C3 The Powerful Spirit Bead Space
In the special care unit of Tianhai First People's Hospital, Fei Liang pinched himself and winced—it hurt. He couldn't suppress a goofy chuckle, his face twisting into a sleazy, lascivious grin. It dawned on him that he wasn't dreaming; everything that had just happened was undeniably real.
"Hehe, who would've thought, huh? Who would've thought that I, Fei Liang, would have my lucky day?" His face relaxed into a more composed expression, though his eyes still twinkled with mirth.
"Ah, right, Meier." Fei Liang gazed at the orb in his hand and murmured her name.
"Brother Ao, I'm right here," came the voice, and the image of the beautiful girl materialized in Fei Liang's mind. Her beauty was radiant, skin fair as jade; her brows delicate as willow leaves, her lips a soft cinnabar red; her hair cascaded over her shoulders, arms smooth and fair; her fingers slender, waist willowy. Clad in a light blue gown, she was a vision. Though not their first encounter, Fei Liang was captivated all over again.
"Mmm, cough." Meier's gentle cough snapped Fei Liang out of his reverie.
"Hmm? Meier, can we communicate directly through thoughts?" Fei Liang pondered internally, finding a strange comfort and ease in calling her name.
"Yes, once the Spirit Bead has accepted its master, Brother Ao," Meier confirmed.
"Brother Ao? Please, just call me Mr. Fei. 'Brother Ao' just doesn't sit right with me," Fei Liang confessed, puzzled by her choice of address.
"Understood, Mr. Fei," Meier acquiesced, her voice betraying a hint of unfamiliarity with the name.
"Meier, can you explain how these worlds cultivate their strength through trials? What's the situation with the ten realms? I'd like a detailed rundown," Fei Liang quickly shifted to the matter at hand, focusing on the half-meter diameter orb of light before him—the Chaos Light Source the elder had referred to.
"Certainly, no problem," Meier replied crisply. "As the Master mentioned, within this Chaos Light Source are ten worlds, each varying in size. The Immortal Devil Realm is the largest, about a thousand times the size of your Milky Way. The Undead Realm is nearly as large, followed by the Body Cultivation Realm, which is about six hundred times the size of the Milky Way. The Cultivation Realm is over a hundred times larger, and the other realms—fantasy, crystal card, martial arts, and humanoid—are roughly ten times the size of the Milky Way. The smallest, the Ethereal Realm, is comparable to the Solar System. Altogether, the space within the light source is nearly three thousand times that of the Milky Way..."
"Wait a second, Meier, are you telling me that this so-called Chaos Light Source contains a space three thousand times larger than the Milky Way? And it's just this small, with a diameter of barely half a meter?" Fei Liang had been astounded when Meier mentioned that the Immortal Devil Realm was a thousand times the size of the Milky Way. But the revelation that this orb encompassed a space three thousand times that size nearly knocked him out cold. He couldn't help but interrupt her, the concept was just too mind-boggling.
"Yes, Mr. Fei," Meier confirmed. "Despite its modest half-meter diameter, the internal space defies imagination. It's akin to a portable hard drive on Earth. Imagine if 10TB worth of computerized books were transformed into physical volumes; not even a large library could accommodate them all. And yet, this represents less than one-thousandth of its original capacity." Meier's descriptions were nothing short of startling.
Fei Liang sharply inhaled, his mind reeling from the implications. What kind of power was required to achieve such a feat? His resolve hardened; he was determined to reach such heights himself one day. "Go on, Meier," he urged.
"Certainly, Mr. Fei," Meier nodded, taking a brief pause before resuming her explanation. "True to its name, the Immortal Devil Realm is...
The Card Realm, much like realms of technology, cultivation, and fantasy, is divided into numerous planets. The Card Civilization revolves around the use of cards for various activities such as shopping, healthcare, and combat...
The Human Realm bears a closer resemblance to Earth's modern civilization, but it's further categorized by different civilization levels. For instance, there's the Ecological Civilization, Mecha Civilization, and Apocalyptic Civilization.
And as for the Ethereal Realm, Mr. Fei, you'll come to understand it in due time." At last, after several hours, Meier had concluded her extensive briefing.
"The Ecological Civilization likely represents humanity's journey towards sustainable development, while the Mecha Civilization seems to be about a stage in human development where robots have taken over. But the Apocalyptic Civilization? That's an odd one. Is it akin to the scenarios depicted in 'Resident Evil' or other disaster movies?" Fei Liang wondered aloud.
"Exactly, Mr. Fei," Meier replied with a smile. "It's a civilization that has met its demise due to human ignorance or mishaps, leading to catastrophic advancement errors. Some planets have been destroyed by rampant mechas, others by invasive alien species, and still others by devastating viral outbreaks."
"Are there actually zombies among them?" Fei Liang asked with a chuckle.
"Indeed," Meier replied earnestly, "within the Apocalyptic Civilization, eight planets have become havens for zombies. Three are completely overrun, devoid of any living humans. Moreover, two more are on the verge of becoming zombie playgrounds. Without human intervention, we could soon see the total rise to ten."
"That many? I should check them out sometime," Fei Liang mused.
"Sure, Mr. Fei, I could send you there right now," Meier offered with a mischievous grin.
"Uh, let's not," Fei Liang demurred, his skin crawling at the thought of the grotesque zombies from Resident Evil. He regretted his careless words.
"Hmph, scaredy-cat," Meier teased, pouting.
"Uh, I mean, I'll go later. It's not wise to face zombies without proper strength. That'd be like marching to my own demise," Fei Liang said with a wry smile.
"Fine, I'll hold you to that, Mr. Fei," Meier said, winking playfully.
"By the way, Meier, how does one enter those worlds to train and gain strength?" Fei Liang quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
"To access those worlds, since you're the World Lord, Mr. Fei, you can project a virtual body using your spiritual will to traverse them," Meier explained, her attention seemingly captured by the topic.
"A virtual body? Not a real one?" Fei Liang was intrigued.
"Yes, but even though it's virtual, it feels completely real," Meier clarified.
"And what happens if I die in one of the worlds within the Spirit Bead Space?" Fei Liang asked, a note of concern in his voice.
"That's not possible. However, if you were to 'die,' your brain could be tricked by the senses into believing it's real, which might leave you in a vegetative state or worse," Meier said, stifling a giggle.
"Seriously? That's terrifying," Fei Liang blanched.
"You can be revived, so don't worry too much, Mr. Fei," Meier reassured him, though her eyes danced with amusement. "But I'm not going to tell you how just yet."
"Uh," Meier's words abruptly cut off Fei Liang's intended response. He quickly shifted the conversation, "So, what are the rules for entering these different worlds?"
"Indeed, Mr. Fei, the primary requirement is the level of cultivation," Meier said, twirling a strand of her hair. "To enter the Immortal Devil Realm, one must be at least a Heaven Immortal. The Undead Realm requires an Out of Boundary level, Body Cultivators must be at Heaven Grade, and the Cultivation Realm demands a minimum of Golden Core stage. The technology world has no restrictions for civilizations below Level Three, but for those above, a Golden Core stage cultivation is necessary.
"There are no restrictions for the fantasy, crystal card, and martial arts realms. However, the secrets of the Ethereal Realm remain guarded."
Fei Liang was at a loss for words, overwhelmed by Meier's eccentricities as an Artifact Spirit.
"Meier, you mentioned a middle-level civilization. What exactly qualifies as that, and does Earth make the cut?" Fei Liang steered the conversation elsewhere to avoid frustration.
"Earth? A middle-level civilization?" Meier scoffed with a hint of pride. "A middle-level civilization must be at least a Level Seven. In the technology world, Levels One to Six are considered elementary civilizations, Seven to Ten are middle-level, Eleven and Twelve are advanced, and Thirteen and above are super civilizations. I'm directly linked to a Level Fourteen Civilization's intellect."
Fei Liang felt a sting of humiliation. "So, Earth doesn't have a Level Seven civilization?"
"Level Seven? Hardly," Meier replied dismissively. "At best, Earth has just stepped into a Level Four civilization. It's nowhere near Level Five, let alone Seven. A Level Seven civilization can wage war across star clusters, like crossing entire galaxies. Earth hasn't even fully explored the solar system. How could it be considered Level Seven?"
Fei Liang's spirits sank even lower, his frustration reaching new depths. The thought of the Level Fourteen AI Meier boasted about made him feel utterly hopeless.
"Uh, Meier, how advanced was your old master's cultivation before he passed?" Fei Liang inquired, hoping to distract himself by learning about the formidable elder.
"Look, Mr. Fei, you're nowhere near your master's level. Knowing wouldn't do you any good," Meier said, casting another dismissive glance at Fei Liang.
“…”