Can Ordinary People Use Soul Guide Weapons?

Elder Xiao was another vice-dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Research Institute. Unlike Vice-Dean Qin, whose research focused more on novel soul tool technologies for civilian use, Elder Xiao's field of study leaned heavily toward military-grade soul tools.

Of course, Dean Kong Dehan was a polymath; he was exceptionally proficient in both civilian and military soul tools, making him a rare and miraculous exception.

Elder Xiao was known for his rather volatile temper. In the past, he had even dared to disregard the face of the late Sun Moon Empire Emperor, yet the late Emperor had held him in immense respect.

Because the Sun Moon Empire prioritized the development of soul tools, these designers held very high status throughout the empire. This was especially true for top-tier weapon researchers like Elder Xiao, who was also a powerhouse above level 80, making his status naturally immeasurable.

Yet now, seeing Elder Xiao show such respect and support for a mere six-year-old crown prince, they could not help but feel secretly astonished by the capabilities of Xu Mochen.

Subsequently, the group followed Elder Xiao to the weapons testing range. They soon discovered several finely crafted long and short firearms of varying sizes placed on a table, alongside a "metal pipe" mounted on a stand and base.

"Allow me to introduce these weapons," Elder Xiao said, pointing first to three similar-looking handguns on the table, each featuring a strange cylinder. "The three handguns before you are three different grades of ammunition-based pistols designed and manufactured by our institute, named the 'Vanguard-152 Revolver', 'Vanguard-252 Revolver', and 'Vanguard-352 Revolver'."

"Their soul tool ratings range from level one to three. First is the 'Vanguard-152 Revolver', a level-one soul tool. Its cylinder can hold a total of six soul bullets, and its greatest features are its low production cost and the fact that it requires no soul power to operate."

When he mentioned that it required no soul power, all the high-ranking officers were forced to take it seriously. One had to realize that even in the Sun Moon Empire's army, the proportion of soul masters was less than twenty percent. This meant that over eighty percent of the personnel were not soul masters, making the deployment of weapons that did not require soul power an urgent priority.

While primitive gunpowder-based soul weapons had decent power, with the development of soul tools that required soul power, the role of primitive gunpowder weapons on the battlefield would likely diminish, and the gap between soul masters and ordinary people would only continue to widen.

"Vice-Dean Xiao, why do these bullets look so strange? They seem completely different from the spherical lead balls used in flintlock muskets." At this moment, one of the officers voiced his question.

Elder Xiao smiled and said, "This is the new type of ammunition I wanted to introduce to you: fixed cartridges. Compared to traditional projectiles, fixed cartridges not only use newly developed soul-tool explosives but also house the explosive within the cartridge itself rather than requiring separate loading. This not only significantly reduces reloading time but also ensures stability when the bullet is fired."

"Furthermore, adopting this conical soul-alloy bullet allows for greater range and lethality." After speaking, Elder Xiao picked up the Vanguard-152, aimed at a tungsten steel plate, and pulled the trigger. With a "bang," a bullet shot out from the barrel, tore through the air at high speed, and slammed into the steel plate. With a crisp "clink," it easily pierced through the metal.

Seeing this, the officers' faces flashed with surprise. They were well aware of the defensive capabilities of tungsten steel plates; while not exceptionally strong—as soul ray rifles could easily penetrate them—they were at least capable of blocking flintlock musket balls.

Yet, the unassuming firearm in Elder Xiao's hand possessed such extraordinary power! Most importantly, this weapon could be used without soul power! If it could be mass-produced for the army, it would absolutely elevate the military's combat effectiveness by a whole tier!

Afterward, Elder Xiao showcased other newly developed firearms, including various rifles and a soul tool mortar. Their immense power left the officers in awe, and they all expressed their intent to jointly submit a request to the Parliament for funding to equip the military with these weapons.

However, getting the stingy misers in the Sun Moon Empire Parliament to willingly open their purses to reorganize the military was quite difficult, especially when there was an outward appearance of peace and no external threats. But this did not mean Xu Mochen lacked other ways to persuade them; at the very least, the existence of the Douluo Continent was a reasonable justification!

Persuading the Parliament to believe this fact was difficult, but fortunately, if the Shadow Guard could provide intelligence as cover, combined with the guarantees from high-ranking military officials and top researchers like Kong Dehan and Xu Yuanding, and leveraging his own power and influence, passing a vote would undoubtedly be much easier.

Of course, this did not mean that more than half of the parliamentarians would believe in the existence of the Douluo Continent, but the influence of these individuals, including himself, would lead many to support his resolution. Coupled with the operations of the Shadow Guard, passing the resolution was essentially a done deal.

In the days that followed, Xu Mochen accelerated the development of other new soul tools to push the industrialization of the Sun Moon Empire, while diligently cultivating in preparation for the first trial of the Purple Imperial Chaos Dragon King. Soon, a year had passed since his arrival on the Sun Moon Continent, and the day had arrived for his meeting with the mysterious hundred-thousand-year soul beast, as agreed upon with Kong Dehan.

On the outskirts of Ming Capital:

"Your Highness, I must remind you that this hundred-thousand-year soul beast has a peculiar temperament and is not friendly toward humans. Although he reluctantly agreed to see you at my request," Kong Dehan said, carefully weighing his words before adding with concern, "Please do not take offense, Your Highness. He is a soul beast that has taken human form. While his knowledge in the study of soul masters and soul beasts is among the absolute best on the Sun Moon Continent, his long isolation from the world has made him somewhat socially inept. I hope you will not hold it against him."

"Rest assured, my temper is not that bad. As long as he truly has the ability, a bit of arrogance is only reasonable," Xu Mochen replied with a pointed tone. Kong Dehan naturally understood the subtext: the Crown Prince could overlook this, provided the soul beast was a true talent.

After all, Xu Mochen was the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire and its hidden sovereign. Although the imperial family's power was not what it once was, even the heads of the ten great families would not dare to be so presumptuous before him—making the Crown Prince wait a year and then requiring him to visit in person—let alone a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form!

While Xu Mochen trusted Kong Dehan's judgment, he couldn't be too careful. If this soul beast was like some "master" from a novel—all ego and no substance, having somehow hoodwinked Kong Dehan—then even if Xu Mochen didn't blame Kong Dehan, the soul beast's fate would certainly not be pleasant.

Do not forget, even on the Sun Moon Continent, soul masters relied on hunting soul beasts to cultivate, so the relationship between them was no better than on the Douluo Continent. The value of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone... went without saying.

Kong Dehan did not object, simply nodding before waving his right hand. A pair of silver-gray metallic wings appeared behind him.

Xu Mochen immediately recognized this as a high-grade flight soul tool specifically crafted by Kong Dehan; the faint energy fluctuations it emitted revealed its extraordinary quality.

It is just a pity that the manufacturing method for this type of soul tool is too complex, and the cost and threshold for use are too high. It is simply not suitable for standardized mass production, Xu Mochen thought with secret regret.

Although the development of standardized soul weapons in the Sun Moon Empire had been crawling at a snail's pace from the end of the God-Emperor War until his arrival, the development of custom-made soul tools had been flourishing.

After all, without external enemies, internal strife within the Sun Moon Empire was inevitable. In a world where cultivators existed and might made right, for an empire where ninety-nine percent of soul masters had mediocre martial souls but craved powerful individual combat strength, they could only rely on powerful custom soul tools. This kept custom soul weapons and equipment in a state of constant high demand.

However, custom soul tools had many obvious disadvantages. Compared to standardized ones, they often required much higher material costs and had much stricter requirements for manufacturing materials. The core components of many high-grade soul tools required materials that were rare and hard to find.

Moreover, custom soul tools were essentially handmade by professional soul tool masters and could not be produced on assembly lines like standardized ones. This resulted in long manufacturing times; for many high-grade tools, even level eight or nine soul masters would need months or even years to complete one.

Furthermore, many custom soul weapons required a soul master of similar rank to operate. For instance, most level-eight individual custom soul weapons required at least a level-70 soul master to barely function, and truly mastering them required a cultivation level above 80.

The metal wings crafted by Kong Dehan would likely only provide indirect inspiration for his own research into standardized individual flight soul tools. The same was true for many other custom soul tools; sometimes, the inspiration they provided for standardized research was not even as good as the information the Smart Brain had brought from Blue Star.

Kong Dehan, unaware of the many thoughts triggered by his creation, introduced it carefully: "Your Highness, this is the level-eight flight soul tool I crafted, the 'Storm Wings'. It not only provides the user with powerful flight capabilities but also possesses offensive and defensive functions. The wings are composed of two thousand metallic feathers made of soul alloy. They are not only razor-sharp but also possess a certain wind-manipulation ability."

"In combat, a soul master can use soul power to detach the feathers, turning them into two thousand sharp flying blades to inflict large-scale damage on enemy forces. Its inherent wind-elemental ability also allows me to control it to launch various wind-attribute attacks. If an enemy attacks me, the Storm Wings can fold inward to protect my body, rapidly gathering wind energy around me to form a wind wall to deflect the assault."

Kong Dehan then instructed, "Of course, with your current cultivation, Your Highness, even if I were to craft the lowest-grade custom flight soul tool, it would be difficult for you to use. So, please forgive my rudeness, but please hold onto my arm, and I will take you to our destination."

Xu Mochen nodded. Without pretense, he firmly grasped Kong Dehan's left arm. After confirming he was secure, Kong Dehan flapped his wings, and the two soared into the sky, flying toward their destination at high speed.