"Bear Lord, how has the forging of metals been going during this period?" Yun Ze asked.
"After my hard work forging nonstop, over the course of nearly a year, I've forged a total of thirteen sets of Three-Word Battle Armor," Bear Lord replied proudly.
"They've already been equipped for the Ten-Thousand Demon King, Zi Ji, Yao Ling, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Purple Crystal Mad Bull, the Golden-Winged Roc, the Hell Demon Dragon, the Jade Swan, the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear, as well as four Ten-Thousand-Year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bears," Bear Lord said with satisfaction.
Three-Word Battle Armor was always first given to the most powerful soul beasts. After the ferocious beasts and hundred-thousand-year-level soul beasts were equipped, it would then be the turn of ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
There were two hundred-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bears. Compared to other races, the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan had quite a number of powerful members.
"Well done. Thirteen sets of Three-Word Battle Armor in a single year—only you could have such productivity," Yun Ze praised.
Compared to other Rank Eight Sacred Blacksmiths, Bear Lord was exceptionally diligent and efficient.
In one year, the amount of metal required for thirteen sets of Three-Word Battle Armor was something that even a Divine Blacksmith like Zhen Hua might not necessarily be able to accomplish.
"Hehe, well, you told me to forge as quickly as possible, Young Master, so I forged for fifteen hours every day. Over time, the amount of metal naturally increased," Bear Lord said with a somewhat simple and honest grin.
During this period, aside from forging, he taught his clansmen how to forge, then ate and slept. He didn't find it boring at all—he genuinely enjoyed it.
"You've worked hard. They all owe you their thanks," Gu Yuena also spoke up, affirming Bear Lord's efforts.
Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others all nodded, casting grateful looks toward Bear Lord.
"Hehe…" Bear Lord laughed happily. He hadn't expected that forging some metal would earn him their gratitude—how wonderful.
"Once this matter is over, you should temporarily stop forging metal for battle armor," Yun Ze said.
"These are ten mecha design blueprints. First, forge the metals required by these designs," Yun Ze continued, taking out ten design drawings and handing them to Bear Lord.
Bear Lord looked over the blueprints and revealed a look of surprise. "Young Master, do we really have that many dragon-type soul spirits?"
He knew that the appearance of mecha generally corresponded to the appearance of soul spirits. Since all of these were giant dragon mecha, they naturally corresponded to dragon soul spirits.
The size of these giant dragon mecha wasn't overly exaggerated—about a dozen meters tall—looking like scaled-down versions.
Bear Lord's guess wasn't wrong. These really were scaled-down versions, reduced proportionally by Yun Ze.
If they were made according to the original size of dragon souls, a single mecha hundreds of meters tall would require enough metal to keep Bear Lord forging for one or two years.
That would be far too inefficient. Rather than pursuing sheer size, it was better to pursue quantity.
For mecha of this size—just over ten meters tall—with Bear Lord's forging speed, they could be completed in at most seven days.
Although mecha required more metal than battle armor overall, the difficulty of forging each individual piece of metal was far lower.
One was about delicate craftsmanship and slow work; the other was rougher but faster. Naturally, the latter could be completed more quickly.
As a result, forging these much larger mecha actually took significantly less time than forging battle armor.
"You explain it," Yun Ze said, looking toward Gu Yuena.
"Mm." Gu Yuena nodded and began explaining to everyone what they had discovered and gained in the Dragon Valley space.
Di Tian already knew about this matter and wasn't surprised, but after the others finished listening, they were both shocked and somewhat saddened.
"So that's how it is," Bear Lord said, understanding the origin of the dragon soul spirits.
"Zi Ji, this is the Hell Demon Dragon King soul bone we found in the Dragon Valley. Absorb the energy within it," Gu Yuena said.
She took out the dark-purple soul bone and handed it to Zi Ji.
Zi Ji accepted the soul bone with heavy emotions, her eyes moist. The moment she touched it, she felt an inexplicable sorrow.
"Let's end the meeting here for now. As for the specific arrangements, we'll discuss them after I meet with Dean Xu Lin," Yun Ze said.
Sun Moon Royal Academy, the dean's office.
A spatial passage appeared, and Yun Ze, Gu Yuena, and Di Tian stepped out from it.
"You startled me," Dean Xu Lin said as he walked up to the three, unable to help but laugh.
Sensing the sudden appearance of a spatial passage had really made his nerves tense—he had thought an enemy was attacking.
"Dean Xu Lin, you should know why we've come," Yun Ze said.
"Of course I know. How could I not?" The smile on Xu Lin's face faded, replaced with a hint of helplessness.
"But this time, Shrek Academy is determined to wipe out the Dragon Phoenix Hall. The forces they've mobilized are simply too vast. I'm powerless to help."
"Not just me—even my teacher would be unable to do anything. There's no way to contend with Shrek Academy."
As he spoke, Xu Lin led the three to the sofa. The four of them sat down to talk.
"We have a way to resolve this crisis, but we'll need the dean's help," Yun Ze said.
"A way? What way?" Xu Lin was extremely curious. Then he smiled slightly and made a promise.
"If you really have a way to resolve this crisis, and if there's anything I can help with, I definitely will."
He wasn't saying this out of sentiment, but out of interest.
Whether it was Yun Ze and Gu Yuena's talent, or the Dragon Phoenix Hall's hundred-year life-extending pills, all of it was worth his best effort.
"We have a way to expose Shrek Academy's slander against us," Yun Ze said.
Seeing Xu Lin's curious expression, Yun Ze continued before he could ask, "As for the specific method, I'll keep you in suspense for now. You'll know when the time comes."
"Heh, you kid—when did you learn to talk only halfway through a sentence?" Xu Lin said with a laugh.
Since the other party wouldn't say more, he didn't press further. Instead, he asked, "So what do you need my help with?"
"It's very simple. After we expose Shrek Academy's slander, we need you to make sure the whole world knows about it," Yun Ze replied.
"Just that?" Xu Lin froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha, that's my specialty."
"As long as you can expose the slander, I guarantee that within an hour, this matter will become a hot topic throughout the Federation."
"And I can also guarantee that the impact will be enough to completely ruin Shrek Academy's reputation."
Even if Yun Ze hadn't said anything, he would have worked hard to do exactly this—and with all his strength.
Such an opportunity was something that might come only once in ten thousand years. How could he possibly miss such a perfect chance to bring Shrek Academy down?
"Then we'll be counting on you, Dean," Yun Ze said with a smile.
"No problem. Leave it to me—I guarantee I won't let you down. Haha!" Xu Lin said, beaming with excitement.
"However, I must remind you—Shrek Academy has enormous influence within the Federation government. You must be extremely careful," Xu Lin added seriously after his excitement settled.
"I know. That's why I still want to ask the dean for another favor," Yun Ze said calmly.
"Go ahead. Same as before—if I can help, I definitely will," the dean replied readily.
Yun Ze glanced at Di Tian. Understanding immediately, Di Tian released his domain, enveloping the area and isolating all sound.
"It seems this matter isn't simple," Xu Lin realized the gravity of the situation.
Yun Ze smiled faintly, his tone still calm. "We want to know which Federation councilors have close ties with Shrek Academy."
Hearing this, Xu Lin immediately frowned. "Why do you want to know that?"
A faint sense of unease rose in his heart. Asking this… could it be that they were planning to
(End of chapter)