Chapter 514: Zhang Yu's Core Formation Simulation Score

Chapter 514: Zhang Yu’s Golden Core Simulation Score

As a flicker of light and shadow danced before his eyes, a black-and-gold scroll slowly unfurled within Zhang Yu’s ocular implants. Its archaic aura and noble hues felt as if a mysterious world were being unveiled right before him.

“Welcome to Golden Core Direct.”

“Golden Core Direct is a renowned, complimentary Golden Core guidance tool. We provide free services including Golden Core benchmarking, cultivation guidance, vulnerability detection, artifact-bone testing, spirit-tool optimization, energy-saving cooling, and intelligent upgrades.”

“Would you like to activate the Golden Core Direct Premium Edition?”

Staring at the two options below—one to log in with an existing Premium account and the other to purchase Premium access—Zhang Yu simply clicked the ‘X’ in the top right corner.

The next moment, the archaic aura and noble colors vanished entirely. The black-and-gold scroll transformed into something resembling a common school workbook, and several of its more sophisticated features seemed to fade into obscurity.

How did it feel to Zhang Yu? It was like holding a secret manual that had suddenly devolved from the Nine Yang Divine Skill into a basic, amateurish punch.

But Zhang Yu didn’t mind. Ugly or stripped-down, it didn’t matter; getting him to pay was out of the question.

As soon as he opened the workbook, a notification popped up in his ocular implants: External service requests detection permissions. Do you agree? Yes/No.

Golden Core Direct: Detection of artifact-bones has not been authorized. Please grant permission to obtain a more accurate benchmark score.

Zhang Yu, naturally, had no intention of letting them scan his artifact-bones. He chose ‘No,’ then clicked the largest button on the workbook to begin the Golden Core simulation benchmark.

Throughout the testing process, Golden Core Direct bombarded him with notifications, demanding access to every corner of his body.

Zhang Yu simply clicked ‘No’ to each one.

Consequently, a series of registration boxes appeared, requiring Zhang Yu to manually input details about his physical state, including his artifact-bones, cultivation techniques, and baseline data.

If he could provide official documentation from his school, these figures might be verified.

Zhang Yu filled them out one by one, though he omitted the vast majority of the techniques he had mastered.

In particular, black-market techniques like the Immeasurable Heart Internal Body were strictly off-limits.

Other assets, such as the Chain-Law Diagrams and Dao-Seed Catalog, were likewise kept off the record.

Once Zhang Yu finished, his final result emerged: You have achieved a high score of 81,372 in the Golden Core simulation benchmark, surpassing 86% of students. [Click to Share]

Golden Core Direct: During the benchmark, 37 cultivation flaws were detected. Please rectify them as soon as possible. [Click for One-Click Rectification]

Curious, Zhang Yu clicked through and discovered issues like missing hand artifact-bones, organ deficiencies, and spinal gaps, each followed by a list of recommended hardware.

Clearly, because Zhang Yu lacked sufficient artifact-bones, he had lost significant points in this category.

Beyond that, there were suggestions for surgical meridian modifications to improve mana circulation, Dantian configuration optimization, and muscle response enhancements—a barrage of proposed surgeries, drug regimens, and Dao-art solidification schemes.

Then came the issues regarding technique optimization, updates, and upgrades, followed by recommendations to use newer versions, switch to upgraded variants, or practice different types of techniques to compensate for his current shortcomings.

Looking at these cultivation vulnerabilities, Zhang Yu, who had felt quite confident moments ago, suddenly felt as if his entire body were riddled with flaws.

“But I do have a lot of room for improvement,” Zhang Yu mused to himself.

“Military-grade techniques, military-grade artifact-bones, military-grade artifacts... I need these not just to win the Top Ten League, but to forge my Golden Core in the future.”

“Once I win the Top Ten League, I’ll definitely need to max out my credits early and graduate a few years ahead of schedule.”

“The sooner I finish these tasks, the sooner I win the league, the sooner I graduate, and the sooner I break through to the Golden Core stage...”

As he closed the benchmark results, a new list appeared on the Golden Core Direct interface.

“Golden Core Seed Ranking? Updated daily?”

Zhang Yu looked at the list, his heart stirring. “This is the ranking for the Foundation Establishment stage, based on current Golden Core simulation scores?”

He scanned it and noticed a separate list for the actual Golden Core stage, but that was far beyond his reach, and he had no interest in looking.

“It must have detected that I’m a university student at the Foundation Establishment stage and automatically displayed the Golden Core Seed Ranking.”

Zhang Yu instinctively looked at the top spot. “The first place is from Heaven Demon University? 510,000 points?”

“Second place is from Wanfa University? Dao-Art Department, Dao Qiankun, 509,881 points. That’s only a hair’s breadth away from first place?”

Zhang Yu continued down the list, noting that the Golden Core Seed Ranking was almost entirely dominated by students from the Top Ten universities.

He tried to click on Dao Qiankun in second place to see if he could view the person’s profile.

When he clicked, he could only see basic information, such as the fact that the individual was an undergraduate in the Dao-Art Department at Wanfa University.

Everything else—the three cultivation flaws listed beneath the avatar, the 1,233 cultivation change alerts, the 99+ technique practice logs, the seven equipped artifact-bones, spiritual root details, and news feeds—was completely inaccessible.

Golden Core Direct: Please purchase Premium services to view more information.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I’m not buying it.”

He scrolled down further and soon found himself past the 500th spot.

Of course, it wasn’t that he was ranked 500th; the list only recorded the top 500, and below that, it simply stated that Zhang Yu was ranked 500+, having yet to enter the Golden Core Seed Ranking.

As for exactly where he stood, it was impossible to tell.

Just as Zhang Yu was browsing the rankings, notifications kept popping up in his ocular implants.

Golden Core Direct: 37 cultivation flaws detected. [Click to view]

Golden Core Direct: Your friends might have higher scores. Pay to view others’ simulation benchmarks.

Golden Core Direct: Sensitive artifact-bones detected as unencrypted.

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but frown. “Unencrypted?”

Fuji reminded him, “Don’t pay any attention to it. They’re just trying to trick you into giving them access to your ocular implants.”

“Your implants were encrypted by Zhang Pianpian. Given her proficiency in talismans, there shouldn’t be any issues there.”

Watching the Golden Core Direct continue to spew notifications, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but curse, “This piece of junk talks way too much.”

Just then, one specific notification caught his eye.

Golden Core Direct: Click to share benchmark data and receive a free Premium skin.

...

While Zhang Yu was running his Golden Core simulation benchmark.

Deep within the Spirit Realm, in a small, private group chat inaccessible to outsiders.

Ziyun Zhen, ranked 4th in the Artifact Refining class, said: I can’t believe they actually let him transfer.

Class Rank 4 Ziyun Zhen: This Zhang Yu has spent three years in the Civil Engineering Department. Does he even understand the first thing about Artifact Refining?

Ziyun Zhen added with some resentment: And the moment he arrives, he’s ranked 48th in the entire department and 2nd in our class. What kind of nonsense is this?

Ziyun Zhen: Do those comprehensive scores from the Civil Engineering Department even count for a transfer?

Ziyun Zhen: Zhang Yu should have started over from his freshman year. Why on earth was he transferred into our junior year?

Another artifact-refining student named Rong Xuan chimed in: I don’t know what the Department Head was thinking, bringing in a Civil Engineering student.

Class Rank 8 Rong Xuan: I feel like the class group chat has started to smell like dirt ever since he joined.

Rong Xuan: Sigh, I don’t even want to post in that group anymore.

Rank 4 Ziyun Zhen: You were just welcoming him in the group earlier.

Rong Xuan: I had to give face to Magnetic Pole True Monarch, didn’t I?

Rank 4 Ziyun Zhen: He’s just an experimental subject paired with a God-Transformation grade Yin-artifact in the lab. Playing around in the lab is one thing, but to bring him into the Artifact Refining Department so brazenly... I heard the guy only has one set of ocular implants and not a single artifact-bone anywhere else on his body. It’s just... sigh...

Just then, the student ranked 1st in the class, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

Su Yunni: Watch your tongue.

Zi Yunzhen: I am merely speaking up for everyone here.

Zi Yunzhen: Why should the Artifact Refining department, having poured so much capital into these three years, be overshadowed by some lowly civil engineering hack?

The small group chat erupted in a flurry of dissent, most of the students expressing their deep resentment toward the inclusion of the civil engineering student, Zhang Yu, into their ranks.

Just then, Rong Xuan, ranked eighth, chimed in: Look at the main class group, everyone—that Zhang Yu just posted his Golden Core simulation score.

Zhang Yu: I have achieved a high score of 81,372 in the Golden Core simulation, surpassing 86% of all students. [Click to share]

This was already the highest Golden Core score in the entire class.

In an instant, the once-raucous group chat fell into a deathly silence.

After a long pause, Zi Yunzhen slowly typed: How could his score possibly be this high? Could he have faked it?

Someone replied: It’s verified; it shouldn't be fake. Besides, faking it would only bring shame upon himself.

Su Yunni, ranked first in the class, interjected: I used my premium membership to examine his results.

Su Yunni: The primary boost came from the military-grade technique, "Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Power."

Su Yunni: Beyond that, his foundation is solid, and he has cultivated quite a few techniques.

Su Yunni: If he were to equip more Dharma remains, his score would likely be even higher.

Zi Yunzhen: So that’s how it is.

Zi Yunzhen: The civil engineering curriculum is simple and lacks competition, which allowed him to acquire a military-grade technique so early.

Zi Yunzhen: But no matter how many points that "Heavenly Kunlun" technique adds, it offers no help to his actual artifact refining skills.

Zi Yunzhen: Let him show off while he can; once the final exam results are out, his rankings will inevitably plummet.

Although the majority of the class shared this sentiment, faced with Zhang Yu’s superior Golden Core simulation score, they could no longer bring themselves to mock him openly, choosing instead to wait for the final exams to witness his inevitable failure in artifact refining.

What could a civil engineering dog who spent three years on construction sites possibly know about refining?

At that moment, Su Yunni, ranked first, asked Zi Yunzhen, ranked fourth: When will you come to help at my company?

Zi Yunzhen: I still have some things to consider.

Su Yunni: No worries, the position remains open for you at any time.

Zi Yunzhen knew that the artifact service company Su Yunni ran was primarily involved in the recycling and maintenance of second-hand magical treasures.

Though joining her company would mean losing a significant cut to agency fees, the access to a higher volume of orders would provide a substantial boost to her income.

Zi Yunzhen then reached out to Ye Xingli, asking: Senior Sister, are you still taking orders for the Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Formula?

...

Having finished his Golden Core simulation, Zhang Yu quickly arrived at the laboratory to resume his cultivation.

Streams of true fire surged forth, undulating with the shifts in his hand seals, licking at the second-hand artifacts before him.

Several hours later, the colors of the true fire shifted, drifting around Zhang Yu’s side like agile, swimming fish.

Fire Control Divine Mirror: Level 10.

Zhang Yu felt a jolt of spirit, thinking that this third technique of his "Artifact Refining Prodigy" talent had finally reached level ten, bringing him one step closer to completing the chain of techniques.

"Cultivating the Fire Control Divine Mirror is far too troublesome; every time I refine a second-hand artifact, it costs a fortune. If the quality isn't up to par, it’s hard to sell. It has truly drained my pockets."

"With a level ten Fire Control Divine Mirror, whether I’m selling the refined artifacts directly or offering my services, it should be much easier to turn a profit."

Just then, Zhang Yu received a message.

Ye Xingli: Junior Brother, are you still taking orders for the Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Formula?

(End of chapter)