Across the web, immortals and true beings, their thoughts and energy creating the heavens.

Chapter 130 Reencounter with Senior Brother, The Source of Guild Contribution Points

The stone door to the quiet room opened wide, and Lin Zhuo, who had been cooped up inside for a long time, came out to get some fresh air.

It is no exaggeration to say that one's strength increases by leaps and bounds after mastering supernatural internal skills.

The "Stone Divine Power Collection of True Skills" uses true talismans to suppress all magic and uses magic to enhance true essence, greatly increasing the basic power of true energy. Every move and stance possesses overwhelming power, far surpassing its previous strength. With the increase in the basic power of true energy, the amplification effect of various martial arts and lightness skills becomes even more exaggerated.

His current rock-based true essence has a destructive power of 20 times. After being activated by the Fallen Dragon, the actual destructive power is 18×20, which is 360 times the original. After that, the Hidden Dragon Force is added, and each layer of enhancement will bring a force increase of 6×20, or 120 times.

Lin Zhuo himself didn't know how many layers of the Hidden Dragon buff he could still control. Such violent and terrifying power, if leaked even slightly, could crush iron carts and shatter concrete houses. If he were to accidentally suffer a backlash from his technique, he would be severely injured and on the verge of death, or even be completely pulverized.

That being said, he would not be satisfied with the immediate effect of the Fallen Dragon. This True Self Martial Art, as Lin Zhuo's Qi grew, should also keep pace with his advancement and be sublimated into an even stronger blue martial art by combining with supernatural powers.

At that time, Lin Zhuo's output efficiency will only be even more impressive.

"Gurgle!" A rumbling sound from his stomach interrupted Lin Zhuo's thoughts.

In most cases, after a bloodline transplant, it's important to replenish nutrients. At this moment, the dragon rider cells in his spine were already eagerly awaiting nourishment, wriggling slightly like restless, living snakes.

Lin Zhuo thought to himself: Be quiet.

The colony cells then calmed down and continued their tireless work in the spinal cord.

As an alien symbiote, Dragoon cells often induce psychological terror in armored warriors, causing them to perceive the symbiote as a foreign entity invading their bodies. If this psychological effect is not overcome, it can develop into serious mental illness, resulting in non-combat casualties.

Lin Zhuo could indeed feel that his spinal cord was alive, as if it possessed its own intelligence.

This situation isn't really that terrible. Common modification surgeries on the internet involve various aspects such as the body and mind, and there are countless postoperative effects that are far more terrifying than this. Just feeling that there is a living thing inside your body is a trivial matter.

After entering Lin Zhuo's spinal cord, the dragon rider cells began interacting with his Qi Sea-Divine Meridian system. The "Marrow Refining and Blood Transformation Longevity Method," with the Zhiyang acupoint as its core, primarily exerts its influence in the spinal cord. As the dragon rider cells replaced Lin Zhuo's original nerve cells, they were also being bound and corrupted by the Divine Meridian.

A Qigong master determines whether something belongs to their own framework by whether they can draw vital energy from it. In a broad sense, even inanimate objects possessed by spiritual energy channels can be considered extensions of a Qigong master's body. In a narrower sense, only tissues and organs capable of nurturing vital essence and generating Qi can be considered the origin of life.

The dragon rider cells now participate in Lin Zhuo's body's metabolism, and can normally produce life energy to supply his Qi Sea. They are even more effective than the original ordinary spinal cord. Therefore, they are not external objects, but truly belong to his true self.

Lin Zhuo has no obsession with maintaining the "originality" of his body.

It is common for Qigong practitioners to transplant extraordinary organs into their bodies to strengthen their fundamental nature. Skin, flesh, bones, internal organs, and so on are all interchangeable. Even if they end up becoming "good people," they have no regrets, because true beauty lies in strength.

After receiving sufficient nourishment, the spinal cord formed by the dragon rider cells gradually forms a more complex neural structure called the "second brainstem." This special organ has many functions. In addition to enhancing the body's metabolism, hematopoiesis, and other physiological functions, the most important function is to regulate neural activity.

Lin Zhuo was not clear about the specific principles, but according to Shao Shigang and others, with a second brainstem, the armored warriors could maintain a near-conscious state in the Taixu dimension.

The second brainstem is also known as the "time-sensitive brain." As Shao Shigang and his colleagues mentioned, they can accurately count time silently, without any deviation even when performing other tasks. The second brainstem is like a timer, always silently calculating the passing years.

The higher the synergy with the Dragoon cells, the more accurate the time perception of the second brainstem. The requirement for a qualified cyborg soldier is an error of no more than 3 seconds in 24 hours.

Furthermore, by stimulating the second brainstem through specific techniques, the attention and neural reflexes of the armored warriors can be significantly enhanced in a short period of time, achieving the effect of slowing down subjective time. This is the famous "Neural Acceleration Protocol" technology. Later, researchers developed a similar implantable prosthesis based on the principle. It is an entire artificial mechanical spine, but the name "Neural Acceleration Protocol" was still used.

If Lin Zhuo wants to pass the assessment process within fifteen days, he needs to replenish his nutrition in large quantities to nurture his second brainstem; otherwise, he will be unable to participate in many subjects.

The base management's intelligent gantry arranged for him to eat six meals a day, and luck had to be taken into account; if the dragon rider cells failed to develop successfully, the assessment process would be ruined.

However, Lin Zhuo has no need to worry about time constraints.

At that moment, wisps of smoke rose from a large wooden house in the distance, their faint aroma tempting Lin Zhuo's appetite.

The training grounds of the Xianyun Sect are very well-equipped, even including a kitchen, and they are quite large in scale. This is one of the buildings used for training secondary professions.

Using his light-footed skills, Lin Zhuo swiftly arrived at the culinary building. Looking up, he saw a plaque hanging on the two-story house, which read "Zhenxiu Guan" (meaning "Treasures Pavilion").

Pushing open the door, a thick fog enveloped the room. Through the steam, one could see Shu Yuliu's slender figure tending the stove, wielding a spatula. Jin Xiaohu stood on the table, grabbing two knives and chopping meat, the sounds of smacking echoing throughout. Another burly, stout figure was stretching noodles, silver threads cascading down his thick claws like a waterfall.

"Senior Brother!" Lin Zhuo exclaimed with delight, "When did you arrive?"

Zhu Baixuan nodded with a smile, put the ramen into the pot, and said, "Come and help."

The team reunited and spent half a day preparing forty or fifty dishes, filling a long table. Today's dishes were all ordinary, nothing fancy, but plentiful and filling. They gathered around to eat, thoroughly satisfied.

"I guessed you'd come to the training ground, so I came to take a look." Zhu Baixuan slurped his noodles, his words muffled.

Shu Yuliu was also shoveling rice into her mouth from a large bowl. This girl really didn't care about her image in front of acquaintances. "Senior Brother, did you also spend time in the training ground before?"

"It wasn't just that I stayed there. I stayed there for a long time." Zhu Baixuan put down the empty bowl, a hint of melancholy on his honest face. "Back then, there were dozens of players in the training ground. We lived together, explored martial arts together, and often senior members of sects would pass by, give us some pointers, or take us to test medicines, or go fishing with them or something."

Jin Xiaohu, who was engrossed in eating fish, perked up his ears and raised his head. His beard was covered in sauce, and his eyes were sparkling. "So now? Will any more big shots come?"

"It's hard to say." Zhu Baixuan scratched his head. "By the way, I have to remind you of something: don't summon divine power within the sect. This realm is closed to the outside world, and other external gods and demons cannot spy on or enter it, so even if you set up a prayer ritual, it will be useless."

Shu Yuliu patted her chest, "Thank goodness, I've already finished the job." She had previously sought help from the gods and received a transplant of the bloodline of a Kui dragon's offspring.

Like Lin Zhuo, she was also in need of a major boost right now, and all the feasting would become nutrients for the growth of her bloodline. After Shu Yuliu had eaten her fill, her eyes would change from their original amber color to a bluish-green, gleaming with a strange light, and a dozen or so transparent bumps the size of rice grains would grow on the skin of her cheekbones, which were all scales that were about to grow.

It's normal for unusual phenomena to occur after transplanting a different bloodline. In order to make it easier to walk around without attracting attention, illusionary equipment such as the Mask of Fortune has become standard equipment for players.

After having a meal with the veteran team members, Zhu Baixuan strolled around the training ground, reminiscing and telling Lin Zhuo and the others some interesting stories from the sect.

"By the way, the sect's tasks and commissions are difficult to complete these days. But if you want to earn some contribution points, you can do it here." The giant panda pointed to the buildings. "These places all have challenge projects. For example, in the Pure Heart Pavilion, as long as you can meditate in a state of deep concentration for more than three days, you've completed the challenge. If you can break the record, the rewards are even greater. Among the disciples of our batch, there was a turtle who broke the meditation record, leaving the second place two months behind."

While guild contribution points aren't as versatile as disaster coins, they can indeed be exchanged for quite a few good items, making them much more cost-effective than purchasing from the forum.

Lin Zhuo was also tempted by this. Since he was going to be in the training ground for a while anyway, why not make some money on the side?

While asking how to find the challenge items for each training building, he had already opened the guild shop and started looking for useful items.

"Top item — One million contribution points. Please, Sect Master, grant me one wish. (Note: This person might be messing around — let's skip this.) Hmm, there are as many legendary items as cabbages on the street. Is the average price 100,000 contribution points? Excuse me — Oh, there are bloodline templates for sale here too."

Lin Zhuo searched for items in reverse chronological order by price and found various goods priced in single digits, including several bloodline templates he intended to buy. At the exchange rate of one thousand disaster coins to one contribution point, these prices were 20-30% cheaper than on the forum. If it weren't for the fact that all sect items were labeled "non-tradeable," he could probably make a fortune as a reseller.

Shu Yuliu was also looking at the guild shop when she exclaimed, "Ugh, what a rip-off! I should have known better than to rush into buying the Bloodline!"

She glared fiercely at Zhu Baixuan, "Senior Brother! Why didn't you say something so important sooner!"

"Uh, I was just worried that if you didn't pass the review, it would only cause you more trouble—okay, actually I forgot about it, since I haven't checked prices in this area for a long time." The panda chuckled and scratched its head. "Ah, I suddenly remembered something. You guys get back to work, see you again sometime!"

Before he finished speaking, the guy transformed into a golden light and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"They slipped away so fast," Lin Zhuo remarked. "Even the eldest brother is quite unreliable."

"You just found out?" Shu Yuliu and Jin Xiaohu said in unison. Both of them had partnered with Zhu Baixuan for a while, so they knew that this guy was often forgetful and had no master's demeanor at all.

Just then, a message from Zhu Baixuan drifted on the wind: "Second Junior Brother, the spirit wine is almost ready. I'll bring it to you in a couple of days~"