Soul Tool Mech Concept!

The continent would be plunged into panic and chaos!

The existing balance of power would be utterly shattered.

The lofty status of Soul Masters would face a fatal threat, inevitably provoking the most frenzied counterattack.

The Blacksmith Association would bear the brunt of it!

As the source of the weapons, the Association would become a thorn in the side of every Soul Master faction!

They would spare no cost to completely erase this source of disaster!

From Lou Gao to the apprentices, perhaps no one in the Association would be spared!

They would become enemies of the entire continent!

It would not be just Soul Masters. Forces dependent on Soul Masters, and even some ordinary factions fearful of power spiraling out of control, might regard the Association as the culprit that had "opened the gates of hell."

Lou Gao thought of the families of ordinary craftsmen who made their living through the Association, and their fates... His face instantly turned deathly pale, fine beads of cold sweat even seeping from his forehead.

That thought just now had been more than naive. It had been... foolish!

He had been pushing the entire Association, along with the thousands of mouths that trusted and depended on him, into a bottomless abyss!

"Phew..."

Lou Gao let out a heavy breath, as though expelling every foolish notion he had just entertained.

The fervor and confusion vanished completely from his eyes, replaced by deep gravity and lingering fear.

He slapped his forehead hard, his voice carrying a trace of chagrin and relief.

"Foolish! This Old Man is truly senile! I was so caught up in the power of this thing that I nearly... nearly caused a catastrophe! Xiao Xia, you were right! Absolutely right!"

Lou Gao's gaze became incomparably sharp and clear as he stared intently at Lin Xia, his tone utterly serious.

"Xiao Xia, whatever that method you mentioned was, let it rot in your stomach! Never mention it again, and never attempt it! Pretend... that thought never existed!"

Lou Gao swept his gaze over the drawings on the ground and the Handgun, speaking in a deep voice:

"This thing is too powerful, and too dangerous. We will only make a small number, for use by our master and disciple alone, as a trump card to save our lives at critical moments! And unless our lives are at stake, unless we are driven into a desperate corner, never! Never reveal it before others!"

Lou Gao paused, his voice growing even lower.

"Even if... even if we truly manage to join Spirit Hall and gain its protection, this thing must remain strictly confidential!"

"We absolutely cannot expose it to anyone in Spirit Hall! Not even the Pope! This is more than a weapon. It is a taboo that could overturn the continent's balance and bring utter ruin!"

"It can only be your—and our master and disciple's—final trump card!"

Lou Gao's gaze settled on Lin Xia, filled with expectation and the weight of a solemn entrustment.

"Before you possess absolute strength—strength enough to intimidate all others and disregard the rules—this thing must never see the light of day! A tall tree catches the wind; possessing treasure invites disaster! We Blacksmiths... understand this principle best!"

Lin Xia met Lou Gao's grave, resolute gaze and nodded solemnly without the slightest hesitation.

"Teacher, I understand! Your disciple knows the stakes well! Otherwise, I would not have brought it up. So please rest assured!"

Master and disciple exchanged a glance, each seeing the same gravity and determination in the other's eyes.

The wild elation from their successful test had long since been replaced by a crushing sense of responsibility and danger.

Lou Gao bent down and carefully wrapped the Handgun in a thick piece of velvet cloth, his movements incomparably solemn.

"Put it away. This gun... will remain in your care for now. Remember, be cautious beyond cautious!"

Lin Xia accepted it and carefully stored it in his Space Soul Tool.

Looking at the complicated, indescribable expression in his teacher's eyes, thoughts began multiplying wildly in Lin Xia's mind like weeds.

The prototypes of more powerful weapons from his past life's memories—Rifles, Sniper Rifles, and even more terrifying creations—kept surging through his mind.

What made his heart itch even more was the concept of a Soul Tool Mech that combined mechanical structures with Soul Power propulsion, something that could grant its wearer boundless strength!

No, I can't just stop here...

Lin Xia thought to himself.

Teacher's passion was not easily kindled. It can't be completely extinguished just because of these concerns. We just need to be more careful and more secretive!

With that thought, Lin Xia drew a deep breath and broke the heavy silence in the Training Ground. His voice held deliberately restrained excitement, yet was filled with persuasion.

"Teacher!"

Lin Xia looked at Lou Gao, his eyes blazing.

"Actually... I have many more ideas about weapons. The Handgun is only the most basic kind. There are types with greater power, longer range, and stronger Penetration Power... and even!"

Lin Xia paused, lowering his voice further, carrying a mysterious allure.

"I also have some concepts for Moving Armor! A special kind of equipment that can cover the whole body, be driven by Soul Power, and greatly enhance defense and even attack power!"

Lou Gao had been immersed in thoughts of the weapon's power and its potential risks. At this, he abruptly raised his head, and the flame in his eyes that had nearly gone out flared back to life, even hotter than before!

The horrifying consequences of mass production had frightened him so badly that his mind had briefly frozen, making him forget the most crucial point!

If I make it in secret, what do I have to fear?

Lou Gao slapped his thigh. His voice boomed, and the chagrin on his face vanished completely, replaced by the ecstatic joy of Sudden Realization.

"Having good ideas and not researching them would be a waste of Heaven's gifts! We're doing it! We have to do it! Pour out every idea you have!"

Master and disciple instantly saw eye to eye once again, and the heavy gloom was temporarily swept aside by their fanatical thirst for technological exploration.

Over the next dozen days, the Core Forge Room in the Blacksmith Association's Backyard—the room with the tightest security, which Lou Gao had ordered no one to approach under pain of death—became the secret workshop of master and disciple.

Lin Xia's mind worked day and night like an efficient drafting machine.

One increasingly complex and precise blueprint after another was swiftly drawn.

Structural diagrams for Rifles, schematics for Scopes, Rifling requirements for Sniper Rifles...

And the preliminary framework for the Soul Tool Mech he envisioned—an Armor Prototype combining Precision Mechanical Joints, Energy Conduction Circuits, and a Core Soul Power Drive Unit.

Lou Gao, meanwhile, completely transformed into a "Humanoid Precision Machine Tool," wielding his Thousand Layered Tremor Gold Hand to its utmost limit.

With the successful Handgun as experience, he got the hang of the Rifle and Sniper Rifle blueprints Lin Xia provided with remarkable speed.

The Diamond Chisel guided Vibrating Soul Power as it carved intricate Rifling into the Rare Metal.

A pitch-black Heavy Hammer struck, folded, and fused the metal, turning each component from the blueprints into a tangible object gleaming with a cold, hard luster.

The long Barrels of Sniper Rifles, the Magazines of Rifles, more complex Firing Mechanisms... one weapon component after another, far beyond its era, came to life in the hands of the Divine Craftsman. They were piled in the finished-products area in the corner, exuding a chilling killing intent and the precise beauty of machinery.

However, when the focus of their research shifted to the Soul Tool Mech, progress suddenly became slow, to the point of being almost impossible.

This had already gone beyond the realm of purely mechanical structures and entered the true domain of Soul Tools.

Though Lin Xia possessed advanced concepts and a small amount of knowledge from the original work, neither he nor Lou Gao had more than vague ideas about how to steadily and efficiently convert Soul Power into energy that could drive armor, how to inscribe and solidify Soul Tool Arrays, or how to make cold metal "understand" a Soul Master's commands...