Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

”How is that possible!” the host exclaimed, as if somebody had stabbed his bottom.

”Master Dustless, although I’m not a refiner, I know that chips are the most essential components of modern magical equipment. At least ten thousand tiny spiritual energy circuits have to be carved on chips only the size of fingernails for more than ten different layers to form a complicated and yet functional framework!

”Carving a chip requires a precision at the micrometer level, or perhaps even the sub-micrometer level, which means a thousandth, or even smaller, the diameter of a hair.

”It was not until the crystal processors evolved exponentially and chip makers controlled by crystal processors such as ’Tiny Ray Etching Machine’ appeared that the microchips really thrived!

”But right now, you are telling me that a refiner is attempting to create a chip with his bare hands? Master Dustless, is it not a joke?”

Master Dustless smiled bitterly. ”I know the procedure of chip production much better than you. I also believe that every member of the audience who has any common sense about magical equipment knows what a difficult and tedious job making a chip is. In fact, we have been calling the manufacturing of chips the summit of magical equipment refining.

”But facts are facts. There are no other possibilities when you look at what Li Yao has been doing.

”He is truly going to carve a chip with his bare hands!”

The host breathed heavily and scratched his head. ”This is insane! This is incredible! Ten thousand spiritual energy circuits on the micrometer level without the tiniest errors. One of them goes wrong, and the entire chip will be wasted!

”Also, he has half an hour at best. Half an hour!

”Can his hands be that stable? Are they even faster than ’Tiny Ray Etching Machines’? Then isn’t he even stronger than refiners at the Core Formation Stage?”

Bi Luoling, the other guest and the refiner from Red Line School, explained, ”It cannot be compared that way.

”We all know that ancient refiners paid great attention to mini-scale etching with their hands. Many legendary refiners in history, such as Master Ou Yezi of the Hundred Smelting Clan, could even carve tens of thousands of rune arrays on magical equipment the size of millet!

”However, the modern Cultivation civilization developed together with crystal processors. Most modern refiners attached more importance to the utilization of crystal processors.

”You want to carve a chip? Then you can simply do that by operating magical equipment such as ’Tiny Ray Etching Machines’ via a crystal processor. That will be both fast and handy.

”With the assistance of crystal processors, no rational refiners would waste their time with training themselves in the techniques of engraving chips with their bare hands. It is only a matter of preference and has nothing to do with capability or level.

”For example, fire is everywhere in modern world. We can buy a lighter that contains two rune arrays of the fire class for just one dollar.

”If so, who would bother to learn how to make fire with woods and stones? Does such a skill mean anything even if someone is adept at it?”

The host was dazed for a long time. Then he said, ”Ms. Bi, are you indicating that this technique of Li Yao is like making fire with woods and stones, which is… utterly useless?”

Bi Luoling smiled bitterly. ”Generally speaking, yes. But it’s a whole different case right now. I really cannot see through Li Yao. What kind of environment and which school is such a weirdo from?”

Li Yao sat straight before the operation platform. His heart was tranquil, and his eyes were scorching. After several long breaths, he had completely forgotten that he was in the middle of a fierce competition. The spectators around seemed to turn into dust. The exclamations of the host and the guests in midair gradually died down, too.

All his concentration was focused on the tiny chip.

Although he was not making a super-complicated, integrated mainframe chip but the simplest single-function control chip, it still entailed 12,330 spiritual energy circuits.

He had to divide the chip, which was as thin as the wing of a cicada, into eleven layers with the etching technique and carve more than twelve thousand circuits evenly among the layers. They could not interfere with each other and had to be connected in certain patterns.

It was like building a maze on grit, which was simply an impossible mission.

If it had been two months prior, Li Yao would’ve had no confidence that he could do it.

But right now, after the cruel training with the Purple Ring Sword Ants, his hand speed had advanced to a whole new level. The stability of his hands was far higher than that of the most advanced artificial arms, too.

He was about to declare war on the unclimbable peak with his bruised hands!

In the ancient Cultivation world, there was no such thing as a crystal processor. All the magical equipment had to be built up from scratch by refiners in person!

Today, allow me to polish this control chip, an example of the essence of the modern Cultivation civilization, with the ancient refining techniques from forty thousand years ago!

Spiritual energy was surging inside Li Yao’s body. His hands were glittering. Seven extremely tiny mystic rays were condensed in front of the seven pins among his fingers.

The mystic rays were only a thousandth the diameter of hair and completely unrecognizable to human eyes. Only through Li Yao’s special head-worn microscope could he see the mystic rays that were in the shape of ultimate sabers!

The seven light sabers had different frequencies, which allowed them to enter the different layers of the chip and carve there at the same time!

Li Yao closed his eyes and made a countdown. Three seconds later, his eyelids suddenly opened. Inside his eyes, his pupils were surrounded by bright gold rings that were expanding and shrinking like the crystal cameras with extremely high resolution!

His body was still. But there were explosive sounds coming from his hands.

The audience was immediately in a riot.

Since the match had proceeded for a while, most regular spectators were tired. Some of them were taking a tap, only to be woken up by the continuous explosions. They all stood straight and listened attentively.

The host shouted at his loudest, ”What’s going on? Li Yao seemed to be frozen before the operation platform, but terrible sounds are coming from him, as if a fearsome animal is chewing its prey there! Let’s focus the camera on his hands. Zoom in, and zoom in. Ah, Li Yao’s hands have turned into a cluster of white mist where thousands of blurred shadows—”

”Not blurred shadows!”

Bi Luoling’s voice cut off the host’s scream like the sharpest saber as she continued, ”It’s the sonic barrier!”

”Every finger on Li Yao’s two hands is moving rapidly and breaking the sonic barrier within the tiny distance!

”The roars that we are hearing are made by his hands when they are breaking the sonic barrier!

”His hand speed has surpassed all limits. He is carving a chip at a supersonic speed!”

The host shrieked, ”Supersonic hands? Is that really a thing?”

The field was filled with whispers. Many audience members couldn’t help but stand up and gaze at the enlarged picture in midair bewilderedly.

Inside the VIP room, the experienced refiners were dumbfounded, too.

Supersonic hands were the privilege of the refiners at the Core Formation Stage by common sense.

However, every sign in Li Yao’s performance from the beginning to now suggested that he was merely around the middle level of the Building Foundation Stage. More importantly, he was only in his twenties!

What kind of horrifying training did he receive to raise his hand speed to such an extent?

The managers of the three main crystal suit centers looked at each other and suddenly retreated to a corner at the same time. They were contacting their respective human resources department asking them to draft a fat, attractive contract as soon as possible.

The manager of Red Line School was so regretful that he was almost bashing his head. Last night, they’d had an opportunity to recruit such a talent in advance, but because of a moment of hesitation, they had let the cooked duck fly away!

Seeing the beaming and greedy face of his competitors, he knew that the fight for the talent would be nothing but intense. He would have to spend quite a fortune in order to get him!

Across from Li Yao’s workshop, Mo Tianshui subconsciously stopped his actions. He gazed and walked to Li Yao subconsciously and almost hit the wall.

The talented heir of the noble family found his heart pounding and his face pale.

Impossible. It’s definitely impossible!

Carving a chip with supersonic hands? That’s outrageous!

This is a psychological strategy!

His hands might be really fast, but how can he make an authentic chip with nothing but his bare hands? He must be tricking me!

No, I must calm down. I have crushed my opponent in every competition since the first one. Today shall be no exception!

Right then, an earsplitting warning broke out from the furnace behind him.

Mo Tianshui quickly turned around and gasped.

On the control menu, several figures had turned deep red, and one of them had even gone black!

Not good!

The batch of components that he had refined for last fifteen minutes had been wasted!

Mo Tianshui gnashed his teeth so hard that he almost crushed them.

Li Yao’s hands were trembling at the top speed, while they zigzagged and bounced at a supersonic speed within the tiny distance, driving the seven cutters of mystic rays to leave clear spiritual energy circuits on the chip.

Twenty minutes later, the last line was completed. He suddenly felt his head was dizzy and almost fell over.

His hands resumed absolute stillness instantly. But they were suddenly enveloped by burning flames.

Due to the friction with the air, his hands had been heated to a very high temperature, and they were on fire like a falling star that had breached into the atmosphere.

Li Yao took a breath in relief. There was more easiness than exhaustion on his face.

Even without the protection of spiritual energy, the pain of his hands being burnt was less than one tenth the suffering from being bitten by Purple Ring Sword Ants.

He simply let his hands burn, while he stood up and stretched his arms, before he walked to a corner of his workshop slowly.

In the corner, there was a metal bucket that was filled with bright green nutrition liquids.

Since the high-intensity refining work was six hours long, it was expected that the refiners took a moment of rest every once in a while and nourish their hands with the nutrition liquids.

Li Yao stabbed his burning hands into the nutrition liquids. The flames were immediately put out.

Centered around his hands, two swirls appeared in the nutrition liquids and span quickly!

Half a minute later, Li Yao withdrew his hands. The height of the nutrition liquids dropped by one third!

”Almost one third of the nutrition liquids have been devoured by Li Yao’s hands! His—his hands are like two hungry animals!”

The host’s voice was somewhat coarse.

After witnessing so many unbelievable scenes, he had lost the strength to shout and scream.