Conducting intergenerational cultural research in this era is indeed a conscious task.
For humans, the Solar System is an overly vast region. Its expanse means that signals transmitted at the speed of light take several minutes to tens of minutes to convey. Thus, various areas possess relative independence. The prolonged life of Benchmark Man compared to Homo sapiens, coupled with modern assisted reproduction technology, has lifted the constraints of age from reproduction.
Moreover, the government is practically advancing with the aim of "destroying constructed things." As a result, new cultures struggle to emerge, while the characteristics of past subcultures, on the contrary, possess more lasting life force.
Such characteristics are even more evident in the Neutral City-State.
Among the first-generation residents of the Neutral City-State, there are those who left human society as early as the era of the Fourth Martial God, as well as those who slept through the era of the Sixth Martial God. What further unites them is that they were born in times much earlier; some have parents from the era before the Steal the Country event, while others spent their childhood in that era.
The second-generation residents of the Neutral City-State were born with the help of assisted reproduction technology by the first-generation.
Sandelier is a representative among them. He is a clone of his master.
Sandelier’s master, a One Layer Heaven Martial Artist, once held a position in the security department of the autonomous group formed by the Fourth Martial God. When King Aqini shattered the Space City to pieces, he was escorting workers searching for minerals within Jupiter’s Star Ring, thus escaping disaster.
Sandelier’s master and other fortunate survivors collected people wanting to leave the Jupiter Domain as much as possible and embarked on a long journey.
In the era of the Sixth Martial God, the chain explosions near Prime Deity Star attracted this group of homeless hiding in deep space. Like moths drawn to a flame, they slowly moved towards the remnants of the battlefield.
Old Sandelier subsequently safeguarded the city for a whole hundred years, repelling several air force formations of the government, Mobile Cavalry patrols, and some space pirates.
Until a few decades ago, aging and old injuries began to cause neurodegeneration in Old Sandelier. He attempted to reverse his neural network with Restoring Enzyme but failed, and even his martial arts regressed.
Compared to ordinary people, this old fellow still seemed incredibly strong, but for a One Layer Heaven Martial Artist, his neural reflexes and some skills had deteriorated to become a "fatal shortcoming."
It was during this time that the Neutral City-State proposed creating his clone to continue safeguarding the city.
Old Sandelier was silent for a moment, did not refuse, and merely said, "Martial Ancestor and the others once said: nothing is innately destined... Even possessing the same innate conditions as mine doesn’t mean one is destined to become me."
Sandelier still remembers the scene when his master handed the prosthetic body to him.
The productivity of the Neutral City-State is overly limited. They lack the necessary conditions to produce First Layer Heaven Cyborgs, often taking years to gather enough resources for one. Meanwhile, technology continues to evolve.
For the Neutral City-State, "continuously replacing various components of a First Layer Heaven Cyborg" equates to "spending a dozen years to completely refurbish a machine," ensuring combat readiness at any time while preventing accidents and being relatively economical. The most update n0vels are published on NovelHub(.)net
Sandelier inherited his master’s prosthetic body, which was everyone’s expectation.
Sandelier was born with a mission and embraced it all.
He is the pillar of the entire City of Ur, the core strength of Ur.
Upon hearing about the Martial Arts School area’s issues, this pillar of Ur was the fastest to receive intelligence.
"Hmm, unfamiliar Martial Artists, magnetic chain weapons... The vibration just now was indeed due to unfamiliar Martial Artists..." He nodded: "Have we hired Martial Artists from Nebula Streaming Dojo for assessment?"
"Yes," the subordinate replied, "However, there are very few video records, and many intelligence records have been deleted. Currently, the only thing we know is... ’extremely high level.’"
Sandelier laughed out loud: "Isn’t that just saying nothing at all? So, what about the Martial Artist mentioned in the report? That... the one who deflected a deadly move with a steel pipe, the non-One Layer Heaven Martial Artist. Has she come to assist in the investigation? Can I meet her?"
"Actually, she has requested to meet you, sir," the subordinate said.
Sandelier was somewhat curious: "Oh? Wants to meet me? Is it to seek my protection?"
"Don’t know. She didn’t say why she wants to meet you."
"Interesting." Sandelier nodded: "Then let me meet her. Where is she now?"
"Just near your office area."
Sandelier’s office area is located at the top tier of Ur City. This area was transformed from the bridge part of the flagship escort ship of the Sky Star Fleet. It seems that the place was entirely cut off by lasers, yet the edges were not exposed to sunlight, nor had much dust entered, so many functions are relatively intact. The escort ship’s original heavier armor and stronger defensive magnetic fields can be activated.
Sandelier can conveniently set out from here.
Sandelier left the bridge area and made his way down.
He met Jeanne who was waiting.
Jeanne’s feat with a steel pipe breaking the killer move of a One Layer Heaven Martial Artist truly astonished a crowd of Neutral City-State Martial Artists. Some also hoped she wouldn’t enter key parts of the city—since even a Martial Artist without the powerful prosthetic body powered by a reactor could cause massive damage.
Theoretically, such a Martial Artist has a slight chance to counterattack and surpass a major threshold.
Moreover, this Martial Artist clashed repeatedly with Mobile Cavalry and mysterious One Layer Heaven Martial Artists in just two days...
The Neutral City-State dared not let her enter the confidential areas.
Jeanne, however, expected this and stood outside, examining the structure of the surrounding "buildings." After looking at Sandelier, she quickly asked Xiang Shan: [What do you think?]
Tumor Xiang Shan hesitated slightly: [Just looking at martial techniques alone, not strong enough. To be precise, weaker than that of the Six Dragons Sect.]
[Does he have a chance?]
[That’s really hard to say. Martial techniques aren’t everything. This person’s prosthetic body capabilities can only be conjectured based on intelligence. What if the actual output far exceeds intelligence records?] Tumor Xiang Shan replied: [If that One Layer Heaven Martial Artist from the Six Dragons Sect received a bit of damage in the previous wave and happens to lack the opportunity to maintain the prosthetic body, while this person is in perfect condition, launched a sneak attack, and gained an advantage, then the chance wouldn’t be small.]
Jeanne nodded and said to Sandelier, "Sir, please be particularly careful with the One Layer Heaven Martial Artist mentioned in the intelligence. If nothing unexpected occurs, his martial techniques are much stronger than yours."