“Miss Ye, there’s no need to be embarrassed.
I’m just giving you a suggestion.”
“Besides, you’re the one testing out my work!”
After spending most of the day discussing the performance and principles of camouflage-type soul tools with Ye Guyi and giving her several pieces to take back and try on, Huo Yuhao offered her a slight smile as he saw her off.
He then watched as she turned and walked away.
“Either way, I still have to thank you, you rascal.
I’ll go get used to this camouflage soul tool now.”
Though Ye Guyi appeared outwardly to be a carefree, lighthearted optimist, her deeply sentimental side inevitably surfaced when she was around Huo Yuhao.
“Word of mouth from customers is worth more than gold or silver cups—enough with the formalities, alright…”
Thinking of how Ye Guyi’s fair, delicate face had turned as red as an apple in front of him, Huo Yuhao began to wonder if he had some sort of charm demon constitution.
“Little Yuhao, are you testing the gap between the camouflage-type soul tools you can make now and the camouflage soul bone that made up Qian Renxue’s Angel God Armor back in the day?” At this point, Tianmeng, though still naive and unseasoned by the world’s harshness, had vaguely discerned Huo Yuhao’s intent.
“Brother Tianmeng, you understand me that well too?” Within his spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, “But I’m not quite that black-hearted.”
Ilex suddenly spoke up.
“No wonder you repeatedly warned that girl not to wander around in front of any Rank 90 Titled Douluo.
By the way, this should also be related to your earlier talk about forging a divine artifact, yes?”
Huo Yuhao rubbed his face and said, “Elder I, you should know that at equal levels of power, we humans are first and foremost physically fragile—barely stronger than elemental spirits that lack true bodies—and our innate elemental talent falls short even of beast races that excel through bloodline, such as dragons.
For humans like this to wield god-level power, the use of tools is inevitable.”
“Rather than saying certain soul tool products are substitutes for the soul bones that compose divine armor, it’s more accurate to say that soul bones are a kind of black-box soul tool whose principles the user does not understand.”
“So-called soul tools are merely instruments that channel soul power, and like soul bones, they are both tools.
In my view, there is no hierarchy between the two.”
“In my previous life, I inherited the Tang Sect’s secret techniques, the love skills that my ‘good father-in-law’ guided me to comprehend, your Necromantic Calamity Scepter, Elder I, and the mantle of the God of Emotions.
I reached a very high position, but none of those were truly my own.”
“In this life, I will develop my own divine skills, forge my own divine artifacts, and solidify my own divine seat.
This requires trial runs, and the path will not be easy!”
Ever since arriving in the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao had been living entirely off his soul tool crafting skills.
Whether it was his earlier display before Jing Hongchen when enrolling in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy or his daily life as a day student staying at the comfortable but expensive Mingyue Hotel, all of it depended on his exceptional soul tool crafting ability.
Having been certified as a Rank 5 junior soul engineer by the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire, he navigated the city of Mingdu with remarkable ease.
To be honest, soul tool technology and Huo Yuhao were truly fated for each other.
In his previous life, soul tool technology had not only given him ideas for perfecting the Tang Sect’s hidden weapon system, but had even allowed him, even when confined to the divine realm and working in isolation, to create works like the Death Ray Tower—a creation that could play a role in chaotic battles among Divine Kings.
As someone who excelled in spiritual power, encountering a soul tool system that demanded extremely high spiritual power was like having a pillow delivered just when he was feeling drowsy.
Just as soul tool crafting had always treated him like a first love, Huo Yuhao had always maintained a deep concern for the developmental path of soul tool technology.
After becoming a “Spectator,” Huo Yuhao felt that the soul tool technological path of human civilization on the Douluo Continent had gone astray.
Ten thousand years later, whether it was the mechas of his father-in-law’s crown prince Tang Wulin’s era or the humanoid soul tools, they either relied on the soul master’s own strength or became yet another black box whose principles the user did not understand.
Huo Yuhao believed that the ultimate goal of soul tool development should be something that could get the job done safely without requiring the user to do anything, yet always remain under the user’s absolute control.
Hardware as the instrument, and self-sustaining, self-iterating artificial intelligences as the software—that was the future!
If Huo Yuhao’s plan succeeded, it would usher in an era of divine artifacts—not just one divine artifact, but true mass production of genuine divine artifacts.
This was Huo Yuhao’s intention after reviewing all his experiences from his previous life: to correct the soul tool system that had been twisted onto the wrong technological tree and set it back on the right path.
Many days later, in Laboratory No.
3 of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy:
“Lad, what exactly have you been up to?” Huo Yuhao’s instructor, Xuan Ziwen, asked.
That day, seeing the look of joy on Huo Yuhao’s face, Xuan Ziwen knew that after months of tinkering since enrollment, this young man had finally produced results.
“Teacher, I have successfully developed a soul tool that can replace a torso soul bone.
Although this is only at the level of a five-ring Soul King’s power, everything is difficult at the beginning.” As he spoke, Huo Yuhao retrieved from his storage soul tool two green robes that appeared to be ordinary clothing.
The reason these two green robes looked exactly like regular clothes with no mechanical feel was that they were made from precision materials crafted from alloys by Huo Yuhao.
These were not the spirit-forged creations of that “Tang the Pure’s” crown prince Tang Wulin’s era ten thousand years later, but rather products that could be mass-produced with a transparent manufacturing process.
With a single glance, Xuan Ziwen could sense that these green robes had spatial disturbance soul tool formations inscribed within them as options for evasion or concealment, and elemental stripping soul tool formations as options for offense or defense…
Limited by Huo Yuhao’s current cultivation level, these two soul tools were only Rank 5.
But the moment Xuan Ziwen laid eyes on them, his first impression was: if he or any other soul engineer of the Sun Moon Empire were to craft two Rank 5 soul tools of this workmanship, the resources consumed by each would far exceed the manpower and materials required to forge a Rank 7 soul tool.
“Your efficiency is truly something else.
In a few days, your teacher might have to start calling you teacher instead.
Although it will take some time to fully understand the principles behind these two soul tools you’ve given me, I still hope you’ll continue your efforts.”
For Huo Yuhao, the experience of interacting with the always-humble Xuan Ziwen after enrolling in this life was worlds apart from his memories of interacting with that “renowned teacher” Zhou Yi after enrollment in his previous life.
“But one thing you must remember: no matter what difficulties you encounter on the path of soul tools in the future, do not rush.
Your journey has been too steady, too smooth.
A person like you, who has developed high psychological expectations for many things as a result, might find it difficult to cope if you encounter any setbacks…”
Looking at this student before him who was a brilliant new star in soul tool craftsmanship, Xuan Ziwen couldn’t help but offer a word of caution.
Months of interaction had made him regard the young man as a kindred spirit across generations, so he spoke directly, without any pretense.
Xuan Ziwen’s insight and talent naturally allowed him to recognize the extraordinary nature of the two items Huo Yuhao had presented.
And given his temperament, he could also see that the design of these two lightweight, all-in-one offensive-defensive hexagonal soul tools perfectly aligned with his own philosophy that soul tools should develop toward serving ordinary people.
However, Huo Yuhao’s youth and his perpetually casual demeanor gave Xuan Ziwen a nagging sense of concern.
“Rest assured, Teacher, I am not one who thinks too highly of myself.” Hearing the worry in his teacher’s voice, Huo Yuhao’s reply grew serious.
“Teacher, there is one more thing I would like to ask of you.
Given your hope that soul tool technology will ultimately integrate with the masses rather than just soul masters, I believe you will agree to this matter…”