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Because of the unsavory reputation of The Peerless Douluo, Ye Wen hadn't followed up on Douluo III or IV.
However, he was somewhat familiar with the most eye-catching concept from those works.
In Douluo III, Battle Armor represented a super-version update that allowed high-level cannon fodder Soul Sages—previously considered expendable in the later stages of Douluo I—to directly rival Title Douluos in strength.
As everyone knew, Ye Wen was terrible at naming things, so he simply copied this concept wholesale.
However, the actual research and development were completed by Ye Wen himself, as he only had a basic understanding of the concept.
If this were the original Douluo world, developing Battle Armor would have undoubtedly been an arduous task. But this version of the Douluo world had the unique existence of "True Body Armor," which provided Ye Wen with samples and direction for his research.
Ordinary True Body Armor could provide different enhancements to different soul masters when activated.
Ye Wen focused his research on the soul power circuits within these enhancements. By referencing the soul circuits found in spirit bones and combining them with soul-guiding tool technology, he developed the initial version of Battle Armor.
Following the established framework of Battle Armor, Ye Wen divided it into four tiers, each marked by a single character.
The first version of Battle Armor was named Chi (Crimson).
It allowed a 50th-level Soul King to temporarily possess the strength of a 60th-level Soul Emperor for half an hour. However, compared to a complete one-character Battle Armor, it lacked ten levels of enhancement and the ability to unleash the True Body of their martial soul.
After continuous testing, Ye Wen realized that the issue stemmed from the subpar quality of the metal used as the carrier material, causing the soul power to overheat and melt the circuits.
This reminded him of the blacksmith profession mentioned in Douluo III, where the metals forged by blacksmiths served as the primary materials for Battle Armor.
In this era, there were three renowned master craftsmen, though in Ye Wen's opinion, two of them were frauds.
Let's set aside Tang Hao, that wasteful fool whose forging skills were learned from Titan. At the beginning of the story, he boasted that only someone who could forge divine artifacts from ordinary materials deserved the title of master craftsman. Yet, by the end, no such artifacts appeared.
Another master craftsman was Titan of the Power Clan. Titan was currently a 79th-level Soul Sage and would soon break through to become a Soul Douluo, as described in the original work.
The last one was a figure many readers felt conflicted about: Lou Gao, the president of the Blacksmiths Association in the original story.
At this point in time, Lou Gao wasn't yet the president of the Blacksmiths Association but was instead a master blacksmith deeply immersed in the study of forging techniques. He already held the title of master craftsman, however.
In the original story, he even forged armor capable of withstanding attacks from Soul Emperors—a testament to his talent.
Compared to the other two so-called master craftsmen, who were all talk and no action, Lou Gao was far superior.
Though the Blacksmiths Association didn't hold much sway in this era, Lou Gao's reputation as a Soul Emperor-level master craftsman was widespread. If Ye Wen had approached him earlier, it might have drawn unwanted attention.
Since Battle Armor research hadn't yet hit a bottleneck, Ye Wen shelved the idea for the time being.
The early versions of Battle Armor required metals with high strength. Though Ye Wen was a novice in forging, he had watched programs like blade-forging competitions and understood the basics of increasing metal strength. After a series of experiments, he successfully developed the first-generation one-character Battle Armor 2.0: Chi (Crimson).
This version matched the standards of the original work, capable of supporting a 20-level soul power boost.
In addition to the base 20-level soul power enhancement, it also allowed ordinary Soul Kings to unleash the True Body of their martial soul.
After all, theoretically, as long as one's soul power cultivation was sufficient, even without the seventh soul ring, they could perform a pseudo-True Body transformation.
(PS: For details, see Tang San's use of the True Body during the soul master tournament.)
Building on the one-character Battle Armor Chi, Ye Wen developed the two-character Battle Armor Chi Hong (Crimson Red).
Unfortunately, it was still a half-finished product, only able to enhance a Soul Emperor's soul power by 15 levels and unable to fully match a Soul Douluo.
As previously mentioned, soul masters faced three major thresholds. Upon reaching the Soul Sage level, their soul power would compress into a liquid state, which was key to the enhancement process.
Before reaching the amplification threshold for Title Douluos, the requirements for one- and two-character Battle Armor essentially boiled down to stacking material strength.
In terms of researching soul power enhancement circuits, Ye Wen had theoretically designed everything needed for the four-character Battle Armor: Chi Hong Feng Bao (Crimson Storm).
However, the enhancement provided by three-character Battle Armor reached the Title Douluo level, making it far more complex than simply stacking materials. Based on simulations using his Void Realm, Ye Wen realized that three-character Battle Armor required the ability to autonomously circulate soul power; otherwise, it wouldn't meet the standard.
Without the ability to provide a 20-level soul power boost to Soul Sages, the Battle Armor couldn't be considered a success.
In simpler terms, the armor needed to possess its own sentience to better assist the wearer in wielding power far beyond their current level.
The principle was similar to how spirit bones contained fragments of a spirit beast's soul, allowing them to maintain their soul power activity for thousands of years. Once this vitality was lost, the spirit bone became a mere dead object, easily destroyed.
"Even the two-character Battle Armor is just a half-finished product, let alone the three-character Battle Armor: Chi Hong Feng (Crimson Red Wind). It seems I can't complete this on my own."
Looking at yet another failed batch of metal, Ye Wen sighed in frustration.
Every field has its specialists, and clearly, forging wasn't his forte.
However, with his current cultivation, sneaking into the city unnoticed to invite Lou Gao—the master craftsman obsessed with forging—shouldn't pose a problem. Given that this was a revolutionary product surpassing even the hidden weapons of the Tang Sect in the original work, Ye Wen couldn't imagine Lou Gao refusing.
After all, this was a man who would consecrate his life's work with his own blood.
Sneak into the city quietly, avoid drawing attention.
Ye Wen successfully met the legendary master craftsman.
Lou Gao was somewhat short and stout, with a kind and honest appearance, which explained why he was so easily manipulated by Tang San in the original story.
Though he didn't recognize Ye Wen, the fact that Ye Wen had managed to approach him undetected convinced Lou Gao that Ye Wen was no ordinary individual.
After a brief conversation, when Ye Wen pulled out the two-character Battle Armor Chi Hong, Lou Gao's eyes filled with awe.
He gently stroked the surface of the armor as if caressing a lover.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. The forging technique used on this metal is beyond my reach. Its strength should be enough to withstand attacks from Soul Sages. These engravings resemble those on soul-guiding tools—this armor is truly a masterpiece."
After hearing Ye Wen's explanation and testing it by infusing soul power, the overwhelming pressure emitted by the Chi Hong armor left him trembling.
What followed was an even greater surge of enthusiasm.
"Master Ye Wen, you must let me join you. This child's future isn't limited to what we see now—we must make it stronger. Let the entire Douluo Continent witness that even blacksmiths can create unprecedented miracles."
Behold, this was the spirit of craftsmanship—selling himself without even discussing payment, much like the martyrs who sacrificed everything for their beliefs.
At this moment, Lou Gao's eyes saw nothing but the Battle Armor.
Since Lou Gao usually kept a low profile, no one noticed his absence. To the major powers, his creations were merely toys for children, much like how Shrek Academy in Douluo II obsessively worshipped soul master cultivation.
Upon returning to the academy, Ye Wen discussed the metal requirements for three-character Battle Armor with Lou Gao.
Though Lou Gao didn't possess a hammer-type martial soul, his years of immersion in forging allowed him to instantly grasp higher-level forging techniques under Ye Wen's guidance.
One day: Hundred Refinement.
Two days: Thousand Refinement.
Three days: Spirit Refinement.
Looking at the same material now imbued with entirely different properties through Spirit Forging, both men's eyes sparkled with fascination. This was the romance of scientific research.
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