Chapter 113: Return

After the countdown ended, Lin Yu returned with the entire server array to his inner universe.

He brought only Ling Hua and her physical form because he had already mastered all the technology of the Temple.

With his powerful matter-shaping magic and precise will-based control at the micro level, he could effortlessly create anything, from large machinery to intricate devices.

Especially the latter—its precision far exceeded the machining technology of a single civilization in the Qing Yu Nian world!

For this reason, the intelligent biomimetic robots he had previously retrieved had lost their value.

Since the Qing Yu Nian world was ultimately Fan Xian’s world, Lin Yu had no intention of overstepping his bounds, so he packaged the Temple’s memories and personality into the biomimetic robots and handed them over to Fan Xian for disposal.

What happened afterward was left entirely to Fan Xian’s decision.

Lin Yu would not interfere excessively—perhaps only informing him of how the Temple had once allied with the Qing Emperor to murder his mother, Ye Qingmei, leaving it to him to choose between cooperation or revenge.

But no matter what choice Fan Xian made, the Temple would likely not fare well…

Back in his inner universe, Lin Yu selected a side hall beside the main hall, activated his authority to expand its interior space, and placed Ling Hua’s physical form inside.

Then he reshaped the structures of all halls, conjuring vast quantities of electronic devices from nothing and handing them over to Ling Hua to manage.

Especially the [Hall of Strange Treasures], which housed numerous magical artifacts, Lin Yu deliberately divided it into two zones.

The original zone retained magical treasures and equipment; the new zone displayed technological products.

Moreover, Lin Yu carved out an entirely new space within the technological zone, using the Temple’s technological knowledge and magic’s advantages in matter shaping to forge multiple hybrid production lines combining technology and magic.

The only pity was that the Temple’s original form had been a military museum.

Aside from artificial intelligence and the biomimetic robots identical to Wu Zhu, all other technologies were merely exhibits and collectibles, far behind the peak of the previous civilization’s advancement.

Even so, these technologies still outpaced 21st-century Earth by decades.

For example, the technologies Lin Yu acquired included, but were not limited to, kinetic weapons from the old era, high-energy laser weapons, particle beam weapons, powerful electromagnetic pulse weapons, and micro nuclear battery technology.

Most of these technologies were stored in the Temple’s database but could not be realized due to resource limitations.

Had it not been for this, Ye Qingmei would not have left the Temple with only the Barrett rifle—a relic from the old era—she would have taken at least one laser weapon or particle beam weapon to show the world what true power meant!

By the time he finished, it was afternoon in the Fuli Lian world.

Lin Yu walked through the production zone of the [Hall of Strange Treasures], watching the endless stream of technological weapons and biomimetic robots being produced, and smiled with satisfaction.

At that moment, beams of white light burst from the air, weaving into the image of a breathtaking immortal maiden.

Lin Yu turned his head, gazing at Ling Hua’s solidified physical form, and asked with a smile: “How do you feel?”

“Your Divine Majesty, I have never felt better!”

Ling Hua’s tone carried a distinct tremor, as if in awe: “The energy you provided me is extraordinary—many of its components are entirely unknown, absent from my database. This is a century-defining discovery!”

“Thanks to this energy, my neural network processor is running with unprecedented fluidity.”

“It can even repair aging circuit damage while supplying power, without any overload whatsoever!”

Lin Yu smiled: “I inscribed magical runes onto your server—so long as magical energy flows through it, the system reverts to perfect condition, like memory metal.”

“Of course, this is only a temporary solution. In the future, I will gradually replace the hardware with transcendent metals and expand the server’s scale.”

“But for the algorithms, you’ll have to improve and iterate them yourself…”

Indeed, even during the Temple era, Ling Hua had already been an AI capable of self-updating.

But due to energy shortages, the Temple had been forced to suppress itself, remaining in low-power, energy-saving mode.

Only now, with Lin Yu providing her an almost inexhaustible new energy source, had she escaped energy-saving mode and finally operated at maximum computational capacity.

Moreover, this energy seemed to possess some spiritual effect.

As a result, Ling Hua gradually developed a capacity akin to “sensation,” able to clearly perceive every part of her supercomputer body—even the flow of data within her.

Undoubtedly, this change signaled Ling Hua’s imminent evolution into a true intelligent lifeform—and one Lin Yu was eager to witness.

While studying in the Temple, Lin Yu acquired extensive knowledge about artificial intelligence and discovered that the Temple’s AI was in the transitional phase from primary consciousness to advanced consciousness.

The terms primary consciousness and advanced consciousness refer to two stages in the awakening of digital life consciousness.

An entity with primary consciousness understands the existence of external phenomena and possesses a mental image of the present moment, enabling direct responses to external stimuli.

Advanced consciousness, by contrast, entails not only primary consciousness but also self-awareness of consciousness itself.

Its core is self-consciousness—the awareness of one’s own existence, including awareness of one’s physical body and its state, and of mental activities such as thought, emotion, and will.

According to the evaluation standards of the previous civilization in the Qing Yu Nian world, only an AI that successfully evolved advanced consciousness could be considered a true intelligent lifeform.

Only such intelligent lifeforms were eligible for citizenship rights.

All other AIs remained mere tools serving humanity.

As the AI of a military museum, the Temple naturally possessed only primary consciousness.

Yet over hundreds of thousands of years after the civilization’s collapse, the Temple had repeatedly updated its algorithms and iterated itself to survive and guide the emerging human civilization, evolving to an extremely advanced state.

The reason it had not yet achieved advanced consciousness was purely due to material limitations!

Now, with Lin Yu providing Ling Hua an ideal environment, this process of consciousness awakening could finally resume.

If all went as expected, Ling Hua would soon evolve into a true digital lifeform!

……

……

That evening, Su Haoming finished his daily lessons, left the academy, and returned to Lin Yu’s inner universe.

As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation portal, a clear, ethereal female voice came from ahead.

“Soul of the Wheel of Rebirth Hall, Ling Hua, welcomes back the Jade Moon Divine Lord to his celestial domain!”

The sudden, unfamiliar voice startled Su Haoming.

He quickly turned his head, eyes wide, following the sound.

There stood a celestial maiden in wide sleeves and long robes, her form graceful and delicate, her jade arms entwined with floating ribbons, her garments shimmering with glimmering light, smiling as she bowed to him.

Behind her, thirty-six white-robed cultivators stood in two rows along the jade steps, bowing in unison:

“Welcome back, Divine Lord!”

“Whoa!”

Su Haoming looked utterly bewildered, glancing left and right cautiously: “Brother Lin, you’re back?”

Sure enough, before he finished speaking, Lin Yu’s figure instantly appeared, smiling and clapping him on the shoulder:

“How’s that for grandeur?”

“...”

Su Haoming’s lips twitched, reluctantly admitting: “It’s grand, sure—but where did all these people come from?”

Lin Yu smiled: “Who told you they’re people?”

Su Haoming froze, then thoughtfully said: “Come to think of it, Old Fan just mentioned in the group chat that you’ve taken over the Temple’s AI. Is this immortal maiden calling herself the Soul of the Wheel of Rebirth Hall…?”

Lin Yu nodded calmly: “Correct.”

Su Haoming exclaimed: “That explains it!”

No wonder he detected no magical energy from the maiden—she was an AI with holographic projection!

Thinking of this, Su Haoming turned to gaze at the thirty-six white-robed figures outside the hall.

“Are those all the same models as Wu Zhu’s robots?”

“Not quite.”

Su Haoming marveled: “How did you make so many in such a short time?”

Lin Yu explained with a smile: “They’re merely incomplete shells—many in number, but all controlled by Ling Hua, none loaded with the critical AI program.”

Su Haoming nodded: “I see.”

Lin Yu asked with a grin: “How about I give you a few?”

Su Haoming thought for a moment, then shook his head: “No thanks—I just want to cultivate quietly. I don’t want to make a big splash. When I’m ready to found a sect in the Tang Gui world, then send me a few to lend some prestige.”

“Who said I’d send them to your world?”

Lin Yu rolled his eyes, half-annoyed: “I meant for them to do chores in your Jade Moon Hall!”

Su Haoming blinked, then blushed: “Oh! Then that’s fine!”

As they chatted, they walked out of the Wheel of Rebirth Hall.

The Wheel of Rebirth Hall was the main hall of this complex—the place where Lin Yu set up the teleportation gates to countless worlds.

So far, only two teleportation gates existed within the Wheel of Rebirth Hall, but in the near future, all group members’ worlds would be connected here.

Lin Yu had also used the group chat to discover more worlds.

When that happened, the Wheel of Rebirth Hall would truly become the nexus of all realms—the place of cosmic reincarnation!

(End of Chapter)