Explaining Battle Armor

As the referee loudly announced the start of the match, Wang Dong released her martial soul.

"Hum—"

A brilliant blue-gold radiance soared into the sky from behind her, and a pair of enormous, magnificent butterfly wings suddenly unfurled.

Martial Soul Possession: Radiant Goddess Butterfly!

Just as she spread her wings, a streak of powder-blue light appeared on her right arm without warning, rapidly condensing and taking shape to become a vambrace filled with mysterious beauty.

The vambrace perfectly encased her entire arm from palm to shoulder, its luster flowing and reflecting the radiance of the butterfly wings behind her.

This sudden turn of events left the entire audience, including the bigwigs in the VIP seats and the team members from Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, completely stunned.

Everyone felt an overwhelming curiosity about this suddenly appearing vambrace.

"What is that? A Soul Tool?"

"It must be a Soul Tool, but... I have never seen a Soul Tool like that!"

"The way it appeared was too bizarre, as if it grew directly out of her body. And look, the material of that vambrace is impossible to identify, and it's impossible to tell what level of Soul Tool it is!"

Even professional soul engineers could not see through the reality of the vambrace on Wang Dong's right arm at this moment.

It transcended everyone's current understanding of Soul Tools in this era, filled with the unknown and the mysterious.

When the referee announced the start of the individual knockout round, no one expected the opening of this fateful duel to be so one-sided.

Whether it was the Level 4 soul engineer sent by Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, or the power-attack and agility-attack Soul Ancestors who appeared afterward, all seemed so powerless before her.

Even when the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy finally sent out their highly anticipated top-tier Level 49 Soul Ancestor, he was unable to turn the tide.

His strongest attack merely stirred up a flash of light on that vambrace before being instantly shattered by an even more violent force.

One against four!

The battle ended cleanly and efficiently, almost to the point of being anticlimactic.

When Wang Dong walked off the competition stage, the entire arena was deathly silent.

After a brief silence came a volcanic eruption of discussion!

"What just happened? What kind of Soul Tool was that?!"

"Level 7? Level 8? No... it feels completely different!"

"Just how many secrets is Shrek Academy still hiding?"

The audience was like this, and the bigwigs in the VIP seats were even more solemn.

And the most intense reaction came from the waiting area of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

Elder Ma's face was ashen, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible... this isn't the path of Soul Tools... this completely overturns existing theories! That isn't a Soul Tool... that is... what kind of monster is that?!"

A piece of armor that looked like a Soul Tool and provided such a massive boost had not come from their Sun Moon Empire.

This was something he found difficult to accept for the moment.

The students of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, including Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, were all dumbfounded.

The absolute confidence and pride they had built up since childhood regarding Soul Tools were, for the first time, shaken by that mysterious vambrace on Wang Dong.

Meanwhile, in the Shrek Academy rest area.

When Wang Dong returned, everyone looked at her as if she were a monster.

"Wang Dong... you..."

Dai Yueheng opened his mouth, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The boost displayed by that vambrace just now had even made him feel a sense of trepidation.

"What exactly is that thing?"

Ma Xiaotao's eyes were filled with curiosity.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Wang Dong, but Wang Dong shook her head, her eyes passing over the crowd to look at Ji Jing.

Under everyone's gaze, Ji Jing slowly spoke:

"This is only the tip of the iceberg; it's no big deal."

Ji Jing's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"The tip of the iceberg?"

The crowd was stunned.

Ji Jing stood up and walked slowly to Wang Dong.

"Traditional Soul Tools are tools. But this,"

Ji Jing's gaze swept over their shocked faces, "Its design philosophy is to become a part of the body. A type of armor that can grow alongside the soul master."

"I call it—Battle Armor."

As these words were spoken, the entire Shrek waiting area fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's breath hitched, as if they had been struck on the crown of their heads by a bolt of lightning, causing a monstrous tidal wave to surge through their minds.

The impact brought about by this theory was unparalleled.

Once the group returned to the hotel and the door to the conference room suite was shut, the atmosphere became entirely different from the outside.

Xuan Zi took his seat at the head of the table, set his wine gourd down with a thud, and stared fixedly at Wang Dong's right arm, his gaze burning.

Wang Yan sat beside him, pulling out a pen; his state of excitement was visible to the naked eye, his breathing even more rapid than usual.

The others found their own seats. Although the atmosphere appeared calm on the surface, everyone could feel that the tension in the suite was on the verge of snapping.

Once everyone was settled, Xuan Zi didn't waste any time and spoke directly:

"Wang Dong, show that arm guard to this old man again."

Wang Dong instinctively turned her head to look at Ji Jing.

Ji Jing gave a slight nod.

Having received the signal, Wang Dong nodded in return.

The next moment, the arm guard appeared instantly, the iridescent metal wrapping around her entire arm in a seamless fit.

Among everyone present, Xuan Zi watched the most intently and remained the most silent.

He had seen countless treasures in his life, and he knew better than anyone what kind of aura items of various grades emitted.

Yet, the object before him had completely stunned him.

He found himself unable to come up with a single word to describe this arm guard.

"Hiss..."

Xuan Zi raised a hand to stroke his beard with agonizing slowness, his eyes growing increasingly deep.

Wang Dong retracted the arm guard, and the metal obediently clung back to her arm, its brilliance restrained, quiet as before.

The suite fell silent for a moment.

Ji Jing picked up the tea on the table, took a slow, unhurried sip, set the cup down, and spoke:

"Elder Xuan, let me start with the basics for you all to hear."

Xuan Zi raised his eyelids, signaling him to continue.

"What Wang Dong is wearing now is a single piece of a First-Word Battle Armor."

Ji Jing's tone was steady and unhurried, as if he were discussing something perfectly ordinary.

"A full set of First-Word Battle Armor can allow a Spirit King to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Spirit Saint who is not using their Spirit Avatar."

The suite went quiet for an instant.

Xuan Zi's hand froze mid-motion.

"If it is a Second-Word Battle Armor," Ji Jing continued, "it can allow a Spirit Emperor to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Spirit Douluo who is not using their Spirit Avatar."

"A Third-Word Battle Armor can allow a Spirit Saint to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with an ordinary Titled Douluo."

"A Fourth-Word Battle Armor can allow a Titled Douluo to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Limit Douluo."

As his voice faded, the suite fell into absolute silence.

Everyone held their breath in unison.

Xuan Zi was the first to move.

He sprang up from his chair, looking as if he had suddenly shed ten years of age. His cloudy eyes were now wide as saucers, staring intensely at Ji Jing, his voice rising several octaves:

"Wait! Say that again! You're saying that this... this First-Word Battle Armor, a full set, can allow a Spirit King to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Spirit Saint?!"

"A Spirit Saint not using their Spirit Avatar," Ji Jing corrected.

"Is it true?!"