1877 Longgui Bulwark Armor

The four guardians could see the look of desire on Lin Mu's face and knew that he was eager for the technique.

"So then, do you want this technique?" The Black Tortoise asked for confirmation.

"Yes! I'd like to take it as a reward!" Lin Mu nodded his head.

"Very well, I shall transfer the technique to you directly." The Black Tortoise replied. 

"Directly? There is a manual for it?" Lin Mu asked, feeling curious.

"No… Not all techniques have manuals. Especially for techniques like this which need the direct impartation of a beast. Without that, you would never be able to learn it at all. This is also why people year for the techniques from the temple.

There are some techniques that only we can impart to others other than our signature techniques." The Black Tortoise explained.

"I understand." Lin Mu said before nodding.

"Let's begin then. Close your eyes." The Black Tortoise instructed. "It might be difficult and painful, but hold on." He added.

Lin Mu did as was told and felt the strong presence wrap around him again. But this time it directly entered his head, and he soon felt a surge of information. 

~shua~

The surge of information was massive and held many mnemonics as well as knowledge that Lin Mu didn't have. The Longgui Bulwark Armor was a technique that needed a lot of conceptual information as well as other knowledge that one might not think was directly related.

One didn't just need the mnemonics to learn the technique, they also needed to know what a Dragon Turtle was first. 

And Lin Mu was learning exactly this. 

Memories swirled in his mind as he started to see things.

A massive figure also started to form in his mind.

It was as large as a mountain and had four giant legs. Each of the legs had five dragon claws and looked incredibly sharp. They could crush and stomp on hills if they wanted while splitting the earth at the same time.

A giant shell was also on its back that looked like it was made from a Dragon's back plate. Each of the scales on the shell belonged to a dragon rather than a turtle and had an iridescent sheen.

One could also see mystical runes and patterns shining on the scales as they continued to shine. If one observed the runes and patterns, they might be able to glance at the mysteries of the Dao!

From the back of the shell, a thick and flesh tail could be seen. It was sinuous and could split the earth if it whipped on it.

Then there was finally the head of the beast.

The neck was just like that of a turtle, but the head belonged to a Dragon instead!

Two straight horns grew from the top of its head that extended backward. They were impressive and would strike fear into all the other beasts that watched it.

Its slit pupil eyes contained wisdom and knowledge that was hard to fathom while its sharp Dragonic fangs contained regal power that could bring the world to its knees.

The beast was a perfect combination of knowledge, offense, and defense.

'So this is a Dragon Turtle…' Lin Mu knew he was seeing the true appearance of a Dragon Turtle, as had been witnessed by the guardian.

It was certainly different from the Black Tortoise. The only thing similar between them was their size, which was massive. Their shells and elements differed.

The shell of the Black Tortoise had tough tortoise scales instead of the Dragon like scales of the Dragon Turtle. Then there was the Snake tail that the Black Tortoise had, which the Dragon Turtle didn't. Their heads were also different, with Black Tortoise having the head of a tortoise.

Another major difference was the elements.

The Black Tortoise belonged to the water element, while the Dragon Turtle had three elements!

Lin Mu watched as Earth rose around the Dragon Turtle's massive figure and Metal Qi swirled around it. 

~HUUUUUUUUUUU~

The Dragon Turtle breathed and flames gushed out from its mouth that could scorch everything.

~BOOM~

Then in the next moment, the earth beneath it exploded and lava spread out.

~GURAAAAAAAAAA~

The Dragon Turtle let out a roar as lava filled the area. Soon, the area had turned into a sea of lava in which the Dragon Turtle swam freely. The lava was thick and contained molten earth and metal. The beast dived into the lava and swallowed large mouthfuls.

Each gulp filled its body with power as the three elemental Qis nourished its body.

The lava was its fuel formed from the three elements, as well as the source of its power.

Seeing this, Lin Mu started to grasp.

"Consume the three to Strengthen!"

The first concept appeared in Lin Mu's mind.

~GURAAAAAAAAA~

The Dragon Turtle roared again and the lava coalesced around its body. It cooled down instantly and turned into a dense armor. The armor was black in color and had an unknown mixture of earth and metal in it. The fire element was gone from it though.

"Take out the fire to become impervious!"

Lin Mu heard the second concept in his mind.

Next the Dragon Turtle's eyes gleamed and rage appeared within them.

It raised its claw as cracks appeared in the armor around its body. The armor on its leg cracked too and Magma spewed out!

But the magma didn't just spill, instead, it flowed along its claws, which it then lashed out with.

~SIZZLE~

The temperature of the area rose instantly as a large Magma claw grew from the beast. The Magma claw tore though everything in its path, melting away all obstacles.

"Add the fire to unleash your fury!" The third concept finally appeared.

Having done this, the massive figure of the Dragon Turtle gazed at Lin Mu. The two's eyes met and Lin Mu felt a strange feeling of understanding.

While he was comprehending all this, the Four Guardians were watching him in the hall.

"He's taking this much better than I thought." The Vermilion bird spoke.

"Yeah… a little too good. Has he done this before?" The White Tiger wondered.

"I do not think he's received anything else from any other Temple of the Four Guardians, but he surely has been imparted skills like this before." The Black Tortoise spoke.

Hearing that, the other three became silent.

"That only means… he's received personal guidance from 'that being'." The Azure Dragon stated.

The four guardians recalled the appearance of the spatial tears above the Rust Sky worlds as well as the Golden eyes that glared from within.

It wasn't that the guardians hadn't responded to the interference of Celestials. It was just that they couldn't!

The reason? 

They were terrified!

Terrified enough to be frozen in horror!

"I would have never thought I would ever get to witness the 'being' in my life…" The Vermillion bird said in a tone that was a mix of fear and respect.

"Emperor Feng was a fool to have raised his son this way. That worthless child's one mistake would have cost not just our lives but the entire world's!" The White Tiger scoffed.

"What's done is done… At least the Emperors backed down in time. If they insisted on saying that the Immortal Court and we would interfere in this, it would only get worse." The Black Tortoise spoke.

"The Rust Sky world is in a crucial stage of being upgraded to a Celestial world. The Transition between the realms is not stable and the void is very unstable during this.

It would be simply insanity to go against that being… forget the objection from the Celestial court… that 'being' doesn't even need to attack the Rust Sky world to destroy it. 

The 'being' merely needs to withdraw its 'support' and the world would start to crumble on its own. The void would consume the Rust Sky world entirely…" The Azure Dragon stated feeling a state of relief and disdain for the emperors.

"I think even the Celestial Court would ignore the disappearance of the Rust Sky world if they were to find out someone tried to offend that 'being'. They would rather wash their hands off the matter than question the Pillar." The Vermillion Bird muttered.

~Sigh~

"To think our awakening this time would be so stressful." The White Tiger shook its head. "Though at least we got to meet him… Someone that is favored by that 'being'… has that ever happened before?" it asked.

"I do not think we have the qualification to even know that. Whether there has been someone like that or not, all we need to do is to act according to the modicum. Ignore the rest and only consider Mu Lin as the winner of the tournament." The Vermillion Bird replied.

"That's is true… Even the Cloud Serpent that appeared… I do not think we would have been able to contend against that Celestial. Especially considering they were acting on behalf of that 'being.'" The Azure Dragon agreed.