"Mechs, I'll use them when the time is right!" Meng Huai replied to Ju Yiqiu.
"Mm, actually, this is good. Being able to slay star beasts without mechs means there's no need to waste energy."
Ju Yiqiu tried to empathize with Meng Huai's perspective, but she quickly realized something was off. "No, Meng Huai. You're not short on money now! And the league's energy is provided by the organizers."
Meng Huai, however, told Ju Yiqiu, "One must always make a useful weapon. Besides, if I make one now, I can attach it directly to a mech, can't I?"
Ju Yiqiu commented on Meng Huai, "That's so like you!"
Her stinginess aside, it was fortunate it was Meng Huai; otherwise, no matter how innovative the idea, she wouldn't be able to execute it. But speaking of stinginess, it's only towards herself. She always gifts her friends with new and interesting things!
"Oh, right, Teacher Wang has been asking why you haven't been attending classes. He seems to want to introduce you to some seniors who are participating in the league!"
"Is that so? In a few days, then!"
Meng Huai looked at the weapon, which was still in the initial stages of construction and likely wouldn't be finished in a day or two. The main challenge was that she wanted to fuse Xuanming Stone with S-grade materials, which would inevitably involve failures. She had finally gained some insights over the past few days and just needed to put them into practice.
"Alright. Tell Teacher Wang when you see him."
Otherwise, Teacher Wang kept coming to the logistics department, causing such a stir among the logistics teachers that they no longer dared to slack off...
Thus, for the next few days, the sound of explosions would frequently emanate from Meng Huai's dormitory. Initially, Meng Huai had forgotten to set up a barrier, and students from the adjacent dormitory knocked on her door.
Meng Huai opened the door with a dark expression, "Classmate, is there something you need?"
The person, seeing Meng Huai's appearance, chuckled. However, she quickly realized that laughing at that moment was inappropriate, so she suppressed her smile and asked with concern, "Classmate Meng, what are you doing? Are you alright? I heard some noise and came to check."
"No, no, thank you for your concern."
From then on, she never forgot to set up a barrier. The final tempering was also conducted within her personal space, as the commotion was even greater. To avoid burning anything in her room, her personal space was much safer.
In her personal space, Meng Huai looked at the tempering-completed saber in her hand and lightly tapped the blade with her fingertip, producing a crisp sound.
"It's finally done."
Meng Huai took the saber out of her personal space and returned to her dormitory. Only then did she open her optical computer and see the numerous messages that had accumulated.
First, she sent out the goods she owed her partners from the past few days. Then, seeing that Teacher Wang had contacted her, she called him back.
"Teacher Wang, you were looking for me?"
"Yes, why did you even turn off your optical computer! The little girl from the logistics department said you were forging weapons these past few days? How's it going? You're even shutting down communications when things are getting serious!"
Teacher Wang still couldn't help but complain. Meng Huai replied helplessly, "I was afraid of disrupting my train of thought! It's finished now."
"Finished!? Then bring it over. Let everyone see what you've been working on these past few days! Your seniors are all here, so you can meet them!"
"Okay."
Meng Huai knew that the seniors he mentioned were the ones who would be participating in the league with her, so she shouldered her newly tempered saber and headed towards the Individual Combat Department.
Meng Huai was already a renowned figure in the military academy. As such, when she walked across the campus with a saber, many people were watching her. Of course, they were doing so discreetly.
She went directly to Teacher Wang's office, "Teacher Wang."
In Teacher Wang's office, several people were chatting. Some were standing, while others were sitting on chairs. Upon seeing Meng Huai enter, they all turned their attention towards her.
Seeing so many people, Meng Huai raised her left hand like a lucky cat, "Hello, everyone!"
"Come in!"
Teacher Wang looked at Meng Huai with an expression of disappointment mixed with hope, but his expression changed when he saw the saber in her hand.
Without bothering to introduce Meng Huai to the others, he directly picked up the saber and held it reverently, "Is this the masterpiece you created these past few days, foregoing sleep and meals?"
Hearing this, the students also crowded around. Especially Rong Feiwen, the mecha master among them, heard that the person who was about to join their team could also forge weapons. Wasn't this encroaching on his territory?
Their understanding of Meng Huai was limited to a few videos of her fights during tests. To be fair, she indeed possessed skill. But why was this person also doing the work of a mecha master? Rong Feiwen was very displeased!
However, upon seeing the weapon, just by looking at its surface texture, they knew it was extraordinary. These people were not lacking in experience.
Teacher Wang touched the blade and said, "Since you have a new weapon, you must test it! Let's go to the training room!"
And just like that, they acted on the idea. The planned compatibility testing was about to begin with a practice session.
The training room had a wall made of various hard materials, specifically for testing weapons.
"Here, try it out!"
Upon arriving at the training room, they walked directly to the wall. Teacher Wang handed the saber back to Meng Huai, allowing her to test the power of the new weapon.
Meng Huai swung the saber at the wall with only fifty percent of her strength. The wall was half a meter thick, and the sharp edge directly pierced through it.
Looking at the marks on the wall, the deepest ones were only about ten centimeters.
"This, this, this..."
Witnessing this feat, everyone was incredulous. Some rubbed their eyes to confirm, while others placed their hands on the wall to feel the piercing marks.
Rong Feiwen was among those touching the marks of the weapon piercing the wall. He had gained a preliminary understanding of Meng Huai's weapon-building capabilities.
"May I see your saber, junior?"
Rong Feiwen said to Meng Huai. Mecha masters were like this; whenever they encountered a powerful mech, they wanted to feel it, to touch it.
"Of course."
Meng Huai didn't know their names yet, but she still handed the saber over.
Rong Feiwen stroked the blade. Unlike the way a single combatant like Teacher Wang observed a weapon, single combatants focused more on how much power the saber could unleash. Mecha masters, however, were more concerned with the materials used in the weapon.
Yet, with his abilities, he could only discern one or two types of materials. Rong Feiwen looked at the saber in disbelief. The fact that he could represent the school in competitions proved that his abilities were the strongest among the students. But now, he could only identify one or two materials, and he couldn't figure out how it was forged at all.
While Rong Feiwen was examining it, the two single combatants who were waiting to see it were becoming impatient. Jing Yuancheng directly asked, "Are you done yet? Let us see it when you're finished."
Another single combatant, Hui Xingxiu, quickly nodded, "Exactly, exactly."
Meanwhile, Zheng Yiran, the commander, had no interest in the weapon. Instead, he was more interested in Meng Huai, who was about to become their new teammate.