Seeking Guidance

Classes ended early the next afternoon.

Xue Lingyun left the Teaching Building and headed north along Shrek Square. After passing through the cluster of teaching buildings divided according to Soul Ring colors and going around the Canteen, he reached the Soul Guidance Department Testing Area.

The same heavy metal door stood there. He handed his Access Pass to the guard, who gave it a glance, nodded, and let him through.

The Testing Area was quieter than outside. Several half-finished Soul Tools sat on the benches along the walls, while a few Students worked at their respective stations.

He Caitou was nowhere to be seen, but Fan Yu stood at the innermost workbench, using an Engraving knife to inscribe something onto a core.

Xue Lingyun walked over and waited at his side for a while.

Without looking up or stopping his hands, Fan Yu said, "You're here? What is it?"

Xue Lingyun took out the design picture album and placed it on the workbench.

Fan Yu glanced at it, and the Engraving knife in his hand stopped.

He set down the knife and picked up the booklet, flipping through it.

After turning several pages, his brow creased slightly. He flipped through a few more, then looked up at Xue Lingyun.

"A fragment of a seventh-level design? Where did you get it?"

"The Treasure Appreciation Meeting."

Fan Yu stared at him for several seconds before lowering his gaze back to the booklet.

"You picked this up?"

"Yeah." Xue Lingyun said, "This year's quota let me choose one item for free."

Fan Yu froze for a moment, his expression turning somewhat subtle.

He naturally knew what being allowed to choose one item for free meant. It was not treatment just anyone could receive.

This kid had gotten himself this on his first trip to the Treasure Appreciation Meeting. No wonder that old fox Yan Shaozhe kept such a close eye on him.

He said nothing more and lowered his head to continue flipping through the booklet. When he reached a certain page, he suddenly stopped and pointed at one of the structures. "Do you understand this part?"

Xue Lingyun leaned over for a look. It was a regional diagram of an Energy Circuit, with complicated lines and messy annotations.

He had been stuck on this page for a long time when studying it before.

"I don't." he admitted. "The flow direction of this circuit is different from the conventional kind."

Fan Yu nodded, took a sheet of paper and a pen from beside him, and began drawing.

"A conventional circuit is linear. Energy enters through the Input Layer, passes through the Conversion Layer, and exits through the Output Layer." As he spoke, he drew. "But this design is different. It stacks the Input Layer and Conversion Layer together. After the energy enters, it makes a turn first before entering the Conversion Layer."

He drew a simple diagram and pointed at the bend. "Look here. He added a Loop Structure. Its purpose is to keep the energy in the Input Layer a little longer, filtering out the unstable parts before it enters the Conversion Layer. The advantage is a steadier energy output. The drawback is that it takes up more space and demands greater inscription precision."

Xue Lingyun stared at the diagram for quite some time before suddenly asking, "Is the radius of this loop related to the attribute of Soul Power?"

Fan Yu raised an eyebrow. "What made you think of that?"

"A feeling." Xue Lingyun said. "Different Soul Power attributes flow with different degrees of smoothness. If it's Fire Attribute Soul Power, would making one circuit through a loop like this cause greater loss than Ice Attribute Soul Power?"

Fan Yu looked at him without speaking, then picked up the booklet and flipped through it again.

"Your line of thinking is right." After a while, he finally said, "This kind of Layered Structure does indeed affect different Soul Power attributes differently. The person who designed this was probably a Multi-attribute Soul Master, or someone who had studied the traits of different attributes very deeply."

He paused and pointed to another note in the booklet. "Look here. He specifically wrote a line: 'Use Fire Attribute with caution.' He had realized the issue you just raised himself."

Xue Lingyun leaned closer. The handwriting was indeed messy, but it was barely legible.

"So that was a very good question." Fan Yu returned the booklet to him. "It shows you're truly thinking it over, not just flipping through it casually."

He pushed the diagram toward Xue Lingyun. "Take this back and study it slowly. If there's anything else you don't understand, save it up and come ask me later."

Xue Lingyun nodded and folded the diagram before putting it into his Bracelet.

Fan Yu picked up his Engraving knife again and resumed the work he had left unfinished.

Xue Lingyun did not leave. After watching him carve a few strokes, he suddenly asked, "Teacher Fan Yu, can this kind of Layered Structure be used in a Fourth-level Soul Tool?"

Fan Yu's hand stopped again.

He turned to look at Xue Lingyun, his expression somewhat complicated.

"What are you asking that for?"

"Just curious." Xue Lingyun said. "The design concept is pretty good. If it could be used in low-level Soul Tools, maybe it could create something different."

Fan Yu stared at him for several seconds before suddenly laughing.

"Not bad." He shook his head. "You've only just understood one seventh-level design, and you're already thinking of scaling it down."

He put down the Engraving knife and turned to face him. "Theoretically, it can be done, but there are several problems."

"First, Layered Structures have high material requirements. The materials used in low-level Soul Tools can't withstand that kind of strain."

"Second, inscription precision. Fourth-level Soul Tools don't have that much room for error. Even a slight deviation will ruin it."

"Third, and most importantly—are you sure you can inscribe it?"

Xue Lingyun thought about it but said nothing.

Fan Yu did not wait for an answer either. He waved a hand. "All right, go back and think it over slowly. You can try if you want, but practice with scrap materials first. Don't waste the good stuff."

Xue Lingyun nodded, thanked him, then turned and left.

When he came out of the Testing Area, it was still early. The sun had only just begun to slant westward, and there was still some time before dark.

He Walked Back along the route he had taken. As he passed Sea God Lake, his footsteps slowed.

Someone sat on the bench by the lake. Blue hair, pale eyes, and a cool, aloof air.

Ling Luochen.

She saw him too.

Xue Lingyun's heart stirred slightly. This place was not close to the Inner Court. For her to sit here alone was too much of a coincidence.

Besides, after the last Treasure Appreciation Meeting, Ma Xiaotao had casually mentioned, "It seemed like she looked at you a few extra times." He had not taken it to heart then, but now...

He continued forward, pretending not to see her.

"Wait."

Ling Luochen's voice came from behind him.

Xue Lingyun stopped and turned back to look at her.

She had already risen and walked over to stand before him.

Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment before falling on his body, as though she were examining something.

"Is your Martial Soul Ice Attribute?" she asked.

Xue Lingyun did not answer. He merely looked at her.

Ling Luochen waited two seconds. When he did not reply, she did not seem to mind and continued on her own. "I sensed it at the Treasure Appreciation Meeting last time. There's a very pure aura around you."

She paused, seemingly choosing her words. "Purer than any Ice Attribute Soul Master I've ever met."

Xue Lingyun looked at her, thoughts turning in his mind. She had specifically come to the Outer Court and waited beside this lake just to ask this? Or was it...

"Did you come here specifically to wait for me?" he suddenly asked.

Ling Luochen froze for a moment, then shifted her gaze away.

"Passing by," she said.

Xue Lingyun said nothing and simply looked at her.

His gaze made Ling Luochen slightly uncomfortable. Her expression remained unchanged, but her fingers curled faintly.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Xue Lingyun."

Ling Luochen nodded, didn't ask further, then turned and sat back down on the bench, continuing to look over the lake.

Xue Lingyun stood where he was and watched her for two seconds before continuing to walk back.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly looked back.

Ling Luochen was still sitting there, her back looking lonely, but this time he could sense that she was actually watching him from the corner of her eye.

He withdrew his gaze and kept walking.

Interesting. An Inner Court student came all the way to the Outer Court and claimed she was just passing by. Who would believe that?

Whatever she wants to know, she can find out on her own.

His Martial Soul would be discovered sooner or later anyway. Sooner or later made no difference.

Back at the dormitory, the room was quiet.

He sat at his desk, took out the diagram Fan Yu had drawn, and spread it across the tabletop.

Then he took out the design picture album, turned to the corresponding page, and compared them for a while.

Layered Structure, loop radius, attribute differences...

He needed to think carefully about the issues Fan Yu had mentioned.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the scent of food drifted over from the direction of the distant Canteen.

He put everything away, rose to his feet, and headed outside.

First, food. He could keep thinking after he came back tonight.