by <unknown>
A majority of the freshmen of the Grand Desolate War Institution came from mid-sized towns in the Demon Beast Wasteland, many of whom had never seen such a big, flourishing city. One by one, each and every one of them glued their face to the window so much so that their nose almost pressed flat as they gaze afar with wide-opened eyes.
"Look, there are so many floating mountains!"
"Wild Waves City is divided into a lot of levels. It is simply a three-dimensional city!"
The freshmen clicked their tongue in wonder, and some even exclaimed in admiration.
In the space above Wild Waves City, over a hundred mountains were floated in the air. Their Anti-Gravity Array Glyphs released a large amount of spiritual energy like tides that even distorted the air, creating ripples one after another, which gave the impression of a world of dreams, as if a paradise had fallen in the world of mortals.
Some of these floating mountains retained their oldest form and appeared as if a mountain peak had been uprooted and floated in the air. On their surface, there were pavilions and buildings that had been exquisitely carved and beautifully painted, while streams of water flowed under the small bridges.
Waterfalls that were tumbling down these floating mountain sprayed the water everywhere around them, eventually turning into a blurry mist which gave birth to rainbows in no time.
Whereas, some of the floating mountains evidently had traces of being artificially constructed, as if they were huge buildings that were floating in the sky.
Some were like tall and lofty palaces, some were like ancient and firm pyramids, while others were modeled after modern skyscrapers.
There were a few floating mountains which were cast from the purest of metals to give a post-modern style. Like the crystal battleships that roamed between the universe, these floating mountains soared even through the atmospheric layers as they docked in the space over Wild Waves City!
A vast majority of these floating mountains were connected using transparent tubes, wherein there were countless capsules-like objects that were moving as swiftly as the wind and lightning.
Each of these "capsules" had a few passengers riding inside as they shuttled between the floating mountains in an astonishing speed.
However, most people still chose flying shuttles over the capsules to travel between the floating mountains.
Some of the powerful cultivators simply rode their flying swords to travel as their entire bodies were wrapped in colorful streams of light that were constantly releasing a resplendent brilliance, leaving behind a trail of rainbows in the blue curtain of the sky. They were traveling in a free and unrestrained manner.
"Those cultivators who are riding their sword should be the professors of Grand Desolate War Institution, right? God knows when I will be personally taught by the 'professors'!" A few freshmen sighed with emotions in succession.
A freshman suddenly remembered as he raised his hand and asked, "Professor Yuan, can you now tell us what exactly is Project Mystic Skeleton?"
Just as these words left his mouth, every freshman's eyes lit up.
Everyone was an ambitious teenager who did not wish to dawdle their days in a waste department only to find a random job after their graduation—that would be too unworthy for themselves!
Yuan Manqiu slightly smiled and cleared her throat:
"Alright, since you are all interested, I will carefully explain it to you. However, before I explain, Student Li Yao, can you please tell everyone the universal concept of 'Crystal Suit!"
Li Yao was taken aback a bit. He had never expected that Yuan Manqiu would suddenly point his name.
However, the concept of crystal suits was not the least bit profound. Not to mention cultivators, even if it were the ordinary people, they had seen it on the news, and it was even used in many virtual reality games.
Li Yao, as an experienced magical equipment fan, was naturally not unaware of it.
He formed a speech in his mind before pouring out in fervor:
"The crystal suit is not just a magical equipment that is like a common armor. On the contrary, it is an offensive-type, defense-type, camouflage-type, maneuvering-type, reconnaissance-type magical equipment... All kinds of magical equipment, after having integrated together with the assistance of powerful military crystal processors, is finally refined into a combat suit."
"An excellent crystal suit is equivalent to the most powerful flying sword and an impregnable armor which has the fastest propulsion array glyphs as well as a reconnaissance magical equipment whose detection system has the largest range... It is a piece of magical equipment which has all kinds of magical equipment perfectly combined together to meet all the needs that a cultivator requires during a fight. Furthermore, it also provides adequate support of spiritual energy reserves as well as calculation ability!"
"A crystal suit could not only geometrically elevate the battle force of a cultivator, but above all, it could extend the time which a cultivator could keep fighting, and even more so, it could allow a cultivator to adapt to a variety of complex terrains during a fight."
"Whether you are in a foreign sector filled with demonic energy and devil energy, in space or place which lacks oxygen, or a world fragment that lacks spiritual energy, as long as they are equipped with a crystal suit, the cultivators could unleash their full power and destroy everything in their path!"
"Therefore, the crystal suit is known as the 'King of Modern Magical Equipment'. Some people also describe it as the 'Magical Equipment Among Magical Equipment’. Among all magical equipment, it is the one which is the most complex, the most expensive, the one which is most difficult to refine, and the one which after having successfully refined becomes the strongest magical equipment!"
"At the end of the Great Dark Age, mankind began to combine various magical equipment and had refined the very first crystal suit."
"Countless weak Refinement Stage cultivators, after having their battle force elevated with the help of the crystal suit to a level comparable to Building Foundation Stage cultivators, formed a huge army of crystal suited-soldiers. Only then was mankind able to overcome the demon clan and acquire a second life!"
"Even today, cultivators who are equipped with crystal suit are still the main force of mankind who fight with demon beasts. Only if they wore crystal suits would they be able to go toe-to-toe with demon generals who possess tyrannical battle force, demon kinds, and notorious and powerful devil path cultivators!"
Li Yao explained the crystal suit's definition, principles, and history tirelessly. He even listed several classic crystal suit models.
Although many of the freshmen knew some of the knowledge related to crystal suits, it was not so detailed and comprehensive. Everyone heard it in relish and watched with utmost concentration.
Yuan Manqiu repeatedly nodded her head before she smiled and said:
"Very good. Student Li Yao's explanation is very comprehensive. However, you have given so many advantages of the crystal suit. Can you list two disadvantages?"
Li Yao pondered for a bit before he shook his head and said:
"The crystal suit is the most powerful magical equipment in the modern cultivation world. Its offense and defense is completely balanced. It's an individual magical equipment which provides the strongest continuous fighting ability. For sure, from the point of the refining level, it can be divided into high and low levels, but if I have to point out any fatal flaws, then I can not tell. I can only say that it has regretful disadvantages."
"First, the production cost of refining crystal suit is very high. Even a crystal suit of the most common structure would cost at least 500 million, and this is just the basic. If you want to carry a few flying swords, then it would be even more expensive."
"The refining cost of some of the high-rank crystal suit designed to be equipped by Golden Core Stage cultivator or Nascent Soul Stage monsters is comparable to a crystal battleship. Furthermore, its maintenance and repair cost is exceedingly high—it is simp
ly a behemoth that swallows gold!"
"Second, in the process of refining a crystal suit, a large number of heaven and earth treasures are consumed. It's one thing that these materials are exorbitant in price, but most importantly, many of its raw materials are very scarce and there is simply no price for them. Even with all the money in the world, one could not buy them!"
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TLN:
Hi guys,
One of you suggested, Mystic Bone sounds nice rather than Profound Skeleton. So we have decided to change the name to Mystic Skeleton. Also, the crystal armor we have sometimes mentioned in the past has been changed to crystal suit. As for the no release on tuesday, I will make it up by today or tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience, I was in bit of a jam.
Thank you for reading the novel.
Chapter 132: Mass-Production Storm |
"For example, in order to refine the well-known, heavy-class crystal armor of the cultivation world, the 'Tai Hao Battle Suit', 'Tai Hao Stone', which is extremely rare and precious, is required. This Tai Hao Stone is a meteorite from outer space and is so rare that it only falls once every five centuries in the Heaven Origin Sector. In other words, it is only possible to refine one Tai Hao Battlesuit. If one wants to refine another one, it is absolutely impossible!"[1]
"These two points together are the reason that a vast majority of crystal suits are unable to be mass-produced. Crystal suits are scarce in number, and in the battlefield, only the commanders and commandos can wear it."
"If the price of crystal suits was a little cheaper and its design was a little simpler, thereby reducing the difficulty of refining them by a bit as well as allowing them to be mass-produced and available to every cultivator, the crystal suit army of the Star Sea Imperium Era would once again reappear. Not to mention leveling the Demon Beast Wasteland, even the Blood Demon Sector could be steamrolled all the way. Any demon general or demon king would be swallowed by the mankind's waves of steel one after another."
Yuan Manqiu smile became more and more mysterious.
"Very good, Student Li Yao. You have completely pointed out the two major problems of refining crystal suits. Anyone who could resolve these two problems—that is to say, a low-priced crystal suit that could be mass-produced—will set off a storm in the industry and even change the face of the entire cultivation world’s battling style!"
After thinking for a moment, Li Yao suddenly came to understood what Yuan Manqiu was trying to say. He suddenly jumped up:
"Is our Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department amidst the process of refining a new crystal suit? One that is low-priced and can be mass-produced?"
Once these words were out, all the freshmen were in an uproar.
Anyone who could be admitted to the Nine Elite Universities was definitely not a fool. Everyone, very soon, realized that once the Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department was successful in refining "crystal suits that could be mass-produced", big waves would set off.
Forget the others, just the army would order 3,000-5,000 in one breath. No, no, no, just 2,000 was enough to produce an astronomical profit, which would be enough to elevate the Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department into one of the strongest Refining Departments in the federation.
"Is it true, Professor Yuan? Even for Deep Sea University's Refining Department, it is very difficult to refine a crystal suit that could be mass-produced. Can we actually do it?"
"Low-price? How low is it? Can it cost less 300 million?"
"Are you not going to use heaven and earth treasures? But many of the key components of crystal suits are very sophisticated. They have special requirements for the tensile strength and spiritual energy conductivity, which only a few heaven and earth treasures could fulfill. Wouldn't ordinary material simply be unable to bear the load? Wouldn't they just disintegrate once the load is slightly above their limit?"
A lively discussion burst forth amongst the freshmen. Their faces beamed with delight, and their morale, all of a sudden, pushed through the limit; the lifeless look which was hung on their faces had now completely disappeared.
Striking while the iron was hot, Yuan Manqiu, wearing a smile on her face, said:
"It's true! As early as twenty years ago, when Old Mo and I were exploring a vestige in the Wasteland, we inadvertently found a fragment of a jade chip. After a decade or so of analysis, we were finally able to analyze some precious information stored within it and discovered a refining technique to refine a low-level crystal suit from the Star Sea Imperium Era. However, it was incomplete and was missing many of the most crucial steps and procedures."
"Wow!"
The eyes of all the freshmen, including Li Yao's, lit up.
At the dawn of the Great Dark Age, the greatest and strongest cultivator of mankind, the "Emperor", was born and later founded the Star Sea Imperium across the universe.
That period was the peak of mankind's cultivation technologies. There were endless formidable cultivators and tyrannical magical equipment.
Unfortunately, during the "Armageddon Rebellion", the Emperor's strongest clone, "Blood God", after having been corrupted by the Extraterrestrial Devils, fell to the devil’s path. The Emperor's clone became the strongest devil cultivator known as "Mad Armageddon", and the cultivation world was razed by the flames of the second civil war.
Razed by the flames of war for a successive 1,000 years, the Star Sea Imperium was eventually destroyed, as a result of which various cultivation technologies suffered a disastrous decline. The level of the cultivation civilization regressed by at least a thousand years.
As far as the current Heaven Origin Sector was concerned, even a jade chip fragment from the Star Sea Imperium Era was downright a priceless treasure.
Yuan Manqiu was completely satisfied by the freshmen's reaction. She continued:
"About a decade ago, Old Mo and I established a research team which struggled day and night to overcome the difficulties and hoped to apply the technology from the jade chip fragment into modern crystal suits so that we could produce a low-priced, ordinary-level crystal suit that could be mass-produced."
"Five years ago, we finally had a breakthrough, so we assembled all the professors and students of the Refining Department to form a team of refiners and poured all our funds into it."
"At present, we have already refined a fair share of the key components, and the overall structure is also almost built. The most difficult part of the entire project has already been resolved, reaching a completion rate of over 90%. As long as we put in our efforts, we will soon succeed!"
"Today was the day when we were going to test the most crucial ‘Super Compressed Crystal Reactor', and as such, all the students and professors of the Refining Department were gathered in the Refining Workshop. That's why we neglected you all."
"However, as long as the Crystal Reactor is operating perfectly, we will be able to charge the crystal suits with spiritual energy in a steady stream, thereby making the entire project 99% complete!"
"As Old Mo is the leader of the entire project and the one who had first found the jade chip fragment, and also because he and I poured all our funds into the project, we decided to use the 'Xuan' character from his name for the project and called this project "Project Mystic Skeleton', while the crystal suit that is going to be mass-produced will be called 'Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit'."
"Our target is to decrease the refining cost of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit to be under... 100 million!"
"Everyone, I invite you all to take part in the 'Project Mystic Skelton' and set off a massive storm in the cultivation world, one which will sweep the world!"
Yuan Manqiu, with her head held high, said proudly.
"Wow..."
Once she finished speaking, all the freshmen were finally moved. One after another, it was as if everyone was had been injected with energy and were beaming with joy; they were all in high spirits!
What was 100 million?
The price of some of the top-grade armed flying shuttles, such as the higher versions of the Mystic Bird Battle Shuttles and the Crimson Flame Battle Shuttles, were close to 100 million. In addition to its speed being faster, the battle force of such flying shuttles was absolutely higher than that of a crystal suit.
Prior to the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, the cheapest crystal suit was worth over 500 million and that was just a training model. It wasn't equipped with any notable offensive magical equipment.
Before, spending an amount of 500 million could only arm a single cultivator, but now, it could arm at least five cultivators!
Even if the performance of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was worse than other crystal suits, the numerical advantage of five or maybe even ten could make up for the large difference in its performance.
Needless to say, some of the slightly higher grade crystal suits could cost a couple hundred million, a few billion, or maybe even more than ten billion.
If the same amount was spent on the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, an entire battalion could be armed with ease!
Yuan Manqiu was absolutely right. If Project Mystic Skeleton was truly successful, then as certain as the sun rising in the east, it was a revolutionary crystal suit which would set off an earth-shattering and heaven-encompassing storm in the cultivation world—it could even change the face of the currently existing battle style of cultivators!
By then, every low-level cultivator would not hesitate to buy a Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, and the army, even more so, would send a large order at once!
The Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department did not even need to truly manufacture the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits. They would just have to provide authorization to the army or other cultivation sects for them to refine it, and just from the "licensing fee", they would be able to earn massive profits.
"Now, do you understand that applying for the Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department was the correct choice!? As long as we are truly successful in refining the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, the Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department would absolutely jump into one of the top Refining Department in the federation!"