Secret-Tactic Combat Mech

The disciples nodded in unison.

A Ruheng swept his gaze across their faces.

"Zero Soul Power. One Yellow-Class Mecha. Three minutes. He found every opening in Junior Brother Wang's technique."

"Which of you is confident you could do that?"

No one answered. The courtyard was so quiet they could hear the wind rustling through the treetops.

A Ruheng remained silent for a few more seconds, then turned and walked up to Chen Xing.

He stood a full two heads taller than Chen Xing, as imposing as a small mountain. But when he looked down, there was no trace of contempt in his eyes.

"That idea of yours for Exoskeleton Assist Joint," A Ruheng said. "Could you explain it in detail?"

Chen Xing looked up at him and smiled faintly. "Anytime."

A Ruheng nodded and said nothing more.

But everyone had seen it.

The way their senior brother looked at Chen Xing had completely changed.

Tang Wulin stood beside the stone table, watching it all with a grin that nearly reached his ears.

He had only one thought.

My brother is fucking incredible.

Just then, a deep voice rang out from the courtyard entrance.

"Good lad!"

Chen Xing turned and saw Mu Ye striding in, a grin he couldn't suppress spread across his face.

Mu Ye walked up to Chen Xing, circled the Mecha, then slapped his thigh. "You put that Battle Armor-Mecha Stacking Theory I told you about into practice?"

Chen Xing nodded.

"I gave it a try. It worked pretty well."

Mu Ye's eyes lit up like lamps.

"Pretty well? The joint structure on this Mecha completely mimics how the human body generates force!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he grew. He circled the Mecha twice.

"I explained that theory to you so many times, and you actually built it!"

Chen Xing smiled. "I had a good teacher."

That made Mu Ye grin even wider.

He turned to the disciples still standing there in a daze and cleared his throat. "You all saw that?"

The disciples nodded in unison.

"Convinced?"

Another round of unanimous nods.

Mu Ye gave a satisfied snort. "If anyone dares call Mecha mere external tools again, I'll send them to the Back Mountain to stare at a wall for a month!"

None of the disciples dared make a sound.

That evening, Chen Xing sat in his room, sorting through what he had gained that day.

His Wish Power had risen again. Not bad.

And today's match had confirmed an idea he'd held for a long time.

A Mecha didn't have to be merely a tool for combat.

It could become a bridge between different systems of cultivation.

If he could combine the Body Sect's Body-Refinement Secret Art with Mecha design, he might open up a path no one had ever taken.

As he was thinking, someone knocked on his door.

Chen Xing went over and opened the door. A Ruheng stood outside.

Chen Xing paused. "Senior Brother? Is something wrong?"

A Ruheng was silent for a moment, then asked directly:

"Can your Mecha execute the Body Sect's secret arts on its own?"

Chen Xing froze. He had never considered that question.

But as soon as A Ruheng asked, an idea flashed through his mind.

What if I really could do it?

If I could translate the Body Sect's secret arts into logic a Mecha could execute, it would no longer be just a Mecha. It would have the fighting techniques of a Body Sect Soul Master.

Chen Xing looked up into A Ruheng's eyes. "That... I'd have to research it."

A Ruheng nodded. "No rush."

He turned and took two steps, then stopped. Without looking back, he said:

"If you need any help, come find me."

Chen Xing watched him leave, an indescribable feeling rising in his chest.

Coming from A Ruheng, those words carried weight.

He closed the door, returned to his desk, and sat down. The wild idea in his head grew clearer and clearer.

The Body Sect's secret arts combined with Mecha design. If it actually worked, then...

Chen Xing picked up his pen and wrote a few words on a blank sheet of paper:

"Secret Art-Mecha Adaptation Plan."

That afternoon,

the Body Sect's Martial Arts Arena was packed with people.

Mu Ye stood at its center, facing a fire-red God-Class Mecha.

Little Red.

This Mecha was Mu Ye's pride and joy. Empowered by four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, it had no equal on the entire Douluo Continent.

Mu Ye patted the Mecha's armor and said:

"Kid, are you sure you want to fight me with that Black-rank Mecha of yours?"

Chen Xing stood opposite him, a pitch-black Mecha parked before him.

It certainly looked intimidating.

But Black-rank was Black-rank. It was worlds apart from God-Class.

The disciples watching began to whisper among themselves.

"A Black-rank against a God-Class? Isn't that suicide?"

"Has our junior brother gotten carried away? Even a Super Douluo would steer clear of the sect master's Little Red."

"I give him three moves. Three at most."

"Three? You're giving a Black-rank too much credit. I say one."

A Ruheng stood at the front of the crowd, frowning.

He thought Chen Xing was being too reckless as well.

Tang Wulin said nothing, but he clenched his fists.

Mu Ye laughed and jumped into the cockpit. His lazy voice came through the loudspeaker:

"Kid, don't say your teacher bullied you. I'll give you the first three moves."

Chen Xing jumped into his own Mecha and said:

"Teacher, you said it."

"I did. Come on, then. Let me see what you've been tinkering with these past few days."

Chen Xing moved.

The Black-rank Mecha shot forward, nearly twice as fast as an ordinary Black-rank.

Mu Ye paused.

That speed felt wrong.

But he didn't give it much thought. He raised Little Red's left arm to block.

Then he regretted it.

Boom! Little Red's entire frame staggered back three steps.

Mu Ye's eyes widened inside the cockpit.

He realized a Black-rank Mecha shouldn't have been capable of that much force.

Every disciple watching stared with their mouth open.

"What the fuck was that?"

"The sect master was... knocked back?"

"That can't be right. That's a God-Class Mecha!"

Mu Ye finally grew serious. He said:

"Interesting. Again!"

Little Red surged forward, its right arm swinging through the air with a fierce rush of wind.

Chen Xing didn't meet it head-on.

The Black-rank Mecha made a move.

Its body dipped slightly, and its right elbow turned outward, catching Little Red's attack at precisely the right angle. Then it used that force to push.

Little Red nearly lost its balance.

Mu Ye asked in surprise:

"The joints on your Mecha..."

Chen Xing's voice carried a smile.

"You taught me, Teacher. I wrote the secret arts you taught me into the Mecha."

Mu Ye froze.

He wrote the Body Sect's secret arts into a Mecha?

The kid actually pulled it off?

And this quickly?

No wonder he had the nerve to challenge me.

The disciples along the edge of the Martial Arts Arena were already buzzing.

"He used the sect master's secret arts in a Mecha?"

"You can do that?"

"No wonder that move looked so much like the sect master's Fist Technique!"

A Ruheng's eyes lit up.

He knew Chen Xing had said he would research the Secret Art-Mecha Adaptation Plan, but he hadn't expected the kid to actually make it work—and so quickly!

Mu Ye took a deep breath and said:

"Good lad. Then I won't hold back!"