"Ordinary Cloud Titanium won't do, of course. But the Cloud Titanium used to make my Silverlight Plaincloud Armor isn't ordinary—it's spirit-forged Cloud Titanium!"
Noticing her father's shock and confusion, Ning Rongrong explained with a hint of pride.
Before returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had already asked Chu Chengzhou if she could talk about the spirit-forged armor with her father. Since he had agreed, she wasn't planning to hide anything.
It's not that Chu Chengzhou didn't care about keeping such things secret—he just believed that Ning Fengzhi, this old fox, would make the right decision.
Never mind his private relationship with Ning Rongrong—just the fact that Chu had helped the sect gain a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Soul Master was enough to earn respect.
Besides, there was no prior enmity between them. The odds that Ning Fengzhi would try to befriend Chu Chengzhou were much higher than any chance of forcibly stealing his forging techniques—far higher.
Even if Ning Fengzhi did try to steal them, Chu wouldn't be too bothered—as long as they didn't go as far as killing him.
Forging is a deep, complex art, no simpler than soul mastery. Even if the sect got the secrets, they wouldn't see results quickly.
And if you gave Chu Chengzhou ten years to grow, even if you robbed him today, the whole Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might end up bearing his surname tomorrow.
"Spirit-forged?"
Hearing this completely unfamiliar term, Ning Fengzhi and the others were baffled.
"It's a secret forging method passed down in Senior Chu's family!
In that system, metals are classified by refining levels: Hundred Refined, Thousand Refined, and Spirit-Forged.
Most of the top blacksmiths on the continent are only at the Hundred Refined level.
But equipment made from spirit-forged metal can be absorbed into a soul master's body.
My Silverlight Plaincloud Armor has really strong defense. Daddy, maybe you could buy some for our clansmen from Senior Chu?"
Ning Rongrong smiled as she spoke.
"This armor is indeed convenient… but Rongrong, just how strong is its defense?"
Ning Fengzhi was intrigued. The ability to wear it anytime was powerful—but if the defense itself wasn't up to par, it'd be pointless.
"Hehe, I won't tell you yet—let Grandpa Sword give it a try!"
Rongrong giggled and withheld the answer.
"Alright, girl, take off that armor."
Fengzhi nodded—it was only natural to test something before buying.
"That won't work. My Silverlight Plaincloud Armor has recognized me as its master. If someone else wears it, it'll just act like normal armor. They can't absorb it into their body or inject soul power to enhance its defense."
She shook her head.
"Oh? That magical?"Fengzhi was surprised. This spirit-forged metal seemed to have some real mystery to it.
He had no idea its true value was far beyond what he imagined.
Armor made from spirit-forged metal—paired with the right soul-guided array—was essentially the two-word battle armor of the future.
A six-ring Soul Emperor wearing two-word armor could rival even eight-ring Soul Douluo!
Even without the soul arrays, just the raw materials alone made the armor incredibly powerful.
"Girl, let me test your armor's quality!"
At this point, Chen Xin (Sword Grandpa) spoke.
"Sure, go ahead!"
Rongrong nodded and channeled her soul power into the armor.
Chen Xin stepped forward, didn't summon his Martial Soul, and gently released a stream of sword aura from his fingertip, tapping the armor on her arm.
He took care not to go full force or strike quickly—he didn't want to hurt his precious granddaughter if the armor wasn't up to standard.
"Huh?"
Chen Xin soon let out a curious sound.
At first, he kept the sword aura equivalent to a thousand-year attack from a three-ring Soul Elder—but it couldn't penetrate.
He bumped it up to the level of a fourth soul skill from a four-ring Soul Ancestor—still no effect.
He upped it again, to match the power of a fifth-ring Soul King's ten-thousand-year attack.
Still… the thin-looking armor held.
"Holy crap, it's still holding?!"
Gu Rong (Bone Grandpa) was shocked.
As a Title Douluo, he could feel exactly how powerful that sword aura was.
"Stop, Grandpa Sword! You're going to break it!"
Feeling through the special link she had with the armor that it was nearing its defense limit, Rongrong quickly shouted for him to stop.
"Fengzhi, this armor is no joke! I guarantee that soul masters under rank 60 will have a hard time dealing with it!"
Chen Xin retracted his sword aura, still shocked.
Sure, to him—being a Title Douluo—a five-ring Soul King was nothing.
But among the tens of thousands of soul masters on the continent, most were below rank 40. Anyone over rank 60 was already a top expert.
Even the mighty Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had:
2 Title Douluo
A dozen or so eight-ring Douluo
80+ seven-ring Soul Saints
Around 200–300 six-ring Soul Emperors
Meaning… only maybe 300 people in the entire sect could do anything to Rongrong while she was wearing that armor!
And that's excluding support-type soul masters who had limited combat ability.
Of course, Chen Xin knew that wearing this armor didn't make someone invincible to all Soul Kings.
There were always weaknesses: unprotected areas, and vulnerabilities to poison or control-type soul masters.
Still, flaws or not, this Silverlight Plaincloud Armor was clearly a top-tier product.
And who said only support types could wear armor?
A five-ring Power Attack Soul King with this armor would be both offense and defense combined—maybe even capable of challenging a six-ring Soul Emperor!
Hearing Chen Xin's evaluation, Ning Fengzhi became much more interested.
"Rongrong, how long does it take your Chu Senior to make one of these?"
"If it's just one set? Probably less than an hour. I don't know about other metals, but for my set, definitely under an hour."
She thought for a moment and replied.
'Less than an hour?'
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow—seemed the production rate wasn't bad.
"And what about the price? Did your Senior Chu say how much he would sell one for?"
He pressed on.
Rongrong hesitated for a second, then raised her right hand, opening five fingers.
"50,000 gold soul coins?"
Fengzhi smiled—ah, young people. That's nothing!
But—
"Nope, not 50,000," Rongrong said with a cheeky smile.
"Hmm? 500,000 gold soul coins?"
He was a bit surprised.
Whoa. This kid's got guts. Trying to milk me for 500k?
Still, for armor this good, maybe worth it—
"Dream on! When I asked Chu Senior, he said it's 5 million gold soul coins per set! Not a single coin less!"
Rongrong rolled her eyes.
"5 million?!"
Ning Fengzhi and the others all gawked.
Damn! This kid isn't milking me—he's straight-up robbing me! No—robbery isn't this fast!
Less than an hour of labor, and he's charging 5 million?! Even Title Douluo don't cost that much!
"Oh right, Daddy, I have a gift for you."
Suddenly, Rongrong remembered the gift Chu Chengzhou had her bring. She pulled out a jade box containing a Grade-9 Purple Ganoderma and handed it over.
"Huh? My daughter brought me a gift?
Sword Uncle, Bone Uncle—looks like Rongrong's grown up! She's even bringing gifts for her old dad!"
Fengzhi was overjoyed—he didn't care what it was. Just the fact she gave it to him was enough.
"Yep, our little princess is growing up! But Rongrong, did you only bring a gift for your dad and not your Bone Grandpa?"
Gu Rong laughed.
"Yeah, what about your Sword Grandpa, hmm?" Chen Xin joined in.
"Uhh…"
Rongrong was speechless.
Grandpas! I'm still a kid! Shouldn't you be giving me gifts?
But seeing their expectant faces, she quickly activated her clever brain.
"I would never forget you two! There's this snack shop in Heaven Dou City with amazing snacks—I got these just for you!"
She pulled out two bags from her storage soul device and handed them over.
"Snacks?"
Chen Xin and Gu Rong looked at each other.
"You don't like my gifts?" she blinked, pretending to be hurt.
Truthfully, she was panicking. If she hadn't impulsively bought those snacks on the way back, she'd have nothing to give!
"Of course we like it! Sword Grandpa loves it!"
"Exactly! As long as it's from Rongrong, Bone Grandpa's happy!"
Even if they didn't like it, they'd never say that—who'd risk their granddaughter not thinking of them next time?
"Rongrong, what's with this purple Ganoderma?"
Fengzhi asked, pointing at the herb in the jade box.
"I dunno, Daddy. Just eat everything except the stem, and you'll be fine!"
Chu Chengzhou hadn't told her about its potential to break martial soul limitations—he didn't want to give false hope—just told her to give it to her dad.
Fengzhi looked suspicious.
"This is your gift… but you don't know what it is?"
"Uh, well, it's actually from Chu Senior…"
She coughed awkwardly.
"Hm? And why did he give me this?"
Fengzhi narrowed his eyes, feeling a bad premonition.
"Uh… I helped him with something, so it's only right he gives you something too!"
She made up an excuse.
Come on—it's totally normal for a future son-in-law to give gifts to his father-in-law, right?
"Really now?"
Fengzhi squinted, still a bit skeptical.
But one thing was clear—this was definitely a valuable item, and at worst, harmless.
Still, there was intent behind this gift…
After thinking for a bit, he didn't hesitate any longer and downed the herb.
If this young man is good enough... it's not like I can't give him a chance.
After all, a daughter has to marry someday. And to preserve the sect's legacy, they had to bring in a son-in-law—not send Rongrong away.
And background? Not important. In fact, he preferred someone without one—less chance they'd eye the vast wealth of the Ning Clan.
As for the fact that Chu already had a girlfriend? Meh. Just have him break up later.
In the glow of the setting sun, a fiery-red noble figure flew across the northwestern sky beyond the outskirts of Nuoding City.
Heaven Dou City was quite far from Nuoding City—over 2,500 li.
However, this long journey was nothing for the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Phoenix Spirit Summon, Little Red.
Spirit summons weren't made of real flesh and blood. As long as Chu Chengzhou could keep up with the soul power consumption, then the summon would never get tired.
Chu Chengzhou set out from Heaven Dou City with Xiao Wu in the morning. Around noon, they rested for an hour to eat and recover some soul power. By nightfall, they had already arrived at Nuoding City.
He didn't let Little Red fly directly into the city. Instead, they landed in a small forest outside the city and walked in on foot.
They didn't go home right away either—Nuoding Academy was still in session, so the two of them went straight to the school.
It just so happened to be dinnertime at Nuoding Academy, and the schoolyard was filled with young students hurrying to the cafeteria.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou spotted a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a haggard face walking toward the cafeteria.
"Brother, that guy is the one who's close friends with Dean Flender and Dean Er Long, right?" Xiao Wu asked softly, having also noticed Yu Xiaogang.
She'd heard Flender mention Yu Xiaogang before, back when he took the Shrek crew to join Blue Tyrant Academy. She knew he used to be part of the famed "Golden Iron Triangle."
"Yep, that's him," Chu Chengzhou nodded.
Now Yu Xiaogang was far from the confident man in the original story. Without Tang San, his so-called "good disciple," he had become nothing more than a freeloader at Nuoding Academy.
But Chu Chengzhou had no connection to Yu Xiaogang. They weren't family or friends, so he had no reason to help him out.
Those titles from the original—spiritual wife Liu Erlong, the Imperial Tutor of Heaven Dou, and Poseidon's chosen teacher—had nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang anymore.
Honestly, Flender was kind of an idiot. If he had any sense, the moment he saw Yu Xiaogang abandon Liu Erlong because of society's judgments, he should've comforted her and won her over himself.
Instead, Flender just walked away. No wonder the guy was destined to be single for life!
Of course, Liu Erlong was a bit older, and she looked like a mature, beautiful woman—not like Bibi Dong, who still looked young. Otherwise, Chu Chengzhou might've made a move himself.
"I think Dean Flender and Dean Er Long really miss Yu Xiaogang. Should we tell them he's here?" Xiao Wu asked hesitantly after glancing at Yu Xiaogang in the distance.
"Oh, don't you dare," Chu Chengzhou quickly said.
"Why not?" she blinked in confusion.
"Silly girl! What does Yu Xiaogang have to do with us?"
"Uh… I guess nothing?" Xiao Wu tilted her head.
"'Guess'? There's nothing at all!
Didn't you see Dean Flender constantly chasing after Dean Er Long at the academy? If you tell them this, Flender won't be able to score anymore!
Besides, what's so good about Yu Xiaogang? Other than his looks, what does he have that Flender doesn't?"
Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes and explained.
"You're right~!" Xiao Wu suddenly understood and nodded.
At that moment, Chu Chengzhou spotted two middle-aged figures emerging from the teaching building—it was none other than Su Nan and Li Wan.
"Grandpa! Grandma!" Chu Chengzhou immediately pulled Xiao Wu along and ran up to them.
"Huh? Xiao Chengzhou and Xiao Wu are back?" Su Nan and Li Wan were surprised, but soon overjoyed.
"Xiao Wu, come here, let Grandma take a look… Hmm, you've grown taller again! Has your brother been bullying you?" Li Wan smiled and patted Xiao Wu's head.
"Grandma, now you're just wronging me. How would I dare bully Xiao Wu?" Chu Chengzhou said helplessly, feeling his family status drop another level.
"Don't worry, Grandma! Brother's been super nice to me!" Xiao Wu clung to Grandma's arm and playfully replied.
"I thought you two were studying at that Shrek Academy? Isn't it still during term time? Why are you back?" Su Nan asked.
"Grandpa, Shrek Academy shut down. We're now students at Blue Tyrant Academy in Heaven Dou City. Xiao Wu and I thought we hadn't been home in over a year, so we took leave to visit you."
"Wait, advanced soul master academies can go bankrupt?!" Su Nan was stunned.
Hearing this, Chu Chengzhou and Xiao Wu exchanged a smile.
Proper advanced soul master academies rarely ever shut down. You could go a hundred years without seeing one collapse—but Shrek Academy wasn't exactly legit to begin with!
"You two came back so suddenly, Grandma didn't prepare anything. Let's go eat at the academy cafeteria first, and you two can tell us everything that's happened this year."
"Mm-hmm!"
After dinner at the academy, the four of them returned home.
"Grandpa, Grandma, we brought something very special back for you this time!" In the courtyard, Chu Chengzhou pulled out flowerpots from his Ruyi Treasure Pouch—one held a Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, the other an Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid.
"These flowers are something special?" Su Nan looked at them curiously.
"Yes, they're called the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. Let me show you how to use them."
Chu Chengzhou didn't go into detail about the effects of the immortal herbs.
Elderly relatives often had the habit of asking too many questions and wanting to leave good things for the younger generation. It was better to let them take it without knowing too much—avoid the back-and-forth.
Since they didn't know the herbs' real value and the gifts came from their grandson, they took them happily and followed his instructions to consume them.
Once they started refining the medicinal energy with their soul power, Chu Chengzhou stored the remaining roots and pots back into the treasure pouch.
He collected all usable roots of the consumed herbs, planning to replant them in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well when he had time.
Immortal herbs were priceless. Even if he didn't know whether they'd regrow from the roots, he figured it was worth a try.
Of course, immortal herbs had extremely long growth cycles. By the time they sprouted again, he'd either be dead or a god. He wouldn't need them himself.
But he would surely have descendants in the future—and it could be a rare opportunity for them.
"Brother, if Grandpa and Grandma take the immortal herbs, will they become geniuses too?" Xiao Wu asked, looking at the two elders refining the energy.
"The younger you are when you take immortal herbs, the better the absorption. Grandpa and Grandma won't become top-tier geniuses, but they'll definitely become above average," Chu Chengzhou said, smacking his lips.
If they had taken the herbs in their youth, even with bad talent—on par with his or Yu Xiaogang's—they might have eventually reached the rank of Titled Douluo.
But he knew they were already nearing sixty, with very limited potential left. Even with immortal herbs, it would be hard to reach that level through their own efforts.
After all, their current soul power was only around the third or fourth ring—still far from nine.
And soul masters under rank 90 didn't live much longer than regular people. Even with talent, there might not be enough time to reach Titled Douluo.
But if personal effort wasn't enough—well, didn't they have a very capable grandson?
As the saying goes, "When one person rises to immortality, even the dogs and chickens ascend with them." And these were the grandparents who had loved and protected him since he was young!
Once he became a god, he'd arrange the divine trials and open a few backdoors. He couldn't promise too much, but making them Titled Douluos would definitely be no problem.
T/N: For up to 20 chapters ahead and fifteen chapters ahead on my other translation, become a p@tron at p@treon.com/LordHipposApostle