"Holy shit!"
Lin Qing nearly sprang out of his chair.
"Did you seriously unlock some kind of cheat?"
Delayed Vision was practically a godly skill!
In a fight, it let him see his opponent's movements with perfect clarity, as if time in his eyes had slowed down.
When crafting Soul Tools, even the tiniest changes in a soul guide circuit could not escape his gaze.
"This talent was practically tailor-made for Soul Tools!"
Lin Qing seriously suspected that the Sun Moon version of him definitely had some hidden cheat.
[I thought for a long time about whether I should tell my teacher about this unexpectedly awakened talent.]
Sun Moon Lin Qing frowned deeply.
"If I keep it hidden, I'll have a trump card I can use to catch people off guard at a critical moment."
"But..."
He stopped walking.
"What I lack most right now isn't a trump card. It's resources, and the space and time to grow without worries."
"Delayed Vision will be far too helpful for learning Soul Tools."
Having figured that out, Sun Moon Lin Qing made his decision.
[I decided to tell my teacher about this ability. He was astonished and also pondered why such a change had occurred.]
After hearing Sun Moon Lin Qing's description, his teacher revealed a shocked expression.
He rushed several steps forward and grabbed Sun Moon Lin Qing by the shoulders with both hands.
"Lin Qing, show me your innate soul skill!"
"Yes."
The Heavenly Eye on Sun Moon Lin Qing's brow opened, silver light flowing within it.
His teacher casually handed him a scrapped soul guide core engraved with intricate circuits.
"Look here."
He pointed at a broken circuit node.
"Tell me, how was the energy originally supposed to flow through here?"
Sun Moon Lin Qing focused his gaze on it.
A few seconds later, he spoke.
"Energy enters from the third line on the left. When it reaches this node, it should split into two streams."
"One goes upward and connects to the energy storage module; the other goes right and enters the conversion array. But because the node is broken, the energy disperses when it gets here."
His teacher's hands began to tremble.
He stared fixedly at Sun Moon Lin Qing, his eyes blazing with intensity.
"This... this is simply an ability every Soul Engineer dreams of having!"
He released him and kept muttering to himself. "Could it be a second awakening of a Body Martial Soul?"
"No, the conditions for a second awakening are harsh. It shouldn't be this easy. Could it be a mutation?"
"Forget it! It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
"I need to report this to the academy immediately!"
[My teacher reported my situation to the higher-ups at the academy.]
The scene rapidly shifted.
In just a few days, Sun Moon Lin Qing was put through countless tests.
Soul Ring age testing confirmed that it was indeed a thousand years old.
Talent verification repeatedly confirmed the effects of Delayed Vision.
A background investigation confirmed that he was indeed a proper, respectable civilian of the Sun Moon Empire.
[After all the tests, I was brought to the dean's office, where I met the dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the master of Mingde Hall, a Rank 94 Title Douluo, and a Level 9 Soul Engineer—Jing Hongchen!]
The room was spacious, simple, and filled with a sense of technology.
An imposing old man in a silver-white robe sat behind his desk, studying Sun Moon Lin Qing.
His calm gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything about Sun Moon Lin Qing.
"Lin Qing, correct?"
"Yes."
"I already know about your situation. The talent you've displayed makes you something of a genius. Tell me what you want. Do you wish to follow the traditional path of a soul master, or delve deeply into Soul Tools?"
[As a proper, respectable citizen of the Sun Moon Empire, Jing Hongchen merely gave me the treatment a genius deserved, and I chose the path of a Soul Engineer.]
Jing Hongchen was very satisfied with Sun Moon Lin Qing's choice.
He took a Storage Soul Tool from a drawer and placed it on the desk.
"Inside are some resources: Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, medicinal herbs, Soul Tool study materials, some pills, and my personal notes."
Sun Moon Lin Qing froze.
"Dean, this..."
"Take it."
Jing Hongchen's voice brooked no refusal.
"Your talent is worth this investment."
He paused and looked Sun Moon Lin Qing in the eyes.
"I'll make you a promise. If you can become a Level 2 Soul Master before the age of twelve, I'll accept you as my direct disciple and teach you personally."
The scene froze on Sun Moon Lin Qing's stunned face.
"Jing Hongchen's direct disciple!"
This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
Within the Sun Moon Empire, Jing Hongchen's status was already unimaginably high.
Other than Silver Moon Douluo Kong Mingde and the imperial family, he was next in line.
Becoming his direct disciple would truly mean ascending to the heavens in a single step!
[In the days that followed, I threw myself wholeheartedly into cultivation and study. Although I chose the path of a Soul Engineer, I neglected neither Soul Power nor Soul Tool techniques. As for the pills Teacher Jing Hongchen gave me, I did not take them.]
The scene flashed by rapidly.
At dawn, he meditated in the Cultivation Room.
In the morning, he learned Soul Tool theory in class.
In the afternoon, he crafted Soul Tools by hand in the laboratory.
Late at night, he was still poring over Jing Hongchen's notes.
Day after day passed. There was almost no entertainment, yet Sun Moon Lin Qing enjoyed every moment of it.
Lin Qing nodded. "Not taking the pills was the right choice."
Many soul masters in the Sun Moon Empire had their ranks forcibly raised with pills, leaving their foundations unstable and their Soul Power weak and hollow.
As a result, the entire Sun Moon Empire did not have even a single Super Douluo, Peak Douluo, or Limit Douluo.
Fortunately, their Soul Tool technology could make up for the gap in Soul Power.
A Rank 94 Level 9 Soul Engineer could rival even a Peak Douluo.
It could only be said that Soul Tool technology was simply too powerful.
[Delayed Vision was incredibly helpful when learning Soul Tools. My Soul Tool proficiency shot upward like a rocket.]
Inside the laboratory.
Sun Moon Lin Qing held a carving knife and etched soul guide circuits into a metal plate.
His eyes gleamed with silver light.
Every stroke of the carving knife was accurate to the micrometer. The circuit lines formed by his injected Soul Power were smooth and fluid, utterly flawless.
"Perfect..."
The instructor beside him could not help but marvel.
"Even ordinary Level 3 Soul Engineers can't achieve this kind of precision."
[At a little over eight years old, I broke through to Rank 20. I also successfully crafted a Level 2 Soul Tool, passed the assessment, and became a Level 2 Soul Master!]
"Eight years and three months..."
The instructor looked at the record sheet, his voice trembling slightly.
"At such a young age, he's already broken the academy's record!"
However, Lin Qing's expression in reality was somewhat grave when he saw this.
"Learning Soul Tools seems to consume an enormous amount of energy."
It had taken over two years for Sun Moon Lin Qing's Soul Power to rise from Rank 14 to Rank 20.
That was far slower than Lin Qing himself, who had focused solely on cultivating Soul Power.
Still, it was worth it.
The increase in combat power brought by Soul Tools was real, not to mention Jing Hongchen's promise.
[After becoming a Level 2 Soul Master, Jing Hongchen honored his promise and accepted me as his direct disciple.]
A solemn apprenticeship ceremony.
Sun Moon Lin Qing knelt on the ground and offered tea.
Jing Hongchen accepted it and took a light sip.
Then he personally pinned a golden badge onto Sun Moon Lin Qing's chest—the Mingde Hall Master's Direct Disciple Badge.
"From today onward, you are my, Jing Hongchen's, disciple. But remember this: the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. The future of the Sun Moon Empire depends on young people like you."
Faced with Jing Hongchen's simple words of courtesy.
Sun Moon Lin Qing nodded heavily.
"This disciple understands."
Before you continue