Chapter 117 - 25: Void Martial Form

Chapter 117: Chapter 25: Void Martial Form

Feng Yin stepped straight forward, digging through the ashes of the White Wind Martial Artist to retrieve the Badge shining with a wondrous light.

The previous Wolf and Owl Badges had outlines shaped like a wolf’s head and a bird spreading its wings, respectively. But this time, the Badge’s outline resembled a humanoid Upper Body with its hands naturally spread to the sides.

[Martial Badge (Armor Engraving): Upon equipping, alters the Armor Form and unlocks related Traits based on the Engraving Level.]

It was finally his.

Feng Yin became increasingly certain that after "Materialization," the various special drops in the game had now become "guaranteed drops." And this Martial Badge was, of course, one of the core items he needed most right now.

Not because it was particularly overpowered—in fact, in the game, this Badge was the core of a build geared towards highly skilled players. Simply put, it required far more complex inputs to achieve a Strength comparable to other forms. If used poorly, its Strength might even be lower than a normal form.

But in reality, if Feng Yin’s expectations were correct, the Armor Form associated with this Badge would be incredibly useful.

With this thought in mind, he didn’t delay any further. Under the White Crow’s urging, he waded into the turbulent pool beneath the crashing waterfall and found the Life Wedge at the bottom.

He pulled it out cleanly!

Accompanied by the sound of shattering, the Life Wedge transformed into golden light and was absorbed by his Armor. Before his eyes, the cliff wall behind the waterfall dissipated like an illusion, revealing the entrance to a cave.

The White Crow flew to his side, looking at the cave as it squawked loudly, "It seems there is no need to search any further. This cave surely leads to the next destination.

"The White Witch was obviously taken inside there, too.

"Take a short rest. It’s time for you to play the hero and save the beauty."

As soon as the crow finished speaking, several prompts appeared in Feng Yin’s vision.

[Objective completed. Liberation Level increased by 1%.]

[Returning shortly.]

...

...

[Successfully returned. You have gained 50 Spirituality on this journey...]

Feng Yin sat up in bed. Ignoring everything else, he immediately checked the gains he cared about most from this trip.

———————

Martial Badge (Level: 1/5)

Armor Engraving: Upon equipping, gain the Armor Form "Void Martial." One-third of Strength is converted into Mobility. Unlocks related Traits based on the Engraving Level.

Trait 1: Martial Arts Performance — Armaments no longer manifest, but corresponding special Enhancements are gained for the "Main Hand," "Remote," and "Support" armament types. Related Engraving bonuses are retained.

Upgrade Requirements: 50 Spirituality

———————

Feng Yin’s eyes shone brightly.

Compared to the previous "Wolf" and "Owl," this "Martial Badge" fit his impression of something that "completely changed the gameplay" much better.

First of all, after equipping it to his Armor, aside from the form change, the comprehensive Attribute boost was gone. Instead, it converted a portion of the Armor’s Strength Attributes into Mobility Attributes.

For example, if his Armor currently had twenty-one Strength and Mobility, equipping this Engraving would change it to "14 Strength, 28 Mobility."

In the game, the direct manifestation of this was reduced damage, but increased Attack Speed and movement Speed. He could faintly guess its effect when translated into reality—likely a decrease in physical power, but a stronger sense of bodily control and sharper reaction times.

As for Trait 1, "Martial Arts Performance," its in-game effect meant that Feng Yin’s Armaments would disappear, leaving his character bare-handed, but he would correspondingly receive Enhancements in other areas.

He wasn’t sure how it would manifest in reality. Of course, he would only find out for sure after equipping the Engraving.

Before that, Feng Yin decided to upgrade the thing by one Level first.

[Spirituality: 200 → 150]

[Martial Badge (Level 1 → Level 2)]

After upgrading, everything else remained unchanged, but a new Trait was unlocked:

———————

Trait 2: Shrinking Land — When using "Stealing Step," you may choose to use "Shrinking Land," which operates on a different mechanism. Speed remains unchanged, but the positional distance is shortened. Using "Shrinking Land" 2 times consumes 1 usage of "Stealing Step."

———————

As expected, just like the other two forms, this Trait was a variant branch specifically tailored for the Positional Skill, Stealing Step. The modified mechanism was quite simple—trading distance for frequency, making short-distance positioning even more flexible than Stealing Step.

The Upgrade Requirements correspondingly increased to five hundred points.

Done!

Feng Yin got right out of bed, skillfully closed the doors and windows, and stood in front of the mirror. He was about to see the actual effects of this Badge!

[Would you like to equip the Engraving "Martial Badge"? Armor-type Engravings can only be changed once before the start of each level. Yes / No]

[Yes]

[Engraving equipped. Armor Form switched to "Void Martial." A portion of the Armor’s Strength is converted into Mobility. Related Traits unlocked.]

Feng Yin took a deep breath and silently stared at his reflection in the mirror.

He was only wearing a pair of casual lounge shorts, his Upper Body completely bare, revealing a physique that had become increasingly lean and powerful after his recent period of rigorous training.

This was different from what Feng Yin understood as a "fighter’s physique" back on Earth. The robust, barrel-chested build of fierce warriors in common sense was a physique that purposefully retained fat to enhance impact resistance and stamina. Also known as muscle wrapped in fat.

But the physique pursued by the Superhumans of this Otherworld was different. As Superhumans possessing bones and muscles with Strength far beyond that of ordinary people, they didn’t need excess fat to act as a buffer or Energy Reserve. In fact, excessive fat would hinder their bodily control and sharpness.

Therefore, the muscular builds of powerhouses above the Fierce Level in this world were extremely well-defined. Naturally, they were also more aligned with mainstream aesthetics.

While there might be Fierce Level or above powerhouses with plain and ordinary faces, there were absolutely none lacking a beautifully sculpted physique.

However, this wasn’t what Feng Yin cared about.

What he wanted to know most right now was whether the Armor Form corresponding to this Martial Badge he had been thinking about for so long was truly what he hoped it would be...

Manifestation Armor!

WHOOSH...

Amidst the faint sound of flowing air, his semi-long hair gently fluttered, and his soft lounge shorts rippled continuously with the air flow.

Feng Yin looked at himself in the mirror, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Just as he expected—no Armor appeared!

No, rather than saying there was no Armor, it would be more accurate to say...

Feng Yin raised his hand and pressed it toward the mirror in front of him.

HISS...

With a subtle sound of impact, his palm was "blocked" less than a centimeter away from the mirror. That wasn’t quite the right way to put it.

It was more accurate to say that his body was covered by a layer of intangible but substantial "Air Flow Armor," which could block objects one centimeter away from his skin!

This was exactly what Feng Yin had looked forward to the most regarding this Martial Badge.

With this special, invisible Armor Form, Feng Yin could even activate his Manifestation Armor in front of acquaintances and the public. This way, he could openly enjoy the full bonuses of his Armor!

Time to take off!!!

***