Chapter 108: The Energy Core

Chapter 108: The Energy Core

Upon hearing Li Hongshen’s inquiry, Teacher Wang came back to his senses. “Oh, ah, the next part is a multiple-choice question, but there's no rush. You can hold onto this manual for now; I need to first modify your territory.”

Li Hongshen, somewhat puzzled, examined the manual, which contained a few notes on modifications. Then he looked up at Teacher Wang and said, “Teacher, could you spare a moment to help explain the general contents and things I should pay attention to?”

“That’s no problem. You’ve come at a good time. I’m not busy right now, and you’re the only lord whose territory needs modification, so I have plenty of time. I’ll give you a rough overview, but you’ll still need to read through the manual yourself afterward.

Before I start, answer a couple of questions for me: what do you think the Lord’s Altar is? And how are its ranks classified?”

Li Hongshen was taken aback—these questions seemed rather simple. Still, he answered, “The Lord’s Altar is a coordinate point within the lord’s space, used to perfect the fusion between the Endless Wasteland and the lord’s domain. It can also be used for warrior awakening, and you might even consider it the foundation of the main city.

As for ranks, they are divided into three stages: first, second, and third. Each stage has a different energy pool size and varying energy recovery speeds.”

Teacher Wang nodded slightly at Li Hongshen’s response, then asked further, “Is that all? Have you ever wondered why the higher-ups in the Ministry of Education created this entire system? What purpose does it serve?

Why is it that both rookie lords and natives use the same altar blueprints, yet the differences in the Inner Domain are so great—one floating in the sky, the other still grounded?

And what about the use of blood crystals? Since you’re part of the Elite Association, you should be familiar with psychic technology. But have you thought about why blood crystals are used as batteries, unlike the lords described in the main world textbooks?

Have you considered what you’ll do when you leave here and no longer have blood crystals? Without them, how will you awaken warriors?”

Li Hongshen was a bit bewildered by the barrage of questions. These were matters he had taken for granted and never deeply contemplated. In his understanding, they were lords with lord spaces, fundamentally different from the natives of the Endless Wasteland.

But now, based on what he heard, he realized that the altar blueprints were actually not different at all—both natives and rookie lords used the same designs, yet the disparity was huge. There had to be some hidden truth he wasn’t aware of.

Li Hongshen bowed slightly to Teacher Wang and said, “Please enlighten me, Teacher. I had not considered the thoughts of the great powers within civilization.”

“I don’t think you haven’t considered; rather, you just don’t dare to confirm it,” Teacher Wang replied. “Let me tell you plainly: fundamentally, there is no such thing as a true third-stage altar blueprint.

What both the natives and the lords outside have are actually version 2.5 of the altar blueprints.

Can you imagine, within this Endless Wasteland, are there more student lords or native tribes?

Forget it; I’ll tell you—it’s the lords. Some natives were deliberately placed here to train you; others are defectors from many lord factions. So the natives cannot be considered mainstream.

The modification I’m about to perform on your territory is precisely the kind of advanced upgrade you imagine—a fundamental enhancement.

Those original altar blueprints only laid the foundation for your territories. They’re not just positioning devices and spatial fusion tools but also serve as rule absorption mechanisms, helping you adapt to the use of energy rules.

You should have noticed that the energy concentration differs from the Outer Wasteland, the Middle Circle, to the Inner Domain. At different locations, the energy laws you perceive vary.

Therefore, to enable your territory to absorb energy rules more quickly and effectively, you must advance deeper into the Endless Wasteland until you reach this place and undergo the final modification.

This is the true purpose behind the altar system devised by those great powers outside—to achieve multiple goals: filtering rookie lords, setting up training environments for them, and forcing them to develop basic combat strength. Pretty impressive, isn’t it?”

Li Hongshen felt somewhat troubled. Although Teacher Wang went on at length, all of this was familiar to him. Whether it was the filtration of rookie lords or their training, he had a clear understanding.

But the key aspect—the actual modification—Teacher Wang avoided discussing. He wouldn’t talk about what happened after leaving here or the true nature of the blood crystals.

As for whether the great powers in the Ministry of Education were formidable—does Li Hongshen not know that himself?

Despite his rapid progress, he had undergone multiple special services in the Endless Wasteland. It was truly an ecstatic experience, especially after surviving the climate zone where he narrowly escaped lightning strikes several times—not a joke.

“Teacher, could you explain the modification in detail? I have a general understanding of what you said earlier.”

“Sigh, young people today are always impatient, unwilling to listen to their elders’ rambling…”

“No, Teacher, you misunderstand. I’m willing to listen, truly.”

“Really? Very well, then I’ll continue…”

…Two hours later…

“Eh, where was I?”

“Teacher, you were talking about the modification!”

“Oh, right. Modification. Speaking of which, let me ask you another question. Do you know why I said those so-called third-stage altar blueprints are version 2.5? And what truly distinguishes a third-stage territory from those of the natives?”

Faced with Teacher Wang’s question again, Li Hongshen’s expression tightened. No matter how good his mindset was, he felt increasingly vexed by this teacher, veins bulging on his forehead as blood surged within him.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell you. The fundamental difference lies in the core—an energy core and energy veins. This is also the focus of my modification.

All the details about the core are in that manual. You can read it yourself.”

Li Hongshen: (╬￣皿￣)(╬◣д◢)ヽ(#`Д)

…

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Li Hongshen opened the manual and flipped through it for a while before putting it down.

According to the manual, the third stage in the Endless Wasteland is the final level, but it cannot simply be attained by following the so-called third-stage blueprints.

When rookie lords enter the Inner Domain, they are transported to a special receiving city under the Ministry of Education. There, staff modify their territories.

At the core of this process is the selection of an energy core and the construction of energy veins, allowing the entire lord space to complete an energy cycle and create a genuine energy environment, thus freeing it from dependence on the Endless Wasteland’s energy.

There are two types of energy cores: one generates an energy ore core (similar to a spiritual vein), and the other constructs an energy well (akin to a moon well). Both have similar functions but differ greatly in usage methods and advancement maintenance, requiring careful consideration by the lord.

The author is approaching the end of the term and will do their best to maintain regular updates.

(End of chapter)