The elevator descended quickly.

  Before long, with a "ding," it reached the bottom and the doors opened.

  There weren't many people at the Grand Elevator entrance, but the streets outside were crowded. Xia Li had no idea how many people were watching him.

  But even the Lower District had order. The Company probably wouldn't make a move in broad daylight.

  So...

  He'd lure the snakes out of their holes!

  Xia Li headed straight for the lawless Black Street. As pedestrians grew scarcer, Ke Xiao filtered out the suspicious individuals.

  "Xia Li, targets located. I've synced them to your map."

  "They're all local Lower District gang members. Looks like the Company paid someone else to do the dirty work. Their equipment is poor—mostly second and third-gen Heaven Chips. You know what that means."

  "But watch out for gunfire. With Heaven Chip assistance, everyone's a sharpshooter. Don't give them a chance to shoot. Get into the alleys! Once you're close enough, just paralyze their Heaven Chips!"

  "And then..."

  "When dealing with a bunch of thugs with blood on their hands, I hope you won't go soft. Times have changed. This isn't the era you grew up in."

  Ke Xiao's message ended there. After receiving it, Xia Li ducked into an alley.

  Damn, it really was all about aimbots.

  The moment he appeared in their line of sight, he'd get headshot-locked. This tech warfare was really straightforward.

  But did Xia Li come unprepared?

  【Divine Sense Hacking replacement complete】

  【Wind Shield replacement complete】

  【Spirit Bow: Qi Arrow replacement complete】

  Three techniques loaded into his technique slots—one offensive, one defensive, one technical.

  He could aimbot too!

  And his techniques were more powerful than ordinary firearms, even with bullet tracking.

  Clearly his tech was superior!

  If he lost this fight, he simply didn't deserve to be a tech cultivator.

  【Marked personnel approaching】

  【Estimated contact in three seconds】

  【Three】

  The Heaven Chip began counting down. Xia Li hid at a corner in the alley, a translucent spirit bow in his left hand, a similarly translucent qi arrow nocked on the string.

  【Two】

  Xia Li drew the bow.

  【One】

  The enemy's figure appeared in Xia Li's vision. The instant the man raised his gun, Xia Li first used Divine Sense Hacking, causing the enemy's Heaven Chip to lose its aim.

  Then...

  Bullet and arrow fired simultaneously. The bullet grazed past Xia Li's ear. The qi arrow struck the enemy's forehead dead-on, pierced through, and exploded against the head of the person behind him.

  Two birds with one arrow!

  "Phew..."

  Only then did Xia Li exhale the breath he'd been holding. But the danger wasn't over.

  Ten more to go!

  【Generate wallhack overlay based on target locations】

  Xia Li immediately had the Heaven Chip use Ke Xiao's map data to generate visible markers.

  Soon, red dots appeared in his vision. They were moving rapidly, closing in to surround him, apparently trying to suppress him with firepower.

  Too bad his tech was a step ahead. He could see through walls!

  The Thousand Refinements Art produced thread-like spiritual energy.

  Threads woven into arrows!

  Spirit Core output efficiency maxed out!

  When selecting techniques, he'd carefully considered compatibility between techniques and cultivation methods, choosing ones where precise spiritual energy control enhanced power.

  Draw bow, nock arrow...

  Aim at the target behind the wall...

  Release!

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The arrow flew, pierced through three walls, and accurately struck a red dot before exploding. Two nearby red dots also vanished.

  Three birds with one arrow this time.

  Wallhacks, aimbots, and bullet tracking.

  And at critical moments, he could paralyze their tech. Let's see how they'd fight him now!

  Afterward, Xia Li repeated the same tactics, ambushing from unexpected angles through walls. He quickly eliminated most of them, leaving only one still approaching.

  "Tch, three arrows already. What's with that guy!"

  Xia Li was now playing cat and mouse with the last one. That person seemed immune to his qi arrows—three shots and nothing.

  This was tech combat.

  Often you didn't even know what your opponent looked like or what abilities they had.

  "Sis Ke, are you done yet!"

  Xia Li had already contacted Ke Xiao for help after his second arrow failed.

  Since Hidden Wing was a technical organization capable of real-time enemy tracking, they should use technology to minimize risk. He wouldn't show himself until he understood the enemy's situation.

  "Don't rush, I'm checking!"

  "Found it! This one's no joke—fully mechanized. Very tough. Maybe you should just run?"

  "Fully mechanized? Will Divine Sense Hacking work?"

  "No. That only targets Heaven Chip operating logic. Mechanized body parts each have different operating logic!"

  "Does he use a Heaven Chip?"

  "He's probably using an integrated mech-chip. Different operating logic from standalone chips..."

  "Wait, something's off. Where would a small gang get the money for full mechanization? He's Company personnel!"

  Ke Xiao's voice grew panicked. The last one wasn't a gang lackey—he was Company elite security, a fully mechanized professional combatant.

  "What do I do? He's faster than me. Can't outrun him. I can only keep circling."

  "Hold on, keep running. Send me your cultivation level and technique data. I'll figure something out!"

  Ke Xiao told Xia Li to keep stalling. A fully mechanized combatant was beyond what Qi Refining could handle, especially since Xia Li's cultivation was only at the first level of Qi Refining.

  "Wait, what's going on with you? Where'd you get seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation?"

  Ke Xiao checked the data Xia Li transmitted and discovered his cultivation had reached the seventh level.

  Xia Li had been at the sixth level before. After taking the Enhanced Surge Serum, he'd broken through the mid-stage Qi Refining bottleneck to late-stage.

  "You even swapped your Spirit Core? Why didn't you give me your business!"

  "Is now really the time for this?"

  "You'd better explain yourself later. I've been nothing but good to you, discounts all around, and you're playing games with me?"

  "I will, I will! Hurry up and think of something! That guy's about to catch up... he's just smashing through walls now!"

  Xia Li really had no experience fighting fully mechanized opponents. Besides the brain, the enemy's entire body was hard alloy. How was he supposed to fight that?

  The enemy could tank bullets and charge right up to crush him.

  "Xia Li, do you still have your old Spirit Core?"

  Ke Xiao suddenly asked about his old Spirit Core.

  "Yes, why?"

  "Inject spiritual energy until it's full, then use it as a bomb. More powerful than a cultivator self-destructing!"

  "Got it."

  Xia Li immediately pulled out his old Spirit Core. He hadn't expected it could be used this way.

  Made sense, though.

  One of the Spirit Core's official names was Miniature Spiritual Energy Reactor.

  It could absolutely be used as a small spiritual nuke.