Chapter 255: The Armor Harnessing Technique

The Star Council is hailed as humanity’s savior on Earth. This is an undisputed, universally accepted truth. The fact that humans can still survive and fight against the star beasts is all thanks to the Star Council’s efforts. Cultivation techniques as well as the new research into weaponry, power armor, mechs, and powered weapons all stand as evidence of the Star Council's greatness.

To suggest that the Star Council is anything less than exceptional, or that these advancements were someone else's creations, would be considered heresy. Such heresy would be punishable by death.

Of course, Li Xiaofei only entertained these thoughts in jest.

If I were to truly weigh my loyalty, how could the Star Council ever compare to Little Aunt?

So...I’m not entirely loyal either, am I?

Little Aunt then began teaching him the Armor Harnessing Technique. Li Xiaofei paid close attention and studied diligently. The technique wasn’t particularly difficult, and was more of a supplementary skill.

Li Xiaofei’s remarkable aptitude allowed him to grasp it in just over half a day. However, since the small apartment couldn’t withstand the force of his full strength, he couldn’t test the technique on the spot.

"By the way, the giant unihorn you brought back is a treasure in itself. If it's crafted into a weapon, it could be just as powerful as an ordinary powered weapon," Little Aunt added.

Li Xiaofei's eyes lit up. "Little Aunt, can you forge weapons too?"

Little Aunt stood up and playfully scolded him, "Do you think I'm capable of everything? Go find a professional for that."

Once he left the apartment, Li Xiaofei made his way to the headquarters of the Cloudy Sky Gang. But he was taken aback as soon as he arrived at the entrance. The already bustling entrance was now packed with luxury cars. The streets were so crowded that it was nearly impossible to move.

There were countless wealthy merchants, corporate representatives, leaders of various organizations, and gang emissaries vying for attention. The sheer number of people and the piles of gifts were so overwhelming that it almost seemed like they were about to break down the door to the Cloudy Sky Gang headquarters.

The reason was simple. Word had already spread among the elite that Li Xiaofei had slain the fifth grade star beast, the Purple Thunder Sky-Crashing Unihorn Bull Demon. Although Ding Longao had ordered the information to be somewhat restricted, the wealthy and powerful had their own information networks and had quickly learned of the event. As such, they had wasted no time in arriving with all manner of congratulatory gifts.

It was inevitable. Someone capable of killing a fifth grade star beast undoubtedly possessed the combat strength of the Five Spirits Realm. Furthermore, anyone at the Five Spirits Realm level was a peak figure in Liuhe Base City. In this era, powerful individual strength was equivalent to substantial authority. A Five Spirits Realm expert could support an entire family and even defend a city.

Newly ascended Five Spirits Realm warriors would often become the targets of various factions vying to establish connections and win them over. At that moment, Chu Yuntian, Yang Cheng, Li Junjie, and others were frantically trying to entertain these influential elites.

Even the Hall Masters of the Cloudy Sky Gang felt as if they were floating on clouds, let alone the regular members. It was as if they were intoxicated, the sudden surge of fortune feeling almost too unreal. Although they had grown accustomed to the surprises their president occasionally brought, today’s surprise was overwhelming.

Li Xiaofei quickly assessed the situation from a distance and decided to hide. Time waited for no one. He had no interest in engaging in meaningless social interactions. Focusing on cultivation was the true path forward. He logged into the light core virtual world using his Your Grandpa username and began experimenting with the Armor Harnessing Technique in the light-network world.

When he channeled his starforce qi at a specific frequency across the surface of his skin, he stimulated the foreign blood beneath the skin. The foreign crimson blood began to seep out of his pores, not as a vapor, but as a peculiar solid substance. It then formed a thick blood cocoon that adhered tightly to his skin.

Li Xiaofei used the Armor Harnessing Technique to manipulate the shape of this blood cocoon. Eventually, the cocoon transformed into a set of heavy crimson armor. The armor was shaped in the style of ancient Chinese military armor from Li Xiaofei's memory, but it was more compact, fully enveloping his body, limbs, hands, feet, and head. The armor made him appear even more imposing.

Li Xiaofei moved his body, testing his fists and kicks. The blood armor felt like an extension of his own body, with a sense of mental connection that allowed him to control it effortlessly, without any stiffness. Moreover, it seemed to amplify his strength to some extent.

Isn't it strange how Little Aunt always has something incredible? And she’s even seen the Blade and Sword Supreme, Ding Hao... Wait a minute, could Little Aunt be some kind of celestial being herself? Otherwise, how could she know so much and be so knowledgeable?

The more Li Xiaofei marveled at the wonders of the Armor Harnessing Technique, the more he felt like Little Aunt was extraordinary.

Of course, the most remarkable aspect of the Armor Harnessing Technique was its defensive capabilities. Based on his experiments in the light-core virtual world, this blood armor could completely block attacks from any peak Meridian Expanding Realm warrior and below. It could dampen 80 percent of the force from attacks by Five Spirits Realm warriors at the first stage. The effectiveness decreased by roughly 15 percent for each additional stage of power.

That meant the armor could still block up to 25 percent of the impact of an attack from a Five Spirits Realm expert at peak level. This level of defense was comparable to high-end combat suits worth billions.

The most critical aspect, however, was that because the armor was formed from altered blood essence, it possessed a strange vitality, allowing it to also defend against mental attacks. The dampening effectiveness for mental attacks was comparable to that for physical attacks.

After running several experiments, Li Xiaofei was overjoyed. The Armor Harnessing Technique significantly increased his chances of prevailing against a Five Spirits Realm expert. Since he was facing revenge from the Gu family of the Southern Saint lineage, he now had greater confidence in his ability to withstand their assault.

After completing his experiments, Li Xiaofei browsed the light-network, searching for experts who could craft weapons from the unihorn. There were plenty of candidates, but most of them were not based in Liuhe Base City. Sending the unihorn out for crafting and waiting for it to be returned would take at least two to three months, which was time he could ill afford to waste.

There were only a few small workshops in Liuhe Base City, none of which had the expertise to properly craft weapons from the bones of a fifth grade star beast.

What a pity.

Looks like I'll have to store the unihorn for now and wait for the right opportunity and the right person to come along.

Just as he exited the light-core world, his phone rang. It was Xie Renyu, the general manager of the Western Rock Star Beasts Disassembly Plant. The Purple Thunder Sky-Crashing Unihorn Bull Demon's corpse had been handed over to this century-old factory for disassembly.

"Hello, Manager Xie, has the disassembly of the Bull Demon's body been completed?" Li Xiaofei answered the call, adding a compliment, "You guys really live up to your reputation as the top-rated factory on the light-network. The efficiency is impressive!"

"I'm terribly sorry, President Li," Xie Renyu's voice trembled with fear. "There was an issue during the disassembly of the Bull Demon's body."

"Hmm? What happened?" Li Xiaofei asked.

"The disassembly process went smoothly. We gathered the ten best and most experienced craftsmen in the entire factory to work on it. They successfully extracted ten Inscribed Treasure Bones from the fifth grade beast. But... right when we finished, a group of people suddenly barged in and claimed that the ten Inscribed Treasure Bones belonged to them. They forcibly took them and even injured several of our workers," Xie Renyu explained, his tone panicked.

What?

Li Xiaofei was genuinely surprised.

Someone actually dared to provoke him?

"Who were they?" Li Xiaofei asked.

"They were outsiders," Xie Renyu quickly replied. "They identified themselves as members of the Jiangnan Gu family. They were extremely aggressive."

The Gu family? So they couldn’t wait to come knocking?

Li Xiaofei was taken aback by their boldness.

"I'm on my way," he said, then added, "Keep them there."