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According to her original plan, Mo Jue's chest armor would be made from Blue Pregnant Copper.
If she were to switch to spirit alloys, she could incorporate other metals alongside Blue Pregnant Copper. However, the difficulty of fusion forging would increase significantly.
Blue Pregnant Copper was not only difficult to purify but even harder to forge. As a result, many battle armor masters considered Blue Pregnant Copper the optimal choice for one-word battle armor cores. However, when upgrading to two-word battle armor, the core material usually shifted to rare metals with excellent soul power conductivity, combined with another metal tailored to the martial soul's traits. This approach offered better cost-effectiveness.
Although spirit alloys and soul-forging techniques integrated into the soul master's body ensured no lag in soul power conduction—in fact, it was even more efficient than during the one-word stage—it still fell short compared to the conduction efficiency of two-word battle armor forged from Blue Pregnant Copper and specially matched metals.
"Junior, do you have any recommendations?"
Mo Jue tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at Xu Yuan, seeking the opinion of this blacksmith.
"For the chest armor, Blue Pregnant Copper is essential. With Blue Pregnant Copper, the battle armor can be considered top-tier," Xu Yuan began by emphasizing the most critical point.
Blue Pregnant Copper must be used.
"Senior, you don't need to worry about my forging skills. I'm confident in forging Blue Pregnant Copper. However, achieving a fusion rate of over ninety percent with spirit alloys might take some time. I've experimented with forging Blue Pregnant Copper before, but reaching a fusion rate above ninety percent will require additional practice."
This was the most challenging aspect.
Blue Pregnant Copper was extremely rare, and Xu Yuan would need to gather a large quantity for forging. The losses wouldn't be insignificant.
Of course, by "losses," he referred to the sub-ninety-percent "failures." These could still be sold to recoup costs, so there wouldn't be significant financial losses. The real challenge lay in the time and effort required to gather enough Blue Pregnant Copper.
However, he had no intention of giving up.
He would eventually need to master this skill—whether for his own battle armor or for his companions'. The demand for chest armor would inevitably arise, and practicing now would pay off later.
A glimmer of light flashed in Mo Jue's eyes.
"How long do you think it will take you to succeed?"
Xu Yuan thought for a moment and gave a conservative estimate.
"Within three months."
"Three months?" Mo Jue was surprised.
That was fast.
"Do you have a large stockpile of Blue Pregnant Copper?"
"No, I'll need to gather it," Xu Yuan shrugged.
"Oh? Then let me help you gather it," Mo Jue said with a smile in her eyes.
"Huh?" Xu Yuan looked at her.
"Can Senior gather a lot of Blue Pregnant Copper?"
"Of course. You might not know where I come from," Mo Jue replied confidently.
"My family owns a Blue Pregnant Copper mine."
Xu Yuan: ???
What?
Rare metal veins weren't something that could be easily controlled. Without a Limit Douluo in the family's lineage or at least a Super Douluo presiding over the family for over three centuries, maintaining control over a rare metal vein was nearly impossible.
In most cases, such veins were controlled either by the Federation or the military, with occasional exceptions like the city of Sanbao. Family-controlled mines were rare, limited to only the most elite families.
And Blue Pregnant Copper was an especially precious rare metal.
Was the Mo family really this powerful?
Suddenly, Xu Yuan had a flash of insight.
"What's your relationship with the administrator and senator of Tiandou City?"
"Eh!" Mo Jue exclaimed in surprise. "Have you met my third grandfather?"
"Third grandfather?"
"Yes. My third grandfather didn't have great talent, but he excelled in politics. With the family's support, he rose to become the administrator of Tiandou City and was elected as a senator. However, to avoid conflicts of interest, he rarely contacts the family."
Though they rarely interacted, Mo Wu would still secure benefits for the family when needed, and the Mo family would support him in return.
As for starting from scratch?
Almost impossible.
Every senator in the Federation had their own backing.
Xu Yuan pushed aside his jumble of thoughts.
"With Senior supplying the Blue Pregnant Copper and without other distractions, I'm confident I can forge a spirit alloy that meets your needs within two months," Xu Yuan said confidently.
"However, before that, I still need to ask, what kind of spirit alloy do you need?"
What should Blue Pregnant Copper be paired with?
"You know, Junior, my martial soul is dark-attribute. Anything that helps me harness dark elements would be ideal."
"In that case, I recommend crystal essence."
"Crystal essence!" Mo Jue's eyes lit up.
That works.
"I also have Azure Mist Iron. When you upgrade to two-word battle armor in the future, the chest armor can continue to evolve. A spirit alloy fused from three metals—I should be able to forge that by then," Xu Yuan added.
His remarks weren't meant to create unnecessary trouble.
Instead, they were aimed at strengthening their relationship.
This was a senior with access to a mine.
And not just any mine—a Blue Pregnant Copper mine, a rare metal widely used in battle armor.
Upon hearing that Mo Jue's family owned a Blue Pregnant Copper mine, Xu Yuan couldn't help but marvel at Shrek's greatest resource.
Connections!
Where do geniuses come from?
From reclusive families and powerful martial soul lineages—the most stable sources of prodigies.
Or rather, the most reliable ones.
These individuals brought vast networks and resources into the academy, mingling with other talented students from humble backgrounds. Both sides benefited, creating a virtuous cycle.
Not all top talents came from elite families, given the larger population of ordinary people. Every year, there were examples of ordinary individuals whose martial souls mutated into powerful forms.
Shrek blended these two types of talents together, prioritizing innate ability while minimizing the influence of background. This facilitated resource sharing and nurtured powerful battle armor masters.
A flicker of interest passed through Mo Jue's eyes.
She knew Xu Yuan's forging abilities.
Though she hadn't personally witnessed his forging or gathered specific details about his rank as a blacksmith—even in the exchange matches between first and second years, Tang Wulin had stolen the spotlight—she was certain that Xu Yuan's forging skills were terrifying.
At the very least, they were no weaker than Tang Wulin's.
After all, she had personally witnessed Xu Yuan's devastating spear strike with his mech.
Spear techniques were essential, and mechs were indispensable.
That mech was the most extreme one she had ever seen in her life.
Even red-grade mechs seemed inferior to that yellow-grade mech in her eyes.
"Alright. If you're available in the future, I'll also entrust you with forging the spirit alloy for my two-word battle armor upgrade."
"Agreed."
After parting ways with Mo Jue, Xu Yuan returned to his dormitory.
With a flick of his right hand, the Tian Yuan Brush appeared in his grasp.
Looking at the Tian Yuan Brush in his hand, Xu Yuan smiled.
Compared to before, he had now discovered the true significance of his Tian Yuan Brush martial soul.
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