Three years later.
Winterfell Supply Zone.
The returning Domain Battle Squad convoy drove in orderly formation into the Dawn Domain Battle Squad's base.
The falling snow quickly covered the tracks left behind by the convoy, and after a brief moment of commotion, everything returned to silence.
The warriors, exhausted from battle, didn't even have time to clean up. The moment they entered their rooms, they collapsed onto their beds and fell into deep sleep.
As the lights went out, the Dawn base was enveloped in silence.
On the roof of the battle headquarters, Mu Qing held a harmonica against her lips, playing a melancholic tune.
Within the melody, an indescribable longing flowed softly.
As she thought of that warm figure, the killing intent within her slowly faded, and the violent influence of the Scarlet Power gradually settled.
When the song ended, Mu Qing gently caressed the white harmonica in her hands.
She lifted her gaze to the brilliant starry sky, her eyes filled with nostalgia.
It had been four years since she graduated.
She had fulfilled her dream and personally established the Dawn Domain Battle Squad, but that one person had failed to keep his promise.
But she knew—compared to fighting on the front lines, the Cultivation Research Institute was where he truly belonged.
They shared the same dream, yet walked different paths.
"Senior, can we be friends?"
"Senior, could you grab me another serving of food? I'm still hungry."
"No matter what, I'll always have your back. No one can bully you."
"Senior, I'm giving you this harmonica. I hope you can let go of the past… and embrace a new beginning."
After losing her parents, she had never felt warmth again.
During her time in the Crimson Research Institute, Wei Wei was always busy, rarely able to accompany her.
Her childhood had no happy memories worth recalling.
From the moment she gained awareness, she had followed her parents on constant migrations, witnessing the cruelty of human nature and countless tragedies.
Finally, after arriving in Star City, her parents were taken from her.
Hatred and despair had consumed her heart.
Joining the Crimson Research Institute, she endured endless experiments, countless times on the verge of death, experiencing pain beyond human limits.
When she looked back at her memories, there was nothing but suffering.
Until she met Feng Qi.
Respect, friendship, family… For the first time, she felt warmth from an outsider.
Even though four years had passed, whenever she thought about it, that warmth still lingered.
But knowing that their paths would inevitably diverge, a hint of dimness clouded Mu Qing's gaze.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her composure.
In their most recent call, Feng Qi mentioned that he often saw news about her.
If that was the case, then she would continue pushing forward, showing him her growth, so that he would no longer have to worry about her.
As countless thoughts surged in her mind, Mu Qing stared at the stars, momentarily losing herself in the vast sky.
When she snapped back to reality, she realized that someone was standing beside her.
"Boss, we found a lead on that guy's identity."
The newcomer was a tall, sharp-featured woman, clad in combat attire, exuding an air of confidence and capability.
"What identity?" Mu Qing withdrew her emotions, turning to her subordinate with a serious expression.
"His exact background is still unclear, but we found that he used to live in Winterfell City. There might be others like him there."
"So you're saying… Winterfell City has Domain infiltrators?"
"Most likely. But we can't confirm how many. Should we contact Winterfell City's upper management?"
"Not yet. Let's wait until we get clearer information. Asking around too soon might alert them."
"Understood." The woman nodded, then turned and leapt off the rooftop.
As she left, Mu Qing furrowed her brows.
A few days ago, during a joint operation between the Dawn Regiment and seven other Domain Battle Squads, they entered the Grindstone Domain Field from multiple positions.
During the raid, they received a distress signal.
But by the time they arrived, all they found was devastation—the requesting Domain Battle Squad had been completely wiped out.
While inspecting the battle aftermath, Mu Qing discovered an unusual corpse.
Although the body had a humanoid form, the blood flowing from its wounds was not red—it had a distinct pinkish hue.
After a thorough examination, she confirmed her suspicion.
The meridian structure inside the body was completely different from that of a human—it was not human at all.
Determined to uncover the origin of this body, she ordered her subordinates to investigate.
But based on the latest report, the only information they had was that this individual had once lived inside Winterfell City.
To get more details, she would have to involve Winterfell City's leadership.
But she had no intention of doing that just yet.
If Domain creatures had infiltrated Winterfell City, alerting the higher-ups might cause them to go into hiding.
This was no small matter. She needed to handle this investigation carefully.
As for how to identify Domain creatures, she considered seeking assistance from the Crimson Research Institute.
Several months later.
While at Tiger Soul Research Institute, Feng Qi received a message from the Crimson Research Institute.
Mu Qing had reached out to the Crimson Research Institute, hoping to acquire a batch of devices capable of identifying Domain creatures to equip her Domain Battle Squad.
Hearing this, Feng Qi was not surprised.
Had he not altered the timeline, in the original historical trajectory, Mu Qing would have collaborated with the Crimson Research Institute to ambush Domain creatures.
This clearly meant that Mu Qing had caught wind of Domain infiltrators.
However, Feng Qi chose not to confront Mu Qing about it directly.
He wanted to let things play out and see what kind of forces were hiding within Winterfell City.
Was this mysterious faction connected to the massacre of the Dawn Army?
That day was still far off. For now, he would observe rather than intervene.
Putting down the tablet in his hands, Feng Qi turned his gaze toward the young child training nearby.
By human standards, the child was already seven and a half years old.
However, his physical growth had barely changed—or rather, it had been extremely slow.
This was undoubtedly due to his unique physique.
According to Wei Wei, even if the child did not cultivate, his lifespan would still be seven to eight times longer than an average human.
By comparison, in human years, the child was equivalent to just one year old.
No wonder his growth was so slow—his juvenile phase alone was already incredibly long.
As of today, the child had begun following Feng Qi in training under the Blade Qi Tempering Technique, and his physical strength had already reached Silver Upper-Tier.
At this level of power, if he were sent to the frontlines, he could single-handedly support an A-Rank Domain Battle Squad.
Even though Feng Qi had already prepared himself for the child's terrifying growth speed, witnessing it firsthand still left him shocked.
The innate differences between species were as vast as the heavens and the earth.
A human could train their entire life and still fail to reach Silver Upper-Tier, but this child had achieved it in just a few years.
According to the Mist Lord, this was still an undeveloped potential.
If the child had access to his species' cultivation techniques and specialized growth facilities, his growth rate would skyrocket even further.
This insane growth potential—either one was born with it, or they would never have it in their lifetime.
His ancestors had paved the way for him.
Now, however, a critical problem stood before Feng Qi.
If it wasn't solved, the child's progress would be hindered.
The issue was—what cultivation technique would suit the child best?
The Blade Qi Tempering Technique was effective, but it revealed flaws during training—it was not a good fit for the child.
The child had difficulty comprehending Blade Momentum, or rather, he seemed resistant to it.
Forcing him to deepen his study of Blade Momentum was not the right choice.
He needed to find a new cultivation technique for the child.
Feng Qi had been searching for a solution, but now he had an option.
The Flesh Sacrifice Technique.
However, this technique came with serious hidden risks.
Given the child's importance to humanity's future, Feng Qi could not afford to gamble on Flesh Sacrifice.
If the child ever learned the truth about the technique, he might lose all faith in humanity.
Ruling out Flesh Sacrifice, Feng Qi had nothing else suitable for the child.
Just as he was searching for alternatives, the Mist Lord offered a new perspective.
He said, "If human cultivation techniques don't suit the child, why not let him create his own?"
This suggestion opened an entirely new path for Feng Qi.
In human history, the child was known as a universal genius—proving his talent could apply to all disciplines.
If that was the case, self-studying cultivation theory and designing his own technique was worth attempting.
The Mist Lord explained that all cultivation techniques originate from nothing.
Even the first-generation Mist Clan cultivation techniques were personally created by their ancestors.
One of the key differences between the strong and the weak was the ability to develop new cultivation methods.
When a powerful individual fully mastered their species' cultivation system and could no longer advance using existing techniques, the only path forward was to create their own.
This was how many races had advanced their cultivation—by pushing past existing limits.
The issue wasn't just that human techniques were unsuitable for the child.
Even if they were, given his growth speed, he would outgrow the human cultivation system in just a few steps.
For humans, the upper limit of their cultivation techniques was Gold-Tier, but for this child, Gold-Tier was likely just the starting point.
Even if human techniques worked for him, he would quickly hit a bottleneck.
If he wanted to continue evolving, the only way was to develop his own cultivation system.
The Mist Lord's words struck a chord with Feng Qi.
Instead of searching endlessly for a technique that fit the child, why not let him create his own?
With this in mind, Feng Qi reduced the child's training load and shifted focus to cultivating his theoretical knowledge of cultivation.
The child quickly grasped both basic and intermediate-level cultivation theories.
It only took a few months, and the child had already fully mastered the knowledge, even managing to infer new concepts from what he had learned.
Feng Qi was well aware of his own limitations.
After passing on his own knowledge to the child, he also arranged for Star City Academy's instructors to visit Tiger Soul Research Institute every Saturday for additional tutoring.
By now, the child's understanding of cultivation studies had already surpassed many faculty members at Star City Academy.
Even Old Wang had been completely drained of knowledge by the child's relentless questioning.
Finally, it was time for the child to enter the phase of self-study and creation.
The previous lessons had been about building a foundation, broadening his perspective, and helping him understand what cultivation studies truly were.
But in the end, the goal was for the child to forge his own path of martial arts.
The child was smart and clearly understood what Feng Qi expected from him. He had already begun exploring a new direction in cultivation studies.
That day, after training, Feng Qi was preparing to take the child to the cafeteria.
However, after bathing, the child seemed preoccupied, his mood not as cheerful as usual.
When asked, the child remained silent for a moment before finally speaking:
"Qi-shu, why are the meridian pathways in my body different from everyone else's? Am I… strange?"
Feng Qi was momentarily stunned by the question. Then, he reached out and ruffled the child's hair with a smile:
"Does it matter? I'm still your Qi-shu, and you are still an exceptional child. Never let this make you feel inferior."
Hearing this, the child's expression quickly brightened, and he nodded firmly:
"Mm, Qi-shu is right!"
With that, he grabbed Feng Qi's hand and grinned, his usual playful demeanor returning:
"Qi-shu, let's go eat!"
"Alright, let's eat."
Holding the child's hand, the two of them walked toward the cafeteria.
Time flowed like a river, and in the blink of an eye, fifteen years had passed.
Over the past fifteen years, Feng Qi had not only been mentoring the child but also closely monitoring Star City's reforms and development.
Today, the Star City Supply Zone had been fully established.
The construction of Star City's supply zones had benefited greatly from the Forest Domain Field.
The green-skinned Domain creatures within the Forest Domain Field had blood that contained healing factors, which could be extracted to create healing potions.
Additionally, the wood from the Forest Domain Field had become the primary building material for the western supply zone.
This type of wood was as hard as steel, had high flexibility, and was resistant to corrosion.
With locally sourced materials, the construction of Star City's supply zone had progressed at an accelerated pace.
Meanwhile, the virtual game "Dawn" had become one of the most popular entertainment activities among Star City's residents.
The game was now updated to version 8.7, with its simulation realism increased to 95%.
During this time, Feng Qi had been closely observing public sentiment.
And indeed, as the Mist Lord predicted, as long as the game remained exclusive to Star City, it would not trigger resistance from the hidden Domain forces in other cities.
As long as it did not encroach upon their interests, even if the other Domain factions were wary, they would not openly oppose it.
With everything going smoothly, Feng Qi had already instructed various departments to accelerate the deployment of "Dawn".
If all went according to plan, he planned to upgrade the game to 99% realism and expand the skill library.
Furthermore, he considered tying ranked points in "Dawn" to admissions in Star City Academy's combat classes, making it a bonus for students applying to the academy.
However, as for introducing Domain Instance Dungeons and virtual research projects, Feng Qi had decided to hold off.
The impact of these features would be too great. Moving too quickly could backfire completely.
Meanwhile, the plan to exterminate the Silver Moon Clan had now been in motion for seventeen years.
The development of spatial passageways had progressed significantly, with only one final obstacle—synchronizing the Blood Refinement Grand Formation with the spatial tunnels.
This was also the reason why the Mist Lord had not left yet.
Originally, only three test runs were planned, but as of today, the process had reached the eighth trial.
According to data from the seventh test, the eighth opening of the spatial passage would be the final trial.
If all went smoothly, the extermination plan would officially begin.
During this period, news about the Dawn Domain Battle Squad had spread like wildfire.
The Dawn Domain Battle Squad had become humanity's beacon of hope, carrying the expectations of the entire human race.
Its leader, Mu Qing, was now recognized as the War God of this era, ranking as the strongest among the Ten Great War Gods.
However, behind the scenes, hidden Domain forces were actively promoting her rise.
The reason was simple—at this stage, Mu Qing was still a controllable force in their eyes.
As the Dawn Domain Battle Squad rapidly rose to prominence, it had generated immense profits for the Five Major Cities, significantly boosting resource acquisition rates.
In the eyes of Domain factions, the Dawn Domain Battle Squad was a golden goose, continuously laying eggs of wealth and power.
For this reason, Mu Qing's recognition as an era-defining hero had faced no opposition.
As Winterfell City's media put it,
"This era belongs to the Dawn Domain Battle Squad."
When Feng Qi first saw this headline, he couldn't help but laugh.
Comparing this timeline with historical records, he found it incredibly ironic.
Because, in the history books, the period of Dawn's rise was referred to as:
"The Era of Darkness and Turmoil."