Feng Qi stepped forward and raised his fist, aiming directly at the blood-colored flood dragon's massive head before smashing down with full force.
Crack!
A crisp bone-breaking sound echoed.
Surprisingly, his attack didn't even break through the flood dragon's scales. Instead, his own hand bones fractured on impact.
Seeing Feng Qi injured, Suction Cup, still standing atop the flood dragon's head, immediately swung her fist down with all her strength.
Boom!
The impact was devastating. The flood dragon, already on the brink of death, let out a weak wail but had no strength left to resist.
Just as Suction Cup prepared to deliver a second punch, Feng Qi quickly called out:
"Suction Cup, stop!"
Hearing his command, Suction Cup froze, her raised fist lowering slowly as she tilted her head in thought.
"(ω) Ah Qi… wants to get stronger. Suction Cup won't hit."
With that, she leaped down from the flood dragon's head.
Landing on all fours, she bounded a few times before pouncing into Feng Qi's arms.
Feng Qi rubbed her little head, then turned his gaze back to the blood-colored flood dragon.
Without hesitation, he activated his Blood Source Form.
His heartbeat suddenly accelerated, sending a surge of blood energy bursting from his heart, seeping from his pores as thick, crimson mist.
Very soon, his entire body was enveloped in blood energy. The mist wriggled and twisted, forming muscle fibers that interwove into powerful, compact flesh, while his body rapidly expanded.
In just a few breaths, he had grown to a towering five meters tall. His muscles bulged, every tendon and vein pulsing like writhing dragons beneath his skin.
Even without moving, just standing there exuding his presence, he exerted an overwhelming pressure on the Mist Lord, who stood nearby.
His previously fractured hand also regenerated completely, restored by the immense healing power of Blood Source Form.
As he clenched his fist, he felt his power surging through his body, filling him with an overwhelming sense of confidence.
Turning back to the blood-colored flood dragon, his pupils ignited with a dark green flame that quickly spread across his entire body.
He took one step back, bracing himself.
His body sank into a deep stance, preparing to strike.
Inside his chest, the burning fist aura surged violently, fueled by his rising battle intent. A thin but powerful aura field expanded from him, completely enveloping the blood-colored flood dragon.
"Ha!"
The moment his first punch landed, countless shadowy fist images materialized in the air, cascading down like a storm of blows.
His fists rained down relentlessly, each punch carrying terrifying force, smashing into the flood dragon's skull without mercy.
Though the flood dragon's scales were incredibly tough, absorbing a significant portion of the impact, each strike still sent a reverberating force back into Feng Qi's own fists.
But he didn't stop.
Even as his knuckles split open, flesh torn apart by the backlash, he continued punching harder and faster.
With his monstrous regeneration, he ignored all self-inflicted wounds.
The flood dragon's massive body was gradually pushed backward by the sheer force of his attacks. The crimson glow on its scales began to dim, losing its once-dominant luster.
And finally—
Crack!
A sharp, shattering sound rang out.
A thin fracture spread across one of its scales, quickly expanding outward like a spiderweb.
More scales began to splinter, the cracks spreading uncontrollably.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Feng Qi's bloody fists smashed through the shattered scales, his punch finally piercing deep into the flood dragon's skull.
The flood dragon shrieked in agony, but it was too weak to fight back anymore.
With a furious roar, Feng Qi reached out with his other hand, gripping the flood dragon's lower jaw.
Every ounce of his strength surged into his arms, his muscles bulging grotesquely as dark green flames exploded around his body.
To the Mist Lord, standing at a distance, Feng Qi now resembled a primordial demon god, emerging from chaos itself, emanating pure, destructive might.
Summoning his full power, Feng Qi lifted the blood-colored flood dragon's head high into the air.
And then—
He smashed it down.
Boom!
The earth trembled violently as the dragon's head slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling outward, kicking up an immense sandstorm.
But Feng Qi wasn't finished.
He lifted it again—
Boom!
A second devastating impact followed.
A third—
A fourth—
A fifth—
Each impact was stronger than the last, sending violent tremors through the ground.
Until finally—
The life force of the blood-colored flood dragon began to fade.
As a massive cloud of blood energy seeped from its lifeless body, Feng Qi flung the corpse aside, ceasing his attacks.
The blood mist slowly drifted toward him.
The moment it touched his skin, it merged into his body, sinking into his flesh and bones.
Instantly, a blazing heat erupted within him—
Like molten lava pouring through his veins.
His blood surged violently, and his bones cracked loudly, reshaping under the sudden surge of energy.
The intense heat was nearly unbearable, and an overwhelming itch crawled beneath his skin.
He desperately wanted to scratch himself, but forced himself to endure.
Instead, he closed his eyes, waiting patiently for the transformation to complete.
After what felt like an eternity, the heat subsided, and his body settled into its new form.
Opening his attribute panel, he carefully examined the changes.
And soon—
A wide grin formed on his face.
[Blood Dragon Soul (Special Ability)]
Ability Description: Upon activation, the user gains the Blood Dragon Soul's enhancement, dramatically increasing physical strength, durability, and regeneration (Maintaining this state will continuously consume blood energy).
Passive Effect: Greatly enhances blood energy perception and control.
...
This was the first time Feng Qi had obtained a talent ability with both active and passive effects.
The passive effect was easy to understand—
It boosted his ability to sense and manipulate blood energy, allowing him to control blood-infused attacks with far greater precision.
Techniques that relied on blood energy manipulation would now be much smoother and deadlier.
But as for the active ability, he wasn't quite sure how it functioned.
What he did know, however, was that activating it consumed blood energy rapidly, meaning it might conflict with Blood Source Form.
To test its effects, Feng Qi opened his eyes.
With a thought, he activated the new blood-colored talent orb in his spiritual sea.
It trembled slightly, sending a scarlet energy beam toward the core origin orb at the center of his soul.
Instantly—
A brilliant blood-red pattern spread across it.
In the outside world—
A deafening dragon's roar echoed through the air.
A blood-colored, ethereal dragon shadow rose from Feng Qi's head, its mighty form twisting in the night sky.
It let out a thunderous roar, its presence radiating the undeniable majesty of a supreme being.
A crimson glow descended, completely enveloping Feng Qi's body.
As the Blood Dragon Soul emerged, Feng Qi could clearly feel the density of his muscles increasing, his strength surging, and even his vision, sense of smell, and other perception abilities significantly improving.
But along with this boost came the rapid depletion of his internal blood energy.
From Feng Qi's perspective, this ability was incredibly powerful, but it was best reserved for critical moments.
If he used Blood Dragon Soul against small fry, it would drastically reduce the duration he could maintain Blood Source Form.
Right now, his remaining blood energy was already running low.
Scanning the surroundings, Feng Qi spotted a field of writhing domain plants several hundred meters away.
Without hesitation, he gathered the last traces of blood energy left in his body and threw a full-powered punch towards the distant vegetation.
As the surging blood energy condensed, a crimson fist projection shot forward.
Above him, the Blood Dragon Soul let out a roar, following the punch projection through the air.
At the moment of impact, the dragon's projection merged with the crimson fist shadow, forming an ethereal, serpentine dragon, clawing through the air as it soared toward its target.
The instant the blood dragon struck the domain plants, a violent explosion of force shredded them into countless fragments, the remnants disintegrating into tiny green particles, swept away by the residual crimson energy wave.
Feng Qi was stunned by the sheer destructive power of his own punch.
Both the speed and impact far exceeded his usual full-strength attacks.
Realizing he had just acquired a new ability that perfectly matched his combat style, the corners of his lips curled into a grin.
At that moment, the narrator's voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
[This is a massive win! It seems that within this blood-colored serpent's bloodline, there were traces of a higher-tier lifeform's inherited abilities. That's why you got "Blood Dragon Soul" instead of "Blood Serpent Soul" or "Blood Flood Dragon Soul." Congratulations, you're now one step closer to becoming a muscle-bound war god!]
From the tone of its voice, the narrator seemed even more excited about this new ability than Feng Qi himself.
He didn't even bother to retort at this point.
By now, he had come to accept that the narrator's weird sense of humor was just part of his life.
But what surprised him the most was how much the narrator had influenced his growth.
At first, when he discovered that he could extract domain creatures' abilities by killing them, he had no intention of going down the muscle-head warrior path.
His original plan was to walk the path of a sorcerer—or a grand mage.
He imagined himself controlling storms with a flick of his fingers, commanding wind, fire, lightning, and ice, or even collapsing mountains and splitting oceans with a single wave of his hand.
Even if his enemies were thousands of miles away, he could simply gather the world's energy, summon divine lightning, and obliterate them effortlessly.
But now?
All of his spell-related talents had been dismantled and turned into growth nutrients for his blood-based abilities.
The only skills he had left were close-combat-oriented talents and passive abilities that enhanced melee combat.
Without even realizing it, he had been slowly guided onto the path of a brute-force berserker, all thanks to the narrator's subtle manipulation.
Yet, after experiencing it firsthand, he had to admit—
The thrill of close-quarters combat, the clash of raw strength, the exchange of battle techniques…
Every fight became a test of willpower, pushing him to his absolute limits.
At this moment, his remaining blood energy had been completely drained, and he could no longer maintain Blood Source Form.
His muscular physique receded, the extra flesh dispersing, and soon, Feng Qi returned to his skeletal frame-like appearance.
With his new ability fully tested, he turned to look at the Mist Lord, only to realize—
The Mist Lord had vanished.
Glancing at the blood-colored flood dragon's corpse, he immediately spotted it—
The Mist Lord had already transformed into mist, wrapping itself around the flood dragon's lifeless body.
The gray fog seeped into the dragon's wounds, slowly infiltrating its flesh and blood.
The fog pulsed and contracted, as if it was extracting the remaining essence from the dragon's corpse.
Moments later, the gray mist completely vanished into the flood dragon's body.
Then—
The lifeless flood dragon suddenly opened its eyes.
The crimson glow in its pupils faded, replaced by a deep violet hue.
Feng Qi knew exactly what was happening.
He was very familiar with the Mist Lord's possession abilities.
However, based on what he previously understood, the Mist Lord could only possess living beings.
If the host's life force was completely drained, the possession wouldn't work.
But then—
The violet hue in the flood dragon's eyes rapidly faded, and its original blood-red color returned.
Moments later, gray mist seeped out from the flood dragon's wounds, condensing above its back, slowly forming the silhouette of the Mist Lord once again.
Now, in its hands—
Was a blood-red energy crystal.
But instead of excitement, its expression was filled with confusion.
The Mist Lord turned toward Feng Qi and asked:
"Why does its body have no trace of blood energy left? Only this blood core still contains some residual power."
Feng Qi chuckled.
He knew exactly why.
The blood mist he had absorbed earlier contained all of the flood dragon's most refined essence.
That energy had already fused with his body, becoming part of his own strength.
It had even increased his bloodline evolution points to 8,982.
Right now, the flood dragon's corpse might still contain a large volume of blood, but it was completely devoid of energy—
Like chewed-up sugarcane, with all the juice sucked out.
There was nothing left worth extracting.
That's why the Mist Lord couldn't absorb any more blood energy from its remains.
As for the blood core, the reason why it remained intact was simple.
Feng Qi's ability only worked on bloodlines, and had nothing to do with domain creatures' rune crystals.
In the Future Dream Realm, he had even tried eating rune crystals to increase his strength, only for them to pass straight through him—a complete waste.
Even after gaining a flesh-and-blood body, he had experimented with eating spiritual materials from Star City Shelter's resource vault to enhance his power.
But ultimately, the results were the same—
If the power-up didn't come from a kill, it couldn't be brought back to reality.
Any enhancement gained outside of battle was temporary.
So when it came to rune crystals, Feng Qi simply wasn't interested.
He smiled at the Mist Lord and said casually:
"I already absorbed it earlier. But that blood core is yours—no need to feel shy, we're brothers, after all."
The Mist Lord: ...
Feng Qi glanced at the blood core in the Mist Lord's hand. The latter's expression was one of helplessness, but he didn't say much. With a flick of his finger, he flipped the blood core into his mouth.
The moment it entered, his entire body exploded into a dense cloud of expanding gray mist.
Within the mist, a glowing blood-red core could be faintly seen, pulsating with light. The gray mist wrapped around it, devouring the escaping energy at a visible rate, expanding outward.
Then—
Countless ghostly figures emerged from the mist, their hoarse whispers and wails echoing in the air.
Seeing this, Feng Qi's eyes narrowed in surprise.
Logically speaking, the souls of the Mist Lord's people should have long since dissipated, their consciousness shattered, leaving only the Mist Lord himself, preserved within the Miracle Will.
So why were their spirits reappearing now?
Just as he was about to ponder further, the narrator's voice rang in his mind:
[If I'm not mistaken, these spirits were shaped by the Mist Lord's willpower. His overwhelming desire to resurrect his people manifested their souls once again… Simply put, you could call it 'soul summoning through sheer willpower.' He's using his will to recall the scattered souls of his fallen kin and reassemble them.]
Hearing this, Feng Qi suddenly understood.
"This Miracle Will is seriously broken… If you desire something strongly enough, you can just will it into existence?"
[Every Miracle is a game-breaking power, but none are truly invincible. At the very least, we've seen clear differences in strength between Miracles. For example, Mu Qing's Scarlet Rune Crystal once countered the Psionic Clan's Miracle ability that could erase five senses.]
"Wait, if willpower can affect the Miracle Will's creation ability, then why can't the Mist Lord's desperate desire to resurrect his people help them reconstruct their physical bodies?" Feng Qi voiced his doubt.
[It's simple. Remember what the lead researcher at Tiger Soul Research Institute's Desolate Lab told you? Willpower is just one factor in influencing the Miracle Will. Mental power is also a key determinant. For example, he could create small pieces of spirit stones with willpower, but he couldn't control their size.]
The messy overlap of memories made Feng Qi's mind a bit cluttered, but hearing the narrator's explanation, he suddenly recalled that conversation.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
If the Miracle Will could help the Mist Lord's people fully reconstruct their flesh and blood, then he wouldn't be so desperate for blood energy.
In that villain timeline, the Mist Lord sought to gather vast amounts of blood energy to restore his people's bodies, just as he had regenerated his own severed limbs.
But his kin varied in strength.
Even the Mist Lord wasn't the strongest among them, and the stronger his kin were, the more blood energy was required to rebuild their bodies.
Collecting blood energy was the main inspiration behind his development of the Blood Sacrificial Ritual.
As time passed, the gray mist expanded into a vast sea, swallowing the blood-red glow of the core, completely absorbing it.
The mist then shrank rapidly—
And the Mist Lord reappeared, standing atop the blood-colored flood dragon's corpse.
Feng Qi could clearly feel that after absorbing the blood core, the Mist Lord's power had increased significantly. The energy fluctuations radiating from his body were now several times stronger than before.
Hovering in midair, the Mist Lord descended and landed beside him.
"Thank you."
"No need to be polite. We're brothers—we share both fortune and misfortune. I'd even take a blade for you." Feng Qi grinned and patted him on the shoulder.
Just as he was about to continue speaking, the narrator's voice suddenly rang out in his head:
[Quick, look west! Your little black brother is charging toward you with two massive cleavers, sparks flying, ready to claim your life!]
Feng Qi immediately turned to the west.
There—
A black mist was racing toward him at terrifying speed, gliding just above the ground.
Wherever it passed, all the plants withered, their green essence absorbed into the black mist, becoming part of its power.
At the same time, a mischievous, modified song played in his head:
[For you, I've spent 1,500 years crossing time and space. Just for this reunion, I even practiced the speed of my devouring. Words could never express a fraction of my killing intent…]
Hearing the cheeky lyrics, Feng Qi rolled his eyes in exasperation.
With Little Black's arrival, it meant—
He would have to separate from Suction Cup.
Looking down at the small creature in his arms, baring its tiny tiger teeth, a fierce yet adorable expression on its face as it stared down Little Black, Feng Qi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Back then, Suction Cup had no awareness, just a mindless puppet.
But now, she was alive.
Throwing her at Little Black, making her fight to buy time until she died, felt incredibly cruel.
"(`皿) Qi-ge, I'll fight that thing!"
Struggling in his arms, Suction Cup was raring to go.
Feng Qi still couldn't bring himself to let go.
1,500 years of slumber, only to wake up for this moment to die—just thinking about it made him feel terrible for her.
But he also knew—
Every second in the Future Dream was precious.
On the road to saving humanity, sacrifices were inevitable.
Hesitation now would only slow him down.
Taking a deep breath, he finally lifted Suction Cup.
Just as he was about to let her go, a sudden thought struck him—
He turned to the Mist Lord.
"Brother, can you do me a favor?"
Hearing this, the Mist Lord looked at him in confusion.
"What is it?"
Feng Qi trapped Suction Cup under his arm, while his other hand pointed at the approaching black mist.
"See that black mist over there? Hold it off for me!"
The moment he said this—
The narrator started clapping in his head.
[Ah, the art of brotherhood… truly magnificent. I'm just glad I'm your father and not your brother.]