The underground world was utterly unlike the silent world above. Here, lights blazed, and the air carried the scents of metal and soul tool oil, along with a faint, elusive tension. Figures crowded around metal forging benches gleaming with a cold sheen, and most of them were women.
The Ordinary Alliance's preliminary round had already begun. Soul guidance lamps focused on every workbench, illuminating the contestants' intent profiles.
Compared with the Xishui Alliance's competition area, where crafting themes frequently involved offensive devices such as soul cannons and soul bombs, the soul engineers here seemed to favor ingenuity and practicality.
The components passing through their fingers were mostly for auxiliary, defensive, or nimble close-combat soul tools. There was less of a killing air here, and more of a craftsperson's devotion.
Xu Jiujiu, currently going by the alias Xu You, stood before workbench number three. Her expression was focused, her slender hands methodically working on the core array before her.
Beneath her palm, a round metal base the size of her hand had already begun to take shape, intricate patterns being engraved upon it little by little.
This was her own creation, the Level 3 defensive soul tool, the Starlight Barrier.
Once completed, activating it would form a transparent starlight shield half a meter in diameter before its user, capable of completely blocking an all-out strike from a Three-Ring Soul Elder or even a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. For lower-ranked soul masters, it was a rare lifesaving treasure.
With her accomplishments as a Level 6 Soul Engineer, completing this Level 3 Soul Tool was as easy as cooking a small fish. Even more eye-catching was the carving knife in her hand. Its blade had none of metal's texture; instead, it resembled a fragment of solidified starlight, crystal clear, scattering tiny firefly-like glimmers as