Chapter 282 "Fake Golden Cores" Created Through sheer volume

The Earth is growing.

The first to see this as a source of hope were those on the front lines, those at the construction sites, and those who made a living by clinging to the edges of mines and defense lines.

The first to see this as an opportunity were the powerful clans.

That very night, after the report was submitted to the Supreme Council, more than half of the lights in Kyoto's upper echelons remained on until the wee hours. Those who had nodded in agreement during the day, saying that "all newly added mineral veins should be included in the wartime public property list," returned to their respective estates and clubhouses after the meeting, and the first thing they did was not to sleep, but to review their own account books, connections, and inventory.

Mineral veins cannot be seized.

At least not openly.

The Wartime Operations Office has made it clear that anyone who dares to openly interfere with the newly formed spiritual veins, associated mineral belts, and crustal expansion zones is going against the wartime decrees of the entire alliance.

But what happens after the ore is mined?

Does the ore need to be purified?

Should demon cores be graded?

Should the dregs be sent to the laboratory for secondary extraction?

Should protective materials, psionic potions, and heavy equipment requested for high-risk war zones first go through military factories and research and development bases?

The Coordination Agency can manage these processes up to the last mile, but it cannot manage every gram of powder, every drop of medicine, or every vehicle's "losses".

Kyoto Alliance, the core estate of the royal family, underground conference room.

The projection wall doesn't show a map of mineral vein distribution, but rather a complete resource circulation chain.

From mining areas, refining bases, military depots, and pharmaceutical laboratories, to war zone distribution points, and then to emergency R&D project application forms, each link is marked with a name, background, and shareholding ratio.

The places with the most red are almost all related to the Wang family.

"The military has taken over the Northwest refined gold associated mines and the Nanling spirit stone layer." The elder in charge of foreign affairs said in a deep voice, "The Coordination Agency has also sent an audit team to keep an eye on things. Anyone who touches them will die."

"Who said we were going to get involved in mining?"

Wang Daoting sat at the end of the long table, his knuckles slowly tapping the surface.

"The mines are public property, that's true. But how many intermediaries do they go through from the moment they're extracted from the ground until they reach the battlefield? Who dares to say they can oversee every single cartload of refined liquid, every batch of high-grade medicinal herbs, and every single portion of demon core essence until the very end?"

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Wang Daoting pushed a stack of newly retrieved project lists onto the light screen.

[Steady-state breaching test in high-risk war zones]

[Extreme Environment Monk Survival Project]

[Research on High-Concentration Spiritual Pressure Tolerance Threshold]

[Wartime Rapid Border Breakthrough Assist Model]

The titles they bestow are all increasingly prestigious.

The reasons they gave were increasingly compelling.

"List all three laboratories—Laboratories One, Three, and Seven—under the 'War Zone Emergency Research and Development' program." Wang Daoting looked at the screen, his tone as calm as if he were arranging a dinner menu. "Wartime coordination focuses on results; it won't care how much 'experimental waste' you've used. When spirit stones arrive, we'll take a layer first. When demon cores arrive, they'll pass through our hands first. Any dregs and scraps from relics that can be disposed of in the accounts should be transferred to Base One."

One of the elders frowned: "If the Coordination Bureau investigates thoroughly..."

"Won't."

Wang Daoting interrupted him.

"They're busy building fortifications, expanding their defenses, and reinforcing their lines. Who has time to count every single portion of the original solution from start to finish?"

"Besides, we're not embezzling. We're working on the 'Advanced Combat Power Acceleration Plan.' As long as the results are presented, even if the process is a bit dirty, they'll have to accept it."

He paused, his eyes gradually turning cold.

"Now that our home planet has begun to recover and the resource window has opened, let's not waste these resources slowly nurturing new life. We can't afford to wait, and neither can the Wang family."

"I want the present."

"Let's build something impressive right now."

In his final sentence, he released the last confidential document.

The file name has only four characters:

[The God-Making Project]

In layman's terms, it means using the most brute force to build up one's level of attainment.

It's not a repair.

It is irrigation.

It's not enlightenment.

It's the top.

It's not a gradual process.

They use resources, medicines, instruments, and formations to push people upwards.

"Select the group of people from the family who are stuck at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, whose meridian strength is up to standard, and whose bodies have the highest compatibility." Wang Daoting stood up. "I want them to create a batch of 'Golden Core level combatants' for me in the shortest possible time."

"I want them to secure the Wang family's position."

……

Five hundred meters underground in the Wang family compound is the No. 1 Spirit Gathering Base.

There's no trace of "seclusion and cultivation" here anymore.

Inside the enormous circular main chamber, layers of array patterns and metal pipes were inlaid on the floor. Thirty-six spiritual pressure pumps were arranged around the perimeter, and seven concentration tanks slowly churned liquids of different colors. Spirit stones were ground into powder, mixed with the essence of demon cores, purified ancient medicines, and stabilizers, and flowed along the pipes into the central black pool. Spiritual mist churned on the surface of the pool, like a pot of medicine that was about to boil.

Wang Yue sat in the center of the Black Pool.

No, it's less like sitting and more like being nailed inside.

Pressure-stabilizing rings were fastened to his wrists, shoulder blades, waist, abdomen, and outer thighs. More than a dozen flexible metal tubes were inserted into major acupoints throughout his body, pouring in streams of high-pressure spiritual liquid. Newly installed pulse-stabilizing devices were embedded in the outside of his spine, and two calming patches were affixed to his chest. He looked more like a machine being modified than a living person.

"First round of spirit infusion complete, ready to start the second phase."

"Injection of demon core essence".

"Ancient medicine extract in sync."

"Spiritual Root Amplification Module Activated".

Behind the control panel, a group of doctors, formation masters, and engineers stared at the data without blinking.

Wang Yue, who was in the pool, suddenly straightened his body, and the veins on his neck bulged out one by one.

The next instant, a scream escaped his throat.

It wasn't the surge of spiritual energy during a normal breakthrough; it was more like an entire high-pressure spiritual river being crammed into the meridians. The ferocity of the Fire Cloud Lion Demon Core, the medicinal power of the ancient medicine residue, and the high-concentration spiritual pressure guided by the Spirit Gathering Array were all forcibly forced into the same path by the meridian stabilizing aid and the spiritual root amplification module, pushing them towards the dantian.

"The meridian load exceeds 210!"

"The vortex in my dantian is beginning to tear!"

"Divine consciousness fluctuations are unstable!"

An elderly doctor, his forehead covered in sweat and his fingers trembling, said, "Going any higher would be dangerous; we need to slow down!"

Wang Daoting didn't even lift his eyelids after observing through the window.

"Slow down what?"

"He's been stuck at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection stage for so long. We've given him resources and formations whenever he needed them. We're not raising him to this point so he can just sit there and catch his breath."

"continue."

The spiritual pressure pumps around the Black Pool simultaneously increased their speed by one level.

Wang Yue shuddered violently, feeling as if fire was shooting through his skin. Blood seeped out little by little from the edge of the pressure stabilizing ring, quickly staining the pool water a pale red.

"Give him a dose of Xuanbing blood pressure stabilizing solution, and double the dose of nerve block."

"Don't stop amplifying your spiritual roots."

"If he doesn't succeed in making the pill today, don't let him out."

The orders were issued one after another, cold and inhumane.

A full hour later, the surging true essence in the pool was finally shaped into a semi-solid core deep within the dantian.

It is not a naturally formed elixir.

It's more like pressing a lump of liquid into a shape using external force.

Wang Yue lay limp in the pool, his eyes vacant and lifeless, with blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth.

But his aura had indeed changed.

It is higher than the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection stage.

It's much taller.

It even exuded a sense of oppression that only Golden Core cultivators possess.

Behind the control panel, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Only the old doctor stared at the data chart, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"The core is formed, but it's too superficial."

"The edges are cracked, the true essence isn't solid enough, and the divine sense isn't keeping up. Right now, we can hold on with the medicine, aids, and the stabilizing array. If we really have to take action..."

No one responded to him.

Because what the Wang family wanted was never a "perfect golden elixir".

What they need is "Golden Core level combat power" that can be put on the stage, command the situation, and reclaim the right to speak in the war zone.

This is enough.

And it's not just the Wang family.

Several other companies also launched the same thing around the same time.

With a window of opportunity presented to them, no one is going to patiently wait for others to finish first.

......

half a month later.

The three major conglomerates held a joint press conference.

The location was chosen to be the main venue of the Kyoto Alliance's largest wartime live broadcast platform.

As soon as the news was released, the entire wasteland exploded almost simultaneously.

The Wang, Li, and Zhao families announced a major breakthrough in their strategic talent reserve program, adding thirteen new high-level combatants at the Golden Core level.

The wording is extremely accurate.

It is not "thirteen true Golden Core cultivators".

Instead, it consists of "thirteen high-end combatants at the Golden Core level".

However, most people simply cannot distinguish this subtle difference.

All they saw was the pomp and circumstance.

Wang Yue stood high in the sky, his silver-white armor swirling with light, and layers of fiery cloud spiritual pressure spread outwards, causing many low-level cultivators to turn pale. On the other side, two newly promoted "Golden Core level combatants" from the Li family attacked simultaneously, blasting down an entire abandoned fire tower outside the test field with a single blow.

The scene was grand enough.

It has a strong presence.

Even many people who were initially feeling down couldn't help but have a slight sense of disbelief when they saw that scene.

It seems... Golden Elixir can really be mass-produced now.

For a time, the whole city, both inside and outside, was talking about this.

"Thirteen Golden Core level combatants in half a month?!"

"Just how deep are the roots of these powerful clans?"

"If we could really build that many, then we might not be outmatched in the future!"

"Damn it, the resources are still all in their hands. When the benefits come, those same few companies will be the first to reap the rewards..."

Shock, envy, jealousy, and sourness—a mix of emotions stirred up the entire public discourse.

In the yellow zone, the feeling is more of a stuffy feeling.

Because everyone knows that as soon as wartime unified allocation began at the front line, and the boundary between the yellow and green zones was just pried open, these powerful families immediately used a batch of "new golden pills" to prop up their positions again.

Bloodstone Town, the dilapidated bar.

Old Ding stared at the screen for a long time before finally putting down his wine glass.

The one-eyed hunter next to him was staring wide-eyed.

"Brother Ding, if this is all true, how are we supposed to keep playing? They've produced thirteen Golden Core cultivators in just half a month. Where will there be room for us on the front lines?"

Old Ding lit a cigarette but didn't speak immediately.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, he raised his chin and nodded at Wang Yue, who was being surrounded and ascended into the air on the screen.

"You think he's strong?"

The one-eyed hunter paused for a moment, then said, "That spiritual pressure... it can't be fake, can it?"

"The spiritual pressure is real."

Old Ding exhaled a puff of smoke, but his eyes were as cold as knives.

"But he's weak."

"That fiery cloud spiritual energy looks intimidating, layer upon layer churning outwards, as if it's powerful enough to shake the sky. But if you look closely for a while, you'll realize that it's not stable, it's floating. It's not sinking inwards, it's gushing outwards. Like a bladder that's been inflated to its limit, it's bulging, but it's empty inside."

The one-eyed hunter only half understood what he was hearing.

Old Ding flicked his cigarette ash.

"A high-level cultivator who has truly risen from the ashes possesses a deep, unyielding aura. Before you can even see him clearly, you'll feel a chill run down your spine."

"That pretty boy on the screen? He looks handsome, but he's actually quite frivolous."

"This kind of stuff is good enough to fool ordinary people. But if you throw it into the front lines and it gets bloody, it probably won't last more than a few cuts."

The one-eyed hunter stared at the screen, his throat bobbing, but ultimately said nothing.

Because someone like Lao Ding wouldn't spout nonsense about something like this.

At the Kyoto Academy of Sciences, Wang Mingyuan's expression was equally grim.

On the table were thirteen reports on spiritual pressure and physiological parameters that had just been intercepted.

The report was very well done.

beautiful.

It looks so beautiful, as if it had been specially made.

But the more this is the case, the more it suggests that something is amiss.

"The true essence is not solid enough, the outer layer of the core is unstable, the meridians are severely cracked, and the overall strength of the divine sense is weak."

Wang Mingyuan flipped through the documents one by one, his voice growing colder and colder.

"There are a few so-called 'Golden Core level combatants' whose spiritual pressure on paper has reached the threshold of the Golden Core stage, but their divine sense is still stuck at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and their true essence circulation speed is ridiculously slow. If a real fight were to break out, it would be hard to say whether they could even regulate their power properly."

A military expert standing nearby added a comment.

"It's just an empty shell."

Wang Mingyuan slammed the report on the table.

"It's one thing to be an empty shell, but what's most worrying is that they actually put this kind of thing in a war zone command position."

"They look impressive on paper, but they're a complete mess in actual combat. In the end, it won't just be the reputation of the powerful clans that will be lost, but the lives of the entire defense line."

There was a two-second silence in the conference room.

Subsequently, a new transfer order was issued.

Li Changfeng, the newly promoted "Golden Core Level Combat Force" of the Li family, has been appointed as the on-site commander of the 30th high-risk isolation zone in the Jianghuai War Zone.

Wang Mingyuan stared at the appointment document, his eyes growing increasingly heavy.

Because he knew that now that these people had launched the "new Golden Elixir," they were determined to put on a show for the whole world.

They need a resounding victory to prove they're on the right track.

The real battlefield never recognizes propaganda.

Three days later, in the 30th isolation zone of the Jianghuai War Zone.

Li Changfeng, dressed in bright silver armor and riding a flying sword, made a high-profile landing surrounded by hundreds of his family's private soldiers and media cameras.

What he wanted to eliminate was only a small-scale infiltration of low-level demonic beasts.

According to the Li family, this will be a demonstration with no suspense whatsoever.

Deeper into the quarantine zone, beside a ravine shrouded in gray mist and ruins, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, covered in wounds, dressed in tattered robes, and whose name was unknown, was slowly wiping the blood from his blade.

He raised his head and glanced at the excessively dazzling silver streak in the sky, his eyes cold and unwavering.