"How were they? Did these two Soul Tools achieve the effects you wanted?" Zhao Xinghe was clearly an amiable man. Any other Soul Engineer, especially someone capable of making Level 7 Soul Tools-a bona fide Level 7 Soul Engineer-would never have asked such a question.
In their eyes, making a Level 2 and a Level 5 Soul Tool was a piece of cake. If they failed to achieve the intended effects, that was a problem with the blueprints, not their skills.
"Thank you very much. They worked better than I expected." Huo Yuhao had only tested the mixer. Huo Yun had helped him check the other Soul Tool, the one for training spiritual power, and there were no problems.
"Good." Zhao Xinghe nodded. "I still need some time for your Level 7 Soul Tool. You can come back in ten days."
"All right." Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before finally saying hesitantly, "Um, could I borrow one of your workshops? I'd like to make some Soul Tools myself. Of course, I'll pay for the materials and the workshop rental."
Over the past few days, Huo Yuhao had learned quite a bit about making Soul Tools from Huo Yun and had been eager to try. After all, making Soul Tools required practice as well as knowledge. Only by trying would he know whether he could do it.
"You know how to make Soul Tools too?" Zhao Xinghe was taken aback. He had assumed Huo Yuhao did not know how, but apparently he did.
"I'm a beginner. I just want to give it a try," Huo Yuhao said.
"Sure. If you want to try, go ahead. As for the fee, this first time is free. Just pay me for the materials afterward." Zhao Xinghe was easy to talk to.
"Thank you very much." Huo Yuhao had not expected him to agree so readily.
"You're welcome. Come with me. I normally don't let other people in here." Zhao Xinghe shook his head, then led Huo Yuhao to his work area in the back.
Making Soul Tools generally involved six major processes: shaping, casting, quenching, polishing, and, most importantly, engraving the core array and assembly.
Huo Yuhao had only been studying for three days. Everything was just beginning, and shaping alone took him most of the day, never mind the subsequent processes.
Zhao Xinghe watched Huo Yuhao work from scratch. Every move looked like a beginner's. His eyes glowed gold, and his hands were inexperienced but exceptionally steady.
Huo Yuhao's first attempt at making a Soul Tool naturally failed.
"There's no need to continue. There's a very obvious dent at the front of the piece you shaped. This piece is basically ruined and unusable. You'll have to shape it again. Speaking of which, young Brother Yun, what's your martial soul? I saw your soul ring appear and light up, so you should be using a Soul Skill." Seeing Huo Yuhao still fiddling with the product of his first failed attempt, Zhao Xinghe stepped forward to point out his mistake and asked curiously.
"Yes, my martial soul is my eyes. I am using a Soul Skill right now." Huo Yuhao nodded. To thank Zhao Xinghe for letting him use the workshop, he also let him experience his Soul Skill, Spiritual Detection Sharing.
Who would have thought Zhao Xinghe's eyes would instantly light up after experiencing it?
"Your martial soul is your eyes-a body martial soul. And this Soul Skill... you were practically born to make your living as a Soul Engineer!" As Zhao Xinghe spoke, even his breathing grew heavier.
"Boss Zhao? Are you all right? Don't scare me." Zhao Xinghe's gaze made Huo Yuhao extremely uncomfortable. He suddenly regretted coming here to experiment.
Cao’s Rice Bowl did not have the right environment for experiments, and he could not find a workshop elsewhere at present. Xinghe Manufacturing was the only place he knew. He had originally hoped its owner, Zhao Xinghe, might accommodate him so he could try things out, but this experiment seemed to have caused a problem.
Of course, the problem was not with the experiment. After all, this was his first attempt at making a Soul Tool, so problems were normal. He had never expected to succeed. The problem lay with the owner.
"I'm fine. Young Brother Yun, let me ask you something. Who taught you to make Soul Tools?" Hearing Huo Yuhao, Zhao Xinghe realized he had lost his composure. He hurriedly reined in his emotions and asked in as calm a tone as possible.
"My family taught me the theory, but we don't have the facilities at home for me to try it. That's why I wanted to give it a go," Huo Yuhao answered truthfully. That really was the case. Huo Yun had only taught him theoretical knowledge, and he had nowhere to try it.
"In other words, before this, you had never personally attempted to make even a single Soul Tool?" Zhao Xinghe continued.
"That's right." Huo Yuhao nodded honestly.
"No wonder your technique is so unpracticed. You're a newcomer who's never touched this before. Then those blueprints you brought me earlier...?"
"I explained before that my family obtained them. Since I had a use for them, I brought them here to have them made," Huo Yuhao said.
Zhao Xinghe nodded, then continued, "Can you control the detection range of that Soul Skill yourself? What I mean is, can you increase its precision by reducing its range?"
"I haven't tried." Huo Yuhao shook his head. How long had he even had his Soul Skill? He had barely used it a few times. These past two days, he had been training his spirit, soul power, and body. Other training would have to wait until all his Soul Tools arrived.
After hearing this, Zhao Xinghe lowered his head and murmured, "That's worth trying. But even if you can't sacrifice range for greater detection precision, it's already incredible."
Then he suddenly raised his head. "Well, young Brother Yun, what I'm about to say may be a little presumptuous, but if you want to get into Soul Tools, would you consider becoming my disciple? I'll teach you to make Soul Tools. From now on, you can use my workshop however you like, and I'll spare no effort in passing on all my Soul Tool knowledge to you.
"Of course, if you think I'm not good enough but are interested in taking a master, young Brother Yun, I can even introduce you to my teacher. He's a genuine Level 8 Soul Engineer."
"Huh?" Huo Yuhao was stunned. He wanted to take him as a disciple? He had only seen him try making a Soul Tool once, and he had not even succeeded. In fact, he had failed right at the start, yet the man actually wanted to take him as his disciple.
And what did that last part mean? Did he think he would bury Huo Yuhao's talent, so he was recommending his own teacher instead?
"Don't agree, Yuhao. Just practice. At worst, we'll spend a little money. Don't get involved with him, especially the people behind him," Huo Yun told Huo Yuhao without hesitation.
Other people might not know who stood behind Zhao Xinghe, but she knew all too well. The main reason she had told Huo Yuhao to seek him out was that he could make the Soul Tools she provided, and he was a decent person.
But the problem was that his being decent did not mean the people behind him were good.
Unless absolutely necessary, Huo Yun would never let Huo Yuhao have too much contact with those people.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I'd have to go home and discuss taking a master with my family. Right now, I have no intention of becoming anyone's disciple. I only wanted to try making Soul Tools today." Hearing Huo Yun's words, Huo Yuhao rejected Zhao Xinghe without hesitation.
"All right, then. If you make up your mind, you can come find me anytime. Carry on, then. I won't disturb you." Zhao Xinghe did not insist and left the workshop.
Xinghe Manufacturing actually had quite a few workshops, three in total. One was for Zhao Xinghe's own use, while the other two had clearly been intended for apprentices.
Huo Yuhao was currently using one of them. After Zhao Xinghe left, Huo Yuhao remained unaffected by his words and soon settled back into his work, attempting to make a Soul Tool for the second time.
Besides, Huo Yuhao was not without guidance. Huo Yun was the best theoretical instructor. She stored the knowledge of this world's Soul Engineers. One could even say her store of knowledge was the greatest in the entire world, more comprehensive than that of any other place.
With that knowledge, Huo Yun had no trouble at all guiding Huo Yuhao at his current level.
After a dozen or so attempts, Huo Yuhao finally ended his practical lesson for the day as the sky gradually darkened. He said goodbye to Zhao Xinghe and left.
Learning that Huo Yuhao was leaving, Zhao Xinghe simply told him, "If you want to try again sometime, my workshop will always be open to you, absolutely free. You can come again. Also, you can tell your parents when you get home that my teacher is the deputy dean of the outer court's Soul Tool Department at Shrek Academy, a Level 8 Soul Engineer and a Titled Douluo.
"If you're interested, you can come find me anytime. Even if your parents disagree, you can still come find me. I can have a proper talk with your family."
"I'll mention it." Huo Yuhao gave a perfunctory reply, then turned and left. On the way back to Cao’s Rice Bowl, he asked Huo Yun in his mind, puzzled, "Mom, did you know his teacher was the deputy dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department?"
Anyone else who heard of that status, especially someone living in Shrek City, would surely have bowed in acceptance on the spot. Opportunities to take such a top-tier powerhouse as one's master were rare.
But Huo Yuhao knew that, as the Douluo consciousness, Huo Yun still possessed all that knowledge even if much of her power was now sealed. There were few things in this world she did not know, especially things like this.
"That's right." Of course Huo Yun knew. It was precisely because she knew that she did not want Huo Yuhao to interact with people from Shrek.
"Is that why you don't want me having contact with them?" This was what puzzled Huo Yuhao. Whatever else might be said, the man was still a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse, an existence as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns throughout the entire Soul Master World.
"Yes. If possible, I truly don't want you having contact with people from Shrek." Huo Yun did not hide it.
"But why?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"You want to know the reason?"
"I'm just curious."
"Before I satisfy that curiosity, how about answering a question for Mom first? What kind of world do you think this is?" Rather than answering Huo Yuhao's question, Huo Yun asked one of her own.
"This world?" Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks. Huo Yun really had stumped him. Was he to judge by the world he had encountered?
"It's all right if you can't answer right away. Take your time thinking about it. When you have an answer, tell Mom, and then I'll answer your question.
"Come on, let's head back. Any later, and your Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan will start worrying." Huo Yun had not expected Huo Yuhao to answer that question now. Once he grew older and experienced more, he would have his own ideas and values.
Besides, a child needed to become independent, which meant letting him form his own opinions. Of course, he had to grow up gradually before he could gradually become independent, because by then he would have his own ideas and worldview.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao tucked the question back into his heart and ran quickly toward Cao’s Rice Bowl.
By the time he returned, it was already getting late.
"Oh, little fellow, what did you go see, staying out so long?" Sister Lin, seated at the front counter, greeted Huo Yuhao when she saw him return.
"I spent the day wandering around, Sister Lin," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.
"Well, that was quite a long outing. Plenty of people are already ordering your grilled fish. If you don't hurry, those loyal fans of yours will lift the roof off our shop." Since they were busy, Sister Lin did not dare keep Huo Yuhao long. She knew all too well how popular he was at their shop now.
Of course, rather than Huo Yuhao himself, it was his grilled fish that was truly exceptional.
All fifty of today's grilled fish had already been reserved. In particular, those who had gone without his grilled fish during his absence of more than twenty days had been rushing to make reservations these past few days after hearing he was back.
Hearing that, Huo Yuhao did not dare delay and hurried to the kitchen to grill fish.
"Where did you go wandering, Yuhao? Why are you only back now? Hurry, hurry. Customers are already asking about their orders." Seeing Huo Yuhao return, Aunt Lan casually questioned him while urging him along.
All the preliminary steps for the grilled fish had already been completed. Only the grilling remained. The others had finished preparing the ingredients, so Huo Yuhao's daily job was really just to grill fifty fish.
"Sorry, I wandered a bit far today and got back late." Huo Yuhao explained as he walked over to his grill.
He activated his martial soul out of habit. Only then could he control the heat to perfection, striving to grill every fish well.
Huo Yuhao had never grilled a fish poorly because someone rushed him. On the contrary, he was particularly principled about this. He had to grill the entire fish properly, with the heat controlled just right.
"Going out to have some fun is a good thing. For that previous half year, you would stay in your room cultivating after grilling the fish. Working hard at cultivation is good, but sometimes you need to relax a little too. Going out for a stroll every few days like this is very good." Aunt Lan smiled as she spoke. She did not preach lofty principles to Huo Yuhao, merely telling him that some things had to be done within his limits.
"I understand." Huo Yuhao smiled. He really did not quite dare admit that he had gone to a shop's workshop today and spent half the day attempting to make Soul Tools. Strictly speaking, he had still been cultivating, just in a different place.
Huo Yuhao could now grill fifty fish very quickly, finishing them all in an hour. Today, however, he grilled a few extra, because Strawberry had ordered several from him when he went out.
When Strawberry came with her friends, he brought the fish over.
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