Three months later, Crimson Research Institute.
Inside Wei Wei's private laboratory, Feng Qi stood across from a timid little boy clinging tightly to Wei Wei's pants, his small hands gripping the fabric nervously.
Feng Qi waved his hand in greeting, trying to appear friendly, but the boy only shrank further behind Wei Wei, peeking out cautiously with half his face exposed. His eyes were filled with wariness and unease.
It had been some time since Feng Qi had brought Zhang Daowen to the Crimson Research Institute.
In the early days, the child often cried uncontrollably for his lost grandmother, his sobs echoing through the halls. But as time passed, the grief had subsided, and he no longer wept every night.
Wei Wei had become his new source of security.
Now that his recent tasks had settled down, Feng Qi decided to stay at the Crimson Research Institute for a while and personally oversee the child's growth.
He had considered leaving the boy entirely in Crimson Research Institute's care, but while they were more than capable of raising him, they lacked the ability to properly cultivate him.
Unlike Mu Qing, Zhang Daowen did not require rune crystal infusion to develop. Traditional cultivation techniques were his best option.
However, the cultivation techniques available in Crimson Research Institute were largely retrieved from the database, their teaching quality inferior even to Star City Academy.
After all, every field had its specialists.
On top of that, Zhang Daowen's situation was highly unique.
Wei Wei had conducted a full examination and discovered that his body's internal structure differed significantly from that of a human, especially in the pathways of his meridians.
If he recklessly practiced standard human cultivation techniques, the outcome was predictable—he would most likely die from an internal collapse.
This was precisely why Feng Qi chose to personally guide him.
Among all the techniques he had mastered, there were only two that could be considered universal cultivation methods, ones that did not require specific meridian alignments:
1. Flesh Sacrifice
2. Blade Body
Of these, Feng Qi immediately ruled out Flesh Sacrifice.
If the boy's nature turned cruel in the future, then Flesh Sacrifice could serve as a hidden failsafe, a lethal restriction placed on him. If Zhang Daowen ever became an enemy of humanity, Feng Qi could activate the Flesh Cauldron sequence from the Crimson Research Institute to eliminate him.
That left Blade Body.
This technique was something Feng Qi had learned from the Demon Blade's memories—a universal combat technique developed out of necessity.
The Demon Blade had passed through countless hands, traveling across numerous worlds, and its wielders had never belonged to a single race.
For the blade, tailoring a cultivation method to fit each new master would have been a waste of time. Every time a new wielder was chosen, a new cultivation technique would need to be developed, adjusted to match their meridian structure and physiology.
Thus, a universal method became the most efficient solution, leading to the creation of Blade Body.
The development of this technique took a great deal of effort, but in the end, it became one of the most refined and practical training methods for combat-oriented individuals, regardless of their species or physique.
Feng Qi firmly believed that this technique was the perfect choice for Zhang Daowen's training.
Even now, Feng Qi couldn't shake the feeling that the name "Zhang Daowen" was strangely familiar.
He had heard it somewhere before, but he just couldn't remember where.
Based on logical deduction, if the boy had grown up in the normal timeline as a human, he would have achieved great renown in history.
Furthermore, influenced by his grandmother's values, Zhang Daowen was unlikely to pursue the path of a warrior. Instead, he would have joined a research institute, dedicating himself to scientific and technological advancements.
However, this time, Feng Qi was going to change that path.
He was determined to steer the boy toward martial cultivation and mold him into a powerful guardian of humanity.
Even if he never reached Mu Qing's monstrous level of strength, Zhang Daowen possessed enough potential to become one of humanity's future War Gods—a force capable of shaping an entire era.
His training would be critical.
And judging by the Mist Lord's unusual level of attention toward the boy, that much was clear.
Feng Qi knew Old Mist's personality all too well.
The Mist Lord had never shown sympathy for other races. When dealing with non-humans, he prioritized personal gain over all else.
For someone like that to value Zhang Daowen so highly, even considering adopting him as a foster son, could only mean one thing—
This child's potential was immense.
Whatever Zhang Daowen's identity was in history, Feng Qi no longer cared.
Following Old Mist's suggestion, he would cultivate the boy into a warrior of humanity.
The path of a War God begins in childhood.
However, at present, the child did not seem to like him very much.
He still hid behind Wei Wei, peeking out cautiously like a frightened kitten.
This was in stark contrast to how Suction Cup had behaved when they first met—clinging onto him relentlessly.
Zhang Daowen, on the other hand, remained wary and distant.
But Feng Qi was patient.
Over the next few days, he settled into the Crimson Research Institute, taking the time to slowly earn the boy's trust.
The strangeness between them gradually faded.
Since Wei Wei was often occupied with her research, Feng Qi took full responsibility for caring for Zhang Daowen, even putting him to bed at night.
Little by little, the boy began to rely on him as well.
Especially at bedtime—Zhang Daowen absolutely refused to sleep unless Feng Qi told him a story.
And so, storytelling became the first step in shaping the child's character.
His intelligence was already advanced, and he could understand most of what Feng Qi said.
However, at this stage, lecturing him on deep moral principles wouldn't be effective.
Instead, stories were the best way to instill values and lay the foundation for his future growth.
Heroes fighting evil dragons and saving the world… These kinds of stories might be cliché, but to a child at this age, they were irresistibly fascinating.
Even though the worlds and characters in the stories were fictional, they helped Zhang Daowen understand the meaning of justice.
As he grew, his moral compass would gradually form through these stories.
Later, when he was older, Feng Qi would follow Old Wang's example and tell him about humanity's battle against domain creatures.
If he wanted Zhang Daowen to fight for humanity, he had to first make sure the boy truly identified with the human race.
This routine continued for two months.
One morning, after breakfast, Feng Qi brought Zhang Daowen to the training room at the Crimson Research Institute.
By now, the child no longer avoided his presence. Seeing this, Feng Qi decided it was time to start his training.
However, it was too early to introduce the Blade Body technique.
For now, he would start with the simplest form of Qi Breathing techniques.
This type of training focused on absorbing spiritual energy from the environment to nourish the body. Since it did not require meridian alignment, it was mainly used as a foundational practice for body refinement.
At the east side of the training room, Feng Qi sat cross-legged and motioned for Zhang Daowen to do the same.
But even at just over three years old, the child was restless and full of energy, refusing to sit still.
"Xiao Wen, follow my breathing rhythm," Feng Qi instructed.
"No." The boy shook his head stubbornly.
"Do you still want to hear stories?"
"Yes." Zhang Daowen nodded immediately.
"Then behave, or no stories tonight."
Hearing this, the boy pouted, but in the end, he reluctantly sat down beside Feng Qi, legs crossed.
Following Feng Qi's guidance, Zhang Daowen began practicing rhythmic breathing.
"Xiao Wen, close your eyes and try to sense what's around you. Do you feel anything different?"
A moment of silence passed before the boy whispered excitedly:
"I see colorful dots everywhere! They look so pretty."
Feng Qi's eyes snapped open.
This was only his first time practicing Qi Breathing, and he could already perceive spiritual energy and elemental particles? That level of talent was absurd!
Suppressing his shock, he continued the guidance:
"Now, imagine a pair of hands. Try using them to catch the golden particles around you and press them into your body."
Zhang Daowen frowned slightly before responding:
"Qi-shushu, I don't need to. The golden dots are going into my body by themselves… It feels warm and really nice."
Feng Qi: …
This is ridiculous.
If his guess was correct, this was Zhang Daowen's innate bloodline ability.
A passive auto-cultivation effect that naturally gathered spiritual energy? That was basically a cheat ability.
Even without a proper technique to guide the Qi flow, the sheer nourishment from the ambient energy would still allow Zhang Daowen to live longer and develop an incredibly strong physique.
Feng Qi extended his perception to examine Zhang Daowen's body.
In his perception view, the boy's body glowed faintly, and the spiritual energy particles in the air were actively drawn toward him, streaming into him in a continuous flow.
Watching this, Feng Qi was once again reminded of the immense gap between humans and the elite domain races.
For ordinary humans, real cultivation didn't begin until they were 16 or 17 years old.
Before that, the most they could do was practice basic body-refining exercises, which laid the groundwork but provided little tangible progress.
Only after years of training did they learn to sense and absorb spiritual energy.
For them, spiritual energy intake was a challenge. They had to rely on mental visualization, picturing large nets or hands to capture and absorb the energy.
That was the first major hurdle.
The second was learning how to stabilize the absorbed energy.
Spiritual energy particles in the air were highly active. Even if absorbed, they often escaped back into the environment before the body could fully utilize them.
Mastering these two steps meant one had truly begun the path of cultivation.
But for Zhang Daowen?
Neither of these hurdles existed.
He didn't need meditation to attract energy. It naturally flowed into him.
Even more shocking, the energy entering his body automatically stabilized itself, allowing him to fully absorb it without any effort.
The difference in talent was terrifying.
This realization made Feng Qi even more excited for Zhang Daowen's future.
The reason why this child had appeared in Star City was still a mystery, but one thing was certain—
If Zhang Daowen fully grew into his potential, he could accelerate humanity's progress by centuries.
At that moment, Feng Qi recalled what the Mist Lord had said about Zhang Daowen.
"This child's potential is terrifying. If he were raised in a high-tier domain race, he would receive cultivation techniques perfectly suited to his bloodline and unlimited top-tier resources. His future would be limitless."
"But being born as a human means he's starting on nightmare difficulty. Not only does he lack a matching cultivation technique, but the resources available to him are also inadequate."
It was an unpleasant truth. But it was the truth nonetheless.
Humanity could not provide Zhang Daowen with a cultivation technique suited to his bloodline, nor the top-tier cultivation resources and education system that came with it.
But his potential was undeniable.
His ancestors had already laid a solid foundation for his bloodline.
Gold will shine no matter where it is placed, and Zhang Daowen was a piece of gold on the verge of radiating brilliance.
In Feng Qi's perception view, the boy's chest ignited with golden flames, continuously burning the spiritual energy particles flooding into his body. These flames purified the energy and distributed it throughout his body, gradually raising his body temperature.
He could clearly sense that under the nourishment of spiritual energy, Zhang Daowen's physical fitness was steadily improving.
After a long session of cultivation, Zhang Daowen slowly opened his eyes.
His cheeks were flushed red, and his blue eyes blinked in excitement, making him look adorably innocent.
"Qi-shushu, cultivating is so much fun!"
As he spoke, the boy stood up, but before he could stabilize himself, his body wobbled, and he stumbled forward, tumbling nearly two meters.
Feng Qi: …
It was obvious that his physical strength had significantly improved, but Zhang Daowen himself hadn't realized it yet.
This sudden fall was due to his body's enhanced strength, which he was not yet accustomed to.
"Wuwuwu… waaah!"
Zhang Daowen immediately burst into tears, his eyes welling up with tears that streamed down his face.
But even as he sobbed, he glanced at Feng Qi from time to time, as if waiting for him to come over and console him.
Feng Qi sighed inwardly and walked over to him.
Being a caregiver wasn't easy.
Zhang Daowen was extremely intelligent and had an astonishing comprehension ability, but at the same time, he was an absolute crybaby.
According to Wei Wei, his habit of crying was a result of being abandoned by the old woman. The experience left him sensitive and fragile, making him believe that crying would bring attention and care.
Right now, he was still young, so Feng Qi had no choice but to comfort him.
But this personality definitely had to change.
As he gently ruffled Zhang Daowen's hair, Feng Qi softly recited the "Code of a True Man", trying to use words to suppress the boy's crying.
After a while, Zhang Daowen tilted his head, leaned against Feng Qi's shoulder, and fell asleep.
Feng Qi sighed helplessly before carrying the boy to the sofa and sitting down.
A few hours later, Zhang Daowen woke up from hunger and immediately started clamoring for delicious spiritual plants.
One month later, Feng Qi and Zhang Daowen were in the training room, doing handstand push-ups.
Despite being only three years old, Zhang Daowen's physical strength had already reached the upper Black Iron tier in the human cultivation evaluation system.
He was just one step away from the Bronze tier.
His growth speed left Feng Qi in awe.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Zhang Daowen's progress constantly shattered his expectations.
Training had also helped shape his personality. Though he still loved to cling to Feng Qi, he was visibly more confident and courageous.
"Xiao Wen, keep going. One thousand more handstand push-ups."
After saying that, Feng Qi flipped upright and walked over to the sofa, sitting down.
Zhang Daowen obediently continued training, counting in a soft, determined voice:
"One, two, three, four…"
Meanwhile, Feng Qi picked up the tablet on the coffee table and started browsing recent news.
In particular, he focused on updates regarding education reform—the project he prioritized the most at this stage.
In truth, Old Wang had noticed issues in the education system long ago.
Feng Qi clearly remembered how Old Wang once explained his reason for becoming a teacher:
He had realized that many people carried weakness in their very bones, and he wanted to change that through education.
Back then, Old Wang frequently posted on online forums, trying to awaken the courage and resilience buried within people's hearts.
It was evident that educational problems had existed for a long time.
Only after gradually uncovering the world's hidden truths did Feng Qi realize that domain forces had been secretly interfering with humanity's education system.
To the powerful domain races, humans were beneath their notice—they couldn't care less about how humanity grew.
But to domain factions weaker than the true elites, suppressing humanity's development was part of their long-term strategy.
They did not want humans to rise.
Education reform was necessary to eliminate the hidden threats hindering humanity's growth.
Feng Qi read through the messages from the Ministry of Education with great focus.
After a while, he glanced up and saw that Zhang Daowen was still training obediently.
Satisfied, he nodded.
He then picked up a bottle of mental soothing agent, tilted his head back, and took a sip.
The cool liquid slid down his throat, bringing an instant sense of relief, soothing his tense mental state. His entire body relaxed.
Lowering his head, he returned his gaze to the tablet screen, preparing to continue reading the reform details.
Just as he was about to flip to the next page, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.
His eyes widened.
He had finally remembered where he had heard the name "Zhang Daowen" before.
It was from a dream of the future—1,500 years later.
In that timeline, humanity had not yet been wiped out.
At one point, he had entered a human shelter and met people from the future.
And it was during a casual lesson at the Star City Shelter, where a teacher was introducing historical figures, that he had heard this name.
The teacher had spoken these words:
"The greatest polymath in history—Zhang Daowen!"
Feng Qi slowly lifted his head, his gaze falling on the young boy training in front of him.
His eyes reflected a newfound realization.