A Brand New Approach

"Perhaps." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his gaze calm as he looked at the male student who had asked the question.

"But do you think that in the entire world of Soul Masters, are there more powerful Soul Masters at the pinnacle of the pyramid, or more ordinary Soul Masters with lower cultivation?"

"And every Soul Master, regardless of strength, has their own strengths and weaknesses to some degree."

"If you were to gather a group of Soul Masters who each have their own specialties but lack top-tier individual strength, and then use appropriate Soul Tools to compensate for their individual shortcomings and amplify their advantages..."

"Tell me, as a collective, what kind of effect do you think they could achieve?"

This is precisely what the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Regiment is currently pushing forward with great effort.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Regiment is a classic example.

A team of nine Soul Saints and one Contra, possessing tacit coordination and well-equipped gear, can exert a comprehensive combat power that is already no less than that of a lone Titled Douluo through specific Soul Tool arrays and tactical cooperation.

If not for Tang San personally intervening in his past life, the final outcome would surely have been the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Regiment unifying the Douluo Continent. Although, seven thousand years later, the Douluo Continent did indeed achieve a different form of unification.

"Then why has the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy never once defeated our Shrek Academy in all the years of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament?"

The male student who asked the question was clearly not entirely convinced by Huo Yuhao's argument; instead, he puffed out his chest with a sense of reflected glory, his face showing obvious pride.

"Who are the people participating in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament? They are the top geniuses within our academy."

"Excluding the first-year students, who make up the largest number, the total number of students across the remaining five grades is nearly two thousand."

"Yet, for the tournament held every five years, only fourteen people, including substitutes, can ultimately represent the academy."

"These fourteen people are indeed the most elite representatives of Shrek Academy. But if you were to have a similar match between the vast number of ordinary students in our academy and the ordinary students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy, what do you think the outcome would be?"

"For ordinary Soul Masters, Soul Tools are like charcoal in the snow; they can greatly enhance their survival capabilities and combat power. For powerful Soul Masters, they serve as icing on the cake, making them even more prominent in certain aspects."

Huo Yuhao's gaze swept across the entire class, his tone peaceful yet carrying an unquestionable weight:

"Therefore, for us Soul Masters, Soul Tools are simply tools that can make us stronger."

"The vast majority of us Soul Masters do not need to delve deeply into their manufacturing principles; we only need to learn how to use them effectively to exert power far beyond our original strength in battle."

"Could there be anything more cost-effective or direct than that?"

"Good, well said!"

As soon as the words fell, a crisp sound of applause came from the back door of the classroom.

Xian Lin'er could no longer hold back. Ignoring the hesitant dissuasion of Qian Duoduo beside her, she walked straight into the classroom.

She looked at Huo Yuhao with burning eyes, her face filled with undisguised appreciation:

"Student Huo Yuhao, I wonder if you would be interested in visiting our Soul Guidance Department after class?"

"Of course, if any other students present are interested, our Soul Guidance Department welcomes everyone to visit and exchange ideas at any time."

For Xian Lin'er, Huo Yuhao's words just now had inadvertently lit up a new line of thinking for her.

One important reason why the Martial Soul Department has always looked down on the Soul Guidance Department, and even hindered them everywhere in resource allocation, is that the Soul Guidance Department has yet to produce a true Level 9 Soul Master.

As for the so-called "Level 8.5 Soul Master," in Xian Lin'er's view, it was somewhat self-deceptive.

But Huo Yuhao's words gave Xian Lin'er a brand-new perspective.

More precisely, it provided her with a more practical way to "steal" Sea God Pavilion funds to strengthen the Soul Guidance Department.

Just like in Shrek City, aren't the teams responsible for daily patrols and defense still mainly relying on traditional Martial Soul Department Soul Masters?

So why couldn't their Soul Guidance Department take the lead in forming a new type of well-equipped and well-trained Soul Master team?

They could even develop matching, standardized Soul Tools specifically for team combat needs that could produce synergistic effects.

Thinking of this, Xian Lin'er suddenly felt that the so-called "Ultimate Soldier Project" that Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu had been obsessed with, and had even begun to secretly prepare for, seemed somewhat pedantic and ridiculous.

Standing beside Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, with a helpless and embarrassed expression, clearly did not notice.

In these short moments, the "Ultimate Soldier Project" he had always strongly advocated had been completely labeled as "stupid" in Xian Lin'er's heart and was being ruthlessly abandoned.

Sea God Lake, on the shore of the island in the center of the lake.

A gentle breeze blew across the lake, bringing with it cool moisture.

Wang Yan, who had just had a conversation with Huo Yuhao last night, was standing there holding his breath.

Not far in front of him, an old man with messy hair sat casually on a blue stone by the lake.

The old man's appearance was truly hard to compliment.

His robe, which should have been white, was now a mix of gray and brown, stained with unknown grime, and there were several obvious tears at the edges.

He was barefoot, soaking his feet in the cool, clear water of Sea God Lake.

The old man held a large, purplish-red gourd in his right hand, made of a primitive material that was impossible to identify.

From time to time, he would lift the gourd and take a large gulp, and the rich, mellow aroma of wine would permeate the air.

In his other hand, he clutched a roasted chicken, and regardless of the grease, he ate and drank with great delight.

"Elder Xuan, that new student is not yet twelve years old, his first and second soul rings are already at the thousand-year level, and his Martial Soul is the Spirit Eye Martial Soul with spiritual attributes."

"Previously, he relied on his soul power and physical strength to defeat Xu Sanshi, one of the Twin Stars of the Outer Court." Wang Yan said respectfully.

"Therefore, I speculate that he has very likely completed the second awakening of his Body Martial Soul, and it might even be that extremely rare form of innate second awakening."

"Hmm..." Xuan Zi swallowed a mouthful of chicken before turning his head to glance at Wang Yan.

Surprisingly, his eyes were a demonic crimson, though his gaze was somewhat unfocused, carrying the dazed air of someone who had been drinking, as if he hadn't taken Wang Yan's words to heart at all.

"A Body Martial Soul of the eyes, eh? Hmm, that is somewhat interesting."

Xuan Zi mumbled vaguely to himself, swallowed another mouthful of chicken, took a swig of wine, and smacked his lips before speaking slowly:

"You're quite lucky, kid. To think you'd run into a top-tier Body Martial Soul in your lifetime."

"When it comes to these Body Martial Souls, the more vital the awakened body part is to a human, the greater its potential and the higher its quality.

You say that little fellow's Martial Soul is his eyes, and it's of the spiritual attribute. This means his Martial Soul actually involves the eyes and the brain, the two most core parts of the human body."

Xuan Zi let out a drunken hiccup, his eyes clearing up slightly.

"Perhaps, just as you said, his Body Martial Soul has very likely completed its second awakening."

He tossed the mostly gnawed chicken bone into the lake, grabbed his wine gourd for another large gulp, and then waved his hand, instructing:

"Alright, go tell that fellow Xiao Du that I'll be dropping by to watch the excitement during the freshman assessment in three months. Tell him to save me a good spot."

"Understood."