"Where am I..."

  Xia Li looked around in confusion. His memory still lingered on when he'd just laid down in the modification pod.

  He quickly realized he was dreaming, but this dream was very strange.

  He was in a very dilapidated alley.

  The surrounding environment was clearly New Tokyo—he could see the Upper City towering like a divine tower.

  Before Xia Li could figure out what was happening, someone suddenly shouted in his ear:

  "Muneyasu! Those guys are here!"

  The next moment...

  Countless blurry figures rushed out from around the alley corner. Xia Li felt fury rising in his heart.

  This made his consciousness blur, creating doubt about his sense of "self."

  Who was he?

  Xia Li?

  Or Kondo Muneyasu?

  But his body had already begun swinging the blade on its own.

  Dodge, slash, thrust—his body moved like flowing water. The blade felt like part of his body, and the sensation of moving didn't feel like Heaven Chip controlling him.

  Rather, it was sharper, quicker muscle memory!

  Every time he raised the blade, he instinctively held his breath, contracted his abdomen, and stepped forward. Only when the blade moved did he exhale the turbid air.

  Inhale while raising the blade, exhale while swinging!

  Amidst flashing blades, in close-quarters combat with enemies, he thrillingly evaded with minimal movements—even the dodging itself was for gathering power.

  Step aside while raising the blade!

  Step back while lifting the blade!

  Even slashing connected to dodging, using the recoil from clashing blades to leap backward.

  His body was rejoicing...

  But enemies seemed endless. Fortunately, his strength was also inexhaustible.

  Who knows how long passed before he finally fell to a swordsman stronger than himself.

  The other looked down at him with contempt. Though the face was blurry, he could feel that condescending gaze.

  "Do you admit your failure?"

  "My failure... how much is it worth?"

  "That requires subsequent evaluation."

  "Give the spirit stones... to my younger brother."

  "Very well."

  The other reached toward his head...

  Then, as everything went black.

  It suddenly brightened.

  Xia Li opened his eyes and sat up from the modification pod.

  "Liu Sheng Qianzao, what did you install in me!"

  Xia Li was nearly roaring. The feeling of his brain being forcibly occupied made him extremely uncomfortable.

  Liu Sheng Qianzao stood quietly beside the modification pod, apparently unsurprised by Xia Li's anger.

  "Calm down. The personality remnants will disappear within three days at most. You can also have your Heaven Chip scan and completely erase the previous owner's data residue."

  "So what exactly is going on?"

  "This is what I warned you about before—failure also has value. Your life experiences have a price, as long as you're willing to sell."

  "Tch..."

  Xia Li clutched his head, still feeling very uncomfortable. Yet he now had high proficiency with blades.

  Kondo Muneyasu's combat memories had merged into him, becoming his own combat memories.

  Every battle in the dream seemed vivid—every post-battle reflection, how to kill more effectively, dodge more precisely—all remained in his heart.

  "These combat memories aren't completely yours yet, since your physical condition differs from the original owner's. You need actual combat to digest these memories."

  "Strange feeling, right? It's like eating people—eating the failures, turning them into nutrients for your growth. This is the final value of failures—to be eaten!"

  Liu Sheng Qianzao was accustomed to all this, so she didn't find anything wrong. But Xia Li felt nauseated by her wording.

  This was indeed cannibalism.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Another form of cannibalism.

  "You should have asked my opinion first!"

  "There's no time for you to adapt. All I can do is throw the rules here directly in your face for you to experience."

  "At least give me a heads-up!"

  "Next time, definitely."

  Liu Sheng Qianzao smiled and extended her hand to pull Xia Li up from the modification pod.

  "From now on, when you kill enemies, if circumstances allow, you can ask at the end whether they admit defeat."

  "If they do, you can take their Heaven Chip containing combat memories. Though usually you need to sign a contract with them and fulfill their final wishes."

  "This is also the value of failure—letting the loser keep their dignity at the end."

  Liu Sheng Qianzao's words gave Xia Li some insight.

  This was a transformation of identity—turning mortal enemies into a buyer-seller relationship. Because it was a "sacred" transaction, it was respected by Corporate Union.

  "Similarly, if you face a certain-death situation, you can also admit defeat."

  "You could even set conditions, asking the other party to kill Jin Xiutai. Whether they agree is another matter."

  "Mm..."

  Xia Li nodded with a somewhat heavy heart. After all, Liu Sheng Qianzao was describing his dead end—he didn't want to reach that point.

  Didn't want to be eaten...

  Then he could only eat others, gaining more useful memories, turning them into his own power.

  It was basically the same as demonic cultivation on the other side.

  "Alright, I've opened permissions for you. Next, connect to Yagyu Military Industries' internal network and select your techniques. I've also prepared two blades for you."

  "This one you've seen before—Demon Blade Muramasa · Replica."

  Liu Sheng Qianzao brought out that blade forged from demon materials again.

  The blade was blue-purple, faintly emanating an ominous aura.

  "Demon blades slay demons. Demons have extremely strong vitality—only demon materials can effectively harm demons. It's a predatory relationship within the same ecological niche. Non-demon material weapons against demons often yield poor results."

  After saying this, Liu Sheng Qianzao produced another blade.

  This was a very refined modern blade. Even unsheathed, Xia Li could feel sharp energy emanating from it.

  "Yagyu Ichimonji. The name tells you it's Yagyu Military Industries' product. Demon blades are good but less effective against humans, and if damaged, it's a big loss. So for killing humans, you need steel blades."

  "Demon blades slay demons, steel blades kill humans. Remember?"

  Liu Sheng Qianzao now held a blade in each hand, offering both to Xia Li.

  Xia Li took them and stored them directly in his phase ring, then pulled out the kinetic blade he'd bought before. He still found that thing more useful.

  Seeing this, Liu Sheng Qianzao just shook her head.

  "That type of blade doesn't suit local techniques. Forcing its use would actually weaken you. The Yagyu Ichimonji I gave you is at least made of seed steel—hardness and sharpness meet your requirements."

  "Seed steel?"

  Xia Li could roughly understand—it should be a spirit-tech material, a super alloy combining spiritual energy with modern technology.

  "Consider it a local specialty. Blades made from seed steel are collectively called seed steel blades. While they have no special abilities, their durability is excellent—they can self-repair and fully showcase your own techniques."

  "The one I gave you is made of special seed steel. Above special is star seed, king seed, emperor seed. If you have spirit stones..."

  "Not rushing to change! Let me try these first."

  Xia Li knew Liu Sheng Qianzao was about to push more sales and immediately shook his head. He still hadn't fully decided whether to do as the Romans do.

  Xia Li still preferred hot weapons.