Class Begins

The long-awaited Soul Tool course had finally begun. Perhaps "long-awaited" wasn't quite the right word. A great many students disliked the requirement, but they had no way to fight it. In the end, they had to attend against their will. They felt their time would be better spent competing on the training grounds, where they could discover their shortcomings and improve their abilities.

Regardless, Huo Yuhao had finally made it to the Soul Tool workshop he'd been looking forward to for so long. The classroom wasn't in the traditional teaching building, but in the gray faculty building. It had been converted from an old laboratory and had only recently been put into use. They'd had little choice. Even the most basic Soul Tool construction demanded a great deal from the workspace and equipment. Even if they streamlined things considerably in the future, the requirements wouldn't change much.

With equipment in short supply and so many courses to teach, every piece of equipment had to be scheduled carefully to ensure that each student got a fair chance to use it and practice their fundamentals. Fundamentals were the most important thing in any field. If the foundation wasn't solid, the whole structure would shake. That was a hard lesson learned through countless experiences.

A bald teacher was explaining the simplest Soul Guidance Matrix to Huo Yuhao's class. The entire edifice of Soul Tools was built on these matrices. Through constant revisions and subdivisions, they could be adapted into matrices with different uses. These basic matrices were combined into Matrix Sequences, which formed the basic units of Soul Tools. Once you understood Matrix Sequences, you could call yourself a Soul Engineer. Even a relatively simple Matrix Sequence could give a Soul Tool its function, but the standards were somewhat strict. A device had to be made from at least two or three sequences to qualify as a Soul Tool. That standard had come from the Sun Moon Empire.

Many people wanted to lower the standard, but the Shrek Academy had shut them down after repeated attempts. No meant no. As a latecomer, you should follow in the footsteps of those who came before you instead of coming up with your own ideas. You could propose your own standards once you were their equal.

After briefly explaining the lesson, the teacher began rambling about his own opinions. Huo Yuhao, who had been paying close attention until then, broke with his usual habits and ignored the nonsense. Instead, he focused intently on the piece of metal in front of him. It was ordinary metal. Their lessons wouldn't use Rare Metal yet; such precious materials were reserved for the Core Array, when they began making real Soul Tools. For now, students like Huo Yuhao would practice on the metal in front of them.

The teacher didn't expect the students to make a Soul Guidance Matrix on their first try. It was enough if they could carve something roughly resembling one into the metal. If they couldn't, there was nothing to be done. The classroom had to be used by the students who came after them, and resources were extremely limited. If you couldn't learn during the allotted time, you would have to find time on your own. The entire academy couldn't be expected to adjust to your pace.

Carving a Soul Guidance Matrix meant using an Engraving Knife to leave Soul Power marks on metal. It wasn't ordinary engraving. You had to wrap Soul Power around the blade and use it to carve lines into the metal. The depth and length of each line mattered greatly. If either exceeded certain limits, the matrix would stop working, or the energy it consumed would be completely out of proportion to what it produced. That was why standard matrices had been developed. Countless Soul Tool prodigies throughout history had planned and refined these tiny units. By now, they had arrived at the simplest form suited to the current era.

That didn't mean the matrices couldn't be simplified further. Rather, they were designed to be as easy as possible to learn and spread. They had to be simple, and that was why they couldn't be made any simpler. Materials and Engraving Knives imposed limits. No matter how skilled you were, poor materials were useless. Even the most astute Soul Tool Grandmaster couldn't carve a beautiful, functional Soul Guidance Matrix into the ordinary metal before them. The material itself was the limiting factor. Most Soul Engineers couldn't obtain enough Rare Metal in the early stages of their careers, and even Soul Tool Grandmasters used it sparingly.

The Engraving Knife was another limiting factor. A good one could channel a Soul Engineer's Soul Power exactly as intended, without catching or snagging. Its precision went without saying; it had virtually no margin for error. An ordinary Engraving Knife was made of ordinary metal and was, at best, one small grade better than the ordinary metal in front of them.

All kinds of limitations made Soul Tools difficult to simplify, but that was a problem for the future. Huo Yuhao had already entered a state of complete absorption. In this state, his Spiritual Power was highly concentrated, allowing him to perform at his best—or even surpass himself. He would only come out of it once he grew very tired. If someone interrupted him, he would snap back to his senses at once. The difficult part was getting into that state in the first place.

The shape of the Soul Guidance Matrix appeared precisely in Huo Yuhao's mind, almost one-to-one, so he didn't need to look up at the blackboard. Soul Power wrapped around the not particularly sharp blade, which traced the metal carefully and steadily according to Huo Yuhao's will. Thin lines gradually appeared on the metal. Each time one formed, a white light flashed before fading like a glow. It was a sign of residual Soul Power.

Huo Yuhao followed the engraving direction the teacher had taught them, and everything fell into place. With the final stroke, he completed a full circular matrix. He had used less than half the time the teacher had allotted. For a student like Huo Yuhao, whose Spiritual Power was exceptionally strong, the only limit to his control was whether his body could keep up. His powerful Spiritual Power made it easy for him to observe the path of his own movements.

Looking at the first Soul Guidance Matrix he'd made, Huo Yuhao couldn't help feeling proud. He sneaked a glance at everyone else's progress. The exceptional sensitivity of his Spirit Eye let him observe the whole class. As he quietly compared their work, he kept moving his hand, pretending to continue working. It looked like he was the first to finish. Excitement surged through him.

After all, the students who came to the Shrek Academy were far above average for their age. Huo Yuhao's Soul Power was simply too low. Rumor had it that some classes had students who had broken through to the third ring, while Huo Yuhao was still a long way from the second. This made him feel inferior. He badly wanted to compare himself to the others. Perhaps it was a way to reassure himself that he belonged.

At last, there was one area where Huo Yuhao wasn't behind everyone else. He had truly become interested in Soul Tools, and he wanted to be the best in this field so no one would look down on him. He wanted to find his place.

The false movements of his hand slowed as he became lost in thought, then stopped altogether. He sat there in a daze. A sudden jolt brought him back to his senses, reminding him that he was in class. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was watching him. Then he focused on the Soul Guidance Matrix in front of him again.

A bold thought slowly took shape in Huo Yuhao's mind. Could this matrix actually work? I've drawn it, so it should be able to run, right? Even if it failed, nothing bad would happen. The thought grew stronger and stronger, and his Soul Power unconsciously flowed into the matrix.

That activation turned out to be a bad idea. At first, the Soul Guidance Matrix really did start running. But just as Huo Yuhao was beginning to feel happy, something went wrong. Heat began to build, and the metal melted away, ruining all his hard work. Worse, he burned his hand. His startled cry drew everyone's attention.

The teacher didn't say much. "It's perfectly normal for a matrix to break. Get back to your work." Then he went right back to rambling. As he passed Huo Yuhao, though, he quietly said something to him.

"You've ruined a Soul Guidance Matrix. That means you're a proper apprentice now." Huo Yuhao couldn't tell whether it was praise or a scolding.

And so, the first Soul Tool lesson came to an end.