Huo Yuhao was not at all surprised that the Spirit Transmission Hall's Spirit Tools would draw the attention of the Sun Moon Empire.
So when Jing Hongchen opened his mouth to request an exchange, Huo Yuhao's lips curled up instead, as if he had just waited out a predicted next move.
"Of course."
He agreed very readily, with almost no hesitation.
Then he turned his head, looked at the figure sitting on his right, and said, "Senior Brother He, I'll leave this task to you."
The one he called "Senior Brother He" was naturally Senior Brother He.
This Genius from Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department had now joined the Spirit Transmission Hall. Under Huo Yuhao's guidance, he had been exposed to many Spirit Tool concepts far beyond the understanding of this era. His craftsmanship had improved by leaps and bounds, already showing the faint silhouette of a future Great Grandmaster.
Senior Brother He nodded upon hearing this and didn't say much.
Jing Hongchen had also made arrangements beforehand. Seeing Huo Yuhao agree so readily, he raised his hand and gestured to his left, saying, "This is Teacher Xuan, a Level 8 Soul Engineer. From now on, Teacher Xuan will discuss Spirit Tool matters with all of you."
His choice of Teacher Xuan to handle this matter was made after careful consideration.
Actually, Jing Hongchen himself wanted to participate personally, but he also knew that his status as the headmaster was too sensitive. If he personally participated in the technical exchange, the Spirit Pagoda side would inevitably become wary, and he wouldn't be able to fish out anything useful.
Teacher Xuan was different; he was a well-known "technical fanatic" in the academy.
Sending him to contact the people from the Spirit Pagoda would not seem deliberate, and it would minimize the other party's guard to the greatest extent.
But when Huo Yuhao heard the name "Teacher Xuan," a light suddenly flashed deep in his eyes.
In the historical records Ten Thousand Years later, the name Teacher Xuan had left a heavy stroke.
He studied under the Father of Sun Moon Spirit Tools, Kong Deming, and should have occupied the most dazzling position in the history of the Sun Moon Empire's Spirit Tool development. However, he was later "kidnapped" to the Tang Sect by the Spirit Ice Douluo.
The sealed milk bottle technology researched by Teacher Xuan was the foundation of humanoid spirit tools, which later developed into the mecha System.
In addition to this, he also researched a series of special Spirit Tools, such as spirit power disruption bombs.
Without the support of Teacher Xuan's technological achievements, the original three empires of the Douluo Continent would not have been able to withstand the other side's tidal wave of Spirit Tool offensives in the subsequent war with the Sun Moon Empire.
In other words, this seemingly taciturn Level 8 Soul Engineer in front of him could be considered one of the key figures in the destiny of the entire continent for the next few decades.
Huo Yuhao's gaze lingered on Teacher Xuan for an extra moment. He was already quietly making calculations in his mind, thinking about how to "invite" this talent from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy to the Spirit Pagoda.
Since it was already afternoon when Huo Yuhao's group arrived in Radiant City, by the time the meeting ended and various matters were initially finalized, the sky outside the window had already been dyed with a dusky twilight.
Jing Hongchen originally wanted to drag Huo Yuhao into chatting for a bit longer, but seeing the late hour, he could only let it go and arranged for everyone to eat and rest first.
The next morning, Jing Hongchen's original plan was to take Huo Yuhao to inspect the site selected for the Spirit Pagoda Branch Pagoda, but Huo Yuhao smiled and postponed this arrangement.
"There's no rush about the site selection," he said casually, as if it were truly just a spontaneous idea. "On the other hand, I have long heard of the great reputation of Mingde Hall. I wonder if it would be convenient to visit today? We can exchange some insights on Spirit Tool manufacturing."
Jing Hongchen was slightly taken aback, then laughed and waved his hand. "What's inconvenient about that? I'll arrange it right away."
Soon after, he called Teacher Xuan over and asked him to take Huo Yuhao and Senior Brother He to visit Mingde Hall, while he himself claimed to have temporary business and did not accompany them.
Teacher Xuan led the two of them through the academy's tree-lined path, walking all the way toward the center of the academy. Before long, they arrived at the so-called Mingde Hall.
It was a low building covering an area of about five hundred square meters, with grayish-white outer walls and a square, solid outline. Compared to the other teaching buildings in the academy, it was really not grand at all.
Without someone to point it out, passersby would probably only think of it as an ordinary Materials warehouse.
However, the procedures to enter were far stricter than they appeared from the outside.
After passing through several security checkpoints, Teacher Xuan led the two of them into a large elevator at the end of the corridor.
After the elevator doors closed, a faint sound of mechanical operation came, and the elevator car sank smoothly.
Huo Yuhao counted silently in his mind. After about five or six breaths of time, the elevator finally came to a steady halt.
The moment the doors opened, their field of vision suddenly broadened.
It was an extremely vast underground space. Overhead was a giant curved dome, spliced together from some light-colored metal plates, extending to both sides in a smooth arch, with the highest point visually estimated to be at least twenty meters.
Rows of neat Spirit Tool illumination lights were embedded in the dome, and soft white light poured down, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
The hall was so large that its boundaries could not be seen at a glance. Countless workbenches were arranged neatly, piled high with various Spirit Tool parts, semi-finished products, and testing devices. Soul Engineers in white uniforms were burying their heads in busy work.
Standing at the elevator entrance, Huo Yuhao's gaze slowly swept across this underground space.
He knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg of Mingde Hall.
The true core research area was hidden even deeper. Although this public testing area in front of him was shocking enough, the Sun Moon Empire's real trump cards would never be easily shown to outsiders.
Teacher Xuan led them through the public hall, weaving between rows of workbenches for a few minutes, and finally stopped in front of an independent laboratory door marked with a number.
Teacher Xuan took out a thin card from his pocket and swiped it on the card reader next to the door. The sound of the latch popping open was crisp and neat.
He pushed open the door and stepped aside to clear the way.
"This is my laboratory, please come in."
Huo Yuhao and Senior Brother He walked into the laboratory, their eyes quickly scanning the surroundings.
The area here was just over seventy square meters. A whole row of shelves against the wall was stacked with various metal blanks and Spirit Tool components. In the center was a wide main workbench, with several devices currently being debugged neatly arranged on its surface.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Benefiting from the accumulation of technology Ten Thousand Years later, the Spirit Transmission Hall indeed surpassed Mingde Hall's current level in terms of the individual power and certain special functions of Spirit Tools.
However, in terms of process specifications, standardized production, and systematic research, an organization like Mingde Hall, with its orderly Legacy and complete System, was clearly superior.
Last night, Jing Hongchen had specially called Teacher Xuan to his office. On the desk lay several Spirit Transmission Hall Spirit Tools obtained through special channels.
Jing Hongchen placed them one by one in front of Teacher Xuan, letting him examine and feel them one by one.
Teacher Xuan didn't think much of it when he picked up the first one, but as he carefully perceived the path of the Spirit Power flowing inside and investigated the stability and conversion efficiency of the energy output, his brow gradually furrowed. The more he looked, the quieter he became, and the deeper his gaze grew.
Jing Hongchen stood aside, and only after he put down the last sample did he speak, "Did you see?"
Teacher Xuan nodded and didn't say much, but Jing Hongchen had already read the answer from the unconcealable light in his eyes.
So Jing Hongchen patted his shoulder and exhorted him earnestly, "Have a good exchange tomorrow, and learn as much as you can."
Teacher Xuan gave a sound of assent, turning those samples over and over to study them until late at night before leaving.
At this moment, standing in his own laboratory, his gaze fell upon Senior Brother He and Huo Yuhao. After a brief silence, he spoke.
"I have seen the creations of the Spirit Transmission Hall. Although they are only low-tier Spirit Tools, their level of innovation has truly opened my eyes."
"I wonder if you two could let me witness it with my own eyes?"
This statement was too direct, without any polite pleasantries—just a straightforward request.
Huo Yuhao and Senior Brother He exchanged a glance. They had already communicated last night and had a complete "plan" on how to "kidnap" this future titan of Spirit Tools.
But they hadn't expected that before they could even exert any effort, Teacher Xuan himself had already pushed the door wide open.
Senior Brother He was the first to withdraw his gaze, smiling as he said, "I'll do it."
He walked up to Teacher Xuan's main workbench. He didn't start immediately, but first quietly scanned the surface of the table.
In the end, his gaze locked onto one spot.
It was a roughly processed metal material in the corner of the workbench, about the size of an egg. It was deep dark gray all over, and its surface had a matte texture that barely reflected any light. This was a piece of Shadow-Sinking Dark Crystal.
Senior Brother He reached out to pick up the Shadow-Sinking Dark Crystal, weighed it in his hand, then turned to Teacher Xuan and asked, "Is it okay to use this material?"
Teacher Xuan nodded, indicating he could do as he pleased.
Senior Brother He said no more. He turned around and turned on the small Forging furnace. The temperature inside the furnace chamber rose rapidly, and the inner walls glowed with a layer of dark red light.
He placed the Shadow-Sinking Dark Crystal into the furnace and waited patiently for it to heat up to a temperature suitable for Forging.
Under the Spirit Transmission Hall's System, quite a few Soul Engineers had already begun learning Forging techniques.
Senior Brother He had already mastered the Hundred Forging technique, but when he subsequently took out the heated Shadow-Sinking Dark Crystal to forge it, he did not use the Hundred Forging method.
The secrets of Forging were not to be exposed to the Sun Moon Empire just yet.
The reason why the Spirit Transmission Hall's Spirit Tools could unleash power far exceeding the norm at the same rank was that the improvement at the Materials level was a crucial part.
Senior Brother He chose the Shadow-Sinking Dark Crystal because the Spirit Tool he was about to make next did not require any material enhancements.
It relied on structure and design, on the ingenuity of the craftsmanship concept.
-------------------------------------------------
A/N:
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.