Chapter 511: Artifact Refining Path, Gold Core Score Estimate

Chapter 511: The Path of Artifice, The Measure of a Golden Core

Obtaining relevant certifications through military examinations is, quite obviously, the most conventional and common practice for the vast majority of majors at Wanfa University.

Yet, within the elite Department of Artifice, the quantity and channels for issuing military certifications are significantly more abundant than those in the Department of Civil Engineering.

At this moment, True Monarch Magnetic Pole was explaining the intricacies of this system to Zhang Yu.

"Military Artifice Engineering Certifications are divided into two categories: Class A and Class B."

"Class A encompasses various artifacts, dharma remains, armor, flying swords, puppets, and other finished products of artifice."

"Beyond passing examinations, there are other channels for obtaining a Class A certification. For instance, if one produces a prototype of a military-grade artifact and passes the technical skill assessment and review, one can be granted the certification in advance."

"Class B, on the other hand, focuses primarily on the cultivation techniques of artifice."

"To secure a Class B Military Artifice Engineering Certification, aside from passing the relevant exams, there are also methods for early conferral, such as the annual Artifact Design Competition, Dharma Remains Design Competition, Flying Sword Design Competition..."

"These design competitions prioritize innovation and conceptual ability rather than concrete craftsmanship."

"Take your senior sister, Ye Xingli, for example. She placed in the top five among a hundred schools in the Dharma Remains Design Competition; her entry was patented, and she was directly granted a Class B Military Artifice Engineering Certification, allowing her to cultivate the 'Great Void Divine Artifact Strategy'."

"Later, she independently completed the prototype for the 'Vacuum Catastrophe Map,' passed the technical skill assessment and review, and secured her Class A certification. She has now fully realized the Vacuum Catastrophe Map."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole smiled faintly, flicking his finger to conjure a display of light and shadow, listing Ye Xingli’s dense resume.

It was filled with rankings from various competitions, products derived from her designs, and her academic records and comprehensive scores—it was enough to make Zhang Yu’s head spin.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued: "Once you enter the Department of Artifice, you can follow this same route to secure both certifications as early as possible. After all, whether it is cultivation techniques or dharma remains, the sooner you utilize military-grade resources, the sooner you begin accumulating the capital for your future cultivation."

"Currently, in the undergraduate stage, Foundation Establishment is the peak. To obtain a Golden Core Qualification Certificate, one must pursue postgraduate studies."

"But that does not mean one should be idle during the undergraduate years. While breaking through to the Golden Core realm is simple, the gap between one Golden Core and another... is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. Many top students, even after fulfilling their credit requirements, are in no rush to graduate early; they are busy preparing for their future Golden Core breakthrough."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole added: "In the past, the Golden Core was divided into nine grades. A third-grade core was already considered a peerless genius, and a first-grade core could enter a major sect directly."

Zhang Yu asked with concern: "And now?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied: "The nine-grade classification is considered too crude. Nowadays, we connect to the Spirit Realm and run a benchmark score. A score of 10,000 is barely passable, 100,000 is excellent, 300,000 makes one a leader among peers in any school, and anything above 500,000 is a Golden Core among Golden Cores."

Zhang Yu quickly asked: "What kind of Golden Core earns a high score?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole said: "It is a two-stage process: before the Golden Core and after."

"How to increase your score after forming the core is far off for you, so we shall not discuss it today."

"Let us focus on the preparations before the core is formed."

"To forge a high-quality Golden Core, one must first purchase an Inner Core. The higher the quality, the higher the price. It is fair to say that money is indispensable if one wishes to break through to the Golden Core realm."

"Secondly, during the forging process, the practitioner’s own spiritual roots, cultivation techniques, and the quality of their dharma remains all exert a significant influence on the core's score. The higher the quality, the higher the resulting score."

"If one has other high-quality artifacts, medicinal pills, or formation diagrams as assistance, that is even better."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole concluded: "Simply put, mastering more and stronger military-grade techniques, dharma remains, and artifacts results in a higher Golden Core score."

"Therefore, during your university years, you must seize the time to accumulate immortal resources and master more military-grade power; only then can you forge a superior Golden Core faster and better in the future."

Zhang Yu nodded. This did not conflict with his plan to accumulate strength for the Ten Great Leagues Grand Slam.

However, he felt some apprehension regarding the route proposed by the True Monarch.

Zhang Yu asked: "Teacher, you said one can obtain a Class B certification by placing in design competitions? Is that not incredibly difficult?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied: "Design competitions rely heavily on inspiration and talent; it is the path least dependent on wealth or background."

"By taking this route, you secure the Class B certification first, cultivate military-grade artifice techniques, and your craftsmanship will improve daily. At that point, creating a prototype for a Class A certification becomes effortless."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu felt an increasing sense of unease.

It was not that he lacked inspiration or talent in artifice, but rather that the 'Yu Book' currently appeared to lack them.

If the Yu Book provided no bonuses for inspiration or design, how could he, Zhang Yu, display his peerless talent?

Zhang Yu intuitively felt: "Restricted by the Yu Book, it is highly likely that I am not suited for the design competition path."

Thus, he asked: "Then what if I go directly to manufacturing a prototype for a military-grade artifact to secure the Class A certification first?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole laughed, saying: "Let us take the 'Heavenly Sun Radiant God' as an example." As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and a dense web of light and shadow emerged.

It was a skill tree, tangled and interconnected like the roots of a tree.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued: "To build the Heavenly Sun Radiant God, one must at least master Advanced Thermal Spirit Energy Technology. To master that, one must master the seven basic technologies beneath it, and to master those seven..."

Zhang Yu listened for a while, his head beginning to ache. He thought to himself: "To master one technology, I must master its foundations, and to master those foundations, I must master the foundations of the foundations, and then the foundations of the foundations of the foundations..."

Looking at the dense skill tree, Zhang Yu mused: "When on earth does this learning ever end?"

Observing Zhang Yu’s dazed expression, True Monarch Magnetic Pole asked: "Do you understand now?"

"Learning the military-grade artifice technique first, especially the department's 'Great Void Divine Artifact Strategy,' allows you to move faster on the path of artifice. It allows you to skip many technical hurdles in material refinement, artifact shaping, and spiritual power transmission, enabling you to do what others cannot through the technique alone, saving a great deal of time."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking: "It’s much like someone still diligently learning true fire processing techniques, while another person cultivates the 'Fire-Controlling Divine Mirror' to master true fire directly."

But as Zhang Yu recalled the memories of artifice in his mind, another thought emerged, and he suddenly asked: "Teacher, if I were to refine an artifact related to this Advanced Thermal Spirit Energy Technology, would I not have mastered the technology itself?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole chuckled: "If you do not master the relevant technology, how could you possibly refine the artifact?"

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "That is not necessarily true."

He recalled every time he practiced an artifice blueprint and mastered the techniques for creating various artifacts.

Especially whenever he upgraded through the Yu Book, a vast amount of experience and knowledge would emerge in his mind.

This led Zhang Yu to realize: "The twenty-fold acceleration of the Taiqing Realm already makes my learning speed very fast."

"Plus, there is the simulated reality laboratory, which allows me to conduct experiments over and over again."

"Furthermore, the Yu Book only cares about the number of repetitions, not the quality."

"As long as I fully utilize the power of the Yu Book, through repeated accelerated practice and mastering the refinement of various artifacts, I can conversely achieve a rapid and deep mastery of the underlying technologies."

"In that case, it probably won't take too long for me to meet the requirements for refining a military-grade prototype."

"Isn't that far more reliable than participating in some design competition?"

At this thought, Zhang Yu’s heart stirred; he already had a vague plan.

In his eyes, the technologies listed in the light screen for refining military-grade artifacts were no longer just technologies; they had become blueprints for artifacts.

As long as he mastered these blueprints, he would master the techniques for refining military-grade artifacts.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s gaze shifted, and he looked at Zhang Yu: "Hmm? It seems you have already made a decision?"

Zhang Yu said: "Teacher, I would like to try refining a prototype of a military-grade artifact first to see if I can secure the Class A certification."

"Oh?" True Monarch Magnetic Pole felt a stir in his heart, silently sighing: "Although this path is much more difficult and time-consuming, one learns more, the foundation is solid, and there is the potential for great accumulation leading to a breakthrough."

"I did not expect him to choose this path even after I showed him how difficult it would be."

"If you wish to brave it, so be it," True Monarch Magnetic Pole said calmly. "In any case, the next design competition is still months away. Use this time to learn as much as you can. If you feel you cannot handle it halfway through, you can always change your approach."

Hearing that the True Monarch supported his decision, Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Teacher, which military-grade artifact do you think I should target?"

"Refining an artifact is simpler than a dharma remains. However, the 'Taihao Sacred Law Sword Array' involves both flying swords and sword formations; there is too much remedial work for you to do there."

"The 'Vacuum Catastrophe Map' involves several profound Daoist arts; not only would you need to catch up on lessons, but the cultivation itself would be prohibitively expensive."

"The 'Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor' has not been fully deciphered yet; it is too early for you."

"When all is said and done, the only thing that truly suits you is the Celestial Sun-Radiance Deity."

"As it happens, the Deity is but a puppet; should you succeed in forging it, it will not only assist in your labors and experiments, but the knowledge and skills embedded within will prove invaluable for your future mastery of Dharma-remains."

With these words, the Magnetic Pole Monarch transmitted the blueprints for the prototype of the Celestial Sun-Radiance Deity to Zhang Yu.

This prototype fell short of military-grade, ranking merely as a top-tier enterprise-level artifact, yet its successful completion would signify that the crafter possessed the capability to forge the full-fledged Deity.

Beyond this, as Zhang Yu unfurled the schematics, he discovered that the Monarch had meticulously annotated every component with the requisite courses, theories, and techniques; everything was laid bare at a glance, sparing the student the aimless wandering of one seeking guidance in the dark.

(End of Chapter)