Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 159
The knocking on the door rang behind her head.
It completely scared the hell out of Ding Lingdang; her heart was crazily pounding. Having calmed herself down, she opened the door, only to find Li Yao standing there.
"What is it?" Ding Lingdang asked snappily.
"Nothing."
Li Yao looked a bit flustered, "I suddenly remembered one thing: last night you said, 'don't leave me again', you thought I was your parents and asked them not to leave you again, right?"
Chapter 227: Rebirth of the Mystic Skeleton |
"That's correct. Why?"
Ding Lingdang frowned.
"Nothing particular really. I thought you were talking about your ex-boyfriend at first and I was a little embarrassed. But later I figured out that it was impossible. Haha."
Li Yao scratched his head. For some reason, he felt delighted.
"What do you mean by 'impossible'?! Do I look like someone who has never had a boyfriend?"
Ding Lingdang raised her eyebrow and burst out in anger.
In the spur of the moment, Li Yao asked, "No. No. But, do you have one?"
"I kind of, sort of, maybe had one." Ding Lingdang replied, flushed.
"May I ask what 'kind of, sort of, maybe had one' means?"
Li Yao suddenly turned into a baby of curiosity.
"It was when I just went into college. Everybody was new to each other. You know that guys outnumber girls in our college. Then there was this senior student from the Iron Fist Club who was in hot pursuit of me. Said that he adored my passion for martial arts and hoped to explore the peak of martial arts with me. He was earnest and also handsome. So I said that I would think about it carefully."
Ding Lingdang stammered to get the story through.
"Then what?"
Li Yao felt his throat was dry.
"Then, one afternoon, the Game of Senior Students and Freshmen in the Iron Fist Club took place. He was my opponent after drawing lots. I thought to myself: if you adore my passion for martial arts, of course, I should show you 120% of my capability, shouldn't I? But as it turned out, I should've controlled myself; I broke four of his ribs before kicking him out of the ring into the auditorium.
"That night, he texted me from ICU saying that, although I'm great, he felt we weren't appropriate for each other after full consideration, and that we should just be friends.
"That son of bitch had no manhood at all. He shrank at the first setback he met. Also, I never promised him anything. I just said that I would think about it. What did the latter half of the text message even mean? Who would want to be friends with such a coward?!
"I was in a terrible mood after all that. Two days later, the Iron Fist Club and the Chaotic Blades Hall got into a fight due to an incident. I was too angry to control myself again and sent 15 classmates of the Chaotic Blades Hall to the hospital.
"Ever since then, nobody's dared to ask me out anymore. What a bunch of losers!"
The more Ding Lingdang said, the angrier she became. She raised her head, only to find Li Yao grinning like an idiot. Pissed off, she slapped the door.
"What's that supposed to mean? I told you such a humiliating story because I treat you as a good bro. Other people laugh at me because I don't have a boyfriend, so be it. But why are you smirking, too?"
"I wasn't smirking."
Li Yao was about to laugh again as he said it.
"Still denying!"
Ding Lingdang snatched at Li Yao's face like lightning and pulled it hard. "You mouth is as broad as a trumpet, and you said you were not smirking! I got it. It is because I am mean to you and always bully you that you hope I never find a boyfriend, isn't it? You must feel happy and satisfied now, don't you?"
In pain, Li Yao found his tears swelling. "Ow! It hurts! Hurts! Let me go!"
Ding Lingdang twisted his face hard one last time, and released it in gratification. She slammed the door.
Watching Li Yao walk away while trying to soothe his face through the window, she sat down and sighed heavily.
"What's wrong with me today?"
She scratched her hair, turning it into a scruffy mess. "Why did I reveal such a humiliating story to him the moment he asked? Next time I will be a joke to him!
"Xiao Cai, come over here. Replay what you saw yesterday."
What happened last night had been recorded by the Crystal Eye of the parrot and stored in the Crystal Chip.
The seven-colored parrot bounced towards Ding Lingdang, and when it arrived in front her, it opened its mouth from which a light beam was sent out. The light beam then transformed into a 3D representation of the scenes from the last night.
Li Yao circled the villa. Li Yao crawled through the window. Li Yao checked the wine bottles on the desk. Li Yao moved on to the basement, where he was tugged by her.
Ding Lingdang's lips pouted as she watched all this.
And when she saw Li Yao's desperate expression when she was hugging him like an octopus, she burst out in anger and slapped so heavily on the ground that the wine bottles were flying to the sky.
"Was it so terrible?"
Ding Lingdang said in anger. "A hug won't cost you anything. What is that avoidance and abhorrence supposed to mean?"
…
Li Yao was walking towards the Refining Department lightly on the campus, when the tiny Crystal Processor suddenly buzzed.
"The professor must be impatient!"
Li Yao picked up his pace.
But when he lifted his wrist, he found that it was his newly-added contact, Jiang Shaoyang.
Through Spiritual Energy Crane Link, Jiang Shaoyang's bold forehead was shining brightly under the sun. But he was wearing a strange smile.
His personality felt different from two days ago. It was now a combination of extreme madness and unparalleled calmness, like a frozen flame. No one could tell it's cold or hot.
"Anything wrong?"
Li Yao was in a surprise.
"No big deal. I just want to tell you that I have withdrawn from Deep Sea University and I'm about to embark on a brand new path of Artifact Refining."
Jiang Shaoyang said slowly.
"What?!"
Li Yao was shocked. Jiang Shaoyang was definitely a maniac, or was it because he had been influenced by what he'd said previously?
Jiang Shaoyang said in utmost tranquility, "I've put a lot of thought into this. You were right. I was bound by so many things in the past, which prevented me from fulfilling my potential.
"The moment I cut off my hair, I said goodbye to my past, my previous life, and my old self. I am ready to explore a new path that has never been set foot on before.
"So, don't call me the 'Tenth Star' anymore. I am just myself, and I'm no longer related to Deep Sea University, Novem Stellae, or Supernova.
"I remember you said that you are known as the Fiend Star among Artificers. Fiend Star or Supernova, or even Novem Stellae, if we get to the bottom of it, are all miniature stars.
"But I'm different. I will become the sun, with a brightness 10,000 times more glaring than any of you!"
The serenity in his face and arrogance in his declaration made it impossible to distinguish whether he was joking or simply insane.
"But…"
Li Yao frowned.
"You don't believe me?"
Flames of billions of degrees were burning in Jiang Shaoyang's eyes.
"Not that I don't believe you. It's just that technically speaking, the sun is also a star," Li Yao said solemnly.
"…"
Jiang Shaoyang dazed.
"The sun is just the same with all the other stars. In fact, most stars are brighter than the sun. But they may not look so due to the long distance in between. For example, the Fiery Cloud Star which is close to Heaven's Origin Sector, is 17 times brighter than the sun by estimation of astronomers. Such stars are countless. This is like… common sense. What, you'd never heard of it before?"
"…"
After a long silence, during which time the veins on his forehead seemed to be bumping out, Jiang Shaoyang finally grumbled, "Metaphor! It was just a metaphor! The bottom line is, please try to keep your training up, because I will see you again soon. People will know which one is stronger, the Sun or the Fiend Star.
"Pa."
Jiang Shaoyang hung up in anxiety and anger.
"Why is everybody acting weird today?"
Li Yao touched his nose and carried on walking.
He went directly to Yuan Manqiu's laboratory without any rest after he arrived at Refining Department.
"Professor, sorry I'm late."
Yuan Manqiu was standing in front of a row of 3D light beams and staring at them quietly.
Shining on the light beams were the complicated structure designs of Crystal-powered Mobile Armors.
Tears streamed as she watched.
"Li Yao, thank you. I know of all your struggles and devotion over the past year. Without your dedication, it would've been impossible to restart the Project Mystic Skeleton in such a short time. On behalf of myself, Lao Mo, and all the rest staff and students who've sacrificed things for the plan, I offer you my sincerest gratitude."
Yuan Manqiu moved her body and bowed to Li Yao.
Li Yao had no idea what to do. He hurried to get her professor straight and grinned. "Professor, I'm looking forward to the day when the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is born again and flies in the sky."
"That's right. We must seize every second in every minute so that the armor can be forged faster."
Yuan Manqiu wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. She resumed her calmness and quickly said, "I'll just cut the nonsense and get down to it. Here's a brief introduction to the current status of Refining Department.
"Because of your excellent performance, the university will increase the budget for Refining Department next year. Also, donations from celebrities have risen, too. So, funding is not a problem anymore. Our plan for now is to recruit 60 students in two classes. I believe many students will consider us now that the resources are abundant.
"As for teachers, I've managed to reach out to some experts among the Artificers over the past year. Their major concern before was the funding. Now that it has been fixed, many of them, especially those without any notable status right now, actually don't outright reject the notion of working as a teacher in Grand Desolate War Institution."
Li Yao nodded.
Money, place, methodology, and companionship were four indispensable factors in cultivator's training, among which money always comes first.
A cultivator may be uninterested in everyday life's entertainment. But their research and training also demand large amounts of money.
Now that the funding was plentiful, no wonder many cultivators had changed their minds about teaching here.
"As for teaching facilities, it's unnecessary to rebuild a floating mountain since it will cost too much time and efforts. I've made a deal with a seller and we're going to purchase a second-hand small-scale floating mountain which we can modify. Three months after it's delivered, when it has been entirely upgraded, it will be more than enough to satisfy the need of the two hundred teaching staff and students, as well as the development work of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit."
Chapter 228: You Will Wear the Suit! |
Yuan Manqiu paused and said slowly, "There are three critical problems that are yet to be resolved.
"First, the technical problem.
"Over the past year, I've done a lot of research and thoroughly studied thousands of designs. Everything is fine, except for the Super Compressed Crystal Reactor, which we underestimated before."
"The most distinguished characteristic of Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is its avoidance of using Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. As a result, its stability and durability are greatly undermined. For other parts, this shortcoming can be fixed by enhancing the structure. But that won't do when it comes to Crystal Reactor.
"Condensing violent spirit energy, as destructive as the vast sea, into a head-size Crystal Reactor while asking it to output spirit energy stably according to the battle status was putting too much pressure on the Crystal Reactor.
"It was simply overwhelming for the common alloy materials."
"Last time, it was because the Crystal Reactor had a crack and released the extremely-condensed spirit energy that the tragedy happened.
"I haven't figured out how to address this problem yet. If we turn to Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, our cost will increase a lot because they're essential to the Crystal Reactors for most of the crystal suits. Copying them would be contradictory to our original purpose.
"In the days to come, together with other experts, I will try my best to overcome this barrier.
"Li Yao, take this jade slip. All the documents concerning Project Mystic Skeleton are inside. You can see if there's anything you can do when you're free.
"Although you have only just started your career as a Refiner, you always have amazing ideas that are not restrained by the doctrines we live by. Maybe you'll find a new way and shed some light for us."
Yuan Manqiu then handed over the jade slip with a string of unique 'thought', which is the key to activate the jade slip.
Files of Project Mystic Skeleton were invaluable. Therefore, the jade slip required a special thought to activate it. It also had a self-destruction rune within. Should it be lost, Li Yao could erase all the information easily using telekinesis.
Seeing that his professor trusted him so much as to share all of her top secrets with him, Li Yao felt warm in heart and nodded his head solemnly.
Yuan Manqiu continued.
"The second problem is money.
"When I said that the funding is adequate, I was referring to the rebuilding work for the Refining Department. Actually, the school had different opinions about Project Mystic Skeleton."
She paused and laughed self-deprecatingly. "It is understandable. I'm afraid that no one else in the entire Star Glory Federation is a hundred percent confident that Project Mystic Skeleton will succeed apart from the two of us.
"The budget that the school allocated is for recruitment of experts, purchase and modification of the floating mountain, and the education of students. Very little is at our disposal. However, by my estimation, to complete Project Mystic Skeleton, the money we need ranges from 5 billion to 10 billion."
Li Yao nodded, not surprised by the figure.
Although the cost of a Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had been claimed to be under 100 million, that was only so during mass production. Reinventing the first Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit required much more than that because of the preliminary investments, the experimental cost, and the research funding.
Sometimes it would cost 3 to 5 million, or in some cases even 10 million, to conduct a single experiment.
And dozens of experiments were not unusual to perform optimizations.
On the market, one crystal suit specially designed for Cultivators of Core Formation Stage and Nascent Soul Stage would cost more than 10 billion. It was quite amazing that the entire budget for the research of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was controlled within 10 billion.
Yuan Manqiu continued, "The technical and money problems are directly related. It is because we can't fix the issue regarding the Crystal Reactor that the investors feel inconfident.
"As long as it is fixed, with our current funding, we will be able to build a prototype, even though there's nothing but our bare hands.
"Everything will be easier when we have the prototype. Not only will the school increase our budget, we will also be able to look for investments from celebrities and the military. I'm sure someone will be interested. When that happens, getting 10 billion wouldn't be difficult, even 50 billion would not be a dream either."
Yuan Manqiu stopped again and eyed Li Yao carefully. "The last and most important question is who will wear the prototype of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit?"
Li Yao realized that it was indeed a big problem.
The prototype would have a lot of defects and deeply buried problems. Not everyone would have the capability to wear it. The wearer must be an experienced Exo[1] who was also good at refining in order to detect the problems during the trial.
They were similar to the test pilots in Li Yao's previous life who were a hundred times more skilled than ordinary pilots.
Yuan Manqiu shrugged and smiled bitterly.
"I can't find a suitable candidate to wear the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. After all, the failure last time is already common knowledge to everyone in the entire federation. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, a cursed crystal suit that is doomed to explode, has killed hundreds of people even before it is fully developed.
"As such, which elite Exo would be willing to risk their life to wear a prototype Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that might be full of bugs?
"If we increase the reward, some desperados among the ordinary Exos might be interested. But these people would never have received professional training in refining. They wouldn't be able to describe the problem clearly even if they meet one. Also, many things in the prototypes are secrets of Project Mystic Skeleton which I don't want to reveal to outsiders."
"Therefore, Li Yao, do you want to be the wearer of the prototype of Profound Bone Battle Armor?"
Li Yao dazed. He pointed to himself. "Me?"
He was a little overwhelmed.
Yuan Manqiu nodded and said seriously, "I've put a lot of thought into it. You're the best candidate.
"Firstly, Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is designed to be a low-cost crystal suit for mass production, which means its users can only be Refinement Stage Cultivators. Building Foundation Stage Cultivators have far better choices.
"Therefore, we're targeting Refinement Stage Cultivators as our potential users. All the structures and parameters are designed for them.
"So, it will be for the best if its first user is also a Refinement Stage Cultivator.
"Secondly, you are a Hybrid-type Cultivator and you have talents both in battling and refining. If you wear it, not only will the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit's potential be fulfilled, you will definitely discover the majority of the problems during the trial. Our communication after will be easier too, as we'll use terminologies that we are both familiar with.
It completely scared the hell out of Ding Lingdang; her heart was crazily pounding. Having calmed herself down, she opened the door, only to find Li Yao standing there.
"What is it?" Ding Lingdang asked snappily.
"Nothing."
Li Yao looked a bit flustered, "I suddenly remembered one thing: last night you said, 'don't leave me again', you thought I was your parents and asked them not to leave you again, right?"
Chapter 227: Rebirth of the Mystic Skeleton |
"That's correct. Why?"
Ding Lingdang frowned.
"Nothing particular really. I thought you were talking about your ex-boyfriend at first and I was a little embarrassed. But later I figured out that it was impossible. Haha."
Li Yao scratched his head. For some reason, he felt delighted.
"What do you mean by 'impossible'?! Do I look like someone who has never had a boyfriend?"
Ding Lingdang raised her eyebrow and burst out in anger.
In the spur of the moment, Li Yao asked, "No. No. But, do you have one?"
"I kind of, sort of, maybe had one." Ding Lingdang replied, flushed.
"May I ask what 'kind of, sort of, maybe had one' means?"
Li Yao suddenly turned into a baby of curiosity.
"It was when I just went into college. Everybody was new to each other. You know that guys outnumber girls in our college. Then there was this senior student from the Iron Fist Club who was in hot pursuit of me. Said that he adored my passion for martial arts and hoped to explore the peak of martial arts with me. He was earnest and also handsome. So I said that I would think about it carefully."
Ding Lingdang stammered to get the story through.
"Then what?"
Li Yao felt his throat was dry.
"Then, one afternoon, the Game of Senior Students and Freshmen in the Iron Fist Club took place. He was my opponent after drawing lots. I thought to myself: if you adore my passion for martial arts, of course, I should show you 120% of my capability, shouldn't I? But as it turned out, I should've controlled myself; I broke four of his ribs before kicking him out of the ring into the auditorium.
"That night, he texted me from ICU saying that, although I'm great, he felt we weren't appropriate for each other after full consideration, and that we should just be friends.
"That son of bitch had no manhood at all. He shrank at the first setback he met. Also, I never promised him anything. I just said that I would think about it. What did the latter half of the text message even mean? Who would want to be friends with such a coward?!
"I was in a terrible mood after all that. Two days later, the Iron Fist Club and the Chaotic Blades Hall got into a fight due to an incident. I was too angry to control myself again and sent 15 classmates of the Chaotic Blades Hall to the hospital.
"Ever since then, nobody's dared to ask me out anymore. What a bunch of losers!"
The more Ding Lingdang said, the angrier she became. She raised her head, only to find Li Yao grinning like an idiot. Pissed off, she slapped the door.
"What's that supposed to mean? I told you such a humiliating story because I treat you as a good bro. Other people laugh at me because I don't have a boyfriend, so be it. But why are you smirking, too?"
"I wasn't smirking."
Li Yao was about to laugh again as he said it.
"Still denying!"
Ding Lingdang snatched at Li Yao's face like lightning and pulled it hard. "You mouth is as broad as a trumpet, and you said you were not smirking! I got it. It is because I am mean to you and always bully you that you hope I never find a boyfriend, isn't it? You must feel happy and satisfied now, don't you?"
In pain, Li Yao found his tears swelling. "Ow! It hurts! Hurts! Let me go!"
Ding Lingdang twisted his face hard one last time, and released it in gratification. She slammed the door.
Watching Li Yao walk away while trying to soothe his face through the window, she sat down and sighed heavily.
"What's wrong with me today?"
She scratched her hair, turning it into a scruffy mess. "Why did I reveal such a humiliating story to him the moment he asked? Next time I will be a joke to him!
"Xiao Cai, come over here. Replay what you saw yesterday."
What happened last night had been recorded by the Crystal Eye of the parrot and stored in the Crystal Chip.
The seven-colored parrot bounced towards Ding Lingdang, and when it arrived in front her, it opened its mouth from which a light beam was sent out. The light beam then transformed into a 3D representation of the scenes from the last night.
Li Yao circled the villa. Li Yao crawled through the window. Li Yao checked the wine bottles on the desk. Li Yao moved on to the basement, where he was tugged by her.
Ding Lingdang's lips pouted as she watched all this.
And when she saw Li Yao's desperate expression when she was hugging him like an octopus, she burst out in anger and slapped so heavily on the ground that the wine bottles were flying to the sky.
"Was it so terrible?"
Ding Lingdang said in anger. "A hug won't cost you anything. What is that avoidance and abhorrence supposed to mean?"
…
Li Yao was walking towards the Refining Department lightly on the campus, when the tiny Crystal Processor suddenly buzzed.
"The professor must be impatient!"
Li Yao picked up his pace.
But when he lifted his wrist, he found that it was his newly-added contact, Jiang Shaoyang.
Through Spiritual Energy Crane Link, Jiang Shaoyang's bold forehead was shining brightly under the sun. But he was wearing a strange smile.
His personality felt different from two days ago. It was now a combination of extreme madness and unparalleled calmness, like a frozen flame. No one could tell it's cold or hot.
"Anything wrong?"
Li Yao was in a surprise.
"No big deal. I just want to tell you that I have withdrawn from Deep Sea University and I'm about to embark on a brand new path of Artifact Refining."
Jiang Shaoyang said slowly.
"What?!"
Li Yao was shocked. Jiang Shaoyang was definitely a maniac, or was it because he had been influenced by what he'd said previously?
Jiang Shaoyang said in utmost tranquility, "I've put a lot of thought into this. You were right. I was bound by so many things in the past, which prevented me from fulfilling my potential.
"The moment I cut off my hair, I said goodbye to my past, my previous life, and my old self. I am ready to explore a new path that has never been set foot on before.
"So, don't call me the 'Tenth Star' anymore. I am just myself, and I'm no longer related to Deep Sea University, Novem Stellae, or Supernova.
"I remember you said that you are known as the Fiend Star among Artificers. Fiend Star or Supernova, or even Novem Stellae, if we get to the bottom of it, are all miniature stars.
"But I'm different. I will become the sun, with a brightness 10,000 times more glaring than any of you!"
The serenity in his face and arrogance in his declaration made it impossible to distinguish whether he was joking or simply insane.
"But…"
Li Yao frowned.
"You don't believe me?"
Flames of billions of degrees were burning in Jiang Shaoyang's eyes.
"Not that I don't believe you. It's just that technically speaking, the sun is also a star," Li Yao said solemnly.
"…"
Jiang Shaoyang dazed.
"The sun is just the same with all the other stars. In fact, most stars are brighter than the sun. But they may not look so due to the long distance in between. For example, the Fiery Cloud Star which is close to Heaven's Origin Sector, is 17 times brighter than the sun by estimation of astronomers. Such stars are countless. This is like… common sense. What, you'd never heard of it before?"
"…"
After a long silence, during which time the veins on his forehead seemed to be bumping out, Jiang Shaoyang finally grumbled, "Metaphor! It was just a metaphor! The bottom line is, please try to keep your training up, because I will see you again soon. People will know which one is stronger, the Sun or the Fiend Star.
"Pa."
Jiang Shaoyang hung up in anxiety and anger.
"Why is everybody acting weird today?"
Li Yao touched his nose and carried on walking.
He went directly to Yuan Manqiu's laboratory without any rest after he arrived at Refining Department.
"Professor, sorry I'm late."
Yuan Manqiu was standing in front of a row of 3D light beams and staring at them quietly.
Shining on the light beams were the complicated structure designs of Crystal-powered Mobile Armors.
Tears streamed as she watched.
"Li Yao, thank you. I know of all your struggles and devotion over the past year. Without your dedication, it would've been impossible to restart the Project Mystic Skeleton in such a short time. On behalf of myself, Lao Mo, and all the rest staff and students who've sacrificed things for the plan, I offer you my sincerest gratitude."
Yuan Manqiu moved her body and bowed to Li Yao.
Li Yao had no idea what to do. He hurried to get her professor straight and grinned. "Professor, I'm looking forward to the day when the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is born again and flies in the sky."
"That's right. We must seize every second in every minute so that the armor can be forged faster."
Yuan Manqiu wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. She resumed her calmness and quickly said, "I'll just cut the nonsense and get down to it. Here's a brief introduction to the current status of Refining Department.
"Because of your excellent performance, the university will increase the budget for Refining Department next year. Also, donations from celebrities have risen, too. So, funding is not a problem anymore. Our plan for now is to recruit 60 students in two classes. I believe many students will consider us now that the resources are abundant.
"As for teachers, I've managed to reach out to some experts among the Artificers over the past year. Their major concern before was the funding. Now that it has been fixed, many of them, especially those without any notable status right now, actually don't outright reject the notion of working as a teacher in Grand Desolate War Institution."
Li Yao nodded.
Money, place, methodology, and companionship were four indispensable factors in cultivator's training, among which money always comes first.
A cultivator may be uninterested in everyday life's entertainment. But their research and training also demand large amounts of money.
Now that the funding was plentiful, no wonder many cultivators had changed their minds about teaching here.
"As for teaching facilities, it's unnecessary to rebuild a floating mountain since it will cost too much time and efforts. I've made a deal with a seller and we're going to purchase a second-hand small-scale floating mountain which we can modify. Three months after it's delivered, when it has been entirely upgraded, it will be more than enough to satisfy the need of the two hundred teaching staff and students, as well as the development work of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit."
Chapter 228: You Will Wear the Suit! |
Yuan Manqiu paused and said slowly, "There are three critical problems that are yet to be resolved.
"First, the technical problem.
"Over the past year, I've done a lot of research and thoroughly studied thousands of designs. Everything is fine, except for the Super Compressed Crystal Reactor, which we underestimated before."
"The most distinguished characteristic of Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is its avoidance of using Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. As a result, its stability and durability are greatly undermined. For other parts, this shortcoming can be fixed by enhancing the structure. But that won't do when it comes to Crystal Reactor.
"Condensing violent spirit energy, as destructive as the vast sea, into a head-size Crystal Reactor while asking it to output spirit energy stably according to the battle status was putting too much pressure on the Crystal Reactor.
"It was simply overwhelming for the common alloy materials."
"Last time, it was because the Crystal Reactor had a crack and released the extremely-condensed spirit energy that the tragedy happened.
"I haven't figured out how to address this problem yet. If we turn to Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, our cost will increase a lot because they're essential to the Crystal Reactors for most of the crystal suits. Copying them would be contradictory to our original purpose.
"In the days to come, together with other experts, I will try my best to overcome this barrier.
"Li Yao, take this jade slip. All the documents concerning Project Mystic Skeleton are inside. You can see if there's anything you can do when you're free.
"Although you have only just started your career as a Refiner, you always have amazing ideas that are not restrained by the doctrines we live by. Maybe you'll find a new way and shed some light for us."
Yuan Manqiu then handed over the jade slip with a string of unique 'thought', which is the key to activate the jade slip.
Files of Project Mystic Skeleton were invaluable. Therefore, the jade slip required a special thought to activate it. It also had a self-destruction rune within. Should it be lost, Li Yao could erase all the information easily using telekinesis.
Seeing that his professor trusted him so much as to share all of her top secrets with him, Li Yao felt warm in heart and nodded his head solemnly.
Yuan Manqiu continued.
"The second problem is money.
"When I said that the funding is adequate, I was referring to the rebuilding work for the Refining Department. Actually, the school had different opinions about Project Mystic Skeleton."
She paused and laughed self-deprecatingly. "It is understandable. I'm afraid that no one else in the entire Star Glory Federation is a hundred percent confident that Project Mystic Skeleton will succeed apart from the two of us.
"The budget that the school allocated is for recruitment of experts, purchase and modification of the floating mountain, and the education of students. Very little is at our disposal. However, by my estimation, to complete Project Mystic Skeleton, the money we need ranges from 5 billion to 10 billion."
Li Yao nodded, not surprised by the figure.
Although the cost of a Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had been claimed to be under 100 million, that was only so during mass production. Reinventing the first Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit required much more than that because of the preliminary investments, the experimental cost, and the research funding.
Sometimes it would cost 3 to 5 million, or in some cases even 10 million, to conduct a single experiment.
And dozens of experiments were not unusual to perform optimizations.
On the market, one crystal suit specially designed for Cultivators of Core Formation Stage and Nascent Soul Stage would cost more than 10 billion. It was quite amazing that the entire budget for the research of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was controlled within 10 billion.
Yuan Manqiu continued, "The technical and money problems are directly related. It is because we can't fix the issue regarding the Crystal Reactor that the investors feel inconfident.
"As long as it is fixed, with our current funding, we will be able to build a prototype, even though there's nothing but our bare hands.
"Everything will be easier when we have the prototype. Not only will the school increase our budget, we will also be able to look for investments from celebrities and the military. I'm sure someone will be interested. When that happens, getting 10 billion wouldn't be difficult, even 50 billion would not be a dream either."
Yuan Manqiu stopped again and eyed Li Yao carefully. "The last and most important question is who will wear the prototype of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit?"
Li Yao realized that it was indeed a big problem.
The prototype would have a lot of defects and deeply buried problems. Not everyone would have the capability to wear it. The wearer must be an experienced Exo[1] who was also good at refining in order to detect the problems during the trial.
They were similar to the test pilots in Li Yao's previous life who were a hundred times more skilled than ordinary pilots.
Yuan Manqiu shrugged and smiled bitterly.
"I can't find a suitable candidate to wear the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. After all, the failure last time is already common knowledge to everyone in the entire federation. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, a cursed crystal suit that is doomed to explode, has killed hundreds of people even before it is fully developed.
"As such, which elite Exo would be willing to risk their life to wear a prototype Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that might be full of bugs?
"If we increase the reward, some desperados among the ordinary Exos might be interested. But these people would never have received professional training in refining. They wouldn't be able to describe the problem clearly even if they meet one. Also, many things in the prototypes are secrets of Project Mystic Skeleton which I don't want to reveal to outsiders."
"Therefore, Li Yao, do you want to be the wearer of the prototype of Profound Bone Battle Armor?"
Li Yao dazed. He pointed to himself. "Me?"
He was a little overwhelmed.
Yuan Manqiu nodded and said seriously, "I've put a lot of thought into it. You're the best candidate.
"Firstly, Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is designed to be a low-cost crystal suit for mass production, which means its users can only be Refinement Stage Cultivators. Building Foundation Stage Cultivators have far better choices.
"Therefore, we're targeting Refinement Stage Cultivators as our potential users. All the structures and parameters are designed for them.
"So, it will be for the best if its first user is also a Refinement Stage Cultivator.
"Secondly, you are a Hybrid-type Cultivator and you have talents both in battling and refining. If you wear it, not only will the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit's potential be fulfilled, you will definitely discover the majority of the problems during the trial. Our communication after will be easier too, as we'll use terminologies that we are both familiar with.
