Chapter 463: Level 2 Supreme Clarity Talisman
In the Spirit Realm, Zhang Pianpian, who was in the middle of deciphering a Spirit Transformation Yin Artifact, suddenly raised an eyebrow.
Just moments ago, her account had received a transfer of 100 Spirit Coins, sent by her dear younger brother, Zhang Yu.
“That little rascal…”
Zhang Pianpian was slightly startled. As she considered whether to return the money, Zhang Yu sent her a message: “My engineering funds came through. Use this money without any worries.”
Reading Zhang Yu’s message, Zhang Pianpian shook her head helplessly, but a faint smile crept across her face. “Do I really look that desperate for money?”
She recalled how, during his first year of high school, Zhang Yu had been drowning in student loans, on the verge of bankruptcy. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had become a third-year student at Myriad Laws University and was now able to support her with over a hundred Spirit Coins.
Many in this world could afford 100 Spirit Coins, but to transfer them directly into her account without a contract, without any conditions… only her younger brother would do such a thing.
“Is this what family is?”
“No, most families in Kunxu wouldn’t go this far.”
“My brother is truly a man of deep and genuine emotions.”
Zhang Pianpian sighed inwardly: “He’s far too kind-hearted.”
“If he had been born five hundred years earlier, he might have become a legendary hero of the righteous path, a pillar of the Daoist sects, only to… meet a violent end.”
Zhang Pianpian shook her head: “Perhaps modern Kunxu… has even less room for someone like him?”
Despite these thoughts, a faint smile lingered on her face.
“But if given the chance, I hope our sister-brother bond can endure for as long as possible.”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu was looking at the contract Zhang Pianpian had sent him, thinking, “A contract to repay 5 Spirit Coins a month?”
He wasn’t surprised. He knew that in his sister’s eyes, he was willing to lend money to her, and she was willing to repay him with interest - this was what made them true family. This repayment contract was the bond between them.
He fully understood his sister’s intentions.
Moreover, he could sense that given his sister’s cultivation level, her income shouldn’t be low. It seemed, however, that she had a bottomless pit of expenses, swallowing all the money she’d earned over the years, leaving her unable to even upgrade her Supreme Clarity Realm.
Could Sister be gambling?
Shaking his head to dismiss the absurd thought, Zhang Yu began anticipating the upgrade of the Supreme Clarity Talisman.
That evening, when he saw the Supreme Clarity Talisman had reached level 2 in his Dao Seed Register, Zhang Yu immediately put on his Spirit Realm Mask and activated the talisman’s power.
In the next moment, as his consciousness swiftly traversed the Spirit Realm, countless colorful visions flashed before him.
When Zhang Yu came back to his senses, he found himself standing before a Daoist temple shrouded in mist and surrounded by towering mountains.
Today, the Daoist temple seemed larger than usual, its main gate and the plaque above it appearing more tangible and real.
As Zhang Yu entered the temple, he noticed a new addition: a side hall had been built beside the main hall.
Zhang Pianpian stood before the side hall. Hearing movement behind her, she turned and asked Zhang Yu, “Have you also sensed the changes in the Supreme Clarity Realm?”
Though Zhang Pianpian didn’t know how Zhang Yu had entered the Supreme Clarity Realm, his ability to sense its changes wasn’t surprising, given his presence.
Zhang Yu nodded and asked, “What is this new side hall for?”
“You’ve come at the perfect time. Let’s go inside together.” Zhang Pianpian pushed open the side hall’s doors and led Zhang Yu inside.
The moment he stepped inside, Zhang Yu realized the hall’s interior was several times larger than it had appeared from the outside.
Even more surprising was that the hall was completely empty, devoid of any furnishings or objects.
But in the next instant, Zhang Pianpian extended her hand, and talismanic inscriptions materialized in her palm. Simultaneously, something began to form.
It appeared to be a fragment of a statue, but even generating this small portion caused the entire side hall to tremble slightly, preventing any further manifestation.
This fragment was precisely the Spirit Realm Projection of the Spirit Transformation Yin Artifact that Zhang Pianpian had been tirelessly working to decipher.
Staring at the fragment, Zhang Pianpian thought, “Is this the current limit?”
Noticing Zhang Yu’s curious gaze beside her, she explained, “This side hall functions as a Great Void Illusionary Realm, capable of simulating and reproducing various phenomena from the world…”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Is it like the Spirit Realm Simulation Service outside? Can we simulate artifact crafting experiments here?”
Zhang Pianpian nodded. “No problem. However, simulations are not without limitations.”
“The Supreme Clarity Realm, established by senior cultivators as a Spirit Realm Grotto-Heaven, has access to vast Spirit Realm Calculation Pools. But the users’ cultivation levels still impose restrictions.”
“With our current Level 20 Dao Hearts and Foundation Establishment realms, the computational limit won’t be particularly high…”
As Zhang Pianpian explained, Zhang Yu began to grasp the mechanics of the side hall.
In his own words, the simulation capability here was capped by a fixed amount of computational power.
Assuming the maximum computational power available in the Side Hall is 100, and simulating an apple requires 10 points of computational power, Zhang Yu can simulate a maximum of 10 apples simultaneously within the hall.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “The more complex and powerful the object, the more computational power it will consume.”
“Given your current Dao Heart, simulating the crafting of magical artifacts or Bionics below the Golden Core realm should pose no problem.”
“Besides the computational power limitations, only objects you have personally witnessed can be simulated here.”
“The longer you interact with an object and the deeper your understanding of it, the higher the fidelity of the simulation…”
As Zhang Pianpian explained and instructed, Zhang Yu gradually grasped how to use the Side Hall.
Although there were various restrictions, there was no denying… this Side Hall would be immensely beneficial to him.
“After all, the Supreme Clarity Realm is a place where I can use resources for free. If I can simulate all my future artifact crafting experiments here, how much money will I save?”
Zhang Yu’s heart swelled with excitement. Since resuming his artifact crafting studies, he had been spending a significant amount of Spirit Coins each month on the Spirit Realm’s simulation services.
“Moreover, the simulation efficiency in the Supreme Clarity Realm is much higher.”
“By activating the Immeasurable Heart Inner Dharma Body and conducting experiments with four layers of consciousness, combined with the Supreme Clarity Realm’s inherent 20x acceleration, that should give me approximately 80x acceleration, right?”
“That’s eight times faster than the ordinary 10x acceleration in the Spirit Realm.”
Zhang Yu knew that in the Spirit Realm, the truly wealthy could pay for acceleration rates exceeding 10x. But the Supreme Clarity Realm required no money.
Next, Zhang Yu tried to see if he could cultivate cultivation arts here, but the result was…
“It doesn’t work?”
Zhang Yu thought, “Simulating various materials and magical artifacts to improve my artifact crafting skills works fine.”
“But cultivating cultivation arts involves my physical body. This place seems unable to fully simulate my physical state. Is it because the computational power isn’t sufficient?”
Though he couldn’t figure out the reason, Zhang Yu wasn’t discouraged. Even just being able to perform free and highly efficient artifact crafting experiments here was already a tremendous help.
“The Level 2 Supreme Clarity Talisman is incredibly useful. I wonder when I can upgrade it to Level 3.”
Later observations revealed that upgrading to a 3rd-tier Supreme Clarity Talisman would require a staggering 1,000 Spirit Coins, far beyond what could be afforded during the Foundation Establishment stage.
While Zhang Yu was experimenting with various methods, Zhang Pianpian was facing a continuous stream of talismans. She was analyzing and studying a fragment of the Spirit Transformation Yin Artifact.
Zhang Pianpian thought to herself, “Even though I can only simulate a fragment of it, it’s not entirely ineffective. At least for the portion of the decryption work assigned to me, I can now attempt things I previously dared not try.”
Inside the classroom, Ying Xin glanced at the empty seat beside her and thought, “Senior Brother really hasn’t been coming to class for ages.”
Her gaze shifted to Ji Yuanshu, seated in the back row. Now clad in Extreme Tiger Brand Bionics, he attended every lecture punctually, a far cry from his spirited demeanor during his freshman year.
She sighed inwardly. While Ji Yuanshu diligently attended classes daily, Zhang Yu and Gongshu Jin had become increasingly absent, busy with construction sites, studies, and cultivation. They relied on the Spirit Realm’s accelerated online courses to replace traditional classroom learning.
Zhang Yu, in particular, kept Ying Xin, his company’s Chief Accountant, constantly busy. Not only did he oversee daily construction operations, but he also managed the company’s finances. He responded to her messages instantly, often providing insightful guidance and pointing out oversights in her work.
Who knew Senior Brother was so knowledgeable about finance and taxation, in addition to his expertise in civil engineering? she mused. He must have been preparing for this all along, never intending to remain just another worker on the construction site.
Recalling how this had given her the opportunity to escape the construction grind, Ying Xin felt a surge of motivation.
Just then, she received another message from Zhang Yu:
Zhang Yu: “Yesterday’s report?”
Zhang Yu: “Ying Xin, I’ve noticed your work hasn’t been up to par these past few days.”
Ying Xin hurriedly replied: “End of term exams are coming up, so I’ve been really busy.”
Zhang Yu: “Don’t make excuses.”
Zhang Yu: “I expect you to grow with the company.”
Zhang Yu: “For example, you should take initiative in your work, not just act when I assign tasks.”
Ying Xin: “I’ll finish the report right away.”
Meanwhile, at the construction site in the wilderness, Fu Ji read Ying Xin’s message and thought to herself, “Honestly, we’re paying these employees too much.”
“How dare they skip out on overtime without finishing their work?”
“Sigh, Zhang Yu is still too inexperienced. If I had my way, I’d cut their base salaries and tie bonuses to performance. That would immediately boost their productivity.”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu sat cross-legged nearby, wearing his Spirit Realm Mask, his consciousness immersed in the Supreme Clarity Realm.
During this period, Zhang Yu had seized every opportunity to launch the company’s second project.
Whether he was at the construction site or back at University City, he always carried his Spirit Realm Mask with him.
Even on the job site, whenever he had a moment of downtime, he would put on the mask and retreat into the Supreme Clarity Realm, using the time to conduct simulated experiments.
After all, his artifact crafting skills had stagnated for a while due to his recent preoccupation with the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Shifting Divine Power.
With the opponents in the Civil Engineering Competition growing increasingly formidable, he needed to upgrade his magical artifacts to keep pace with his current combat capabilities.