Time slipped by, and nearly three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Ever since Su Ming had sought out Huo Yuhao with his unique system for forging and crafting Soul Tools, then guided him toward their true essence, Huo Yuhao had been utterly immersed in this brand-new world.
He had never neglected his daily coursework at Shrek Academy, his basic physical training, or his Martial Soul cultivation, but whenever he had even a little free time after class,
Huo Yuhao spent nearly all of it in Su Ming's private forging room, devoting himself to the study of Soul Tool knowledge and crafting techniques.
The teacher for Freshman Class One had long since been replaced by the gentle, learned Wang Yan.
Wang Yan had always excelled at teaching students according to their aptitudes, and was especially skilled at uncovering their talents and strengths. At first, he had been just as strict as ever, pushing Huo Yuhao to build a solid foundation in his Martial Soul and improve his Soul Skill cultivation.
But after observing him day after day, he clearly realized that Huo Yuhao possessed terrifying talent and astonishing insight in the field of Soul Tools—far beyond anyone his age—and already showed the makings of a top Soul Engineer.
Seeing this, Wang Yan stopped deliberately restricting Huo Yuhao's focus in cultivation.
In his view, Shrek's students should play to their strengths and work on what they excelled at. With Huo Yuhao's peerless talent, devoting himself to the path of Soul Tools would surely lead to limitless achievements.
These three months of dedicated study had brought a qualitative leap in Huo Yuhao's skill with Soul Tools.
He had already passed the official examination for the Level 1 Soul Engineer badge, mastered every crafting process and Core Array for Level 1 Soul Tools, and, with Su Ming's private guidance, learned to apply that knowledge with complete mastery.
The Level 1 Soul Tools he crafted himself far surpassed the standard in actual power, stability, and endurance. Their might had even reached the level of Level 2 Soul Tools.
However, he was so absorbed in his studies and focused on honing his skills that he had yet to find the time to take the Level 2 Soul Engineer examination.
Compared with Huo Yuhao's steady progress, Su Ming's growth was even more astonishingly swift.
After three months of accumulation and refinement, he had broken through to the peak of Level 43. He had also earned the Level 5 Soul Engineer badge, officially joining the ranks of the mid-to-high-level Soul Engineers.
Nor had he neglected his own forging skills. Day after day, he had hammered and tempered metal, refining his craft.
By studying the mysteries of Spirit Forging day and night, he had firmly entered the realm of a Spirit Forging master. His forging technique had become ever more polished and masterful.
Beyond teaching techniques and trading pointers on crafting, Su Ming had never forgotten his original purpose.
He knew that Huo Yuhao's life would be full of hardship. Though loyal and deeply devoted, he was also easily swept along by his emotions, and in the future he would become embroiled in the Divine Realm's countless conflicts and entanglements.
Again and again, he would find himself torn between loyalty and the greater good, even making many extreme, stubborn choices in order to protect those around him.
So, in addition to teaching him, Su Ming often chatted with Huo Yuhao, subtly instilling in him a sound and clear outlook on life. Patiently, he taught him to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, and weigh the costs and benefits.
He wanted more than a cold genius who buried himself in the study of techniques. He wanted a mature, steadfast Huo Yuhao who understood good and evil, and knew when to advance and when to retreat.
Only then, when the time came to face God King Tang's supreme might, the tangled grudges of the Divine Realm, and Wang Dong's bloodline-bound fate,
would Huo Yuhao avoid being ruled by emotion, avoid stubbornly losing his way, and protect those he loved without abandoning his principles or resorting to extreme, uncontrolled actions.
In the quiet forging room, warm golden Soul Power shimmered softly, and the faint scrape of metal rang without pause.
Huo Yuhao sat with his mind calm and focused, Soul Power flowing delicately through his fingertips as he carefully outlined the Soul Tool's Core Array, his expression intent and serious.
After three months of practice, the clumsy inexperience he'd had at first had long since vanished from his technique. Every movement was deliberate, steady, and practiced.
At last, he stopped what he was doing and knitted his brows, as if he'd uncovered a question that had been lingering in his mind for some time. Then he softly broke the silence:
"Big Brother Su, I've been thinking about something lately. I've realized that the metals we use to make Soul Tools seem to be very different."
Su Ming was nearby, wiping down his forging tools and sorting Spirit-Forged Metal. At Huo Yuhao's words, he turned slightly, a hint of amused curiosity in his eyes, and asked mildly,
"Oh? Tell me. How are they different?"
Huo Yuhao set down the unfinished Soul Tool in his hands and looked seriously at the two very different metal billets on the table, his voice full of puzzlement and surprise:
"The special metal you gave me to practice and craft with is simply too high-quality. I've compared it.
"The practice materials handed out by the academy and the forging metal I bought from shops outside Shrek City both fall far short in texture, purity, and toughness."
"With the same forging technique, the same Soul Power tempering, and the same Core Array, Soul Tools made from your metal are at least seven or eight times more powerful than those made from ordinary metal."
He paused, gently rubbing the Spirit-Forged Metal Su Ming had forged. His voice carried a note of disbelief:
"Stranger still, even though the metal you forged yourself is lifeless, it seems to hold a warm, gentle quality, almost as if it had a spirit of its own. Its compatibility is incredibly high.
"When making Soul Tools, Soul Power flows through it especially smoothly. There's no resistance or backlash at all. Ordinary forging metal simply doesn't have that quality."
Su Ming chuckled at this, understanding and approval in his eyes.
To see the fundamental difference after only three months—Huo Yuhao's powers of observation and perception truly lived up to their reputation.
He put down his tools and walked over to the boy, who was still studying the metal with such focus. Then he teased,
"Not bad. Your powers of observation are getting sharper and sharper. It's only natural. Ordinary forging metal on the market is mass-produced, roughly processed, and full of impurities. How could it compare to materials I've personally purified through Spirit Forging?"
With that, he changed tack, deliberately putting on a shrewd, mercantile air as he raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Now that you've noticed the difference, want to learn my forging technique? Once you've mastered it, your Soul Tools will start out far ahead of your peers', and their quality and power will leave everything else in the dust."
"But I don't teach this for free. If you want to learn, you'll have to pay tuition."
Then his tone turned serious, filled with confident expectation:
"And listen, the Freshman Grand Competition is only two days away. If you can master the principles behind this Spirit Forging technique for crafting Soul Tools,
"then at the competition, you'll be able to soar to the top with Soul Tool combat power unlike anything else, amaze the entire crowd, and crush every other freshman in your year!"
Huo Yuhao had always pursued the highest possible quality and greatest possible power in Soul Tools.
Over the past three months, he had experienced firsthand the might of top-quality Spirit-Forged Metal and felt the transformative improvement that superior materials could bring.
Now, hearing that Su Ming was willing to teach him the core forging techniques, his eyes lit up. His longing surged to its peak, and he nodded firmly without the slightest hesitation, his voice resolute:
"I'll learn! Big Brother Su, I absolutely have to learn!"
Seeing the boy's fervent, unwavering expression, Su Ming smiled warmly and proposed the conditions he had already decided on.
"You can learn. I won't charge you tuition, but you have to agree to two conditions."
He looked Huo Yuhao squarely in the eye, each word clear:
"First, give it your all at the Freshman Grand Competition two days from now. Take first place among all the freshmen and stand on the highest podium.
"Second, after the competition, help me find, recommend, and recruit more junior students with talent for Soul Tools and good, sincere character to join our Soul Tool research group."
He wanted to use the Freshman Grand Competition to make a name for this new style of Soul Tools and lay the foundations of an entirely new Soul Tool system among Shrek's freshmen.
After hearing the conditions, Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate for a moment. His gaze unwavering, he agreed at once:
"Good! I agree! I'll definitely take first place in the Freshman Grand Competition! And I'll help Big Brother Su recruit more talented people!"
The boy's voice rang clear and strong, carrying the confidence he'd gained over three months of hard work and the boldness of one who would charge forward without looking back. The path to his comeback at the Freshman Grand Competition had quietly begun to take shape.