Chapter 146: The Emergence of Spiritual Qi

A Version Shift Value of 50%—without a doubt, this was an unprecedented number.

Before this, the highest Version Shift Value Lu Yan had ever triggered was only 11%, and even that had required him to wrest a soul continent from the hands of the Soul Computer God in a megacity of tens of millions.

But Lu Yan had also come to understand from that final outcome: even an 11% shift wasn’t enough to change the overall trajectory of a version.

Despite all his efforts in the Cyber Version, he still couldn’t stop the Soul God from implementing the law to collect three hundred years’ worth of soul energy taxes in advance. All he’d managed to do was delay it for a short while.

This time, however, by launching the Spiritual Qi Revival, Lu Yan had successfully pushed the Version Shift Value to 50% for the first time.

This meant that the Urban Heavenly Dao—once in total control—was now losing its grip on the world’s dominant fate.

Within this shifting environment, Lu Yan could even sense the imbalance now plaguing the Heavenly Dao.

The previously stable order was silently collapsing.

The era of peace and progress that had lasted for decades was now being peeled away—what remained was a powder keg waiting to be lit.

Just a single spark… and everything could explode.

But with the Urban Heavenly Dao destabilized, would the new dominant trend necessarily be Spiritual Qi Revival?

Lu Yan furrowed his brow. Even he couldn’t say for certain.

The future might play out as: Urban Dao collapses, Spiritual Qi surges in to seize the momentum, giving birth to a new era of cultivation.

Or… the collapse of order might intensify global tensions, pushing the Eastern Federation and the Union into full-scale conflict, ushering in a World War Version.

There was even the possibility that the Urban Heavenly Dao was merely retreating to advance later—still holding 50% of the version, only to make a comeback at a critical juncture and reclaim dominance, restoring everything back to Urban Mode.

There were too many variables.

Even Lu Yan couldn’t make a firm judgment at the moment.

Looking at the 50% figure, he shook his head and muttered to himself:

“Still not enough.”

He turned and asked, “How far along is the Blood God with the Yin Soldier transformation?”

The Giant Spirit God answered with seriousness:

“Out of the eight hundred evil spirits, four hundred have already been transformed.
The preliminary Yin Soldiers possess Mid-Stage Qi Refining level strength, and are capable of using some basic ghost path techniques.
However, since there are no existing ghost cultivation methods in this world, we’re having to deduce them ourselves.”

Lu Yan nodded. “In this world where supernatural power doesn’t yet exist, that level of strength is already sufficient. Put the ghost path technique research on hold for now.”

“The impact of the Hundred Ghosts March and Yin Soldier Crossing is already substantial, but those are only surface-level effects.”

“If we want to truly influence the direction of the world, we must return to the essence—Spiritual Qi itself.”

“Start preparations. It’s time for them to witness what a true Spiritual Qi era looks like.”

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Luocheng – in the midst of ruins.

The battlefield left behind by the battle between Yin Soldiers and Mount Beimang’s wraiths had been completely sealed off by the city council, in cooperation with several powerful organizations.

City Speaker Li Hao had arrived personally at the temporary command center to oversee the investigation of the site.

On the main road where the battle had occurred, dozens of staff moved cautiously, scanning and collecting every trace, no matter how minute.

Inside the command center, hundreds of analysts were cross-referencing traces from the site with footage from every angle, hoping to extract anything of value.

In his office, Li Hao sat listening to the reports one by one:

“The engraved symbols on the Yin Soldiers’ armor are completely unfamiliar. They don’t match any known language system.”

“We suspect the engravings may be a core source of their supernatural power.”

“Also, the Soul-Hooking Chains appear to be malleable, capable of extending and shifting form. They have a natural restraining effect on spirits—even that general who cleaved through a hundred meters of earth couldn’t break free.”

“From mythological references, these chains appear to be exclusive artifacts of the underworld, and likely impossible to replicate.”

Li Hao nodded. “Leave the Soul-Hooking Chains for now. What about the engravings? Any progress on reproducing them?”

The staffer looked troubled.

“Not promising. We seem to be missing something. The inscriptions won’t activate.”

Li Hao frowned. “Then research something else.”

The researcher nodded, pulling out another document.

“This is a preliminary analysis of the world behind the rift, based on video and photos.”

Li Hao took the report but didn’t open it. He tapped the table lightly and said in a low voice:

“There’s too much at stake behind that rift.
Even if we explore it, it should be led by the federal government, not something Luocheng’s city council can decide on.”

“What I need right now is something with immediate, tangible results—something that brings real benefits to Luocheng.”

In the short time since the incident had gone viral, numerous factions had tried to insert themselves into the situation.

Li Hao’s private line had been ringing nonstop.

But he ignored every call.

He had come to the site in person to seize the first wave of benefits for himself and the powers behind him. If he waited until the federal government took over, a mere city council speaker like him would have no say.

Seeing Li Hao’s tone shift, the lead researcher straightened and pulled out another file.

“Regardless of whether they were ancient wraiths or modern ghosts, all objects in their possession vanished into black mist once separated from their bodies.”

“Only this single item was preserved intact. We believe it came from one of the Mount Beimang wraiths.”

Li Hao’s expression lit up. He quickly flipped open the file—only to be stunned by what he saw.

“This is… a peach pit?”

His smile disappeared. He waved the file in frustration.

“You’re telling me a ghost from Mount Beimang carried a peach pit!?”

But the researcher’s face was grave.

“At first, we also thought it was just something left behind by a random person. But just to be safe, we sent it to the lab.”

“The results shocked everyone. The data shows that the peach pit had just been plucked very recently—and what’s more, its growth cycle was only five days.”

Li Hao froze.

“Five days? That’s exactly when the Mount Beimang incident began…”

The researcher continued:

“Moreover, our scientists detected a strange substance inside the peach pit.
Even in the smallest quantity, it could trigger dormant stem cells to divide again, and even break genetic limitations.”

“The lab researchers have given it a name—Spiritual Qi.”

(End of Chapter)