In a short month, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had experienced extreme tests that even many high-level crystal suits never did.
Not only were they great challenges to the crystal suit, they were challenges for the Exo, too.
For example, extreme defense tests required the crystal suit to be struck in the front for an entire hour.
The super pressure test required the crystal suit to punch and kick for several hours in gravity ten-times stronger than usual and ten-times the usual atmospheric pressure.
In other sects and universities, most of the extreme tests were done through special testing magical equipment, or by several test pilots in turns.
But in the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution, all the extreme tests were done by Li Yao alone.
He was wearing the crystal suit day and night like a metal puppet and would do every extreme test in person however difficult it may be.
As the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was being revised, Li Yao's capabilities had greatly improved, too.
The first marrow crystal had been fully digested by him. Through the art of 'Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining', the hours of training in extreme environments such the Freezing Frost Realm, Fire Stream Field, ten-time gravity, ten-time barometric pressure, hundreds of meters below the sea, and so on had brought up the sturdiness of his body to an unfathomable level.
Even Master Tiemu, the senior that created the art of 'Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining' in the Hundred Smelting Clan 40,000 years ago, might not have been as strong as Li Yao when he was at Li Yao's level.
Ostensibly speaking, Li Yao was merely at the 12th level of the Refinement Stage.
However, even if encountered with Cultivators at the peak of the Refinement Stage, Li Yao was still confident that he could confront them face to face because of his body's amazing hardness.
With the help of a crystal suit, he could even fight a Cultivator at the Building Foundation Stage.
Dec. 31, final test of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
After a month of testing and revising, the flaws of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had all been fixed. It was almost perfect now.
The final test was also the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit's debut to the outside world.
Other than the staff and students of the Refining Department, leaders of the school also joined the show, including Xiong Baili, the principal.
At 2 p.m., the No.1 test field was hustling and bustling.
The test field was full of testing magical equipment. A giant light beam was floating in the air playing Li Yao's testing of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit in the ice and fire.
Many leaders of the school were nodding approvingly while they were watching.
The reliability and the combat ability under extreme conditions of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had far exceeded their expectations.
Li Sanhao and other freshmen of the Refining Department were screaming and shouting in wild joy.
"Director Yuan, is it true that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is utterly devoid of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures?"
Leaders of the school were earnestly questioning Yuan Manqiu.
"From the demo, we noticed that it is very solid, and its combat ability under extreme conditions is satisfactory, too. But we wonder about its performance is in real combats."
Some of them were not very confident.
Smiling, Yuan Manqiu answered, "Absolutely no Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures have been used in the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Its performance in real battles will be as good as what was demonstrated in the tests, if not better. A Refinement Stage Cultivator in the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit will be capable of confronting a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator!
"I know you wouldn't buy it. So, we'll invite a Building Foundation Cultivator to fight a Refinement Stage Cultivator in the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
"You may be doubting right now. But I believe that your concerns will all be gone after the competition."
"Shua!"
In the center of the test field, a ring more than a hundred meters in diameter rose up slowly. The ring was wreathed by a layer of amber defensive barriers like an eggshell.
Li Yao walked onto the ring and did some warm-up exercises. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was enchanting with the rhythm of his body movements.
On the other side of the ring, the one who was walking onto the ring was…
"Ding Lingdang?"
Li Yao was dazed. A drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He had been told by Yuan Manqiu that a Building Foundation Cultivator would be arranged to fight against him today, but he'd never expected that it was going to be Ding Lingdang.
"I heard that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had been successfully refined, and you were as good as a Building Foundation Cultivator in it. How could I miss such a fun fight with you? Therefore, I have filed an application to the principal and Director Yuan to let my fists run the final test for the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. How about it? Are you up for it?"
Ding Lingdang bumped her fists and said in a smile. She was wearing a ruby mustard suit. Flames were flowing around her body mysteriously and highlighted the graceful curve of her body.
Ding Lingdang's appearance caused a minor riot.
She was a famous figure in the school. Everyone knew that she was close to the middle level of the Building Foundation Stage. Her natural, animal-like combat instinct made her combat ability even better than many middle-level and high-level Building Foundation Cultivators'.
Ding Lingdang as the examiner would be truly convincing.
As a high-level Refinement Stage Cultivator, how long could Li Yao with the enhancement of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit survive under Ding Lingdang's fierce fists?
Everybody was eager to learn the answer, including Li Yao himself.
Li Yao's lips curled. His heart was beating faster and faster. He felt that it was not blood that was flowing in his veins but melted marrow crystal.
Of all the Building Foundation Cultivators, Ding Lingdang was the one that he wanted to defeat most.
Although he was shocked in the beginning, he realized that she was the best opponent possible on second thought.
"Excellent. Let's do it."
Li Yao's soul started burning intimidatingly. Strings of spiritual energy streamed out through the gaps of the crystal suit and formed countless gold feathers around him, which were spinning faster and faster as if they were being blown by an invisible wind.
"You've made so much progress in just one month! What a lunatic!"
Ding Lingdang's eyes were beaming with joy. "But I like it!"
"Hu!"
Searing flames were burning around her, which were then condensed into a fire snake.
Compared with the fire snake that Li Yao had seen in Small Grayfield previously, the fire snake right now was smaller in size, but much more detailed. Besides, it was whiter than the previous one, indicating that its temperature was much higher, too.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!"
The jingle bells on Ding Lingdang's ankle started shaking without any sign. The fire snake lunged forward at Li Yao, its mouth wide open.
With a deafening roar, Li Yao lowered his right arm to his waist where it swallowed all the light gold feathers that were flying around him like a black hole.
Then, from the heel upward, all the way through the vertebral column, the power rune arrays emitted dark red colors one by one and unleashed infinite strength.
Li Yao lifted his arm and punched at the fire snake, intending to kill it with one strike. His spiritual energy was bursting out like volcano eruption. The gold feathers around his right arm turned into a tornado charging at the fire snake.
"Si!"
The fire snake seemed to be a living creature. It dashed upward and dodged Li Yao's unstoppable fist closely. However, it was injured by the gold feathers which left a few cracks on its stomach.
Although Li Yao missed the target, leaders of the school were still nodding in approval.
The several battle-type Cultivators of the Combat Department were surprised to see that Li Yao showed no sign of losing at all.
Fascinated by Li Yao's performance, Li Sanhao and his lot were cheering for Li Yao at the top of their voices.
"Defeating my fire snake? Impressive!"
After a cry, Ding Lingdang flashed to the front of Li Yao as if she were a ghost, following up with a brutal kick full of intense fiery spiritual energy.
Li Yao was caught off guard and failed to dodge. In fact, he didn't want to dodge.
"Pa!"
Ding Lingdang's kick hit the chest of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, resulting in several cracks on the surface.
At the same time, Li Yao's knee also hit Ding Lingdang's abdomen where a crystal bomb seemed to have exploded.
Both of them muttered a dull grunt, but neither of them was willing to dodge or block.
Hardly had Ding Lingdang pulled back her leg when she struck Li Yao's head with her right elbow.
As a countermeasure, Li Yao bashed into Ding Lingdang's head with his own head.
Their savage fighting style had flabbergasted everyone on the spot, even including the battle-type Cultivators.
The more they fought, the more brutal and comfortable they became. At first, a grey figure and a red one were distinguishable, but as they approached the sonic speed, all that the audience could see were blurred shadows that were tangled together, as if hundreds of people were fighting inside the ring at the same time. The air was torn apart with earsplitting booms.
Then—
After a half minute of high-speed collisions, the two of them stopped at two sides of the ring. It was then that everyone was able to tell how much damage had been done during the previous short yet fierce combat.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that Li Yao was in was on the verge of total loss. The plate armor on the front was almost entirely shattered, revealing the black mustard suit behind it.
Even so, the crystal camera on the helmet was still glittering, indicating that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was not broken yet.
The tensile mustard suit that Ding Lingdang was wearing was ripped with a few shocking tears. There was blood at the corner of her mouth. Her forehead was full of sweat. Her chest fell and swelled as she was breathing heavily.
Her fists were shivering, which startled everyone who was familiar with her.
"Ding Lingdang has indeed tried her best. It's been a long time since I last saw her fists shivering," Xia Yan, Dean of the Combat Department, observed.
"Indeed. Although Ding Lingdang hasn't used her Spiritual Tattoo yet, Li Yao never used the attack magical equipment, neither did he use the Spiritual Storm Bolter nor the chainsword. He has been fighting an opponent levels higher than himself with nothing but the enhancement of the crystal suit."
Xiong Baili, the principal, sighed and remarked with mixed feelings, "This is evident enough to prove the capability of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Let's stop them now. Director Yuan, our Grand Desolate War Institution finally has our own self-made crystal suit now. Thank you for your arduous work!"
"Thank you, principal. We're relieved to hear your compliment."
Yuan Manqiu's voice was shaking. Taking a deep breath, she shouted, "Li Yao, Ding Lingdang—"
But it was too late!
Before she was able to finish her sentence, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang had run off at the same time. The ground where they stood was stomped into pieces. They crashed into each other at a supersonic speed like two crystal trains which were rushing face to face!