"You…" Xuan Ziwen gazed at Huo Yuhao, his words stuck in his throat, rendered completely speechless momentarily. "That"s not possible! You can"t be a spirit-type soul master, just judging from the soul skills you displayed forging the soul tool. You…"
"Heh. It"s not really a secret—I have twin martial souls; one a.s.sault-type, one spiritual control-type. The files you academy has on me should say about as much." With his experiences in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, there wasn"t much hidden about him, in the eyes of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, from two years ago. Huo Yuhao was a spirit-type soul master, making his instincts keenly accurate, and he could sense that this teacher Xuan wasn"t someone sent with malicious intentions at all. His blistering pa.s.sion for soul tools gave Huo Yuhao an idea.
"Spirit-type? a.s.sault-type?" Xuan Ziwen"s eyes instantly began to sparkle. He grabbed Huo Yuhao"s shoulders and said, "A soul master with twin martial souls—and one of them is a spirit-type! What a heaven-sent blessing!. This is great, just too great."
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, "Don"t be so excited, teacher Xuan. Can you let go of me first?"
"Oh, sorry." Xuan Ziwen"s face was flushed red from all the excitement. "Spirit-type—you live up to the Shrek Academy name! Wow, you actually have a spirit-type martial soul. Yuhao, what"s your soul power rank?" It wasn"t as simple as just accepting Huo Yuhao, within this brief conversation he even changed his form of addressing him.
"Rank 40. However, my spirit-type soul is the primary soul for now, and spirit-type souls are just too few and far between, so I just haven"t been able to get a fourth ring yet. I"m still a three-ringed Soul Elder." Huo Yuhao gave a detailed explanation. The thought from earlier flared up again as he saw the fiery pa.s.sion in Xuan Ziwen"s eyes.
Xuan Ziwen frowned and said, "Rank 40? That"s a little too low. We could have a go if you had at least six soul rings."
Huo Yuhao was momentarily speechless, and couldn"t help but remind him. "I"m only fourteen this year, teacher Xuan! Not twenty-four!"
"Uh… Right, I forgot. Regardless, you"ve won my approval with your abilities. I will admit that with the Spiritual Detection alone, I am confident in mentoring you to become a top-tier soul engineer, even if you"d never touched soul tools before. I just have a few more questions for you, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Xuan Ziwen contemplated for a short while, lowered his voice and asked, "First off, can you control your Spiritual Detection"s area of effect? More specifically, can you reduce the area of effect in exchange for accuracy and precision?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "I can do that for myself. However, I can"t do that if I"m sharing my Spiritual Detection with others."
Xuan Ziwen said contentedly, "That"s impressive enough as is. Soul engineers need to rely on hard work to learn and research, they can"t just rely on strength to create things—strength is a supporting tool. My second question is: Can your Spiritual Detection reach deep into physical materials to perceive the transformations within them?
Huo Yuhao said without hesitation, "Yes, but only to a certain level. To put it simply, I can"t look deep inside the most complex things, but a human body is no problem. Naturally, that also means that I can perceive soul power transformations inside someone."
Xuan Ziwen didn"t expect Huo Yuhao to be so honest and straightforward with him. He gave an astonished glance as he looked over at Huo Yuhao, then he tilted his head slightly as he said, "Truly a powerful spirit-type martial soul. My last question: Will you accept me as your teacher, as a disciple? My hope is that you leave Shrek Academy and join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. This might sound outrageous, but I can guarantee you direct entrance to the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall, without any entry examinations at all. I will teach you all I have to offer, and mentor you into a top-tier soul engineer, and you will be a part in our most important and substantial research projects. Plus, I daresay that the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall is at least dozens of years ahead in soul tool research from any other power."
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, "I realized that in the trip to The Radiant City, teacher Xuan, and I"m sure what you"ve just said is true. Dozens may even be a conservative estimate. However, I need to know what will happen if the day comes, where the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall"s technology and soul tools leave them entirely unafraid of even the most powerful soul masters. Will the Sun Moon Empire be as peaceful as they are now?"
"Uh…" Xuan Ziwen frowned and replied impatiently, "This isn"t something that researchers like us should be worried about. We should only care about how to produce more magnificent, practical, and novel soul tools."
Huo Yuhao loosed a faint sigh and said, "That"s because this is your country, but it isn"t mine. I don"t want to, nor can I, fuel conflicts because of my pa.s.sion for soul tools, which leads to the destruction of life."
Xuan Ziwen muttered indifferently, "You"re too full of yourself. You think you can incite a war by yourself?"
Huo Yuhao said seriously, "Maybe I"m not powerful enough to incite a war, but I won"t give my abilities to a rival country—do forgive me. You are my teacher now, so I hope that means you"re willing to guide me."
Xuan Ziwen"s face seemed a little black, but he had to admit that this exchange student from Shrek Academy possesses the qualifications to shake him to the core. Perhaps this little fella didn"t have much experience in regards to soul tool research and concepts, but he has solid foundations and a creativity that is imperative for soul tool research. Furthermore, he has a spirit-type martial soul, and that"s as unique and extraordinary as it could get.
Xuan Ziwen sighed and said, "That"s a pity. However, I"m still willing to mentor you. The only difference is that I can"t share some of the most crucial information from the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall. Of course, we can still negotiate if you"re willing to make an exchange using your research findings." He smiled sheepishly after he spoke.
Huo Yuhao said, "Have you ever thought about leaving this place, teacher Xuan?"
Xuan Ziwen was slightly taken aback, and shook his head as he said, "No. Why would I leave? I have always wanted to become a top-tier soul engineer since I was kid. I want to enable the civilians, so that they too can use soul tools, so that I can change their lives forever, and perhaps even the entire world. Across the entire Continent, only the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall can provide sufficient budget and a research direction for me. Even though the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall can"t teach me much, they still have the best research facilities. Shrek Academy may have superior soul masters, but they are far inferior in terms of soul tool research facilities."
Huo Yuhao smiled. "I wasn"t about to convince you to join Shrek Academy. I wanted to tell you that the only way for you to obtain my research findings is to join my sect. I accomplished my research by incorporating the esoteric knowledge from my sect, so it doesn"t really belong to myself."
Xuan Ziwen was stunned momentarily and asked subconsciously, "You have a sect? What sect?"
Huo Yuhao said, "The Tang Sect. I"m not sure if you"ve heard of it before…"
Xuan Ziwen contemplated for a short while, and then exclaimed, "The Tang Sect—the one that invented hidden weapons? The Tang Sect that existed during the time of the Heaven Dou Empire?"
Huo Yuhao nodded his head and asked with a surprised look, "You know of the Heaven Dou Empire?"
Xuan Ziwen replied, "Of course I do. I come from the Heavenly Soul Empire, but my parents" generation migrated to the Sun Moon Empire."
Huo Yuhao was even more moved at this. "Then, are you willing to join the Tang Sect?"
Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and answered, "Are those lunatic ravings, or are you trying to deceive me? According to what I know, the Tang Sect no longer exists. Even if there are remnants of it lying around, they are extremely weak. Are you sure you can provide me with sufficient research expenses and facilities?"
Huo Yuhao could feel the contempt and scorn in his voice, and he was instantly infuriated. However, he took a deep breath and pacified his rage quickly, as he had to admit that Tang Sect was indeed in a declining state, and was currently far from enough to attract the likes of Xuan Ziwen.
"Yes, the Tang Sect cannot afford a top-tier soul engineer like you right now. However, let"s make a bet. If the Tang Sect rises again within ten years, and they have a large enough research budget and facilities for you, then you shall join it."
Xuan Ziwen answered, "You still don"t understand what I"m after. I don"t care about the money, and I probably don"t care about anything else except the profound world of soul tools—much like the research that you just showed me. How about this? I will join your Tang Sect if you can produce ten of these extraordinary research findings."
Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and placed it before Xuan Ziwen.
Xuan Ziwen was a little shocked. "What are you doing?"
Huo Yuhao said with determination, "A promise must be kept! We will high-five to make an oath."
Xuan Ziwen chuckled and blurted out, "You think it"s so easy to produce similar research breakthroughs? I have to say you could even be considered fortunate to have one—some soul engineers cannot even produce one such research breakthrough in a lifetime, let alone ten in different fields."
Huo Yuhao"s eyes sparkled as he gazed at Xuan Ziwen and said, "Teacher Xuan, whether or not I can accomplish this is my problem. I only want to ask you—if I succeed, will you honor your word?"
The amus.e.m.e.nt in Xuan Ziwen"s eyes disappeared as he lowered his voice and said, "If you can accomplish it, and every soul tool research direction is different, then I will join the Tang Sect."
"Clap, clap, clap." Three high-fives, and the oath was made.