Wooing Xuan Ziwen into the Martial Soul Hall

After a brief silence, Jing Hongchen voiced a soul-stirring question: "You say this is Martial Soul City? How is that possible?!"

The unfamiliar city before him was littered with soul tools everywhere; if told it was one of the cities on the Douluo Continent, Jing Hongchen would have believed it.

He knew that soul tools had not yet appeared on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago, and it was only after the continental drift collision four thousand years ago that soul tools stepped onto the historical stage of the Douluo Continent.

Facing Jing Hongchen's doubt, Qin Chuan smiled faintly: "This is indeed Martial Soul City, but we've adopted soul tool technology ahead of time, mainly because we invited a Grade 9 Soul Engineer to help."

"Grade 9 Soul Engineer? Invited?" Jing Hongchen's heart skipped a beat, suddenly struck by an ominous premonition—did this count as being 'invited' himself?

But soon, Jing Hongchen dismissed his worries. He followed Qin Chuan to the classroom where Martial Soul City specifically taught soul tool technology. Upon closer inspection, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

"This isn't the orthodox method of crafting soul tools. What school does that Grade 9 Soul Engineer follow?"

"Thunder Nether Douluo from the Holy Spirit Cult."

"What?! It's him!"

"You know him?"

"Your grandfather here knows every Grade 9 Soul Engineer worth mentioning in the Sun Moon Empire. This man acts ruthlessly and often has wild ideas when crafting soul tools, but every time those ideas surface, they stir up a bloodbath."

Jing Hongchen spoke slowly: "Over a decade ago, Thunder Nether Douluo raised a storm of blood in the Sun Moon Empire to craft a Grade 9 soul tool, and was eventually hunted down by several Grade 9 Soul Engineers of the empire, vanishing without a trace. I never expected you lot to have... invited him."

"I sensed that too. Thunder Nether Douluo is a genuine Grade 9 Soul Engineer, no mistake, but the crux is that his path as a Grade 9 Soul Engineer is an unorthodox one. If he keeps teaching like this, I'm truly afraid the younger generation of Martial Soul City disciples will all turn into Evil Soul Masters. That's why over the years I've only let him teach the crafting of the first five grades of soul tools; I wouldn't dare let him teach beyond that." Qin Chuan said helplessly.

Jing Hongchen nodded slightly after hearing this: "I roughly understand what you mean."

"But before that, can you tell this old man what exactly is going on here?"

Faced with the lingering doubt in Jing Hongchen's heart, Qin Chuan smiled faintly and made a gesture of invitation.

The two walked through Martial Soul City, and as Qin Chuan introduced everything here, he said: "It's like this..."

The massively expanded Martial Soul City was vast; even after Qin Chuan finished recounting everything that had happened to him, they still hadn't walked the entire city.

Jing Hongchen was utterly stunned, nodding repeatedly: "So that's how it is! No wonder you made the move to chop off the heads of the First Generation Shrek Seven Monsters' statues, and even left those eight big words in the sky above Shrek Academy."

"Ten-thousand-year blood feud, settled today."

"You certainly have the right to leave those eight words."

Qin Chuan and Jing Hongchen sat down separately.

Qin Chuan said: "I need your help."

"Whatever you need, just say it." Jing Hongchen agreed without overthinking.

Setting aside the fact that Qin Chuan was his future grandson-in-law, just the backing of the entire Martial Soul City behind Qin Chuan, and that his mother and sister were destined to become gods in the future—

No matter how Jing Hongchen looked at it, it was a sure win.

"I need Teacher Xuan Ziwen's help. His understanding of soul tools is at the pinnacle; he's one of the most gifted soul engineers, destined to become a Grade 9 Soul Engineer. I need him to take charge of teaching the Martial Soul City disciples."

Jing Hongchen thought it over and slowly nodded: "Teacher Xuan is indeed someone I value highly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had him teach you three back then. I have no problem agreeing, but I still need to respect Teacher Xuan's own opinion."

"Don't worry about that. My sister has already gone to speak with him beforehand."

"Oh, is that so?"

Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Third Testing Zone.

"Is that Han Xue? What brings you here?" Xuan Ziwen set down his experiment and looked at Qian Renxue, who had suddenly come calling, as he asked.

"Teacher Xuan, do you have any troubles?"

Faced with this sudden, inexplicable question from Qian Renxue, Xuan Ziwen immediately became intrigued. It was the first time he'd heard her ask such a thing; usually, she only inquired about soul tool crafting issues. What was up with her today?

"I do. I need a place where I can fully display my talents."

"You're already a member of Mingde Hall, destined to become a Grade 9 Soul Engineer with a bright future. Can't the Sun Moon Empire give you a stage to shine?"

"...There are things you don't understand. The current Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, advocates war and has tried to win over Dean Jing Hongchen more than once or twice. A large-scale war sweeping the continent is inevitable in the future. I'm just a soul tool researcher. I need a quiet environment, free from intrigue and deception, and I hope for no war. I just want to immerse myself in the world of soul tools."

Qian Renxue nodded in deep agreement after hearing this: "Some things are ultimately unavoidable. We can only accept them."

Then, Qian Renxue shifted the topic: "What if there were a strange world where soul tools have yet to be developed, with abundant rare metals and a good environment, where even if war broke out, it wouldn't hinder you? You'd only need to teach a batch of disciples as talented as I am. Would you be willing?"

Xuan Ziwen laughed dryly after hearing this: "How could such a place exist?"

"And if it really did?" Qian Renxue smiled faintly.

Xuan Ziwen gradually realized that her coming to find him must involve some hidden secret, or perhaps some ulterior motive.

"Even if such a place exists as you say, then where is it? As far as I know, aside from the Sun Moon Empire, the three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent are quite resistant to soul tools. The place you mentioned... probably isn't on the Douluo Continent, is it?"

Qian Renxue smiled without speaking and made a gesture of invitation. Xuan Ziwen, now intrigued, followed her out of the lab and eventually arrived at Jing Hongchen's office.

"The dean's office? Why have you brought me here?"

"Teacher Xuan will find out in a moment."

Not long after they arrived, the long-dormant door to the dean's office swung open.

Qian Renxue stepped back, and just as Xuan Ziwen was about to walk in, he was swallowed by a black hole, his figure vanishing.

"Teacher Xuan, you're still too naive." Qian Renxue said with a suppressed smile.

Xuan Ziwen's head was spinning, as if he'd just been on a roller coaster.

He slapped his forehead, and the moment he opened his eyes, the scene before him truly shook him to his core.

Just like Jing Hongchen on his first visit to Martial Soul City, Xuan Ziwen was utterly fascinated by the many Soul Tool structures within the city, including the rare metal shops lining both sides of the streets.

He didn't even notice whether Qian Renxue was still beside him, wandering off on his own to explore.

By the time Jing Hongchen and Qin Chuan found Xuan Ziwen, he was actually in a heated argument with an elder responsible for teaching Martial Soul Hall's disciples, both of them red-faced with fury.

"Who taught you this? Is this how you make a Soul Tool out of Red Essence Iron?"

"Who the hell are you! Do you even know Soul Tools? If you're so capable, make one and let me see!"

"Fine, I'll show you!"

Xuan Ziwen took over personally, and the moment he held the engraving knife, his gaze became intensely focused. He moved the blade swiftly, his hands blurring into afterimages.

The Martial Soul Hall elder, who had been so arrogant moments before, was instantly struck speechless after watching Xuan Ziwen's technique—and then... he couldn't follow it at all.

After all, the Thunder Nether Douluo had only taught up to Grade 5 Soul Tool crafting before being urgently stopped; any further instruction would have truly veered toward the path of an Evil Soul Master.

Soon, Xuan Ziwen tossed the finished Soul Tool over.

"This is how you make a Soul Tool."

The elder instinctively reached out to catch it, about to ask who Xuan Ziwen was, but the next second he spotted Qin Chuan and immediately shut his mouth.

Xuan Ziwen naturally noticed the dean and Qin Chuan as well, so he stepped forward and asked, "Dean, what exactly is this place? The Soul Tool instruction here is... utterly unorthodox, practically teaching deviant methods."

Jing Hongchen laughed heartily upon hearing this. "A Grade 9 Soul Engineer who's also an Evil Soul Master—of course his teaching methods are extreme. Xiao Chuan noticed this and came to me."

After Jing Hongchen explained everything, Xuan Ziwen's face showed shock, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He finally understood the true meaning behind Qian Hanxue's words to him. Gazing at this untouched virgin land before him, a fire of ambition and determination blazed fiercely in Xuan Ziwen's heart.

Qin Chuan said, "Teacher Xuan, I would like to formally hire you as the Soul Tool Technology Advisor for Martial Soul Hall, responsible for correcting the distorted Soul Tool techniques. What do you think?"

"Don't say another word. When do I start?" Xuan Ziwen could barely contain his eagerness.

The place they were in now was the central area of Martial Soul Hall. On the vast square before them, a sparring session between Soul Engineers was underway, meant to foster competition and progress among them.

But to Xuan Ziwen, everything about it was jarring and displeasing, no matter how he looked at it.

An Evil Soul Master teaching Soul Tool crafting—while he was indeed a Grade 9 Soul Engineer—his methods were far too extreme. Some crucial points were overlooked, while others that should have been ignored were deliberately emphasized and blown out of proportion.

Everyone in Martial Soul Hall was taking a skewed approach. To change all this, they needed a master craftsman like Xuan Ziwen.

"Anytime you're ready." Qin Chuan smiled and nodded, seeing that Teacher Xuan had agreed.

"Then good. Please gather Martial Soul Hall's high-ranking members immediately. I want to make them truly understand what real Soul Tool crafting is."

With Xuan Ziwen's addition to Martial Soul Hall, there were still some voices of doubt. After all, they had been learning Soul Tools for four years, always doing it this way.

Suddenly, someone comes along and says you're doing it wrong—who would accept that?

But Xuan Ziwen proved through concrete action what real Soul Tool crafting was.

In less than three months, the deviant style that the Thunder Nether Douluo had led them astray with was forcibly straightened out by Xuan Ziwen, and Martial Soul Hall's Soul Tool technology development was set on the right track.