Ke Xiao was quite exasperated now, with the urge to just rob Xia Li.

  That's not how you spend spirit stones! Everyone else was pinching pennies, haggling over every single stone. And here was Xia Li throwing money around like it was nothing—who did he think he was looking down on?

  "Xia Li, if you have spirit stones, you should be even more careful with them. If you really can't spend them all, you can transfer them to me and I'll spend them for you."

  "Sure, how much do you want?"

  Xia Li knew Ke Xiao was joking, but he was genuinely willing to give. Consider it cultivating his own people.

  Though his relationship with Ke Xiao wasn't deep, her previous actions showed she was a person of principle.

  Such people were generally trustworthy.

  "Transfer me a few hundred million first, let me see your strength."

  "This..."

  Xia Li had been thinking that if Ke Xiao only wanted a few hundred, or even a thousand, he'd pay up.

  But Ke Xiao asking for hundreds of millions right off the bat—that joke was a bit too much.

  "Can't do it, can you? If you don't have hundreds of millions in spirit stones, what are you showing off for? Just do your missions properly and save some stones. There'll be plenty of places to spend them later."

  "But I just want to buy some Genesis Serum..."

  "I know, but do you still want to develop within the organization? Not everything can be bought with spirit stones."

  "Some of the really good stuff in the organization can only be exchanged with contribution points. Without points, no amount of spirit stones will get you anything."

  "But I just want to buy some Genesis Serum..."

  Xia Li really didn't want to waste words. Wouldn't it be better to do missions after he reached Foundation Establishment? He knew an organization needed everyone's collective effort to function.

  If he didn't contribute labor, wasn't contributing money the same thing?

  "Forget it, I'll send you some information. Read it yourself!"

  Ke Xiao didn't want to waste words either. She'd been giving heartfelt advice only to be treated as nonsense. Fine then—she'd just show him the benefits directly.

  What Ke Xiao sent Xia Li was information about Genesis Serum.

  Genesis Serum didn't have different purity levels, but there was some science to the formulation. Better formulations produced more powerful effects.

  The Hidden Wing organization offered many types of Genesis Serum. One was the common market formulation, with effects identical to what Xia Li had found on the Heavenly Dao Network.

  The others were clearly formulations from other factions—Sword Qi Serum, Martial Dao Serum, and other options. Probably stolen by Hidden Wing.

  The most notable was the formulation Hidden Wing had developed themselves.

  "One formulation has this much science behind it? Why doesn't anyone mention this online?"

  Xia Li immediately contacted Ke Xiao. This information couldn't be found online.

  "It's not that the public network doesn't have it—you just don't know the codes, so of course you can't find it. Though the public network has an enormous amount of information, the truly valuable stuff is all in various factions' private networks."

  "So what's special about our Hidden Wing formulation?"

  "Compared to other formulations, our Hidden Wing formulation focuses more on developing mental capacity. The modern era isn't just an age of spiritual energy—it's an age of information dimensionalization. Mental capacity is the foundation of technology, and the foundation of progress."

  "To establish your foundation, you must also establish the foundation of your mind."

  After Ke Xiao finished this speech, Xia Li seriously considered whether to get the Hidden Wing formulation. He was already a step ahead in spiritual and soul cultivation. Establishing the foundation of his mind would be like adding wings to a tiger.

  "How do I get the Hidden Wing formulation?"

  "Simple. Three D-rank missions, or one C-rank mission. The organization won't charge spirit stones—they'll give it to you for free."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Then let me check the mission board..."

  "No need to look. Just come find me. I'm doing a C-rank mission right now. When it's done, all the contribution points go to you, and you compensate me with spirit stones. Win-win."

  "Deal."

  Hearing this, Xia Li agreed without hesitation. Why not, if someone was offering to carry him?

  Ke Xiao immediately sent Xia Li her location.

  "There's a hover-bike in the garage. Ride that over."

  "Okay."

  After ending the communication, Xia Li went up to the first floor and rode the hover-bike out of the garage attached to the shop.

  This new-era transportation was fast and stable, and traveling through the air meant no worrying about traffic accidents.

  But the hover-bike still couldn't be called truly safe.

  Not for any other reason—at the end of the day, it was just a vehicle, not a spirit artifact or magical treasure. Forget being hit by techniques; even a large-caliber bullet would cause problems.

  So Xia Li kept a low profile the whole way, preferring to take detours through safe zones.

  The so-called safe zones were the new era's highways.

  Though there wasn't an actual "road," the edges of safe zones were lined with automated turrets that could effectively defend against demons. Patrol personnel could occasionally be seen flying past on swords.

  After arriving at the destination, Ke Xiao was leaning against an automated turret, resting.

  "You made it? I thought you'd take a shortcut."

  Ke Xiao looked up at Xia Li. But just as she finished her greeting, she immediately noticed Xia Li was vastly different from their last meeting.

  Powerful aura. Qi Refining cultivation no weaker than Foundation Establishment. His dantian Spirit Core seemed to contain the power of thunder. His gaze naturally carried a pressure that made people reluctant to meet his eyes.

  "Wait... your eyes... you've already seen the Dirac Sea?"

  Xia Li's changes naturally couldn't escape Ke Xiao's notice. More accurately, they couldn't escape most people on Earth—these characteristics could be easily identified by a Heaven Chip.

  "Mm..."

  Xia Li nodded. Since he'd already been recognized, there was no point in hiding it. But the people on the other side didn't have such good perception.

  Even that Nascent Soul Profound Pill Sect elder had only noticed he possessed divine thought after attacking him.

  "I've also noticed the changes in your dantian. You've achieved Nine-into-One, right? Nine-into-One plus awakened eyes—you have the qualifications for Heaven-path Foundation Establishment!"

  Ke Xiao looked at Xia Li with envy. Being able to lay such a powerful foundation at the Qi Refining stage—not pursuing Heaven-path Foundation Establishment would be a waste.

  But Heaven-path Foundation Establishment required a terrifying amount of spirit stones.

  "I am planning on Heaven-path Foundation Establishment."

  "Do you have enough spirit stones? If not, the organization can offer you a loan based on your talent. Interest-free for ten years."

  "I have enough."

  "Good. Your talent shouldn't be known by others—it wouldn't be good news. Be careful to hide it."

  With that, Ke Xiao's fingertip began sliding through the air—clearly operating her Heaven Chip.

  Before long.

  A technique was sent over by Ke Xiao.

  Its name: *Divine Sense Hacking: Defense Chapter*

  "Learn this. Don't let other people's Heaven Chips probe your secrets."

  "Thanks, Sis Ke."

  Xia Li nodded. His secrets weren't that easy to see through—after all, even the Nascent Soul Profound Pill Sect elder hadn't noticed anything unusual.

  It was just that Earth's technology was too advanced, allowing his secrets to be seen through at a glance.

  The Defense Chapter of Divine Sense Hacking could solve exactly this problem.