Battle Armor??

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Riolu was already on the verge of collapse.

Su Yu had done all he could. Now, it depended on Riolu itself.

Yet just as they thought Riolu was about to give up forging—

Riolu swung its final hammer down with all its strength. The next second, something astonishing happened.

Grayish-silver light shone from the piece of Sinking Silver, rising a full ten feet into the air.

"Riolu!"

Riolu weakly lowered its forging hammer, its body beginning to sway.

Seeing this, Su Yu hurried forward to support Riolu, already holding an Energy Cube in his hand.

He placed the stamina-restoring Energy Cube into Riolu's mouth.

At this moment, both Mu Chen and Mang Tian crowded forward, their eyes practically touching the piece of Sinking Silver.

"So many strange things have happened today," Mu Chen murmured.

Mang Tian nodded in agreement.

First, they had seen a Spirit Soul forge for the first time. Then, they had watched that Spirit Soul forge such strange metal.

"Strange. Truly too strange!" Mu Chen picked up the piece of Sinking Silver and examined it closely.

"It is clearly only Thousand Refinement, yet it possesses the vitality of Spirit-Forged Metal! Strange!"

"Let me see!" Mang Tian stood beside him, continuously examining the Sinking Silver as well.

After confirming that Riolu was fine, Su Yu took out its Poké Ball and let it return to rest.

Then he looked at Mu Chen and Mang Tian, reminding them, "Um... what about our blacksmith badges?"

"Oh, right!" Mu Chen came back to his senses and turned to Mang Tian. "Go get the badges!"

"But President, what level badges should we get?" Mang Tian asked.

Naturally, he was asking what level of blacksmith Riolu now counted as.

"Uh..." Mu Chen thought for a moment. "Just get a Level Four one!"

"Understood!" Mang Tian replied before leaving the forging room.

Mu Chen then turned to Su Yu and took out the Thousand Refined Sinking Silver from earlier.

"This is yours."

"Is there something special about this Sinking Silver?" Su Yu asked curiously.

"It is very unique. It feels somewhat like Spirit-Forged Metal!" Mu Chen did not hide his thoughts and stated his impression.

"Half-step Spirit Refinement?" Su Yu asked.

"Half-step? Probably not. More accurately, this Thousand Refined Metal has the effects of Spirit-Forged Metal. In other words, this metal can undergo Spirit Refinement once more, perhaps even..."

Mu Chen did not dare continue imagining.

If this logic held, then would Spirit Refinement in the future have the effects of Soul Forging, while Soul Forging had the effects of Heavenly Forging?

Mu Chen's eyes lit up.

There was only one Divine Craftsman in the world now, while there were seven or eight Saint Craftsmen.

If Riolu could reach the level of a Saint Craftsman, it could be treated as a Divine Craftsman.

It might even surpass Divine Craftsmen in the future.

The more Mu Chen thought about it, the hotter his gaze toward Su Yu became.

Although he already had Tang Wulin, a monstrously talented disciple, who would ever complain about having another disciple capable of becoming a Divine Craftsman?

"Let me properly introduce myself. I am Mu Chen, president of the East Sea Blacksmith Association and an eighth-rank Saint Craftsman!" Mu Chen extended his hand.

"Hello. You can just call me Su Yu," Su Yu replied politely.

"Su Yu, this..." Mu Chen looked toward the Poké Ball at Su Yu's waist.

"A Pokémon Soul Spirit. Doesn't the president know about them?"

"Of course I know about Pokémon Soul Spirits, but why can it forge?" Mu Chen asked.

"Why not? It can even wear Battle Armor. Knowing how to forge is not particularly unusual, is it?" Su Yu said.

"But..." Mu Chen still wanted to say something when Mang Tian walked in with two badges.

"These are the badges, one Level One and one Level Four!" Mang Tian said as he handed them to Su Yu.

Su Yu accepted the badges and put them into his pocket.

Then he prepared to leave.

At that moment, Mu Chen spoke.

"Would you like to become my disciple? Your Pokémon Soul Spirit lacks forging technique. If you become my disciple, it will help him in the future."

Su Yu froze, then turned around and looked at Mu Chen.

Becoming Mu Chen's disciple would indeed make Riolu's future forging path much more convenient.

"I'll go back and ask it," Su Yu replied.

This was something he still had to ask Riolu about. He had to respect Riolu's own wishes.

If Riolu truly liked forging, then becoming Mu Chen's disciple would be fine.

Besides, Su Yu could learn alongside it, or simply let Riolu teach him.

After completing the blacksmith certification, Su Yu did not return to the academy. Instead, he went to the Team Rocket.

He headed straight to the top floor and found an empty room.

He took out the Sinking Silver Riolu had forged earlier. He had always had a vague feeling about it.

This Sinking Silver seemed to have some connection with him.

More precisely, he could sense Steel-type energy within the piece of Sinking Silver.

He could also clearly feel the energy inside it pulsing.

Spirit Refinement was supposed to give metal life and spirituality, and according to Mu Chen, this Sinking Silver possessed the effects of Spirit-Forged Metal.

In other words, this piece of Sinking Silver already possessed spirituality.

Riolu had added Steel-type energy while forging it, and Su Yu could sense the life within it.

Although Su Yu was inferior to Riolu in both forging ability and talent, creating life was something he was good at.

He was one hundred percent certain that this Sinking Silver had become sentient.

In other words, it had already gained life.

This differed from the forging world's concept of spiritual metal.

In Pokémon terms, this piece of Sinking Silver was already a qualified Pokémon.

Riolu had unknowingly created a Pokémon.

This could already be considered an artificial Pokémon.

No, it was a Pokémon creating a Pokémon!

Su Yu carefully sensed the piece of Sinking Silver. He placed his hand on it, and with a thought, used King's Shield.

He entered a defensive state.

Grayish-silver armor emerged over the surface of his body, nearly the same color as the Sinking Silver.

Yet the next second, that piece of Sinking Silver began to melt!

Su Yu looked at the change in the Sinking Silver in surprise. He had merely used King's Shield on instinct, never expecting such an effect.

At this moment, Su Yu could feel the Steel-type energy within his body beginning to merge with the Steel-type energy inside the Sinking Silver.

Gradually, Su Yu could sense the connection between himself and the Sinking Silver.

As the Sinking Silver completely entered Su Yu's body—

"What body part should I choose?" Su Yu sensed the thought from the Sinking Silver within him.

Very quickly, he understood.

With a thought, he focused his attention on his right hand. Almost at the same time, grayish-silver light flickered over the King's Shield armor on his right hand.

Then, another layer of armor appeared over the King's Shield armor.

It was thicker and more spiritual than the armor formed by King's Shield.

"Battle Armor?" Su Yu murmured softly as he looked at the armor on his right arm.

It truly looked very much like Battle Armor, and it was even Two-Word Battle Armor.

Only Two-Word Battle Armor or higher could be fused into one's body.

In other words, Su Yu had obtained a piece of Battle Armor.

Yet he had neither designed nor made it.

It had only been the result of Riolu's single forging session.