Enlightened

The lump of Iron Essence slowly changed according to Lin Changgeng's thoughts. Gradually, it took the shape of a ring.

"It worked!" A gleam flashed through Lin Changgeng's eyes as he looked at the ring in his hand.

"If that works, could I try using my Martial Soul to engrave arrays?"

Rubbing his chin, Lin Changgeng considered whether it was feasible. If he remembered correctly, ten thousand years later, Huo Yuhao seemed to have used his Spirit Eyes and spiritual power to engrave arrays. His own Martial Soul did not possess such powerful spiritual power, but its affinity for metal, and even its control over it, should make it possible.

As he thought, Lin Changgeng began putting the idea into practice.

The Martial Soul in his palm flowed rapidly, condensing into a small golden knife.

The knife was composed entirely of Gengjin Element and radiated a dazzling light beneath the sun. One glance was enough to tell how incredibly sharp it was.

Lin Changgeng focused his mind and steadied his breathing, recalling the lines and paths of the Basic Storage Array. Guided by his spiritual power, the Gengjin knife slowly descended onto the ring's surface.

Scrrr-

A faint scrape of metal quietly sounded as the pure Gold Element followed his will, moving across the ring like a paintbrush.

In just a few breaths, a complete Basic Storage Array had been engraved on the ring.

Hum!

A pale golden glow lit up on the ring's surface. The lines automatically linked together and began circulating, and a faint spatial fluctuation slowly spread outward.

"It worked!" Joy welled up inside Lin Changgeng. He had never expected making Soul Tools to be so simple, though his Martial Soul certainly had a great deal to do with it.

I wonder how much space it has. With that thought, Lin Changgeng extended his Soul Power into the ring.

The space inside the ring was not large, only about one cubic meter.

"A little small." Lin Changgeng frowned slightly, but on second thought, it might be an issue with the material. How much space could a piece of Iron Essence withstand?

Wang Qiu'er and the other two had watched the entire process from the side.

"You finally grew a brain," Wang Qiu'er teased. "I thought you really were going to keep stupidly hammering metal and engraving it."

At first, Wang Qiu'er had wanted to laugh when she saw Lin Changgeng earnestly hammering the metal. Forging metal to make Soul Tools with an Ultimate Metal Martial Soul-wasn't that picking up sesame seeds while throwing away a watermelon? He had ignored his Martial Soul's advantages to go hammer metal instead. But when she saw him come to his senses halfway through, she no longer felt like laughing.

"I just didn't think of it." Lin Changgeng scratched his head. He had gained enlightenment now. He was a Homo sapiens.

Dugu Yan was dumbfounded. Hadn't he said they needed to forge the metal before engraving it? Why had Lin Changgeng hammered it for a while, then gone straight to shaping it with his Martial Soul and engraving the array? The book hadn't taught that either.

Fine, fine, fine. Evolving without inviting me along, are you?

Dugu Yan felt deeply frustrated. She wanted to do what Lin Changgeng had done, but her Martial Soul did not support it. Perhaps she could use Dragon Transformation to engrave arrays, but only Lin Changgeng could reshape the metal.

At that thought, Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. She could simply have Lin Changgeng reshape the metal, then use Dragon Transformation to engrave the array herself. Wouldn't that save a lot of trouble?

But after thinking it over carefully, that did not seem very feasible. Her claws after Dragon Transformation seemed too thick, and the cores were too small. If she wanted to make anything, it would have to be something like a Soul Cannon. Her Dragon Transformation could not handle this kind of Storage Soul Tool.

Meanwhile, Dugu Bo had not said a word from beginning to end, because he could no longer find the words to describe it.

Calling Lin Changgeng a genius felt like the word itself did him an injustice. Calling him a monster? Lin Changgeng was more monstrous than a monster. The Chaotic Cloak only had a couple of tricks to it; anyone who understood the concept of borrowing force to counter force could do it. But no one could learn to shape metal and engrave it with a Martial Soul like this. And seeing how effortlessly Lin Changgeng controlled metal, as easily as drinking water, wouldn't he already stand in an unbeatable position whenever he faced a tool Martial Soul in the future?

At that thought, Dugu Bo could not help observing a moment of silence for the factions with tool Martial Souls.

At that moment, however, a new idea arose in Lin Changgeng's mind.

Why not strike while the iron's hot and make a pistol to play with? Lin Changgeng thought. A Soul Tool Pistol was a Level Two Soul Tool, while what he had just made was Class One. Judging by his performance just now, Class Two was certainly worth a try. Besides, the Soul Tool blueprints happened to include a design for a Soul Tool Pistol.

"But what material should I use?" Lin Changgeng rubbed his chin. He had bought several pieces of rare metal at the auction, but none in particularly large quantities. A Soul Tool Pistol was an offensive Soul Tool, so its durability needed to be improved.

"I've got it." With a sweep of his hand, a piece of deep-sea sunken silver appeared in his palm.

Deep-Sea Sinking Silver was an excellent material for making high-grade Soul Tools. Its toughness and hardness far surpassed ordinary metals, and it could withstand Soul Power output to the greatest possible extent without shattering easily. It could not have been more suitable for a Soul Tool Pistol.

"Deep-Sea Sinking Silver?" Wang Qiu'er asked. "Are you planning to make an Attack-Type Soul Tool now?"

"Mm." Lin Changgeng nodded. "Storage Soul Tools are too easy for me. I want to try an offensive one."

With that, Lin Changgeng used his Martial Soul to cut off a piece of Deep-Sea Sinking Silver. After cutting it, he tossed the remainder back into his Soul Tool, then enveloped the piece in his Martial Soul.

The moment he enveloped it, Lin Changgeng felt the difference.

The molecular structure of Deep-Sea Sinking Silver was far too tightly packed. It took considerable effort for the Gold Element to penetrate it.

The molecules in Iron Essence were loosely arranged and moved with a push. The molecules of Deep-Sea Sinking Silver seemed welded in place, requiring more Soul Power to pry them loose.

Its impurities were also buried deeper, hidden in gaps within the metal. Removing them would take patience.

Lin Changgeng was in no hurry. He calmed his mind and worked through it little by little.

The Deep-Sea Sinking Silver began to soften and change shape in his palm.

First came a grip, curved to fit the hand, with a hollow space inside to store Soul Power.

Above the grip was the gun's body, with a barrel extending from its front. It was not long, roughly the length of a palm.

Between the grip and the gun's body, he left a trigger guard, with a small trigger inside.

Its overall shape was that of a miniature pistol.

Deep-Sea Sinking Silver was a high-grade material, after all, and working it took far more effort than Gengjin Essence. Lin Changgeng spent a full hour shaping the pistol.

A small silver-white pistol lay in Lin Changgeng's palm, its surface giving off a faint silvery sheen.

The material of Deep-Sea Sinking Silver looked much more premium than Iron Essence. It felt heavy in his hand, with a satisfying heft.

"What's that?" Dugu Yan leaned over curiously. "It looks like a lump of iron."

"You act like I'm trying to hurt you whenever I tell you to read more. Isn't it in the Soul Tool blueprints? A Soul Tool Pistol," Lin Changgeng said irritably.

Dugu Yan froze for a moment, then lowered her head and thought.

"I haven't gotten that far yet," she admitted honestly. "I've only just started reading the basics. The blueprints are farther back, and I haven't reached them."

Lin Changgeng scratched his head sheepishly. That did seem to be the case. Dugu Yan had started learning later than him, so it was hardly surprising that she did not know. Besides, he had already known about Soul Tools; all he had lacked were the details.