"There's no such thing as an evil martial soul—only evil users."
"Like the master from ten thousand years ago said: 'There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters.' Though, I'm not sure why he had to insult himself twice in one sentence, but…"
"There are no evil martial souls, only evil soul masters."
"Does having an Angel martial soul automatically mean you're sacred?"
Su Wen sighed.
Ten thousand years ago, the Saint Spirit Hall's leader Ye Xishui—biggest villain, had a Bright Phoenix martial soul...
Twenty thousand years ago, the Martial Soul Hall's chief Qian Xunji forced himself on his disciple. Though Bibi Dong really was crazy, Qian Xunji was beyond redemption.
Ten millennia later, the one doing the same would be Zhongli Old Ghost, the infamous evil soul master.
Yuanen Yehui bit her lip. Her gaze turned complicated.
What a strange man...
"Even Tang San, so bright and mighty, is supposedly honored as a saint by the Holy Spirit Cult," Su Wen chuckled.
Yuanen Yehui: "..."
"In short, be confident. It's not your fault, and you don't need to pay the price," Su Wen smiled.
"You… know what happened back then?" Yuanen Yehui asked after a long hesitation.
"I know more than just that. I also know the Fallen Angel martial soul opens the Demon Plane at level 90. It was a disaster for your family, but for me... it's a rare opportunity."
"I really want to visit the Demon Plane."
Yuanen Yehui: "…"
Her face slowly turned wary.
This man was too mysterious—even a little mad, in her eyes...
He was either just a boastful madman, or truly a peerless powerhouse at the extreme Douluo level.
A Divine Smith?
No! That's impossible; only one Divine Smith per era. Maybe a Holy Smith?
But he's too young...
"Here, the metal you wanted."
Su Wen handed the girl a large chunk of glittering silver metal.
Once Yuanen Yehui received it, she injected her soul power. The silver lines around the metal seemed to come alive, and she gasped in shock: "This is... spirit-forged Tranquil Silver?!"
And such a big chunk!
If she'd worked hard for years, never spending a thing, she might have been able to afford that in three years!
Gulp—
Her throat bobbed, tears of joy pricking her lips.
Single-word armor? It was more than enough...
She could even prepare for two-word armor now.
After all, the requirement for two-word battle armor was using only spirit-forged metals throughout.
"Go have a meal first."
Yuanen Yehui took the black card Su Wen casually flicked at her. It was clearly a subsidiary card. She looked up in confusion—he'd already put a newspaper over his face and drifted off.
"..."
She opened her mouth.
Storing the spirit-forged metal and the black card in her soul tool, she couldn't help feeling she'd just boarded a pirate ship.
No matter—they could eat their fill first.
He wasn't afraid she'd run? He hadn't even checked her Shrek student ID.
She shook her head and left quietly.
Now she still needed to find a mecha designer and a mecha forger before she could create single-word armor. Annoyingly, she'd also just promised this guy she'd study all the mecha disciplines...
"Sigh, do you need a mecha designer?"
From under the paper, Su Wen's voice sounded.
Yuanen Yehui: ???
"I do!" she nodded.
"Got any design books?"
"There are theory books, but they're pretty basic—most things need hands-on practice..." Yuanen Yehui explained, unsure what Su Wen intended.
"Let me see." Su Wen lifted the newspaper, looking interested.
They said battle armor and mechas evolved from soul tools. As a nine-tier Soul Engineer from ten thousand years ago, he really wanted a look at the changes.
Could ancient knowledge unravel the modern array cores?
"Um..."
She opened her light screen and brought up [Mecha Design Concepts (Lv1–4)], [Mecha Field Practice (Lv1–4)], [Mecha Advanced Courses (Lv5–6)].
"That's all I've got," she said.
"Before joining the inner court, Shrek runs things loosely. Courses are sent early. I'm only level 2 repair..."
She explained at length, but when she finally looked up, Su Wen had vanished.
"Come in."
A voice called from the shop's back room.
"What's this...?"
"A blueprint for your single-word battle armor," Su Wen said, sprawled over the desk, happily sketching. Underneath it all, these post-millennial inventions were still built on foundations designed by Xuan Ziwen long ago. Only layers of innovations were added.
It might look new, but Su Wen could see right through it.
Of course, this only covered single and double-word armor.
Beyond triple-word, there was a true transformation: the "martial soul" would control the mecha weapons—not just mental power and intent. That was something new, showing humanity never stopped progressing.
"You… finished designing already?!" Yuanen Yehui stared, dumbfounded.
She couldn't find a flaw. In fact, this was clearly designed for double-word armor!
"Aren't you a blacksmith? A Divine Smith?"
"I told you—this stuff… lacks technical value. See-through toys," Su Wen grinned, beckoning.
"Give me the Tranquil Silver."
She reluctantly handed it over.
Su Wen examined it, touched his brow, and a green ripple flowed out—a jade-green carving knife emerged.
The knife glided over the armor, carving rune arrays at lightning speed.
Next were the eleven components:
Headband, breastplate, left/right shoulder and upper arm armor, left/right gauntlet and forearm, waist guard and battle skirt, left/right thigh armor, left/right shin guards and boots.
In front of the dazed Yuanen Yehui, a brand-new single-word armor assembled before her.
Su Wen admired his handiwork, indicating she should try it.
"Fallen Angel!"
"Titan Giant Ape!"
In the shop's underground training area—
Yuanen Yehui cried out, unleashing her spirit power. Her two martial souls switched easily. Clad in her new armor, she unleashed soul skills—her fighting strength instantly soared to the Soul King peak.
"How could this be..."
Drained and breathless, she sat on the ground, stunned.
Officially, battle armor required at least a level 40 soul master, but she was just level 30-something, yet wielded it as if it were part of her body.
"Oh, I made a few small tweaks," Su Wen said, tossing a communicator at her.
"By the way, I graded your level 2 repair homework just now—a pile of wrong answers. At this rate, you'll spend your whole life repaying your debt~"
Yuanen Yehui: "..."
For the first time, she knew what it meant to be crushed by genius...
So, this was the world of real talent?
Still, having a boss like him might not be so bad.