「A week later, at Simulation Test Center 3.」
BOOM—WHIRRRRR!
The engine on the test bench sputtered and jolted violently.
The power curve on the screen plummeted.
"Shut it down! Shut it down right now!"
Liu Wenbo roared from the main control room.
A pungent, burnt smell wafted from the air vents.
This time, they had used the latest "Lattice Reconstruction" alloy blades.
Its strength had increased, but a new problem had also emerged.
"The new material is too resistant to Spiritual Power!"
Engineer Qian's heart ached as he looked at the ruined blades.
"It created blockages and turbulence as the Spiritual Qi flowed through. Its efficiency is fifteen percent lower than even the last version!"
"Damn it!"
Zhao Yu slammed his fist on the control console with a dull thud.
A dead silence fell over the entire project team.
Everyone felt as if they had hit an invisible wall.
They could see the problem, but they couldn't find a path to a solution.
Chen Gang stood at the back of the crowd, his face pale.
Over the past few days, he had pulled all-nighters and proposed more than five different optimization plans.
But each time, they crashed and burned in the face of reality.
The theories he took such pride in had been reduced to a pile of worthless paper.
Han Feng remained in his corner.
He observed, took notes, and contemplated.
With the roar of each new failure, his body of knowledge grew wildly.
[Name: Han Feng]
[...]
[Professional Skills: Spiritual Energy Engine Principle·Proficient (891/2000), Mechanical Repair Theory·Proficient (755/2000), Rune Array Basics·Entry Level (558/1000)]
...
「Half a month later.」
Three in the morning, in the project team's conference room.
The air was a thick mixture of smoke, sweat, and the cloying sweetness of nutrient paste.
Zhao Yu's bloodshot eyes swept over everyone in the room.
All the engineers kept their heads bowed, their faces haggard.
"Everyone, I've just received a notice."
His voice was raspy.
"Next week is the project's mid-term review."
"If we fail to show any breakthrough progress, the Falcon Third Generation project's budget and resources will be drastically reduced."
"Or even…"
Zhao Yu paused, then viciously ground his cigarette butt into the overflowing ashtray.
"It will be shelved."
Shelved!
That one word made everyone's heart sink.
It meant that months, even years, of their painstaking effort would go completely down the drain.
In his corner, Han Feng sat quietly.
His fingers flew across the virtual light screen as countless streams of data flowed past his eyes.
He had already finished all the materials Liu Wenbo had given him and had also reviewed a vast number of technical documents unrelated to the project.
He felt he was close to the answer.
But he just couldn't break through that final barrier.
[Name: Han Feng]
[...]
[Professional Skills: Spiritual Energy Engine Principle·Proficient (1999/2000), Mechanical Repair Theory·Proficient (1999/2000), Rune Array Basics·Entry Level (999/1000)]
All his theoretical Skills were stuck at the final critical point.
He was just one point of Skill Proficiency away.
It was as if some limit was in place; no matter how much more knowledge he crammed into his head, the numbers wouldn't budge.
The meeting ended in a deathly silence.
By the time he returned to his dorm, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Pang Hu and the others were still fast asleep, their snores deep and steady.
Han Feng didn't rest, nor did he go back to the documents.
He knew that simply piling on more theory had reached its limit.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, slowly closed his eyes, and began to practice the most basic Federation Body Forging Technique.
He needed to clear his mind.
Faint streams of Energy were drawn into his body with his movements, transforming into warm Qi Blood that washed over his exhausted body.
The Qi Blood surged through his meridians, originating from his Dantian, flowing through his entire frame, and beginning the cycle anew.
'Wait… meridians?'
A flash of insight struck Han Feng!
He abruptly stopped all movement!
'They had all fallen into a conceptual trap, himself included!'
'They'd just been using brute force, trying to build a thicker, stronger, and more durable "water pipe"!'
'Using it to withstand the violent "current" of Spiritual Power!'
'But why not… make the current itself more docile?'
'Why not build "meridians" for the engine?!'
Once the thought surfaced, it was impossible to suppress!
At that very moment, the bottleneck that had held him back for three whole days shattered!
A series of crisp notifications exploded in his mind!
[Ding! A paradigm-shifting realization has been detected. Theoretical breakthrough achieved!]
[Professional Skill—Spiritual Energy Engine Principle·Proficient has reached 2000/2000 Skill Proficiency. Automatically upgrading to Spiritual Energy Engine Principle·Mastery!]
[Professional Skill—Mechanical Repair Theory·Proficient has reached 2000/2000 Skill Proficiency. Automatically upgrading to Mechanical Repair Theory·Mastery!]
[Professional Skill—Rune Array Basics·Entry Level has reached 1000/1000 Skill Proficiency. Automatically upgrading to Rune Array Basics·Proficient!]
[Skill Body Sculpting triggered... Initiating Knowledge Empowerment!]
BOOM!
A torrent of information a hundred times vaster than before flooded the depths of Han Feng's soul!
This time, it was more than a mere fusion of knowledge.
His entire understanding of engines was shattered, then reforged from a brand-new, higher-dimensional perspective!
The Spiritual Energy Engine was no longer a cold, lifeless machine!
It was a living body that circulated Energy, possessing "meridians" and "acupoints"!
The combustion chamber was the "Dantian"!
The pressurization chamber was the "Qi Sea"!
The turbine blades were the "body's frame"!
Those complex Spiritual Energy Circuits were the "meridians" that transported Energy!
Countless pieces of knowledge on Artifact Refining, hailing from a higher-dimensional Cultivation Immortality Civilization he had never before encountered, were violently fused into his memory.
'Qi-Guiding Patterns!'
'Spirit Awakening Arrays!'
'Energy Gathering Arrays!'
'Material Activation!'
These concepts, from an entirely different civilizational framework, sparked a violent chemical reaction with the modern Spiritual Energy Technology he had studied!
"So that's how it is…"
Han Feng's eyes flew open, a brilliant light flashing within his pupils!
Every problem that had stumped him before was instantly, brilliantly clear!
The problem was never with the blades, nor with the materials!
The way they were channeling the Energy was wrong from the very beginning!
Without a moment's hesitation, Han Feng lunged for his terminal.
His hands blurred across the virtual light screen, leaving a trail of afterimages!
He didn't bother modifying Chen Gang's incredibly complex "Helmholtz Resonance Trap" model.
He just deleted it!
All of it!
Then, on the blank inner wall of the pressurization chamber, he sketched a series of brand-new patterns with profound and fluid strokes!
—Qi-Guiding Patterns!
They would channel the Spiritual Power, just like widening meridians!
Next, at the root of the turbine blades—the point of highest stress concentration—he designed a miniature Rune Array!
—A Spirit Awakening Array!
It would make the alloy "come alive," allowing it to actively harmonize with and absorb Spiritual Power, rather than passively endure it!
Finally, he added a brand-new Energy Gathering structure at the engine's Spiritual Power intake!
—An Energy Gathering Array!
Its purpose was to "tame" the violent Spiritual Qi in advance, making it docile and orderly!
This was no longer mechanical design!
This was Artifact Refining!
This was using modern technology to replicate the Artifact Refining methods of the Immortal Dao!