Chapter 546: The New Cang Tie Han Armor
A silver-gray Mechanical Battle Armor quietly hovered in midair.
The armor was covered with scars. The faint treasure light that once circulated across its surface had long vanished without a trace. The entire armor was dim and dull, and all the talismans embedded within it had been completely exhausted. Due to being pushed to its limits, the armor was already on the verge of collapse.
It was the Cang Tie Han Armor.
Ning Zhuo stood before the Cang Tie Han Armor with his arms folded, frowning as he pondered deeply.
His battle with the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts had brought him tremendous gains. It was not only the various spoils of war he had obtained—after surviving such a life-and-death battle, Ning Zhuo felt profound reflections and saw many of his own shortcomings.
“The Cang Tie Han Armor was left to me by Mother. It consumed a Foundation Establishment Pill, allowing me to possess Foundation Establishment–level combat strength even while I was still in the Qi Refining Stage.”
“But after I advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage, I used this Mechanical Battle Armor much less.”
“After coming to Liangzhu Kingdom to join the army, the enhancement from military strength and national power allowed my own strength to reach Golden Core–level combat ability. That pushed this Mechanical Battle Armor even closer to being obsolete.”
“When facing the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts earlier, after the Somersault Cloud was destroyed, I could only rely on this Mechanical Battle Armor as assistance for flight.”
Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo said to Sun Lingtong beside him, “Boss, I’m planning to modify the Cang Tie Han Armor and turn it into my flight tool.”
“After fighting the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, I realized how necessary flight ability truly is!”
“My previous perspective and experience were far too narrow.”
“In normal combat, I must possess powerful flight capability.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Lingtong turned to glance at Ning Zhuo. “Normally speaking, Little Zhuo, you’re already at the second stage of Foundation Establishment. You can start practicing flight now.”
For cultivators, flight was indeed a fundamental ability.
Qi Refining cultivators could not ride swords to fly. Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly using flying swords, but their own mana could not sustain it for long.
Only at the Golden Core level could cultivators maintain long-distance sword flight and begin to master light-escape techniques. However, light-escape consumed Golden Core power too fiercely and could not last long either.
That was the norm.
But what Ning Zhuo wanted was clearly not the standard under this norm.
He wanted extremely powerful flight capability so that when he fought the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts again in the future, he would have the ability to respond.
Sun Lingtong understood Ning Zhuo very well and tried to persuade him. “Look, we’re only Foundation Establishment cultivators. Don’t always think about fighting the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts. That’s far too forced!”
“The proper approach is to flee far away, avoid them, escape, and patiently cultivate until your strength is closer before taking action.”
“Who tries to figure out how to deal with Nascent Soul cultivators while still in the Foundation Establishment Stage?”
Ning Zhuo let out an “Ah,” looking somewhat enlightened but also confused.
He scratched the back of his head. “Would enemies spare you just because you’re weak? Just because we’re weak, does that mean we’ll only encounter enemies around our own level?”
“Reality is cruel.”
“No matter how powerful the enemy is, we must do everything we can!”
Sun Lingtong fell silent.
He knew Ning Zhuo’s words came entirely from the heart.
After all, since the age of two, Ning Zhuo had been constantly thinking day and night about how to deal with the City Lord’s Mansion led by the Nascent Soul cultivator Meng Kui.
Ning Zhuo truly did not think there was anything strange about this way of thinking.
After all, this was how he had grown up. And during the struggle for the Lava Immortal Palace, he had defeated Meng Kui, Zhu Xuanji, and others, ultimately becoming the one who benefited the most.
Sun Lingtong thought to himself again:
“To be honest, Little Zhuo’s combat strength is indeed somewhat monstrous.”
“His cultivation is only at the second stage of Foundation Establishment, but by leveraging military strategy, mechanism arts, Five Elements mastery, and other factors, he already possesses powerful Golden Core–level combat strength.”
“For such a cultivator, planning to fight Nascent Soul–level experts doesn’t seem that strange anymore.”
In ancient times, when the cultivation arts were not yet developed, the primary standard for measuring a cultivator’s combat strength was their own cultivation level.
Later on, as the various cultivation arts flourished, magic treasures, divine abilities, and other methods became major components of combat strength, allowing many cultivators to defeat opponents of higher realms.
By the later era, cultivation arts blossomed like flowers. For example, the military strategist path’s collective power reached a qualitative transformation, further reducing the importance of cultivation level in combat strength.
And now, in this prosperous age of cultivation—like blazing oil poured upon a raging fire—cultivation level was merely one factor influencing combat power.
Sun Lingtong shrugged. “Little Zhuo, do whatever you want. Normal standards don’t apply to you. You’re a genius!”
Ning Zhuo gave a bitter smile. “Boss, between the two of us, there’s no need for polite words right now. I’m just an unlucky guy being hunted by the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.”
“What else can I do?”
“I can only do everything I can to grow stronger and face such powerful enemies.”
Ning Zhuo focused his gaze on the Cang Tie Han Armor.
“Boss, the Cang Tie Han Armor was left to me by my mother. I have feelings for it.”
“This time, it helped me again during battle.”
“When I wear it in combat, it feels like my mother is helping me. That feeling is truly wonderful.”
“So I want to properly modify it and upgrade it, turning it into a flying weapon for facing powerful enemies.”
Sun Lingtong asked curiously, “Then what’s your preliminary modification plan?”
Ning Zhuo clearly had already thought it through and immediately replied:
“First is its energy core. Originally it used a Foundation Establishment Pill, but I’m thinking—could we replace it directly with a cultivator’s Golden Core?”
Sun Lingtong froze briefly. “That should be possible.”
“Think about it—the Wanli Dragon requires a Nascent Soul as its energy core. Upgrading the Cang Tie Han Armor’s energy core from a Foundation Establishment Pill to a Golden Core is perfectly reasonable.”
“Exactly!” Ning Zhuo said. “My design for this part is mainly referencing the Wanli Dragon.”
“It’s just that Golden Cores are hard to obtain…”
Sun Lingtong immediately interrupted, “What’s so hard about that?”
“Before, Golden Cores might have been hard to find. But Little Zhuo, don’t forget—we’re in the middle of a war right now.”
“In the battle against the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts just now, many Nascent Soul cultivators died. I’m certain even more Golden Core cultivators died.”
“Don’t we have a large amount of military merit about to arrive?”
“Use it to exchange for a Golden Core from Liangzhu Kingdom.”
“Even if the Thousand Peaks Forest campaign hasn’t captured one yet, I refuse to believe Liangzhu Kingdom’s treasury has none.”
“We just need to pay attention to how much military merit a Golden Core costs.”
“After all, someone else’s Golden Core is an external object. National Power Bricks are still the most beneficial for us. Opportunities like having a cultivation nation open its National Power Bricks are extremely rare!”
After Sun Lingtong reminded him, Ning Zhuo’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Boss… if we can exchange for a Golden Core… could we also exchange for a Nascent Soul?”
“If we had a Nascent Soul, we wouldn’t need to use Spirit Stones to power the Wanli Dragon anymore—we could use the Nascent Soul instead.”
Previously, Sun and Ning had used Fire Essence. Later, when Fire Essence was insufficient, they switched to Spirit Stones.
But whether Fire Essence or Spirit Stones, they were consumables that would eventually run out.
Using a Nascent Soul was different.
If its energy was depleted, the Nascent Soul could operate its cultivation method and absorb surrounding spiritual energy to recover.
Not only that, when a Nascent Soul used its own mana, it was far more efficient than directly consuming Fire Essence or Spirit Stones.
In short, using a Nascent Soul was extremely cost-effective.
Sun Lingtong paused slightly. “Exchanging for a Nascent Soul would be very difficult!”
“Because a Nascent Soul has self-awareness. For a cultivation nation to hand it out as a reward is quite taboo.”
“That’s practically no different from the actions of demonic paths.”
“But Golden Cores are fine. Many medicinal pills use Golden Cores as ingredients, and formations sometimes use Golden Cores as formation nodes.”
Ning Zhuo nodded. “I see.”
“I’ll first contact the Three Generals Camp—no, I’ll contact Zhao Xi directly. Through him we can see if it’s possible to exchange for a Nascent Soul.”
“If that’s impossible, we’ll just exchange for a Golden Core.”
Previously, Zhao Xi had helped Ning Zhuo exchange for the Three-Yuan Treasure Exchange Talisman with remarkable efficiency. That ability left a deep impression on both Sun and Ning.
No wonder Zhao Xi thrived in Liangzhu Kingdom’s official circles.
So even though he knew exchanging for a Nascent Soul was taboo, Ning Zhuo still retained a bit of hope.
It was an expectation placed on Zhao Xi.
Ning Zhuo continued:
“Besides upgrading the energy core to a Golden Core, most of the materials of the Cang Tie Han Armor also need to be replaced with Golden Core–grade, or even Nascent Soul–grade materials.”
“I have three mechanical work platforms, all at the Nascent Soul level. I also possess a large batch of precious materials. Processing materials and producing semi-finished products, mechanical parts, and components won’t be a problem.”
Once the energy core was upgraded, the original body of the Cang Tie Han Armor would fall far behind.
A Foundation Establishment–grade body could not support the power of a Golden Core. Once pushed to a certain level, it could even collapse and disintegrate on its own.
Sun Lingtong strongly agreed with Ning Zhuo’s plan. Improving the body materials was both necessary and inevitable.
“The next step will be the key modification,” Ning Zhuo said with a solemn expression.
He gestured toward the Cang Tie Han Armor while explaining:
“I plan to add a pair of wings to the Cang Tie Han Armor, modify its mechanism structure, retain the mechanism technique Wind-Thunder Movement, improve the mechanism technique Azure Dragon Soaring Strike, and remove the mechanism technique Iron Garment Frost.”
After thinking for a moment, Sun Lingtong nodded again.
“Our Somersault Cloud was destroyed, and even the treasure-grade Black Iron Cloud is gone.”
“To fight Golden Core cultivators and above, flight is essential. It’s the foundation of combat.”
“If you’re stuck on the ground, you’ll be extremely passive!”
“You’re modifying the Cang Tie Han Armor to achieve this goal. That’s excellent. I fully support you—but how exactly will you do it?”
“Will the wings mimic some bird species, or will they just be a simple shape pushed by formations?”
Ning Zhuo thought for a moment.
“For long-duration flight, it’s best to mimic nature. That’s the most natural and suitable approach.”
“A simple shape would rely on brute force—pushing forward violently using Golden Core power.”
“I’d rather take the technical route, haha.”
Sun Lingtong smiled and nodded.
The two began designing blueprints together.
Since the Cang Tie Han Armor had originally been a ground combat mech, converting it into a flight-focused device required modifying not only the wings but also the armor’s entire structure.
They first designed separately, then compared their designs, selecting and refining them until reaching a final result.
The shoulder armor ends were no longer raised upward but reshaped into streamlined downward curves.
The waist became slimmer. The arms and legs were lengthened. The arms could tightly adhere to the sides of the body and even lock into place. At the heels of the legs, fin-like structures could extend to help adjust flight direction.
A talisman formation was also designed under the feet. By igniting the talisman suppressing the formation node when necessary, it could unleash powerful thrust.
The most important design element was the wings.
As expected of partners with great tacit understanding, both Sun and Ning chose swallow wings as the model. However, one used a spring swallow design, while the other used a sea swallow.
After combining their ideas and matching them with the new armor structure, the final design mimicked the wings of a Golden Swallow.
The Golden Swallow had an extremely high top speed—astonishingly fast.
Its weakness was poor burst acceleration.
However, when applied to the Cang Tie Han Armor, that weakness disappeared.
Because acceleration and burst power could be strongly boosted through Golden Core power and talismans.
This was the strength of mechanism arts—it could compensate for weaknesses while amplifying strengths.
Since the wings were Golden Swallow wings, metal-attribute materials were naturally the most suitable.
At the beginning, Ning Zhuo had no strict material requirements, so he used one of the most common materials: Metal Essence.
Modifying the external structure was easy. Using the mechanical work platform, Ning Zhuo completed it very quickly.
He did not add talismans or formations yet. Instead, he first wore the armor and conducted low-altitude flight tests.
The test was initially successful.
The shape of the Cang Tie Han Armor was excellent, allowing it to cut through the air and effectively reduce wind resistance.
Ning Zhuo then began designing formations.
The most fundamental core of the formation system was the energy core.
Only by designing around it could the rest expand outward.
Since it would no longer use a Foundation Establishment Pill but instead a Golden Core, the previous energy core structure had to be entirely discarded.
Considering the attribute of the Golden Core was unknown, Ning Zhuo decided to adopt a Five Elements Golden Core Wheel structure.
This concept came partly from the old Foundation Establishment Pill slot and partly from the Five Elements Spirit Conversion Wheel.
The Five Elements Spirit Conversion Wheel was one of the items Ning Zhuo had obtained while exploring the Lava Immortal Palace.
After combining the design principles of both, Ning Zhuo quickly created the Five Elements Golden Core Wheel.
The wheel contained a slot for embedding a Golden Core. As long as the Golden Core belonged to one of the Five Elements, the wheel could convert its mana into the other four elements.
After completing the energy core design, Ning Zhuo expanded outward.
A Piercing Arrow Formation was placed on the Golden Swallow wings to break through the air.
An Evergreen Formation was placed at the waist and abdomen to sustain endurance.
Inside the armor, numerous Returning Flow Formations were engraved to balance and regulate internal and external air pressure.
A Fire-Spouting Formation was designed at the soles to accelerate the mech.
And a Earth Shield Formation was installed in the helmet to enhance defense.
Using the mechanical work platforms, the two quickly engraved formation runes across all the mechanical components.
Once assembled, the new Cang Tie Han Armor retained only its internal spine structure; all other parts were rebuilt with new materials.
After connecting all the formation runes, Ning Zhuo began activating them one by one.
All formations passed on the first try without any issues.
Sun Lingtong sighed sincerely, “If we were arranging these formations ourselves, we’d probably mess up at least one or two. These mechanical work platforms are really useful!”
With the preliminary version complete, Ning Zhuo immediately wore the armor and began testing.
Since all the formations had been designed conservatively, the results were quite good.
After more than thirty tests, only five issues appeared—and they were minor.
For example, the thrust from the foot formations was uneven and needed adjustment. Also, during long-distance flight the knee joints bent slightly, increasing wind resistance and causing overheating.
Ning Zhuo resolved these problems one by one.
After extensive improvements, frost circulation rings were added to the knee joints to resolve overheating.
The fire-spouting formation at the soles was upgraded into a Li-Fire Tongue-Spitting Formation, increasing thrust by more than ten times.
The Piercing Arrow Formation on the Golden Swallow wings was upgraded to the White Tiger Army-Breaking Formation.
The Evergreen Formation at the waist was moved outside the armor and installed onto a specially designed mechanical rope wrapped around the waist.
The Returning Flow Formation inside the armor was upgraded into a Yin-Yang Returning Flow Formation.
These improvements increased the performance of each formation by more than tenfold, dramatically boosting the mech’s overall power.
However, new problems appeared.
The Metal Essence material could not withstand the enhanced performance. The Golden Swallow wings bore the greatest pressure and collapsed first.
Ning Zhuo replaced the material and modified the wing structure.
Previously the wings used a double-fold design.
Now they used a triple-fold structure.
After fixing the wings, further tests allowed Ning Zhuo to optimize the curvature of the wings.
He also adjusted the tolerance of the Five Elements Golden Core Wheel.
Twelve Divided Mind Mirrors were installed along the spine to improve control.
At last—
The Cang Tie Han Armor was reborn!