The State of Self-Forgetfulness - Epiphany

The carving knife nearly dropped onto the formation patterns. Ye Fan abruptly forced his mind back into focus, his wrist twisting sharply as he clenched the sharp knife tight and pressed it back into his palm.

The tip of the knife barely missed the core of the formation, which was densely covered in intricate soul-power patterns, but it stabbed straight into the flesh of his palm. A long, thin wound tore open in an instant, and warm blood trickled through his fingers, dripping onto the metal tabletop and spreading into pale red marks.

Ye Guyi's heart tightened at the sight. She immediately strode forward and bent down to examine him, her voice filled with anxious concern.

"Ye Fan, how could you be so careless?"

As she spoke, she raised a hand to tear a strip from the hem of her skirt, intending to bandage him and stop the bleeding, but Ye Fan lifted his hand and stopped her.

He apologized softly. "Sister, I'm fine. I got distracted for a moment just now. It was my mistake."

Before his voice had even faded, Ye Fan activated the rich life force within his body and guided it into his palm. His flesh closed and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye only a faint red mark remained.

Only then did Ye Guyi's suspended heart ease slightly. She turned and returned to the workbench, calming herself as she smelted and hammered the metal components of the shield, occasionally glancing sideways at Ye Fan for fear that he would lose focus again and make another mistake.

The commotion on Ye Fan's side also drew the attention of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. When Meng Hongchen saw that Ye Fan was injured, she instinctively wanted to rush over and show concern for him.

But Xiao Hongchen grabbed her and shook his head, stopping her.

At the same time, those who had been watching Ye Fan all along, including Chen Fei and the others, also noticed the commotion on his side.

At that moment, Chen Fei, who had already finished making his soul tool, sneered coldly, "Some geniuses really are different. It's only been three hours and he can't even hold his carving knife steady. And with that, he still wants to complete the Invincible Shield, a peak third-rank soul tool? What a pipe dream."

As soon as he finished speaking, quite a few people who had already failed also joined in mocking Ye Fan. Among them, Wang Shaojie was the most eager. "Exactly. He can't even hold a carving knife properly. What kind of soul engineer is he supposed to be?"

In response, Ma Rulong, as the class monitor, did not speak up to stop them. Of course, from beginning to end, he had never even looked Ye Fan in the eye. Instead, Ye Guyi's presence made him sit even more properly.

Mocking voices rose and fell all around him, and Wang Shaojie was even jeering at the top of his lungs. Ye Guyi's hand tightened abruptly around the smelting tongs, a layer of coldness returning to her brows and eyes. Meng Hongchen also frowned and wanted to step forward to argue, but Xiao Hongchen pressed down hard on her shoulder, suppressing the anger in his eyes and forcing himself to endure.

Yet Ye Fan turned a completely deaf ear to it all. The lingering sting in his palm instead helped him cast aside all distracting thoughts, and his entire mind gathered on the carving knife.

The blood that had fallen earlier had soaked into the handle. Warm blood energy blended with soul power, and he felt as if his own will and the carving knife had become one. The noise of the outside world and the mockery of others all faded away, and he sank completely into a state of self-forgetfulness.

The carving knife moved like drifting clouds and flowing water, precisely outlining the complex, minute soul-power patterns without the slightest error. Every turn was perfectly placed.

Lin Jiayi, who had returned to the podium, had noticed Ye Fan's mistake because of the earlier accident and inwardly sighed that Ye Fan was probably unable to complete this assessment. Lin Jiayi had already been about to withdraw his gaze, but the unique state that suddenly erupted from Ye Fan's side made his body jolt. His eyes snapped wide open, and his face filled with disbelief as he cried out involuntarily.

"The State of Self-Forgetfulness! It's actually the State of Self-Forgetfulness that all soul engineers yearn for."

Seeing this, Lin Jiayi immediately scolded Wang Shaojie, Chen Fei, and the others. "All of you, be quiet. Don't disturb Ye Fan's self-forgetful comprehension."

Hearing Lin Jiayi's reprimand, Wang Shaojie, Chen Fei, and the others instinctively shut their mouths.

Of course, among them were also those who expressed envy that Ye Fan had entered a state of sudden enlightenment. For example, Ma Rulong began to examine Ye Fan seriously, murmuring to himself, "He can enter enlightenment even in this kind of environment? A genius? Interesting."

Xiao Hongchen also put away his casual, perfunctory attitude and began throwing himself fully into the process of carving the formation.

Ye Fan was thoroughly immersed in the intent of cultivation, completely unaware of the entire room holding its breath and watching him, or of the astonished expressions on everyone's faces.

At this moment, there was nothing else in his world. The dry, rigid formation lines on the blueprint had all come alive. Layer upon layer of veins emerged clearly, as if being unraveled thread by thread, and were precisely branded into his mind.

His mind, palm, and carving knife fitted together perfectly. His brain did not need deliberate thought; it instinctively drove his wrist to carve the patterns as smoothly as flowing water. Every soul-power trajectory was precise and flawless.

The formation core, which originally should have required at least half an hour to finish, saw its efficiency soar under the support of the State of Self-Forgetfulness.

In just ten short minutes, the entire extremely complex third-rank shield formation was fully carved and perfectly formed.

In that instant, the mysterious state lingering around him slowly dispersed. Ye Fan's eyes shifted slightly, and he fully awakened from his state of enlightenment.

And the third-rank shield formation in his hands was already complete.

Only then did Ye Guyi dare to ask Ye Fan softly, "Xiao Fan, what happened to you just now? Why were you able to finish carving the formation so quickly?"

Hearing this, Ye Fan frowned and thought it over, but he could not find the words to describe that state. "Sister, I don't know how to explain it either."

"I only know that in that instant, it was like I had become one with the carving knife. The carving knife was me, and I was the carving knife."

Ye Guyi did not understand, but she did not press further. At that moment, Lin Jiayi had, at some point, also walked down from the podium to the workbench in front of Ye Fan and Ye Guyi.

He said, "Ye Fan entered the sudden-enlightenment state that soul engineers dream of most."

"To put it simply, in that state, whether carving formations or making soul tools, he can achieve twice the result with half the effort. At the same time, this kind of enlightenment helps a soul engineer comprehend the study and production of soul tools."

After saying this, Lin Jiayi picked up the formation core Ye Fan had just carved and looked it over, praising him. "Ye Fan, judging from the formation core you have produced so far, you have already reached the standard of a fourth-rank soul engineer."

Hearing this, the entire class erupted.

After hearing Lin Jiayi's explanation, Ye Guyi's face filled with joy.

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, however, felt immense pressure.

Wang Shaojie, Chen Fei, and the others felt that Ye Fan had simply gotten dogshit lucky.

Ju Zi and Keke both widened their eyes one after another, looking at Ye Fan as if they were looking at a monster.

Ju Zi thought this, and subconsciously, her desire to seek revenge on Ye Fan had already faded considerably. A six-year-old fourth-rank soul engineer. I'm afraid even the father of the empire's soul engineers couldn't do that.

There was one more person, Ma Rulong. At this moment, he felt as if his entire body was filled with fighting spirit. A six-year-old fourth-rank soul engineer? Interesting.

As for Ye Fan, his face was also full of disbelief at this moment.

Before Ye Fan could speak, Lin Jiayi carefully put back the formation Ye Fan had carved and said, "Ye Fan, Ye Guyi, continue making your soul tool!"

"I look forward to your final work."

Hearing this, Ye Fan and Ye Guyi answered in unison, "Yes!"

Then Ye Fan and Ye Guyi exchanged a glance and began the final assembly.

Relying on his sudden enlightenment, Ye Fan completed the formation core ahead of schedule, saving Ye Guyi a great deal of time.

She had long since finished smelting, hammering, and shaping all the metal components, their precision beyond reproach. Now, with ample time to spare, she calmly and meticulously completed the final splicing, fitting, and soul-power debugging.

The entire process flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest flaw.

A moment later, Ye Guyi slowly raised her hand and called out in a clear voice, "Teacher, we're finished."