Void Archive Plus Reason Form Equals What?

Time flew by, and three months had passed. After nearly sleepless, nonstop cultivation, Ling Mo had finally reached level twenty-five. Rising three levels in three months might seem fast, but compared to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Ling Mo could not help but sigh. Cheats! They're all cheats! They're all cheats!

Wang Dong had risen from level twenty-one to the peak of level twenty-five in three months, gaining nearly five levels. Huo Yuhao was even more outrageous, rising from level eleven to the peak of level seventeen! More than twice Ling Mo's progress!

Although Ling Mo knew his slower advancement was due to his martial soul, since each level required far more Soul Power than others, weren't the two of them advancing way too fast?!

"Sigh, it's all tears when I talk about it..."

Three months had passed, and it was time for the freshman assessment. If nothing unexpected happened, today should be the day they decided which department they would pursue in the future. Ling Mo remembered that Huo Yuhao had chosen the control department while also studying in the Soul Tool Department, while Wang Dong should be in the assault department. Among the Shrek Seven Devils, Beibei was also in the assault department, Xu Sanshi was in the defense department, Jiang Nannan was in the agility-attack department, He Caitou was in the support department and the Soul Tool Department, while Xiao Xiao was rather hard to pin down. She seemed to have Twin Martial Souls for control and support, but Ling Mo had not seen any sign of that in the original story. Instead, she carried a giant cauldron around and smashed people with it, which felt rather like an assault-type style. Heh.

As expected, Zhou Yi announced the news of the freshman assessment in class. She also explicitly required every team in the class to rank among the top one hundred and fifty. In other words, not a single person was allowed to be eliminated from Shrek Academy. After announcing this, she had Huo Yuhao distribute sheets of paper and asked everyone to write down their future development direction. Due to the unique nature of his Divine Key Martial Soul, Ling Mo could practically be considered an all-round type, but he obviously could not write that. Thus, he casually wrote something down and handed it in.

Afterward, Zhou Yi began arranging the teams for the Newbie Assessment. The first team was Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Ling Mo's own teammates, meanwhile, were two minor characters who had barely appeared in the original story: Feng Yu and Chen Xiao. Feng Yu was a girl whose martial soul was the Wind Wolf. Barring surprises, she should be an agility-attack battle soul master. Chen Xiao's martial soul was the Ruyi Disk. He looked refined and elegant, though Ling Mo had no idea what he was like as a person. Ling Mo vaguely remembered the Ruyi Disk martial soul, but he could not recall its abilities. He vaguely remembered that its support capabilities seemed fairly decent.

Zhou Yi formed the teams quickly. It was clear that she understood the students in the class very well, and before long, everyone had been assigned. "All right. If any of you have objections to my arrangements, come find me before I submit them tomorrow. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Ling Mo, stay behind. Everyone else may leave school."

The students gradually left the classroom, and soon only the four people Zhou Yi had called out remained.

Zhou Yi quietly watched the four of them below. "Why aren't any of you speaking? Are you afraid I'll eat you? Wang Dong, explain this first. What is this?" As she spoke, she spread out the four sheets they had submitted earlier, and the corner of her eye twitched.

"Bang!" Zhou Yi slammed her hand onto the lectern desk. The sound was so loud that it startled Huo Yuhao and the other two. Ling Mo, however, had expected this and remained calm.

"Not bad! The four of you have gotten bold, haven't you? You deliberately wanted to give me a show of defiance, didn't you?!"

As she spoke, Zhou Yi picked up their slips one by one and read them out coldly.

"Control department!" This was Huo Yuhao's.

"Control department!" This was Wang Dong's.

"Control department!" This was Xiao Xiao's.

She picked up the last sheet, which belonged to Ling Mo, and slammed it heavily onto the desk. "And yours is even more infuriating—support department!"

Hearing Zhou Yi's words, Huo Yuhao and the other two were extremely surprised. Even Ling Mo was somewhat astonished that all three of them had selected the same department.

Zhou Yi's lips trembled with anger. "Did you four do this on purpose?! The Newbie Assessment restricts teams to three people, and it also requires that the three members cannot have the same specialization! The three of you all chose the control department. Isn't that clearly saying you're dissatisfied with my grouping? And you, Ling Mo! Explain to me how a 'support department' soul master managed to hunt Thousand-Year Soul Beasts alone! Huh?!"

"Uh... Teacher Zhou, please listen to my ex—cough—explanation. My martial soul is rather unique. It has never appeared before, and even Xuan Zi could not identify what my martial soul was. For now, it does not seem to possess much destructive power. Instead, it provides me with a certain degree of support, which is why I chose the support department." Ling Mo had anticipated this and presented the explanation he had prepared in advance. It sounded logical and well-founded, but only Ling Mo knew it was all nonsense. What's wrong with wanting to play support? I fought wars my entire past life. Can't I enjoy myself in this life? Slacking off isn't a crime, right?! Ling Mo thought to himself, his expression remaining calm.

However, Zhou Yi still did not quite believe him. "Then how do you explain the fact that you have been hunting soul beasts alone all these years? According to you, your martial soul has no destructive power, so it should be impossible for you to do that. Not to mention there were Thousand-Year Soul Beasts among them. You should know that some three-ring Soul Elders cannot accomplish that alone. You must be lying. Release your martial soul and let me see it."

Ling Mo could only helplessly release his Divine Key Martial Soul. At the same time, one yellow and one purple spirit ring appeared around him.

Huo Yuhao and the other two were shocked by Ling Mo's spirit ring configuration. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring! Fortunately, Wang Dong had already set a precedent, so the three quickly calmed down.

"Teacher Zhou, this is my martial soul. I call it Void Archive." Ling Mo held a mass of golden liquid aloft in one hand as he spoke to Zhou Yi. "The reason I can hunt soul beasts alone is because of my Self-Created Soul Skill. You can think of it as a skill similar to the Tang Sect's secret arts. With the support of my martial soul, it allows me to fight soul beasts and kill them."

Zhou Yi looked at the golden liquid in Ling Mo's hand and asked, "A very strange martial soul. I have never seen anything similar to it. Can you tell me what your First Soul Skill is?"

Ling Mo hesitated for a moment before deciding to reveal a small part of Void Archive's abilities. "My First Soul Skill is Mimicry. I can transform my martial soul into objects that I understand." As he spoke, Void Archive in his hand shifted and rapidly transformed into a golden longsword. It shifted again, turning into a golden spear, before finally returning to its original liquid form.

Zhou Yi watched Void Archive's two transformations in thought. Then, as if she had thought of something, she said to Ling Mo, "We'll talk about your matter later."

After Void Archive's interruption, Zhou Yi seemed to have calmed down somewhat, and her tone was no longer as cold as before. "Yuhao, what is going on with you? Your Spirit Eyes martial soul has a spiritual attribute. You could not be more suited to the support department, so what do you mean by writing down the control department?"

Huo Yuhao hurriedly replied, "Teacher Zhou, I have always hoped to become a control-type soul master. And among the spirit rings my Spirit Eyes martial soul absorbs in the future, there will definitely be offensive soul skills. At the same time, my Spiritual Detection can allow my teammates and me to observe the entire battlefield. Therefore, I believe the control department suits me better. I also want to become a control-type soul master, not a support-type soul master."

Zhou Yi nodded after hearing this. "That makes some sense. You pass. Then what about you, Wang Dong? Your Light Goddess Butterfly is a proper assault-type martial soul. Did you write control department just to cause trouble?"

Off to the side, Ling Mo watched as Wang Dong changed her chosen department after being lectured by Zhou Yi. As for Xiao Xiao... don't ask. The answer was Twin Martial Souls.

After resolving the matter, Zhou Yi helplessly rubbed her forehead and sighed. "All right, I understand your situations now. Huo Yuhao, the three of you can leave first. Ling Mo, stay behind." Huo Yuhao and the other two glanced at Ling Mo before leaving the classroom.

Zhou Yi looked at Ling Mo. After a long while, she said, "Your martial soul... is called Void Archive, right? You said it can mimic objects you understand. Can it mimic Soul Tools as well?"

Zhou Yi slowed her speech. Her voice was calm, as though she desperately wanted an affirmative answer.

"Yes."

Ling Mo's answer immediately excited Zhou Yi. "Come with me." With that, Zhou Yi took the lead and headed outside. Ling Mo knew that she was taking him to the Soul Tool District.

Very quickly, Zhou Yi dragged Ling Mo to the Soul Tool Department of the outer academy. On the way there, Zhou Yi found their pace too slow and simply grabbed Ling Mo before sprinting at full speed. Zhou Yi was extremely fast, at least far faster than Ling Mo. Unless he used Void Form, he could not possibly keep up with Teacher Zhou's footsteps.

This was Ling Mo's first time here. He had interacted with Zhou Yi before, but only enough for her to know who he was. Because of his later change in mindset, Ling Mo had not made any further effort to approach Fan Yu, a high-level Soul Engineer. As a result, he had never come here before. When they reached the entrance of the gray building, the plaque beside the door told Ling Mo what this place was—the Soul Tool Testing Area. The outer academy's Soul Tool Department buildings were undeniably unusual. Perhaps because of Soul Tool technology, they carried a faint technological feel. To others, this building might have looked full of "Soul Tool style," but to Ling Mo, who had experienced modern technology, it seemed somewhat peculiar.

Zhou Yi glanced at Ling Mo before walking inside first, and Ling Mo followed close behind. Ling Mo originally had not wanted to interact with Fan Yu, but both Void Archive and the Reason Form he had unlocked first made it impossible for him to avoid being associated with Soul Tools.

Looking at everything within the testing area, Ling Mo felt as though he were in the Third Industrial Revolution. The difference was that his original world had used electricity, while this place used Soul Power. Their foundations, research directions, and research methods differed, making it difficult to judge which was stronger. However, in terms of practicality, Ling Mo still believed his original world and the Honkai World were superior. Both worlds armed civilization with technology. The Sun Moon Empire could be considered an unusual, weakened version of modern civilization. In terms of technology, the Sun Moon Empire truly could not compare to a modernized world, but the existence of soul masters allowed the current Douluo Continent's destructive power to catch up to the modern world.

After walking for several minutes, Ling Mo finally met Fan Yu. How should he put it? Fan Yu was sturdier than Ling Mo had imagined. Combined with his sharply defined face and solid, weighty gaze, he gave off the feeling of an iron-blooded tough guy.

"Zhou Yi, why are you here?" Fan Yu asked as he looked at Ling Mo behind Zhou Yi. Not Huo Yuhao? Another spiritual-type soul master?

"This is a student from my class. His name is Ling Mo, and his First Soul Skill is extraordinary." She then introduced Void Archive's abilities.

After hearing Zhou Yi's words, Fan Yu excitedly grabbed Ling Mo by the shoulders. "Your name is Ling Mo, right? Try and see whether you can mimic these two Soul Tools." As he spoke, he took out a dark metal tube more than a meter long and a spindle-shaped piece of metal over half a foot long. "First, I'll explain the structures and functions of these two Soul Tools to you."

Ling Mo took one look and realized that they were a cannon barrel and a shell. Good grief, you two really know how to put my martial soul to use. Ling Mo endlessly grumbled inwardly about Fan Yu's behavior.

"There's no need to go through so much trouble, Teacher. You only need to tell me what functions they have."

Fan Yu then explained the functions of the Fixed Soul Cannon and Fixed Soul Cannon Shell to Ling Mo. Although Ling Mo already knew what they did, he still had to put on an act.

Once Fan Yu finally finished, Ling Mo released Void Archive and placed both hands on the two Soul Tools to begin analyzing them. With Ling Mo's abilities, he naturally completed the analysis instantly, but he still pretended to need some time in order to keep up appearances.

"How is it? Can you do it? Do you need me to explain the structure and production process of these two Soul Tools again?" A minute passed. Fan Yu watched Ling Mo keep both hands on the Soul Tools with his eyes closed, and he was extremely anxious. If Ling Mo succeeded, he admittedly would not hold much advantage over other Soul Engineers, because although Ling Mo could mimic something, other Soul Engineers had actual completed Soul Tools. In Fan Yu's view, it would be useful, but not exceptionally useful. Yet that was not what Fan Yu cared about. What was Fan Yu's primary research goal? Fixed Soul Cannons! The Fixed Soul Cannon Shells used by such Soul Tools were consumables. If Ling Mo could achieve what Fan Yu imagined, then Ling Mo's First Soul Skill would be a reusable Fixed Soul Cannon Shell! Fan Yu would nurture Ling Mo into the most powerful Fixed Soul Tool soul master!

Ling Mo simply did not know what Fan Yu was thinking. Otherwise, he would certainly have sneered. Seriously, was Fan Yu going to treat a perfectly good Void Archive as a cannon shell? But after thinking about it carefully, that made sense. If the weapons from the Honkai series had not been so special, especially with powerful weapons like Divine Keys among them, Void Archive's combat performance would actually have been rather poor. What had Otto used Void Archive for after recovering it? As a library! Its Mimicry existed because Void Archive stored data on Divine Keys, and Ling Mo had never seen it mimic weapons outside of Divine Keys. Compared to other Divine Keys, Void Archive's greatest strength was that it preserved all the knowledge of an entire era. As for the Void Archive in Ling Mo's hands... sorry, it contained absolutely nothing.

Figuring that enough time had passed, Ling Mo opened his eyes. The yellow spirit ring behind him lit up, and Void Archive transformed from a mass of liquid into the two Soul Tools. Aside from being golden in color, they showed no difference from the originals.

"It really worked!" Fan Yu could no longer suppress his excitement upon seeing Ling Mo complete the mimicry, and he immediately began explaining how to use the Fixed Soul Cannon.

Following Fan Yu's instructions, Ling Mo successfully loaded the shell. He came to the edge of a testing ground, aimed, and fired! "Boom!" The shell mimicked by Void Archive shot out and accurately struck a distant target before exploding.

Watching this, Fan Yu frowned slightly. The power is wrong. It's weaker than normal. Is it affected by Soul Power because it's a soul skill? Still, I didn't expect it to really work!

"Ling Mo, I have seen your soul skill. I can tell you with certainty that you are extremely suited to becoming a Soul Engineer. If you are willing, I can take you as my disciple and teach you how to make Soul Tools." Although the power was somewhat lower, Fan Yu believed it was likely affected by Soul Power. As Ling Mo's Soul Power Level increased, the power would return to normal and might even become stronger than the physical version. Thus, he decided to take Ling Mo as his disciple.

If this had happened before, Ling Mo might have agreed to become Fan Yu's disciple. But Ling Mo no longer had such intentions, so he refused. "I'm sorry, Teacher Fan Yu. Although I would very much like to learn about Soul Tools, the special nature of my martial soul makes raising my Soul Power Level more difficult than it is for others. My current Soul Power Level was cultivated through nearly sleepless, nonstop effort. And I know very well that I am not suited to learning Soul Tool production. I will remember your kindness, but I have still decided to focus on cultivating my martial soul. I am very sorry, Teacher Fan Yu." As he spoke, Ling Mo lowered his head and bowed to Fan Yu in apology.

"Is that so? Sigh, stand up. I won't force you if you are unwilling. Zhou Yi, take him back." Hearing that Ling Mo was unwilling to become his disciple, Fan Yu let out a long sigh. What a pity for such fine material. In Fan Yu's eyes, Ling Mo's explanations were all excuses. He simply did not wish to study Soul Tools. In truth, they really were excuses. The notion that the martial soul department was stronger than the Soul Tool Department was deeply rooted throughout the continent. Fan Yu could understand Ling Mo thinking that way. Perhaps Xuan Zi had influenced him in some manner as well.

After returning to his dormitory, Ling Mo heavily collapsed onto the bed and took a deep breath. Ling Mo naturally understood the power of technology. Whether it was the Soul Tools of the Douluo Continent or the various weapons from his previous two lives, all of them made this clear to him. However, with Reason Form, he did not need to learn how to manufacture anything. As long as he could analyze something and understand its function, Ling Mo could reproduce it directly as long as he had enough Soul Power. His original plan to seek a master had merely been so he could come into contact with more Soul Tools. He had never truly wanted to study Soul Tools.

He raised his head to look at the pitch-black night sky, then lay back down again. Tomorrow was the Newbie Assessment. He would not cultivate for the next few days. With that thought, Ling Mo gradually fell asleep.