Chapter 117: The Useless Talent

As Feng Qi withdrew his hand from the Mu Yan statue, the torrent of fragmented memories in his mind receded like a tide.

The sheer amount of information contained in Mu Yan's memories was overwhelming, making it impossible for him to fully process everything. Most of it, he had only glimpsed in parts.

Standing before Mu Yan, who was holding a spear pointed toward the sky, he felt a deep sense of reverence.

For the first time, he began to understand why Lü Yue had referred to Mu Yan as a "miracle."

This was a warrior deserving of respect, someone who had fought tirelessly for humanity's future until the very end, never bowing to despair.

As he gazed at the statue once more, countless questions surfaced in his mind.

The information from the memory fragments was not enough to determine what connection Mu Yan might have with the Tongtian Road.

However, he speculated that perhaps Tongtian Road was another organization founded by Mu Yan, similar to the Crimson Research Institute and the Dawn Army.

At this moment, the narrator's voice echoed in his mind:

[If you want to access more of her memory information, you should focus on raising your Bloodline Evolution Points. Only by enhancing your bloodline tier will your Sea of Consciousness be able to hold more information.]

Hearing the narrator's suggestion, Feng Qi couldn't help but ask:

"Are you saying I can't fully access the memory information because my Sea of Consciousness doesn't have enough storage?"

[That's not entirely accurate. While storage capacity is one factor, the bigger issue is your processing speed. Your Sea of Consciousness is too slow at handling the information. Before it finishes processing the earlier fragments, new fragments rush in, causing you pain and blocking further access.]

"Got it. So as long as I enhance my Sea of Consciousness, its processing power will improve, allowing me to access more of Mu Yan's memories."

[You're a quick learner.]

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Feng Qi began to ponder another question.

What were the exact conditions for triggering the "Nightmare" ability?

Since acquiring this ability, it had only activated twice.

The first time was when Mu Qing was on the verge of losing control. By accidentally touching her, his consciousness had entered her Sea of Consciousness, allowing him to read portions of her memory.

The second time was now, through contact with Mu Yan's statue.

"Narrator, do you think the Nightmare ability triggers under conditions related to mental instability?"

[How would I know? Stop treating the narrator like some kind of omniscient encyclopedia. It's just an emotionless hint machine… But maybe your guess is right.]

Feng Qi: …

Though he was somewhat confident in his guess, he wasn't entirely certain.

The idea of mental instability didn't seem to explain everything, as Mu Yan appeared to be deceased. Yet he could still read her memory information.

Curious, he asked:

"Narrator, is Mu Yan truly dead?"

[Unclear. I can detect faint life energy within the statue, but it doesn't exhibit characteristics typical of living beings.]

"Could it be a state of hibernation?"

[Hibernation, my foot. Do you think I wouldn't know the difference? Don't undermine your father's judgment.]

"So is she dead or alive?"

[Uncertain. Most likely, she's dead. Perhaps some indelible willpower of hers left behind a faint trace of life energy.]

Feng Qi looked bewildered.

"What does that even mean?"

[To put it simply, it's like the relics left behind after death. Maybe Mu Yan's intense thoughts in her final moments left behind some essence that didn't dissipate with her life.]

After a moment of silence, Feng Qi nodded in understanding.

As he turned his gaze back to Mu Yan's statue, he thought about how much valuable information might still be buried within her.

She might even possess knowledge about the hidden dark forces infiltrating human civilization.

This realization sparked an intense desire to grow stronger.

He began to reevaluate his future dreamscape decisions, considering prioritizing strength enhancement.

However, doubt lingered in his heart. Simply increasing his strength might not be enough to change anything.

There was the limitation imposed by Little Black, as well as financial constraints.

Even if he entered the dreamscape dozens of times, he might still fail to reach a level of strength capable of opposing the dark forces.

The key was leveraging the collective power of humanity to counter the domain invasion.

For this reason, he leaned toward uncovering the true identity of the hidden dark forces first and using his unique advantage to root them out.

Without the lurking poison of these dark forces, human civilization could finally achieve significant progress.

At the same time, a nagging question gnawed at him.

During Mu Yan's final battle, why was she the only one fighting?

Where were the rest of humanity?

Could it be that they had been wiped out before this battle even began?

The answer to this question was beyond his reach for now. He would need to enhance his bloodline and strengthen his Sea of Consciousness before returning to Mu Yan's statue to uncover more information.

But raising his Bloodline Evolution Points was even harder than simply improving his strength.

Despite entering the dreamscape multiple times, he was still over 400 points away from the 1,000 needed to evolve his bloodline from its "Basic" state—a task unlikely to be completed in the short term.

He resolved to carefully plan his next steps upon returning to reality and ensure that every decision was efficient and purposeful.

Wasting precious dreamscape entries on meaningless endeavors was not an option.

While he now understood the truth about the Crimson Research Institute, numerous unanswered questions remained.

In addition to the dark forces and the Tongtian Road, one mystery continued to puzzle him:

If the dark forces had been working to suppress humanity's development all along, why had his teacher, Wang Jinsheng, remained untouched and even been celebrated as a historical hero?

If someone were to suggest that Wang Jinsheng might have questionable motives, Feng Qi wouldn't believe it for a second.

Six years of interaction had shown him exactly what kind of person Old Wang was. No matter the circumstances, betraying humanity was not something he could ever imagine Wang Jinsheng doing.

This led him to believe that there must be some secret he wasn't privy to.

And then there was Lin Ran. Was the flaw in Lin Ran's cultivation technique a result of interference from the dark forces, or was it a problem of Lin Ran's own making?

What about Little Black? Why could it precisely locate him and relentlessly pursue him?

Many other unresolved questions swirled in his mind, each more perplexing than the last.

Unable to deduce clear answers, Feng Qi resolved to take things one step at a time, gradually uncovering the truths hidden in history. These issues clearly weren't going to yield their answers easily.

As he pondered deeply, the narrator's voice suddenly echoed in his mind:

[Save these questions for when you're back in reality. Right now, while Little Black hasn't arrived, don't you think you owe it to Suction Cup to make good use of the time she's fighting for you?]

Hearing the reminder, Feng Qi immediately nodded.

"Help me scan for a nearby domain creature that looks easy to deal with."

[Three o'clock direction. Climb out of the crater, and you'll find a domain creature that looks like it might—maybe—possibly be beatable. Go smack it around!]

"Got it!"

The memories of Mu Yan had left Feng Qi deeply affected, filling him with a sense of her loneliness and sorrow.

This empathy weighed heavily on him, and he felt an urgent need to vent his pent-up emotions.

[Muscle-bound warrior, ready to go!]

With the narrator's rallying cry, Feng Qi activated his telekinetic power, lifting himself into the air.

Though flying was challenging with his telekinesis, hovering a hundred meters off the ground was manageable.

In no time, he found himself standing outside the crater.

Landing lightly, he scanned his surroundings until his eyes locked on an unusual domain creature ahead.

The creature resembled a moose. A faint yellow rune crystal was embedded in its forehead, its antlers were enormous, and its body was covered in gray-white fur. At the moment, it was calmly munching on the white flowers scattered across the plain.

A quick assessment led Feng Qi to believe that the talent he might gain from this creature would likely align with the physical growth path he was pursuing.

Wasting no time, he activated his Blood Source ability.

His heartbeat accelerated rapidly, and the blood energy in his body was drained completely, forming a crimson mist that enveloped him.

In an instant, his height shot up to over two meters. His muscles bulged like tightly packed boulders, with veins as thick as cords snaking across his body. He exuded an aura of raw, unbridled power.

Knowing the Blood Source ability had a limited duration, Feng Qi charged straight at the unsuspecting domain creature.

Startled, the moose-like creature shuddered violently but didn't choose to flee. Instead, it lowered its head, preparing to charge at Feng Qi.

But before it could act, Feng Qi's right arm swung down like a hammer, slamming the creature to the ground.

Without hesitation, his telekinesis surged forth, pinning the creature down for a second. In that brief moment, Feng Qi closed the distance, grabbed one of the creature's hind legs, and began smashing it mercilessly against the ground.

Whenever the creature tried to struggle free, he suppressed it with another burst of telekinesis before resuming his brutal assault.

The domain creature let out pitiful wails, seemingly realizing its grim fate.

Feng Qi, however, felt no sympathy.

It wasn't until the creature was dead, its body limp and lifeless, that he finally let out a heavy breath and released his grip.

A faint blood mist emerged from the creature's body, drifting toward Feng Qi before being absorbed into him.

At that moment, the narrator's voice chimed in:

[Let me give you a recap of what was going through that poor creature's mind. It went something like this:]

[I was just munching on some grass when, out of nowhere, this muscle-bound freak appeared and attacked me without warning, hitting me square in the head. I tried to fight back, but some weird force pinned me down. Then the muscle monster grabbed my leg and started slamming me left and right. I was so dizzy I nearly threw up. Damn it!]

Feng Qi: …

Ignoring the narrator's theatrics, he summoned his attribute panel.

As expected, killing the domain creature had earned him a new talent and prefix title.

[Steel Fang (Evolvable Prefix Title)]: Enhances the strength of your teeth, allowing you to deal blood energy damage when biting a target. The damage scales with your blood energy strength—the higher your blood energy, the greater the damage.

After reading the description, Feng Qi was left speechless.

"What kind of garbage talent is this?"

[Muscle-bound growth path, my dude. Every part of your body can become a lethal weapon. Teeth included. In a pinch, you could even bite your way to victory. Rawr!]

"Rawr your head off! Aside from the 30-something Bloodline Evolution Points I gained, this talent is absolutely useless!"

[Such a shallow understanding.]

"Then tell me something practical about it."

[Nothing comes to mind right now, but when you're back in reality, you'll realize… you don't need a bottle opener anymore.]

"Spit!"

[Spitting zombie, how gross. Reflect!]

"Super reflect! Your next ability is negated!"

[Idiot zombie!]