Bai Chen spoke with absolute seriousness.
Unfortunately, Ning Jingchen clearly didn't believe him.
He sighed helplessly.
"Child, now isn't the time for jokes."
It wasn't strange that Ning Jingchen didn't believe him. From his perspective, Bai Chen had only awakened his martial soul yesterday. How could someone who had just awakened possibly already be a Level-1 Soul Engineer?
Facing the doubt, Bai Chen's response was simple and direct.
"If the Sect Master doesn't believe me, I can make a soul tool right now for you to see."
"…You're serious?"
Hearing that, Ning Jingchen's expression changed.
Bai Chen remained calm and unwavering.
"You'll never know unless we try."
"Alright."
Ning Jingchen stood up.
"Then let me see where your confidence comes from."
Just as Bai Chen had said—there was no harm in testing it.
Since the boy was so confident, giving him a chance wouldn't cost anything.
Naturally, Ning Jingchen wanted to see what exactly Bai Chen was relying on.
The source of Bai Chen's confidence actually came from his self in the Douluo III era.
That future version of him possessed abundant resources and had access to large amounts of soul tool knowledge.
Before the age of six, he had already spent a long time self-studying soul tool engineering.
After all, things like forging required strong physical strength and sufficient soul power. Before awakening his martial soul, those tasks were impossible for him.
So he had focused on studying things that required only the mind.
In a way, he was preparing a backup plan.
After all, in the Douluo III era, becoming a soul engineer didn't necessarily require soul power.
Both Tang Ziran and Ling Zichen were ordinary people without soul power, yet they still achieved extraordinary accomplishments in the field of soul tools.
If Bai Chen had failed to awaken soul power, he would have relied on that knowledge to make a living.
Fortunately, he not only awakened soul power—his martial souls were all absurdly powerful.
Naturally, he intended to make full use of the knowledge he had learned.
With his current level of skill, forget Level-1 soul tools.
Even Level-3 soul tools were within his ability to craft.
Led by Ning Jingchen and Hua Tianyu, Bai Chen arrived at the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's internal soul tool workshop.
Dozens of soul engineers were working there, crafting various soul tools.
Judging by the badges on their chests or shoulders, most of them were Level-2 Soul Engineers, with the highest only reaching Level-4.
From what Bai Chen knew, the strongest soul engineer in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was only Level-7.
Even so, the sect was already considered one of the organizations with the highest soul tool proficiency among the three original Douluo continent empires.
Ning Jingchen brought Bai Chen to an empty crafting table and said:
"Here. The metals on this table are yours to use."
"Make a Level-1 soul tool and let me see your skill."
As the sect master, Ning Jingchen himself was actually a soul engineer.
After reaching Level 79, his cultivation could no longer advance further. Aside from handling sect affairs, learning soul tool engineering had become one of his few remaining pursuits.
He was currently a Level-5 Soul Engineer.
Not particularly impressive, but more than capable of evaluating Bai Chen's skill.
Bai Chen sat down at the crafting table and picked up an engraving knife.
"…!"
The moment Ning Jingchen saw how Bai Chen held the engraving knife, his eyes narrowed.
At first he had thought Bai Chen was simply bragging like a child.
But that perfectly standard grip immediately shook his assumption.
Someone who had only casually read about soul tools could never display such a proper posture.
Could what the child said actually be true?
Ning Jingchen's mind stirred with waves of shock.
But Bai Chen had already shut out the outside world.
More accurately, everything except the crafting table in front of him had temporarily disappeared from his mind.
On the Douluo Continent, focus was the most important factor in mastering any technique.
The deeper one's concentration, the better the result.
Soul tool crafting was no exception.
To demonstrate his ability as clearly as possible, Bai Chen entered a fully focused state almost instantly.
He picked up a piece of metal and began carving.
The creation of a soul tool had three main steps.
Step 1: Crafting the outer shell.
This step didn't require extreme precision in movement.
Instead, it depended mainly on the strength of the soul engineer.
Coincidentally, among the three versions of Bai Chen across the eras, the Bai Chen of this era possessed the greatest physical strength.
So under Ning Jingchen's astonished gaze, Bai Chen's hands moved without pause.
The hard metals—materials that often troubled many soul engineers—were carved smoothly under his blade.
In just two minutes, the outer shell of the soul tool was finished.
"..."
Ning Jingchen was speechless.
Even if he personally carved it, he would need at least five minutes to produce the same shell.
That required not only strength but also tremendous skill and familiarity.
Bai Chen had never previously had the chance to personally craft soul tools.
At most he could only study basic theory through the sect's shared books.
By all logic, he shouldn't have been this proficient.
Yet the evidence was right before Ning Jingchen's eyes.
So this is what a genius looks like…
While Ning Jingchen was still lost in amazement, Bai Chen had already begun Step 2.
This was the most important stage in crafting a soul tool:
Engraving the core formations.
If the outer shell prevented the soul tool from breaking, the core formation was the engine that allowed it to function.
This stage demanded the greatest level of control and mental precision from the soul engineer.
As Bai Chen entered this stage, his focus became even deeper.
But surprisingly—
his speed didn't slow down at all.
He continued engraving the core formations at an almost unbelievable pace.
Since he was only making a Level-1 soul tool, the number of core formations required was small.
Soon, all three core formations had been engraved.
The final step remained.
Assembly.
This step primarily tested soul power.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao once used the Ghost Carving Divine Blade to complete nearly every step of forging a Level-9 furnace even when he had eight rings.
But the final assembly step still had to be completed by Xuanzhiwen, who possessed nine rings.
The three stages of soul tool crafting corresponded to three different requirements:
Outer shell → strength
Core formations → mental power
Assembly → soul power
Only by meeting all three requirements could someone successfully craft a soul tool of that level.
Although Bai Chen had not yet officially become a one-ring soul master, his immense physical strength meant he had barely consumed any soul power in the earlier stages.
So even in the final stage, he completed the process extremely quickly.
Finally—
he injected his soul power into the finished device.
A faint red glow flickered from the soul tool.
The light confirmed it.
Bai Chen had successfully become a Level-1 Soul Engineer.
And quite possibly—
the youngest Level-1 Soul Engineer in the entire Douluo II era.