Chapter 79: Custom One‑Character Battle Armor

Soon, nine shadowy figures wearing ghost‑face masks and of varying builds leisurely walked in from the main gate.

Their arrival instantly drew everyone's gaze, and the atmosphere in the hall grew a few degrees more solemn.

These nine are the committee members of this Soul Guide Master competition; they not only possess extremely high mastery of the Soul Guide arts, but also hold absolute authority over the contest.

Consequently, all 130 contestants present felt awe toward them, and none dared to provoke them lightly.

The leading man in red, his gaze cold and stern, scanned the hall's contestants; seeing everyone assembled, he announced in a deep voice, "Alright, the competition officially begins.

You have one hour to perform; begin now."

His voice was low and powerful, as if carrying an invisible pressure, making everyone present feel a wave of tension.

As his words fell, the contestants sprang into action, quickly selecting metal materials from the storage Soul Guide Devices on the tables.

In the Soul Guide Master competition, a higher level does not necessarily mean a higher ranking.

A top‑tier second‑level Soul Guide Device can likely rank above an ordinary third‑level Soul Guide Device.

Of course, if the level gap is too large, that's a different matter.

Menghongchen sat at her seat, her gaze sweeping over the metal materials inside the storage Soul Guide Device, her brows slightly furrowing.

She found that the quality of these metals was not high at all, far from meeting her standards.

As a fifth‑level Soul Guide Master, she needed rarer, more precious materials to forge a Soul Guide Device that could stand out.

Thinking of this, Menghongchen extended her right hand; the purple bracelet on her wrist glimmered faintly, and a fist‑sized golden crystal appeared on the table.

The crystal was entirely golden, radiating dazzling light as if it contained boundless energy.

Its sudden appearance instantly captured everyone's gaze, and a low murmur rose throughout the hall.

"Golden crystal! Isn't that the most crucial material for forging an invincible shield?"

"Exactly, I've heard this material is extremely rare; I didn't expect her to be able to produce it!"

"Looks like she's aiming to craft an invincible shield this time; what a grand move!"

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Menghongchen remained composed, unaffected at all.

She knew that to stand out among the 130 contestants, she had to forge an extremely rare, extremely powerful Soul Guide Device.

And the invincible shield was one such device.

However, the difficulty of crafting an invincible shield is immense; even as a fifth‑level Soul Guide Master, she could not guarantee 100% success.

In other words, she was gambling! If she failed, the remaining time would be insufficient for a second attempt.

Meanwhile, Bosabei, standing not far from Menghongchen, did not immediately get to work like the others.

He crossed his arms, his gaze deep, as if pondering something.

A moment later, his eyes lit up slightly, clearly having thought of an idea.

Then, he casually selected a few decent metal pieces from the storage Soul Guide Device, and also took several pieces of black mysterious iron, intending to use them for the Soul Guide Device's casing.

Bosabei this time planned to craft a second‑level Soul Guide Device.

Although he already possessed the level of a fifth‑level Soul Guide Master, he did not intend to reveal his full strength in this competition.

For him, making the most basic second‑level Soul Guide Handgun was a piece of cake; even accounting for the engraving of three core formation arrays, it took him less than half an hour.

After completing the piece, Bosabei did not continue bustling like the others; instead, he leisurely opened the system panel.

He recalled that this month's system shop should have refreshed, a good chance to see if there were any worthwhile items to purchase.

【This month's system items:】

【1: Hundred‑Year soul bone: 1000 points】

【2: Seventh‑level melee Soul Guide Device: 3000 points】

【3: …】

【10: Custom One‑Character Battle Armor: 50000 points】

Seeing the last item, Bosabei's eyes instantly brightened.

The battle armor is a great thing! It can grant the user an extremely terrifying boost; although with his current strength he cannot fully wield it, buying it in advance for research isn't out of the question.

With that in mind, Bosabei's thoughts shifted, and he spent 50000 points to purchase this Custom One‑Character Battle Armor outright.

【Ding! Purchase successful, 50000 points deducted, current remaining points 308000.】

"But what the heck is a custom battle armor?" Bosabei asked with some confusion.

【Reply to host: Customization means the battle armor's appearance can be altered at will.】 the system explained.

"I see." Bosabei nodded, his interest in the armor deepening.

However, it was clearly not a good time to take it out for study now, so he could only suppress his impulse and continue sitting in place, quietly awaiting the competition's end.

Bosabei's behavior quickly attracted the committee's attention.

Several committee members wearing ghost‑face masks turned their gazes toward him, their brows slightly furrowing.

Obviously, they hadn't expected anyone to finish the competition so quickly.

Nevertheless, they soon relaxed, reasoning that such speed likely meant the quality couldn't be very good.

Thus, they didn't pay much heed to Bosabei's performance, refocusing their attention on the other contestants.

Time ticked by second by second, and the hall's atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

The contestants poured their full concentration into their works, the carving knives in their hands swiftly slicing the metal surfaces, and layer upon layer of complex Soul Guide formation arrays gradually taking shape.

The air was filled with the intertwined scent of metal and soul power, making even breathing feel heavy.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped onto Menghongchen's forehead.

Her hands flew over the golden crystal, each cut precise as if carving a work of art.

Yet the difficulty of crafting the invincible shield far exceeded her imagination; even after giving her all, she still felt somewhat out of her depth.

"Just one more step…" Menghongchen gritted her teeth, the carving knife in her hand pausing briefly before she slashed fiercely.

A dazzling golden light burst from the crystal, illuminating the entire hall.

However, at that critical moment, Menghongchen's wrist twitched slightly, and the carving knife deviated from its intended path.

"Damn!" Menghongchen's heart sank, and her face turned pale in an instant.

She knew she had failed; forging the invincible shield was already extremely difficult, and any mistake would nullify all prior effort.

And the remaining time was nowhere near enough for her to remake one.

Meanwhile, Bosabei still lounged leisurely in his seat, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the surrounding contestants.

His second‑grade soul‑guiding pistol had long been completed, and now lay quietly on his desk, emitting a faint glow.

At last, the allotted hour had elapsed.

The man in red stepped forward again, his voice deep as he announced, "Time's up, the competition is over! All contestants, cease your actions and await the judges' verdict."

As his words fell, the atmosphere in the hall instantly solidified.

The contestants each halted their motions, their eyes nervously fixed on the organizing committee.

(End of chapter)