Gu Chen lurked in the Group Chat, quietly watching its ridiculous members trade secrets.
Fang Xiu's master was Fang Hansong, a Transforming Strength Great Boxer of Wing Chun White Crane Fist. Fang Hansong also served as an instructor for Dragon Fang's elite Special Operations Forces, hired by the Central Province Official. With that connection, Fang Xiu knew far more than most and discussed inside information in the small Group Chat without a hint of concern.
He Wu: I heard from Uncle Fang that the authorities have started giving some Peiyuan Pills to Manifesting Strength elites selected from the Central Continent's Special Operations Forces. They'll soon be able to produce a group of Hidden Strength soldiers to serve as experimental volunteers. Apparently, they're consulting him and several other Transforming Strength Great Boxers about using science to simplify the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter cultivation method found in the Wu Ming Ruins. They want to lower the barrier to entry and eventually master Qi and Blood Power...
Liu Qing'er, a young heiress from a wealthy Jiangnan family, giggled when she saw Fang Xiu's message and shared an official secret of her own in the small Group Chat.
Invincible Little Wave Rider: My second uncle is a lead researcher at the official laboratory in Coastal City. I secretly asked him about it last time, and it sounds like they've made some progress. They're using science to support the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter, combining the two and optimizing the result with a Supercomputer's immense processing power. That's drastically reduced the difficulty of cultivation and the time it takes. They're already planning to bring in newly advanced Hidden Strength Special Operations Forces members for experiments. They might actually find a shortcut.
Wang Xiaoai couldn't help weighing in when he saw that.
Cute Pink Rabbit: One person's knowledge and strength can't compare with top Research Experts and scholars, let alone a Supercomputer's processing power. When ancient cultivation methods meet modern technology, who knows what sparks might fly? But my master doesn't seem impressed by that kind of shortcut. He says taking shortcuts is an inferior approach that leaves your combat strength lagging behind your cultivation level.
As Gu Chen read the Group Chat's chatter, his eyes sharpened. Liu Qing'er's words had caught his attention.
There's an official laboratory in Coastal City? And they've already started researching a simplified version of the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter?!
The news made Gu Chen realize he had been too hasty. Technology was the greatest power in modern society. A laboratory Supercomputer could perform trillions of calculations per second, simulate wars to predict their outcomes, or run all kinds of models. Its capabilities were formidable.
The system's Refine Falsehood Into Truth had brought the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter cultivation method into existence in a perfect state. Given a Supercomputer to model it, researchers might genuinely derive a simplified version with far lower requirements, allowing people to master Qi and Blood Power much faster.
The thought piqued Gu Chen's curiosity. The laboratory was in Coastal City, and so was he. If he could learn its exact address, sneaking in for a look would be no problem.
He acted at once, opening a private chat with Liu Qing'er. He casually brought up her uncle and the laboratory, and after they talked for a while, she told him where it was.
After leaving the Group Chat, Gu Chen gave the matter some thought. His current strength at the Core Condensation Level might not be enough to keep him safe. Who knew what an official laboratory this important might contain? Running into danger would be more than a little awkward.
Before going, he decided to strengthen himself. He used the system's Refine Falsehood Into Truth, spent 100,000 Origin Points, and mastered the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter.
The Core Condensation Level of National Martial Arts had given him a body beyond human limits. He could knead steel with his bare hands, run faster than a cheetah, and drive blood through his body with the force of a pump. Now that he had switched to cultivating the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter, he could refine the essence of his five organs into fiercer, more potent Qi and Blood Power. He could project it more than a foot beyond his body, alter its shape, and directly affect matter around him—displays of Supernatural Power.
Gu Chen drew a deep breath. Qi and Blood Power surged out of him almost instantly, coating his skin and radiating outward with a fierce, overpowering presence. He gathered it at his fingertip and flicked. A firecracker-like crack rang through the air, and the Qi and Blood Power punched a small hole clean through the wall.
That force rivaled some large-caliber sniper rifles capable of piercing walls. Satisfied by the sheer power of his Qi and Blood Power, Gu Chen smiled.
He changed into black clothes and put on a mask that hid most of his face. Then he sped through the night toward the official Coastal City Laboratory Liu Qing'er had mentioned.
With the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter mastered, he could now reach sixty meters per second—nearly twice his speed at the Core Condensation Level. Dressed all in black, he moved almost too fast for the human eye to track.
About twenty minutes later, Gu Chen appeared in a dark corner beside a heavily guarded building. Cameras were everywhere, security personnel patrolled around the clock, and entry required an electronic access card.
None of that posed much of a problem for him now. He planted a foot against the wall and launched himself upward, streaking through the air into an open window. He helped himself to a lab coat, dodged countless cameras, and finally reached the laboratory interior.
Perhaps because it was late at night, few researchers were about. Most hurried along with dark circles under their eyes, plainly worn down by long hours without sleep.
Gu Chen followed them and soon found what he had come for: a Supercomputer that occupied half a room and a Display Computer over three meters tall. Data streamed across the display alongside a three-dimensional image of a human body. Paths had been marked through it—the simplified cultivation method for the Human Immortal Martial Dao Five Organs Chapter.
He studied the data flowing across the enormous display with interest, comparing it against the cultivation method produced by the system's Refine Falsehood Into Truth. The Supercomputer's version genuinely had much lower requirements and was easier to cultivate. The laboratory's approach to Science-Martial Arts Integration could work.
Just then, a man's muffled voice came from behind him.
"Excuse me, researcher. You seem to be missing something. You've forgotten the ID badge required to get in and out..."
Gu Chen turned. A man in military-green clothes, his hair cropped short, stood a little way behind him. Gu Chen's mental state, honed through Shattering the Void to Seeing the Divine, let him immediately sense the suspicion and hostility in the man's eyes. He sighed.
"Exposed already? I don't remember giving myself away..."
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