Chapter 509: Refining Path, The Fraction of the Golden Core

Obtaining the relevant certifications by passing the military examination is clearly the most conventional and common practice across most majors at Myriad Laws University.

However, in the top-tier Artifact Forging Department, the number and channels for issuing military certifications are significantly more extensive than in, for example, the Civil Engineering Department.

At this moment, True Monarch Magnetic Pole was explaining the intricacies of this system to Zhang Yu.

"The Military Artifact Forging Engineering Certificate is divided into two types: Class A and Class B."

"Class A covers various artifact products such as magic treasures, magical constructs, armors, flying swords, and puppets."

"Besides passing the examination, there are other ways to obtain a Class A Military Artifact Forging Engineering Certificate. For instance, if you successfully create a prototype of a military-grade artifact product and pass the forging skill test and evaluation, you can be granted the military certificate early."

"Class B, on the other hand, primarily focuses on artifact forging cultivation methods."

"To obtain a Class B Military Artifact Forging Engineering Certificate, besides passing the relevant examination, there are also methods for early conferment, such as performing well in the annual Magic Treasure Design Competition, Magical Construct Design Competition, or Flying Sword Design Competition."

"These design competitions emphasize innovation and design ability, rather than specific forging skill levels."

"For example, your senior sister, Ye Xingli, ranked among the top five in the Magical Construct Design Competition across a hundred schools. Her entry secured a patent, and she was directly granted a Class B Military Artifact Forging Engineering Certificate, allowing her to cultivate the 'Grand Void Divine Artifact Strategy'."

"Afterward, she independently completed the prototype refining of the 'Vacuum Tribulation Transformation Diagram'. By passing the artifact forging skill test and evaluation, she obtained a Class A Military Artifact Forging Engineering Certificate. She has now fully completed the 'Vacuum Tribulation Transformation Diagram' as well."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole smiled faintly, flicking his finger, and an image projected before them, displaying Ye Xingli's extensive resume.

It was filled with Ye Xingli's rankings in various competitions, large and small, her designed magical construct products, and her academic scores and comprehensive ratings for each year, making Zhang Yu's head spin.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole said, "After you join the Artifact Forging Department, you can also take this path to secure both types of military certificates as early as possible. Whether it's cultivation methods or magical constructs, using military-grade ones sooner will allow you to start accumulating resources for your future cultivation earlier."

"Currently, at the undergraduate level, Foundation Establishment is already the peak. To obtain a Core Formation qualification certificate, one must pass the postgraduate entrance examination."

"However, that doesn't mean undergraduates have nothing to do. While breaking through to the Core Formation realm might seem straightforward, the difference between one Core Formation cultivator and another can be vast. Many academic elites, even after earning all their credits, are not in a hurry to graduate early because they are busy preparing for their future breakthroughs beyond Core Formation."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued, "In the past, Core Formation was divided into nine grades. A third-grade Core Formation cultivator was already considered a peerless genius, and a first-grade Core Formation cultivator could directly enter a major sect."

Zhang Yu, hearing this, asked with concern, "What about now?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, "The nine-grade division for Core Formation was deemed too crude. Now, after connecting with the spirit realm, scores are directly generated. A Core Formation with a score of 10,000 is considered barely acceptable, 100,000 is excellent, 300,000 is a standout at any university, and anything above 500,000 is a Core Formation among Core Formations."

Zhang Yu quickly asked again, "What kind of Core Formation can achieve a high score?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole explained, "This is a two-step process: before Core Formation and after Core Formation."

"How to raise your score after Core Formation is still far off for you, so I won't discuss it today."

"Let's just talk about the preparations before Core Formation."

"To forge a high-quality Core Formation, you first need to purchase an inner core. The higher the quality of the inner core, the more expensive it will be. It's safe to say that money is indispensable if you want to break through to the Core Formation realm."

"Secondly, during the core-forging process, the quality of the cultivator's spiritual root, cultivation method, and magical construct all significantly influence the Core Formation score. The higher the quality, the higher the score of the forged Core Formation."

"It would be even better if you have other high-quality magic treasures, dao pills, or formation diagrams to assist you."

True Monarch Magnetic Pole summarized, "Simply put, mastering more and stronger military-grade cultivation methods, military-grade magical constructs, and military-grade magic treasures will result in a higher-scoring Core Formation."

"Therefore, during your university years, you must seize the time to accumulate immortal cultivation resources and master more military-grade powers, so you can forge your Core Formation faster and better in the future."

Zhang Yu nodded, noting that this didn't conflict with his plan to accumulate strength and win the Grand Slam in the top ten leagues. However, he had some concerns about the path True Monarch Magnetic Pole suggested.

Zhang Yu asked, "Teacher, you mentioned that I can obtain a Class B military certificate by placing in various design competitions. Would that be very difficult?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, "Design competitions rely heavily on inspiration and talent. It's already the path least dependent on wealth or background."

"By taking this path, you can first secure a Class B military certificate, cultivate military-grade artifact forging methods, and your forging skill level will increase day by day. Then, creating a prototype of a military-grade artifact product and obtaining a Class A military certificate will be a breeze."

Hearing True Monarch Magnetic Pole's words, Zhang Yu felt an increasing sense of unease.

It wasn't that he lacked inspiration or talent in artifact forging; it was that his Feather Scripture currently didn't seem to offer those attributes.

If the Feather Scripture provided no bonus to inspiration or design, how could Zhang Yu utilize his exceptional talent?

Zhang Yu intuitively felt, "Limited by the Feather Scripture, I likely won't be suited for the design competition path."

So he asked again, "What if I directly try to create a prototype of a military-grade artifact product and aim for a Class A military certificate first?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole chuckled at his question and said, "Let's take the Blazing Sun Divine Guardian as an example."

With that, True Monarch Magnetic Pole flicked his finger, and a dense network of light and shadows appeared before them.

It was a complex web of skill trees, intertwined like countless roots, all closely interconnected.

Simultaneously, True Monarch Magnetic Pole stated, "To forge the Blazing Sun Divine Guardian, you must at least master advanced thermal spiritual energy technology. To master advanced thermal spiritual energy technology, you need to master the seven basic technologies below it, and to master those seven basic technologies..."

After listening for a while, Zhang Yu felt overwhelmed, thinking to himself, "To master one technology, you need to master its fundamentals. To master its fundamentals, you need to master the fundamentals of those fundamentals, and then the fundamentals of the fundamentals of those fundamentals!"

Staring at the intricate skill trees before him, Zhang Yu thought, "When in the world will I finish learning all of this?"

Observing Zhang Yu's stunned expression, True Monarch Magnetic Pole asked, "Do you understand now?"

"Learning military-grade artifact forging methods first, especially our lineage's military-grade method 'Grand Void Divine Artifact Strategy', will allow you to progress much faster in artifact forging. Particularly in material refining, artifact shaping, and magical power transmission, you can bypass many technologies and directly achieve things others cannot with this method, significantly saving time!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking, "It's almost like one person is diligently learning true flame processing techniques, while another directly cultivates the 'Fire Control Divine Tome' and masters true flame."

However, as Zhang Yu recalled his artifact forging memories, another idea surged into his mind, and he suddenly asked, "Teacher, regarding something like this advanced thermal spiritual energy technology, if I successfully forge a related artifact, wouldn't I have directly mastered the technology itself?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole chuckled, "How could you forge a related artifact if you don't master the relevant technology?"

But Zhang Yu thought to himself, "That might not be true!"

He recalled every instance of cultivating artifact forging blueprints and mastering various artifact manufacturing techniques. Especially each time the Feather Scripture leveled up, a wealth of forging experience and knowledge would emerge in his mind.

This made Zhang Yu realize, "The 20x acceleration from the Grand Purity Realm already makes my learning speed incredibly fast!"

"Plus, the reality-simulating laboratory allows me to conduct artifact forging experiments repeatedly."

"And the Feather Scripture's cultivation only cares about repetitions, not quality!"

"As long as I fully utilize the power of the Feather Scripture, through repeated accelerated practice, I can master the forging of various artifacts, and in turn, rapidly and deeply grasp various technologies!"

"If I do that, it probably won't take too long for me to meet the requirements for prototyping military-grade artifact products!"

"Isn't this much more reliable than participating in any design competition?"

A jolt went through Zhang Yu as he thought of this, and he vaguely formed a plan.

In his eyes, the technologies required to forge military-grade artifacts displayed on the light screen were no longer just technologies; they had transformed into individual artifact blueprints!

As long as he mastered these artifact blueprints, he would have mastered the forging technology for military-grade artifacts.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole's gaze shifted, and he looked at Zhang Yu, saying, "Hmm, it seems you've made up your mind."

Zhang Yu replied, "Teacher, I'd like to try forging a prototype of a military-grade artifact product first to see if I can obtain a Class A military certificate."

"Oh?" True Monarch Magnetic Pole's heart stirred, and he secretly lamented, "This path, though much more difficult and time-consuming, allows for deeper learning and builds a solid foundation, setting the stage for future breakthroughs."

"I didn't expect him to still choose this path after I showed him how challenging it would be!"

"If you're willing to give it a try, that's fine," True Monarch Magnetic Pole said calmly. "After all, the next design competition is still several months away. In the meantime, you should seize the opportunity to learn as much as you can. If you feel you're struggling halfway through, you can always switch paths."

Relieved that True Monarch Magnetic Pole also supported his approach, Zhang Yu immediately relaxed, then asked, "Teacher, which military-grade artifact product do you think I should focus on?"

"Forging magic treasures is simpler than magical constructs. Among magic treasures, the Taihao Sacred Law Sword Array involves both flying swords and sword arrays, requiring too much supplementary learning for you."

"The Vacuum Tribulation Transformation Diagram involves several profound Daoist techniques. You don't need to take supplementary classes for it, but cultivating it would be very expensive."

"The Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor hasn't been fully deciphered yet, so it's too early for you."

"After considering everything, the most suitable one left for you is the Blazing Sun Divine Guardian."

"Conveniently, the Blazing Sun Divine Guardian is a puppet. If you successfully forge it, it can not only assist your work and experiments, but the knowledge and skills gained will also greatly benefit your future magical construct forging."

With that, True Monarch Magnetic Pole sent the blueprint for the Blazing Sun Divine Guardian prototype to Zhang Yu.

This Blazing Sun Divine Guardian prototype was not yet military-grade, only considered a top-tier enterprise-grade artifact. However, if successfully forged, it would signify that the forger possessed the ability to create the complete Blazing Sun Divine Guardian.

Furthermore, when Zhang Yu opened the blueprint, he saw that True Monarch Magnetic Pole had meticulously listed the required courses, knowledge, and techniques for each part. Everything was clear at a glance, saving students the trouble of aimlessly seeking guidance.