"Comrade Lu!"
"How is it? Is there a way to fix it?"
"Did we do something wrong?"
Just as Lu Li was immersed in the beauty of the technologically sophisticated Law Armor,
Wang Zhiwen's slightly anxious voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Whew..."
Lu Li took a deep breath, came back to his senses, and picked up the jade pendant.
He spoke slowly.
"Director Li, Elder Wang, the artifact refinement... succeeded."
"S-succeeded?"
"It succeeded? It really succeeded!"
"S-succeeded..."
When Lu Li's voice reached Blue Star through the jade pendant,
Wang Zhiwen seemed unable to believe his ears.
He stood rooted to the spot, his lips trembling.
Only when a tremendous cheer rang through the entire experimental workshop,
and Li Yuanchao began clapping excitedly, did he come to his senses!
With no time to dwell on his joy, Wang Zhiwen gripped the microphone and spoke urgently.
"Comrade Lu, could you record a video showing the Law Armor's current condition?"
"Did you use some method to make it succeed? Or..."
"I didn't do anything. The moment I brought it over, the Law Armor manifested a spiritual glow on its own. Although it's only at the early first grade..."
"It's definitely a Law Artifact."
"Just as I thought!"
It was as though one of Wang Zhiwen's suspicions had been confirmed.
His brow furrowed deeply as he muttered to himself.
"I suspected before that there were enormous differences between the material laws of the two worlds."
"Even if we could use materials from the other world to reconstruct it, that... wouldn't mean the result would actually work."
"Now it seems that's exactly the case... This..."
"This is a limitation imposed by the world's fundamental physical laws... How can we change that...?"
Lu Li naturally heard Wang Zhiwen's words. He was not the only one; once the researchers came to their senses, they also stopped cheering.
The crowd fell silent once more.
"A limitation of the laws..."
"Elder Wang, could the laws you're talking about... be what's called Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi?"
On the other side of the jade pendant, Lu Li ventured the question.
Six months earlier, he had sent a Spirit Root testing stone back to Blue Star.
It was specifically used to test Spirit Roots, but once it arrived on Blue Star, it stopped working.
Lu Li had immediately wondered whether it was because Blue Star had no Spiritual Qi.
Now the same was true of the Law Armor...
"That's right. All the spiritual power materials in our base are precious."
"The few Spirit Stones you sent back are especially well-protected... We couldn't bear to use spiritual power materials for testing..."
"And if it really is because of Spiritual Qi..."
Wang Zhiwen trailed off, then spoke somewhat hesitantly.
"Then... then we can't keep relying on the supplies you provide to conduct cultivation research forever..."
"That's too great a burden on you."
At those words, Li Yuanchao fell silent as well.
As things stood, it was a fact that Blue Star had no Spiritual Qi.
Without Spiritual Qi, many artifacts wouldn't work, let alone usher in an age when all of Great Xia could cultivate immortality.
Even cultivation research would have to rely entirely on troubling Lu Li...
That was far too unfair to him...
"Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi..."
"The Spiritual Qi of the Imprisoned Dragon Realm is..."
Lu Li's thoughts raced. He remembered reading a miscellaneous account in the sect's scripture repository.
It said that heaven and earth possessed spirits and gave birth to Spirit Veins. Once the veins formed, Qi rose from them, and this was Spiritual Qi.
That was the source of Spiritual Qi in this realm...
Spirit Veins...
"In that case..."
Lu Li seemed to have thought of something and spoke with some uncertainty.
"Elder Wang, is it possible that I could send a Spirit Vein back?"
"A S-Spirit Vein?!"
"That's right. Do you remember the miscellaneous texts I sent back before? Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is born from Spirit Veins..."
"The Azure Pool Sect has a third-grade Spirit Vein. If I could send a Spirit Vein back..."
"Gulp!"
Before Lu Li could finish, Wang Zhiwen swallowed hard.
He seemed unable to believe it.
Everyone else looked even more shocked.
They had studied the miscellaneous texts Lu Li had sent back in detail.
They knew something about Spirit Veins too, and knew that they were the foundations of mountains and rivers... and could easily stretch hundreds or even tens of thousands of meters...
"C-can something like that be sent back too?"
"In theory, it should be possible. The mass of the objects this jade pendant can transmit is related to spiritual power."
"And... the cultivation world already has techniques for moving mountains. If I can move it... I can transmit it."
There was a hint of certainty in Lu Li's voice.
It rekindled the researchers' hope.
Even Wang Zhiwen was delighted.
"If you really can send a Spirit Vein back..."
"It would undoubtedly be an enormous help to Great Xia... Cultivation research would become much more convenient from then on."
"The speed of research would be beyond imagination, and we could also try to launch the cultivation plan..."
"Whew! Hah, hah..."
Wang Zhiwen's breathing grew heavy.
If the progress the nation and Lu Li had made in cultivation research so far could be called the 1.0 stage,
then the moment a Spirit Vein was successfully sent back to Great Xia... would fully usher in the 2.0 era!
"Comrade Lu Li, I think your idea is worth trying."
"But... this is no small matter. At your current stage, you've already gained a foothold in the cultivation world by proceeding steadily."
"As for sending back a Spirit Vein... you must only attempt it when your personal safety is assured."
Li Yuanchao's voice suddenly sounded.
He did not understand research, nor did he know exactly how important a Spirit Vein was.
But he knew that the most important thing right now... was still Lu Li.
"I understand, Director Li. With my current Qi Refinement Realm cultivation, there's certainly no chance of it."
"Perhaps after I reach Foundation Establishment, I can give it a try..."
Lu Li responded.
He certainly would not rush out to look for a Spirit Vein now.
Even a first-grade Spirit Vein was extremely precious, and every one was guarded by a faction.
A matter this big could only wait until he reached Foundation Establishment.
The conversation drew to a close.
Wang Zhiwen urged Lu Li to be sure to conduct detailed tests on every aspect of the Great Xia Law Armor's performance.
Li Yuanchao, meanwhile, sent over the latest strategic analysis report.
"Comrade Lu Li," Li Yuanchao said, his voice turning serious.
"Based on the intelligence you provided, the strategy team strongly recommends that you begin preparing for Foundation Establishment ahead of time."
"A Foundation Establishment Pill costs several thousand Spirit Stones. Even with your current income from artifact refinement, you'd need to save for more than ten years."
The figure made Lu Li's heart sink.
The difficulty of Foundation Establishment was far greater than he had imagined.
"Furthermore," Li Yuanchao continued, "the strategy team's analysis suggests that you could consider launching the 'disciple recruitment plan.'"
"Taking disciples?" Lu Li was taken aback.
"That's right. If you could train a few disciples of above-average aptitude from a young age, with the efficiency of version 3.0 of the Five Elements Instruction..."
"They could grow strong enough before you reach Foundation Establishment to become a source of support and help gather resources."
The proposal plunged Lu Li into thought.
Cultivating alone was indeed difficult. If he had a few helpers he could trust...
Li Yuanchao added one final remark, his tone meaningful:
"Remember, what you need isn't merely the title of master and disciple."
"But people you've personally raised, who are absolutely loyal... 'your own people'!"