Wizard: I have ten trillion nanomachines

The wind, carrying a salty, damp scent, swept across the rocky shores of the Thorn Islands.

Luo Kunlun's figure appeared silently at the top of the stone tower in the center of Black Soil Island.

Compared to two years ago, the stone tower has expanded considerably, and the runes engraved on its body glow with a faint light.

Rhine, who remained in the area, was already waiting at the foot of the tower.

She wore a simple gray robe, her aura was calm and restrained, and the magical energy around her had reached the peak of an apprentice.

Upon noticing Luo Kunlun's arrival, Rhine immediately bowed, her voice tinged with barely concealed excitement: "Master."

Luo Kunlun nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over her. "Not bad. It seems you're working much harder than I expected."

"The time is right. Get ready for your promotion. I'll be there to lend you a hand when it matters most."

"Thank you, Master!" Rhine's voice trembled slightly; this was the moment she had longed for.

I never imagined I'd get promoted one day!

Luo Kunlun waved his hand and then asked, "Who are those guests?"

Rhine straightened up, his expression turning serious: "Master, they call themselves the 'Star Ring Merchant Guild,' and their leader is a first-ring wizard named Valen."

"They said it was to discuss a 'business deal' with you."

"Star Ring Chamber of Commerce?" Luo Kunlun raised an eyebrow.

He had seen relevant information about this chamber of commerce in the memories of the wizard spirits he had dismantled.

This is a merchant guild that travels between various continents and major wizarding forces. It is not affiliated with any academy or family and makes a living by reselling various extraordinary resources and information. It has a smooth style of doing things, but it also has considerable strength.

After all, it's impossible to survive for so long in the cracks of the wizarding world without having some trump cards.

Of course, it's not considered particularly impressive for the Second Ring Road.

"They do have some insight, and they're also lucky."

The wizarding world is not lacking in wizards; apart from those in the second circle, they were the first to take the initiative to approach Lokunlun.

They are not the White Tower Caravan; their headquarters are located on the Southern Continent, and they belong to the Second Ring Wizards of the Southern Continent.

They won't be able to find it unless that person agrees.

Luo Kunlun could sense that the group was waiting at the newly built port on the main island, their demeanor calm and unassuming, showing no intention of spying.

Clearly, Valen is a smart man who knows that in the face of absolute power, any tricks are futile.

"Bring them to me," Luo Kunlun ordered.

"Yes."

A moment later, Rhine led the group to the foot of the stone tower.

The leader, Valen, was a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a purple robe embroidered with star patterns. He had a perfectly measured smile on his face. Upon seeing Luo Kunlun, he immediately bowed and greeted him with utmost humility: "Valen of the Star Ring Merchant Guild greets Your Excellency."

The attendants behind him also lowered their heads, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Luo Kunlun looked down at him, a faint but palpable pressure emanating from him.

Valen felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. This power was undoubtedly that of a second-circle wizard!

It was worth it to defy public opinion and bring people to this archipelago that I had only heard about by chance.

"Speak, what kind of business do you want to discuss?" Luo Kunlun's voice rang directly in his mind.

Valen composed himself, not daring to conceal anything, and quickly said, "Sir, our Star Ring Merchant Guild possesses some things that may be useful to you."

"For example, some lost fragments of witchcraft, as well as material collection services... and basic information about the major powers in the wizarding world."

He paused, then cautiously added, "We know that you have already established your power on the continent of Volo, and you will likely need more resources to support it."

"We can provide you with dedicated trading channels; if you wish, we can be your bridge to the Wizarding Continent."

Luo Kunlun's gaze shifted slightly.

This was exactly what he wanted.

He will allow the Tree of Order to continue expanding, spreading the Soul Gathering Array across those new continents to collect more soul power, using quantity to compensate for quality, and breaking through the bottleneck of the second ring.

The existence of the Star Ring Chamber of Commerce can save him a lot of time.

"What do you want?" Luo Kunlun asked.

Valen's smile widened. "It's simple. We just want to be the exclusive supplier of the Tree of Order. We'll provide the resources you need."

"And you possess items that are scarce on the Wizarding Continent, such as the alchemical artifacts of those mortal legions. We can help you sell them. We only ask for a share of the profits, nothing more."

He was being honest.

In fact, what the Star Ring Chamber of Commerce valued was the potential behind the Tree of Order, and the newly promoted second-ring wizard, Lo Kunlun.

If cooperation is possible, the Chamber of Commerce can not only reap the benefits but also have its interests protected.

The Star Ring Chamber of Commerce was quite powerful, initially composed of ten formal wizards from all over the country.

It has now developed into a large force with twenty-three official wizards.

Their footprints covered most of the world, even reaching the polar regions where their caravans operated.

However, without a second-circle wizard, although the Chamber of Commerce has great power and wide trade routes, it is ultimately just an employee, and it has to be at the mercy of those few overlords.

If it weren't for the behind-the-scenes deals between some wizards in the Chamber of Commerce and those major powers, as well as the need for balance among them, the Chamber of Commerce would never have such a large influence.

If we can take advantage of this to get on the newly built Second Ring Road, that would be a great thing.

With this relationship in place, even if we don't care about the monks, we should at least consider the Buddha's feelings. The difficulties caused by those few powerful forces will decrease, and the Chamber of Commerce's profits will also increase.

This is definitely a win-win situation.

"But then again, can you represent the Chamber of Commerce?"

"Rest assured, sir, I am confident. One-fifth of the entire Chamber of Commerce is in my faction."

.........................

Upon hearing this, Luo Kunlun pondered for a moment.

For him, the benefits of this deal far outweigh the drawbacks.

Xinghuan Chamber of Commerce provides channels and resources, while Luo Kunlun provides strength; this can be considered a win-win cooperation.

Apart from that, the Star Ring Chamber of Commerce has a pretty good reputation.

With a stable reputation, the fleet maintained a peaceful coexistence with local powers while sailing, ensuring no incidents occurred.

"Okay," Luo Kunlun said slowly, "but I have a few conditions."

Valen's eyes lit up: "Please speak, Your Excellency!"

"First, all the intelligence and resources you provide must be true and valid. If you dare to mix in even the slightest falsehood, you will bear the consequences."

"That's natural," Warren nodded, replying, "ensuring the quality and quantity of goods is a fundamental principle."

"Secondly, you may sell all the technologies of my Tree of Order, but you must add restrictions, prohibiting their use in any action against the Tree of Order, and prohibiting their reproduction."

........

Luo Kunlun stated four conditions in total.

These conditions are not harsh, but they are not exactly lenient either.

But Valen replied without hesitation, "No problem! Our Star Ring Merchant Guild values ​​reputation and contracts above all else!"

Luo Kunlun nodded, and then both parties signed the contract.

"Being able to sign a contract with a second-circle wizard is an honor in itself for the Star Ring Merchant Guild."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you," Warren said, bowing.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

....................

After the discussions concluded, Valen hurriedly embarked on his journey back, a momentous occasion for the entire Chamber of Commerce.

On the other side, inside the stone tower.

Luo Kunlun looked at Rhine and said in a deep voice, "Let's begin."

Rhine took a deep breath and began to guide the magic within his body, while simultaneously drinking the water of spirit, attempting to break through the threshold of becoming a formal wizard.

Construct a model, then solidify it.

A new official wizard is about to be born.

A day later, accompanied by a semi-transparent spherical domain that covered his body for ten meters, the advancement had reached its final stage.

Life force is extracted and transformed into spiritual power.

After taking the improved potion given to him by Lokunlun, Rhine's bloodline activation level rose again, reaching 77%.

With such strong vitality, the extraction of life force at this final stage is nothing to worry about, and we can get through it safely.

However, with his current keen insight, what else did Lo Kunlun discover in this phenomenon?

What is being extracted is not just vitality.

There are other things too.

It pertains to the spiritual realm.

Does the physical life force contain spiritual consciousness?

This is not impossible.

There is a theory called the microscopic consciousness of the human body.

Human micro-consciousness refers to the possible mechanisms and manifestations of consciousness at the microscale, such as cells, molecules, and quantum levels. It is a cutting-edge interdisciplinary field with no definitive conclusions yet. Its core revolves around quantum processes, information processing at the cellular level, and neural microstructures.

The Orch-OR theory posits that the π electrons of tubulin in neuronal microtubules form a quantum superposition, which collapses to produce a "moment of consciousness," with a large amount of collapse emerging as a stream of consciousness. Anesthetics disrupt this quantum mechanism, leading to the loss of consciousness.

In the neural microcircuit mechanism, the dendrites of L5b pyramidal neurons in the neocortex integrate proximal sensory input with distal contextual information, generating consciousness-related neural activity through apical amplification (AAT) or tricompartmental coupling (DIT).

Or, as Michael Levin proposed, there is a "micro-consciousness" at the cellular level, where cells/organs have goal-oriented and problem-solving abilities, forming a recursive consciousness network; phenomena such as the 1 million+ neurons in the gut and the self-recombination of xenogeneic robots support this hypothesis.

There are other microscopic perspectives, such as the electromagnetic information field of consciousness (the electromagnetic field generated by the synchronous firing of neurons shapes consciousness) and cellular information waves (information waves formed by the interaction of electron motion fields, which are transmitted and stored through atomic bonds).

Simply put, human microscopic consciousness is about figuring out whether our thoughts and feelings are hidden in very small places in the body, such as cells, or even smaller molecules and quantum levels.

The quantum school of thought believes that a structure called "microtubules" in the brain's neurons contains tiny particles that play a quantum game of "being in multiple states simultaneously," and the "moment of passing the level" in this game forms a thought.

The anesthetic interrupts the game, rendering the person unconscious. However, some argue that the brain is hot and chaotic, making it impossible to play quantum games for very long.

The cellular school of thought believes that not all consciousness resides in the brain.

For example, the gut has hundreds of millions of nerve cells, which can "make decisions" on their own, such as the instinctive reaction when there is a stomachache.

Even a single cell has "little ideas," such as deciding whether to divide or relocate. These tiny decisions, when put together, may be the rudiments of consciousness.

The electromagnetic field school also says that the electrical discharges in the brain produce weak electromagnetic fields, which are like a "stage of consciousness," and our various thoughts are "performances" on that stage.

Ultimately, however, this remains a mystery: is it these tiny things coming together that give rise to consciousness that we can perceive? Or does consciousness only emerge when the brain's neural networks form a large network? No one can say for sure at the moment.

Luo Kunlun can now perceive that when a traditional wizard advances to the next level, the life force attached to his spirit is extracted from his body and eventually becomes part of his spiritual body.

Like threads that are usually intertwined, they are suddenly pulled out together.

"An interesting phenomenon, the mind and the body..."

............................

The promotion ceremony went even more smoothly than expected.

After the spiritual body was formed, Rhine thought to himself.

With her spiritual abilities, she could feel the blood vessels in her body more clearly.

A few years ago, she thought she would become a link in the chain through the bloodline.

But unexpectedly, it turned out to be a wizard.

I am very grateful to my master for making this possible.

She knew perfectly well that her promotion was largely due to Luo Kunlun's help.

Putting aside other things, auxiliary potions like the Water of Spirit are enough to stop 90% of the apprentices.

How many apprentices paid a huge price for this?

Compared to what I've given, these are two completely different things.

"From now on, you will be stationed on the islands," Luo Kunlun said calmly. "You will be in charge of most of the affairs here."

"If you encounter a problem that you can't solve, you can report the situation through the trees on the island that I've modified."

"Yes, ma'am." Rhine replied, his heart already burning with excitement.

"By the way, you should be able to sense the blood vessels in your body more subtly, right?"

"Indeed, Master, I do have that feeling. However, it will take a considerable amount of time, effort, and resources to completely restore this bloodline."

"I have a better way to do this."

As he spoke, Luo Kunlun's palm suddenly cracked open, and a drop of the essence of his bloodline flew out.

.......

Late at night, after infusing Rhine with some special life essence, Lokunlun arrived at the top of the tower.

Standing atop the stone tower, one can gaze out at the distant sea.

There is still a lot I need to do.

The creation of models, the expansion of power, and the previous phenomenon.