"Oh? What exactly can this Battle Armor do?"
Ning Fengzhi automatically filtered out Chu Chengzhou's "I am already invincible under heaven" remark, instead showing keen interest in the "device that can turn weaklings into experts."
"I've already forged Thousand-Refined Battle Armor—a fifth-ring Soul King wearing it can rival a seventh-ring Soul Saint."
"... Chengzhou ah~, your father-in-law may be old, but I haven't lost my wits yet!"
After a moment of silence, Ning Fengzhi said with a dark expression.
It wasn't that he distrusted Chu Chengzhou—it was just that a fifth-ring Soul King matching a seventh-ring Soul Saint represented a full two major soul power levels difference. This was simply too unbelievable.
Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes. "Don't believe me? Elder Fang already knows metal Thousand-Refining—have him try it yourself."
He'd written the Thousand-Refined Battle Armor forging methods in great detail, including all the difficult points and solutions.
Fang Quan already knew metal Thousand-Refining—it was just a matter of learning to engrave soul guidance arrays to create Thousand-Refined Battle Armor.
And engraving soul guidance arrays wasn't actually difficult—at least much simpler than metal forging. The challenge lay in creation and innovation. With a "textbook" to copy from, for someone who had already cultivated to ninth-ring Titled Douluo like Fang Quan, it wouldn't be difficult at all.
"Is the strength enhancement really that significant?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou didn't appear to be making things up, Ning Fengzhi's expression turned serious as he hurriedly asked.
"If I had a single, beautiful sister-in-law, I'd be willing to bet on this matter with you."
Rubbing his chin, Chu Chengzhou said.
Ning Fengzhi: "…"
You must be dreaming!
"Show me that Thousand-Refined Battle Armor of yours!"
Glaring at Chu Chengzhou, Ning Fengzhi said impatiently.
Hearsay is unreliable—seeing is believing. Even if seeing isn't absolute proof, it's certainly better than just hearing about it.
"Eh~"
Chu Chengzhou was momentarily stunned.
"What? Can't produce it?"
Ning Fengzhi's gaze toward Chu Chengzhou filled with contempt.
"Ahem~, that toy for children—I gave it to Brother Qinghe."
Chu Chengzhou truly couldn't produce Thousand-Refined Battle Armor right now—after having Qian Renxue arrange the performance test, he'd forgotten to take it back.
"Alright. I've had my tea, listened to enough bragging, and received your gifts. Just say what you really want."
Sipping his tea calmly, Ning Fengzhi said evenly.
Ning Fengzhi was shrewd with age and understood Chu Chengzhou's nature. He knew that if it were just about giving gifts, this fellow wouldn't have come to him personally.
"You truly are a sly old fox—I admire you greatly!"
Chu Chengzhou gave Ning Fengzhi a thumbs-up.
Ignoring the gradually darkening expression on Ning Fengzhi's face, he continued: "My home only has seven elemental attribute rare metals. I'm missing water, wood, time, or space attribute rare metals. Also, I'll need some Wind Spirit Iron and Mysterious Lightning Gold from you."
Turning serious, Ning Fengzhi set aside his murderous thoughts and pondered for a moment before replying: "I actually don't know much about rare metals. I don't recognize the Wind Spirit Iron and Mysterious Lightning Gold you mentioned, nor do I know exactly how much the sect has in stock."
"As for the four attribute metals you need—I don't know if we have water, wood, or time attribute metals—but I do know we have a space attribute metal called Thousand-Mechanism Copper."
To be honest, although he, Ning Fengzhi, was the continent's largest mining mogul, he truly didn't know exactly how many types of minerals his business sold—even many rare metals were unfamiliar to him.
After all, there were too many mineral types on the continent—not limited to metal ores—and even just iron came in many varieties like Mysterious Iron, Cold Heart Iron, Nether Iron, Starfall Iron, Blazing Sun Iron, and so on.
Moreover, rare metals weren't in high demand during this era. The main income for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's mining operations still came from ordinary gold, silver, copper, and iron.
The first three were used for minting coins, while the latter was widely used for crafting weapons, armor, farming tools, and various daily necessities. Though cheap, their demand was extremely high.
Since rare metals weren't his main source of profit and his sect duties kept him busy—let alone his occasional time spent rescuing pitiful young ladies—Ning Fengzhi naturally hadn't familiarized himself with rare metals.
The only reason he remembered the sect had Thousand-Mechanism Copper was because this rare metal possessed the prestigious space attribute.
"By the way, from what you're saying—you plan to gather eleven different elemental attribute rare metals for forging? Are you preparing to make that Battle Armor?"
Ning Fengzhi pressed further.
Though this Thousand-Refined Battle Armor letting fifth-ring Soul Kings rival seventh-ring Soul Saints sounded utterly fantastical, if it came from Chu Chengzhou, it might not be completely impossible?
After all, this son-in-law of his had done many things beyond his understanding before.
Chu Chengzhou nodded. "I do plan to do that. Excellent weapons and armor require excellent materials—so the strongest Battle Armor naturally needs the strongest metal to forge."
"But not eleven types—nine types. Nine is the ultimate number; world rules don't allow more than nine rare metals to be fusion-forged together."
Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi raised his eyebrows.
There's a knowledge point: world rules prohibit fusion-forging more than nine types of metal.
"Wait a moment—that can't be right!"
"We've researched rare metal alloys before at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Some artisans even had the wild idea of melting over a dozen rare metals together to cast alloys. We never encountered any restrictions like that."
Recalling a past experiment at his sect, Ning Fengzhi asked with confusion.
Though that fanciful experiment had failed—the resulting rare metal alloy was worthless—it was certain there were no such "world rule restrictions."
Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about fusion-forging, not simply mixing multiple rare metals."
"After rare metals undergo fusion-forging, their properties fundamentally change, becoming an entirely new metal. This isn't just a difference in name—it's a difference in essence."
"For example, the rare metals Essence Gold and Magic Silver can be fusion-forged into Spirit Gold. But even if you melt this Spirit Gold at high temperatures afterward, it remains Spirit Gold—it won't revert back to Essence Gold and Magic Silver."
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Ning Fengzhi's face as he skipped this topic. "The rare metals at your house all came from the Seven Treasures Merchants Association in Tian Dou City. Since you have that Wind Spirit Iron and Mysterious Lightning Gold at home, the sect treasury must have them too."
"I won't say exactly how much, but there's definitely no less than one metric ton. Otherwise, the Seven Treasures Merchants Association wouldn't have been selling them."
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)