Su Xun took a deep breath and grew serious as well.
Naturally, he was brimming with interest in this pinnacle creation that united soul tool technology with Soul Masters.
Yet he had never seen battle armor with his own eyes.
When he absorbed his first soul spirit, Su Xun had fallen "unconscious," and Leng Yaozhu had said nothing about the incident after he woke.
Thus, he had no idea that he had already been sheltered by Four-Word Battle Armor.
Na'er was quiet now too, because battle armor did not sound like anything delicious.
"Normally, making battle armor is a subject you would only encounter after entering an advanced Soul Master Academy."
"At your current age, it does seem a little early."
"But making battle armor involves a second profession. Having you learn now doesn't mean you have to start making it right away."
"It's preparation for the future."
Leng Yaozhu introduced the four major second professions to Su Xun and Na'er in turn, explaining how each was connected to making battle armor.
Then her gaze settled on Su Xun.
"Little Xun, your martial soul is unusual. In my opinion, other people would probably be unable to design battle armor that suits you."
"And since your teacher is a rank-nine Mecha Design Designer, I recommend choosing mecha design as your second profession."
Na'er blinked her silver eyes.
"What about me, Aunt Leng?"
Leng Yaozhu turned toward her at those words and rolled her eyes.
"You?"
"What is there in that head of yours besides food?"
"Just learn mecha repair, sneak in some slacking, drift along, and make do."
Na'er was deeply wounded.
But on second thought, being able to slack off and drift along was a good thing!
Repair is great. I've got to learn repair!
Su Xun could not help laughing.
Na'er was a pure foodie and a fighter to boot. Repair really did suit her quite well.
Still, he understood.
Mecha repair was not actually simple.
On the contrary, it required a broad assortment of knowledge, including an understanding of design, manufacturing, and even the materials themselves.
Otherwise, how could anyone carry out repairs?
The reason Leng Yaozhu called it "slacking off" was that battle armor had different material requirements from mechas.
Two-Word Battle Armor required spirit-forged metal at the very least.
For those seeking something better, there were spirit-forged alloys made from multiple metals.
Three-Word Battle Armor started with soul-forged metal, while Four-Word Battle Armor required heavenly forged metal.
Besides being expensive, these metals all shared another trait.
They could repair themselves.
The strength of that self-repairing ability simply varied with their quality.
Thus, the higher the quality of the battle armor, the less need there actually was for a Mecha Repair Repairer.
That being the case, for a Battle Armor Master, Mecha Repair Repairer really was a profession for coasting along.
Leng Yaozhu drew her gaze away from Na'er and saw Su Xun looking thoughtful.
Her delicate brows rose slightly as she asked,
"Little Xun, don't you want to learn mecha design?"
Rather than answering immediately, Su Xun asked,
"Teacher, which of the four major second professions has the greatest potential?"
Leng Yaozhu did not even have to think.
"Blacksmith, of course."
"Advancing as a Blacksmith is more than ten times as difficult as advancing in the other three second professions."
"At present, there is only one Divine Craftsman across the Three Continents."
"There are only a dozen or so Saint Craftsmen registered with the Federation, and just four Level Eight Saint Craftsmen."
"Of those four, one belongs exclusively to Shrek Academy."
Then, realizing what he meant, she frowned and asked,
"You want to learn forging?"
Su Xun was, of course, perfectly aware of everything Leng Yaozhu had said.
There was a reason he had asked anyway.
He knew that Zhen Hua's health was growing worse and worse, and that he was producing fewer and fewer heavenly forged works.
With his current connection to Han Tianyi, he would naturally be able to meet Mu Ye as that relationship developed over time.
With that connection, jumping the queue should not be difficult.
However, just as Leng Yaozhu had thought, his martial soul was far too unusual, involving all six roots at once.
Battle armor designed by someone else would probably struggle to suit him.
Yet by the same token, a martial soul like his placed equally high demands on the metals needed to make his battle armor.
Moreover, he had already "seen" forging in Tang Wulin's hands and the heights battle armor could reach. Naturally, he was unwilling to settle for anything ordinary.
Of course, there were other options.
One was to win Tang Wulin over.
With his current status, as long as he found an opportunity to meet Tang Wulin, acted a little cute, and coaxed Leng Yaozhu, securing financial support for Tang Wulin would be easy.
With that relationship, drawing Tang Wulin into the Spirit Pagoda would not be difficult.
Tang Wulin was indeed a decent person in the early stages.
But what if Tang San's divine sense awakened and intervened?
At that point, Tang Wulin would inevitably rejoin the Tang Sect. Under the influence of Tang San's divine sense, even a vicious stab in the back would be nothing surprising.
Thus, in Su Xun's view, that road was a dead end.
Even if it were viable, he would not choose it.
Better to rely on himself than beg others.
Once he developed the body root among the six roots, his physical abilities would surely improve dramatically.
At the same time, whether to ease the strain soul rings placed on his body or to pursue the forging he favored, Su Xun leaned toward choosing a second soul spirit suited to his "body root" first.
Furthermore, his physical abilities were already quite good, meeting the basic requirements for becoming a Blacksmith.
He also knew that only one Divine Craftsman could exist.
Right now, he was racing against time.
If he could use his connection with Han Tianyi to meet Mu Ye and reach Zhen Hua, it might well be possible to have Zhen Hua retire early and pass the position to him.
As for Tang Wulin, with the care of the Plane Master, Tang Hao, he had none of these complicated problems to consider.
Of course, all these calculations in Su Xun's mind rested on one premise: that he had a decent talent for forging.
So, in response to Leng Yaozhu's question, Su Xun said earnestly,
"Teacher, I'd rather rely on myself than beg others. I want to choose the harder path, the one that can take me higher in the future."
"And just as you said, because my martial soul is unusual, it would be best to design the armor myself."
"Since my martial soul is unusual, wouldn't the materials needed for my battle armor be unusual too?"
"More importantly, my spiritual power has probably already exceeded two hundred and fifty points. Learning both might not be impossible."
"Could you let me try first?"
Better to rely on yourself than beg others.
Something stirred faintly in Leng Yaozhu's heart.
She could not help recalling the price she had paid and the effort she had expended when making her own Four-Word Battle Armor...
Begging others.
She had experienced those words firsthand.
And so, she wavered.
At last, she took a deep breath.
"A young prodigy ought to have such youthful spirit."
"Your teacher has grown old after all."
"Since you want to try, then give it a try!"
"But if the results aren't what you hope for, you must immediately give up on dividing your attention between multiple pursuits and listen to me."
"Can you promise me that?"
Su Xun had no objection whatsoever. He quickly nodded, then said with a smile,
"Teacher, even a young maiden in the full bloom of youth would probably feel outshone by your grace."
An enchanting curve immediately lifted the corners of Leng Yaozhu's lips, and she pinched Su Xun's cheek in fond reproach.
"You certainly have a silver tongue!"
"It's the truth."
Before you continue