"Not a two-character set."
Hearing this, Gu Yue froze.
What did he mean?
Arthur said earnestly, "I'm planning to go straight for the top. I'm going to forge a three-character battle armor."
Gu Yue: "?"
She wondered if she'd heard him wrong, and couldn't help asking again, "Say that one more time?"
Arthur repeated himself with a perfectly straight face, "Three-character battle armor. Go straight to the top, save myself the trouble later."
The compartment fell instantly silent. Even Xie Xie forgot to interject.
Tang Wulin opened his mouth, and it took him a good while to force out a sentence, "You're only a Soul King right now..."
Arthur spread his hands. "So what if I'm a Soul King? Three-character battle armor isn't measured by soul power level."
Gu Yue's head was already starting to ache.
She took a deep breath, trying hard to keep herself calm. "Never mind whether I can even design one, can you even forge soul steel yet?"
"No. But I have a feeling my forging is about to break through any moment now."
Gu Yue: "..."
She stared at Arthur for a few seconds, and suddenly felt the urge to throw him out the window.
"Hey, don't doubt me." Arthur said with confidence, "My forging has always been guided by feel."
"By feel?" Gu Yue's voice shot up an octave.
Beside her, Na'er blinked, not quite following but sensing something impressive was being said.
"Even so, I still can't manage to design a three-character battle armor. Go find someone more capable."
Gu Yue gave Arthur a look that said are you kidding me, glaring at him.
"No. I want you to design it. I only like the battle armor you design."
Arthur threw it straight down the middle!
Silver Dragon King! Let me see the true limits of your world-shaking intellect!
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before Gu Yue, her cheeks faintly flushed, turned her head away.
"If you don't mind, I can design it to the standard of a two-character battle armor for now. Then, in the materials and structure, I'll leave room for an upgrade to three-character."
"Once I'm capable of designing a three-character set, I'll come back and perfect it for you."
"Nothing could be better. It's a deal."
Unable to get a word in edgewise, Na'er looked ready to burst with frustration.
Actually, was it too late for her to go learn mecha design now?
Skyfixed City finally drew near amid the train's rumbling.
Arthur gave the group instructions: "Don't wander off while you're here. I'm taking Xu Xiaoyan to level up."
Xu Xiaoyan trailed behind Arthur, curious. "Brother Arthur, will that star-viewing platform you mentioned really help me?"
"Guaranteed."
After a round of friendly "exchange," the Skyfixed Starry Sky Soul Master Academy enthusiastically activated the star-viewing platform for Xu Xiaoyan.
Xu Xiaoyan stood at the center of the platform.
"Ready?" the elderly soul master in charge of activating the platform asked softly.
Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath and nodded firmly. "Yes!"
The teacher raised a hand, channeling soul power into the soul guidance array.
In an instant, the night sky above the platform seemed to catch fire, countless points of starlight pouring down from the dome like an inverted river of stars, slowly flowing into Xu Xiaoyan's body.
"So this is star power?" Xu Xiaoyan felt a gentle yet vast force surging from her limbs into her spiritual world.
Her martial soul, the Star Ring Ice Staff, slowly emerged behind her under the stimulation of the star power, delicate rings of star-light rippling into being around the staff's body.
"Focus your mind, guide the star power, don't resist it." Arthur's voice came from nearby.
He hadn't stood within the star array itself, but kept watch at its edge, his Spiritual Power quietly spreading out to guide the power descending from the wheeling stars, blending it into Xu Xiaoyan's body.
Xu Xiaoyan closed her eyes, doing her best to follow Arthur's guidance, to "embrace" the star power.
The star power flowed through her spiritual world, washing over her sea of spirit little by little.
Her Spiritual Power, once somewhat immature, grew ever denser and purer under the star power's tempering.
Her martial soul, the Star Ring Ice Staff, was transforming too.
Becoming a true star staff.
Her martial soul was being completed, and would no longer be bound by limits.
"This child's affinity with the stars is even higher than I estimated," the teacher couldn't help but marvel.
Arthur smiled faintly. "She was already exceptional to begin with."
At his current level of strength, among all his companions, Xu Xiaoyan's absolute domain was really the only one that could still be of use to him.
Thinking of this, Arthur took out a piece of externally attached soul bone.
The Dark Gold Dread Claw.
He had originally meant to use it to win over a genius, but there was no longer any need for that.
Every first-year student had already given their loyalty.
Among the second-years, Yuanen Yehui was destined to stand on his side as well. Yue Zhengyu was his nephew.
As for the third-year Qian Wu, he needed it even less. Giving the Dark Gold Dread Claw to him would be a pure waste, he'd be better off with his own Bimeng claws.
Gu Yue and Na'er had even less use for a soul bone like this.
Better to use it to strengthen Xu Xiaoyan's ability to keep herself alive.
Dark gold light swirled in Arthur's hand. He took a deep breath, and with a flick of his wrist gently pressed the soul bone into Xu Xiaoyan's hand.
"This is..." Xu Xiaoyan recognized the bone. It was the Dark Gold Dread Claw that had dropped at the spirit ascension platform.
"Fuse with it." Arthur's voice sounded beside her ear.
Xu Xiaoyan froze for a moment, instinctively trying to push the soul bone back. "This is far too precious, I can't accept it."
Arthur pressed down on her hand, stopping the motion.
His voice was quiet. "This isn't me handing you charity. It's me, asking you to accept it."
Xu Xiaoyan stared at him blankly.
"You're the one in our team who's easiest to overlook," Arthur said slowly. "Every time we fight, you're always hiding in the back, tucked into the safest corner."
"You always treat yourself like the least important one."
Arthur's voice was calm, and yet it landed on Xu Xiaoyan's heart like a hammer blow.
She protested without thinking, "I'm just I'm just support, that's where support is supposed to be."
"You've misunderstood." Arthur shook his head. "I'm not complaining about you."
Xu Xiaoyan froze.
"Actually, I'm perfectly happy with you being that way. You can hide behind me without a worry."
"But what happens when I'm not there?"
Arthur's voice was soft, and yet it seeped slowly into the depths of Xu Xiaoyan's heart like a warm current. "That's why I need you to become stronger."
"Strong enough that even without me around, you can still protect yourself."
"This Dark Gold Dread Claw, it's the confidence I'm giving you."
Something seemed to lodge in Xu Xiaoyan's throat, her eyes reddening little by little, and she murmured under her breath, "That's just not fair... how am I supposed to say no to that."
She looked down at the Dark Gold Dread Claw in her hand, then looked back up at Arthur, her eyes gradually shifting from hesitation to resolve.
Nourished by the star power, she began to fuse with the soul bone, letting it carry her along.
The star power circulated slowly through her body, wrapping around the Dark Gold Dread Claw, washing over it bit by bit.
Then, little by little, it merged with her bones, her meridians, her flesh and blood.
Time passed by, moment by moment.
The river of stars above the platform gradually settled into stillness.
At last, the Dark Gold Dread Claw soul bone fused completely with Xu Xiaoyan.
Dark gold patterns began to surface across the back of her hand.
Xu Xiaoyan slowly opened her eyes, carrying within them a resolve she had never had before.
She raised her hand, and a flash of cold light burst out!
Dark gold claw blades extended in an instant, their tips glinting with a chill that made one's heart tremble.
Arthur stepped forward and curiously poked at the claw. "How does it feel?"
"It feels great."
Xu Xiaoyan clenched her fist, and the Dark Gold Dread Claw slowly retracted.
She looked at Arthur with newfound determination. "I'll work hard."
Xu Xiaoyan, level up!
From soft support to hardened support!