More than a month passed, and the Spiritual Power Vehicle finally took its finished form.
After repeated testing, Huo Yuhao added a speed limiter to the front of the vehicle, dividing its Spiritual Energy output into three settings.
At the lowest setting, it moved about as fast as someone pedaling by hand, and even an ordinary person could use it.
The middle setting was faster, suited to people with some cultivation foundation.
At the highest setting, only a professional could handle it.
Besides that, he also changed the Spiritual Power Vehicle's tires. After several trips to the merchant guild, he found a highly elastic tree gum and applied a mixture of it around the outside of the copper wheel rims. It cut the bumpiness of the ride by more than half, and even on stone-paved roads, it no longer made his hands vibrate.
As for the price of the Spiritual Power Vehicle, since it was Fourth Tier equipment, he set it at a thousand gold coins apiece, but demand still outstripped supply.
The main issue was that Huo Yuhao could only make about ten Spiritual Power Vehicles a month.
He had to inscribe the core drive components and energy-storage arrays himself. The smithy could only help him make basic parts like the frames and wheel rims.
Even with some of the work handed off, ten vehicles a month was already his limit.
He wasn't very satisfied with that pace.
He also wanted to use materials from the Holy Demon Continent to research Sealed Milk Bottles. In his previous life on the Douluo Continent, he had worked on energy-storage technology for Soul Tools. If he could combine it with the Holy Demon Continent's magic crystal power supply, perhaps he could make a more efficient energy-storage device.
But that would take a great deal of time and materials to test. He was busy on both fronts now, and even his cultivation time had been cut down considerably.
Still, he hadn't neglected his cultivation. During this period, he had deliberately held back the growth of his Internal Spiritual Power and focused on solidifying his foundation.
His Internal Spiritual Power hadn't increased much, but his External Spiritual Power had risen steadily and was already approaching three hundred points.
He practiced his sword techniques once every morning and evening, and smithing itself was physical labor. It would have been hard for his External Spiritual Power not to increase.
That afternoon, Huo Yuhao was melting copper in the backyard, preparing to make the drive cores for the next batch of Spiritual Power Vehicles, when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
Huo Yuhao put down his iron tongs, wiped away his sweat, and went to open the gate.
Lin Jialu stood outside, but she hadn't come alone.
Three people followed behind her. Huo Yuhao recognized one of them: Bai Yu, master of the Magic Temple's Haoyue City branch. He was a middle-aged man in his forties who usually wore white magician's robes and spoke in a measured manner.
Huo Yuhao had never met the other two. One was a tall middle-aged man in the dark blue uniform of a consul. He had a kindly face, and his features bore some resemblance to Lin Jialu's. He looked to be in his forties.
The other was an elderly man in a magician's robe, his hair streaked with gray. He wore a badge on his chest that Huo Yuhao had never seen before, and his aura was deep and weighty. He possessed peak Seventh Tier strength.
Huo Yuhao swept his Spiritual Power over them and had a good idea of the situation.
Lin Jialu looked somewhat apologetic. She stepped forward first and gave a slight bow.
"Little Brother Huo, sorry to disturb you unannounced. Let me introduce you. This is my father, Lin Yinjia, the consul of Haoyue City."
She stepped aside to indicate the middle-aged man, then turned toward Bai Yu. "This is Senior Bai Yu, the master of the Magic Temple branch. You know him. And this is Deacon Li from the Magic Temple's headquarters."
Lin Yinjia was the first to speak, his tone very courteous. "Little Brother Huo, Jialu has mentioned you many times since she returned. We've taken the liberty of visiting today; I hope you won't take offense."
Bai Yu nodded as well, his manner gentler than Huo Yuhao had expected. "Little Brother Huo, it's been a long time. We've come to discuss something with you."
Deacon Li stood at the back, his gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao as he sized him up.
He noticed the dark gold ring on Huo Yuhao's right hand, and his gaze lingered on it for a moment.
Huo Yuhao stepped aside from the gate. "The entrance isn't a place to talk. Honored guests, please come in."
As far as he was concerned, whether Lin Jialu had been presumptuous was another matter. As for the people from the Magic Temple, they seemed quite courteous, so they probably hadn't come to deal with him.
The group entered the backyard. Huo Yuhao lowered the furnace fire and brought out a few stools.
A half-finished Spiritual Power Vehicle and a pile of copper sheets and iron materials were still sitting in the courtyard. He hadn't had time to tidy up, so he shifted the stools a little to make room, somewhat embarrassed.
Lin Jialu spoke first, her voice apologetic. "Little Brother Huo, I actually took it upon myself to do this. Your talent in alchemy and potions is so great that I didn't think it should go to waste in a little place like Haoyue City.
"So I mentioned it to my father and Temple Master Bai. They reported it to headquarters, and Deacon Li came."
She paused and glanced at Huo Yuhao. "I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you beforehand."
Huo Yuhao waved a hand and said unconcernedly, "It's fine. I wasn't deliberately hiding it from anyone."
Deacon Li spoke then, his voice deep and carrying the slow cadence peculiar to the elderly:
"Little Brother Huo, I'm in charge of alchemical equipment at headquarters. After Jialu reported the Spiritual Energy Lamp and Spiritual Power Vehicle you made, I took a lamp apart to study it."
He paused, his gaze settling on the dark gold ring on Huo Yuhao's right hand.
"I've worked on alchemical equipment at the Magic Temple for thirty years. I know everyone in the Magic Temple who's qualified to wear an Inheritance Ring, but you... probably aren't a member of the Magic Temple."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, as though trying to make something out, then shook his head, a trace of emotion in his voice. "A dark gold ring face, array patterns like these... I heard people mention them at headquarters. Each of the Six Great Temples has its own style of Inheritance Ring.
"The Knight Temple's Inheritance Ring seems to look just like that. I never expected to see one on the hand of a child around ten years old."
Lin Jialu and Lin Yinjia exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised.
Bai Yu asked softly from the side, "Deacon Li, are you saying Little Brother Huo belongs to the Knight Temple?"
Deacon Li nodded and looked at Huo Yuhao. "Little Brother Huo, am I right?"
Huo Yuhao didn't deny it. He nodded and said, "Yes. Temple Master Long Xingyu sent me to the Holy City on business. I passed through Haoyue City and thought it was a nice place, so I settled down here for the time being."
Deacon Li sighed, his voice filled with unmistakable regret. "Deputy Temple Master Long Xingyu of Imperial Dragon Pass? The newly appointed Divine Seal Knight? No wonder.
"What a pity. If you belonged to the Magic Temple, with your age and talent, headquarters would have made you a core prospect no matter what."
Lin Jialu was taken aback. She had always thought Huo Yuhao was a self-taught alchemist; she hadn't expected him to hold such a high status in the Knight Temple.
Deacon Li waved a hand at Lin Yinjia, Bai Yu, and Lin Jialu. "You three go outside for now. I'd like to speak with him alone."
Although the three were somewhat puzzled, they got up and left the courtyard.
When Lin Jialu reached the gate, she looked back at Huo Yuhao, a question in her eyes. He nodded to her, signaling that it was all right.