Chu Chengzhou's words set Ma Jieke's blood boiling. This was pioneering Battle Armor. If it really worked, Ma Jieke would be remembered in history.
But soon Ma Jieke calmed down. Battle Armor soul tools were unprecedented. Everything still needed exploration. Getting excited now was clearly premature.
Seeing Ma Jieke calm down, Chu Chengzhou patted his shoulder and continued, "Of course I know Heavenly Refinement–grade Battle Armor will be very hard. But you can first make Thousand Refinements–grade Battle Armor. We start shallow and go deep, from easy to hard, step by step."
"Yes, Young Master Chu."
Ma Jieke responded.
After that, Chu Chengzhou discussed Battle Armor with Ma Jieke.
He was not very clear on the manufacturing process itself, but he had general ideas and directions. As for the rest, he would hand it to a professional, and while Ma Jieke was not a perfect fit, he was close enough.
Of course, if Ma Jieke disappointed him, and when he achieved rank 99 Limit Douluo and all nine spirit rings reached a million years, yet still could not get an initial version of Battle Armor out, then he would step in personally.
With a cheat in hand, Battle Armor manufacturing might stump him for a moment, but it would not stump him for life, not even for long.
The reason he sought out the wage earner Ma Jieke was simply that he had not yet hit a bottleneck. He still had vast room to improve and could not spare too much time to tinker with Battle Armor.
Time flew. In the blink of an eye, one kun (two and a half) months passed.
In the afternoon, in Sunset Forest, at the border where the sharply divided red Yang Spring and white Yin Spring met within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Chu Chengzhou was circulating Nine Breaths Qi, wantonly devouring the vast water and fire energy contained in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
If Dugu Bo were here now, he would definitely see at a glance that the power of water and fire contained in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had clearly decreased a lot compared to before.
When Chu Chengzhou's spirit power rank was at eight-ring Soul Douluo, his speed of devouring water and fire energy could not keep up with the recovery speed of this special terrain.
But now he had advanced to nine-ring Titled Douluo. His strength had greatly increased. His devouring speed gradually caught up with the recovery speed of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and after his spirit power rank passed 95, his devouring speed had already far surpassed the recovery speed.
It was only because the water and fire energy accumulated in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well over countless years was enormous, and its recovery speed was considerable, that otherwise, after this period of taking without giving back, the power of water and fire in the springs would have long been devoured clean.
Suddenly, along with a violent fluctuation of spirit power spreading from Chu Chengzhou, a terrifying aura flashed out. Chu Chengzhou, who was running Nine Breaths Qi to devour the water and fire energy, raised his spirit power rank again and achieved rank 99 Limit Douluo, rare in the world.
"Tsk. Twelve years of cultivation, and I finally reached the realm of Limit."
Opening his eyes and sensing the vast spirit power within, Chu Chengzhou could not help but silently sigh.
He still remembered that twelve years ago, when he first awakened his martial soul, he was just a small nobody with innate spirit power rounded to only level 1. Yet twelve years later today, he was already a peak expert standing atop the continent.
In terms of strength, barring the descent of gods, Chu Chengzhou was confident he was invincible in the world.
This confidence did not come only from the soul power of the rank 99 Limit Douluo realm. If he were just an ordinary rank 99 Limit Douluo, he would by no means be a match for half-god experts like Qian Daoliu or Bo Saixi.
You had to know that although these two half-gods were also at rank 99, as divine servants they could draw on divine power on their home grounds of Spirit City and Sea God Island. The strength they could display was definitely not far off from later-era level 100 spirit masters who had no god positions.
The fact that Tang Chen before taking the Asura God's Trial was not much weaker than the two, even gaining a slight edge via terrain, was only because the three did not place the battlefield in Spirit City and Sea God Island, and because Tang Chen possessed the outrageously overbearing secret art Great Sumeru Hammer.
Chu Chengzhou's confidence came from his own spirit power at the rank 99 Limit realm, combined with various powerful techniques.
For example, using Four Symbols soul power to drive the gold-grade Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow, its power had already stepped into the divine level back when his spirit power rank reached level 97 Titled Douluo.
How does Chu Chengzhou know?
Nothing else. The soul bone skill attached to the Elemental Dominion skull bone, Elemental Dominion, an active all-element amplification effect, could no longer provide elemental amplification.
The failure of this type of amplification skill to take effect meant Chu Chengzhou's attacks had stepped into the divine threshold.
Just like in the original work when Tang San hunted the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, after ring detonation his strength stepped into the divine level, and Ning Rongrong's attribute-boosting skills from her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul could no longer affect Tang San.
Likewise, when using Four Symbols soul power to drive the defensive ultimate technique Bloom in an Instant, the Elemental Dominion soul bone skill's elemental amplification also no longer took effect.
Back when his spirit power rank was still at level 97 Titled Douluo, he could already rely on Four Symbols soul power to make Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow and Bloom in an Instant reach divine-level offense and defense. Now that he had achieved rank 99 Limit Douluo, his strength had definitely advanced further. Even if a later-era level 100 spirit master came, Chu Chengzhou was confident he could fight.
Heaven-Invincible Qian Daoliu?
Mm. In a few days I will take a trip to Spirit City, pay my respects as the grandson-in-law (test his mettle), and also deliver two betrothal gifts to my mother-in-law.
It is worth mentioning that a few days after Chu Chengzhou returned to the continent, the Elemental Dominion skull bone that had been auto-leveling increased in age to 100,000 years, and the Crystal Guard left arm soul bone also upgraded into a 100,000-year soul bone a little over a month ago.
However, after the two soul bones transformed into 100,000-year soul bones, the effects of their second 100,000-year soul bone skills were rather underwhelming.
The Elemental Dominion skull bone's second 100,000-year soul bone skill, Elemental Fusion, can greatly enhance all-element fusion capability.
The Crystal Guard left arm soul bone's second 100,000-year soul bone skill, Crystal Guard, upon activation condenses a soul power shield that protects the whole body. It is a defensive soul bone skill.
If not for the secret art Elemental Fusion, that soul bone skill would not be too bad. But with the soon-to-be-completed super-divine secret art Elemental Fusion, this soul bone skill seems very chicken-rib, not even worth calling chicken-rib.
As for a defensive soul bone skill, how could a mere 100,000-year defensive soul bone skill compare to Bloom in an Instant, which is currently a divine skill and about to advance to a rainbow-grade super-divine skill?
In other words, whether he has these two soul bone skills or not brings no improvement to Chu Chengzhou's actual strength. They are two downright useless soul bone skills.