Chapter 330: Objective: One-word Battle Armor

Ever since he had awakened the weak bluesilver grass as his martial soul, Tang Wulin had no choice but to trudge forward, persevering until he found his path to greatness. Now that one had presented itself, he’d be an idiot not to take the risk.

“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.” Luo Guixing’s eyes brightened with determination like the rest of them. Naturally, he understood the advantage of making their battle armors in the first grade. While this plan was a challenge, it was also an opportunity.

Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yue. “Since we’ve decided on this, we should begin as soon as possible. We’ll need a place to make the battle armor first. Furthermore, we’ll need to keep what we’re doing a secret. Even the teachers can’t catch a whiff of it. Second, I’ll need you all to pick out metals most suitable for your battle armor. We can’t use a complete set of battle armor as we are now, so I suggest choosing one metal for the meanwhile. That way, there will be fewer possible complications during process of making them.”

Gu Yue, Luo Guixing, and Wu Siduo nodded. Attempting to make battle armor was beyond the scope of their abilities, an additional weight on their shoulders. However, if they settled for mechas, then they wouldn’t be challenged at all. Ordinary mecha didn’t require rare metals, and only needed to be hundred refined. They understood that without challenge, their improvement would be limited.  

That said, they had to exercise caution in the execution of their plan. Battle armor was not to be underestimated.

“So, figure out what metal you want as soon as possible,” Tang Wulin continued. “After you’ve decided, bring it to me. I’ll thousand refine it for you. I’m very confident in my thousand refining skills. Gu Yue, begin drafting the designs immediately. We don’t have time to waste. But I don’t think you should design a whole set at once, since if you did that for everyone it would take too long. We should approach this one part at a time. For example, we should start with a right forearm piece for everyone. You’ll design, then Luo Guixing and Wu Siduo will make them. Then once we all have a right forearm piece, we can move on to the next part. That way, we’ll complete each step gradually and methodically. This should be the most efficient method.”

While the rest had been voicing their thoughts on Gu Yue’s proposal earlier, the gears in Tang Wulin’s head had spun in overdrive. He understood that because they had just been acquainted  and forced to cooperate, there was limited trust between them. Making one person’s armor first wouldn’t appear fair and their motivation would drop.

All four of their professions were required in the battle armor creation process. For example, as a mechanic, Wu Siduo had the crucial job of improving and fine-tuning mechas and battle armor.

Luo Guixing smiled. “Class president is really insightful. I think this way is the best as well. Let’s quickly begin then. I’m sure we all have several metals in mind that might be most suitable for ourselves. Tang Wulin, I’ll tell you what metal I choose tomorrow.”

Wu Siduo hesitated for a moment, before relaxing her shoulders. “I’ll tell you tomorrow too.”

Gu Yue also made her acceptance clear.. As for Tang Wulin, this wasn't an issue for him. With his years of forging experience, he already knew what sort of metals suited him.

Tang Wulin swept his gaze through the group. “Remember, when you’re choosing the metal you want to use, take into consideration the extent of your abilities. Five rings is the requirement to use one-word battle armor, and we all fall very short of that. Wu Siduo, your cultivation base is the highest though, so you have some more leeway. However, the other three of us can’t choose a metal that’s too strong. If we do, we might not be able to use the finished product.”

The other three nodded, their spirits blazing with eagerness.

Making one-word battle armor might be a towering challenge to face, but even if they didn’t succeed, they would learn far more than they would have by making mechas.

Compared to them, other groups were bustling with discussion. There were far more people in the other groups, so naturally there was more they needed to discuss.

Tang Wulin’s was the first to wrap up. As he observed the other groups in their heated discussions, he couldn’t imagine them finishing before night came. Perhaps this was what the Academy wanted to see.

As for what metal suited Tang Wulin the best, he already knew the answer!

Oftentimes, one had to believe in fate. Heavy silver was the first metal he thousand refined, the first he first-grade thousand refined, and the first he spirit refined.

It could be said that heavy silver was his lucky charm. Even his prized hammers were made of a spirit refined version of this metal.

Heavy silver was considered a lower mid-tier metal. It had decent ductility and soul power amplification. The one-word battle armor he planned to make was a crucial stepping stone on his path to becoming a full-fledged battle armor master. However, his current goal wasn’t to create  a powerful one-word battle armor, but to succeed in making one in the first place. He had to succeed and find the type of battle armor most suitable for him. After all, only two-word battle armor could fuse with its user’s body, and only then was it  considered to be true battle armor. When that time came, he would need higher quality metals to upgrade his his set. He would walk this path for the rest of his life.

I’ll use heavy silver. Tang Wulin didn’t bother overthinking things.

“Gu Yue, do you know what metal you want to use?” Tang Wulin asked.

As he had thought, Gu Yue met his expectations and already had something in mind. “Magic silver.”

“Magic silver?” Tang Wulin stared at her, face caught in a mixture of astonishment. Then, he nodded approvingly. “Good choice. It’s very fitting for you. Although magic silver isn’t as ductile or hard as heavy silver, it possesses the property of element connection. It’s very suitable for the circuit core of long-ranged soul devices. It’s also a mid-grade metal. Relatively speaking, magic silver is more precious than heavy silver. Luckily, it’s not too expensive. Magic silver is used extensively for circuit cores after all, especially in the equipment of high-ranking army officers. Because your martial soul is Elementalist, the elemental connection property is crucial for you. I can’t say it enough how great your choice is.”

“How about you?” Gu Yue asked.

“I’m choosing heavy silver,” Tang Wulin answered. “We’re already aiming for something beyond our abilities, so maximizing the chances of success is our number one priority.”

“You don’t want to try to spirit refine? Couldn’t we try making two-word battle armor immediately?” Gu Yue asked.

Tang Wulin shook his head. “I don’t want to aim too high. Currently, I’m still at two soul rings. It’ll take me about two months to reach three rings. Even then, three rings is nowhere near the six ring requirement for two-word battle armor. I don’t think I could spirit refine anything good enough for two-word armor either. Once it’s at the two-word level, the armor will likely follow us for life. We’ll have to connect our hearts with it and treat is as an extension of our bodies. That’s why we need the perfect metal. I had actually thought about going for two-word armor once I have four rings and am a sixth-rank blacksmith. Unfortunately, that'll take at least three years. But your idea has its merits! Once we have some experience making one-word armor, it’ll be easier to make two-word armor in the future.

“So, here’s what I think: we’ll complete a full set of battle armor within two years and then master using it. Once we enter the fourth grade, we can probably start on two-word armor. If we can finish a two-word set before the graduation exam, then it’ll be easy to enter the inner court.”

Gu Yue nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. We shouldn’t bite off more than we can chew. What about Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan? They’re weaker in their professions. I don’t think things will go too well in their groups.”