A Chilling Realization

Beside the running track. Looking at Xiao Jiguang's blank expression, Huang Rong could not help but chuckle. Yet no matter how one looked at it, his smile seemed premeditated. "Xiao, you probably don't know this yet, but realm-entry techniques and Awakening techniques are two completely different concepts." "An Awakening technique can be verbally dictated by Comrade Lin Yi, after which we can collaborate to translate and even preliminarily optimize it, eventually turning it into that recorded audio you heard in the cultivation chamber." "Realm-entry techniques, however, are entirely different. They seem to possess some sort of built-in security mechanism that we cannot yet comprehend, and can only be read one-on-one through divine sense." Beside him, Pan Yongnian nodded gently. Huang Rong might have had some intention of springing a surprise on Xiao Jiguang when assigning the so-called task, but his words were factually accurate. According to Lin Yi's explanation of Tianling Realm cultivation techniques, most realm-entry techniques were recorded into specialized cultivation technique beads using divine sense, and they could only be learned through divine sense. Furthermore, after an individual learned a technique, an imprint would be left within their sea of consciousness—where divine sense originated—preventing them from passing the technique on to others. Setting aside whether there would ever be a way to bypass this encryption in the future, for the home world at this stage, any practitioner who wished to cultivate had to learn directly through divine sense. As a consequence, gaining fluency in the Tianling Realm's written language became an indispensable skill. And as for the soldiers in the military... It was fair to say that aside from conscripts with college degrees, those in scientific research or administrative roles, and soldiers studying for military academy exams, the vast majority of active front-line personnel were hardly academics. Ordering them to run a five-kilometer race with a full load, shoulder a rifle for target practice, or even bleed and sacrifice their lives on the front line was no trouble at all. Yet the moment studying was brought up, even the most battle-hardened veterans trembled like leaves. In the military barracks, the only thing feared more than studying was probably disciplinary inspection. Even though Xiao Jiguang was a squad leader in the military, the prospect of such intense study still left him a little intimidated. Watching Xiao Jiguang's conflicted expression, the distinguished figures could not help but let out good-natured laughter. While an image of ironclad, unyielding resolve offered a greater sense of security, the raw, human emotion he displayed now made him feel all the more endearing. These were their own boys in uniform, after all... *** Half a day later. The capital. Inside the same office, simply furnished yet dignified. Lin Huaian, dressed in his everyday uniform, sat behind a large executive desk, listening with focused attention as Zhou Jianmin delivered his report word by word. He listened for roughly a dozen minutes. Only after Zhou Jianmin finished reporting Xiao Jiguang's Awakening results did Lin Huaian nod in satisfaction, a faint smile spreading across his face. "Comrade Jianmin, the comrades at Dawn Base have done an outstanding job this time! Especially Young Xiao—breaking through on his very first attempt has truly set an excellent precedent for our home world's cultivation research!" "It's a pity that current conditions are limited and this classified information cannot be made public yet. Otherwise, I would truly like to go meet everyone and see the caliber of our home world's very first cultivator with my own eyes." Toward the end, Lin Huaian's tone carried a hint of regret. At his level, overseeing the overall situation from the capital was no problem, but making a discreet trip to Dawn Base was virtually impossible. In truth, let alone Lin Huaian, even a physics giant like Pan Yongnian, who had nothing to do with politics, had numerous non-human entities keeping an eye on him in secret. To counter this, Section 307 had devised an entire security protocol, fabricating news of Pan Yongnian visiting a university in Jiangnan to dilute external attention. "Never mind, let's not dwell on that." Lin Huaian waved a hand, changing the subject before Zhou Jianmin could respond. "Comrade Jianmin, aside from Comrade Xiao's successful breakthrough, were there any other new discoveries during this experiment?" "There were, Chief," Zhou Jianmin replied, his expression turning solemn. He pulled another document from his briefcase and respectfully placed it before Lin Huaian. "Please take a look at this." Lin Huaian took the document and flipped it open. Zhou Jianmin offered an accompanying explanation: "During the experiment, Elder Huang and the others discovered that the location where spiritual energy enters the body..." Half a day earlier. After Xiao Jiguang and the others completed their Awakening, Feng Congzhi's team conducted several subsequent experiments, testing various conditions including introducing spiritual energy from below the body and under zero-gravity environments. Ultimately, they confirmed that unless a spirit stone was held directly in hand, within a mode resembling a Spirit Gathering Array, an average of 87.4% of the spiritual energy entering the body entered through the crown of the head. "The crown of the head..." Lin Huaian murmured, scanning the document with a thoughtful look. "Comrade Jianmin, have they found the cause?" "Not yet," Zhou Jianmin said, shaking his head as he brought him up to speed on the latest findings. "The expert panel suspects this phenomenon most likely involves the sea of consciousness... which is an ethereal organ that stores divine sense." "For instance, the sea of consciousness might have a function akin to hypnosis, causing the human body to automatically filter out any perception of spiritual energy entering through the head. Of course, 'hypnosis' is merely an analogy here; the actual mechanism is certainly on a vastly higher level." Lin Huaian glanced up at him. "What about Comrade Lin Yi? Have you checked with him?" "We did. He was quite astonished as well," Zhou Jianmin said with a wry smile. "However, limited by his realm—er, his social circle—he doesn't know to what cultivation stage this shielding can actually interfere with." "What he can say with relative certainty is that cultivators below Spirit Severing are virtually incapable of realizing this." Just as Zhou Jianmin had said. After Feng Congzhi measured the average values, Dawn Base contacted Lin Yi immediately. Lin Yi's expression throughout the entire conversation had been utterly stunned. There was nothing he could do about it. With a cultivation level comparable to a second-grade elementary student, expecting him to know which realm of cultivators were susceptible to this sensory shielding was asking a bit too much... The only thing Lin Yi could confirm was that late Nascent Soul cultivators were definitely unaware of this phenomenon. Indeed, late Nascent Soul. Several hundred years ago, in Qingzhou, a prominent late Nascent Soul cultivator known as Perfected Beichuan had obtained a cultivation technique named *Cangsheng Jue* from an ancient ruin. In nature, the technique was somewhat similar to the Path of Merit Lin Yi had known before transmigrating, requiring virtuous deeds beneficial to the common people in order to achieve breakthroughs. The higher the realm involved, the greater the merit required. At that time, in order to break through to Spirit Severing, Perfected Beichuan had recorded several of his less profound cultivation insights onto projection crystals and distributed them throughout Qingzhou at virtually philanthropic prices. In his earlier years, Lin Yi had also spent two Primordial Origin Pills in Jiuwu City to watch that lecture. He remembered it clearly. When Venerable Beichuan explained how to guide spiritual energy through a full heavenly circuit with maximum efficiency, he had mentioned one specific matter: the trajectory of spiritual energy entering the body was inscrutable, and he had spent over a decade attempting to uncover its rules to improve the quality of his breathing and absorption, only to end up empty-handed. One had to consider that Venerable Beichuan's cultivation was regarded as exceptionally formidable even among late Nascent Soul experts. If even he failed to detect this sensory shielding, other Nascent Soul cultivators were certainly out of the question. Having explained this, Zhou Jianmin paused, as though hesitating over what to say next. Noticing his demeanor, Lin Huaian could not resist teasing him, "Comrade Jianmin, why that look again? Don't tell me there's something else you need me to take the blame for?" "No, no, not at all, Chief, you misunderstand," Zhou Jianmin quickly waved his hands and explained in a hurry. "I was just thinking about how to present another discovery to you..." "Another discovery?" Lin Huaian blinked. "You mean Dawn Base made another finding besides the sensory shielding?" "...Yes." Zhou Jianmin took a deep breath, clearly showing that this second finding had shaken him profoundly. "This discovery pertains to the sea of qi." Anyone who had studied cultivation knew that the primary physiological difference between an initiated cultivator and an ordinary mortal lay in two specific biological mutations that developed once they stepped onto the path of cultivation. The first was divine sense. The second was the sea of qi. Divine sense could be employed to detect various objects, which went without saying. As for the sea of qi, it served as the core of the Qi Refining stage of cultivation. Qi Refining was the process of starting from the sea of qi and refining a second time each of the nodes opened during Awakening, thereby enabling the body to endure spiritual energy comprehensively and at high intensity. Generally speaking, every two to three nodes refined during Qi Refining was considered a breakthrough into the next minor realm. For example, Wei Chongshan, a third-generation disciple of the Guihua Sect, had refined six nodes, placing him at the peak of late Qi Refining in detailed terms. Once he refined his final node, he could begin gathering materials for Foundation Establishment. The other two executors and the weaponsmith Lu Yang had each refined five nodes. "Chief." Zhou Jianmin stood up, placed his palm over a specific spot on his body, and demonstrated, "According to Comrade Lin Yi, the sea of qi is located in the lower right abdomen of a cultivator and possesses no physical form." "Before enlisting in the military, Comrade Xiao Jiguang had undergone a non-laparoscopic minimally invasive procedure that left only a tiny scar and did not disqualify him from service." "Yet during the physical examination following his Awakening, we discovered that a certain organ which was supposed to have been surgically removed has actually regrown." Lin Huaian was taken aback once more. His gaze locked onto the hand Zhou Jianmin held over his abdomen. That location... A non-laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery that didn't disqualify one from military service... An organ removed... Suddenly, a spark flashed through Lin Huaian's mind, and he faintly guessed the answer. "Comrade Jianmin, could the organ you're referring to be..." "The appendix?"