The library of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineer Academy covered hundreds of mu of land and consisted of a sprawling complex of buildings.
The seats for independent study, however, were concentrated in a single building. This was designed to facilitate discussion. After all, for most people, building a cart behind closed doors was inadvisable.
Huo Yuhao found an empty seat among the densely packed "seat taken" signs and took the small wooden box Feng Yu had given him out of his schoolbag.
He opened it to find an unremarkable-looking pill. It had neither the refreshing fragrance of a Mystic Water Pill nor the dazzling halo of a Soul Ascension Pill.
After carefully reading the instructions inside the box, Huo Yuhao could not help sighing, somewhat moved. His teacher really did leave no gaps for even a drop of water to slip through. Only after putting the pill away did he take out the books Jing Hongchen had given him yesterday:
"Principles and Applications of Adaptive Core Arrays"
"Nine Common Soul Power Noise-Reducing Engraving Techniques"
"Soul Power Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer"
"Logic Core Arrays and Interfaces: An Introduction"
Although the book on logic arrays was labeled an introduction, it was thicker than the other three combined, a full half-palm thick. Its contents belonged to the field of intermediate Soul Tools.
According to Senior Brother Feng, this was material all their teacher's students had to study first. Only with a thorough understanding of logic core arrays could they barely make sense of books on integrated core arrays.
He did not rush to read these books. Instead, he looked through the reading list Feng Yu had given him. Its recommendations were extremely detailed, leaving nothing out, from the order in which to read the dozen or so books to their specific editions and errata.
After locating the books in the library one by one, he began looking through their tables of contents in the recommended reading order, trying to understand, from the publishers' perspective, why each book's explanations had been structured that way.
When he encountered questions, he did not insist on fully understanding them, but kept them in mind to resolve one by one during his close reading.
At lunchtime, he took care of his meal by swiping the dean's supplementary card for a feast at Qinyuan Restaurant beside the library.
In just half a morning and an afternoon, Huo Yuhao had woven the knowledge he needed to study next into a network and drawn up a detailed list of the key points and difficulties.
He also reached a conclusion: he could finish learning these books in fifty to sixty days.
For him, learning something meant remembering it, and remembering it meant understanding it deeply.
Evening came, at the faculty dining hall.
"Wow! Junior Brother Huo, thanks to you, I actually get to eat the most delicious foot tendons of a ten-thousand-year Earth Kui Dragon!" Feng Tingting gave him a thumbs-up, her cheeks bulging with food.
Huo Yuhao raised his cup with a smile. "Have more if you like it, Senior Sister. Senior Brother Feng is paying anyway, haha."
Feng Bujue had not picked up his chopsticks. Instead, he rubbed his lower back and poured out his grievances:
"Yuhao, I spent an entire day writing reports and documents, staying up all night to write them. The formatting requirements were ten times stricter than those for my graduation project!"
"Brother Bujue, thanks for all your hard work." Huo Yuhao laughed and pushed the small wooden box in front of him.
Feng Bujue froze. He had only been venting and had not expected any repayment right now.
Seeing his hesitation, Huo Yuhao smiled and said:
"Brother Bujue, why not open it and see what it is? It's something I won't have any use for over the next few years."
No use for it?
Feng Bujue was also curious about what Huo Yuhao would give him.
He opened the wooden box. At first glance, he could not tell what kind of pill it was. Only when he saw the name on the instructions did his eyes widen. His mouth opened, and he asked Feng Yu:
"Cousin, did the dean see through my intentions and credit me with recruiting Yuhao?"
Feng Yu nodded at first, then shook his head after some thought:
"Teacher did see through them, but he really did give me the credit. He already made me a promise last night."
Pointing at the unremarkable-looking pill inside the wooden box, Feng Bujue said incredulously:
"Then why would he give Yuhao something so precious too? This is a Barrier-Clearing Pill, specifically meant to help rank seventy-nine Soul Masters with severe accumulations of pill toxins break through to rank eighty soul power."
"Only two or three are produced each year. Where every pill ends up has to be registered with the imperial family. They're usually awarded to Level 7 Soul Engineers who've made outstanding contributions that year and urgently need to break through to rank eighty soul power."
"That's right," Feng Yu said with feeling. "When Xuan Ziwen developed the Sealed Milk Bottle, this was one of his rewards."
"Over a decade ago, one recipient auctioned off a Barrier-Clearing Pill in Mingdu. It finally sold for the astronomical price of thirty million Gold Soul Coins."
It had sold for thirty million Gold Soul Coins? Huo Yuhao was a little surprised, then nodded slightly. For top Soul Engineer prospects who had taken too many pills, it might indeed be worth that price.
Only then did Feng Bujue believe his own assessment. He swallowed, first looking toward Huo Yuhao to refuse, but Huo Yuhao shook his head firmly. Then he looked toward Feng Yu.
Feng Yu frowned:
"What are you looking at me for? The only difficulties I have in becoming a Level 8 Soul Engineer are with my research project. You've already helped me plenty."
"Yuhao gave this to you. Just accept it."
"Yes, Brother Bujue, take it," Huo Yuhao urged as well. "If you give this pill to Senior Brother Feng, you'd be going against Teacher's intentions."
Seeing all three members of the Feng family looking over, Huo Yuhao explained:
"Teacher did credit you with it, Senior Brother Feng."
"Strictly speaking, by giving this pill to me and having me give it to Brother Bujue, Teacher wanted to help me repay the favor I owe Brother Bujue and show how much he values me."
"So, Brother Bujue, you have to accept this Barrier-Clearing Pill."
"Besides, Brother Bujue, you deserve it," Huo Yuhao said earnestly. "Without your help, I probably wouldn't even have reached rank twenty soul power by now, let alone come into contact with Soul Tools."
"Even if it can sell for thirty million, the help you gave me back then was priceless to me."
"Then I'll accept it." Feng Bujue carefully put the wooden box into his storage ring, a wry smile filling his face.
Part of the reason he had treated Huo Yuhao so well had indeed been the idea of making an investment.
But he had never expected the return to come so quickly, or to be so great!
Thinking it over carefully, what had he put in? Only a few months of spare time, a few hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, and a little insignificant kindness.
He had underestimated the standing Huo Yuhao's talent held in the hall master's mind!
Although he felt somewhat undeserving, he still accepted it.
After all, one of the reasons he had left the Sun Moon Empire for several years was to find a way to break through to rank fifty soul power. He simply had not expected to achieve it this way.
Feng Bujue quietly wiped away his tears and chuckled:
"I'd like to see what happens when a rank forty-nine Soul Master takes a Barrier-Clearing Pill that can help a rank seventy-nine Soul Master knock open the great gate to rank eighty soul power and clear away pill toxins."
"Mm, but I need to make some preparations and get myself into the right condition. I'll take this top-grade pill in a couple of days."
Seeing Huo Yuhao give away a Barrier-Clearing Pill worth tens of millions amid casual conversation and laughter, without his expression changing, Feng Tingting still had shock in her eyes.
Over the following week, Huo Yuhao immersed himself in Soul Tool knowledge and could not pull himself away.
Except for the Sun Moon history class, he was almost never seen in the classroom, running back and forth between the library and dining hall every day.
Yes, he did not even return to his dormitory. Instead, he prepared a small mat, circulating his soul power through a full cycle as he studied. When he grew tired of studying, he sat on the mat to meditate and cultivate.
This almost crazed studying drew sidelong looks from the students studying around him. Everyone was guessing which year's king of grinding had arrived.
Living in the library now, was he? He really was squeezing every last bit of value out of his tuition.
Originally, Huo Yuhao had planned to study at Quiet Heart Studio on the first weekend, but Jing Hongchen sent Feng Yu to tell him that the Soul Tool research and development project had run into considerable problems and time was tight.
He would not need to come to Quiet Heart Studio to study that first week.
Before you continue