Douluo Dragon King: I, Huo Linfei, the Mecha Illusionary Lin God

Huo Linfei continued, "In any case, mechs are the future. No matter how strong battle armor is, it's just personal weaponry, while mechs... can change the entire world."

"Why?" the man pressed. "Why do you think that? The current mechs clearly can't even beat four-word battle armor."

"Because the current mechs aren't good enough!" Huo Linfei's voice unconsciously rose.

"Because their design philosophy is flawed! They're just amplified versions of Soul Masters' abilities, nothing more than bulky lumps of metal! A true mecha should be—"

He paused, and the image of the Illusionary God appeared in his mind.

"It should be alive," Huo Linfei said. "It should be able to communicate with the pilot's mind, grow with the pilot, transform, merge, and evolve! It shouldn't be a tool, but a partner, a comrade-in-arms, another version of yourself!"

The man's breathing became rapid.

He stared intently at Huo Linfei, his usually calm eyes now churning with turbulent emotions.

"Transformation...combination...evolution..." the man muttered to himself, then suddenly grabbed Huo Linfei's shoulder, "Have you ever seen a mecha like this?"

Huo Linfei hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "In a dream."

This is no lie. The memories of the Super Beast World, for him, truly felt like a long and vivid dream.

"Dream..." The man released his grip, took a step back, and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes again, his gaze now calm, but beneath that calm lay an uncontrollable fervor.

"Zhenhua." The man turned to look at Zhenhua. "I want this child."

Zhenhua frowned: "You want to take him as your disciple too? But I already..."

"It's not forging," the man interrupted him. "It's mecha. I'm going to teach him about mecha."

Huo Linfei's eyes lit up as well.

He finally understood why this man had given him a special feeling from the very beginning—it wasn't the pressure of a powerful figure, but rather the aura of kindred spirits. Like two flames, even if they were far apart, they could still feel each other's warmth.

"You...you also know about mecha?" Huo Linfei asked.

The man didn't answer, but instead took out a metal badge from his pocket and handed it to Huo Linfei.

The badge is very small, only the size of a fingernail, and is entirely silver-white. The front is engraved with the outline of a mecha, and the back is engraved with the character "牧" (Mu).

"This is..." Huo Linfei took the badge, which was icy cold to the touch.

"A God-level Mech Pilot Badge." Zhenhua sighed beside him. "Muye, you've finally revealed your identity."

Makino.

Huo Linfei remembered the name.

"I am Mu Ye." The man, now called Mu Ye, looked at Huo Linfei.

"The current sect leader of the Body Sect, who is also... a Federation-registered god-level mecha pilot."

God-level mecha pilot!

Huo Linfei gasped.

He knew the ranking of mecha pilots: white for ordinary, yellow for battle-hardened, purple for 1000 cavalry, black for 10,000 blades, and red for god-level. A god-level mecha pilot was someone who could rival a four-word battle armor master!

"You..." Huo Linfei's voice was a little dry, "Why..."

"Why are you wearing a chef's uniform?" Makino laughed, a laugh tinged with self-deprecation.

"Because I like it. Mechs and cooking are both forms of creation. One creates steel behemoths, the other creates delicious food; they don't conflict."

He then looked at Huo Linfei: "More importantly, I share the same idea as you: mechs should not be weaker than battle armor."

These words completely changed the atmosphere in the testing area.

Zhenhua and Muchen exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

One of them was a master craftsman, and the other was an eighth-level saintly craftsman. They fought over who would be his apprentice for a long time, but then Mu Ye suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he was in the mecha field that Huo Linfei was most interested in.

"Muye," Zhenhua spoke, "you really want to take him as your apprentice?"

"It's not about taking on an apprentice," Makino shook his head. "It's about being a colleague. This kid's understanding of mecha has already surpassed many so-called 'mecha masters.' He doesn't need me to teach him; he needs me to guide him."

He walked up to Huo Linfei, his eyes serious: "Huo Linfei, are you willing to learn mecha design, manufacturing, and operation from me? I can teach you the Body Refining Method of the Body Sect, so that your body can withstand higher-intensity mecha piloting. I can take you to a real mecha battlefield and let you see what current mechas can and cannot do."

Huo Linfei answered almost without hesitation: "I'm willing!"

Makino smiled, a pure smile, like a child who had found their favorite toy.

Seeing this, Zhenhua suddenly smiled: "Very well. Linfei, you can become my apprentice to learn forging, and become Muye's apprentice to learn mecha. Forging and mecha are two sides of the same coin. If you learn them at the same time, you might really be able to forge a new path."

Huo Linfei's eyes lit up even more: "Really? Teacher, you don't object?"

"What's the point of my objection?" Zhenhua said irritably. "Judging from the look in your eyes when you were talking to Muye just now, I knew you were determined to go down the path of mecha. Since I can't stop you, I might as well give you a hand."

He paused, then added, "But you have to promise me you won't neglect your forging. With your talent, it would be a shame if you didn't become a master craftsman."

"I agree!" Huo Linfei nodded vigorously.

Makino also looked at Zhenhua: "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. Besides... his mecha dream needs top-notch forging technology. The two complement each other."

In just one afternoon, Huo Linfei became the disciple of two teachers.

One is the only master craftsman on the continent, the pinnacle of the forging world.

One is a god-level mecha pilot, the sect leader of the Body Sect, and a legend in the field of mecha.

When Huo Linfei left the Blacksmith Association, he had two spatial rings in his hand.

The first one was given to me by Zhenhua. The ring is entirely gold, with fine hammered patterns engraved on its surface.

Huo Linfei used his mental power to explore the space inside, and found it to be astonishingly large, at least one hundred cubic meters.

Moreover, it already contains quite a few things: more than a dozen pieces of rare metal, each of which is priceless, and a complete set of forging tools, which is even more advanced than those in Mangtian Studio.

There are also several thick notebooks containing Zhenhua's forging experience over the years.

"This metal is enough for you to use until you become a master craftsman," Zhenhua said at the time.

"Study your notes carefully. Feel free to ask me anything you don't understand. I'll come to Donghai City to check on your progress in three months."

The second one was given by Makino. The ring was silver-white with a simple design and the outline of a mecha was engraved on the surface. It was a little smaller than the one given by Zhenhua, but it still had fifty cubic meters of space.

Inside, however, were entirely different things—dozens of mecha design blueprints, ranging from the most basic white mecha to complex black mecha.

A complete set of mecha repair tools, and several metal boxes containing mecha core components collected by Makino.

"Blueprints are fundamental, but don't let them limit you," Makino said.

"Your idea for 'Phantom Qilin God' is very advanced; the existing design framework may not be able to contain it. So, after you've learned the basics, be bold and innovative. As for these core components, come back to me when you can understand their structure, and I'll teach you something more advanced."