Chapter 319: Tier-4 Guardian Heavy Armor
Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, in the lounge for training disciples.
“Brother Wu, what did Hall Master Lin say?” Hong Lao looked at Wu Zhuoqun entering the room, a trace of expectation in his eyes. “Can that inheritance metal plate be sold?”
“Hall master clearly refused.” Wu Zhuoqun shook his head, then asked worriedly, “Brother Hong, with the hall master refusing that person, we will not get into big trouble, right?”
According to what Hong Lao had said before, that elder’s son from Tianhe Domain City was originally planning to attend the Red Moon auction and bid on the inheritance metal plate, a truly important figure.
Normally, an elder’s son from a domain city could not be called any great figure. After all, elders in a domain city had many children, just like the senior officials of city gangs; if they did not have dozens, they had more than ten. Only with many children was there a higher chance for someone gifted to appear.
However, this elder’s son was different. He himself was a Half-Step Heavenly Human expert, only one final brain strengthening away from achieving the Heavenly Human Realm. His status was far from comparable to ordinary children of elders.
“It should not reach the level of big trouble.” Hong Lao looked at the worried Wu Zhuoqun and explained, “The domain cities of the Four Regions each manage their own affairs and will not interfere in anything of other regions. No matter how angry he is, he cannot affect the Wushan Region. It is just that he is the one most likely to persuade the vice city lord of Tianhe Domain City to talk cooperation with Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
After hearing this, Wu Zhuoqun let out a sigh of relief, then asked again, “In that case, does our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall still have a chance to talk cooperation with Tianhe Domain City?”
He personally knew about Obsidian Martial Arts Hall wanting to cooperate with Tianhe Domain City. After all, it concerned the manufacture of Energy Blood Essence, which would require him to arrange manpower.
But now that they had refused that elder’s son, it was obviously going to be even harder to purchase Energy Blood Essence Manufacturing Equipment from Tianhe Domain City.
Without Energy Blood Essence Manufacturing Equipment, it was foreseeable that most people in Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would likely stop at the Initial Stage Blood Coagulation, making it very difficult to achieve higher accomplishments.
“Among the people we know in Azure Wing City, there is still one who can pass on a message. It is just that persuading that person will likely be even harder. I can only give it a try.” Hong Lao said with a bitter smile.
He had originally thought it would be easy to pass a message to the senior officials of Tianhe Domain City, but he had not expected such a situation. Now, even earning the Fruit of Life had become somewhat difficult.
…
Tianhe Region, Tianhe Domain City.
Atop a towering mountain peak, a Half-Beast Race man who looked less than twenty-five but was actually over forty sat cross-legged quietly on a stone platform made entirely of Energy Blood Essence. With each breath, the energy within a radius of one hundred meters was involuntarily drawn into his body, but soon the energy absorbed into his body rapidly dispersed, and the area within one hundred meters returned to calm.
“As expected, the energy density of my blood has reached its limit, and I cannot absorb even a trace more.” The Half-Beast Race man frowned. “It seems that if I want a further improvement in qi and blood and to safely complete the final brain strengthening, I can only see how effective that Body Strengthening Secret Technique mentioned by the Red Moon Merchant Guild is.”
Just as the Half-Beast Race man rose, preparing to practice martial skills, an elderly Half-Beast Race man with strength at the High-level Blood Condensation Realm quickly walked over.
“Young Master Rake, there is news from Azure Wing City.” The Half-Beast Race old man came to stand before him, speaking with deep respect.
Rake Zornk!
This name was also known to everyone in Tianhe Domain City. The most outstanding son of Elder Fanai Er, not yet forty-five and already at the Half-step Heavenly Human Realm, he was recognized by many in Tianhe Domain City as the one who would become the next elder within five years.
“What did that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall say?” Rake asked. “How many Energy Blood Essences do they want?”
“Young Master Rake, that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall refused. They said they would not sell that inheritance metal plate.” The Half-Beast Race old man reported every detail.
“Refused to sell?” Rake’s eyes narrowed slightly, his voice suddenly turning low. “They snatched something from the Red Moon Merchant Guild, and I am willing to spend a high price to buy it from them. That is already me giving them face. It seems this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall really is as arrogant as the rumors say.”
“This Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is indeed very arrogant. According to my investigation, they have offended many factions, including the Red Moon Merchant Guild, Smiling Skull, and Earth Star Pharmaceuticals.” The Half-Beast Race old man nodded. “However, this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is also very strong. They have more than two hundred martial artists at the Initial Stage Blood Coagulation alone, and the hall master single-handedly killed Mo Xiao, one of the Seven Guardians of Smiling Skull. His strength should be enough to contend with a Half-Step Heavenly Human. The Wushan Region is lacking in resources and has no powerful major powers, which is probably why they can be so arrogant.”
“This time, Azure Wing City contacted you through them, probably because they offended the Red Moon Merchant Guild and want to use you to reach Lord Vice City Lord to purchase Energy Blood Essence Manufacturing Equipment. Now that they have refused you, they will likely try to contact other people in Azure Wing City to approach Lord Vice City Lord.”
“They want to contact Lord Vice City Lord?” Rake nodded, then ordered, “Since a faction that has only just begun to rise in the Wushan Region refuses to give me face, then in Tianhe Domain City they can forget about Energy Blood Essence Manufacturing Equipment. Inform everyone whose words carry weight that they are not to interfere in this matter, and consider it as me owing them a favor.”
“Yes.” The Half-Beast Race old man bowed and left.
Tianhe Domain City, inside a magnificent coliseum.
A human man, only about thirty-five or thirty-six and just over two meters tall, whose physical fitness had already reached the Peak High-level Blood Condensation Realm, was fighting alone with a sword against a calamity level Earth Dragon over two to three hundred meters long.
Although the limbs of the calamity level Earth Dragon were bound by chains engraved with mysterious runes, preventing it from exerting its full strength, as a Dragon Race creature its power was still stronger than that of normal calamity level monsters. Yet the human man was able to suppress it. The qi and blood phantom he formed could easily pierce through the Earth Dragon’s body. However, the recovery power of the calamity level Earth Dragon was terrifying. In just a few seconds, a blood hole the size of a wellhead would fully recover, and its ferocity would only grow.
After fighting for quite some time and once his qi and blood had decreased by more than half, the human man finally stopped, quickly leaving the battlefield, leaving the bound calamity level Earth Dragon to roar in fury, unable to do anything.
“Relying on myself alone, it is indeed impossible to kill a calamity level monster.” The man looked at the still blazing qi and blood of the calamity level Earth Dragon and gave up on continuing the fight.
As the man was preparing to leave the coliseum, a human woman of about twenty-six or twenty-seven, at the Initial Stage Blood Coagulation, with short red hair and one light golden eye and one light green eye, walked in.
“Junior Sister Ling Ye, you came. Is there something you need?” The human man looked at the red-haired woman and asked with a smile.
“Senior Brother Ying Hu, after a short time apart, your physical fitness has improved again. It seems you are only three to five years away from Half-Step Heavenly Human. When that day comes, you will be the youngest Half-step Heavenly Human Realm expert in Tianhe Domain City in thirty years.” Ling Ye looked at the man and spoke with clear admiration.
“Breaking through the extreme of physical fitness is not that simple. Even that genius Rake took seven years.” Ying Hu looked at his junior sister Ling Ye and shook his head. “Tell me what it is.”
“Azure Wing City reached out and hopes you can help a faction called Obsidian Martial Arts Hall by passing a message to Lord Vice City Lord.” Ling Ye said. “But Rake’s side also said that we should not get involved in this, and he will owe us a favor for it.”
“I do owe Azure Wing City a favor from the last time in the Forbidden Zone.” Ying Hu frowned slightly in confusion. “But what exactly did this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall do to offend Rake so badly that he is willing to owe a favor?”
“It seems Obsidian Martial Arts Hall did not sell something Rake wanted.” Ling Ye said. “Senior Brother Ying Hu, this is a good opportunity to have Rake owe us a favor. With that favor, when we go to the Forbidden Zone, we can have Rake help us. Used well, we might even obtain something from the Forbidden Zone that can swiftly push us to the Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm.”
“Indeed.” Ying Hu could not help falling into thought.
As the closed-door disciple of an elder and a key Heavenly Human seed cultivated by Tianhe Domain City, he was one of the few who could directly contact the vice city lord. But this connection was not something he could use casually. If it was not something important, drawing the vice city lord’s displeasure would be very normal.
After all, the vice city lord usually managed many affairs of the domain city and was extremely busy. Going to him over trivial matters would only lower his evaluation, and any benefits or resources in the future would be out of reach.
It would also offend a Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm genius like Rake, making it a loss that outweighed the gain.
“Senior brother, then I will reply to Azure Wing City that we cannot help with this.” Ling Ye said.
“Wait a moment.” Ying Hu immediately stopped Ling Ye, speechless. “Teacher has told you so many times, you must not be impatient when facing any matter. Think it through carefully before deciding. Only then can you maximize profit.”
“Then what should we do?” Ling Ye asked.
“You go personally to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and investigate them thoroughly.” Ying Hu said with a smile. “Rake is only half a step away from breaking through to the Heavenly Human Realm. He would not want something for no reason. I suspect that item is useful to him. Since it might be useful to Rake, it might also be useful to me. If it truly helps me greatly, then it is not impossible to help them. If it is not of much use, then we will put off repaying Azure Wing City’s favor for now.”
“I understand, senior brother. You want to be the fisherman who reaps the benefits.” Ling Ye looked at him with admiration. “I will go take care of it right away.”
With that, Ling Ye vanished from where she stood in a single step. When she appeared again, she was already more than five hundred meters away, her speed seemingly like teleportation.
…
Chiyue Town, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
After publishing the conditions for players to learn the Body Strengthening Secret Technique Third Level and beginning the modification of the Beginner Training Rooms, Lin Qi finally returned with difficulty to his reserved Beginner Meditation Room. He picked up the two smart watches on the table and tapped them open.
“As expected of the shop owner. He has so many cultivation methods and martial skills in his hands.” Lin Qi sighed as he looked through the shop owner’s smart watch.
Having the players wipe out the Red Moon Merchant Guild branch this time had earned him a great deal. Not only had he gained a large amount of energy ore and could modify nearly a thousand resting places, but he had also obtained many cultivation methods and martial skills, increasing the foundation of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. In the future, new players would be able to choose from more Basic Martial Skills to learn. They would not be limited to fist and foot combat, but would also be able to learn basic saber, spear, sword, and halberd techniques.
Compared to the dozen or so cultivation methods and martial skills previously collected from the shop, the ones on the shop owner’s smart watch were truly numerous: more than a hundred cultivation methods and martial skills. Among them was even a Sequence Transcendent Martial Skill.
It was called Sky Shadow Steps and could allow the user to split into up to a hundred shadows. These hundred phantoms were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye and all possessed a certain level of attack power. It was an extremely heaven-defying martial skill.
In his view, Sky Shadow Steps was even more powerful than many Extreme Super-Class Martial Skills. After all, many martial skills could be used together, and movement-type martial skills could be combined with many other skills.
However, Sky Shadow Steps was abnormally difficult to learn. Splitting into a hundred shadows was equivalent to using the mind in a hundred ways at once, demanding extraordinarily high spirit. But this problem was not much of an issue for players.
After finishing his examination of the shop owner’s smart watch, Lin Qi opened Elder Kuilang’s smart watch and was quickly drawn to a cracked encrypted document.
After reading for a moment, Lin Qi’s breathing became slightly rapid.
“Where on earth did Kui Lang get this? And he did not hand it over to the Red Moon Merchant Guild in exchange for direct benefits?” Lin Qi stared at the thousands of pages of various images and text, clicking his tongue in disbelief.
Previously, he believed Kui Lang wanted to blackmail him simply to exchange for some cultivation resources to break through his bottleneck and achieve the Heavenly Human Realm.
But now, after seeing what was inside the smart watch, he suddenly felt that Kui Lang was no longer satisfied with only the Red Moon Merchant Guild.
After Lin Qi finished reading everything, he almost immediately had someone contact Luo Qi, telling her to come by flying car to Chiyue Town at once, regardless of what she was doing or wanted to do.
“What is so important that you had to call me over in person? Could you not have said it at the shop?” Luo Qi looked at Lin Qi in the Beginner Meditation Room with exasperation.
Since officially becoming a member of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, she felt she had never stopped. All day, twenty-four hours, she was treated like a tireless mechanic: if she was not repairing Tier 2 Battle Armor, she was developing Tier 3 Weapons.
Although her current life was much better than before—living on the most prosperous commercial street in the City of Light Chasing, eating no more synthetic food but pure natural cuisine made by the shop’s chefs, with monster meat to her fill, and even becoming a martial artist no longer a dream—
“Let me show you something good.” Lin Qi said with a smile, handing her Kui Lang’s smart watch.
“Something good? A cultivation method?” Luo Qi took the smart watch, curious what good thing Lin Qi could be showing her.
Lin Qi had previously told her that he could help her become a martial artist, and not only that, she might even have the chance to impact higher realms. So she had stopped doing any training on her own, since her cultivation method from school was only a basic one, making it impossible to become a martial artist, let alone reach higher realms in the future.
When Luo Qi finished reading what was in the smart watch, she was completely shocked.
“A blueprint for Fourth-tier Battle Armor!”
“How did you get this?”
Luo Qi stared at Lin Qi, unable to imagine that he could obtain such a heaven-defying thing.
In the major cities, even across the Four Regions, the highest-level battle armor known to people was only Tier 2 Battle Armor, suitable for martial artists in the Bone Forging Realm. The conceptual Tier 3 Battle Armor suitable for Blood Condensation Realm martial artists had yet to be perfected, let alone manufactured.
Yet the blueprint that Lin Qi showed her now was for Fourth-tier Battle Armor, battle armor that should not exist at all.
Fourth-tier Guardian Heavy Armor.
A set of battle armor suitable for the legendary Heavenly Human Realm grandmaster.
“Well? Can you manufacture it?” Lin Qi asked with a smile.
