"Director Lin, are you really going to equip the students participating in the Soul Dueling Tournament with that so-called self-propelled soul cannon?"
In the soul tool testing area, Ma Rulong's Grandfather was looking at Lin Jiayi with a displeased expression. "You're a soul engineer yourself; you know how much time it takes for a soul engineer to become familiar with a soul tool they don't understand."
"For these past few months, we've been constantly adjusting their soul tools and fighting styles based on their strengths and preferences. How many days are left until the Soul Dueling Tournament? Adding another tool now will likely do more harm than good."
"Teacher Ma, I understand your concerns," Lin Jiayi responded, appearing much calmer. "That's one of the reasons I'm optimistic about the self-propelled soul cannon."
"Not only for our students, but my disciple's soul tool, once revealed, can be fully mastered in just a few hours, even by soul masters who have never touched a soul tool before, and its effectiveness is far from poor."
"How could there be such a soul tool?" Ma Rulong's Grandfather clearly didn't believe it. "Even for students in the control system, it takes a long time to understand a soul tool before they can utilize its full potential. How could there be a soul tool that can be used immediately upon contact?"
Lin Jiayi let out a soft sigh. "That's why I say the Sun Moon Empire never lacks soul engineers with unique ideas. Before seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have imagined a soul tool could be used in such a way."
"Right now, it's just an ordinary soul cannon. But if his technology continues to develop and can be applied to other areas or even higher-level soul tools, it could potentially change the entire battlefield."
"I think Lin Xiao is right. The Soul Dueling Tournament is limited by the arena. While soul engineers have a natural advantage in attack range over mid- and low-tier soul masters, the arena's constraints make that advantage limited. It relies more on the variety of soul tools and different tactics."
Seeing that Ma Rulong's Grandfather still looked somewhat dissatisfied, Lin Jiayi added, "Why don't you go see the soul tool I'm talking about for yourself later, Teacher Ma? Once you see it, I think you'll understand my perspective."
"Dad, are you going to take a look later?"
Ma Rulong had approached at some point.
"You're not training; what are you doing here?"
"Dad, I've met that Senior Lin before. He's not the type to speak carelessly."
"You've met him before?"
"Don't you remember? I told you before," Ma Rulong leaned closer. "A few years ago, those wolf pelts were sold to me by Senior Lin."
Ma Rulong's Grandfather glanced at him again before nodding. "We can give it a try. But even if it's useful, it can only be used as a tactic against Shrek."
"As the captain of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's team for this Soul Dueling Tournament, if you lose to another academy, you'll have to apply to withdraw from Illustrious Virtue Hall yourself."
"Yes, sir!" Ma Rulong nodded repeatedly with a smile.
On the other side, Lin Xiao, the subject of Ma Rulong and his Grandfather's discussion, was busy crafting the soul tool in his hands. The sounds of soul engineers grinding materials filled his ears. The supervising teacher walked past the experimental tables, occasionally stopping to glance at their work and nodding lightly.
Lin Xiao wasn't idle either. As metal shavings fell, soul tool arrays gradually took shape under his hands.
The sound of the supervising teacher's footsteps came from behind, but Lin Xiao didn't pay much attention. However, the figure stopped beside him and didn't move on.
Lin Xiao turned his head slightly and saw the teacher who had brought them here looking with interest at the completed materials on his experimental table.
"You've left so many interfaces for charging soul tools. Is it to reduce the burden on the soul engineer? And what's this empty part for? Is it meant to receive commands?"
A muttering voice, as if talking to himself, sounded in Lin Xiao's ear. He glanced at the teacher and saw him looking back.
Looking around and seeing that the other students were still focused on crafting their soul tools, unaware of the situation here, Lin Xiao helplessly nodded slightly.
He hadn't expected the supervising teacher here to be so interested in examining the candidates' work.
"As expected. If that's the case, this soul tool of yours should be able to receive commands from a soul engineer remotely. Is it preset with fixed actions triggered by simple commands, or does it follow specific instructions given on the spot?"
As expected of a ninth-rank soul engineer, just by looking at Lin Xiao's unfinished product, he had already deduced the operating principle of the self-propelled soul cannon.
Lin Xiao had tried both methods. If certain actions were preset, it would inevitably be sluggish in actual combat. But issuing specific instructions would require the soul engineer to multitask, placing extremely high demands on them.
His solution was simple: let the remnant souls control these soul tools, allowing them to judge the battlefield situation themselves. But this method was definitely not something he could reveal here.
The supervising teacher seemed to realize this was still Illustrious Virtue Hall's assessment and, seeing Lin Xiao remain silent, didn't press further. He only said softly, "If you enter Illustrious Virtue Hall and are interested, you can come find me. We can discuss improvements to this tool together."
With that, he didn't linger and continued walking forward.
Lin Xiao glanced at the teacher's retreating figure before quickly refocusing his attention.
The fact that the self-propelled soul cannon caught the eye of a ninth-rank soul engineer was indeed something to be happy about. As Lin Jiayi had said, guidance from a ninth-rank soul engineer was quite rare.
But this particular teacher…
If Lin Xiao's guess was correct, it wouldn't be long before Jing Hongchen dealt with him. Even if he managed to survive, it would likely be difficult for him to remain in Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Suppressing his thoughts, Lin Xiao turned his focus back to the soul tool. Even if this was just a formality, he needed to produce a complete soul tool.
Now that Nightmare Douluo was dead and Nangong Wan didn't have much time to bother with him, this was a rather good opportunity to study soul tools.
He didn't believe soul engineers had to surpass soul masters, nor did he think soul tools were useless among high-tier soul masters. These were all means to enhance strength, and the people here treated him well. He was quite happy to stay and learn at Illustrious Virtue Hall.
"Alright, you may leave. Students who pass the assessment will be notified in two days. Those who don't receive a notification can prepare for the next assessment."
The day passed quickly. Those who could participate in Illustrious Virtue Hall's assessment, even if they didn't necessarily qualify to enter, could complete a fifth-rank soul tool within a day.
As the supervising teacher collected everyone's soul tools, the students began to gradually head outside.
Outside Illustrious Virtue Hall, it was already night. The students around him chatted with each other, occasional bursts of laughter ringing out.
Lin Xiao slightly raised his head to look at the bright moon in the sky. These past few months, it felt as if he had truly become an ordinary student.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreon
[email protected]/facficmax10