"Normally,"
"after a Soul Master obtains a Soul Ring,"
"the next Soul Ring should always have a higher age than the previous one."
"After all,"
"Soul Rings also improve your physique,"
"allowing you to withstand greater power."
"And the higher a Soul Ring's age, the more powerful its Soul Skill naturally becomes."
"But you... are a little different."
A hint of bewilderment flickered in Elder Gong's eyes as he looked at Lu Heqiu.
Going by the usual knowledge of Soul Masters,
it might not be long
before this kid had Di Tian's Soul Ring hanging over his head!
He'd wanted to hear what the kid thought,
and, while he was at it, see how much he'd learned lately.
But unexpectedly,
Lu Heqiu didn't pick up the thread at all. He simply spoke in a calm voice.
"I haven't given it any thought."
"My teacher said the academy would arrange everything about my Soul Rings."
Hearing that, Gong Changlong nearly choked. He hadn't expected Lu Heqiu to steer the conversation straight to Yan Shaozhe.
Though he was a Titled Douluo himself,
he had no reason to ask Yan Shaozhe about something like this directly.
Besides,
this was confidential information for the academy.
It might seem like a simple matter of choosing a Soul Beast,
but it involved deploying the academy's Titled Douluo-level experts.
The time, the place, even the Soul Beast chosen—all of it mattered.
If the Sun Moon Empire or the Holy Spirit Cult found out, they might wait until the academy had defeated the Soul Beast and then swoop in to steal the prize.
That was the last thing the academy wanted.
"Good. You've got a strong sense of confidentiality."
"Let's continue."
Gong Changlong asked no more questions.
He simply continued explaining the distribution of Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest to Lu Heqiu.
Yan Shaozhe stood outside,
his face troubled.
He knew all about Lu Heqiu's progress,
especially his progress with Soul Tools.
From the very beginning, he'd kept a close watch on the Soul Tool Department,
afraid they'd snatch Lu Heqiu away.
He'd been prepared for that, but he hadn't expected Qian Duoduo to want to bring the matter before the Sea God Pavilion Meeting and have the boy study in both departments. His reasoning was that Lu Heqiu currently had only eight hours of study each day,
and his spiritual power far surpassed that of ordinary people.
There was no need to worry that studying in both departments would overburden him.
Lu Heqiu was still young.
If he really couldn't handle the pressure of his studies someday,
he could always make his choice then.
If Yan Shaozhe hadn't already planted a spy in the Soul Tool Department, that old fox might well have gotten his way.
But if the matter went before the Sea God Pavilion Meeting,
Yan Shaozhe couldn't be certain how it would turn out.
What he could be sure of was that
Xuan Zi and Mu En were both more inclined to support his side.
Yan Shaozhe rubbed his aching head.
At first, he'd only wanted Lu Heqiu to learn about Soul Tools
so that he could effectively defend himself against their attacks as he grew stronger.
But who could have guessed
the Soul Tool Department would actually make a move for him!
Knock, knock, knock.
The Soul Tool clock hanging on the wall chimed,
signaling the end of Lu Heqiu's study session.
Yan Shaozhe waited until Elder Gong had left, then turned and went inside to speak to Lu Heqiu.
"Heqiu."
"You've made good progress lately."
"I heard you're already on par with a Level 1 Soul Engineer when it comes to Soul Tools?"
When Lu Heqiu saw Yan Shaozhe enter, he stood up properly.
"Not quite, Teacher."
"By the Soul Tool Department's standards, I've only just crossed the threshold."
"To truly become a Level 1 Soul Engineer, I'd need to learn how to make, install, and load Level 1 Soul Tools. I haven't done any of that yet. I've only engraved a Core Array."
Lu Heqiu spoke modestly,
not taking his achievements with Soul Tools to heart at all.
His spiritual power was already formidable.
Learning something like this didn't take him long.
It wasn't exactly talent;
he simply had a strong foundation.
"Good. Staying humble and composed is a fine quality."
"However..."
"I hope you'll give up studying Soul Tools, or at least limit yourself to learning how to counter them. Can you do that?"
As Yan Shaozhe spoke, he sounded somewhat apologetic.
He didn't truly want to stand in the way of Lu Heqiu's future.
Lu Heqiu was his disciple.
The brighter his future, the better Yan Shaozhe's judgment would look.
He wasn't afraid of the younger generation surpassing the older.
He simply hoped Lu Heqiu wouldn't waste his time in this field.
The Soul Tool Department was advancing quickly, and its tools were powerful,
but the Soul Masters of the Martial Soul Department still stood at the summit.
Lu Heqiu could study Soul Tools and eventually become the highest-ranked Soul Engineer.
But not now.
He could do that later, after he ran into a bottleneck.
It wouldn't be too late to start then.
For now, Lu Heqiu's focus should be on his Martial Soul.
The Martial Soul was the true future!
At least, it was the future they could see.
"Teacher."
"You mean I should keep this talent under wraps? I can study Soul Tools, but I shouldn't show what I can do."
"My focus should be on cultivating my Martial Soul?"
Lu Heqiu stated Yan Shaozhe's thoughts outright.
Yan Shaozhe didn't deny it.
He gave a slight nod.
"Mm."
"Exactly."
"I know this may seem unfair to you."
"But I hope you understand: it's always humans who stand at the summit. Right now, that's Mu En. In the future, it'll be you."
"Soul Tools are developing quickly, and they're powerful. But as far as we know, Soul Masters still have the advantage above the Soul Saint realm. Having you study Soul Tools... is just a waste of your time."
"You only need to know that Soul Tools exist and how to deal with Soul Masters who use them."
"You don't need to make them."
Yan Shaozhe's voice was calm, as if he were simply stating a fact.
The research at the Bright Virtue Hall hadn't been made public yet,
and Mu En hadn't revealed that he'd been to the Sun Moon Empire.
Everyone at Shrek Academy still believed
that Soul Masters and their Martial Souls couldn't defeat Soul Masters with seven Soul Rings.
The Soul Tool Department held an extremely low position at Shrek Academy.
Even though the Sea God Pavilion wanted to support it, the department still had no chance of getting outstanding students each year.
Over this,
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo had argued more times than he could count.
And now Qian Duoduo wanted to take Lu Heqiu—the very boy who could lead Shrek to a new golden age.
"All right, Teacher."
Lu Heqiu didn't refuse. He followed Yan Shaozhe's wishes.
This was what he'd wanted, too.
The main reason he cultivated his Martial Soul was to break the seal within his body.
Becoming a Soul Engineer wasn't his ambition.
It was just that Yan Shaozhe had assigned Fan Yu to teach him,
so he'd naturally learned along the way.
"Good. Then start cultivating."
"Let me tell you something."
"We've already chosen the Soul Beast for your second Soul Ring."
"As soon as you break through, we'll take you to hunt it right away. This Soul Beast..."
"You'll never guess what it is!"
Before you continue