Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen's exclusive spirit tool laboratory.
At this moment, on the spirit tool crafting table in the center of the laboratory, pale gold spirit power permeated the air, filled with an extremely strong mental force.
Xu Tianhao held a jade-green engraving knife in his hand, carving a spirit tool core formation bit by bit onto a spirit tool core.
As he carved with the engraving knife in his hand, the spirit tool core formation seemed to come to life.
Jing Hongchen, standing to the side, watched this scene with a look of undisguised amazement and appreciation on his usually calm and majestic face.
In those eyes that had seen countless people, there was full of wonder and praise for the youth before him, as well as a hint of envy.
What he marveled at and praised was that Xu Tianhao was currently carving a fifth-rank core Spirit formation.
Judging from Xu Tianhao's methods and techniques, he already possessed the level of a Fifth-Rank Soul Engineer.
As for that hint of envy, it came from the jade-green engraving knife in Xu Tianhao's hand.
As the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen naturally possessed Ranked Engraving Knives, and more than one.
But the engraving knife in Xu Tianhao's hand was special.
Because this engraving knife was originally named the spirit devouring engraving knife, ranked only ninety-ninth on the ranked engraving knife Leaderboard.
However, three years ago, after being purified by Ye Zhengchen's Angelic Power and having its curse removed, this spirit devouring engraving knife became the blade of life currently in Xu Tianhao's hand.
According to the tests by Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen, the value of this blade of life was enough to be ranked in the top three, even among the Ranked Engraving Knives.
Furthermore, this blade of life possessed a rich aura of life; even just keeping it close would have the effect of prolonging one's life.
It could be said that Xu Tianhao had truly found a treasure.
Now, this blade of life was already Xu Tianhao's exclusive engraving knife, and any core formation carved by this blade of life possessed a special "life."
It could repair itself by autonomously absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and even create a "life link" with its owner; once bound, it could be triggered with just a thought.
This undoubtedly greatly increased the utility of spirit tools, making the value of this blade of life reach an inestimable level.
Unfortunately, although Xu Tianhao was the only one who knew the true value of the blade of life, he did not currently possess Electrolux's abilities and could not completely refine the blade of life.
This blade of life was actually a complete piece of gold of life.
What was gold of life?
It was the ultimate pure life energy!
Just a tiny drop was enough to rival the million-year vitality of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
And this blade of life was a whole piece of gold of life; although Xu Tianhao held it in his hand, he had no way to refine it yet.
However, Xu Tianhao was not flustered at all; though he couldn't refine it now, he could use it as bait for fishing in the near future.
Even if he didn't catch any big fish, once he became powerful enough, he could find a way.
He had even already thought of a plan, just waiting for the right moment...
As time passed minute by minute, the core formation Xu Tianhao was carving gradually became complete.
Until the final stroke fell, the spirit tool core formation in Xu Tianhao's hand erupted with a brilliant light.
"It's done!" Xu Tianhao put away the blade of life, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
Jing Hongchen, standing by, revealed a smile. "A fifth-rank defensive spirit tool, the immovable wisdom king shield. Sixth Highness, congratulations on becoming a Fifth-Rank Soul Engineer."
As he spoke, the appreciation in Jing Hongchen's eyes grew even stronger.
Spirit Master cultivation and Soul Engineer promotion were both paths that required endless effort and talent.
Most people could only choose to focus on one for their entire lives; to achieve success in even one was already as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn.
And those who could balance both and succeed in both were almost unheard of.
Yet the ten-year-old Xu Tianhao had walked both paths very steadily and progressed at a lightning-fast pace.
A ten-year-old with a Rank 44 Spirit Ancestor cultivation and a Fifth-Rank Soul Engineer level!
This was an achievement capable of causing stormy waves anywhere.
And the root of all this was Xu Tianhao's uniquely gifted mental-type Body Martial Soul.
Mental-type Spirits were already rare in the World, let alone a mental-type Body Martial Soul.
The mental-type had a natural, heaven-defying bonus for spirit tool crafting.
The core of spirit tool crafting was the precise control of mental force, the delicate flow of spirit power, and the ultimate carving of spirit tool patterns.
And a mental-type Spirit happened to perfectly satisfy these requirements, even magnifying them to the extreme.
Xu Tianhao's own talent for spirit tools was already absurdly high; his understanding of spirit tool patterns, control over spirit power, and perception of materials far exceeded other Soul Engineers of the same rank.
Combined with the heaven-defying boost from his mental-type Body Martial Soul, the two complemented each other, allowing his growth speed to leave everyone of his generation far behind.
Even the top geniuses in the history of Mingde Hall appeared somewhat lackluster before him.
Jing Hongchen stood to the side, his gaze always following Xu Tianhao's figure, the stormy waves churning in his heart unable to subside for a long time.
Having been in charge of the Spirit Tool Academy for many years, he had seen geniuses as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river.
But never had there been anyone like Xu Tianhao, who repeatedly redefined his understanding and broke his perception of the limits of talent.
Jing Hongchen silently calculated in his heart that with Xu Tianhao's current terrifying rate of improvement, with his Spirit Master cultivation and Soul Engineer rank advancing side by side,
there were no bottlenecks or delays in his cultivation; if this continued, in fifteen years, his achievements would be enough to shock the World.
No, it wouldn't even take fifteen years.
At Xu Tianhao's current rate of improvement, perhaps in just about ten years, his spirit power level could break through the Rank 90 natural chasm bottleneck in one fell swoop and become a Titled Douluo.
And his Soul Engineer rank could simultaneously climb to the top-tier Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer!
A Titled Douluo around twenty years old, and a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer!
Once this thought surfaced in his mind, even someone like Jing Hongchen, who was used to great storms, couldn't help but have his heart pound wildly and his breathing quicken.
In the past, such a thing would have been pure fantasy, a myth that one wouldn't even dare to imagine.
Titled Douluos were already existences at the peak of the continent, and Ninth-Rank Soul Engineers were even rarer and more precious than Titled Douluos.
Having both in one person, and only in their twenties, was even more unheard of.
But now, this monstrous youth who might create a legend was standing right before his eyes.
Over the past few years, Xu Tianhao had completely overturned Jing Hongchen's worldview with one miracle after another.
Xu Tianhao could naturally feel the undisguised appreciation and shock in Jing Hongchen's eyes.
His expression was calm, without the slightest arrogance, as he simply reached out and picked up the newly formed spirit tool from the crafting table.
This spirit tool was dark gold all over, with complex and precise spirit tool patterns engraved on its surface.
A faint glow flowed between the patterns; the material was hard and heavy, with a steady and restrained aura—it was indeed the fifth-rank defensive spirit tool, the immovable wisdom king shield.
He gently stroked the surface of the immovable wisdom king shield, his fingertips feeling the stable flow of spirit power within the spirit tool and the resonance of the spirit tool core formation,
then he raised his hand and handed this freshly made high-quality spirit tool to Jing Hongchen, saying loudly:
"Hall Master Hongchen, how is the quality of this immovable wisdom king shield?"