Gu Ming felt a surge of joy, and his previously tense heart immediately relaxed. He smiled and said, "Soul devices, mechas—you can choose whichever you want."
"Hm…" Yun Ze pondered for a moment and then said, "I don't want any of these. If possible, I want access to the library on the fifth floor of the academy. Even if it's limited-time access, that's fine."
Finished soul devices and mechas were of no use to him; it was the unseen information that piqued even a little of his interest.
"Access to the fifth-floor library?" Gu Ming was taken aback. He hadn't expected Yun Ze to make such a request.
"Yes. As long as I can enter there, no matter what the final price of this elixir ends up being, I'll only pay you ten billion," Yun Ze said.
"Really?" Gu Ming was overjoyed.
"This is no joke," Yun Ze said firmly.
Gu Ming thought for a moment and said, "Alright. However, the fifth-floor library is extremely important. I can at most help you get a one-year access pass."
"That works," Yun Ze agreed without hesitation. One year would be enough time for him to study many things.
After hanging up, Yun Ze stood up and looked at Gu Yue Na. "Let's leave first. Once the auction ends, it'll be crowded and hard to move."
Gu Yue Na had overheard Yun Ze's conversation with Gu Ming and realized the deal had been made. The fifth elixir was already set, and there was no need to continue watching, so she got up and left with Yun Ze.
Xiong Jun followed behind them.
As soon as the three of them exited the door of VIP Room No. 1, four people appeared in the VIP corridor.
Xiong Jun frowned and instinctively stepped forward a few paces, positioning himself beside Gu Yue Na to keep her separated from the four men.
Yun Ze glanced at the four men and then withdrew his gaze, walking calmly and composedly, paying them little attention.
Naturally, he could sense their extraordinary abilities. The man who appeared to be in his twenties was as strong as Di Tian himself.
But their strength had nothing to do with him. He walked as he pleased, treating them like ordinary people.
The three of them passed the four men, while Yun Ming glanced at Yun Ze, who noticed the look but ignored it.
Yun Ze and the others continued walking, while Yun Ming and the four men stopped and turned to watch them leave.
"Just over six years old… Level 22?" Yun Ming whispered in shock.
Long Ye Yue also looked surprised, while Feng Wu Yu and Zhuo Shi were slower to realize, looking at Yun Ming puzzled. "Boss, what are you talking about?"
Their attention had been on the tall, muscular man, not the child.
"The child who just passed by looked barely over six, yet his soul power is at Level 22," Yun Ming said.
The muscular man had drawn attention, but nothing compared to the impact of a six-year-old with Level 22 soul power.
"What!" Zhuo Shi and Feng Wu Yu widened their eyes and quickly turned their heads to watch Yun Ze and the others disappear around a corner.
"VIP Room No. 1… after the auction ends, contact the auction house and check the information on these three," Yun Ming instructed.
He had noticed that the three had come from VIP Room No. 1.
…
Yun Ze and the others left via a private corridor, avoiding the main entrance where the media was gathered.
On the way, they couldn't avoid talking about the four people they had just encountered.
All three had sensed the four men's extraordinary presence but didn't pay too much attention; after all, people who could enter a VIP room were not ordinary.
After leaving the auction house, they quickly returned to Long Huang Hall, where three long lines had formed in front of the main gate.
Four tall, muscular men guarded the entrance, all looking a bit simple-minded. They were transformed Dark-Gold Terror-Claw Bears.
One of them, slightly smarter, released his martial soul. A massive Dark-Gold Terror-Claw Bear spirit hovered behind him, its nine soul rings (seven black, two red) rotating rhythmically. He restrained his energy as much as possible to avoid harming anyone.
The remaining Dark-Gold Terror-Claw Bears were very strong. Their transformed soul rings were mostly black, with some red rings.
The queues were orderly, with no cutting in line. People kept quiet, and the order was well maintained.
This was thanks to the martial soul and the nine soul rings. A nine-ringed Douluo here created enough intimidation that no one dared misbehave.
"Seems the publicity worked well," Gu Yue Na smiled, standing at the back of the line watching.
From afar, they could see Long Huang Hall was already packed, with three more long lines outside, each over a hundred meters. The crowds were still growing, showing just how effective the publicity had been.
"Let's enter through the back door," Yun Ze said, and with Gu Yue Na and Xiong Jun, they circled to the rear of the building.
A locked metal gate stood there. Xiong Jun unlocked it with a key, and the three entered, going upstairs through a small corridor.
Xiong Jun went to the second floor to help, while Yun Ze and Gu Yue Na reached the studio on the tenth floor.
"Give me the battle armor design drawings," Yun Ze said.
"Here they are," Gu Yue Na said with a smile, taking out several design sheets she had created herself.
Yun Ze took the drawings and examined them carefully. "You could remove the battle skirt and add an energy shield release device to the waist. It would look better and be more practical."
"Sure, just do it your way," Gu Yue Na said without hesitation.
Yun Ze smiled. "This is your battle armor, so it should reflect your ideas. I can only give suggestions."
"I think your suggestions are good, so just go ahead and modify them," Gu Yue Na said.
Yun Ze didn't say anything further. He sat at the table, picked up a pen, and started modifying the designs. He removed the redundant battle skirt, added a diamond-shaped crystal pattern on the waist, and replaced the headband with a retractable helmet.
Gu Yue Na stood nearby, bent slightly forward with her hands behind her back, watching with keen interest. Occasionally, she glanced at Yun Ze's side profile.
"This looks much better," Gu Yue Na said, smiling broadly as she looked at the revised drawings, clearly satisfied.
The new battle armor was sleek yet elegant, with streamlined aesthetics. A pair of metallic dragon wings on the back didn't look out of place, and the seven-colored gemstone on the chest was the perfect finishing touch.
"If you're satisfied, we'll make it this way. I'll craft it from full-spirit forged metal," Yun Ze said.
"Full-spirit forged? Then wouldn't that be a Two-Character Battle Armor? At my current cultivation, I still can't wear it," Gu Yue Na hesitated.
The Two-Character Battle Armor required at least Soul Emperor level, and she was still some distance from that.
"When forging the spirit metal, I'll integrate your blood into it. This will make the armor effectively part of your body, greatly reducing the difficulty of wearing it. With your Soul Ancestor cultivation, you can wear this Two-Character Battle Armor."
"You just won't be able to unleash its full power due to your cultivation, but it can probably reach about 60–70% of its potential," Yun Ze explained.
"But even so, it's far better than a One-Character Battle Armor. Once you wear it, handling Soul Saints shouldn't be a problem," he added.
Normally, wearing a Two-Character Battle Armor grants strength comparable to a Douluo.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you then," Gu Yue Na said with a sweet, cheerful smile.
"No problem," Yun Ze said, taking a piece of elemental spirit metal from the rack. He intended to forge a hammer first, tailored to Gu Yue Na's characteristics.
A hammer forged this way would produce metal perfectly suited to her, allowing her to wear the Two-Character Battle Armor even before reaching Soul Emperor.
(End of Chapter)