Level One Soul Grandmaster Li Changsheng

This happened as Li Changsheng's first academic year at the Shrek Pre-Academy was drawing to a close.

Bang!

A hammer strike sent a thousand sparks flying. A tall, shirtless figure stood before the forge, raising a brilliant white soul-power hammer to rhythmically pound away at a fist-sized, pitch-black iron sphere on the anvil.

The youth channeled power through his legs, and with every few strikes, his soul power surged.

Suddenly, the single metal sphere before him split into two—one large, one small, resembling a mother and child.

The large black sphere had a smooth, lustrous surface, as if coated in water. The smaller one was different; it looked as though it had weathered a thousand years, leaving its surface uneven and pitted.

The youth released the hammer, which instantly dissolved into intangible soul power and vanished into the air.

He stared at the two spheres on the table, the corners of his mouth curling into a deep, satisfied smile.

Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the iron spheres, which were still radiating heat at nearly several hundred degrees.

The moment his fair, youthful hands touched the spheres, they turned translucent and began to emit a peculiar, jade-like glow.

The youth flicked his other hand, and a book manifested from his palm. Without turning his head, he uttered a single word: "Blade."

As the word fell, a small knife appeared in his hand. Like the hammer before it, it was a brilliant, dazzling construct formed from soul power.

Grasping the blade, the youth began to etch complex, array-like symbols onto the two iron spheres.

He started with the smaller sphere, using the soul-power blade to carve it bit by bit, with painstaking precision.

His carving speed was rapid, as if he had been tempered through thousands of trials. Even when his slender arms pressed heavily against the iron, they did not tremble.

Under the youth's continuous carving and grinding, the large, pitch-black sphere gradually revealed a web of intricate, crisscrossing patterns, delicate and ingenious, exuding a faint, mysterious aura.

At that moment, the youth's eyes, fixed intently on the spheres, underwent a change.

A translucent purple hue became increasingly distinct. Within his pupils, threads of purple light expanded, seemingly reflecting the patterns on the spheres. Every time the purple light flickered, the youth's fingers would twitch, continuing the relentless carving process.

Swish.

Click.

This process lasted for about half an hour.

Half an hour of continuous arm movement left a dense layer of sweat on the youth's forehead and a touch of pallor on his delicate face.

But as the soul-power radiance faded and the two iron spheres reappeared in his field of vision, the youth let out a long, slow breath. His face was filled with excitement and joy; every bit of effort had been worth it.

He didn't speak, letting his actions prove his achievement.

Soul power, thin as silk, was injected bit by bit into the smaller of the two spheres.

In the blink of an eye, a faint trace of soul power overflowed from the pitted surface of the small sphere. Needle-like spikes of soul power sprouted from the iron, transforming the once-gentle energy into something violent, sharp, and brutal—as if an enraged hedgehog, bristling with destructive power, had been unleashed.

The youth slowly and carefully withdrew the soul power from within the sphere, a smile gracing his pale, youthful face.

"God of Wisdom, can I be considered a Level 1 Soul Tool Master now?"

The youth toyed with the two spheres, talking to himself with keen interest.

Notification: Congratulations.

A mechanical voice rang out, offering a brief congratulation before fading away.

"Ding! Congratulations on completing one of the tasks: Become a Level 1 Soul Tool Master. Reward: Genesis Book Martial Soul, first soul ring age increased by 100 years."

Li Changsheng smiled slightly. Ah, he had finally completed a timed task.

Indeed, this shirtless youth in the forging room was none other than Li Changsheng.

During this period, besides studying within Teacher Zi Buyu's Book Fragrance Domain to raise his soul power level, he had also taken that manual on soul tools, setting aside time every day to study the basics. Afterward, he would head to the Soul Guidance Department, which was open to students at the Pre-Academy, to observe the forging process. In this way, over the past five months, Li Changsheng had successfully forged a complete soul tool.

The two spheres in his hand were based on the "Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Gall," a hidden weapon from the Hundred Hidden Weapon Solutions in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. After crafting the weapon, Li Changsheng had inscribed array patterns onto it to trigger soul power.

Unlike the original version, which was coated in deadly poison, the weapon Li Changsheng forged contained only the internal mechanism of needles. However, by inscribing the soul-power-triggering arrays, the precision hidden weapon had been transformed into a soul tool with explosive power.

Li Changsheng had originally not wanted to waste his time here.

But he had no choice.

Due to the sudden turn of events during the entrance examination, almost all of the timed tasks given to Li Changsheng by the Sign-in and Clock-in System had been aborted.

He had failed to win first place in the Shrek Pre-Academy freshman competition because he had been unconscious for three days and three nights.

He hadn't even figured out how to challenge the others.

The top genius team? Because of the departure of someone on the level of the Centrifugal Killing Mirror to participate in the Shrek Academy examination, there was currently a gap, and the Pre-Academy didn't truly have a so-called "top genius team."

Thus, Li Changsheng had no choice but to learn about soul tools.

Clearly, Li Changsheng was quite talented in this regard.

In a short amount of time, relying on his own comprehension, he had forged his very first Level 1 soul tool today.

This was a remarkable feat.

He put away the commemorative soul tool and left the forging room.

He had just returned to the dormitory.

The soul power communication device in Li Changsheng's room, a thing called a telephone, rang.

Picking up the phone, Li Changsheng quickly heard the voice on the other end. It was Seven Absolute Zither Master.

"Did you succeed?"

Seven Absolute Zither Master had known for a long time that Li Changsheng was studying soul master knowledge in his spare time. She would even lean over when Li Changsheng was looking at the handwritten notes written in simplified Chinese, scanning the notes with an uncomprehending gaze and asking Li Changsheng what those characters were.

Li Changsheng naturally didn't explain. Simplified Chinese was profound and extensive; who had so much time to explain it systematically? He only told Seven Absolute Zither Master that it was a special font used by soul masters.

Li Changsheng grunted, "I'm a Rank 1 Soul Master now."

"Congratulations." Seven Absolute Zither Master's voice also carried a hint of happiness.

"Right, don't forget we're going to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow. Bring a change of clothes, and prepare some defensive soul tools in case of emergencies. Teacher Zi Buyu might test us in unexpected ways, and your soul ring acquisition journey probably won't be easy. Although I don't really understand Teacher Zi's practical teaching methods either," Seven Absolute Zither Master reminded him.

Li Changsheng chuckled, "Quite the opposite. I think Teacher Zi Buyu will at most let me acquire my second soul ring alone, or with your assistance. She'll definitely stay in one place and read a book endlessly."

Seven Absolute Zither Master hummed, her tone carrying a slight smile. "I hope so. However, isn't the Star Dou Great Forest still too early for us? My second soul ring is just to raise soul beasts in the forest."

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. With Teacher Zi Buyu accompanying us, there's no need to worry too much. Anyway, I'll find a hundred-year-old soul beast in the outer forest for my second soul ring."

"Okay, then that's settled. I'm going to buy some ingredients and cooking utensils."

Hearing about cooking utensils and ingredients, Li Changsheng was stunned for a moment. He thought that the journey to the Star Dou Great Forest was very long, and camping was inevitable. In that case, he could often eat food made by Seven Absolute Zither Master on the way?

Thinking of this, Li Changsheng quickly said, "You go out of the dormitory building first. I'll be right there. I'll go with you."

Speaking of which, he hadn't even visited Two-Part City since enrolling in the Pre-Education Academy.

"Ah? Okay, I'll wait for you then."

It was strange, though. Although everyone said Seven Absolute Zither Master was a student of Ming Taibai, the Dean of the Pre-Education Academy and Sun-Extinguishing Douluo, in reality, Seven Absolute Zither Master had always been studying by Zi Buyu's side.

Li Changsheng had asked once before, but Seven Absolute Zither Master hadn't answered specifically, only saying that learning by Zi Buyu's side improved quickly.

Soon, Li Changsheng arrived outside the girls' dormitory.

Within the Pre-Education Academy, only the dormitory buildings were the largest, with separate male and female dormitories far apart.