Chapter 353: Ancient Times Must Have Had Qi Refiners!

Can we be as powerful as that little wild chicken?!

Online forums were buzzing with activity. Countless people sat in front of their computers, their breathing quickening, as they gazed at a screenshot: a muscular giant with a cute chicken head, as if a tiny toothpick was stuck on its massive body.

"That little hen is simply our idol!"

Earth now feels so ordinary.

Employees commute by bus daily, and students attend school—it's just a normal technologically advanced society. But this game presented them with countless magnificent, real, and extraordinary alternate worlds.

They seemed to be engrossed in its history, cheering for its characters and weeping for them.

The game's realism was astonishing, providing them with an unparalleled sense of immersion and engagement.

Many even suggested that what was achievable in the game could theoretically and inevitably be achieved in reality. In other words, the extraordinary power systems depicted could manifest on Earth.

"Muscles are a man's true romance!"

"I've decided, I'm going to try it! Master, can you share your training process? I can endure hardship; I refuse to believe a grown man like me can't surpass a mere little hen!"

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be a happy 'muscle brother'! I'll hit the gym, bench press, do push-ups, and lift weights!"

The crowd was very excited.

After all, everyone dreams of becoming a hero.

Akina Speed also paused, then gathered his thoughts on the forum and replied: "Theoretically, it's feasible on Earth, because some of our modern top technologies, such as scanning equipment, can now monitor every single muscle.

"However, in modern society, no one can endure such hardship. While ancient societies had practitioners who could, their equipment was not advanced enough to monitor every inch of the body. Such muscle training would lead to hidden injuries, like lumbar muscle strain, and paradoxically shorten their lifespan. Furthermore, modern people wouldn't go to such great lengths to train their bodies in such a complex manner, constantly scanning themselves to comprehensively target every muscle."

Netizens grew excited. So, there truly was a possibility?

Had no one simply tried before?

But in the next second, Akina Speed delivered a crushing blow:

"Moreover, trying is useless! There's another major difficulty: without the nourishment of spiritual energy, such dry, unassisted training would lead to total body strain and could be fatal!

"As for that little wild chicken, the reason it can withstand such training is because it possesses the bloodline of Ancestral Shamans. It merely activated its already strong and robust body. How can we possibly compare ourselves to the powerful natives of that other world?"

No energy to nourish the body?

Those nearby hesitated, then immediately felt a wave of disappointment.

Nevertheless, this stirred up quite a storm online.

"In ancient times, there was talk of 'divine sense.' Ancient people needed to use inner vision to perceive every inch of their bodies for training. And they had medicinal baths and pills, which might have been ways to nourish the body!"

"Thinking about it, that's true! Isn't that too much of a coincidence?! Could it be that ancient people really could cultivate? Was it just lost for some reason? After all, there were those widely discussed videos of what appeared to be ancient humans soaring through space..."

Meanwhile, some research institutes were also stirred.

"Ancient cultivation civilization!"

"A Dao Monarch once visited our world! In the small asteroid region in outer space!"

"We Earthlings might be descendants of the Creation God!"

They knew more than other netizens and became increasingly convinced.

There must have been Qi Refiners in ancient times!

Definitely!

Coupled with the current supporting evidence, these researchers in white coats, looking at their computer screens, were now firmly convinced.

At this time, some of the world's top wealthy magnates also began posting online, sharing screenshots.

The images showed villas equipped with scanning instruments, each worth tens of millions and typically found only in large hospitals. These magnates stated they could provide this equipment for free, offering body scans, personalized muscle training adjustments, comprehensive exercise programs, the best fitness coaches to devise training plans, energy supplements, top-tier nourishing food, and medicinal baths.

As long as they dared to endure the hardship and try, they would receive a starting salary of 30,000 per month...

"This is clearly lab rat treatment!"

This created quite a sensation and a significant stir.

Many even became envious; they had long wanted to try but lacked top-tier equipment. Now that it was offered for free, with payment to boot, why wouldn't they participate?

However, the physical requirements were very stringent; most people didn't even pass the initial physical examination, with high demands on psychological resilience, absence of potential diseases, and age. Furthermore, after this buzz continued for a while without any tangible results, it gradually faded from public attention.

After all, they discovered the training intensity was simply too high!

Merely relying on food, dietary supplements couldn't provide enough nourishment for recovery, and the absorption rate of medicinal baths wasn't high either. Perhaps only the legendary spiritual energy could gently nourish the body to such an extent.

"Perhaps our world is a low-martial world, devoid of spiritual energy, which is why cultivation is impossible." Some people found this increasingly plausible.

China, a certain research institute.

In a room bathed in gentle incandescent light, filled with large mechanical equipment, scientists in white coats sat in front of computers, monitoring the discussions in the forums.

They had staff constantly monitoring the forums, twenty-four hours a day.

"What is this!?!"

The scientist's expression subtly changed. He quickly stood up and, clutching his documents, rushed out the door, exclaiming, "A cultivation system that doesn't require a bloodline—this is the closest we've ever been! Perhaps we have hope... to stride towards the myriad worlds, a small step for humanity, a giant leap for Earth."

A fervent gleam flashed in his eyes.

It was the fervor of a researcher, a seeker of truth and knowledge!

He arrived at a white door deep within the secret research facility.

This was the highest-level room. After scanning to unlock it, he found a middle-aged man sitting on the floor, drawing complex golden totem patterns, like a real-life wizard.

"What happened?"

The middle-aged man looked up, his gaze sharp as an eagle's.

He was none other than the long-missing Alchemist Emperor, Li Shengjiang.

Li Shengjiang opened his eyes and looked at the arriving Professor Chen. "Professor Chen, what happened?"

Li Shengjiang was one of the very first players to enter the game. He hadn't bothered to hide his identity, and after asking a few friends to help write a thesis on "slimes," he was quickly identified by the research institute's network as the CEO of a large multinational corporation.

He was quickly placed under protection, with measures taken to prevent foreign entities from learning his true identity.

Now, the institute was willing to provide him with any resources, assistance, and technological equipment to aid his research.

If he hadn't revealed his identity, Li Shengjiang would undoubtedly have been like Akina Speed, Xue Baixue, and others, secretly researching the astonishing changes in his body while continuing to play the game...

But he was exposed.

He could only go with the flow, joining the research institute and utilizing its top-tier equipment to study his body, observe his mental energy, and leverage vast funds and connections.

This was why he had been missing for so long.

"These past few days, I haven't entered the game; I've been researching mental power..." He took a deep breath. Having been the Alchemist Emperor for centuries, living for hundreds of years, he was far more advanced than these researchers in certain fields.

For instance, in alchemy.

As a "development-focused" player, he harbored immense ambition. He wanted to transition from developing in the game to doing so in reality, completely establishing the alchemy system in the real world, with the support of an entire nation behind him.

Just like how he had previously been supported by King Lilith, he only needed to focus on research.

"It's just too difficult. Without the Evil Eye gene as a foundation... I handed some of my research topics to Long Wuming inside." He sighed, feeling a touch of weariness and desolation.

Longevity is something every living being desires, and he desired it too.

As the Alchemist Emperor, he had once desperately sought to extend his lifespan and live a second existence during the Babylonian mythological wizard era.

And now...

He was still striving.

The myriad worlds offered many opportunities, with each world developing new systems. Researchers like them had studied every single one of these in reality, and he believed other national institutes were doing the same.

They had attempted to replicate various systems—Evil Eye, magic potions, Inner Worlds, spirits—but all required a "bloodline," which had completely stumped researchers on Earth, leaving them without any progress.

But he still believed, holding onto hope and anticipation, that with so many opportunities in the myriad worlds, there had to be one system that would succeed.

At this moment, he listened intently to the researcher's report.

"A system for training the body?"

Li Shengjiang paused, listened carefully, and then chuckled softly.

Ha ha ha ha!

His soft chuckle gradually transformed into booming laughter, growing louder, filled with ecstasy, even tears. "It's true!!! We can use technological scans, like X-rays, to replace 'divine sense'! The only remaining difficulty is creating an environment rich in spiritual energy that can nourish the body!"

He stood up, pacing back and forth, incredibly excited.

"This is indeed a cultivation method of the demon race. Their bodies are inherently powerful and can withstand rigorous training, amplifying their racial advantages. However, it's very unsuitable for physically weaker modern humans... But for us, simply having a path to cultivation is already excellent; it's the first step towards unlocking our future!"

He now had a clear direction for his efforts.

As the Alchemist Emperor, he might be able to use alchemy, combined with modern electrical energy, to create an "energy-rich" formation that could provide humans with a training environment similar to that of the little hen.

"Once again, I'm close to you! The extraordinary!"

Li Shengjiang suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze fixed on a deep blue starry sky poster hanging on the wall, which depicted a figure in ancient attire destroying stars. "This time, it's the real beginning!"

At this moment, he had never felt so close to those vast extraordinary worlds beyond Earth, to those extraterrestrial civilizations, to the magnificent and magical emperors and eternal supreme deities!