Dismantling the Soul Tool (Part 3)

"That metal plate is the Core Array of this Soul Guidance Device."

Le Bai continued to dismantle it while explaining, "If you compare a Soul Guidance Device to a Soul Master, the Core Array is the Martial Soul and Soul Power, while the casing is more like the Soul Master's body."

Dai Mubai looked thoughtful. "Are you trying to say that the Core Array is the most important part?"

"No. Have you ever seen a Soul Master without a body, Boss Dai?"

Le Bai looked up at Dai Mubai. "What I mean is that no matter how excellent a Core Array is, it cannot form a Soul Guidance Device without a casing. Only when the Soul Guidance Device is complete does it make sense to discuss the quality of the Core Array."

After saying this, Le Bai had already successfully dismantled the outermost layer of the spherical Soul Guidance Device.

However, one could still see two or three layers of tightly connected structures protecting the metal plate engraved with the Core Array at the center of the sphere.

It took a while for Dai Mubai to grasp what Le Bai meant. Seeing the state of the dismantled device, he couldn't help but ask, "Le Bai, have you figured anything out? Like what this device is used for?"

"When the Dean gave you this thing, didn't he say what it was for?"

Le Bai countered, "That shouldn't be possible. Given the Dean's personality, if this device were very valuable, he would have suffered a huge loss."

"The Dean said he wasn't sure about the specific effects of this device either."

Dai Mubai recalled what Flender had said when he handed him the sphere:

"Mubai, I found this Soul Guidance Device in a very dangerous ruin years ago. There were many other things found with it, all of which were very valuable. But for this device, I don't know why—even though it can be activated, no matter how much Soul Power we inject, it doesn't produce any effect or change."

"Ha, so that's how it is."

Le Bai tapped the device lightly with a tool. "I bet the Dean tested its functions quite a bit, but had to give up because he couldn't figure out its actual effect."

Because the methods for crafting Soul Guidance Devices were lost, much of the information related to them had vanished as well. Like this spherical device, many of the discovered devices could be activated but had completely unknown purposes.

These devices with unknown functions were mostly like chicken ribs—useless to keep, but a pity to throw away. If one day their purpose was discovered and they turned out to be useful, it would be a huge loss.

Flender had kept this device for nearly twenty years before giving it to Dai Mubai. If Dai Mubai hadn't asked for a complete Soul Guidance Device of any kind, Flender would have almost forgotten he even had it.

"I don't know the specific effect of this device yet, either."

Le Bai accelerated the pace of his dismantling. "Once I study the Core Array of this device, I might find the answer."

Dai Mubai trusted Le Bai, but he couldn't understand how Le Bai intended to master the crafting methods just by dismantling it. "There are many people who have studied Soul Guidance Devices, but they don't seem to have reached any useful conclusions. Although you have that very convenient talent, Le Bai, according to how you described it, it doesn't seem to help with restoring the crafting methods, does it?"

"Actually, it helps a lot."

Le Bai pointed to the half-dismantled Core Array. "The Core Array is usually very obvious within a Soul Guidance Device, and I imagine it's mentioned in many books related to them. But why hasn't any organization or individual come forward to say they've achieved results with Core Arrays?"

"..." Dai Mubai rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

"Don't overthink it, Boss Dai."

Le Bai revealed the answer directly. "The reason lies in the 'composition' of the Core Array—you should be able to see the markings on that metal plate clearly now. Tell me your thoughts after looking at them."

Dai Mubai looked closely. "Hmm? These traces on the metal plate, they look like... characters? Symbols? They seem to follow a certain pattern. Is this the array?"

"Exactly."

Le Bai pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere and wrote down three points. "There are two difficulties in restoring an array: one is the meaning of the symbols and characters themselves, and the other is the meaning behind their arrangement. Furthermore, the connection between the casing structure and the array is also a piece of knowledge that needs to be clarified. If you can't fully understand these three things, you can't even replicate existing devices, let alone customize devices with specific functions."

Dai Mubai crossed his arms and nodded repeatedly. "I see (I have absolutely no idea)."

"Anyway, Le Bai, I can't help with restoring the crafting methods, so good luck."

Dai Mubai smiled and took his leave. "If there are any materials you need me to provide, just come find me. That's it, I'm going to go cultivate!"

"Alright."

Le Bai replied casually, his attention fully focused on his work.

After Le Bai began dismantling the Soul Guidance Device, he didn't perform any physical training for forty consecutive days.

Every day, aside from completing the tasks assigned by the Academy teachers and necessary daily activities, all his time and energy were poured into the dismantling work—not just the casing, but the Core Array as well.

The method Le Bai came up with to analyze the Core Array was to use the real-time feedback of his skill progress on his Panel to determine if his hypotheses about the meaning of specific runes were correct.

Whether he was right or wrong, Le Bai recorded everything. He wasn't guessing blindly; he analyzed, selected the most likely answers, listed them, and then "asked" the Panel one by one.

The first one was the most difficult.

Le Bai had even prepared himself to spend up to a full year on it.

Fortunately, his luck during the process was decent, much better than the worst-case scenario he had anticipated, and the progress of the dismantling was much faster than expected.

In forty days, with the help of Parallel Thinking to increase efficiency, Le Bai successfully grasped the function of the device Flender had given him.

At the same time, the skill levels for [Array Crafting] and [Soul Guidance Device Crafting] on his Panel had both risen to Lv5.

"Finally mastered it all."

Le Bai gently rubbed his temples.

For forty consecutive days, focusing intently on the Core Array every day, even though the process went smoothly, still left Le Bai feeling like his brain cells were exhausted.

In short, he was tired—extremely tired...

Fortunately, he had also achieved a massive result that matched this fatigue.

The Core Array and structure of the spherical Soul Guidance Device were completely analyzed.

The clarification of the meanings of the twenty-three [Runes] that constitute the magic circle;

The clarification of the meanings of the nine [Rune Combinations] that constitute the magic circle;

And a brand-new rune combination obtained after expanding upon the nine known rune combinations.

After figuring these out, it was only natural that Le Bai understood the function of the spherical Soul Tool that Flender had given him: video recording, the kind with sound, and the Soul Tool itself possessed the effect of hovering in mid-air.

Flender had not discovered the recording effect because he lacked the supporting information export equipment. As for the loss of the hovering effect, it was caused by poor contact due to the aging of the casing.

After completing the disassembly of the Soul Tool, Le Bai asked Dai Mubai for a batch of materials and continued to spend three days crafting his first self-made Soul Tool, the kind capable of assisting in improving training efficiency.

With the assistance of the guidance effect from the Panel, Le Bai was certain that the Soul Tool he had crafted could be activated and function effectively.

However, the specific results, as well as the level of safety, required further testing.

Therefore, Le Bai did not craft them for the other three people for the time being.

"In any case, I have to test it first."

Le Bai put on the self-made Soul Tool, ended his forty-three days of "seclusion," and began to train, while incidentally testing the effects of the Soul Tool he had crafted...