Chapter 375 - Replicating the Profound Armor Pillar

In terms of lineage and strength, the dark locust was clearly inferior to the black dragon. Han Wu’s gaze landed on the black dragon, and understanding dawned. The dark locust was a spiritual manifestation of his armor, while the black dragon represented the bloodline coursing through his body.

As a being from the Divine Civilization, the black dragon had endured as a Skill called the Black Dragon King Transformation, analogous to the armors of the Armor Civilization. Still, why did it appear now, when he was supposed to be upgrading his armor?

He searched for the connection between the two before the answer revealed itself: Dark Energy. The black dragon had risen as a tyrant by harnessing Dark Energy and had become a king, while the dark locust was composed entirely of it. The dense Dark Energy radiating from the cocoon had caused the Black Dragon King Transformation to manifest as a spirit and enter his mind.

This was a natural way for Skills to merge. Many had tried to replicate it, but Han Wu had unwittingly triggered one of the necessary conditions.

Han Wu ordered the two to absorb the energy within the cocoon. Even with the black dragon added, the energy gained from devouring the corpses soon ran out, and the two manifestations had still not merged. Determined to accelerate the process, he used Merge on them.

As expected of a Divine Power of the Exclusive rank, the two merged and gave birth to a new life form: the Dragon Locust. It inherited the insatiable hunger of the dark locust and the untamed might of the black dragon.

By merging the two manifestations into one, his armor underwent a radical transformation. He emerged from his cocoon clad in the new armor. Dense black dragon scales covered his body, granting formidable defense. Four wings sprouted from his back that allowed him to fly, and he now possessed an entirely new set of Skills. He quickly inspected his armor.

[Dragon Locust Armor. Organisma (Grade: Heaven); Skills: Shadow Shift, Flight, Dragon Locust Devour, Black Dragon Killing Array, Dragon Locust Meteoric Strike]

Shadow Shift allowed him to meld into the shadows and move with lightning speed. Flight remained, but he could now soar faster than before. Dragon Locust Devour summoned hundreds of smaller Dragon Locusts to consume his enemies and convert the digested matter into energy for his armor. Black Dragon Killing Array unleashed devastating area-of-effect damage, while Dragon Locust Meteoric Strike delivered a single, crushing blow to a target.

Han Wu was thoroughly pleased with his new armor.

While he had been busy upgrading his armor, Ban Tu’s messenger pigeon had already reached the Monster Armor Association. When the message was opened, shock rippled through the room: Ji Long had been killed.

Ji Long, the strongest of the association’s eight Gods, had clawed his way to the top and earned his title through sheer effort. Yet he had fallen to a single strike from Han Wu. Their sighs mingled with fear as they faced both the magnitude of their loss and the formidable power of the trio.

After some deliberation, they began plotting how to kill Han Wu from the shadows. They reasoned that although Han Wu could kill Ji Long in one blow, the use of that Skill must have exacted a terrible toll.

Their plan, based on this assumption, was to send waves of fighters against him in a war of attrition and gradually drain his strength. By forcing Han Wu to reserve his powerful Skills for only certain enemies, the others could strike while those Skills were on cooldown.

They believed the plan could work, but no one dared take the lead. The message was passed around, but no one volunteered. Each feared the consequences of facing Han Wu’s devastating attack. Ji Long had been unable to survive it; they stood little chance. And even if they survived, what could they do against Han Wu’s thousand-meter-tall frame?

To them, Han Wu was an enemy they had to defeat at all costs. Meanwhile, news of Han Wu upgrading his armor to the Heaven grade spread through Ban Tu’s bases like wildfire. His fame soared, and many Gods sought to marry their daughters to him in hopes that he would protect them from the Monster Armor Association in the future.

Han Wu avoided them like the plague. He was not here to choose a wife but to quell the rebellion. After upgrading his armor to the Heaven grade, he thought of another way to set the Profound Armor Pillar in his divine realm.

Over the next several days, he summoned his army repeatedly while studying the Profound Armor Pillar. After enduring countless grueling experiments, he finally discovered a tiny clue. One day, he brought a replica of the pillar to Jing Jing and Qin Shuang.

Their eyes lit up with excitement. and they exclaimed, “Did you do it?”

Han Wu nodded at first, then shook his head. “I succeeded, but it’s not complete. The success rate for unlocking armor in my units is slightly lower than with the original.”

Confused, they decided to test it. Han Wu placed the replica on the ground.

Qin Shuang instructed her units to interact with it. The first Thunder Sparrow lingered over the pillar for more than half a day without awakening its armor. She then had more units try, but only one succeeded.

Despite the low success rate, they were eager to place the replica in their divine realms. Even if only one in ten thousand of their units awakened their armor, it would still count as a success.

Curious about his method, they asked Han Wu how he had replicated the pillar. He explained that upgrading to the Heaven Dragon Locust Armor had sharpened his senses. He realized the energy from the Profound Armor Pillar did not directly bless others with an armor spirit; it acted as a catalyst, accelerating the maturation of each individual’s own armor spirit.

Han Wu was stunned by the discovery. If it were true, every living being possessed an armor unique to themselves, yet it remained dormant throughout their entire lives.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Even for the Divine Civilization, this was groundbreaking information. Han Wu had spent countless hours attempting to replicate the pillar’s energy. Many experiments ended in failure, but each added to his experience. He finally succeeded and created a replica using stone scrapings from the original Profound Armor Pillar.