Sun Yi watched the two blobs of molten liquid rotating within the plasma of his True Fire. A faint, calculated smile touched his lips.

Phase One complete. Initiating fusion protocol.

With a command from his Divine Soul, he forced the materials to merge.

For a standard Early Foundation Establishment cultivator, stabilizing this volatile alloy would be a nightmare. The chemical bonding process was chaotic, prone to critical failures and explosions. It usually required hours of delicate micro-management.

But Sun Yi wasn’t running on a single-core processor.

His eight-split Divine Soul acted like a parallel computing cluster, analyzing the fusion reaction from eight different angles simultaneously. He adjusted the temperature, pressure, and Qi flow in real-time, correcting errors before they could even manifest.

Fifteen minutes later.

Fusion successful. Alloy stability: 100%.

Elder Ye Luo, watching from the sidelines, felt his jaw go slack. He had just witnessed a novice complete a complex fusion in the time it took to drink a cup of tea. That speed outstripped most veteran Tier-2 refiners.

“Incredible…” Ye Luo whispered.

Inside the flames, the liquid metal elongated, stretching and solidifying under Sun Yi’s will. It took the form of a one-foot-long, dark crimson blade.

Hardware chassis constructed: Sword Embryo.

Now came the critical step: Flashing the firmware.

Sun Yi’s eyes sharpened. He began to weave Artifact Runes—the magical code that defined the weapon’s function—directly into the metal’s matrix.

He synchronized his Divine Soul with his True Qi, etching complex logic gates into the blade. As the first rune settled, the sword hummed, emitting a sharp pulse of Sword Qi.

Rune 1 installed. System nominal.

Rune 10 installed. Energy output increasing.

Sun Yi worked with the precision of a laser engraver. The sword vibrated violently, the metal structure groaning under the energetic load.

Warning: Hardware limitations reached.

Sun Yi sighed. The material quality was the bottleneck; it couldn’t support any more code. He abruptly cut the flow and slapped a Sealing Spirit Incantation onto the blade to lock the structure.

Hum—!

The crimson blade erupted with a fierce, piercing keen. Sun Yi killed the fire, and the weapon hovered before him, cooling instantly.

He examined his first product. Dark red, etched with glowing fractal patterns.

Analysis: Tier-2, Grade-6.

It was a mid-range product, yet its quality already exceeded the Red Gold Sword he had been using.

“Headmaster…” Elder Ye Luo stammered, completely at a loss for words. “A Tier-2 Grade-6 flying sword… on your first attempt?”

The Elder’s face flushed with excitement. “You truly are a peerless refining genius! The Heavens have blessed the Qingyun Sect!”

Genius?

Sun Yi smirked internally. He didn’t believe in talent; he believed in specs.

He succeeded because his hardware (Divine Soul) was vastly superior to the system requirements. He had overclocked his processing power, cross-referenced the documentation in the Scripture Library, and utilized a high-purity power source (Fire Gate).

It wasn’t magic. It was efficient manufacturing.

“The material was the limiting factor,” Sun Yi noted, analyzing the blade. “My compiler—the True Fire—is strong enough, but without Tier-2 rare earth materials, I can’t push the resolution any higher.”

He didn’t stop to celebrate. He tossed the sword aside and grabbed more raw materials.

Run iteration cycle.

For the next two days, Sun Yi turned the cultivation chamber into a factory. He ran ten production cycles.

Success rate: 80%.

By the end of the third day, he had optimized his workflow. He was officially a Tier-2 Grade-8 Refiner. His best output was a Tier-2 Grade-8 flying sword, a weapon that would make most Foundation Establishment cultivators drool.

During the downtime, he mercilessly grilled Elder Ye Luo, extracting every scrap of refining theory the old man possessed.

“Headmaster,” Ye Luo said, looking drained but ecstatic. “I have nothing left to teach you. You’ve… you’ve hollowed me out. Once your True Fire upgrades again, you’ll be ready for Tier-3 production.”

“Thank you for the data transfer—I mean, guidance,” Sun Yi said, standing up and bowing politely.

“It is my honor!” Ye Luo hastily returned the bow.

“Right,” Sun Yi checked his schedule. “Next module: Formations. I’ve read the manuals, but the practical application needs debugging. Elder, please instruct me.”

“I will hold nothing back,” Ye Luo promised.

For the next three days, they pivoted to Formation Arrays.

To Sun Yi, formations were just circuit boards and network architecture. You laid down energy pathways (traces), set up nodes (logic gates), and powered the system with Spirit Stones (batteries).

He absorbed Ye Luo’s knowledge like a sponge in a bucket of water. From a superficial understanding, he rapidly compiled a comprehensive database of Tier-1 and Tier-2 arrays.

Seventy-two hours later, Sun Yi was a certified Tier-2 Formation Master, knocking on the door of Tier-3.

Just as he was about to initiate the “Talisman Crafting” module, the door to the cultivation chamber burst open.

“Headmaster!” Er Gouzi (Changqing) rushed in, looking breathless. “The Seven Star Tower… they’re here.”

Sun Yi’s eyes lit up. The investors have arrived.

“Excellent,” Sun Yi said, straightening his robes. “Elder Ye Luo, let’s go. We can’t let our VIPs think we lack customer service protocols.”

“Agreed.”

The three of them flew out of the main peak, landing gracefully on the central square.

Hovering silently above the plaza was a massive vessel—a Tier-4 Flying Ship belonging to the Seven Star Tower. It was a sleek, imposing capital ship, radiating wealth and power.

Standing on the deck were three familiar figures: Tower Master Mo Wen, Deacon Wen Xian, and Deacon Wei Dong. All three were Golden Core cultivators.

Sun Yi switched on his “Corporate Hospitality” mode. A bright, welcoming smile plastered onto his face as he walked forward.

“Tower Master Mo! Deacon Wen, Deacon Wei! Welcome to our humble headquarters!” Sun Yi boomed, cupping his hands.

“Headmaster Sun,” Mo Wen replied, returning the gesture with practiced elegance. “I trust we didn’t keep you waiting too long?”

“Not at all. Your timing is optimal.” Sun Yi gestured toward the main hall. “Please, let’s move to the conference room.”

Mo Wen’s eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned Sun Yi.

“Oh? Headmaster Sun has successfully initialized Foundation Establishment? Congratulations!”

Mo Wen was genuinely surprised. The speed was… faster than projected.

“Hehe, pure luck,” Sun Yi deflected smoothly. “Please, this way.”

He led the VIPs toward the central hall, acting the perfect host.

However, the massive flying ship remained hovering above the square, its hull casting a long shadow over the disciples below.

Inside a sealed cabin on the ship.

A cultivator sat in the dark. His aura was restrained but dense—Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection.

Slowly, he retrieved an object from his storage ring.

It was a sphere, the size of a fist, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic light.