FE—Chapter 137: The Development Route of Mechas
"Xiao Tao and Yao Heng are indeed the two Soul Emperors leading the charge. They possess strong offensive capabilities and demonstrate excellent combat talents. They also have solid organizational adaptability and a strong foundation in soul power. They have no shortcomings at all!"
Xuan Zi sat under the golden tree, commenting. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yuheng each led a mixed team in a team battle. Their performance on the field was very conspicuous.
"Phoenix Roar Air Strike!"
"White Tiger Destroys, Kill!"
The energy collision between the Evil Fire Phoenix and the White Tiger produced intense, surging bursts of energy—the dark red flames, the sharp white light, powerful and explosive.
Xuan Zi was in such a good mood that he declared he could not lose this competition.
"Wang Dong, that red-haired senior is so amazing!" Xiao Xiao looked at Ma Xiaotao's graceful, surging power on the field, her light green eyes slightly shining with admiration.
Wang Dong nodded and sighed: "It would be great if I could have the same Soul Emperor cultivation as her..."
"In that case, next time I meet Di Rachell, I will use the Clear Sky Hammer to break her broken golden spear."
Thinking of the time when Di Rachel held out her golden dragon spear to stop her at the door of the barbecue restaurant and asked her to keep a safe distance, Wang Dong felt indignant. She had never been so frustrated since childhood.
Jiang Nannan's eyes showed some doubt: "Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, is the Di Rachel you mentioned very powerful? Will she participate in this competition with Yu Hao?"
Although Di Rachel was indeed powerful, Wang Dong didn't want to admit that Di Rachel was better than her.
Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and nodded: "Yeah, anyway, Senior Beibei, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and the others are no match for Di Rachel."
Wang Dong was not very happy when she heard this, and slightly pouted—feeling a little upset: "Di Rachel will probably become a reserve member of the Sun Moon Team like Yu Hao."
"When she steals the show on the field, I can only watch from the audience. Oh... I'm annoyed just thinking about it."
Wang Dong angrily drank the beverage Ning Tian gave her, only wishing she had practiced better as a child. With her talent, she would be a powerful four-ring soul ancestor.
More than twenty strikes of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique overlapped, knocking Di Rachel away with one powerful blow.
Xiao Xiao clenched her fist and encouraged Wang Dong: "It's okay, Wang Dong. We're all geniuses with twin martial souls. We'll work harder and practice more in the future. One day, we'll surpass Meng Hongchen and Di Rachel."
Ning Tian was a little confused when she heard their conversation as if they considered the reserve players of the Sun Moon Team to be very powerful.
Compared to them, although they failed to become the reserve players of Shrek, in terms of talent, they could all become reserve players. However, Elder Xuan believed that Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's martial soul fusion skills had higher priority.
Ning Tian blinked and asked calmly: "Wang Dong if I use the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to assist you, can you beat the Sun Moon reserve team you mentioned?"
Wang Dong thought for a moment, her lips pursed, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes. She sighed and shook her head: "Alas... I'll probably still be knocked down with one shot by her."
Xiao Xiao said seriously: "Well if we go together, I guess we're not enough to beat her."
Ning Tian listened to their conversation and saw Wang Dong, usually proud, showing a disappointed look. She was a little surprised: "Huh? Is she really that powerful?"
Wang Dong quickly adjusted her mentality, put down her drink, patted her chest, and smiled confidently: "But Ning Tian, don't think too much. It's only a matter of time before I defeat Di Rachel."
"When the time comes, I'll help you." Ning Tian smiled, boosting Wang Dong's confidence.
Wu Feng, watching from the side, felt sour and deliberately coughed to attract attention. She raised her hand, flicked her red ponytail, cleared her throat, straightened her posture, and said:
"Wang Dong, you know how powerful my Red Dragon Martial Soul is. In the future, when we meet the reserve team members of the Sun Moon Empire, Miss Ning Tian will assist me…"
Wu Feng showed her two small tiger teeth and smiled confidently.
"I will activate the Red Dragon Martial Soul, fly up, punch her with my little fist, and beat her into submission."
Hearing this, Wang Dong was amused. She waved her hand happily: "Don't do that. Do you know what level of fire your Red Dragon Martial Soul is? It can hardly burn Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo's hair nets, let alone knock someone down with one shot."
Wu Feng didn't believe it, pointing at Ma Xiaotao in the field: "My Red Dragon Martial Soul has been cultivated to the Soul Emperor level, and my combat power is not weaker than that red-haired senior sister who uses the Phoenix!"
The sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, who were eating snacks, were slightly stunned when they heard this. Lan Susu smiled and said: "Wu Feng, your dream of becoming as powerful as the senior sister is quite good."
At this time, the final phase of the mixed-team battle was approaching. In the previous duel, Ma Xiaotao finally defeated Dai Yuheng, giving her team an increasing advantage, and ultimately winning the final victory.
Xuan Zi wiped his hands on his clothes again, slowly stood up, his eyes slightly closed as if drunk, and laughed heartily:
"Haha, you all performed well. Before the competition, I have prepared a task for you to hone your character. With such a strong lineup, it shouldn't be difficult to complete."
"After completing this special task, your participation in the competition will be much smoother. It will surpass the soul masters of the Sun Moon Empire!"
Wang Yan looked puzzled when he heard this. He had heard Elder Xuan say he wanted to train his disciples before, but he had never been told what it was.
However, after thinking carefully, he realized that with Elder Xuan's terrifying strength as a level 98 Super Douluo, it would be difficult for the disciples to get a scratch if he came to protect the team, greatly ensuring their safety.
Wang Yan didn't ask further questions.
In the audience, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao held large and small packages of snacks, along with bottles of iced drinks prepared by Ning Tian. After watching the mixed team battle, they felt full of happiness and comfort.
"Well... it would be great if we could do this when we participate in the Soul Master Competition. I hope we won't be allowed to play," Wang Dong said comfortably, and the others nodded in agreement.
...
In the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Jing Hongchen initially planned to give Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen a set of soul guidance full-body armor each, then organize an adaptive training match between the reserve players and the regular players.
But when the reserve players welcomed Di Rachel—the proud daughter of heaven—there were exactly seven people.
However, during the process of Jing Hongchen giving his granddaughter and grandson-in-law the full-body armor, Meng Hongchen put on the one-word battle armor she and Yuhao had crafted together. Her strength increased to the seven-ring level in a few breaths, so Jing Hongchen abandoned that idea.
Lin Jiayi pondered for a moment and asked: "Master, are we still going to have the training match between the reserve team and the regular team?"
Jing Hongchen smiled and waved his hand: "Cancel it. What's the point of training? After Meng Hongchen wears the one-word battle armor, even Ma Rulong won't be her opponent, even if he pulls out his secret weapon—the Sword of Judgment."
Originally, even without the one-word battle armor, Meng Hongchen would normally wear the level 6 soul guide full-body armor Jing Hongchen prepared.
Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, Chen Fei, and others—members of the regular team—would find it difficult to fight against the seven reserve team members.
Even if Huo Yuhao only provided spiritual detection and didn't use the Buddha's Furry Flame Lotus or bloodline powers directly, their regular team members would likely be defeated by Meng Hongchen and Di Rachel.
Now that Meng Hongchen is wearing the one-word battle armor, with her seven-ring strength, she's a formidable crusher against the soul kings of the regular team.
Jing Hongchen smiled: "Yuhao, Meng Hongchen since you've successfully crafted the one-word battle armor, there's no need to hide the research data of Experimental Subject No. 1 from you two."
He took out a remote control with a special texture from the storage soul guidance device, carved with complex patterns. He pointed at the metal wall in the middle of the dome with his eyes.
"Behind this wall is Experimental Subject No. 1—the humanoid soul guidance device I mentioned before. Once activated, it will be a continental war."
Jing Hongchen used his identity card as the head of Illustrious Virtue Hall, scanned it on the soul guidance screen, and the big metal door slowly opened in the middle of the wall.
He entered with Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen. Suddenly, several beams of bright light flashed in the dim space, making the back semicircular area of the laboratory quite mysterious.
After Jing Hongchen turned on the highest-level defensive soul guidance equipment, he said with some emotion: "Look, this is Experimental Subject No. 1, which Grandpa and several researchers have been developing for many years."
Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen looked in the direction he indicated.
What caught their attention was a pitch-black, fifteen-meter-tall humanoid metal body, densely covered with complex carvings symbolizing its mystery. The entire body was made of rare metals.
However, upon closer inspection, the structure of Experimental Subject No. 1 was still relatively simple, and the overall outline was complete.
The chest was open, revealing a metal seat inside and several control joysticks.
Although Meng Hongchen had expected this, facing such a huge metal giant, her lips slightly parted in surprise, marveling at her grandfather's ability to create such a machine.
Huo Yuhao's eyes also carried admiration and curiosity.
Jing Hongchen was slightly relieved seeing their reactions: "Yuhao, compared to battle armor technology, what do you think of this humanoid soul guidance device—Experimental Subject No. 1—made by me?"
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment and showed interest: "Master battle armor technology is another branch of mecha development."
"The main difference is that increasing the power of battle armor can significantly impact the soul master, and the combat efficiency improvement is very notable. That's an advantage over mecha."
Jing Hongchen nodded. He understood Huo Yuhao's point. He also knew the biggest flaw of Experimental Subject No. 1: its heavy weight and the use of metals made it difficult to carry such a large energy array. The primary issue was that enlarging the metal components and increasing the core array required the soul engineer to enter a control cabin and operate via remote controls.
This was why Jing Hongchen said Experimental Subject No. 1 could only be used in large-scale wars.
Its control mode prevented it from directly improving the soul master's strength. In comparison, the advantages of battle armor were clear.
Thinking of this, Jing Hongchen sighed slowly: "This Experimental Subject No. 1 is the pinnacle of our Illustrious Virtue Hall's soul guidance research."
"Although it's only a semi-finished product, it's the crystallization of thousands of years of research on soul guidance devices in the Sun Moon Empire... If the other Douluo Three Kingdoms obtained its schematics, the entire country would leap forward in this field."
Huo Yuhao looked at Experimental Subject No. 1 and listened carefully to Jing Hongchen's words, feeling a mixture of awe and inspiration: "Master, you can continue developing this mecha route."
"Mecha... is a very good concept."
Jing Hongchen shook his head: "Its flaws are too significant. How long would it take us to fully develop it? Ten years? Twenty?"
"The biggest issue is the enormous consumption of metal."
"Although there are many core arrays in Experimental Body No. 1, they are all based on the amount of metal used. The more metal, the more energy it can carry."
Huo Yuhao smiled: "Master the one-word battle armor isn't as perfect as you think. It also has unavoidable defects."
"Huh?" Jing Hongchen was stunned. He felt that Huo Yuhao was trying to comfort him, but he couldn't accept that the battle armor had flaws.
He asked seriously: "Yuhao, tell me, what are the defects of the one-word armor?"
Huo Yuhao smiled warmly and explained: "As the hall master just saw, when Sister Meng wears the one-word armor, she needs to control eleven armor parts by herself. The process of putting on the armor is a defect of the one-word armor."
Jing Hongchen was stunned again, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"What kind of defect is that? All soul guidance devices are pre-equipped, and even Xiao's control of the gold element requires a metal condensation process."
"And in my opinion, Meng spends very little time putting on the one-word armor."
Jing Hongchen looked into Huo Yuhao's eyes, thinking: Are you hiding some good news from me?
Meeting Jing Hongchen's eager gaze, Huo Yuhao pursed his lips.
"The two-word battle armor will solve this defect. It can be fully integrated with the soul master and even have wings. It's a true battle armor."
Jing Hongchen's heart surged: "Haha, I knew that battle armor technology wasn't that simple. The two-word battle armor will elevate the combat power of a soul king to that of an eight-ring soul douluo?"
Jing Hongchen dared not imagine.
So Huo Yuhao told him not to think about the two-word battle armor just yet—that would be after the competition—and advised him to focus on developing from mecha to one-word battle armor first.
(End of this chapter)