Chapter 901: A Plan

Zhen Hua spoke in a voice that was filled with conviction, and his words had completely enlightened Tang Wulin and friends while also giving them a much-needed wake-up call.

Indeed, it was just as Tang Wulin had said; the only people they could rely on right now were themselves, but they were still far too weak. They were unable to resurrect Shrek Academy, and the sole reason behind this was that they weren't powerful enough.

"I understand now," Ye Xinglan replied with a firm nod.

"You can't join the military with your current identities. I'll think of a way to fabricate some false identities for you. You've all learned disguise skills, right? All of you need alternative identities, and you can't reveal your true identities until you've become powerful enough."

Zhen Hua wore a grim expression as he continued, "Perhaps the continent has been peaceful for too long, so it's inevitable that there are people looking to stir up chaos and unrest. Not only are all of you the future hopes of Shrek Academy, you're also the future hopes of the entire Douluo Continent. If I'm not mistaken, now that Shrek City has been destroyed, the next party to be voted into parliament will most likely be the aggressive Eagle Faction. They'll expand the military and create more weapons under the guise of anti-terrorism. There have always been some people who have harbored the ambition of uniting the entire Douluo Star, and war will most likely strike soon. Not only will there be a civil war waged against all evil Soul Masters, it's very likely that we'll also declare war on other continents. Of course, this is all just my own conjecture; we'll have to wait and see to determine how the situation will truly unfold."

Mu Ye said, "What about you? Are you going back?"

A wry smile appeared on Zhen Hua's face. "I don't know. At the very least, I can't go back in the immediate future. Without the influence of Shrek Academy and the support of the Tang Sect headquarters, I'll be nothing more than sitting duck if I go back right now."

Tang Wulin said, "Uncle-teacher, Teacher Mu Chen is currently at the blacksmith association of Heaven Dou City, and he says he's controlling the situation over there."

Zhen Hua's eyes immediately lit up. "Mu Chen's over there? That's great! There's even less need for me to go back now. It's better for me to remain in the shadows than out in the open. I didn't think that the measures we'd set up in the association would truly come in useful one day. Wulin, all of you can stay here and strive toward crafting your suits of two-word battle armor. I'll provide you all with some guidance during this process, and after you complete your suits of two-word battle armor, you can contact the Tang Sect and cure your girlfriend's condition. After that, all of you should go and join the military."

With a clear course of action laid out in front of him, Tang Wulin was immediately feeling quite reinvigorated. As the situation currently was, all they could do was take things one step at a time and do their best to ensure that every step they took was a solid one.

Thus, Tang Wulin and his friends settled here, and they began to refine their suits of battle armor again under Zhen Hua's guidance. Zhen Hua only provided them with some constructive suggestions, but they were solely responsible for the execution.

In order to craft suits of two-word battle armor, they first had to ensure that all of the metals used were upgraded to spirit refined metals. After that, they had to add wings to the suits of armor, and carving circuits would be the final step.

During this process, the most difficult part wasn't the final step of carving the circuits into the suits of armor. On the contrary, this was a relatively simple task. Both Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan had already become Soul Emperors, so they had more than enough soul power to complete this step. Instead, the most difficult part was forging the required metals.

To put it more accurately, Tang Wulin had placed all this pressure on himself back when he decided to craft their suits of one-word battle armor using spirit alloys.

Using spirit alloys to construct their suits of one-word battle armor could conserve a lot of resources as all of the materials used could continue to be used when crafting their suits of two-word battle armor. The difficulty of carving the circuits would also be significantly lowered; all they had to do was make the circuit more complex and add a few special effects to it.

However, the forging process involved was even more complex than creating suits of two-word battle armor from scratch. Firstly, there was zero margin for error for him as he couldn't afford to fail. There were no chances for him to experiment; he had to succeed on the first try. Furthermore, during the forging process, he couldn't disrupt the existing circuits. At the same time, he had to fuse new metals into the existing spirit alloys, and he wouldn't have been confident in his ability to complete this procedure even back when he was a sixth-grade blacksmith.

However, everything was, of course, different now! He had already become a Saint Blacksmith, the youngest Saint Blacksmith in the history of the entire Douluo Continent, at that!

His hammers fell gently upon the golden piece of armor before him, and with every hammer blow that he dealt, a wisp of a gentle aura would naturally emanate from his body. This aura didn't just consist of soul power fluctuations, but also blood essence fluctuations, and it was also supported by his immense spiritual power to ensure he was forging the piece of battle armor beneath his hammers to perfection.

Tang Wulin's pair of Heavy Silver Hammer had also changed drastically compared to what they'd been in the past. The spirit refined hammers had now become soul refined hammers. The difference between the two wasn't just limited to the fact that life had been bestowed upon the hammers through soul refinement. Instead, the hammers had also attained intelligence, thereby allowing them to forge a spiritual link with their master. 

As such, every time the Heavy Silver Hammers struck the piece of battle armor, a different sound would result, and they would change their shape slightly at Tang Wulin's behest in order to avoid the complex patterns. In doing so, the existing patterns on the piece of battle armor wouldn't be harmed, and at the same time, the hammers would strike down on some areas with more force when required.

Every hammer blow achieved an effect equivalent to several dozens of hammer blows in the past, and that was the main benefit that soul refinement brought to these hammers. Furthermore, he could control these hammers with a far greater degree of accuracy now, and that would also significantly decrease his chances of failure.

The metals used in suits of two-word battle armor had to be upgraded to the spirit refined level, and another type of metal had to be added in order to create a stronger alloy. Only a Saint Blacksmith would be able to complete all of these procedures to perfection.

Everyone was spectating from nearby, including Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua.

Tang Wulin had become a Saint Blacksmith under his guidance, but even in his eyes, Tang Wulin's forging was full of artistry and sophistication.

Tang Wulin had built up a strong foundation over many years, and Mu Ye's teachings were finally allowing that strong foundation to shine through. After truly mastering his extraordinary strength, Tang Wulin was able to control his own body to a far more exceptional degree than what he'd been capable of in the past. This perfect control integrated with his forging, allowing him to completely consolidate himself as a Saint Blacksmith in just the span of a few months. He still couldn't compare to a veteran Saint Blacksmith like Mu Chen, but it was already a very simple task for him to complete the refinement of these suits of two-word battle armor.

Even the other members of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, who were complete novices when it came to forging, could tell that Tang Wulin's forging seemed to be more relaxed and carefree than before. He didn't seem to be taking it very seriously, but every hammer blow created a delightful sound, as if he were playing a musical instrument. There were no violent booms that everyone was accustomed to, but this new type of forging struck them with a sense of peace and tranquility. It was as if their souls were also being gently refined under his hammers.

Xu Lizhi was the first one to sit down with his legs crossed, and a sense of enlightenment welled up in his heart as he listened to Tang Wulin's forging.

His other friends then sat down one after another and entered meditative states. Only Gu Yue continued to appraise Tang Wulin with rapt focus in her large eyes, cocking her head to the side from time to time. There was a rather dazed look on her face, and she seemed to be pondering something.

The first suit of battle armor that Tang Wulin had chosen to refine was his own. He wasn't being selfish here; it was simply because this was his first time upgrading a suit of battle armor, and he didn't have absolute confidence in himself. He couldn't use his friends' suits of battle armor as guinea pigs, and at the same time, he was naturally most familiar with his own suit of battle armor.

As it turned out, as soon as he found his element and immersed himself in his forging, everything was completed in a very natural manner.

The refinement for the first piece of battle armor had been completed, and it was none other than his right golden dragon claw. Compared to his suit of one-word battle armor, this golden dragon claw appeared to be thicker and heavier, and the patterns on it had become more pronounced. At the same time, it had also become slightly larger, thereby creating a greater surface area for circuits to be carved onto it.

Following the introduction of the third type of uncommon metal, the golden piece of battle armor had darkened slightly in color, and it seemed to have been instilled with a soul. During the process of being upgraded from the thousand refined stage to the spirit refined stage, a piece of metal would begin to attain life force. Tang Wulin could even sense that there seemed to be pores on this piece of metal, which were constantly changing as he breathed.

According to his original plan, he had intended to infuse two types of uncommon metals into his suit of battle armor, but after taking Zhen Hua's suggestion into account, he decided to only infuse one type of uncommon metal in the end. 

Zhen Hua was suggesting for him to do this mainly because his forging skills were improving at an astonishing rate. His rate of progression indicated that he was going to make another breakthrough in the near future. Reaching the two-word level was the true starting point for a suit of battle armor. Tang Wulin was already a Saint Blacksmith, so he was definitely able to fuse two types of metals. However, he had only recently become a Saint Blacksmith, he wasn't all that familiar with the synergy between different types of metals, so it would be inadvisable to fuse too many types of metals at once.

In order to make sure that their suits of battle armor were going to be as perfect as possible in the future, Tang Wulin was only going to infuse one type of metal into them as only then could he ensure that perfection would be achieved. In any case, the suits of battle armor still had to be upgraded to the three-word and four-word levels in the future, and it would be better for him to refine them in a more ambitious manner after he became more skilled in his forging.