Three out of the six nearby Legionaries were blown away with holes in their bodies from Lin Mo's spear thrust. The Aetheric Link dissolving confirmed their fate. Meanwhile, the other three Legionaries and the two Decani were either pushed back or staggered from bracing the impact.

Before they could recover, Lin Mo called out, "Xiaoyu, I think this is enough test. Help me take them down!"

"Got it, Boss!" Liu Xiaoyu excitedly replied.

She leaped from the stronghold wall and became like a streak of golden lightning against the orange-tinted sky.

Her body, tempered by the Nine Heavens Exquisite Body and refined by Goddess Xingxing's teachings, had become more of a divine artifact in its own right.

She landed amidst the three staggering Legionaries with a shockwave that kicked up a cloud of dust.

"Sorry, boys! Boss asked for an assist!"

She spun, her leg sweeping out in a perfect, devastating arc. She didn't even need to use a technique. Her physical strength alone, while amplified by her storm qi, was enough to deliver a finisher.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The sound of Aether-forged alloy buckling was sickeningly loud. The three Legionaries, already disoriented by Lin Mo's assault, were sent flying like ragdolls. They crashed into the rocky canyon walls fifty meters away, their forms flickering before dissipating into motes of silver light and Aether that quickly got absorbed by Xiaoyu's body.

With that, only the two Decani remained.

They were elites but now, facing this petite girl with the aura of a natural disaster, they hesitated. Their Aetheric Link, now down with only the two of them, could only be considered flimsy. Its enhancement to their offense and defensive capabilities was too low.

Against Lin Mo and Liu Xiaoyu, who couldn't be compared to an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, they were already at a disadvantage.

"Formation! Defensive wedge!" One Decanus roared, trying to salvage the situation. They moved to lock shields, their Aether flaring in a desperate bid to re-establish a defensive perimeter and protect each other.

"Too slow!" Liu Xiaoyu laughed. She didn't go around them. Instead, she also charged right in the middle.

She punched forward, her fist wrapped in a spiraling drill of wind and lightning. It was a casual strike, lacking the grand name of her earlier technique, but its power was undeniable.

The shield of the first Decanus shattered instantly. The force of the blow carried through, crumpling his breastplate and launching him backward. He didn't even have time to scream before he dissolved.

Now alone and link-less, the final Decanus roared in defiance and swung his glaive at Xiaoyu's exposed back.

But before the blade could connect, a silver blur intercepted it.

CLANG!

Lin Mo stood there, his armored gauntlet catching the glaive's shaft effortlessly.

He twisted his wrist and the enemy's glaive snapped like a dry twig.

With his other hand, Lin Mo delivered a short, efficient stabbing motion, piercing through the Decanus's body.

The Decanus convulsed as his armor plating cracked. He collapsed and the remaining Aether within his armor set dissipated into silver motes of light that swirled and shot towards Lin Mo.

Silence returned to the canyon before a loud thud echoed upon letting go of the broken glaive.

"Boo. Show off," Xiaoyu teased, dusting off her hands as if she'd just finished a light workout. "You totally could have taken them all yourself."

"Efficiency, Xiaoyu. Why waste stamina on a cleanup operation?" Lin Mo replied, though he was secretly relieved.

He had already tested the armor and while it's too effective for him when it comes to boosting his physical capabilities, it still needed a few tweaks to enable him and anyone who would wear a similar set to use their spiritual energy.

He accessed the armor's HUD blinking at the corner of his vision, checking the final diagnostics.

[Combat Test Complete.]

[Armor Integrity: 88%. Minor structural damage to the left pauldron and breastplate.]

[Aether Shard Capacity: 65%. Consumption rate higher than anticipated during high-intensity combat.]

[Spiritual Energy Resonance: 42%. Resonance growth stalled due to combat cessation.]

"Forty-two percent…" Lin Mo's brows, hidden in the helmet, curled again. "It seems only active combat accelerates the synchronization. So there was no point waiting for it. No wonder… Maybe if I wore this for a week of continuous fighting, I could unleash 100% of my capabilities as a cultivator."

"Is that a good thing, Boss? If I get my hands on them, do I also need to grind for resonance?" Liu Xiaoyu asked as she picked up a dropped [Decanus Helmet] and inspected it curiously.

"Mhm. Maybe. That's why the Legionary Set should be the ideal one. Even a mortal who had no future in cultivation could gain a strength equivalent to a Spirit Condensation Stage cultivator."

He walked over to the blown away Legionaries and picked up a dropped Aetheric Shard, "And this, this can truly circumvent the need for conversion. The armor set is drawing energy from this. As for drawing the Aether that has been permeating in this Anchor, it'll need more testing."

"Oh! Then let's go, Boss. Let's find more patrols! Or better yet. Let's go to Area 2 and take a look! Won't it be bad if the breach remains open?"

"Indeed. The density of Aether is getting thicker. If the breached status continues like this, the Anchor might experience a change. A stronger Vindicator from the Argent Covenant may pass through. In any case, our patrons are getting used to dealing with these foreign invaders. They'll probably going to venture into the subsequent areas soon."

With that, he deactivated the armor by taking it off one by one.

With a series of mechanical clicks as though he was taking off a powersuit, the heavy plating loosened. But then, as it gradually came off into several pieces of equipment, the ten-piece set seemingly came together and became compressed into a small cube.

"Whoa! What's that, Boss?!" Liu Xiaoyu gasped at the sight. It was quite magical.

On the other hand, Lin Mo, who had just been breathing in fresh air and circulating his [Vein of the Silent Stream] to feel his spiritual energy, looked at the floating cube with a wry smile.

'So, this is how it will be stored. Compact, portable, and undeniably cool. It's now a transformation device, huh?'

The floating silver cube hummed with a dormant frequency before settling down on his palm. It was roughly the size of a rubik's cube, its surface etched with the complex, hexagonal patterns of the Argent Covenant.

It was hard to believe that a moment ago, this small object was a ten-piece set of armor capable of shrugging off Core Formation attacks.

"What can I say? It's convenient, indeed," Lin Mo muttered as he weighed it. It was far heavier than it looked, retaining the mass of the full set but compressed through some spatial manipulation inherent to the Aether.

[Compressed Aether-Armament Cube (Decanus Class)]

[Grade: Low Earth Grade (Argentum-III)]

[Description: A marvel of Aether-spatial engineering. This cube contains the full ten-piece Decanus Set in a dormant state. Highly portable and efficient for rapid deployment.]

[Abilities: Argentum Resonance, Spiritual Energy Resonance, Aetheric Link, Aetheric Bulwark]

[Status: Soul Bound to Lin Mo]

[Experience: 1.2%]

"Mhm. Looks like it's truly evolving. This is how they grow stronger in their realm." Lin Mo mused, tossing the cube lightly in the air before catching it. "That 'Experience' bar... if filled, I suspect this Argentum-III set could evolve into an Argentum-IV, or perhaps unlock new abilities inherent to the Aether. A Centurion Set, perhaps?"

"Evolve?" Liu Xiaoyu's eyes widened. Honed by hours of playing Celestial Duel, she started having some kind of gamer instinct. "You mean like a spirit beast? Or a growing artifact? Boss, that's insane! Growing artifacts are legendary! Even in our Liu Clan, we only have a couple, and they're treated like ancestors!"

"In the Realm of Nine Heavens, yes. But the Argent Covenant seems to mass-produce them. Or rather, their entire power system is built on the concept of 'leveling up' their gear rather than their bodies." Lin Mo explained, tucking the cube into his inventory. "However, the 'Soul Bound' status is the kicker. Once someone attunes to it, it's theirs. It can't be easily transferred or stolen without breaking the bond, which likely resets the progress. It prevents theft, but it also means the equipment is personal. If the Southern Wu Kingdom wants an army of these, they can't just swap the armor between soldiers on different shifts. One set, one soldier. Permanently."

"That sounds… expensive for them," Xiaoyu noted with a grin.

"And profitable for us," Lin Mo countered. "Come on. The test is done. Let's go back to your father first before returning to the store.

With that, they made their way to the known Exit Zone instead of wasting an [Emergency Escape Talisman].

On the way, they encountered a few more patrols but the two of them were enough to take down whole squads led by a Decanus in less than five minutes. They got more armor pieces and Aetheric as loot on top of Dimension Essence and the Aether being naturally absorbed in their bodies like experience points to their cultivation.

When Lin Mo showed up wearing the Decanus Set, the cultivator group that was tasked with defending the Exit Zone became alert as they mistakenly thought Lin Mo was an enemy.

Liu Xiaoyu couldn't help but cackle, watching them immediately raise their weapons and go into formation.