383: Chapter 383 Planning for the Future, Full of Confidence

The night wind crept in through the cracks in the Council Hall's windows, causing the map of the East Wasteland on the wall to sway gently.

Chen Wuwang stood before the table, his fingers tapping the surface unconsciously—three short taps, followed by a pause, as if he were counting some rhythm in his heart.

"Everyone here?" He didn't even look up; his voice was low, yet devoid of any trace of fatigue.

Footsteps approached from afar. Chen Tiezhu pushed the door open and walked in, a piece of work cloth covered in metal filings slung over his shoulder. As soon as he entered, he shouted:

"You said there was a meeting, so I dropped everything at the furnace and came over. That batch of substrates is just about to be quenched! Don't you dare tell me to 'wait a bit longer'."

Chen Xiaodao stepped across the threshold right after him. His scabbard tapped lightly against the floor. He wore no expression, but his eyes were frighteningly bright. "I just finished calibrating the sword formation simulation. I heard you were setting the grand strategy, so I didn't dare delay."

Only then did Chen Wuwang look up. The three claw marks on his right cheek gleamed with the dark color of an old wound under the lamp. The Mechanical Prosthetic Eye in his left eye slowly lit up with a blue glow, and a projection instantly unfolded—

A three-dimensional map of the entire East Wasteland floated in the air. The mountains, rivers, and the paths of the Spiritual Veins were clearly visible, with several spots marked by blinking red dots circled.

"Do you see that?" He pointed vaguely at one of the spots with a dagger. "Number 13 Mine Belt in the South Ridge. It's been abandoned for a hundred years, and the Spiritual Qi is thin. But three days ago, the System indicated 'active crystal core fluctuations three hundred feet underground.' I sent people to dig, and they unearthed a branch vein."

Chen Tiezhu's eyes widened. "You mean... we can find mines ourselves?"

"It's more than that." Chen Wuwang swiped the projection, pulling the view back until the outline of the entire continent appeared.

"The East Wasteland is just the starting point. Beneath the northern sand plains lie the remains of an ancient battlefield, and the cliffs of the West Ridge contain natural rune arrays. Nobody dares to touch these places, not because they are dangerous, but because their minds are still stuck in the era of 'relying on heaven for food'."

Chen Xiaodao frowned. "Resources are a good thing, but the capacity of our Artifact Refining Workshop is already saturated. The new mechs haven't even entered mass production yet. If we expand rashly, what will we do if the technicians can't keep up?"

"That's why I said you need to broaden your horizons." Chen Wuwang sneered and pulled up a second set of data:

"I've already had the technician group draw up the blueprints for the automated assembly line upgrade. Three days from now, the pure yang thunder marrow will arrive, which is perfect for activating the 'spiritual energy drive core,' allowing for unmanned furnace operations."

Chen Tiezhu stood up straight abruptly. "Are you serious? Letting machines do the Artifact Refining? Is the 'Heart Fire Sacrificial Cauldron' passed down by our ancestors just going to be scrapped like that?"

"Who said it's being scrapped?" Chen Wuwang countered. "Let me ask you, when your son smiths iron now, does he use a hand hammer or a pneumatic hammer?"

"Of course it's a pneumatic hammer! It's ten times more efficient!"

"Then there you go." Chen Wuwang slapped the table. "Technology isn't here to replace Cultivation; it's here to amplify it."

"With your level of cultivation, you used to only be able to forge one Flying Sword. Now, relying on the mech furnace, you can produce thirty sets of Nascent Soul battle armor in a day! This is the true evolution of our Legacy!"

Chen Tiezhu opened his mouth, then suddenly laughed. "Good man... you really dare to dream. Fine, I'll trust you once. But what about the Materials? We only have that little bit of star-fall iron; it won't last long."

"We'll start by mining the outer belts, building while we dig." Chen Wuwang's tone was decisive. "I've already arranged for the exploration team to retrofit three 'earth dragon type-ii' units, adding Spiritual Vein detection modules. They leave tomorrow. You pull five skilled technicians from your side to form a strike team, and learn while you work."

Chen Xiaodao's eyes lit up as he listened, and he suddenly interjected. "What about my Galaxy Sword Formation? You promised to integrate it into the new mechs."

"Of course it will be integrated." Chen Wuwang turned around, and the projection switched to a complex set of energy circuit diagrams. "I've already reserved the Sword Intent reception port."

"Once Bai Ling sends over the magic charging interface, we'll embed it directly into the propulsion System. When you swing that sword, it won't just break defenses; it will also detonate the shield's resonant frequency—effectively hitting the enemy with an 'overload feedback'."

"Hiss..." Chen Xiaodao sucked in a cold breath. "If you pair that with high-speed maneuvering, the enemy won't even have time to react."

"That's exactly the point." Chen Wuwang grinned, and blood-colored spiritual patterns flashed across his pupils.

"What I want is not a team that relies on individual talent to fight, but a war machine that can be mass-replicated and rapidly iterated. Every person can become a key node, and every mech is a mobile combat command center."

Chen Tiezhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly shook his head. "I still feel... relying too much on external objects won't do. A Cultivator must ultimately rely on themselves."

"Rely on myself?" Chen Wuwang pointed to his mechanical arm. "This arm was torn off by the Zerg. After replacing it with steel, I can shatter a Golden Core Cultivator's Protective Aura with one punch. Tell me, am I weaker, or stronger?"

He walked to the corner, opened a storage cabinet, took out a set of black battle armor, and threw it to Chen Tiezhu. "Put it on."

"Huh?"

"I told you to put it on, so put it on!"

Chen Tiezhu muttered as he took it and reluctantly put it on. The battle armor automatically conformed to his body, and the shoulder armor locked with a click.

"Now, mobilize thirty percent of your Spiritual Power and inject it into that diamond-shaped slot on the chest."

"Oh..." Chen Tiezhu did as told. As he channeled his Spiritual Power, two folding wings suddenly popped out from the back of the armor, unfolding with a hum, while a pair of miniature vibration blades slid out from the weapon slots at his waist.

"Holy crap!" He nearly jumped. "This thing responds on its own?"

"Spiritual resonance System." Chen Wuwang said calmly. "It doesn't replace your Cultivation; it increases the efficiency of the Spiritual Power you output by five times. With the same level of cultivation, you deal ten times the power. Do you think this is a shortcut? No, this is the future."

Chen Xiaodao stared at the battle armor, his breathing growing heavier. "Can you get me one too? I want to test the Sword Intent synchronization rate."

"Standard issue for everyone." Chen Wuwang waved his hand to turn off the projection. "For the next three months, I want to see three things: First, the Artifact Refining Workshop must achieve seventy percent automation in its processes; second, at least two outer mine belts must be put into operation; third, the Galaxy Sword Formation must complete its first joint debugging test with the mech System."

Chen Tiezhu took a deep breath and slapped his thigh hard. "Fine! I'm going back to modify the furnace blueprints right now. Even if I have to stay up all night, I'll build the model for the new assembly line!"

"Don't rush." Chen Wuwang stopped him. "I have one more trick."

He pulled up the final image—a circular architectural structure, surrounded by energy-conducting arrays, with a chamber-like space in the center.

"Cultivation simulation chamber." He said. "It uses a virtual battlefield to sharpen the mind, and the AI adjusts the difficulty based on combat data. After winning a match, the System automatically generates a targeted training plan. Conversely, it can also use mech load-bearing to stimulate the Meridians and accelerate the circulation of True Essence. Humans train the machines, and machines stimulate humans, forming a closed loop."

Chen Xiaodao's eyes went straight. "If this becomes widespread, the Breakthrough speed of our clansmen will be at least twice as fast!"

"It's more than that." Chen Wuwang's voice dropped, but it sounded like red-hot iron. "I want every person with the surname Chen, walking on any planet, to make others look up! I want the four words 'Produced by the Chen Family' to become synonymous with safety, strength, and advancement!"

The Council Hall was silent for a moment.

Then, Chen Tiezhu suddenly laughed, grinning, and slapped the table. "Hahahaha! Good! I've lived for over seventy years, and this is the first time I've heard someone say they want to lead the entire Family to rush out of the East Wasteland! You kid are crazy enough, I'm following you!"

Chen Xiaodao didn't laugh, but his back was straight, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Within three months, I will have the new mechs cleave through the sea of clouds."

Chen Wuwang watched them, the blue light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickering slightly.

He walked to the window and pushed open the wooden lattice. The night wind poured in, blowing through his silver-white hair.

In the distance, the lights of the Artifact Refining Workshop were still bright, and the faint sound of metal striking metal could be heard.

"Morning meeting tomorrow." He said, his back to the two, his voice not loud. "I want to tell everyone about all of this."