Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

On top of that, Leng Yanran had also granted him access to the ship’s database, which to him was a virtually endless treasure trove.

With that in mind, Li Chang’an’s wariness finally eased. He spoke up, ”In that case, wouldn’t it be better for me to go directly to the Imperial Capital and meet you now?”

Leng Yanran shook her head. ”Apologies, but due to the incursion of Dark Energy, the Li Yang Imperial Capital is currently under complete lockdown. And as a Reincarnator, it’s highly likely that you carry Dark Energy yourself. The Imperial Capital is densely populated. If a Dark Tide were to appear in the surrounding Star Realms, the consequences would be devastating. I cannot take that risk!”

Hearing this, Li Chang’an nodded, accepting her explanation.

Once their conversation was over, Leng Yanran’s image quickly vanished.

A moment later, the ship in the distance that had responded to Li Chang’an earlier approached, seemingly with some reluctance.

A woman in her twenties walked out of the ship’s compartment, removed her battle armor, and said, ”Captain, sir. Chief Petty Officer Su Wanrong, of the Battleship Hengyu, Third Universe Fleet of the Liyang Empire, reporting for duty. Awaiting your orders!”

The woman, who introduced herself as Su Wanrong, wore a form-fitting set of Interstellar Navigation Clothing. She was exceptionally beautiful, with a full chest that rose and fell with her breathing.

Of course, those weren’t her most striking features. What stood out most was her head of long, brilliant, cherry-pink hair.

Right now, she was pouting her rosy lips, secretly sizing up Li Chang’an.

Before locating this planet, Su Wanrong had anticipated all sorts of potential incidents and prepared corresponding contingency plans.

These included, but were not limited to, a massive Dark Tide eruption, or natives with overwhelming combat strength threatening the battleship’s safety...

As it turned out, not a single one of her pre-prepared emergency protocols was needed. Instead, the most improbable event of all had occurred—the person who was supposed to be a wanted fugitive had, in a sudden twist, become the captain and supreme commander of her own battleship.

If she hadn’t repeatedly confirmed that the battleship’s command authority had been transferred, and that the directive had come from the highest echelons of power, Su Wanrong would have suspected the ship had been infected by some stray interstellar virus during its journey, causing a critical system failure.

Li Chang’an sized up the pink-haired ’girl’ of indeterminate age before him, then asked after a moment’s thought, ”How many people are stationed on this battleship? Why are you the only one here?”

Hearing his question, Su Wanrong explained, ”This vessel has a total crew of five hundred and forty-two. However, aside from myself and one other person on duty, all other personnel are in deep hibernation...”

She paused, tilting her head after a moment of thought. ”Captain, sir, should I wake them all?”

’A battleship this huge, and it only has a crew of just over five hundred?’

’For real?’

Li Chang’an was left a little dumbfounded.

Seemingly sensing the change in his expression, Su Wanrong kindly explained, ”Strictly speaking, all of the Hengyu’s mechanical functions are handled by its intelligent AI. All we crew members need to do is provide manual override when necessary. Under normal circumstances, we only need two people awake to authorize the ship’s various operations!”

Her explanation, far from clearing up his confusion, only left Li Chang’an even more flabbergasted.

’A colossal battleship of this scale is almost entirely automated? No hands-on human operation is needed throughout its voyage—just a few authorizations are enough to ensure stable interstellar travel...’

This gave him a much more direct understanding of the Liyang Empire’s current level of technology.

’Even the Flying Ships of the Immortal Palace couldn’t do this!’

Seeing his astonished expression, Su Wanrong thought he didn’t believe her and explained in a low voice, ”Interstellar voyages are measured in centuries. Having too many crew members aboard would increase the load on the internal recycling systems!”

At this, Su Wanrong paused to think, counting on her fingers before saying seriously, ”Actually, a crew of over five hundred is already on the larger side. We’re only staffed this heavily for long-range voyages. For short-range trips, the number of personnel can be reduced even further!”

Li Chang’an: ”...”

He said no more, instead looking up at the battleship with a fiery glint in his eyes. He couldn’t wait to ask, ”Are there blueprints for this type of interstellar battleship in the database? Download a copy for me. I want to study them!”

’Never mind anything else, if I could build an interstellar battleship like this back in the Main World, I could probably crush all opposition.’

’No, I wouldn’t even need something so advanced. A ship with just a tenth of this battleship’s capabilities would be enough to grant me an insurmountable advantage over the Main World.’

Su Wanrong stared at him as if he were an idiot. After a long moment, she replied, ”The blueprints for a Hengyu-class interstellar battleship are kept in a sealed vault in the Imperial Capital’s Department of Military Strategy. All records are physical, on paper. There are no backups anywhere else, not even on the network!”

Hearing this, Li Chang’an wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

He was disappointed, naturally, because he couldn’t view the design schematics for such an incredible battleship. He was relieved because, even if he did see the blueprints, he likely couldn’t build one even if he spent a thousand years trying.

After all, once technology reached a certain tier, it was no longer just a test of his personal comprehension, but a test of his civilization’s entire industrial capacity.

Without a doubt, with the pathetic production lines he had in Cangxuan City, it was already a struggle just to produce a Super Electromagnetic Cannon or an Energy Particle Beam Cannon. To scrape together enough materials to build such an immense and terrifying battleship... he probably couldn’t succeed even if he bled the entire Main World dry.

With that thought, Li Chang’an stopped dwelling on the issue of the blueprints. He turned to Su Wanrong and said seriously, ”Please give me a tour of the ship’s interior and grant me access to all the information available to my current clearance level. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Su Wanrong nodded. ”Of course not!”

As she spoke, she beckoned to a smaller ship hovering not far away. Its AI registered the command and quickly maneuvered the vessel in front of Li Chang’an.

A ventral hatch opened, presenting a soft, form-fitting set of Interstellar Navigation Clothing. Su Wanrong handed it to Li Chang’an. ”This is the captain’s suit. Once you put it on, you’ll be connected to the ship’s network. You can communicate with the AI to do anything you need.”

Then, after Li Chang’an had put on the interstellar spacesuit, Su Wanrong led him aboard a small tactical shuttle and returned to the interior of the Constant Star-level Battleship.

...

For a long time after that, Li Chang’an took up residence directly on the Liyang Empire’s massive battleship.

One could only truly grasp the meaning of the phrase ”technological aesthetics” after witnessing the intricate environment inside such a behemoth.

Although Li Chang’an couldn’t learn the battleship’s entire manufacturing process from blueprints, with Su Wanrong and the other on-duty crew member as his guides, he still managed to gather a great deal of useful information thanks to his Heaven-defying Comprehension.

At the very least, his understanding of battleship construction was raised to a whole new level.

After touring the battleship, Li Chang’an began to browse its database, where he discovered records of dozens of Cultivation Methods.

After asking Su Wanrong, Li Chang’an learned that these dozens of Cultivation Methods were merely what this Hengyu-class Battleship had acquired during its current voyage.

The number of Cultivation Methods collected by the Empire proper was far greater.

Unfortunately, the battleship was too far out to connect to the Empire’s central network, so Li Chang’an only had access to limited information. Otherwise, the Imperial database alone would have been more than enough to overwhelm him.

...