Commissioning Soul Tools

"Could a hundred-year soul ring really grant a soul skill like this? A single-person version would be understandable, but letting other people use it too doesn't seem like something a hundred-year soul ring could provide," Zhang Lexuan said doubtfully.

In her eyes, even the effects granted by a thousand-year or ten thousand year soul ring might not match what this soul ring offered.

Huo Yuhao felt sheepish. He wondered whether Zhang Lexuan was one of Shrek's top students; she had even picked up on that. He was indeed using not one soul skill, but two.

But things had already reached this point, so he could only steel himself and say, "I'm not sure either. This soul skill of mine is called Spiritual Detection Sharing. As for what it does, you've already seen it. I can share it with others, or use it just for myself, of course. As for its range, I feel it should increase as my strength improves."

"No way. You're saying it can improve along with your strength? Its radius is already 120 meters! That would be a huge help even on a battlefield at our level. If it keeps expanding, can this really be an effect provided by a hundred-year soul ring?" Strawberry was somewhat dumbfounded now.

"Maybe it's because Yuhao's martial soul is powerful. It is a top-tier spirit-type body martial soul, after all," Zhang Lexuan said after some thought. She did not dwell on the matter for long.

After all, martial soul mutation existed in this world. Whether it was good or bad depended entirely on luck.

"All right, I'll let you off this time, kid. But just this once. If you dare lie to us again, watch out for your ears." As she spoke, Strawberry raised the right hand she had used to twist Huo Yuhao's ear and waved it in front of him.

Huo Yuhao chuckled foolishly a couple of times. He felt that if Strawberry learned he was actually still hiding part of his abilities, he might as well consider giving up his ears.

"All right, let's go eat." Strawberry pulled Huo Yuhao up from the ground as she spoke. Only then did she notice his slightly trembling legs.

"Come to think of it, what were you doing? Why are your legs shaking?"

"I exercised this morning and overdid it a little," Huo Yuhao said.

"That won't do. What time is it now? Don't tell me you went out to exercise in the middle of the night. If you only came out this morning and collapsed after a few minutes of exercise, your physical fitness needs work. No girls will like you in the future if you're that weak," Strawberry said.

"Stop. What are you saying to the child?" Zhang Lexuan could no longer bear listening and rapped Strawberry on the head. Was it appropriate to say this in front of a six-year-old?

"I'm saying it for his own good. He should exercise more while he's still young," Strawberry argued, clutching her head.

"Don't listen to her nonsense. Exercise is a good thing, but your big sister Strawberry never takes anything seriously. Ignore her. Let's go eat." Exasperated, Zhang Lexuan took Huo Yuhao back from Strawberry and led him off to breakfast.

After completing a set of Body-Forging Fist that morning, Huo Yuhao urgently needed food to replenish the blood and vital energy his body had expended. He ate far more than usual, his appetite as a six-year-old nearly matching an adult's.

After breakfast, Zhang Lexuan and Strawberry left. They were still Shrek students, after all, and had classes to attend. They had only come so early because Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan had told them Huo Yuhao was back, and they wanted to see him.

After finishing breakfast, Huo Yuhao told Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan that he was going for a walk around the city. In reality, he was going to the shop Huo Yun had mentioned to have soul tools made.

Since arriving in this city, Huo Yuhao had hardly explored it at all. His previous outings had only been trips to the market to buy groceries. Thus, Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan did not object to his suggestion of going for a stroll. They thought the child was emerging from the shadow of his past, and that getting out to clear his mind was a good thing.

Xinghe Manufacturing stood in the central district of Shrek City, five streets away from the food street where Huo Yuhao lived. Even the food street was already a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

After living there for half a year, Huo Yuhao knew that, never mind buying a house, even renting one cost an astronomical number of gold soul coins.

Moreover, the closer one went to the city center, the older the buildings became. Some could be traced back ten thousand years.

After finding the shop, Huo Yuhao did not rush inside. Instead, like a curious child who had just entered the city, he wandered around the area before stepping into a deserted corner. When he emerged again, Huo Yuhao's figure had vanished, replaced by an ordinary-looking boy of twelve or thirteen, dressed in plain gray cloth clothes, who would not stand out in a crowd.

Spiritual Simulation!

Having changed his appearance, Huo Yuhao entered Xinghe Manufacturing. He felt this would reduce unnecessary trouble.

In truth, Xinghe Manufacturing was not a very large shop. Its floor area was not even half that of Cao's Rice Bowl, and it consisted of a single two-story building.

The entire lobby was rather small too, roughly thirty square meters, with only one staff member. From time to time, clanging and banging came from the back, sounding just like iron being forged.

"Hello, I'm here to buy soul tools. Can you make the soul tools in these blueprints?" Huo Yuhao approached the staff member and got straight to the point, taking the three blueprints he had drawn yesterday out of his storage soul tool.

"Um, sorry, please wait a moment. I need to ask the owner." The staff member was a young man of about eighteen. Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, he casually picked up a blueprint and glanced at it. The next instant, his pupils contracted, and he hurriedly addressed Huo Yuhao.

Clearly, this staff member also understood how to make soul tools. He had recognized the value of the blueprint at a glance. After excusing himself to Huo Yuhao, he hurried into the back with all three blueprints.

Soon, a burly middle-aged man emerged. He was around two meters tall and wore a sleeveless shirt, his arms thick and powerful, yet his kindly face stood in stark contrast to his rugged build. He also wore glasses. The staff member from earlier followed behind him.

"You're the one who wants soul tools made?" The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

"Yes. Can you make what's on the blueprints?" Huo Yuhao nodded and asked.

"Of course. The soul tools you want are a Level 2 soul tool, a Level 5 soul tool, and a Level 7 Soul Tool. I can make the Level 2 one today. The Level 5 one will take three days. As for the Level 7 one, I can only say that I can make it, but I can't guarantee success on the first try, so I can't give you a definite time." The middle-aged man was honest. He was currently a Level 7 Soul Engineer and was confident he could produce a Level 7 Soul Tool, but Huo Yuhao had given him a soul tool he had never encountered before, so it was difficult to say how making it would go.

"That's all right. As long as you can make it, it doesn't matter how long it takes." Inwardly, Huo Yuhao was surprised. Among the three soul tool blueprints Huo Yun had casually given him, one was actually for a Level 7 Soul Tool. His expression remained unchanged as he replied, however.

"If you're not in a hurry, I can give it a try. As for payment..." The middle-aged man thought for a moment before continuing, "I won't charge you. The value of these three blueprints is actually more than enough. I'm just curious: where did you get them?

"This Level 5 soul tool in particular is an extremely rare soul-related soul tool. Its difficulty of manufacture is even comparable to a Level 6 soul tool. The principles are explained very clearly, and I can understand them and make it. It's just that this is a field I've never encountered before."

By this point, Huo Yuhao understood what the middle-aged man meant. He wanted to learn where these blueprints came from, or rather, who had designed them. He wanted to try contacting the designer to learn about a field he had never encountered before-knowledge of soul tool manufacturing.

"A member of my family obtained these in the past. I really don't know who designed them," Huo Yuhao said.

"All right, then." Hearing this, the middle-aged man tactfully stopped asking. Whether Huo Yuhao genuinely did not know or simply did not want to say, since he had answered that way, further questioning would be a little impolite.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know. I'll make these soul tools, but I can't give you a definite time. If you want all of them together, you can come check in ten days. If you don't need the Level 7 Soul Tool together with the others, you can come collect the other two in three days. As for the last one, we'll see how it goes. You can leave me an address, and I'll have someone deliver it when it's ready."

"I'll come back in three days to collect the other two first. As for the last one, I'll come check when I have time." Huo Yuhao did not want to invite unnecessary trouble. Otherwise, he would not have used Spiritual Simulation to change his appearance.

"That works too. Leave your name, then. Oh, my surname is Zhao, given name Xinghe. I own this shop. When the time comes, just give the apprentice at the front desk your name and mine." Zhao Xinghe did not insist.

"My name is Yun Tian." Huo Yuhao picked a name at random.

After agreeing on the collection time and payment and settling the relevant details, Huo Yuhao left.

On the way back, a somewhat puzzled Huo Yuhao took the initiative to ask Huo Yun, "Mom, are mental attribute soul tools rare?"

"They are indeed rare in human society today. They're all soul tools that defend against mental attacks. Other kinds, such as those that assist mental attribute cultivation or attack using the mental attribute, are even rarer," Huo Yun said with a nod. Human soul tools-or rather, the soul tools of present-day humans-had not advanced that far yet.

"Huh? They can assist mental cultivation and launch mental attacks too?" Huo Yuhao was surprised. Although he had never truly worked with soul tools, he had learned about some types from Strawberry and Zhang Lexuan. Among mental attribute soul tools, there was currently only the mental defense type. The others genuinely had yet to appear.

"Of course. I have stored everyone's wisdom from the birth of the world until now, including that of soul beasts and humans. You could say I possess all the knowledge on the Douluo Continent. I've even stored the knowledge of those gods who attained godhood and departed long ago.

"That includes soul tools that amplify mental attribute attacks, or soul tools that use the mind to control weapons and launch attacks. I have all of those.

"Human knowledge of soul tools in this area may only just be starting to develop, but I've already gone a long way.

"If you're interested, you can try making one yourself. I happen to have a manufacturing blueprint for a soul tool controlled through spiritual power. It's a Level 2 soul tool," Huo Yun said.

"Huh? The soul tool that assists cultivation is Level 5, but the attacking one is only Level 2? Still, never mind Level 2-I can't even make a Level 1 one right now," Huo Yuhao said in surprise.

"The attacking one is a little simpler. Besides, if you can't make it, learn. With your mom here, you don't need to worry about having no one to teach you. I can't help you manufacture it, but I can certainly teach you. I was planning to introduce you to soul tools anyway, so today's lesson will cover how to make them. Learn the basics for a few days first, and then we'll find somewhere for you to give it a try." Huo Yun was very confident in her teaching abilities, because she truly had stored knowledge accumulated over untold years.

The secret family and sect techniques that top experts and leading sects took such pride in, guarding against leaks as vigilantly as they would guard against thieves, were all open and transparent to Huo Yun.

Huo Yun had only let Huo Yuhao take Electrolux as his teacher because he came from another world, meaning there was more to learn from him. As for the other knowledge on the Douluo Continent, Huo Yun could teach it all herself. That was also why she did not let Huo Yuhao attend those academies.

At Huo Yuhao's age, he should actually have been attending school. Moreover, he had awakened his martial soul. Any elementary academy would accept him. Even if he wanted to skip ahead to an intermediate academy, some schools would take him, to say nothing of advanced academies.

Even with Shrek, Huo Yun would only need to have Huo Yuhao reveal a little of his talent for him to enroll early, but there was no need.

For resources, there was the Star Dou Great Forest. For education, there were Huo Yun herself and Electrolux.

What Huo Yuhao actually lacked now were some tools to assist his training and environments in which to gain experience. Huo Yun was already making plans for those.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. As agreed, Huo Yuhao came to Xinghe Manufacturing to collect the two completed soul tools.

After speaking to the apprentice at the front desk, Huo Yuhao soon saw Zhao Xinghe again.

"You're here, young brother Yun? These are the Level 2 and Level 5 soul tools you wanted. Check them and see whether they work as you expected." Zhao Xinghe brought out the two soul tools Huo Yuhao had requested. One was a juicer, and the other was the spherical soul tool.

The remaining watch was the Level 7 Soul Tool, which had yet to be completed.

Huo Yuhao took the two soul tools. Since Huo Yun had already explained their functions to him, he also knew how to use them.

For the juicer, he simply had to inject soul power into the base and press the switch, and the entire machine would start running. Its main function was to squeeze fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, and the like into juice, then mix them.

The main reason they needed it was that Huo Yun needed a tool to blend the Heavenly Treasures Huo Yuhao possessed. Moreover, much of the energy within Heavenly Treasures could clash with one another, so the tool had to be sturdy.

The entire soul tool was made of solid metal, gray throughout. With a single scan, Huo Yun could tell whether it could withstand the soul power.

The remaining spherical soul tool was, of course, for cultivating spiritual power.

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