Chapter 25: A Perpetual Combat Engine—The Undying Reverse-Edge Demon Armor
"It's over!"
Fan Chen felt a chill run down his spine, and he couldn't help but shiver.
"Relax. Your master won't harm you. It's just that your training volume… might increase by just a tiny bit."
Indeed, he wouldn't harm him—but that didn't mean he wouldn't mess with him.
After living for so many years, this was the first time he had suffered such a loss at the hands of a junior. If he didn't find a way to 'discipline' Fan Chen a little, his Dao Heart would be unstable.
Looking at Fan Chen's aggrieved expression, Golden Crocodile Douluo laughed with unrestrained satisfaction.
"I'll let you off for today. Go back and get some good rest. Tomorrow, we'll meet at the training ground. Don't be late."
Golden Crocodile Douluo patted Fan Chen on the shoulder, then vanished from the spot.
At this moment, Guang Ling also walked up to Fan Chen and smiled.
"Don't worry. He's just trying to scare you—he won't actually do anything to you."
"I still have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving as well. You and Xiao Xue can head back on your own."
After giving a few brief instructions, Guang Ling left just like Golden Crocodile Douluo.
After all, now that they were back, there were quite a few things that needed to be dealt with.
Watching Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guang Ling depart, the expression on Fan Chen's face instantly changed. The fearful look from before vanished without a trace.
Everything earlier had merely been a carefully staged performance.
After all, he had already secured the benefits. When it was time to admit defeat, he had to admit defeat.
Otherwise, if he really pushed Golden Crocodile Douluo too far, he would truly suffer miserably.
"Let's go, Xiao Xue. Let's go home."
Fan Chen turned to Qian Renxue and revealed a gentle, warm smile.
Sunlight filtered down through the glass overhead, bathing Fan Chen in its glow. At this moment, in Qian Renxue's eyes, he gave off an indescribable feeling.
Warm. Cozy. And deeply comforting.
"Mm, let's go home."
Qian Renxue nodded softly, then took Fan Chen's hand as they left together.
Xiao Bai leapt onto Fan Chen's head, giving him a straight-up Mount Tai Press.
But perhaps because it hadn't found its footing properly, its little claws shuffled around on Fan Chen's head several times before it finally stabilized itself.
Unfortunately, Fan Chen's hair was completely scratched into a bird's nest in the process.
"Xiao Bai, you actually dare ruin my handsome image. Later, when it's time to eat, you're losing a piece of meat."
"Ah—Brother, please don't! Xiao Bai knows he was wrong."
Xiao Bai looked at Fan Chen with an aggrieved expression. For him right now, missing even a single piece of meat was the greatest punishment imaginable.
"It's fine, Xiao Bai. Later, big sister will secretly make it up to you."
Right in front of Fan Chen, Qian Renxue openly began conspiring with Xiao Bai.
"Big sister is the best!"
Xiao Bai, who had been full of sorrow just moments ago, instantly beamed with joy. Its face-changing speed was almost on par with Fan Chen's.
"Then big sister is the best—what about big brother?"
Qian Renxue rubbed Xiao Bai's adorable little head and asked teasingly.
"Big brother is number one."
Xiao Bai liked both Fan Chen and Qian Renxue very much.
One feeling came from instinct, the other from shared experiences. The two didn't conflict at all.
"Honestly, you're just spouting nonsense again. Do you even know the difference between 'number one' and 'the best'?"
Fan Chen reached up and adjusted Xiao Bai's position on his head, placing it more securely so it wouldn't lose its balance again.
His hairstyle was already ruined anyway, so he couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
And so, the two people and one beast left together.
...
A few days later.
Training Ground.
Boom—!
With a thunderous crash, massive clouds of dust billowed outward, forming a zone that completely obstructed visibility.
"Get up! How long are you planning to lie there?!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo's stern shout echoed throughout the training ground.
He stood firmly in place, his gaze locked straight ahead.
As the dust slowly dispersed, a figure clad in black armor emerged into view.
Struggling to rise from the ground, after a brief adjustment, the figure charged toward Golden Crocodile Douluo once more.
Then—boom!—another loud impact rang out as Fan Chen was sent flying again by Golden Crocodile Douluo.
This time, he was sent flying even farther, crashing straight into the wall set up around the training grounds.
The wall cracked on impact, and Fan Chen was directly embedded into the shattered stone wall.
"Again!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo wasted no words and immediately ordered Fan Chen to continue attacking.
And so, Fan Chen charged again and again—only to be blasted away by Golden Crocodile Douluo every single time.
The entire process looked less like training and more like a one-sided beating.
After so many attacks, Fan Chen hadn't even managed to brush the corner of Golden Crocodile Douluo's clothing.
"Isn't Golden Crocodile Douluo being a bit too heavy-handed? Fan Chen is still just a child, after all."
Luan Yuqing frowned slightly, voicing his doubts about this training method.
As the Third Worship Elder of the Douluo Hall, his status was second only to Golden Crocodile Douluo and Qian Daoliu.
Fan Chen might be a genius, but he was still only six years old.
What kind of person trains a child in such a brutal way? Did he think Fan Chen was some kind of ferocious beast cub?
"There's no need to worry. This kid is extremely tough."
Xiong Kuohai sat beside Luan Yuqing, his expression calm.
Judging by his demeanor, he seemed long accustomed to scenes like this.
"How so?"
Luan Yuqing didn't know much about Fan Chen. To be precise, among those sitting here watching the spectacle, he was the one who understood Fan Chen the least.
"That means we need to talk about the abilities of the armor he's wearing."
"Don't be fooled by how miserable he looks right now. In reality, this kid doesn't even count as lightly injured."
Over the past few days of training, the abilities of the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor had gradually been uncovered.
Like ordinary armor-type martial souls, the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor possessed extremely powerful defensive capabilities.
But on top of that, it also had attributes that countless defense-type soul masters could only dream of.
[Damage Absorption] and [Indestructible].
Especially the Indestructible trait—it completely overturned common sense regarding martial souls.
A martial soul was intrinsically connected to its user.
Whether it was a weapon-type martial soul or a beast-type martial soul, once it was damaged, the backlash would inevitably affect the user's body.
In the worst cases—when a martial soul was destroyed—the resulting backlash could directly cripple a person.
At the very least, it would damage their foundation and inflict injuries that were nearly impossible to heal.
Fan Chen's Reverse-Edge Demon Armor, however, was outright indestructible.
As long as Fan Chen still had soul power, the armor would continue to exist.
Only when his soul power was completely depleted would it finally dissipate.
This single trait alone allowed Fan Chen, in many battles, to turn the tables—or even achieve a counterkill.
As for the other ability, it wasn't particularly heaven-defying on its own.
But when paired with [Indestructible], it became something that felt downright like cheating.
[Damage Absorption]: Reduces damage dealt by external targets by 30%, converting that portion into energy that replenishes the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor.
When these two abilities were combined, they formed a perfect loop.
Against opponents weaker than Fan Chen—or even just slightly stronger—he could rely on this trait alone to grind them down until death.
Against attack-type soul masters, there was still some room to maneuver.
But if agility-type or control-type soul masters were the ones facing him, then things would truly spiral out of control.
They simply couldn't break his defenses at all—how were they supposed to fight him?
Other than running away, there seemed to be no viable way to deal with Fan Chen.
As for mental-type attack skills?
Well… that was unfortunate.
Fan Chen appeared to be outright immune to those.
"Cheating my ass. I'm done watching—this is too aggravating."
After hearing all this, Luan Yuqing completely exploded. He stood up and prepared to leave, all the while cursing himself inwardly.
Why hadn't he been the one to encounter Fan Chen first back then?
He had been so close at the time!
If Golden Crocodile Douluo hadn't happened to be there with Qian Renxue, the first person to discover Fan Chen might very well have been him.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart bled—he had been this close.
The more he thought, the angrier he became.
The angrier he became, the more suffocated he felt inside.
But what was done was done. No matter how much he thought about it, it wouldn't change anything.
In the end, Luan Yuqing could only force out a single sentence in his heart:
"Golden Crocodile Douluo… you really deserve to die."
—
End of Chapter