Flexible Sword and Inner Armor, Armaments That Shook the City!

After the coming-of-age ceremony ended, Zhou Changqing said goodbye to Xiao Yan and returned to the Mittel Auction House with Ya Fei.

In the reception room.

Under Ya Fei's faintly shining gaze, Zhou Changqing took a pile of things out of his Storage Ring.

Most were weapons, with a few pieces of inner armor mixed in.

"Sister Ya Fei, these are Treasure Weapons. Handle them the same way as before."

After separating out the Iron-Cleaving Mortal Weapons, Zhou Changqing took a slender flexible sword and a suit of women's inner armor from the remaining items and handed them to Ya Fei.

"Here, these are my latest inventions—Magic Core Armaments. Want to try them, Sister Ya Fei?"

"Magic Core Armaments?"

Ya Fei paused, looking uncertainly at the things she had accepted.

Seeing her doubts, Zhou Changqing offered no explanation. Instead, he smiled mysteriously. "Sister Ya Fei, you'll understand once you try them."

Ya Fei nodded without saying anything more, then turned and walked outside.

Although she had plenty of questions, she held them back out of trust in Zhou Changqing.

A little while later, Ya Fei came back in.

She looked much the same as before, except that she now held a flexible sword.

"Little Brother Changqing, how do I use these two things?"

Feeling the soft inner armor hugging her body beneath her dress and the light flexible sword in her hand, Ya Fei asked curiously.

Zhou Changqing did not keep her guessing and immediately explained how to use them.

"Sister Ya Fei, try the inner armor first. Just draw on the Dou Qi inside your body and pour it into the armor."

"The flexible sword works the same way."

Following Zhou Changqing's instructions, Ya Fei drew on her Dou Qi, which was only at the level of a two-star Dou Zhe, and began channeling it through her skin into the inner armor.

As the Dou Qi flowed in, two magic cores ground into thin slices glowed with faint golden light on the inner surface of the armor, out of sight of them both!

Then two streams of golden energy flowed out of the magic cores and circulated along the intricate patterns on the armor's inner surface!

"Wh... what is this?"

In an instant, a golden protective membrane resembling a Dou Qi Veil appeared along the curves of Ya Fei's graceful body, clinging tightly to her dress and enveloping her completely!

Seeing the change in herself, Ya Fei's beautiful eyes widened in astonishment.

She could hardly be blamed. This membrane looked far too much like a Dou Shi's Dou Qi Veil!

The startled expression on Ya Fei's lovely face, so different from her usual seductive look, left Zhou Changqing thoroughly satisfied. He immediately explained with a smile, "Sister Ya Fei, my Magic Core Armaments are different from weapons and armor that simply have magic cores embedded in them."

"Ordinary magic core weapons and armor can only amplify Dou Qi, increasing combat strength by ten or twenty percent, thirty at most."

"But the Magic Core Armaments I developed use the embedded magic cores as an energy source, with Artifact Patterns as their foundation, to achieve all sorts of incredible functions."

"For instance, the inner armor you're wearing has two high-grade rank-two metal-attribute magic cores embedded in it. Using Dou Qi as a trigger, it draws out the energy within those cores to form a defensive membrane resembling a Dou Qi Veil."

"The defensive strength of this membrane is fully comparable to a seven-star Dou Shi's Dou Qi Veil!"

"Moreover, the armor itself offers considerable protection. With the two combined, almost anyone below Da Dou Shi would struggle to break through it unless they wielded a Treasure Weapon or another divine weapon of equivalent quality."

"Most importantly, once the magic cores run out of energy, you only need to embed new ones to keep using it."

"But it does have its drawbacks. This defensive membrane only provides protection, without increasing strength or speed at all. Also, the inner armor can't withstand the energy intensity of rank-three magic cores. Using those would ruin the entire thing."

As he spoke, Zhou Changqing suddenly shook his head and sighed.

Artifact Patterns was the name Zhou Changqing had given the runic restrictions inscribed in his Magic Core Armaments.

"What?!!"

After hearing Zhou Changqing's explanation, Ya Fei was utterly shocked—shocked beyond anything she had ever felt!

Was this really still a Magic Core Armament?!

The inner armor's functions completely overturned everything Ya Fei knew about conventional magic core weapons and armor!

Earlier, when Zhou Changqing had called these things Magic Core Armaments, she had felt a little disappointed.

After all, a Magic Core Armament was still a Magic Core Armament. Even if Zhou Changqing had made it, her understanding was that an additional few tens of percent in combat strength was the absolute limit.

They were nowhere near as impressive as Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons.

Yet now, after Zhou Changqing's explanation, that trace of disappointment had vanished like smoke into thin air, replaced by disbelief!

"Clang~ clang~"

She lightly tapped her arm twice. The seemingly delicate defensive membrane gave off a faint, dull sound, revealing just how tough it was!

A moment later, after digesting this astounding information, Ya Fei's eyes blazed with fervent light. Staring straight at Zhou Changqing, she slowly breathed out!

"Little Brother Changqing... you really have given me an enormous surprise!"

A single piece of magic core inner armor could give a Dou Zhe protection comparable to a Dou Shi's Dou Qi Veil. The vast majority of Yellow Tier Dou Techniques could not achieve that!

Even a defensive Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique could not produce such an effect at the Dou Zhe level without enough Dou Qi to sustain it!

In other words, the value of this inner armor fell only just short of a Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique!

And for anyone below Da Dou Shi, this inner armor was fully comparable to a Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique!

As for the drawbacks Zhou Changqing had mentioned, did those even count as drawbacks? They were hardly worth mentioning!

By now, hearts had practically begun to shine in Ya Fei's eyes as she looked at Zhou Changqing. Her gaze grew ever more clinging and honey-thick, as though she meant to swallow him up and melt him!

"Hiss~"

Being looked at like that by a tall, seductive older woman was almost more than even Zhou Changqing could bear. He could only suck in a breath of cold air to ease the heat rising in his lower belly.

He was genuinely afraid that this temptress might suddenly pounce and ravish him right there. Her gaze was simply too frightening!

It was no different from those of the lust-crazed women in certain adult comics he had read in his previous life!

"Ahem, Sister Ya Fei, stop staring. Why don't you try the flexible sword?"

"Mm~"

Coughing, Zhou Changqing pointed at the flexible sword in Ya Fei's hand to remind her.

Ya Fei nodded with a seductive smile. Her sweet, tingling voice could practically melt a person's bones.

Then, under Zhou Changqing's guidance, Ya Fei tried the flexible sword as well.

The flexible sword was equally extraordinary. Not only was it sharper than an Iron-Cleaving Mortal Weapon, but channeling Dou Qi into it also allowed her to control its flexibility and rigidity. It was the perfect weapon for catching someone off guard.

The flexible sword could even unleash a slash of sword energy powerful enough to pierce a Dou Shi's Dou Qi Veil as a ranged attack!

"Sister Ya Fei, besides the Magic Core Armaments I'm giving you, there are three more here. Auction them together with the Treasure Weapons."

"Oh, and Sister Ya Fei, if the Mittel Auction House needs Magic Core Weapons, you can ask me to forge them. Since we've worked together for so long, I can give Mittel a thirty-percent discount."

"Hehehe~ Then let me thank you on behalf of the Mittel Auction House, Little Brother Changqing~"

A few days later.

The shock Xiao Yan had brought to Wutan City during the Xiao Clan's coming-of-age ceremony had yet to subside.

Another piece of news swept through Wutan City, stunning everyone!

The reason was that, at its latest auction, the Mittel Auction House had presented not only Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons, but also a terrifying kind of weapon and armor known as Magic Core Armaments!

Unlike conventional weapons and armor embedded with magic cores, which could only amplify Dou Qi, these armaments possessed all sorts of incredible powers!

For example, one piece of inner armor could grant protection comparable to a two-star Dou Shi's Dou Qi Veil, so long as its wearer possessed Dou Qi and channeled it into the armor.

There were also two magic core blades—a saber and a sword. Not only were they sharper than Treasure Weapons, but they could easily pierce a Nine-Star Dou Shi's defenses.

Moreover, by channeling Dou Qi into these two weapons, their wielders could unleash saber light and sword energy as ranged attacks, each comparable in power to an all-out strike from a two- or Three-Star Dou Shi practicing a Yellow Tier High Grade Dou Technique!

Even Treasure Weapons could hardly compare to such terrifying weapons and armor!

With this set of equipment, even a one-star Dou Zhe could fight a Dou Shi without losing until the magic cores in the weapons and armor ran out of energy!

They might even have a chance to turn the tables and kill their opponent!

The instant this news spread, Wutan City shook!

Countless mercenaries swarmed over like beasts catching the scent of blood.

The stronger factions within Wutan City also joined in one after another.

Even the Three Great Families sent high-ranking members to investigate!

Once the news was confirmed, all of Wutan City boiled over!

The fervor was no less intense than that stirred by the news of Xiao Yan gaining five stages of Dou Qi in a single year, or that young Dou Zhe forcibly slaying a Dou Shi!

It even surpassed them!

The Mittel Auction House was surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through!

(End of chapter)