Chapter 509: Artifact Refinement Paths and Golden Core Divisions
Passing the Military Certificate Examination to obtain the relevant certification is the most common and conventional approach for the vast majority of majors at Myriad Laws University.
However, within the elite Artifact Refinement Department, the issuance volume and distribution channels for Military Certificates are significantly greater than those of the Civil Engineering Department.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole was currently explaining the intricacies of this system to Zhang Yu.
“The Military Artifact Refining Engineering Certificate is divided into two classes: Class A and Class B.”
“Class A encompasses various artifact refinement products such as magical artifacts, Bionics, Armor, flying swords, and puppets.”
“In addition to passing the examination, there are alternative pathways to obtaining a Class A Military Artifact Refining Engineering Certificate. For instance, if you create a prototype of a military-grade artifact refinement product and pass both an artifact refinement skill test and a review, you can be granted the certificate in advance.”
“Class B, on the other hand, focuses primarily on artifact refinement techniques.”
“To obtain a Class B Military Artifact Refining Engineering Certificate, besides passing the relevant examination, there are also methods for early conferral. These include annual competitions such as the Magic Artifact Design Competition, Bionic Design Competition, and Flying Sword Design Competition…”
“These design competitions emphasize innovation and design capabilities rather than practical artifact refinement skills.”
“Take your Senior Sister Ye Xingli, for example. She ranked among the top five in the hundred-school Bionic Design Competition. Her winning entry was patented and earned her a Class B Military Artifact Refining Engineering Certificate, allowing her to cultivate the Grand Void Divine Artifact Strategy.”
“She then independently completed the prototype refinement of the Void Calamity Transformation Diagram. After passing the artifact refinement skills assessment and review, she obtained a Class A Military Artifact Refining Engineering Certificate and has now fully completed the Void Calamity Transformation Diagram.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole smiled slightly, flicking her fingertip. A holographic display materialized before them, listing Ye Xingli’s densely packed resume.
The screen was filled with Ye Xingli’s achievements in various competitions, the patented Bionic designs she had created, her academic records from each year, and her comprehensive scores — a dizzying array of accomplishments that left Zhang Yu overwhelmed.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued, “Once you enter the Artifact Refinement Department, you can follow this path too, earning both Class B and Class A Military Certificates as early as possible. After all, whether it’s cultivation techniques or Bionics, the sooner you start using military-grade versions, the sooner you’ll begin accumulating the resources you’ll need for future cultivation.”
“Currently, at the undergraduate level, Foundation Establishment is the peak. To qualify for the Golden Core Certificate, you’ll need to pursue postgraduate studies.”
“That doesn’t mean undergraduates have nothing to do. While breaking through to the Golden Core Realm is relatively straightforward, the difference between Golden Cores is like heaven and earth. Many academic overachievers, even after completing all their credits, don’t rush to graduate early. They’re seizing every moment to prepare for their future Golden Core breakthroughs.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “In the past, Golden Cores were classified into nine grades. A third-grade Golden Core marked a peerless genius, while a first-grade Golden Core granted direct entry into a sect.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu asked anxiously, “What about now?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, “The nine-grade system was deemed too crude. Now, after connecting to the Spirit Realm, Golden Cores are directly scored. A score of 10,000 is barely passable, 100,000 is considered excellent, 300,000 marks you as a top student at any university, and 500,000 or higher represents the Golden Core among Golden Cores.”
Zhang Yu immediately pressed, “How can a Golden Core achieve a high score?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole explained, “It’s a two-step process: preparation before forming the Golden Core and refinement after its creation.”
“Refining your Golden Core after its formation is still far off for you, so we won’t discuss that today.”
“Let’s focus on the preparations before forming your Golden Core.”
“To forge a high-quality Golden Core, you must first acquire an Inner Core. The higher the quality of the Inner Core, the more expensive it will be. In essence, breaking through to the Golden Core Realm requires substantial financial resources.”
“Secondly, during the core forging process, the quality of your Spirit Root, cultivation art, and Bionic all significantly impact the Golden Core’s rating. Higher quality in these aspects leads to a higher-rated Golden Core.”
“Furthermore, utilizing high-quality magical artifacts, medicinal pills, or formation diagrams as supplementary aids can further enhance the outcome.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole explained, “Simply put, mastering more and stronger military-grade cultivation techniques, military-grade Bionics, and military-grade magical artifacts will result in a higher-rated Golden Core.”
“Therefore, during your time at Myriad Laws University, you must seize every opportunity to accumulate Immortal Dao resources and master more military-grade power. This will enable you to forge a Golden Core more quickly and effectively in the future.”
Zhang Yu nodded in agreement. This aligned perfectly with his plan to accumulate strength and achieve a grand slam in the Ten Great Leagues.
However, he harbored some reservations about the path True Monarch Magnetic Pole had outlined.
“Teacher,” Zhang Yu asked, “you mentioned obtaining a Class B Military Certificate through placing well in various design competitions. Wouldn’t that be extremely difficult?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, “Design competitions heavily favor inspiration and talent. It’s the path least dependent on wealth or connections.”
“By following this path, you can first obtain the Class B Military Certificate, master a military-grade artifact refinement technique, and steadily improve your artifact refinement skills. Then, creating a prototype of a military-grade artifact refinement product and securing the Class A Military Certificate will be a piece of cake.”
Hearing True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s words, Zhang Yu felt increasingly uneasy.
It wasn’t that he lacked inspiration or talent in artifact refinement; rather, the Feather Book currently seemed to offer no such advantages.
If the Feather Book provided no boost to inspiration or design capabilities, how could Zhang Yu, despite his exceptional talent, possibly excel?
Zhang Yu instinctively sensed, “With the Feather Book limiting me, I’m likely unsuited for the design competition route.”
He then asked, “What if I directly create a prototype of a military-grade artifact refinement product and obtain the Class A Military Certificate first?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole smiled. “Let’s take the Heavenly Sun Radiance God as an example.”
With a flick of her finger, a dense web of luminous projections materialized before them.
These were countless interconnected skill trees, resembling tangled tree roots.
Simultaneously, True Monarch Magnetic Pole explained, “To forge the Heavenly Sun Radiance God, you must first master Advanced Thermoelectric Spiritual Energy Technology. To master that, you need to grasp its seven fundamental techniques. And to master those seven fundamental techniques…”
After listening for a while, Zhang Yu felt his head spinning. He thought to himself, “To master a technique, you must first master its foundation. To master its foundation, you must master the foundation of that foundation, and then the foundation of the foundation of the foundation…”
Staring at the densely packed skill tree before him, Zhang Yu muttered inwardly, “When the hell am I ever going to finish learning all this?”
Noticing Zhang Yu’s dazed expression, True Monarch Magnetic Pole asked, “Do you understand now?”
“Learning a military-grade artifact refinement technique first, especially our department’s military-grade cultivation art, the Grand Void Divine Artifact Strategy, will allow you to progress much faster on the path of artifact refinement. It will let you skip many intermediate steps in material refinement, magical artifact shaping, and Magic Power transmission, allowing you to achieve things others can’t, saving you a tremendous amount of time.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking, “It’s almost like learning True Fire processing techniques step by step while simultaneously mastering the Fire Control Divine Mirror to directly control True Fire.”
But as Zhang Yu recalled his memories of artifact refinement, another thought suddenly occurred to him. He blurted out, “Teacher, if I refine a magical artifact using this Advanced Thermoelectric Spiritual Energy Technology, wouldn’t I automatically master the technology itself?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole chuckled. “How could you refine a magical artifact using a technology you haven’t mastered?”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “That’s not necessarily true.”
He recalled his past experiences studying Artifact Refinement Diagrams and mastering various magical artifact crafting techniques.
Especially vivid were the moments when he leveled up his Feather Book, and vast amounts of artifact refinement knowledge and experience flooded his mind.
This led Zhang Yu to realize, “The Supreme Clarity Realm’s 20x acceleration already makes my learning speed incredibly fast.”
“Combined with the simulated reality Laboratory, where I can conduct endless artifact refinement experiments…”
“And the Feather Book’s cultivation method, which focuses solely on repetition, regardless of quality…”
“If I fully leverage the Feather Book’s power through relentless accelerated practice, mastering the crafting of various magical artifacts, I can then rapidly gain a deep understanding of the underlying techniques.”
“In that case, it probably wouldn’t take too long for me to meet the refinement requirements for a prototype military-grade artifact refinement product.”
“Wouldn’t this be far more reliable than entering some design competition?”
With this realization, Zhang Yu’s heart quickened, and a plan began to form in his mind.
In his eyes, the technologies displayed on the holographic screen — the techniques required to refine military-grade magical artifacts — were no longer abstract concepts, but rather blueprints for tangible magical artifacts.
By mastering these magical artifact diagrams, he would gain control over the technology for refining military-grade magical artifacts.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s gaze flickered as she looked at Zhang Yu. “Hmm? It seems you’ve already made up your mind?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Teacher, I want to try refining a prototype military-grade artifact refinement product first, to see if I can obtain a Class A Military Certificate.”
“Oh?” True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s heart stirred, and she secretly sighed. “This path, though far more difficult and time-consuming, will grant him deeper knowledge and a more solid foundation, allowing him to accumulate strength for a future breakthrough.”
“I never imagined he would still choose this path after I showed him its challenges.”
“If you’re willing to take the risk, go ahead,” True Monarch Magnetic Pole said calmly. “The next Magic Artifact Design Competition is still a few months away. Use this time to learn as much as you can. If you find yourself struggling midway, you can always switch paths.”
Hearing True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s support, Zhang Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked, “Teacher, which military-grade artifact refinement product do you think I should focus on?”
“Refining magical artifacts is simpler than refining Bionics. Among magical artifacts, the Great Sky Sacred Law Sword Formation involves both flying swords and sword formations, requiring you to catch up on a vast amount of foundational knowledge.”
“The Void Calamity Transformation Diagram involves several profound daoist arts. Not only would you need to catch up on your studies, but cultivating it would also require significant financial investment.”
“The Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor hasn’t been fully deciphered yet, making it too advanced for you at this stage.”
“After considering all options, the most suitable choice for you is the Heavenly Sun Radiance God.”
“Fortunately, the Heavenly Sun Radiance God is a puppet. If you successfully refine it, it will not only assist you in your work and experiments, but the knowledge and skills gained will also greatly benefit your future Bionic refinement endeavors.”
With that, True Monarch Magnetic Pole sent Zhang Yu the artifact refinement diagram for the Heavenly Sun Radiance God Prototype Mechanism.
This prototype mechanism fell short of military-grade standards, qualifying only as a top-tier enterprise-grade magical artifact. However, successfully refining it would demonstrate the refiner’s capability to refine the complete Heavenly Sun Radiance God.
Upon opening the design diagram, Zhang Yu discovered that True Monarch Magnetic Pole had meticulously listed the required courses, knowledge, and techniques for each component. Everything was clearly laid out, sparing students the usual chaotic scramble for guidance.