Inside the Spirit Tool workshop, Huo Yuhao sat by a wide wooden table, a thick stack of Spirit Tool blueprints piled in front of him.
Spread out, those blueprints almost covered the entire tabletop.
Each blueprint was densely marked with various dimensions, Materials, and arrangements of Core Formations; the lines were precise and complex, enough to make an ordinary person dizzy at a glance.
Xiao Hongchen stood to the side with his arms crossed, his heterochromatic eyes—one blue and one green—holding a hint of smugness and expectation.
"Look through these blueprints first."
He lifted his chin, his tone tinged with pride.
"There are over a hundred in total, all Core Formation diagrams for 4th to 5th Class Spirit Tools. This is all the authorization I can give for now; for the higher-level ones, I'll have to ask my grandfather."
He paused and then added.
"But don't worry, with your talent, my grandfather will definitely agree. He has always valued talent, especially a Spirit Tool Genius like you."
As Xiao Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao, a sense of competition rose in his heart, and he thought about poaching Huo Yuhao for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. However... he was also quite aware that if it were the Shrek Academy on the ground, it would be one thing—after all, that academy's Spirit Tool technology was trash—but the one in the sky was different.
For instance, the soul guidance car was a Spirit Tool they had never seen before. Recalling Huo Yuhao's soul guidance car, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but feel an itch in his heart, but since he had lost, he had no way to study it.
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept quickly across the blueprints, his fingers lightly flipping the pages with a faint rustling sound.
Within his eyes, a golden light flickered slightly as the Mental Force of his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul operated at full capacity, deeply engraving every detail of each blueprint into his mind.
"Thank you."
Seeing his focused expression, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but feel curious.
He pulled over a chair and sat opposite Huo Yuhao, resting his crossed hands on the table and staring straight at him.
"Huo Yuhao, I have a question for you."
"Hmm?"
Huo Yuhao still didn't look up, nor did his hands stop moving.
"How long have you been studying Spirit Tools?"
Xiao Hongchen's voice carried a hint of testing.
Huo Yuhao's fingers paused slightly.
He looked up, glanced at Xiao Hongchen, and remained silent for a moment.
How long had it been?
From enrollment until now, at most, it had only been about eight months.
But he only truly began studying Spirit Tools two months after enrollment; for the first two months, he had been cultivating Spirit Power and basic combat techniques.
In reality, he had only been involved with Spirit Tools for just over six months.
But...
Huo Yuhao thought about it and decided to give a slightly more conservative number.
"Eight months."
"Eight months?"
Xiao Hongchen's brow furrowed slightly, a flash of complex emotion crossing his heterochromatic eyes.
Eight months.
From zero foundation to a 4th Class Soul Engineer?
And at such a young age?
Xiao Hongchen's gaze swept back and forth over Huo Yuhao, as if trying to find some flaw in his expression.
"Are you sure?"
Xiao Hongchen's voice was filled with disbelief; going from zero foundation to a 4th Class Soul Engineer in eight months was something he absolutely couldn't do. Even though he was a Genius, he couldn't help but feel inferior when faced with this guy, Huo Yuhao.
Is there someone even a Genius can't beat?
"Are you sure you've only studied for eight months?"
"Roughly."
Huo Yuhao nodded without much explanation.
Xiao Hongchen fell silent.
He leaned back in his chair, his heterochromatic eyes staring at the ceiling as an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
Even with famous teachers and top-tier resources, this speed was simply too outrageous.
This guy... was simply a monster.
A deep sense of frustration surged in Xiao Hongchen's heart.
He had previously thought about competing with Huo Yuhao, believing that with his own talent, he wouldn't lose too badly.
But now he realized that the gap between him and Huo Yuhao was not something that could be bridged by effort alone.
"Then what about your age?"
Xiao Hongchen suddenly asked. The Huo Yuhao in front of him looked younger than him, and Xiao Hongchen hoped that Huo Yuhao was actually his age; that way, he would have some psychological comfort.
"How old are you this year?"
"Twelve years old."
Twelve years old. Xiao Hongchen was completely stunned in his seat, his mouth slightly agape, unable to say a word.
Twelve years old, a 4th Class Soul Engineer—this meant Huo Yuhao's Spirit Power Rank was at least at the Four-ring level, making him a Spirit Ancestor just like him.
But he was already fourteen this year, a full two years older than Huo Yuhao.
This fellow Huo Yuhao was simply a Freak, a Prodigy.
"My Spirit is the Three-Legged Golden Toad. What's yours?"
Xiao Hongchen had noticed that whenever Huo Yuhao looked at blueprints or produced Spirit Tools, his eyes would glow with a golden light.
Huo Yuhao's Spirit should be related to his eyes.
"My Spirit is the Spirit Eyes, a mental-attribute Spirit, so I have an advantage when it comes to Spirit Tools."
Huo Yuhao's gaze remained on the blueprints, but to prevent Xiao Hongchen from asking more questions, he offered a bit more explanation.
"No, I must introduce you to my grandfather."
He suddenly stood up, leaning his hands on the table and looking at Huo Yuhao with burning eyes.
"With your talent, my grandfather will definitely be very interested. When that time comes, the Spirit Tool resources you can access will be much greater than what you have now."
Hearing his excited tone, Huo Yuhao only gave a faint nod.
"Alright."
His eyes returned to the blueprints, his hands still moving.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but sit back down and continue chattering.
"My grandfather is the Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and also the Hall Master of Mingde Hall. His research on Spirit Tools is second to none in the entire Sun Moon Empire."
"He has seen countless geniuses, but he definitely hasn't seen anyone like you."
"Once I introduce you to him, maybe he'll even personally guide you..."
Xiao Hongchen spoke with increasing excitement, talking incessantly.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao continued looking at the blueprints while listening to him, even nodding in response from time to time.
His voice was calm, without the slightest hint of impatience.
After talking for a while, Xiao Hongchen suddenly realized something: Huo Yuhao was still flipping through the blueprints and paying attention to what he was saying at the same time. Multitasking?
Xiao Hongchen wanted to ask, but seeing Huo Yuhao's focused look, he swallowed his words.
Forget it, the secrets this guy held were likely even more than he imagined.
Time passed minute by minute.
After about two and a half shichen, Huo Yuhao finished the last blueprint and gently set the paper down.
He looked up at Xiao Hongchen.
"I've memorized them all."
"What?"
Xiao Hongchen was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard.
"I said I've already memorized all these blueprints."
Huo Yuhao repeated.
Xiao Hongchen was completely dumbfounded. Two and a half shichen, and he had actually memorized over a hundred blueprints?
Although Huo Yuhao had already demonstrated Heaven-Defying abilities when producing the Oscillation Cannon, Xiao Hongchen was still filled with disbelief.
Is this really a human?
Could Huo Yuhao be a humanoid Spirit Tool?
Just as Xiao Hongchen was about to say something, the door to the Spirit Tool workshop was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Hongchen turned toward the door at the same time.
A petite figure walked in from the door; it was Meng Hongchen.
"Brother!"
"Are you making Spirit Tools again?"
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
1 Review = 1 Bonus Chapter
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