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"Advanced techniques within Intermediate Soul Tools."
As Su Wen delved into this chapter, he quickly became engrossed. These so-called "advanced techniques" were exactly what Lin Tian had mentioned earlier: pattern layering, modular and combinational overlapping, and collinearity.
"The overlapping of patterns, units, and combinations is a major undertaking. Different lines within a Core Array will inevitably intersect, creating points of convergence."
Once a Core Array is completed, the way a Soul Master activates the Soul Tool is essentially a process where Soul Power flows naturally through the array to produce the desired effect. However, when the lines within a Core Array intersect, it causes the flow of Soul Power to become turbulent. The problem a Soul Tool engineer must solve is ensuring that even when paths cross, the Soul Power flows naturally without interfering with other lines or drifting into the wrong channels.
Core Arrays are carved into the "heart" of a Soul Tool—engraved onto the surface or even into the interior of rare metals. It is a three-dimensional structure. This is why the basic units in Primary Soul Tools, though complex, do not overlap or intersect.
However, once one moves into Intermediate Soul Tools, the intersection of lines becomes unavoidable, causing the difficulty of production to skyrocket.
There are several ways to resolve these intersections. One is the "Impact Method." Through clever array design, the Soul Power in two intersecting lines is timed to arrive at the intersection point simultaneously. In this way, even if the Soul Power is technically uncontrolled at the junction, the pressure from the incoming directions ensures it doesn't flow backward. The streams merge and then separate toward their respective exits.
Of course, this is considered a shortcut.
The most fundamental—and most difficult—method is the engineer's "Channeling Technique." This involves using specific skills while carving the intersection to create "tracks" between the overlapping lines. Even though they share a single node, the Soul Power entering from different lines will follow distinct "tracks" as they pass through that point.
The "Track Construction Method" is the ultimate technique an Intermediate Soul Tool engineer must master. Only once this technique is mastered and applied proficiently can one hope to attempt the creation of Advanced Soul Tools.
For ordinary Intermediate Soul Tools, one can get by with the Impact Method or the clunky tactic of adding auxiliary arrays to constrain the Soul Power. However, a true Soul Tool engineer will not linger on these methods; they will move to master "Track Construction" as quickly as possible.
Su Wen read through Lin Tian's materials with great interest, finding this Track Construction Method particularly fascinating.
"Tsk, this actually involves the application of spatial power."
Of course, it was only the most basic level of spatial study—a technique for using Soul Power to slightly "nudge" space.
As Su Wen carefully studied the method, he discovered it achieved its effect by stimulating space through a specific method of Soul Power circulation. Theoretically, a Soul Master could utilize this method of stimulating space on their own. However, that was only in theory.
"In reality, even for an Advanced Soul Tool engineer who has long since mastered the Track Construction Method, it's impossible to use it directly outside the context of engraving a Core Array."
"The requirements for the material are too high, and the demand for Soul Power control is even higher."
It was high to an almost perverse degree. Without rare metal to act as a carrier, the "force" of this technique would make it impossible to keep the Soul Power stable, unless one forcibly constrained the Soul Power through sheer, raw control.
Su Wen tried it once and failed.
"I have to admit, there is real substance to Soul Tools."
It could be said that any engineer who reached the Advanced level had, to some extent, researched space. It was just that they couldn't manifest those results through their own power; they had to rely on the process of making a Soul Tool to translate that knowledge into reality.
"Collinearity is also divided into two levels of difficulty. One is simply merging the Soul Power and then splitting it, while the other is constructing an entire 'track' along the line."
Reaching the summary of the Intermediate theory, Su Wen looked at the section where Lin Tian summarized the Track Construction Method and couldn't help but marvel at its ingenuity. It wasn't just clever; the creation of this method must have been a monumental step forward for Soul Tool technology at the time.
One could say that the development of Soul Tools from the Intermediate level onward was entirely dependent on this single method!
"Without the Track Construction Method—even with the Impact Method or merging and splitting—there will be a loss in Soul Power circulation, leading to low efficiency in the overall structure."
And it wasn't just low efficiency for the structure itself; if every similar structure was inefficient, it would directly degrade the overall quality of the Soul Tool.
"Advanced Soul Tools..." Su Wen opened the final volume Lin Tian had given him, which was also the thinnest.
If the theoretical explanations for Primary and Intermediate Soul Tools were thorough, Lin Tian's exposition on Advanced Soul Tool theory was severely lacking. In fact, his explanations were incomplete to the point that Su Wen could detect parts of the summary that were far from authoritative.
This made sense. Although Lin Tian was a Soul Emperor and an Advanced Soul Tool engineer, he was only at the bottom tier of that rank. Advanced engineers served Soul Masters ranging from Soul Emperors to Soul Saints, and the quality of the Advanced tools they produced was naturally split into two stages.
Lin Tian's cultivation was only at Rank 64. He had only been an Advanced engineer for a few years, and he had only successfully created Advanced tools a handful of times by stroke of luck. He couldn't produce them consistently. Therefore, he was considered the "floor" of the Advanced rank.
But even as a low-tier Advanced engineer, his insights into high-level theory were valuable. After all, he had successfully made Advanced tools using these insights.
Su Wen skimmed the Advanced section quickly. It was too sparse; a simple understanding was enough for now. He was wary of being misled by flawed theories.
"I'll wait until I've mastered the Track Construction Method before heading to the Sun Moon Cult headquarters to get more comprehensive data."
Su Wen suspected that even this branch of the Sun Moon Pavilion wouldn't have anything more detailed than what Lin Tian had summarized. Much like the Spirit Hall, no matter how comprehensive their data or how much they wished to spread knowledge, they wouldn't release everything. A low-level branch simply couldn't protect high-level information.
Having finished the theory, Su Wen felt a surge of confidence. For other engineers, even getting started might be difficult, and the Track Construction Method might seem entirely elusive. But Su Wen understood it quickly. He was confident that, by using his own grasp of spatial power to assist him, he could master this method in no time.
Looking back at the blueprints again, Su Wen felt as if a veil had been lifted.
"I get it!"
He immediately set to work, forging a piece of rare metal into a spherical shape. He activated an Intermediate-level Soul carving knife, its sharp blade gliding across the surface of the sphere, leaving behind a series of intricate patterns.
Finally, the sphere was covered in lines, and the patterns closed together in a perfect circuit.
(End of Chapter)