Early morning.
Huo Yuhao had just finished cultivating the Heavenly Origin Art when Ju Zi led him into an empty room.
A metal table stood in the middle of the room.
Engraving knives, metal plates, and several neatly cut pieces of rare metal lay on it.
He looked at the items on the table, curiosity appearing in his eyes.
"Ju Zi, are you going to teach me how to make Soul Tools?"
"Mm."
Ju Zi pulled out a chair and had Huo Yuhao sit down, while she took out a palm-sized metal plate.
After confirming that Huo Yuhao could cultivate the Heavenly Origin Art normally, she made this decision.
Huo Yuhao's mind was simply too useful.
Pill refinement, deducing cultivation techniques, analyzing medicinal properties.
Every one of those things required extremely strong comprehension. It would be such a waste not to use that talent to study Soul Tools.
Besides, what Ju Zi lacked least was Soul Tool knowledge.
Although she had not truly become a ninth-rank Soul Engineer in her previous life, she had come into contact with a vast number of high-level Soul Tool blueprints and was extremely familiar with all kinds of core formations and theoretical formulas.
That was more than enough to teach a beginner like Huo Yuhao.
"The foundation of Soul Tools is the core formation."
Ju Zi picked up an engraving knife and slowly carved a line into the metal plate.
"When engraving a formation, Soul Power must remain stable. An error in depth anywhere could cause the entire core to be ruined."
Huo Yuhao sat upright, his gaze fixed on the engraving knife.
As Ju Zi explained, she completed the most basic Soul Power storage formation.
The entire process took half an hour.
"Did you see it clearly?"
"I did."
"Then repeat everything I just said."
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then began with the metal's properties and completely recited the seventeen nodes of the core formation, the sequence of Soul Power input, and the angle of the engraving knife.
He did not miss a single word.
Ju Zi fell silent.
She had only wanted to see how much Huo Yuhao had remembered.
Now, it seemed that question had been unnecessary.
"Ju Zi?"
"It's nothing."
Ju Zi calmly set down the metal plate and took out a basic textbook.
"Read the first two pages first."
Huo Yuhao accepted the book and lowered his head to read.
Not long after, he looked up.
"I'm done."
"So quickly?"
"I read a little of the later parts too."
Ju Zi took the textbook and casually asked a few questions.
Not only did Huo Yuhao answer every one correctly, he also pointed out that one formula contained an unnecessary Soul Power circuit. In his understanding, that circuit would not improve stability and would instead cause Soul Power loss.
Ju Zi recalculated it.
He was right.
That circuit could indeed be removed.
However, for beginners, the extra circuit reduced the difficulty of engraving, which was why it had always been retained in basic textbooks.
Ju Zi looked up at Huo Yuhao, her feelings suddenly becoming complicated.
Had she made things too simple?
An hour later.
Huo Yuhao picked up the engraving knife and began making his first Soul Tool core.
First soul skill, Mind-Clearing.
A cool aura spread outward, and every tiny line on the metal plate clearly appeared within his perception.
He made his first cut.
He infused Soul Power.
The engraving knife moved steadily across the metal surface without the slightest tremor.
Ju Zi stood beside him, initially prepared to correct his mistakes at any time, but until the final stroke fell, she never found a chance to speak.
A faint white light lit up.
It had succeeded.
"It doesn't seem too difficult."
Huo Yuhao picked up the metal plate and carefully inspected it.
Ju Zi said nothing.
When she had first engraved this formation, she had ruined seven whole metal plates.
Back then, her teacher had praised her as a Soul Tool genius just because she had only failed seven times.
Now, that title seemed a little watered down.
"Try a Soul Power release formation next."
"Alright."
The second metal plate was completed very quickly.
Next came a Soul Power conversion formation.
A stabilizing formation.
A simple activation formation.
Huo Yuhao gradually went from cautious to proficient. By the fifth metal plate, he could complete every step independently without Ju Zi's reminders.
Ye Guyi entered from outside, carrying a short sword.
She glanced at the metal plates on the table, then looked at Ju Zi.
"How is he doing?"
Ju Zi remained expressionless.
"Not bad."
Huo Yuhao, however, smiled.
"I didn't fail even once."
Ye Guyi stopped in her tracks.
Although she was not a Soul Engineer, she knew that failure was normal when making a core formation for the first time.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Huo Yuhao picked up several metal plates, suddenly seeming to think of something.
The functions of these formations were not complicated.
One stored Soul Power, one released Soul Power, one handled activation, and another maintained stability.
What if he connected them together?
He lowered his head, rearranged the metal plates, then picked up the engraving knife and began engraving on a new metal plate.
Ju Zi did not pay much attention at first.
But after watching for a few moments, her expression gradually became serious.
"Huo Yuhao, what are you doing?"
"Connecting them."
"Who taught you that?"
"No one did."
Without even raising his head, Huo Yuhao said, "They can naturally work together. As long as I adjust the Soul Power nodes, they shouldn't conflict."
Ju Zi opened her mouth, but ultimately did not interrupt him.
Half an hour later.
Huo Yuhao put down the engraving knife and placed a Blue Jade Pill into the newly completed metal box.
He infused Soul Power into the core.
A gentle blue light lit up, and the medicinal power within the Blue Jade Pill was slowly drawn out, turning into a faint mist.
The concentration of Soul Power in the room rose along with it.
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes to sense it, then nodded in satisfaction.
"That way, I won't need to directly consume pills while cultivating."
"If the medicinal power is released more slowly, it should also reduce waste."
Ye Guyi stared at the metal box, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Ju Zi picked up the core formation and inspected it over and over again.
Four basic formations had been connected together. The structure was somewhat crude, yet it already possessed the rudiments of a composite core.
Someone who had studied Soul Tools for only half a day had created a composite core formation by himself.
Ju Zi suddenly felt a little defeated.
Without the accumulation from her previous life, she probably would not even have matched Huo Yuhao's foundation at his age.
Her genius was fake.
Huo Yuhao's was real.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Ju Zi had remained silent, Huo Yuhao could not help asking, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No."
Ju Zi placed the metal box back on the table and reached out to rub his head.
"You did very well."
"Then shall we continue tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, someone else will teach you."
Huo Yuhao froze for a moment.
"You're not teaching me anymore?"
"I can't."
Ju Zi's reply was completely calm.
She had originally thought that she could at least teach Huo Yuhao for a few years.
The facts proved that she had overestimated herself somewhat.
A true Soul Tool genius like this was better left to a true professional.
The next day.
A man around thirty arrived at the small courtyard.
The man looked ordinary, and his clothes were somewhat messy, but his gaze was exceptionally focused. From the moment he entered the room, his eyes had remained fixed on the composite core on the table.
"Did you make this?"
"Mm."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
The man picked up the metal box and examined it carefully for a long time.
"The structure is crude, the Soul Power loss is not insignificant, and the positions of several nodes are simply a mess."
Huo Yuhao listened attentively without arguing.
Then the man changed his tone.
"Still, the idea is good."
"My name is Xuan Ziwen. Starting today, I'll teach you Soul Tools."
Huo Yuhao blinked and turned to look at Ju Zi.
He truly had not expected Ju Zi to bring Xuan Ziwen over in advance.
Only later did Huo Yuhao learn the reason from Xuan Ziwen.
Three months earlier, Xuan Ziwen had been stuck at rank seventy-nine, and his many attempts to break through had all ended in failure.
It was then that Ju Zi found him.
Three Profound Water Pills, one Soul Ascension Pill, and a large supply of Red Jade Pills, Blue Jade Pills, and Azure Jade Pills.
She had forcibly pushed Xuan Ziwen into the Soul Douluo realm with pills.
More importantly, Ju Zi could understand his research and knew just how valuable those seemingly useless Soul Tool techniques truly were.
So Xuan Ziwen agreed.
After hearing this, Huo Yuhao looked at Ju Zi, who was drinking fruit juice in the courtyard, with only one thought left in his mind.
Sis understood skill. Sis appreciated skill, and appreciated talented people who possessed skill even more.
So you—I'm investing in you!
Before you continue