The First Soul Tool!

Hidden in the shadows, Tang San's pupils contracted.

The Tang Sect Hidden Weapons I'm so proud of... a six-year-old caught one with two fingers!?

If Tang San hadn't seen it himself, he would have thought he was dreaming.

"Who's there?!"

Hearing Jiang Hao's angry shout, Tang San knew his assassination attempt had failed completely.

He hesitated no longer and vanished into the dense woods.

Meanwhile...

Jiang Hao looked toward where Tang San had disappeared, the corners of his mouth lifting.

Tang San, Tang San, you really are my lucky star.

Back in his dorm, Jiang Hao immediately examined his new reward.

At a thought, countless Soul Tool schematics appeared in his mind.

From the simplest storage Soul Tool to the most complex level-nine Soul Cannon, every blueprint was as clear as if it had been engraved in his mind.

In other words, as soon as Jiang Hao had enough Soul Power and mental strength, he could become a level-nine Soul Engineer!

They even included techniques for forging Battle Armor!

"I've hit the jackpot!"

The more Jiang Hao thought about it, the more excited he became.

Technology from ten thousand years in the future was nothing short of a Dimensional Strike in this era.

Tang Sect Hidden Weapons? The Zhuge Repeating Crossbow?

Against Soul Cannons, they were nothing but children's toys.

"While I've got time, I might as well forge a Soul Tool."

Jiang Hao rubbed his hands together and searched his storage Soul Tool with his mind. He soon found several pieces of metal he had picked up in the Star Dou Great Forest.

There was a fist-sized piece of Black Iron, a palm-sized piece of Starsteel, and a small chunk of dark-red Red Copper Ore.

"These are good quality. More than enough for a storage Soul Tool."

Jiang Hao laid the metals on the table, and every detail of the Thousand-Hammer Tempering Method flowed through his mind.

The Thousand-Hammer Tempering Method was founded on a simple principle: the mind served as the hammer, and the soul as the flame.

It allowed him to forge objects barehanded, without any tools.

Its precision, speed, and strength far surpassed ordinary forging methods.

Jiang Hao narrowed his dark eyes and slowly raised his right hand.

A Silver-White Flame surged from his palm and formed a gentle ball of fire that enveloped the three pieces of metal.

Under the heat of a flame approaching the ultimate fire,

the metals rapidly softened within the Silver-White Flame, their impurities driven out little by little.

Jiang Hao controlled the flame while fusing the metals, gradually shaping them into a rectangular billet.

"The billet's ready. Time to forge it."

Jiang Hao held his breath and curled the fingers of his right hand around empty air.

His mental strength formed invisible hammers around the billet and began striking the rectangle floating in the flame again and again.

Clink, clink, clink...

Clear, ringing blows filled the quiet dorm, as though hundreds of little hammers were striking at once.

With every blow, the billet trembled slightly, its internal structure growing denser and more uniform.

It also shrank visibly, becoming more compact.

"The Thousand-Hammer Tempering Method really lives up to its name."

With an almost godlike view of the process, Jiang Hao forged with his mind as precisely as a high-resolution 3D printer.

Under the blows of his mental hammers, the billet soon became a round ring blank.

"The shape's done. Now for the crucial part: engraving the array!"

Jiang Hao selected a level-two Soul-Gathering Array from memory and reshaped his mental strength from hammers into a needle.

He began slowly engraving the array onto the ring's surface.

Engraving an array demanded exceptionally precise mental control. His Soul Power output also had to remain steady, without the slightest error.

Ten minutes passed. Fine sweat beaded on Jiang Hao's forehead, and his face had grown pale.

"No wonder novelists say it's so hard for smiths to forge above their level. Engraving an array takes this much mental strength?"

Dozens of minutes later, the final line of Soul Power closed perfectly, and the entire array activated!

Hum!

Silver light flashed across the ring's surface, then faded inward. Only the mysterious silver patterns on its inner band remained, faintly visible in the light.

A weak pulse of Soul Power emanated from the ring.

It began slowly drawing in the sparse Soul Power around it on its own.

"It worked!"

Jiang Hao let out a long breath, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

He dismissed the flame, and the still-warm silver-gray ring fell into his palm.

It felt smooth and light, its surface still carrying the faint coolness unique to his Soul Power.

He fed it a trace of Soul Power, and his consciousness immediately connected to a small space of roughly fifteen cubic meters.

It was empty, but faint wisps of Soul Power were slowly gathering along its edges, replenishing the array itself.

This storage Soul Tool had more space, could hold living things, and even aided cultivation. It completely outclassed the Soul Tool he had found before.

"Once I collect the right metals, I might be able to upgrade it further."

Delighted, Jiang Hao slipped the ring onto his left index finger. It fit perfectly.

As for the extra Soul Tool,

Jiang Hao thought for a moment. Rather than give it to Xiao Wu, he decided to sell it.

Money meant metal, and metal meant Soul Tools.

With a cycle like that, Jiang Hao couldn't help but get rich.

Xiao Wu could wait until later.

The next day,

before dawn, Tang San had packed his luggage and was waiting for the carriage at the entrance with Yu Xiaogang.

"Xiao San, how did it go last night?" Yu Xiaogang asked quietly.

Tang San's face darkened, and he shook his head slightly.

Yu Xiaogang understood and patted him on the shoulder. "It's all right, Xiao San. You have Twin Martial Souls. You'll only grow stronger as you advance."

"Jiang Hao only beat you because his martial soul gives him an advantage early on."

Tang San frowned. "Teacher, can't I cultivate both martial souls at the same time?"

Ever since he had seen his Hidden Weapons fail against Jiang Hao last night, Tang San had felt an even greater urgency to grow stronger.

He realized he had known next to nothing about Jiang Hao all along.

Someone like him has to be eliminated before he can grow!

"Xiao San, I know you want to get stronger as soon as possible."

Yu Xiaogang's expression turned grave, and his voice dropped. "But generations of soul masters paid with their lives to establish that Twin Martial Souls cannot be cultivated simultaneously."

"You may question that conclusion, but you must never test it yourself."

"Then can I switch to cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer?" Tang San asked.

"Well..."

Yu Xiaogang froze.

Everyone knew the Clear Sky Hammer was stronger.

But cultivating Blue Silver Grass would at least give Tang San a future. If he cultivated the Clear Sky Hammer, forget the future—Spirit Hall would probably show up and chop him to pieces within days.

At that thought, Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Xiao San, there are things you may not know. The Clear Sky Hammer is a rather unusual martial soul."

"If word of it gets out, it will bring you a great deal of trouble."

"I understand."

Tang San did not press him.

He had already begun to suspect his father was no ordinary man. If his father had kept silent, he must have had his reasons.

The carriage arrived soon after.

Tang San helped Yu Xiaogang aboard. As he entered the carriage, he looked back at Notting Academy.

Just wait, Jiang Hao. Fortunes can change.

Don't underestimate me because I'm poor!