Three months later.
Old Day Academy.
At dawn, Feng Qi woke up, got out of bed, and pulled open the curtains, letting the sunlight fill the room.
He walked over to the corner of his desk and lit three sticks of Awakening Incense before sitting down to review the knowledge he had learned the day before.
Since parting ways with the Mist Lord, he had officially begun his academic life.
For the Feng Qi on the Sacrifice Timeline, learning domain studies had no meaning, but for the Main Timeline, it was critical. This knowledge would serve as the foundation for his future progress.
Over time, he had gained a deeper understanding of domain studies.
The written and spoken languages within domain studies were vast and diverse, but they could generally be categorized into three types:
Ancient Script, New World Script, and Spiritual Script.
Ancient Script consisted of written language left behind by the domain world's predecessors. It was most commonly found inscribed on stone monuments, but tracing its origins was nearly impossible—even the native creatures of the domain world couldn't determine exactly when it first appeared.
New World Script was the most complex category.
To this day, humanity had yet to map out the entire domain world and determine how many smaller sub-worlds it contained.
However, based on interactions with various domain species, they had discovered that the domain world was divided into numerous layered worlds, such as the Black Abyss Layer, Heaven Domain Layer, Spirit Domain Layer, and Infernal Domain Layer, among many others.
Each layered world had its own common language as well as unique languages belonging to different races.
It was much like the pre-cataclysmic world, where nations had a universal language but also regional dialects.
However, the number of domain languages was staggering, to the point where it made one's head spin.
Even within a single layered world, there were multiple subdivisions, each containing numerous races that had claimed different territories.
For example, the Mist Tribe originated from the Second Layer of the Spirit Domain.
Finally, Spiritual Script was the simplest yet also the most complex of the three.
Spiritual communication was a form of interaction that bypassed written language, allowing thoughts and ideas to be conveyed instantly.
In essence, using written symbols for spiritual communication was a step backward.
However, the existence of written spiritual language still had its purpose.
While spiritual communication was efficient, it had zero privacy—it could easily be picked up by any nearby beings.
Spiritual Script was developed as an encryption method for spiritual communication.
It was primarily used by spirit-type beings and was the newest linguistic field to be established.
At this stage, Feng Qi's focus was on learning the "common scripts" of each layered world in the New World Script category.
As long as he mastered these universal languages, he would be able to communicate freely with any race.
As for Ancient Script and Spiritual Script, he didn't see much need to study them for now.
These past three months, Feng Qi had come to truly understand what it meant to be drowning in an ocean of knowledge.
Especially when comparing it to the learning environment at Star City Academy.
At Star City Academy, students had more freedom—aside from scheduled classes, they had ample time for independent study.
They could go to the library, conduct research in laboratories, or engage in self-guided projects.
Old Day Academy, however—or more specifically, Old Day Academy's domain studies program—had an entirely different approach.
It was full-fledged "cram school" education.
There were no fancy techniques or hands-on projects in the early stages—just pure memorization.
The sheer volume of knowledge to be memorized was overwhelming.
Even with his above-average memory, Feng Qi found himself completely buried in the competitive atmosphere of his class.
Every three days, there was a small quiz.
Every week, a major exam.
Every day, endless rounds of practice questions.
Even in his dreams, he was reviewing domain studies.
He had no choice but to keep up with the grind.
Among his classmates, there was one girl in particular who stood out—a true memorization prodigy.
She could glance at a book once and recite it word for word the next moment.
It was in places like this—elite institutions filled with geniuses—that the differences between people became painfully clear.
To push students even further, the domain studies program also had a scholarship system, with monthly rewards based on exam rankings.
This was one of the main reasons why the competition was so brutal.
While students in other majors at Old Day Academy could still enjoy their university life—dating, socializing, and having fun—domain studies students had no such luxury.
Love? They didn't have time for love.
They didn't even deserve love.
They spent their meals reviewing knowledge points.
They spent their sleeping hours dreaming of memorization drills.
They even spent their bathroom breaks mentally reciting study material.
The constant pressure of exams loomed over them like an unshakable mountain.
In such a competitive environment, no one dared to slack off.
Surrounded by academic overachievers, Feng Qi had no choice but to join the grind.
Whenever he and his classmates gathered for brief moments of respite, they would complain about the sheer volume of information they had to memorize.
At its inception, domain studies had been relatively simple—back when there was less knowledge to remember.
But today, after years of accumulated research, the field had grown into a bottomless abyss of information.
Three months later.
As one of Feng Qi's classmates put it, "There are always people who make our peaceful years possible, allowing us to carry on with the heavy burdens ahead."
This statement referred to the early domain studies students, who easily mastered all the knowledge in their field and became pioneers and contributors of new knowledge, paving the way for future generations.
Thanks to their hard work, domain studies advanced rapidly.
As a result, the later students had to learn even more knowledge.
Being part of the current generation of domain studies students, their ultimate goal was also to become contributors of knowledge in this field, creating more content for future generations.
Every student in this field was a dragon slayer.
At the same time, each student who completed the knowledge and slayed the dragon was destined to become the evil dragon, bringing new knowledge (and suffering) to the next generation.
Complaining was inevitable, but the learning had to continue.
After three months of academic grind, Feng Qi was determined.
If others could learn it, so could he.
"Come on, let's dive into it!"
Opening the domain studies books, Feng Qi began his morning study session in the dormitory room, filled with the scent of awakening sandalwood incense.
The metaphor of suspending from the beam and stabbing the thighs fueled his resolve, for the future was bright.
As he studied, his phone suddenly rang.
Feng Qi reached for the phone on his desk and saw that it was a call from his domain studies teacher.
"Ah Qi, I've asked the principal. He says there's a precedent for special recruitment in domain studies, but it requires passing a much more rigorous exam. If your friend isn't in a rush to enroll, I'd suggest waiting for the next opportunity…"
After hanging up, a spark of excitement flashed in Feng Qi's eyes.
Normally, Old Day Academy's admission process only allowed for one intake per year.
But a year was simply too long.
Although Old Mist had promised to accompany him through his academic journey, who knew whether Old Mist would develop new ideas during that time.
And if Old Mist had a change of heart, the sacrifice timeline would transform into an academic timeline, and he would most likely lose contact with the spirit-powered race.
The challenge now was how to get Old Mist to enroll early.
At this point, Feng Qi clearly couldn't seek help from Star City—he couldn't let anyone know that he had connections to Tiger Soul Research Institute and other forces in Star City.
This could raise suspicions from the spirit-powered race, and worse, it might make Old Mist suspicious too.
For this reason, he had asked the academy's teacher for help.
Now, he had received a response—there were indeed cases of special recruitment, but it required passing a more difficult exam to prove one's worth to be specially admitted into Old Day Academy.
Feng Qi had confidence in Old Mist's talents.
At this moment, he grabbed the phone and dialed Mist Lord's number.
Old Day City, North of the City.
Slaughterhouse No. 3.
On the processing assembly line, cattle with their guts spilled were hung upside down as they slid along the conveyor, with blood dripping into the blood pool below, which was then sent to the next processing line.
The Mist Lord, dressed in a work uniform, stood in front of the conveyor. He looked up at the surveillance monitor in the upper right corner. Once the monitor shifted, he waved his hand toward the blood pool, causing the blood to ripple.
Thin wisps of vital energy rose from the pool and flowed into the Mist Lord's body, nourishing him.
After a few minutes, the Mist Lord decisively stopped.
Sneaking in a bit of vital energy had become one of his small joys during work at the slaughterhouse.
His tasks here were quite simple. He was mainly responsible for managing the machinery, not slaughtering cattle or sheep.
In the modern world, most work had become mechanized.
Every day, large amounts of livestock were sent to Slaughterhouse No. 3 for processing. Once they were placed on the assembly line, they were electrocuted to death, and subsequent steps like shaving, cleaning, and draining were all done on the conveyor.
The Mist Lord's job was to oversee one of the conveyor lines.
His task was to check whether the machines were operating correctly.
When the red light appeared, it meant a malfunction; when the green light appeared, it meant everything was working normally.
This job had no real challenges—it was even quite easy.
He took this job not just for the salary to buy books on domain studies but, more importantly, for the chance to secretly absorb vital energy.
Taking in small amounts of vital energy went unnoticed.
It was the perfect job—earn money and heal wounds at the same time.
At this moment, the phone rang.
The Mist Lord reached for the phone, pressed the answer button, and the familiar voice came through:
"Old Mist, what are you doing?"
"Being a cabbage, tightening screws!" the Mist Lord answered irritably.
After a brief silence, laughter came from the other end.
"How's your study progress?"
"I've mastered all the basic knowledge. It wasn't difficult at all. Just waiting for the exam now."
When Feng Qi heard that Old Mist had already mastered all the basic knowledge, he was surprised, yet it seemed entirely expected.
"I inquired for you, Old Day Academy does have a special recruitment quota, but the exam difficulty is extremely high. Are you confident?"
"How difficult are we talking about?"
"Three to five times the difficulty of a regular exam."
"Is it still within the scope of basic knowledge? If it's just the basics, I have no problem with it. I guarantee I won't make a single mistake."
"Not necessarily. It also involves new, real-time knowledge, like which domain fields were recently cleared. You'll need to keep up with current news from the frontlines."
"That's no problem. When does the exam start? I'll prepare for a few days and brush up on the recent news."
"It can start anytime. I'm waiting for you to be ready."
"Got it. I need to go tighten some screws now. Let's talk later."
"Didn't you say you work at the slaughterhouse? What screws are you tightening?"
"As a cabbage, my job can be summed up as tightening screws." The Mist Lord replied indifferently.
"Who told you that?"
"Some other screw-tighteners around me. They're always swearing at the boss. After hearing it so many times, I just picked it up. It's easy to join in, just shout a few curses, and you fit right in."
Feng Qi: …
Hearing Mist Lord's complaints, Feng Qi suddenly thought back to when Old Mist worked at Winterfell Steel Mill.
Back then, Old Mist also had an extraordinary learning ability.
The thing he mastered the fastest was the various swear words, and within a few days of working, he could spout them effortlessly.
...
Over the next month, Feng Qi continued his studies.
At the same time, he kept track of Old Mist's progress, sending him supplementary knowledge through video calls every evening.
Mist Lord's progress was rapid.
Even Feng Qi felt that Old Mist would have no problem passing the Old Day Academy domain studies exam.
Finally, Mist Lord took the initiative to request the special recruitment exam.
One day, Mist Lord arrived at the school gate wearing his slaughterhouse uniform.
Feng Qi also arrived at that moment to escort Mist Lord into the academy.
He had already applied for the special recruitment exam on Mist Lord's behalf, and the Old Day Academy management had approved it, so it could proceed anytime.
However, the special recruitment exam was not open to just anyone.
After all, it was a special exam, and if anyone could apply, it would undoubtedly cause significant trouble for Old Day Academy.
The conditions to apply for the special recruitment exam were stringent.
One of the requirements was to have a referrer.
For instance, those companies that paid substantial fees to support Old Day Academy every year were entitled to one referral every three years.
Similarly, the descendants of Old Day Academy teachers also had the chance to apply for a special recruitment exam.
Feng Qi, however, became Mist Lord's referrer due to his status as an Outstanding Human Medal recipient.
He led Mist Lord to the classroom where the special recruitment exam was being held.
At this moment, a teacher wearing glasses was already waiting in the room.
After greeting the teacher, Mist Lord sat down at the only desk in the classroom.
The special recruitment teacher handed out the test papers and said:
"Let's begin the exam. You have three hours to complete it." He pressed the timer as he spoke.
Mist Lord, hearing this, did not respond but silently lowered his head and began to answer the questions.
Meanwhile, Feng Qi stood outside the classroom, able to hear the sounds from inside, but unable to observe the actual situation.
Two hours later,
Mist Lord and the invigilator emerged from the classroom.
"How did it go?" Feng Qi immediately asked.
"Not as hard as tightening screws, but it's stable."
Feng Qi: …
Invigilator: …
What Mist Lord said might have sounded arrogant, but Feng Qi felt confident all of a sudden.
However, the invigilator frowned slightly, seemingly displeased.
"Did you set the paper?" Mist Lord asked the invigilator.
"Why do you ask?"
"I could feel you looking at me with dissatisfaction, obviously not happy with what I just said. So I have reason to suspect you're the one who set the paper… If I offended you with my words earlier, I sincerely apologize." As he spoke, Mist Lord respectfully bowed to the invigilator.
Seeing the polite Mist Lord, Feng Qi secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
Knowing Old Mist so well, Feng Qi understood that this was just another act of Old Mist's disguise. It was definitely not a genuine apology.
As Old Mist once said, "When you need to act humble, just act humble. You won't lose anything, but you'll avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Mist Lord was fierce behind the scenes, but humble on the surface—this was the Old Mist Feng Qi knew.
For example, back when they were in the Death Star Combat Squad, Old Mist would always scoff at the reports about Mu Qing from the news, making bold statements.
"One day I'll be stronger than her, I'll definitely defeat her, my talent will crush hers," and so on.
But when he actually encountered Mu Qing, he backed down faster than anyone.
During the bloodstone escort mission, when Old Mist came face to face with Mu Qing, he was so terrified he nearly buried himself underground. He was just about to shout, "I can't be seen."
This guy was always so authentic.