High Mountains and Flowing Water Find a Kindred Spirit

Xuan Ziwen, with two enormous dark circles under his eyes, stared fixedly at the blueprints on the table. The array structures were densely packed across the pages, a composite matrix that even a seventh-rank soul engineer like him found troublesome. Yet beside the matrix were several bizarre symbols, like a jumble of incomprehensible letters and numbers.

"This can't be connected in series."

Huo Yuhao held a charcoal pencil and heavily drew an X on the blueprint.

"Why not?"

Xuan Ziwen frowned deeply, unable to make sense of the logic no matter how hard he tried.

"The soul power output is unstable. A series connection will directly burn out the nodes at the back."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao drew two parallel lines beside it with the charcoal pencil. "If we switch it to a parallel connection and add a bidirectional buffer hub, we can distribute the overflowing soul power."

Xuan Ziwen froze. He picked up a pen and rapidly calculated on a sheet of scratch paper beside him. A moment later, his hand suddenly trembled. It worked out. It was completely feasible. This utterly shattered the conventional all-or-nothing linear transmission mindset of soul tools.

Xuan Ziwen abruptly raised his head, his eyes gleaming as though he had seen a monster. What exactly was inside the head of this nine-year-old child?

Huo Yuhao ignored his stunned gaze. First soul skill, Mind-Clearing.

A cool sensation enveloped his brain, sending him into an absolutely calm overclocked state.

As a modern transmigrator who had suffered through advanced mathematics and university physics, he knew all too well how research was supposed to be done.

At its core, a soul tool was simply another form of circuit diagram. Once one understood the basic physical laws of soul power, the rest was nothing more than plugging values into formulas and running experiments.

By coincidence, his mind was filled with countless wildly imaginative modern ideas, while Xuan Ziwen possessed the superb technical skill to craft every one of them by hand.

High mountains and flowing water had found a kindred spirit. Put these two together, and they were like stepping on their own feet and spiraling straight into the sky.

Three months later. This was also Huo Yuhao's second year living in Ju Zi's home.

Morning. A large area in the center of the small courtyard had been cleared out, and a huge black metal disc rested quietly on the ground. More than a dozen high-grade soul power storage cores were embedded around its edge, while its surface was engraved with complex energy-guiding patterns. This was what they had worked themselves to the bone for three months to create—the Gravity Soul Tool.

Ju Zi stood beneath the corridor holding a cup of hot milk, quietly watching the scene. She had no intention of intervening. Simply watching Huo Yuhao direct everything over there inexplicably put her in a good mood.

"We need someone to test it."

Xuan Ziwen held a control terminal in his hand, already unable to wait for combat data.

Huo Yuhao turned, sweeping his gaze over the courtyard before it settled on a white-clad girl polishing her sword.

"Sister Guyi."

Ye Guyi's hand paused as she polished her sword. She looked up, staring warily at the metal disc. Over the past few months, she had clearly seen the two of them repeatedly blow up clouds of black smoke in their room.

"I'm not doing it."

"Help us out."

Huo Yuhao walked over and grabbed her sleeve. "This is good stuff. It'll help your cultivation a lot."

"Will it kill me?"

"Absolutely not."

Huo Yuhao answered with complete certainty.

Ye Guyi sighed, but in the end, she still walked over with her short sword in hand. For some reason, she could never bring herself to be harsh with this little fellow.

She stepped into the very center of the black disc.

"Are you ready?"

Xuan Ziwen's finger hovered over the button on the terminal.

"Start it."

Ye Guyi's expression was calm. She was, after all, a level thirty-eight three-ringed Soul Elder. With the boost of her Holy Angel martial soul, her physique and endurance were among the very best at the same rank. It was only a test. How hard could it be?

"Start with double gravity."

Xuan Ziwen pressed the button.

Hum. A low buzz sounded, and a ring of yellow light instantly lit up across the black metal disc.

Ye Guyi's body trembled slightly as she felt her shoulders suddenly grow heavier. Yet that was not the most frightening part. The strangest thing was that she felt her blood and marrow sinking downward, and even her heartbeat had become laborious. This force ignored external defenses, acting directly upon every cell throughout her body.

Ye Guyi's expression changed. She had to mobilize her soul power and desperately protect her internal organs, or they would rupture outright.

"How does it feel?"

Holding a small notebook, Huo Yuhao asked excitedly.

"I can still endure it."

Ye Guyi gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand straight.

"Raise it to triple."

The command was given.

The gravity field doubled once more. Ye Guyi's knees buckled sharply, and the short sword in her hand fell onto the metal disc with a clang. Heavy—far too heavy. Even breathing felt as difficult as though her throat had been stuffed with lead. The soul power that had once flowed steadily within her was now forced into intense self-compression under the external pressure. Only by making her soul power denser could she withstand this all-pervasive gravitational force. That was the greatest value of the Gravity Soul Tool. It did not merely temper the body; it also forged the will and purified soul power.

"Should we increase it further?"

Xuan Ziwen watched the data panel flicker continuously, sweat beading on his forehead as well. This was already nearing the limit for a three-ringed Soul Elder.

Huo Yuhao stared at Ye Guyi's condition.

"Raise it to five times."

"Are you crazy?"

Xuan Ziwen was startled. Five times gravity was enough to make even an ordinary Soul Ancestor cough up blood from the pressure.

"Sister Guyi can handle it."

Huo Yuhao spoke firmly. What a joke. Over the past two years, Ye Guyi had consumed quite a few medicines too, and she trained even more crazily than he did. Her physical strength was enough to rival that of a Soul King. Ye Guyi could clearly feel that her soul power was exceptionally rich now. She only needed an external force to give her one hard push, and she would completely break through that final barrier.

Hearing this, Ye Guyi struggled to raise her head on the metal disc. Her eyes were already bloodshot.

"More..."

She forced the word out from her throat.

Xuan Ziwen hesitated no longer and pulled the lever all the way down.

Boom.

The muffled sound seemed to explode in everyone's hearts as fivefold gravity descended.

Ye Guyi's legs gave out, and she fell heavily to her knees on the disc.

Beads of sweat the size of beans fell like rain. Her breathing was as violent as a bellows, and her white clothes had already been thoroughly soaked with sweat. Her muscles spasmed, while her bones let out grinding sounds that made one's teeth ache.

Just when everyone thought she was about to pass out, a mass of sacred golden light so dense it was dazzling suddenly erupted from within her body.

Under the immense pressure of gravity, the golden light became viscous as water.

Immediately after, two pairs of illusory golden wings unfurled sharply behind her. Powerful soul power fluctuations swept through the surroundings like a hurricane. The cultivation barrier that had troubled her for several days was completely shattered beneath the crushing force of this extreme gravity.

Level forty. She had finally broken through. The gate to becoming a four-ringed Soul Ancestor now stood completely open before her.

"Turn off the terminal."

Huo Yuhao let out a breath of relief.

The gravity field instantly vanished. Ye Guyi collapsed onto the black metal disc like a puddle of mud. Her entire body was soaked in sweat, her hair plastered to her cheeks, making her look exactly like a drenched chicken. Her arms trembled as they supported her against the ground while she tried to rise, but she could not muster any strength at all.

Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen strode over. One on each side, they squatted beside her as if examining a freshly produced test specimen.

Huo Yuhao reached out and squeezed her arm.

"Extensive muscle strain."

Xuan Ziwen pressed against her back.

"Some slight displacement in the ribs."

"Her soul power is severely depleted too."

Huo Yuhao rapidly wrote in his notebook, then reached a conclusion. "Very good. Other than nearly dying of exhaustion, all other indicators are healthy."

Watching these two utterly serious research maniacs, Ye Guyi's vision darkened. For some reason, she desperately wanted to draw her sword and chop both of them down right now, but she simply had no strength left.