After finishing the drawings and putting them into his Storage Soul Tool, Huo Yuhao got up and left his room. First, he went outside and grabbed a quick bite to eat.
Afterward, he asked the hotel receptionist where in Shrek City he could get a custom Soul Tool made.
"Young man, looking to have a Soul Tool made to order? There's probably only one place in this city that can meet your needs," the young receptionist said.
"Shrek City isn't like the Sun Moon Empire, where Soul Tools are held in high regard. Although the city has started paying more attention to Soul Tool development in recent years, it got a very late start, and there are still far too few specialists. Right now, only the Treasure Pavilion in Shrek City can make custom Soul Tools."
The receptionist explained at length.
"Oh? What's the story behind the Treasure Pavilion? How does it have that much influence?" Huo Yuhao asked, intrigued.
"The Treasure Pavilion started out as just an auction house in Shrek City. But in recent years, it's also become the city's largest shop and trading center. These days, people in the city go there to buy and sell just about everything."
"As for its backing, well, look across the street." The receptionist nodded toward the other side of the road.
Across the street stood the gates of Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao understood at once.
So the Treasure Pavilion was Shrek's own front, a means of making money.
Huo Yuhao thanked the receptionist and headed in the direction she had pointed out.
It was already nearing dusk. As one of the busiest cities on the Douluo Continent, Shrek was at its liveliest in the evening.
The Treasure Pavilion was near the north gate of Shrek City, and as soon as Huo Yuhao arrived, he was stunned by the bustling scene before him.
Pedestrians streamed along the streets, while all kinds of unusual vendors called out on the city's broad main thoroughfare, selling an assortment of curious goods.
Huo Yuhao strolled unhurriedly down the main street, glancing around with interest at the sights.
About fifteen minutes later, he spotted the Treasure Pavilion.
It wasn't that Huo Yuhao was good at finding his way. The building was simply so distinctive that anyone could tell at a glance it was the "Treasure Pavilion."
From a distance, it looked just like a lifelike treasure basin. It had four stories and stood more than twenty meters tall.
Huo Yuhao marveled at it for a moment. When he reached the entrance, his gaze was immediately drawn to the four classically dressed young women in qipaos standing before the doors.
Each wore a different-colored qipao, adorned with a different flower: plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. The dresses accentuated the young women's graceful figures and lovely features, making them appear especially alluring and delicate.
The qipaos were slit almost all the way up to the women's thighs, and their fair legs drew the eyes of every man nearby.
Huo Yuhao only glanced twice. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the view; he simply had business to take care of today.
He headed for the Treasure Pavilion.
Before he could reach the door, the young woman in the green qipao stepped forward to greet him. With a faint smile, she asked respectfully, "Esteemed guest, are you here for tonight's Treasure Appreciation Meeting? Do you have an invitation?"
"Treasure Appreciation Meeting?" Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He hadn't expected the Treasure Pavilion to be holding an event tonight.
"I don't have an invitation," Huo Yuhao said, shaking his head.
The young woman showed no hint of impatience and continued respectfully, "In that case, you may attend the Treasure Appreciation Meeting as long as you can prove that your assets are worth at least one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in assets? Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and pulled a gold-plated card from his clothes, holding it up for her to see.
The young woman's polite, practiced smile immediately grew more genuine. "Esteemed guest, please follow me."
As she spoke, she gestured for him to follow and led the way.
The moment they entered the Treasure Pavilion, an air of luxury washed over them. Beautiful young women were scattered around the golden hall, ready to appear whenever a guest needed something.
"May I ask what service you require, esteemed guest? The Treasure Appreciation Meeting will begin on the second floor shortly. If you don't need anything else, I'll take my leave." The young woman in the qipao started to withdraw.
"Wait. I want to have a Soul Tool made to order. Take me to whoever handles that sort of thing here," Huo Yuhao said seriously.
"Of course, sir. Please follow me." The young woman was surprised to hear him mention a Soul Tool, but still gestured politely for him to come along and led him inside.
It didn't take long for the two of them to reach a room cluttered with all kinds of mechanical parts.
Inside, a middle-aged man was the only one there, intently fiddling with the mechanical parts on his desk.
His hair was disheveled and his eyes were ringed with dark circles. He looked extremely unkempt.
Only after the young woman called to him several times did the middle-aged man come to his senses and turn to look at Huo Yuhao and his companion.
"What do you want?" The man looked annoyed at being interrupted.
"Supervisor, this esteemed guest wants to have a Soul Tool made to order," the young woman in the qipao said respectfully. Then, with a good sense of timing, she stepped outside.
"A custom Soul Tool? What kind do you want?" the middle-aged man asked with a frown.
Huo Yuhao took several sketches from his Storage Ring and handed them to the man, then began explaining exactly what he needed.
A few minutes later, an unusual light shone in the middle-aged man's eyes.
"Brilliant, brilliant... These weapons can be used in close combat or at a distance. Most importantly, they're compact. If we carve a few special Soul Guidance Arrays into them, they might just become an entirely new type of Soul Tool."
There were three types of Soul Tools on the Douluo Continent. The first was the close-combat type, mostly things like knives and swords. Infusing them with Soul Power increased their attack strength, but they consumed quite a lot of Soul Power, making them better suited to assault-type Soul Masters.
The second type was long-range Soul Tools—things like Soul Tool Guns and cannons. They consumed a lot of Soul Power, but were fairly easy to handle and suitable for ranged attacks. There were no restrictions on this type; basically any Soul Master could use one.
The third type was Fixed Soul Tools. They required little Soul Power, but were less accurate and very expensive to make. Their power, however, was beyond what the other two types of Soul Tools could match.
Making Soul Tools involved designing their external structure and inscribing their Core Formations.
The designs Huo Yuhao had brought were essentially plans for the external structure. The Core Formation inscriptions were something he needed to discuss in detail with the middle-aged man before him.
The two spent a long time discussing things in the room full of mechanical parts. At last, they decided which formations to inscribe into each of these ninja tools.
Only then did Huo Yuhao nod with satisfaction.
As for the cost, there was no need to worry. Huo Yuhao now had one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in hand and was loaded.
After paying the deposit, the two agreed that the tools would be ready in two days—the day before Shrek Academy officially opened for the year.
"All right, make yourself at home. Just don't disturb me. I'm going to start making the custom Soul Tools you ordered."
Perhaps because he had found a new direction for his research, the middle-aged man was visibly excited and immediately started ushering Huo Yuhao out.
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