Soul Tools

Watching the two of them leave, Wang Dong spoke in a strange tone. "Yuhao, call me Ning Tian. Oh my, how intimate..."

Huo Yuhao was caught between laughter and tears by Wang Dong's sarcastic tone. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "What goes through that little head of yours all day?"

Wang Dong darted away like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, hurriedly smoothing down her disheveled hair. Her cheeks were flushed, but she still stubbornly retorted, "Who told you to be so close to her? 'Class Monitor Ning,' you sure called that smoothly."

"She's the class monitor, and she's also the heir to the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect. There's nothing wrong with being polite." Huo Yuhao spread his hands helplessly, though amusement lingered in his eyes. He understood Wang Dong too well. That prickly reaction clearly meant she was worrying about him.

"Polite? I think you're trying to climb the social ladder!" Wang Dong crossed her arms and turned to look at the lake. Sunlight shimmered in her pink-blue eyes. "The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect is so powerful, and Ning Tian is their future sect master. If you get too close to her, aren't you afraid they'll use you as a pawn?"

"Should I avoid doing something just because I'm afraid?" Huo Yuhao walked to her side and gazed at the sparkling water in the distance, his tone calm. "Right now, we lack resources and connections. Ning Tian is willing to give us an opportunity, so why wouldn't we seize it? As for being a pawn..." He chuckled. "Whether I can become a player depends on my own abilities."

Wang Dong fell silent for a moment and secretly glanced at Huo Yuhao. The sunlight fell across the boy's profile, outlining his clean, sharp jawline. The resolve in his eyes inexplicably reassured her. She gave an awkward snort. "You make it sound nice. When someone sells you off, you'll probably help them count the money."

"Then you'll have to keep an eye on me." Huo Yuhao smiled and bumped her shoulder with his. "If I really do something foolish, slap me awake."

"You said it!" Wang Dong's eyes lit up, and she immediately perked up. She raised her hand as if to hit him, but stopped midway. Her fingertips lightly brushed Huo Yuhao's arm before she quickly pulled them back. "Hmph. I'll believe you for now."

The two slowly walked along the lakeshore. Wang Dong continued chattering away, listing Ning Tian's "suspicious traits," from the look in her eyes while eating grilled fish to her tone when handing over the jade tokens. She seemed determined to dissect every detail. Huo Yuhao listened quietly, occasionally offering a response, while warmth filled his heart.

When they reached a fork in the road, Wang Dong suddenly stopped, as though remembering something. She pulled an oil-paper parcel from her robes and handed it to Huo Yuhao. "This is for you."

"What is it?" Huo Yuhao took it. It was warm to the touch.

"I bought it from a food stall this morning. Osmanthus cake." Wang Dong turned her face away, the tips of her ears slightly red. "You spent half the day grilling fish. Have some cake to cleanse your palate."

Huo Yuhao opened the oil-paper parcel, and a sweet, delicate osmanthus fragrance greeted him. Fine sugar dusted the snow-white cakes. He picked one up and put it into his mouth. The soft, sweet flavor melted over his tongue, warmer than the grilled fish from before.

"Thanks, Dong'er," he said with a smile.

Wang Dong halted and whirled around to glare at him. "Who said you could call me Dong'er? Call me Wang Dong!"

"Fine, fine, Wang Dong." Huo Yuhao raised both hands in surrender, but the smile in his eyes only deepened.

Watching Wang Dong run away with puffed cheeks, Huo Yuhao bit into the osmanthus cake, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from rising. He looked down at the oil-paper parcel in his hand, then touched the two jade tokens in his robes. Suddenly, life at Shrek Academy seemed far livelier than he had imagined.

Meanwhile, Wang Dong, who had run some distance away, leaned behind a tree and secretly peeked at Huo Yuhao's retreating figure. A trace of tenderness flashed through her pink-blue eyes, one she did not even notice herself. She touched the remaining half-piece of osmanthus cake in her pocket and muttered softly, "Idiot Huo Yuhao. If you get that close to Ning Tian again, I won't bring you anything to eat next time..."

The wind brushed across the lake, stirring ripples and scattering the awkward feelings in the young hearts. All that remained was sunlight across the lake and the faint scent of osmanthus lingering in the air.

Back in the dormitory, Wang Dong saw the two jade tokens Huo Yuhao had placed on the table, along with several rare metals he had taken out. She could not help asking, "Are you going to make a Soul Tool?"

Huo Yuhao fiddled with the rare metals on the table without looking up. "Yes. Although we've received some support from the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, I need to show some value to deserve that support."

"Soul Tools are a good entry point. No matter how talented a Battle Soul Master is, before they truly grow strong, they're only a genius. At this stage, that doesn't provide any real help."

"My plan is to let the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect truly see my potential, to let them know that the future is in my hands, and make the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect place their bets on me regardless of the cost."

Wang Dong's imitation was full of teasing, her drawn-out ending making her sound like a little fox that had discovered her companion's secret. She leaned over the table and tapped the two jade tokens with a finger. "I really couldn't tell. You're a Soul Engineer too."

"So what are you planning to do next? Go all the way and build the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect a Soul Tool Cannon?"

Hearing Wang Dong's words, Huo Yuhao could not help rubbing his forehead. How had he forgotten that Wang Dong was completely clueless about Soul Tools...

"Soul Tools are divided into grades one through nine. Above that are the legendary tenth-grade Soul Engineers, gods among Soul Masters. Even at Shrek Academy, the highest-ranked Soul Engineer is only an eighth-grade one."

After thinking for a moment, Huo Yuhao added, "Though in the eyes of the Soul Engineers of the Sun-Moon Empire, the eighth-grade Soul Engineers from the original three Douluo Continent nations would probably only barely count as seventh-grade over there."

Wang Dong's eyes widened as she leaned even closer, her pink-blue eyes full of curiosity. "There are grades too? Then what grade are you now? Can you make something that spits fire?"

Huo Yuhao did not know whether to laugh or cry at her questions. He set down the rare metal in his hand and patiently explained, "Soul Tools are graded according to Soul Power consumption and destructive power. First-grade ones are the simplest, such as fire starters that ignite automatically, or small offensive Soul Tool guns."

"By the third grade, you can make practical things, such as the Flying Soul Tools commonly used by Soul Masters. As for the fire-spitting thing you mentioned, any Soul Engineer can make it as long as they master the core formation. The only differences are the amount of Soul Power consumed and the power it produces."

He picked up a silvery-white piece of metal and tapped it, producing a crisp sound. "As for me, my Soul Engineer grade is the same as my Soul Power rank."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao took out a blueprint. "Take a look. This is a blueprint for a third-grade Flying Soul Tool."

Wang Dong stared at the twisting, complicated lines on the blueprint, her brows knotting together. "This looks far more complicated than configuring soul rings. Is the Sun-Moon Empire really that impressive? Even our academy's eighth-grade Soul Engineers can't compare with their seventh-grade ones?"

"Yes. The Sun-Moon Empire has developed Soul Tools for many years and places more importance on them than we do. Their ninth-grade Fixed-Mount Soul Tool Shells can even kill Titled Douluo. They truly possess the power to destroy an entire city with one shot."

Huo Yuhao picked up an engraving knife, his expression unchanged. "The original Douluo Continent relied on martial souls and soul skills, while the Sun-Moon Continent relied on Soul Tools. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. But the battlefields of the future will certainly belong to those who combine both."

There was one thing Huo Yuhao did not tell Wang Dong. He actually felt that having a nation unify the continent might not be so bad. At the very least, under a single system of rule, wars would be much less likely to occur.

As long as the one ruling the nation was not a tyrannical despot...