Late at night.
Heavenly Capital Imperial Palace.
Having finished a day of forging.
Jin Mian was covered in sweat as he dragged his exhausted body out of the Imperial Garden.
"I underestimated the difficulty of creating battle armor."
"Looking at the current progress."
"Without two or three years, I probably won't even see a single component of the emperor battle armor."
He had originally thought that once he found all the materials, he could...
...hand-forge the emperor battle armor in a very short time.
But during today's forging process.
Jin Mian discovered.
His thoughts were a bit too hasty.
The emperor battle armor project was truly a bit too massive.
With his current methods, he could only draw the design blueprints at most.
It was simply impossible to forge it.
Because for forging battle armor, while materials were one of the key factors.
Forging technique was the most critical of all.
After all, whether the metals needed for the battle armor could be forged to meet the standard requirements...
...depended entirely on this forging technique.
Based on the forging techniques Jin Mian currently mastered, he could only forge Thousand-Refined peak-level metal.
Looking at the classification of blacksmith levels.
His forging level was roughly around level four, a Grandmaster level forging standard.
At this level, forging ordinary One-Word Battle Armor was more than enough.
But to forge emperor battle armor.
It wasn't nearly enough.
Because emperor battle armor required multiple elemental attributes to be fused into the metal.
To reach this level.
The minimum forging level had to be level six, Artisan level Fusion Forging.
In other words, Jin Mian had to improve his forging level by two more ranks.
Only then could he meet the conditions to start forging the emperor battle armor.
But these two forging levels—how could they be so easy to raise?
After all, this was a craft.
It wasn't like spirit power levels, where if you hit a bottleneck, you could just eat some Immortal Herbs or take some pills to break through.
This stuff relied entirely on skill!
The two were completely different matters.
As for why he didn't find someone else to help with the forging.
As the saying goes.
Rely on a mountain and it might crumble; rely on people and they might run.
For equipment as important as battle armor, it was better to rely on oneself.
Furthermore, once the battle armor was forged, it wouldn't just be over.
There would definitely be upgrades later.
He couldn't always rely on others to help forge the metal.
"Sigh~" Jin Mian looked up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky and thought, "Go back, take a bath, eat, and sleep."
Leaving the Imperial Garden.
Jin Mian avoided the guards patrolling along the way.
He quietly entered the Emperor's Bedchamber.
And returned to the Secret Chamber.
"I'm back," Jin Mian called out.
Suddenly.
The delicious aroma of food wafted over.
Following the scent, he arrived at the kitchen.
There he saw Qian Renxue, who during the day disguised herself as Xue Qinghe, exuding imperial majesty and speaking and acting with unquestionable authority.
At this moment, she had transformed into a little chef.
Wearing an apron, she was plating a freshly stir-fried dish.
She looked like a virtuous wife and mother.
Looking at the dining table.
It was a full table of steaming, delicious-looking food.
Noticing Jin Mian was back.
Qian Renxue walked out carrying the freshly cooked dish.
"You're back. Go wash your hands and eat.
Jin Mian looked incredulous.
He pointed at the food on the table: "You made this?!"
Logically speaking.
A powerful woman with such a prominent background like Qian Renxue...
...should be the type who never lifts a finger for housework and has no connection to the kitchen for her entire life.
Not to mention, during the day she had to disguise herself as Xue Qinghe and handle the affairs of the Tiandou Empire, large and small.
She shouldn't have had any time to learn culinary arts.
But now, she had actually practiced such good cooking skills.
Hearing this.
Qian Renxue put the dish down and took off her apron.
With her hands on her hips, she said, "Nonsense. If I didn't make it, did a ghost make it?"
"By the way, when did you learn to cook? And... it's so delicious?" Halfway through his sentence, Jin Mian grabbed a piece of pork hock with his hand and put it in his mouth to taste.
Hearing him say her food was delicious.
Qian Renxue couldn't have been happier.
Tilting her head up with a proud expression, she said, "Hmph! This young lady is naturally gifted. Cooking is just a small matter; it's well within my grasp."
"Impressive! Impressive!" Jin Mian clapped and praised repeatedly.
Then he went to wash his hands.
In fact.
Qian Renxue had specifically learned to cook for Jin Mian.
Because she had occasionally heard a saying.
It said that if you want to firmly grasp a man's heart!
Then you must first grasp his stomach.
Soon.
After washing his hands, Jin Mian began to eat.
While picking up food, Qian Renxue asked, "Right, how is your battle armor coming along? Will it be finished soon?"
"No," Jin Mian said while eating. "My current forging skills aren't enough to start making this set of battle armor."
"Ah? Is it that difficult?" Qian Renxue was slightly surprised.
Hearing Jin Mian talk about it so vividly yesterday.
She thought this battle armor would be easy to make.
Who would have thought he couldn't even start yet.
Qian Renxue paused for a moment and asked again, "Then how long will it take for this set of battle armor to be finished?"
"About three years," Jin Mian stated the approximate time, then continued, "So for these three years, I'll probably stay here, improving my forging techniques and making the metals that don't have such high requirements. It also happens that I can spend more time with you."
"Hmph!"
"Who wants you to accompany them?"
Although she said that, the corners of Qian Renxue's mouth couldn't help but curl up.
Looking at this duplicitous woman.
Jin Mian just smiled and then continued to bury his head in his food... Meanwhile.
In the Main Hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Gu Rong sat in the main seat, rubbing his brow.
His face looked haggard.
Just now, he had suppressed another group of branch members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School who were trying to seize power.
Although with his strength as a level ninety-five Titled Douluo.
Suppressing these people wasn't a big problem.
But he couldn't stand people making trouble every day.
This was already the thirty-ninth time this month he had suppressed troublemakers.
More importantly.
These people would start spreading rumors at the slightest disagreement, saying he had betrayed Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin.
Resulting in the two being placed under house arrest in the Spirit Hall.
Their purpose was to claim that he, Gu Rong, wanted to take sole control of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Otherwise.
Why wouldn't Gu Rong go and rescue Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin?
At first, no one really believed it.
But as more and more people spread it, everyone began to believe the rumors.
This had caused the person involved, Gu Rong, to grow a patch of white hair.
Was it that he didn't want to go rescue them?
Even the Old Sword Man, who was so powerful, had been detained.
If he went to rescue them, it would be walking straight into a trap.
Looking at the ceiling.
At this moment, his longing for Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin reached its peak!
Ning Rongrong walked in at this time: "Grandpa Bone, were those people just now also here to snatch the Sect Master's position?"
Gu Rong nodded and then said, "Don't worry, Rongrong. With Grandpa here, those people won't be able to stir up any trouble."
...
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