Crash-Landed

The laboratory door creaked open, and Xiao Hongchen followed Bao Liang inside.

Several rows of metal shelves lined the walls, packed with all sorts of metal parts and unfinished projects. A basket of scrap sat in a corner.

The room was small but neatly organized. Despite its size, it had every tool they needed.

Bao Liang went over to the table and pushed aside the pile of unfinished projects, revealing a palm-sized metal ball.

Several crooked circles of formation markings were engraved on its surface. They were clearly a beginner's work, but the concept had already taken shape.

"Take a look." Bao Liang handed Xiao Hongchen the metal ball. "I've got the explosive core sorted out, but it's the magnetic attraction part-I want it to stick to a target or a metal surface, but no matter how I arrange the formation, it doesn't work."

Xiao Hongchen took it and turned it over in his hands for a long while, then pulled out a soul engraving knife and made a few motions over its surface.

His brows knitted slightly at first, then smoothed out. Finally, a look of realization crossed his face.

"Your idea's right, but you've got the formations in the wrong order." Xiao Hongchen put down the knife. "The magnetic attraction formation has to be engraved before the explosive formation for the energy circuits to remain stable. You engraved the explosive formation first, then added the magnetic attraction formation on top. The two circuits interfere with each other, so of course it doesn't work."

"You can do that?!" Bao Liang's eyes lit up. "So all I have to do is change the order?"

"In theory." Xiao Hongchen nodded. "But I'll have to think about exactly how to change it.

"Come on, let's get to work."

The two put their heads together over the little metal ball and began a drawn-out struggle.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes today, Xiao Hongchen wouldn't have believed Bao Liang could tinker up something like this, not even if someone beat him to death.

A magnetic attraction bomb-even the proper Soul Engineers at Mingde Hall would need a while to puzzle it out, let alone a Level 2 Soul Engineer.

After all, none of them could take explosions like Bao Liang could.

What startled Xiao Hongchen even more, though, was Bao Liang's ingenuity.

In the Soul Tool trade, hard work was never in short supply. What was rare was the ingenuity to piece completely unrelated things together.

Magnetic attraction, absorption, and explosion: two for pulling things in and one for blowing things up. Ordinarily, each did its own job, yet Bao Liang had thought to link them together.

With a mind like that, he was born to make a living at this.

He quickly ran through the magnetic attraction bomb's uses in his head: throw it at a city wall, let it stick, and detonate it, and there would be a breach in the city gate; throw it at a Soul Beast, let it stick, and blow it up, and even if it didn't kill the beast, it would still strip off a layer of skin.

"When did you start working on this thing?" Xiao Hongchen asked as he engraved the formation.

"I had the idea a long time ago. I just didn't have the money to make it before." Bao Liang didn't look up. "I tried channeling my Ultimate Flame into a Soul Tool and found it could actually amplify the explosive core's power.

"That's when I thought, if I could add magnetic attraction too, I could throw it at a target and blow it up once it stuck. How awesome would that be?"

Xiao Hongchen's hand paused. "...You can channel your Ultimate Flame into a Soul Tool?"

"Yep." Bao Liang nodded. "The effect is even more noticeable than when I use it on people.

"After all, an inanimate object won't fight back or resist. Wherever the fire burns, it goes."

Xiao Hongchen fell silent.

An Ultimate Martial Soul that could amplify explosive Soul Tools, combined with Bao Liang's monstrous talent for explosions-the things those two could produce together were no longer as simple as one plus one equaling two.

If outsiders learned that a seven-year-old child possessed such an ability, the entire Sun Moon Empire would probably be unable to sit still.

"Who else have you told about this?" Xiao Hongchen put down his engraving knife, his expression serious.

"Just you." Bao Liang put down his work as well. "Even Grandpa Jing doesn't know yet."

"Then let's keep it from Grandpa for now." Xiao Hongchen turned serious for once. "You really should keep your talent hidden, especially from the imperial family and that bunch from the Douluo Continent."

"I was thinking the same thing." Bao Liang scratched his head. "Xiao, you should know how much damage I can do, but I don't like dragging innocent people into it.

"Besides, just about any knowledgeable high-level Soul Master can spot my talent-but if I only use it on bomb Soul Tools like this, I can hide it to some extent.

"I've tested it. As long as I don't fully release my Martial Soul normally, the presence of my Ultimate Martial Soul can't be sensed.

"Although that affects how much I can amplify others, it doesn't affect how much I can amplify Soul Tools-because Soul Tools are inanimate.

"And as for amplifying people, I'll only use it on you guys."

Xiao Hongchen looked at him for a long time before finally nodding. "All right. As for this, heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know."

"Hehe, that's what I like to hear!" Bao Liang grinned. "So, shall we carry on?"

"Let's."

And so the two buried their heads in their work again.

A few days later, Jing Hongchen came in with Meng Hongchen just in time to see two boys with tangled hair, dirty faces, and metal shavings all over them emerge from the laboratory. They looked just like a pair of stray cats that had crawled out of a garbage heap.

"You two..." Jing Hongchen looked them up and down, the corner of his eye twitching. "Did you go rob Mingde Hall? How did you get yourselves into such a sorry state?"

"No, no." Bao Liang waved his hands repeatedly, though his eyes were frighteningly bright. "Grandpa Jing! Xiao and I made something amazing!"

"What is it?"

"A magnetic attraction bomb!" Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen said in unison.

Jing Hongchen was taken aback, then grew interested.

By the time he had heard Bao Liang's concept, his eyes had lit up too. Bao Liang's idea for magnetic attraction had given him an idea of his own.

The higher the level of a Soul Tool, the more innovation mattered.

For a child like Bao Liang to think of combining magnetic attraction, absorption, and explosion, his ingenuity was worth far more than formation knowledge learned by rote.

And so the four of them went into the laboratory together.

Jing Hongchen truly lived up to his title as a Level 9 Soul Engineer. With just a few words, he explained the bottleneck that had held the two boys up for days.

As he explained, he demonstrated it himself. The soul engraving knife seemed to come alive in his hand, flying across the surface as he completed the formation markings in one smooth motion.

"Did you see that clearly?" Jing Hongchen put down the knife. "The energy circuits of the magnetic attraction, absorption, and explosive formations belong to completely different systems. If you force them together, they'll fight each other.

"You need to leave buffer gaps between the three formations. Bring the magnetic attraction markings inward by half a circle, move the explosive markings outward by half a circle, and leave two empty lines around the absorption formation in the middle. Only then will the energy conversion be stable."

"So that's how it works!" Bao Liang saw the light. "No wonder the energy conversion always felt unstable in the cores I cobbled together!"

"A formation isn't better simply because it's more complicated. The better it fits the flow of Soul Power, the better it is." Jing Hongchen tapped him on the head. "Both of you drew your formations correctly, but you stuck too rigidly to the rules. They lacked a little inspiration."

Under Jing Hongchen's guidance, the magnetic attraction bomb, which had originally been stuck at the threshold of Level 4 and Level 5 Soul Tools, was improved into Level 2 and Level 3 versions.

Once the principle had been explained, everything suddenly became clear to Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen. The problem had been circuit interference and buffer gaps. Now they not only knew how to fix it, but also understood the core logic behind energy conversion in high-level Soul Tools.

Both benefited greatly, and even Meng Hongchen couldn't resist coming over to listen.

"Not bad." Jing Hongchen held the improved magnetic attraction bomb core in his hand, turning it over and examining it several times. He also injected Soul Power into it to test it, then nodded in satisfaction. "To get this result from Level 2 and Level 3 cores has already exceeded my expectations.

"Once you have enough Soul Power, Grandpa will personally help you make a higher-level version."

"Really?!" Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up at the same time.

"When has Grandpa ever lied to you?" Jing Hongchen smiled and put the core away. "But before that, there's only one thing you need to do-cultivate diligently."

"Got it!" the two boys answered in unison, though they couldn't hide the excitement on their faces.

But before long, Jing Hongchen nipped their desire to continue researching Soul Tools in the bud.

His exact words were: "Rather than researching Soul Tools now, you'd be better off writing down your ideas and cultivating hard. Once your Soul Power Level is high enough, you can put them into practice."

Then their laboratory was sealed.

Poor Bao and poor Xiao crash-landed on the spot.

"Come on, Grandpa Jing!" Bao Liang clung to the laboratory doorframe and refused to let go. "Let us research for two more days! Just two days!"

"Not even half a day." Jing Hongchen shut the door and locked it, his face expressionless. "Go cultivate.

"Don't you two know what level your Soul Power is?"

Bao Liang was left speechless. "Then... then what about our ideas? You have to let me write them down, at least, right?"

"You can write them down." Jing Hongchen tossed him a notebook. "Write them clearly and in detail. Once your Soul Power and spiritual power are high enough, you can get to work.

"When you're done, hand the notebook over to me for safekeeping. I'll give it back when you meet the requirements."

"...All right." Bao Liang wilted. Hugging the notebook, he squatted in a corner and muttered to himself, "Once my Soul Power is high enough, the first thing I'm doing is picking the laboratory door lock..."

"Is it really a good idea to say that right in front of me?" Jing Hongchen's voice came drifting from behind him.

"...I didn't say anything!"

And so, for the next while, Jing Hongchen kept Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen in the cultivation room, where they cultivated obediently.

The two cultivated during the day. At night, one memorized the Immortal Herb Catalogue while the other drew Soul Tool blueprints-neither was idle.

As soon as Bao Liang activated his ultimate talent, the temperature in the cultivation room rose by several degrees.

Sitting beside him, Xiao Hongchen complained as he cultivated, "Can you keep your fire down a little? You're going to roast me alive."

"Good. You might as well be roasted." Bao Liang kept his eyes closed and spoke lazily. "You're thick-skinned anyway."

Every time they cultivated, Bao Liang had to control the heat carefully.

If the fire was too hot, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen couldn't bear it; if it was too cool, it wouldn't have the desired tempering effect.

Later, he came up with a method: he divided the Ultimate Flame into several thin streams and directed them toward the two of them one at a time. It wasn't too hot, and the effect was even better.

"Your fire control has improved," Xiao Hongchen said, offering a rare word of praise.

"Of course!" Bao Liang lifted his chin proudly. "That's what you call striving for perfection!"

"Praise you twice and you're already puffing yourself up."

"So what!"

"Cultivate, cultivate. Don't get distracted."

Xiao Hongchen was left with nothing to say and could only bury his head in cultivation again.

Meng Hongchen watched them from the side, delighted but afraid to laugh out loud. Her little face turned bright red from holding it in.

That night, Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen lay in their respective beds, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Their minds were full of the formation knowledge Jing Hongchen had taught them that day.

One was pondering the efficiency of energy conversion, while the other was thinking about the balance between dense and sparse formation markings. The more they thought, the more unfathomably deep the subject seemed.

"Xiao, are you asleep?" Bao Liang suddenly asked.

"No."

"When do you think we'll be able to make a Level 5 Soul Tool?"

"Let's train our spiritual power first." Xiao Hongchen rolled over. "Grandpa said that without enough spiritual power, it's all empty talk."

"Then it's a promise-once our spiritual power is high enough, we'll make a real magnetic attraction bomb together!"

"...All right."

In the darkness, both of them grinned.