Forging Battle Armor

“Not interested.”

Su Yu’s answer was crisp and decisive.

Zong Yan froze.

He stared at Su Yu in disbelief.

“Not interested?!”

“Boy, do you know what a Saint-level smith represents?!”

“It represents unrivaled status! It means the military and the royal family would treat you as an honored guest!”

“Do you have any idea how terrifying your talent is?!”

Zong Yan was so anxious he nearly jumped.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, his blazing gaze fixed on Su Yu.

His voice became more solemn than ever.

“Listen to me, boy.”

“With your talent, combined with everything I have to teach you…”

“Once your martial cultivation rises in the future, and your blood vitality reaches the level of a Martial Emperor—or even a Martial Venerable…”

“You may very well be able to forge… a Mythic mecha!!!”

A Mythic mecha!

The moment those five words left Zong Yan’s mouth, the air throughout the examination area seemed to grow heavy.

A light called “faith” flickered in Zong Yan’s eyes.

“You have to understand.”

“A mecha is the ultimate weapon capable of resonating with a martial artist’s blood vitality!”

There was a hint of sorrow and unwillingness in Zong Yan’s voice.

“But a mecha’s attributes and amplification limit are fixed.”

“I spent my entire life forging a nation-guarding mecha that can instantly increase a Martial Saint’s combat power tenfold!”

“But!”

“For supreme experts at the Martial Emperor level, the materials and formation inscriptions of a nation-guarding mecha simply cannot withstand the explosive force of their blood vitality!”

“If they force themselves to wear one, it can at most double their combat power before the mecha reaches the brink of collapse!”

Zong Yan stared intently at Su Yu, his hands clenching once again.

“Only double!”

“Against the endless stream of Demon Emperors emerging from the Abyss, a twofold increase is nowhere near enough to create an overwhelming advantage!”

The Abyss.

Humanity’s greatest scourge.

Its mortal enemy!

For hundreds of years, countless human heroes had shed blood and sacrificed their lives along the border, all to keep the Abyss’s contamination beyond the great walls.

Eradicating the Abyss was the ultimate dream of every Great Xia martial artist.

Naturally, it was also the lifelong wish of Zong Yan, the Saint-level smith.

“If we could forge the legendary Mythic mecha!”

Zong Yan’s voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement.

“Materials in perfect harmony! Formation inscriptions that create their own world!”

“By then, even a Martial Emperor-level powerhouse wearing it would have their combat power forcibly increased tenfold! Perhaps even twentyfold!”

“At that point, the mere Abyss would be no challenge at all. Our human Martial Emperors could sweep straight through it!”

“We’d wipe those bastards off the face of this world once and for all!!!”

The more Zong Yan spoke, the more excited he became.

He looked at Su Yu as though he were looking at the hope of humanity’s future, at the dawn of his lifelong dream finally being realized.

“So!”

“Come with me!”

“For humanity, and for the Mythic mecha!”

Zong Yan’s face was filled with anticipation as he waited for the hot-blooded young man before him to bow and become his disciple.

However…

Su Yu remained where he was. His deep, clear eyes were still utterly calm.

He quietly listened to Zong Yan’s impassioned speech.

He couldn’t deny that Zong Yan’s words had indeed sparked a trace of interest in him.

A Mythic mecha?

One that could increase a Martial Emperor’s combat power tenfold, or even twentyfold?

One had to know that even the perfected Great Desolate Starfall Dharma Aspect he had just deduced could only increase his combat power fivefold under normal circumstances.

If the conditions allowed it, and he obtained a suitable Mythic mecha in the future, combining it with the fivefold amplification of his Dharma Aspect…

Wouldn’t his combat power take off on the spot?

A hundredfold increase wouldn’t even be a dream!

But interest was one thing, and reality was another.

Su Yu was well aware of his current circumstances.

His immediate priority was to forge a set of armor for Lin Xiaoxiao and repay the favor for the resources she had given him.

After that, before six o’clock tonight, he had to go to the darknet auction house and sell that Demon Saint-level core!

He needed money!

A great deal of money!

Only by using the recharge system to convert his cultivation into tangible dark-gold divine blood was the surest path to becoming stronger.

As for getting certified as a Saint-level smith?

As for researching Mythic mecha?

Su Yu had seen it clearly in the Record of Heavenly Craftsmanship: forging high-level mecha was by no means something that could be accomplished overnight.

It required a tremendous amount of time and energy to search for materials and inscribe formation patterns.

Otherwise, why would Great Xia’s nation-guarding mecha be so rare?

“Sorry.”

Su Yu looked at the expectant Zong Yan and decisively shook his head.

“I’m not going.”

Those two words were like a basin of ice water poured directly over Zong Yan’s head.

The fanaticism on Zong Yan’s face instantly froze.

“You… What did you say?!”

Zong Yan grew frantic.

“You little brat! I’ve already said this much, and you still refuse?!”

“Fame that will last through history! A Mythic mecha! You’re telling me you aren’t tempted at all?!”

Su Yu casually placed the Mountain-Shaking Hammer in his hand on the forging table.

“I am tempted.”

“But I don’t have time today.”

Su Yu pointed toward Lin Xiaoxiao outside the door.

“I promised her I would forge a set of armor for her.”

“A man must keep his word.”

“And I have important personal business to deal with tonight.”

Su Yu’s tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable firmness.

“If I have the time in the future, I might consider working with you to explore the forging of Mythic mecha.”

“But not now.”

Seeing Su Yu’s resolute refusal, impervious to persuasion, Zong Yan opened his mouth, intending to lash out.

In the end, however, all that came out was a long sigh.

A genius.

An unparalleled genius often had stubbornness and eccentricities that ordinary people could never understand.

A forcibly twisted melon would never be sweet.

If he took Su Yu away by force, he might instead provoke the boy’s resentment. By then, things would have the opposite effect.

“You…”

Zong Yan pointed at Su Yu and shook his head helplessly.

“You little brat. You’re practically throwing away a priceless gift!”

However…

Zong Yan’s eyes shifted, and his gaze fell upon Lin Xiaoxiao outside the door.

He had heard that clearly just now.

This boy was going to forge armor?

Zong Yan’s thoughts immediately began to stir.

Forging armor was far more complicated than merely purifying materials!

Material purification could be accomplished through innate strength and extreme intuition.

But forging armor required perfectly fusing different materials, inscribing complex energy circuits, and possessing an exceptionally profound understanding of formations!

This boy was only eighteen.

Even if he had started learning in his mother’s womb, how much could he possibly understand about formation inscriptions?

The corners of Zong Yan’s mouth curled upward as his calculations began clicking into place.

“Very well.”

Zong Yan reined in his impatience, clasped his hands behind his back, and once again assumed the bearing of an unfathomable senior.

“Since you insist on forging the armor first, I won’t force you.”

“However…”

Zong Yan looked at Su Yu, a hint of temptation in his voice.

“Forging armor involves a complicated series of procedures.”

“Working alone, you’ll probably find it difficult to finish in a short amount of time.”

“I can assist you a little!”

“Whatever materials you need, I have them here! I can open the Heavenly Artificer Pavilion’s treasury to you without restriction!”

Zong Yan’s calculations were very precise.

For one thing, he could provide guidance.

During the forging of the battle armor, this Saint-level smith could reveal just a little of his godlike skill in engraving formation patterns.

Surely that would leave the kid so utterly stunned that he would bow at his feet?

Once he had witnessed true Saint-level techniques, wouldn’t the boy become an ardent admirer and willingly follow him back to build a mythic-grade mecha?

Secondly, it would be an opportunity to observe him.

He wanted to see just how far the kid’s actual forging skills went, beyond his heaven-defying ability to purify materials!

Faced with Zong Yan’s offer to “assist” and “provide all the materials,”

a barely perceptible glint flashed through Su Yu’s deep eyes.

Free materials?

And a high-level lackey thrown in for free?

Why pass up wool that had been delivered right to his door?

Su Yu reached out and once again gripped the Mountain-Shaking Hammer on the forging table.

A Nation-Guarding-grade weapon.