Chapter 575: Latest Version of the “Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon”
Myriad Laws University.
Laboratory.
Jin Jun gazed at Zhang Yu’s award-winning design blueprints, a complex emotion flickering in his Bionic Eye.
As the Design Competition’s award ceremony concluded, news of Zhang Yu’s victory spread rapidly.
Although Jin Jun had lost to Zhang Yu in their direct competition for the Heavenly Sun Radiance God project, he still harbored ambitions of catching up.
Now, having obtained Zhang Yu’s winning blueprints, Jin Jun felt a strong urge to find flaws in them.
However, after studying the blueprints repeatedly, Jin Jun had to admit to himself that his current skill level was insufficient to identify any shortcomings or suggest improvements.
Sighing softly, Jin Jun murmured, “If only I had won first place in the Design Competition.”
His assistant, standing nearby, curled his lip slightly, thinking to himself, “I wish I had won too.”
The assistant mused that if he had won first place years ago, who knows who would be whose assistant now?
At the same moment, the assistant glanced at his email, checking for a reply to the resume he had sent to Zhang Yu. He was eager to transfer from Jin Jun’s team to Zhang Yu’s Project Team.
As news of Zhang Yu’s award spread, more and more people in the Artifact Refinement Department began downloading his winning blueprints, driven by various motives: envy, learning, fault-finding, analysis, and more.
Zhang Yu, however, remained oblivious to the external buzz, focusing entirely on refining the Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Sword.
Just moments ago, he had concluded a call with Bai Zhenzhen.
To Zhang Yu’s surprise, Bai Zhenzhen didn’t ask much about the Spirit Transformation Bionic, rendering his carefully prepared explanations unnecessary.
At that moment, a surge of True Fire erupted, gradually shaping the sword embryo before him into a fully formed sword artifact.
Before entering the Design Competition, he had already refined the first Level 20 Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Sword. To complete the sword formation, he needed to refine eleven more Level 20 Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Swords.
Shortly after, while Zhang Yu was refining flying swords in the laboratory, he received his Class B Military Certificate.
This time, without True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s special instructions, the ceremony was conducted with utmost discretion.
Apart from Zhang Yu, who could see the Military Certificate flashing in his Bionic Eye, even the surrounding laboratory assistants remained unaware that amidst this tranquil moment, Zhang Yu had once again achieved a significant breakthrough.
With a thought, three Military Certificates materialized before Zhang Yu.
Gazing at these certificates, Zhang Yu felt a profound sense of fulfillment, a validation that his years of hard work at university had not been in vain.
“Time rewards those who persevere,” he murmured. “Truly, the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence.”
Shortly after the certificates appeared, Zhang Yu’s Bionic Eye flashed again. True Monarch Magnetic Pole had sent him the electronic manual for the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon.
After skimming through the manual, Zhang Yu noted with satisfaction that a new entry had appeared in his Feather Book: Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon - Level 0 (0/1).
“With my innate talent, my progress in mastering this cultivation art will undoubtedly be swift.”
“However, the essence of this artifact refinement technique lies in daoist arts, meaning cultivation will be quite costly.”
Having reviewed the manual, Zhang Yu now understood the general framework of the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon.
To cultivate this art, one must gather Calamity Qi from the world.
This Calamity Qi could be collected during natural disasters or human-caused catastrophes.
In ancient times, gathering such Calamity Qi would have required elaborate schemes, decades of effort, and vast resources of manpower and materials.
But in modern Kunxu, it simply required money.
However, because this was Kunxu in the present day, the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon had been updated annually, its power growing ever more immense. Cultivating it now required not only vast quantities of Calamity Qi but also an increasing array of auxiliary materials.
The more resources invested during cultivation, the more wondrous abilities the art would manifest upon activation. It could summon various calamities — wind, water, fire, and heart — each possessing distinct powers.
As Zhang Yu read the electronic manual, he mused, “The Wind Calamity symbolizes fluidity, enhancing a magical artifact’s Spirit Realm flow to hyper-speed or disrupting the Spirit Realm flow of another’s artifact.”
“The Fire Calamity represents energy, empowering artifacts with Magic Power, rapidly restoring Magic Power, and even activating an overload mode that multiplies the artifact’s destructive potential.”
“The Water Calamity symbolizes nourishment, temporarily transforming ordinary plants, wood, bamboo, stones, and minerals into magical artifacts.”
“The Heart Calamity has been the focal point of recent updates, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things — the unification of Heaven and Earth Magic Artifacts into a single entity.”
Flipping further through the manual, Zhang Yu found descriptions of the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon’s progression beyond Level 20. It claimed to lead directly to Level 80, achieving complete integration with Heaven and Earth — connecting the atmosphere, spiritual energy, thoughts, memories… all merging into a unified whole to forge an Intelligent Kunxu, a world manifested through the heart.
Zhang Yu wasn’t currently concerned with the ultimate potential of this cultivation art.
His immediate concern was the cost of advancing it to Level 20 in Spirit Coins.
As he scanned the cultivation requirements, he muttered to himself, “This cultivation art’s version updates are relentless, and the training costs keep rising year after year.”
He shook his head helplessly, mentally calculating, “Advancing the latest version of the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon to Level 20 will be slightly more expensive than I initially estimated — around 300 Spirit Coins.”
Zhang Yu then glanced at the sword embryo beside him, thinking, “The remaining eleven flying swords will likely require another 200-plus Spirit Coins.”
Simultaneously, his Bionic Eye displayed a balance of 230 Spirit Coins.
“I’ve spent a considerable amount recently — advancing the first Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Sword to Level 20, purchasing blueprints for the Design Competition, researching Junior College Students, hiring assistants… Fortunately, I’ve also earned quite a bit during this period.”
“Next, I’ll focus on completing the Great Sky Sacred Law Sword Formation. Once that’s done, I’ll resume cultivating the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon. Let’s see… if I calculate correctly…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “It’s already May. With my monthly income of over a hundred Spirit Coins, I should definitely have enough by September, before the Ten Greats League, to acquire the Spirit Coins needed for this cultivation art.”
“But if I could earn even more Spirit Coins…”
Zhang Yu knew that Spirit Coins had always been a major constraint on his cultivation progress.
Even with his unparalleled talent, cultivating the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon required both money and time. Insufficient Spirit Coins meant he had to alternate between earning and cultivating, causing interruptions in his progress.
“Based on the current timeline, completing both the Great Sky Sacred Law Sword Formation and the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon by September shouldn’t be a problem.”
Zhang Yu thought of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor. “But whether I can complete another military-grade power depends on whether I can earn even more Spirit Coins.”
Speaking of earning more Spirit Coins, Zhang Yu recalled the design blueprints he had. Judging by True Person Ink Fiend’s enthusiasm, these blueprints should fetch a substantial sum.
He wondered to himself, “I just don’t know how much they’ll sell for.”
Just then, True Person Ink Fiend sent a message from outside the laboratory.
True Person Ink Fiend: “Student Yu, how about we add a profit-sharing agreement on top of the patent fee?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting,” he thought.
Zhang Yu replied: “Explain in detail.”
Meanwhile, outside the laboratory, True Person Ink Fiend saw Zhang Yu’s reply and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He immediately began to carefully craft his response.
After all, Zhang Yu was crucial to the Investment Management Office’s performance and was under True Monarch Grand Harmony’s special attention. True Person Ink Fiend couldn’t afford to handle him carelessly.
If Zhang Yu were to ask him for a Dual Rest session right now, Ink Fiend would definitely refuse.
But if Zhang Yu asked him to kill someone, he would seriously consider it.
And if Zhang Yu asked him to lick a Junior College Student, he would at least try to discern whether it tasted salty or bland.
Unfortunately, Zhang Yu made no such requests.
“Zhang Yu isn’t someone easily fooled,” Ink Fiend thought, recalling their interactions. “He’s probably already realized his design blueprints can fetch a good price.”
True Person Ink Fiend mused inwardly, “In his eyes, the Investment Management Office is likely just one of many potential buyers. He’s waiting for the highest bidder.”
True Person Ink Fiend knew that True Person Rising Clouds of the Giant Corporation was eager to discuss the patent rights for Zhang Yu’s design blueprints.
If the two parties were to meet directly, the Investment Management Office would likely be sidelined, as they couldn’t possibly offer better terms than the Giant Corporation.
“But that’s assuming we treat the Giant Corporation as a competitor,” True Person Ink Fiend mused. “What if we reframe the relationship?”
“Instead of competing with the Giant Corporation, we could join forces with Zhang Yu to resist them.”
True Person Ink Fiend thought, “This would transform our buyer-seller relationship with Zhang Yu into a shared alliance with mutual interests.”
True Person Ink Fiend replied: “Student Yu, according to my latest intelligence, the Myriad Paths Group is seeking to acquire your design blueprints.”
True Person Ink Fiend: “However, as an individual student, you’ll be vulnerable to their pressure tactics to drive down the price.”
True Person Ink Fiend: “Moreover, the negotiation process will consume a significant amount of your time and energy.”
True Person Ink Fiend: “My suggestion is… let the university handle the negotiations with Myriad Paths Group on your behalf.”
True Person Ink Fiend: “We’re confident we can secure a patent fee plus profit-sharing arrangement for you.”
True Person Ink Fiend: “It’s a win-win situation.”
Although Zhang Yu didn’t reply immediately, True Person Ink Fiend was certain he would eventually agree.
After all, according to the intelligence he had gathered, Zhang Yu desperately needed money and was an artifact refinement cultivator who spent all his time in the laboratory, even skipping award ceremonies.
At Myriad Laws University, the Investment Management Office was best equipped to negotiate with Giant Corporations. Whether it was profit-sharing, lawsuits, or any other kind of haggling, they were far better suited for the task than Zhang Yu.
Even Zhang Yu’s master, True Monarch Magnetic Pole, couldn’t match their expertise in this area.
Zhang Yu would provide the patent, while the university would offer protection, manpower, legal assistance, negotiation support, and other resources, working together to extract Spirit Coins from the Giant Corporation.