called the "Domain Identification Stone," developed by the Domain Studies team at the Dawn Academy in Star City. It was an energy-sensing crystal used to identify Domain creatures.
The material used to make the crystal came from a Domain field that had already been dispersed by the western supply zone of Star City.
It was a type of ore material that could sense subtle changes in energy and provide feedback.
At the time, the Domain Studies team at the Dawn Academy was researching a new project: how to identify Domain creatures infiltrating human society, and how to quickly determine if there were any Domain creatures hiding within the crowd.
With only existing Domain Studies knowledge, it was obviously unrealistic to distinguish Domain creatures that looked identical to humans.
The material that could sense energy changes inspired the team, and they began gathering resources and attempting to make a sensing crystal—this was the original version of the Domain Identification Stone.
Now, the Domain Identification Stone had gone through several updated versions.
The team at the Dawn Academy had removed the crystal's ability to sense human bloodlines. Now, whenever a non-human bloodline appeared, it would glow.
This was the reason the middle-aged team leader had mistaken them for Domain Transcendent Creatures earlier.
The answer was just as Feng Qi had expected.
Next, Feng Qi asked about the development of Star City.
Since his departure, one of the things he had been most eager to know was how much Star City had changed.
This city had been built with his and his companions' efforts from multiple timelines.
Including the timeline they were currently in.
Before he left, Feng Qi had stayed up countless nights drafting the future development plans for Star City...
Though he was not yet in Star City, his heart could not help but feel excited and hopeful.
In response to his inquiry, the middle-aged team leader immediately began explaining the developments of Star City.
According to his account, Feng Qi learned that Star City had continued to develop according to his plans.
After his departure, the first major achievement was the establishment of the Dawn Academy.
The establishment of specialized departments like Spatial Studies, Domain Studies, and Spiritual Material Studies helped fill in the gaps for Star City's future development. Among these, Spatial Studies had become the most popular field of study in Star City in recent years.
Hearing this news, Feng Qi felt a sense of relief.
The development of the Spatial Studies department aligned with the future vision he had in mind.
In the future, he wanted to establish stable Spatial Transmission Arrays in each of the five major cities, creating a fast highway for the transmission of resources and information, connecting the major cities.
The emergence of stable Spatial Transmission Arrays would also enhance the cohesion between the five cities.
For allies like the Mist Clan, having such arrays would also offer more opportunities for mutual benefit when alliances were made and allow for swift support in case of emergencies.
Now, the development of Spatial Studies had an even more important goal.
It aimed to connect the distant human Central Region with the Elf City and An Mu City.
If the envisioned plan could be realized, humanity would no longer have to worry about competing on the battlefield of the ten thousand clans, becoming a mighty power or even a hegemonic force in the future.
From the middle-aged team leader's account, Feng Qi learned that Star City's high-ranking officials were actively cultivating talent in the field of Spatial Studies, in line with his original plan. Now, every year, a large number of Star City students competed for spots in the Spatial Studies program.
Next, Feng Qi was concerned about the development of Domain Studies in Star City.
Ordinary people had very little knowledge of the Domain World, and even the students at the front-line academies knew little about the Domain Fields and Domain culture.
This had to do with the educational system that had been established at the time.
Academy students needed to grow as quickly as possible within a limited timeframe, which made knowledge of Domain Studies seem less important.
Once they were on the battlefield or had joined a research institute, they would naturally be exposed to such knowledge.
This was also the reason Feng Qi's understanding of Domain Fields and Domain creatures had been so one-sided.
Before the Dawn Academy was established, during a discussion on specialized subjects, Feng Qi had proposed setting up a Domain Studies program, independent of the outdated Domain Studies program from previous academies.
His idea at the time was simple.
Domain Studies would encompass the understanding of Domain creatures, Domain races, Domain languages and scripts, Domain materials, and more.
By establishing this department at Dawn Academy, Feng Qi hoped to cultivate a group of outstanding talents who could assist in advancing human civilization through their expertise.
Now, Domain Studies had taken on a new direction in his eyes.
The appearance of Fate City had given him new insight into the opportunities available.
Graduates of Domain Studies would have a new path to follow: traveling to Fate City to engage in trade with merchants and various powers.
To make this happen, humanity still needed to learn a lot more about Domain Studies.
If they could establish a foothold in Fate City, it would be like gaining a long-term channel for creating foreign exchange revenue.
When Feng Qi had drafted the plans for the western supply zone of Star City, his intention was to make the city self-sufficient in resources.
However, the resources brought back from the western supply zone were not something that could be cultivated. Very few resources were able to be produced steadily.
Each Domain Field had different environments and resources, and whatever emerged from the field was what they had to work with.
Once many resources were exhausted, they were gone for good.
This was not a good thing for Star City's development.
Developing and understanding new materials required significant investment in time and energy. But once the resources were depleted, the research results would be archived, and it would be hard to use them again.
Fate City provided a platform for resource exchange.
Weapons, spiritual materials, functional items... Fate City's emergence could serve as a channel to address the gaps in human civilization's development.
Resources that human civilization needed but could no longer produce could also be exchanged at the marketplace.
If humanity could establish a foothold in the vast market of Fate City, its importance would be on par with the establishment of Star City's western supply zone. It would be a major event, affecting not just Star City but all of humanity.
However, it was clear that the middle-aged team leader didn't know much about the development of Domain Studies.
In response to Feng Qi's inquiry, he simply shook his head, stating that Domain Studies was not a popular field in Star City. None of his friends were involved in this specialty.
Feng Qi was not surprised by this.
Domain Studies was a subject that was incredibly dry at the beginner's stage, but the more one delved into it, the more fascinating it became.
However, most people would choose to give up during the initial phase.
He clearly remembered his own experience when he was studying Domain Studies at the old academy. Back then, he had to memorize vast amounts of content every day—it was nothing but rote memorization.
This educational model was designed to lay the foundation for students and to build a basic knowledge base in their minds through memory.
But his long journey had made Feng Qi realize the true charm of this subject.
The bizarre Domain World was like an encyclopedia of myths.
It contained countless magical species, environments, and more.
The process of delving deeper into this subject was like opening a book of strange tales, revealing new and mind-bending things, bringing a thrill of facing the unknown.
After overcoming the initial memorization phase, the subject led to the vast, boundless starry sky.
Exploration was the true essence of this field.
The content in books was always limited. As Feng Qi's understanding of Domain Studies deepened, his final choice would inevitably be to embark on a journey toward the unknown, becoming one of the continuing pioneers of the vast knowledge system of Domain Studies.
It was like a wandering poet traversing the world.
After his long journey, Feng Qi placed even more importance on the development of this subject.
While chatting, Feng Qi saw the Star City western supply zone in the distance.
Tall buildings stood in the distance. The Star City western supply zone was a highly modernized small city.
As the convoy reached the entrance to the western supply zone, Feng Qi heard the guard soldiers inquiring about the approaching vehicles:
"Monkey, why are you back already? Did you forget to bring the supplies?"
"Something big happened, the legend has returned. Open the gate quickly!"
"What legend has returned?"
The guard's voice was filled with confusion. As he spoke, it seemed he absentmindedly punched the car door, making a loud "bang" sound.
"Your childhood idol has returned."
"My childhood idol?"
"The person whose illustration was in your textbooks, the one you colored over and over, added a mustache and weapons, and changed their appearance hundreds of times."
"Damn it, stop joking about great people. You brat need a beating. I was just naive back then."
Another loud bang followed, as the first guard seemed to punch the car door again.
"Who dares joke like this? It's really him! The car behind me, open the gate immediately, and notify Captain Zhang!"
After the brief conversation, Feng Qi saw the metal barrier ahead rise.
The convoy continued forward and entered the western supply zone.
As the vehicle reached the checkpoint, Feng Qi saw a young man in his twenties tiptoe and crane his neck, clearly searching for him inside the vehicle.
Feng Qi couldn't help but feel helpless.
But he could understand the situation.
His disappearance and sudden reappearance felt like a mark from the past era suddenly appearing in this one.
By seniority, he was like the great-grandfather of the people in this part of Star City.
It was understandable for them to be so curious about him.
The convoy moved forward, and Feng Qi leaned against the edge of the vehicle, looking out at the scenery along the way.
Xiao You and the others did the same.
"Boss, is this the place where you were born?" Xiao You asked, leaning over with curiosity.
Feng Qi smiled and ruffled Xiao You's hair, shaking his head.
"I'm also visiting here for the first time. My home is in Star City, and I'll take you to see it later."
"Does Star City have good food?"
"There's a lot of good food."
"Yay!"
Upon hearing there was good food, Xiao You became very excited, flying around in the air.
After an hour's drive, the convoy stopped in front of a towering building.
The Battle Squad's office building.
The exterior of the building was shaped like a fist clenched towards the sky, as if ready to strike and shatter an invisible cage.
Upon disembarking, Feng Qi immediately noticed a familiar statue standing in front of the Battle Squad office building.
The statue held a book in its left hand and a sword in its right, symbolizing knowledge and strength.
Next to the statue was a ten-meter-high metal pole with the Dawn Flag fluttering at the top.
Seeing this scene, Feng Qi felt a surge of emotions.
Countless tragic endings of sacrificed timelines flashed through his mind.
It was truly not easy to come this far.
Just then, a handsome young man walked out of the Battle Squad office building, followed by a group of people.
The young man's appearance was very familiar to Feng Qi.
"Is it really you, Uncle Qi?"
When the young man's gaze landed on him, his confusion turned into joy.
Feng Qi smiled and nodded at Zhang Daowen, who was walking toward him.
In this timeline, Feng Qi had interacted with Zhang Daowen less than in the previous timeline. However, during the years before taking up the knife, Feng Qi personally taught Zhang Daowen until his departure, when he handed him over to Wei Wei.
With Zhang Daowen's talent and memory, he naturally wouldn't be a stranger to Feng Qi.
After a brief embrace, Zhang Daowen's eyes couldn't hide his joy. His childhood memories were still vivid.
As he grew up, he had regarded Feng Qi as his idol.
He never expected this legendary elder to truly return.
When Zhang Daowen's gaze shifted to Xiao You and the others, his expression froze.
He immediately recognized that Xiao You and the others were not human but Domain creatures.
"Uncle Qi, who are they?"
Before Feng Qi could answer, Xiao You jumped out first, hands on her hips, head held high:
"I'm the wild child born outside by the boss, and I'm human too, not a Domain creature!"
Zhang Daowen, Feng Qi, Lei Ting, Po Jia, Tai Hang: …