Retracing his path, Feng Qi's figure darted through the towering ruins of the cityscape.
This terrain was now deeply familiar to him.
As he ran, he could easily identify his current position within the vast expanse of urban debris, knowing exactly which section of the ruined city he was in.
After acquiring the Malice ability and activating his mental attribute, both his cognitive sharpness and memory had improved significantly.
He could now form a mental map of the city, marking his location and noting potential threats—specific types of domain creatures that might lurk nearby.
Running until his telekinetic reserves were depleted, he finally emerged from the city's ruins.
Ahead lay a zone he was most familiar with—the Bone Pile Zone.
From afar, he could already see the shambling figures of the undead wandering about.
What piqued his curiosity, however, was the unusual sight in the skies above the Bone Pile Zone. A multitude of orange-yellow lantern-like entities hovered in the air.
On closer inspection, these "lanterns" resembled jellyfish, their surfaces trailing translucent, ghostly tendrils that swayed with the wind. Inside, their yellow light flickered like the glow of fireflies, dimming and brightening intermittently.
The scene was mesmerizing. The sky ahead was nearly blanketed by these lantern-like creatures.
They appeared to be heading toward the mist-covered western zone, flowing steadily in that direction. From a distance, Feng Qi could see them disappearing one by one into the fog.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Feng Qi decided to step into the Bone Pile Zone and continue toward the Star City Shelter.
Though these lantern-like entities seemed eerie and might pose a threat, staying where he was would only waste time.
Even with the risk, he pressed on.
As he ran toward the shelter, the strange lantern-creatures didn't attack him. They floated along leisurely, tendrils swaying as they drifted westward with the wind.
The closer he got to the underground shelter, the clearer he could hear it—a hoarse sigh emanating from the mist-covered western region.
Feng Qi turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.
In the distance, within the thick fog, figures began to emerge. They were silhouettes formed entirely of a pure blue energy, resembling the malicious spirits from horror films.
These entities spread out as the mist expanded, attacking the floating lantern-creatures in the air.
As the number of spirits grew, chaos broke out in the skies.
The once-peaceful lantern-creatures now recoiled, releasing bursts of orange-yellow energy beams in an attempt to repel the spirits.
But against the spirits, their resistance was futile.
The spirits seemed to enjoy a feast, drifting through the sky and ripping into the lantern-creatures' shells, extracting the glowing cores within and devouring them greedily.
[Run, now! Don't let the mist catch you, or you'll be forced to log out early!]
The narrator's urgent warning prompted Feng Qi to glance at the rapidly expanding fog rolling in from the west. Without hesitation, he activated his Blood Source ability.
His heartbeat quickened, each powerful thrum sending a surge of blood energy coursing through his body.
The blood energy enveloped him, wrapping around his frame like a protective barrier.
His muscles bulged and expanded, his height surging past two meters in an instant. He now resembled a towering, muscular colossus.
Feng Qi's transformed figure radiated an imposing aura.
His rippling muscles resembled slabs of granite, and his arms, thick as battle axes, pulsed with veins that coiled like writhing dragons beneath his skin.
Lowering his stance, he slammed his right foot into the ground, launching himself forward like a cannonball.
The wind screamed past his ears as his speed increased with every step.
The boost from killing Mala had bolstered his bloodline evolution points, further amplifying the effects of his Blood Source activation.
At this moment, Feng Qi felt an inexhaustible power coursing through him, giving him the illusion that he could face off against Black Mist and hold his own for three hundred rounds.
Of course, he knew this was just wishful thinking.
As he stared at the rapidly encroaching fog, a raspy whisper suddenly echoed in his ears.
The sound was unnerving, almost magical, its unintelligible words causing the blood energy within him to surge and ripple uncontrollably in rhythm with its cadence.
[Something's trying to mentally manipulate you… Actually, it's more of a broad-spectrum, indiscriminate mental control. Get to the shelter immediately, or you won't stand a chance once the mist engulfs you!]
Heeding the narrator's warning, Feng Qi pushed himself to run even faster.
He funneled the remnants of his telekinetic energy, using it to propel himself forward like a rocket.
This was the first time he had witnessed such an anomaly within the misted zone during his time in the future dreamscape.
As he surged ahead, the underground shelter loomed closer and closer.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the spirits hovering in the sky turned its gaze toward him.
The spirit tore through a writhing lantern-creature, extracting its glowing core and swallowing it before diving straight toward Feng Qi.
[Nine o'clock! Watch out!]
The narrator's warning snapped Feng Qi's attention to his left.
Turning his head, he saw the spirit hurtling toward him, its twisted face contorted in malice.
It was his first encounter with a spirit-like domain creature.
Feng Qi wasn't entirely sure if he could fight the spirit-like entity effectively.
Yet, hesitation wasn't his style. He swung his massive right arm—thick as a battle axe—directly at the approaching spirit.
To his surprise, his arm passed straight through the entity without dealing any damage.
Even worse, an icy chill radiated from the contact, seeping deep into his body like a creeping frost.
Just as Feng Qi reeled from the unexpected outcome, his blood energy roiled within him.
The cold aura stimulated his blood energy, causing it to surge uncontrollably and spill outward, enveloping his entire body.
Under the shroud of his blood energy, his entire figure glowed a fierce red, like a demon clawing its way out of hell. His already ferocious appearance now exuded an even more terrifying dominance.
The dense, surging blood energy instantly repelled the spirit.
After hesitating briefly, the spirit lunged at Feng Qi again.
Standing still and taking a hit was never his strategy. Feng Qi raised his fist once more to meet the attack.
This time, the blood energy surrounding his body surged toward his right arm, completely encasing it.
When his fist collided with the spirit, it didn't pass through. Instead, the spirit's form dissolved rapidly under the assault of the blood energy, like butter thrown into a hot frying pan.
The spirit let out a piercing shriek as it dissolved into a faint golden mist in just moments.
[See that? Who says the muscle-bound bruiser style can't deal with spooky, non-physical foes? As long as your blood energy is strong enough, there's no ghoul or phantom you can't punch out of existence.]
"Can Suction Cup handle these kinds of spirits? Doesn't seem like she has any blood energy abilities."
Curiosity compelled Feng Qi to ask the narrator.
[Suction Cup's blood energy reserves are unimaginably dense. She doesn't even need to fight. Just standing around passively emits an area-wide damage effect. To these spirits, she's like a blazing sun constantly bombarding them with destructive energy.]
"That overpowered, huh?"
Feng Qi was genuinely astonished by the explanation.
As he stood there, the golden mist left behind by the spirit seeped into his body.
It felt like taking a sip of ice-cold water on a scorching summer day—the cool sensation spread through him, making him shiver involuntarily.
Even his depleted mental energy recovered slightly from the infusion.
Realizing that killing spirits could restore mental energy, Feng Qi's expression lit up with surprise.
Restoring his mental energy came with a host of benefits: enhanced telekinesis strength and capacity, better memory, and more.
With that in mind, he cast his gaze upward toward the sky, where numerous spirits roamed, feeling a surge of desire to hunt them down and bolster his mental energy reserves.
[Forget about those spirits! Look at the mist! It's filled with all kinds of negative energy. If you get swallowed up by it, you won't last long. Move!]
The narrator's urgent tone snapped Feng Qi back to reality.
He immediately abandoned the idea of hunting more spirits and focused on sprinting toward the shelter.
With his blood energy radiating around him, Feng Qi became a beacon in the darkness—a bright, blazing flame visible to all.
The spirits were irresistibly drawn to him, despite the harm his energy caused them.
Like moths to a flame, they flocked toward him, doomed to burn in his fiery aura.
Yet the sheer number of spirits rushing at him made Feng Qi's scalp tingle.
His blood energy was the foundation of his Blood Source state. While killing spirits drained his reserves, the rate of consumption would increase dramatically if too many spirits attacked him at once.
Should his blood energy be exhausted, his body would revert to its weakened state, rendering him unable to harm the spirits.
He released the remaining bit of his mental energy, using it to create a force that propelled him forward, further accelerating his already rapid pace.
At this speed, making sharp turns wasn't an option. He became an unstoppable force, barreling straight ahead.
The undead wandering in his path didn't stand a chance. Feng Qi didn't bother dodging them, smashing through their decayed forms and scattering their remains like debris.
Finally, just before the mist reached him, Feng Qi leapt into the metallic tunnel leading to the shelter.
Once inside the underground plaza, the effects of his Blood Source state began to wear off.
The muscles covering his body collapsed inwards, dissolving into red mist that dissipated into the air.
A wave of exhaustion hit him like a crashing tide.
Still, he didn't stop to rest. Pushing through his fatigue, Feng Qi strode to the data console.
With Black Mist still elsewhere, he seized the opportunity to search the database for techniques to bring back with him.
After a brief search, he locked onto a two-star-rated body refinement battle technique.
Confirming his choice, a video tutorial popped up, and Feng Qi began watching intently.
Though cultivation techniques were largely useless to him due to his unique physiology—his body couldn't store spiritual energy—body refinement techniques were a different story.
They contained numerous combat strategies and tactics that could greatly enhance his fighting prowess.
Hours passed as he absorbed the knowledge.
Once he committed the body refinement techniques to memory, Feng Qi closed the video.
Noticing that Black Mist had yet to arrive, he used the remaining time to review the cultivation method research courses, starting from the very first lesson…
The figure shrouded in black mist moved from the city ruins to the Bone Pile Zone.
Half of the Bone Pile Zone was now blanketed in thick mist. The skies above were filled with wailing spirits and the slaughter of the floating lantern-like entities.
The moment Black Mist appeared, the spirits took notice, and countless of them surged toward it.
Unfazed by the incoming assault, Black Mist continued drifting forward as if nothing had happened.
Yet when the spirits touched its body, their forms dissolved at a visible speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye without inflicting any harm.
From a microscopic perspective, it was clear what had transpired.
As soon as a spirit's form made contact with Black Mist, the spirit was consumed by the layer of psionic nanites surrounding it. The nanites swiftly spread and absorbed the spirit entirely within a fraction of a second.
The more spirits attacked, the more Black Mist's body transitioned into a vaporized state.
The dense particles of black mist spread out like a tidal wave, consuming every spirit in their path.
Black Mist's body, now composed entirely of mist, expanded as it devoured energy. It appeared as though it was multiplying and proliferating.
When the gray-white mist collided with Black Mist's body, the portion in contact was promptly devoured as well.
The eerie murmurs Feng Qi had heard earlier transformed into enraged howls. The dense gray mist pressed down on Black Mist like a suffocating weight.
But against Black Mist's insatiable devouring ability, the overwhelming energy wasn't nearly enough to stand a chance.
No matter how much mist advanced, it was consumed entirely by the black fog.
After a brief stalemate, the unique being within the mist seemed to realize the danger posed by Black Mist.
A raspy whisper echoed from the mist, followed by a massive retreat. The gray mist withdrew like a receding tide, and the spirits scattered, retreating alongside it.
This battle ended without Black Mist fully displaying its power. Its mere presence had been enough to force the enemy to flee.
After reforming into its solid shape, Black Mist did not pursue the retreating mist. Instead, it turned its gaze toward the Star City Shelter.
…
Meanwhile, Feng Qi was still reviewing knowledge from the database. He closed the second lesson's video.
With the remaining time, he turned to historical events.
He focused on verifying whether the timeline for the establishment of the "Destiny Association" had been altered. If it hadn't, then it was time for decisive action.
The delay in Black Mist's arrival was easy to understand.
Clearly, it was due to the mist outside. Its spread and resistance had delayed Black Mist's progress.
As for whether the mist could actually halt Black Mist, Feng Qi didn't hold out much hope.
The more he learned about Black Mist, the more he understood its terrifying power.
According to the Crimson Research Institute's records, Black Mist was nearly invincible. Unless confronted by chaos-level catastrophic beings, ordinary domain creatures stood no chance against it.
Having personally encountered spirits, Feng Qi was acutely aware of how vulnerable these pure energy constructs were in the face of Black Mist.
Psionic nanites could devour energy five million times their own size.
And that was just the result of testing—not the limit of their devouring capacity.
Imagining the capabilities of Black Mist, a being entirely composed of psionic nanites, left no doubt in Feng Qi's mind that its energy-devouring potential was horrifying. To Black Mist, spirits were nothing but prey.
Even an overwhelming number of them wouldn't suffice to satiate it.
At that moment, the narrator's voice echoed in his mind:
[Turning back, the Black is now at the metal tunnel. Feng Qi, it's time to say goodbye. Before we part, can you grant me one wish?]
"No." Feng Qi replied curtly.
As he turned toward the metal tunnel, he saw Black Mist silently floating toward him, its body enveloped in an ominous fog.
"Narrator, we'll meet again in reality!"
With those words, Feng Qi assumed the starting stance of the newly learned Starshatter Palm.
Even though he knew he couldn't defeat Black Mist, he wouldn't back down without a fight.
Fighting to the end was his stance against Black Mist and the future alike.
Moments later, the black fog engulfed him, and his consciousness began to fade.
As he felt himself returning to reality, Feng Qi mentally prepared for his next move.
The first thing he planned to do upon returning was to eliminate the spies from the Institute of Technological Research embedded around him.