(To thank you all for your support, here are three updates!)
"Support system Soul Masters and food system Soul Masters aren't good at fighting. That's an innate weakness. Offensive and defensive Soul Tools can indeed compensate for it, but they can never eliminate it entirely," Huo Yuhao said solemnly.
"Let's take an example. A power attack system or agility attack system Soul Engineer can use their own advantages, such as tremendous strength or swift speed, not only to wield Soul Tools more effectively, but even to increase the tools' power. Support system and food system Soul Engineers, however, are at a disadvantage in aiming, reacting during combat, and physically enduring the strain of high-level Soul Tools."
"A Beast Martial Soul user with a sufficiently strong physique can even ignore a Soul Cannon's recoil and use one above the level their cultivation would normally permit. But if a support system or food system Soul Master, whose body is inherently weaker, uses the same cannon, they might injure or even kill themselves."
"So, according to you, although Soul Tools blur the distinctions between offense and defense among Soul Masters to some extent, they can't fundamentally resolve this problem." Mu Jin nodded, summing it up succinctly.
At his words, however, Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo, standing outside the door, looked somewhat troubled.
"Why do we need to change it?"
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao smiled and posed a question to Mu Jin-and to the other students in the classroom. "Unless Soul Tools can completely replace our Soul Rings or Soul Skills as a means of attack, why should we change any of this?"
Xian Lin'er's and Qian Duoduo's eyes lit up. They exchanged a glance, smiles appearing on both their faces. They had both guessed what Huo Yuhao was about to say.
"Teams! This is where teamwork comes in! As I said, a lone support system or food system Soul Master is vulnerable. More broadly speaking, every Soul Master has weaknesses to some degree. But if they unite as a team, those supposed strengths and weaknesses can complement or even cancel one another out, and may even produce beneficial interactions."
"I believe the future of Soul Tool development lies in each Soul Master using suitable Soul Tools to compensate for their own weaknesses, then forming teams of various sizes with like-minded Soul Masters whose abilities complement theirs. That will bring out the greatest possible fighting strength."
"And here, I sincerely hope that none of you will hold prejudices against Soul Tools. Whether they're Soul Rings, Soul Bones, or Soul Tools, they're all merely tools in the hands of us Soul Masters. It was precisely because our ancestors discovered the power of Soul Rings and Soul Skills that humanity rose from beneath the rule of Soul Beasts and became the masters of this continent."
"Now, we stand at the same crossroads in history as our ancestors. As a young Soul Master, I believe accepting new things and turning them into strength of our own is exactly what we need to do. Thank you, everyone!"
Huo Yuhao sat back down, but the classroom was deathly silent. Even Mu Jin, their homeroom teacher, had fallen deep into thought after hearing his words.
Huo Yuhao had not laid out the future of the Douluo Continent he had seen before their eyes. He had merely offered them a new path.
The Sun Moon Empire had already forged ahead on this path. Whether they could catch up with its footsteps was not something he needed to concern himself with.
Clap...
Led by Ning Tian, every student in Freshman Class Nine rose to their feet and applauded Huo Yuhao excitedly. Their homeroom teacher, Mu Jin, was also brimming with excitement. He had never imagined that an offhand move meant to spite Zhou Yi would let him pick up such a treasure.
With the strength of a level-eleven Soul Master, Huo Yuhao could easily defeat a Soul Grandmaster with a top-tier Martial Soul. He also possessed an exceptionally broad knowledge of the Soul Master world, along with insights of his own.
Huo Yuhao had now truly earned the heartfelt respect of everyone in Freshman Class Nine. Even Wu Feng, whom he had defeated earlier, applauded him sincerely.
"Lin'er, this really is a case of planting a willow without thinking, only to find it has grown into a canopy..." Qian Duoduo said, somewhat dazed. "I never imagined that occasionally helping verify the freshmen's identities would let me bring back a nugget of gold for our Soul Tool Department."
"Even if Huo Yuhao knows nothing about making Soul Tools yet, those words alone would qualify him to study in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Hall at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy." Without saying anything more, Xian Lin'er turned and left.
"Go find Huo Yuhao when he has some free time. I'll teach him how to make Soul Tools myself."
Qian Duoduo's expression stiffened at her words. He had originally intended to take Huo Yuhao as his disciple, only for Xian Lin'er to swoop in and steal his prize.
Forget it. Even I belong to Lin'er, so what's wrong with letting her have Yuhao? As long as she's happy, Qian Duoduo thought, feeling thoroughly pleased with himself.
After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Mu Jin immediately dismissed the class. Since they still had physical training that afternoon, Huo Yuhao did not return to the hotel, but instead went to the Shrek Academy dining hall for a meal.
There wasn't a single table or chair in the Shrek Academy dining hall. It was nothing but an open space, with sinks along one side for washing hands and dishes.
The food counters were farther inside, with prices displayed outside each window. There were eight windows in total, each offering different dishes, and the prices grew higher from right to left.
The arrangement somewhat resembled that of certain "elite high schools" on Blue Star in his previous life. Huo Yuhao, however, had always disdained such partly performative measures.
Food was the heaven of the people. If students couldn't even eat properly, how could they devote themselves to studying?
Doing away with seats might seem to make students eat faster, but it seriously harmed their health. The drawbacks far outweighed the benefits.
Huo Yuhao headed straight for the leftmost window. Though the food here was routinely priced in Gold Soul Coins, his constitution was innately weak. Highly nutritious food was exactly what he needed to replenish and strengthen his body.
The ten thousand or so Gold Soul Coins he had on hand would cover his expenses for a while. As for afterward, Yao Lao had said he would have a solution.
"Hello, chef. One serving of Demon Bear Tendon Stew and one serving of Ice Jade Shrimp. Oh, right, you have Golden Sparrow Meat Buns today? Wonderful, give me a few. I'd like a few strips of Wind Snake Jerky too."
There was no need to bring his own dishes to the leftmost window. Each item came in its own dish. Finally, the dining hall chef also gave Huo Yuhao a tray to carry these precious foods.
Huo Yuhao spent nearly a hundred Gold Soul Coins on a single meal. To him, however, cultivation came before everything else. Only with sufficient strength could he obtain greater resources.
Finding a corner, Huo Yuhao tucked into his feast while asking Yao Lao in his Sea of Consciousness, "Teacher, you saw my fight with Wu Feng this morning, didn't you? Why could my Flame God Eyes absorb the flames of her Martial Soul?"
"Yes, I saw it," Yao Lao answered promptly. "That little girl's Martial Soul is a dragon possessing an unusual flame. Although its flames aren't as violent and fierce as heavenly flames, they can still be considered a kind of beast flame."
"Beast flame?" Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly lit up. "Then if I devour it, can my Flame Mantra evolve?"
"Uh..." Yao Lao fell silent for a moment before continuing. "If her cultivation reaches a sufficient level, perhaps it could, provided you devour enough of it. But her cultivation is far too weak right now. No matter how much you absorb, it won't have any effect."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, then a gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes. "Then you mean that if I can absorb beast flames of sufficiently high quality and in sufficient quantities, my Flame Mantra might evolve?"
"Yes," Yao Lao said.
Huo Yuhao nodded again. Although the Flame Mantra was extraordinary, it was still only a yellow tier low grade cultivation method at present.
With a cultivation method, his cultivation speed already surpassed that of other Soul Masters at his level. But no one would ever complain about cultivating too quickly. Evolving his cultivation method was still very necessary for his growth.
"Beast flames powerful enough, huh? I might know where to find them."
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