After a brief silence, Jing Hongchen asked in disbelief, "You said this is Spirit Hall? How is that possible?!"
The unfamiliar city before him was full of Soul Tools. Jing Hongchen would have believed it if someone had told him it was a city somewhere on the Douluo Continent.
After all, Soul Tools hadn't appeared on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago. They had only entered the continent's history after the collision caused by the tectonic shift four thousand years ago.
In response to Jing Hongchen's question, Qin Chuan smiled calmly. "This is indeed Spirit Hall, but we got an early start learning Soul Guidance Technology. The main reason is that we invited a Grade 9 Soul Engineer to help us."
"A Grade 9 Soul Engineer? Invited?" Jing Hongchen's heart skipped a beat. A sense of foreboding suddenly came over him. Could he be considered "invited," too?
But Jing Hongchen soon dispelled his worries. He followed Qin Chuan to a classroom in Spirit Hall where Soul Guidance Technology was taught. As he looked around carefully, his frown deepened.
"This isn't the orthodox way to make Soul Tools. What sort of person is that Grade 9 Soul Engineer?"
"Thunder Nether Douluo, from the Holy Spirit Cult."
"What?! It's him!"
"You know him?"
"Your grandfather knows every Grade 9 Soul Engineer worth knowing in the Sun Moon Empire. This man is ruthless. When he makes Soul Tools, he often comes up with all sorts of unusual ideas, but every time one of those ideas comes to light, it brings a storm of bloodshed."
Jing Hongchen explained slowly, "More than ten years ago, Thunder Nether Douluo stirred up a storm of bloodshed in the Sun Moon Empire to make a Grade 9 Soul Tool. In the end, several Grade 9 Soul Engineers from the empire hunted him down, and he vanished without a trace. I never thought you'd... invite him here."
"That's exactly what I noticed. Thunder Nether Douluo is a genuine Grade 9 Soul Engineer, but he's taken an unorthodox path. If he keeps teaching this way, I'm afraid the younger generation of Spirit Hall will all become Evil Soul Masters. So, over the years, I've only let him teach the first five levels of Soul Tool crafting. I wouldn't dare let him teach the rest." Qin Chuan sighed helplessly.
Jing Hongchen nodded slightly. "I think I understand what you mean."
"But before that, can you tell me what exactly is going on?"
Jing Hongchen's doubts still lingered, but Qin Chuan smiled and gestured for him to follow.
As they walked through Spirit City, Qin Chuan explained everything around them and began, "It happened like this..."
Spirit Hall had grown enormously after its large-scale expansion. Even after Qin Chuan finished recounting what had happened to him, they still hadn't walked the length of the city.
Jing Hongchen was utterly astonished. He kept nodding. "So that's what happened! No wonder you beheaded the statues of the First Generation Shrek Seven Monsters and left those eight words above Shrek Academy."
"An age-old blood feud, settled today."
"You certainly have the right to leave those words."
Qin Chuan and Jing Hongchen sat down.
Qin Chuan said, "I need your help."
"Just tell me what you need." Jing Hongchen agreed without hesitation.
For one thing, Qin Chuan was his future grandson-in-law. More importantly, Qin Chuan had all of Spirit Hall behind him, and his mother and sister were both destined to become gods.
Any way Jing Hongchen looked at it, he had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
"I need Teacher Xuan Ziwen's help. His understanding of Soul Tools is practically unparalleled. He's one of the most talented Soul Engineers, and he's bound to become a Grade 9 Soul Engineer. I need him to teach Spirit Hall's disciples."
Jing Hongchen thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Teacher Xuan is certainly someone I value. Otherwise, I wouldn't have put him in charge of teaching the three of you back then. I have no problem agreeing, but we should respect Teacher Xuan's own wishes."
"You don't need to worry about that. My sister has already gone to speak with him."
"Is that so?"
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Third Experimental Zone.
"Han Xue, what brings you here?" Xuan Ziwen set down his experiment and looked at Qian Renxue, who had suddenly come to visit.
"Teacher Xuan, is something bothering you?"
Xuan Ziwen was immediately intrigued by Qian Renxue's unexpected question. It was the first time she had asked him something like that. Usually, she asked about making Soul Tools. What was going on today?
"Yes. I need somewhere I can really put my skills to use."
"You're already a member of Mingde Hall, and you're certain to become a Grade 9 Soul Engineer. You have a bright future ahead of you. Surely the Sun Moon Empire gives you room to show what you can do?"
"...There are some things you don't understand. The current crown prince, Xu Tianran, favors war. He's tried more than once to win over Dean Jing Hongchen. A large-scale war that will engulf the continent is inevitable. I'm just a Soul Tool researcher. I need a quiet environment, without scheming and deception. I'd prefer there to be no war. I only want to lose myself in the world of Soul Tools."
Qian Renxue nodded in agreement. "Some things can't be avoided in the end. We can only accept them."
Then she changed the subject. "Suppose there were an unfamiliar world where Soul Tools had yet to be developed. It had abundant rare metals and a pleasant environment, and even if war broke out, it wouldn't interfere with your work. You'd only need to teach a group of disciples as talented as I am. Would you be willing?"
Xuan Ziwen laughed in disbelief. "How could such a place exist?"
"What if it did?" Qian Renxue smiled faintly.
Xuan Ziwen gradually realized that Qian Renxue had come to see him for a reason. She must have some secret or ulterior motive.
"Even if such a place existed, where would it be? As far as I know, apart from the Sun Moon Empire, the three kingdoms on the Douluo Continent are all quite resistant to Soul Tools. The place you're talking about... it shouldn't be on the Douluo Continent, should it?"
Qian Renxue smiled without answering and gestured for him to follow. Xuan Ziwen was intrigued, too, and followed her out of the laboratory. In the end, they arrived at Jing Hongchen's office.
"The dean's office? Why did you bring me here?"
"You'll find out in a moment, Teacher Xuan."
They had only been there a short while when the door to the dean's office, sealed not long ago, opened.
Qian Renxue stepped back. Xuan Ziwen was just about to walk in when a black hole swallowed him, and he vanished.
"Teacher Xuan, you're too innocent," Qian Renxue said with a smile.
Xuan Ziwen's head was spinning, as if he'd just been on a roller coaster.
He patted his forehead and opened his eyes. The sight before him left him deeply shaken.
Like Jing Hongchen on his first visit to Spirit City, Xuan Ziwen was fascinated by the many Soul Tool buildings throughout the city, as well as the shops selling rare metals along both sides of the street.
He didn't even notice whether Qian Renxue was beside him. He wandered off on his own.
When Jing Hongchen and Qin Chuan found Xuan Ziwen, they discovered him arguing with an elder who was teaching Spirit Hall's disciples. Both men were red in the face.
"Who told you to teach it this way? Is that how you're supposed to use Red Essence Iron to make a Soul Tool?"
"Who are you? Do you even know anything about Soul Tools? Go on, make one yourself!"
"Gladly!"
Xuan Ziwen took over himself. The moment he picked up the carving knife, his gaze grew intensely focused. His cuts were swift, and his hands blurred with motion.
The Spirit Hall elder, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, fell speechless as soon as he saw Xuan Ziwen at work. Then... he couldn't understand what he was doing.
After all, Thunder Nether Douluo had only taught up to Grade 5 Soul Tool crafting before they urgently stopped him. If he'd continued, they really would have turned toward becoming Evil Soul Masters.
Before long, Xuan Ziwen tossed over the Soul Tool he had made.
"This is how you make a Soul Tool."
The elder instinctively reached out to catch it. He was about to ask who Xuan Ziwen was when he noticed Qin Chuan and immediately fell silent.
Xuan Ziwen had also noticed the dean and Qin Chuan, so he went over and asked, "Dean, what is this place? The way they're teaching Soul Tools is simply... completely unorthodox. It's a downright crooked way of teaching."
Jing Hongchen laughed. "A Grade 9 Soul Engineer who's also an Evil Soul Master would naturally teach in an extreme way. Qin Chuan realized this and came to me."
After Jing Hongchen explained everything, Xuan Ziwen was astonished, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Now he finally understood what Qian Hanxue had really meant when she came to see him. Looking at this untouched frontier, he felt a fire of ambition blaze in his heart.
Qin Chuan said, "Teacher Xuan, I'd like to officially hire you as Spirit Hall's Soul Guidance Technology consultant. You'd be responsible for correcting the Soul Tool techniques that have been taught incorrectly. What do you think?"
"Don't say another word. When do I start?" Xuan Ziwen was eager to begin.
They were now in the heart of Spirit Hall. On the vast square before them, Soul Engineers were sparring with one another, encouraging competition and progress.
But to Xuan Ziwen, every bit of it looked wrong. It all grated on him.
A Soul Master teaching Soul Tool crafting—though he was undeniably a Grade 9 Soul Engineer, his methods were too extreme. Important details were overlooked, while other things that should have been ignored were deliberately emphasized and blown out of proportion.
Everyone in Spirit Hall was taking an unorthodox approach. Changing all that would take a master like Xuan Ziwen.
"Whenever you're ready." Qin Chuan smiled and nodded. It looked like Teacher Xuan had agreed.
"Good. Gather Spirit Hall's leaders right away. I want to make sure they understand what proper Soul Tool crafting really is."
After Xuan Ziwen joined Spirit Hall, some people still voiced doubts. They had been studying Soul Tools for four years already, and this was how they had always done it.
Then one day, someone came along and said they were doing it wrong. Who would be convinced?
But Xuan Ziwen proved through his actions what proper Soul Tool crafting really was.
In less than three months, he had forcibly set the teachings back on the right track after Thunder Nether Douluo had led them astray, and Spirit Hall's Soul Guidance Technology was developing properly.
Before you continue