Translator: CinderTL
With only one day remaining until the Tiger Soul Concept Competition, Feng Qi's Cultivation Class One schedule was abruptly expanded to include three additional sessions, each lasting an hour and a half.
Even Bai Fusheng believed Star City Academy had a strong chance of winning this year's Tiger Soul Concept Competition. After all, the Human Body Deity Seeding Concept had the potential to revolutionize the modern cultivation system, filling a critical gap.
Before the competition even began, several research institutes had already learned about the concept online and called to inquire. Bai Fusheng could only reply that details would be revealed during the competition.
Therefore, he decided to have Feng Qi conduct extra classes to deepen the students' understanding of the Human Body Deity Seeding Concept, knowing that multiple research institutes would be closely monitoring the competition.
As a result, Feng Qi spent the entire day immersed in teaching, barely leaving the classroom except for meal breaks.
The competition was structured by class. Each student would present a portion of the concept, followed by online scoring. If the class advanced to the finals, the final evaluation would be conducted by a panel of judges from the Tiger Soul Research Institute. Every student was required to participate.
Realizing their class might be recorded in history, the students were exceptionally excited and brimming with enthusiasm.
After Feng Qi finished his classes, they didn't relax. Clutching their notebooks, they seized every moment to review.
After a long, busy day, Feng Qi arrived at the Academy Cafeteria.
Feeling ravenous, he piled his tray high with food and settled at a table in the north corner.
Mu Qing was already there, devouring her meal with gusto, but Lin Ran was nowhere to be seen.
After greeting Mu Qing, Feng Qi began to eat heartily.
His energy progress bar had reached 99.2%, leaving him just 0.8% away from entering the Dream Realm again.
With his enhanced physical strength, he could now gain approximately 0.5% energy replenishment from eating until completely stuffed. He figured he could push himself to reach the goal tonight.
For dinner, he chose high-calorie foods: peanut butter, cheese-baked steak, and various fried items. Anything fatty, sugary, or calorie-dense was his top priority.
Midway through his meal, Lin Ran arrived with his tray.
As usual, the food on Lin Ran's tray wouldn't have been enough to fill Feng Qi and Mu Qing's teeth.
He sat down sideways at the table and glanced at the mountain of food on Feng Qi's tray, his face showing a hint of astonishment.
"Brother Qi, are you challenging Senior Sister?"
Feng Qi rolled his eyes at the question, swallowed his mouthful, and replied, "Today's classes were exhausting. I'm just eating more to replenish my energy."
"Be careful not to overdo it. Eating like this is so unhealthy—it's all high-calorie food. Just looking at it makes me feel full."
"One occasional meal won't hurt. Eat your own food," Feng Qi said, burying his face back in his plate.
With his powerful digestive system, he didn't need to worry about unhealthy food straining his body. Excess calories would simply be absorbed by his energy progress bar.
Though the meal was greasy, his body could handle it perfectly.
For the first fifteen minutes, the three ate in silence, each focused on their meal.
After that, Feng Qi slowed his pace, while Lin Ran, already full, had entered a state of contentment.
They began chatting about their day's experiences.
The conversation was mostly between Feng Qi and Lin Ran, with Mu Qing rarely interjecting. Still, compared to her previous silence, she had undergone a remarkable transformation.
Half an hour later, Feng Qi stared at the final 0.13% on his progress panel, his expression twisting slightly.
He couldn't eat another bite; he was on the verge of throwing up.
But with the energy progress bar so close to full, he refused to give up.
"Brother Qi, should we head to the library to study next?" Lin Ran asked.
Feng Qi shook his head, picked up his tray, and stood up. "No, I'm resting tonight. I'm going to get some dessert."
"You can still eat?" Lin Ran asked, his face full of astonishment.
"Men have two stomachs—one for meals and one for sweets," Feng Qi said, striding toward the dessert area.
"Isn't that usually said about women?" Lin Ran muttered to himself.
After Feng Qi had walked away, Lin Ran leaned toward Mu Qing and whispered, "Maybe it's just a man's inexplicable pride. Senior Sister, you could let him win occasionally."
Mu Qing paused, then slowly raised her head to explain, "We weren't competing over who could eat more."
"His actions prove he's secretly trying to outdo you. How else would you explain him forcing himself to eat like that?"
Watching Lin Ran's earnest analysis, Mu Qing seemed to waver.
They all knew Feng Qi's usual appetite from their shared meals. Today, he had eaten far more than usual and was still wanting more. Clearly, there had to be a reason.
Mu Qing's expression grew hesitant.
Holding back meant going hungry, a torment both physical and mental.
Just then, Feng Qi returned with his tray and turned to Lin Ran.
"Stop trying to trick Senior Sister. I heard everything. I'm eating so much because I'm researching a new cultivation technique, not competing with her. You're imagining things. I know my limits."
"A new technique? If you're talking about that, I'm wide awake! Tell me all about it!"
"No time."
With that, Feng Qi lowered his head and resumed eating.
Ten minutes later, the energy progress bar in his eyes finally reached 100%.
As for the remaining food on his tray, he transferred it all to Mu Qing's plate, adhering to his principle of not wasting food.
After saying goodbye to Mu Qing, Feng Qi and Lin Ran stood up and left the Academy Cafeteria.
Lin Ran headed to the library to study, while Feng Qi walked straight toward the dormitory building.
Now that his energy was replenished, he decided to re-enter the Dream Realm and wreak havoc.
Back in his dorm, Feng Qi downed two bottles of wine before collapsing onto his bed.
In his drunken haze, his mind gradually emptied.
The moment he opened his eyes, a chilling wind brushed his face.
Looking up, he saw the Blood Moon hanging high in the sky, surrounded by churning dark clouds. The scene from his Dream Realm vision remained unchanged.
But he had already prepared himself for this.
After all, his plan for the future had prioritized stability. While minor historical deviations might have occurred, attempting to alter the ultimate fate of Human Civilization was clearly wishful thinking.
Scanning his surroundings, he grinned and called out:
"Narrator, time to get to work!"
Taking a day off. Thanks, boss.
Feng Qi: ...
"Denied!"
He dismissed the Narrator's reply without a second thought. Having thoroughly understood the Narrator's habits, he knew it would inevitably chime in when necessary.
Taking a step forward, he kicked Little Cripple's head flying and strode toward the underground shelter.
Moments later, he entered the shelter and stood before the data control console.
Activating the database, a cascade of code scrolled across the screen, followed by the familiar options panel.
With a well-formed plan in mind, he first opened the search list and typed in Wei Wei's name.
After filtering the results, the relevant information appeared.
Wei Wei (Human Traitor)
Lifespan: 539 years
Cause of Death: (Classified Information)
Lifetime Achievements (Honors): Director of the Genetics Department at the Scarlet Research Institute (Revoked), Former Honorary Vice-Principal of the Technology Academy (Revoked), S-Class Human Elite Medal (Revoked), Outstanding Contribution to Human Development Award (Revoked)...
Research Findings: (Classified Information)
Evaluation: In her early years, Wei Wei was a pioneer of human development, making significant contributions to the biological sciences and leaving an indelible mark on the rise of Human Civilization.
However, in her later years, she fell under the mental control of a Domain-Transcending Creature, completely siding with the domain creatures. She secretly plotted humanity's destruction, but fortunately, her scheme was discovered in time, preventing an irreparable catastrophe.
After reading the Future People's evaluation of Wei Wei, Feng Qi's expression turned grave.
He no longer fully trusted historical records, maintaining a skeptical attitude.
However, if the information about Wei Wei in the database was accurate, it would explain why the Scarlet Research Institute housed Domain-Transcending Creatures.
Wei Wei had been completely controlled, and the entire institute had been infiltrated by these creatures.
Yet a new doubt surfaced in his mind.
If Wei Wei was aligned with the Domain-Transcending Creatures, why did she create the Suction Cup and deploy it to protect Star City when the Domain Field threatened to engulf it?
From this perspective, Wei Wei clearly sided with humanity.
With limited information, the truth remained elusive.
He would have to wait for the next Undercover Route to uncover more details.
As for why he hadn't chosen the Undercover Route this time, he believed the secrets of the Scarlet Research Institute might be revealed in Mu Qing's email messages.
Closing Wei Wei's profile, he typed his own name into the search bar.
After filtering the results, his detailed information appeared on the screen.
Feng Qi (Era's Paragon)
Lifespan: 32 years
Cause of Death: Sudden accidental death
Date of Death: March 14, 2037
Lifetime Achievements (Honors): S-Class Outstanding Graduate of Star City Academy, A-Class Human Elite Medal, Outstanding Contribution to Human Development Award, ...
Research Contributions: Cultivation Exercises Version 2.0, Fierce Tiger Fist, Body Tempering Art, Heaven and Earth Meditation, Soul Seizing, Founder of the Human Body Deity Seeding Concept, Participant in the 3.76 version update of the cultivation system, ...
Evaluation: A paragon destined to be remembered by history. In his early years, Feng Qi was regarded as a super genius with limitless potential, his talent hailed as the greatest in history, and humanity placed immense hope in him.
During his time as a substitute teacher at Star City Academy, he nurtured numerous outstanding talents, contributing significantly to the rise of Human Civilization. His contributions were immeasurable.
However, Feng Qi's brilliance did not endure. As he aged, his talent seemed to wane, and he could no longer create new innovations.
Yet history remembers his contributions. His statue will forever stand within Star City Academy, for future generations to admire.
In the comments section, there was nothing but flower emojis and praise.
Yet Feng Qi felt no joy whatsoever.
Sudden accidental death? What a load of bull! Pfft, I don't believe a single punctuation mark of it.
"If I had to guess, my future self was assassinated by a Domain-Transcending Creature."
Despite saying this, numerous doubts surfaced in his mind.
In this timeline, while his early achievements were dazzling, his later performance was lackluster. He had only established the Dawn Domain Combat Team.
Logically, he shouldn't have attracted the attention of malevolent forces lurking in the shadows.
But to believe it was a sudden accidental death? How could he possibly accept that?
Is it possible you accidentally obtained too much critical information, making your death necessary?
"I don't know, but I can't rule out that possibility."
The information in the future database had changed significantly this time. It was clear that key details couldn't be found through character profiles alone.
Therefore, he decided to temporarily refrain from using his third character information retrieval attempt. Instead, he entered his email address into the search bar.
After a few seconds, his private email page popped up.
But when he opened the inbox, he was stunned to find it completely empty.
Well, well, if I'm not mistaken, giving Mu Qing your private email address completely compromised your secrets. This might even be the reason for your "sudden death" in the future.
It's highly likely that an agent of an evil force has infiltrated Mu Qing's inner circle and obtained the information you shared with her.
Hearing the Narrator's explanation, Feng Qi clenched his fist and slammed it against the console in anger.
"Damn it!"
(End of the Chapter)