They said those in the thick of it were blinded, while onlookers saw clearly.
Xuan Ziwen had been so wholly absorbed in the concept of modularization that he had actually overlooked this issue.
But Ye Luochen had experienced far too much.
In his previous life, he had replaced countless data cables. Every time, the cable would break at the connection between the wire and the plug, causing him endless frustration.
Therefore, after proposing the concept of modularization, Ye Luochen had immediately guessed that Soul Tools manufactured this way would likely face the same issues as data cables in the future.
And sure enough, it came true.
Of course, there had to be a solution.
After a round of discussion, Ye Luochen proposed a new idea.
Large die casting, integrated construction.
Most components that did not require many functions would be produced through large die casting, molded as a single integrated piece.
The other components, which needed to carry more functions and had a higher likelihood of damage or replacement, would be manufactured separately.
It was an extremely simple idea. As an eighth-rank Soul Engineer, Xuan Ziwen fully understood it as soon as he heard it and immediately came up with a plan.
He specified exactly which components were suitable for integrated die casting and which were not.
Then, in just a few short hours, he finished modifying the original machine tools.
The original twenty machine tools were directly reduced to eight.
Tests showed that the third-rank Soul Guidance Cannons produced by these new machine tools no longer fell apart after a single use as before, and their service life had improved dramatically.
"This way, we can account for both repairability and cost. Not bad, not bad.
As long as we debug it a little more and show this production line to the hall master, there definitely won't be any problem establishing a formal project and obtaining subsidies and funding."
Looking at the brand-new production line before him, Xuan Ziwen nodded in satisfaction before speaking.
"As expected, we still needed the person who came up with the concept to participate. Otherwise, those in the thick of it are blinded. If I worked it out alone, it would be easy to overlook something."
However, he received no response.
At first, Xuan Ziwen did not pay it any mind.
But as time gradually passed, he began to sense that something was wrong.
It was a little too quiet.
Ye Luochen seemed not to have made a sound for some time.
Realizing this, Xuan Ziwen immediately stopped his research and turned around.
And when he looked, he froze on the spot.
Ye Luochen was staring fixedly at the Dark Iron Blade in his hand, his face flickering with struggle.
The Dark Iron Blade in his hand was continuously radiating light.
This was...
Seeing the incomparably familiar scene before him, Xuan Ziwen was stunned for only a moment before his expression changed drastically.
He cried out inwardly.
Not good!
Then he moved, intending to place himself between Ye Luochen and the production line.
But before he could get into position, the familiar hum of the Dark Iron Blade sounded from Ye Luochen's hand. At the same time, a powerful suction force suddenly burst from the blade.
It was over. All over.
That was Xuan Ziwen's only thought at that moment.
He had experienced this scene not long ago.
That time, Ye Luochen's martial soul had acted just as strangely. In the end, after devouring the first-generation Stamping Machine Tool, it had calmed down and evolved.
This time, was it the newly improved production line's turn...
Could he return this disciple?
Why did he always have to lay hands on the things Xuan Ziwen treasured most?
Yet despite the intense pain and reluctance in his heart, Xuan Ziwen still stopped in his tracks and allowed Ye Luochen to raise his arm, extending the Dark Iron Blade toward the production line.
He naturally knew how to weigh what mattered more.
This thing could be rebuilt. Compared to that, an opportunity for Ye Luochen's martial soul to evolve again was undoubtedly far more important.
Half an hour later, Xuan Ziwen looked at the now completely empty testing platform.
He slapped himself twice in regret.
If he had the chance to do it over, he would definitely choose to stand in front of Ye Luochen.
He had only guessed that Ye Luochen might devour the machine tools again, but he had not expected it to be this many!
An entire production line—eight machine tools—had all been eaten clean by that little blade in Ye Luochen's hand!
It had not left him a single thing!
But unlike Xuan Ziwen, whose eyes had already lost their light, Ye Luochen was overjoyed.
As the owner of the martial soul, he could clearly feel that after devouring those machine tools, the strength of his Dark Iron Blade had absolutely risen by another large margin!
And after taking out the crystal ball to test it, that was directly confirmed.
His Innate Soul Power of rank six had actually risen another rank!
This level could absolutely be considered excellent!
But after the surprise came an intense sense of confusion.
Why?
Why had this happened?
Just yesterday, when he was in the laboratory, he had specifically tested the stamping machine tool Xuan Ziwen had newly made.
His martial soul had not reacted in the slightest.
Yet only a day later, it had suddenly begun devouring for the second time?
What was different from yesterday?
Wasn't it just that today's machine tools had changed their mode and adopted the large die-casting method he had newly proposed...
Hm?
Ye Luochen suddenly realized something.
The newly proposed large die-casting method.
This was the new mode that today's stamping machine tools had just adopted.
Looking at that point alone, it might not mean anything.
But the target of the first devouring had been a newly born Stamping Machine Tool.
Ye Luochen thought of a possibility.
Could his martial soul's devouring be related to these two instances of "new"?
Thinking of this, Ye Luochen hurriedly told Xuan Ziwen, who was beside him, about his guess.
After hearing it, Xuan Ziwen's first reaction was doubt.
Because it truly sounded far too absurd.
But upon thinking it over more carefully, Xuan Ziwen somehow felt that it might actually be possible.
The first thing the Dark Iron Blade devoured was a modular Stamping Machine Tool that had never existed before, an absolute innovation in the Soul Tool world.
The second thing it devoured was a newly created large die-casting Stamping Machine Tool and its complete production line, likewise a major innovation in the Soul Tool world.
And the failed attempt in between had targeted a Stamping Machine Tool that, though similar, contained no substantive innovation.
"Could it be that your martial soul evolved because of your pioneering work in Soul Tool technology?"
After the two analyzed it for a while, Xuan Ziwen voiced a conjecture that even he found hard to believe.
And upon hearing that, Ye Luochen found it equally unbelievable.
Could making innovative breakthroughs in Soul Tool technology cause his martial soul to evolve?
That simply made no sense.
Could his martial soul truly have been born for Soul Tools?
"Guessing alone is meaningless. Only experiments can reveal whether it's true or false."
Xuan Ziwen quickly calmed himself and urged Ye Luochen on.
"Quick, think of another innovation in Soul Tool technology and put it into practice!"
But upon hearing this, Ye Luochen could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
How could it be that easy?
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