Xia Li began carefully selecting his options.

  He now noticed that Spirit Cores and Heaven Chips came in various specifications.

  Spirit Cores had different specs for capacity, output efficiency, conversion efficiency, elemental affinity, and precision control.

  "Sister Ke, could you explain the Spirit Core specifications?"

  Xia Li currently had no idea what those specs meant or what they were for.

  "Sure. Capacity is the maximum amount of spiritual energy the Spirit Core can store. Higher capacity Spirit Cores typically have advantages in prolonged battles."

  "Output efficiency is how much spiritual energy can be released in a given time. Higher output means stronger techniques. If you're going for one-hit kills, output efficiency must be high."

  "Conversion efficiency is how fast you can refine spiritual energy absorbed from the environment. Higher conversion means faster replenishment. It's also an important reference for elemental Spirit Cores."

  "For example, if you need fire-attribute spiritual energy, a high conversion efficiency Spirit Core can complete the transformation quickly, working with the Heaven Chip to unleash powerful fire techniques."

  "Elemental affinity is self-explanatory—whether you prefer playing with fire or water. Unless you have innate talent or later awaken an elemental affinity, I'd suggest sticking with a non-elemental Spirit Core."

  "Finally, precision control is the spec to consider when you need fine control over spiritual energy. If you're stingy with your energy, choose high precision to avoid any waste. It also has advantages in alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman making."

  "Though nowadays, machines handle alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman making automatically. Unless you can't even afford the processing fee, you'd use the old methods yourself."

  In Ke Xiao's view, precision control wasn't a priority spec. Capacity and output efficiency were the most universally useful.

  "Got it. Now tell me about the Heaven Chip specs."

  Besides the self-explanatory technique slots and storage slots, the Heaven Chip had four other specifications.

  Processing power, architecture, cache, and cores.

  These were all terms Xia Li could understand—electronic terminology that existed back in 2030. But what if there were differences?

  "Processing power is the spec for how fast the Heaven Chip handles various tasks. Analysis, technique usage, and anything requiring computation all rely on processing power."

  "Put simply, you can think of processing power as what ancient cultivators called 'comprehension.' Higher processing power means better comprehension."

  "Architecture generally represents the chip's generation and underlying logic. Different architectures have different advantages."

  "Cache significantly improves switching speed between storage slots and technique slots. In third-generation and above architectures, it can also enhance your neural response speed. Higher cache means greater enhancement to your brain."

  "Cores are the spec for handling multiple data streams simultaneously. More cores mean more things you can do at once. You could have the chip handle combat automatically while watching a holographic movie in your mind, and simultaneously chat with others on the Heavenly Dao Network."

  After Ke Xiao explained the various specs for Spirit Cores and Heaven Chips, Xia Li felt his scalp tingle. So Earth's cultivation tradition did have its challenges after all.

  The challenge was in one's configuration skills—how to balance various specs to achieve maximum effectiveness.

  "By the way, don't rush to choose. Your spirit stones are still rough stones. Let me smelt them into standard spirit stone units first."

  "Huh?"

  Xia Li was momentarily stunned. So even spirit stones had different standards between Earth and the other world.

  Without a word, Xia Li silently handed his spirit stone pouch to Ke Xiao. She beckoned for him to follow.

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  The two came to a machine that looked like a furnace.

  "Come to think of it, these rough stones seem to have been roughly processed. Did you cut them yourself?"

  "They were like this when I found them."

  "Then they're probably spirit stones that leaked from the ruins."

  With that, Ke Xiao poured all thirty-odd spirit stones into the machine, which immediately began operating.

  Before long...

  As the machine stopped, it opened a slot and dispensed two rhombus-shaped spirit stones and three pyramid-shaped spirit stones.

  "These are standard spirit stones. Don't be fooled by having thirty-odd stones—they varied greatly in size and purity. Triangular ones are low-grade, rhombus ones are mid-grade, hexagonal ones are high-grade, and spherical ones are supreme-grade. The exchange rate for upgrading is ten to one. Remember that."

  "So I now have twenty-three standard low-grade spirit stones?"

  Xia Li nodded, thinking that Earth really had standardized everything, even spirit stones. Unlike the other world, where spirit stones came in all shapes and sizes, roughly within a weight range.

  "Yes. You can go select now."

  "Okay."

  Xia Li didn't linger and immediately ran to the holographic screen. He felt an indescribable sense of novelty, like configuring weapons and equipment in a game.

  After a full hour of selection, Xia Li finally chose what he wanted.

  "For the Spirit Core, I want the Yixiu Type-3. For the Heaven Chip, I want the Haisu Type-4. And I also want a Military Type-2 right arm prosthetic."

  Besides the Spirit Core and Heaven Chip, Xia Li also wanted an arm prosthetic. This wasn't because he had nothing better to do—his right arm was already a prosthetic.

  His original right hand had been crushed by falling rocks in a mining accident. The Company could have let him recover, but instead chose to amputate and replace it with cheap secondhand junk.

  Letting him heal didn't align with the Company's interests, but with a prosthetic, he could continue mining the next day.

  As long as you weren't dead, the Company had plenty of secondhand junk from who-knows-where. Slap it on and keep digging. Artificial organs were plentiful too.

  Want to rest?

  They probably wouldn't let you go until every brain cell was dead—and even then, they'd take your shriveled brain to use as demon beast bait, squeezing out the last bit of value.

  So Xia Li's hatred for the Company needed no explanation. He didn't have the power to collect that debt now, but when he did, the Company would pay dearly.

  "Haisu Type-4? That model is indeed good, but for the same price, there's something better that you can't find on the market."

  Ke Xiao walked to the holographic screen and stood with her eyes closed, as if undergoing some authentication. After a moment, more options appeared on the screen.

  "How about this? Hidden Wing Type-2. A Heaven Chip developed by our organization, using a reverse-engineering-based architecture. It comes with cracking programs—you can bypass security and freely access any data rated security level one on the Heavenly Dao Network."

  "Most importantly... the Hidden Wing Type-2 is a fifth-generation chip produced with Neural Bridge technology. And it comes with an Intellect Technique."

  "Intellect Technique?"

  Xia Li's curiosity was piqued. This sounded like an independent ability provided by the chip.

  "That's right. It's called Mind-Brain Overclock. It can slow down your perception of time, letting you see bullet trajectories."

  "Sounds pretty powerful... so what's the catch?"

  Xia Li knew that everything in this world came with a price. How could such an internal benefit possibly fall to him?

  "Simple. Just join us!"

  Ke Xiao directly began recruiting Xia Li. He had already completed one mission for them anyway. Since he had nowhere to go, why not officially join the organization?