Time flew by unnoticed, and eight months passed in the blink of an eye.
In Laboratory Twelve of the Soul Tool Department's testing area, Fan Yu was assessing Huo Yuhao's Soul Engineer level.
"Brother Caitou, give me a Hua Zi."
"Here..."
Huo Yuhao lounged with both feet propped on the table, holding a walnut-sized chunk of metal in his left hand and a slender knife in his right, carving into the metal.
As he carved, he casually gave instructions to He Caitou beside him.
A long, thick little stick suddenly appeared in He Caitou's hand, and he passed it to Huo Yuhao.
It was actually a cigar.
Huo Yuhao tucked the knife in his right hand behind his ear, caught the cigar between two fingers in the same motion, and put it in his mouth. He took a deep drag, then parted his lips slightly and tilted his head back, leisurely exhaling a cloud of white smoke.
Then he traded the cigar for the knife behind his ear and resumed carving.
He Caitou: "..."
Fan Yu: "..."
They simply could not imagine anyone being so careless and casual while making a Soul Tool, without the slightest hint of seriousness.
Yet they could find no fault whatsoever with Huo Yuhao's engraving skills. Though he always seemed careless, the arrays he engraved had never contained even the slightest error.
Fan Yu put up with it.
"Done." Huo Yuhao tossed the knife aside and threw the little metal block to Fan Yu.
"Brother Yu, see if it works. If it really doesn't, just forget it."
"You little brat, no respect for your elders," Fan Yu muttered, catching the metal block in midair.
Within a few months, Huo Yuhao had stopped calling Fan Yu his teacher and begun calling him Brother Yu without the