Research!

The two chatted for a while. That afternoon, Xu Nianshuang was going to Feng Tianxiang's place to train in swordsmanship under him. Xu Tianyang had no intention of immersing himself in the sword path; he only used a longsword because he needed an offensive method for the early stages.

Besides, he truly had no talent for swordsmanship. His use of a longsword was nothing more than brute force.

Sun Moon Royal Academy, Soul Tool Department, Dean of Instruction's office.

The current Dean of Instruction, Lin Fan, was bent over his desk reviewing all kinds of documents. After the Empire's unification, it had acquired a vast amount of Soul Tool knowledge from the Moonflower Empire, delighting the Empire's top Soul Engineers to no end.

Moreover, as Xu Yunxiao launched project after project during this period, the Empire's available top Soul Engineers had thrown themselves into researching them.

As the place with the Empire's strongest Soul Tool technology, Lin Fan had documents piled as high as mountains to handle every day.

After reviewing a document and placing it atop the small pile to his left, Lin Fan stretched. Then he turned and saw the mountain-sized pile on his right, his expression immediately falling. Rubbing his brow, he said, "Raise my pay. It absolutely has to be raised. My workload has increased more than fivefold lately. I don't even have time to inspect the Humanoid Soul Tool mecha research."

As a top Soul Engineer himself, Lin Fan was deeply interested in research topics established by His Majesty, such as the possibility of Metal Spirit Attachment, Humanoid Soul Tool research, Spiritual Power Strength Detector, and Soul Powerless Drive Soul Tool. Yet he was held back by these trivial matters and could not participate. It was as unbearable as being clawed at by a cat.

"Alas!" He sighed faintly. His memorial requesting the Empire increase manpower had already been submitted, and His Majesty had replied that there would soon be an answer. He would endure for now. With that thought, Lin Fan picked up another document and began reviewing it.

"Knock, knock, knock..." A series of knocks sounded, making Lin Fan frown instinctively as he read.

"Come in!"

"Uncle Lin, how have you been lately? Tianyang hasn't seen Uncle Lin in quite some time." As the door opened, Xu Tianyang's voice slowly reached Lin Fan's ears, making him raise his head in surprise.

"It's Crown Prince Your Highness!" Lin Fan naturally recognized Xu Tianyang. As an eighty-seventh-level Soul Douluo and a Level Eight Soul Engineer, as well as one of Xu Yunxiao's Trusted Subordinates, they had met long ago.

"Crown Prince Your Highness, why didn't you tell me you had returned?" Lin Fan rose to his feet and happily led Xu Tianyang to sit on a sofa nearby.

As Lin Fan stood, Xu Tianyang felt the light around him dim. Before him stood a muscular man fully two meters tall, his entire body packed with explosive muscles. His short hair stood straight atop his head like steel needles, giving him an imposing aura even without anger.

Yet when he looked at Xu Tianyang, his face wore a gentle smile, making for a somewhat bizarre sight.

"Hehe, the Academy's affairs are busy, so I did not dare disturb Uncle Lin casually. You are my elder, so just call me Tianyang." Xu Tianyang smiled and glanced at the large pile of documents on the desk. The meaning was obvious.

"Tianyang, could you explain to His Majesty that the Academy's affairs are far too busy now? I fear that I alone cannot attend to everything. If I delay His Majesty's great plans because of this, Uncle Lin would be gravely at fault." Lin Fan did not stand on ceremony and spoke with a bitter expression.

"Father already has arrangements in place. It is only because the changes this time are rather significant that it has taken so long. There should be results within the next day or two." Xu Tianyang truly knew about this matter; he had heard of it before leaving for his training journey.

As the Empire's premier institution, the Sun Moon Royal Academy's internal research structure had become far too bloated. Thus, after unification, Xu Yunxiao had begun preparing reforms.

However, Xu Yunxiao had also been working without rest during this period. Only recently had this matter reached a conclusion. Lin Fan would likely receive the news in a few days.

"That's good!" Lin Fan sighed in relief, followed by a surge of excitement. He would finally have time to take part in those research projects.

"Uncle Lin, how are those projects progressing?" Xu Tianyang had not come merely to chat. He had come to inspect the projects' progress. They might encounter Douluo Continent, and compared with the other side, the Sun Moon Empire only held an overwhelming advantage in Soul Tool strength. Its high-level combat power was likely inferior.

To overtake them in terms of top-tier combat power, they still had to focus on developing Soul Tools.

"I was just about to inspect them. Tianyang, your arrival is perfectly timed." Lin Fan's eyes shifted as he rose to his feet.

Xu Tianyang glanced at the pile of documents but did not expose him. He rose and followed Lin Fan toward an inconspicuous corner of the Academy.

After a series of inspections and passing through several metal doors in succession,

a massive underground factory appeared before Xu Tianyang.

Rows of Equipment Transport Soul Vehicles were neatly arranged, while Flight Scanning Soul Tools occasionally swept overhead, scanning the factory for unusual situations.

As the two arrived, two of them flew over and stopped before them. A red light swept across their bodies.

The next moment, a mechanical electronic voice sounded from within them. "Ding. Clearance level: Red. Welcome..."

Once the inspection was complete, they flew away again.

"Let's go!"

The two headed farther inside. Along the way, all the researchers who saw Xu Tianyang hurriedly stood and greeted him respectfully.

"Crown Prince Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"..."

Xu Tianyang also held these researchers in high regard. After following Lin Fan for a while, a huge room soon came into view. Busy figures filled it, and the two fixed their gaze on an elderly figure. The man was studying the report in his hands intently, completely unaware of their arrival.

"Elder Chen!"

"So Xiao Fan and Tianyang are here." Elder Chen raised his head, set down the report in his hands, and smiled at Lin Fan and Xu Tianyang.

Elder Chen was likewise a top Level Eight Soul Engineer. His family had been poor when he was young, and they could not afford to hire a Soul Master to help him obtain his First Soul Ring. He had no choice but to enter the forest himself and risk his life.

Although he had relied on his own strength to kill a hundred-year Soul Beast, the beast's desperate final counterattack had still severely injured him. Because the treatment had not been thorough enough, hidden injuries remained in his body.

Though Elder Chen later entered an academy and displayed astonishing talent in Soul Tools, gaining admission to the Sun Moon Royal Academy at the age of twelve and reaching his current position step by step, the injuries of his youth had kept him from breaking through level ninety. Otherwise, he would most likely have become a Level Nine Soul Master before Xu Yunxiao.

However, this did not affect Elder Chen's standing in the Sun Moon Empire. Nearly one-third of the Soul Engineers present had received his guidance, including Xu Yunxiao. He could truly be called a pillar of the nation.

He was now primarily responsible for overcoming Metal Spirit Attachment and Humanoid Soul Tool mecha research.

"Elder Chen, Tianyang and I came to see how the projects are progressing." Xu Tianyang looked at him respectfully. Figures like Elder Chen, pillars of the nation, deserved respect no matter what country they belonged to.

"Tianyang, you came at the right time. We have already broken through the Thousand Forgings bottleneck. We are now expanding the scope. Of the known metals, we have tested one-third. Some metals are suited for Thousand Forgings, while others are not. This is a major undertaking, but in another year or so, I estimate we will be able to produce a detailed report on the feasibility of Thousand Forgings for various metals." Elder Chen excitedly pulled Xu Tianyang into a massive room.

All kinds of metals were displayed within, densely packed together.

Xu Tianyang's gaze swept across the metals. These were all metals the Sun Moon Empire had already discovered, and their various properties had mostly been researched. However, the metals displayed here were different from those outside.

Xu Tianyang looked at a piece of Sinking Silver. He had seen this kind of metal before, but this piece was smaller in volume than any he had previously seen at the same weight. Its bright silver color had also become a dull gray matte shade—deep, restrained, and ancient.

Layers of wave-like dark patterns covered the dull gray metal's surface, as though they contained endless vitality.

"This strange feeling..."

"Tianyang, you feel it too?" Seeing the surprise in Xu Tianyang's eyes, Elder Chen pressed himself against the metal glass, staring fervently at the metal within. He said excitedly, "We discovered that these metals generally become increasingly pure during the Hundred Forgings stage, shedding impurities..."

"Once they cross the threshold of Thousand Forgings, however, they seem to undergo a kind of sublimation. They possess a peculiar rhythm, as though they are breathing. It is truly unbelievable."

"This is absolutely a major breakthrough in the history of Soul Tools, enough to drive a historic transformation in Soul Tools."

"Hundred Forgings Purification, Thousand Forgings Refinement?" Xu Tianyang blurted out instinctively. Lin Fan and Elder Chen's faces were filled with excitement and fervor.

"Hundred Forgings Purification, Thousand Forgings Refinement. Tianyang, you have summarized it well. That is indeed the process." Hearing Xu Tianyang's murmur, Elder Chen smiled and nodded, his face full of approval.

Xu Tianyang gave an embarrassed laugh. The facts proved that once a nation focused its efforts on one matter, the energy it unleashed would absolutely exceed the world's imagination.

Xu Tianyang only had a superficial understanding of Forging. He had not expected that, merely based on some of his descriptions, the Sun Moon Empire's researchers would break into the Thousand Forgings field in just over a year.

It greatly exceeded his expectations.

The hardest part of scientific research was often the process from zero to one. Once Xu Tianyang had broken through that zero, reaching one had become a natural course of events.

"After these metals undergo Thousand Forgings, their properties are vastly different from before. They are practically entirely new metals. Xuan Hongchen's group is currently testing the changes that occur when these metals support Soul Tools." Elder Chen smiled as he looked toward a testing room with tightly shut doors in the distance.

"You and everyone else have worked hard, Elder Chen." Xu Tianyang withdrew his gaze and spoke sincerely as he looked at the busy researchers.

"Hahaha, not hard at all, not hard at all. Tianyang, you must understand that for people like us, advancing the development of Soul Tools is our greatest happiness." Elder Chen stroked his beard and laughed heartily, clearly in a fine mood.

"Besides, I had thought I would have no hope of advancing to Level Nine Soul Master in my lifetime. Yet these experiments have allowed me to see hope again!"

"Elder Chen, you..." Lin Fan stared at Elder Chen in shock. There had been Soul Engineers who advanced beyond their level in history, but none had crossed into the realm of a Level Nine Soul Master. If Elder Chen succeeded, it would truly be unprecedented.

"Not yet. I merely have a small lead." Elder Chen smiled and waved his hand, clearly unwilling to dwell on the subject.

The three traveled together, inspecting the research progress of numerous groups. Finally, they took an elevator down to a deeper level. As air jets blasted from outside the elevator, the metal doors slowly opened.

Xu Tianyang's eyes lit up. Before him stood a Mecha nearly ten meters tall.

Its entire body was painted crimson. At its chest, a roaring Soul Power Engine churned with blue energy fluid, while the Wing Suit Trigger protruding from its back gave it a streamlined metallic texture—powerful yet elegant.

The first Humanoid Mecha.

This fusion of elegance and violence, overflowing with mechanical beauty, stirred even Xu Tianyang. After all, what boy could resist the allure of such a massive Mecha...?

This was romance unique to men, something he had dreamed of in his previous life and realized in this one.

"Elder Chen..."

"Tianyang, you are getting excited too early. Compared to traditional Soul Tools, Humanoid Soul Tool mechas are far, far more complicated. What you see now can only be called a pieced-together product. It cannot be controlled at all. I do not even know whether I will live to see this big fellow move."

Elder Chen stood with his hands behind his back, slightly raising his head to gaze at the enormous Mecha before him. Excitement and regret flashed through his eyes.

He had spent his entire life researching Soul Tools. He had once believed his Soul Tool technology had reached its peak, and that compared to Level Nine Soul Masters, he lacked only Soul Power Level. That was until Xu Yunxiao established these specialized research projects.

He realized just how insignificant his Soul Tool technology was. Now, he only wished to live a few more years, so he could see the seeds planted here bloom and bear fruit while he was still alive.

"Since it is difficult to complete an entire Soul Tool mecha at once, why not break it apart? For example, the arms and thighs—could we individually strengthen one aspect at a time?" Seeing this, Xu Tianyang quietly suggested the technical concepts of Mechanical Exoskeleton Attachment.

At his words, Elder Chen and Lin Fan immediately fell silent and lowered their heads in thought. Their eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Tianyang, join us too. Let's make it a reality together!" Finally, Elder Chen abruptly raised his head and stared intensely at Xu Tianyang, speaking with quickened breath.

Xu Tianyang smiled bitterly and shook his head, refusing. "Elder Chen, Imperial Father would not agree!"

Hearing Xu Tianyang's refusal, Lin Fan sighed in relief. He had nearly dragged His Highness into it. If Xu Tianyang had agreed in a moment of passion, who knew how His Majesty would reprimand him?

Xu Tianyang's focus now was not Soul Tools, but cultivation. He carried the hopes and future of His Majesty and the Sun Moon Empire.

The Sun Moon Empire could do without a Level Nine Soul Master Xu Tianyang, but it needed a Peerless Douluo Xu Tianyang.

With all the Empire's Soul Engineers available to be mobilized, they did not lack Xu Tianyang as a researcher. He only needed to propose those ideas about the development of Soul Tools ten thousand years in the future; naturally, others would research and realize them.

"Alas!" Elder Chen also calmed down and understood the crux of the matter. He sighed regretfully. "What a pity!"