Becoming Xuan Ziwen's Disciple

A quarter of an hour later, the Soul Tool Vehicle came to a smooth stop in front of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy stood in the western district of Ming Capital. The academy itself was a vast hexagonal complex, its grounds expansive enough to rival a small or medium-sized city. Its architecture was dominated by austere metal, with sharp lines and a strong futuristic feel. The main gate was a gigantic metal arch, above which hung nine gilded characters reading "Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy." Its imposing grandeur was breathtaking.

After entering the academy, Meng Hongchen waved goodbye and headed for the ordinary teaching area, while Xiao Hongchen went alone to Mingde Hall.

Mingde Hall was located in the academy's most secluded central area. Its ground-level entrance was merely an unremarkable metal building, modest and understated, almost easy to miss. But only after entering could one appreciate its immense scale.

Xiao Hongchen presented his token and passed through three tightly guarded checkpoints before reaching a curved metal hall. Twenty broad elevators stood in rows there, each gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

He stepped into one of them, inserted his token, and fed in Soul Power. The elevator slowly descended, taking nearly two minutes to reach a depth of almost a hundred meters underground.

When the elevator doors opened, a world made entirely of metal came into view.

The vast hall stretched so far that the eye could not reach its end. Its domed ceiling soared twenty meters high, and countless worktables stood in neat rows. Each was a full five meters long and three meters wide.

Soul Engineers worked intently at the vast majority of the tables. The clanging of metal and the humming of Soul Power in motion rose and fell without pause, while the air was thick with the scent of metal.

This was the true heart of Mingde Hall, the Sun Moon Empire's most advanced Soul Tool production base. It covered more than half the area of the academy above ground and brought together the empire's finest Soul Engineers.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and headed straight for Laboratory Zone One, where Xuan Ziwen's lab was located.

Xiao Hongchen raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A young man's voice, slightly hoarse, came from inside.

"Excuse the interruption." Xiao Hongchen pushed open the door and entered.

The laboratory was bright and tidy, with various unfinished Soul Tools and blueprints scattered across the workbench. A tall, thin man stood with his back to the door, adjusting a Soul Tool. He was none other than Xuan Ziwen, Mingde Hall's chief researcher.

Xiao Hongchen bowed slightly and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Teacher Xuan, greetings. I'm Xiao Hongchen. I've just joined Mingde Hall today, and I'd like to choose you as my mentor."

Xuan Ziwen finally turned around. His sharp gaze swept over the badge on Xiao Hongchen's chest, marking him as a Level 4 Soul Engineer, and he said coolly:

"So you're Xiao Hongchen. I don't care how famous you were elsewhere, or that you're the Hall Master's grandson. Everyone here has to take my test from scratch. Besides, you're only a Level 4 Soul Engineer. I don't even know how you got into Mingde Hall. If you can't pass my test, find another mentor. Don't waste my time."

Xiao Hongchen's expression didn't change. If anything, a glint of interest flickered in his eyes. He had long known that Mingde Hall's chief researcher had an eccentric personality and exacting standards, but he hadn't expected such bluntness as their very first exchange.

Xiao Hongchen smiled faintly, his expression calm and confident. "Teacher Xuan, I'm willing to take your test."

"Good. Then let's begin."

He raised a hand and produced a small Soul Tool clock in his palm. He set a thirty-minute countdown and casually placed it on the worktable.

Xuan Ziwen paused, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"I'll give you half an hour. Pick any materials you like from here and make what you consider the finest Level 4 Soul Tool Core Array."

With that, he went to one side, folded his arms, and watched coldly.

Xiao Hongchen said nothing. He went straight to the materials area, his gaze rapidly sweeping across the rare metals and core components. He released both his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul and Brain Martial Soul, greatly enhancing his Metal Control and Spiritual Power.

A quarter of an hour. That was more than enough for him.

"Teacher Xuan, watch closely."

Xiao Hongchen casually reached out with his left hand, and a large piece of titanium was drawn toward him.

His first and third Soul Rings lit up at once.

Under a shroud of golden light, the fist-sized piece of titanium quickly separated, then transformed like a living creature, finally taking the shape of a flawless metal sphere.

In his right hand, he held the Dark Gold Profound Blade, a Ranked Engraving Carving Knife that stood sixty-fifth on the list.

It was one of only two Ranked Engraving Carving Knives owned by the Hongchen Family. The other, ranked thirteenth, was in the hands of his grandfather, Jing Hongchen.

The Dark Gold Profound Blade made exceptionally high demands of its wielder. Only a Soul Engineer with an extremely keen sensitivity to metal elements could unleash its full power. Its ability was simple yet domineering: any Soul Guidance Array carved with it would naturally gain a faint golden sheen along its lines, increasing the array's stability and Soul Power transmission efficiency by a full thirty percent or more.

More importantly, it strongly suppressed any metal of a lower grade than itself. This allowed its wielder to carve even hard metals with ease, without having to pour in a large amount of Soul Power.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath, focusing his mind in an instant. The blade flashed with brilliant golden light. His right hand swept through the air as smoothly as flowing clouds and running water, while his left hand kept the titanium sphere spinning.

Rather than carve a traditional Core Array directly onto the sphere's surface, he first used the Dark Gold Profound Blade to etch three spiral-shaped golden grooves into it. Then, using his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul as a guide, he activated his third Soul Skill, Gold Solidification, transforming Soul Power into fine golden powder and evenly filling the grooves.

Without pausing, Xiao Hongchen began engraving the most crucial array.

First came the Milk Bottle's core energy-storage array. At lightning speed, he carved nine miniature energy-gathering nodes where the three spiral grooves intersected. Each node took the shape of a perfect hexagram, connected to the others by fine golden lines to form a complete and complex energy-circulation circuit.

Even more astonishingly, he didn't seal the energy-storage array in the conventional way. Instead, he boldly incorporated a metal spin structure into it, engraving a miniature Three-Legged Golden Toad phantom into the core.

This array pattern greatly increased the efficiency of Soul Power storage. Better still, whenever Soul Power ran low, the Golden Toad phantom could actively devour free-floating metal elements in its surroundings to replenish it in small amounts. Given enough time, it could achieve true self-sufficiency.

When the fifteen-minute countdown ended, a flawless Core Array rested in Xiao Hongchen's palm, its surface covered in exquisite golden spirals and a faint Golden Toad phantom glowing at its center. It radiated a gentle, steady pulse of Soul Power.

The laboratory fell silent.

Xuan Ziwen, who had been standing to one side with his arms folded, was visibly stunned. He strode forward and took the titanium core from Xiao Hongchen, examining it closely for a full half-minute. His gaze lingered repeatedly on the Golden Toad phantom array pattern.

"Good... very good!"

Xuan Ziwen's voice was no longer cold. Instead, it carried a rare note of excitement.

"You've fused an energy-storage array with a metal spin structure and used your Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul as the array core to create a self-replenishing mechanism... I haven't seen this kind of ingenuity in a Soul Engineer for many years."

"Unfortunately, only you can make this kind of Milk Bottle that replenishes its own Soul Power, so it can't be mass-produced. Otherwise, it would be enough to completely change the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineer system. There'd be no more need to worry about Soul Power running dry on the battlefield, and the strain on supply lines would be greatly reduced..."

"Teacher Xuan, this Milk Bottle can't replenish itself forever. After about half a year, the Golden Toad Array Core will gradually fade. For it to keep replenishing itself, I'll have to repair it again," Xiao Hongchen added.

Xuan Ziwen paused in surprise, then nodded slightly. To Xiao Hongchen's surprise, an even more satisfied look appeared in his eyes.

"Good. You didn't let my praise go to your head, and you clearly understand its limitations. That alone puts you ahead of many conceited so-called geniuses."

"Servicing it once every six months isn't perfect, but it's already far better than any energy-storage Soul Tool on the market. The key is that the Golden Toad Array Core's self-replenishing mechanism is your own unique approach. If you keep researching, you may well extend the maintenance interval to three years, five years, or even solve the problem of it fading altogether."

Xuan Ziwen turned and looked straight into Xiao Hongchen's odd-colored eyes. For once, his tone was solemn.

"Xiao Hongchen, would you be willing to become my personal disciple? I have just one requirement: keep improving this Golden Toad Self-Replenishment System. Don't settle for repairing it once a year. I want you to make a Soul Tool that comes as close as possible to replenishing itself forever."

Xiao Hongchen was delighted, but kept his face composed as he bowed respectfully. "This disciple understands. I won't let you down, Teacher."

Xuan Ziwen gave a satisfied hum, and a rare smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"You're the first personal disciple I've taken. The other students were assigned to me by Sun Moon Academy. They have decent talent and passed my test, but they still haven't managed to enter Mingde Hall, and their Soul Tool-making skills are far inferior to yours."

He paused, then continued:

"I'm usually either here or in the laboratory at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. Come find me if you have a problem, but don't expect me to be free at all times."

"Go. For today, just get familiar with Mingde Hall. Starting tomorrow, I'll assign you a project of your own. Remember, around here, strength speaks for itself."

Xiao Hongchen bowed again and left the laboratory. With Xuan Ziwen's guidance, he figured many of his ideas about Soul Tools would be much easier to bring to life.