"A faint trace of spirituality, filled with sacrifice and reckless courage… but unfortunately, it's not suitable for ."
Gu La gazed at the warlord-class cha on the display stand, his fingertips lightly brushing the cold tallic surface. The savage claw mark etched into the cha's chest armor seed to narrate the brutal story of a past battlefield. However, to him, this level of spirituality wasn't enough to warrant attention.
He had initially considered asking if he could buy it, but after swallowing twice, he suppressed the urge.
He was all too familiar with Shrek Academy's rules—these treasures were only available through contribution points, and federal currency here was as worthless as scrap paper.
As a newly enrolled student, the balance in his account couldn't even afford a single cha part. If he wanted to equip all four avatars with decent gear, he'd have to slave away in the forge room and secondary profession association for years.
"Still need to find another way…" Gu La muttered under his breath, turning toward the floating holographic projector in the center. When he inserted his student card into the slot, a brilliant azure screen instantly unfolded before him, and the cha customization interface cascaded down like a waterfall:
cha Levels
- Standard (White Rank): Basic training cha, suitable for new students. Equipped with a simple soul-guided power core, maximum output of 10 tons. Price: 100,000 contribution points.
- Elite (Yellow Rank): Enhanced combat cha. Fitted with a second-level soul-guided array, capable of equipping standard soul-guided cannons. Price: 1,000,000 contribution points.
- Warlord/General (Purple Rank): Battlefield mainstay model. Equipped with composite armor, supports modular loading of soul-guided weapons. Price: 9,000,000 contribution points.
- King (Black Rank): Super cha, featuring partial transformation capabilities and perfect compatibility with two-word battle armor. Price: 40,000,000 contribution points.
Gu La's fingertip lingered montarily on the "Black Rank" option, causing the screen to expand into a three-dinsional model. The sleek black armor stood like a prival beast, its shoulder-mounted particle cannons flashing with ominous red light.
But when he glanced at the lonely "5023" in his account balance, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
"It's still more cost-effective to buy outside with federal currency," he muttered, closing the screen. He connected his communicator to the company terminal, automatically pulling up the latest financial report.
"Last month's sales curve is agonizingly stable. All major factions are clinging tightly to their potion supply chains, and only scattered soul masters are purchasing Arceus' body-forging elixirs."
"With rare tals regulated in the outside world and the Spirit Pagoda stifled by the Qiangu family..." he muttered softly.
Gu La narrowed his eyes. Advanced technology and the martial soul system brought convenience, but they also restricted many of his small tricks.
For instance, he had already accumulated enough points and divine beast tokens to evolve Celebi's martial soul, but with so many powerful individuals monitoring the continent, he hadn't found a suitable place to perform the evolution.
While pondering whether to launch a new type of potion, footsteps sounded behind him. The silver-uniford youth he had t earlier in the exhibition hall approached, the gear-shaped badge on his chest gleaming coldly under the light—Third-Level Assistant Instructor Lin Mo from the cha Association.
"Brother, are you struggling with customizing a cha?" Lin Mo smiled knowingly, as if reminiscing about his own past. "All freshn go through this—I couldn't even understand the blueprint for a white-rank cha when I first arrived."
Gu La snapped back to attention and nodded. "Yes, I want to learn piloting techniques first before considering customizing a cha."
"A wise choice. Because of their large size, chas can carry bigger energy cores and hybrid soul-guided devices, making them no less capable than battle armor!"
"And once you pass the certification test, you can drive them around the city—it's very flashy!"
Discussing chas, the young man's expression turned fervent. He approved of Gu La's decision and noticed the white stripe on Gu La's uniform, marking him as a first-year student. A glimr of recruitnt zeal flickered in his eyes.
"The first-year assessnt requires building a white-rank cha. I recomnd you frequent the cha Association to get familiar with operations and build the cha that suits you best."
The assistant instructor studied Gu La's composed expression and probed cautiously, "If you're not short on contribution points, a purple-rank cha can handle most combat scenarios with excellent cost-effectiveness. But driving a cha requires a certain foundation in spiritual power. Have you tested your spiritual power level?"
"Spirit Sea Realm," Gu La replied calmly.
The assistant instructor paused, then revealed an astonished look. "At this level, you're already capable of piloting a black-rank cha! It seems Brother has extraordinary talent."
Gu La smiled faintly but offered no further explanation.
"How about trying out a simulated drive directly?" the assistant suggested. "We have cha simulation pods where you can experience operating different types of chas. Plus, inside the simulator, there are no physical limitations—only your spiritual power matters."
"Alright."
Gu La followed the assistant through the alloy corridor to the oval-shaped training area.
Under the blue lighting, the silvery-white simulation pod exuded a cold tallic sheen. Fine soul-guided patterns flowed across its surface.
He reclined into the pod, and the neural interface automatically adhered to his temples, its icy touch making him slightly squint.
"Consciousness link activated." A chanical female voice announced.
As the hatch closed, Gu La felt a gentle tug at the back of his head, and the scene before him abruptly shifted.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an endless desert battlefield. Scorching sand flowed beneath his feet, and heat waves distorted the distant horizon. A semi-transparent system interface unfurled in his field of vision:
[Please select a test cha]
Four options hovered in the air, with the black cha option locked. Gu La's gaze swept over the clunky form of the white basic training cha, lingered briefly on the yellow assault-type cha, and finally clicked the purple icon without hesitation.
"Buzz—"
The space vibrated as countless light particles rose from the sand, weaving together to form the outline of a three-ter-tall cha.
When the light faded, a streamlined deep-purple war machine stood proudly. Its armor was mirror-smooth, with dark golden shock-absorbing pads embedded at the joints. The folding propulsion wings on its back shimred iridescently under the sunlight.
[Purple Shadow-7 Activated]
Power Core: Fourth-Level Soul-Guided Reactor (Peak Output: 1200 Soul Power Units)
Weapon System: Soul-Guided Ray Cannons ×2 (Charge Ti: 2.3 seconds), High-Frequency Vibrating Blade ×1 (Amplitude: 40,000 vibrations per minute)
Gu La reached out to touch the authentication panel on the cha's chest, and the cockpit unfolded like a blooming tal flower.
He floated inside, and the ntal connection system imdiately synced with his spiritual network. As the control stick automatically molded to his palm, he felt a peculiar resonance—the steel fra seed to beco an extension of his body.
"Not bad specs. Even with fewer materials than the dozen or so chas I've assembled myself, the power hasn't diminished much."
Gu La chuckled softly, his fingertips sliding across the holographic control panel. Through the cha's sensors, he could clearly "see" the rolling trajectory of grains of sand 300 ters away. "It seems Shrek learned from the disadvantage of outdated soul-guided technology ten thousand years ago—they don't dare neglect even the unpopular cha tech anymore."
Gu La nodded in satisfaction. This was one of the reasons he ca here—to ensure that the Federation, which regularly discards blueprints, would be pleased.
Suddenly, an alarm pierced the silence.
[Combat Test Begins!]
Far-off sand dunes exploded, and over thirty ochre-colored chas sward out like ants. They were ard with standard-issue soul-guided rifles, their thrusters scorching black trails into the sand.
Gu La's pupils contracted as his vision automatically marked the movent trajectories of each enemy. His astonishing dynamic vision detected the hidden purple cha among them even before the system did.
"Just warming up," he murmured.
------------------------------------------------------
40 Chapters Ahead: patreon/EpheralShadow
There's sothing for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)
Reviews
All reviews (0)