Seeing this, Luo Yanglu nodded in satisfaction. "Before the exams begin, you will have a three-day break. Once today's combat class ends, your vacation starts. Go on to class. Yuhao, Gu Yuena, stay behind for a moment."
Saying that, Luo Yanglu glanced at Wu Zhangkong beside him and gave him a nod.
Wu Zhangkong understood that this was likely internal Spirit Pagoda business, and tactfully led the other five students out.
Only after the door clicked shut did Luo Yanglu speak to Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena. "I've canceled your final exam, so there is no need to worry about it. There's another matter that requires your attention now. Someone wants to see you two, but was delayed by some business. They are currently in Heaven Dou City, so take a Soul Airplane there."
He offered no detailed explanation, merely shooting Huo Yuhao an encouraging look that made Huo Yuhao raise an eyebrow in contemplation.
It seemed he might be meeting an old acquaintance.
...
At the East Sea Spirit Pagoda Airport, Leng Yaozhu stepped off the Soul Airplane. Hua Yichen walked over and offered a polite greeting.
"Greetings, Heavenly Phoenix Crown."
Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Xiaoyao, long time no see. Where is Na'er? Shouldn't her vacation have started by now?"
Hua Yichen replied, "As luck would have it, she just left East Sea City on a Soul Airplane."
What delicate timing.
The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's sudden arrival had given him quite a fright.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and instructed Luo Yanglu to arrange for Huo Yuhao to pass the red-level assessment. Now that higher-ups were willing to meet Huo Yuhao, with any luck, the boy would have powerful backing in the future—sparing him a great deal of trouble.
After all, according to Luo Yanglu, Gu Yuena had been in particularly high spirits today, conversing delightedly with Yuhao. If the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo had witnessed that scene, who knew how she might have reacted?
Her disciple had merely come here for school, only to be swept off her feet—hardly something to put her master in a good mood, was it?
And he was certainly no match for the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo...
Leng Yaozhu froze. "She left?"
Hua Yichen nodded. "Yes."
Leng Yaozhu stared at Hua Yichen for a moment. Seeing his expression remain unchanged, her feelings grew conflicted.
She had clearly told Na'er that she would be arriving today, so why had the girl left?
Her little warm jacket was growing chilly... Sure enough, did she already have someone in her heart?
...
Aboard the Soul Airplane, Gu Yuena sat beside Huo Yuhao, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.
"I feel like I've forgotten something..."
Lost in thought, she glanced at Huo Yuhao reading a soul tool book beside her, then at Star's Blessing on her wrist. The corners of her mouth curved upward slightly. Taking out a piece of rare metal, she began to tinker with it.
Oh well, if she couldn't remember, it probably wasn't anything important...
Catching sight of Gu Yuena taking out rare metal, Huo Yuhao gave it a thought and deployed his Spiritual Interference Domain, enveloping the two of them so that no one else could observe what they were doing.
Gu Yuena paused, turning her head to give Huo Yuhao a gentle smile before returning to her task. Various elemental powers surfaced across her palm as she began refining the metal.
"It's practically become her hobby now," Ice Empress remarked with emotion.
"She chose this herself after careful consideration. There's nothing strange about it."
Huo Yuhao watched for a moment. Seeing that Gu Yuena had already deftly finished the Hundred Refinements stage and begun the Thousand Refined process, he drew back his gaze. "Her talent in this field is remarkable. In less than half a year, she has already achieved Thousand Refined forging. If other blacksmiths saw her, they'd probably want to burst into tears."
Achieving Thousand Refined forging meant becoming a rank-3 Forging Master. In mere months, Gu Yuena had covered ground that took others years.
It could only be described as blessed by the heavens.
Looking at the Thousand Refined Magic Silver gradually taking shape in her hands, Gu Yuena suddenly spoke up. "Yuhao, I'm confident I can achieve Spirit Refined forging within a year. Once I reach the Spirit Refined realm, let's start crafting Battle Armor components... just for the two of us."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao considered it carefully before nodding. "Alright. Leave the design, manufacturing, and maintenance to me, and I'll leave the forging in your hands."
The two of them alone could complete their Battle Armor. Moreover, in a sense, they knew each other inside and out, so starting early was for the best.
After all, in this era, a Battle Armor Master was more than twenty ranks stronger than a Soul Master of equivalent level. Whether one possessed Battle Armor made an enormous difference.
For example, if a One-Word Battle Armor Master originally possessed five rings, donning Battle Armor elevated their combat strength to the equivalent of a seven-ring Soul Sage who lacked a Martial Soul Avatar. A Two-Word Battle Armor Master was comparable to an eight-ring Soul Master, a Three-Word Battle Armor Master to a nine-ring Titled Douluo, and a Four-Word Battle Armor Master to an Ultimate Douluo.
Among them, One-Word Battle Armor required every single piece to be forged at the Thousand Refined level, and wearing a complete set generally demanded a cultivation of at least five rings.
Two-Word Battle Armor required all components to be Spirit Refined, with a cultivation requirement of at least six rings.
Three-Word Battle Armor required all components to be Soul Refined, with a cultivation requirement of at least seven rings.
Four-Word Battle Armor could be achieved either by nurturing Three-Word Battle Armor until it evolved on its own, or by incorporating Heavenly Refined Metal into Three-Word Battle Armor during its creation, which demanded a cultivation of at least nine rings.
However, those cultivation thresholds were not rigid rules. As long as a Soul Master's body could endure the strain, having a lower cultivation was acceptable as well. Ye Xinglan had managed to complete a full set of One-Word Battle Armor at four rings; equipping only individual pieces lowered the requirements even further.
Based on Huo Yuhao's understanding of his own condition, he could already equip a full set of One-Word Battle Armor right now, and doing so would only become easier once he reached four rings.
If Gu Yuena did not hold back, she naturally could as well.
Seeing Huo Yuhao agree, Gu Yuena smiled softly. "Yuhao, what metal do you want to use for your Battle Armor? I plan to use Magic Silver."
The advantage of a rare metal like Magic Silver lay in its elemental affinity, making it ideal for her. Furthermore, metal forged by her hands would see its elemental affinity rise even higher, yielding far more pronounced effects.
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then asked, "Can we attempt a spiritual alloy? I intend to use Jade Silver as my base material."
A spiritual alloy was the product of subjecting multiple rare metals to fusion forging, a feat typically reserved for Forging Masters who had already mastered Spirit Refined forging.
Jade Silver was an alloy formed by merging Heavy Silver and Magic Silver. Combining the qualities of both metals, it enhanced elemental affinity while boosting physical attack power. At this current stage, it was the most suitable choice for Huo Yuhao.
As for rare metals that enhanced spiritual power? Did Life Gold count?
Yet who would be extravagant enough to forge Battle Armor out of Life Gold...?
"Jade Silver alloy?"
Gu Yuena paused, quickly grasping Huo Yuhao's line of thought. She nodded. "I can give it a try, but that will take longer."
Huo Yuhao said, "There's no rush; we can take our time."
Two-Word Battle Armor was forged from Spirit Refined metals. Its greatest difference from One-Word Battle Armor was that the metal possessed spirituality, allowing it to fuse seamlessly with the Soul Master and be donned at any instant without risk of having the armor integration process interrupted.
A spiritual alloy, however, could achieve this even at the Thousand Refined tier.
The benefits were numerous—after all, nobody wanted to be interrupted while donning their armor, did they?
After exchanging thoughts, the two settled their Battle Armor plan. Throughout the conversation, Gu Yuena's expression remained consistently gentle.
Yuhao didn't say thank you this time.
When a person stopped being so polite to someone else, it meant that their relationship had truly grown close...
Chapter 82