Time flew, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
The semester was also drawing to a close.
Inside his dorm room.
Chen Mo summoned his martial soul and cultivated by absorbing the surrounding soul power.
A surge of soul power erupted from within him.
His aura rose rapidly.
At the same time, an invisible soul ring descended from above and merged into his body.
Chen Mo exhaled a breath of stale air, sensing the change in his soul power.
"I finally broke through to level thirty!"
"Now I'm even more confident about passing this afternoon's Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment."
After three months of diligent study.
Chen Mo's soul tool skills had advanced by leaps and bounds.
A week earlier, he had already been able to carve a perfect level 1 Magic Array Core.
He still vividly remembered.
When Jing Hongchen held the completed level 1 Magic Array Core he had made.
He had stood rooted to the spot, as though struck by five bolts of heavenly lightning.
His face had been full of disbelief.
For the academy's first-year freshmen, the final assessment required students to independently design and inscribe a close-combat soul tool within a set time limit.
They would then be graded according to how complete their soul tools were.
However, if a student could pass the Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment.
They could skip the final assessment.
And receive full marks outright.
On top of that, they could start their vacation early.
So, to test the results of his three months of study.
Chen Mo had signed up for the Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment.
Soon, afternoon arrived.
Chen Mo took a soul-powered maglev railcar to the testing area.
He had just reached the assessment laboratory.
When he saw that Jing Hongchen was already there.
Chen Mo hurried over to greet him. "Teacher Jin, what are you doing here? Didn't you say a Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment wasn't worth watching, and you'd rather sleep at home? Have you already woken up, or haven't you slept yet? Or were you so shocked by my talent that you couldn't sleep?"
Although he already knew the man before him was Jing Hongchen.
He still pretended not to know.
In fact, he had gotten along quite well with Jing Hongchen during this time.
After all, only then would the man be even more embarrassed when his identity was exposed later.
"Enough of your cheek."
"I just happened to have something to do here."
"What about you? How's your preparation? Don't go home bawling if you fail the assessment."
Jing Hongchen shot back with easy familiarity.
Chen Mo patted his chest confidently. “You know my talent. A little Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment is a piece of cake for me.”
With that said.
He walked into the assessment laboratory beside them.
Jing Hongchen went into the observation room.
As he watched the room below, he was equally excited.
After all.
It had been barely three months since Chen Mo first encountered soul tools.
For anyone else, three months might not even have been enough to finish learning the theory.
Yet Chen Mo was already ready to take the level 1 soul tool assessment.
Talent was naturally part of it, but he had also witnessed all the effort the boy had put in lately.
Inside the laboratory.
Chen Mo walked up to the workbench.
The teacher overseeing the assessment said with a strict expression, "You have six hours to complete a level 1 soul tool. During that time, you may not use anything other than the equipment provided by the academy and your own martial soul. Any violation will be treated as cheating."
"If you're ready, you may begin whenever you like."
Chen Mo then placed the soul tool blueprint he had designed beforehand on the table.
Chen Mo closed his eyes and quickly ran through the soul tool's manufacturing process in his mind.
Then his eyes snapped open.
Material selection—heating—forging!
The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water.
Nothing more to it—practice made his hands sure!
After removing impurities from the metal and increasing its density, he used the forging press to press the finished metal into the planned shape.
He put on heat-resistant gloves, picked up a file, and polished the outer casing, carefully keeping every deviation within tolerance.
Then he placed the outer casing in coolant to rapidly cool and strengthen it.
While the outer casing cooled.
He began making the inner casing.
Two hours passed in a flash.
Chen Mo finished both the outer and inner casings.
Next came the most crucial step.
Core Array inscription!
Chen Mo released his martial soul, picked up an Engraving Knife, and began meticulously carving the core in his hand, which was scarcely larger than a stone.
In the observation room, Jing Hongchen immediately guessed what Chen Mo was making from the soul tool's shape.
“An Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun?”
"A good choice."
After another two hours, Chen Mo successfully finished carving the Core Array.
Just as Jing Hongchen thought Chen Mo was about to begin assembly.
Chen Mo unexpectedly picked up two miniature array cores and continued carving.
His brow furrowed. "What is that brat doing? Why is he carving more Magic Array Cores instead of assembling it with the time he has left? He's running out of time."
The supervising teacher was equally puzzled.
At this rate, Chen Mo would have no time to complete the final assembly.
Just as he was about to remind him.
Jing Hongchen's voice reached his ear.
"Don't disturb him. I want to see what he's planning."
Fortunately, Chen Mo finished carving the two Magic Array Cores in very little time.
He immediately began assembling the tool at speed.
But only twenty minutes remained.
Chen Mo picked up the completed components and rapidly assembled the soul tool.
The assessment teacher watched the clock, breaking into a cold sweat on Chen Mo's behalf.
Jing Hongchen was also very nervous.
Fortunately, hard work did not fail a determined heart.
Chen Mo completed the soul tool's assembly in the final minute.
"Assessment completed. Time taken: five hours, fifty-nine minutes, and seven seconds." After stopping the timer, the assessment teacher stepped forward and took Chen Mo's soul tool.
Next, it still had to undergo a practical evaluation.
To determine whether the soul tool met the requirements.
Before Chen Mo could leave the laboratory.
Jing Hongchen had already come over. "Chen Mo, what on earth were you doing? You were already so pressed for time. Why did you carve two more Magic Array Cores? Weren't you afraid you'd run out of time?"
Chen Mo rubbed his nose. "I just made a few small modifications to the original blueprint. Don't worry, Teacher Jin. I knew what I was doing. Besides, didn't I finish it successfully?"
"Modifications?"
"What did you change?"
Jing Hongchen asked curiously.
"You'll find out in a moment." Chen Mo deliberately kept him in suspense.
Seeing this, Jing Hongchen stopped asking and led him to another laboratory.
The Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun Chen Mo had finished was sitting on a soul tool testing device.
The teacher who had overseen the assessment operated the device.
A moment later.
The soul tool's data appeared.
Soul tool: Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun Material strength: outer casing (above average), inner casing (high-grade) Formation Core: perfect Overall evaluation: excellent
"An excellent level 1 ranged soul tool. Assessment passed!"
A flicker of surprise crossed the assessment teacher's eyes.
If he remembered correctly.
Chen Mo's registration information stated that he was a first-year freshman and nine years old this year.
Heavens!
What kind of monster was he?
He had passed the Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment at such a young age.
There probably weren't more than a handful of geniuses like him in the entire Sun Moon Empire.
Jing Hongchen was also thrilled.
The boy had really done it.
Three months.
He had passed the Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment in just three months.
He had broken the all-time record at the Sun Moon Royal Academy!
Jing Hongchen continued, "Right, what were those small modifications you mentioned?"
"Nothing much."
"I just optimized the gun's heat-dissipation structure, then added two miniature Energy-Gathering Arrays to the original Magic Array Core."
"When firing, the user injects soul power to activate the arrays, driving a high-energy beam or a compressed particle stream out of the barrel."
"That not only increases the firing rate and reduces recoil, but also allows 'multiple shots from a single core!' And there's no need to worry about overheating."
"Actually, hearing is unreliable; seeing is believing. Let me demonstrate it for you."
Chen Mo picked up the Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun.
He went outside the teaching building.
And aimed at a few small birds flying across the sky.
He fired shot after shot.
No matter how fast they flew, under Chen Mo's continuous fire.
Several were easily shot down.
And the gun showed no sign of heating up.
Jing Hongchen took the gun and examined it carefully.
Sure enough, just as Chen Mo had said, the gun had not overheated.
Unable to hold back any longer, he asked, "Chen Mo, would you be willing to become my student?"
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