Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Outdoor training grounds.
This was a one-hectare area surrounded by a wire fence on the outer perimeter.
Inside, the field was filled with various outdoor training equipment. The ground was paved with synthetic rubber and used specifically for the training of squad members under the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
It was late at night. A golden full moon hung high in the sky, with no stars to be seen.
In the center lawn of the outdoor training field, Xiao You and Zhang Daowen sat side by side, gazing up at the night sky and chatting idly.
Most of the time, it was Zhang Daowen talking. Xiao You occasionally responded or dozed off.
"I wonder if Big Bro has finished cultivating."
Xiao You yawned, opened her eyes, and looked slightly helpless.
"Big Bro's been in cultivation all the time lately. He doesn't pay attention to me anymore. I feel like an abandoned kitten. So pitiful."
Though her expression was calm, there was a hint of grievance hidden in her words.
"You have to understand Uncle Qi's hardships. He's always given his all."
Zhang Daowen turned and looked at Xiao You, his face blooming with a bright smile.
Hearing that, Xiao You nodded right away.
"Little brat, I know Big Bro's always worked hard. I saw that back during the God Ascension Challenge."
She stood up as she spoke, rubbed Zhang Daowen's head imitating Feng Qi, then turned to leave.
"I'm going to sleep first. You enjoy the night sky."
"Xiao You-jie, do you like Uncle Qi?"
Hearing the question, Xiao You, who was just about to leave, nodded firmly.
"Of course. I like Big Bro the most. In my heart, he's above everything."
"Then why are you always slacking off?"
Zhang Daowen's tone was gentle, his eyes full of confusion.
"Because slacking off is comfortable. Big Bro can take care of everything."
"Xiao You-jie, I don't know everything you and Uncle Qi went through together. But I do know Uncle Qi is really exhausted. He's not as invincible as you think. Maybe you haven't seen it, but I once saw him with bloodshot eyes, unable to sleep because of the pressure from all the negative emotions… If you really like Uncle Qi, try helping him shoulder some of that weight. I know working hard is tiring, but if it brings him happiness, isn't that what you want to see?"
Xiao You's lazy expression shifted into curiosity. She sat back down next to Zhang Daowen.
"What are negative emotional pressures? I've only seen the negative consciousness that used to follow Big Bro. It was about this big."
As she spoke, Xiao You gestured with her hands to show the size of the negative entity.
"I don't know either. Uncle Mist said it's a kind of illness. Anything that makes Uncle Qi unhappy worsens it."
"Will he die?"
A bit of tension surfaced on Xiao You's face, and a glimmer appeared in her eyes.
"Uncle Mist said he won't die, but if the condition gets out of control, Uncle Qi will turn into someone else. He'll hate everything he used to love and try to destroy it all… Basically, the real Uncle Qi will vanish, replaced by someone unfamiliar."
Xiao You's heart clenched hearing that, and she cried out instinctively:
"No!"
Then she asked:
"Can this illness be cured?"
"I don't know. But I do know that helping carry some of his burdens will ease the pressure and make him happier. That way, the stranger can't replace the real Uncle Qi."
Staring at Zhang Daowen's radiant smile, Xiao You froze.
"So you work so hard… for Big Bro?"
Facing her question, Zhang Daowen stood up, looked up at the night sky, and smiled.
"That's just one of the reasons. I'm a man. A man should work hard to protect the ones he wants to protect. Uncle Qi taught me that, and I'm doing my best."
He looked back down at Xiao You and said softly:
"Xiao You-jie, if the future you imagine must have Big Bro in it, then you should learn to work hard and cherish him. There's a kind of happiness in making those around you happy, and then feeling joy from that. Maybe you could give it a try."
Xiao You stood up too, her gaze meeting his.
Standing there, Xiao You was clearly taller. Zhang Daowen looked like a two-year-old human child in comparison.
"Am I too selfish?" Xiao You asked quietly.
"Xiao You-jie, you're not selfish. When we ate together, I saw how you loved sharing food with Uncle Qi. I believe you truly like him from the heart. What you lack is responsibility… and a sense of duty. That's not your fault, though. You've always grown up under Uncle Qi's protection, so you never realized it."
As he spoke, Zhang Daowen tiptoed and patted her head.
"I used to cry all the time, clinging to Uncle Qi. But once I realized I'm a man and needed to be responsible, I cried less and less. Now I even think crying loudly is embarrassing. Growing up takes time. You'll get there too."
Xiao You went quiet, staring at him.
After a long while, she nodded hard, then slapped away his hand from her head and put her own hand on his instead.
"I get it now. I'll work hard for Big Bro."
"Xiao You-jie, I'm glad you get it, but why are you rubbing my head? I was the one comforting you!"
"I don't know why, just felt like I lost out. Only Big Bro can rub my head. You're just a little shorty, so you can't. Let me rub yours instead. Go on, keep talking."
Mimicking Feng Qi's style, Xiao You started rubbing Zhang Daowen's head again while he looked helpless.
"Xiao You-jie, my hair's getting messy."
"Oh, I know. (continues rubbing)"
"Xiao You-jie, when are you going to start working hard?"
"Tomorrow, maybe. Tonight I'm sleeping—I'm super sleepy."
Zhang Daowen: …
…
The next morning.
Feng Qi emerged from his meditation.
As his awareness returned to his body, a sharp stabbing pain washed over him like a tide.
It lingered for a long time before gradually fading away.
Now, the growth of his physical body couldn't keep up with the rapid development of his spiritual consciousness, which made the physical pain even more intense.
But Feng Qi knew this was a stage he had to go through in the cultivation of Spiritual Immortality. It wouldn't end until his spiritual consciousness completely broke free from the body's constraints.
He opened his eyes and looked around.
Feng Qi's expression gradually shifted to surprise. Not far away, he saw Xiao You sitting cross-legged on the ground, focused and diligently weaving a spatial artifact.
His first thought was that she had just woken up, and he'd happened to open his eyes during one of Xiao You's infamous three-minute bursts of effort.
Curious, he didn't say anything and continued observing.
As time passed, Xiao You's expression remained serious. Energy threads danced in her hands, interweaving one after another. The translucent spatial structure floating in front of her slowly shrank and solidified under her control.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Xiao You was still at it.
This was very unlike her. Feng Qi almost wondered if she had eaten something strange that made her unusually energetic.
But with a closer look, he noticed her eyelids were trembling slightly—clearly, she was fighting the urge to sleep.
Yet Xiao You was holding on and continuing to work hard.
This discovery genuinely surprised and confused Feng Qi. He didn't understand why she was suddenly trying so hard.
"Xiao You, come here."
He finally spoke up.
The moment she heard his voice, Xiao You quickly looked up, a smile lighting up her face.
"Big Bro, you're awake! I'm starving!"
She dropped the half-finished spatial artifact she was working on and dashed toward Feng Qi, crashing straight into his arms.
"Xiao You, what's got you so motivated today?" Feng Qi asked while gently ruffling her hair.
"Big Bro is sick. I don't want Big Bro to be sick."
As she spoke, she lifted her head. Feng Qi then noticed that her eyes were already brimming with tears, ready to fall at any moment.
Hearing that, Feng Qi turned to glance at Zhang Daowen, who was still training. He suddenly realized what had happened.
Clearly, Zhang Daowen had told Xiao You about him being affected by negative emotions.
Back then, Zhang Daowen had even naively come to him and asked how to cure that illness.
So when Xiao You said he was sick, Feng Qi instantly understood what had gone on.
Looking at her tearful face, he smiled and rubbed her head.
"Xiao You, I'm fine. When you're tired, you need to sleep. Don't force yourself to stay awake—it's bad for your body."
He said it seriously.
He was genuinely touched by her effort.
But Xiao You's usual laziness wasn't necessarily just slacking off.
On a previous sacrifice timeline, the Demon Blade had analyzed Xiao You's situation and concluded that her frequent drowsiness wasn't just from exhaustion. It might be tied to the knowledge she inherited.
That vast body of knowledge drained a lot of her mental energy during digestion and absorption. That's what made her so prone to sudden sleep, even floating into unconsciousness midair.
So pushing her too hard would only put serious strain on her body.
Worse, it might even damage her mental state.
Xiao You trying hard was a good thing—but it had to match her physical condition and stay within limits.
Realizing this, Feng Qi immediately began to gently talk her down.
He explained that he was fine and that Zhang Daowen might've overstated things, reassuring her that when she was tired, she should sleep—no forcing it.
Under his calm words, the anxiety on Xiao You's face slowly faded.
"Xiao You, if you work yourself to death, then I really will get sick. So you need to take care of yourself. When you're tired, take a nap. When you're not tired, help Big Bro work on the spatial artifacts."
As he said this and looked down, Feng Qi couldn't help but laugh—Xiao You had fallen asleep leaning against his leg.
He gently rubbed her head, then picked her up and laid her down on the couch.
Next, he decided to head to the Tiger Soul cafeteria.
After that high-intensity meditation training, he hadn't eaten in a long time. He was starving and felt completely drained.
His body in the sacrifice timeline had no enhancements—it was just an ordinary human body.
At this point, his time studying cultivation was still short. Even if his fitness was a little above average, it wasn't by much. You could round it down to a regular citizen's physical level.
The hunger from the energy drain was so intense that his vision darkened and he felt lightheaded.
So he decided to head to the Tiger Soul cafeteria and stuff himself.
After eating, he'd bring back food for Zhang Daowen, who was still training, and Xiao You, who was asleep.
One hour later.
When Feng Qi returned to the training room carrying takeout bags, he saw Xiao You sitting on the couch, weaving spatial tools again.
At that moment, Feng Qi genuinely felt like Xiao You had grown up.
"Xiao You, Xiao Wen, time to eat!"
At his call, Xiao You immediately looked up. Then she lifted her chin, sniffed twice, and her eyes sparkled.
"Yay! It's grilled meat—my favorite!"
She shot into the air, ignoring her half-finished spatial tool, and zoomed toward Feng Qi.
…
Three years later.
Energy Research Institute, internal conference room.
At a silver-white conference table, Feng Qi sat next to Yin Ling.
Suspended not far in front of her was a mirror image.
This was a highly specialized spatial technology capable of connecting communication across different worlds.
But because the distance was so vast, the image was extremely blurry—like a mosaic—and nothing on the other side could be seen clearly. Only fragments of voices came through.
The one they were speaking with was the chieftain of the Silver Moon Clan.
Over the past few years, Feng Qi had occasionally communicated with the Silver Moon chieftain to ask about their requirements for the construction of Silver Moon City.
The Silver Moon Clan's requirements were actually pretty simple. All they needed was the initial construction of a city. Once that was done, they would take over and continue perfecting the city themselves after descending.
But Feng Qi had to make sure that the overall framework of the city met their specifications.
At first, he wanted to hand this project over to Yin Ling. That way, even if there were issues with the city's structure, it would be considered an internal matter for the Silver Moon Clan. The human side would only be responsible for manpower and resource support.
But clearly, Yin Ling had more important things to handle.
On the previous sacrifice timeline, he had brought back a massive number of spatial coordinates during his God Ascension challenge.
Now, Yin Ling was in charge of linking and calibrating those spatial coordinates, as well as overseeing new plans for improving Star City's energy systems.
Her talents were far more useful in those areas than in overseeing a construction site.
Besides, building the city's framework wasn't a difficult task. As long as they followed the plan provided by the Silver Moon Clan, it would be easy to finish.
When talking with the Silver Moon Clan leader, Feng Qi would casually mention the city project from time to time. This was just to show that he was taking it seriously.
The meeting didn't last even ten minutes.
After all, cross-world communication was incredibly costly. Feng Qi just wanted a quick update on their preparation status.
Once the meeting ended, he didn't linger. He said goodbye to Yin Ling and left the Energy Research Institute.
That meeting had basically finalized the Silver Moon Clan's arrival timeline.
Specifically, it would be in five years.
Humanity had five years to prepare. When the time came, the Silver Moon Clan would arrive in full.
Right now, the one thing Feng Qi was most worried about was Star City's massive resource gap.
Even after cutting many major projects, the rate of consumption still left him uneasy.
To address the shortage, he had already activated the Star City Western Supply Zone ahead of schedule. He sent a batch of materials there from Star City and began routing resources back from the frontlines to relieve the pressure.
But the current output from the Western Supply Zone was extremely limited. Its infrastructure was basic and incomplete. Only one transport line linking it to Star City had been completed. The teams stationed there were all small internal squads from Star City.
To make the Western Supply Zone capable of producing stable, high-quality resources, it still needed time. At the very least, the frontline fighters had to be guaranteed decent living and eating conditions.
If they couldn't fix this within five years, then after the Silver Moon Clan descended, the resource shortage would get worse.
Even though the Silver Moon Clan would bring some supplies with them, what they could carry would ultimately be limited—only a few among them had spatial tools.
Without descending alongside a domain field, the Silver Moon Clan would have to rely on human support during the early stages.
As for why they weren't bringing a domain field, Feng Qi had speculated it was a safety decision on their part.
That guess had now been confirmed by the Silver Moon Clan leader.
The odds of being discovered during transmission through the Path of Ascension Path were vastly different depending on whether a domain field was carried or not.
And this was clearly related to Mu Yan.
For domain creatures, descending into the human world didn't pose much of a threat to Mu Yan. But bringing a domain field was like inserting a puzzle piece from the domain world directly into the human world's puzzle.
One was an invasion. The other was relocation.
Obviously, the latter carried a higher threat level.
Path of Ascension warriors surely had ways of detecting domain world arrivals. It was far easier for them to lock onto forces arriving with a domain field.
So in Feng Qi's view, the Silver Moon Clan was being extremely smart.
Their no-domain-field approach ensured safety, while the advance team entering first could build the foundation for the clan's development.
It struck a balance between security and resources.
Feng Qi had to admit—the Silver Moon Clan's strategy was brilliant. It was just a shame that they ran into Suction Cup and Tian Shu, which doomed them to a tragic ending.
All he could say was: Heaven bless humanity.
Groups like the Nightshade Clan, Mist Clan, and so on—he had eliminated them by altering the future.
But the crisis brought by the Silver Moon Clan's arrival had resolved itself through the course of natural history.
If they hadn't exited early, Feng Qi wouldn't have even made it into Star City's shelter during his first Future Dream. There might not have even been a shelter at all.
Thinking about it was terrifying.
If he had never figured out that the blood moon world was the future—1,500 years ahead—then his so-called path to saving the world would've become some typical "level up in the dream, show off in the real world" urban power-fantasy plot.
And odds were, he'd be killed early by people like Old Mist or Black Shadow before the story even started.
Even if he survived, if he'd rushed to the frontlines using his plundering talents, he might've run into someone like Jian Ji—powerful enough to kill him instantly.
That would've been game over too.
So the Silver Moon Clan exiting the stage early, under the butterfly effect, set him on the path to becoming a true savior—and also ended up saving all of human civilization.
But on this timeline, the Silver Moon Clan would descend as an ally to humanity.
There was no need for bloodshed anymore.
Now, the key was how to ensure effective development through cooperation between the two races.
But before that, the issue of supplying the Silver Moon Clan had to be solved.
Otherwise, their so-called allies would be left digging up wild herbs and chewing bark on the eastern plains of Star City just to survive.
If that happened, even if the alliance was forced by circumstance, resentment would build from the start—and it would definitely explode someday.
There were still five years to go.
Feng Qi believed he had to complete the construction of the Western Supply Zone as soon as possible, then invite the major battle squads to station themselves at the western front.
Only by doing that could Star City generate a continuous supply of resources and fix the severe shortage problem once and for all.