I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 316Book 2: : Spiritual Energy Scanner, Three Heads and Six Arms

Book 2: Chapter 316: Spiritual Energy Scanner, Three Heads and Six Arms

Vol 2 Chapter 316: Spiritual Energy Scanner, Three Heads and Six Arms

Although he had been hopeful, the efficiency of the research institutes and universities still caught Zheng Fa by surprise.

In less than two months, design results from all over the country flew into the nursing home.

Over ten universities and thirty research institutes submitted more than three hundred proposals in those two months.

Even Old Bai was a little skeptical. “They’re not just bluffing us, are they?”

Zheng Fa was a bit concerned too.

Although he hadn’t demanded any cutting-edge technology, these were still brand-new ideas. They had to take into account the spiritual energy environment and the External Pill.

A little over a month—seemed a bit too short.

“They really aren’t bluffing…” Team Leader Yang explained, her expression somewhat complex. “I was worried too, so I had people look into it.”

“I can’t guarantee there’s no one slipping in mediocre work, but… the main reason for this speed is that they’re all working like crazy…”

“They’re putting in massive overtime. Every research institute is in a frenzy.”

“Working like crazy?”

Old Bai pressed further.

“Let alone the universities—those research institutes Zheng Fa visited… haven’t had it easy these past few years.”

Team Leader Yang sighed.

“Take the Mining Machinery Research Institute of Shannan Province for example—I heard it was on the verge of being merged.”

Old Bai pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

That explained everything.

For some people, Zheng Fa’s arrival was like a lifeline.

“And besides… the director is an immortal.”

As a True Immortal of the current age, Team Leader Yang had already expected Zheng Fa to have national prestige, but now she had to admit—she had still underestimated his influence. R̃ÂΝÒᛒЁ𝓢

Zheng Fa’s visit was like lighting a torch in each corner of the country.

The talent and technology accumulated over the years might have fallen behind the times, but they weren’t dead—they were just waiting to be reignited.

Let alone the fact that Zheng Fa was funding them—even if he didn’t pay a dime, and no one gave the order, people would still do their best just to earn his favor.

That’s why her expression was so complicated—

When Zheng Fa stepped into the spotlight, everyone realized: his willingness to stay in Hongshan was a sign of extraordinary character.

Thinking of this, she smiled again. But this wasn’t her concern:

She had almost saved enough contribution points and was getting ready to exchange for a cultivation technique. Let others worry about political games—sis was making it out!

…

Zheng Fa’s reason for staying in Hongshan was simple. It wasn’t just his research base—it was also his personal retreat.

The Xuanyi Realm was too stressful. He needed somewhere to rest his mind and soul.

As for power?

As a mere nobody… he was already one of the Six Great Rogues of the Xuanyi Realm.

Zheng Fa looked at the designs on his computer, then turned to Tang Mu Dao with a smile. “Let the experts evaluate them. The key is still compatibility with the Shenxiao External Pill.”

“Get a prototype built.”

In addition to the peripheral universities and institutes, elite teams from several of the country’s major heavy machinery firms had been brought in.

Their task was simple—based on these blueprints, complete the first stage of validation:

Mainly, build test machines that could be powered by the Shenxiao External Pill.

As for real-world testing—

That would have to be done in the Jiushan Realm, under the management of Madam Xuanhua at the Heavenly Works Pavilion.

Knowing this was important and that Zheng Fa took it seriously, Tang Mu Dao immediately replied, “I’ll get right on it. Oh right, I heard that spiritual energy scanner project has results.”

“Zhou Miaomiao? That fast?”

Zheng Fa was even more surprised.

The research on the spiritual energy scanner had started even later than the institute projects. And yet Zhou Miaomiao had pulled ahead?

“...She was afraid of delays. Honestly, she’s working harder than the institutes.”

“...”

Zheng Fa felt a little guilty.

Ever since her advisor was poached—by him—Zhou Miaomiao, an unmarried, childless, and degree-less PhD student, had turned borderline obsessive?

Zheng Fa found Zhou Miaomiao.

And quickly understood—this wasn’t just because Zhou Miaomiao was intense.

It really wasn’t that hard.

“The spiritual energy scanner—no, spiritual energy detector—its principle is actually very simple.”

Though Zhou Miaomiao had dark circles under her eyes, her voice was full of excitement as she reported to Zheng Fa:

“It’s basically like an X-ray. We shoot electrons at the scanned subject, then use the image to assess the nature and intensity of the spiritual energy within.”

Zheng Fa nodded lightly.

That didn’t sound too hard, but the issue was…

Zheng Fa lowered his head and read through the report. After a while, he looked up and said, “It can’t detect the type of spiritual energy, but it can roughly measure the amount?”

Seeing his frown, Zhou Miaomiao seemed to think he was dissatisfied and lowered her head slightly. “Spiritual energy is too chaotic. The resulting images are very hard to interpret—sometimes different energies produce the same image.”

“This method doesn’t reach the precision needed to identify energy types on a microscopic scale…”

Zhou Miaomiao added in a small voice:

“Actually, for measuring spiritual energy quantity, we borrowed… ideas from statistical mechanics.”

Zheng Fa thought back to the paper and instantly understood: “A thermometer?”

“Yes! We can’t measure microscopically, but we found macro patterns,” Zhou Miaomiao nodded eagerly. “We can’t detect proportions of energy types, but we can measure the concentration of spiritual energy based on how it disrupts electron flow.”

She pointed to a device behind her—it looked like a giant electronic thermometer.

Except it was way bigger than a handheld one. It stood upright like a small cannon.

“We defined a concept called the ‘Spiritual Level Value’...” Zhou Miaomiao explained, “It measures the disorder in electron motion.”

“In an environment with no spiritual energy, all electrons move in an orderly fashion—that’s a spiritual level of 0.”

“Using that as a baseline, we can gauge the spiritual level of various spiritual lands or cultivators.”

It really was like a thermometer.

If temperature reflected random motion of particles—

Then the spiritual level reflected the macro-level chaos caused by spiritual energy interference.

“How accurate is it? Compared to Spiritual Eye Technique?”

“We only measured a few researchers who just started cultivating…” Zhou Miaomiao didn’t dare make bold claims. “If we set a typical full-stage first-level Qi Refining cultivator as level 10—”

“Then second-level would fall between 10 and 20.”

“We tested Teacher Tian. She’s at eighth-level Qi Refining—her spiritual level was in the seventies.”

This kind of tech wasn’t unheard of in the Xuanyi Realm—it came down to precision.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and sent a sound transmission to Old Bai, Tang Lingwu, and the others, asking them to come over.

“What is it?”

Old Bai and the rest came running, thinking something had happened.

“Come on, Professor Bai—your turn to test.”

Old Bai stood before the detector like a test subject.

Zhou Miaomiao pressed a button on the side, and a number popped up on the digital screen.

“140.”

Zhou Miaomiao blinked. “Professor Bai… did you break through to Foundation Establishment?”

Zheng Fa also understood her shock.

According to her data, Old Bai at eighth-level Qi Refining shouldn’t be higher than 80.

“Professor Tang, your turn?”

Zheng Fa didn’t explain, and turned to Tang Mu Dao.

Tang Mu Dao seemed quite interested and stepped up to be scanned.

That was normal.

Which meant Teacher Tian and Tang Mu Dao’s numbers were accurate.

Both of them cultivated steadily, especially Tang Mu Dao—his family background gave him a deep understanding of the classics, maybe even beyond Zheng Fa.

Right now, one was at seventh-level Qi Refining, the other at eighth-level. Both were late-stage.

And Old Bai was also eighth-level.

Other than slightly weaker talent, the bigger difference was Old Bai’s obsession with the Five Thunder Body Technique...

Zheng Fa paused, then said suddenly:

“Is it because of the Five Thunder Body Technique?”

“Yes!”

Tang Mu Dao clapped. “That technique is lightning-based—so it makes sense it affects electrons more. That’s why Old Bai’s reading is double the norm…”

“You’re the abnormal one!”

Old Bai snapped back, arms crossed, looking very proud.

But Zheng Fa had a different surprise.

Now this was interesting…

Old Bai’s number showed that this spiritual energy detector didn’t just measure the spiritual power in a cultivator’s body—it could even give some sense of their body technique—or combat power!

Take Old Bai for example—he might normally get subdued by a glare from Teacher Tian, but if he got serious, after mastering the Five Thunder Body Technique, he could probably beat her easily.

Just then, Tang Lingwu, who had been secluded and focused on cultivation, looked at the detector with bright, eager eyes.

“Lingwu, want to test your spiritual level?”

Old Bai grinned, his eyes filled with affection. It was like he thought the girl had been cooped up too long and wanted her to have some fun.

Of course, he was also curious.

In the nursing home, aside from Zheng Fa at the Golden Core stage, Tang Lingwu was the highest cultivator—at Foundation Establishment.

Tang Lingwu nodded, standing elegantly before the device.

13,368.

Everyone froze.

Old Bai’s back mysteriously slouched.

Forget two Teacher Tians—

Little Lingwu could beat a hundred of him!

But Zheng Fa quietly nodded.

That confirmed the detector was fairly accurate.

In the Xuanyi Realm, the jump from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment was nearly a hundredfold increase.

Also because of that enormous gap, many cultivators end up spending their entire lives stuck at the Foundation Establishment threshold.

What satisfied him was that using Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, Zheng Fa could only obtain qualitative data.

He could roughly see that Tang Lingwu’s spiritual power far exceeded Old Bai’s.

But exactly how many times more? That was hard to quantify.

Yet this spiritual energy scanner seemed to do just that!

In an instant, Zheng Fa thought of many uses for the scanner—

Measuring the strength of different cultivation methods, to create techniques that generate more spiritual power.

During medicinal trials, it could be used to detect physical changes and assess the efficacy of different spiritual herbs.

Even for the mining research—it could help determine spiritual energy concentrations in various land plots, which could indicate the presence of ores!

You could say… this spiritual energy scanner was the starting point of data-driven cultivation!

As he was daydreaming, Old Bai laughed beside him. “Lingwu, you’re incredible!”

The old man’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

Tang Lingwu looked slightly embarrassed and smiled with her lips pressed together.

But unconsciously, the pressure between her brows seemed to lighten a lot.

Zhou Miaomiao glanced at Zheng Fa, seemingly waiting for him to take a measurement. But Zheng Fa looked instead at Tang Lingwu, completely ignoring the anticipation in Zhou Miaomiao’s eyes.

He understood—his own Golden Core was far from ordinary, and he also had the Fusang Tree inside him.

If the machine wasn’t accurate, fine.

If it was accurate…

He feared Tang Lingwu wouldn’t be able to smile.

Unexpectedly, Tang Lingwu gave him a determined glance, then reached out to take his hand and gently pulled him in front of the device. She nodded at Zhou Miaomiao.

“*****”

A string of asterisks appeared on the scanner’s display screen…

“This…”

Everyone stared blankly at Zhou Miaomiao.

She scratched her head and fiddled with the machine for a while before looking up in shock:

“It exceeded the maximum value.”

Old Bai widened his eyes. “It broke the scale?”

Zhou Miaomiao nodded.

Tang Mu Dao asked curiously, “What’s the highest value it can show?”

“One hundred million,” Zhou Miaomiao said helplessly. “Beyond that, the electron motion becomes too chaotic to measure.”

Old Bai frowned and muttered, “If the Qi Refining limit is one hundred, and a Golden Core breaks one hundred million? That’s too huge a leap.”

Tang Lingwu, on the other hand, seemed to have expected it:

“Not necessarily. Zheng Fa’s Golden Core has always been stronger than average.”

“Not to mention, he also possesses the Fusang Tree. That’s even more powerful than the Five Thunder Body Technique.”

Then she asked, “What’s the spiritual energy concentration in Hongshan?”

“When the Lingshan Method is active, the average concentration is around one million.”

Zheng Fa silently did the math.

Comparing Hongshan’s spiritual energy levels to those in the Xuanyi Realm—Hongshan now was roughly equivalent to a spiritual vein of a Golden Core sect. That meant it could sustain Golden Core cultivators just fine.

But for Nascent Soul cultivators, they’d definitely need spiritual pills and other supports.

What Tang Lingwu said made sense… Hongshan only had that much spiritual energy because his own was unusually dense, even for a Golden Core.

But the real reason the device maxed out wasn’t just that—it was the Fusang Tree!

The Fusang Tree was a Dao Fruit-level spiritual root. The spiritual power it contained was extraordinary.

Don’t be fooled by how the spiritual energy outside Hongshan was only a tiny fraction of Hongshan’s.

Compared to Hongshan, the outside world was exponentially larger.

If the Fusang Tree could generate that much spiritual power, then relative to Zheng Fa’s own, the spiritual level value would be massively high.

Even if he didn’t have that much spiritual power inside him—the Fusang Tree made the detector explode off the scale.

Zheng Fa shook his head.

“There’s not enough data yet to say for sure. But this device is more than adequate for measuring anyone under the Golden Core level.”

“This thing… will be very useful for the nursing home! Zhou Miaomiao—your PhD? I’ve already spoken to Team Leader Yang… and based on your contribution, you’ll be able to exchange for some techniques in the institute too.”

Zhou Miaomiao hesitated shyly for a moment, then whispered, “Director… do you have any spiritual pills?”

“Hmm?” Zheng Fa paused, then remembered—this girl originally wanted to study spiritual herbs.

He looked over at Tang Lingwu, thought for a bit, then said to Zhou Miaomiao:

“We don’t have any yet. But the nursing home will invest in spiritual pill research. You can start saving up contribution points…”

He had already decided—after stealing—ahem, learning—alchemy from the Qingmu Sect, he’d bring it back for the nursing home to study.

Otherwise, this little thing Tang Lingwu might just suffocate herself with pressure.

After all, the girl who had just smiled—

The moment she saw those asterisks on the display, her expression turned much heavier. She clearly felt that if Zheng Fa’s number broke the scale… then she was still miles behind.

That was why Zheng Fa hadn’t wanted to test himself earlier.

“Then… do you have any spiritual pills for beauty, skincare, slimming… no, bone-slimming without side effects?”

Zhou Miaomiao looked up, her round little face full of urgency.

Beauty and skincare pills? Of course.

But bone-shaving?

Zheng Fa was speechless. He turned his head—and found Tang Lingwu staring at him eagerly too—the heaviness on her face gone.

Clearly, this topic had great appeal to women.

“I’ll keep an eye out for you!”

Zheng Fa took a deep breath and nodded at Zhou Miaomiao.

Then he turned to Tang Lingwu and couldn’t help snapping:

“What are you looking at? You need this crap? Sit still!”

Tang Lingwu blinked, and though she’d just been scolded—

She couldn’t help but smile.

Old Bai stood off to the side, looking heartbroken and sour inside. He’d tried everything these past few days to cheer up little Lingwu, but one word from Zheng Fa did the job better.

But Zhou Miaomiao, wide-eyed, stared at Zheng Fa with her mouth open, her expression saying:

You’re trying to flirt, fine—but why kick me in the process? Is bullying singles fun?

…

Zheng Fa really didn’t get how girls thought—Zhou Miaomiao’s face was a little round, sure, but she wasn’t fat. She was actually pretty cute.

And she wanted to shave bone?

Even crazier was Tang Lingwu—with that face and that figure… what was she even thinking?

Then he realized—maybe he didn’t understand young people anymore either.

“You’re saying… this is our prototype?”

Zheng Fa stared at the towering steel colossus before him, his expression filled with disbelief.

“Yup!”

“It’s… for mining?”

“Yup!”

“Professor Tang… are you part frog?”

“...Young people in the team just wanted to have a little fun,” Tang Mu Dao said awkwardly. “Mainly because we had too many proposals—we wanted to test as many as we could in one go.”

Zheng Fa stared at the forty-meter-tall, six-legged, three-headed, six-armed metal giant, his tone dazed:

“This is the first time I’ve learned Nezha doesn’t need lotus roots to be made…”

“…”

Tang Mu Dao looked a little guilty and muttered, “Well… Nezha doesn’t usually fight with excavator arms either.”

“…”

“But the arms can change! Each hand has two modes. With this one prototype, we can test twelve of the most feasible solutions!”

Got it…

Nezha—Transformers edition.