Chapter 450: Refinement

Chapter 450: Refinement

In Zone 1, at Elder Mountain, the day after Lu Wu was captured, the laboratory stood as a grim testament to the events that had transpired. Row upon row of crucifixes lined the room, each bearing a bound captive.

Domerk, the leader of the Dark Parliament, and his five Grand Elders were among those restrained. Alongside them were the Grand Sage of the Science Alliance and his four Deans, as well as the two Elders of Elder Mountain, one representing Fire and the other Water.

With the exception of Tie Xiong, all who had been involved in Lu Wu's capture were present, standing in solemn silence.

The captives' emotions were a complex mix of despair and disbelief. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that their successful capture of Lu Wu would lead to this.

As they grappled with their fate, Zhao Xue'en and Zhang Mingrui, the very men who had subdued them, stepped forward.

Gazing upon the row of trophies before them, they could almost envision the Gateway Shards being successfully refined, one after another. Their excitement was palpable, and they couldn't contain their smiles.

Zhang Mingrui, unable to contain his enthusiasm, spread his arms wide, "My friends, you all know the situation. Our purpose in gathering you here is simple and pure. We ask for your assistance in refining more Gateway Shards."

The captives on the crucifixes were further agitated by Zhang Mingrui's words.

They struggled and responded with defiance.

"Zhao Xue'en, Zhang Mingrui, you are devoid of humanity! You will pay for your deeds!"

"You are no better than Lu Wu, the demon!"

"No, you are even more ruthless and inhumane than he is!"

The Fire and Water Elders, well aware of the true nature of these two men, cried out in desperation. Their voices, hoarse from fear and despair, echoed through the room.

But amidst the despair, a glimmer of hope remained.

"Zhao and Zhang, please spare us! Refining the Gateway Shards is no simple task. Your brute force approach will not yield results!"

"That's right! Release me, I beg you. I am the Grand Sage of the Science Alliance, possessing the highest knowledge within the alliance. I can help improve your plan."

"Gentlemen, I believe we can come to an agreement..."

The Fire and Water Elders, despite their dire situation, still held onto a shred of hope, yearning to survive. But their pleas were met with a cold response.

"Enough! Your words are futile!

We are the shards to be refined, and as for your suggestions, Lu Wu has already perfected the process. So, it's best you cooperate willingly!"

"Rest assured, we are not kind-hearted.

If you choose not to cooperate, we have ways to ensure you neither live nor die."

Zhang Mingrui's gaze swept over the captives, his smile unnerving.

The Fire and Water Elders, feeling the weight of his words, couldn't help but respond.

"Come then! If you dare, do your worst! We're all dead anyway, I fear nothing!"

Hearing their defiance, Zhang Mingrui's smile widened, a gentle and warm expression.

As he approached the Fire Elder, his smile turned eerie. The Elder, sensing something amiss, felt a momentary panic but quickly regained his composure, standing tall and staring defiantly at Zhang Mingrui.

Just as the Elder was about to shout, Zhang Mingrui touched his forehead, leaning in close. Whispering something in his ear, he left the Elder stunned and silent.

The room watched as the once defiant Fire Elder stood motionless, unable to utter a word.

He meekly lowered his head, like a well-trained dog.

Zhang Mingrui stroked the Elder's head, his smile growing wider, "That's a good boy. Work hard, and we might just refine the Gateway Shards sooner. If I'm in a good mood, I might even spare your life. After all, having an Elder as a pet is quite the status symbol!"

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the other captives, his smile chilling.

The eerie warmth in his eyes and the deep, malevolent intent within them sent shivers down everyone's spines.

Zhao Xue'en, sensing the tension, stepped forward, "Alright, that's enough. Let's begin!"

"What are we waiting for? Start!"

With a nod from the two leaders, the laboratory filled with people.

Another Gateway Shard was retrieved, a testament to the formidable resources of Elder Mountain, the pinnacle of the Alliance's power.

Organizations like the Dark Council and the Holy Church Alliance only possess one or two Gateway Shards, but Elder Mountain has already displayed three Shards during their refinement and baiting of Li Wu.

Now, effortlessly, they present five more Shards.

The depth of Elder Mountain's foundation is truly remarkable.

However, these foundations were merely foundations, lying dormant until now.

But now, things are different.

Thanks to Li Wu's kindness, they can now transform these foundations into strength.

As long as they refine these five Shards, they can combine them into one that's larger and more powerful than the one held by Iron Hero.

With these Shards, they can not only ensure their safety but also use them to capture Iron Hero and obtain his Shard.

With two Shards of the same rank, Zhao Xuen and Zhang Mingrui's strength will increase significantly.

They might even surpass the power of the President, Lu Hai Kong, and the Nullifier.

If they can take one more step, they might even collect all the Gateway Fragments, reassemble the Gateway, and become an ultimate existence.

Although the last step seems far-fetched, they are still quite excited about the prospect.

Setting aside the last step for now, they will gain a significant boost if they can refine these five Shards.

As for the refinement of these five Shards, they believe it shouldn't be a big issue.

Hmm, under the anticipation of these two, the refinement of the Gateway Shards begins promptly.

At first, the process proceeds as they had hoped—fast and stable!

From the start of the refinement to reaching 10% progress took only 30 minutes.

From 10% to 99% completion took around five hours.

This efficiency is truly terrifying.

Watching the Shards light up one by one, Zhao Xuen and Zhang Mingrui's excitement knew no bounds.

But their excitement was soon halted, as the refinement of the Gateway Shards also came to a standstill.

For some unknown reason, the refinement process stalled at 99%, and despite continuing for four to five hours, it made no further progress, failing to complete the final step.

This situation left Zhao Xuen and Zhang Mingrui frustrated.

"What's going on here? Is it a problem with the Shard, or is it because these people aren't cooperating?

Should we kill one as a warning to the others?" Zhang Mingrui suggested with a murderous aura.

Zhao Xuen, on the other hand, fixed his gaze on one person.

This person was the overall leader of the Gateway Shard refinement project and someone Li Wu was somewhat familiar with—Gudian, a high-ranking member of the Cultivation Center.

Although he had been thoroughly beaten by Li Wu, he was still a top-tier Cultivator, a master-class Breeder, and almost at the level of a Grandmaster Breeder.

He possessed considerable talent.

However, this wasn't the primary reason he became the leader of this project.

The main reason was his obedience and low moral standards—perfect for being a lapdog!

What Zhao Xuen and Zhang Mingrui were planning wasn't exactly noble, and they couldn't afford to have uncooperative people causing trouble. With the core technology already developed by Li Wu, they just needed an executor, and Gudian was the best fit.

As the project leader, Gudian had his own understanding of the project.

At the very least, when problems arose, he could step forward and pinpoint the issue.

"Honored Lords, after studying the previous refinement and the research led by Li Wu, I've roughly identified the problem.

The reason the refinement can't be fully completed is due to the power of the soul!"

"The power of the soul?"

"Yes, during the first refinement, Elder Fei had reached the peak of Epic Rank 2, and his soul had touched upon Epic Rank 3. With Li Wu's assistance, the successful refinement was to be expected.

As for the second refinement, Zhang Chen was already an Epic Rank 3 Cultivator, and his soul power was strong enough to complete the refinement without assistance.

But this time, the situation is different!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuen and Zhang Mingrui understood the issue.

"You're saying that this batch of people's standards are too low, and they didn't reach Epic Rank 3-Star, so the refinement failed?"

"Your wisdom is unparalleled, my lords."

Zhao Xue'en waved his hand, interrupting Kutan's attempt to flatter them: "Enough with the trivialities. Just tell us the solution."

"I have two immature ideas, my lords."

Kutan took a deep breath: "The first is to ask for your assistance in empowering them."

"How so?"

"What would be the cost?"

Zhao Xue'en and Zhang Mingrui cut straight to the point, and Kutan didn't dare to play coy in front of these two powerful figures.

"It would require a certain amount of soul power. Conservatively, I estimate that you would need to expend at least a third of your soul power, possibly even more."

"That won't do!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingrui and Zhao Xue'en both rejected the idea outright.

After all, it was a third of their soul power. While expending it wouldn't be life-threatening, it would undoubtedly lead to a temporary decline in their strength.

This was something they couldn't afford.

Who knew what challenges they might face after such a decline? Tie Hong, or something else? They couldn't guarantee, predict, or take the risk, so they both refused this plan.

"And the second plan?"

"There are only two ways to solve this problem: either improve the quality or increase the quantity..."

As he spoke about the quantity, even Kutan, not a particularly good person himself, felt a sense of hesitation.

He was well aware that if Zhao Xue'en and Zhang Mingrui chose the second option, it would undoubtedly lead to deaths, and not just a few.

"Stop beating around the bush and tell us the plan!"

"The second plan involves sacrificing some people to empower their refinement."

"Sacrificing people? How many?"

"For ordinary people, about a million for a single fragment, and for summoners, nearly a hundred thousand."

Kutan spoke these words with a slightly heavy heart.

However, to his surprise, as soon as he finished, Zhao Xue'en and Zhang Mingrui both breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's just five to six million. It's manageable, and it won't hurt the Alliance too much!"

"Then let's act quickly. Let's gather all the criminals from the Alliance prison and bring in five to six million people from the 11th or 12th districts..."

Zhang Mingrui immediately started planning how to handle the situation.

Kutan's scalp went numb, and his hands turned cold.

Even though he wasn't a good person himself and had trampled on lives, he still had some respect for life.

Hearing Zhang Mingrui's words, it seemed like the lives he spoke of were nothing more than a string of cold numbers.

How could Kutan not feel fear and dread?

Instinctively, he glanced at Zhao Xue'en, hoping that he would have a different opinion.

Indeed, almost as if reading Kutan's thoughts, Zhao Xue'en shook his head: "No good! We can't do this!"

"Yes, we can't..."

Kutan was about to agree, but Zhao Xue'en continued: "This plan would take too long to prepare. Conservatively, it would take at least a week or two to execute.

Refinement fragments are time-sensitive, and we don't have that much time to waste.

Moreover, it would be challenging to cover up afterward. There would be too many traces, and we couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation to the public.

Therefore, I suggest we find a city with a population of five to six million near Elder Mountain and sacrifice it.

It's faster, and afterward, it will be easier to handle, just like the Changping Mystic Realm incident. We can casually hand it over to Lu Wu, oh no, Lu Wu is dead, so we'll give it to the Zero Organization; it's all the same."

"Alright, your idea is good. Let's go with this plan!

I'll take care of the sacrifices, and you, Kutan, assist me. By the way, Kutan, weren't you about to say something?"

The two powerful figures' gazes fell upon Kutan simultaneously.

At that moment, their faces were warm and friendly, but their eyes and smiles couldn't bring Kutan any comfort. Facing their gaze, he felt a chill down his spine...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end