Soul Guidance Gatling, Technology Beyond Its Time

First came the choice of barrel material. It could not simply be a disposable consumable.

It had to withstand high temperatures continuously.

So, Lin Yuan began experimenting with various rare metals beforehand.

In the end, Lin Yuan chose Deep-Sea Silver Mother as the barrel material.

As the core form of Deep-Sea Sinking Silver, it was dozens of times harder than diamond, would not melt even in a neutron star's core, and ranked among the very best in physical strength.

It also possessed a certain degree of ductility.

Lin Yuan did not have any on hand, so he naturally sought some from Jing Hongchen.

After that, Lin Yuan began forging the barrel.

But as time flew by, after several days, when Lin Yuan finally finished crafting the Soul Guidance Gatling's barrel,

he realized another problem: soul power had to be continuously fed into it and converted.

So, he recalled Huo Gua's built-in pre-charging technology, a milestone product of historical significance in Soul Guidance Devices.

However, for Lin Yuan, he naturally just summoned Gu Yuena and obtained the corresponding blueprint.

He did not know how? Would Gu Yuena from the era of Soul Land 3 ten thousand years later not know how?

Afterward, the Soul Guidance Gatling finally made its debut.

It had a full nine firing ports, and its overall appearance resembled a turret-type Soul Guidance Device.

Its silver-gray gleam, coupled with its specialized stand,

even drew Jing Hongchen's attention. After all, Lin Yuan had specifically come to ask him for the Deep-Sea Silver Mother, which was among the very highest-grade rare metals.

Normally, it would only be used in the production of Soul Guidance Devices above Level Seven.

They then headed straight to a dedicated testing ground, where every target on the range was forged from Sunken Silver Metal.

This was already a testing site for high-level Soul Guidance Devices. Usually, only Level Six or even Level Seven devices would be tested here.

After all, crafting these targets alone cost a great deal, and with targets made from Sunken Silver Metal, from a distance of one hundred meters,

even a Level Five Soul Guidance Cannon could basically only knock down one target with a single shot, yet there was an entire row of them here.

Then, the moment Lin Yuan pressed the button—

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Rumble!!"

As thunderous blasts like artillery shells erupted,

shell casings flew out one after another amid flashes of blue fire.

The Soul Guidance Gatling seemed to spew flames.

And on the targets opposite them, explosive roars rang out.

After continuing for nearly a full minute,

the instant the Soul Guidance Gatling ceased fire,

the targets opposite them were already utterly devastated. All ten rows had been completely wiped out.

Countless dents of varying sizes had even appeared on the metal wall opposite them.

That full minute of fire coverage had directly reduced the place to ruins.

"What level of Soul Guidance Device is that?"

The personnel in charge of testing were completely dumbfounded.

The power of each individual shot was, at most, comparable to a single blast condensed by an ordinary Level Five Soul Guidance Cannon.

But the attack density was simply overwhelming. Without exaggeration, even a Level Seven Soul Guidance Device could not achieve such a terrifying result in a single cannon barrage.

Before the testers could recover from their shock, Jing Hongchen had already arrived before Lin Yuan and asked excitedly,

"Did I see that correctly? That thing just now..."

"That's right. This really is technology that does not require charging."

Lin Yuan nodded with a smile, and Jing Hongchen nearly fainted from excitement.

For Soul Guidance Device engineers of the Sun Moon Empire, aside from pursuing higher ranks,

most of them also had a dream: civilian Soul Guidance Devices.

Yet most civilian Soul Guidance Devices were still in their infancy, limited to lighting and, at best, communication. Even communication could not yet truly be achieved, requiring special crystals just to barely enable short-range transmission.

But if pre-charging technology were to emerge,

that would mean even ordinary soldiers could carry Soul Guidance guns into battle.

Perhaps one day, even ordinary people could use Soul Guidance Cannons to hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts?!

This was one of every Soul Guidance Device engineer's ultimate dreams.

And now, such technology had actually become a reality.

"Xiaoyuan, how much do you want for this technology? I can purchase it at any price."

Jing Hongchen's face had turned red with excitement.

As the master of the Hall of Virtue, he knew all too well what this technology was worth.

"Um, can I have Ninth-Level Fixed Soul Guidance Cannons?"

Jing Hongchen fell silent for a moment upon hearing Lin Yuan's request.

Those were strategic-grade materials, but this technology was an advancement that transcended its era.

"Fine. I'll buy it!"

Jing Hongchen gritted his teeth and agreed.

But Lin Yuan merely raised a finger and gave a faintly amused smile.

"Not one. I want five. Hall Master, you should go pool resources with my teacher again."

Jing Hongchen's expression changed upon hearing this. After a long silence, he cautiously asked,

"Xiaoyuan, are you planning to blow up Shrek Academy?"

A single Ninth-Level Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon was equivalent to a Super Douluo's full-powered strike. Five of them...

The only thing he could imagine was Lin Yuan wanting to blow up Shrek Academy.

Hearing that, Lin Yuan thought about it. Jing Hongchen really was something of a prophet.

"No, I simply like explosions."

Lin Yuan shook his head and replied with a soft laugh.

In this regard, he felt that he and Huo Gua shared the same hobby. The difference was that he did not want to blow up so many people. He simply liked the idea of Ninth-Level Fixed Soul Guidance Cannons being thrown around like atomic bombs.

Jing Hongchen gave Lin Yuan a strange look upon hearing that, then patted his shoulder.

"Xiaoyuan, if there's something weighing on you that you can't get past, you can talk to others—or to me."

Lin Yuan:?

"I really don't have any psychological pressure. I just think tossing one of those things out during a fight would feel pretty great."

Jing Hongchen fell silent upon hearing that, then quickly became convinced.

There had to be at least some problem with Lin Yuan's mental state. It seemed the Hall of Virtue needed to establish counseling rooms. What if future Soul Guidance Device engineers focused too deeply on their research and accidentally developed psychological problems?

"Alright, I'll go discuss it with Elder Kong."

Jing Hongchen shook his head helplessly and turned to leave. Not long afterward,

when Lin Yuan approached the Soul Guidance Gatling again, he frowned tightly.

He finally understood why Jing Hongchen had stopped looking at the Soul Guidance Gatling.

It was not merely because the Soul Guidance Gatling itself, while roughly Level Five in rank, could unleash Level Seven explosive power.

More importantly, he discovered that its ductility was not as good as he had imagined.

If it continued to be used so frantically, it could only be fired a few more times at most before it might even be scrapped.

And Sunken Silver Mica was extraordinarily expensive.

That made Lin Yuan take a deep breath as he realized something.

Under normal circumstances, this thing's ductility should not have been so poor.

Then, he subconsciously remembered something. Right—the Chen Mica whose ductility and resilience he had learned about before seemed to have been metal after Spirit Forging.

Thinking of the Battle Armor he wanted to forge, Lin Yuan took a deep breath and realized that it seemed he would have to make a trip to Gengxin City as well.