Volume 23: The End of the Exchange, Chapter 202.1: Human-shaped Soul Tool

“Teacher Xuan.” Xuan Ziwen was doing his routine inspection in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. When he walked past Huo Yuhao’s table, he was stopped.
He revealed a smile on his face and said, “Yuhao, you haven’t proactively talked to me in more than a month. You finally have something to ask me?”
Huo Yuhao appeared fatigued, but there was a vibrant look in his eyes. “Teacher Xuan, can I make a trip to your office later tonight? Our exchange is about to end and I have some things to tell you.”
Xuan Ziwen was stunned for a moment. Yes! The exchange was indeed about to end.
Although he hadn’t interacted much with Huo Yuhao over the past few months, he could tell how persistent Huo Yuhao was in his research and creation of soul tools. Furthermore, he was also a very outstanding soul master. Which teacher wouldn’t like a student that was like him?
“Alright.” He didn’t even hesitate, and agreed to Huo Yuhao’s request immediately.
Huo Yuhao smiled and was filled with confidence. It was only noon, but he tidied up his laboratory desk a bit. After scanning his surroundings, he bade goodbye to Xuan Ziwen and left the laboratory. He was going to leave in another two days. Before he left, he had to settle that important matter.
“I’ve finally found you. Let’s see where you can run.” As he left the Illustrious Virtue Hall, however, Huo Yuhao ran into trouble.
Jing Ziyan seemed to harbor ill-intentions as she looked at him. Not far from her, a cool-looking Ji Juechen was wielding his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword while glancing at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly. “Guys, I don’t want to fight today. I’m very tired. I haven’t rested in months. Can the two of you let me off this time?”
Jing Ziyan snorted and said, “You haven’t rested in months? We haven’t found trouble with you in months. You said you had important stuff to settle the other time. Didn’t we let you off then? After that, you’ve avoided us for such a long time. We finally found you today. Don’t try to make excuses for yourself this time.”
Huo Yuhao was helpless as he replied, “You don’t have to pester me either. I won’t have a chance to spar with you again. I’m going back in two days. I promise the both of you that I’ll spar with you one last time before I leave.”
“You’re going to leave?” Jing Ziyan’s aggressive look disappeared, and she looked at Huo Yuhao doubtfully. Ji Juechen also put down his sword and watched Huo Yuhao intently.
“Yes, our exchange is going to end. In two days, I’ll be returning to Shrek Academy. Although the two of you are annoying, I’ve regarded you as my friends. That’s why I’m not being perfunctory. Before I leave, I’ll teach both of you a good lesson.” Huo Yuhao said seriously.
Jing Ziyan furrowed her brow, while Ji Juechen turned around and left. He stopped harassing him. Jing Ziyan glanced at Huo Yuhao before following Ji Juechen away.
“What’s this?” Huo Yuhao said furiously, “You don’t even say anything to me? At least give me a sending off.”
However, Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen didn’t bother with him. They quickened their footsteps, as if they had something important to attend to.
“Two heartless people.” Huo Yuhao snapped. He was stunned to find out that he was a little reluctant to leave after two years in this place. Even though this was an enemy camp, he had had many memorable moments here.
Teacher Xuan, Ke Ke, Zi Mu and the two of them. There was also Ju Zi.
Even though he spent all his effort on cultivating and learning tirelessly in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, which was the rival of Shrek Academy, he still had some feelings for this place after two years. He wouldn’t miss the academy, but the people.
After he returned to his room, he didn’t meditate. He collapsed onto his bed and shut his eyes before he fell into a deep sleep.
He had been very exhausted over the past few months. He needed a good rest.
He completely blacked out as he slept. It was only when he heard a knock on his door that he woke up.
“Who’s that?” He rubbed his eyes and forced himself up from his bed. He was a little lethargic. He knew that it was because he had over-relaxed his body.
“It’s me.” An unpleasant yet familiar voice sounded.
Huo Yuhao was jolted awake. He cursed when he saw the sky outside. He quickly crawled out of his bed and opened the door.
Indeed, it was Xuan Ziwen who was standing outside.
“Teacher Xuan, I’m sorry. I overslept.” Huo Yuhao invited him in awkwardly.
Xuan Ziwen didn’t appear too angry. On the contrary, he was a little stunned and asked, “You? Overslept?”
“Yes!” Huo Yuhao was apologetic as he nodded his head.
Xuan Ziwen took a deep look at him and didn’t know what he was feeling. Although he was Huo Yuhao’s teacher, he had only truly imparted knowledge of soul tools to him for about half a year. This didn’t even include some of the core knowledge in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, he had passed on one of the most important theories regarding soul tools to Huo Yuhao. He had once told him that his cultivation depended on him alone. It would all depend on his own learning and research.
In the time that passed, Huo Yuhao would also approach him with a bunch of questions almost every day. Apart from some confidential stuff, he answered all of his queries. Half a year passed like that, and Huo Yuhao started asking fewer and fewer questions. From the tens of questions a day at the start, it slowly became a few a day before it became one question every few days. In the past few months, Huo Yuhao had completely stopped asking questions.
Xuan Ziwen didn’t doubt his talent. However, he didn’t think that Huo Yuhao could become a top-ranked soul engineer. The reason was very simple – his martial soul was too strong.
As a strong soul master, the cultivation and use of his martial soul had been deeply ingrained in his bones. Xuan Ziwen could also tell that his passion for soul tools wasn’t comparable to his passion for martial souls even though he liked researching soul tools.
Everyone’s energy was limited. The higher one’s cultivation was, the more one had to focus on comprehending and understanding more advanced knowledge. Since Huo Yuhao possessed twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul, how could he possibly put most of his energy into researching soul tools?
However, Xuan Ziwen was still very curious about him. More accurately speaking, he was curious about his research. He had been monitoring the direction of Huo Yuhao’s research ever since he came up with the Zhuge Divine crossbow. However, Huo Yuhao was very good at concealing his work. Even with Xuan Ziwen’s abilities in soul tools, he couldn’t tell what Huo Yuhao was up to.
The two year exchange was about to end, and Huo Yuhao was about to return to Shrek Academy. Xuan Ziwen felt a little lost. As he wasn’t from the Sun Moon Empire, Xuan Ziwen didn’t possess any ill-feelings towards Huo Yuhao. The only thing in this world that could arouse his interest were soul tools. He actually admired Huo Yuhao’s talent in the aspect of soul tools. Even though he knew it was impossible, he still hoped that Huo Yuhao would develop in this area.
“Tell me, why did you ask to see me?” Xuan Ziwen looked at him and asked while standing where he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find a place to sit. It was just that Huo Yuhao’s room was too messy. There were all types of metal accessories strewn on the floor. It was much messier than the time Wang Dong had visited. Even his bed wasn’t spared.
Huo Yuhao used his legs to make a path before removing the clutter from a chair. “Teacher Xuan, take a seat.”
Xuan Ziwen furrowed his brow and said, “Yuhao, you don’t seem so untidy normally! Why is your room so messy?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “I have no choice. I can only work on some things in my room if I want to keep them as secrets.”
“What?” Xuan Ziwen’s interest was aroused. He smiled and asked, “You wanted to see me today so that you could show me your secret work?”
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then freshened himself up completely. He circulated his spiritual power, and the lights in his Spirit Eyes flashed slightly.
“Teacher Xuan, do you still remember our bet?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Xuan Ziwen replied, “Of course I do. Why? Can you come up with ten items of that level? I am a man of my word. If you can, I will follow you wherever you want.”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, “I can’t. However, I hope that you can give me pointers on two of my products. They are also the essence of my hard work after I came to the academy. At the same time, I hope that they can be of use to you.”
Xuan Ziwen’s eyes brightened, and he sat up straight. “Are you saying that you invented two new types of soul tools? Quick, let me see them.” His passion for soul tools made him forget everything instantly.
Huo Yuhao said, “Teacher Xuan, I can show you one of my two final products. I wish to take a look at my second product again. But I can’t show you the first product here because this place is too small, and it’s also my secret. If you want to see it, we need to use a special method.”
“What special method?” Xuan Ziwen asked doubtfully.