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Chapter 59: Xuan Ziwen
If Bai Chen had to rank the research talent of soul engineers in Douluo II, the top three would undoubtedly be:
Kong Deming
Huo Yuhao
Xuan Ziwen
Kong Deming, the first Level 10 Soul Engineer in the history of the Sun Moon Empire, not only developed mass-produced humanoid soul tools, but also created his personal soul tool, the Silver Moon Divine Light Barrier.
As a Level 95 Super Douluo, he could even contend with Limit Douluos.
The title "Father of Soul Tools" was truly well deserved.
Huo Yuhao, the protagonist of Douluo II, rose from a Level 2 Soul Engineer to Level 6 in just over a year.
Even more astonishing—when he became a Level 6 Soul Engineer, he still had only three soul rings.
After ascending to the God Realm, he even developed the Transcendent God Tower, a soul tool capable of influencing God Kings.
As for Xuan Ziwen, Bai Chen placing him alongside those two giants naturally had a reason.
Although Xuan Ziwen's soul master talent was far inferior to theirs, he was an undeniable research genius.
Throughout the entire story of Douluo II, the soul tools he invented included:
Soul Ring Storage Device
Sealed Milk Bottle
Ice Extreme Battle Armor
Every one of these inventions was epoch-making.
Even after joining the Tang Sect, he managed within a few short years to develop linked soul tools and even specialized artillery capable of countering linked soul tools, dramatically narrowing the technological gap with the Sun Moon Empire.
At just over thirty years old, he had already become the Chief Researcher of Mingde Hall, the greatest soul tool workshop in the Sun Moon Empire.
If his cultivation talent hadn't been so poor, he might very well have become another Level 10 Soul Engineer.
At the moment, there were still about eight years before Huo Yuhao would meet him in the original story.
Naturally, Xuan Ziwen's research achievements had not yet reached their peak.
But teaching Bai Chen?
That would be more than sufficient.
Since he had already decided, Bai Chen acted immediately.
After school that afternoon, he went straight to the senior student district.
Using his cute appearance to his advantage, he successfully gathered plenty of information about Xuan Ziwen from several upper-year female students.
Xuan Ziwen, 25 years old.
A research-type Level 7 Soul Engineer.
Two years ago, he entered Mingde Hall thanks to his exceptional results.
In the past two years, his status within Mingde Hall had risen rapidly, attracting considerable attention.
Naturally, a man like him had a few admirers.
But whenever girls tried to approach him, he rejected them all with the same excuse:
He was completely devoted to soul tool research.
Over time, people even joked that soul tools were his true girlfriend.
Convincing someone so obsessed with research to become his teacher would be Bai Chen's next major challenge.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao attracted Xuan Ziwen's attention with his self-created Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon.
Bai Chen intended to do something similar.
"Since that's the case…"
Bai Chen smiled.
The plan had already formed in his mind.
Half a month quickly passed.
At dusk, Xuan Ziwen walked out of the academy cafeteria and headed toward his dormitory.
But halfway there, his path was blocked by a small, adorable child.
"Senior, could you help me take a look at this soul tool?"
"…Sigh."
Xuan Ziwen sighed in annoyance.
He was about to refuse—
Until a hand holding an open wallet appeared in front of him.
Even at a glance, the wallet contained over a hundred gold soul coins.
Bai Chen smiled brightly.
"Senior, if you just check this soul tool for me, these three hundred gold soul coins will be yours."
"…Let me see it."
Xuan Ziwen immediately changed his mind.
Contrary to popular belief, soul engineers were not necessarily wealthy.
For research-focused engineers like him, experimental costs were extremely high.
Spending two minutes checking a soul tool for three hundred gold coins was definitely a profitable deal.
"Great, here."
Bai Chen handed him a small soul tool.
"Hm… a Level 2 Soul Tool Ray. Its power should be…"
Xuan Ziwen casually examined it.
At first, his expression remained indifferent.
But soon—
His face changed.
"Wait… this power output… that's impossible."
"With this shell material, it shouldn't be able to withstand that level of energy…"
"Strange…"
His eyes grew serious as he muttered to himself, seemingly forgetting Bai Chen entirely.
Bai Chen watched with a faint smile, patiently waiting for the conclusion.
Xuan Ziwen's confusion was perfectly normal.
Because the Soul Tool Ray was made entirely from Thousand-Refined metal.
Since the metal's strength far exceeded that of ordinary materials used for Level 2 soul tools, Bai Chen had used a bold design.
He stacked the output power far beyond the normal tolerance limits.
If the material hadn't been Thousand-Refined metal, the soul tool would have been a complete failure—it would break after a single use.
Five minutes later, Xuan Ziwen finally raised his head again.
He took a deep breath and asked with difficulty,
"If I'm not mistaken… you used some special method to increase the strength of the material, correct?"
"Impressive."
Bai Chen praised sincerely.
In this era—where forging techniques had not yet risen to prominence—reaching that conclusion so quickly already proved Xuan Ziwen's incredible ability.
Xuan Ziwen immediately asked eagerly,
"Can you teach me this special method? If you can—"
"Click."
Bai Chen raised a hand in a stop gesture, interrupting him.
He lowered his voice slightly.
"Senior… let's talk somewhere more private."
There were too many people passing by here.
If someone overheard them, it would be troublesome.
"…You're right. My apologies."
Xuan Ziwen realized his loss of composure and quickly suggested,
"Let's go to my research lab. No one will disturb us there."
"Alright."
Seeing the barely contained excitement on his face, Bai Chen relaxed slightly.
This was going exactly as planned.
Under Xuan Ziwen's lead, Bai Chen followed him to the laboratory.
Along the way, Xuan Ziwen seemed restless.
The moment the laboratory door closed, he immediately turned to Bai Chen and asked excitedly,
"Kid, can you tell me how you achieved that special method?!"
As a genius soul engineer, he understood the importance of materials science perfectly.
Two factors determined the strength of a soul tool:
The skill of the soul engineer
The quality of the materials
If the material strength was too low, even the greatest soul engineer couldn't produce a powerful soul tool.
Conversely, if the material strength was high enough, the resulting soul tools would almost certainly be powerful.
If he could master this technique…
His research path would become vastly broader.
Facing the excited Xuan Ziwen, Bai Chen did not immediately give the answer he wanted.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly.
"Senior… can you promise never to tell anyone else about this?"