Volume 1, Chapter 49 – Battle Armor

As long as the total number of people boarding the Yunxiao Treasure Warship didn’t change, Nie Yangze didn’t care whose quota it was.

“This time’s bounty, added to my previous savings, can be put together into twenty thousand gold coins. I’d like to use these twenty thousand gold coins to trade Brother Shi for that spot.” Jiang Li tried tentatively.

Shi Lan didn’t speak. She only shook her head. Gold and silver were completely useless to her now.

Jiang Li wasn’t disappointed. He’d only been testing the waters.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Li took a brocade pouch from his chest and set it in front of Shi Lan. “Twenty thousand gold coins, plus these.”

Shi Lan picked up the pouch. It was quite heavy in her hand.

Inside the pouch were three crystal-clear stones, like pieces of transparent crystal, each about the size of an infant’s fist.

“What are these?”

“These are spirit crystals, hard currency that only circulates among martial artists at the Innate Realm and above. These three are only lower-grade spirit crystals, but a single one can be exchanged for at least seven or eight thousand gold coins.” A flash of pain crossed Jiang Li’s eyes.

These three spirit crystals were ones he’d originally set aside for when he tried to break through to the Innate Realm. It had cost him quite a bit of effort to get them.

As if afraid Shi Lan would refuse, Jiang Li hurriedly added, “Your injured friend will have all kinds of inconveniences boarding the ship alone. On the way, my wife can also look after them a little.”

Shi Lan rubbed the spirit crystals in her hand, her expression shifting slightly. She nodded. “I’ll accept these three spirit crystals. As for the twenty thousand gold, forget it—keep it for your family.”

Jiang Li let out a long breath, stood up, and bowed deeply. “Thank you!”

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Jiang Li didn’t stay long and soon took his leave.

After Jiang Li left, Shi Lan shut the door tightly, held a spirit crystal in her palm, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began circulating the Jade Tempering Art.

Just now, when she’d first touched the spirit crystal, the Jade Tempering Art within her had suddenly reacted. Only then had she agreed to Jiang Li’s request.

As soon as the Jade Tempering Art started circulating, a stream of cool air surged out from the spirit crystal in her palm and flowed into her body. This stream of energy felt completely different from when she refined medicinal herbs or the flesh and blood of demonic beasts.

It was clear, pure, and refreshing.

Bathed in this cool stream of energy, the toughness of Shi Lan’s body began to increase at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its effect far surpassed that of herbs or demonic beast flesh.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before the cool energy flowing from her palm grew thinner and thinner, until finally not a trace remained.

Shi Lan slowly opened her eyes. A strand of white air flowed out of her mouth like a strip of silk, shooting out nearly three feet before it gradually dispersed.

Right now, Shi Lan felt unexpectedly light. In the past, after cultivating the Jade Tempering Art, she would always feel very hungry, but this time there wasn’t the slightest trace of hunger. Her whole body felt full and solid.

Glancing down, she saw that the spirit crystal in her palm, which had originally been crystal-clear, had turned a dull grayish-white. It was clearly no longer usable.

She raised her head and glanced outside. The sky was already completely dark. That round of cultivation had taken nearly two hours.

In just those short two hours, the strength of Shi Lan’s body had increased dramatically, almost faintly touching the bottleneck of the eighth stage of the Body Tempering Realm. The progress was astonishing.

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Suddenly, Shi Lan felt a wave of itching from the wound on her left arm. She couldn’t help unwrapping the bandage. The wound had grown much shallower and was not far from fully healed.

Shi Lan suddenly remembered what Jiang Li had said earlier—this single spirit crystal alone could be exchanged for at least seven or eight thousand gold coins…

Her heart clenched. Seven or eight thousand gold coins—just how much money was that?

She’d burned through seven or eight thousand gold coins in just two hours. Even if her family owned a gold mine, they couldn’t afford that.

Looking at the two remaining spirit crystals, Shi Lan fell into thought.

“Tok… tok tok…”

A knocking sound snapped Shi Lan out of her thoughts. She rose, lit the candle, and opened the door.

Standing outside was none other than Huangfu Yun.

Huangfu Yun was holding a wooden chest in his hands. “Is it convenient for me to come in?” he asked.

Shi Lan stepped aside. “Please come in.”

Huangfu Yun walked into the room and set the wooden chest down on the table.

“In the Demon-Suppressing Army, the women form their own company and, most of the time, operate separately from the other units. When my unit fell back, there were no female soldiers with us, so there are currently no women’s battle armors in Twin Moon City. Fortunately, you’re tall and slender, so you can wear standard men’s armor.”

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As Huangfu Yun spoke, he opened the wooden chest. Inside lay a set of pitch-black battle armor, resting quietly.

At the center of the breastplate was a clear crack. Though it had been repaired, one could still tell it was a bite mark.

“This armor was taken from a fallen comrade of mine. With the current situation, there’s no way to forge new armor. We can only patch this up and make do with it. The Demon-Suppressing Army’s battle armor is all forged from black iron tempered over a hundred times. It’s more than enough to withstand the claws and fangs of ordinary demonic beasts.”

Huangfu Yun finished speaking and was about to leave when Shi Lan called out to him.

“Centurion, I’d like to ask—does the City Lord’s Manor currently have any healing pills?”

Hearing Shi Lan’s question, Huangfu Yun wasn’t surprised in the least. He already knew Shi Lan had entered the City Lord’s Manor with an injured person.

“Where is the person you brought?”

Shi Lan froze for a moment, then pointed toward the inner room.

Huangfu Yun walked into the inner room. When he saw Shi Feng lying on the bed, he strode over, reached out, and grasped Shi Feng’s wrist.

Shi Lan followed him in and stood to the side.

After a round of examination, a glint flashed through Huangfu Yun’s eyes, and he said with a hint of amazement, “The younger generation is truly impressive. Shi Lan, what is this person to you?”

“He is… my elder brother.”

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“Your brother’s injuries are severe, but they’re not yet life-threatening. Once you board the Yunxiao Treasure Warship and reach the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect’s territory, with some time to recuperate, he’ll recover.”

“Right now, all kinds of supplies in Twin Moon City are terribly scarce, especially healing pills, so… I hope you can understand.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Lan nodded. “I understand. Thank you, Centurion.”

Huangfu Yun returned to the outer room. At the door, he turned back and said, “If you have any other needs, just tell me. If it’s something I can do, I’ll see it done for you.”

Shi Lan thanked him again.

After closing the door tightly, Shi Lan took the battle armor out of the wooden chest. It was extremely heavy. Judging by the weight, it had to be at least two hundred jin. An ordinary person would probably struggle to even move in it once they put it on, but for the current Shi Lan, it was no longer much of a problem.

She put the heavy armor on, fastened the connecting pieces of the plates, moved around a little, and after she’d gotten used to the weight, she set the helmet—with its attached visor—onto her head.

The cold visor pressed tightly against her cheeks, sending a chill deep into her bones.

Once she had the helmet on, Shi Lan faintly caught a trace of blood in the air—very faint, but mixed with the metallic tang of the armor itself, it was impossible to ignore.

She walked into the inner room and stopped in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror was no different from those black-armored soldiers she’d seen before—same armor, same cold feeling it gave off.