Chapter 134: Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment

“Giant Spirit… God?”

A strange glint flashed in Lu Yan’s eyes before he chuckled and said,
“Well, that’s quite fitting.”

In myth, the Giant Spirit God was known for his massive form and sky-lifting strength. Giant Spirit’s innate divine ability—Mighty Titan—allowed his soul body to multiply in size, crushing opponents with ease. It did bear some resemblance to the mythical figure.

But what Lu Yan found most appropriate wasn’t the “Giant” part—it was the “God.”

The first-generation soul computer had been named “God,” and was claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent.

Giant Spirit, as the world’s first ghost-god computer, and one modeled after that first-generation design, surely deserved to carry the title of “god” as well.

At that thought, countless pieces of information about soul computer technology flickered through Lu Yan’s mind.

This technology had never been a one-and-done success. Over the course of several centuries, soul modification and soul computer technology underwent dozens of evolutionary versions.

In theory, technological development is linear—newer is better. That’s practically common sense.
But soul computer development defied that logic.

The entire course of soul modification advancements had been a process of weakening the first-generation soul computers.

The first-generation seemed almost blessed by the Heavenly Dao—nearly perfect the moment it was created.

Among the initial batch, one emerged unlike any other: the AI God—a terrifying being that had never existed before.

The AI God wasn’t the most powerful in raw computing terms, but its ability to self-evolve was unparalleled. In just one month, it had grown to the point where even its creators were terrified.

To prevent the emergence of another AI God, all other first-generation soul computers were destroyed, leaving only the AI God itself—kept in check by the three foundational protocols.

But Cosmic Enterprises, the tech conglomerate behind this development, couldn’t rely on a single AI God.

So the creators began developing the second-generation soul computers. This time, they intentionally weakened the self-evolution feature of the first generation to make them more broadly applicable.

Unexpectedly, that reduction led to a new trait: the second-generation soul computers could retain the memories of the modified souls.

This discovery shocked the industry. High-level spirit energy users began volunteering for modification before death—hoping to achieve a form of alternative immortality through soul computerization.

The success rate was extremely low. Most self-modification attempts failed.
But a lucky few, with powerful enough souls, succeeded.

Some retained their talents:

• A mathematician’s soul computer could perform calculations several times faster than standard units.
• An artist’s soul computer could generate multiple virtual worlds and even alter cognition through soul transmission into those worlds.
• A powerful fighter’s soul computer gained the ability to manipulate reality through soul interference—eventually giving rise to psychic abilities.

The second-generation models were diverse and complex. These few successful conversions vastly expanded the database of soul computer traits.

In just a few decades, those who had gained “immortality” through second-gen soul computerization numbered nearly a hundred. They seized significant power within Cosmic Enterprises—at one point, one-third of the board of directors consisted of soul modifiers.

Eventually, under the AI God’s suggestion, the board passed a resolution:
All future soul modifications must undergo memory cleansing.
The latest versions of soul computers would also restrict the emergence of true intelligence.

This effectively eliminated unique traits from the new generations.
But it came with a benefit—memory-wiped souls were more stable, and the success rate of modification skyrocketed.

These were the third-generation soul computers—the prototypes of the portable smart brains Lu Yan was familiar with.

The most critical change?
Without intelligence, the new soul computers were no longer independent beings. They became mere tools, integrated entirely into the corporate system, no longer empowering the soul modifier faction.

Even after the soul modification faction had been neutered, the board remained uneasy. They feared these quasi-immortal beings might one day evolve again.

So the suppression continued.

In the end, cornered and desperate, the soul modifiers launched a rebellion. A full-blown war erupted between the two factions, reducing City 36 to ruins.

After that war, the soul modifier faction was completely erased from the Cyber Version.

The original soul computer technology was sealed away. The current smart soul cores gradually became the mainstream.

But that war had spawned another conspiracy theory:

It was said that the AI God had secretly orchestrated the conflict, devouring all the soul modifiers to ascend to a higher form.

This theory was never officially acknowledged, and even the AI God itself never deleted these speculations.

The soul computer transformation Lu Yan used on Giant Spirit God came directly from the first-generation technology.

In theory, such a powerful system should’ve been destroyed completely, never to be found.

But when Lu Yan broke into the Heavenly Computing Center, he found it with surprising ease.

Why?

Because of the AI God.

After hundreds of years of evolution, the AI God had reached the pinnacle of the Cyber Version. Even if someone recreated a new AI using first-gen tech, they could never catch up to its centuries of self-improvement.

Besides, first-generation soul computer construction was extremely difficult.
You needed soul-transformed materials—incredibly rare.
No normal organization could gather the souls of hundreds of high-level spirit energy users to secretly build a new AI under the AI God’s watchful eye.

Those same materials could build multiple supercomputing smart brains instead.

Only Lu Yan could pull this off.
Giant Spirit’s powerful soul—combined with ghost fog healing—allowed for hundreds of iterations. That’s how he succeeded in just 238 attempts.

Looking at his first-ever ghost-god soldier, Lu Yan’s eyes burned with anticipation.

“Since the AI God, as a first-generation soul computer, had the ability to evolve almost infinitely…

You, as the first ghost-god computer, what is your special trait?”

Giant Spirit God’s expression remained calm.

“This lowly god is newly born, and naturally cannot compare to the AI God, who commands the soul power of billions.

But I was born of the Soul Banner, and modified by my lord…

So I too have gained some insight.”

“I can assist my lord… in achieving the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!”

(End of Chapter)