I Hijacked the Timeline (IHT)

In the field of cultivation research, Feng Qi had always been extraordinarily talented. Not to brag, but he was indisputably the top student in his grade—a bona fide genius praised by every teacher.

Following the video instructions, Feng Qi practiced the foundational movements of the 272nd set of Cultivation Techniques. It didn't take long for him to fully grasp the essence of the routine.

As time went on, however, he discovered a problem during his training.

He realized that his body couldn't retain spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy he absorbed dissipated from his body moments later.

Feng Qi could only guess that this limitation was due to his current state as a zombie.

With that in mind, he decided to focus on learning the Cultivation Techniques first and test their effects back in reality.

After watching the video repeatedly, Feng Qi mastered the instructional details of the Cultivation Techniques.

Now determined to bring the Cultivation Techniques back to the real world, Feng Qi knew that simply learning the movements wasn't enough. The most important part was understanding the operational principles of the cultivation technique.

Bringing back an improved version of a cultivation technique from the future was bound to cause a stir. He needed a plausible explanation for how he had developed it.

After some thought, Feng Qi came up with a plan: he would create a persona for himself as a cultivation research prodigy.

This persona would justify his ability to consistently (and conveniently) "develop" new techniques. Over time, the public would become accustomed to his "genius," to the point where his failure to produce a new technique would seem more unusual than his success.

When he eventually introduced an innovative cultivation technique, people would say:

"Well, of course. It's Feng Qi—an unparalleled genius we only see once in a millennium. Nothing surprising about this!"

The idea brought a smile to his face.

[Copy away, then. You've already thrown away your dignity. And calling yourself a 'super genius'? Pfft, p~tui!]

The narrator's snarky interruption snapped Feng Qi out of his self-satisfied thoughts.

After confirming that he had thoroughly mastered the 272nd set of Cultivation Techniques, Feng Qi didn't bother exploring other cultivation techniques. His visitor permissions had already been used up for this category.

Instead, he reopened the search page. This time, he decided to look into the fates of the people around him in the future.

The first person he searched for was his best friend, Mo Fei. After hitting the search button, the results loaded instantly.

Due to the large number of people with the same name, Feng Qi filtered the results by adjusting the timeline to between 2000 and 2300 and setting the gender to "male."

Upon searching again, only a dozen entries remained.

Among them, one photo immediately caught Feng Qi's attention—it was unmistakably his best friend Mo Fei.

In the photo, Mo Fei had white hair, wore a black eyepatch over his left eye, and looked gaunt. He was dressed in a sharp blue uniform.

Feng Qi clicked on Mo Fei's profile, and the details unfolded:

Mo Fei (Viper Technology Institute – Employee):

Age at Death: 90 years old

Cause of Death:

In his early years, Mo Fei was exposed to intense radiation from researching spiritual energy materials. This left him with long-term health complications. At the age of 90, his old injuries flared up, and he passed away at the Third United Military Hospital.

Date of Death: March 18, 2095

Lifetime Achievements (Honors):

Grade B Employee of the Viper Technology Institute

Grade B Human Excellence Medal

Outstanding Graduate of the Academy of Technology

Creator of the X-Series Intelligent Robots

Developer of the X-Plan for Virtual Reality Technology

…

Reading about Mo Fei's achievements left Feng Qi dumbfounded.

Not only had Mo Fei lived to the age of 90, but he had also earned a remarkable array of accolades.

Feng Qi recalled the bold ambitions Mo Fei had often boasted about during their casual chats. Now, he realized that Mo Fei hadn't been exaggerating—he'd actually accomplished them all.

In contrast, Feng Qi had done nothing significant in life. On top of that, he'd died young.

Closing Mo Fei's profile, Feng Qi noticed a pop-up message appear on the screen:

[Visitor Permissions: Remaining Character Profile Searches – 1]

"Seriously? Can you permissions dogs just drop dead already?"

With only one search left, Feng Qi began pondering whose profile he should check next.

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to search for his history teacher, Wang Jinsheng.

Upon completing the search and filtering the results, a detailed profile for Wang Jinsheng appeared on the screen:

Wang Jinsheng (Historical Figure):

Age at Death: 187 years old

Cause of Death: Visitor permissions do not grant access to this information.

Historical Achievements: Visitor permissions do not grant access to this information.

Evaluation:

At the age of 39, Wang Jinsheng realized that teaching alone could not change humanity's fate. He resolutely enrolled in Star City Academy, where he studied cultivation research. After graduating with top honors, he joined the Tiger Soul Research Institute. His groundbreaking contributions played a significant role in advancing human evolution, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.

Feng Qi: ???

The hot-tempered Wang Jinsheng, known for his unpredictable moods in the classroom, was actually revered as a historical figure in the future? This glowing evaluation caught Feng Qi completely off guard.

What puzzled him even more was why Wang Jinsheng's profile required permissions to view certain details.

Even the five-star or higher cultivation techniques in the database required specific permissions to access.

Logically, given the global effort needed to resist the invasion of domain creatures, cultivation techniques should be shared freely with all of humanity. Restricting access seemed counterintuitive, almost like putting the cart before the horse.

Could there be some hidden reason behind this?

As Feng Qi pondered, the narrator chimed in, interrupting his train of thought:

[You turn to your six o'clock position and discover danger approaching!]

Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately turned around. He spotted a figure shrouded in thick black mist floating out from the metallic passageway and into the underground plaza.

Within the swirling black mist, three pairs of blood-red eyes glimmered faintly. The figure's forehead bore the imprint of a twisted rune crystal.

A domain creature?!

Though he had never encountered a domain creature in person, Feng Qi had learned about them extensively in class. He knew these monsters were imprinted with rune crystals and was well aware of their terrifying strength.

"Hey, narrator! I need your guidance. What do I do?!"

[Whatever you do, don't run. Your speed is no match for a domain creature. Instead, lock eyes with it, stare it down, and yell, 'What are you looking at?!' …Hmm, at least that way, you'll die with some dignity.]

Feng Qi froze in disbelief, his eyes fixed on the domain creature as instructed. But when he heard the second half of the narrator's "advice," his expression shifted to one of utter confusion.

Before he could react further, the mist-shrouded domain creature launched its attack. Its movements blurred, leaving afterimages as it charged directly toward him.

Feng Qi wasn't one to wait idly for death. He clenched his fist and swung at the incoming creature.

But before his punch could land, the creature's sharp fangs pierced through the black mist and sank deep into his throat.

The dense black mist rapidly enveloped him, and his consciousness began to fade.

The familiar sound of chewing filled his ears as his vision dimmed to black.

When Feng Qi opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the familiar sight of his dorm room ceiling, painted in a dull gray-white. On his desk, his notebook continued playing a video titled Foundations of Cultivation Research.

Realizing he was back in reality, Feng Qi let out a long breath of relief.

Even though he had already experienced death once, the suffocating sensation at the brink of dying still left him shaken.

Turning to the side, he noticed Mo Fei diligently reviewing his notes. The clock hanging on the wall displayed 11:20 p.m.

He clearly remembered that it had been the same time when he decided to take a nap earlier.

This confirmed that even though he had spent what felt like a significant amount of time in the dream future, time in reality remained frozen.

Feng Qi also noticed something else: he had grown stronger.

This time, he could distinctly feel the increase in his bloodline strength. His entire body seemed brimming with an inexhaustible supply of energy.

With every beat of his heart, his blood surged through his veins like roaring tidal waves, the sound reverberating faintly in his ears.

Just as he had speculated earlier, the strength he gained in the dream realm translated directly into improvements in his real-world body.