Profiting from Others' Conflict?

Besides Gu Yuena, two other people were watching Huo Yuhao's work.

Mecha Master Association President Li Yucheng and Vice President Xia Haoxuan.

After having his expectations repeatedly shattered by Huo Yuhao's talent, Li Yucheng could now watch the scene calmly. The person beside him, however, clearly could not.

Xia Haoxuan watched as Huo Yuhao lightly tapped the rare metal, his fingers moving nimbly as if in flight. In an instant, he completed a three-arc cut, so precise it seemed as though it had been measured with a ruler. Xia Haoxuan was astonished, and his desire to recruit talent arose.

Such precise movements and such a state of Mind-Body Unity were beyond even many Level 8 Craftsmen he had met. Only Manufacturers accustomed to crafting Level 9 Soul Tools could enter that state at will.

A prodigy. He was simply a prodigy!

A disciple like this was the dream of every Manufacturer who wished to pass on their legacy.

After watching Huo Yuhao's flowing, seemingly battle-hardened Magic Array engraving for a while longer, Xia Haoxuan could not help but say,

"President, you're already old, and your energy isn't what it used to be. How about letting me teach Huo Yuhao instead?"

"Though I may not be your equal, I have more time and energy than you do. I can devote more time to teaching him."

"Get lost, get lost! Wishful thinking!" Li Yucheng waved him off impatiently. "You want to steal him too? Teach your own disciple properly."

Xia Haoxuan said unhappily, "President, you can't be so selfish. I was the one who discovered him first. You have to handle Association affairs every day; how could you have time to teach a disciple? We should switch. You keep handling the affairs, and I'll do it!"

"He's from the Spirit Pagoda, and I've already planned to introduce him to the headquarters. Don't overthink it." Li Yucheng's single sentence left Xia Haoxuan speechless. "Anything else you want to say?"

"...You win." Xia Haoxuan looked regretfully at Huo Yuhao before turning and leaving the room.

Seeing that, Li Yucheng refocused on Huo Yuhao. Once Huo Yuhao finished engraving the Soul Tool Array onto the metal, he walked over with a smile and examined the work.

"Not bad. You've completely mastered the Energy Conversion Soul Tool Array I taught you before. But here and here, you could make some improvements to connect the Soul Tool Array more perfectly."

Li Yucheng pointed at two spots on the rare metal and smiled at Huo Yuhao. "Of course, these are only minor issues..."

Watching Huo Yuhao humbly seek advice and listen quietly, Gu Yuena inexplicably felt as though she should not be here.

Designers and Manufacturers shared much of the same knowledge, but what the two of them were discussing now... she could not understand it.

A teenage youth was looking for someone in the Association's main hall. When he saw Xia Haoxuan emerge from a room, his eyes lit up. He hurried over and asked,

"Teacher, I'm about to take the Level 3 Craftsman examination. Do you have time to serve as an examiner?"

Xia Haoxuan glanced up at him without much interest. "Level 3? How old are you, and you're only Level 3? Look at other people's..."

The youth stared at Xia Haoxuan in confusion, unable to understand what he had done wrong to earn such a lecture from his teacher.

Back then, he had been someone else's exemplary child too...

After venting for a while, Xia Haoxuan still felt that he had gotten the short end of the stick.

He had been the first to discover Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao had come to take the Level 2 Craftsman examination, Xia Haoxuan had even been his examiner.

It was only because Huo Yuhao came from the Spirit Pagoda, and Xia Haoxuan had assumed he would not join the Mecha Master Association. So, following standard practice, he reported Huo Yuhao's information to the president. He had never expected it to end like this.

If he had accepted him directly back then, then...

"No, the more I think about it, the more I'm losing out. Why should the president get a Peerless Genius for free just because he took a stroll through the Spirit Pagoda without doing anything?"

After thinking it over, Xia Haoxuan decided to take a roundabout approach and pulled out his Soul Tool Communicator.

"Knowing you, you're probably planning to take Huo Yuhao to the headquarters later and show him off, right? You probably haven't reported Huo Yuhao's existence to the headquarters yet... then I won't hold back."

Once the call connected, Xia Haoxuan immediately broke into a smile. "Hello, Teacher? I discovered someone in East Sea..."

Li Yucheng was guiding Huo Yuhao in engraving a Soul Tool Array when his Soul Tool Communicator suddenly rang. He took it out, glanced at it, apologized to Huo Yuhao, and left the room.

When he returned after finishing the call and saw what was happening in the room, his face instantly darkened.

He had guarded against everyone else, yet failed to guard against the thief within. He had been careless after all.

Well done, Xia Haoxuan. You wanted to be put in your place, did you? Just you wait!

"Yuhao, you are the most talented person in Soul Tools I have ever seen in my life. My teacher is a Level 9 Craftsman at the Mecha Master Association Headquarters. After hearing about you, he became very interested. What do you say? Are you interested in becoming my junior brother?

"And you, young lady. You've already become a Level 3 Designer at such a young age, and your future is equally boundless. I can introduce you to a suitable teacher."

Xia Haoxuan said with a beaming smile.

Why recruit only one when he could recruit both geniuses at once?

As for the fact that they came from the Spirit Pagoda?

That was no problem. The Mecha Master Association even had people from the Body Sect!

"President Xia, you flatter me. Without the guidance of my seniors, I could never have reached my current level."

"Ah, being too modest just makes you seem insincere. How long has the president been teaching you, anyway? He's old and has no time to teach you. It's already difficult for him to spare some time every day. How about this? Study under me first, and later I'll take you to the headquarters to meet my teacher."

Huo Yuhao glanced at Li Yucheng, who was radiating a dark aura behind Xia Haoxuan, and his eyelids twitched.

This was not a matter of being modest or not. Your Excellency, if you keep talking, I'm afraid East Sea will have another floating corpse by tomorrow morning.

Xia Haoxuan had actually sensed someone arriving as well, but he was someone who "did not fear power." He directly took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Huo Yuhao. "There are some rare metals inside. Consider them a gift I prepared for you."

Li Yucheng took a deep breath, deciding he could not just keep watching. After some thought, he also took a pass and a small Soul Tool from his Storage Ring and handed them to Huo Yuhao.

"With this pass, you can enter most of the Association's rooms. You can even access the storage room on the third floor, where design blueprints and ideas are kept."

He had prepared this pass long ago. Huo Yuhao's self-learning ability and discipline were both excellent, and Li Yucheng truly did not have much time himself. It would be better to loosen the restrictions and let Huo Yuhao study on his own.

As he thought that, Li Yucheng and Xia Haoxuan exchanged a glance, then tacitly looked away.

Although they had not communicated, they both understood that Huo Yuhao was from the Spirit Pagoda. If they wanted him to develop a sense of belonging toward the Mecha Master Association, they had to do everything they could to win him over while he was still young.

But that isn't a reason for you to call your teacher behind my back! Put on those shoes I prepared for you, Xia Haoxuan!

Huo Yuhao looked at the items before him with an odd expression.

Did this count as... the snipe and clam fighting while the fisherman profited?