Realizing this, Xiao wasted no time and immediately began the second stage of his cultivation.
He focused his mind and strengthened the connection between himself and the Cyber Dimension.
His consciousness expanded, transforming into countless invisible tendrils that spread throughout the dimension. Using the Soul Connection Method, he began refining every corner of the Cyber Dimension, gradually assimilating it into his own Soul Core.
Each time a portion of the dimension was successfully refined, he could clearly feel his power increasing.
It was not a subtle change—it was explosive.
Xiao could hardly imagine what level his strength would reach if the entire Cyber Dimension became his Soul Core.
Fifth Stage.
Sixth Stage.
Sixth Stage Complete.
When the final portion of the Cyber Dimension was fully integrated, his attributes surged like a rocket, eventually stabilizing at an astonishing 910,014 points.
This meant he had officially reached Sixth Stage Completion, only one step away from breaking into the Seventh Stage.
And even then, the growth did not stop.
His power continued to rise steadily, as if it had no upper limit.
This was the true terror of the Soul Dantian Method—it could convert the power of the soul's inner world directly into personal strength, without any loss or restriction.
At that moment, Xiao suddenly realized something.
All along, he had been mistaken.
He had always modeled his growth after the Dimensional Demon Gods.
But that path… was fundamentally wrong.
In the Marvel universe, Dimensional Demon Gods and Xiao were not the same at all.
Dimensional Demon Gods first possess a dimension—and then become gods.
Take Dormammu as an example. He had once been an ordinary dark mage. Only after entering and merging with the Dark Dimension did he ascend into a Dimensional Demon God.
However, a dimension and its ruler are not truly one and the same. They merely exist in a symbiotic relationship.
If a Dimensional Demon God disappears, the dimension itself will still exist.
But if the god leaves the dimension—
their power collapses.
Inside their domain, they are omnipotent. Outside it, they are merely powerful beings subject to normal limits.
Their strength is conditional.
Restricted.
Bound.
Xiao, however, was completely different.
The Cyber Dimension was not something he found.
It was something he created.
It originated from the depths of his own soul.
It had always been a part of him.
There was no separation.
No dependency.
No distinction between "self" and "dimension."
And yet—
he had been treating its power as something he needed to borrow.
It was as absurd as borrowing money from his own pocket.
In truth, he could mobilize its power at any time, anywhere, without limitation.
Because it was him.
With that realization, Xiao's entire perspective shifted.
His future path was no longer that of a Dimensional Demon God.
It was something higher.
He would not become a ruler of a dimension.
He would become something akin to the One Above All.
A true Creator-level existence.
With this clarity, his thoughts became unprecedentedly sharp.
At the same time, as his soul fully fused with the Cyber Dimension, his mental power continued to expand endlessly.
This growth was constant, natural, and unstoppable.
It was the evolution of his very essence.
At this point, Xiao finally saw a clear path toward the Nascent Soul Realm.
However—
one crucial piece was still missing.
Pure soul cultivation alone was not enough.
No matter how strong the soul became, its fundamental quality would not change. That clearly did not align with the nature of the Nascent Soul.
Moreover, Cyber Cultivators relied heavily on computational ability.
As their bodies and energy grew stronger, the burden of control increased exponentially.
Even those at Golden Core Completion had already begun to lose control over their own power.
Without sufficient processing capacity, their strength would become a liability.
This was why many Mechanical Sages chose to connect themselves to external computing systems—to compensate for their limitations.
Xiao, however, had no intention of relying on external tools.
Instead, he conceived a new idea:
A Data Nascent Soul.
Something that could both protect the soul and provide immense computational support.
To achieve this, he needed deeper mastery over soul technology.
While he was fully capable of researching it from scratch, there was no need to reinvent the wheel.
Because in this cyberpunk world—
such technology already existed.
And at the center of it all—
was Arasaka.
The corporation possessed one of the most advanced soul technologies ever created:
Soulkiller.
This technology could digitize human consciousness and completely strip it from the body.
The victim would appear completely normal—no wounds, no visible damage.
But in reality, they were already dead.
Their consciousness erased.
Their existence gone.
This technology had once nearly allowed Arasaka to win the Fourth Corporate War.
It was also the foundation for the creation of many top-tier AIs within the Cyber Network.
In fact, Xiao knew very well—
many of those so-called AIs were once human minds.
Thanks to his knowledge of the Old Net, Xiao already possessed the complete data for Soulkiller.
But that alone was not enough.
Soulkiller could digitize consciousness—
but it could not protect the soul.
Xiao had no intention of becoming a mere AI, confined to the network.
What he needed—
was something more advanced.
Something capable of true preservation and rebirth.
That led him to another piece of technology:
The Relic Chip.
Developed by Saburo Arasaka based on Soulkiller 3.0, it was designed for immortality.
This technology could fully digitize a human consciousness into a stable "soul" and implant it into another body.
A perfect vessel.
A second life.
If Xiao could fully understand and master this technology, he would be able to create a true Data Nascent Soul—one that could both preserve and enhance his existence.
However—
there was a problem.
Relic technology was Arasaka's ultimate secret.
At present, only two people in the world had full knowledge of it:
Hanako Arasaka and Herman.
And before the events of Cyberpunk 2077—
both of them had never once left Arasaka Headquarters.
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