Replace me as the top scholar? Go talk to my Marshal Grandpa!

In that instant—

The silver cube suddenly burst forth with a blinding light!

Countless energy patterns spread out from the surface of the cube, spreading, intertwining, and entwining like living things!

They covered Ye Chuan's entire body at an extremely fast speed!

From chest to shoulders, from arms to wrists, from waist to legs, from neck to head—

Every part was precisely covered by those energy patterns!

The light gradually faded.

A complete suit of armor appeared before everyone!

The armor was entirely silver-white, with smooth and sharp lines that perfectly fit Ye Chuan's body.

The chest armor was thick and heavy, the shoulder guards were sharp, the arm armor was covered with a faint aura of energy, and the leg armor was engraved with intricate array patterns.

The most eye-catching item was the helmet.

It was a full-coverage helmet with a dark gold face mask, revealing only a pair of eyes.

At the top of the helmet, there is a wing-like decoration that extends upwards, giving it a very imposing look.

Sunlight shone on the armor, reflecting a cold metallic sheen.

Ye Chuan stood there, like a war god descending from the sky!

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Then--

A roar of astonishment erupted!

"Holy crap!! Armor!!"

"It's high-tech armor! Real armor!!"

"I've never seen armor like this before! It's so cool!!"

"That silver cube... it's actually a portable battle suit?!"

"This technology...this technology is so advanced!"

Countless people stared wide-eyed at Ye Chuan on the stage in disbelief.

They had seen all kinds of weapons and equipment.

But I've never seen such a portable, instantly wearable high-tech suit of armor before.

Fu Zizhen's pupils suddenly contracted!

He finally knew what the silver cube was, and he also knew what Ye Chuan's trump card was.

But it was too late.

Ye Chuan flexed his wrists, feeling the power emanating from the armor.

He looked at Fu Zizhen, a smile playing on his lips:

"Brother Fu, are you ready?"

……

On the high platform.

Wang Dongyi scrutinized the silver-white figure on the dueling platform, his gaze filled with a hint of scrutiny.

"Which research institute developed this new type of armor?" he raised an eyebrow. "It looks pretty good."

Xia Yulong nodded and made a few gestures on the virtual screen in front of him.

Ye Chuan's information was retrieved.

"Wujing Province, Provincial Champion."

Xia Yulong looked at the information on the screen and slowly said:

"Parents' information is unknown. He grew up in Wujing Province and studied under... there is no record of him having studied under anyone?"

He frowned slightly and continued reading.

"Oh, here's one." He pointed to a line on the screen, "Ye Chuan, recommended for admission by the Skyfire Research Institute."

Xia Yulong raised his head and looked at Wang Dongyi:

"In Wujing Province, only the Tianhuo Research Institute has the capability and resources to research new types of battle armor."

"This Ye Chuan is probably from that research institute. He came to Tsinghua and Peking Universities with the intention of showcasing his research results."

Wang Dongyi asked, "What's the background of this research institute?"

Xia Yulong explained, "The Skyfire Research Institute is a high-tech institution that specializes in the research of military armor."

"The armor they developed is very famous in the Great Xia military. Many of the standard armors used by second-line troops are made by them."

He paused, then added:

"This research institute has military ties and serves the Gold-level battle group—the White Rainbow Battle Group."

Wang Dongyi stroked his chin, lost in thought:

"The White Rainbow Battle Group?"

He thought for a moment, then suddenly said:

"I remember the vice commander of this battle group was a former subordinate of my sixth brother, Wang Quan, wasn't he?"

Xia Yulong nodded:

"That's right."

"Zhao Tianshan, the deputy commander of the White Rainbow Battle Group, was a vanguard officer under Wang Quan and fought many tough battles with him."

"After the fall of the king, he was transferred to the White Rainbow Battle Group and rose all the way to the position of deputy commander."

Wang Dongyi looked at Ye Chuan on the stage, his gaze becoming somewhat complicated.

"I see."

……

On the dueling platform.

The battle has reached a fever pitch.

Fu Zizhen's expression was more solemn than ever before.

As a direct descendant of the Fu family, he enjoyed the family's top-tier cultivation resources from a young age.

With the strength of the third level of the Condensation Realm, he cultivates the Heavenly Rank technique "Xuanming True Technique" passed down by the Fu family for hundreds of years. His spiritual power is abundant and his moves are exquisite.

Each of his palm strikes carried the icy power of Xuanming True Qi, enough to freeze the air and slow down his opponent's movements.

His movement technique is the "Netherworld Steps," a secret technique passed down by the Fu family. It is elusive and unpredictable, like a ghost, making it impossible to defend against.

But at this moment, all his methods were suppressed by that silver-white armor.

Ye Chuan's Heavenly Sorrow Armor was entirely silver-white, shimmering faintly in the sunlight.

That was not an ordinary metal, but an extremely rare alloy that was lightweight and tough, and had excellent conductivity for spiritual energy.

Each joint of the armor is inlaid with a miniature power core.

Those cores use compressed spiritual energy as their power source, and can unleash terrifying power in an instant.

Every punch and kick Ye Chuan threw was enhanced by his battle armor, making his power far exceed his own level.

The surface of the armor was covered with dense array patterns.

Those patterns are the work of a top-tier array master; they can automatically absorb surrounding spiritual energy during battle to replenish the armor's consumption.

As long as the battle isn't too intense, the armor can have almost unlimited endurance.

The most terrifying thing is the intelligent system equipped in the armor.

That was the most advanced technology from the Skyfire Research Institute—an auxiliary system that could predict the opponent's movements.

It uses hundreds of tiny sensors on its armor to capture the opponent's subtle muscle movements, spiritual energy flow, and aura changes in real time, and then uses complex algorithms to predict the opponent's next move.

Then, this information will be projected directly onto Ye Chuan's retina.

He doesn't need to think or make judgments; he only needs to follow the system's prompts to punch, dodge, and block.

This is equivalent to...

He knew what his opponent was going to do before the opponent even made a move.

Fu Zizhen struck out with his palm, and the Xuanming True Qi transformed into an ice-blue palm print, which blasted towards Ye Chuan.

This palm strike contained immense power, enough to severely injure an opponent in the early stages of the Condensation Realm.

But Ye Chuan knew it 0.3 seconds in advance.

His body turned slightly to one side.

The palm print grazed his shoulder and slammed into the ground of the arena, creating a large crater.

Then, Ye Chuan's fist arrived.

Fu Zizhen's expression changed, and he hurriedly dodged.

But the fist, enhanced by the armor, was too fast.

He only had time to turn his body to the side before the fist grazed his ribs.

The force of the punch made his clothes flutter loudly, and his ribs throbbed with pain.

Fu Zizhen took a few steps back to create distance.

He was panting heavily, staring intently at Ye Chuan.

wrong.

That's very wrong.

His opponent was clearly not as strong as him, but every move he made was perfectly timed.

It was as if he could anticipate my every move, and each attack hit my most vulnerable spot.

What's going on?