Industrial Revolution

"Teacher Fan Yu, Senior He Caitou." Huo Yuhao bowed. His tone was gentle yet steady, and a trace of curiosity about Soul Tools hid in his eyes.

Fan Yu nodded with a warm smile. "Huo Yuhao, there's no need for ceremony." He had no quarrel with the boy. On the contrary, he had heard plenty about his talent for spiritual abilities.

"Hello, Junior Yuhao!" He Caitou scratched the back of his head, his hearty voice ringing out.

Qian Duoduo rubbed his hands together and laughed. "I called you here today for two reasons: to show you the power of offensive Soul Tools, and to formally introduce you to Soul Tool design and inscription."

"Why watch a demonstration?" Huo Yuhao looked up at the Soul Tool on the display stand. "I'd like to try it myself."

This was his first time handling a ranged offensive Soul Tool. The instincts of a science student from his previous life made him keenly sensitive to the Douluo Continent's "special technology."

After a moment's thought, Fan Yu said to He Caitou, "Caitou, bring over the Rapid Light Ray."

A dark-blue Soul Tool shaped like a streamlined fountain pen was placed in Huo Yuhao's hand. About eighteen centimeters long, it bore cool blue lines that wound across its surface like flowing water. The grip fit the curve of his palm perfectly.

"The Rapid Light Ray is a level-one Soul Guidance Ray designed for level-one Soul Masters. It fires a Soul Power beam five centimeters in diameter, with formidable penetrating force," Fan Yu explained.

Qian Duoduo pressed a switch on the wall, and a metal target rose with a clang. Just as he was about to lock it in place, Huo Yuhao asked, "Teacher, could you make the target move?"

"Oh?" Qian Duoduo raised an eyebrow. He was about to refuse, but then remembered that Huo Yuhao's first Soul Skill was Spiritual Detection. "All right."

It was a good chance to see how well Yuhao could use his Soul Skill.

The target sprang into motion, whistling from side to side.

Huo Yuhao pressed the activation switch. His brows drew together as he concentrated, his spiritual power fixing on the target like an invisible thread—

A milky-white beam of Soul Power shot out and struck the moving bull's-eye dead center!

"A hit!" Qian Duoduo had barely spoken when Huo Yuhao calculated silently, That used one percent of my Soul Power...

He was a little surprised. The level-one Soul Tool had consumed less than he had expected.

"No need to be surprised. The Nine-Turn Origin Art refined your Soul Power. Your efficiency far exceeds that of ordinary people." The Howling Celestial Dog's languid voice sounded within the Sea of Consciousness.

Huo Yuhao turned to Qian Duoduo, his expression earnest. "Teacher, I have a question. Why must Soul Tools be made and operated by hand? Why not use machines to mass-produce them?"

The words struck like a thunderclap. Qian Duoduo's smile froze. "Machines instead of people?" he murmured.

His eyes went from confusion to shock, then lit with understanding. He slapped his thigh. "That's right! How the hell did I never think of that?"

He had spent decades in the Soul Tool field, yet no one had ever proposed an idea that overturned convention so completely.

"But if we mass-produce basic Soul Tools, how do we advance high-level ones?" Qian Duoduo pressed, urgency filling his eyes.

Huo Yuhao answered calmly and methodically. "You have to eat one bite at a time. The Sun Moon Empire is eyeing us like a tiger watching its prey, while border clashes involving Heavenly Soul and the Star Luo Empire never cease. What the front lines need most are cheap, easy-to-use, low-level Soul Tools. High-level fixed Soul Tools may be powerful, but they cost a fortune. Inflicting eight hundred losses on the enemy at the cost of a thousand of your own isn't worth it."

After a pause, he added, "First, cultivate the low-end market. Use mass production to secure a share and build up resources. Once supplies are plentiful, tackle high-level technology. That's the surest path."

Qian Duoduo's eyes shone. Rubbing his hands, he paced two steps. "Good! 'Cultivate the low-end market'—brilliant! Yuhao, this idea of yours is ahead of its time! If the Soul Tool Department pulls this off, we'll never have to bow to the Martial Soul Department again!"

Everyone knew the Martial Soul Department had the Soul Tool Department gasping for air. Resources were so scarce that even basic materials had to be used sparingly. This proposal had practically opened a gate to riches for them.

Huo Yuhao rubbed his nose and grumbled inwardly, So the Douluo Continent hasn't even discovered assembly-line production? No wonder the Soul Tool Department has it so rough. Any basic management theory from my previous life would count as an "epoch-making innovation" here.

What he had not mentioned was that tanks, airplanes, AI, and even the rudiments of Battle Armor and mechs from his previous life were all circling in his mind.

If he said any of that aloud, Qian Duoduo might leap out of his skin.

Fan Yu said little, but his fingertips trembled slightly, and his eyes held excitement and hope.

He knew the Soul Tool Department's predicament better than most. Huo Yuhao's proposal might truly turn things around.

"Take these!" Qian Duoduo pulled two weighty books from a display case and thrust them into Huo Yuhao's hands. The titles Beginner's Guide to Inscriptions and Beginner's Guide to Soul Tools were written in bold, vigorous strokes across their covers. "Study them until you know them inside out. Fan Yu, I'm leaving Yuhao with you! I'm off to write a proposal. We have to get this mass-production plan approved!"

"Yes, Vice Dean." Fan Yu nodded solemnly. He knew exactly what Qian Duoduo was going to do—

Raise money for the Soul Tool Department. There was no shame in that!

Before Huo Yuhao could react, Qian Duoduo swept out of the laboratory like a gust of wind, leaving only his hearty laughter echoing behind him.

Huo Yuhao looked down at the books in his hands, then at the Soul Tools on the platform. A faint smile touched his lips.

No one could have guessed that the idea the boy tossed out that day would open an entirely new chapter for Shrek's Soul Tool Department. In the history books of the Douluo Continent, this transformation would be known as—the "Soul Tool Industrial Revolution"!

From that moment on, the gears of human civilization began to turn faster.

Sea God Island, Sea God Pavilion

Incense smoke curled through the Sea God Pavilion. On either side of the rosewood table, the elders wore varying expressions.

The elders of the Martial Soul Department, led by Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi, looked puzzled. Xian Lin'er, head of the Soul Tool Department, tapped a finger lightly on the table, bewilderment in her eyes—

Qian Duoduo had called a Sea God Pavilion council meeting on his own initiative. Had the sun risen in the west?

At the head of the table, Mu En reclined in a wicker chair. His aged face betrayed nothing, but his eyes were deep as still pools. "Duoduo, what's so urgent?"

Qian Duoduo stepped forward and planted his palm on the table. His voice rang out. "Mu En, honored elders! I've come with a proposal that could lift Shrek's Soul Tool Department to new heights—even benefit the entire Douluo Continent!"

He laid out Huo Yuhao's "cost-leadership strategy" in full: mass-produce low-end Soul Tools, capture the border market, then build up resources to tackle high-level technology. His argument was orderly, every word ringing with conviction.

At first, silence filled the council chamber. The elders looked utterly lost—

Terms like "machine mass production" and "low-end market" lay beyond their understanding of the Soul Tool industry.

Then murmurs of realization rose one after another.

Xian Lin'er's eyes shone. More than anyone, she knew what this proposal meant: the Soul Tool Department could break free of the Martial Soul Department's suppression and enter the wider market for the first time, no longer confined to the academy's little corner of the world.

Yan Shaozhe's face, however, darkened. His fingers tapped the table with an impatient rhythm.

He understood perfectly well. At its heart, Qian Duoduo's so-called "strategy" was about making money!

Once the Soul Tool Department rose, the Martial Soul Department's advantage in resources would inevitably suffer. Worse, the idea had come from Huo Yuhao, the boy who had taken a place from the Martial Soul Department. His lingering resentment only deepened.

"No!" Yan Shaozhe cut in sharply, his tone brooking no argument. "This is nothing but a plan drawn on paper! Blindly mass-producing low-end Soul Tools would waste resources and might throw the Soul Tool market into chaos!"

He made it sound as though he was thinking of the academy, but his words were full of petty calculations. His vision was too narrow to see beyond them.

"Yan Shaozhe! What nonsense!" Xian Lin'er slammed the table with a bang and shot to her feet. Her eyes blazed with fury. "The Soul Tool Department has suffered for years. Now that we finally have a chance to turn things around, what gives you the right to stop us? Don't you know how many low-level Soul Tools the border front lines need? This would benefit both the nation and its people!"

"Lin'er, sit down," an elderly white-haired woman on the left said gently. "Mu En, this may be unprecedented, but it is highly feasible. Why not run a pilot test? We could produce a small batch for the border and see how the market responds before reaching a decision."

Her words supported Xian Lin'er while giving Yan Shaozhe a way to back down.

A keen light flashed in Mu En's eyes. He nodded. "Approved. Duoduo and Lin'er will have full responsibility. The Martial Soul Department must not interfere."

He glanced at Yan Shaozhe, who looked ready to speak, and shook his head slightly, disappointment in his eyes.

"Yes, Teacher!"

"Yes, Mu En!"

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo answered in unison. Her face was alight with excitement, while he rubbed his hands together, already working through the details of mass production.

"Very well, that settles—" Mu En was about to adjourn the meeting when Yan Shaozhe cut him off.

"Teacher, I have something to say!" Disregarding council protocol, Yan Shaozhe spoke urgently, his voice deliberately calm.

Every elder at the table froze and turned toward him. Their exchanged glances said it all: He actually dared? Had jealousy gone to Yan Shaozhe's head? He had interrupted Mu En.

Mu En frowned slightly. "Speak."

Yan Shaozhe looked around the table, his gaze passing over Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo. Then he spoke, measured satisfaction in his voice. "Teacher, honored elders, did you know that a student with Four Ultimate Martial Souls joined Shrek's freshman class a few days ago?"