The Difficulty

Yi Xuan had a deep impression of 3D printers. He had often encountered them in the course of his work in his previous life.

Of course, given the nature of his work in that life, Yi Xuan had never dealt with high-end 3D printers. Most of those he had encountered were ordinary models that could only process materials such as plastic.

But that did not diminish Yi Xuan's understanding of 3D printers. No matter how advanced they were, the principles behind them were the same.

What was more, Yi Xuan did not merely have his memories of 3D printers from his previous life. He could also extract the relevant technology in its entirety from the Book of Technology.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yi Xuan ordered Primordial No. 01 to prepare to receive new knowledge. Then he stored the information he had obtained from the Book of Technology, along with the relevant information from his own memories, on the hard drive and had No. 01 begin reading and absorbing it.

After several months of learning and system upgrades, No. 01 was no longer as it had been when first assembled. Its level of intelligence had improved greatly.

The amount of information Yi Xuan transmitted this time was about the same as the first time, but No. 01's speed at reading and absorbing it could no longer be mentioned in the same breath. It completed the task in just fifteen minutes. Yi Xuan still remembered that the first time he had transmitted information to it, it had taken three shichen, or six hours, to read and absorb it.

That alone showed just how much progress No. 01 had made.

"Boss! The information has been fully absorbed. Do you have any further instructions? Do you need me to generate a design for a 3D printer?"

Hearing No. 01's words, Yi Xuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's right!"

No. 01's question showed just how much its intelligence had improved. It could actually guess what Yi Xuan needed based on the information he had entered.

"Boss, please specify the requirements for the 3D printer!"

Yi Xuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Develop a metal 3D printer. Its precision should be as high as our current capabilities allow, and its maximum print dimensions should be two meters by two meters by two meters."

After hearing Yi Xuan's requirements, No. 01 took less than ten minutes to generate a three-dimensional model on its screen, along with a detailed description of the functions of the 3D printer it had designed.

Yi Xuan examined it for a while and saw that it really was the most advanced 3D printer he could make at his current stage. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good! Generate a manufacturing plan immediately and prepare to begin!"

"Boss! I took the liberty of cross-checking the database you established and found that this 3D printer design has limitations!"

Yi Xuan was somewhat surprised. What surprised him was not the limitations in the 3D printer design, but the fact that No. 01 had performed an operation beyond its assigned task without his permission.

In his previous life, the entire world had always worried that artificial intelligence might one day slip beyond human control, but that had never happened.

Now Yi Xuan had come to a world of immortal cultivation, and to his surprise, the artificial intelligence he had invented in this world was actually showing signs of such a development.

Yi Xuan gave the computer before him a complicated look. After pondering for a moment, he spoke again. "No. 01! Why did you act beyond my instructions without my permission? I need an explanation!"

Without the slightest hesitation, No. 01 began to explain. "I believed that doing so would help you to the greatest possible extent, Boss. My programming evaluated the operation and ultimately determined that this behavior served the purpose for which you developed me."

Although Yi Xuan did not want to admit it, his purpose in developing artificial intelligence in this world of immortal cultivation was to have an assistant capable of independent thought.

But Yi Xuan had not expected this assistant to grow so quickly. It had greatly exceeded his expectations, or rather, Yi Xuan was not yet ready to accept an artificial intelligence capable of thinking independently of him.

Yet reason told Yi Xuan that the change in No. 01 was precisely the result he wanted, and that this change would help him survive better in this world of immortal cultivation.

After thinking it over for a long time, Yi Xuan finally abandoned the idea of destroying No. 01. Instead, he said, "No. 01, display your highest-priority command!"

Strings of code flashed across the screen. Then it went black, and a line of text slowly appeared. When Yi Xuan saw it, the worry in his heart finally eased.

Relieved, Yi Xuan turned his attention back to the 3D printer. "No. 01, what did you mean when you said this design had limitations? What does the design have to do with the database you compared it against?"

"Boss, the database I compared it against contains some information you stored about the materials in this world. I compared that information and found that this 3D printer can only process Mysterious Iron and materials with melting points lower than Mysterious Iron. Many of the materials in the database you established have melting points far higher than Mysterious Iron. In that case, the Raging Fire Formation used to heat materials in the design would be completely ineffective on them!"

Yi Xuan also realized the problem No. 01 had described. It brought him back to the principles behind 3D printing.

The biggest difference between 3D printing and traditional manufacturing methods was the difference between addition and subtraction. Traditional methods such as turning, milling, planing, grinding, and boring all used subtraction. Starting with a metal blank, whichever method was used, material was removed from the blank until the desired part was formed.

3D printing, on the other hand, worked by addition, or additive manufacturing. The material was melted or reduced to small particles, then built up layer by layer through sintering or spraying until the desired part was formed.

If it were materials from his previous life, Yi Xuan would not have been worried. The Raging Fire Formation's heat alone was enough to melt most commonly used metals from that life.

But this was a world of immortal cultivation. Even Mysterious Iron, the metal most commonly used by immortal cultivators, had an extremely high melting point. Fortunately, the Raging Fire Formation's temperature was higher than Mysterious Iron's melting point. Otherwise, Yi Xuan's artifact-refining cauldron would have been a piece of scrap iron.

Now he faced this problem in making a 3D printer: if he used the Raging Fire Formation for heating, the printer would only ever be able to print parts made of Mysterious Iron. As for the countless better materials in the world of immortal cultivation, Yi Xuan could only look at them and shrink back.

This was not the result Yi Xuan wanted. Shaking his head, he told No. 01 to shelve the 3D printer design for the time being.

Yi Xuan returned to his bedroom and lay down, deciding to ask the grand elder tomorrow. The old man was widely experienced and knowledgeable, and might have some good advice for Yi Xuan.