Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
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Leaving the forging teaching area, Teacher Shen Yi led the group through a long, sci-fi-inspired silver corridor to a more magnificent area.
As two alloy gates, tens of meters high, slowly slid open to the sides,
"Boom—"
A cold and stern metallic aura rushed toward them.
What appeared before everyone was a massive super hangar!
Here, rows of steel giants were neatly arranged. Some were pure white, some were a heavy earthy yellow, others shimmered with a mysterious purple luster, and some were pitch black. They stood there quietly, exuding a suffocating sense of pressure. Among them, the white ones were the largest, while the black ones were the smallest.
Mechas! This was a man's romance and the crystallization of Spirit Tool technology!
Looking at this visually impactful scene, Ning Tian's eyes were filled with shock.
"These are... mechas?"
Ning Tian murmured to herself.
This was something she had never seen before, and it looked full of overwhelming pressure.
"Everyone, come over here."
Teacher Shen Yi led the group to a snow-white mecha with a relatively simple design.
This mecha was about a dozen meters tall, holding a massive alloy war saber in its hand, with a heavy Spirit cannon mounted on its back.
"This is a White-rank mecha."
Teacher Shen Yi patted the mecha's cold leg armor and explained with a smile.
"It's also the most entry-level existence in our mecha system."
"Its greatest feature isn't how strong its combat power is, but..."
Teacher Shen Yi held up a finger:
"Even an ordinary person without any Spirit Power can control it after simple training!"
"What?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Ning Tian and Wu Feng instantly cried out in shock.
"Ordinary people can control it too?!"
This completely overturned their understanding! One must know that although Spirit Tools don't require much Spirit Power, they aren't something ordinary people can use directly.
In the Douluo Continent, the reason Spirit Masters stood high above others was because they possessed power that ordinary people could never reach.
But now, Teacher Shen Yi was saying that ordinary people could go into battle driving this hunk of iron?
"White-rank and Yellow-rank mechas are equipped with high-energy compressed Spirit Tool batteries, which can provide extra power and endurance."
"For an ordinary person, putting on this mecha is equivalent to having a layer of indestructible steel plating, as well as..."
Teacher Shen Yi pointed to the war saber in the mecha's hand:
"Attack power equivalent to a hundred-year Spirit Beast!"
"While this might not be much in the eyes of the strong, for an ordinary person with no power, it's a qualitative leap!"
*Gulp...*
Ning Tian swallowed hard with difficulty.
The combat power of a hundred-year Spirit Beast?
It didn't sound strong; any Spirit Grandmaster could handle it.
But... this was giving ordinary people that kind of combat power!
Huo Yuhao was equally shocked at this moment.
However, his focus was not on the White-rank mecha.
The image of Teacher Mu Ye, who subjected him to devilish training every day, surfaced in his mind.
He had heard that Teacher Mu Ye was a God-rank mecha Pilot who piloted a legendary Red-rank mecha!
"Teacher Shen."
Huo Yuhao raised his hand, his eyes shining with a thirst for knowledge:
"What about higher-level mechas? For example... Red-rank mechas?"
"What level are they?"
Hearing this question, Teacher Shen Yi smiled.
"Red-rank mechas..."
"Before we talk about that, let's talk about Purple-rank and Black-rank first."
Teacher Shen Yi led the group further ahead, pointing to a mecha emitting a faint purple glow.
"Purple-rank Mechas are the watershed."
"Starting from this level, the Spirit Master's own Spirit Power is required to guide it."
"It can greatly enhance a Spirit Master's combat power and survival capabilities."
"For example, if you are a Four-Ring Spirit Ancestor, after putting on a Purple-rank Mecha, your comprehensive combat power will increase by at least one tier, reaching the level of a Five-Ring Spirit King!"
"Furthermore, because of the heavy armor protection, your defense will be even stronger than a typical defense-system Spirit King!"
"An increase of an entire major realm?!"
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened. Of course, this wasn't as shocking as the One-word Battle Armor—after all, that crossed a full twenty levels—but... the One-word Battle Armor let a Five-Ring Spirit Master fight a Seven-Ring Spirit Master, while this let a Four-Ring Spirit Master fight a Five-Ring Spirit Master. Both were significant boosts.
"And Black-rank mechas..."
Teacher Shen Yi walked up to a pitch-black mecha with a more streamlined design.
"These are already the elites among mechas."
"A Black-rank mecha isn't just an upgrade in materials; more importantly, it begins to attempt a certain degree of fusion with the Spirit Master's Spirit Soul."
"This makes the mecha no longer a cold machine, but something as flexible as one's own arm."
"An excellent Black-rank mecha Pilot can perform all sorts of inconceivable and difficult tactical maneuvers!"
At this point, Teacher Shen Yi paused and turned her gaze toward the deepest part of the hangar.
There stood a crimson mecha, looking as if it were cast from raging fire. Although it was smaller than the previous mechas, the pressure it exerted on everyone was not small at all.
"As for the Red-rank mecha that student Huo Yuhao asked about..."
"It is known as—the God-rank mecha!"
"At this level, the mecha is no longer a tool, but a part of one's life!"
"It is forged using the highest-tier Heavenly Refined Metal and requires one's own essence blood and Spirit to fully integrate."
"Red-rank mechas are usually small, no more than six meters tall at most, acting like a Spirit Master's second body."
"It possesses the ability to transform instantly, switching forms in a flash."
"What's even more terrifying is..."
"It has the ability to perform space leaps!"
"Within a range of a thousand meters, a Red-rank mecha can take the Mecha Pilot through a Teleportation!"
"Teleportation?!"
Wang Dong'er gasped.
Teleportation within a thousand-meter range? Isn't this ability a bit too broken?
"That's not all." Teacher Shen Yi continued: "Because it possesses extremely high intelligence and vitality, a powerful Red-rank mecha doesn't even need a Mecha Pilot inside to command it."
"It can fight on its own!"
"Its strength is no different from the original body!"
"This is equivalent to..."
"On the battlefield, you can at any time summon a helper who is equal to you in strength, but with stronger defense, no fear of pain, and the ability to teleport!"
"Furthermore, Red-rank mechas have the potential for continuous evolution!"
"This..."
Everyone was awestruck by the terrifying capabilities of the Red-rank mecha. Autonomous combat? A second avatar? Growth potential?
"Too strong..."
Xiao Xiao murmured to herself, her eyes full of stars.
Just as everyone was immersed in their infinite fantasies about the Red-rank mecha, Teacher Shen Yi suddenly sighed and shook her head, pouring cold water on them.
"But..."
"Even such a powerful Red-rank mecha still has an insurmountable gap before true peak combat power."
"Even a God-rank mecha cannot compare to the legendary four-word battle armor!"
"What?!"
Ning Tian's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief:
"This... it can already teleport and fight autonomously, yet it still can't beat that whatever four-word battle armor?"
"Then how powerful... must a four-word battle armor be?"
Because Ning Tian and Wu Feng had enrolled late, they didn't even know what battle armor was yet.
"In the current system, the upper limit of battle armor is indeed higher than that of mechas."
"Unless..."
Teacher Shen Yi's eyes flickered for a moment:
"Unless someone can break the shackles and develop an existence that surpasses the Red-rank mecha."
"Alright, telling you all this isn't to discourage you."
Teacher Shen Yi looked at the somewhat demoralized group and encouraged them with a smile:
"I just want you to clearly recognize the current reality."
"Although the upper limit of mechas is slightly lower than battle armor, their universality and strategic significance are incomparable."
"And..."
"Technology is constantly advancing."
"Just because it didn't exist before doesn't mean it won't exist in the future."
"Perhaps among you, there will be someone who can lead mechas to a new height, even... surpassing battle armor!"
These words were like a spark that instantly ignited the hot blood in Huo Yuhao's heart.
"Mechas..."
Huo Yuhao repeated the word in his mind.
In essence, a mecha was also a type of Spirit Tool, and for his second profession, he had chosen to be a Soul Engineer.
"If I become a powerful Soul Engineer in the future..."
"Could I upgrade these mechas?"
"Could I create something... that has the firepower and defense of a mecha, the flexibility and explosive power of battle armor, and even surpasses the ultimate weapon that is the four-word battle armor?"
Once this thought took root, it grew wildly in Huo Yuhao's heart like weeds, impossible to suppress.
Huo Yuhao also planned to follow Mu Ye's example and balance the studies of both a Mecha Pilot and a Battle Armor Master!
...
Meanwhile, in the Dean's Office.
[Detected an increase in the child of destiny Huo Yuhao's recognition that Shrek Academy is a Monster Academy!]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining rewards: Ninth-Rank Mecha Manufacturer, Repairman, and Designer]
[Detected an increase in key character Wang Dong'er's recognition that Shrek Academy is a Monster Academy!]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining rewards: Special Teacher Template—Tang Ziran and Wife (Eight-Ring Soul Douluo version)]
[Detected an increase in key character Xiao Xiao's recognition that Shrek Academy is a Monster Academy!]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining rewards: Complete version of Tang Sect Techniques]
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.