Battle Armor Conception

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"But not the kind currently being researched, which requires one to enter it beforehand—the fixed-form humanoid Soul Tools. What I want is a living Soul Tool, one that can be equipped at will, summoned instantly, and dismissed just as easily."

Kong Deming did not interrupt him, listening quietly.

"The current direction of humanoid Soul Tool research is indeed useful for military purposes, but it has a fundamental flaw: it is universal, or rather, designed for the masses."

"I believe that a truly top-tier humanoid Soul Tool should be custom-made for every individual Soul Master. Furthermore, the Soul Master themselves must participate in the entire crafting process."

"Why?" Kong Deming asked, his tone flat, as if testing him.

"Because only through personal participation can a true bond be forged between the tool and the person," Xiao Hongchen said directly. "A tool made by an outsider is, in the end, an external object; it will always feel a layer removed when used. Only by crafting it oneself can one wield it as one pleases, without any disconnect."

He looked at Kong Deming:

"And the most critical step in this is making the metal acknowledge its master. The Soul Tool must memorize its master's spiritual imprint so that it responds only to their call, capable of being equipped in an instant rather than requiring entry and debugging every single time."

Xiao Hongchen paused, delivering his final conclusion:

"I call this type of humanoid Soul Tool: Battle Armor."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Kong Deming sat behind his desk, his fingers resting on the edge, motionless. He simply watched Xiao Hongchen, as if digesting these words.

"Battle Armor? But we already have Soul Tool Armor, yet as you have seen, the effect is barely enough to boost one by a major realm, and in a real fight, it likely wouldn't defeat an opponent one rank higher."

"That is because the materials are not good enough. If there were better metals, combined with the key technologies of humanoid Soul Tools, it would be entirely possible to achieve far better results."

"Existing rare metals have almost no spirituality," Xiao Hongchen continued. "For Battle Armor to truly integrate with the human body and be summoned at will, the purity of the metal must reach an extreme level. It must possess life, capable of manifesting according to the master's consciousness."

He paused:

"In this regard, I have an innate advantage. My Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul is a natural metal manipulator. The process that usually requires repeated hammering for purification can be bypassed; I can purify metal directly with the power of my Martial Soul, bringing it to a state of possessing spirituality or something close to it."

After listening, Kong Deming tapped his finger lightly on the desk edge and spoke:

"That sounds difficult. I have never heard of any blacksmith imbuing metal with spirit, and metals that are naturally spirited have almost never appeared. Can you truly bring metal to the level of having spirit? You are not the first person in the Hongchen Family to possess the Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul, and none of them could achieve this."

"I am different from my ancestors. I have Twin Martial Souls, and my spiritual power is far stronger than theirs, so naturally, I have the possibility of succeeding."

Of course, this was just an excuse from Xiao Hongchen. Although the Brain Martial Soul gave him spiritual power far exceeding ordinary people, it played a role in spiritualizing metal, but it was not the key.

The Blade of Life's Watch at the center of his forehead was the key. If he were to channel a portion of the life force within the Gold of Life into metal that had been purified by the Three-Legged Golden Toad, it would be possible to give it life, though Xiao Hongchen would naturally not say so.

Kong Deming paused slightly.

"Twin Martial Souls?"

He looked at Xiao Hongchen, his brows slowly furrowing. He had heard of this grandson from Jing Hongchen—metal affinity, Three-Legged Golden Toad, outstanding talent. But this was the first time he had heard of a second Martial Soul.

"What is the Martial Soul?"

Xiao Hongchen did not say much, and two pitch-black soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

His spiritual power spread outward like a tide, and the air in the entire room trembled slightly.

Xiao Hongchen opened his eyes, his expression calm:

"Brain Martial Soul, spiritual type."

Kong Deming sat behind his desk and, for the first time, truly straightened his back. He realized that Xiao Hongchen's spiritual power was on the verge of reaching the realm of being tangible. Combined with the fact that he had the soul power fluctuations of a Soul King but only two soul rings, he was completely certain.

He glanced at Xuan Ziwen, only to see that Xuan Ziwen was also wearing a look of shock; it seemed he had only just found out as well.

Kong Deming let out a cold snort in his heart.

That wretched little Jing.

Twin Martial Souls, metal affinity plus spiritual affinity—he had actually hidden such a seedling. Could it be that he, a dignified Soul Engineer closest to the tenth level, was less qualified to be this child's teacher than Xuan Ziwen?

Next time he saw that guy, he would definitely have to settle this score with him.

He suppressed his irritation and looked back at Xiao Hongchen, his tone returning to a steady state:

"Metal manipulation to aid purification, spiritual power to lead and drive," he muttered, as if deducing something. "The two most difficult hurdles of the Battle Armor you speak of... it seems they might be solvable with you."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of genuine emotion:

"That fellow Jing Hongchen has raised a good grandson."

After hearing this, Xiao Hongchen did not follow that topic and asked directly:

"So, Elder Kong, do you think my concept is feasible at this stage?"

Although Xiao Hongchen spoke with certainty, he was actually very clear in his heart.

In his previous life, he had only read Legend of the Dragon King once, and he hadn't touched a single piece of fan fiction for Douluo Dalu III. His understanding of Battle Armor was, frankly, superficial; he could only roughly sketch an outline. If he were actually asked to provide a concrete construction plan, he couldn't do it.

But then again, if Battle Armor really couldn't be done, he would just have to go back to Mingde Hall and pilot those ten-meter-tall mechs.

Hmm, that didn't look too bad either?

Kong Deming did not speak immediately, remaining silent for a moment as if weighing it carefully.

"This metal with autonomous life is something I have never heard of, but one thing is certain: if you can truly make metal possess autonomous consciousness, this Battle Armor is entirely feasible," he finally said, his tone firm. "At the very least, it is absolutely possible for you."

Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up instantly.

"But don't get too happy just yet." Kong Deming raised his hand, his tone sinking. "Even the technology for humanoid Soul Tools is still under research. Battle Armor is a massive step forward from humanoid Soul Tools, and every hurdle in between is no small matter."

He extended his finger, ticking them off one by one:

"The technology for metal to recognize its master and be stored within a Soul Master's body currently has no precedent to reference."

He looked at Xiao Hongchen, his tone steady:

"If this crucial step isn't cleared, Battle Armor is just empty talk. Furthermore, although your spiritual power is sufficient, we have yet to fully develop the spiritual control system required to freely operate a humanoid Soul Tool."

After listening, Xiao Hongchen did not feel discouraged; instead, his expression became even more focused:

"So we need to start from humanoid Soul Tools and move up step by step."

"Exactly." Kong Deming nodded. "If the foundation isn't stable, no matter how high you build, it's all in vain."

He picked up the worn manuscript again and pushed it toward Xiao Hongchen:

"Master this first. This is my research experience on humanoid Soul Tools over many years, and it has direct reference value for you."

Xiao Hongchen picked up the manuscript and flipped through it. The dense, handwritten deductions were a priceless treasure; a Level 9 Soul Tool was not even worth half of it.

Xuan Ziwen, listening from the side, felt the corners of his mouth twitch, but he remained silent.

He knew the weight of Elder Kong's manuscript. Xuan Ziwen had tried to borrow it, but Kong Deming had never agreed even once.