Chapter 543: Silver Desert
Mu Qingping’s face turned green. It was clear that Xia Fei’s blunt words had inadvertently enraged her.
As the saying went, words from the loyal soothed, while the truth was unpleasant to hear. There was nothing wrong with speaking the truth. If there was any error here, it was that the listener was a woman from a n.o.ble and esteemed background, who had a taste far superior to the common crowd. Xia Fei had undoubtedly hurt Mu Qingping’s self-esteem.
Just as he was thinking of how to deal with the enraged Mu Qingping, Xia Fei suddenly spotted a very different suit of armor beneath a Chinese hemlock tree, which drew his attention.
Just when he was going to inspect it, Mu Qingping finally exploded.
“Hmph! What qualifies you to judge the worthiness of a suit of armor? Even if the demands on the body are harsh, there’s nothing wrong with that! If you can’t wear it, you can only blame your body for being too lacking, for being unworthy of possessing it!”
Women normally became unreasonable when they got angry, and Mu Qingping was no different.
Yu Hua hastily went up to soothe Mu Qingping’s rage, but at this moment, an indifferent voice drifted over from the distance.
“This Mister Xia Fei is right. Qingping, you must not be rude.”
Xia Fei and Yu Hua turned to the voice and saw a woman of about twenty years old slowly walking over, her face somewhat similar to Mu Qingping’s.
Though this woman did not use makeup, and her fair oval face contained a streak of indelible sorrow which could make one’s heart throb in pain. In this way, she was actually even more beautiful than Mu Qingping.
Xia Fei said nothing. His eyes were still looking over at that Chinese hemlock tree, not caring about the arrival of this woman.
“Older sister! This man is saying that the armor you designed is bad! He’s horrid!”
The woman smiled and stroked Mu Qingping’s hair.
“Gentleman, I am Mu Fuping, Mu Qingping’s older sister. I am wondering if I may speak with you.”
It was a gentle and calming voice that was impossible to refuse.
Yu Hua was just about to agree when Xia Fei suddenly strode over. As the Mu sisters and Yu Hua stared, he said, “If you have something to say, just say it here.”
Yu Hua helplessly shook his head. Xia Fei only had eyes for that silver suit of armor, not caring one bit about the Mu sisters.
With his businessman’s intuition, Yu Hua had realized something strange. Artificers had a lineage. The master would take a disciple, the disciple would take their disciple, and so on and so forth, pa.s.sing down their techniques.
He had not heard of an artificer with a daughter. Mu Fuping was a young woman, but she was an artificer, and an artificer from the Mu family of the Nine Great Clans. The situation was definitely more complicated than it seemed.
If that peak Law Emperor battle armor Silver Needle Torrent really was made by Mu Fuping, then it was an even more incredible feat.
To create a peak Law Emperor armor, one at least had to be a peak Law Emperor. Mu Fuping was only twenty, yet she was already a peak Law Emperor?!
There was a flash of anger in Mu Qingping’s eyes, but just before she could erupt, Mu Fuping held her back.
“Unique Pavilion is treating an honored guest today. Close the shop and send off the other guests,” Mu Fuping softly ordered.
The maidservants and employees were all startled. Close the shop and send off the other guests? This was the first time this had happened since Unique Pavilion’s opening. Was it all because of these two from the Yu family?
Everyone withdrew with their orders, leaving behind the Mu sisters, Xia Fei, and Yu Hua in the Hundred Jade Garden.
Mu Qingping stomped her feet with a huff. She then turned around and left. Mu Fuping did not stop her, and after some thought, Yu Hua decided to go after Mu Qingping, leaving Xia Fei alone with Mu Fuping.
“Such a powerful killing intent! It’s no wonder it’s being displayed in a corner. This set of liquid war armor is very different from all the other weapons. Its bearing is something else entirely.” Phantom had also been entranced by this suit of armor.
This was a set of liquid war armor. Liquid metal could be soft or hard, and this suit of armor was currently in its hard state.
The sharp lines took the form of muscles, and the suit of armor appeared like a valiant warrior proudly standing beneath the tree.
It was as if this suit of armor had a life of its own. Xia Fei could almost hear the sound of a heart beating in its chest.
It provided defense from all sides, every part from the soles of the feet to the hairs tightly enclosed. Liquid war armor was a single object, and there was no need to link anything together, nor was there any sort of port or interface.
The red visor was like a pair of blood-red eyes, craving the blood of its enemies. That b.l.o.o.d.y color seemed to erupt from those two eyes.
There was no doubt that this suit of armor was special, standing out from the rest of the products of Unique Pavilion!
Xia Fei was bewitched by this suit of armor. The texture of the metal seemed to thrum with power. Even Warstar’s liquid war armor could not compare to it!
Xia Fei had discovered it among several hundred suits of armor, and it had seemingly discovered Xia Fei.
A warrior met eyes with a suit of armor. Xia Fei stared straight at the suit of armor as if they were two experts facing off.
‘This is the one!’ Xia Fei internally remarked.
Mu Fuping walked over and stood behind Xia Fei.
“This suit of liquid war armor is called ‘Silver Desert’. The defensive law energy attached to it is not powerful, only that from a level 6 Law Sovereign, but liquid war armor itself is extremely adaptive and tough, enough to make it one of the top-cla.s.s suits of armor.”
Xia Fei nodded. He naturally understood the traits of liquid metal. This sort of armor that could move between flexible and tough was very comfortable and close-fitting. Moreover, liquid metal had a natural resistance to law energy and was even better when it came to protecting the human body.
“I will have someone take it down so that you can get a closer look. Come to the reception hall to see it.”
Xia Fei said nothing. Before leaving, he glanced at the price: 500 grade 4 Origin Crystals!
He almost broke out in a cold sweat. This was almost the limit of what Xia Fei could accept. However, if he bought Silver Desert, Xia Fei would not have the money to buy any other weapons. It appeared that he would have to keep waiting on the long-desired Spatial Compa.s.s.
“What you said earlier is very penetrating and incisive. I truly focus too much on the details when designing armor, ignoring the most fundamental requirements a warrior has when it comes to armor,” Mu Fuping said.
As the two of them spoke, they walked back to the reception hall. Mu Qingping was angrily sitting there, and when she saw Xia Fei come in, this girl turned her head away and coldly snorted. It was clear that her anger had yet to dissipate.
Xia Fei still had his mind on the Silver Desert armor, so he did not much care about her.
Mu Fuping continued to question Xia Fei on his thoughts of armor design, and Xia Fei did not mince words and said quite a lot.
Flexible combat uniforms were frequently used in the Alliance. These combat uniforms were very close-fitting, but they were lacking in defense. Law Realm warriors would have to face the powerful attacks of their foes, so they often used hard armors to raise their defense.
It was not hard to understand Xia Fei’s ideal. What he cared about was the level of comfort. A suit of armor must not disrupt one’s ability to attack. In Xia Fei’s view, armor was purely meant to defend, and offense was the greatest defense. He advocated for the view that offense was the way to gain victory.
Mu Fuping calmly listened, occasionally nodding her head. She seemed to be digesting Xia Fei’s words.
Xia Fei frowned and asked. “Miss Mu, you seem to have never experienced a real battle before, yes?”
Mu Fuping nodded, curiously asking, “How did you know?”
Xia Fei replied, “If you ever experienced that sensation of your life hanging by a thread, you wouldn’t care about whether or not a suit of armor is sufficiently beautiful and would remove those superfluous defensive layers. Combat armor exists to be used in combat. They’re tools meant to protect your life at crucial moments, not to show off on the battlefield.
“If you’re willing to listen to the requests of those experienced warriors or have each armor design tested to see if it makes sense or if it will interfere with one’s movements, all these problems would be easily resolved.”
Xia Fei spoke very practically, but his words could still cut at the woman’s self-esteem. Yu Hua quickly tried to cover for Xia Fei, changing the topic and asking, “Miss Mu, were you the one who applied law energy to all the suits of armor?”
Mu Fuping smiled. “My level is still not enough to reinforce the entire armor. I have only reinforced a small portion of the suit. For the majority, I mainly designed the armor, while the major artificers of the family did the application of law energy.”
Yu Hua was enlightened. It turned out that this woman was not a peak Law Emperor. He shrugged. After all, it was already a miracle to have become an artificer at such a young age. If she also had the cultivation of a peak Law Emperor, that would be truly heaven-defying!
Mu Qingping could no longer restrain herself, savagely saying, “You’re saying my sister’s products are bad! Is there something wrong with your eyes? Hmph! Do you know how many people want my sister to design their armor that she refused? Even if you want to buy something today, I refuse to sell anything to you!”
Xia Fei smiled. “My apologies. I’ve already ordered a suit of armor. I truly don’t want any of your older sister’s products.”
*Cras.h.!.+*
Mu Qingping’s teacup fell to the floor while Yu Hua’s eyes bulged. Xia Fei’s stubbornness was truly something else. Not only did he not show any respect for Mu Qingping, he even dragged in Mu Fuping.
Mu Fuping’s face paled as she ma.s.saged her temples.
“You! You!” Mu Qingping was so angry to the point of speechlessness. Xia Fei had truly riled her up.
“Qingping, those people who asked me to design armor were all men after my hand. There’s no need to mention them again.” Mu Fuping displayed her excellent upbringing and calmly spoke. “Young Master Xia’s words are extremely reasonable. He has his reasons for not liking the armors I designed and they are understandable.”
Mu Qingping seemed to be obedient when it came to her sister, turning her head and saying more, suppressing her rage.
Xia Fei said, “Miss Fuping, I may have spoken rather harshly, but the truth is the truth. Please forgive me.”
At this moment, an employee came in with Silver Desert and placed it in front of Xia Fei.
Yu Hua was taken aback, apparently sensing the unique bearing of this suit of armor.
‘So this is the one he chose? Good eyes! It truly surpa.s.ses Mu Fuping’s products.’
Xia Fei immediately became excited upon seeing this suit of armor, praising it to the high heavens as he put it on.
The soft and pliant liquid metal covered his body like fur, light and tough. This sort of comfortable feeling was far superior to what cold hard armor could provide.
Even better, liquid metal was tough while also being very breathable. Even if one wore it night and day, one would not need to take it off. During the day, it could serve as tough combat armor, a weapon that could make one’s enemies s.h.i.+ver. At night, it could serve as a warm quilt. Even if one wore this combat armor on a cold night in an icy cave, one would still be able to sleep soundly without any problems.
“Great! This is the one!” Xia Fei excitedly said.
Mu Fuping ordered an employee to pack the armor. After some hesitation, she asked, “I happen to have some suits of armor that I’m in the middle of designing. I wonder if you can stay a few days and offer your opinions. Fuping will naturally compensate you for this.”
Yu Hua paled. The Mu sisters came from one of the Nine Great Clans. This was a wonderful opportunity to make connections. If they had the backing of the Withered Mu family…
Yu Hua’s mind worked quickly, but Xia Fei’s reply was even faster.
No one had expected Xia Fei to wave his hand and declare, “My apologies; I don’t have that much time.”
Yu Hua and Mu Qingping wanted nothing more than to rush up and give Xia Fei a good kick!
‘Do you know who you’re refusing?!’ Yu Hua and Mu Qingping mentally said in unison.