Soul Engineers

"Teacher, you're squeezing me so tight that it's getting uncomfortable," Xu Yanli said, struggling.

Kong Deming immediately adjusted his hold and said with a smile, "It's fine. We're almost there."

At last, they reached the First Prince's Mansion. After setting Xu Yanli down, Kong Deming hurried off to the palace.

As soon as Xu Yanli stepped into the First Prince's Mansion, he saw Xu Tianran waiting at the entrance.

Two books on the fundamentals of Soul Engineering rested on Xu Tianran's lap. When he saw Xu Yanli come in, he smiled, raised a hand, and held the books out to him.

"These two books cover the basics. They should be useful to you. Take them and have a look," Xu Tianran said softly.

Xu Yanli took them with a smile. "Then thank you, Imperial Brother."

Xu Yanli flipped through the books in his hands, then smiled at Xu Tianran. "Imperial Brother, my Second Martial Soul, the Angel Martial Soul, has healing abilities. Why don't you let me try to treat your leg?"

Xu Tianran said gently, "That's exactly what I had in mind."

Xu Tianran pushed his wheelchair toward the study.

Xu Yanli watched him for a while before following.

"What level are you now? There's no rush about my leg. I believe you'll definitely be able to heal it once you become a Titled Douluo," Xu Tianran said.

"Twenty-nine." Xu Yanli answered calmly as he released his Martial Soul. A pure white glow, like moonlight, slowly flowed into Xu Tianran's leg.

Xu Tianran could clearly feel the leg that had once been deadened beginning to regain a little sensation.

Seeing that Xu Tianran seemed to feel something, Xu Yanli pretended to have exhausted his Soul Power, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

Xu Yanli didn't believe in any deep brotherly love. If he healed the other man now, the future would be anyone's guess.

Better to give him hope—to tell him he could heal him, but that his level wasn't high enough yet, and to ask him for time to grow.

That way, Xu Tianran might try to control him, but he certainly wouldn't want to harm him. He might even help shield him from the attacks and assassinations of the other princes.

Just as Xu Yanli had expected, Xu Tianran not only comforted him and told him not to worry, but also gave him a generous supply of cultivation resources and told him to focus on training.

Xu Yanli accepted the resources without hesitation and returned to his room.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Xu Yanli began to cultivate. He could feel the Soul Power within him existing in two opposing extremes.

His meridians were also exceptionally broad. With every full cycle of circulation, he could feel his Soul Power growing by a great deal.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yanli chose not to use that growth to break through to the next level. Instead, he continuously compressed the Soul Power he had.

At the very least, he had to surpass Huo Yuhao, didn't he? He'd form three Soul Cores with Yin-Yang Complementarity.

After all, with his two current Soul Power attributes, adding a Mental Attribute later should make the combination just about right.

Thinking of Huo Yuhao, he felt a little uncertain about how to handle him.

He would definitely have to trick Huo Yuhao into coming to the Sun Moon Empire. After all, Huo Yuhao's talent as a Soul Engineer, as well as his talent in the mental domain, was an absolute necessity for their empire.

And as the child of destiny in this world, he was sure to have something exceptional about him—as long as he didn't go through that Heaven and Earth Dog-Training Valley.

Besides, there was no reason he couldn't turn Huo Yuhao into a sharp blade to thrust into the Star Luo Empire. After all, the Duchess of White Tiger of Star Luo was the sister of that old emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

How could anyone say the Star Luo Imperial Family hadn't ordered it, right?

Though, to be fair, the Star Luo Imperial Family wouldn't have minded if the Duke of White Tiger had a few more illegitimate children.

Xu Yanli rubbed his chin. In a sense, Huo Yuhao had originally been the very model of a wish-fulfillment novel protagonist. What came later, though, was hard to put into words.

About an hour later, Kong Deming arrived in the courtyard where Xu Yanli was staying.

"Teacher, are we starting to learn about Soul Tools now?" Hearing the voice, Xu Yanli opened the door and saw Kong Deming sitting beside the stone table in his courtyard.

"Mm. Starting today, you'll come with me to Mingde Hall to study Soul Engineering every day between two in the afternoon and eight in the evening," Kong Deming said solemnly.

Xu Yanli nodded. He went back to his room, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and left the First Prince's Mansion with Kong Deming.

The dungeon beneath the First Prince's Mansion was dark and gloomy, with screams rising and falling all around, enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.

Xu Tianran held a short knife. The man in black sprawled on the ground before him. With one clean stroke, he chopped off the man's arm.

"Speak. Who sent you?"

He tilted his head to signal for a handkerchief from the guard beside him, then slowly wiped the blood splashed on his hand. His tone was as calm as if he were chatting, but his gaze was terrifyingly cold.

Xu Yanli finally arrived at Mingde Hall. Seeing everyone hurrying about, he noticed how they treated the Soul Tools in their hands like their most beloved children.

"Soul Tools are the foundation on which our Sun Moon Empire was built. They're also the reason we can still outperform the Original Three Kingdoms of Douluo Continent in warfare, even though we're weaker than them in terms of Soul Masters," Kong Deming said with a smile.

"Soul Tools are the future of humanity," Xu Yanli said calmly. "Or rather, the path forward for Soul Masters lies in combining Soul Masters with Soul Tools."

Kong Deming's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Well said. The combination of Soul Engineers and Soul Masters is the best choice. With your talent, you may well become a Level 10 Soul Engineer one day."

Xu Yanli followed Kong Deming into an incredibly luxurious office. Calling it an office wasn't quite accurate; it was a single room combining an office, a forging workshop, and a manufacturing workshop.

"Come, let me introduce you to the material for becoming a Level 1 Soul Engineer. I'm sure you've been surrounded by this knowledge since childhood, so it probably won't be a problem for you to pass the Level 1 Soul Engineer exam in a month," Kong Deming said.

After that, he left his notes for Xu Yanli and told him to study in the office, while he went to prepare special protective measures for him nearby.

An indescribable excitement flashed in Kong Deming's eyes—the excitement of knowing someone might achieve his goal.

For a long time, he had dreamed of a Limit Douluo equipped with a Level 10 Soul Tool, like that Death God Douluo. Unfortunately, his talent had left him stuck at level 95.

Looking back, he did regret not training harder when he was younger.

But without the foundation he had built back then, how could he have become a Soul Engineer who was only a hair's breadth away from Level 10?

Xu Yanli was now studying the manual before him with utmost focus, striving to memorize all the theory for becoming a Level 1 Soul Engineer as soon as possible.