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Xu Yuan's mech was essentially complete.
The reason he told Wu Siduo and the others that it wasn't finished yet was because the energy conversion device and energy core hadn't been constructed, and the corresponding soul-guided arrays hadn't been fully integrated.
However, if powered solely by Xu Yuan's soul power, the mech was already fully operational.
Compared to White-Rank mechs, Yellow-Rank mechs had higher energy efficiency. While their bursts consumed more energy overall, in terms of executing the same attacks, a Yellow-Rank mech undoubtedly consumed less.
Even for simple transportation purposes, a Yellow-Rank mech was already exceptional.
Xu Yuan's self-crafted Yellow-Rank mech wasn't of the bulky type but rather a lightweight model, further reducing the burden.
With his Soul Ancestor-level soul power reserves, even traveling between Shrek Academy and Tiandou City wouldn't deplete his soul power—especially since his soul power was constantly regenerating.
In Xu Yuan's mech design, one of its core capabilities included soul power regeneration.
While battle armor had limited space and required extreme optimization of recovery functions, Xu Yuan still adhered to the standard proportions used by battle armor masters. However, mechs—especially lightweight ones—had ample space for engraving core arrays.
With so much room available, Xu Yuan naturally added many functions he desired, such as soul power recovery.
Similar to auxiliary-system soul skills, Xu Yuan engraved three energy-related core arrays into his mech. Two of them assisted in recovering his soul power, while one helped him channel ambient spiritual energy to work in tandem with his soul power for control.
That's right—aside from the mech's internal energy reserves, Xu Yuan could also draw on external ambient spiritual energy to control the mech. Even while using the mech, its energy core would absorb ambient spiritual energy to rapidly recover.
Of course, this system wasn't fully completed yet. For now, the third array's function was limited to assisting Xu Yuan in channeling ambient spiritual energy alongside his soul power to control the mech.
Even so, this mech's endurance capabilities already surpassed the vast majority of Yellow-Rank mechs.
It was far beyond what a typical Yellow-Rank mech should be capable of.
Piloting his Yellow-Rank mech, Xu Yuan arrived at Tiandou City in just half a day.
At the top floor of the Blacksmiths Association, Xu Yuan's mech descended slowly.
A muscular figure was already waiting.
As Xu Yuan's mech landed, Mu Ye's eyes flickered with surprise.
As a divine-level mech pilot, his discerning eye immediately identified that Xu Yuan's mech still lacked an energy core. He also noticed that a significant portion of the mech's energy consumption came from ambient spiritual energy.
"How's the combat capability of this mech?" Mu Ye asked.
Xu Yuan leaped out of the mech and, upon hearing his teacher's question, provided data he had previously estimated.
"In terms of boosting my strength, it shouldn't be weaker than a full set of One-Word Battle Armor."
This statement alone spoke volumes about his confidence.
Mu Ye clicked his tongue in admiration, circling around Xu Yuan's mech to examine it closely.
Though it paled in comparison to his own Little Red, what intrigued Mu Ye most was Xu Yuan's thought process.
After tapping and inspecting for less than three minutes, he had already figured out roughly 70-80% of the mech's design.
"Not bad—it's entirely made from 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged metals. In terms of value, this mech probably rivals a Purple-Rank mech."
"It's still missing the energy core and energy conversion device, though."
"Even without the energy conversion device, you've managed to utilize ambient spiritual energy. Once you complete this setup, I estimate the mech's energy consumption will drop even further."
Mu Ye couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration again.
What impressed him most was that all the core arrays Xu Yuan used were at the level of One-Word Battle Armor.
Why was battle armor so powerful?
Because it condensed and simplified powerful effects into core arrays that could be engraved onto a small set of armor.
The core array technology used in crafting battle armor far exceeded that of mechs.
But that didn't mean mechs couldn't use such technology.
However, powerful arrays that condensed strong effects also required equally robust metals to support them.
Xu Yuan's mech, crafted entirely from 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged metals, used materials capable of supporting One-Word Battle Armor core arrays. Now, these arrays were being applied to the mech, making its internal systems equivalent to those of One-Word Battle Armor.
All things considered, this Yellow-Rank mech's performance surpassed even the standard Purple-Rank mech.
"Mm, this mech already possesses some nascent sentience, but it's not enough. I plan to concentrate this sentience within the energy core. To ensure the mech's sentience can be preserved during future upgrades, I'll craft the final energy core using spirit-forged alloys, which will make secondary forging and upgrades easier."
The reason he hadn't yet crafted the energy core wasn't because he couldn't do it—it was because Xu Yuan had high standards and was waiting for his fusion-forging skills to improve further.
Now that he had successfully forged god-forged alloys, Xu Yuan was technically ready to begin this final step.
"Your ideas surpass all mech pilots on the continent," Mu Ye said with a grin. "Being a blacksmith really gives you an edge. A Yellow-Rank mech entirely crafted from 1st-Grade Thousand-Forged metals is already mind-blowing, and you're planning to forge the core with spirit-forged alloys. I'm guessing your ultimate goal is god-forged alloys, right?"
How many mech pilots would drool with envy at this?
"This mech has already reached the peak of Yellow-Rank. There's nothing more I can do to improve it," Mu Ye said helplessly.
It was already crafted using the same principles as battle armor—what more could he do?
"Let's go. I'll take you to see your uncle. He was up all night worrying about you yesterday."
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Zhen Hua's Office
"Uncle, this is the Jade Silver I forged."
Xu Yuan took out two pieces of god-forged Jade Silver he had forged the previous day and handed them to Zhen Hua.
Zhen Hua accepted the two pieces of Jade Silver, his throat bobbing slightly.
During their earlier communication, he hadn't had time to ask for details and had no idea Xu Yuan had forged two god-forged alloys.
"These were both forged yesterday?"
"Yes. Yesterday, I forged six times in total. These are the finished products."
Finished products?
God-forged alloy finished products, right?
Zhen Hua's lips twitched.
Lately, Xu Yuan had developed a bad habit—he was too humble-bragging.
"One piece has a fusion rate of 96%, the other 97%. The proportion of essence, energy, and spirit you adjusted must be at the 95% level. The extra percentage points are likely due to your Heaven and Earth Furnace Method."
When Zhen Hua mentioned the Heaven and Earth Furnace Method, he couldn't help but glance at Mu Ye.
Every time he thought of furnaces, he couldn't help but associate it with the Body Sect's Blood Essence Furnace Method, a secret technique for tempering spiritual energy with blood essence.
When he first heard about Xu Yuan's method, he had suspected Xu Yuan might have drawn inspiration from the Blood Essence Furnace Method.
True integration—it wasn't just lip service when it came to Xu Yuan.
"There isn't much more I can teach you about fusion-forging techniques. This time, I called you here to systematically review and refine your foundational forging skills."
Xu Yuan looked utterly bewildered.
"Huh?"
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