Chapter 98: The Complete Golden Armor

Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Complete Suit of Golden Armor

Looking at the blood on the ground, the warrior with the charcoal-black face was clearly not dead; even if he was still alive, he must already have been gravely wounded.

Just as Chu Jie was about to step forward to inspect him, Duan Kun took a single stride and came to stand before the fallen man. He removed the helmet from the warrior’s head. The armor was exceedingly strange; although it had smashed directly into the stone hall, it had not suffered the slightest damage.

Seeing Duan Kun go to examine it, Chu Jie stopped in place. If Duan Kun wanted this golden armor, he could let him have it first. Chu Jie did not have many friends, and Duan Kun was one of them.

After checking, Duan Kun discovered that the charcoal-faced warrior had already fallen unconscious. Though he was at the seventh level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, he was still made of flesh and blood and could not withstand the backlash. Losing consciousness now was entirely normal.

“Bring a few people and remove the golden armor from him,” Duan Kun said as he stood aside.

Wu Long led several men over and began stripping the golden armor from the charcoal-faced warrior. Yet at that very moment, the warrior showed signs of waking. His eyes cracked open slightly, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

If Wu Long had not dodged in time, that blood would have splashed all over him.

Then the charcoal-faced warrior suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared, “You dare strip me of my golden armor? You’re courting death!”

With that, he swung out a fist, striking toward Wu Long’s head.

But before it could reach him, his arm was pinned beneath a foot and ground viciously into the floor.

The charcoal-faced warrior screamed in pain. A cracking sound rang out from his arm as the bones shattered, and Duan Kun’s foot actually stomped it cleanly apart.

His face was even worse. His nose had completely collapsed, and the bones in his face were fractured in several places. Moreover, he had not merely injured his face; his entire body had been wounded, which was why he could not bring out his true fighting strength.

He twisted in agony, only to discover that his legs were numb and without sensation, clearly broken by the impact with the stone hall.

The charcoal-faced warrior glared at Wu Long with bitter fury, helplessly watching as Wu Long and the others took away the golden armor from his body.

Wu Long handed the armor to Duan Kun, who was nearest at hand.

At that point, Chu Jie stepped forward, but he did not go to Duan Kun. Instead, he walked toward the charcoal-faced warrior.

Chu Jie crouched down and looked at him. “You wanted to take my Heaven and Earth Treasure Wheel, did you not? And now? Still want to seize it?”

The charcoal-faced warrior said nothing at first, then bared his teeth viciously and said, “Brat, you’ve set me up this time. Don’t let me find another chance, or I’ll be the one to destroy you.”

Chu Jie gave a cold laugh. “You still don’t seem to understand the situation. By the way, your orb treasure was just smashed to pieces by the stone hall.”

“You!” The charcoal-faced warrior spat out another mouthful of blood and nearly fainted. This time, he had truly miscalculated. He had gained nothing at all, not only dragging himself into this misery but even losing the treasure he had originally carried.

“I’ll grant you a quick death,” Chu Jie said.

A blazing sun appeared upon Chu Jie’s fist, and he smashed it into the charcoal-faced warrior, blasting his head to pieces.

Chu Jie’s body shuddered with spiritual light, and all traces of blood vanished. He took the storage pouch from the warrior’s waist and checked it. There was no treasure inside, only crystal stones—fully a thousand high-grade pieces.

“These just happen to make up for the losses from before,” Chu Jie said, tossing the crystal stones into the Savage Cauldron. He gave the storage pouch to Wu Long. Some of them still did not have storage pouches, so it would be useful for now.

At this moment, Duan Kun came over carrying the golden armor.

“Chu Jie, among us, your cultivation is the strongest, and it was you who controlled the stone hall to seize this armor just now. This suit of golden armor should go to you.” Duan Kun held it out.

Chu Jie hesitated for a moment, then accepted it and said, “I think there may be more golden armor in this underground tunnel. I’ll go find it for you.”

Duan Kun nodded. “All right.”

Chu Jie took the golden armor, his heart stirred with excitement. Everything that had happened before had shown that the armor was immensely powerful, and this was still only an incomplete suit. Once the full armor was activated, it would surely be terrifyingly strong.

Chu Jie led the others back to the main hall. Under the ample light there, he examined the complete suit of armor.

No one knew what material the golden armor was made from. On closer inspection, one could see that its gleaming surface was engraved with countless tiny formations. Because they were so delicate, they were very hard to notice.

“Boss, put it on and let us see,” Wu Long said eagerly. He had no fate with armor like this himself, but it would still be wonderful to watch someone else wear it.

Chu Jie took out the golden rings from the Savage Cauldron and placed them upon the armor. Only then did the armor make a clicking sound, fitting perfectly into the missing sections. The entire suit emitted a faint, almost imperceptible radiance, and waves of power began to ripple from it.

Then Chu Jie started putting it on piece by piece. Each time he donned another section, the armor would flash brilliantly with golden light, though the light would fade after only a moment.

At last, Chu Jie placed the helmet on his head. In that instant, he suddenly felt as if his mind had expanded. He could see farther, and the sounds he heard were clearer than before.

At this moment, he felt as though he and the armor had become one, as if they breathed together and shared one destiny.

“This golden armor is indeed miraculous,” Chu Jie murmured.

What was more, now that the armor was complete, the backlash had vanished entirely, and its defensive power had risen to another level.

“Duan Kun, attack me once,” Chu Jie said, looking at him. Right now he very much wanted to test the armor’s defenses.

Duan Kun began by using only his foot. His leg left a trail of afterimages as it shot toward Chu Jie’s armor.

Boom!

Chu Jie retreated several steps. Though he could feel a powerful force striking him, he sensed no backlash at all. Essentially, his body suffered no injury.

Chu Jie said, “Try a treasure weapon attack as well.”

He very much wanted to know the armor’s limit and what sort of force it could truly withstand.

Duan Kun was also eager to see exactly how formidable this armor could be. So he controlled his shuttle-shaped treasure weapon and sent it toward Chu Jie.

The shuttle-shaped treasure weapon struck Chu Jie’s waist. When it collided with the golden armor, a thunderous crash rang out.

The runes upon the armor seemed as though they might all come to life, though only part of them appeared, precisely at the point where the shuttle weapon had struck.

Even so, the shuttle weapon did not break through the armor’s defense. And Chu Jie, inside the armor, did not feel the slightest backlash.

If it had been incomplete armor, not only would it not have had such defensive power, it also would not have been able to block the backlash.

Chu Jie made a rough estimate. If the shuttle weapon attacked with full force, it might take dozens of strikes to inflict some damage on the armor, and it was quite possible it would take more than a hundred.

From this, one could see just how terrifying the armor’s defense truly was.

“So powerful. Chu Jie, once you’re wearing it, we could strut sideways through the Abyss of Gods and Demons,” Duan Kun laughed heartily, full of envy at Chu Jie in the golden armor.

“Yes. This armor really is absurdly strong. I suspect it may even be a magical artifact,” Chu Jie said.

A magical artifact.

Everyone froze. They only knew of treasure weapons; above treasure weapons were magical artifacts. However, very few people had ever seen one. Treasure weapons, on the other hand, were somewhat more common.

With their strength, they were basically unable to encounter magical artifacts.

At that moment, Wu Long seemed to remember something. His expression turned somewhat excited as he said, “This is a magical artifact? Back when I was in the outer city, I once saw a very powerful warrior from a distance using a magical artifact to kill people. The power of it is unforgettable even now!”

He walked up to Chu Jie and said, “Boss, let me touch the magical artifact!”

Chu Jie was utterly speechless. “Wait until I take it off. Then do whatever you want. For now, forget it.”

The others’ eyes were blazing with desire. In terms of quality, this golden armor was even superior to the Heaven and Earth Treasure Wheel. As for magical artifacts, only martial artists at the Star Core Realm could fully awaken their power.

Chu Jie ignored the others’ stares and carefully felt the armor’s presence. He had the sense that there was still some hidden capability within it that had yet to be uncovered.

Then he noticed that his own spiritual power seemed to be able to be absorbed by the armor, so he poured his power into it.

Suddenly, the armor burst into blinding radiance, dazzling beyond measure.

“What happened? Why is it suddenly shining so brightly?” Wu Long and the others were all stunned.

But Chu Jie suddenly felt his body become much lighter. He stamped the ground, and his body floated up at once, hovering in midair.

Excitement surged through Chu Jie. So the golden armor allowed him to fly before reaching the eighth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm. He was only at the sixth level now, and it would still take some time before he reached the eighth. With this armor, he could fly ahead of time, a capability of vital importance in battle.

Although the Heaven and Earth Treasure Wheel could also carry him through the air, it was only for movement and could not be used for combat. Moreover, it consumed a fair amount of spiritual power.

Chu Jie controlled the golden armor to fly through the air and discovered that its consumption of spiritual power was only half that of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Wheel. With so little expenditure, he would have far more spiritual power available for attack.

“One suit of golden armor isn’t enough. We need to keep searching,” Chu Jie said.

If Duan Kun could also obtain a suit of golden armor, their strength would rise sharply. Then surviving in the Abyss of Gods and Demons would become much easier.

Chu Jie also wanted to see whether they could find some treasure weapons in this underground tunnel for Wu Long and the other seven. The nine of them were a single whole; the stronger each one became, the stronger the group would be.

Everyone was excited. If they could find a few suits of golden armor, would they not have a chance as well?

Chu Jie returned to the throne at the far end of the great hall and sat down. With a flash of spiritual light, his figure disappeared from the hall and returned once more to the stone chamber.

At present, the stone hall still had some spiritual energy left, so there was no need to place crystal stones inside for the time being.

After glancing at the map, Chu Jie thought of the nearby cavern and decided to go there first.

Under the eyes of the others, the stone hall’s gates slowly closed, and then the hall began moving again.

The crowd was brimming with excitement. They all coveted the golden armor. Earlier, seeing Chu Jie display some of its effects had left them itching with envy.

Especially Duan Kun—if another suit of golden armor were found, it would surely be his. That was why he was more excited than anyone else.

At that moment, the stone hall came to a stop.