Outside the Soul Engineer assessment area, Huo Yuhao stood and took a deep breath.
His palms were slightly sweaty; of course, he wasn't nervous about the rank one Soul Engineer assessment—he had successfully passed that after only a month of studying Spirit Tool production.
Teacher Shen Yi was right; he truly had a talent for being a Soul Engineer. The Spirit Eyes Martial Soul granted him Mental Force and focus far beyond ordinary people, allowing him to carve Core Formations with ease.
What he was about to take now was the rank two Soul Engineer assessment.
Huo Yuhao looked up at the sign above the door that read "Soul Engineer Assessment Area," silently cheering himself on.
Not many people chose the profession of Soul Engineer to begin with, and in his class, Huo Yuhao was the only one who had chosen it. He had heard that Soul Engineers would also be involved in Mecha manufacturing in the future, so there was a lot to learn.
Yuhao had thought it would be difficult, but he chose to persevere because he didn't want to fail the academy's trust or Teacher Shen Yi's trust; it was Teacher Shen Yi who had made him the Spirit Tool Committee Member.
(Re-reading the original work, I found that Mecha Manufacturers mostly focus on Battle Armor—for example, Ye Xinglan and Yuan En Yehui helped Tang Wulin make One-Word to Three-Word Battle Armor—the original work didn't describe Mecha manufacturing.)
At this moment, within Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the Skydream Ice Worm was frantically cheering him on.
"Little Yuhao, don't be nervous! You're the one I've set my sights on. A mere rank two Soul Engineer assessment—isn't that as easy as pie for you?"
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile. "Brother Tianmeng, you said the same thing last time."
"Of course, because Brother Tianmeng only speaks the truth! Besides, didn't you pass the rank one Soul Engineer assessment on your first try?" The Skydream Ice Worm looked completely confident.
The Skydream Ice Worm had seen all of Huo Yuhao's hard work. Even though the academy's resources were excellent, Huo Yuhao's effort was not lacking at all. After classes, he would begin the assignments Mu Ye had given him and Tang Wulin. After finishing those, he would start researching Spirit Tools, and sometimes even study his own Mecha. It was as if this fellow never tired—a total Grinding Machine.
Huo Yuhao smiled; it was all worth it. He used to be incredibly weak, and in that White Tiger Duke's Mansion, he had desperately yearned to become stronger but had no path. But... now he had one, so he had to seize this opportunity!
He couldn't afford to become complacent just because the resources in this academy were easier to obtain than outside; he had to become stronger.
Furthermore... Tang Wulin still put a lot of pressure on him. In another half-month, it would be the New Student Grand Competition. Although he and Wang Dong'er had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with decent power, Huo Yuhao was still not certain of defeating Tang Wulin, especially since Tang Wulin's other teammates hadn't been announced yet.
It might be Ling Luochen... a Five-Ring Soul King, which would be quite troublesome, or perhaps someone from the Inner Court...
Huo Yuhao shook his head, temporarily suppressing these thoughts.
There was no use thinking about that now; he had to secure his rank two Soul Engineer status first.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Inside the assessment area, a middle-aged examiner stood before a workbench. Seeing him enter, the examiner nodded slightly.
"Huo Yuhao?"
"Yes."
The examiner raised a hand and pointed at the items laid out on the workbench.
Several fist-sized metal blocks and a palm-long Carving Knife.
"The rank two Soul Engineer assessment—you should be familiar with the requirements. Carve a rank two Core Formation. Once finished, inject Spirit Power; if the Core Formation lights up, you pass."
Huo Yuhao nodded and walked to the workbench. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and adjusted his state of mind. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes.
Within those eyes, a faint golden light flickered.
Spirit Eyes, activated.
His gaze fell upon the metal blocks, and instantly, their texture, density, and internal structure were all clearly presented in his mind.
He could tell at a glance which piece was most suitable for carving a rank two Core Formation.
Huo Yuhao reached out, picked up the most suitable piece of metal, and placed it before him. Then, he gripped the small Carving Knife. The Carving Knife was very light, trembling slightly at his fingertips.
Huo Yuhao didn't rush to start; instead, he closed his eyes and mentally went over every line, every turn, and every change in depth of the rank two Core Formation.
This was a habit he had developed over the past two months. He would never start until he was completely confident.
Finally, he opened his eyes again.
The Carving Knife descended.
At the workbench, Huo Yuhao's body remained motionless; only his fingers moved slightly. The small Carving Knife turned nimbly between his fingertips, leaving behind a series of fine, intricate lines on the metal surface.
Huo Yuhao's technique was fast, accurate, and decisive. His movements were fluid, showing precise control over his own strength and perfect command over his body.
Time passed second by second.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Huo Yuhao's forehead, but his fingers remained as steady as a rock.
Finally—
The Carving Knife stopped.
Huo Yuhao let out a long breath, the burden on his shoulders lifting at this moment.
He looked down at the metal in his hand; upon it, a complex and precise formation pattern was fully displayed.
Not a single hair's breadth off.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, circulated the Spirit Power within his body, and slowly injected it into the metal.
Buzz—
A soft light emanated from the formation pattern, illuminating his slightly weary face.
It was a success!
A flash of uncontrollable excitement crossed Huo Yuhao's eyes.
The examiner stepped forward, carefully inspecting the formation and checking the stability of the light before finally nodding.
"Rank two Soul Engineer assessment: Passed." He looked at Huo Yuhao with a hint of approval in his eyes. "Not bad. Keep up the hard work."
Huo Yuhao quickly stood up and gave the examiner a deep bow. "Thank you, Teacher!"
The examiner waved his hand, took a badge from a nearby cabinet, and handed it to him. The badge was entirely silver-white, with a small knife engraved on the front.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Skydream Ice Worm was already jumping for joy. "Little Yuhao! You did it! I knew you could do it!"
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Brother Tianmeng."
"But Little Yuhao, we can't get arrogant. Look, you're rank two now. Why don't you just take the rank three, four, and five exams all within the next year?"
Hearing this, the smile on Huo Yuhao's face instantly froze. "Brother Tianmeng... are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious!" The Skydream Ice Worm began counting on its fingers.
"Look, you have the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, strong Mental Force, and high focus—you were born for this. Taking five ranks in one year might be a bit difficult, but it's not impossible! By then, you'll be a rank five Soul Engineer—how impressive would that be!"
Huo Yuhao's lip twitched. This would still be very difficult for him because rank three Soul Engineers had to deal with Mecha-related content, which was much broader in scope.
Outside the assessment area, a familiar figure was standing there.
It was his Spirit Tool teacher.
Huo Yuhao walked up quickly and gave his teacher a deep bow. "Teacher, I passed."
The teacher looked at the rank two badge on Huo Yuhao's chest, a look of gratification flashing in his eyes. "This is the result of your own hard work."
He patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "Keep working hard. The path of a Soul Engineer has no end."
Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly. "I will."
Leaving the assessment area, Huo Yuhao walked back to the dormitory, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.
Rank two Soul Engineer—secured.
Next... was the New Student Grand Competition.
Huo Yuhao already had a plan: he would go to the Spirit Ascension Platform before the New Student Grand Competition to increase the year-limit of his second and third Spirit Rings.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Skydream Ice Worm began frantically cheering him on again.
"Little Yuhao! Go! Go! Go! Save up Contribution Points! Enter the Spirit Ascension Platform! Upgrade your Spirit Rings! Defeat Tang Wulin!"
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.