Chapter 80: The Scapegoat of History

Under the narrator's teasing, the heavy emotions weighing on Feng Qi's heart were somewhat relieved.

Always an optimist, he quickly pulled himself back together.

No matter how difficult the road ahead, he would never choose to give up. As long as there was even a sliver of hope, it was worth fighting for with all his strength.

Closing the page dedicated to the analysis of Mu Qing, Feng Qi entered her name into the search bar and hit confirm.

After a brief pause, Mu Qing's detailed profile appeared on the screen.

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

Introduction:

As a child, she voluntarily joined the Rune Enhancement Project, during which she perfectly fused with a special rune crystal (confidential), granting her the superhuman ability to extract energy from food.

At the age of 17, she left the Crimson Research Institute to enroll at Star City Academy as a student, where she kept a low profile and did not showcase her abilities.

After graduation, she joined a domain combat squad, where her talents were fully revealed. During her time there, she achieved numerous military exploits, single-handedly elevating the Howling Wind Domain Combat Squad's rating from B-Class to S-Class. Two years later, she left Howling Wind and formed one of the strongest domain combat squads of her era: Dawn.

Had she stayed on this trajectory, Mu Qing's future would have been filled with glory. However, following Feng Qi's death, she underwent a dramatic personality change, eventually founding the Dawn Rebel Army, which wrought havoc upon the world and declared war on all of humanity.

Her hands were stained with the blood of countless innocents. She led her rebel forces to massacre multiple cities, committing unspeakable atrocities that left her name reviled throughout history.

Cause of Death: Confidential (Top-Level Clearance Required)

Tags: Rune-Enhanced Human, Leader of the Dawn Rebel Army, Rebel Commander

Personality Traits: Ruthless, Cold-Blooded, Unscrupulous

Netizen Comments:

I Think This Works: "Came here to spit in disgust. My ancestor was one of the survivors of Mu Qing's city massacre. They personally witnessed her atrocities. Can we stop making excuses for her? It doesn't matter why she betrayed humanity—what's done is done. Her crimes can never be erased."

Faithless: "A woman nailed to history's pillar of shame, Mu Qing's life was filled with suffering. Early on, she lost all her family members and was left completely alone.

Then she joined the Rune Enhancement Project and became a half-human, half-monster, shunned by society. It wasn't until she met Feng Qi that she felt even a shred of warmth in her life.

But fate played a cruel joke, plunging her back into the abyss when her closest friend betrayed humanity..."

Watching the Winds Rise: "Having read many analyses of Mu Qing, I can't help but feel a deep melancholy. Feng Qi was like a ray of light piercing through the darkness of her world—a fleeting presence that disappeared all too soon, but one that left a lasting impact.

Living in darkness, she could have endured it. But because of that fleeting light, she felt warmth and saw hope.

Feng Qi's brief appearance was like a shooting star streaking through her heart. When he vanished into the distance, she chose to follow that shooting star, even if it meant leaping into an endless abyss."

Reading through these comments about Mu Qing, Feng Qi felt an overwhelming sense of bitterness.

Narrator: "Completely framed and hated for millennia. These comments make me more annoyed the longer I read them."

"They don't know the truth, so it's normal for them to curse me. But yeah, it still hurts to see," Feng Qi admitted quietly.

Narrator: "What are you going to do about it? Want me to make a burner account and start roasting them back?"

Feng Qi: …

The narrator's teasing quickly dispelled his melancholy.

Closing Mu Qing's profile, Feng Qi entered "Lü Yue" into the search bar. After a brief wait, Lü Yue's detailed profile appeared on the screen.

[Lü Yue (Human Traitor)]:

Introduction:

The Lü family's swordsmanship was once among humanity's greatest assets in resisting domain invasions. They participated in several successful efforts to dispel domain fields, making unparalleled contributions to the survival of human civilization. Lü Yue was the last direct descendant of the Lü family.

During Lü Yue's early years, the Lü family's swordsmanship was one of the main pillars supporting humanity's fight against domain creatures. However, one day, the entire family mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving Lü Yue to return alone at the age of 17.

Lü Yue never revealed the fate of his family, turning the incident into one of history's enduring mysteries.

During his time at Star City Academy, Lü Yue became a student of Feng Qi and followed him in betraying humanity. Afterward, he was secretly executed.

With Lü Yue's death, the Lü family's swordsmanship had no successor and faded into history, a regrettable loss.

Cause of Death: Confidential

Tags: Swordsmanship, Lü Family Descendant, Human Traitor

Netizen Comments:

Cola and Water: "Lü Yue betraying humanity is beyond ridiculous. His family's legacy was filled with heroic deeds. Countless ancestors of his gave their lives fighting domain invasions, and now Lü Yue turns around and betrays humanity? I'm seriously starting to think he was under Feng Qi's control. Otherwise, there's no way this makes sense."

I Can Do It Too: "The most baffling thing isn't Lü Yue's betrayal but the disappearance of the entire Lü family. It's as if they vanished into thin air. Aside from Lü Yue's mysterious return at 17, no trace of them was ever found. Could they have been wiped out by a domain transcender?

But that doesn't explain how there wasn't a single shred of evidence left behind. I think Lü Yue knew the truth, but he took it to the grave without ever revealing it. It's one of history's unsolvable mysteries."

Roaring Dragon: "After reviewing the information, I realized just how formidable Lü Yue's combat power was. It took the sacrifice of an entire domain combat squad to apprehend him. Without the tip-off that allowed them to ambush him in advance, capturing him would've been nearly impossible. It's such a shame that someone so strong stood on the wrong side. Both tragic and infuriating."

Conqueror Online: "If I'm not mistaken, Lü Yue must've been manipulated by Feng Qi. Being born into the Lü family, his environment and upbringing would have instilled unwavering loyalty to humanity. His deepest hatred should have been for domain creatures. How could he possibly harbor any rebellious thoughts? The truth, as I see it, is simple—this is Feng Qi's fault."

Narrator: "Good grief. I'm calling it now—blame Feng Qi is officially this generation's solution for every problem. If they don't know what to do, they just dump it on you. Makes me want to jump into their comments section and start a flame war."

Feng Qi: …

"It's fine. Put yourself in their shoes—if I didn't know the truth, I'd probably be cursing a human traitor too. Gotta keep a cool head."

Narrator: "From your humble beginnings in the dreamscape to this moment, where you've singlehandedly branded yourself as humanity's biggest traitor and the root of countless calamities—how does it feel? Care to share your thoughts?"

"My heart is calm, completely calm. If anything, I find it a little funny," Feng Qi replied, feigning composure.

Narrator: "Then why are your fists clenched so tight? Don't tell me you're not mad. I bet you want to jump into the comments and fight them, huh?"

Feng Qi: …

Reading through Lü Yue's information, a gnawing question began to take shape in Feng Qi's mind.

Where did the Lü family go?

Both the profile and the netizen comments hinted that the Lü family had been a dominant force in their time, a major player in the fight against domain invasions. Yet they seemed to have vanished overnight, their hundred-odd members disappearing as though they had been erased from existence. Only Lü Yue returned, alone, at the age of seventeen.

His thoughts turned to Lü Yue's mention of the "Path to Ascension."

Could the Lü family have gone there after their disappearance?

Closing Lü Yue's profile, Feng Qi entered "Path to Ascension" into the search bar. After a moment, the search results appeared on the screen.

But the results were baffling—all of them were related to games, TV shows, and other unrelated content. There wasn't a single piece of relevant information.

This left Feng Qi scratching his head. It was the first time he'd encountered such a situation.

Even when searching for classified topics in the past, he had been able to locate relevant files. Access was often restricted, but the existence of such records was clear. This time, however, there was nothing at all—just a void of information.

He could only think of two possible explanations for this.

The first was that Lü Yue had lied, and the Path to Ascension didn't exist—either as a location or as an organization.

The second was that the information regarding the Path to Ascension was classified at an even higher level than Mu Qing's death. It wasn't just inaccessible; it was entirely scrubbed from history and the network.

To unravel the mystery, Feng Qi turned his attention to researching the Lü family's disappearance.

As he sifted through the data, his expression grew increasingly grim.

He discovered that the Lü family's case wasn't unique—many powerful figures throughout history had mysteriously vanished. These individuals were all prominent figures in their eras, their strength undeniable. Yet they disappeared without a trace, their fates as enigmatic as the Lü family's.

The parallels between these cases sent a chill down Feng Qi's spine. His thoughts drifted to his own parents.

Growing up, he had been told that his parents had gone missing during a mission to disperse a domain field. Their bodies were never found—only their equipment was recovered.

He didn't know the exact extent of his parents' strength, but he was aware that their domain combat squad was highly regarded. He still remembered how an elderly neighbor had once wistfully remarked, "If only my son could join a squad like that one day."

Could his parents' disappearance be connected to this?

Narrator: "Ding-ding! You're onto something big, genius."

"Do you know why these top-tier fighters disappeared?" Feng Qi asked, his voice heavy with curiosity.

Narrator: "Nope. But history is full of cases like these—strong individuals who vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. It's creepy, to say the least."

Hearing this, Feng Qi's thoughts grew even murkier.

"Could they have been assassinated by domain transcenders?"

But he immediately dismissed this theory. Based on available information, the mysterious group targeting humanity's rising talents only went after young prodigies. And their assassinations, while covert, were never completely without evidence.

Even Lin Ran had records of narrowly surviving such attempts.

The missing individuals, however, were seasoned veterans, their strength unmatched. If a secret organization had been eliminating them, there was no way it would leave no traces behind.

No, their disappearances had to be caused by something else.

His mind circled back to Lü Yue's mention of the Path to Ascension.

Could it be that these vanished powerhouses had all gone to this mysterious place?

He recalled how, on the academy field, Lü Yue had once told Lin Ran, "If it's you, you might have a chance to go there in the future."

In hindsight, Feng Qi interpreted those words to mean: "With your talent, you have the potential to become strong enough to reach the Path to Ascension."

If Lü Yue's words were true, then these missing warriors had likely gone to this place.

But this realization only deepened the mystery.

Where was the Path to Ascension? And why did these powerful figures go there?

Feng Qi pondered for a long while but couldn't come up with any answers. Frustrated, he decided to let it go for now.

The database held no information on the Path to Ascension. If he wanted answers, he'd have to search for them in the real world.

And the key to this mystery lay with Lü Yue.