87: Chapter 87: Your magic weapon is poorly designed.

Underground Isolation Observation Room No. 3.

This place didn't look like a prison cell; it looked more like a top-tier Intensive Care Unit. The walls were pure white with no visible seams, and the entire room was empty except for a bed. The air smelled of disinfectant, mixed with a sensation that made Sect Leader Lu Yun's entire body feel uncomfortable.

It was a formation.

The entire room was a Spirit-Suppressing Formation, clamping down on the spiritual power within his body so tightly that he couldn't mobilize even a tiny bit. He was currently a useless person.

Sect Leader Lu Yun lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He had been locked in here for several hours. In between, people in white protective suits had come in to draw his blood, pull his hair, scrape his skin, and scan him with various gadgets he didn't understand.

The entire time, he was like a piece of meat on a cutting board, unable to move.

His proud immortal physique had become nothing more than strings of data before those cold instruments.

A total humiliation.

But he didn't even have the energy left to be angry.

The defeat had been too fast, too thorough, and too bizarre.

He still hadn't figured out how he had lost. What kind of sorcery did that girl called the "Engineer" use? Why did his spells turn into electricity? Why was his cultivation drained by a single formation?

These thoughts scrambled through his head, nearly driving him insane.

The door slid open silently.

A researcher in a white lab coat walked in, carrying a tray with a set of blue-and-white striped cotton clothes on it.

"Prisoner Lu Yun," the researcher's tone was so flat no emotion could be heard, "put these on. The clothes you were originally wearing are classified as 'high-risk contaminants' and must undergo harmless disposal."

Sect Leader Lu Yun sat up abruptly from the bed.

"My dharma robes!" He panicked. "What did you do to them? Those were the 'Cloud-Pattern Dharma Robes' personally refined by my master! They are a mid-grade dharma tool!"

"We are aware." The researcher pushed his glasses up expressionlessly. "Material analysis shows the garment is woven from 'Ice Silkworm Silk' mixed with 'Mica Crystal Powder,' with thirty-six 'Micro Wind-Warding Formations' and twelve 'Small Dust-Cleansing Formations' inscribed inside. It is classified as Grade B defensive equipment."

The researcher's words left Sect Leader Lu Yun completely stunned.

How... how did they know all this?

How could these mortals strip away the secrets of a mid-grade dharma tool so thoroughly in such a short time? This was more divine than the most powerful artifact-refining masters in the Tianyan Sect!

"Therefore, for in-depth study, it has already been sent for decomposition," the researcher added, placing the blue-and-white striped "patient gown" by the bed. "Put it on. That is an order."

With that, the researcher turned and left, giving Sect Leader Lu Yun no chance to argue.

"No..." Sect Leader Lu Yun reached out, only to grab thin air.

His dharma robes, gone? Just... decomposed?

He slumped back onto the bed, feeling his last bit of spirit dissipate.

...

In the core laboratory on the top floor.

Jiang Ning stood before a massive holographic console, with two items suspended in front of her.

One was Sect Leader Lu Yun's "Cloud-Pattern Dharma Robes," which had been torn to shreds. Countless silk threads floated in the air, and the formation runes attached to them were being individually extracted and enlarged for analysis.

The other was the space-splitting ruler.

This former dharma tool was being held in mid-air by a dozen energy beams, with countless fine probes attached to its body, reading its internal energy structure.

Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, Professor Chen, and a group of the country's top experts were all gathered around, craning their necks and watching intently.

"Incredible... truly incredible!" A white-haired materials expert adjusted his reading glasses, his voice trembling with excitement. "The toughness of this 'Ice Silkworm Silk' is dozens of times stronger than Kevlar! It even has built-in energy conductivity! If we could mass-produce this, our individual soldier armor would leave the rest of the world in the dust!"

"And this space-splitting ruler!" Another high-energy physics expert pointed at a string of data on the screen, spittle flying. "The core is a 'Spatial Crystal'! When excited with spiritual power, it can warp space for cutting! Heavens! Isn't this the prototype of the 'Space Curvature Weapon' in our theories? It's just... the driving energy isn't nuclear power, it's... spiritual power!"

"Engineer Jiang," Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo turned to Jiang Ning, his tone full of fanaticism, "can... can we replicate these things?"

Everyone's gaze focused on Jiang Ning.

If they could fully grasp the technology of these "dharma tools" and then manufacture them using industrial methods... it would be an unimaginable leap for the entire country's technology and national defense!

"Replicate?" Jiang Ning looked at the data on the screen and shook her head.

Everyone's heart sank halfway.

"Is it not possible? Material issues? Or is the technology too complex?" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo asked anxiously.

"No," Jiang Ning spoke calmly, "my point is, why replicate something so inefficient?"

She reached out and made a swipe in the air.

The internal 3D structural diagram of the space-splitting ruler instantly enlarged.

"Look," she pointed at those runes inside the ruler that were invisible to the naked eye, "this is its core driving formation, a typical energy amplification and directional output formation. The design concept is very old, and the energy utilization rate is extremely low."

"I calculated it; at least sixty percent of the spiritual power Sect Leader Lu Yun poured in was consumed internally, with less than forty percent actually used for cutting. Moreover, the output is very unstable, coming in bursts, which can easily injure the user themselves."

Jiang Ning's tone was like she was evaluating a failing student assignment.

"Simply put, it's a severely flawed semi-finished product. Its only merit is that the materials are decent."

The laboratory fell into a dead silence.

A group of national-treasure-level experts and scholars listened to Jiang Ning's "bad review," each of them like primary school students in a lecture, not daring to breathe loudly.

The "black technology" that in their eyes was decades ahead of Earth was actually just an "inefficient semi-finished product" to Engineer Jiang?

"Then... then what do you mean, Engineer Jiang?" Professor Chen asked cautiously.

"Dismantle it and melt it down," Jiang Ning's answer was crisp and decisive.

"Extract the 'Spatial Crystal' and combine it with our high-energy particle collision technology to redesign a 'High-Frequency Spatial Vibration Module.' The energy utilization rate can be raised to over ninety-five percent, and it can provide continuous, stable output."

"As for this 'Ice Silkworm Silk,' don't weave clothes with it; it's too wasteful. Draw it into single filaments to serve as the core for a new generation of spirit-energy fiber optic cables. Information transmission efficiency could be a thousand times higher than it is now."

"Also, the micro-formations on the dharma robes are too crudely designed. I'll redraw the blueprints, and you can use photolithography machines to etch them onto the fibers of combat uniforms. The cost of a 'Dust-Cleansing Formation' can be reduced from tens of thousands of spirit stones to just a few cents worth of electricity."

Jiang Ning operated the light screen rapidly as she spoke.

Set after set of brand-new design blueprints, merging cultivation technology with modern industry, were generated at high speed under her hands.

All the experts present, looking at those designs—some of which they could partially understand, but most of which were completely beyond their imagination—were all dumbfounded.

They felt like they hadn't come for a technical analysis meeting today.

They were here... to witness a miracle.

Looking at Jiang Ning's focused profile, a thought occurred to Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo.

Perhaps... that Sect Leader Lu Yun's defeat wasn't unfair at all.

What he faced was not a cultivator, nor some kind of sorcery.

He was facing a... Chief Engineer from a higher civilization dimension.

At that moment, another researcher walked in quickly holding an ancient-looking compass.

"Engineer Jiang! The preliminary analysis report for that 'star-fixing compass' is out!"

Jiang Ning's gaze finally moved away from the space-splitting ruler and landed on that compass.

For the first time, her expression changed slightly, showing the sharpness of a hunter who had spotted their prey.

"How is it?" she asked.

"Reporting to Engineer Jiang!" the researcher reported excitedly. "We discovered that this compass isn't just a locator! Its core is a miniature... teleportation formation core that can stabilize spatial coordinates bidirectionally!"

"It can not only receive signals from the 'Immortal-Mortal Realm,' but theoretically... as long as there is enough energy, it can also... transmit signals, and even matter, back in reverse!"