Chapter 710: Contact Ten Schools, Pseudo-Deity?

Inside the research institute, Ye Xingli was silently carrying out the tasks assigned to her for the day.

Ever since Magnetic Pole Divine Lord brought her into the institute's experimental group, Ye Xingli had been working hard and studying diligently every day, like a sponge absorbing water, frantically taking in all the refining knowledge she could see.

But as Magnetic Pole Divine Lord and many other Divine Lords went to battle in the fifth layer of Kunxu, the workload within the research institute gradually decreased.

If at the start, Magnetic Pole Divine Lord could still assign tasks remotely through the Spirit Realm and direct the research institute and laboratory,

then with the fourth and fifth layers of the sky closing again, the Spirit Realm network disconnected, and the research institute and laboratory completely lost Magnetic Pole Divine Lord's command, becoming somewhat leaderless.

Especially as one Divine Lord after another vanished from the fifth-layer battlefield, the major universities fell into chaos, and naturally the atmosphere in the research institute grew more and more oppressive.

A feeling of "wind filling the tower before a storm" permeated the research institute, both inside and outside.

Ye Xingli could sense that her colleagues around her were increasingly not focusing on their work, instead discussing various topics about whether to hold firm or evacuate.

Just then, a burst of complaining arose.

Nine Calcination True Lord said angrily, "How did our budget get cut again?"

Ye Xingli knew that this Nine Calcination True Lord had originally been an elite on the teaching staff. After the great upheaval of heaven and earth, he had smoothly advanced from Golden Core True Man to Nascent Soul True Lord, and had been appreciated by Magnetic Pole Divine Lord, who brought him into the laboratory to engage in cutting-edge research on spatial technology.

But now, Nine Calcination True Lord had a face full of discontent, not only because the funding and materials allocated to their group by the institute had been docked again.

If it were merely a cut, considering the current battlefield situation, the cultivators including Nine Calcination True Lord would not have felt the dissatisfaction they now did.

But compared to the ample, even excessive, supplies on Zhang Yu's side next door, it was hard for them to feel truly convinced.

Still, Zhang Yu was after all a disciple of Magnetic Pole Divine Lord, and Ye Xingli knew they dared not say anything out loud, but grumbling in their hearts was unavoidable.

Nine Calcination True Lord, having graduated as a PhD in Artifact Refining from Wanfa, achieved Golden Core at age fifty, successfully stayed on at the university, and step by step climbed into the research institute's laboratory, could be said to have been on a meteoric rise all along, worthy of being called a Wanfa prodigy.

But at this very moment, thinking of the treatment Zhang Yu next door received, he still harbored secret resentment: "Now is the time of life and death for the ten major universities! The spatial technology our lab researches is the most important and critical technology, the most likely to turn the tide of the war."

"Shouldn't we be pouring resources into top-tier labs like ours, pushing us to break through in spatial technology? At a time like this, they still cut funding and prioritize the cultivation of Divine Lord disciples..."

Recalling how the Divine Lords of the ten schools had lost because they fought over battlefield interests, Nine Calcination True Lord couldn't help but sigh: "The culture of the ten major universities is too rotten. Money and resources cannot flow to the most useful direction. Their defeat is not undeserved."

Just then, everyone present received a message from String Sound True Lord.

String Sound True Lord, as the dean of the Artifact Refining Department of Wanfa University, also held a position in the research institute. When Magnetic Pole Divine Lord was away, he managed this lab on his behalf.

Now, seeing the content of the message from String Sound True Lord, everyone present was somewhat puzzled.

Someone asked in confusion, "Set up a venue? Who is coming to inspect the research institute? At a time like this, who could it be?"

Nine Calcination True Lord sighed inwardly: "We're told to go to the research institute's main gate? To welcome someone? Is this some kind of mistake? At a time like this, they still want to engage in such formalism."

Ye Xingli also frowned slightly: "Everyone has to go? Even put down the work at hand?"

Someone was already shocked: "Stop work and go? What on earth is this about?"

Putting down the work at hand—that was a mark of extremely high priority at Wanfa University. Since Ye Xingli had been admitted to Wanfa, this was the first time she encountered a task that required her to set aside her current work. Even when the university president came for inspections in the past, she had never seen such a requirement.

So the group hurried to the main gate of the campus, but after waiting for more than half an hour, nothing happened.

Nine Calcination True Lord shook his head repeatedly, deeply grieved: "I think Wanfa, no, the ten major universities—they're all beyond saving..."

Just then, banners formed by Spirit Realm projections lit up, with the words: Warmly welcome Candle Yi True Lord, your guidance is our motivation to move forward.

Immediately after, a group of figures drifted down from the sky in the distance.

"String Sound True Lord, North Sea True Lord, Deep Silence True Lord, Ember Lamp True Lord, Thunder Extreme True Lord..."

Seeing these Artifact Refining True Lords one by one, Nine Calcination True Lord was stunned.

Because each of these highly respected, wealthy, and powerful Nascent Soul True Lords in the artifact refining world was now gathered around a single person.

That one person was like the emperor of the artifact refining world inspecting his own territory, accompanied by many leaders of the refining department, slowly flying down and landing at the main gate of the research institute.

"Zhang! Yu!" Nine Calcination True Lord stared in shock at this scene: "The person we stopped work to wait for is him?"

Zhang Yu glanced at the people standing at the gate, smiled at String Sound True Lord beside him, and said, "True Lord, was this your arrangement?"

String Sound True Lord smiled and replied, "For your upcoming plan, Candle Yi True Lord, we need the collective wisdom and effort of the entire university—even all ten schools' faculty and students. Starting with the research institute, I thought it best to let them be the first to hear your guidance and understand what needs to be done next."

Zhang Yu nodded: "It just so happens I wanted to gather everyone from the research institute for a meeting anyway, so let's take this opportunity."

So the group was led into the meeting room String Sound True Lord had already prepared, and they listened as Zhang Yu began explaining the plan to break open the sky.

"The magical treasure I designed, I name it the Skyrending Drill."

"The design philosophy of the Skyrending Drill is to enable every person in Kunxu, whether from the major academies, upper or lower schools, or the ten schools, whether human or yaoyi, to use it to break open the sky…"

"Next, a large number of factories will start producing the Skyrending Drill, and you will be responsible for guiding the factories, helping them establish and adjust production lines…"

And the people under the stage were already stunned and dazzled by Zhang Yu's series of statements.

"Skyrending Drill? Designed by Zhang Yu?" Nine Forge True Lord, like many cultivators in the research association, instinctively felt disbelief.

But as they flipped through the design drawings and continuously listened to Zhang Yu's explanation, the more they listened, the more they felt a shock.

"The gap is too wide…" Nine Forge True Lord murmured in his heart: "The gap between us and Zhang Yu is too wide. How did he even design this?"

"And this familiar style clearly has fully inherited the true legacy of Magnetic Pole True Lord…"

Nine Forge True Lord stared fixedly at the design drawing emerging from the eye socket, and the more he looked, the more he felt a gap that made him despair.

Originally, he thought that working in the research association and in the laboratory set up by Magnetic Pole True Lord, he was at the forefront of spatial technology research.

But at this moment, looking at Zhang Yu's design drawing, he felt as if struck by lightning, as if waking from a dream.

"The cost compression is astonishing… The spatial unlocking design is also miraculous… How did this guy come up with it?"

Every additional page he read, Nine Forge True Lord only felt his despair increase by one point, making him feel as if his years of artifact refining had been in vain.

Ye Xingli was also looking at Zhang Yu on the stage with surprise. This former junior disciple had unknowingly grown to a level that made her look up to him.

On the other side, String Tone True Lord was also listening to Zhang Yu's explanation below the stage, sighing in his heart: "Zhang Yu's plan is to produce a massive number of Skyrending Drills, which will then be activated by a large number of cultivators together, breaking through the 4th and 5th layers of the sky."

String Tone True Lord knew that if this plan was successfully implemented, it would not only support Divine Transformation cultivators and have the possibility of reversing the battle situation, but also contain huge profits.

"Who will produce the massive number of Skyrending Drills? Who will sell them? The various parts, subcontracting, assembly, channels… all are profits of massive spirit coins."

And the power to distribute such massive profits was in Zhang Yu's hands.

String Tone True Lord thought to himself: "Zhang Yu's current mastery of spatial technology is probably number one among the ten schools. The design drawing of the Skyrending Drill was created by him, and only he can modify it. Everything is decided by him alone."

"A flick of his fingertip can decide the distribution of profits from the Skyrending Drill, and determine the life and death of countless companies and factories."

"This is the absolute power that the most advanced immortal cultivation technology gives him."

When the meeting ended and Zhang Yu returned to his quiet room, he saw a complete set of magical remains placed before him.

"From head to toe, including bones, internal organs, meridians, dantian, nervous system and other parts, a total of 333 pieces of level-40 magical remains."

Zhang Yu knew that as one's realm increased and magical power grew, the number of magical remains a cultivator could equip also increased dramatically.

By the level of Nascent Soul cultivators, magical remains were further miniaturized; every small bone, every meridian segment, every hair in the body could be replaced by a complete magical remain.

However, Zhang Yu had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm too recently, and had to busy himself with cultivation and improving his sect techniques, so naturally he had no time to deal with magical remains.

Especially… if he wanted to refine all his flesh and blood into customized magical remains, that would be equivalent to refining a magical treasure using his physical body as material. To do that… where would he have time to cultivate sect magical arts?

And the 333 pieces of level-40 magical remains sent by String Tone True Lord, although not customized magical remains, were still high-quality universal magical remains. The vast majority were at the top enterprise level, and a small part were even military-grade magical remains from the artifact refining system.

As for the certificate for military-grade magical remains and treasures, Zhang Yu naturally already had it. The value of these 333 pieces of level-40 magical remains was comparable to the total assets of many small companies.

This was also an inevitability as cultivators' realms and cultivation increased, and their assets skyrocketed.

Zhang Yu flipped through the instruction manual for this complete set of 333 magical remains.

This complete set of magical remains, called the Platinum Emperor, mainly served to improve the basic data of Nascent Soul cultivators' physical strength and magical power cap. As for the remaining various abilities such as invisibility, flight, martial arts loading, talisman loading, spiritual realm protection, etc., they were not particularly valued by Zhang Yu.

"Improving basic data is exactly what helps me a lot now."

Especially the bonus to basic data from the Platinum Emperor is very effective when the cultivator's physical strength and magical power cap have not reached the Nascent Soul limit.

And even if the cultivator's basic data reaches the Nascent Soul limit, the Platinum Emperor can still provide bonuses, though no longer as effective, it can still help the cultivator slightly break through the Nascent Soul limit.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "This is a set of magical remains that can be used from the early Nascent Soul stage to the peak."

Of course, Zhang Yu did not intend to use this set of magical remains at all times, because he still needed to temper his physical body. He only planned to use this set of magical remains when necessary.

Next, Zhang Yu looked at the things sent by Heaven Kill True Lord and others.

"Level-40 armor?"

The armor sent by Heaven Kill True Lord, if Zhang Yu had to describe it… was more like a small mech. In terms of volume… it was much thicker than Iron Man, but much thinner than a Gundam.

And the Collapse Heaven War God Armor is the name of this set of armor. It is a complete set of military-grade armor specially designed for combat, also known as a personal combat platform.

Not only does the armor itself have astonishing defensive capabilities, it can be loaded with various magic treasures, connect to various Dharma skeletons, and also provide additional mana output for the wearer.