Gu La took the metallic-glossed card, his fingertips lightly swiping across its surface as he infused a trace of soul power into it. A string of numbers immediately surfaced on the card's surface, and the staggering amount made him raise an eyebrow slightly.
"The amount is quite generous," Gu La said with a faint smirk, casually slipping the card into his pocket as if discussing the weather. "I'll give you their contact information. But are you sure you want to rush the completion of your battle armor? I remember your main focus is mecha manufacturing—working with spirit-forged metals at this stage must be quite challenging, right?"
Yue Zhengyu's gaze tightened ever so slightly, a fleeting flicker passing through his golden pupils before returning to normal. "It's always better to prepare early for certain things."
He sighed softly, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness. "It's all because your forging techniques are too extraordinary—they're always tempting. If only my classmates' sub-professional levels could keep up with your forging skills, I wouldn't need to seek help elsewhere."
His words sounded sincere, but they carried a touch of regret.
In battle armor crafting, the metal components—the most fundamental and critical part—determine the overall potential of the entire set. Unfortunately, sub-professions require talent, and not everyone can maintain rapid progress in their side professions while cultivating soul power.
Gu La shrugged indifferently. To him, this was just another wealthy client coming to offer money—a common occurrence since his various incarnations gained fame in the sub-professional circles.
If it weren't necessary, he wouldn't have bothered disturbing the incarnations currently in seclusion.
Over the past few months, the remaining sub-professions had gradually reached level six, fully meeting the requirements for crafting two-word battle armor.
Even earlier, he had meticulously designed a complete set of blueprints for his own battle armor.
In the three months since, out of the eleven components of the battle armor, he had already completed four pieces for both hands and legs.
Every time he gazed upon these gleaming metallic masterpieces, Gu La felt a deep sense of satisfaction. As for the name of the battle armor… he hadn't yet thought of a suitable one.
After all, whether considering the characteristics of his martial soul or elemental attributes, finding an appropriate name was difficult. He decided to set the issue aside for now and figure it out after completing the entire set.
At the moment, Gu La was wearing a pair of golden-red battle armor gauntlets on his hands.
The surface of the gauntlets shimmered with a peculiar luster, with silver and green patterns subtly interwoven, resembling life tenaciously growing on barren land—an exquisite blend of heaviness and lightness.
These gauntlets not only provided a significant boost to his soul power but also enhanced his forging precision and strength, making every hammer strike more accurate and powerful.
Yue Zhengyu couldn't help but cast several envious glances at the gauntlets, his Adam's apple unconsciously bobbing. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he tactfully pulled out his communicator and left the forging room to contact those "sub-professional masters."
The forging room fell silent once again, leaving only the crisp sound of the hammer striking metal, echoing through the spacious room like a unique rhythm.
About half an hour later, a series of urgent knocks broke the tranquility.
"Come in," Gu La responded without lifting his head.
The heavy iron door creaked open, and Tang Wulin walked in first, followed by Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, Yuanen Yehui, and Ye Xinglan—a rare combination indeed.
"How did you all end up together?" Gu La sensed their presence but continued working, his tone tinged with surprise.
Tang Wulin rubbed his hands together awkwardly before speaking. "Yuanen and Ye Xinglan have both broken through to level forty and need new spirit souls. We're planning to challenge the Spirit Pagoda. Since you and Gu Yue are disciples of Spirit Pagoda…"
He paused, his eyes filled with anticipation. "Would you like to join our team? And if there's an internal discount, that would be even better."
The Spirit Pagoda was a special trial ground established by Spirit Pagoda, housing countless rare spirit souls. By clearing specific stages, challengers could fuse with their desired spirit souls at discounted prices—one of Spirit Pagoda's key strategies for attracting talented soul masters.
"Sure, I've been meaning to check it out," Gu La replied readily. Truthfully, despite being a disciple of Spirit Pagoda, he had never actually visited the Spirit Pagoda.
"Give me a moment." Gu La's movements suddenly accelerated. The forging hammer blurred in the air as he aimed to bring the metal to the thousand-refinement stage in one go.
Amidst the rhythmic clangs of forging, Gu La didn't forget to remind them, "Have you prepared enough money? Even with discounts, spirit souls from the Spirit Pagoda aren't cheap."
He knew the current market well. A regular ten-thousand-year spirit soul cost hundreds of millions in federal credits, and a thousand-year spirit soul with rare bloodline traits could even surpass the price of a ten-thousand-year spirit soul.
"No problem," Ye Xinglan replied decisively. As a direct descendant of the renowned swordsmanship family, the Ye Clan, tens of millions were nothing to her.
Moreover, she was destined to become a high-ranking member of Shrek Academy, which would shoulder part of her cultivation resources.
She and Xu Lizhi were considered part of Shrek's core group and didn't necessarily need to challenge the tower to obtain spirit souls—they had other channels. However, she wanted to see Gu La's abilities, so she joined voluntarily.
On the other hand, Yuanen Yehui appeared much more hesitant. "I… saved some money. It should be enough."
Her voice grew quieter, and her fingers unconsciously twisted together. Gu La keenly noticed that the usually aloof girl's ears had turned slightly red, clearly indicating that her financial situation wasn't as stable as she claimed.
"It's fine. Clearing the tower grants a fifty percent discount, and I can probably get an additional twenty percent off, bringing it down to forty percent off. That should be enough."
Since the start of the semester, although Gu La rarely visited Spirit Pagoda, his status as a core disciple remained unchanged. With Leng Yaozhu's cooperation, his position and authority were gradually being transferred to Qing Liyu, acting as his representative.
Recently, Qiangu Dongfeng had been unable to sit still after witnessing Qing Liyu's talents. He couldn't help but inquire with Leng Yaozhu about where she found such extraordinarily gifted disciples.
Each of the three individuals was no less remarkable than the top geniuses, causing murmurs within Spirit Pagoda about Qiangu Dongfeng's concerns that Leng Yaozhu intended to cultivate three top successors to undermine the next generation's leadership of Spirit Pagoda.
Fortunately, two of them (???) were women, which kept Qiangu Dongfeng somewhat at ease.
It wasn't that he discriminated against women, but male soul masters generally exhibited more ambition and advantages in cultivation.
Female soul masters tended to be more emotional and were more easily sidetracked by relationships during their growth. Thus, the Qiangu family had never considered the Leng family a serious rival, as the Leng family's Phoenix bloodline often produced female soul masters.
Take this generation, for example. The Leng sisters, Yaozhu and her sibling, were entangled in emotional struggles, further dwindling their already limited pool of talent. The Qiangu family didn't need to actively interfere; the Leng family seemed to be sabotaging itself.
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