The Legend of the Dragon King

Upon closer inspection of Tang Wulin’s golden claw, Yang Nianxia’s pupils dilated, his jaw dropping in one undignified motion. A starry light manifested on the back of the claw and spread to his forearm. Once the light dimmed, it seemed apparent a transformation had occurred. An additional layer of golden scales peppered his forearm, three sharp blades protruding from the side.

The scale armor was imposing and valiant.

I-is that...

“Battle armor!” Countless people cried out in alarm off-stage.

It wasn’t just any ordinary one-word battle armor either! It had arose from his body! That was possible with spirit refined two-word battle armor!

Wu Siduo froze in place as she raised her claw up to block his punch, a single thought permeating the fabric of her mind. He did it! He really did it!

It wasn’t just spirit refined two-word battle armor that could appear from one’s body. One-word armor made of spirit alloys also had that feature!

How is this possible? How did he actually succeed? He would need at least a fifth-rank maker to craft it! This was why she had broken off from his group back then. She had thought he had bitten off more than he could chew. Yet before her very eyes was proof of the contrary!

☀

Ye Xinglan stared at the piece of metal before her. Specks of silver twinkled on its surface as if it contained the cosmos and the power of the stars.

He really did it. He forged a piece of ninety-one percent harmony star silver. Under all that pressure, he advanced step by step and succeeded! That guy...

“Lizhi, prepare to aid me at any moment,” she said, turning to her teammate.

Xu Lizhi hesitated before saying, “Big Sis Xinglan, isn’t this too hard for you? You might be able to craft a one-word battle armor as a fifth-rank maker, but this isn’t just thousand refined metal! This is a spirit alloy! It’s way harder to work with!”

Ye Xinglan shot him a sharp look. “He can forge a divine foundation alloy, so why can’t I craft a piece of one-word battle armor from spirit alloy? Enough nonsense. Get ready.”

She flicked her gaze back to the star silver, determination blazing within her eyes. She was stubborn and proud. Having been part of the inner court, she possessed an uncompromising will. The only reason she had been quick to snatch it up was because it was a divine foundation metal. The moment she acted, she resolved herself to help Tang Wulin complete his battle armor. In her mind, that was the only way she could repay him for such a treasure.

In a flash of light, bright enough to dazzle, her Stargod Sword materialized in her hand. It shined more brilliantly than it had three years ago, three purple soul rings revolving around it. Following a flick of her hand, the sword sliced through the air with a hiss, its tip glowing brilliantly enough to rival the sun. Not wasting a second, she jumped straight into action.

Before long, she had sliced the metal into the basic shapes of the hand and forearm pieces, the metal’s starry resplendence reflecting off of her blade. When Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue laid their eyes on it, they were struck with awe.

Ye Xinglan shut her eyes, clearing out distracting thoughts and leaving only the design blueprint she had so carefully studied within her mind. Precision was key in the crafting of the armor, and where it mattered the most was for the circuit core. There was no room for error. The slightest mistake would throw off the compatibility between the alloy and the circuit core. Her technique, soul power, spiritual power, and perception were required to come together in order to generate success. Therefore, the profession with the most requirements was undoubtedly the mecha maker.

Tang Wulin could sense the change in her. She had fused her being with her surroundings and became one with the world. She drew every last drop of her soul power to support her body. The fact that she could do this was a testament to her strength. Although she had yet to possess four soul rings, Tang Wulin was certain it was only a matter of time.

Ye Xinglan suddenly stepped forward, her eyes bursting open and reflecting the splendor of both her Stargod Sword and the star silver. She thrust out her sword as fast as lightning, the sharp edge driving into the metal in one clear stab. Long threads of silver light swarmed around her sword, forming what appeared to be a giant hand holding the star silver aloft.

Ye Xinglan nimbly danced around and sprinkled more threads of starlight onto the star silver. Detailed markings gradually appeared on the surface of the metal, which grew increasingly brilliant with each emergence. These markings, however, were shallow. The star silver was like a proud young maiden who refused to yield to her man. While spirit alloys were several times stronger than ordinary metals,since they were forged from multiple metals to give rise to superior properties, the maker needed to possess a thorough understanding of the alloy to craft with it. Not only that, they needed sufficient soul power and spiritual power to carve out the circuit core. This was what made crafting battle armor so difficult.

Tang Wulin knitted his brows as he watched the scene play out before him. Star silver was much harder to forge than he had expected, especially so for this ninety-one percent harmony rate piece. Similarly, Ye Xinglan’s Stargod Sword was struggling to cut through it, which would prolong the armor crafting process and lower the chance of success. Can she last long enough? Crafting battle armor was a taxing process!

Only after overcoming many hurdles had Tang Wulin been able to breathe life and spirit into the star silver. But in order to craft battle armor with it, Ye Xinglan had to improve its vitality by arousing those two components. If Tang Wulin was this piece of star silver’s father, then Ye Xinglan was its adoptive mother! She was the one who would raise it to maturity, turning it from a clumsy eaglet to a majestic eagle that soared high in the sky! It was impossible to say who had the harder job. Both were indispensable. In the process of granting life to the metal, a single error was the dividing line between trash and treasure!

Hundreds of thousands of starlight threads overlapped and reinforced one another, finally leaving a mark deep enough for the circuit core. Each mark had to take into account the character of star silver to transform its internal structure, an extremely complex task. Ye Xinglan steadily and gently sliced up the metal with the threads of overlapping starlight.

Her fundamentals were strong. Tang Wulin sighed in admiration at her soul power control. It was rare for someone as young as her to possess such skill. He understood now why she didn’t use a normal knife to carve out the circuit core. By utilizing her Stargod Sword instead, she could also practice her sword technique! If she’s always been training like this, then it’s no wonder she’s so strong! As expected from someone from the inner court!

Time crawled forward An hour passed, then two, then three. Finally at the fifth hour, the markings of the star silver had grown from shallow to deep, a simple design to a complex one. Every single carved line was now connected, intertwining and resonating with one another.

The star silver shined brighter than ever, specks of dazzling starlight dancing over its body in an aura-like manner. The breath of life was strong within it. As its creator, Tang Wulin could sense its emotions, could see the eagle enjoying the miracle of flight for the first time.