FE—Chapter 126: Meng Hongchen: Battle Armor? How about my full-body armor?
Tai Tan watched as Dong'er jumped off the attic, wielding the Clear Sky Hammer in the training ground as she commenced a new round of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique practice. She was brimming with excitement, looking like she was "full of energy to bring back Huo Yuhao."
Seeing this, Tai Tan felt a sense of approval and was about to comment on Dong'er's strong understanding of her training.
However, from the corner of his eye, he noticed that Niu Tian wore a gloomy expression, with several black lines appearing on his forehead—indicating his dissatisfaction with Shrek's training methods.
"Brother, Shrek Academy's running training method has not provided any substantial help to Dong'er."
"But Dong'er has been studying at Shrek Academy for a semester and has indeed made significant progress. Brother, look how hard Dong'er is practicing now!"
Tai Tan excused Shrek's methods; after all, it was the alma mater of that revered adult. As his most loyal subordinate, he felt it was important to refrain from displaying overt disgust.
Niu Tian snorted coldly and said in a deep voice: "Is Dong'er's hard work now really related to Shrek Academy, or is it because of that kid who opened the barbecue restaurant in Mingdu?"
Tai Tan understood the implication all too well. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed.
From Dong'er's motivational slogans, it was clear she was either trying to lure Huo Yuhao back to the Clear Sky Sect or aiming to defeat Meng Hongchen and Di Rachel. It could be summed up that Shrek's teachings did not influence Dong'er whatsoever.
Then Tai Tan pretended to think deeply, recalling the contributions of that adult and his mentor Yu Xiaogang, and said solemnly: "Brother, don't you think that Dong'er's class teacher, Mr. Zhou, believes she has received the true teachings of the master, therefore considering running training as the most effective way to train new soul masters?"
"After all, Xiao San—oh no, I mean the mentor of the third brother in the lower world, Yu Xiaogang—used running and weighted running techniques to train the third brother along with his friends into becoming gods."
Tai Tan indicated to Niu Tian that perhaps Yu Xiaogang's success with the Seven Gods and the master's unique insights into soul masters, famed throughout the continent, contributed to this educational philosophy, which deeply affected the academic standing of Shrek Academy in later generations.
Niu Tian looked at the serious Tai Tan and chuckled: "Do you think that the third brother and his friends managed to become gods due to their natural talent, or was it thanks to the illogical motivational sayings from the master like, 'There are only useless soul masters, not useless martial souls'?"
Tai Tan shrugged, smiling helplessly: "How should I know? It's been so long since the third brother's mentor Yu Xiaogang passed away."
"The teachers at Shrek are the only ones who haven't forgotten that master. It's uncertain whether the third brother remembers his former teacher in the God Realm."
Niu Tian nodded as if he understood something, then sighed slowly: "That's true. In the beginning, the third brother didn't think of taking the master to the God Realm. He probably respected his great wish to 'dedicate his life to the study of martial soul theory.'"
Tai Tan agreed with a nod: "Yes, that should be the case."
They continued to discuss whether Shrek Academy's teaching philosophy was truly brilliant before Tai Tan jumped down from the attic to resume being Dong'er's sparring partner.
Wang Dong was on the verge of reaching the level of a quasi-Soul Elder, and with her excellent comprehension abilities, she could now skillfully wield the first three hammer strikes of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique in sequence.
Tai Tan continued to let Wang Dong attack him as he had in the morning.
Wang Dong's beautiful pink-blue wings flapped as she swung the Clear Sky Hammer with enthusiasm, shouting "Ah!" as she jumped and smashed the hammer downward toward her second uncle, exclaiming: "To save Huo Yuhao and defeat Meng Hongchen and Di Rachel!"
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Mingdu, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy
Meng Hongchen was leading two blonde female students to familiarize themselves with the campus when she suddenly spotted Di Rachel. Holding a golden dragon spear, with her blonde hair and red eyes framing a cold expression, she walked slowly toward the auction house on campus.
Ye Guyi blinked and asked curiously: "Senior Meng, did you and Yuhao often go to the auction house last semester?"
"No, it was only that time we bought the ten-thousand-year whale glue, after which Yuhao and I took it to compare our concentrations..."
Meng Hongchen spoke in a low voice, just loud enough for Di Rachel to hear.
"That night, Yuhao and I agreed not to move around, but when I woke up, I found that Yuhao had secretly hugged his senior sister all night..."
Di Rachel, walking in front and preparing to go to the auction house, turned back and shot Meng Hongchen a sharp look, her eyes narrowing. "Meng Hongchen! It's you who is scheming and harboring evil thoughts about Yuhao."
Di Rachel uttered her accusations without losing her cold aura, continuing her slow approach toward the auction house.
Meng Hongchen watched her go with a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Rachel, that's the cafeteria where Yuhao and I often ate last semester. Why don't we go take a look?"
She pointed in the direction of the academy cafeteria. "What are you doing at the auction house?"
Di Rachel waved her golden dragon spear briskly, responding without looking back: "Ha! Of course, I'm bidding for a piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue. I plan to eat it with Yuhao tonight."
"Why? Is it that only Miss Meng and Yuhao can have the ten-thousand-year whale glue together while I am not allowed to share it with Yuhao?"
After saying this, Di Rachel's mood noticeably lifted, and her steps became lighter.
Meng Hongchen's gaze flickered, and after pondering for a moment, she smiled and replied: "Rachel, although ten-thousand-year whale glue isn't an item at the level of immortal herbs, it is still quite rare."
"Even though we often have whale glue of 100 years and ten years available at our cafeteria, ten-thousand-year whale glue is rarely seen at the auction house."
Meng Hongchen explained the effects and production conditions of whale glue to Di Rachel, advising her against trying to buy it.
"At least during this period, classmate Rachel, you definitely can't purchase ten-thousand-year whale glue at the auction house."
"If the ten-thousand-year whale glue were to appear at the auction house, Grandpa would certainly receive the news and inform us if we needed it. The absence of information means there is currently no ten-thousand-year whale glue being offered."
The ten-thousand-year whale glue that Meng Hongchen and Huo Yuhao bought last time was indeed a bargain—not due to any financial constraints but because of the pricing and their regular bidding.
The school's appraisal teacher might not have thoroughly checked the interior of the whale glue, identifying it as a thousand-year-old item based solely on its bright yellow exterior.
After Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen took the whale glue that night, they informed Jing Hongchen the following day. He smiled and promised to impose stricter requirements on the appraisal teachers, ensuring similar errors would not occur in the future.
It wasn't that Jing Hongchen wished for students to pick up bargains, but that there were significant hidden dangers regarding appraisal errors.
It's permissible to misjudge favorably, but what if it turns out badly? That could lead to unpredictable dangers for students.
Thus, naturally, there would be no thousand-year-old whale glue for Di Rachel to chance upon at the current auction house.
Meng Hongchen waved to Di Rachel and smiled: "Alright, classmate Rachel, come back. When the next auction presents ten-thousand-year whale glue, I'll be sure to notify you immediately."
Di Rachel snorted softly, turning back to approach Meng Hongchen. "It's not easy for me to get my hands on ten-thousand-year whale glue."
"I will wait until the next semester break. Yuhao and I will go to the beach and catch some ten-thousand-year whale glue ourselves."
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Illustrious Virtue Hall, Huo Yuhao's Laboratory
After Xiao Hongchen's persuasion, Huo Yuhao, who utilized spiritual detection & sharing to assist Xiao Hongchen in completing his first hearty firing after being promoted to a fifth-level soul engineer, was now prepared to enhance his medicine refining and forging skills.
Before Huo Yuhao broke through to a three-ring soul elder, his medicine refining had always remained limited to producing second-grade elixirs. His forging skills had reached a bottleneck, being able to break through only to a hundred-forging purification, and he was currently just one opportunity away from achieving thousand-forging purification.
Now, he had not only reached the level of a three-ring soul elder, but he had also acquired the energy of the Water and Fire Dragon King and the Bloodline of the ancient Void Dragon. When compared with Tang Wulin's configuration of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, it was not inferior.
His physical fitness, mental power, and soul power had all seen significant improvements, allowing Huo Yuhao to attempt the third-grade elixirs and thousand-forging purification techniques.
He swung the Heavy Xuan Ruler, tapping against the silver-white metal on the forging table in rapid succession. The sound of "bang bang bang" echoed throughout the laboratory.
Electrolux's voice resounded within his spirit sea: "Yuhao, the thousand-forging purification seems to be not merely a superposition of the hundred-forging purification, but rather one that develops a trace of the metal's spirituality from this strong foundation."
"Yes, I understand, Teacher Electrolux." Huo Yuhao acknowledged that in Douluo Dalu III, thousand-forging themes were above the thousand-forging spirits.
The spirit of thousand-forged metal involves nurturing a greater measure of the metal's spirit that has just undergone a thousand iterations and reaching a certain standard in terms of the metal's spiritual performance.
Huo Yuhao activated the power of his bloodline; his blue eyes gradually took on an illusory purple hue.
Continuing to wield the Heavy Xuan Ruler unwaveringly, he struck the hundred-forged metal on the table.
After integrating the bloodline of the Ancient Void Dragon, his strength—exceeding that gained from absorbing the spirit soul of the Snow Empress and the energy from the Water and Fire Dragon King—resulted in excellent performance during the forging process.
The metal Huo Yuhao worked with was the hundred-forged Titanium iron he had forged last semester.
He felt the changes in the Titanium after each impact, pursing his lips and murmuring: "It truly deserves to be the weapon Xiao Yan has relied upon; it withstands the power of the Ancient Void Dragon's bloodline with no trouble at all."
Were it not for the special nature of the forging hammer he wielded, the metal would likely have been scrapped entirely upon activation of the bloodline's power.
The Heavy Xuan Ruler, however, was different. Each time Huo Yuhao brought down the ruler with full force, he experienced a fullness of power when striking the hundred-forged Titanium, as if the Heavy Xuan Ruler remained intact regardless of the intensity of his strikes.
This was something that the Sea God Trident's ability to break through city walls could not rival. After all, Xiao Yan was a Dou Di, employing a heavenly-level dou skill, yet the Heavy Xuan Ruler seemed to hold its own.
Soon, empowered by the strength of his bloodline, the hundred-forged Titanium began to emit an illusory purple glow under the force of the hammer. The purple spiritual light rose to an impressive height of five feet, with an ethereal purple dragon-shaped shadow appearing at its center.
Seeing this, Electrolux smiled kindly and advised: "Yuhao, this few feet of spiritual light represents the trace of spirituality that is cultivated during the initial formation of the thousand-forged metal."
"Next, you need to contain this trace of spirituality within the metal body, and the thousand-forged metal will soon be complete."
Huo Yuhao nodded and again employed the combined power of his bloodline, mental power, and soul power to guide the five-foot spiritual light back into the metal body.
An illusory purple dragon wing manifested behind him, casting a purplish hue around the laboratory.
At the same time, he utilized his spiritual detection to perceive the interior of the metal, integrating the purple five-foot spiritual light into every subtle line within its structure.
Once the originally silver-white Titanium gold underwent purification through the thousand forgings, it assumed a transparent blue-purple hue overall.
Of course, the color transformation of the metal wouldn't influence the subsequent forging of the battle armor. During the crafting process, the performance of the martial soul could dictate the outcomes—commonly referred to as coloring.
After a while, as the purple illusory five-foot spiritual light was fully contained within the Titanium, it transitioned into thousand-forged Titanium.
Electrolux smiled gently, stating: "This forging is indeed fascinating. Judging by this technique, it has a touch of charm reminiscent of my equipment refinement while I was alive. Each piece of thousand-forged metal can at least withstand the energy of a five-ring or even six-ring soul master."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Indeed, the battle armor forged from a thousand-forged metal will require at least the cultivation level of a five-ring soul king to be worn."
He then retrieved the hundred-forged Titanium he had prepared last semester, waved the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and began the process of converting it into thousand-forged Titanium.
With the experience gained from the initial thousand-forged Titanium forging, while a few attempts yielded failures, the success rate remained encouraging. For every three pieces of hundred-forged Titanium, he successfully forged two pieces of thousand-forged Titanium.
At that moment, the metal door of the laboratory emitted a "hum" sound.
Meng Hongchen, Di Rachel, and Ye Guyi had been exploring various buildings in the academy and had a preliminary understanding of laboratories, classrooms, and more.
As soon as they entered the laboratory, the resounding sound of metal striking captured their attention. Di Rachel asked curiously: "Yuhao, what are you doing? Clang clang?"
Upon witnessing this scene, Meng Hongchen's eyes flickered, and she quickly realized Huo Yuhao was forging.
Last semester, her grandfather applied for a forging patent for Huo Yuhao. Recognizing the material under his Heavy Xuan Ruler as the hundred-forged Titanium, she excitedly thought: So, Huo Yuhao is engaging in the thousand-forging technique he mentioned before?
With that realization, Meng Hongchen smiled, addressing Di Rachel: "Rachel, since you just entered this semester, you probably don't know, but this is called forging."
"Forging?"
Di Rachel considered this. Previously, while at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, she and Yuhao had witnessed the big silver dragon's light ball together. Surely, she was familiar with the concept of forging and battle armor.
"Miss Meng, I know about forging. It is definitely for creating battle armor."
However, she recognized that the specific process of the big silver dragon forging battle armor was only briefly outlined in the story. After all, without Huo Yuhao having gone through the practice, she would not fully grasp its principles. This concept was mainly highlighted in a plot focused on the big silver dragon's tragic love story.
Meng Hongchen blinked in surprise at Di Rachel's words. "Battle armor? Is it similar to the level 6 soul guidance device full-body armor that my grandfather made specifically for me?"
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End of this chapter