Someone would come every day specifically to ask what she wanted for her three meals, then deliver them at mealtimes. If needed, several maids with special martial souls could also be assigned to attend to her daily needs and satisfy any request at any time.
Naturally, Leng Xiyue was not used to being looked after. She had long grown accustomed to living alone, and having outsiders around would certainly feel uncomfortable. Even her instructions for lunch and dinner were simply "anything." She was not a picky eater anyway.
As for Xiao Bai, she certainly did not count as an outsider~
After briefly introducing the layout and the functions of the various soul tools, Javier left to make the other arrangements.
The moment Javier left, Leng Xiyue could not wait to walk barefoot into the bedroom. She stepped onto the incredibly soft carpet, made from the fur of some unknown rare soul beast, then flopped onto the enormous bed in the middle.
An exquisite softness instantly enveloped her. Leng Xiyue sank into bliss and never wanted to get up again.
For a diehard shut-in, a bed was just as indispensable as gaming equipment. Leng Xiyue had spent plenty on hers in her previous life, buying only the best products available on the market. Spending tens of thousands at a time was nothing unusual; she had played the sucker more than once in pursuit of comfort.
These top-grade soul beast products were far beyond anything Earth called a luxury. They truly possessed a magic that could seal a person in place. Leng Xiyue had not been sleepy at all, but the instant she lay down, she wanted to take a nap.
"Xiao Bai, do you think we'll ever get used to ordinary bedding again after staying here for a few days?" Leng Xiyue rubbed against the pillow, then looked at Xiao Bai beside her and spoke with a blissful expression.
Xiao Bai was lying on the bed too, wearing exactly the same expression as Leng Xiyue. She replied without thinking, "If we can't, we'll just find a way to get a set like this and carry it around with us."
Hearing that, Leng Xiyue jolted awake and sprang straight off the bed.
"You're right! Our top priority is still finding a way to rake in money. Getting enough money to buy a set of bedding like this and carry it around is what really matters!"
As she spoke, Leng Xiyue headed out of the bedroom. Her immediate priority was to use the conveniences currently available to her and look up information in the Papal Hall's library. Her present comforts were only temporary. Only through hard work could she keep enjoying them forever!
"I didn't say that! Hey, hey, hey, let me lie here a little longer!" Xiao Bai had been lying there in perfect comfort, but Leng Xiyue had already walked away, dragging her along as well.
The Papal Hall's book repository sounded much like a library, but it was not actually a place where people could consult materials. Instead, it housed texts from throughout the ages. Even the elders could not come and browse freely. Only professors and scholars from the Martial Soul Research Institute and Spirit Hall Academy could borrow a few volumes after passing multiple rounds of approval, and they remained under strict surveillance throughout the loan period.
At present, aside from the Pope, Leng Xiyue was the only person allowed to stay here and read.
Javier was clearly extremely efficient. By now, word of what Leng Xiyue looked like had probably spread everywhere, so nobody stopped her when she entered the repository.
Looking at the densely packed, enormous shelves without a single label, Leng Xiyue felt her scalp prickle. She had absolutely no idea where to begin.
Just as Leng Xiyue was about to work through them book by book, a girl of sixteen or seventeen approached:
"Hello, miss. I'm the librarian here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Leng Xiyue was somewhat surprised that the Papal Hall's librarian was so young rather than the elderly man she had imagined, but she still said, "Hello, big sister. I'd like to consult some books about soul tools."
"Soul tools... All right, please follow me."
The girl paused for a few seconds, then led Leng Xiyue all the way to an enormous bookshelf.
"These books all contain records concerning soul tools, including research notes on ancient soul tools and instructions for using modern soul tools. Please feel free to browse."
"However, if you wish to take any of these books away, you will need to register them with me."
"All right, thank you." Leng Xiyue nodded.
The young woman said nothing more and simply turned to leave. Her expression had remained utterly impassive throughout, as though she had no emotions of her own, like a robot.
Leng Xiyue found it a little strange, but with an ocean of knowledge right before her eyes, how could she spare any attention for such a trivial matter? She picked several dozen books from the shelves and began leafing through them.
Just as she had imagined, the main reason soul tools had become a lost art was the disappearance of the soul engineer profession. During the Dark Age, soul engineers had been hailed as "those who bestow life upon objects." Yet that very distinction had made them far too unusual. After a brief period of prosperity, the various powers had joined forces and slaughtered them all.
The primary role of soul engineers had been to engrave chips. Only with soul tool chips could soul tools in the true sense be created.
After the art of making soul tool chips died out, later soul masters began producing imitation soul tools that had "form but no spirit." These people could just barely be called soul engineers as well. Most of their creations were support items like Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night, though there were also more complicated products such as soul-powered bows and crossbows. They were a far cry from the era when soul engineers could hold their own, so the books referred to these methods as modern soul tool craft.
But during the age of empires, even these later soul tool crafts gradually died out. Their production methods were likewise extremely complicated, and output was scarce. Neither the barbarians of the Star Luo Empire nor the fragmented Heaven Dou Empire, whose higher and lower ranks distrusted one another, wanted to expend vast resources on such things. They preferred building palaces and the like for their own enjoyment. Thus, without consulting each other, the Two Great Empires both began persecuting the inheritors of these later soul tools, and before long, their craft was completely lost, just like that of true soul tools.
By the era of Spirit Hall, wise people in every generation had requested that soul tool research be resumed, and Spirit Hall had indeed devoted itself to the task. However, the persecution during the age of empires had been so thorough that not a single surviving lineage of modern soul tool craft could be found. Spirit Hall could therefore only research a new generation of soul tools.
These were modern soul tools. Their production methods were not complicated, and they offered an even greater variety of functions than the preceding generation, but their quality fell far short. Without a complete supporting system, essentials such as storage soul tools were extraordinarily expensive to make. Only those at the top could have them made and use them, and their storage space was tiny.
The main way modern soul tools were used was to pack soul power into a storage device, much like a battery, then combine it with soul power transmission systems to release that power. Although their endurance was relatively good, their power output was not particularly high, and their explosive output was limited without a soul master controlling them. Thus, they could not be used in industry and were of little help in military affairs either. Modern soul tool craft had also stagnated-or rather, there was little left worth developing.
Before you continue