Modular Design

Those words had not been something Ye Luochen came up with on the spot to fool Xuan Ziwen.

They were his genuine thoughts.

Although Ye Luochen had spent the past half month only in the most basic areas of Mingde Hall, with low clearance that prevented him from accessing the core areas,

he had high-level instructors at his side.

Four seventh-rank Soul Engineers and two eighth-rank Soul Engineers.

They were all instructors produced by Mingde Hall, with technical expertise that was absolutely first-rate.

With several such people providing him meticulous, constant guidance every afternoon over the past half month,

Ye Luochen's horizons and knowledge had long since been raised to a level far beyond those of his peers.

He had even seen several ninth-rank Soul Tools that had once existed only in rumors.

Yet even so, after entering Xuan Ziwen's laboratory, Ye Luochen was still deeply shocked.

Because the Soul Tools behind the hall gave him a sense of pressure not much weaker than the ninth-rank Soul Tools he had seen before.

And the most crucial point was this.

Xuan Ziwen was not one of the other three ninth-rank Soul Engineers apart from Jing Hongchen.

In other words, Xuan Ziwen was, at most, an eighth-rank Soul Engineer.

Yet the Soul Tools he had developed under such circumstances possessed this kind of intimidating presence. His skill level was self-evident.

At the very least, he was superior to the two eighth-rank Soul Engineers Ye Luochen had encountered over the past half month.

A ninth-rank Soul Engineer definitely would not accept a weak Soul Engineer who had only just broken through to the second rank as an apprentice.

The other highly skilled research-oriented Soul Engineers were most likely busy with their own work as well.

Otherwise, Jing Hongchen would presumably have assigned one to him long ago.

Under such circumstances, what could be wrong with taking Xuan Ziwen as his teacher?

At the side, Xuan Ziwen was clearly stunned when he heard Ye Luochen's words.

After falling silent for a moment, he finally spoke.

"Since things have come to this, we'll proceed as we agreed before. In fifteen minutes, make the best Soul Tool core formation you can and show it to me."

"If the result satisfies me, accepting a genius whom even the Hall Master has taken special care of would not be out of the question."

"Before you begin, let me remind you once more: rank is not the key.

"The key is whether, as a Soul Engineer, you have ideas and creativity of your own."

The two of them reached an agreement.

Xuan Ziwen took out the Soul Tool timer again and placed it to one side.

Ye Luochen then stepped up to the workbench and began examining the various materials laid out on it.

After observing for a moment, Ye Luochen stretched out his hand and picked up a piece of gray metal.

Then Soul Power surged, and a small Dark Iron Blade condensed in his hand.

He began carving the metal without pause.

At the sight of this, Xuan Ziwen was immediately stunned.

Given his cultivation, he could naturally tell that the small blade was not a Soul Tool carving knife.

"His martial soul actually resembles a Soul Tool carving knife to such an extent. What an innate advantage..."

As an eighth-rank Soul Engineer who had immersed himself in the study of Soul Tools for many years, Xuan Ziwen understood the importance of a Soul Tool carving knife better than anyone.

A Soul Tool carving knife compatible with its user could greatly improve a Soul Engineer's abilities.

And what could possibly suit someone better than their own martial soul?

While Xuan Ziwen was marveling at this, Ye Luochen had already become busy.

The Dark Iron Blade flew up and down across the metal block, sending chips scattering continuously.

Before long, lines of patterns began appearing across the metal's surface.

Yet as Xuan Ziwen continued watching, his brow gradually furrowed, and he could not help asking,

"Where is your formation? The most important part of a Soul Tool core is the formations attached to it.

"Whether for charging, acceleration, burst power, or defense, I have seen no trace of such formations in your work."

Ye Luochen ignored Xuan Ziwen's question.

Instead, he remained wholly focused on carving the metal block in his hands.

Seeing this, Xuan Ziwen was deeply puzzled, but he said nothing further.

There was not much time left anyway. He could simply wait and see the result.

Soon, another five minutes passed, and the metal sphere in Ye Luochen's hand had finally nearly taken shape.

With the final stroke and a small injection of Soul Power, the metal sphere slowly began to glow.

This signified that the core formation had been completed.

"If this is what you intend to show me, then I can only regretfully tell you that you have failed my assessment.

"This is merely an empty shell without any attached formations. It cannot even be considered a Soul Tool core."

Looking at the glowing metal sphere in Ye Luochen's palm, Xuan Ziwen shook his head in disappointment.

Yet contrary to his expectations, Ye Luochen still ignored him.

After setting down the metal sphere in his hand, he picked up two more pieces of metal and began carving them.

Seeing Ye Luochen's actions, Xuan Ziwen's brow faintly creased.

With his discerning eye, he could naturally tell what Ye Luochen was doing.

Of the two metal pieces, one had taken on the rudimentary form of a charging formation, while the other had taken on the rudimentary form of a defensive formation.

"Did he only start trying to remedy things after I reminded him?"

"He actually needed my reminder..."

Xuan Ziwen shook his head in disappointment.

However, since the fifteen minutes had not yet elapsed, he continued watching patiently.

But before long, Ye Luochen's actions made him frown once more.

After carving the two formations to near completion, Ye Luochen actually pressed the two small metal pieces directly onto the metal sphere he had made earlier.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Xuan Ziwen hurriedly spoke.

"The reason a Soul Tool core is called a Soul Tool core is that no matter how many formations it contains, it must be a single, inseparable core."

"If you force them together so rashly, the energy within will only become chaotic and eventually explode!"

But he was still too late.

Ye Luochen had already completed the action.

Watching Ye Luochen's ignorant act, Xuan Ziwen cursed inwardly while swiftly pulling out an Invincible Barrier and throwing it onto Ye Luochen.

He absolutely could not accept a student who did not even understand the most basic common sense.

But at the very least, he could not allow Ye Luochen to be injured here.

Yet even after the Invincible Barrier had firmly attached itself to Ye Luochen's body, the expected explosion did not occur.

Instead, the two metal pieces embedded with formations fitted flawlessly into the metal sphere from before.

Then, the originally faint glow began to intensify.

The charging formation activated, the defensive formation activated, and both merged into the metal sphere.

In the next moment, a barrier emitting a pale gray glow condensed into existence.

At the sight of this, Xuan Ziwen was utterly stunned.

Judging by the barrier before him, its strength was around the third rank, and it operated exceptionally smoothly.

But this completely defied common sense!

Shouldn't it have exploded immediately?

Only then did Ye Luochen finally speak.

"Teacher, the modular, plug-and-play Soul Tool core formation is complete."