novelraw Chapter 547: Pre-War Preparations
Chapter 547: Pre-War Preparations
Chapter 547 Pre-War Preparations
Jie Ming sat before his desk, staring at the magic network terminal in a daze for a while.
Only then did he calm his emotions. A slow smile spread across his face as he murmured, “Looks like my luck isn’t bad…”
Jie Ming turned and glanced at the scattered memory crystals on the desk.
Fate Fundamentals, Fate Chapter, Information Processing Theory, Causal Models…
“Five years…” he said softly, “that should be enough.”
He stood in place for a moment, then strode out of the laboratory.
Outside, the entire Infernal Sulfur Plane was a scene of bustling activity.
Jie Ming stood at the laboratory entrance and looked out. Across the crimson-red earth, busy Black Giants were everywhere.
Some carried massive stone materials, others dragged thick metal components. Some were digging foundations, while others were erecting towering structures. Black Giant priests floated in mid-air, waving rune staffs that flashed with light as they directed the construction below. Almost the entire Black Giant race had been mobilized. Even the Black Giant leader, Molten Mountain, had personally joined in.
Jie Ming looked up into the distance.
That colossal figure, standing ten thousand meters tall, was striding over. With each step it took, the ground trembled slightly.
On Molten Mountain’s shoulder rested a gigantic stone pillar over twenty thousand meters long. It was a special material mined from the depths of a high-gravity plane, extremely dense, and intended for constructing the core array eye of the Fate Subsystem.
Behind Molten Mountain followed a group of sixth-ring Black Giants, each over a hundred meters tall.
They too carried various construction materials, marching forward in neat formation under the command of other Black Giant priests.
The sight was spectacular beyond description.
Jie Ming watched for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.
He raised his hand and beckoned. A leading Black Giant priest immediately descended from the sky and arrived before him.
“Master.”
“How is the construction progress?” Jie Ming asked.
The Black Giant priest opened the recording crystal in his hand and quickly scanned it. “The main structure is eighty percent complete. The laying of energy nodes is slightly slower, at about forty-five percent, but the preliminary work has been finished. The pace will gradually pick up afterward. Overall, the preliminary construction of the Fate Subsystem should be completed in about three more years.”
Jie Ming nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, what they were building was precisely the Fate Subsystem of the Incense Fire Divine Dao.
Although Jie Ming still had not truly mastered the knowledge related to fate, that stuff was simply too difficult, this did not prevent him from first constructing the hardware infrastructure.
Over the years, the Infernal Sulfur Plane had been transformed by him into something far removed from its original desolate and scorching state.
Rich Spiritual Qi permeated every inch of the air. The plane’s energy network extended in all directions, with various functional modules layered upon one another. For the Fate Subsystem, although Jie Ming could not perform the kind of deep-core “strengthening modifications,” building a basic version by following the blueprints was still well within his capabilities.
The blueprints were ready, the materials were prepared, and the manpower was abundant.
All that remained was time.
“Continue advancing and increase the speed as much as possible. There will still be activation tests and adjustments in the later stages. Everything must be completed within five years. Time is running short,” Jie Ming said. “Report immediately if any issues arise.”
“Yes, Master.”
The Black Giant priest accepted the order and left.
Jie Ming flew into the sky and inspected the construction of the various arrays below.
After confirming that the project was indeed proceeding without problems, he thought for a moment and flew off in another direction.
The warehouse district was located on the eastern side of the central laboratory.
As time passed, in order to store the ever-increasing amount of materials, even with spatial expansion devices, more and more warehouses had been built. The occupied area had grown larger and larger, now developing into a complex spanning over one hundred thousand square kilometers.
Here were stored all of Jie Ming’s collections from the past millennium – ranging from various mineral resources to rare materials, from biological samples to energy crystals. Everything was neatly categorized and organized.
Jie Ming entered one of the warehouses and began searching.
Mentor Clark had not revealed the specific details of that plane, but since it was related to information techniques, Jie Ming had a rough idea of what materials he needed to prepare.
Without a doubt, the most suitable ones were various materials that could influence information or were related to information.
Jie Ming moved through the warehouse, his gaze sweeping across row after row of shelves filled with various arrays.
He first stopped in front of one array.
It was a circular array about three meters in diameter, densely covered with layer upon layer of runes on the ground and surrounding pillars.
At the center of the array, a mass of invisible mist floated quietly, slowly rotating.
That was Mortal Dust Qi.
“Looks like I’ll still need you to make an appearance this time,” Jie Ming said as he looked at it, unable to help a sigh of emotion.
Mortal Dust Qi really was a jack-of-all-trades.
It could be used for artifact refining, pill refining, array arrangement, or cultivation. No matter the task, it always found a use.
He checked the status of the sealing array, confirmed everything was normal, and continued forward.
The next array stored Incense Divine Power.
The golden light, far more condensed than Mortal Dust Qi, flowed within the array like a living thing. It occasionally coalesced into various shapes before quickly dispersing again. Jie Ming checked the reserves of Incense Divine Power through the nearby light screen and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, without hesitation, he transferred all the stored stock directly into his internal cave-heaven.
He suddenly changed direction and continued deeper into the warehouse.
Soon he arrived at the area specially designated for dangerous materials.
Mortal Dust Poison.
Baleful Qi.
Causal Entanglement Threads.
Information Disturbance Fragments.
Jie Ming walked and inspected, checking every material in the warehouse related to information.
He stopped in front of an array storing Mortal Dust Poison, gazing at the mass of twisted-colored mist inside with a thoughtful expression.
Although this stuff had considerable lethality, the previous coordinated war between wizards had proven how effective these things could be when properly utilized. According to the wartime intelligence obtained after the war, the seventh-ring wizard and the two sixth-ring wizards who had been caught off guard by his Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier had still not recovered even by the end of the war.
“Still, exactly how to use it will need careful consideration…”
Jie Ming made a note on the recording crystal.
He then walked to another array, looked at the stored Baleful Qi inside, and made another note.
After making a full round, the recording crystal in his hand was densely filled with a list of materials that needed preparation.
Jie Ming exited the warehouse and glanced back at the heavy door.
“With this much material, it should be just about enough,” Jie Ming mused while stroking his chin. “I just need to carefully consider the usage methods for each material. Once the Fate System is debugged, it will be about time to head out for battle.”
He turned and walked toward the laboratory.
In the distance, Molten Mountain carried another enormous stone pillar, slowly heading toward the array eye under the priests’ direction.