Chapter 571: Blueprint Design Completed, Simulation Test (Thanks to 'Mu')

Chapter 571: Blueprint Finalized, Simulation Test (Thanks to 'Mu Bai Jin Yu' for sponsoring the Fu Ji colleague alliance)

The testing site was located at a military academy roughly equidistant from the top ten universities.

Zhang Yu was ushered into a sealed room to await the start of the examination.

During this time, he saw neither the judges nor a single fellow contestant.

Once the test officially commenced, as the requirements and rules flickered into his vision, Zhang Yu felt his connection to the Spirit Realm abruptly sever.

"Is a network disconnection required during the test?"

Zhang Yu checked the regulations and, sure enough, they stated that access to the public Spirit Realm network was prohibited.

However, the organizers provided a local Spirit Realm network, allowing access to reference materials they had prepared.

After scanning the rules, Zhang Yu turned his attention to the specific requirements of the test.

He synthesized the information in his mind, whispering to himself: "I see. I must design a magical artifact capable of searching for, collecting, picking up, and transporting items across a complex terrain plagued by constant lightning and fire."

"Once the blueprint is complete, the artifact will undergo a simulated test within the Spirit Realm."

"The more items picked up and transported within the allotted time, the higher the score."

Zhang Yu’s gaze shifted as he reviewed the Spirit Realm’s simulation data regarding the testing grounds.

It was a ten-square-kilometer expanse featuring diverse terrains, including sandy deserts, dense forests, and vast lakes.

The contestants’ artifacts were tasked with navigating this complex environment to locate specific items and transport them to designated coordinates.

Zhang Yu noted that the items to be retrieved included not only various colored spheres, cubes, cylinders, and cones scattered throughout the environment, but also specific flora, medicinal herbs, minerals, and even liquid and gaseous substances at precise locations.

As he parsed these detailed requirements, Zhang Yu thought, "This artifact must possess the resilience to withstand lightning and fire."

"It requires the agility to move at high speeds through complex environments."

"It must be able to scan and identify items of varying colors, shapes, and appearances against a chaotic background."

"And it must be capable of picking up and transporting objects of all shapes, including liquids and gases..."

The more he read, the more focused his gaze became: "And the final, most critical point: the cost must be kept under 30 Spirit Coins."

Having summarized the requirements, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: "This test is a comprehensive assessment of a crafter’s fundamental skills."

"Movement, detection, load-bearing, transport, durability, cost... if any aspect fails, the results will be disastrous."

"Even for me, this is quite a challenge."

Rather than rushing into the design, Zhang Yu began to construct a work plan in his mind.

He understood that relying solely on his existing basic skills might not guarantee a spot in the top ten.

"Fortunately, my innate talents, 'Heavenly Craftsmanship' and 'Spirit Rhyme Heart,' are perfectly suited for this."

As he pondered, Zhang Yu flipped through the reference materials provided by the organizers, discovering that in addition to technical manuals, they had included various artifact blueprints for reference.

"The organizers clearly encourage contestants to learn while competing; they don't expect us to rely entirely on our own accumulated knowledge."

A plan began to form in Zhang Yu’s mind: "I will filter the blueprints to find those that meet the test requirements, then use 'Spirit Rhyme Heart' to fuse them into a design with the highest potential for success."

"Then, I will use 'Heavenly Craftsmanship' to optimize the design and iron out any flaws."

With that decided, Zhang Yu nodded slightly: "Now, the most important step is the selection of the blueprints."

He knew that 'Spirit Rhyme Heart' had a limit on how often it could be used within a certain period.

After all, each use consumed the inspiration stored in his mind.

Based on his experience, he could only use it a dozen times or so before his thinking became rigid, making it impossible to operate the talent further; he usually required weeks of rest to fully recover.

"I haven't used 'Spirit Rhyme Heart' since I finished the design for the Wind God Semi-Artifact Kinetic Boots."

"Using it ten times now shouldn't be a problem."

Zhang Yu understood that given the usage limit, the selection of blueprints for fusion was critical.

"Blueprints of similar types are more likely to yield good results."

"But if they are too similar, what is the point of fusing them?"

He knew he would have to strike the right balance himself.

Six hours passed in the blink of an eye, and at the very last moment, Zhang Yu finally completed his design.

He rubbed his throbbing, dizzy head, a satisfied smile slowly spreading across his lips.

...

In a conference room within the Spirit Realm, the figure of True Monarch Xuanyin appeared, followed by the projections of the other judges.

True Monarch Nie Lian of the Heavenly Demon University spoke coldly: "Everyone, the 15 contestants have completed their blueprints, and they have all been collected."

"Next, the True Gods will initiate the Spirit Realm simulation to conduct the tests for each of the 15 artifacts."

"This test will be conducted in accordance with the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency, strictly following the established rules."

"From start to finish, the students' design processes, as well as the discussions and scores of all judges, will be fully recorded."

"I hope you will all do your utmost to select outstanding talent for Kunxu."

"I will state my position now: regardless of a student's performance or who might be backing them, merit is merit. With me here today, no one is going to pull any strings in this design competition."

Hearing this, True Monarch Xuanyin felt the words were pointed, likely aimed at the situation involving True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Zhang Yu.

However, Xuanyin had little confidence in Zhang Yu at the moment, and with countless True Gods recording from every angle, he dared not speak out of turn.

He could only think to himself: "Magnetic Pole, you had better have tutored this Zhang Yu well. He needs to at least make the top ten, or we will be utterly humiliated before the other universities and the Heavenly Court."

The next moment, with a flash of light in the conference room, the simulation test officially began.

The entire room seemed to shift instantly, appearing high above a mountain forest.

Xuanyin looked down to see a sandy desert not far from the forest, and a lake beyond that...

This ten-kilometer radius of complex terrain was the testing environment simulated by the Spirit Realm.

At the same time, True Monarch Nie Lian announced: "The first artifact to be tested was designed by Leng Wuya of the Heavenly Sword University."

The blueprints appeared before the judges.

Xuanyin glanced at them and thought: "A flying sword?"

The next moment, countless materials manifested out of thin air above the testing ground.

As if accelerated a thousandfold, the crafting process completed at an incredible speed, presenting the flying sword from the blueprint to everyone.

With a sharp whistle, the sword broke the sound barrier, roaring with thunderous noise as it streaked across the sky.

Though lightning and fire rained down, the sword dodged them with ease.

True Monarch Tianzhi of the Diamond University commented: "Multi-layered seals, combined with a piercing blade edge and electromagnetic propulsion—this sword can maintain supersonic cruising for extended periods."

The sword then dove toward the ground, beginning high-speed, low-altitude flight.

Xuanyin praised: "Anti-gravity design combined with adaptive flight control; the evasion capability is excellent. It can skim the ground to scan for targets even in complex terrain."

Suddenly, sword qi erupted from the blade, scooping up a cluster of cubes.

As the sword qi carried the cubes away, it slowed down and headed toward the target location. True Monarch Xuepu of the Netherworld University remarked coldly: "Merging sword qi with cargo? That’s manned-flight technology. It’s hardly cost-effective for transporting goods."

Beside him, True Monarch Bone-Marrow of White Bone University shook his head and remarked, "When all is said and done, a flying sword is fine for reconnaissance, but this is no way to handle logistics."

True Monarch Heaven-Wisdom speculated, "He likely intended to leverage its speed for high-frequency transport. Yet, lacking any topographical memory, it must re-scan the terrain every time; the efficiency is far too low."

True Monarch String-Tone mused to herself, "Though its transport capabilities are hardly stellar, it has at least fulfilled every required function. A passing grade is well-deserved."

As the test concluded, the five judges began to cast their scores, each awarding up to 100 points, bringing the cumulative maximum to 500.

The flying sword finished with a total of 322 points.

Next, a creation from a student of Vajra University took the stage.

A massive war chariot roared across the testing grounds, its aura shattering obstacles as it gathered the target items and hauled them toward the destination.

True Monarch Sin-Lotus offered his critique: "Utilizing high-tensile materials to withstand lightning and fire, maximizing capacity and payload to collect as much as possible before delivery."

"The concept is sound."

"But the speed is abysmal, and its adaptability to the terrain is severely lacking."

True Monarch Sin-Lotus shook his head: "It gathered a mountain of goods, yet time ran out before it could deliver even a third of them... I give it 65 points."

After the five judges tallied their scores, the war chariot ended with a total of 329 points.

Following a few more contestants, the creation of Zang Xingye, a student from Nether University, was presented.

As he studied the schematics, True Monarch String-Tone felt a sudden stir of interest: "Demonic-descendant biomimicry technology?"

(End of chapter)