T/N: I now have a patreon page setup, don't have all the advance chapters ready yet so don't purchase.
The link is [email protected]/LordHipposApostle.
Probably will have first and maybe second tier up within the next hour.
Just then, Xiao Wu and the other two returned.
"Senior Chu, we're back. I got 300 jin of cloud titanium."
"As for the 'Plate Crystal Gold,' the Qibao branch in Soto City is currently out of stock, but I've already sent Wang Fugui to look for it."
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong took out all the cloud titanium ingots from her storage soul device and dumped them in the corner of the forging room.
"Three hundred jin of cloud titanium?"
Chu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows.
As for Plate Crystal Gold, it was a rare material, so it was no surprise the Qibao Merchant Association didn't have any in stock.
"Ugh, this stuff isn't even worth much. Bamboo Qing and I may not be able to wear heavy armor now, but we'll definitely be able to in the future."
Ning Rongrong waved her hand dismissively.
To her, the heavier the armor, the higher the defense. Her family had plenty of this material anyway, so for now they'd make do with light armor. Once she mastered the 'Body Refining Technique,' they could switch to heavy armor.
"Alright then! Oh, I need to take your measurements so the armor fits properly."
Chu Chengzhou spoke seriously.
Measurements were crucial! Even buying clothes required trying them on, let alone armor, where an incorrect size meant you couldn't wear it at all.
"Brother, you better not get handsy when you're measuring them~"
Xiao Wu narrowed her eyes and warned him.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing: "..."
"Hmph~ Would I be that kind of person?"
Chu Chengzhou snorted in protest, looking displeased.
Though he acted indignant, deep down, he was a little guilty.
Luckily, he'd behaved properly when measuring Xiao Wu earlier, avoiding any sketchy moves. Otherwise, her guard would be way higher now.
"Rongrong, come with me."
He called out to Ning Rongrong and headed to his room.
"Scummy Chu, how exactly are you planning to take measurements?"
In the room, Ning Rongrong questioned him while eyeing the tape measure in his hand.
With others around, she called him "Senior Chu," but when they were alone, he was "Scummy Chu."
"Rongrong, don't slander my reputation."
Chu Chengzhou looked annoyed. How could someone as outstanding as him be a scumbag?
"Denying it doesn't make it untrue~"
She pouted and muttered under her breath.
"Enough talk, stand up straight, I'm going to start measuring."
With a righteous expression, Chu Chengzhou moved in with the tape to measure her waist.
"Wait, I can do it myself!"
As his hands moved toward her waist, the girl's modesty made Ning Rongrong object.
"Nope, you won't measure accurately. I have to do it."
Chu Chengzhou firmly refused.
"Then you better not try anything funny, or I'll tell Xiao Wu you took advantage of me."
Blushing, Ning Rongrong warned him.
"Don't worry. I, Chu Chengzhou, am the most honest guy around!"
That's what he said, but who knew what he was really thinking?
Maybe the little devil girl had already predicted this?
At first, Chu Chengzhou's hands behaved. But measuring someone's body required some physical contact.
Sure enough, after measuring her waist, when it came time for the bust and hips, his hands began to misbehave.
Ning Rongrong blushed deeply as she felt his hands brush her chest and hips. Was this guy really measuring both at the same time? What a scumbag!
She wanted to call him out, but strangely, those hands seemed to have a kind of magic, leaving her dazed—just like when he had stolen a kiss from her before, and somehow she ended up reciprocating.
"All done!"
Finally, Chu Chengzhou's voice brought her back to reality.
He didn't want to push his luck too far and risk alerting Xiao Wu outside.
Opening her misty eyes, Ning Rongrong looked at him, cheeks flushed.
"If you liked it, you can come see me tonight~"
Chu Chengzhou whispered in her ear.
Ning Rongrong: "..."
Glaring at him, she quickly straightened her wrinkled clothes and ran out of the room in embarrassment.
Next up was Miss You Rong—Zhu Zhuqing.
However, her relationship progress was still low, so Chu Chengzhou didn't dare mess around. One wrong move and he'd get slapped, and that would be awkward.
The process was proper, though Zhu Zhuqing still blushed.
After all, having a guy take measurements of your precious assets, even if done properly, was bound to make a pure-hearted girl shy.
Still, Chu Chengzhou maintained a righteous demeanor the entire time, which helped ease her discomfort.
—
Over an hour later, in the forge, two suits of armor were complete—Silver Cloud Armor.
That was the name Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing gave to their soul-refined cloud titanium armor.
Cloud titanium was light, and even after soul forging, it wasn't as dense as regular iron. One set weighed 20 jin, the other 25.
No surprise—Zhu Zhuqing's was the heavier one.
Though she was an agility-type soul master with average physique, her beast martial spirit, Nether Cat, made her sturdier than Ning Rongrong.
Plus, the body-refining fist technique helped enhance her physical strength enough to handle the extra weight.
And it wasn't just because she was taller and bustier—Chu Chengzhou had added a pair of claws to the handguards of her armor.
After all, her martial soul's claws couldn't compare to soul-refined cloud titanium.
"Oh right, Rongrong, Zhuqing—if anyone asks where your armor came from, just say you bought it from me."
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou spoke up.
"Bought it? For how much?"
Ning Rongrong blinked and asked quickly.
"Five million per set."
Chu Chengzhou held up five fingers.
"Silver soul coins?"
"Gold soul coins."
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. Five million gold soul coins? Was he robbing people?
Zhu Zhuqing, already wearing the armor, shuddered. Her family wasn't as wealthy as Ning Rongrong's. Even Rongrong thought it was expensive—she couldn't even imagine affording it.
Luckily, Chu Chengzhou hadn't asked her to pay. Otherwise, she'd have to sell herself and still come up short.
Facing Ning Rongrong's "are you fleecing me?" expression, Chu Chengzhou stayed calm. His words were aimed at her for a reason.
This little rich girl was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Soul-refined armor had excellent defense and was easy to wear. Even battle experts would find it useful, let alone support-types with low defense.
Naturally, she'd want some for her clan.
Crafting armor for his personal 'fish pond' of girls? No problem. You gotta invest in the romance. But for outsiders? No freebies.
Five million gold soul coins was a lot, sure—but it depended on the buyer. And Ning Rongrong's clan was famous for being rich.
Mediocre thousand-year soul bones cost over a million, and this armor could block attacks from soul masters below level 60. Its value far surpassed those soul bones.
When offense and defense were evenly matched, the shield was always pricier. Rich people might have bodyguards, but they still feared death.
Also, pricing it high had another benefit. If he priced it too low, her clan might flood him with orders. And no matter how skilled he was, he couldn't keep up.
Gold soul coins weren't like spiritual stones in cultivation novels—they couldn't boost power directly. So for someone like him, who didn't rely on money-based systems, they were just a side item.
—
Besides the two sets of armor, Chu Chengzhou also forged a titanium cloud plate (over a foot square and half a centimeter thick) and crafted 100 titanium armor-piercing arrows, each 3 feet long with an 8mm shaft, using cloud titanium and soul-forged Fa Gold for the arrowheads.
These were designed to pierce through powerful defenses or target high-level soul masters.
Unlike soul energy arrows, which were weightless and not affected by wind, physical arrows had to contend with real-world factors. Too heavy, and the effective range dropped sharply.
That's why lightweight, durable cloud titanium was the perfect material for the shaft.
'Just a pain to retrieve.'
Chu Chengzhou stored the arrows in his body and sighed.
Even after a blood ritual, soul-forged metal wasn't like magical flying artifacts—it didn't return automatically after firing.
But thanks to the blood ritual, he could vaguely sense their direction even from ten miles away. Retrieval would be a hassle, but not impossible.
He planned to test them next using the titanium plate.
—
Outside the academy, near the grove, Xiao Wu leaned the titanium plate against a large boulder.
From a hundred meters away, Chu Chengzhou summoned his Flaming Sun Bow in a flash of red light.
With his left hand gripping the bow, his right hand summoned a fire-attribute energy arrow. Taking aim, he loosed a shot at the plate.
Whoosh—
A faint sound pierced the air. The fire-colored streak hit the plate precisely.
Boom—
A flash of red exploded. The titanium plate spun and was knocked aside.
As expected, when Xiao Wu brought it back, the plate was still smooth and undamaged.
Next, Chu Chengzhou summoned one of his physical titanium arrows.
The previous shot was just a warm-up—this was the real test.
Drawing the bow, infusing it with fire-attribute energy, the golden tip of the arrowhead glowed with a fierce red light.
Whoosh—
Another fire-red streak shot out.
Clang—!
With a piercing sound, the titanium arrow embedded into the plate. Only the last foot of the arrow remained visible—the rest had pierced through and buried into the boulder behind it.
"Not bad!"
Chu Chengzhou nodded with satisfaction.
If not for the boulder, the plate would have been fully penetrated.
And this was a soul-forged plate thicker and stronger than either of the girls' armors. The arrow's power was terrifying.
If energy arrows were like normal bullets, then titanium armor-piercing arrows were like depleted uranium rounds—built to penetrate.
Unfortunately, he didn't yet have a gold-element soul spirit.
If he did, and could infuse these arrows with gold energy, their penetration would skyrocket.
Even now, he figured he could shoot down a six-ring Soul Emperor—or maybe even assassinate a seven-ring Soul Sage.
After all, sneak attacks are sneak attacks for a reason.
Before the soul power of his arrows could match the might of the Titanium Armor-Piercing Arrows, the upper limit of his archery's power wouldn't see any significant improvement.
To deal with stronger soul masters, the road ahead was still long and difficult.
Besides, even if the power was there, whether he could actually hit the target was another matter entirely.
After all, as long as they were high-level soul masters, their senses were extremely sharp and their reaction speed was lightning-fast. If they couldn't withstand the arrows, couldn't they still dodge them?
Fortunately, Chu Chengzhou had long been prepared for this. His spiritual illusion arts were currently upgrading on auto-mode.
Once he mastered the illusion arts, anyone whose spiritual power couldn't match his would be forced to take his arrows head-on—with their foreheads.
At night, Chu Chengzhou was meditating and cultivating in his room.
"Knock knock knock—"
Suddenly, a knocking sound rang out.
'Tsk~, that little devil actually came?'
Sensing the familiar aura outside the door, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but click his tongue.
Still, he didn't hesitate and got up to open the door immediately.
"Rongrong, coming to see me this late?"
As the door opened, Chu Chengzhou looked at Ning Rongrong with a slightly amused expression.
"I wanted to discuss the matter of the spirit-forged armor with you."
"Oh? Come on in, then!"
"Bang—"
The door shut behind them.
"Senior Chu, the price you're asking for the spirit-forged armor is way too high. Can't you lower it a bit?"
Ning Rongrong put on a pitiful face and said softly.
Hmm, she didn't even call him a scumbag this time—clearly here to haggle.
Earlier, Chu Chengzhou had priced the spirit-forged armor at five million gold soul coins per set. Ning Rongrong had thought it over afterward and realized it wasn't that unreasonable.
After all, a millennium soul bone that included a defensive soul skill would cost several million gold soul coins at the very least.
And unless the wearer had high soul power, even a millennium defensive soul bone couldn't match the defensive strength of the spirit-forged armor. Not to mention, it consumed soul power upon use. In terms of practicality, the armor was clearly superior.
Moreover, the defense effects of both could be stacked without conflict.
Wearing the armor while activating a defensive soul bone skill would significantly boost safety.
However, her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had a lot of support-type soul masters, which meant high demand. At five million per set, even a wealthy clan like hers would find it hard to afford.
So, Ning Rongrong thought to come and bargain with Chu Chengzhou, hoping to get a batch of high-quality armor at a lower price.
More importantly, she had personally seen Chu Chengzhou forge both her and Zhu Zhuqing's Silverlight Cloud Armor in just over an hour.
And for such a short time, this guy actually wants to earn tens of millions?
Even the legendary Level 100 gods aren't as good at making money as you!
"Rongrong, let's not talk about armor just yet."
Licking his lips, Chu Chengzhou waved his hand dismissively. Under Ning Rongrong's confused gaze, he wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in.
It's the middle of the night, and you want to talk business? That's totally off theme!
Just like that night half a month ago, Ning Rongrong went from resisting at first to gradually responding on her own.
This time, Chu Chengzhou didn't act like some so-called "gentleman" who only kissed—his hands got involved too.
And he was strong—definitely not someone a two-ring support-type soul master like Ning Rongrong could escape from.
Seeing this, and unable to resist, Ning Rongrong's body suddenly flashed with silver light—her Silverlight Cloud Armor materialized instantly.
"Uh… huh?"
Feeling the hardness and coldness beneath his hands, Chu Chengzhou opened his eyes and looked down, immediately at a loss for words.
Seriously, who are you trying to guard against? It's just a kiss—do you really need to suit up in armor?!
But before he could dwell on it, Ning Rongrong pulled his head back down, and once again their lips met, warm and soft.
The kiss felt incredible—addicting, even. This lady may not dare to play with fire, but now that she's got her fireproof suit on, there's no reason to stop~!
"Bang—"
More than half an hour later, rubbing his slightly numb lips, Chu Chengzhou stared speechlessly at the door that Ning Rongrong had just shut behind her.
Business? Yeah, that didn't happen. And for this fruitless negotiation, he'd wasted a bunch of words and ended up with swollen lips.
Man, working in sales is seriously tough!
The next morning, on the clearing in front of the wooden building, Chu Chengzhou was guiding Zhu Zhuqing in combat training.
Compared to the little devil, progress with the big cat wasn't ideal, so Chu Chengzhou decided to deepen their relationship.
How to do that?
After much thought, Chu Chengzhou felt that personally training Zhu Zhuqing in combat would be a great way.
After all, only through frequent contact and communication could a bond deepen, right?
If there weren't even chances to interact, unless she was some lovestruck fool, no matter how charming he acted, there'd be no way to build the relationship.
At the age where girls start to feel romantic, a few daily sparring sessions and more interaction—unless he had zero appeal—the feelings would naturally grow.
Chu Chengzhou believed that over time, this classmate friendship would eventually blossom into a fruit of love.
"Clang clang clang—"
On the training ground, the clash of metal echoed as Zhu Zhuqing launched her attacks.
She was deeply grateful for Chu Chengzhou's offer to train her and took it seriously, giving it her all.
She knew that even without using soul skills, Chu Chengzhou's strength far exceeded her own. Only by putting in her full effort could she uncover and correct her shortcomings.
Chu Chengzhou didn't just defend either. With the strong defense of the Silverlight Cloud Armor, even barehanded, he wouldn't actually hurt Zhu Zhuqing.
Suddenly, he feinted with one move, deceiving the relatively inexperienced Zhu Zhuqing, then crouched and swept at her legs with a low kick.
"Thud—"
As expected, caught off guard, Zhu Zhuqing lost balance, her left foot lifting off the ground—she was about to fall.
At the critical moment, Chu Chengzhou stepped forward, grabbed her wrist with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around her waist, eyes burning as he gazed at her.
At that instant, time seemed to freeze.
"What are you two doing?!"
A furious shout rang out from a distance.
Looking over, the two saw Dai Mubai rushing over, face full of rage.
At this moment, Dai Mubai was fuming.
He had just returned from outside the academy and heard sounds of fighting, so he came over to see what was going on.
But what met his eyes was a scene straight out of a soap opera—Chu Chengzhou, the guy he hated, holding his fiancée in a rather intimate pose.
In that instant, it felt like a lush, green prairie sprouted on top of his head.
Good one, Zhu Zhuqing. You're still my fiancée in name—we haven't even broken off the engagement yet! And here you are, getting all cozy with Chu Chengzhou?
Clearly, this was no accident—no such coincidences existed in this world.
Earlier, while sparring, Chu Chengzhou had been thinking about how to deepen his connection with Zhu Zhuqing. Sensing Dai Mubai's aura approaching, a plan came to mind—thus, this scene.
Chu Chengzhou knew full well: if he acted intimately with Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai saw it, there was no doubt he'd explode with rage.
After all, Zhu Zhuqing was still his fiancée. She ignored Dai Mubai but got close to his enemy? Any normal guy would lose it.
And when anger clouds judgment, Dai Mubai wouldn't care about context—he'd just trust what he saw.
If Dai Mubai then said something harsh, Chu Chengzhou could step in, defend the "wronged" Zhu Zhuqing, and maybe beat up Dai Mubai a little to vent—wouldn't Zhu Zhuqing's affection for him soar like crazy?
Shameless manipulation? Maybe. But hey—all's fair in love and war~!