Chapter 14: A Virtuoso Display by a Maverick Genius

Zhou Yan looked at the ambiguous and obscure description on the divine machine storage container.

Behind him, Cong Shiyun said helplessly, "Zhou Yan, since you have already made your choice, I will say no more. At the very least, the performance of this divine machine should be top-tier; it's probably just a bit difficult to use."

Zhang Daosheng also nodded. "Originally, I thought that if you chose that fire-attribute divine machine, Shiyun and I could offer you some guidance. But since you've chosen this one, for the most part, you'll have to figure it out and develop it on your own—unless you can contact that divine mechanic 'A-Guang' to explain its functions to you."

Cong Shiyun gave a bitter smile. "You might as well abandon that thought. There's no way that eccentric would ever do something like explaining things to people."

Zhou Yan turned back and smiled. "We can discuss everything later. Right now, my pressing concern is how to get it out."

Cong Shiyun replied, "There's an extraction button on the control panel in front of you. Just press it."

"Got it!" Zhou Yan said.

He reached out and pressed the button, watching the indicator lights on the storage container flash to life. The blue-green liquid inside rapidly drained, revealing the mechanical horse standing within, inch by inch.

After nearly half a minute, accompanied by a series of mechanical transmissions, the front side panel of the storage container unfolded. The base inside extended outward, delivering the Yinglong Steed out into the open.

Zhou Yan could not help but raise his head to look up at this magnificent and heroic mount.

Its back alone stood over two meters high, and with its head included, its imposing stature was even more exaggerated. Its entire body was forged from a matte black metal of some unknown type. Yet, the components were fitted together so seamlessly that almost no gaps were visible, making the entire creation look like a black warhorse perfectly encased in full-body armor.

Massive, silent, and motionless, it resembled a slumbering beast of prey.

Its sense of oppression and sheer aesthetic appeal were maxed out entirely!

"I have to admit, setting aside its performance and flaws, the styling of this mount is truly magnificent!" Cong Shiyun, standing nearby, could not help but praise it.

Zhang Daosheng also nodded in agreement. "As expected of that genius's creation; its aesthetics are truly无可挑剔 (impeccable)."

Clearly, every man harbors a natural affinity for such a steed, and neither the elderly elder nor the middle-aged man was an exception.

This was a special kind of romance.

Looking at the motionless Yinglong Steed, Zhou Yan asked, "What should I do now?"

Cong Shiyun explained, "Unlike standard divine machines used by ordinary people, every divine mechanical weapon possesses its own unique authority core. Once a martial artist acquires this authority core and uses their spiritual power to stimulate it into a permanent imprint, they can bind themselves to the divine machine. However, once bound, attempting to erase the imprint will inflict severe psychological damage. The higher the performance and grade of the divine machine, the greater the damage."

He looked at Zhou Yan solemnly. "For divine machines below the intermediate grade, a martial artist can withstand the backlash from breaking the imprint once they reach the True Realm. But for advanced divine machines like the ones Chu Wan and Luo Xuan use, one needs to reach the mental fortitude of the Wild Realm to barely endure the backlash of unbinding.

"As for the top-tier divine machines used by Elder Zhang and myself, as well as this special divine machine before you, attempting to unbind them after binding results in terrifying spiritual backlash...

"Even a top-tier powerhouse of the Wild Realm would likely face a near-death experience. The reason I've reminded you repeatedly is that I'm afraid you might act on impulse and bind this special divine machine whose pros and cons remain unknown, leaving yourself with no chance of regret in the future."

Zhang Daosheng also nodded gently. "After all, it's an experimental new type of divine machine, a unique masterpiece without any prior precedent. Its risk controllability is far inferior to standard divine machines. Zhou Yan, have you thought this through?"

"I trust my intuition."

Zhou Yan smiled faintly and said no more.

In truth, he knew very well that while his intuition indeed told him this divine machine wouldn't be mediocre and might even turn out to be extremely powerful,

there was a more important reason: he possessed more than enough confidence to foot the bill for his own willful preferences.

His ultimate combat power would always stem from the various formidable combat forms granted by his super-fusion talent. Furthermore, this was a golden finger capable of infinite growth, strong from the early stages all the way to the end.

Even if this divine machine ultimately proved to be useless and its combat utility fell short of a standard divine machine, it wouldn't fundamentally affect his true strength. At worst, it would only lack the convenience of open combat.

Seeing that Zhou Yan remained steadfast, Cong Shiyun and Zhang Daosheng exchanged glances and nodded, abandoning any further attempts at persuasion.

Every genius possesses their own unique and resolute decision-making capability.

Just like themselves, having walked all the way from their youth, they too had faced countless choices, often accompanied by the advice and dissuasion of others.

Yet, in the end, they had stayed true to their inner convictions, followed their own choices, and grown into the people they were today.

Zhou Yan walked around the silent Yinglong Steed, but failed to find any location matching his understanding of an authority core.

After a moment of thought, he simply gave a light leap and nimbly vaulted onto the horse's back.

Immediately, he spotted a particularly distinct armor plate right where he sat forward on the horse's back, etched with the icon of a soaring Yinglong spreading its wings.

It should be right here!

Zhou Yan reached out his right hand and gently stroked the icon.

"Beep—"

An electronic chime rang out, and the armor plate bearing the Yinglong icon slowly slid back, revealing a recess beneath it. Embedded within the recess was a prismatic, white, transparent crystal that reflected dazzling multicolored light under the bright lights of the secret vault.

"You see the core, right? Take it out, hold it in your palm, and feel it with your heart. Once it synchronizes with your frequency, it will activate. Then, as long as you maintain that synchronized feeling, you can continuously input your spiritual power to brand it into an imprint. As a top-tier divine machine, the amount of spiritual power absorbed during activation might be a bit high and could cause you some discomfort, but just push through it," Cong Shiyun said with a smile.

"As someone with extraordinary mental faculties, your spiritual strength is ten times that of an ordinary person, which is more than enough to support the refinement of a top-tier divine machine's core. Go ahead, don't worry!"

"Understood!"

Zhou Yan nodded, picked up the crystal, and held it tightly in the palm of his hand. Then, he closed his eyes and began to concentrate according to Cong Shiyun's instructions.

With two powerful experts guarding him, he had no fear of accidents, and his mind quickly settled into tranquility.

Amidst the darkness, he focused his attention entirely on the palm of his right hand.

Time slowly passed, and before long, a thought stirred in his mind.

There it was!

Within the darkness, he sensed a unique fluctuation emanating from the crystal in his palm, instantly bridging with his spirit.

Buzz!

Inside his mental consciousness, a strange radiance suddenly burst forth before his pitch-black field of vision.

Immediately after, he felt his spiritual energy rapidly depleting, and a bizarre sensation of being "familiarly and frantically devoured" spread throughout his consciousness.

Recalling Cong Shiyun's words, he patiently endured the discomfort and maintained the output of his spiritual power.

An intangible pressure began to manifest, feeling first like needlepricks, then transforming into nails, followed by a hammer striking the nails, and finally an electric drill violently boring into his brain.

A moment later, accompanied by intense pain as if his spirit were being boiled in molten lava,

Zhou Yan was astonished to discover that his spiritual energy was still being continuously absorbed!

Could it be that his spiritual strength, twenty times that of an ordinary person, couldn't handle the refinement demands of this divine machine?!

Was Cong Shiyun setting him up?

That was hardly likely!

Gritting his teeth, just as he was about to reach his limit, Zhou Yan summoned his Fate Garment to transform it into his inner-wear attire. His spiritual attribute instantly and drastically surged, skyrocketing from around twenty times that of an ordinary person to nearly forty times!

The excruciating pain of his spirit being scorched by lava immediately abated to a degree he could readily accept.

His spiritual energy continued to be drained away. Frowning, Zhou Yan persevered while wondering whether he should consider using his super-fusion transformation to sustain the consumption if even the Fate Garment state failed to hold out.

However, there were still two heavyweight figures watching nearby...

Nearby, Cong Shiyun and Zhang Daosheng watched as Zhou Yan kept his right hand tightly clenched and his eyes closed for a long time, both of them frowning in unison.

Cong Shiyun said hesitantly, "Even for a top-tier divine machine, it's rare to hear of refining a core for this long. Has something gone wrong?"

Zhang Daosheng also wore a grave expression. "After all, it's an experimental prototype and far too unstable. Keep an eye on Zhou Yan's condition and be ready to interrupt the refinement at any moment. Though his spirit is strong, he can't possibly hold out forever. If worst comes to worst, I'll go petition the Palace Master to custom-order a top-tier divine machine for him..."

Hum!!!

Before his voice faded, Zhou Yan, who had been keeping his eyes closed, abruptly opened them. A visible, peculiar radiance burst forth from his eyes.

Simultaneously, he raised his right hand high. Even while clenching his fist, streams of strange light could be seen continuously pouring and erupting from the gaps between his fingers.

The intense momentum left both Cong Shiyun and Zhang Daosheng astounded.

A few seconds later, the radiance subsided.

Zhou Yan let out a long breath, the light in his left eye fading away as his face turned pale.

Fortunately, realizing the situation was turning south, he had hastily donned his Fate Garment. This damn core was a bottomless pit, actually consuming an amount of spiritual energy equivalent to at least thirty ordinary people!

Old Cong, you almost screwed me over royally!

Complain as he might internally, Zhou Yan slowly opened his right hand.

At this moment, a strange pattern enclosed within a circular ring had appeared right in the center of his palm, still flickering with a faint white light.

"That's the imprint." Cong Shiyun's voice sounded as if a massive weight had been lifted from his chest; he had almost thought Zhou Yan was going to crash and burn.

Zhang Daosheng looked at Zhou Yan and asked, "What is up with this divine machine? In all my years, I've never seen anyone take so long to refine a divine machine core. Zhou Yan, how are you feeling right now?"

A thought flashed through Zhou Yan's mind as he nodded gently. "I can barely hold on, but if it had kept sucking any longer, I feel like I would have passed out."

It seemed the divine mechanic's notes were correct. No wonder he said very few people in this world could use it—just this initiation hurdle alone was enough to kill someone!

After all, according to Chu Wan, the fact that he displayed a spiritual attribute of around "50" already made him ten times stronger than an ordinary person, which was the True Realm level.

Yet, in reality, this wretched divine machine had actually devoured spiritual energy equivalent to a spiritual strength of roughly "150"!

Even so-called "people with extraordinary mental faculties" couldn't withstand the suction force of this special divine machine. If he hadn't had his Fate Garment to back him up, even a genuine True Realm powerhouse would likely have been sucked dry by it!

At this moment, the light of the imprint on the palm of Zhou Yan's right hand had faded, leaving no trace behind.

Cong Shiyun reminded him, "Since you've succeeded against all odds, hurry up and test its effects. You've seen how others release their divine machines; give it a try."

Without needing Cong Shiyun to prompt him, Zhou Yan was already brimming with impatience.

He directly pressed his right hand onto the Yinglong icon scale on the horse's back, which had now returned to its original state.

What should he do next?

Right, though it wasn't strictly necessary, a bit of ritualistic flair wouldn't hurt.

Zhou Yan let out a deep, low shout:

"Divine Machine—Release!"

Buzz!

The pitch-black, dim eyes of the Yinglong Steed suddenly lit up with a white light, and dragon-like protrusions sprouted from its forehead.

In an instant, brilliance burst forth.

From the horse's flanks where Zhou Yan was straddling, a massive surge of metallic armor plates rapidly emerged upward.

His feet, thighs, hips, waist, chest, abdomen, shoulders, arms, and finally his head—

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yan's entire body was enveloped by a vast amount of matte black metal, which swiftly locked and combined to form a full-body armor suit teeming with a futuristic aesthetic.

He felt his right palm brush against an object. Following the momentum, he slid his hand sideways, and a pitch-black long spear nearly three meters in length popped out directly from the Yinglong icon on the horse's back!

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhou Yan reached out and grasped the spear shaft. The instant his hand locked onto the grip, a pitch-black cloak instantly snapped open from the back of the shoulder armor.

The next moment, he whipped the spear to the right. The Yinglong Steed shot white light from its eyes and reared up high on its front hooves amidst a long neigh that sounded like a dragon's roar.

Behind him, the cloak billowed violently in the wind!