Moon Palace

The laboratory was very quiet.

The things spread across the table looked like the aftermath of a small explosion.

Cores, metal fragments, blueprints, carving knives, conductive wires—all of it was piled together in a mess.

But upon closer inspection, every single item was exactly where it needed to be.

The core sat in the very center, its silver-white Soul-Forged Mithril casing giving off a cold gleam beneath the fluorescent lights.

Several pieces of metal lay beside it: Sinking Silver, Magic Silver, Star Steel, Tungsten Steel, and that thumb-sized piece of Lunar Divine Metal, resting quietly at the corner of the table.

The blueprints covered half the table, filled with circuits and formulas. Some sections had been crossed out and redrawn, while others stopped halfway through, as if the person drawing them had thought of something new and flipped to the next page before finishing.

Yun Jingheng sat before the table, having remained motionless for a long time.

He was considering a question: how could he use Level 4 Soul Tool arrays to create something of a higher grade?

His Soul Power was only Level 34. Level 4 Soul Tools were his limit; even if he carved a Level 5 array, he would not be able to activate it.

But the core before him was Level 7, and those metals were Soul-Forged and Spirit Forged.

The energy contained within those materials far surpassed his current Soul Power Level.

For now, he did not need to use his own Soul Power to drive it. He needed to use the energy within the materials themselves.

He only needed to make a fuse and ignite them.

He picked up a pen and drew a circle on the paper.

The circle represented the core—a Level 7 core with enough energy reserves to keep a Level 6 Soul Tool running for a long time.

He drew three smaller circles around the core. They were array nodes.

Each node was an independent Level 4 Soul Tool array. The three Level 4 arrays would connect through the core and work together. In theory, they could produce an effect close to Level 5.

But it was still not enough.

He added two more nodes, five Level 4 arrays forming a ring.

Energy circulated between the five nodes. With every circuit, its intensity would stack another layer higher.

Ten circuits would be roughly Level 5.

A hundred circuits would be roughly Level 6.

But the problem was that circulating energy through five Level 4 arrays required extraordinarily precise control.

A fluctuation at any single node would destroy the entire cycle and cause the energy to run wild.

He needed something to stabilize those nodes and keep them synchronized as they circulated.

His gaze fell upon the silver-white metal at the corner of the table.

He had roughly guessed what it was. Only metal beyond the Soul-Forged level could develop intelligence.

And he had already tested it. This metal was exceptionally compatible with him; his Soul Power flowed through it without the slightest obstruction.

In theory, if he carved the gravitational Soul Tool array he had developed into this metal, he could absolutely create tidal gravity.

And it could adjust itself, correct itself, bring everything back into balance. In Yun Jingheng's hands, it was remarkably obedient.

He placed the silver-white metal beside the core and began redrawing the blueprint.

The core was the heart. The Lunar Divine Metal was the brain.

The five Level 4 arrays were the limbs. The core supplied energy, the Lunar Divine Metal controlled the rhythm, and the limbs operated according to that rhythm.

This was not the design philosophy of a traditional Soul Tool.

What he was making was five interconnected arrays, one core, and one controller, assembled into a single whole.

No one had ever done this before, because no one would think of using metal that precious as a controller.

Lunar Divine Metal was too precious. Using it as a controller was like using diamonds to prop up a table leg.

But Yun Jingheng did not have that concept.

He picked up the carving knife and began carving the arrays.

Every array was Level 4. Taken separately, none of them was unusual.

But he carved them into the same metal base, linked them together, and had them share the same core.

It was like tying five completely different people together and making them breathe, heartbeat, and walk at the same time.

If any one of them fell half a beat behind, the whole system would collapse.

He finished carving the final circuit and set down the knife.

Then he picked up the Lunar Divine Metal and embedded it into the groove at the center of the base.

The Lunar Divine Metal flashed once, faintly, like a breath.

Then all five arrays lit up at once. Silver-white light rose from the base, steady and rising and falling together like a heartbeat.

He did not stop.

He began assembling the outer shell.

The shell was forged from Crystal Silver and Star Steel. It took him three hours just to hammer it into shape.

It was very small, only the size of a palm.

Its upturned eaves curved like the moon.

The palace walls were thin sheets carved from Crystal Silver, fitted together piece by piece. Every sheet bore intricate patterns.

The phases of the moon connected end to end, circling the palace walls.

The base was an alloy of Star Steel and Tungsten Steel, polished countless times by machine until it was as smooth as a mirror.

He fitted the base into the shell, perfectly seamless.

Then he closed the shell and used conductive wires to link the lunar phase patterns on the shell with the five arrays inside.

He placed it on the table and took two steps back.

It floated three inches above the tabletop, without a stand or support, hovering on its own.

It was tiny, only palm-sized, like a miniature palace.

Its upturned eaves curved like the moon.

The palace walls were silver-white, covered in lunar phase patterns.

The base was dark blue, with the sheen of Star Steel flowing beneath the fluorescent lights like the night sky.

Yun Jingheng looked at it and gave it a name.

Moon Palace.

The lunar palace, the legendary place where Chang'e lived—vastly cold and ethereal, lofty beyond endurance.

He placed his palm over Moon Palace and poured in a thread of Soul Power.

The palace lit up.

Silver-white light rose from its eaves and flowed along the lunar phase patterns on its walls, circling again and again like the rising and falling tides.

Five silver-white bands of light spread from the base. They were thin and bright, revolving around the palace.

They were gravitational light bands. Under the control of the Lunar Divine Metal, the five array nodes operated in sync, energy cycling through the bands.

He closed his eyes and sensed the gravitational field released by Moon Palace.

It covered the entire laboratory, with a diameter of ten meters.

Everything within the domain entered his senses—the weight of the table, the center of gravity of the chair, the density of the air, every painting hanging on the walls.

With a thought, Tide Pull.

The gravity within the domain began to fluctuate like waves upon the sea, rising and falling. The blueprints on the table floated slightly, then settled again.

Another thought, Tide Gather.

The waves converged toward the center. All gravity pointed toward Moon Palace itself. The blueprints on the table were pulled toward the palace and hovered in midair, as though held up by an invisible hand.

Tide Rise.

Gravity began to intensify, growing stronger and stronger, until the metal parts on the table started rolling toward Moon Palace. It became so strong that even he felt his body grow heavier, every step requiring effort.

Tide Fall.

Gravity suddenly weakened, so weak that the blueprints and parts that had been pulled over began drifting outward, as if floating in water, weightless.

His body became lighter as well, so light that a gentle tap of his toes could send him floating.

Tide Lock.

The gravitational field stabilized, and everything in the domain was fixed in its current position.

The blueprints floating in midair stopped moving. The parts halfway through rolling stopped moving. Even the dust in the air stopped moving.

The entire laboratory looked like a scene with its pause button pressed.

He opened his eyes and looked at it all. Then he took a deep breath.

Tide Collapse.

All gravity within the domain collapsed in an instant, converging toward a single point at the center.

That point was directly above Moon Palace. It was too small to see, but its gravity was unimaginably powerful.

Everything on the table was pulled toward that point—the blueprints, the parts, the metal fragments, even the carving knife.

They spun around that point, faster and faster, closer and closer, as though being sucked into an invisible vortex.

Yun Jingheng withdrew his Soul Power.

The gravity dispersed. The blueprints and parts fell back onto the table, while the carving knife dropped to the floor with a crisp clang.

Moon Palace's light slowly faded, its hovering height lowering slightly as it returned to stillness.

He stood where he was, staring at it for a long time.

Then he softly said, "Am I a genius?"

Feng Wuyu had been humming with his eyes closed out of sheer boredom when he was suddenly slapped.

He opened his eyes in surprise.

Who? Who the hell dared to slap me?!

Cai Yue'er: Stare~

"..."

"Why are you back again?"

Cai Yue'er looked toward the door. "He still hasn't come out?"

Feng Wuyu shook his head. "No..."

"Hiss... he didn't hold it in so long that his bladder exploded, did he?"

Dong—!

"If you can't speak, then shut your mouth!"

The door opened.

Yun Jingheng stood in the doorway, dark circles beneath his eyes, his hair a mess, and metal shavings stuck to his clothes.

But his eyes were bright, as bright as the eaves of the little palace in his hand.

Cai Yue'er and Feng Wuyu both stepped forward at the same time.

Cai Yue'er was faster. She shoved Feng Wuyu aside in one motion. He staggered into the wall, the back of his head hitting it with a dull thud.

"You—" He clutched his head and glared, but Cai Yue'er had already vanished from sight.

"Let me see it."

Cai Yue'er's voice was very low, but every word seemed squeezed out through clenched teeth.

She stared at the Moon Palace in Yun Jingheng's hand. The little palace floated three inches above his palm, its upturned eaves curved like the moon, while the lunar phase patterns on its walls gave off a faint glow beneath the fluorescent lights.

Five thin, bright bands of silver-white light revolved around it.

Cai Yue'er raised her hand and held it in the air without touching it.

Her fingers were trembling.

She recognized that core. Soul-Forged Mithril, Level 7. She had studied it for three years. She had personally traced every circuit and repeatedly analyzed every layer of its structure.

Now, it was embedded within a small palace, surrounded by five Level 4 arrays, controlled by a piece of Lunar Divine Metal, and operating.

A Level 7 core, five Level 4 arrays, and a piece of Heavenly Forged Metal—those things had been put together, and they were actually operating?!

How the hell was this even able to work?!