A Surprise for the Soul Tool Department

Back at the examination site, Xu Xingyu had completely finished the casing for the Soul Tool he intended to make. All it lacked was the crucial Core Array.

Only the final quarter of an hour remained. Qian Duoduo, who had been watching the whole time, was unsure whether Xu Xingyu could finish the Soul Tool he wanted to make before time ran out.

In Qian Duoduo's estimation, what Xu Xingyu had made was, as expected, a gauntlet-type close-combat Soul Tool. Combined with Star Silver's toughness and durability, its offensive power should have been formidable.

By Qian Duoduo's estimate, once completed, the Soul Tool would be at least as powerful as a Level 4 Soul Tool-a very good result for a student of Xu Xingyu's age.

That, however, depended on his successfully finishing it. Carving all the Core Arrays in just a quarter of an hour was still extremely difficult.

Yet Xu Xingyu soon used his incredibly fast hands to finish carving more than half of the Core Array. Qian Duoduo could not help twitching. Wasn't this little fellow afraid of making a mistake, carving so fast?

As time was nearly up, Xu Xingyu finished carving the Core Array and began assembling the casing of his Soul Tool. At last, just as the clock sounded, he successfully completed it.

Watching Xu Xingyu finish his Soul Tool, Qian Duoduo also breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure of the dwindling time had made him break out in a cold sweat.

After calming himself, Qian Duoduo began examining the gauntlet Soul Tool Xu Xingyu had made.

After a round of inspection, Qian Duoduo couldn't discern much. He could only tell that the gauntlet was extremely tough and sharp, and that it could also give a Soul Master a certain boost.

That made the gauntlet a powerful close-combat Soul Tool, but if that was all it did, had it really been necessary to use that Spirit Alloy to create it?

Xu Xingyu didn't explain much, saying only that it was a close-combat Soul Tool that could be used by an expert at the Soul King level.

As for the finer details, it wasn't convenient for him to reveal them, because they were secrets belonging exclusively to the Spirit Contract Pagoda. Unless his teacher, Silver Dragon Douluo Gu Yuena, was willing, he couldn't tell Qian Duoduo.

Thus, Qian Duoduo could only give up on getting to the bottom of it. He formally announced that Xu Xingyu could minor in Soul Tool Department courses in his first year, and said that their department would welcome him whenever he wished to join.

However, Xu Xingyu still chose the Martial Soul Department as his main focus, because his own Soul Tool knowledge had long since surpassed what Shrek's Soul Tool Department could teach him.

He chose to minor in it purely to keep from forgetting how to make Soul Tools after going too long without doing so.

Just as Xu Xingyu was about to leave the examination room, however, the teacher from the room next door found Qian Duoduo and reported Xu Yanxue's examination results.

Like Xu Xingyu, Xu Yanxue had passed her examination and earned the right to minor in Soul Tool Department courses in her first year.

Her work, however, was simply too outstanding. The examiner therefore wanted to see if he could discuss with the vice dean bringing the new student directly into the Soul Tool Department and giving her a core disciple slot.

As it turned out, the Soul Tool Xu Yanxue had made was a Level 3 Soul Tool Battery, a kind of Soul Tool very common in the Spirit Contract Pagoda.

Though it was relatively difficult to make, it was nothing particularly hard for Xu Yanxue.

The examiner was so shocked not because the Soul Tool could store Soul Power. In this era, they too had Soul Tools that stored Soul Power, commonly known as Milk Bottles.

But this Level 3 Soul Tool Battery was different from a Milk Bottle. Not only was it smaller, it actually stored more Soul Power than a Level 4 Milk Bottle.

Most incredible of all, the battery had a sealing function, so unlike a Milk Bottle, this Soul Tool Battery wouldn't gradually leak the Soul Power stored inside without anyone noticing.

The result astonished Qian Duoduo. He had thought Xu Xingyu was a born Soul Tool Department genius, but who would have guessed that his younger sister, Xu Yanxue, was every bit his equal?

That changed Qian Duoduo's original desire to recruit Xu Xingyu alone into a determination to tie both Xu Xingyu and his sister Xu Yanxue to the Soul Tool Department. If he could do that, their department's standing in Shrek would surely be headed for a bright future!

After completing the examination, Xu Xingyu left the Soul Tool Department building with Xu Yanxue, and they headed toward the dormitories.

On the way back, the two began discussing their respective examinations.

"Um, Brother Xingyu, was it really all right for us to be so high-profile in this examination?"

"You know, the techniques we showed there were techniques neither Sun Moon nor the original three empires had ever seen."

"Was it really all right to reveal them so easily?"

Seeing Xu Yanxue looking at him like a curious child, Xu Xingyu couldn't help laughing.

"What is it?" Xu Yanxue puffed out her cheeks and looked at Xu Xingyu in displeasure.

I'm worried about whether our own organization's techniques will be leaked! What's so funny about that?

"It's nothing, nothing." Xu Xingyu realized he had been a little rude, so he changed the subject and began explaining why he had revealed those things.

"Although I personally don't like Shrek Academy's teaching philosophy, Shrek's influence in the original three empires is too great right now."

"So, for the time being, we still need to use Shrek Academy's reputation to publicize our Spirit Contract Pagoda. In the process, we have no choice but to reveal a few things that can attract them. Otherwise, the bait won't take the hook."

"I see!" Xu Yanxue finally understood what Xu Xingyu was planning.

To put it plainly, they would show their value to build good relations with Shrek Academy, and in the meantime change Shrek's hidebound attitude toward Soul Spirits.

As long as Shrek Academy declared in the future that the Soul Spirit Method was the correct way to cultivate,

then there would be no obstacles to the Spirit Contract Pagoda's expansion, and the number of Soul Masters buying Soul Spirits would increase dramatically.

The Spirit Contract Pagoda's biggest problem at present was that those who bought Soul Spirits were almost all nobles. Soul Masters of commoner standing rarely bought them.

But nothing could be done about that problem. After all, the cost of making Soul Spirits was extremely high, and not just anyone could afford one.

It was actually quite normal for those poor people to be unable to buy Soul Spirits. After all, money wasn't something everyone could get.

To deal with this problem, Xu Xingyu had specifically set up a scholarship-like system in the Spirit Contract Pagoda. As long as a Soul Master was sufficiently talented, they could fuse with a Soul Spirit without paying.

Of course, it would be even better if those people joined the Spirit Contract Pagoda as a result. After all, the more staff, the better.

By the time Xu Xingyu finished telling Xu Yanxue about his plan, they had arrived downstairs at their dormitory building. After arriving, Xu Xingyu and Xu Yanxue exchanged a few words before returning to their own rooms.

But the moment Xu Xingyu returned, the one who greeted him was none other than Wang Dong'er, already sprawled out in exhaustion.