Cultivation, Inc.I Use Capitalism to Fix a Dying Sect

Chapter 197: First Generation Spirit Armor—Success!

Sun Yi smiled and nodded, releasing a surge of True Qi that wrapped around the floating armor. For someone of his cultivation, refining a mere Tier-1 Grade-9 Spirit Weapon was trivial.

However, during the binding process, he noted a distinct friction. The assimilation speed was significantly slower than that of a flying sword of the same rank, and the True Qi drain was heavier.

I can bind this instantly, Sun Yi mused, but if a standard Qi Refining cultivator tried this, it might take them days. We need to optimize the user interface.

With a final mental command, the refinement was complete. The armor dissolved into a stream of silver light and shot into Sun Yi’s chest. A moment later, it re-emerged, expanding instantly to encase his body in a seamless metallic skin.

Sun Yi stood clad in full plate. Other than his head and neck, every inch of him was shielded. He flexed his limbs, finding the movement surprisingly fluid. He leaped into the air, spun, and executed a complex sword drill with five flying swords orbiting him.

The armor moved like a second skin.

After a full stick of incense worth of testing, Sun Yi landed and retracted his swords.

“Headmaster,” Gu Qingcheng asked, his eyes wide with anticipation, “how does it feel?”

“Surprisingly comfortable,” Sun Yi reported. “It feels no heavier than a standard robe. Mobility is excellent. However,” he flexed his silver-clad fingers, “the tactile feedback on the hands is dulled. It feels like wearing thick gloves. We should modify the gauntlets to be retractable for precision work.”

“Now, for the real test. Elder Yan, attack me.”

“Yes, Headmaster!” Elder Yan didn’t hesitate. He was itching to see the data. “Be careful!”

Sun Yi stepped back and channeled his True Qi into the suit. The surface of the armor hummed, blooming with a faint, translucent energy barrier.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Elder Yan fired several blades of sword Qi. He started gently, calibrating the force to the 5th level of Qi Refining.

The energy blades struck Sun Yi’s chest and shattered instantly. The armor didn’t even vibrate.

Elder Yan ramped up the power. Late Qi Refining. Still nothing.

Finally, he unleashed a barrage at the Qi Refining Grand Perfection level. The armor’s energy barrier flickered and rippled like water, but the defense held firm. Sun Yi remained untouched.

“Incredible,” a refiner whispered. “It completely negated attacks at the peak of the Qi Refining stage. And this is just a Tier-1 artifact!”

“The structural integrity is solid,” another noted, scribbling furiously on a jade slip.

Sun Yi smiled. “Don’t stop, Elder Yan. Find the breaking point.”

“Understood.”

Elder Yan pointed a finger, and a flying sword materialized, slashing down with a sharp whine. This was a strike pushing the boundaries of the Qi Refining stage.

The armor’s light fluctuated violently, but the barrier held.

Sun Yi checked his internal status. The armor was undamaged, but he noticed a sharp spike in fuel consumption. To maintain the shield against heavier blows, the armor was devouring his True Qi at an alarming rate.

“Headmaster,” Elder Yan warned, his expression serious. “I am escalating to Foundation Establishment force.”

“Do it.”

Elder Yan summoned a golden spirit sword. It swelled with power, transforming into a massive golden beam that crashed down on Sun Yi like a hammer of judgment.

BOOM!

The armor’s light flared blindingly. The kinetic force was absorbed, but Sun Yi heard the distinct crack of internal components stressing. The artifact runes inside the plating were fracturing.

“Again,” Sun Yi ordered calmly, monitoring the damage.

Elder Yan struck a second time. The micro-fissures in the rune matrix deepened.

On the third Foundation Establishment strike, the armor reached critical failure. The energy barrier shattered, and the suit forcibly deactivated, retracting into a beam of light that shot back into Sun Yi’s body.

Sun Yi reached out, summoning the damaged armor from his dantian. It sat in his palm, the size of a toy soldier, its luster dim and its rune circuits burnt out.

The refiners crowded around, analyzing the wreckage.

“It survived three hits from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator,” Elder Tong said, impressed. “For a Tier-1 artifact, that is miraculous. A Qi Refining cultivator wearing this would essentially have three extra lives.”

“Not exactly,” Gu Qingcheng interjected, his brow furrowed. “The armor survived because the Headmaster was powering it. His True Qi reserves are monstrous. A normal Qi Refining disciple? They would have been sucked dry before the second hit.”

Sun Yi looked at Gu Qingcheng with approval. “Correct.”

“I could tank those hits because my True Qi capacity is vastly superior to the average cultivator. Our disciples, with their Six Dantians, might be able to utilize this, but the consumption rate is still a fatal flaw.”

“If we want to mass-produce this for the market, we must solve the energy problem. Otherwise, it’s just a very expensive coffin.”

“But how do we reduce the consumption without compromising the shielding?” Elder Tong muttered, stroking his beard.

The room fell silent as the engineers pondered the bottleneck.

Sun Yi turned to his prodigy. “Gu Qingcheng. Thoughts?”

Gu Qingcheng’s eyes darted around as his mind raced. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

“An external power source!”

“We integrate a Spirit Stone slot into the chest plate. We redesign the array to draw its primary power from the stone, using the user’s True Qi only as a catalyst—like a key turning an ignition. The Spirit Stone takes the heavy load of maintaining the shield.”

Sun Yi beamed. “Excellent. A hybrid power system.”

“That is our next objective. We are moving to the Second Generation Spirit Armor. We will upgrade the chassis to Tier-2 standards and integrate a Spirit Stone drive to solve the consumption issue.”

“Elder Yan, Elder Tong, Gu Qingcheng—let’s get to work. No time to waste.”

“Yes, Headmaster!”