Chapter 22: Historical Calamity

With great anticipation, Feng Qi reached into the metallic box and retrieved the Twilight Wolf Rune Crystal.

The crystal was a translucent grayish-white, its interior flecked with specks of blue light. A soft gray glow emanated from its surface, giving it an ethereal quality. If this were before the Cataclysm, it would undoubtedly be a priceless collector's item.

Feng Qi had already done his homework on how to use rune crystals.

Domain combat squad members typically handed rune crystals over to spiritual pharmacists for refinement. The crystals would be crushed and distilled into pure spiritual energy liquid, which could then be consumed safely.

This precaution was necessary because the energies contained within rune crystals were diverse and unpredictable, not all of which were beneficial to humans.

For instance, the rune crystal from the domain creature Tian Kui Scorpion contained toxic energy. While harmless to the scorpion, the toxin was lethal to humans. Consuming it directly would result in rapid tissue necrosis and death within seconds.

Some rune crystals were dangerous enough to cause severe harm or death upon consumption. Compared to those risks, minor side effects like dysfunction or premature failure of bodily systems seemed trivial.

Fortunately, the Twilight Wolf Rune Crystal in Feng Qi's possession was classified as harmless, so he didn't need to worry about adverse effects from consuming it directly.

Besides, his body had already mutated, allowing him to absorb the abilities of domain creatures. A mere rune crystal didn't seem like much of a threat.

With that in mind, he tossed the rune crystal into his mouth.

"Crunch!"

"Argh! My teeth!"

The crystal's hardness had diminished somewhat since being removed from its host but was still a challenge to bite through.

As he chewed, the crystal shattered, releasing a surge of energy that coursed down his throat and into his stomach. Almost immediately, a wave of intense fullness hit him, and he could feel a chaotic swirl of spiritual energy rampaging through his body. He had a fleeting thought: if this energy kept growing unchecked, he might explode.

Thankfully, his mutated body quickly adapted, absorbing the rampant energy at an astonishing speed. Meanwhile, the energy progress bar on his feedback panel started climbing.

In less than ten minutes, all the energy from the crystal was fully absorbed. The progress bar, now completely filled, displayed:

[Energy replenished. Current energy level: 148.27%.]

Although the energy bar was now maxed out, Feng Qi wasn't entirely sure this meant he could re-enter the dream world. To test his theory, he decided to take a nap right away.

Abandoning his earlier plan to head out, he decisively crawled back into bed.

Within five minutes, he was fast asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, everything was unmistakably familiar.

As expected, Feng Qi had returned to the future dream world.

Taking a deep breath, he was about to express his excitement when a pungent stench assaulted his senses, making him gag.

"Ugh! Still as disgusting as ever!" he muttered, frowning as he glanced down at his rotting undead body.

[Tsk tsk, what a disgrace!]

The ever-present narrator's voice chimed in, delivering a sharp jab.

Brushing off the comment, Feng Qi bent down and picked up a leg bone from the ground. Taking a few steps forward, he swung the bone with practiced ease, knocking the head off a struggling "Little Cripple." Without missing a beat, he turned and started heading east.

As always, his destination was the Star City Underground Shelter.

This time, Feng Qi had a few clear objectives: to look up ways to make money, to check whether his interactions with Mu Qing had altered her future, and to investigate Lin Ran's future evaluation.

While en route, he didn't neglect the opportunity to strengthen himself. Every zombie and worm he encountered along the way became a source of milestone progress for his prefix titles and a boost to his bloodline evolution points.

Realizing that each trip to the dream world required a full energy recharge, Feng Qi resolved not to die recklessly anymore. With only 2 million points remaining, he couldn't afford to be wasteful.

If entering the dream world even once cost him that much, he calculated that his funds would last only two days if he didn't change his approach.

This made him determined to maximize his time in the dream world during each visit.

Following his usual route, Feng Qi battled his way forward, steadily growing stronger. Compared to when he had first arrived in the dream world, his strength, reflexes, and speed had all improved significantly.

By the time he reached the shelter's stone tablet, his stats had undergone another round of updates.

[Resilience (Level 1) · Normal Zombie: Feng Qi]

Strength Level: Unranked

Prefix Titles: Normal, Resilience LV1 (1% increase in muscle resilience)

Bloodline: Human (Primary)

Bloodline Evolution Points: 113/1000

Prefix Title Milestones:

[Normal (Upgradable)]:

Second Milestone Progress: 13%

[Resilience LV1 (Upgradable)]:

Milestone Progress: 83%

Despite his progress, Feng Qi knew he still had a long way to go before his bloodline could evolve. Thus, his immediate plan remained unchanged: first, head to the database to gather information.

This time, however, he wouldn't make the same mistake as before. He intended to leave the shelter well before Dark Shadow arrived.

At the blood groove beneath the stone tablet, Feng Qi pricked his finger to provide verification. As the blood trickled in, the massive stone tablet slowly shifted to one side, revealing a metallic passage leading into the shelter.

Feng Qi stepped inside without hesitation, heading straight for the location of the database.

Upon reaching the underground plaza at the shelter's center, he activated the main control console and began his search.

The first name he entered was Mu Qing. After a brief filtering process, her detailed information appeared on the screen.

[Mu Qing (Leader of the Human Rebel Army)]

Description: Originally a student at Star City Academy, Mu Qing joined a domain combat squad as a warrior upon graduation. However, during an investigative mission, she betrayed her team and personally killed the squad leader. Later, she recruited a large number of scavengers to establish the human rebel group known as Dawn, reactivating the Rune Enhancement Project and initiating a long conflict against humanity.

Her hands are stained with the blood of countless innocents. Leading the rebel army, she slaughtered the inhabitants of several cities, earning widespread condemnation from later generations.

Tags: Rune-Enhanced Human, Dawn Rebel Army Leader, Human Traitor.

Personality: Ruthless, cold-blooded, and unscrupulous.

Feng Qi: …

After reading through the description, he sighed deeply. His previous efforts to influence Mu Qing's path had evidently failed. She still became the World-Ending Overlord, standing in opposition to humanity and earning infamy for her atrocities.

Feng Qi felt a pang of disappointment at this result.

Closing Mu Qing's file, he typed in the name Lin Ran and began a new search.

Moments later, Lin Ran's profile appeared on the screen.

The accompanying photo showed Lin Ran dressed in a Tiger Soul Research Institute uniform, sporting dark eye circles and a goofy grin.

[Lin Ran]

Lifespan: 103 years.

Description: Once hailed as the most talented newcomer at Tiger Soul Research Institute, Lin Ran demonstrated exceptional theoretical knowledge and made numerous groundbreaking contributions to the study of magical arts. He was the pioneer of the Seal Formation Technique and was later promoted to lead the newly established Infinity Group at the institute, focusing on the development of new cultivation techniques.

However, history has shown that Lin Ran's talents were limited to magical arts. His ventures into the research of cultivation techniques went disastrously wrong, leading his team astray. Several of the techniques developed under his leadership were riddled with hidden flaws, which caused the spiritual channels of millions of practitioners to rupture, resulting in widespread devastation and slowing humanity's overall progress. Stricken with guilt, Lin Ran withdrew from the fields of cultivation and magical arts research in his later years and died in despair.

Historical Achievements:

S-Rank Human Elite (Revoked)

Leader of Tiger Soul's Infinity Group (Revoked)

Elite Member of Tiger Soul Research Institute (Revoked)

Distinguished Graduate of Winterfell Academy (Revoked)

Founder of the Seal Formation Technique

Developer of the Five Elements Convergence Technique

Architect of the 3.0 Magical Arts Pathway.

Historical Evaluation: A Historical Calamity.

Feng Qi: …

"Good grief! Not only did he cripple the spiritual channels of millions, but he's officially labeled a Historical Calamity, with most of his honors revoked. Incredible work, Lin Ran!"

Reading the evaluation of Lin Ran, Feng Qi felt the urge to applaud.

Lin Ran's lifetime accomplishments could indeed rival those of Wang Jinsheng, but in the polar opposite sense. Where Old Wang was revered as a historical luminary, Lin Ran was infamous as a historical disaster.

"This won't do. I need to straighten Lin Ran out. I absolutely can't let him tread the path of cultivation research. He has to focus solely on magical arts. No diversions allowed!"

With this newfound determination, Feng Qi felt his responsibilities grow heavier.

One was a World-Ending Overlord, the other a Historical Calamity. Both were destined to be nailed to the pillars of historical shame. Feng Qi couldn't understand how he had ended up surrounded by so many oddballs.

"Damn it!"

He couldn't help but curse aloud, the weight of his burdens becoming increasingly unbearable.