"Little Friend Chu Feng, may I ask how long it takes to make one of these Milk Bottles?" An elderly man with graying hair looked at Chu Feng and asked in a trembling voice.
Everyone else fixed their eyes on Chu Feng, eagerly awaiting his answer.
"As long as you know how to inscribe the Core Array, an ordinary Level 2 Soul Engineer can finish one in under an hour," Chu Feng said confidently.
He wasn't bragging. His Core Array was about as simplified as it could get. The Anti-Theft Array incorporated into it added some difficulty, but not much.
"An... an hour to make a Milk Bottle?!"
"Heavens! How is that possible?"
"Little Friend Chu Feng, you can't be joking!"
At that, several Soul Engineers nearly went mad!
Even if they were making a Level 2 Milk Bottle, it would take these Level 6 or even Level 7 Soul Engineers five or six hours just to inscribe the Core Array.
And now Chu Feng was claiming that a Level 2 Soul Engineer could make a Milk Bottle in an hour?
It was utterly preposterous!
"Don't think I'm bragging. The Milk Bottle I make only needs two Core Arrays."
Chu Feng couldn't be bothered to waste words. He crushed the two empty Milk Bottles, then, in front of everyone, took out their Core Arrays and tossed them over.
The old men snatched them up and examined them eagerly. A moment later, they were all struck as if by lightning.
Chu Feng was right. Setting aside the connecting array, there were indeed only two Core Arrays.
But how was that possible?!
Even the simplest Milk Bottles on the market needed at least seven Core Arrays combined. He'd managed to make one with only two!
The world had gone mad! Completely mad!
The esteemed old men, all highly respected in Soul Master circles, now looked like children who'd just spotted their favorite toys. They crowded together, eagerly studying Chu Feng's Core Arrays.
But their efforts were doomed to fail.
"Don't waste your time, gentlemen. It's an encrypted Anti-Theft Array." Chu Feng watched them with amusement and chuckled.
"Ah, well..." The old men sat back sheepishly, looking a little embarrassed.
No wonder they couldn't make heads or tails of it. It was encrypted. Still, they couldn't help but see Chu Feng in a new light. Integrating Anti-Theft Runes into a Core Array was extraordinarily difficult, yet he'd mastered the technique at such a young age. He was clearly a prodigy in Soul Engineering.
The message Ning Tian had sent said that Chu Feng had simply gotten lucky and obtained the Core Array for the Milk Bottle. Now it was clear that couldn't have been further from the truth.
"Little Friend Chu Feng, we'd like to buy the complete Core Array for the Level 2 Milk Bottle. Name your price."
Seeing this, Ning Zhiyuan had a good idea of Chu Feng's worth. He smiled warmly at him. An encrypted Core Array had value, but it was nowhere near as valuable as the complete version. Though he wasn't a Soul Engineer, he understood that much.
Besides, it wasn't just the Soul Tool's Core Array that interested him. He saw potential in Chu Feng himself. Chu Feng was the same age as his daughter, and if he could win him over to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect...
Ning Zhiyuan considered this as he looked at Chu Feng with growing warmth.
"One price: ten million Gold Soul Coins, plus twenty percent of the sales every month." Chu Feng didn't hold back and named his price directly.
After all, if he swapped out the materials in this complete Level 2 Core Array for higher-grade ones, it could make a Level 4 Milk Bottle at most. Ten million was actually a bargain, and the share he wanted wasn't an outrageous demand either. It was a fair deal.
"Agreed."
Ning Zhiyuan accepted readily. Ten million Gold Soul Coins could only buy a Soul Bone that was fifty or sixty thousand years old. That was nothing to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Twenty percent of the profits was a little steep, but still acceptable.
After all, this was a monopoly business, and the complete Level 2 Core Array had tremendous research value. If they could fully understand it, the benefits it would bring the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect would be immeasurable.
Of course, Ning Zhiyuan was certain Chu Feng had more than just this one Soul Tool Core Array. If they kept up a good relationship, they might work together again in the future.
And Chu Feng hadn't made some outrageous demand, which showed that he was a decent person.
Whichever way he looked at it, Chu Feng was an outstanding young man—perfectly suited to become the son-in-law of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Zhiyuan was delighted. This trip had truly been worthwhile.
"By the way, I also have blueprints and new Core Arrays for other Soul Tools. I'll give you the designs for free, and you can handle exclusive sales. But I want a seventy-percent share." Chu Feng didn't stop there. He took out several commonly used Soul Tools and their blueprints, laying them in front of him.
At once, the Soul Engineers eagerly picked up the samples Chu Feng had provided and inspected them. A moment later, they were stunned all over again.
The blueprints were for Level 4 Soul Tools—Shock Cannons, Laser Guns, Interference Shells, and other commonly used items—but their Core Arrays were astonishingly simple!
"宗主, if we build them according to Little Friend Chu Feng's designs, production time will be cut in half and costs reduced by more than sixty percent!" One old man turned to Ning Zhiyuan, his aged face trembling with excitement.
They'd spent decades studying Soul Tools, yet this was the first time they'd seen designs so simple while still retaining full functionality. It was as if they'd just had their eyes opened.
Even if they couldn't obtain the Core Arrays, the Soul Tool casing designs alone gave them plenty of inspiration! No matter how they looked at it, this deal was a sure win.
"Fine. Seventy percent it is. We'll do everything as Little Friend Chu Feng says." Ning Zhiyuan didn't even look at the designs before agreeing.
He wasn't a businessman, but the sect leader of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Naturally, he took the long view.
If it meant building a lasting partnership with Chu Feng, he'd agree even if Chu Feng asked for ninety percent. And if Chu Feng were willing to join the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Zhiyuan would gladly take a loss and give him a hundred percent—or even a hundred and ten. It didn't matter whether they made a profit. What mattered was ensuring the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect came out ahead.
The two sides settled the finer details, and soon someone had drawn up a contract. They signed it happily.
Although the world was still ruled by the strong, commercial contracts like these were regulated by the various empires. And the more powerful a faction was, the more it valued rules and its reputation.
After all, if order collapsed, ordinary people wouldn't be the ones to suffer the greatest losses. It would be the powerful factions with wealth and influence.
Ning Zhiyuan was generous, too. Right there on the spot, he handed Chu Feng a gold card containing ten million Gold Soul Coins.
These cards could only hold Gold Soul Coins, and applicants needed assets worth at least a million Gold Soul Coins. They could be exchanged at any large merchant house in the Three Great Empires, making them very convenient.
"By the way, I have one last little request," Chu Feng suddenly said, as if he'd just thought of something.
"Go ahead, Little Friend Chu Feng," Ning Zhiyuan said.
"As a Soul Engineer, naturally I want my Soul Tools to be recognized by all Soul Masters. So I'd like to add a unique mark of my own to every Soul Tool we make."
As he spoke, Chu Feng took out a tiny Core Array.
Its function was simple: once added to a Soul Tool, it would project a unique phantom whenever the tool was used. It was much like a trademark from his previous life.
But this kind of mark was only seen on the highest-grade Soul Tools. Ordinary Soul Tools rarely had one.
"Of course," Ning Zhiyuan said. He had no reason to refuse such a small request.
"Here's to a happy partnership. Little Brother Chu Feng, you're welcome to visit the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect whenever you have time." Ning Zhiyuan stood and reached out to Chu Feng, his attitude toward him having changed completely.
At first, he'd been curious. Then he'd been astonished. Now he respected Chu Feng completely and regarded him as an equal.
"Here's to a happy partnership."
After leaving Heavenly Star Pavilion, Chu Feng went straight to a broker. He spent eight hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to rent a shop on a bustling street in Shrek City, near the back entrance of Shrek Academy.
Even with all those Gold Soul Coins, opening a Soul Engineering Academy of his own would still be a drop in the ocean.
Chu Feng wasn't in a hurry. Starting an academy on his own would be extremely difficult, and he'd face endless suppression.
So, to get through the early, vulnerable stage, he could only rely on attracting investors.
Before that, he needed to make a name for himself.
The "trademark" he'd given Ning Zhiyuan was key to that.
As for the trademark's design, naturally, it was his own true form—Panda.
Before you continue