Chapter 3: Silver White and Crimson Red, the Might of Divine Mechanisms

Chu Wan and Luo Xuan stood facing each other in the expansive training ground, roughly twenty meters apart. Zhou Yan stood at the edge of the field, fifty meters away, watching the two with his keen eyesight.

With a bright smile, Chu Wan asked Luo Xuan, “Xiao Xuan, after three years apart, shouldn’t we start with a warm-up spar without the Divine Device first?”

Luo Xuan shook her head. “No need, Chu Wan. Three years ago, I wasn’t your match. Now, my progress is limited, but you’ve probably reached at least the Grandmaster level. Even fighting me now would be holding back.”

She paused, gently caressing the silver-white box resting before her. “Rather than that, why not level the playing field directly with the Divine Device?”

“Makes sense.” Chu Wan chuckled softly and mirrored Luo Xuan’s stance, placing her own flame-patterned box before her.

“Then... how about we first release it to ‘Level One’?” the stunning female commander suggested lightly.

“Alright!” Luo Xuan responded loudly.

With a smiling glance toward Zhou Yan, Chu Wan said, “Little brother Zhou Yan, watch closely. One day, you too will wield such power.”

Zhou Yan sharpened his focus, eyes fixed intently on the two.

Simultaneously, their palms pressed down atop their respective boxes. From their touch points, white and red light circuits rapidly spread across the metallic surfaces.

Then, as if sharing a silent understanding, they each uttered a soft shout.

“Divine Device—”

“Release!”

In an instant, their metal boxes exploded in dazzling light, scattering into countless fragments and components that enveloped their bodies in mere fractions of a second.

Within the next heartbeat, the fragments reassembled seamlessly.

Before Zhou Yan stood two figures transformed drastically.

Luo Xuan was clad head to toe in a form-fitting suit made of white material resembling leather or rubber, overlaid with sleek, body-hugging metallic armor. This armor extended fully up to her neck, offering comprehensive protection to her chin, cheeks, and the back of her head.

At a glance, Zhou Yan felt as if he were witnessing something akin to the exoskeleton or prosthetic battle suits from video games he played on Earth.

Opposite her, Chu Wan wore a similar tech armor, but with a red base suit and flame-colored, fiery orange armor plating.

Zhou Yan’s gaze fixed on their “transformed” forms, realization dawning.

His long-held curiosity about the “military-grade advanced Divine Device” was answered—it was this full-coverage battle armor.

But he had little time to ponder further.

The two had already begun to move.

After their boxes shattered and formed armor, a weapon remained standing upright on the ground.

Before Luo Xuan was a straight longsword with a white handle and silver blade.

Chu Wan’s was a flame-shaped sword, its blade forked and twisted like flickering fire.

They each reached out and gripped their weapons.

At once, transparent, smooth crystal visors suddenly sprung forth from their faces, locking into the expanded metal armor at the back of their heads, completely enclosing their exposed heads and faces.

Their glass-like visors glowed with brilliant blue and crimson lights over their eye areas.

With an electronic echo in her voice, Chu Wan teased, “Xiao Xuan, only with the Divine Device on can I truly see you've developed well these past three years. Great figure!”

Luo Xuan paused, her tone cold. “Chu Wan, I’m going in!”

In the next instant, their figures surged forward like silver and crimson streaks of light, erasing the twenty-meter gap between them in a flash.

Clang!

A sharp, ear-piercing clash of blades rang out.

Their movements paused for a heartbeat before they blurred once again, advancing and retreating in rapid succession, their blades striking so fast that sparks flew—a dance too swift for ordinary eyes to follow.

Zhou Yan’s left pupil flickered swiftly as he calculated their speeds.

Nearly fifty meters per second.

That’s 180 kilometers per hour—half again faster than most cars on the highway.

Comparable to his own peak physical speed rating of around “200.”

In other words, these two in Divine Device armor each possessed attributes roughly equivalent to an average “200” level, excluding mental power.

This was somewhat inconsistent with the “tenfold power increase” he had read online.

Of course, Zhou Yan wasn’t certain if the “tenfold” referred to raw data or actual combat effectiveness.

If it was combat power, then theoretically, if a person’s base physical function was “10,” increasing it to “20” might enable them to defeat ten unenhanced versions of themselves.

Yet, he suspected the Divine Device’s strength went beyond mere numbers.

After all, he had clearly heard Chu Wan say, “First release to ‘Level One.’”

If there was a Level One, surely Level Two or even Three existed.

Zhou Yan watched the fierce duel intently, pondering whether this fight might unveil even greater power.

The battle had raged for about ten seconds.

In that short time, their exchange had become too rapid to count.

To an ordinary observer, all they would see were fleeting silver and crimson afterimages and hear the relentless clang of weapons across the training ground.

Undoubtedly, no ordinary person, even wielding heavy weapons or rocket launchers, would be a match for their inhuman strength.

Even disregarding power, the sheer mobility of fifty meters per second on such a compact, agile frame was terrifying.

A warrior with this speed meant that even if an ordinary person’s eyes could track their movement, their hands could not react fast enough to aim.

Not only ordinary people but heavy vehicles like tanks were helpless—they would be dismantled by such a fighter.

The best way to counter such foes was with equally powerful single combatants.

Faced with this terrifying superhuman duel, Zhou Yan feigned a distracted look, pretending to be overwhelmed.

In truth, his left eye captured every detail of their combat.

He instinctively compared their strength to his own.

His conclusion: even without fusion, relying solely on his life gear, he could likely handle these two at their “Level One” state.

And with fusion activated, victory would be assured and swift.

If combined with powerful skills unique to their forms, the outcome would be even more decisive.

Zhou Yan’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he watched the battle.

A second later, the two streaks collided again.

The fiery, forked blade met the sleek silver longsword.

Their swift figures halted abruptly, pressed close together.

Chu Wan’s mask retracted, revealing her alluring face with a faint smile.

“Xiao Xuan, I didn’t expect that even at just Level One release, you could fight me to this degree. It’s quite a blow to my pride.”

Luo Xuan did not remove her visor, but beneath it, her face showed a hint of reluctance.

“I may have made slow progress in strength these past three years, but I’ve never slackened in my swordsmanship training,” she said.

“I can tell,” Chu Wan leaned forward, intensifying her grip. To Luo Xuan’s surprise, she forced her sword back.

“Xiao Xuan, your body control and combat awareness have long matched that of a Grandmaster.”

“But,” Luo Xuan stepped back with difficulty, barely resisting Chu Wan’s overwhelming strength, “even at Level One, the gap between our physiques is huge!”

With a soft shout, despite being suppressed, she leapt off the ground, propelled backward by Chu Wan’s force.

Before landing, Luo Xuan shouted, “Chu Wan, Level Two!”

“Alright!” Chu Wan chuckled, her visor snapping shut.

“Level Two!”

In the next moment, Zhou Yan keenly noticed the armor of both transformed further—growing more menacing and imposing, complex blue and red light circuits swirling across their surfaces.

‘This must be Level Two,’ he thought, focusing intently to discern its magnitude.

Yet in the blink of an eye, both vanished from sight, moving so fast that even Zhou Yan’s extraordinary vision and reflexes struggled to keep up.

Whoosh—Boom!

The air tore with a sharp whistle.

The silver and crimson streaks collided across nearly one hundred meters in less than half a second.

The clash was not the ringing of metal but the shattering of air itself.

This speed—hundreds of meters per second!

Zhou Yan quickly estimated their velocity and converted it to the physical attributes needed to match such speed—at least “400” in both physique and agility.

This was the level he could only reach when activating his “Overlord Spirit” state, triggering “Ghost Transformation,” and channeling demonic power.

In other words, the Level Two Divine Device had elevated Chu Wan and Luo Xuan’s basic strength to at least his own level.

No wonder.

No wonder this world, despite its advanced technology, relied on such individual soldiers as its main fighting force.

Either Chu Wan or Luo Xuan, if placed on Earth’s battlefield without facing missile-grade bombardment, could likely single-handedly command an army.

Tanks, infantry, armored vehicles—all rendered laughable.

As long as these Divine Devices had sufficient endurance, even a division would be no match for one warrior at Level Two release.

This was just a rough estimate of their battlefield destructive power.

If allowed to infiltrate densely populated enemy cities unchecked, without equivalent single combatants to oppose them, the devastation would be unimaginable.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan comprehended many of the world’s previously puzzling inconsistencies.

Meanwhile, the battle within the arena accelerated.

After colliding, Luo Xuan and Chu Wan ceased evasive maneuvering.

They closed in, exchanging lightning-fast sword strikes with identical techniques.

Secret Sword: Wild Crow, Divine Device Edition!

Swish, swish, swish.

The swords’ movements stirred the air so intensely that Zhou Yan, tens of meters away, felt a wind rushing past.

Clang—

The terrifying clash rang out as a long, undulating note.

Seconds later, a loud crash echoed as the silver figure was hurled backward, sliding across the ground before coming to rest in front of Zhou Yan.

Luo Xuan struggled to rise, swiftly planting her silver sword upright before her.

In the next moment, her Divine Device armor disintegrated rapidly into components that were sucked back into the weapon, reforming into the silver metal box.

The young woman’s knees weakened, almost causing her to fall.

Zhou Yan immediately reached out, catching her half-embrace.

“Xiao Xuan, are you exhausted?” he asked awkwardly.

He suspected Chu Wan might have deliberately struck Luo Xuan toward him but had no proof.

Luo Xuan closed her eyes, pale as paper, shaking her head softly.

“I’ve just overexerted myself mentally.”

Seeing her near fainting, Zhou Yan dared not move abruptly, holding her gently.

On the other side, Chu Wan calmly slung the flame-shaped sword over her shoulder, letting out a pleased laugh.

“Hehehehe~” she approached Zhou Yan, her Divine Device light circuits fading as her visor retracted.

Like Luo Xuan, she held her sword inverted in front of her, disengaging the Divine Device’s combat mode.

She revealed her white work shirt and tight pencil skirt.

Though battle-worn, with several buttons undone on her shirt and a long rip along the side of her skirt, giving her a slightly disheveled yet alluring appearance.

The beautiful commander seemed unbothered, fixing her gaze on Luo Xuan in Zhou Yan’s arms with a mischievous smile.

“Xiao Xuan, Level Two is still a bit too much for you. Focus more on meditating on the ‘Fiery Departure Diagram’ to strengthen your mental fortitude.”

Luo Xuan weakly opened her eyes, then half-closed them as if sensitive to light.

“Chu Wan, can I now handle the anomalies in my jurisdiction on my own?”

Seeing her stubborn expression, Chu Wan sighed with a helpless smile.

“Mastering Level One Divine Device armor and even beginning to use Level Two should be enough to handle most anomalies. Later, come with me to Logistics to repair any damage and replenish your energy.”

“Then I’ll brief you on the anomaly situation, and you can resolve it yourself.”

She then glanced at Zhou Yan. “Little brother Zhou Yan, having witnessed my spar with your superior, what are your thoughts?”

Zhou Yan replied innocently, “Well, most of it was too fast to see clearly. When you shouted ‘Level Two,’ I couldn’t react at all.”

“Oh? Seems this level of combat is a bit beyond your reach,” Chu Wan said, her sly smile deepening as she regarded his harmless demeanor.

Her eyes gleamed with a hint of meaning.

***

Four thousand, four thousand—there’s still the afternoon session!