Chapter 29: The Huaxia Research Institute

"Haha, little fellow, I know you've come back this time to settle accounts with the Nine Great Sects, and I also know you must have cultivated some extraordinary divine abilities out there. But according to our agreement, you should have honestly cultivated outside until you reached the Integration Stage." Emperor Qin Shi Huang looked at the red wine in his hand and smiled slightly at Zhang Xiao.

Hearing the words of Qin Shi Huang, Zhang Xiao raised his eyebrows. The agreement mentioned by Qin Shi Huang was precisely what Bai Qi had conveyed to him before he originally went to Kunlun. Zhang Xiao knew that Qin Shi Huang had misunderstood his purpose in returning this country. Every time he recalled Xiaofang's face, his heart ached as if it were being sliced open by a blade.

Yet Zhang Xiao understood that his current strength was still far from sufficient to achieve revenge. Acting rashly would only plunge him into eternal damnation, and by then, all thoughts of avenging the grievance would vanish like foam, completely shattered by a single gust of wind.

However, since Qin Shi Huang had already misunderstood, Zhang Xiao couldn't be bothered to explain. He calmed his mind, tasted the red wine in his hand, and awaited what Qin Shi Huang had to say next.

Seeing Zhang Xiao's calm expression, the corners of Qin Shi Huang's mouth curved upward. He stood up and said, "Very well, let's not discuss this further. Come with me, and I'll show you something good." Hearing this, Zhang Xiao put down his red wine and followed behind Qin Shi Huang, wanting to see what tricks this ancient emperor actually had up his sleeve.

He watched as Qin Shi Huang led him to a wall and gently patted it with both hands. A teleportation array gate immediately manifested on the surface of the wall. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Such a brilliant concealment technique."

Even early Integration Stage masters might not possess divine sense superior to his, yet he had completely failed to detect the hidden teleportation gate here. This showed just how superb the skills of the person who set it up truly were.

After Qin Shi Huang led Zhang Xiao through the teleportation gate, the surrounding space suddenly dimmed. When light flickered once more, the two of them had arrived at an entirely different location. "This is?" What met his eyes turned out to be a modern research facility.

Researchers dressed in white lab coats walked briskly back and forth. Zhang Xiao swept his divine sense outward, only to discover that his divine sense could now extend merely about fifty meters. The fact that this place could actually isolate divine sense came as quite a surprise to him.

Noticing Zhang Xiao's astonished expression, Qin Shi Huang laughed heartily and said, "Hahaha, quite surprised, aren't you? Welcome to the Huaxia Research Institute." "The Huaxia Research Institute???" Zhang Xiao was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

At that exact moment, a woman around thirty years of age, wearing a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses, walked with brisk strides toward Qin Shi Huang. When Zhang Xiao swept his divine sense over her, he was shocked to find that her cultivation level was shockingly low, resting merely at the initial Golden Core stage.

The woman in white walked up to Qin Shi Huang, bowed, and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty. The latest mission has been successfully completed, and I await your inspection."

Hearing this, a look of wild joy bloomed across Qin Shi Huang's face. "What? You've truly worked hard. Quickly, take me to see it." At his words, the female researcher did not move immediately; instead, she cast her gaze toward Zhang Xiao standing beside him, evidently suspicious of Zhang Xiao's identity.

Noticing this, Qin Shi Huang hurriedly patted his forehead. "Oh, haha, I forgot to introduce you. This is Lord Protector Zhang Xiao, and this is Dr. Bai Shuhuan from our Huaxia Research Institute. Come, come, get acquainted." Hearing the introduction, a flash of sharp insight crossed the female doctor's eyes. She extended her hand toward Zhang Xiao and said, "So it is Lord Protector, who single-handedly suppressed the leaders of the Nine Great Sects. I have heard much about you."

In contrast to Bai Shuhuan's warmth and poise, Zhang Xiao appeared rather cold. He shook hands with her perfunctorily and said, "You flatter me." Hearing his lukewarm response, Bai Shuhuan's expression darkened instantly.

Before the great upheaval, she had been a world-renowned physics expert; following the upheaval, she had become the chief research designer for the Huaxia State. To be treated with such chilling indifference by a mere brawler who only knew how to fight made her feel quite displeased.

Sensing that the atmosphere between the two was growing somewhat strained, Qin Shi Huang quickly intervened, saying, "Dr. Bai, pay him no mind. He is simply like this by nature. Come, let's go inspect the fruits of this mission." Hearing this, Bai Shuhuan could only suppress her irritation and said, "This way, please," before taking the lead.

"This laboratory has been established since the founding of the nation and has already yielded many achievements. I guarantee you'll be astonished in a moment," Qin Shi Huang whispered to Zhang Xiao. Zhang Xiao nodded in silence, but formidable waves were already churning within his heart. Rows upon rows of computers filled his vision, surrounded by countless scientists burying their heads in paperwork.

Unable to hold back any longer, Zhang Xiao asked Qin Shi Huang, "Where on earth did you find so many scientists?"

Qin Shi Huang smiled at the question, pointed a finger lightly toward the sky, and chuckled, "During the great upheaval, the Heavenly Dao gave these scientists two choices: one was to grant them freedom, and the other was to conduct scientific research for me. A portion of them were quite advanced in age and completely incapable of adapting to the chaotic aftermath of the upheaval, so they all chose to do research for me. Of course, the Heavenly Dao transported them directly to a safe location and instantly elevated their cultivation to the Golden Core stage, granting them sufficient longevity to serve my purposes.

As for the other portion, driven by the mindset that they could not live without scientific research, they chose to join this place. The novel phenomena born after the upheaval have provided them with a wealth of inspiration."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao understood the situation at last. So that was how it came to be. Just as Zhang Xiao and Qin Shi Huang were walking and chatting, Bai Shuhuan pointed to a plaza ahead and said, "Your Majesty, please look. This is the fruit of our latest mission."

At her words, Qin Shi Huang and Zhang Xiao turned their gazes toward the plaza. There, a man clad in silver-white battle armor stood at the center, surrounded on all sides by three mid-Nascent Soul stage ferocious beasts. When Zhang Xiao swept his divine sense across him, he discovered that this man in silver armor was merely at the initial Golden Core stage. Yet, with only initial Golden Core cultivation, he appeared entirely at ease while surrounded by the onslaught of three mid-Nascent Soul beasts.

Looking closer, Zhang Xiao noticed that various strange runes intersected across the silver armor. Whenever the beasts unleashed their various demonic arts, a pale white layer of light would suddenly manifest outside the armor, deflecting all those spells completely. Moreover, two streams of flames jetted from the rear of the armor, shaped strangely like particulate blocks.

Propelled by this unconventional flame, the movements of the initial Golden Core warrior possessed an elusive, ghost-like speed, running the three Nascent Soul beasts completely ragged. At this moment, Bai Shuhuan walked to the side, picked up a microphone, and called out to the man in the arena, "Initiate the attack."

Hearing her command, three cylindrical tubes slowly extended from the silver-clad warrior's arms and shoulders. Three beams of laser light blasted forth from the tubes, striking the vital spots of the beasts—their eyes, nostrils, and mouths. The three beasts hastily summoned their defensive magical treasures to block the laser beams entirely.

However, at that very instant, a light blade suddenly sprang from the silver-clad warrior's palm and slashed fiercely against the magical treasure of one of the beasts. With a crisp "snap!", that beast's defensive treasure was instantly cleaved into two halves. Retaining its momentum, the blade swept forward and severed the beast's head.

Seeing this, a look of profound shock finally surfaced on Zhang Xiao's face as he exclaimed, "How can this be!" It was no wonder he was so astonished; the magical treasure deployed by that beast was a grade-seven defensive artifact. While it might not amount to much in Zhang Xiao's eyes, it should never have been sliced through so effortlessly by a mere beam of light. With this thought, Zhang Xiao looked closely at the light blade in the warrior's hand, only to discover that it was actually formed from particulate-shaped spiritual energy.

This realization left Zhang Xiao incomparably stunned, momentarily at a loss for words. The scene unfolding before him had completely subverted all his cultivation experience and common sense.

Noticing Zhang Xiao's dumbfounded expression, Bai Shuhuan wore a triumphant smile and said, "These are particle weapons. Before the great upheaval, people had already begun researching and inventing particle weapons, but because they failed to successfully condense particles into high-speed motion without dispersing, they had to settle for pulse weapons instead.

The great upheaval, however, provided us with additional solutions, such as formation arrays and various artifact-refining techniques, allowing us to successfully develop particle weapons.

Following further development of particle weaponry, this suit of armor has now integrated four major particle technologies: particle pulse guns, particle thrusters, particle defense shields, and particle light swords. At the same time, we have also invented this."

As she spoke, Bai Shuhuan produced a mask and handed it directly to Zhang Xiao, saying, "Put this on and take a look. The world you see next will be extraordinary indeed."

Zhang Xiao took the mask and placed it over his face. Instantly, countless red tickets and collectibles rained down from the sky like a downpour. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao immediately let out a loud shout, "Guoshui, hurry up and bring the baskets, the readers are showering us with red tickets and favorites!"