"Fan Yu."
"What's gotten into you?"
"Why are you in such a rush?"
Qian Duoduo stared in astonishment at Fan Yu, who had practically barged in.
Fan Yu was known throughout the Soul Tool Department for his talent and composure.
He was practically the anointed successor to the position of dean of Shrek's Soul Tool Department.
But today, Fan Yu showed none of the composure Qian Duoduo knew him for. He'd even knocked on the door only twice before coming in. Something was definitely wrong!
"Dean!"
"Do you remember how, a while ago, Elder Mu personally asked me"
"to teach that child from the Martial Soul Department?"
Qian Duoduo caught the key point in Fan Yu's words.
"You mean to say"
"that child... is very talented?"
Fan Yu stood before Qian Duoduo and spoke with near certainty.
"More than just talented!"
"That kid learned everything a Level 1 Soul Engineer needs to know in seven days."
"Ten days! He could inscribe a Core Array all by himself in just ten days!"
"His hands aren't big, but they didn't shake at all while holding the carving knife. They were steadier than those of students who'd been learning for over a decade!"
"If a student like that can only be called talented,"
"then the rest of us ought to find a rope and hang ourselves!"
Qian Duoduo immediately stood up.
He stared at Fan Yu with a strange look.
Even his breathing grew heavier.
Fan Yu's words had nearly turned his understanding of Soul Tools upside down.
But Fan Yu...
never joked around!
"That's impossible!"
"Even the knowledge needed to make a Level 1 Soul Tool could fill up my desk. That kid could have three pairs of eyes and still wouldn't be able to read it all in seven days, no matter how brilliant he was!"
"And besides,"
"making a Soul Tool involves shaping, casting, quenching, and all sorts of other processes."
"Forget getting hands-on and becoming proficient—even watching the whole process would take a day. You say that kid learned it in ten days, but there simply wasn't enough time!"
Qian Duoduo waved his hand.
He knew Fan Yu wanted to lure that kid into the Soul Tool Department.
Who wouldn't want a Soul Master with all red rings?
Especially when they had the Extreme Single Soldier Plan, too.
But that kid was someone the Sea God Pavilion and the Martial Soul Department valued immensely. Forget trying to poach him—even when Qian Duoduo wanted to meet him, Yan Shaozhe had played dumb and made sure he couldn't see the boy at all.
They weren't going to poach him anytime soon.
"The thing is..."
"That kid only has to look at something once to learn it!"
"It's the same with those books. From the very first day, he's had a photographic memory, and he can even connect what he's learned and apply it!"
"For a child like that to be trained in the Martial Soul Department would be a complete waste of his talents!"
If Yan Shaozhe had been there to hear Fan Yu, he would have been unable to stop himself from punching him.
The Shrek Martial Soul Department had a history stretching back over ten thousand years.
The academy's many glorious achievements throughout history
had all been brought about by the Martial Soul Department.
By comparison,
the Soul Tool Department was still a newcomer.
To say that training him in the Martial Soul Department would be a waste of his talents—
that would offend enough Soul Masters to circle Shrek City three times!
"Dean!"
"I'm not joking!"
"Yan Shaozhe only arranged two hours of class with me each day."
"But aside from the first two days, the rest barely counted as lessons. He'd read the books on his own, then ask me questions during class. All I did was answer them!"
"As for those processes, I brought him to the Soul Tool Department once. He not only understood what he saw, but even used what he'd read in the books to explain why Caotou and the others did things that way."
"He succeeded the very first time he tried carving a Core Array."
"Have you ever seen that?"
"I'd dare say that even the Sun Moon Empire has never seen a genius like him."
"Look!"
Only then did Qian Duoduo realize that Fan Yu had come prepared.
A Level 1 Soul Tool's Core Array was clenched in his hand.
Qian Duoduo took the Core Array and examined it closely.
His keen eye could tell at a glance that it was crude.
He could find three or four mistakes inscribed in the array alone.
But the array wasn't ruined.
The carver had somehow corrected the mistakes with an almost bizarre technique, though this method would cause the Core Array to jam, stall, or become easily damaged when used in the future.
Even so, it was a functioning Core Array!
When Soul Power was poured into it, there wasn't the slightest sign of damage.
Qian Duoduo was certain.
If they installed this Core Array right now, it would definitely make a Level 1 Soul Tool.
It wouldn't pass muster for a fifth-year student in the Soul Tool Department.
But if it had been made by a child who'd only studied for ten days, that was something else entirely.
"Fan Yu, Fan Yu!"
"You—you—you! Why did you have to teach him so well?"
"This is trouble, real trouble."
Qian Duoduo paced back and forth around his office, possibilities flashing through his mind. But none of them offered a way to snatch Lu Heqiu away from that cunning Yan Shaozhe.
Now that Fan Yu had taught him so well,
if Yan Shaozhe found out,
he would be even more wary of the Soul Tool Department.
After that, they might not even get the chance to meet him, let alone bring the boy to the Soul Tool Department himself.
"Right!"
"Is the child interested in Soul Tools?"
Qian Duoduo suddenly stopped and asked Fan Yu.
Fan Yu gave a wry smile. He knew what Qian Duoduo was getting at.
He was hoping Lu Heqiu would be interested in Soul Tools and then ask to join the Soul Tool Department of his own accord.
"He's very interested."
"The problem is, he's interested not only in Soul Tools."
"He's also interested in the basic knowledge of Soul Beasts and even Soul Masters."
Lu Heqiu had no idea that the Soul Tool Department was in a panic.
At that moment, he was learning about Soul Beast identification and their traits from Gong Changlong, Elder Gong.
His so-called talent was only because his spiritual power was exceptionally strong.
A photographic memory was just one small advantage.
At Mu En and the others' level,
a photographic memory was already the norm.
As for carving a Soul Tool's Core Array,
that was even simpler.
All it took was steady hands, a steady mind, and steady control.
For Lu Heqiu, it wasn't something he even needed to learn. He could do it as soon as he picked up the tools.
"Elder Gong."
"You mean there's only a limited number of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts on the entire continent?"
Lu Heqiu asked Elder Gong before him in a respectful tone.
Gong Changlong nodded.
"Yes, excluding the ocean."
"The ocean is too vast."
"We still don't know what lives in it."
"But we have records of nearly all the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts on the continent. Some people have even ranked them. The top ten are called Ferocious Beasts. Some call them Super Soul Beasts. There are different names for them, but Ferocious Beasts is the more widely used term."
"Have you thought about what you want for your Second Soul Ring?"
Before you continue