Chapter 395: Divine Battle Armor

After a few months, the once lively reading room had become much quieter, with only a few students reading.

As Chen Chu stepped out of the elevator, the girl sitting by the window slightly raised her head, seemingly sensing his presence. When she saw him, her lips curved into a smile.

Chen Chu couldn’t help but smile back. He sat down across from her.

Today, Luo Fei was wearing a pink, short-sleeve floral T-shirt and fitted jeans. She looked clean and neat.

Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail with a white ribbon, its flowing white bands adding to her fresh and vibrant look.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in over two months, the two didn’t feel awkward around each other. After sitting down, Chen Chu asked, "Luo Fei, what have you been up to since you came back two months ago?"

Smiling, the girl lifted the book she was holding. "Reading. I’ve just recently finished the thirty-six Daoist Scriptures and the thirteen Classics of Daoism. I’ve also gone through the thirteen Buddhist Scriptures and the seventy-two volumes of Mahayana texts. Although much of the content is profound and difficult to understand, I still learned quite a lot.”

"Impressive," Chen Chu praised.

Since the constant slaughter of mutated beasts had long influenced half of his consciousness, his desire for violence and destruction had grown stronger. This led him to consider using scriptures to cleanse his mind. Unfortunately, he couldn't get into them—no, he couldn't understand their profound and mysterious texts.

It wasn’t until after he had gone to the mutated beast battlefield and spent a night locked in intense combat under the Blood Moon that he finally swept across the battlefield and condensed his battle will, cutting out the extreme desire for slaughter and destruction from his heart.

Based on his understanding, the killing intent that he had cut was the Hellblood Battle Will.

A little puzzled, he asked, "That’s strange. I can't accurately sense your realm, but you’re still short of breaking through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, aren’t you?"

Luo Fei's cultivation method had always been unique. As long as she read Daoist and Buddhist scriptures, she could enter an ethereal state, which allowed her to cultivate rapidly.

Initially, her talent seemed to be on par with Chen Chu's. She even reached the Foundation Building within half a month. As she continued cultivating this special art and reading every day, her cultivation speed gradually surpassed geniuses like Xia Youhui, even matching the progress of people like Lin Xue.

Over two months ago, when she left the mutated beast battlefield, her cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Third Heavenly Realm. By all accounts, she should have broken through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm by now.

The girl blinked. "Not yet. I think I hit a bottleneck recently, and I've been stuck at the peak of the Third Heavenly Realm ever since. I feel like I'm close to breaking through, though."

At that moment, a powerful aura erupted from within her.

Boom!

The transcendent energy within a radius of several hundred meters surged toward Luo Fei, transforming into an invisible whirlwind that surrounded her and blew Chen Chu's hair back.

The sudden change attracted the attention of many people. Most of the martial arts students in Building C instinctively looked up at the ceiling, their eyes filled with envy.

"What a strong aura."

"Someone is breaking through the Third Heavenly Realm—no, that has to be the Fourth Heavenly Realm. The aura of the Third Heavenly Realm isn't this powerful."

"Who’s the genius?"

"Forget about geniuses. Our first-year geniuses reached the Third Heavenly Realm and entered the mutated beast battlefield long ago. The only one who could possibly be breaking through now is Luo Fei from Class 3."

"Luo Fei? Didn't she leave the mutated beast battlefield after just one month because she couldn't handle that high-pressure environment?"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Brother, you're underestimating Luo Fei. During the purge mission at the beginning of the year, she followed that monster Chen Chu deep into the mountains every day and hunted many mutated beasts.

"And during the final level 4 mission, she killed the Dragon Armored Beast with a single shot. That's a beast with a dragon bloodline. Do you really think she left because she couldn't handle the pressure of the mutated beast battlefield?"

"So you're saying she left for other reasons?"

"Obviously."

The students continued their discussion with a sense of envy and admiration. Meanwhile, in the reading room, Luo Fei's aura grew stronger as her true power transformed.

However, unlike the oppressive pressure that Chen Chu had exuded upon reaching the Fourth Heavenly Realm, Luo Fei's breakthrough gave off a light, ethereal, and transcendent feeling.

Although she was right in front of him, Chen Chu felt as if she was standing outside the world, incredibly distant from him.

He had sensed this strange feeling a few months ago. At the time, he thought it was just his imagination, but now it seemed to be an attribute of Luo Fei's art.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Her aura grew even stronger as the fierce wind swirled and the world’s dense transcendent energy gathered around her. In just a short moment, she completed the transformation of her true power, stepping into the Fourth Heavenly Realm.

However, her growth didn’t stop there.

Luo Fei's aura kept rising, drawing in more and more transcendent energy. She absorbed it so rapidly that it almost seemed as if it didn't have to be refined.

Even Chen Chu was surprised by how quickly she was converting the energy—it was as if the transcendent energy itself was already her true power.

Boom!

Eventually, Luo Fei's aura surged and crossed into the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm. Only then did the transcendent energy surrounding her gradually dissipate.

What followed was more than half an hour of waiting.

When her true power finally settled, the girl across from him slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of bright, sky-blue pupils reminiscent of a cloudless sky. Her gaze was profound and serene yet indifferent and emotionless, making her appear as though she was looking down on all beings.

With a blink, her cold, emotionless air vanished, replaced by lively and joyful eyes.

Chen Chu's expression remained somewhat serious.

"Luo Fei, have you been suppressing your realm this whole time?"

The girl nodded lightly. "Yes."

"Why?"

Luo Fei responded softly, "Because the moment I break through, I have to leave."

Chen Chu paused. "To return to West Meng?"

She nodded. “Yes.”

He thought there could be some conspiracy, but it turned out she just didn’t want to return to West Meng yet. As for why she had been suppressing her realm...

Before Chen Chu could ponder further, Luo Fei changed the subject. "Do you remember when I told you that once I break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, I’ll be able to wield a real weapon?”

“Yes.”

When Chen Chu broke through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, Luo Fei mentioned that she was only meant to use her sniper cannon until she reached the Fourth Heavenly Realm. Once she broke through, her strength would experience a significant leap, eliminating any issue with her deficiencies in her martial arts or close combat abilities.

Luo Fei’s eyes sparkled. “Would you like to see the divine battle armor my aunt prepared for me?”

***

In the northern outskirts of the city, Chen Chu followed Luo Fei to the vast research base they had visited before.

The security was as tight as ever. Even Luo Fei, who frequently visited, had to go through multiple identity verification processes, including retinal scans, fingerprints, and spiritual fluctuations checks. Only after everything had been confirmed were they allowed to pass.

However, unlike the last time when Chen Chu’s identity was registered as a second lieutenant, this time, the computer in the guardroom displayed his identity as three question marks.

Alongside the question marks was a note that said, "Access Denied."

Turning solemn, the two guards quickly let them pass. Those question marks indicated that the individual’s rank and security clearance were out of their scope.

Once Chen Chu had entered, the guards sent information about his visit to the base center building.

Meanwhile, the Chen Chu and Luo Fei quickly passed through several research buildings and arrived at the 100-meter-tall central research tower. There was barely anyone inside.

As soon as they stepped into the building, Chen Chu felt the presence of about a dozen "gazes" on him, along with some invisible beams scanning his body.

He was being monitored. It seemed the security here was even more stringent.

Standing at the entrance, Luo Fei shouted, "Auntie, I’ve broken through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm!"

From the room next to them, a woman calmly replied, "I’m in Research Room Three on the fifteenth floor. I’m in the middle of an experiment, so come on up."

As she spoke, the invisible monitoring presence around them disappeared.

Luo Fei turned to Chen Chu.

"Let’s go. The death beam weapons have been deactivated. This is my aunt’s core research facility, which is why the security is extremely tight. Without her permission, even high-level cultivators wouldn’t be able to get in—they’d be severely injured or even killed by the death beam weapons all over every corner and outer wall."

“Death beam weapons?”

Those who had reached the Seventh Heavenly Realm could travel at twice the speed of sound. Their protective energy fields were also resilient enough to endure most conventional explosives, effectively making them immune to heavy weaponry.

Even so, it seemed the death beam weapons still posed a threat even to Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Realm cultivators.

"It’s a weapon that fires death energy beams. Its core is a crystallized death eye of a level 9 colossal beast, giving it an extremely high penetrative and dispersive effect on transcendent energy. If this beam manages to penetrate a high-level cultivator’s protective true power, it would rot and injure even their physical body."

It seemed to be some kind of modified, advanced tech weapon.

As they spoke, the two took the elevator to the 15th floor.

The floor was filled with laboratories housing various instruments and devices that Chen Chu didn’t recognize. In the distance, a woman in a lab coat stood in front of a piece of energy equipment that was operating at full power. The equipment fired countless tiny purple beams at a metal plate, causing rings of light to spread out.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Luo Fei and Chen Chu kept their distance, not wanting to disturb her.

They didn’t have to wait long, though. Suddenly, the metal plate emitted a blinding light, and a powerful, unstable energy fluctuation burst from within.

Boom!

The metal plate exploded, causing the equipment to shake continuously. A layer of transparent glass quickly contained the blast.

Luo Wuyue looked at the flickering data on the monitor with slightly furrowed brows. "The maximum number of micro-engraved inscriptions within the lei alloy[1] is only 173 layers?"

At that moment, Luo Fei walked over to her. "Auntie, this is Chen Chu, the one I mentioned to you before."

"General Luo,” Chen Chu politely greeted.

Luo Wuyue was a legendary figure in East Xia. Although she did not have any cultivation talent, she still earned the rank of general through her outstanding contributions to military technology. Even Chen Chu held a deep respect for her.

Luo Wuyue glanced at Chen Chu, then nodded slightly.

With the typical calm tone of researchers, she said, "I’ve reviewed your records—very impressive. You reached the Seventh Heavenly Realm in just nine months since the Foundation Building, created your own secret scripture, and slayed the beginning-stage avatar of an Eighth Heavenly Realm blood god while only in the late-stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

"Even in the golden era decades ago, such accomplishments would be considered extraordinary."

Chen Chu felt a bit embarrassed being praised so openly. He cleared his throat and responded, "You flatter me, General Luo. My achievements are built on the foundation laid by those before me."

After exchanging pleasantries, Luo Wuyue turned her attention to Luo Fei. "Now that you’ve broken through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, it’s about time for you to refine that set of armor."

Following Luo Wuyue, they took an elevator down to a depth of a hundred meters below the base. As the heavy metal doors opened, a humanoid mech appeared before them.

The mech stood just over four meters tall. It was primarily white and gold with some blue accents. Moreover, it had wing-like modules on its shoulders, giving it a refined and elegant appearance.

Behind the mech, on racks, hung several large weapons and pieces of equipment.

There was a sniper cannon with a seven-meter-long barrel, a six-meter-long silver battle sword, and several futuristic weapon modules resembling missile launchers and energy cannons.

However, calling this armor a "mech" seemed a bit of a stretch. It looked more like an oversized battle suit, given that it wasn’t even ten meters tall. A standard mech would at least be around fifty meters tall and could easily exceed a hundred meters. Compared to that, the one in front of them was nothing.

"Aren't standard mechs usually fifty meters tall? They can even reach over a hundred meters since they have no true limit?"

While Luo Fei went to the next room to change clothes, Luo Wuyue calmly explained, "This is the Divine Battle Armor I designed for Xiaofei. It allows for seamless integration between human and machine. The primary materials come from mutated colossal beasts, while the function circuits are created with rune sequence chains. An energy-based Eternal Power Reactor serves as its core.

"This armor is essentially a transcendent weapon that incorporates high technology. It has multiple modules for different functions, such as firepower systems, cultivation assistance, and flight. Aside from the core humanoid body, it can also be fitted with various external weapon modules, allowing its wearer to suppress a single enemy or destroy a wide area."

While Luo Wuyue was talking to Chen Chu, the door of the changing room opened. Luo Fei stepped out, now dressed in a silver pilot suit that made her look both heroic and graceful.

Chen Chu couldn’t help but be a little taken aback—Luo Fei’s figure seemed quite striking in the pilot suit.

Luo Wuyue, still composed, said, "Luo Fei, go ahead and activate the armor to complete the initial refinement."

"Okay,” Luo Fei replied.

She then excitedly approached the platinum-colored mech. With a light jump, she landed on the "wings" and placed her hand on the back of the mech's neck.

[

Beep!

Fingerprint verification successful.]

[Spiritual fluctuations confirmed.]

[Biometric gene match confirmed.]

1. The author doesn't specify, but it is a type of material that seems to be rare or advanced. "Lei" means "Tears" in Chinese. ☜