Douluo: Dragon King's Tai Chi Mystery

To become a Battle Armor Master, one must first learn a second profession related to Battle Armor.

The formation of battle armor is divided into four steps: forging metal, designing battle armor blueprints, making and assembling the soul guide core array, and repairing and perfecting it.

Therefore, the Battle Armor Masters have formed four major professions: Blacksmith, Mecha Designer, Mecha Manufacturer, and Mecha Repairman.

Today's lesson is about the second career path. If you want your battle armor to become powerful, it must be suitable for you. Battle armor masters and battle armor are closely connected. During the creation process, your own martial soul merges with it and resonates with it, gradually becoming one with the battle armor.

Mecha designers have the highest compatibility with their battle armor. No one knows you better than yourself. The strength of battle armor is also related to compatibility. Perfect compatibility will provide a twenty-level boost to soul power, allowing a soul master's combat power to leap across two major realms.

Mecha makers are meticulous in their work, and inscribing the core magic array requires extensive and repetitive practice. Mecha repairmen are more logistical, possessing some knowledge of design and manufacturing, but they don't participate much in the creation of the battle armor and face more difficulties in fusion.

Blacksmithing is the most talent-dependent and difficult profession to master, with the highest investment cost among the four professions in the mid-game. After breaking through to the seventh level of Saint Craftsman, high-level blacksmiths become highly sought-after talents by various forces, since forging metal is a prerequisite for creating battle armor.

After Leng Yaozhu introduced the four professions one by one, she said, "Xuanzhen, you can think about which second profession you want to learn for a while, and then give me an answer. Being young is an advantage, and you have more room for trial and error."

This is the advantage of top-tier forces at the start: teachers and elders emphasize early childhood education. In another timeline, Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan entered Shrek Academy at the age of thirteen, and their second professional level was only a pitiful level one. Even excluding the bugged Tang Wulin, there were still level three and four professionals among their peers.

Both of them broke through to the ninth level of their second profession in their twenties, which shows that they are not weak. What they lack is the awareness of their family elders to cultivate them from childhood. In comparison, Tianfeng Douluo is worthy of being a titled Douluo of his generation, "exploiting" children at the age of six.

Leng Yaozhu quietly watched Zhao Xuanzhen as he pondered, anticipating his choice. Her words were subtly biased; she presented a mecha design, neither praising nor criticizing mecha manufacturing, offering minor criticisms of mecha repair, and providing a fair assessment of forging.

No one is perfect, and everyone has selfish desires. As a four-word battle armor master, Leng Yaozhu's second profession has already broken through to level nine. She is a level nine mecha designer and an level eight mecha manufacturer. It is only natural that she would want her disciple to inherit the same lineage. Not damaging the forging is purely to give face to the world's unique divine craftsman.

After a long pause, Zhao Xuanzhen made up his mind: "Teacher, I want to study mecha design, mecha manufacturing, and mecha repair, pursuing all three professions simultaneously."

"why?"

Leng Yao frowned. Zhao Xuanzhen's choice of mecha design pleased her, but her ambition was a bit too great. Having practiced two secondary professions, she understood their difficulty even more.

"There are four types of second professions on the surface, but there are actually only two: blacksmith and soul master," Zhao Xuanzhen explained. "According to the historical records of the continent, the first battle armor master was a soul master."

After going through countless hardships, the Soul Masters developed the first set of Battle Armor. The principles behind it were too complex, and only a few Soul Masters were able to grasp the secrets of its creation.

Therefore, Soul Masters gradually evolved into three secondary professions, lowering the requirements for individual talent, and Battle Armor Masters worked together to create Battle Armor.

Mech design, mech manufacturing, and mech repair are essentially a unified whole, with each party contributing its own resources.

Mech repair involves knowledge of design and manufacturing. Mech designers must consider manufacturing issues when designing mech armor, and mech manufacturers must also understand the essence of design.

Only when all three elements are unified, and everything is under one's own control, can a perfectly fitting battle armor be created.

"Teacher understands, as you wish."

Leng Yaozhu spoke in a light tone, her clear eyes brimming with laughter.

Good teachers are rare, and genius students are even rarer, let alone a disciple who is exceptionally talented, has his own ideas, and is willing to put in the effort. No matter how demanding Leng Yaozhu is, she can't find any fault with Zhao Xuanzhen.

“Xuanzhen, let’s make a deal.” Leng Yaozhu extended her fair, jade-like hand. “Within five years, all three secondary professions must break through to level four, and your soul power cultivation must not lag behind either, or you will have to make a choice.”

"it is good."

With a snap, the master and apprentice clapped their hands lightly, and the agreement was reached.

Everyone has innate talents and interests, so there's no need to force yourself to learn forging. However, the "Divine Craftsman Controls the World" four-character battle armor is truly heaven-defying. Zhao Xuanzhen has already made plans. At that time, a being will emerge from the Eight Trigrams and Strange Gates and sit in the position of the Divine Craftsman!

In the following time, Leng Yaozhu explained the knowledge of two second professions. Beginners cannot yet access the advanced levels of mecha/battle armor, so she started with the basic soul tools.

A level nine mecha designer and a level eight mecha maker imparted their experience to Zhao Xuanzhen in person, and Zhao Xuanzhen absorbed the knowledge like a sponge.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a capybara dozing off to the side.

In non-combat situations, the Lingrui capybara hardly consumes the host's soul power when moving around in the outside world. Zhao Xuanzhen let it out to get some fresh air and, incidentally, to build a bond with it.

At this moment, the host is studying diligently, while the soul is sleeping and slacking off...

That's right, capybaras don't go to school, don't go to work, don't get up early, don't learn how to use battle armor... tsk!

Ton-Ton, I'm so sorry I didn't let you have enough fun...

"Teacher, please pause for a moment."

Seeing the Lingrui capybara leisurely itch all over, Zhao Xuanzhen grabbed a book on battle armor design and opened it in front of it.

"Come on, learn it clearly, and you'll help me make battle armor from now on!"

The number one person to exploit souls!

Chapter 9 Shrek City, A Changed World, Gu Yue and Na'er (4K)

The Spirit Pagoda, the deputy tower master's exclusive battle armor room.

Similar to a forging room where a blacksmith forges metal, the Armor Room is a comprehensive laboratory for three secondary professions: mecha design, mecha manufacturing, and mecha repair.

This battle armor room is located on the seventh floor of the Spirit Pagoda. It is spacious and has a huge silver-white experimental table of more than 40 square meters, which is filled with all kinds of metal materials.

The stunningly beautiful woman leaned against the table, her jade-like hand gently supporting her chin. Her plump, snow-white legs were crossed, and her graceful body was outlined in alluring curves by the movement. However, she was unaware that she was focused on the handsome young man beside her who was inscribing a soul-guiding array.

Zhao Xuanzhen sat at the metal table, holding a piece of light purple metal in his left hand, with irregular patterns rippling outwards like waves. In his right hand, he held a long and slender carving knife, concentrating on carving the metal.

It is undoubtedly difficult to advance the three secondary professions simultaneously. I spent the entire day studying the basic theory of battle armor from sunrise to sunset, without taking a break except for lunch. Now I am testing the results of my learning, and practice makes perfect.

Purple iron has moderate ductility and low to medium soul power conductivity. It is a cheap and rare metal and is generally used to manufacture low-level soul tools.

Zhao Xuanzhen carved the purple iron stroke by stroke, his movements slow yet remarkably steady, demonstrating the formidable control his martial soul exerted over his body. Every strike was precise and accurate.

With each strike, the intricate patterns of the core magic array slowly unfolded.

A look of surprise gradually gathered on Leng Yaozhu's face. She subconsciously moved closer to her disciple, her hands clenching into fists without her noticing.

Time ticked by, and Zhao Xuanzhen's pupils shimmered with a deep blue light. His body remained motionless, like a sculpture. He channeled his soul power into his fingers, controlling the carving knife to finish the work, his rhythm unchanged.

"Keng——"

With the final stroke, Zhao Xuanzhen blew away the tiny metal shavings from the design. A hint of weariness flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He looked up at Leng Yaozhu with a relieved smile.

"teacher."

As soul power was slowly injected, the purple iron burst forth with an astonishing purple halo, transforming into a foot-long pillar of light that rose straight up without the slightest sway, its patterns displaying a translucent purple hue.

"Level 1 Soul Guidance Core Formation Detonated, Successfully Created."

Leng Yaozhu glanced at him and concluded, "Xuanzhen, you are already a quasi-first-level mecha engineer."

Since only those at level three with a second profession can barely access high-tech battle armor, early-stage mecha design, manufacturing, and repair are all judged by the standards of soul guide devices.

Leng Yaozhu taught courses on mecha design and mecha manufacturing. Mecha design cannot be monetized in one lesson, but mecha manufacturing can. Zhao Xuanzhen learned to inscribe a first-level core magic array in just one day, which is enough to show his high talent.

Zhao Xuanzhen cultivates Taoist arts, making him far more composed than his peers. He also possesses two innate advantages: his Martial Soul True Self encompasses both his brain and eyes, and his spiritual power has broken through to the Spiritual Connection Realm.

In most cases, the core magic array fails to be engraved due to minor errors, but Zhao Xuanzhen almost never encounters such accidents. He only needs to memorize the core magic array pattern, use his mental power to visualize the metal in three dimensions in his mind, and then replicate it onto the metal one-to-one.

A divinely sculpted body!

Zhao Xuanzhen roamed freely in the ocean of knowledge, while Lingrui the capybara was miserable and wretched in comparison.

After flipping through the book for three minutes, Tun Tun's eyes became clear.

No wonder the Star Dou 100,000-year-old soul beasts don't follow humans in learning battle armor; this thing is simply not something beasts can learn!

Even the extraordinary intelligence of mythical beasts is hard to comprehend, let alone those muscle-bound guys!

After reading all day, Lingrui the capybara looked utterly hopeless, as if it had been brutally bullied by knowledge and had lost all its strength and ability.

Live pig, slightly dead.

“It seems that interest is indeed a good teacher.” Leng Yaozhu slowly smiled. “Becoming a near-first-level mecha manufacturer in a day is also related to your exposure to soul tool theory since childhood. You have already memorized those basic soul tool core arrays.”

Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled. He came from the Kingdom of Scrolls, and studying in advance was a belief ingrained in his bones!

Wait, something seems off...

Zhao Xuanzhen's heart skipped a beat, and his face showed fear. He always went to the Spirit Pagoda Library alone, so how did Leng Yaozhu know exactly what he took back?

Leng Yaozhu seemed to have the ability to read minds, looking at Zhao Xuanzhen with a half-smile, and said meaningfully:

"I suddenly became curious last night and checked your borrowing records."

What's the difference between this and checking browser history?

Zhao Xuanzhen instantly felt a chill, as if his loincloth had been whipped in the street. It was all because the Spirit Pagoda collected those books that were subject to criticism!

"That's all for today, get out of class dismissed."

Leng Yaozhu was very good at the art of leaving room for interpretation in her words. She smiled and said, "Let's go to Shrek City together tonight. After all, this should be the last night you can enjoy. You have a full schedule of courses for the next few years."

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, students learn mecha design and manufacturing; in the afternoons, they train in combat at the Spirit Ascension Platform. Battle Soul Masters always prioritize honing their combat skills.

246 I found you a Title Douluo from the Spirit Pagoda. He'll teach you mecha repair in the Illusion Mirror Space on the 78th floor.

Sunday…

"A holiday?" Zhao Xuanzhen answered quickly.

"Dream on, etiquette class."

Seeing Zhao Xuanzhen's blank expression, Leng Yaozhu smiled knowingly: "Half a day off every week."

The sweat of the strong and the tears of the weak—one must always choose one.

From then on, the food chain was completely formed, with Leng Yaozhu exploiting Zhao Xuanzhen, and Zhao Xuanzhen exploiting Lingrui capybara!

……

Douluo Continent, Shrek City.

Shrek City has a long history, standing for 20,000 years, and holds an extremely important political and economic position in the Sun and Moon Federation.

The Sun and Moon Federation is now divided into four factions: in addition to the Federation War God Temple in Mingdu, the Spirit Pagoda, Tang Sect, and Shrek Academy headquarters are all located in Shrek City.

The unprecedented situation of three super powers jointly guarding a city is due to one person—Huo Yuhao, the creator of the Spirit Pagoda, the restorer of the Tang Sect, and the legend of Shrek Academy.

Huo Yuhao's initial intention was to hope that the three major forces could coexist peacefully and work together to contribute to the Soul Master world. However, after ten thousand years of changes, many things have become beyond Huo Yuhao's control.

Shrek Academy and Tang Sect remain closely connected, each occupying half of the inner city. The high-ranking officials of both sides maintain close relations. Meanwhile, the Spirit Pagoda has separated and is located on the edge of Shrek City, facing the high wall that blocks the Star Dou Great Forest.

Moonlight filtered through thin clouds, casting a clear, bright glow. A gentle breeze blew, and the warm lights along Shrek City's main street swayed, casting a rosy hue on the faces of passersby.

Two figures emerged from the crowd, instantly attracting countless gazes. The woman was tall and slender, with a curvaceous figure, her long crimson hair swaying in the wind, and her red lips smiling radiantly; her beauty was beyond compare. The young man had a handsome face, his pupils as black as lacquer, as if reflecting the shadows of clouds and the light of the sky.

The two, one big and one small, are incredibly good-looking, attracting over 90% of the attention. Passersby have various guesses: some think they are siblings, while others suspect they are mother and son...

Do you have children...?

Hehe, I like it even more now!

This street is called Phoenix Street and belongs to the Phoenix Group.

Similar to the Xuan Shi Tang Men Company under the Tang Sect, the various families of the Spirit Pagoda were not satisfied with the enormous wealth generated from selling soul spirits, and instead supported their own family conglomerates. The Leng family's ancestor founded the Phoenix Group, which was run by professionals, allowing the Leng family to reap the rewards effortlessly.

Shrek City was a huge pie, and the Spirit Pagoda family originally had many businesses there. However, as the relationship between the two major powers gradually deteriorated, those businesses moved to other cities, leaving Phoenix Street as the only remaining one.

Every now and then, Leng Yaozhu would take Zhao Xuanzhen to Phoenix Street and various parts of Shrek City for a stroll. Sometimes they would buy some things they liked, but most of the time they would just walk around, with a hint of reminiscence occasionally appearing in their eyes.

The streets Zhao Xuanzhen had visited most in both his lives were undoubtedly those he had accompanied Leng Yaozhu to. After all, he was Shi Baonan (the teacher's beloved boy), responsible for accompanying her throughout the trip and offering his innocent smile at certain moments to affirm what she was interested in.

"Grilled sausages, three Federal Dollars each, five Federal Dollars for two!"

"Chicken cartilage is 15 Federal Dollars per pound, buy one pound and get half a pound free!"

Phoenix Street was lined with vendors, their calls filling the air with a dazzling array of goods, mostly food, and primarily catering to Shrek Academy students.

The master and apprentice walked and stopped, and a small figure suddenly caught Zhao Xuanzhen's attention. The lamplight shone on the girl's silver hair, making it shine like a silver moon, making it hard to ignore her. Moreover, she was an excessively beautiful girl, with silver hair and silver eyes, and a face as delicate as a carved jade.

The silver-haired girl wandered aimlessly until a fragrant aroma wafted into her nostrils. Her large silver eyes suddenly lit up, and she ran to the chicken cartilage stall in a few strides. Looking up at the price tag of fifteen yuan per jin (500g) with a buy-one-get-half-jin-free offer, she said crisply:

"Hello boss, I'm not buying anything, can you give me half a pound for free?"

"Whose brat is this? Take him away right now!"

Zhao Xuanzhen swore he wasn't laughing; he just felt his teeth were too hot and wanted to get some fresh air.

Rejected by her boss, the silver-haired girl pouted and rubbed her empty stomach with her small hands.

"Cuckoo-"

This can't be sprayed, this is a real stomach rumbling!

We're both only half-bodied, so why did she inherit amazing wisdom while I inherited an incredible appetite?

The silver-haired girl, filled with resentment, fixed her gaze on the boy with his gleaming white teeth not far away, and said with a face full of indignation:

"Is it funny? All I see is a poor little girl."

"Boss, chicken cartilage."

Zhao Xuanzhen handed over thirty federal coins.