Hijacking the Timeline

Five days later.

Tiger Soul Research Institute Headquarters.

3:00 PM.

A bus bearing the emblem of Star City Academy slowly pulled up to the main gate of Tiger Soul Base.

As the doors opened, Feng Qi, Lin Ran, and the other students disembarked.

Obtaining permission to visit the Tiger Soul Research Institute was no easy task.

Each year, cultivation technique classes from various academies submitted mass applications, but only a handful were typically approved.

After all, the Tiger Soul Research Institute wasn’t a museum; its purpose was to advance the field of human cultivation studies.

However, Feng Qi felt confident about securing the visit.

There were three main reasons for his optimism:

First, he had led his cultivation class to victory in the Tiger Soul Concept Competition hosted by the institute.

Second, the Tiger Soul Research Institute had offered him early admission, which he had declined—though not entirely.

As a recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Humanity Award, his application would carry significant weight.

Third, Lin Ran’s name was on the visitor list.

Lin Ran held immense appeal for the Tiger Soul Research Institute—or rather, for the Nightshadow Clan lurking behind it.

Feng Qi now suspected that Lin Ran’s early admission to the Tiger Soul Research Institute, based on his innate talent for art magic, was precisely what the Nightshadow Clan had been after all along.

After all, the Nightshadow Clan’s core objective was to exploit the Tiger Soul Research Institute’s resources and talent to develop a super art magic for their clan’s advancement.

This explanation made perfect sense.

As they disembarked from the vehicle, Feng Qi’s gaze fixed on the gates of Tiger Soul Base.

A staff member was already waiting at the entrance.

Upon spotting Feng Qi, the staff member immediately stepped forward to verify his identity.

A beam from the handheld scanner swept across Feng Qi’s face, instantly displaying detailed information on the device’s screen.

With identity confirmed, the staff member waved behind him. The retractable metal gates slid open, and the security personnel flanking the entrance stepped aside, clearing a path.

”Teacher Feng, there are many sensitive areas within Tiger Soul Base where photography is strictly prohibited. We appreciate your cooperation.”

”Rest assured, I understand the rules,” Feng Qi replied with a nod. He then turned to Lin Ran and the others, saying, ”Leave all electronic devices in the security office. You can retrieve them when we leave.”

With that, he led the way through the metal door, approached the security checkpoint, and placed his phone in the storage box beside it.

The security scanner didn’t trigger an alarm as he passed through.

He turned to watch Lin Ran and the others approach.

In truth, besides his phone, he also had a small tracking device embedded in the back of his neck.

But the tracking chip developed by the Scarlet Research Institute wasn’t made of ordinary materials. Its design had long accounted for special circumstances.

After multiple upgrades over 1,500 years, this tracking device could even deceive the Scarlet Research Institute’s own detection systems, having become nearly indistinguishable from his body.

The institute had even considered the possibility of the chip falling out after he activated his blood source. This time, they had bonded the chip directly to the bone at the back of his neck, rather than simply embedding it in the flesh.

Lin Ran and the others passed through security one by one, placing their electronic devices in the storage boxes.

The staff member responsible for guiding their tour drove up in a sightseeing vehicle.

Feng Qi boarded first, sitting beside the staff member. Lin Ran and the others followed suit.

While the staff member counted heads, Feng Qi winked at Mu Qing, who was seated in the fourth row from the back.

Mu Qing nodded in understanding.

After confirming everyone was present, the sightseeing vehicle slowly began moving toward the distant cluster of buildings that made up Tiger Soul Base.

Along the way, the staff enthusiastically shared the history of the Tiger Soul Research Institute, revealing details not found in textbooks.

The institute was established in the early days of the cataclysm, before the formalization of human cultivation studies. At that time, humans had only discovered a special substance in the world, which scholars named ”spiritual energy.”

During that period, humanity urgently sought to understand how spiritual energy enabled domain creatures to grow so powerful. They wondered if humans could replicate this rapid growth and strengthening process.

This urgent need gave rise to the concept of cultivation studies.

Across major cities, numerous spiritual energy research labs sprang up, forming the prototypes of the early cultivation technique research institutes.

Due to the lack of a well-established frontline supply zone system, the domain resources available to humans were extremely limited. Under these dire circumstances, each spiritual energy research institute received only meager allocations.

To accelerate spiritual energy research, Star City’s leadership initiated a reorganization of the labs, pooling resources for more efficient utilization.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute was established against this backdrop.

History has proven that Star City’s leaders made a wise decision. Concentrating resources and talent, rather than dispersing them, was clearly the most effective way to advance cultivation studies.

But those were harsh times.

Human scholars had yet to establish a comprehensive database of domain resources.

Early researchers at the Tiger Soul Research Institute were frequently exposed to radiation from special psionic materials, damaging their bodily functions. Most died before the age of 40.

Like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, the initial database was essentially built with their lives.

Despite the hardships, the Tiger Soul Research Institute became a cradle of talent, making immense contributions to refining the concepts of cultivation studies.

At its peak, the institute even surpassed the Galaxy Research Institute, becoming the most renowned Cultivation Technique Research institution of its time.

The sightseeing vehicle now approached a statue of an aircraft. The white stone tablet before it was engraved with countless names.

Lin Ran, sitting behind Feng Qi, asked curiously, ”What’s the story behind this statue?”

In response, the staff member driving the sightseeing vehicle steered closer to the aircraft statue and pointed to the white stone tablet. ”These are the names of the pilots who served during the early days of the Cataclysm,” he explained.

”The names on this monument belong to the pilots from the early days of the cataclysm.”

”Pilots?”

Lin Ran’s curiosity deepened. He couldn’t understand why a monument to pilots would be located within Tiger Soul Base.

”Yes, they made indelible contributions to the development of the Tiger Soul Research Institute. In fact, without their daring efforts to transport Domain Field resources, the institute wouldn’t be what it is today.”

The staff member then explained another major challenge the Tiger Soul Research Institute faced in the early days of the cataclysm: resource scarcity.

While Star City’s reorganization of the spiritual energy research laboratory played a crucial role in advancing cultivation studies, it still faced a significant hurdle.

Transporting Domain Field resources at the time was fraught with peril.

Without the current aerial hazard zone identification system, aircraft inevitably had to traverse Domain Fields during transport. Countless pilots sacrificed their lives by flying into Domain Fields with different rules to secure these vital resources.

The safe flight routes we use today were forged with the lives of these pilots.

(End of the Chapter)

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