A Lesson in Tiered Authorities

“At the core of this black iron artifact lie two solidified Black Iron-tier Authorities: [Gold Amount Control] and [Form Cohesion]. These two fundamental processes govern, respectively, the conversion of your body’s ‘gold content’ into controllable energy particles, and the subsequent solidification of those particles into your desired form and properties.” As Liuxia delved into her area of expertise, a surge of confidence filled her, and her eyes sparkled with the light of knowledge.

These were all concepts the young woman had learned from textbooks during her university days, now perfectly suited for ‘educating’ her high-school-educated junior.

“However, to facilitate rapid transformation for the user, the activation of both Authorities has been highly automated, requiring no conscious involvement from the user; everything operates according to the preset blueprint within this black cube.”

“Therefore, for Black Iron-tier civilians, this is considered a very convenient standardized Black Iron artifact to use.”

“Naturally, individuals vary in physique and combat style. To allow users to better leverage their own strength, this black cube also permits a certain degree of modification to its internal blueprint.”

“However, as a restriction on civilian combat power, the extent of these modifications is quite limited. No matter how you alter it, you cannot exceed the basic scope of ‘armor form’—at the very least, you won’t be able to manifest a cannon on your armor.”

Recalling how the Mall Manager had utilized the black iron artifact, Liuxia analyzed thoughtfully: “I suspect that individual converted a portion of the gold content particles into a special substance with the properties of a ‘berserker agent.’ By stimulating and enhancing himself through the armor’s inner layer, which was pressed against his skin, he achieved that momentary surge in power beyond the Black Iron-tier peak.”

“A standardized transformer fresh from the factory shouldn’t have such a function,” the young woman remarked, a faint smile playing on her lips. “From that perspective, the Mall Manager certainly displayed a degree of ingenuity.”

“Chunsheng,” Liuxia’s expression grew somewhat serious, “speaking of this, I must remind you that even the same Authority, when wielded by different individuals with varying approaches, can produce vastly different outcomes. Therefore, in the future, even if you encounter enemies possessing non-combat Authorities, you must never let your guard down, understand?”

“During my university days, I once read in a textbook about a classic case where a Paladin ingeniously used a ‘healing’ Authority to paradoxically accelerate an enemy’s cell overgrowth, ultimately causing them to lose their combat capability.”

Li Chunsheng, hearing this information systematically for the first time, listened intently. Concurrently, he also felt, with unprecedented depth, that this world’s rules were utterly unlike those of his previous one.

While the two Black Iron-tier Authorities Liuxia mentioned were far inferior in rank to the [Physical Enhancement] solidified within his own bronze staff, their practical applications seemed far more futuristic.

The door to a new world, brimming with the unknown and the wondrous, seemed to slowly unfurl before him.

Observing Li Chunsheng’s eager and curious demeanor, Liuxia smiled, extending the black cube to him. “Since you’re so curious,” she said, “why not try it out for yourself?”

“Just follow the steps the Mall Manager used; everything is automated and quite simple.”

“Moreover, from a cost-effectiveness standpoint, using this should be more ‘economical’ than your bronze staff.”

Upon hearing this, Li Chunsheng eagerly took the cube.

“Transform!”

Mimicking Yang Tianyi’s movements, he let out a loud shout. The next moment, the familiar scene unfolded once more. Accompanied by a strange, metallic sound effect, the black cube instantly dissolved into countless black particles. Like a swarm of living insects, they swiftly enveloped Li Chunsheng’s entire body, ultimately coalescing into a sleek, dark, insectoid battle armor, brimming with streamlined beauty.

[Gold Content -60]

“Whoa, that’s quite expensive…”

Seeing this, Li Chunsheng instinctively reached for the black iron card in his pocket, feigning the act of replenishing his gold content.

Only after completing these actions did he excitedly declare, “Well, now… this feels genuinely interesting!”

He could clearly perceive his physical capabilities being significantly augmented by some unknown substance while encased in this armor. Indeed, he now exuded a powerful aura, surpassing even the peak of the Black Iron-tier. Consequently, he stretched his limbs and casually threw a few punches into the air, stirring up gusts of fierce wind.

Suddenly, Li Chunsheng frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. “However, the intensity of this enhancement… feels a bit lacking, doesn’t it?”

Having experienced the immense power granted by his bronze staff, he was already dissatisfied with this level of augmentation.

Hearing his remark, Liuxia responded with a mix of exasperation and amusement. “It’s merely a Black Iron artifact, after all. If it could truly enhance someone to the Bronze-tier, the Church would never permit its circulation among civilians.”

“Right…” Li Chunsheng pursed his lips in disappointment. Then, a thought struck him, and his eyes lit up as he excitedly asked, “Then… what if I simultaneously use the [Physical Enhancement] from my bronze staff? A powerful combination?”

Liuxia, startled by his words, quickly intervened to stop his audacious idea, urgently advising, “Absolutely do not do that!”

“Why not?” Li Chunsheng asked, puzzled. “Wouldn’t using two Authorities simultaneously make them even stronger?”

“That… for certain Authority combinations, it’s true,” Liuxia explained, a hint of helplessness in her voice. She suddenly realized there was still so much fundamental knowledge she needed to impart to her junior.

“However, this generally doesn’t apply to high-tier Paladins using low-tier Authorities.”

“Authorities of different tiers, at their core, utilize ‘gold content’ of their respective tiers to achieve various objectives. However, ‘gold content’ possesses a crucial fundamental property: high-tier gold content intensely interferes with the state of low-tier gold content, manifesting as repulsion and causing disorder. Conversely, high-tier gold content is almost impervious to the influence of low-tier gold content.”

“A Bronze-tier Paladin’s entire body, every cell, constantly generates Bronze-tier gold content. This implies that if a Bronze-tier Paladin were to forcibly use a Black Iron-tier Authority artifact, their self-generated Bronze-tier gold content would inevitably interfere with the Authority’s operation, rendering it extremely unstable and ultimately leading to activation failure.”

“It is precisely this characteristic that makes it exceedingly difficult for lower-tier beings to inflict effective harm upon higher-tier powerhouses.”