When the Gears Began to Turn

"What was this?"

Night had fallen, and the senior students were preparing to leave.

Land in Shrek City was worth every inch of its weight in gold. After all, it housed the continent's number one Soul Master Academy, while the Inner Court was only as large as a small town.

Mu Baobao's Soul Power flickered as he took out a half-meter-wide iron box. The senior students curiously opened it... and the frigid temperature instantly turned the scorching summer night into winter, coating everything in frost.

These senior students were almost all Soul Saints, with several even being Soul Douluos. Without even summoning their martial souls, the weakest among them, Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen, were still Soul Emperors in their sixties. Their eyes widened as they saw it clearly.

"Soul Bone?"

"This level of cold is no weaker than that of Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, but why does it feel different?"

The first thing that caught their attention was its appearance. A left-hand armor piece, left-arm armor piece, left shoulder-and-chest piece... Weren't External Soul Bones beyond the six major Soul Bones extremely difficult to obtain? Even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts might not have them, yet this was a combination of four pieces.

"No, this was forged from metal!"

No wonder they had mistaken it. Spirit Forged metal was already practically indistinguishable from a thousand-year Soul Bone, and there was even a blue-white ice gemstone embedded in the shoulder-and-chest section.

It was semicircular... Surely it couldn't have been designed according to gender, right? They had even begun comparing it to their own figures.

"It wouldn't be wrong to call it a Soul Bone, since it was developed specifically to replace them. This is Spirit Forged Armor made from Cold Iron excavated from deep within freezing regions... It has a top-grade ice gemstone embedded in it, along with fifth- and sixth-grade miniature Soul Tool arrays carved by Vice Dean Qian. I also nurtured it with Ultimate Ice. Individually, each piece is at the thousand-year level... but as a whole, it is no weaker than a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone!" Mu Baobao explained slowly.

No wonder it was so cold. The materials alone were extraordinary. Mining Cold Iron from glaciers was already difficult... and there was also a top-grade gemstone. Carving miniature Soul Tool arrays was far more difficult than carving normal-sized ones. Even Qian Duoduo, a ninth-grade Soul Engineer, could only carve seventh- or eighth-grade arrays.

The cost of this armor was absolutely no lower than that of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. After all, it consisted of several pieces... And while everyone knew how difficult Soul Bones were to obtain, armor could be forged repeatedly as long as there were materials and labor.

"This is incredible, isn't it? Armor that can replace Soul Bones—even if forging it is difficult... as long as you have money, you can get it. Did you research this, junior?"

"Uh! More or less!"

Mu Baobao admitted it guiltily. He couldn't exactly say it was a product from Douluo Continent ten thousand years in the future, could he?

"Then who are you giving this appearance to?"

If he had forged Ultimate Ice armor for himself, it should have had a masculine shape... Yet this clearly looked like it was made for a woman. Besides, Mu Baobao would not take it out for someone whose martial soul clashed with it, so those people could be ruled out first.

Everyone's gazes fell on Ling Luochen. She was the only ice-element Soul Master present...

Her expression remained cold, but she had shown interest in Mu Baobao before, for the same reason as Huo Yuhao... He could amplify her ice abilities. If she had been his senior, she would have made her feelings clear directly, but the two of them were in the same year.

Mu Baobao was many times more outstanding than she was. She could not possibly force herself on him as boldly as Ma Xiaotao would.

"The size doesn't match!"

Her face reddened as she spoke, and she also felt somewhat disappointed. With such a set of armor, she would not need to rely so heavily on Mu Baobao.

That eliminated her as well. Although Ling Luochen had an excellent figure, it was not quite so astonishing. When they compared themselves again, none of them matched either.

"Hm?"

In the end, their attention successfully landed on Ma Xiaotao. Although she possessed a fire-element martial soul, her Evil Fire Phoenix was difficult to control and required the suppression of Ultimate Ice.

"Good heavens, to know the measurements that well, he must have observed very carefully!" everyone said meaningfully. Even with Ma Xiaotao's fiery temper, her face flushed scarlet. It was impossible to tell whether she was angry or embarrassed.

"I had no choice. Her strength keeps increasing, and her Evil Fire is becoming harder and harder to control... I'm truly afraid she'll force herself on me one day. At that point, I won't be able to become the Phoenix God like my ancestor—I'll have to become the God of Desire instead..."

Mu Baobao curled his lips. Ma Xiaotao had been mocked. Though there was emotion in her eyes, she still shouted angrily.

"What did you say? I'm not that bad."

"Haha, someone's getting anxious. Baobao, why don't you just take her in? Then you won't have to worry about the senior sisters keeping an eye on you!" This time, Mu Baobao fell silent and broke out in cold sweat, while Ma Xiaotao revealed a smug expression.

"Jokes aside, the new semester has begun. Everyone will occasionally go out to carry out missions, so this will keep her from harming other people."

"Why does it feel like junior is declaring ownership?" Wu Ming, Han Ruoruo, Hua Yao, and several other senior sisters teased. "We're so jealous we could die."

"Uh... I should give you a reminder. This armor can recognize an owner just like a Soul Bone. It can even be nurtured with Soul Power, spiritual power, and life force, and it has the potential to evolve. But I don't recommend that you do so."

"After all, it is only meant to suppress your Evil Fire. Once that problem is completely resolved someday, it would be better to forge a set of fire-element armor. Whether you give it to someone else then or do something else with it is up to you!" Mu Baobao said with a shrug.

This dropped another bombshell. Even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bones could not evolve; only External Soul Bones could... Yet something comparable to a thousand-year Soul Bone could do it?

But when they considered the materials—Spirit Forging, a top-grade gemstone, and fifth- or sixth-grade miniature Soul Tool arrays—those materials could be used to create seventh- or eighth-grade Soul Tools, even ninth-grade ones... Yet its advantage was that, like a Soul Bone, it was easier to use.

"Isn't this too heaven-defying?"

A full set of Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones, including the six major Soul Bones and all External Soul Bones, could allow someone to fight opponents more than one major rank higher, perhaps even two. Their eyes reddened as they stared at him like wolves eyeing a little white rabbit.

"Junior, I want one too. Hurry up and give me one."

"That sounds far too ambiguous. Senior sister, please behave yourself."

Mu Baobao took a step back and said helplessly in fear, "Senior sisters, there's no need to rush. This is only fifth-grade Spirit Forged armor. If you want one, it would need to be at least sixth-grade Spirit Forging. I have already discussed it with Teacher Tie Wuji and Dean Qian Duoduo."

"This kind of armor will eventually spread among Soul Masters. Thousand Refinement-grade sets will be standard models that can be mass-sold... Spirit Forged sets will be produced in limited quantities, and Fusion Refined ones will be even more expensive. There will even be limited editions in which Soul Masters participate in the production process. Enrollment will be opened first to Inner Court teachers and students. When the time comes, won't we be able to beat the Sun Moon Empire senseless?"

"For the limited edition, at minimum, special sixth-grade Spirit Forged and Fusion Refined metal will be used. Dean Qian and Minister Tie have already begun training large numbers of Blacksmiths and miniature-array Soul Engineers. I call this armor Battle Armor."

"Teacher Tie once said that Spirit Forging would not be the limit. Sooner or later, we will be able to carve seventh- and eighth-grade Soul Tool arrays, perhaps even ninth-grade ones... Three-Word Battle Armor comparable to a complete set of Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. If you can wait, then wait. Tests have confirmed that Battle Armor can indeed evolve, though it will not exceed one rank."

"Thousand Refinement, Spirit Forging, and Battle Armor are divided into Two-Word Battle Armor. If stronger versions appear later, more words will be added. The naming rights... will be completely given to the Soul Masters."

"After recognizing an owner, Two-Word Battle Armor can also merge into the body like Soul Bones, making it easy to conceal."

Although the Battle Armor system first appeared during the era of Legend of the Dragon King, traces of it had actually spread across multiple eras. During the Douluo period, generals could already wear Thousand Refinement armor; it simply lacked Soul Tool arrays.

Two-Word Battle Armor at the Spirit Forging level was very similar to the Ice Extreme Battle Armor researched by Huo Yuhao, though his version was somewhat crude. Three-Word Battle Armor used Soul Refinement, while Four-Word Battle Armor used Heavenly Refinement... They were products that came after the Soul Spirit System, because spiritual power had improved... allowing forging to advance further.

The Soul Spirit System had been created by Huo Yuhao, but the Battle Armor system had not been established by Tang Wulin. Likewise, the Soul Tool system had not been created by Huo Yuhao... Ten thousand years later, Soul Spirits could even be raised in rank and have their age increased.

Soul Engineers found it difficult to carve miniature Soul Tool arrays of their own rank because they lacked sufficiently tough metals and more advanced spiritual power. In that era, the wife of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had even directly arranged a super Soul Tool array and ascended to godhood. Soul Tool shells had reached twelfth grade and could even slay gods.

Yun Ming... the contemporary master of the Sea God Pavilion, capable of creating his own divine position, had died to two twelfth-grade fixed-installation Soul Tool shells. Tang Wulin had even stolen one himself.

Blacksmiths were the same in this regard. In other words, even knowing the production method, one could at most create Two-Word Battle Armor, with a chance of making Three-Word Battle Armor, and would still need to nurture it over a long period with life force, spiritual power, and Soul Power.

Mu Baobao's martial soul was Kyurem.

Like the Spirit Eye, it could also increase spiritual power. He had every chance of forging Soul Refined metal and creating Three-Word Battle Armor... That already counted as completing most of the system. In the era of Legend of the Dragon King, the only person capable of forging Four-Word Battle Armor was Tang Wulin's teacher, Zhen Hua.

Even then, it could not be mass-produced. Most Four-Word Battle Armor was nurtured from Three-Word Battle Armor. Ninth-grade Soul Engineers could also carve the Three-Word Battle Armor's required seventh- and eighth-grade Soul Tool arrays, though it was extremely difficult.

He did not need to specialize as a Soul Engineer, but he could still further his study in carving. Even Four-Word Battle Armor was possible.

"Ah, it's that good?"

"A limited edition? Then would it have to be custom-made? Would you need close physical contact, like you had with Xiaotao?" Wu Ming, a senior sister with the Golden Crow martial soul and a fiery temper, even lifted his chin.

"That won't be necessary. You only need to submit your body measurements. You can even request the metal formula and the appearance of the Battle Armor!" Mu Baobao said timidly. The senior sisters were simply too enthusiastic. He did not want to get surrounded and beaten up by the senior brothers and teachers who liked them.

Although he would definitely be able to beat them, Mu Baobao's words made their expressions turn subtle again.

"I couldn't tell that junior was such an innocent little boy. But you really do have the capital to fool around... Once this system is made public, you'll become Prince Charming to countless girls across the continent. I suddenly envy Xiaotao so much, using her Evil Fire as an excuse to get close to you."

The senior sisters spoke sourly, but Ma Xiaotao did not like the sound of it. "Wu Ming, if you want that Evil Fire, I'd be happy to give it to you. I'm just afraid you won't be able to endure it."

As the saying went, if the knife did not cut into your own flesh, you would never know how much it hurt... To Ma Xiaotao, the torment of Evil Fire was greater than or equal to its benefits. Part of it was also tied to the reputation of her ancestor, the Phoenix God.

Yet she still held that left-hand Battle Armor tightly. There was now a trace of something unusual in the way she looked at Mu Baobao. Ling Luochen, on the other hand, felt completely differently... If she could have a custom-made set of Battle Armor, she would not need to cling to him anymore.

The initial emergence of the Battle Armor system brought the senior sisters and teachers no less shock than the Soul Tool system brought by Sun Moon Continent, or the Soul Spirit System established by Huo Yuhao. It would surely shake both continents.

"I knew you would become an outstanding Soul Master, perhaps even one who would shock the entire continent!" Zhang Lexuan had silently watched from beginning to end. Mu Baobao had stopped Beibei from saying, "When I grow up, I'll marry you," and she believed that even without inheriting the legacy of Dragon God Douluo, this boy would never remain unknown.