Pirated Immortals in the World of Spirit Weapons

Chapter 131 Advancement! 10,000 Components of the Celestial Phenomenon Dao Codex! The Academy of Weaponry!

Zhu Que ignored those magical artifact crafting masters; he had no need to prove anything to them.

In the days that followed.

He spent almost all his time at the Spirit Artifact Research Institute.

Apart from meals and rest, the rest of the time was spent constantly testing components, estimating time, and labeling numbers.

During that time, he only returned to the Spring and Summer landfill once.

Twenty Thousand Soul Banners were made and Xiao Cai delivered them to the Heavenly Pivot Division to complete the delivery and settlement.

Besides.

Zhu Que also made a new batch of filth-storing rings for the little ghosts, so they could fill them with old and broken items from the junkyard.

And so, finally, on the evening of the fifth day.

Zhu Que labeled the last component with a number and let out a long sigh of relief.

All 10,000 parts have been numbered!

The workload over these five days was enormous, but also extremely worthwhile, because it was the "key" to replicating the Daoist classics on celestial phenomena.

"Now that the numbering is complete, we will analyze them one by one in order."

Zhu Que thought to himself.

Afterwards, he found Song Wugui busy in the laboratory and asked him to find out the latest progress on the combination of spiritual artifacts.

"Everything is going smoothly."

Song Wugui looked at Zhu Que and said, "The material issue has been basically resolved, and all the components are almost finished being made."

"If all goes well, assembly and testing should be completed in about a month."

"What if things don't go smoothly?" Zhu Que asked.

"If things don't go smoothly—it might be postponed to two months later," Song Wugui hinted cryptically.

"Understood."

Zhu Que nodded slightly, understanding the meaning behind Song Wugui's words: he was trying his best to delay the completion of the combined spiritual artifact.

"By the way, I've noticed you've been studying the components of the Celestial Phenomena Daoist Manual these past few days. Have you figured anything out?"

Song Wugui asked with some curiosity.

"Not yet." Zhu Que shook his head.

"Then good luck."

Song Wugui had no idea what Zhu Que was doing.

However, since Zhu Que asked him to stall for time, he must have his own reasons.

And this intention—

He guessed it was most likely related to those components.

"I'll be going now, let's have a drink another day."

Zhu Que bid farewell to Song Wugui and left the research institute.

As they walked toward the landfill, they kept track of the time.

The current situation is that there are a total of 10,000 parts, and each part takes about ten minutes to parse.

At this rate, even if he does nothing, it will still take him about two months to analyze it.

According to what Song Wugui just said, the combination of spiritual artifacts will take at least two months to complete.

He simply doesn't have enough time.

We have to find a way to reduce the time —

Zhu Que immediately thought of the Gate of Time.

If it can be analyzed within the time gate, where the time flow is ten times slower than outside, it can be done in a few days.

However, while the Time Gate can be carried around, the components cannot be brought inside.

I need to come up with a reasonable reason.

Zhu Que began to ponder this in secret.

Spring and summer garbage dump.

Zhu Que had just returned to the landfill when Xiao Cai approached him to report on her work.

"Boss, you're back." Xiao Cai placed a pile of things on the table. "I just wanted to report to you on my work."

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

"The first step is the handover with the Tian Shu Division."

Xiao Cai opened the two wooden boxes.

"These are the rewards we received from the Celestial Pivot Division."

"Twenty second-tier spirit cores and three second-tier secret realm source hearts. I've checked them, and there are no issues with their quality."

Zhu Que examined it carefully.

The first box contained twenty spirit cores neatly arranged, while the second box contained three secret realm source hearts.

"very good."

Zhu Que nodded in satisfaction.

"Are the Heavenly Pivot Division satisfied with the Thousand Soul Banner? Have they raised any objections or requests?"

"I've spoken with their manager, and they're very satisfied. They even asked if they could supply more."

"Tell them it's not possible for now. The production process of the Thousand Soul Banner is quite complicated, and twenty per week is already the limit."

Zhu Que said, "But don't make any absolute statements. Just say that after a few months, when the manufacturing process is more mature, we might be able to produce more."

"I will tell them."

Xiao Cai made a note in her notebook.

"The second thing."

Xiao Cai took out a detailed document.

"Regarding the sale of other pirated magical artifacts, I have conducted market research and selected five types of magical artifacts with high profits and low risks. Please take a look and see which one is more suitable."

Zhu Que took the documents and read them.

They were all second-tier spiritual artifacts for cultivation, and none of them had been analyzed by him.

"These five magical artifacts can be either purchased or rented. I'll research which pirated magical artifact is the best to imitate."

Zhu Que said that.

But actually, he wanted to try making one to see the side effects, since some magical artifacts had terrible side effects.

"If we don't have enough spirit coins, we'll sell these ten second-tier spirit cores."

Zhu Que gave her half of the spirit core.

"Okay."

Xiao Cai nodded slightly and continued her report.

"I haven't had time to look for channels to purchase or access second- and third-tier spiritual artifacts yet. These past few days have been incredibly busy dealing with the Tian Shu Division and conducting market research."

"No rush, just do it at your own pace," Zhu Que said understandingly.

"Finally, here is the information I compiled about the Academy of Weaponry."

Xiao Cai then handed him a folder filled with information about the Qi Dao Academy.

Zhu Que glanced through it briefly.

This document is very detailed.

It includes the map of the Artifact Academy, the curriculum, the credit system, the rules for using the Artifact Library, and so on.

Looking at the schedule, I realized that school starts in three days.

"School's starting so soon? The official college entrance exams just ended not long ago, right? Don't master's universities have winter and summer breaks?"

"Of course not. Only regular universities have winter and summer vacations. Students at master universities wish they could be cultivating 365 days a year, so they don't have time for holidays."

"Understood."

Zhu Que nodded slightly and decided to report to the Weaponry Academy three days later.

The artifact storage facility of the Artifact Academy is among the best in the entire Guangyang City.

This university is primarily focused on the research and development and manufacturing of magical artifacts, and its artifact storage facility houses a wide variety of magical artifacts.

Zhu Que absolutely cannot give up this channel for accessing spiritual artifacts.

Then.

Zhu Que entered the Gate of Time and spent the next three days practicing combat and cultivating with Ye Na.

The third night.

Zhu Que has finished his cultivation at the Gate of Time.

As soon as he left, several little ghosts immediately surrounded him. They keenly sensed the change in Zhu Que.

"Big brother, you seem to have grown a little taller again."

Rabbit tilted its head and carefully examined Zhu Que.

Zhu Que lowered his head slightly and looked at his hands.

"I'm already at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

These three days.

No.

To be precise, it was thirty days in the void.

He continuously cultivated and practiced, and used three second-tier secret realm source hearts, finally successfully advancing to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

The ninth level of Qi Refining is the final stage of the Qi Refining period.

The next stage is the Foundation Establishment stage.

Stepping from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment is not simply an accumulation of cultivation, but a cultivator's first qualitative leap.

During the Qi Refining stage, one simply absorbs the spiritual energy between heaven and earth into the body and stores it in the dantian (energy center).

Spiritual energy circulates within the body, strengthening the body and enhancing strength, but ultimately, spiritual energy is still just spiritual energy.

Foundation building is about completing a transformation.

First, the cultivator will undergo a cleansing and purification process to remove all impurities from the body, allowing the tendons, bones, flesh, and meridians to reach an extremely high level of purity.

Only those with sufficient physical strength can withstand this tempering process.

Then, the cultivator must refine "spiritual power" within his body.

So-called spiritual power is the compression and tempering of gaseous spiritual energy, which is eventually transformed into spiritual power similar to liquid.

This process can be simply understood as turning a gas into a liquid.

If the body is not strong enough, it is impossible to contain liquid spiritual energy.

Like a fragile container, if you force a foundation on it without considering the consequences, the whole body will collapse.

At best, it can cause qi deviation; at worst, it can lead to immediate death.

Physical strength is directly related to the foundation laid during the Qi Refining stage; injecting medicine can strengthen the flesh, bones, and muscles.

Real-world training can hone physical resilience.

Practicing advanced techniques can broaden one's meridians and enhance one's endurance.

All of this can ultimately be summed up in one word: money.

With spirit coins, you can buy the best injections, combat training, and cultivation techniques.

With enough money, cultivation resources are sufficient, tempering strength increases, and Foundation Establishment becomes a natural progression.

This is a harsh reality that everyone knows: for the poor, building a foundation is extremely difficult, and only one in ten survives.

For the wealthy, building a foundation is effortless and almost guaranteed to succeed.

However, for Zhu Que, the difficulty of Foundation Establishment was almost zero.

Given his current physical strength, as long as he proceeds steadily, reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm is only a matter of time.

"Based on real-world time calculations, about a week should be enough."

Zhu Que thought to himself.

Then.

Zhu Que briefly outlined the tasks to be done next, starting with the analysis of the Celestial Phenomena Daoist Classic.

The numbering of 10,000 parts has been completed; the next step is to analyze them one by one in sequence.

We must come up with a reasonable reason, without arousing Pei Feng's suspicion, to bring those components into the Gate of Time.

The next step is to report to the Academy of Weaponry.

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and he must go to the school to complete the registration procedures and find a way to access the Spirit Artifact Library at the Artifact Academy.

Finally, there is the super-large spiritual artifact.

He was about to instruct Xiao Cai to go to the remaining red nodes and investigate the places where the black balls were buried.

See which places, like the artificial lake at the Dawn Orphanage, offer easy access to the Black Ball.

First, analyze all the simple and easy-to-reach black balls, and then gradually solve the more difficult ones.

After sorting out the three things.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Que took out some "research results" and handed them to Pei Feng.

Pei Feng said that only by demonstrating his value could he save his life, and now was the time for him to demonstrate his value for the first time.

Zhu Que handed over the correct order of the first one hundred components of the Celestial Phenomena Daoist Canon to Pei Feng.

One hundred parts, no more and no less.

This proves that he has indeed made research achievements without revealing too much, which is enough to demonstrate his value.

the other side.

Taiyan Group's Spiritual Artifact Research Institute.

When Pei Feng received the message from Zhu Que that "the first one hundred parts are correctly ordered," he was somewhat taken aback.

"How did he deduce that?"

Pei Feng is also quite accomplished in the study of magical artifacts.

He was considered a technical expert at Taiyan Group, but upon seeing this sorting chart, he couldn't discern the underlying principles upon which it was derived.

He quickly contacted Zhu Que.

"Zhu Que, what principle did you use to derive this sorting diagram? I can't see any difference between these components."

"intuition."

"What?"

"It's just a feeling that's hard to explain."

"Are you serious?"

"certainly."

Zhu Que said mysteriously, "Sometimes, studying magical artifacts requires not only theoretical knowledge but also a bit of talent."

"I have a special sensitivity to the structure of magical artifacts; I can sense the subtle connections between them."

"What you said is as good as nothing at all."

Pei Feng rolled his eyes speechlessly.

"Forget it, I'll find other masters to study it. You better not be trying to fool me with some kind of mystical trick."

hang up the phone.

Pei Feng scanned and printed thousands of copies of the sorting diagram and distributed them to the various magical artifact manufacturing masters in Laboratory 009.

however.

The various master craftsmen of magical artifacts scoffed at the sorting diagram.

"Manager Pei, this thing has no research value whatsoever," said a bald master.

"How so?"

"Because there is absolutely no basis for it."

The bald master explained, "Look at his order. Why is this part number 1? Why is this part number 2?"

"How did he determine the order? What theoretical basis supports this? What experimental data supports it?"

"This is truly outrageous. There's no theoretical basis whatsoever; it's just a simple sorting. What's the difference between this and blindly guessing?"

"Anyway, I can't see any connection."

'

Everyone chimed in with their opinions, criticizing Zhu Que's sorting diagram as utterly worthless.

As Pei Feng listened to their comments, he began to have doubts himself.

Although he had always thought highly of Zhu Que, the fact that so many senior experts held such consistent opinions made him wonder if Zhu Que was really just messing around.

"Alright, you can all go back to work now." Pei Feng waved for everyone to leave. "I'll double-check with Zhu Que again."

Done.

He immediately contacted Zhu Que.

"Zhu Que, are you sure you're not lying to me?"

"Manager Pei, I swear I'm not lying to you!"

"I'm warning you, if what you're doing is completely worthless, even I can't protect you!"

Pei Feng said sternly, "The current situation is that all the spirit weapon masters say that your sorting diagram is nonsense. You'd better have a reasonable explanation."

"Manager Pei, this sorting chart is definitely not something you made up."

"Then you have to prove that this thing actually has value!"

"Hmm, how about this?"

Zhu Que pretended to think for a moment and said, "Give me a few days, and I'll prove it to you."

"Okay, I hope you keep your word."

"Beep beep beep"

hang up the phone.

Zhu Que's eyes flickered slightly; he had achieved his goal.

He came up with a way to openly and legitimately bring the components of the Celestial Phenomena Codex into the Gate of Time!

The next day.

The Academy of Arts and Crafts.

Zhu Que went to the Weaponry Academy early in the morning.

The Artifact Academy is one of the sixteen cultivation universities in Guangyang City, specializing in training talents in the research and manufacture of spiritual artifacts.

Since its establishment, this university has cultivated countless outstanding masters of magical artifacts and enjoys a high reputation throughout the Kunlun Immortal Alliance.

The school covers a vast area and boasts a unique architectural style that perfectly blends classical Buddhist architecture with modern technological facilities.

Congratulations on your admission to the campus.

Along the roadside, the trees are lush and verdant, exuding a faint spiritual aura, and many students are walking and talking.

In the distance, on the training ground, people are conducting live-fire training.

From the nearby foundry, a series of clanging sounds came from, clearly indicating that students were forging magical artifacts.

The most eye-catching feature is the huge sculpture in the center of the campus, depicting an old man holding an iron hammer. That is the founder of the Artifact Crafting Academy, a legendary master craftsman of magical artifacts.

Zhu Que followed the signs and arrived at the freshman registration area.

Today is the first day of school, and there are a lot of new students registering at the checkpoints, all of whom are completing their enrollment procedures at this time.

Therefore, Zhu Que could see from afar that a long line had formed in front of the registration area, with at least several hundred people queuing up.

"When will that be?"

Zhu Que muttered something to himself and joined the queue at the back.

While waiting.

Zhu Que noticed a large electronic screen above the registration area, displaying two leaderboards:

Freshman Comprehensive Quality Ranking, Freshman Spiritual Artifact Knowledge Ranking: "What are these rankings for?"

Zhu Que was a little curious and took out the information that Xiao Cai had compiled for him.

Just as he was flipping through the pages, a clear female voice came from beside him.

"This ranking list is used for class assignments."

Zhu Que looked up.

She was a beautiful young girl with a high ponytail and a bright smile.

"Class division?"

"yes."

The girl explained enthusiastically, "The freshman classes at the Academy of Weaponry are assigned according to overall quality and academic level."

"The higher the ranking and the higher the points, the more likely you are to enter the advanced class; the lower the ranking, the more likely you are to be assigned to the regular class."

"Is there really such a grading system?" Zhu Que asked doubtfully. "Wouldn't that mean the good get better and the bad get worse?"

"No, the curriculum is different for different classes."

The girl explained, "Think about it, if you put high-achieving students and low-achieving students in the same class, how should the teaching pace be arranged?"

"If the lecture is too fast, those with weak foundations can't keep up; if it's too slow, those with strong foundations feel it's a waste of time."

"No matter how you teach, it will always be unfair to some people."

That makes sense.

Zhu Que nodded slightly and said politely, "Thank you for your explanation."

You're welcome.

The girl smiled and said, "My name is Feng Ya, and I'm also a freshman this year. What's your name, classmate?"

"My name is Zhu Que."

"Congratulations to classmate Que————"

Feng Ya looked Zhu Que up and down, then asked with a smile, "You're so handsome, you must already have a girlfriend, right?"

"No, I don't want to be in a relationship right now," Zhu Que said calmly. "Right now, I just want to focus all my energy on cultivation."

He really hadn't thought about dating; improving his skills was the most important thing to him.

However, he also understood.

His appearance does attract some girls.

Even when he was thin, deformed, and extremely malnourished, his face was already remarkably handsome.

Now, he has cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Refining. He is over 1.8 meters tall, no longer thin, and looks both youthful and mature beyond his years.

His slightly aloof demeanor, combined with his handsome features, certainly makes him very attractive to girls.

Calling him a heartthrob is no exaggeration.

"Ugh, I don't want to be in a relationship either."

Feng Ya blinked and asked with a smile, "But I have a good friend who's a real beauty, do you want me to introduce you?"

Without waiting for Zhu Que's reply, she turned around, waved, and shouted into the distance, "Wan Ning, come here quickly, I've found you a handsome husband~"

'

Zhu Que's lips twitched slightly.

This girl's personality is way too extroverted.

"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about?"

Not far away, a petite and cute girl ran over quickly.

She was a little younger than Feng Ya, about 1.6 meters tall, with pigtails and a round, very cute face.

She ran up to Feng Ya, both embarrassed and angry: "Feng Ya! Are you trying to kill me! Can you please stop shouting like that! There are so many people around, it's so embarrassing!"

"Oh, haven't you always wanted to have a wonderful romance?"

Feng Ya said with a grin, "I'm helping you realize your dream. Look, I've found you a super handsome young man, he's incredibly good-looking!"

As she spoke, she pointed to Zhu Que beside her.

The girl looked up and saw Zhu Que, paused for a second in surprise, then exclaimed in delight, "Huh? Zhu Que!"

"have not seen you for a long time."

Zhu Que recognized the girl at first glance—it was Lu Wanning, the daughter of the mayor of Jinfeng Town.

"What! You two have been having an affair all along?" Feng Ya exclaimed in surprise.

"Feng Ya, stop talking nonsense! Zhu Que is my friend in Jinfeng Town—well, a friend!"

Lu Wanning's face flushed red instantly.

"Are they really friends?" Feng Ya asked suspiciously.

"You forgot? He's the young hero I told you about before, the one who saved me during the kidnapping."

Lu Wanning whispered in her ear.

"What? It's him!"

Feng Ya exclaimed, "No wonder his name sounded so familiar! So he's the one you've been longing for—"

"Hey! Shut up!"

Lu Wanning quickly reached out and covered her mouth.

Fearing that Zhu Que might misunderstand, her lovely face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears, and even her jade-like neck flushed a faint pink.

"I'm sorry, Ya Ya just likes to joke around, please don't mind her."

"fine."

Zhu Que smiled nonchalantly.

He could tell that Lu Wanning was a little embarrassed.

Although he saved her during the last kidnapping, the two barely exchanged a few words.

They weren't even close, let alone friends.

"By the way, did you also get into the Weaponry Academy?" Zhu Que changed the subject and asked curiously.

"Yes, my talent for cultivation is average, and my combat ability is not very good either, but I have been interested in spiritual weapons since I was a child, so I chose to apply to the Weaponry Academy."

Lu Wanning said in a serious tone.

Feng Ya pouted and muttered, "Yes, yes, you love magical artifacts the most, you don't even know the most basic principles of magical artifacts—"

ah!"

She suddenly cried out in pain because Lu Wanning pinched her hard.

Just then.

A tall boy carrying a large backpack squeezed through.

He looked to be around eighteen years old, with dark skin and a muscular build; he was clearly the type who was used to real combat.

"Ya Ya, the line is still so long."

"Yeah, it's driving me crazy," Feng Ya said impatiently. "I don't know how long we'll have to wait."

"There's nothing we can do, just too many people are showing up today."

The boy offered her a word of comfort, then noticed Zhu Que standing nearby. "Who is this guy?"

"He is Wan Ning's—" Feng Ya was about to speak.

"Friend! He is my friend Zhu Que!"

Lu Wanning was afraid that Feng Ya would say something inappropriate again, so he quickly interrupted her.

The boy extended his hand to Zhu Que in a friendly manner.

"Hello, my name is Wu Tai, and I'm Feng Ya's boyfriend. We'll be classmates from now on, so please take care of me."

"no problem."

Zhu Que shook hands with him.

"You two aren't from Jinfeng Town, are you?" Zhu Que asked.

"Yes, we all grew up in Guangyang city."

Wu Tai laughed and said, "Ya Ya and I have been neighbors since we were little. In junior high school, Wan Ning became my classmate. However, in high school, Wan Ning went back to Jinfeng Town to study, so we didn't go to the same school anymore."

"Understood."

Zhu Que nodded slightly.

"Wait a minute!"

Lu Wanning suddenly remembered something and said, "Zhu Que, you can't queue here. It seems that there is another special registration area for students admitted through the special college entrance examination."

"Yeah?"

Zhu Que left the group and glanced into the distance.

They discovered that, some distance ahead and partially obscured by the crowd, there was indeed a registration point for students admitted through the special college entrance examination.

"That's true. I'll go report over there then."

Zhu Que nodded politely.

Wu Tai and Feng Ya were stunned when they saw Zhu Que walking towards the special college entrance examination registration area.

"What?! He's actually a student admitted through the special college entrance exam?!" Wu Tai said in disbelief.

"yes."

Lu Wanning nodded and said, "Moreover, he is not an ordinary special college entrance examination candidate. He is the number one in our Jinfeng Town area, even more powerful than Zhou Yan of the Linhe Four Young Masters."

As they were talking.

She watched Zhu Que's departing figure, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

"First place in the special college entrance examination?"

Wu Tai asked with some doubt, "Isn't Zhou Yan the most famous genius in Jinfeng Town? How come Zhu Que is even more powerful than Zhou Yan?"