CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 166: I CAN EVEN SPLIT ATOMS

It’s already in such a rotten state, what more can go wrong.

If you rush in without fully understanding and end up getting yourself involved, then you’re really stupid.

After Xiao Chen led Lu Ren into the Martial Arts Family gathering area, Lu Ren immediately noticed the peculiar gazes directed at him.

Xiao Chen also felt it and chuckled, "Even though you might not be fully aware, your name has skyrocketed in the Huaxia Martial Arts Realm. You beat up those second-generation members of the Southwest Security Bureau, toppled the Hidden Kill Swordsmanship Stream, bringing them to ruins, and fist-fought Tie Feng of Dragon Elephant Rock Stream. Your name and photo have long been displayed for examination on the tables of various sects."

Lu Ren was speechless, though there wasn’t much change on his face, he secretly felt pleased inside.

Look, listen, they’re all talking about him.

"So this is Lu Ren of the Southwest Martial Arts Realm, looks quite impressive."

"Wow, he’s my type, that cold look! With a build like that, he must be strong."

"Heh, you’re just gushing over him. I think he’s just a bit tall, a bit strong, but all successful martial artists have that build."

"No, look at his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, it’s already at the Perfection Realm. If given the chance, he could step into the Bright Awakening Realm."

"You praise him so highly, do you know how many people have been stuck at the Great Perfection Realm of Fist Technique through the ages without any progress?"

"Tsk, I think he must be a virgin. You see his Essence, Qi, and Spirit show no signs of having been affected by Yin Yang Balance."

This was the opinion of a female expert at the Great Perfection Realm, a Kong Barbie.

Lu Ren: "..."

His gaze was straight, ready to walk with Xiao Chen toward the equipment storeroom.

Suddenly, Lu Ren stopped, gazing evenly at a man walking up and standing in front of him.

The man’s height was almost the same as his, his muscles as robust as rocky boulders, with veins and muscles swelling as he moved.

Black combat boots, tight short sleeves, and black combat pants.

He seemed particularly sharp and capable.

The most striking was the ferocious scar extending from his brow to his cheek, which instead of ruining his appearance, imparted an unusual rugged charm.

A typical physique of a Dragon Elephant Rock Stream Fist practitioner.

Lu Ren snapped back, slightly surprised at his thoughts.

What the hell, since when did he pay so much attention to men?!

"You’re Lu Ren?"

The scarred face spoke with a hint of doubt.

Lu Ren’s expression remained calm; the other’s tone was disrespectful, so he also wouldn’t hold back and might even retaliate more excessively.

"And who are you, Scarface?"

Hearing this, Scarface’s eyes fixed, his previously crossed arms dropped as his eyelids lowered, resembling a dragon elephant about to rouse from slumber.

Lu Ren saw clearly that the person followed the Dragon Elephant Rock Stream Fist style and was even stronger than Tie Feng, whom he’d previously exploited a weakness to defeat.

This inexplicably made his hands itch a bit, as he needed battles to increase his Phoenix Falcon Fist’s skill level; this guy posturing like this was practically offering himself up.

As for the opponent’s status as a Martial Artist of Perfect Boxing, Lu Ren didn’t care. In his current realm, unless at least three Perfect Boxing martial artists surround him, he’d kill one if one came, and kill two if two came.

Xiao Chen’s expression shifted subtly as he hurriedly stepped between the two.

"Wu Qi, this isn’t the time for you to act all Jianghu."

Hearing this, Scarface Wu Qi glanced at Xiao Chen, lightly snorted, didn’t say more, and before leaving, gave Lu Ren one more deep look.

Xiao Chen’s expression was uneasy, worrisome.

"This Wu Qi is the core direct disciple of Dragon Elephant Rock Stream Fist, and a martial brother to Tie Feng."

"To what extent is his strength and realm?"

Despite already guessing, as someone cautious enough, understanding from others provides better preparation.

"He’s at the Great Perfection Realm of Fist Technique, just one step from formally breaking through to reach the Bright Awakening. They say he’s the most talented person in his generation within Dragon Elephant Rock Stream Fist, even surpassing its main lineage."

Seeing Lu Ren’s unconcerned demeanor, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but say, "You’ll be in the same team with him when entering."

Lu Ren’s eyes flickered; that’s not a bad idea, it’d be good to find an opportunity to kill him.

Back at Baoguang Temple, the top fist arts sects of the Southwest had messed with him, and after reaching the Great Perfection of Fist Technique, he hadn’t had the chance to visit them. It’s a chance to settle accounts.

Xiao Chen, knowing what Lu Ren was thinking, immediately said, "Don’t get any ideas, having one more person always increases the odds of survival."

Lu Ren sighed, "If it wasn’t for Li Ziqing being there, I wouldn’t want to go in at all."

Xiao Chen was speechless.

Walking into the equipment vault, what caught Lu Ren’s attention was the few sets of full-coverage armor swinging in the center of the room.

"Is this... power armor?!"

The personnel guarding the equipment vault seemed to have seen Lu Ren before, and upon hearing that, they smiled and said, "This was created using the micro-level hydrogen battery from the dagger you brought back from the Exotic Realm as its energy source. It can operate at full capacity for twelve hours, and even longer if you use backup batteries.

Want to give it a try? You have the option to choose first, and because you contributed the dagger, you can use any equipment involving this technology for free. But of course, only you can use it, and you can’t use too much at once."

Lu Ren: "So these armors require points to be redeemed?"

The vault guard laughed, "Apart from the basic standard equipment, like the Yan Form and the Hongxing 21 pistol, to acquire higher-level gear and weapons, it involves personal customization."

Understood, Lu Ren thought back to his points, and it seemed he really had quite a lot. Normally, besides exchanging some secret medicine to aid his training, he hadn’t really paid much attention to the equipment.

He truly had many, many points.

The high-frequency vibration dagger in the Otherworld Ruins, and the two martial arts secret manuals in the Underworld, were of immense value.

He suddenly remembered and turned to ask Xiao Chen, "Have there been any results with my previous two martial arts secret manuals?"

"You’re asking me?!" Xiao Chen exclaimed, "You have higher authority in this matter than I do!"

Immediately, Lu Ren called the number left to him by the Martial Arts Research Institute personnel back then and asked, confirming that there were some results, but not yet anything that could aid cultivation.

No more delays.

Lu Ren pointed at the set of full-coverage power armor in front of him and the long sword with a very metallic texture on the side.

"I want this armor, and this sword too. Is this sword using the high-frequency vibration principle?"

Lu Ren looked at the sign next to the sword labeled "High-Frequency Vibration Sword."

"Similar, using the latest energy battery technology, this longsword employs the principle of high-frequency vibration, allowing for millions of vibrations in an instant. Currently, there is no alloy or substance that it cannot cut through."

The guard posed with a look of lonely majesty akin to a Shaolin Sweeping Monk.

"If your swordsmanship is high enough, perhaps you can even cut an atom in half."

Lu Ren: "..."

Xiao Chen: "..."

Xiao Chen cleared his throat, "Let’s not dwell on such fanciful things, let’s choose quickly."

Putting on the latest tight combat suit, Lu Ren stepped onto the power armor’s equipment platform, guided by the guard, he placed his feet on the corresponding equipment spots and gripped the iron rings on both sides.

The guard solemnly said, "Mr. Lu, each set of power armor is priceless, with current technology unable to achieve mass production, and the preparation of its energy source is extremely complicated, not reaching small-scale production level yet. These sets of power armor are straight from the laboratory."

"You mean to use it gently and carefully?"

"Uh, not exactly, just hoping you don’t abandon the armor, even without energy, the ergonomic hydraulic system inside can provide substantial assistance. Uh, wish you martial prosperity!"

After speaking, the guard, after confirming all was clear, pressed the start button.

Zzz!!

With the low hum of electromagnetic operation starting, mechanical arms around Lu Ren began to slowly operate, similar to soldiers suiting up in Starcraft. With dragon bone fitting, armor attaching, screws delivered and tightened by mechanical arms, each piece of armor interlocking snugly.

Ten minutes later, as the goggles closed.

"Ding, Captain Lu Ren, Dragon Machine 46 is powering on."

With the deep electronic tone, some images illuminated on the goggles, including real-time monitoring of body status, and scanning mark of the surroundings.

Isn’t it a bit overly sci-fi?!

Lu Ren was immensely amazed, thinking modern technology was just mediocre, never imagined so much advanced single-soldier equipment was hidden away.

Unfortunately, these were all laboratory outputs, currently unable to be mass-produced.

As Lu Ren stepped off the equipment platform, he slightly moved his body, then looked down at Xiao Chen and the guard.

"I feel like I’ve grown taller."

The guard seemed somewhat unimpressed.

"That’s your first statement, no feelings about actually encountering things from movies?"

While adapting to the armor, Lu Ren replied, "I suppose this power armor was made ten years ago, only energy and materials issues prevented its activation."

As the guard fell silent, Lu Ren again confirmed, "There are many complex pulse particles in Kunlun causing interference, are you sure there’s no problem?"

"Uh... currently unsure, except the precision components inside are coated with extremely expensive isolation layers, theoretically it should operate normally and move freely."

At that moment, a man in a white coat on the side, who had been silent, finally spoke with fervent eyes.