Whether Jing Hongchen ultimately convinced Xu Tianran in the end, and whether those ninth-level soul guidance cannon shells stored in Mingdu were actually transferred or not, Lin Xiao had no way of knowing. He could only do this much.
Compared to that, he was far more concerned about his own matters.
The two-plus years in the Extreme North had brought him tremendous gains in the cultivation of his martial soul. Not only had his physical strength increased dramatically, but he had also obtained Snow Emperor's soul ring and condensed a unique "soul core" that didn't exist anywhere else in this world.
However, his progress in soul tools had indeed been limited. After returning to the Mingde Hall, he had spent a considerable amount of time during the past half year focusing on soul tools, and fortunately, the results were satisfying enough.
Knock knock knock—
"Who is it?"
"Hall Master, it's me."
Lin Xiao paused slightly, but still responded. Soon after, a clear voice came from inside:
"Come in."
After Lin Xiao swiped his identity token beside the metal door, it slowly slid open to both sides. Only then did he realize that Jing Hongchen was not in the room.
Instead, a young girl was sitting in his seat, bent over the desk as if busy with something. When she saw Lin Xiao enter, she quickly stood up, appearing slightly nervous and reserved.
"Grandfather hasn't come back yet."
Lin Xiao wasn't particularly surprised by this.
During the past two years, while Meng Hongchen was studying at Shrek Academy as an exchange student and hadn't seen him for a long time, in the past half year, whenever Lin Xiao came to see Jing Hongchen, he would often see Meng Hongchen here.
"I don't know when the Hall Master will return. If it's going to take a while, I can wait outside."
"No, no need." Meng Hongchen looked at Lin Xiao. "Grandfather said that if you come, it's fine for you to stay here."
As she spoke, the curiosity in Meng Hongchen's gaze toward Lin Xiao was completely unconcealed.
She still remembered that Jing Hongchen had once instructed her not to get too close to Lin Xiao. Yet after she went to Shrek Academy and came back, he was now allowed to wait inside Jing Hongchen's room.
One must know that this place contained many secrets of the Mingde Hall. Even some teachers were not permitted to stay here waiting when Jing Hongchen was absent.
Lin Xiao merely smiled, allowing Meng Hongchen to stare at him. He sat down to the side, closed his eyes slightly, and his aura seemed to merge perfectly with the surroundings.
Although most of his attention had been on soul tools, he had never neglected the cultivation of his soul power. He had already completely adapted to the brand-new "soul core" inside his body. Just like the previous soul core, it could automatically convert the heaven-and-earth origin energy without any conscious control from him.
"By the way… thank you."
Lin Xiao had just sat down when Meng Hongchen suddenly spoke from the side. He turned his head and saw her looking down at the table.
"Grandfather said that this material was first proposed by you. My martial soul is the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, and the poison it produces comes from the interaction between ice and fire attributes."
"Previously, Grandfather wanted to make me a suitable set of soul tools, but within the borders of the Sun Moon Empire, we simply couldn't find materials that possessed both ice and fire attributes at the same time. That is, until your idea was verified."
"Then you should thank the Hall Master more." Lin Xiao continued to smile. "Ideas aren't really that valuable. Even if it wasn't me, sooner or later, someone else would have thought of it. On the other hand, the Hall Master must have invested tremendous effort into actually developing this material."
"But Grandfather said that anyone who is a soul engineer can make soul tools, but new ideas are something not everyone can come up with."
"I…" Lin Xiao paused for a moment. "Alright then, let's say that's the case. Still, you don't need to thank me. After all, I'm also a member of the Mingde Hall."
Meng Hongchen didn't reply, only staring at Lin Xiao with a somewhat suspicious look.
"Seems like you two are getting along quite well. What were you talking about?"
The door suddenly opened. Lin Xiao turned his head and saw Jing Hongchen walking in with a cheerful smile.
"Hall Master."
"No need to be so formal, sit, sit." Jing Hongchen waved his hand. Meng Hongchen quickly stepped forward and took his arm.
"Alright, you've seen Lin Xiao more than once in the past half year. You don't need to be so reserved." Jing Hongchen sat down at the table and let out a soft breath. "It's finally finished."
This seemingly abrupt statement made Lin Xiao's eyes brighten slightly.
"Meng, step outside for a moment. I have something to discuss with Lin Xiao."
Meng Hongchen glanced at Lin Xiao, but still obediently walked out the door.
Lin Xiao watched the door close, then quickly withdrew his gaze. "Hall Master, you mean…"
"That's right. The humanoid soul tool was made specifically for you." Jing Hongchen smiled. "I just went to pick it up from a certain soul engineer. It's finally complete."
Jing Hongchen didn't explicitly say who that soul engineer was, but Lin Xiao also understood that within the Mingde Hall, there weren't many people whom Jing Hongchen would deliberately keep secret.
"This set of humanoid soul tools was personally designed by me, with several ninth-level soul engineers participating in its production. It took half a year, and we only just completed the final small adjustments. As for its specific effects, you'll know once you use it."
As his words fell, a flash of light came from the storage soul tool on Jing Hongchen's hand. Seeing this, Lin Xiao stood up and took two steps forward.
What appeared in Jing Hongchen's hand did not look like a typical soul tool at all. Instead, it resembled a soft "robe." Indeed, it was clearly made of metal materials, yet it gave the impression of being soft and supple.
The overall black color was adorned with strands of dark red lines. Under the illumination of the lighting soul tool, the entire piece of equipment rippled faintly like the surface of water.
Lin Xiao reached out gently. The dark red lines on its surface seemed to come alive, all moving toward him and lightly kissing the tips of his fingers.
Jing Hongchen also gazed at it for a long time without looking away.
"You've seen me receive those students together, and you've also seen my flying-type soul tool. In my vision, being able to shape hard metal into this kind of state allows one to create extremely high-quality soul tools."
"But this is the first time I've managed to apply this technique throughout an entire soul tool. Honestly… I'm actually a little reluctant to part with it."
Lin Xiao looked up slightly and met Jing Hongchen's eyes. "Thank you for your great favor, Hall Master. I never imagined I would receive such a soul tool."
At this point, Jing Hongchen let out a soft sigh, his expression shifting slightly.
"I'm not completely without selfish motives. Although this isn't the first time I've brought it up, I still want to ask you once again: Are you willing to officially join the Mingde Hall?"
"Hall Master…"
"No need to answer in a hurry." Jing Hongchen raised a hand to stop Lin Xiao's words. "I'm only saying this here."
"Although you are a disciple of the Holy Spirit Cult, I can see that you don't actually care much about that so-called Holy Cult. Otherwise, the alloy smelting technique would have long been in the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult instead of being traded to the Mingde Hall for resources."
Seeing Jing Hongchen staring at him with burning eyes, Lin Xiao also let out a soft sigh and slightly lowered his head.
"Hall Master… I still have some matters that have not yet been resolved."
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