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Mo Jue rolled her eyes, speechless.
Divine Alloy?
That was something Mo Jue wouldn't even dare to dream of.
However, Xu Yuan's ability to forge a Blue Crystal that met their agreed-upon standards in just over three months had already far exceeded her expectations.
At the time, Xu Yuan had confidently guaranteed it, but Mo Jue hadn't fully believed him. Later, since Xu Yuan had been absent from the academy for a while, she didn't press him either. As someone who had nearly participated in every step of battle armor crafting, she knew how difficult forging rare metals could be. Sometimes, even finding a first-grade thousand-refined metal with six feet of spirit energy was challenging, let alone spirit alloys with a fusion rate above ninety percent.
Among the third-year students, those slightly behind Mo Jue and Li Chengze were limited not only by their soul power but also by the lack of excellent first-grade thousand-refined metals.
For them, a set of one-word battle armor required at least first-grade thousand-refined metals, and the spirit energy glow needed to exceed six feet. Only then would the resulting one-word battle armor possess sufficient spirit energy, allowing it to grow more spiritually attuned during their daily use and lay a solid foundation for their eventual two-word battle armor.
Moreover, the stronger, more complete, and more condensed the spirit energy, the easier it was to graft onto other components.
"By the way, what's the fusion rate of this Blue Crystal?" Mo Jue asked casually.
Xu Yuan held up both hands, leaving only his left thumb tucked in.
Mo Jue looked at his nine extended fingers.
"Ninety percent?"
As expected.
Mo Jue nodded, feeling no disappointment. On the contrary, she found this result pleasantly surprising.
Using this Blue Crystal to craft the chest piece of her one-word battle armor core meant that as long as her soul power broke through to level sixty and she became a Soul Emperor, she would have a real chance to proceed with crafting her two-word battle armor.
Most battle armor masters only completed their two-word battle armor after reaching the Soul Sage stage because replacing battle armor components was incredibly troublesome.
Only a handful managed to finish their two-word battle armor while still at the Soul Emperor stage. This was because they used highly compatible spirit alloys in their one-word battle armor, which perfectly suited their own battle armor.
"Not quite."
Seeing Mo Jue nod in acknowledgment, Xu Yuan shook his head.
"It's ninety-four percent."
Mo Jue blinked, initially failing to comprehend what Xu Yuan meant by "ninety-four."
She understood, but her mind resisted the idea, doubting whether she had heard correctly.
"Did you say ninety-four?" she asked loudly.
Xu Yuan repeated himself.
"Fusion rate—ninety-four percent."
He pointed at the Blue Crystal Mo Jue had just received.
Mo Jue's hands trembled.
"So… did you forge this yourself?"
"Of course."
"..."
After struggling for a moment, Mo Jue could only give Xu Yuan a thumbs-up and say, "You're impressive."
Only then did she truly grasp the terrifying extent of Xu Yuan's forging abilities.
"Junior, I'll definitely come to you for help with the spirit alloys I need for my future battle armor," Mo Jue said thoughtfully, looking at Xu Yuan.
Her smile was particularly charming and alluring.
Xu Yuan paid no attention to this, simply nodding.
"No problem. Feel free to come to me whenever you need, Senior."
Xu Yuan wasn't bothered by it.
His forging efficiency was high, and if he could make friends through forging and extend favors, he'd surely benefit from it in the future.
Mo Jue was in her third year and would soon join the Inner Court. The same went for Li Qiankun and others—they would all enter the Inner Court before long. As "newcomers" to the Inner Court, they would become pillars of Shrek Academy in a few years.
The current second-years and first-years would serve as backups for Shrek in the coming years.
And the next batch would be fresh blood.
Xu Yuan wouldn't refuse opportunities to connect with classmates from these cohorts who showed both talent and good character.
Of course, he wouldn't go out of his way to hand out favors either.
For a blacksmith, when others came seeking your help to forge something, even if they paid a hefty fee, they would still owe you a favor after you completed the job.
Such was the importance of craftsmanship.
When Zhen Hua had advised Xu Yuan to take up forging as an additional skill, he had indeed provided significant help. It made realizing many of Xu Yuan's ideas much easier.
As for Mo Jue, once she showcased the chest piece of her battle armor crafted from this Blue Crystal, Li Qiankun and the other core third-year members would inevitably learn about it. From there, the news would spread throughout the entire third year.
In short, Mo Jue was like a drop of ink, rapidly spreading the word about Xu Yuan's forging prowess and helping him open up the third-year market.
After handing over the Blue Crystal to Mo Jue, Xu Yuan left the Outer Court and headed to the Sea God Island.
"Teacher."
Yun Ming looked at Xu Yuan, his gaze flickering.
"You've broken through?"
"Yes, I broke through at the observatory of the Tian Ding Starry Sky Soul Academy," Xu Yuan replied honestly.
Yun Ming nodded slightly after hearing this.
"I'm familiar with that place. Many soul masters with stellar attributes and some accomplishments have had opportunities there."
Xu Yuan understood. Yun Ming's mention of "some" meant that while those achievements were commendable, they were far from what Yun Ming considered truly outstanding.
"For now, you should focus on tempering yourself with stellar energy. Don't delve into pure stellar energy cultivation just yet. Your talent ensures you won't get stuck at level ninety-nine. You can make the transition after breaking through the limit."
Yun Ming didn't want Xu Yuan's path to be set in stone so early.
Xu Yuan nodded.
This was exactly what he had been doing. In fact, Yun Ming always gave the same advice.
It had simply slipped out this time.
As the strongest person of this era, Yun Ming naturally disliked repeating such minor details. However, for his prized disciple, he couldn't help but repeatedly emphasize these finer points while showing concern.
"Teacher, I feel that cultivation has slowed down significantly after reaching level fifty," Xu Yuan said.
Yun Ming wasn't surprised.
"That's normal."
He paused for a moment before slowly asking Xu Yuan a question.
"Do you know what makes the Soul King stage different from previous stages?"
Xu Yuan pondered what made the Soul King stage unique.
Yun Ming watched Xu Yuan overcomplicating the question and decided not to wait for an answer, speaking up himself.
"A Soul King can absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings."
A simple distinction.
This had been the case for twenty thousand years.
Upon reaching the Soul King stage, one naturally gained the qualification to absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings!
"In fact, from the moment you break through to level fifty, the nature of a soul master's cultivation changes," Yun Ming explained slowly, sharing his perspective on the division of soul power cultivation.
"The most widely accepted stages of soul master cultivation on the continent are divided into gaseous, liquid, and solid phases. You should already be familiar with this."
Xu Yuan nodded.
"But I divide soul master cultivation differently. Before level fifty, it's about strengthening the martial soul or, more accurately, the process of the martial soul absorbing the practitioner's essence to grow stronger. During this phase, physical training can significantly accelerate soul power cultivation."
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