The First Lesson

The long-awaited Soul Guidance Device course finally began. Perhaps "long-awaited" is not the right word; a large portion of the students disliked this requirement, yet they had no way to resist. In the end, they attended the class against their own will. In their view, it would be better to spend this time having a proper sparring match in the trial grounds, where they could identify their shortcomings and improve their abilities.

Regardless, Huo Yuhao had finally arrived at the Soul Guidance Device workshop he had been looking forward to for so long. This classroom was not in the traditional academic building, but in the gray faculty building, as it had been converted from an original laboratory and had only recently been put into use. In truth, this was a necessity; the production of a Soul Guidance Device, no matter how rudimentary, has extreme requirements for the production environment and equipment, and even if there were significant simplifications in the future, the requirements would not differ much.

Due to the scarcity of equipment and the multitude of courses, the usage time for every piece of equipment had to be carefully planned to ensure that every student could fairly use the tools to train their basic skills. No matter the field, the foundation is the most important thing; if the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake. This is a painful lesson learned from the experience of many.

At this moment, a bald teacher was explaining the simplest Soul Guidance Matrix to Huo Yuhao and his class. The entire edifice of Soul Guidance Devices is built upon this Soul Guidance Matrix, which is transformed through constant revisions and subdivisions into matrices with different uses. These basic matrices are combined with each other to form a Matrix Sequence, which constitutes the basic unit of a Soul Guidance Device. Once you master the Matrix Sequence, you can call yourself a Soul Guidance Master; a relatively simple Matrix Sequence already possesses the functionality of a Soul Guidance Device, though the standards are somewhat high. A device must be made of two or three sequences to be called a Soul Guidance Device; this is the standard passed down from the Sun Moon Empire.

Many people wanted to lower this standard, but after multiple attempts, they were suppressed by Shrek Academy. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work; as a latecomer, you should just follow the pioneers and not have your own ideas. Wait until you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them before talking about your own independent standards.

After the teacher finished his brief explanation, he began to talk about his own opinions on the aforementioned topics. Huo Yuhao, who had been listening attentively in class until now, acted out of character and ignored the nonsense, focusing his full attention on the piece of metal in front of him—just a piece of ordinary metal. Current teaching did not yet require rare metals; such precious materials were to be used for the Core Array, which is when one is truly manufacturing a Soul Guidance Device. For now, students like Huo Yuhao were just testing the waters with the metal at hand.

The teacher did not expect these students to manufacture a Soul Guidance Matrix on their first try; being able to engrave a rough shape on the metal was enough. If they couldn't engrave it, there was nothing to be done, as this classroom had to be used by the following students, and resources were extremely tight. If you couldn't learn it within this time, you would have to find your own time; it was impossible for the entire academy to follow your pace.

The so-called engraving of a Soul Guidance Matrix involves using an Engraving Knife to leave a soul power imprint on the metal. It is not simple carving; it is about wrapping soul power around the blade of the Engraving Knife to leave scratches of your own soul power on the metal. The depth and length of these scratches are very particular; once they exceed a certain limit, they lose their function or the consumption becomes completely disproportionate to the output. Thus, the standard matrix came into being; countless soul guidance geniuses throughout history have planned and adjusted this tiny unit of the Soul Guidance Matrix, and by now, it is the simplest shape perfectly adapted to the current era.

This does not mean it cannot be further simplified, but rather that it is kept simple for the sake of widespread dissemination; it cannot be simplified further precisely because it is simple. This is due to the limitations of materials and Engraving Knives. No matter how brilliant you are, if the material is poor, it is useless; even the most shrewd soul guidance master has no way to draw an exquisite, functional Soul Guidance Matrix on the ordinary metal before them. This is the inherent deficiency of the material. Most Soul Guidance Masters cannot obtain enough rare metals in their early stages, and even soul guidance masters use them very sparingly.

There is also the limitation of the Engraving Knife. A good Engraving Knife can channel soul power exactly according to the Soul Guidance Master's intent without stagnation or blockage. The precision of such an Engraving Knife goes without saying; there is almost no margin for error. An ordinary Engraving Knife is made of ordinary metal, at most just a small grade better than the ordinary metal in front of them.

Various conditions limited the simplification of Soul Guidance Devices, but that was a problem for the future. Huo Yuhao had already entered a state of self-forgetfulness. In this state, his mental power was highly concentrated, allowing him to perform at his best or even exceed his normal limits. This state would only end when he felt very tired, or if someone disturbed him, in which case he would immediately snap back to reality. The difficulty lay only in entering this state.

At this moment, the appearance of the Soul Guidance Matrix emerged precisely in Huo Yuhao's mind, appearing almost one-to-one, which meant Huo Yuhao did not need to look up at the blackboard at all. Soul power swirled around the not-so-sharp blade, and the blade meticulously and smoothly engraved the metal in front of him according to Huo Yuhao's will. Thin metal lines were gradually carved out on the metal. When they first appeared, a white light would emerge, then dissipate into fluorescence; that was the symbol of residual soul power.

As Huo Yuhao engraved according to the direction taught by the teacher, everything was completed as naturally as water flowing. With the final stroke, a complete circular matrix was finished in Huo Yuhao's hands, taking less than half the time the teacher had allotted. For a student with extremely strong mental power like Huo Yuhao, the only limit to controlling his actions was whether his physical level was sufficient. The strength of his mental power allowed him to observe his own trajectory with ease.

Looking at the first Soul Guidance Matrix he had produced, Huo Yuhao felt an irrepressible sense of pride. He stole a glance at the progress of those around him; the high sensitivity brought by his Spirit Eye allowed him to observe everyone's situation. Huo Yuhao compared himself in secret while his hands continued to move, pretending to work without stopping. It seemed he was the first to finish, and a wave of excitement surged in his heart.

After all, those who came to Shrek Academy were students far superior to their peers. Huo Yuhao's soul power was truly too low; rumor had it that some classes already had students who had broken through to the third ring, while Huo Yuhao was still a long way from the second ring. This caused a sense of inferiority to arise in Huo Yuhao's heart, and he desperately wanted to compare himself with others—perhaps a form of self-defense to see if he fit in.

Now that there was finally an area where Huo Yuhao was not falling behind others, it sparked a genuine interest in Soul Guidance Devices within him. He wanted to be number one in this field, not to be looked down upon by others, and to find his own place.

The fake movements of his hands gradually stopped as he thought, and he fell into a daze. With a start, Huo Yuhao snapped back to reality, realizing he was in class. He looked left and right, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one was watching him. He turned his attention back to the Soul Guidance Matrix in his hand.

A bold idea slowly formed in Huo Yuhao's mind: could this matrix actually be used? Since I've drawn it, it must be able to run, right? It wouldn't matter if it failed. With this thought, his desire grew stronger, and his soul power flowed into the matrix involuntarily.

This activation was a disaster. At first, the Soul Guidance Matrix was indeed running, but just as Huo Yuhao was feeling happy, a mishap occurred. High heat gradually emerged, directly melting the piece of metal and wasting all of Huo Yuhao's efforts. Even worse, his hand was burned. A gasp of surprise drew everyone's eyes to Huo Yuhao.

The teacher, however, did not say much: "Isn't it normal for a matrix to rupture? Hurry up and do your own work," and he went back to rambling. However, as he passed by Huo Yuhao, he whispered a single sentence.

"By breaking a Soul Guidance Matrix, you have already become a qualified apprentice." It left Huo Yuhao unsure whether he was being praised or scolded.

And just like that, the first Soul Guidance Device lesson came to an end.