"A L-Level-9 Soul Engineer?" Mo Qingfeng's eyes widened. "Xiao Yuan, y-you passed the level-nine exam? When?"
He was so shocked that he could barely get his words out. Beside him, Lin Zhiwei's mouth fell open too.
That was a Level-9 Soul Engineer they were talking about!
The highest rank of Soul Engineer, the equivalent of a Titled Douluo in the Soul Engineer system!
"I'm not one yet, am I? Besides, being a Soul Engineer doesn't mean that much these days. They basically only test Soul Tool design and production now, not actual combat like they used to."
Mo Yuan shook his head and explained helplessly.
He had a point. After all, ever since mechas were invented and the three secondary professions of mecha designer, Mecha Manufacturer, and mecha mechanic emerged, the scope of the Soul Engineer profession had been severely diluted.
It had gradually shifted from a professional rating based on practical combat ability to one based on theoretical expertise.
Where a Level-9 Soul Engineer of the past could truly match a Titled Douluo in combat, someone of any cultivation level could become a Level-9 Soul Engineer now.
Even so, Mo Yuan had recently seen proposals in academic journals to include mecha repair in Soul Engineer rank assessments.
What a joke. If that actually went through, wouldn't someone who could only fix mechas be able to call themselves a Level-9 Soul Engineer?
With the Mecha Association currently dominating the field, only a Level-9 Soul Engineer specializing in design and manufacturing who was also a level-nine mecha pilot could measure up to an ancient Level-9 Soul Engineer.
Standards really were going downhill.
Clearly, though, Mo Qingfeng and Lin Zhiwei understood none of those intricacies. It had never even occurred to them that there could be so much to it.
"So how confident are you that you'll pass this assessment?"
"How confident?" Mo Yuan thought for a moment, then answered casually, "Hmm... a hundred percent, I guess. I honestly can't imagine how I could fail."
He wasn't boasting. Judging by the Federation's current standards in high-end Soul Tools, especially Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon Shells, aside from those three Level 12 Fixed Soul Tool Cannon Shells that brute-forced their power through sheer quantities of resources, they had barely pulled ahead of the Sun Moon Empire from ten thousand years ago!
Who would believe that?
He had even seen a major research category in one of the Federation's highest-tier academic journals devoted to the large-scale combined Soul Tool emplacement systems used by the Five Beast King Soul Engineer Legions that had guarded the Sun Moon Empire ten thousand years ago.
It really did prove the saying: the older it was, the stronger it was.
Advancing technology through archaeology...
Across the entire original Douluo Continent series, the only thing that piqued his interest was the Blood God Legion's Heavy Ion Ray Gun.
Its ability to bypass defenses and damage an enemy from within was quite impressive and worth researching.
As for everything else, Soul Guidance Fighters, infrasonic weapons...
They were nothing special.
Seeing how confident Mo Yuan was, Mo Qingfeng gave his shoulder a firm pat. "Good! Confidence is a good thing. But when you get to Mingdu for the assessment, you mustn't let your guard down. Don't trip over something trivial."
"Mm-hmm, I know."
"I knew my big brother was the strongest!" Na'er suddenly declared.
Mo Yuan glanced at the empty snack bowl in front of her and couldn't help laughing. "Oh, I see how it is. You couldn't spare your big brother a single compliment until you'd finished eating, could you, Na'er?"
"Hehe..." Na'er blushed and lowered her head, biting her spoon.
Just then, the Soul Guidance Communicator in Mo Yuan's hand rang. He lifted it to take a look and saw an unfamiliar number.
Probably Tang Ziran and his wife, Mo Yuan guessed.
He answered immediately, and sure enough, a man's voice came through.
"Hello, I'm Tang Wulin's father, Tang Ziran. You must be his friend Mo Yuan?"
"Yes, that's me. Is something the matter? If you're calling about the money, there's no need to say anything more. I genuinely see promise in his talent, so I'm simply making an investment. I believe he'll bring me greater returns in the future."
The other end of the line fell silent. Mo Yuan's bluntness left Tang Ziran at a complete loss for words.
After all, the boy had laid his motives out in the open. What was there left to guess?
But they really did need the money. The call was mostly just to put their minds at ease.
"In that case, thank you, Mo Yuan. We'll repay you as soon as possible," Tang Ziran said earnestly.
"Mm. Now that you have the money, you should buy a Soul Spirit as soon as you can. Their stock is limited, after all."
"Yes, of course. Thank you for reminding me."
After a few more casual exchanges, Mo Yuan ended the call.
Meanwhile, at Tang Wulin's home, Tang Ziran ended the call with a troubled expression.
Then he looked at the silent Lang Yue and Tang Wulin and sighed.
"We've really ended up owing him a huge favor..."
Lang Yue looked at her husband with concern. "What do we do now? Return the money?"
A million was an enormous sum. How could anyone lend it to them so casually?
Tang Ziran looked at the silent Tang Wulin and asked solemnly, "Linlin, tell me, who exactly is this Mo Yuan? How close are you two?"
Tang Wulin thought for a moment before answering, "Brother Mo Yuan is a genius. All I know is that he's a really amazing Soul Engineer, and he's also the son of Red Mountain Academy's headmaster. We... we get along pretty well. He's my only friend at the academy."
Toward the end, Tang Wulin told a little lie. In truth, he wasn't sure exactly what his relationship with Mo Yuan was, but Mo Yuan really was the only person he could talk to at the academy.
Everyone else thought his Martial Soul was nothing but blue silver grass and couldn't be bothered to say much to him.
Tang Ziran nodded. "In that case, let's keep the money."
"But," he continued, placing both hands firmly on Tang Wulin's shoulders, his expression solemn, "even though you're friends, you need to understand that lending you money is a kindness, not an obligation. So, Linlin, you must be grateful and pay him back as soon as you can. Understand?"
Tang Wulin nodded firmly.
"I understand!"
"Good. All right, let's eat first. I'll take tomorrow off and bring you to the Spirit Pagoda to buy a Soul Spirit. A century Soul Spirit will be enough to give you quite a head start over the others, Linlin."
After dinner, Tang Ziran sent Tang Wulin to bed while he sat in the living room, staring into space, lost in thoughts no one else could read.
After cleaning the kitchen, Lang Yue came out and found her husband still sitting in a daze. She sat beside him and asked softly, "Ziran, what are you thinking about?"
"I'm wondering whether I'm useless as a father." He gave a self-mocking smile. "I couldn't even save enough to buy my son a Soul Spirit. In the end, he had to borrow money from a schoolmate himself."
Lang Yue sighed and rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "It's not your fault. If those people hadn't—"
"All right, let's not talk about that." Tang Ziran cut her off. "We can't leave Linlin to repay the money himself. I'll think of something."
Lang Yue nodded gently.
"No matter what, I'll support you."