"We Promise Not to Use Kong Bo"

"Your reasoning makes sense," Lin Jiayi said. "Your Moon Shuttle looks more expensive, but fortunately it has great potential. Kong Bo, wait a moment. Director Lin will present you with the badge of a first-rank Soul Engineer. Congratulations, Kong Bo! You're officially a Soul Engineer now. I never expected your first Soul Tool to be one controlled by your Martial Soul. What a pleasant surprise."

"Teacher, I'll need to use my Moon Shuttle in real combat. If I run into a Soul Master with a Mental Attribute who tries to interfere with me using mental power, I need to be prepared for that possibility."

Lin Jiayi then handed Kong Bo a gold-plated badge. It had gear-shaped edges and a "1" on it, signifying that Kong Bo was a first-rank Soul Engineer.

"Thank you, Director," Kong Bo said. "Brother Xiao, Sister Meng, did you come to see Director Lin to take the second-rank Soul Engineer test?"

"Just me, little brother Kong Bo," Xiao Hongchen said. "I'm already a level 24 Soul Grandmaster, and my sister is a level 23 Soul Grandmaster. We've been studying Soul Tools for nearly two months, so it's about time we took the exam. What I didn't expect was to run into you here, little brother!"

"Brother Xiao, you're too kind. Would it be all right if I watched you take the second-rank Soul Engineer test?" Kong Bo asked.

"Of course," Kong Bo said.

Xiao Hongchen's second-rank Soul Tool was a Soul Tool Gun. He took it from his Storage Bracelet, raised it, and aimed at the target for the second-rank test. Then he fed Soul Power into the Soul Tool, and its Core Array began to operate. A red Soul Guidance Ray shot straight from the barrel and punched a hole in the target.

"You've passed," Lin Jiayi said.

Next came Meng Hongchen's Soul Tool test. She had made a close-combat Soul Tool sword, using materials well suited to ice attributes. After infusing the sword with Soul Power, she thrust it at the practice dummy, piercing straight through it. Meng Hongchen also passed the second-rank Soul Engineer certification exam.

"Excellent! Just excellent!" Lin Jiayi said. The Hongchen siblings had passed the second-rank Soul Engineer exam at the age of nine. They were truly exceptional young talents. "Children, you've given me a wonderful surprise. Our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has never seen geniuses like you. But remember, whether you're cultivating or making Soul Tools, you still have a long road ahead. Don't slack off!"

"Yes, Director," the three of them replied.

"If there's nothing else, you can go back to class," Lin Jiayi said.

Kong Bo then returned to his class. He was in first year, and his homeroom teacher was Zhuang Yi, a young woman. First-year students didn't learn much yet; the main focus was introducing them to Soul Masters and Soul Engineers.

"Hello, Teacher Zhuang." When Kong Bo entered the classroom, class was already in session. He politely knocked on the door and bowed to Zhuang Yi.

"Kong Bo, I know you were absent for two days. Did something happen on the way?" Zhuang Yi asked. She knew Kong Bo lived nearby, but he was two hours late today. As his teacher, she had to check what had happened and look after her student.

"Teacher, I went to take the first-rank Soul Engineer certification exam with Director Lin," Kong Bo said, pointing to the gold badge pinned to his left breast. "Look, Director Lin gave me this."

"Kong Bo, you..." Zhuang Yi and the other students stared at the gold badge, their mouths hanging open. Zhuang Yi could barely get the words out. "Kong Bo, you... you really became a first-rank Soul Engineer? Teacher... may I take a look at your Soul Tool?"

"That's right, Kong Bo!" one of his classmates, Zhao Chaoyong, said excitedly. "My father works in the archives at Mingde Hall. You're the first person he's heard of to make a Soul Tool after just one week of school. Show us!"

"All right, I'll show you. My Soul Tool is called the Moon Shuttle." Kong Bo took it from his Storage Bracelet. With a thought, the tetrahedron transformed into two Moon Shuttles. He controlled them as they flew around the classroom, then recalled them to his hands.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Zhao Chaoyong and the other students watched with shining eyes, filled with envy.

Kong Bo flicked his hand, and the two Moon Shuttles returned to him. After several transformations, they became a tetrahedron in his hands.

Zhuang Yi had watched the entire transformation. "Kong Bo, the transformation process seems rather complicated when you recall the Moon Shuttle."

"Of course, Teacher. Otherwise, I wouldn't have spent a whole week drawing the plans. When my classmates went out to play, I happened to get an idea for the design, so I drew the plans here in the classroom. You saw me doing it, remember?"

Zhuang Yi recalled that Kong Bo had indeed been drawing plans the previous week. She had thought he was simply introverted and liked to draw. She never imagined he was designing a Soul Tool.

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" Zhuang Yi said. "Kong Bo, we have a student Soul Fighting match this afternoon. You'll have to represent our class."

"That's right, Kong Bo! Show the other classes what you can do!" another student said.

That afternoon, the first-year students had practical combat class. Their instructor, Zhong Yue, had once been a Soul Engineer officer in the Sun Moon Empire's army. After retiring from the military, he had come to teach practical combat at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. He taught more than just the first-year students.

After the lesson, students were selected to fight between classes. Kong Bo's Class One drew Class Five. "Go on, Kong Bo. Show them what you can do!" his classmates urged him.

A tall, burly boy stepped out from Class Five. His Martial Soul was a black bear. When he saw Kong Bo walk onto the platform—a boy who was thinner, shorter, and younger than him—he couldn't help looking down on him.

"Does Class One have nobody else? You sent a little six-year-old to fight? State your name! I'm Peng Shan, a level 15 Power Attack System Soul Master with a Black Bear Martial Soul," the student said.

Kong Bo raised his head and smiled at Peng Shan. "Kong Bo, level 13 Soul Master, Martial Soul: Three Moons, first-rank Soul Engineer." He used Martial Soul Possession, and three moons revolved around him. At the same time, he took the mechanical tetrahedron from his Storage Bracelet. With a thought, it transformed into two Moon Shuttles.

"A first-rank Soul Engineer? You're a first-rank Soul Engineer?" Peng Shan wasn't the only one shocked. Everyone there, including Zhong Yue, was astonished. Peng Shan looked at the Moon Shuttles floating beside Kong Bo, then at the Soul Engineer badge pinned to his chest. Only then did he believe Kong Bo really was a first-rank Soul Engineer.

"So what? I'm not afraid of you!" Peng Shan said, completing his own Martial Soul Possession.

"Peng Shan, I suggest you think this through. It won't be good if you end up seriously injured," Kong Bo said. "Here, get a close look first."

Kong Bo snapped his fingers. The two Moon Shuttles began firing continuous, scorching red Soul Guidance Rays. Like the E ability of the Machine Herald in League of Legends, the beams traced a circle around Peng Shan.

Peng Shan could feel the scorching heat and sense the power of the Soul Guidance Rays. If they hit him, he would be gravely injured, possibly even killed, despite having a higher Soul Power Level than Kong Bo.

"I surrender. Thank you for holding back!" Peng Shan said.

After that, whenever Kong Bo's class went to fight in the first-year practical combat lessons, the opposing class would ask, "Is Kong Bo fighting?" And Zhuang Yi would answer, "We promise not to use Kong Bo."