Valkyrie Armor

In the distance, a hexagonal complex outlined by lights came into view. The area covered by those hexagonal lights was enough to rival a medium-sized city.

Quite a few buildings dotted the interior, but there were even more open spaces. This hexagon was the territory of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

This was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Seeing Jing Hongchen return, the four guards at the entrance immediately opened a translucent Soul Tool gate and respectfully said, "Hall Master, you're back."

Jing Hongchen gave a slight nod. "I brought some guests to have a look around."

The guards glanced at the four people behind Jing Hongchen, then said amicably, "Since they are the Hall Master's guests, there is no need for an inspection. Welcome to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

Jing Hongchen directly led the four of them to the headmaster's office and arranged the highest standard of hospitality for them.

Lu Xueling took a sip of the fragrant tea in his hand and offered a casual compliment. "I have to say, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is truly rich and powerful."

Jing Hongchen did not bother being modest. "The academy and my Mingde Hall are both backed by the Sun Moon Imperial Family. Naturally, we should be."

"No wonder you didn't even blink before spending a hundred million on a broken fragment." Sirin shot back without mercy.

The muscles in Jing Hongchen's face twitched. He had the feeling that Sirin was calling him stupid and rich.

"My apologies, Hall Master. My wife is somewhat proud. I hope you understand." Though Lu Xueling wore a smile, his tone was equally proud.

That's right, that fragment was obtained by my beautiful and talented wife. Jealous?

Jing Hongchen more or less caught the implication behind their words, but he composed himself in less than half a second. "I never expected a Divine Artifact fragment to be nothing more than junk in this young lady's eyes."

Sirin gave a disdainful snort. "Can that kind of broken toy even be called a Divine Artifact?"

"And what sort of Divine Artifact would meet your standards, young lady?" Jing Hongchen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Sirin did not answer. She merely glanced at Lu Xueling.

Understanding the Queen's intent, he took another sip of tea before turning serious. "Red Dust Hall Master, to be honest, the Divine Artifact fragment we sold was merely a sample."

"A sample?" Jing Hongchen had not expected Lu Xueling to use such a term.

Lu Xueling snapped his fingers and smiled mysteriously. "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times."

System, get me a C-rank Valkyrie Armor.

C-rank Valkyrie Armor, White Practice (incomplete), has been constructed.

In the void, an energy fluctuation utterly unfamiliar to Jing Hongchen slowly emanated from Lu Xueling's palm. A set of female battle attire, with white clothing and black pants, materialized out of thin air.

"This is... battle attire?" Jing Hongchen made a blind guess, though a ripple had already risen in his heart.

Lu Xueling had produced this set of battle attire without releasing the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power, and Jing Hongchen had not detected any storage Soul Tool either.

Lu Xueling nodded slightly. "You could say that, but its official name is Valkyrie Armor. Red Dust Hall Master, would you like to try it?"

"This... wouldn't it be dangerous?"

Lu Xueling understood his concerns and patiently explained, "Hall Master, don't tell me you can't see how much energy is contained within this battle attire. Besides..."

"Besides, the one I'm wearing also counts as Valkyrie Armor." Sirin picked up where he left off.

Jing Hongchen pondered for a moment, then called toward the door, "Have Meng Hongchen come to my office."

"Yes."

Before long, a white-haired, blue-eyed girl arrived at Jing Hongchen's office and sweetly called out, "Grandfather."

Jing Hongchen briefly introduced Lu Xueling's group to his granddaughter before getting to the point.

"Xiao Meng, Grandfather intends to let you try this set of Valkyrie Armor. Are you willing?"

Meng Hongchen examined the battle attire in Lu Xueling's hands for a moment, then thought for a while. "Grandfather, you're not planning to use your granddaughter as a guinea pig, are you?"

"Of course not. Look at that golden-eyed older sister. She is wearing the same kind of battle attire."

Though Meng Hongchen was young, her thoughts were anything but simple. Only after her grandfather repeatedly assured her and she had a living example before her did she agree to try on the White Training Armor.

And Jing Hongchen's instructions were quickly carried out: Mingde Hall had recently acquired a powerful piece of equipment similar to a Soul Tool. Meng Hongchen would wear it and spar against Soul Engineers of the same rank from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy for evaluation.

The latest announcement was posted outside every teaching building and dormitory.

This Valkyrie Armor evaluation would be held at the Soul Tool Proving Ground of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The academy required all students without special circumstances to attend and observe. Students with cultivation above four rings could register to participate, with the highest eligible rank being a Level 5 Soul Engineer.

The Soul Tool Proving Ground was the largest building above ground in the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, capable of accommodating ten thousand people at once. Its interior was an enormous plaza surrounded by tiers upon tiers of seats stretching upward. It was usually used to assess students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, hold competitions, and test large Soul Tools.

Between the spectator seats and the central testing ground was an interlinked defensive system composed of multiple defensive Soul Tools. This defensive system fully demonstrated the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's advanced Soul Tool technology. It required only a sufficiently powerful Soul Master to control the entire defensive system.

By late afternoon, the entire Soul Tool Proving Ground was already packed. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had nearly twelve thousand teachers and students in total, including those from Mingde Hall.

It was not only the students who wanted to see what this powerful equipment, said to rival or possibly even surpass Soul Tools, truly was. Since it had earned praise directly from the Hall Master, the teachers were also curious. For this White Training Armor evaluation, the academy officially suspended classes for half a day.

"Alright, quiet down." The stern voice of a Soul Engineer teacher spread throughout the venue through an amplification Soul Tool. The students, who had been chatting excitedly, gradually fell silent and turned their eyes toward the northern platform.

The Soul Engineer teacher gave a brief introduction. "This new equipment will be worn by student Meng Hongchen. Whether you are participating or not, I hope every student of this academy will observe carefully. This is the Hall Master's order! Also, remember that neither side is to strike too heavily. Now, please welcome student Meng Hongchen to the stage."

The entrance passageway on one side of the Soul Tool Proving Ground quietly opened, and Meng Hongchen, already clad in Valkyrie Armor · White Practice, slowly walked into the proving ground.

She clenched her fists, took several deep breaths, then nodded to the teacher on the platform to indicate that she was ready.

"The first match begins. Silence!"

Meng Hongchen's first opponent was a youth who appeared to be seventeen years old. The badge on his chest showed that he was a Level 4 Soul Engineer. However, he seemed rather nervous at the moment.

"Hehe, hello, Miss Meng Hongchen. My name is Xia Xuanchen." The nervous youth introduced himself while looking at Meng Hongchen. It was easy to see just how popular Meng Hongchen was in the academy.

By now, the venue had gradually fallen silent, and everyone stared intently at the Soul Tool Proving Ground.

"Mm... please go easy on me." Meng Hongchen's expression gradually calmed, and faint Purple Gold ripples flashed around her body.

The two sides entered their designated combat zones, and the teacher presiding over the match immediately shouted, "Evaluation match, begin!"

Whoosh, whoosh—!

Xia Xuanchen raised both arms at once. Amid metallic clanging, two pitch-black metal cannon barrels appeared over his arms.

Unlike ordinary Soul Cannons and Soul Rays, these metal cannon barrels directly encased his arms. It gave the impression that he had lost both arms, only for Soul Cannons to have grown from his body in their place.

Bang! Bang!

Soul Cannon Shells fired out, while Meng Hongchen raised her arms slightly. Two pistols materialized in her hands out of thin air. No one could tell how she had summoned them, but Jing Hongchen, who was also observing his granddaughter from the shadows of the raised platform, saw his pupils contract slightly.

"She can actually store energy within the armor, and it's energy this old man has never seen before. It's neither human Soul Power nor soul beast Soul Power..."