"I remember the first time you came to my shop with Jie Chu. You noticed my right hand then, didn't you?"
Ning Ge looked at Huo Yuhao with a chuckle. His little finger, ring finger, and index finger stretched out, clicking against one another.
Huo Yuhao nodded. That half Soul Tool Metal Palm reminded him of the Shinobi Prosthetic he had once received from the Sculptor. It was said that Dogen, Emma's teacher, had personally made that prosthetic ninja tool for the Sculptor. Built around Artificial Bone that imitated human bones, it could be fitted with all manner of deadly weapons.
When Huo Yuhao had used the ninja tools given to him by the Sculptor back then, they had already been covered in scratches of all sizes, stained with blood and oil that could not be cleaned away. It was far from spotless, yet it was obvious that it had been carefully maintained.
"I figured this thing out on my own. I was young and hotheaded back then, arrogant as could be. I thought that, as a Fifth Level Soul Engineer, I could make a name for myself. With five enhancement effects stacked on me and a Soul Tool in hand, the power I could unleash was no weaker than that of a Battle Soul Master at the same level."
"But you can see how that turned out." Ning Ge lowered his head and wolfed down two mouthfuls of noodles. "If Jie Chu hadn't risked his life to save me, I would've lost more than half a hand back then. He was only in his thirties at the time."
Only then did Huo Yuhao understand what Jie Chu had meant when he said that he and Ning Ge shared a life-and-death friendship.
"Though I never found a way to let