"Master Chen Ying, thank you for all your hard work these past few days." Ling Yu took two exquisitely packaged bottles of Jade Spring Wine and a gold coin card from his Storage Soul Tool and handed them over.
Chen Ying hurriedly shook his head, pushing his hands out in refusal. "No, no, no, I can't accept these. They're too valuable."
"This is only fitting repayment for your teaching. Please accept them." Ling Yu's eyes were clean to the point of purity, his gaze soft and gentle, without sharpness or calculation.
"All right. If you come across any jewelry materials you don't recognize in the future, come find me. I know quite a few people, so I can ask around for you."
"Thank you, Master Chen Ying." Ling Yu bowed, then left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's jewelry shop. His month-long break was over, and school was about to start.
After the assembly that morning, Ling Yu returned to the research room. Today was an exceptionally important day.
After a month of studying jewelry carving, Ling Yu had gradually mastered the methods of etching and making tools.
He was attempting to reproduce the first Soul Tool he had identified-a short-handled, cylindrical Soul Guidance Lamp, or a soul-guidance flashlight. Its outer casing was silver-white throughout, and thirty-six light patterns radiated across its inner casing. The array patterns had three layers. Ling Yu had named the innermost layer the Light-Focusing Pattern, the middle layer the Light-Control Pattern, and the outermost layer the array boundary seal. Soul lines connected three mass points and nodes.
Compared with the complex array patterns inside the other discarded Soul Tools, this was the simplest.
Selecting a polished azurelight gemstone, Ling Yu began trying to etch it. He had made all the tools himself.
He activated Martial Soul Possession and his Soul Skill, holding a diamond engraving knife in his right hand. Its handle was made of crystal silver, which had excellent soul-guidance conductivity, and the clearlight gemstone was secured to the workbench.
Before this, he had already tried engraving clearlight gemstones many times to familiarize himself with the material's properties.
At this moment, he had long since forgotten everything around him. Only those overlapping patterns remained in his eyes, his expression as solemn as though he were carving a rare treasure. He put his full effort into every stroke, executing every groove without allowing a single error.
His fingertips tensed until they turned white, and even his breathing became extremely slow and even-his chest expanded slightly as he inhaled, and the engraving tool descended with each exhalation.
He guided the engraving knife along the paths of the array patterns, every turn precise to the hair, without the slightest hitch.
A long while later, the final stroke fell, and Ling Yu finished the engraving. Looking at the gemstone in his hand, densely covered in exquisite patterns, he could not contain his excitement.
He assembled the new outer casing and inner casing he had prepared in advance together with the core gemstone.
With every step he completed, Ling Yu could not help praying and hoping.
Once the assembly was complete, he compared it with the original. Apart from the breaks in the array patterns, everything was identical.
Ling Yu gripped the Soul Tool he had made and injected Soul Power. A soft "tok" sounded.
The core array patterns lit up throughout, streams of fragmented light flowing along the silver-white patterns on the inner casing. The next instant, Soul Power surged into the clearlight gemstone, which shot out a crisp beam of white light.
The light was extraordinarily solid, like a longsword forged from light, steadily cleaving through the fog that had shrouded Soul Tools for so many silent years.
The interior of the array patterns circulated faintly, and the Soul Power flowed perfectly smoothly.
Excitement surged through Ling Yu's heart. At this moment, he urgently needed to share it with someone.
"Senior Su Yao," Ling Yu called softly.
In an instant, a figure appeared beside Ling Yu, but she did not respond to him immediately as she usually did.
Ling Yu turned to look and saw Su Yao staring fixedly at the Soul Guidance Lamp in his hand. He immediately withdrew his Soul Power and handed it over with a smile.
"Xiao Yu, you..." Su Yao's voice trembled slightly as she carefully took it. Almost half a year had passed from the establishment of the Soul Tool research room to the creation of this first Soul Tool. She had watched Ling Yu feel his way forward, step by step, with those discarded Soul Tools.
Now, as a newly made, intact Soul Tool appeared before her, even if it could only emit light, it was still a Soul Tool-the first Soul Tool since the civilization of Soul Tools had been lost on the Douluo Continent so long ago. It would surely go down in history, and the person making history stood right before her.
Su Yao injected Soul Power into the Soul Guidance Lamp, and light shot out. She withdrew her Soul Power, and the light immediately cut off. Then she injected it again, like a child who had received a new toy.
Only after playing with it for quite a while did she return it to Ling Yu. "I didn't break it, did I?" Su Yao's fingertips trembled slightly as she gently held the Soul Guidance Lamp out before him.
"Don't worry. It doesn't break that easily." Ling Yu smiled.
"That's good." Su Yao let out a soft breath, her brows and eyes relaxing.
"Oh, right...?" Then she remembered that Ling Yu must have called her for something.
"Sorry for the trouble, but could you notify Sister Xue?"
"I'll go right away." Su Yao vanished in a flash.
Looking again at the Soul Guidance Lamp in his hand, Ling Yu gradually calmed down. He tidied the workbench and took out some drafting paper.
On the first line, he wrote-Soul Guidance Lamp manufacturing process blueprints: first identical reproduction version.
Suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind. Perhaps in the future, I could divide the outer casing, inner casing, and Core Array into an outer casing casting department, an inner casing casting and engraving department, and a core array engraving department.
What an assembly-line factory.
I can't run a nine-nine-six factory on the Douluo Continent. Better watch out, or the power of faith might nurture an evil god.
Shaking off the stray thoughts, he began drawing.
An unknown amount of time passed before a knock interrupted Ling Yu, who was absorbed in drawing.
When he opened the door, it was indeed Xue Qinghe. He hurried inside, immediately shut the door, and swiftly returned to his original appearance.
"Xiao Yu, Su Yao said you..." Before she could finish, Ling Yu handed the Soul Guidance Lamp to her.
"Give it a try, Sister Xue. Just inject Soul Power into the back." A bright smile curved Ling Yu's lips, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly with the freshness and ease unique to youth. His gaze was bright and gentle.
Qian Renxue lightly bit her lip and carefully injected Soul Power. "Tok-" A beam of light shot out, shining on the ceiling.
"You really succeeded..." Qian Renxue's voice trembled. She had believed Su Yao's report immediately and had been quite excited all the way here.
When the actual object appeared before her and truly activated, the final trace of doubt born of not having seen it with her own eyes dissipated.
Cutting off her Soul Power, injecting Soul Power... Qian Renxue began playing with it just as Su Yao had.
Ling Yu watched her with a faint warmth at the corners of his lips.
"Have you named it?" After playing for a while, Qian Renxue finally remembered the important matter.
"Does it need a name?" Ling Yu tilted his head slightly, his brows lifting gently, a little puzzlement in his eyes.
"This is the first Soul Tool after the dark age of Soul Tools. Of course it needs a name."
"In that case, I'll leave naming it to you, Sister Xue."
"Me? No, you made it. Come on, come on, give it a name."
"Then let's call it the Snowlight Lamp. The snow can be the Xue in Xue Qinghe or the Xue in Qian Renxue. I only managed to make it by basking in your light."
"Snowlight Lamp..." Her voice was as soft as a breeze, her lips parting and closing slightly.
"Mm... let's call it that." Qian Renxue gently lowered her head, her long hair falling to conceal her expression completely.