Making Soul Tools

"You want to learn about Soul Tools?"

Xian Lin'er was startled. "Does Teacher know about this?"

The little guy was the Sea God Pavilion Master's heir. His wanting to learn about Soul Tools was no small matter.

"No," Shen Yichen answered honestly.

"Oh..." Xian Lin'er was a little disappointed. She had thought Teacher had seen the path ahead for Soul Tools and was preparing to have the little guy, as the future Sea God Pavilion Master, make a statement by studying them himself. So it was only the little guy's own idea...

Still, her disappointment lasted only a little while.

The fact that the Sea God Pavilion Master's heir wasn't opposed to Soul Tools was already a good sign.

"Come on. As it happens, I haven't had much to do lately, so I'll teach you about Soul Tools myself."

The Soul Tool Department was different from the Martial Soul Department. The difference was clear from their architectural styles alone.

The Martial Soul Department was more like a place of classrooms for teaching and nurturing students, while the Soul Tool Department's style leaned more toward a research institute for hands-on work.

Every teacher had a dedicated laboratory of their own, where they also taught their students.

As the dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin'er naturally had a private laboratory with the most luxurious equipment.

Looking at the laboratory with its metallic, sci-fi style, Shen Yichen had a fleeting illusion that he was back in his previous life, doing experiments at university.

After they arrived, Xian Lin'er first brought each of the two little guys a chair.

Shen Yichen gave a little hop and sat down, swinging his legs at his leisure.

"Have you two little guys learned anything about Soul Tools before?"

Shen Yichen shook his head. "Not much. I only know that to make a Soul Tool, you first smelt ore to refine the metal, then inscribe a Core Array, forge the parts, and finally assemble them."

Xian Lin'er gave Shen Yichen a surprised look. "Yes, that's right. The general process is pretty much what you described."

"Then what are Soul Tools to you?" Xian Lin'er tossed out another question.

"Weapons?" Bei Bei answered.

Shen Yichen followed close behind. "To me... I suppose they're tools. Tools that make everyday life more comfortable..."

Weapons? Tools?

Xian Lin'er didn't say who was right or wrong. She only smiled.

In fact, even she couldn't figure out what Soul Tools really meant to her...

"Come on, I'll make a Soul Tool first and show you."

Though Xian Lin'er had no patience at all for Yan Shaozhe, she was actually quite pleasant to other people.

As she made the Soul Tool, she told the two little guys some interesting little facts.

Shen Yichen watched Xian Lin'er's movements, his brows drawing together slightly.

Soul Tools... that's it?

Calcine the ore and hammer it into shape.

For this step, some people did it by hand, while others used a stamping machine.

This first step didn't require the slightest bit of technical skill.

Hammering the metal ingot into parts didn't require much technical skill either.

The only step that required skill was inscribing the Core Array.

The reason inscribing a Core Array required skill wasn't that it absolutely had to be done by a person, but that machines weren't precise enough.

After watching Senior Sister Xian Lin'er's demonstration, Shen Yichen summed it up in two sentences... You can play with modeling clay, right? You can draw, right? Good, now you can become a Soul Engineer!

In less than half an hour, Xian Lin'er had assembled the parts on the lab table into a Soul Guidance Ray Gun.

"That's... it?" Bei Bei tilted his head. "It doesn't look that hard."

Xian Lin'er didn't disagree. Every traditional Soul Master genius was a potential Soul Engineer genius.

Making a Soul Tool wasn't difficult in itself. As long as one had a good grasp of precision, a steady enough hand, and sufficient Soul Power output, one could make a Soul Tool.

Of course, what made being a Soul Engineer difficult was the concepts behind Soul Tools. Reproducing a Core Array was easy, but creating one independently was hard.

"Here, the materials are yours. You two give it a try and see if you can make one."

Xian Lin'er didn't expect the two of them to succeed on their first try. Metal wasn't expensive anyway, so she might as well indulge the children and let them play.

At their age, studying wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was to have an interest in learning!

Watching the two little guys fiddle with the metal, Xian Lin'er's gaze drifted as she thought of the past.

It's good to be young...

The evil little white-haired dumpling fiddled with the metal as he spoke. "Senior Sister, I saw a lot of seniors from the Soul Tool Department walking around the academy. Don't they need to go to class?"

"Of course they do. But the explosion at Shrek a few days ago affected the Soul Tool Department too," Xian Lin'er explained gently.

"Then shouldn't the seniors be even busier?"

Xian Lin'er: ???

"Yeah. Don't the seniors from the Soul Tool Department need to help build the new teaching building?"

"Of course they don't nee..." Xian Lin'er suddenly realized what he meant. The Soul Tool Department helping rebuild the Outer Court?!

Huh!

Actually, that might work!

Seeing Senior Sister Xian Lin'er deep in thought, Shen Yichen struck while the iron was hot. "The lights over here in the Soul Tool Department are very bright, and a lot of things are much better than in the Outer Court..."

Now that you mention it, you really have a point!

Xian Lin'er was tempted. If they brought the Soul Tool Department's convenient Soul Tools to Shrek Outer Court, they might really get quite a few of the Outer Court's little geniuses interested in Soul Tools!

"It would be best if every room had its own bathroom, and the lights were brighter too."

Shen Yichen didn't want to have to fight several hundred people for the bathroom when he went to study at the Outer Court.

"That's a good suggestion. Come with me to the Sea God Pavilion in a little while."

"Okay~"

"The Sea God Pavilion?!" Little Blue Hair looked at Shen Yichen.

Shen Yichen smiled knowingly. You finally asked.

Since you've asked so sincerely, then...

"Huh? How did you know I became the Sea God Pavilion Master's heir?"

"Huh?" Bei Bei's hand jerked, turning the already crooked lines of the Core Array he was drawing into an indecipherable scrawl.

Ah, that felt good!

"Shouldn't Sister Lexuan be the heir?"

Oh? You mentioned Sister Lexuan, did you?

"How did you know Sister Lexuan's been holding me while we sleep every night these past few days?"

Bei Bei: ???

Wait, who asked you?!

Besides, that little guy Shen Yichen really was just a little brat. Who went around talking all the time about sleeping with his big sister?!

(Shen Yichen: Oh my, you really don't understand at all, do you~)

Little Blue Hair pouted and kept his mouth shut, afraid that if he spoke, the evil little white-haired dumpling would strike at him again.

The corner of Shen Yichen's mouth curled up. You think there won't be any problems if you don't speak?

Too naive!

A few minutes later, Shen Yichen set the part inscribed with a Core Array on the table with a thump.

"Huh? Soul Tools really aren't that hard after all."

"Little Blue Hair, what about yours? Are you done?"

Bei Bei looked at the neatly shaped part in front of Shen Yichen, then at his own, which looked as though a dog had chewed on it.

Crackle~

Electric arcs leaped through his little head of blue hair.

How could this world be so unfair? Damn it!