134: Chapter 135 Mission Accomplished, Name: Dark Soul

"Wang Lin did say that. Second Uncle, if you're still worried, I'll ask him again for you when I go to the county town later," Lin Ye said with a hint of a smile in his voice.

Hearing this, Second Uncle's face turned a bit red. "I'm going to rest first."

Having said that, he turned and entered the house, his steps somewhat hurried.

Watching Second Uncle flee in panic, Lin Ye had a smile on his lips. He drained the tea in his bowl, stood up, and went to the backyard.

At this moment, the Master was squatting beside the Pangolin carcass, holding a thin small knife, scraping something inch by inch.

Several basins of medicinal liquid were placed nearby, ranging in color from deep green to dark red, emitting a strong herbal scent.

The scales stripped off were already spread out on a nearby tarpaulin; the large ones were as big as washbasins, while the small ones were a palm's width. Hundreds of them were neatly stacked.

The Master's expression was incredibly focused, and every cut he made was both fast and steady.

"Grandmaster, let me help you."

The Master didn't even look up upon hearing this. "No need. You haven't learned how to process exotic beast Materials; it's easy to cause a loss of spirituality."

Hearing this, Lin Ye no longer insisted and just stood by, watching the Master work.

An hour later, the Master finally stopped.

"Grandmaster, what grade can equipment made from these scales reach?" Lin Ye asked curiously, looking at the scales soaking in the medicinal liquid.

"rare-grade, naturally. Moreover, the quality far exceeds that of ordinary black iron armor."

Lin Ye's eyes lit up. "Then can it withstand a full-strength strike from a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist?"

"Hard to say." The Master shook his head.

"There are many factors in judging the quality of a piece of armor; hardness is only one of them."

"These scales naturally possess a force-deflecting effect. When an attack hits, the force will be guided and dispersed by the scales.

In terms of hardness alone, it might not compare to black iron, but the defensive effect is definitely stronger, not weaker."

Lin Ye recalled the previous battle with this exotic beast, and it indeed seemed to be the case.

Every time his staff hit the opponent, it would slide off along the grain of the scales, instantly shedding more than half the force.

If not for that, he wouldn't have needed to strike it hundreds of times to seriously injure it.

"In other words, armor made from these scales might inherit their force-deflecting trait?"

"Correct. If handled properly, a second trait might even appear, such as shock absorption or heat insulation. It depends on my craftsmanship."

"Haha, I believe with your craftsmanship, Grandmaster, there will be no problem."

Over the next few days, Lin Ye's life returned to its previous rhythm.

He went to Chijin Hall during the day to forge iron and earn money, and returned at night to take pulse-opening pills and Cultivate. His days were incredibly fulfilling.

It wasn't until the evening three days later, just as Lin Ye returned from Chijin Hall, that the Master called out to him.

"Come here."

Lin Ye followed the Master into the backyard.

The large vats and basins in the courtyard had been removed. Only the massive exotic beast skeleton remained piled in a corner, covered by a tarpaulin, with a few giant ribs exposed.

On a nearby wooden rack hung a set of dark-gold armor.

The armor was composed entirely of scales, one overlapping another, neatly arranged like fish scales.

Each scale had been polished to a mirror-like finish, and the edges were linked with black iron wire. It was clear that a great deal of effort had been put into it.

The breastplate was polished from a single, largest scale, its curve perfectly fitting the chest, and it was engraved with dozens of fine patterns.

It was unclear whether they were decorative or had some special effect.

In addition, the pauldrons, bracers, greaves, and waist guard were all present, with even the finger joints covered by tiny scales.

It allowed for free movement without compromising the overall defensive effect.

"Come, try it on." The Master took the armor from the wooden rack, his eyes filled with unconcealed anticipation.

"Alright!"

Lin Ye took the armor. His first impression was its lightness.

The entire set of armor weighed only about sixty to seventy catties. Although it was more than twice as heavy as the previous wolf king leather armor,

one was heavy armor and the other was leather armor; the two were completely incomparable.

If it were made of black iron, the weight would definitely be more than ten times greater!

Taking off his outer clothes, Lin Ye first put on the breastplate.

The dark-gold scales pressed against his chest, feeling slightly cool, as if he had applied a layer of metallic skin.

Then came the pauldrons, bracers, waist guard, and greaves. After putting on the full set, Lin Ye tried moving his arms. There was no sense of restriction; every joint turned freely. Even when he clenched his fists, the small scales on the gauntlets could slightly expand and contract with his hand's movements.

The entire set of inner armor felt as if it had grown onto him. Rather than armor, it felt like a part of his body.

Looking down at his reflection in the water, the dark-gold scales encased his entire body, gleaming with a faint, eerie luster.

He tried to circulate his Internal Qi. The Internal Qi passed through his skin and into the scales, quickly forming a thin air cushion between the inner armor and his skin, making it fit even more snugly and stably.

This filled Lin Ye with wonder.

"How does it feel?" the Master asked expectantly.

"Very good, it fits perfectly!"

Lin Ye briefly described his sensations.

The Master was not at all surprised. "This is the characteristic of exotic beast armor. You only need to infuse Internal Qi to make it fit perfectly."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and tapped Lin Ye's chest, listening to the resonance. "Hmm, the gaps between the scales are controlled just right."

After saying that, he stepped back two paces and looked Lin Ye up and down, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

"By the way, Grandmaster, does this set of inner armor have a name?"

Lin Ye felt that such a masterpiece of craftsmanship deserved a resounding name.

The Master shook his head. "No. If you like, you can give it one yourself."

Lin Ye fell into thought, touching the scales on his chest. The cold sensation reminded him of the Pangolin's eyes after its transformation—cold, scrutinizing, and devoid of emotion.

"Let's call it dark soul!"

"dark soul? Hmm, that is quite fitting."

The Master was clearly satisfied with this name as well.

Lin Ye wore dark soul and performed a set of staff techniques in the front yard; his movements were not affected in the slightest.

He then tried to activate the Thunder Tiger Vajra Body, and purple arcs of electricity immediately surfaced on his body.

These electrical arcs traveled across the scales of the inner armor. Not only did they meet no resistance, but their spreading speed actually increased by a few points.

"This thing actually conducts electricity?" Lin Ye was somewhat surprised.

To be more accurate, it conducted Qi.

To put it plainly, these electrical arcs were formed by innate qi through a special circulation method; in essence, they were still Qi.

Afterward, he used the black iron heavy staff to give himself a hard jab. The moment the staff touched the inner armor, it immediately deflected. Ten parts of force were instantly reduced to five; the force-deflecting effect was quite impressive.

Not only that, Lin Ye also deliberately used vibration force, but as the scales rose and fell a few times, this force was dissipated into nothingness.

"What a treasure!" Lin Ye exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

With this set of inner armor, his Physical Body defense had increased at least tenfold. An ordinary Seventh-Grade Martial Artist would find it very difficult to cause him any harm.

Just then, the Master walked out from the backyard, holding something in his hand.