Within Sun-Moon City, inside a certain courtyard.
"Second Brother, what do you think the young master went to do? He's been gone for two or three days already and still hasn't come back,"
Yu Tao said gloomily as he sat on a chair.
"Why are you worrying about so much? Just stay here honestly. Once Sun-Moon City lifts the lockdown, we'll follow the young master and leave,"
Lang Ya said impatiently after taking a sip of tea. Over the past two days, he had no idea how many times he'd already heard Yu Tao muttering about this.
Ever since Du Busi led part of their people in a breakout, the remaining disciples of the Body Sect had scattered and gone into hiding. They were simply waiting for Sun-Moon City to lift the lockdown, after which they would blend in with the crowds and leave the city.
"This is really boring,"
Lang Ya muttered softly, staring up at the ceiling with a bored expression.
"Lang Ya, Yu Tao."
At that moment, a calm, indifferent voice sounded out. A pitch-black crow flew into the courtyard, and in an instant, thick black mist billowed forth. From within it, a tall, slender figure slowly emerged.
"Young Master!"
Lang Ya and Yu Tao immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.
"That's enough. Rise,"
Jiang Jue said lightly, waving his hand.
"You two stand guard outside the courtyard. Don't let anyone enter. I have important matters to attend to."
After giving the instruction, Jiang Jue walked into the room at an unhurried pace. The door behind him closed at once.
"Second Brother… what's up with the young master today? But he looks like he's in a pretty good mood,"
Yu Tao scratched his head and chuckled.
"How can you tell?"
Lang Ya raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion.
"Second Brother, a man of the mountains has his own clever tricks. You can say my strength isn't good, but you can't say my judgment isn't,"
Yu Tao said with a crooked grin, sitting back down and guarding the courtyard for Jiang Jue.
Lang Ya was a little curious, but seeing that Yu Tao wouldn't explain, he didn't press further.
Inside the room.
With a motion of his left hand, the Soul-Refining Banner appeared.
Jiang Jue calmed his mind and entered the space within the Soul-Refining Banner.
"Young Master, you're here."
When Wang Gengyin saw Jiang Jue appear, his eyes lit up instantly. Holding a piece of blue-golden metal in his hands, he walked up to Jiang Jue and offered it with both hands.
"Young Master, take a look—could this be that living metal?"
Wang Gengyin's voice was filled with excitement, his hands trembling slightly.
After Jiang Jue's earlier reminder, he had returned to hammering rare metals. After thousands of relentless experiments, he discovered that by first engraving the core formation onto the rare metal, and then using a special forging method, one could bestow the metal with "life"!
Standing beside him, Nangong Wan was also excited. After all, he had contributed as well—though his role had mostly been cheering from the sidelines and doing odd jobs.
But two people split evenly—half the credit had to be his.
Jiang Jue's gaze shifted slightly as he took the blue-golden rare metal. A dead-gray soul power appeared at his fingertips. With a slight movement, the soul power flowed into the metal.
"Hm?"
Jiang Jue gave a soft sound of surprise, then slowly infused his spiritual power into it. Instantly, a blue glow bloomed across the metal. As Jiang Jue's spiritual power continued to pour in, the entire piece of rare metal began to rise and fall rhythmically, as if it had come alive.
"I didn't expect Wang Gengyin to actually succeed,"
Jiang Jue thought to himself, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes and a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
Wasn't this exactly the metal produced after spirit-forging ten thousand years later?
"Young Master, this rare metal is Qinghai Spirit Silver. Its density far exceeds that of ordinary rare metals. Through special forging methods, I condensed a large piece into something this small—shrinking it to one-quarter of its original size.
"And I discovered a pattern: a hundred forges is one tier, a thousand forges is another. As the number of forging cycles increases, the metal undergoes different changes.
"But in the final forging stage, one must unify body and mind, merging with the metal itself. Only then can the metal gain that kind of spirituality. I call this 'Spirit Forging'!
"A soul master can inject soul power and spiritual power into it, triggering the core formation and that spirituality within, causing their own strength to surge explosively upward!"
Wang Gengyin said all of this in one breath, his excitement boiling over. This was practically the creation of a brand-new era!
Jiang Jue nodded slightly, patted Wang Gengyin on the shoulder, and said solemnly:
"You've done very well. You can truly be called the pioneer who opened a new milestone for soul tools."
Indeed, choosing to refine him into the Soul-Refining Banner back then had been the right decision.
He had merely provided a line of thought, yet Wang Gengyin had uncovered an entirely new world. Such talent in soul tool research was truly formidable.
"But Young Master, this forging method fails more often than it succeeds. It still needs improvement. And I don't know how to continue from here.
"After obtaining this kind of metal, how can it be used to its fullest potential? Should it be made into a soul tool?"
Wang Gengyin's eyes were filled with confusion as he asked. This was the biggest problem he faced right now—it was like having a mountain of gold placed before him, yet having no idea how to mine it.
Seeing this, Nangong Wan grew anxious. They hadn't even started claiming credit yet, and Wang Gengyin was already laying out all the flaws.
He was even more anxious than Wang Gengyin himself, but could only worry in silence.
Jiang Jue's eyes shifted slightly as he spoke calmly.
"Do you still remember the soul-tool metal humanoid I brought in last time?"
"I remember, Young Master. But if we make something that large into a soul tool, wouldn't the cost be far too high? A basin-sized piece of Qinghai Spirit Metal becomes only about palm-sized after forging. If we need so many, the amount of rare metal required would be enormous."
After hesitating for a moment, Wang Gengyin still voiced his concerns.
Hearing this, Nangong Wan's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly said:
"How dare you! Our Young Master is not lacking in rare metals at all. As long as it's useful, it's not a waste. If rare metals run short, I'm willing to go out and 'rob the rich to help the poor' on the Young Master's behalf!"
With that, Nangong Wan was clearly ready to carry on the Holy Spirit Cult's fine tradition of "zero-cost acquisitions."
Jiang Jue slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"I never said to make it that big. You can model it after armor. Based on the shared spirituality between the metals, wouldn't it work to link them together into a suit of armor?"
What he had wanted Wang Gengyin to observe in the soul-tool metal humanoid were its core formations—the prototype of mecha. He hadn't expected Wang Gengyin to head down the wrong path entirely.
"As expected, human imagination is limited. Gaps in cognition are difficult to cross,"
Jiang Jue thought to himself.
Just like back then—despite the Sun Moon Empire's highly advanced soul tool technology, they still hadn't developed soul tools that could be used without soul power.
Different research directions naturally led to vastly different outcomes.
"Armor?!"
Upon hearing Jiang Jue's words, Wang Gengyin suddenly raised his head, enlightenment flashing through his eyes.
"Young Master, I think I have an idea!"
"No, no—I can't waste any time. I need to go research this immediately, Young Master…"
Seeing Jiang Jue nod, Wang Gengyin hurried toward the makeshift laboratory, muttering nonstop as he walked.
"Young Master, that's just how Wang Gengyin is. Please don't take offense,"
Nangong Wan said with an awkward smile, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"It's fine, Elder Nangong. Go help Wang Gengyin. If battle armor really can be produced, you'll have merit as well,"
Jiang Jue said indifferently.
Jiang Jue didn't mind at all. If Wang Gengyin succeeded in making battle armor, he would be the first and greatest beneficiary.
"Yes! Everything for the Young Master!"
Nangong Wan's eyes lit up instantly.
The path of advancement ahead of him suddenly looked brilliantly bright!
"Alright, go on,"
Jiang Jue waved his hand, sending Nangong Wan off.
Immediately after, Jiang Jue's gaze shifted. His figure flickered—and vanished from the spot.
"Ye Guyi has awakened… then I'll go take a look at this hea—"
(End of Chapter)