Chapter 164: Chapter 116: Charm Art Sublimation, Purity Too Low, Ultimate Skills Realm (4K)_2
Xue Jing looked at the experience bar behind his Charm Art level on the panel.
(3221/?)
The experience needed for leveling up had turned into a question mark.
However, he could still continue gaining experience points, and he didn't know what the situation was.
Had he reached the current level's maximum and needed to ascend before he could continue improving?
Or had it simply become invisible?
As he pondered, Ning Fengwan beside him yawned.
"...those two from the 'Titan God Brigade' we ran into yesterday."
The young girl began to speak.
"These two, they might not be dead yet."
When Xue Jing heard this, he interrupted his thoughts, somewhat surprised.
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Aren't their bodies still on the ship? One was bisected at the waist, and the other was cut into six pieces by you..."
Ning Fengwan sat down on the armrest of Xue Jing's lounge chair, her ample buttocks slightly marked by her swimsuit, which became even more prominent as she sat down, exhibiting an astonishing sexual allure against the backdrop of her slender waist.
"To say they are not dead... it's also hard to say whether they are truly dead."
The young girl stretched her hand to tuck her damp black hair behind her ear, a gesture steeped in a strange femininity. From Xue Jing's angle, he could clearly see her exposed pale neck.
"You know about 'consciousness upload' from science fiction, right?"
Xue Jing raised an eyebrow:
"That is very cyber... Has our technology really advanced to this level?"
Ning Fengwan shook her head:
"Just our own human technology is still facing many unsolvable problems. Right now, we can't achieve that."
"But, a company called 'Deep Blue Network' has mastered the technology of 'consciousness upload' using some method."
Curious, Xue Jing asked, "What method?"
Ning Fengwan ran her fingers through her hair and said casually, "I don't know."
"It's the core secret of their company; they can't reveal it to the outside… However, many speculate that Deep Blue Corporation likely possesses a creature from the Intersecting Boundaries in the form of a 'consciousness life-form,' hence they mastered 'consciousness upload.'
"Anyway, since Deep Blue Corporation acquired this technology decades ago, many people have chosen to backup their consciousness in the Deep Blue Network."
"Of course, it's quite expensive."
She twirled her long hair around her finger, looking at Xue Jing.
"For a group of Intersecting Boundaries Hunters like the Titan God Brigade, who do things ordinary people can't do, although their lives are at constant risk, every member is very rich; the cost of consciousness upload is not unaffordable for them."
"Yesterday, I checked the corpses of those two, and found that their thalamus was stuffed with a deep blue-colored small sphere connected to countless nerves."
"Afterwards, I went to check on the Inside World forum and found that this sphere is used to upload their consciousness memory data to the Deep Blue Network at any time."
Xue Jing pinched his chin: "No wonder these two seemed fearless of death..."
Especially that woman, who was starry-eyed with love looking at him before she died.
Originally, he thought it was because they frequently walked the line between life and death. Now, it seemed there was another reason.
"But in the end, whether the dataized self after consciousness upload is still the original self, is also quite hard to determine."
Ning Fengwan crossed her arms, pushing up her European cup: "This is one of the perpetual difficult problems for humanity, the Ship of Theseus?"
Xue Jing sipped some juice and casually asked, "So, is Deep Blue Network the only one with 'consciousness upload'? Don't they hold countless secrets then?"
Ning Fengwan said, "Naturally, they would sign very strict agreements not to violate customer privacy... However, whether they adhere to them is another question."
"Real secrets are also only known to the big shots... Currently, there seems to be no one considered a 'big shot' who has uploaded their consciousness into the Deep Blue Network...
After all, this technology has only been around for a few decades, and many concepts, ethics, as well as considerations from many aspects, have made consciousness upload not so popular, and thus Deep Blue Network's market value is also ranked low among major companies."
She paused, then continued:
"Besides, there are other methods of life extension aside from consciousness upload... Only those like the Titan God Brigade, who frequently face life-and-death crises on a physical level and have a need for life extension, yet cannot access other methods, would choose consciousness upload."
...
Having chatted leisurely with Ning Fengwan for a long time and gained much knowledge, Xue Jing went to have lunch at noon.
Afterward, he returned to his suite.
Ning Fengwan reverted to her Miao Miao form and was already curled up on the bed, deep in sleep.
Opening the glass door of the balcony, Xue Jing stepped outside, inhaling the salty sea breeze and listening to the incessant sound of the waves, he closed his eyes, his mind sinking in.
In the Consciousness Space, countless pixels rotated and emerged, constructing the Infinite Nova that was indistinguishable from the real one.
Shortly after, Xue Jing's own body appeared on the ship.
Yesterday, he was so tired that he went straight to bed without having the chance to test how much stronger he had become.
With a thought, countless pixels gathered in front of him, forming a barbell that looked rather exaggerated.
The huge black weight plates on both sides were packed full, clearly indicating the weight was extraordinary.
Xue Jing walked up, gripped the barbell, tensed his muscles, and lifted it.
"A ton of weight... not bad."
Xue Jing lifted the barbell above his head; the alloy bar could hardly bear the weight of the plates on either side, bending like a bow and emitting a creaking sound of metal distortion.
He couldn't recall how long it had been since he had tested his actual Physical Strength value.
Xue Jing swung the barbell in his hands around and then hurled it upward with force.
"Creak—"
The alloy barbell bent to an extreme state and then snapped with a loud crack.
"Actual strength values don't really matter anymore, they don't align with the combat power you can actually exert..."
Xue Jing pinched his chin.
A powerful Martial Artist can interfere with their own reality through their spirit, exerting combat strength beyond the physical limits of their body.
Like him, in terms of pure physical strength at the physical level, he could probably lift one ton or two, and at most not more than five tons.
Such a level of strength sounds quite impressive, but in reality, it couldn't even lift a road roller.
With the addition of Power, maybe he could exert seven or eight tons of strength, but it still wasn't much in terms of combat power.
However, what about the combat performance he could actually exhibit?
One slash could send out Saber Qi extending over ten meters, and with the addition of Shadow Flame, he could create a black tornado and cause water to be drawn up from the sea.
The strength of which, without going into details yet, the range alone was absurdly high, entirely beyond the things a mere few tons of strength could achieve.
With a thought from Xue Jing, pixels gathered in front of him, forming a robust figure.
"Come on, elder brother, it has to be you."
Xue Jing clenched his hands into fists and clashed them against each other twice.
After the figure of his eldest disciple brother, Meng Boshang, appeared, he glanced at Xue Jing and nodded with a calm and composed face, as if to say hello.
Xue Jing was momentarily startled upon seeing this.
It seemed that the upgrade to Visualization True had made the simulated figures a lot more lifelike.
"Whirlwind Thunder Extreme—"
"Boom!"
Meng Boshang stood with his hands behind his back, taking the punch on his chest. His front garment immediately burst open, revealing a robust chest.
It was filled with densely packed dragon scale imprints, far more detailed than the Dragon Scale Skin that Xue Jing used.
"...even the personality seems to be partly reenacted, previously it was definitely the arms blocking this move."
Xue Jing was somewhat speechless.
He felt that he had been shown up by his elder brother without even realizing it.
With a thought, he healed his own injuries.
"Come to think of it, I've also mastered Eye-Penetrating Flow, I've already learned all five of Hidden Dragon School's ultimate moves."
"Next up, I'm touching on the domain of Five Murders Combine into One."
"Mystic Art·Vital Point... how should I go about it?"
Xue Jing's eyes showed contemplation.
...
(Transition chapter, stuck on writing, update is a little late)