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In theory, a Purple-Rank mech couldn't match the strength of a Two-Word Battle Armor Master. A Black-Rank mech, however, held that possibility.
This was all contingent on the mech pilot reaching the corresponding theoretical operational level, possessing the skills to overcome the disadvantage of sluggish movement caused by the mech's bulky size during combat.
Of course, if these conditions were met, a mech pilot would surpass their equivalent battle armor master.
Unfortunately, the highest rank of mech pilots currently was Red-Rank, which corresponded to only Three-Word Battle Armor Masters.
Thus, mech pilots were inferior to battle armor masters.
But how many Four-Word Battle Armor Masters were there on the continent?
Therefore, mechs had never been weaker than battle armor—especially for most mech pilots. The enthusiasm to become a higher-ranked mech pilot had never waned.
The only obstacle was talent.
Man-machine unity was an enormous test of operational aptitude. Not only did one need to max out their innate combat abilities, but they also had to consider the complexities of mech operation during battles. Compared to battle armor masters, who simply amplified soul masters' powers and allowed them to fight in their preferred style, advancing as a mech pilot was far more complicated.
Even so, a Yellow-Rank mech still carried significant weight.
Xu Yuan glanced at Luo Guixing and nodded.
The classmates eavesdropping on their conversation wore expressions of awe.
As expected of the class monitor.
Even when building a mech, he was thinking about constructing a Yellow-Rank mech instead of the basic White-Rank.
But was it really just an ordinary Yellow-Rank mech?
Some noticed Xu Yuan's earlier statement about planning to delve deeper into mech construction.
This Yellow-Rank mech was likely no ordinary Yellow-Rank mech.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating whether he could follow suit based on Xu Yuan's example.
He had always loved mechs, and they were particularly well-suited to work with his Spirit Suppressing Stele martial soul. Imagining a mech wielding a massive stone tablet and wreaking havoc filled him with excitement.
Before the stone tablet fell, there'd be gravity space manipulation plus spatial lockdown, combined with his third soul skill, Heaven and Earth Divine Stele…
Xu Yuan hadn't bothered to lower his voice, so attentive classmates could overhear bits of the conversation.
"Yellow-Rank mech? Further development?" Xu Xiaoyan exclaimed in surprise.
She wasn't surprised that Xu Yuan wanted to build a Yellow-Rank mech but rather that he intended to specialize further in mech construction.
"Captain, am I the only one who feels like our class monitor wants to excel in every single path he treads?" she asked.
Tang Wulin sighed and nodded helplessly.
"You're not wrong. That's exactly what Brother Xu wants—to deepen his knowledge in every field."
It seemed like he had too many dreams.
But what truly made it despair-inducing was that in every direction he pursued, Xu Yuan far surpassed them!
"That's what makes it so frustrating," Tang Wulin muttered.
"In truth, I've always wanted to achieve something in mech construction, but alas, I'm just a blacksmith. My visions for mechs can only remain fantasies unless I hire others to build them for me. Many of my ideas can't be personally implemented, which saps my motivation." Tang Wulin said enviously, "I really admire Brother Xu. With four secondary professions under his belt, he can incorporate his own ideas into both mech and battle armor construction."
To gradually complete and upgrade one's partner through one's own efforts—what a wonderful thing that would be.
"The upper limit of mechs is lower than battle armor. His focus on mechs is actually our opportunity," Gu Yue interjected coldly.
Her perception of mechs had always been that they weren't strong enough—and thus uninteresting.
Among mech pilots, there were no Limit Douluo-level fighters. To be precise, no one relied solely on a mech to reach Limit Douluo-level power, nor did any Limit Douluos significantly increase their strength by using mechs.
On the other hand, battle armor did.
Four-Word Battle Armor provided significant enhancements even to Limit Douluos, breaking through the theoretical cap of level 99 soul masters and touching upon godlike realms. It forcibly carved out a quasi-divine state.
That was what mattered to her.
Thus, when Wu Changkong announced this semester's task, she and Tang Wulin's group decided to aim for creating a simplified version of a One-Word Battle Armor.
This group included Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi.
As for Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie, their secondary profession levels were too low to participate. They could only focus on building mechs.
"Ye Xinglan's mech construction is also at Level 4, but she says she's far behind Brother Xu. Still, she shouldn't be too far off. She's confident she can build simplified battle armor according to your blueprints. Could Brother Xu do the same?" Tang Wulin frowned.
Gu Yue rolled her eyes.
"Don't you feel it?"
"Feel what?" Tang Wulin asked, confused.
Gu Yue replied irritably, "Don't you think he acted far too calmly during the battle two months ago?"
Tang Wulin's mind worked quickly, but in this moment, he wished he didn't understand.
Because understanding Gu Yue's words filled him with another wave of despair.
The gap… it was suffocating.
Had Brother Xu already started crafting his own battle armor back then?
No, perhaps he had already completed several parts of it?
Gu Yue didn't elaborate further.
She knew Xu Yuan's situation through someone else.
It wasn't that he had battle armor yet, but his mech construction had already yielded results at the time. Though it hadn't been fully assembled, even the mech components alone could be controlled by a soul master.
"No matter what, this is our chance to surpass Brother Xu. He'll likely compete at the end-of-term event using his mech, while we'll use battle armor. There's a slight chance!"
Tang Wulin decided to continue crafting battle armor.
And it wouldn't be ordinary battle armor—it would be forged using spirit-forged alloys!
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"Uh, Class Monitor, we need a batch of thousand-forged metals for our mech construction. Could you help us forge them? Don't worry, we'll purchase them at market price."
Wu Siduo spoke up again.
Her sharp gaze secretly silenced Luo Guixing and Xu Yucheng. In the back row, Yang Nianxia—whose group included Zheng Yiran—wisely refrained from interrupting, despite being a Level 3 blacksmith capable of forging thousand-forged metals.
"1st Grade Thousand-Forged?"
"Huh?"
Xu Yuan's counter-question left Wu Siduo's mind blank.
What do you mean, 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged?
Isn't it clear that I want you to forge some thousand-forged metals?
"Not 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged?" Xu Yuan's brows slowly relaxed.
"I have quite a few failed thousand-forged metals that didn't reach 1st-Grade. If you need them, you can come to my forging workshop and pick out a batch."
Wu Siduo's mind went numb.
Yang Nianxia in the back row gaped.
Wait, Class Monitor, why are you talking like this?
Failed products?
You don't mean those failed thousand-forged metals that didn't reach 1st-Grade, right?
Are you telling me you've kept all those failed pieces unused?
Yang Nianxia swallowed hard.
This class monitor's forging skills might not be limited to Level 4.
If his success rate for 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged metals was already decent, then given his soul power level and blood essence strength, he could definitely attempt Spirit Forging!
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