"Is this... the academy's Soul Tool Department experiment area?"
After several minutes of high-speed flight, Zhou Yi brought Huo Yuhao down in front of a massive, gray rectangular building.
Huo Yuhao had already explored the entire academy, so he recognized the Soul Tool Department's experiment area at a glance, though he had never been inside.
Zhou Yi led him inside with practiced familiarity and made her way through the experiment area. There was an entrance to another testing area roughly every thirty meters.
After walking down a long corridor, they finally stopped before a large door marked "Experiment Area No. 12."
Zhou Yi took out a hexagonal token and pressed it against the door. With a series of clicks, the sealed door slid open sideways.
"High tech?"
Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows and followed Zhou Yi into Experiment Area No. 12.
He surveyed the vast space, nearly two thousand square meters in size. Metal panels divided it into smaller sections. Vibrations from some unknown source stirred the air, sending wind rushing into his face despite the space being sealed off from the outside.
Not far away, several people were absorbed in tinkering with something.
Huo Yuhao naturally knew what they were working on.
Soul tools.
"Fan Yu!" Zhou Yi shouted, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
A tall man who looked to be in his thirties frowned slightly and walked toward them.
He stood around 1.8 meters tall and had a powerful upper body. His simple cloth clothes left his arms bare, and their clearly defined muscles spoke of tremendous strength.
He was, of course, the Fan Yu Zhou Yi had called out to. Looking at her, he asked, "Zhou Yi, why are you here at this hour? Aren't the freshmen still in their morning classes?"
Zhou Yi said, "I'm the homeroom teacher. Class ends when I say it ends."
Fan Yu: "..."
Zhou Yi asked with some excitement, "Do you remember what you told me last time?"
"What did I say?"
"Your theory about soul masters with a mental attribute using soul tools." Unable to hide her excitement, Zhou Yi pointed at Huo Yuhao. "I've brought you a monster who meets your requirements perfectly!"
"Him?"
Fan Yu turned his gaze toward Huo Yuhao and froze.
What kind of soul master was this?
His soul power was both weak and strong?!
It was weak because Fan Yu could clearly tell that Huo Yuhao's soul power level was very low. Yet the soul power within him was exceptionally pure, with a strength that did not match his level.
What was going on?
Thinking he had misjudged him, Fan Yu asked in surprise, "What's his martial soul? And what level is his soul power, exactly?"
Zhou Yi smiled faintly. "Demon Eyes. Level eleven."
"That's impossible!" Fan Yu blurted out.
With a physique like that, he was only level eleven?
He looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, "What's your name?"
"Hello, Teacher Fan. My name is Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao smiled and raised his head to meet Fan Yu's gaze.
"You're Huo Yuhao?" Fan Yu's eyes lit up.
He had heard Huo Yuhao's name before the school term even began.
Ever since Zhou Yi returned that day, she had stopped disguising herself as an old woman. According to her, a freshman named Huo Yuhao had persuaded her to change her teaching philosophy.
He did not know whether Huo Yuhao was really that capable, but he was genuinely grateful to him.
He no longer had to watch his beautiful wife put on makeup to look like an old woman every day!
Now that he had met Huo Yuhao, Fan Yu could not help feeling a little fond of him.
Zhou Yi smiled. "That's not all. Huo Yuhao, show Teacher Fan Yu your first soul skill."
Huo Yuhao said nothing and simply revealed his soul ring.
"His first soul ring is only ten years old?" Fan Yu frowned, but before he could give it any more thought, the stream of data pouring into his mind left him too shocked to speak.
He could now clearly "see" every inch of Experiment Area No. 12. Scattered metal, soul tools, parts... nothing escaped his perception.
"This... what kind of divine skill is this?" Astonishment covered Fan Yu's face as he called to a student nearby, "Caitou, come here!"
A tall youth hurried over.
He was nearly two meters tall, with dark skin, a sturdy build, and a distinctive, completely bald head. Though tall and imposing, he was not frightening, and his smile had a charmingly guileless quality.
Even Huo Yuhao silently muttered to himself when he saw his build: What did this dark-skinned guy eat to grow that big?
The burly, dark-skinned youth addressed Fan Yu respectfully. "Teacher, did you call me?"
Fan Yu instructed him, "Fire a shot from a fixed-installation soul cannon at a moving target. This junior will assist you."
"All right." The burly youth asked no further questions and said to Huo Yuhao, "Little brother, come with me."
"All right." Huo Yuhao followed him.
Walking ahead, the burly youth introduced himself. "Little brother, my name is He Caitou. Just call me Caitou."
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied casually, "Hello, Brother Caitou. I'm Huo Yuhao."
When they reached the designated testing site, He Caitou took a strange, slender tube from his waist. The moment it appeared, it caught Huo Yuhao's attention.
It was a black metal tube about a meter and a half long and fifteen centimeters in diameter. He Caitou handled it deftly, pressing it lightly to pop open a slot.
He then inserted a diamond-shaped piece of metal into the slot, closed the cover, and easily rested the tube on his shoulder.
Watching from the side, Huo Yuhao speculated silently.
Is that a cannon barrel? A loading-type soul tool? Class three or class four? No, it's been too long since I handled these things. I can't tell anymore.
"Little Brother Huo, I'm ready!" He Caitou said.
Huo Yuhao nodded and extended Spiritual Detection Sharing to He Caitou.
He Caitou froze briefly, then broke into an excited smile and shouted, "Launch the moving target!"
The instant his voice fell, a black disc flew out from a distant corner.
Powerful soul power fluctuations burst from He Caitou, and three soul rings appeared around him-two yellow and one purple. The metal tube on his shoulder trembled slightly as a black halo enveloped it.
Though the disc flew quickly, He Caitou could easily see where it would be a second later.
He adjusted the metal tube's direction slightly, keeping it trained on the disc in the air.
Boom-
A violent roar rang out as a burst of black light erupted from the metal tube. The powerful rush of air accompanying the blast forced Huo Yuhao to lower his body.
Even so, he kept his head raised excitedly, watching where the black light was headed.
Crack-
The airborne disc shattered on impact, scattering countless fragments in every direction.
Everyone looked astonished, but Fan Yu was the most stunned of all.
"It worked. It really worked!"
Fan Yu asked excitedly, "Huo Yuhao, how far does your Spiritual Detection reach?"
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and answered honestly, "I haven't tested its maximum range yet, but I can easily maintain detection within a hundred-meter radius. If I focus on just one direction, it reaches a little over two hundred meters. And as my strength grows, that range will keep increasing."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Unable to restrain his excitement any longer, Fan Yu said, "Huo Yuhao, although you're still a freshman, I'm formally inviting you to become a disciple of our Soul Tool Department. Are you willing?"
He Caitou and the other students were all taken aback.
The Soul Tool Department had never extended such an invitation to a student who was still a freshman!
Only after passing the freshman assessment would new students formally choose either the Martial Soul Department or the Soul Tool Department as their path forward.
Hearing Fan Yu's sincere invitation, Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before calmly declining. "I'm sorry, Teacher Fan Yu, but I've already considered this. I'll choose to continue developing in the Martial Soul Department."
"Whatever resources the Martial Soul Department can give you, our Soul Tool Department can provide too! I'll teach you personally and guarantee you a boundless future!"
Fan Yu said urgently, "You're still young. You don't understand the profound and wondrous nature of soul tools. They can arm a soul master in every respect-defense, offense... every weakness an ordinary soul master has can be compensated for with soul tools."
He had researched fixed-installation soul tools for many years. They consumed little power and packed a tremendous punch, but their difficulty in acquiring targets resulted in a low hit rate.
Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, however, could solve that problem perfectly.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "No, Teacher Fan Yu. I understand very well how powerful soul tools are, and I firmly believe they'll be able to change the world in the future. But after careful consideration, I still choose the Martial Soul Department."
With a light flick of his right thumb, he sent a small, delicate object flying toward Fan Yu.
Fan Yu caught it in midair, his face full of confusion.
"What's this?"
He opened his hand, and when he saw what Huo Yuhao had flicked toward him, his eyes widened as far as they could go!
"This... this is!"