Heaven… Ice
Wu Zhangkong's body suddenly flared with light. The Frost Sword in his hand flashed once, then dissolved into his body and vanished. In the same instant, every mech pilot who had locked onto him felt their vision blur—the man who had been in the sights of their soul cannons had disappeared.
"There he is!" someone shouted, and instinctively, all eyes lifted skyward.
Wu Zhangkong had already risen into midair. Yet, unlike the drifting, ethereal figure he had been before, his body now shimmered with countless white points of light. They glowed on his forehead, shoulders, chest, elbows, wrists, palms, abdomen, hips, knees, and even the soles of his feet.
From each of these points, threads of silver radiance stretched outward, weaving into resplendent patterns across his body. In that instant, his aura erupted with terrifying force, rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The silver etching on his forehead was the first to be completed. At its center, a faint blue, teardrop-shaped crystal emerged. With a surge of flowing light, a white circlet manifested around his head. At its front, five crystalline ridges rose upward like clustered snowflakes. Along the circlet, the silver lines solidified, intricate and magnificent. From its sides, two white plates extended downward, hugging his cheeks and ears like the descent of an icy current.
Armor flowed from his neck downward, white plates traced with silver veins, wrapping him piece by piece until his entire figure was encased. His eyes now blazed with radiant blue light. The six soul rings that had circled him fused seamlessly into the armor, and his aura soared like a storm.
In his hand appeared a new sword—longer and grander than the Frost Sword by a third. Its guard and hilt were pure white, capped with a snowflake-shaped crest. The blade itself glimmered crystalline blue, more solid and imposing than its predecessor.
Wu Zhangkong had always been handsome, but clad in this full set of white battle armor, he became the very definition of elegance and splendor.
"Battle Armor!" Long Huantian and Zhang Zhenpeng gasped in unison.
The mechs that had been ready to attack froze in place. The white-armored pilots even lowered their cannons in shock.
He was… a Battle Armor Master.
Wu Zhangkong's sword, Tianbing Frost, tilted downward as his aura continued to climb at an exponential rate.
Like mechs, battle armor had ranks—but its hierarchy was even more profound. Battle armor was not mass-produced—it was forged by a soul master's own hand, a seamless extension of their strength. A Battle Armor Master's power eclipsed an ordinary soul master of the same level by twenty ranks.
The system was divided into four tiers, each marked by an additional character in its name:
One-Word Battle Armor: forged entirely from Thousand Refined metal; minimum requirement, five rings.
Two-Word Battle Armor: crafted from Spirit Refined metal; minimum, six rings.
Three-Word Battle Armor: created from Soul Refined metal; minimum, seven rings.
Four-Word Battle Armor: built from God Refined metal; minimum, nine rings.
When Wu Zhangkong first forged his one-word armor, he had named it Ice. In the world of Battle Armor Masters, he was known as "Ice Wu Zhangkong."
Later, when his armor advanced to two words, he added the "Heaven" character from his Tianshuang Sword. Thus, his armor became Tianbing—"Heavenly Ice."
Heaven for his sword. Ice for his beloved's name. He rarely summoned this form, because its memories weighed heavily on him—too much yearning, too much sorrow. Using it risked breaking the promise he had sworn to her.
Across the entire continent, Battle Armor Masters held unrivaled prestige. No official force dared to openly oppose one—if conflict arose, only another Battle Armor Master could judge them.
They were the most exalted profession on the Douluo Continent. Shrek Academy's supremacy stemmed precisely from being the power with the greatest number of Battle Armor Masters.
Now, with Tianbing active, Wu Zhangkong's strength was equivalent to an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
"You dared harm my disciple. If he so much as suffers a scratch… You will pay with your lives." His voice was glacial, his gaze piercing straight at Zhang Zhenpeng.
His target wasn't the Zhou sisters—they were only children. The fault lay with their teacher. If the child goes astray, the parent is at fault; if the student fails, the teacher has been negligent. Thus, when Zhang Zhenpeng first questioned him, Wu Zhangkong had not hesitated to strike.
Zhang Zhenpeng's face drained of color. A two-word Battle Armor Master… This man is actually a two-word Battle Armor Master! Not just he, but even the entire Hai Lu City would never risk offending such a figure.
Every Battle Armor Master was not only a peak powerhouse but also a soul master of extraordinary will. The process of forging battle armor was ten times harder than building a mech of the same level.
So young, yet already a two-word master—his future was limitless. He could very well stand atop the continent one day.
Suddenly, Wu Zhangkong's body shuddered. His Tianbing Frost Sword rang out with a clear, resonant cry. A layer of dazzling silver radiance burst from his armor, so blinding that even in broad daylight, the crowd instinctively shielded their eyes.
The mechs all raised defensive stances. Long Huantian and Zhang Zhenpeng's expressions shifted sharply. He's going to strike!
"…Hm?" Qian Gu Buba's lips curled with surprise. "Boss, he's breaking through to Soul Sage!"
Sure enough, as he spoke, the silver glow around Wu Zhangkong's body began to condense. Then, from beneath his feet, a seventh ring emerged—deep black as ink—rising slowly before sinking into the armor.
Seven Rings: Soul Sage!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Well, that settles it. A Soul Sage with two-word battle armor—Wu Zhangkong's current strength is no weaker than an average Titled Douluo."
Qian Gu Buba turned his gaze to Nan Fusheng. Boss, should I step in? Maybe shake things up a little more for the Heavensea Alliance?