blogombal Chapter 72: Pre-Battle Preparations
Chapter 72: Pre-Battle Preparations
"Thump, thump, thump."
In the evening, there was a knock on Yu Chen's dormitory door.
"Brother Chen, are you there? I've already finished putting on my armor, can you... OMG!!!"
Tang Wulin, who had just entered through the door, suddenly let out a scream halfway through his sentence and almost jumped up on the spot.
In the dimly lit, unlit room, Yu Chen was perched on the ceiling, head down and feet up, arms crossed, seemingly deep in thought. This sudden scene was truly startling in the dim light.
"Haha, startled?" Yu Chen chuckled, then with a slight exertion of his waist and abdomen, his body flipped down as if weightless, landing steadily on the ground. "These are some little tricks I've figured out for using soul power these past two days; I'm still practicing them. Did you need something?"
"Gulp." Tang Wulin swallowed hard, patting his chest in shock. "Brother Chen, your entrance was just too...unique."
He calmed himself down before remembering the important matter: "I've finished crafting the three sets of armor over there, and I'd like everyone to try them on to see if they fit."
As he spoke, he took out a silver, finely woven metal vest from his storage ring and handed it to Yu Chen.
Yu Chen took it; it felt as light as a feather. He pinched it with his fingers, feeling its toughness and hardness, and then carefully observed the smooth cloud patterns on the metal sheet.
"Not bad, Wu Lin, your Thousand Forging Technique is becoming more and more refined, and you have a very good grasp of the properties of Cloud Titanium." He handed the soft armor back and praised it.
"My three sets are ready too."
Yu Chen also took out three inner armors that he had made himself. "I'll call everyone over later so we can try them on together, and adjust any that don't fit on the spot."
"Okay! I'll go call Xie Xie and the others right away!" Tang Wulin said enthusiastically, but before turning around, a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he lowered his voice.
"But Brother Chen, as for Sister Gu Yue... I'm afraid you'll have to go and invite her yourself. You've been so busy researching your new ability these past few days that you haven't spent much time with her. I can even feel the 'low mood' around her!"
After saying that, before Yu Chen could react, he chuckled and disappeared in a flash.
"You little rascal..."
Yu Chen looked in the direction where Tang Wulin had disappeared, his words of laughter and scolding stopped halfway through, and then a look of guilt and distress appeared on his face.
These past two days he's really focused on "climbing trees and splashing in water," neglecting Gu Yue... This is troublesome now.
How to appease his seemingly aloof but inwardly shrewd girlfriend became an even more troublesome "problem" for Yu Chen than devising a strategy for ascending to the Spirit Platform.
When Tang Wulin saw Yu Chen again at the agreed meeting point, he noticed that Yu Chen was wearing a soft, dark scarf around his neck. Although the weather was getting cooler, the way the scarf was tied... seemed to be trying to cover something up.
Moreover, when Yu Chen approached, he subtly bared his teeth and rubbed the corner of his mouth.
"Brother Chen, did you call us here today because of a change in tactics, or are there some new instructions?"
Xie Xie winked at Yu Chen, his tone teasing, his gaze sweeping over Yu Chen's scarf and slightly unnatural smile.
"Cough cough,"
Yu Chen cleared his throat, his voice a little muffled than usual, "The tactics remain the same. Wu Lin, you speak." He nudged Tang Wu Lin, signaling him to take over.
"Okay, sure."
Tang Wulin suppressed a laugh, his gaze sweeping over Yu Chen and Gu Yue, who stood beside him looking calm and collected as if nothing had happened. His heart burned with gossip, and he was incredibly curious about what had happened during that time.
He composed himself and addressed the gathered crowd:
"The main reason I called everyone here is to distribute the nail guards that Chen and I made. Please try them on and see if they fit. If anything feels uncomfortable or affects the activity, please let us know and we'll adjust them on the spot."
As he spoke, he took out three gleaming silver metal vests from his storage ring, and Yu Chen also took out three more.
"This is……"
Despite being mentally prepared, Xie Xie and the others were still surprised when they saw the actual product.
They had expected it to be a somewhat bulky plate or mail armor style, but they were surprised to find it so light and easy to carry.
The vest is ingeniously made of countless thumb-sized, thin yet strong silver metal pieces, similar to chainmail, but more refined and form-fitting.
Under the light, the metal sheet subtly displays flowing, cloud-like patterns, a unique characteristic of the thousand-forged metal. The overall weight is extremely light, almost imperceptible.
"So light? What kind of metal is this?" Zhang Yangzi asked curiously, tapping it with his finger, which produced a crisp, soft sound.
Tang Wulin explained, "This is a rare metal called 'Cloud Titanium,' which I repeatedly refined and forged using the thousand-forging method. Don't underestimate its lightness; its hardness and toughness are outstanding, effectively resisting the impact of sharp claws and blunt objects. I've also added layers of reinforcement to key areas. Wearing it will provide everyone with an extra layer of safety."
"Great! I'll give it a try!"
Zhang Yangzi was the most proactive, immediately taking off his jacket and putting on the silver-white titanium vest over his undergarments. The vest automatically conformed to his body shape; although it wasn't a perfect fit like custom-made clothing, it didn't hinder any movement of his arms and torso.
"How are you feeling?" Wang Jinxi asked.
"Light, really light! And it fits snugly without affecting your movements."
Zhang Yangzi stretched his shoulders a few times, quite satisfied. Then, his eyes lit up, and he said to Wang Jinxi, "Jinxi, come on, try punching me and see how effective the protection is."
Without saying a word, Wang Jinxi responded and swung his fist, slamming it solidly into the area covered by Zhang Yangzi's chest armor.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Zhang Yangzi was pushed back a few steps by the force of the punch and landed hard on his backside.
"Ouch! Can you be a little gentler?!" he complained, grimacing and rubbing his buttocks, but then he touched his chest and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Huh? It really doesn't hurt!"
Wang Jinxi withdrew his fist and calmly analyzed the situation:
"A light punch won't show any effect. Captain, this armor is really powerful. When I punched it, I felt the plates tighten instantly, and the force was evenly distributed across my entire chest, like hitting a solid, thick iron plate. You were pushed down by me, not injured by punching."
Zhang Yangzi scrambled to his feet, patted his chest vigorously, and listened to the crisp "slap slap" sound, his face beaming with joy:
"Great stuff! With this armor, I feel much more at ease!"
"That's right!" Xie Xie excitedly weighed his lightweight inner armor in his hand.
"Now our survivability in the Spirit Ascension Platform has greatly improved! As long as we're not instantly killed, we'll have room to maneuver."
Tang Wulin nodded in agreement: "As long as we can persist for longer, we can not only complete the assessment, but also hunt more soul beasts and absorb more spiritual energy—a win-win situation!"