In the depths of the palace stood three bronze statues, reminiscent of terracotta warriors. They were two heads taller than an average person and clad in heavy Bronze Armor.
The three statues stood in a triangular formation. The one standing alone in the back was the tallest, while the two in front were slightly smaller.
Though their exteriors were equally dilapidated, a faint light shone from within!
"Those are the ones!"
Gu Yuexiâs eyes lit up. She immediately flew over, reached out, and touched one of the statues.
The moment it came into contact with a living being, the statue instantly unleashed a powerful aura.
The next second, the entire palaceâno, the entire giant mountainâbegan to shake!
At the same time, the rusted bronze plates on the statueâs exterior began to fall away, piece by piece, revealing its true form within.
As the outer layer of bronze continued to peel away,
a complete, magnificent set of Battle Armor radiating a powerful aura was gradually revealed! The Battle Armorâs lines were smooth and majestic. Its plates seemed to be inlaid with countless miniature stars that flickered on and off as if breathing, giving it an incredibly imposing appearance.
Chu Sheng flew a circle around the Battle Armor, marveling inwardly:
"BZZZ (This is the Spiritual Artifact you were talking about?)"
"BZZ! (It looks pretty cool!)"
Gu Yuexi nodded.
"Thatâs right. This should be a Battle Armor Treasure left behind from ancient times."
"The name of this Battle Armor has been lost to time, so I simply call it... the Empress Battle Armor!"
In her past life, Gu Yuexi had relied on it to survive several life-or-death crises, eventually succeeding in breaking through to the Emperor Realm.
Empress Battle Armor?
âSo youâre the one whoâs going to wear it?â
Chu Sheng sized up the Battle Armor and saw that it did indeed seem to be designed for a woman. âWith Gu Yuexiâs stunning figure, itâll probably look amazing on her.â
âWait, arenât there two other sets?â
With that thought, Chu Sheng flew toward the set on the left and tapped it lightly with his mosquito leg.
The exact same scene played out. Another powerful and cool-looking set of Battle Armor appeared before them, though its style and color were slightly different.
However, when Gu Yuexi looked at this set of Battle Armor, she frowned slightly.
âIn my past life, this set on the left was already gone when I arrived. It seems someone must have taken it before I got here.â
Chu Sheng didnât notice Gu Yuexiâs expression. Instead, he flew over to the innermost set of Battle Armor and tapped it with his mosquito leg as well.
Instantly, the entire mountain peak began to shake again, even more violently than the first two times.
As its bronze plates fell away, another set of Battle Armor appearedâone even more imposing and with an even more powerful aura than the previous two!
"BZZZ, BZZ BZZ BZZ! (Whoa, this one looks even cooler and more powerful! Why donât you want this one?)"
Chu Sheng circled the final set of Battle Armor, his eyes shining.
Gu Yuexi shook her head.
"Itâs not that simple. To wear any of these three sets of Battle Armor, you must first earn its acknowledgment. Otherwise, you canât take it."
"Try it if you donât believe me."
âFine, Iâll try.â
Chu Sheng reached out to grab the last set of Battle Armor. But before he could even touch the armor itself, a Barrier covered in flowing runes materialized on its surface, enveloping it completely. He couldnât touch the armorâs body at all and was even repelled.
Gu Yuexi shook her head. âI tried to claim that Battle Armor in my past life, of course, but even I couldnât. Perhaps we just werenât compatible.â
"I brought you here hoping you could find some other hidden Spiritual Artifacts. As for these three sets of Battle Armor, theyâre meant to be worn by people. Itâs perfectly normal that you couldnât get its acknowledgment."
Gu Yuexi was speaking the truth. After all, a mosquito like Chu Sheng was obviously not a suitable match for the Battle Armor.
After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to the Empress Battle Armor before her and prepared to begin Taming it.
She slowly raised her hand and reached for the Battle Armor. The moment her fingers drew near, a Barrier materialized over this set of armor as well.
Gu Yuexi wasnât anxious. Instead, she very slowly and gently touched the Barrier with her fingertip.
HUM!
A faint hum sounded.
The Barrier immediately began to vibrate gently, but it didnât repel Gu Yuexiâs finger right away. The runes on its surface shifted continuously, as if trying to communicate with her.
Drawing on her past lifeâs experience, Gu Yuexi knew not to rush. Patiently, extremely slowly, she pushed her finger forward, little by little.
After several dozen seconds, Gu Yuexiâs finger had only moved a few millimeters forward. Finally, the tip of her finger broke through the Barrier!
But the Barrier hadnât completely dissipated, so Gu Yuexi remained extremely careful and slow.
She even closed her eyes, fully immersing herself in the process of comprehending and connecting with the Battle Armor.
...
ăMeanwhile.ă
Chu Sheng was still hovering beside the innermost set of Battle Armor.
âGu Yuexi was right. Itâs Battle Armor meant for a person. Does that mean itâs not my destiny?â
âBut thereâs no way I can just leave such a treasure behind. I canât accept that.â
âBack when she was the Empress in her past life, Gu Yuexi placed so much importance on that Empress Battle Armor, and this nameless set clearly has an even more incredible aura! Not take it? The heavens themselves wouldnât forgive me!â
âI have to take it!â
âBut how?â
âIf itâs not my destiny, then Iâll just shatter the Barrier by force and take it!â
Thatâs right. What Chu Sheng had in mind was his [Realm-Breaking Claw].
However, even though the Realm-Breaking Claw was said to be able to penetrate any Defense or Barrier, he wasnât sure if it could forcibly destroy an ancient Barrier like this one.
âLetâs give it a try!â
A faint golden light emanated from Chu Shengâs six mosquito legs as he began to scratch at the Barrier surrounding the Battle Armor.
BZZZ!!!
The Barrier vibrated slightly, and the runes on it flowed rapidly, but... it didnât break.
âDamn, itâs not working?â
âNo, wait.â Chu Sheng squinted and suddenly noticed what seemed to be an extremely, almost invisibly, fine white mark on the translucent Barrier.
âDid I... break its Defense? But only a tiny bit?â
âAs long as I can damage it, thereâs a chance!â
"System, can you confirm the damage progress?"
[Ding! The current Realm-Breaking Claw can inflict 0.00001% damage to the target Barrier.]
0.00001%?
Thatâs 0.000001.
Which means to break it, Iâd have to scratch it... one million times?
âHeh, interesting.â
âWhat am I waiting for? Time to start scratching!â
Without any hesitation, Chu Sheng began to use all six of his legs, scratching frantically at the Barrier enveloping the Battle Armor. He moved so fast he became a blur.
Chu Sheng did a quick calculation in his head. With all six legs working together, he could scratch about 60 times per second. That meant 3,600 scratches per minute.
So, to reach one million scratches, he would need... a little over two hundred minutes, which was almost five hours.
"..."
âWhatever. Letâs do this!â
Just as Chu Shengâs legs were about to start smoking from all the scratching...
...on the other side, Gu Yuexiâs entire palm finally passed through the Barrier. Her fingertips slowly made contact with the body of the Battle Armor.
DONG!
It was as if an ancient bell had chimed in her ear. The next second, the Barrier around the Battle Armor completely shattered.
At the same time, every part of the Battle Armor began to emit a brilliant light. As if granted life, they instantly disassembled, floated into the air, and transformed into iridescent beams of starlight!
The crown, pauldrons, breastplate, vambraces, greaves, and sabatons... all the pieces flew toward Gu Yuexi with precision and speed, as if guided by an unseen force.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A series of crisp, metallic chimes rang out as the pieces attached themselves to her body, fitting together seamlessly. The entire process was fluid and powerful, as if the Battle Armor had been made for her all along and was now simply returning to its rightful place.
When the final pieceâa crown engraved with phoenix patterns and inlaid with a deep blue Gemstone at its centerâlanded lightly in her hair, the full set of [Empress Battle Armor] was finally, perfectly equipped!
At that moment, the Empress from her past life, who had looked down upon all creation, had seemingly... completely returned!