330: Chapter 330 Consolidating Territory and Greatly Increasing Strength

Chen Wuwang stood motionless, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanning the aftermath of the battlefield—the three Spirit Energy Towers were slightly misaligned, and the shield frequencies were chaotic;

Two engineering Puppets were stuck in a pile of rubble, their joints smoking; in the distance, the cooling pipe of the dawn's main cannon had burst, with steam hissing as it escaped.

"Xiao Dao." He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it suppressed the sound of the wind.

Chen Xiaodao sheathed his sword, the bone fragments under his feet crunching. He looked up: "Present."

"Seal that severed arm into the cryo-chamber, mark it as a 'Blood Refining Ninefold' sample, and don't let any clansmen touch it."

"Understood." Chen Xiaodao turned and beckoned, and two Sword Cultivators stepped forward to pick up the severed arm with titanium alloy clamps, placing it into a sealed box.

Chen Wuwang looked toward the south side: "Tiezhu!"

"Here!" Chen Tiezhu poked his head out from behind a pile of twisted mecha wreckage, his face smeared with black ash, still gripping a wrench in his hand, "I just dismantled three scrapped power cores; I can still squeeze some electricity out of them."

"Forget about that scrap metal." Chen Wuwang pointed to the five Spirit Energy Towers, "First, mobilize manpower to reinforce the tower bases and connect them to the dynamic early warning System. I need them to be able to switch shield frequencies within thirty seconds."

Chen Tiezhu wiped his face: "Fine, but we don't have enough Materials. The area just finished a battle, and the Spiritual Qi is chaotic; ordinary rune piles won't hold up under high-intensity vibrations."

"Then use composite spirit steel piles." Chen Wuwang said, "Melt down those scrapped mecha on the battlefield and mix in some mysterious iron powder. Haven't you been wanting to try that?"

Chen Tiezhu's eyes lit up: "You'd really dare to use it? That's using scrap metal as the core of a Formation!"

"Who says scrap metal can't be a Formation core?" Chen Wuwang sneered, "Three years ago we couldn't even afford to eat, and aren't we standing here talking now? Go do it, it must be powered on by tonight."

"Understood!" Chen Tiezhu grinned, grabbed his walkie-talkie, and roared, "Group Three and Group Four, assemble! Drag out the furnace! No sleeping today, turn this pile of scrap into a city wall for me!"

Bai Ling walked over, her skirt hem stained with lingering blood mist, her fingertips trembling slightly. She stared at the long sword at Chen Xiaodao's waist and said softly: "That sword strike just now... the light it left behind hasn't dissipated yet."

Chen Xiaodao was taken aback: "What light?"

"Green." Bai Ling took a step closer, reaching out to touch the hilt of the sword, "It's like... it's alive. It's breathing."

Chen Xiaodao frowned: "That's just the aftermath of the magic chip; Elder Lin said it would last ten minutes at most."

"It's not aftermath." Bai Ling shook her head, "It's a trace of the Fusion. Your technology is learning to respond to the rhythm of nature."

Chen Wuwang turned to look at her: "What do you mean?"

"Just like a stream hitting a rock, it creates splashes." Bai Ling whispered, "You forced magic into the machine; it should have shattered. But it didn't. That means it found its own way of flowing."

Chen Xiaodao looked down at his sword: "So... it has recognized its master?"

"More than that." Bai Ling looked up, "It's you who made it come alive."

The group fell silent for a moment.

In the distance came the sound of metal clashing; the engineering team had already begun cleaning up the battlefield. A small Spirit Gathering Array was set up in the open space, connected to a temporary forge, its flames flickering on and off.

"I'm going to check the production line." Chen Tiezhu grabbed his tool bag and headed south, "If I can carve the Formation into the bottom of the steel piles, maybe we really can achieve automated defense."

"Wait." Chen Wuwang called out to him, "Fix the cooling tower first. Without a stable power supply, everything else is useless."

"Got it." Chen Tiezhu waved his hand, "I've already had the technicians modify the circuits, using the residual patterns of the old Formation as a guide; it should at least last until the new System comes online."

He walked away quickly, his back disappearing into the smoke and dust.

Chen Wuwang turned to Bai Ling: "How are you feeling? Did the blood poison invade you?"

"I'm fine." Bai Ling smiled, "I'm just... a bit excited. This is the first time I've seen two completely different powers truly begin to communicate."

"This isn't a conversation." Chen Xiaodao said suddenly, "It's a fight. That sword strike just now nearly caused the mechanical arm to overheat and lock up; the energy storage module couldn't handle three consecutive slashes."

"Then optimize the output rhythm." Chen Wuwang patted his shoulder, "Go back and review the combat footage; I saw that your energy waveform had a delay when you swung the sword. Next time, don't dump it all out at once; learn to catch your breath."

"Catch my breath?" Chen Xiaodao raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Chen Wuwang nodded, "No matter how fast the sword is, it has to wait for the body to catch up. You aren't a machine; you don't have to slash ten times a second."

Chen Xiaodao pursed his lips, then said after a moment: "Fine, I'll recalibrate."

"Give the data to Tiezhu." Chen Wuwang added, "Let him design the next-generation energy storage module and add a buffer valve."

"You're generous with his work." Chen Xiaodao twitched the corner of his mouth, "Last time he complained that my Sword Intent was too wild and burned out his tester."

"That's because you sliced right through the shell he just welded." Chen Wuwang laughed, "He said you were 'killing with art'."

As the two were talking, an alarm sounded from the north.

"Report!" A patrol guard rushed up, "Residual blood poison has been discovered at the northern border, and it has spread to a three-hundred-meter radius!"

"Seal off the area." Chen Wuwang immediately ordered, "Send two purification machines over, and everyone must wear protective masks. Notify the medical team to prepare the antidote."

"Yes!"

After the alarm was cleared, the sky gradually brightened, and the outline of Qiming Plain became clear. The five Spirit Energy Towers resumed operation one after another, their faint lights flickering like a pulse. The engineering team shuttled back and forth, moving building Materials and laying lines.

By noon, Chen Tiezhu and a group of technicians had completed the casting of the first batch of composite spirit steel piles. There were twelve in total, each three meters high, with rough surfaces but a cold metallic sheen.

"Shall we test the first one?" He asked in the communication channel.

"Insert it." Chen Wuwang replied with only one word.

The steel pile was driven deep into the Foundation by a hydraulic arm, and just as it was about to settle, the ground suddenly shook.

"Earth vein fluctuation!" Someone shouted.

"Hold steady!" Chen Tiezhu roared, "Keep pushing it down! Don't stop!"

The steel pile was finally embedded five meters into the ground, and with a hum, faint runes appeared on its surface—they were actually the basic defensive patterns originally carved on the old Formation stele.

"It worked!" The technician jumped up, "It activated itself!"

"I told you it would work." Chen Tiezhu grinned, "The Old Ancestor's stuff, paired with a new brain, can still fight just as well."

In the afternoon, Chen Xiaodao returned to the training ground and pulled up the combat footage. In the footage, at the moment he swung his sword to sever the arm, the green light on the blade surged, but the mechanical arm's current curve immediately spiked to the critical point.

"It really is too intense." He muttered to himself, "Like stepping on the gas pedal and never letting go."

He began adjusting the output parameters, attempting to divide the release of his Sword Intent into a three-stage rhythm. The first simulation failed, causing an energy gap; the second barely formed, but the power dropped by forty percent.

"Not good enough." He shook his head, "I have to find the balance point."

Just then, Bai Ling walked in, holding a thin crystal shard in her hand.

"I collected this residual energy from near the blade." She said, "This isn't simple magic, nor is it a pure technological signal. It's the result of the resonance between the two."

Chen Xiaodao took the crystal and placed it into the analyzer. A waveform graph popped up on the screen, its rising and falling pattern surprisingly similar to a heartbeat.

"It's imitating life?" He was stunned.

"Perhaps." Bai Ling said softly, "What you've created isn't just a weapon. It's... the prototype of a new species."

By evening, the last composite spirit steel pile had been deployed. The twelve steel piles were arranged in a circle, connecting to the underground energy conduction network, initially forming a defensive skeleton.

Chen Wuwang climbed the highest watchtower on Qiming Plain, overlooking the entire territory.

The Spirit Energy Towers shimmered with faint light, the engineering team was still busy, and the patrol mecha Formation was cruising in an orderly fashion. In the distance, the Artifact Refining Workshop was brightly lit, the glow of the forges reddening half the sky.

He stood at the top of the tower, the wind blowing his clothes, but it no longer stirred up any ash.

"What Blood Butcher took away was shame." He said in a low voice, "What we have left behind is the Foundation."

He turned and descended the tower, his steps firm.

"Pass down the order." He announced in the communication channel, "Tomorrow morning, all clansmen are to assemble at the central plaza. I have three things to announce."