Chapter 75: Level 8 spirit tool, thousand-faced demonic visage
"Student Lin Xuan, long time no see."
The metal door of Laboratory No. 2 slid open. Fan Yu looked at the figure standing quietly in the room, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"Teacher Fan Yu."
Lin Xuan nodded in response, his gaze naturally turning to the unfamiliar figure behind Fan Yu.
"Dean Qian?!"
Seeing the newcomer, Coarse Vegetable Head couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. He hurriedly bowed in greeting, his tone respectful, "Greetings, Dean!"
Qian Duoduo? The Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department came in person?
Lin Xuan's heart stirred slightly, and he also bowed slightly in greeting, "Dean Qian."
"No need for formalities, everyone relax."
Qian Duoduo smiled and waved his hand, his gaze scanning Lin Xuan and Coarse Vegetable Head. His tone was kind, "You two are both talented juniors that our Soul Tool Department has high hopes for. When we old guys step down in the future, the future of the Soul Tool Department will depend on young people like you to support it."
He paused and looked at Fan Yu, "I just stopped by to take a look. The specific matters will be discussed with you by Teacher Fan Yu. You guys talk, don't mind me."
As he spoke, he casually sat down on a lounge chair on one side of the laboratory, adopting a listening posture.
"Yes, Dean," Fan Yu replied, then turned to Lin Xuan and Coarse Vegetable Head, gesturing with his hand, "Sit down, just like usual, don't be constrained."
After the two sat down, Fan Yu didn't spend much time on pleasantries. Looking at Lin Xuan, he went straight to the point, "Lin Xuan, the main reason for calling you here today is about your performance in the previous academic year and the direction of your subsequent training. After a comprehensive evaluation and discussion by the department, we unanimously believe that you have shown extremely high talent and potential in the field of spirit tools, especially in the application and modification ideas of offensive spirit tools, and are worthy of focused, targeted training."
As expected, they still want to bind me completely—Lin Xuan's heart sank, thinking about how to tactfully express his desire to pause his spirit tool studies and focus on Martial Soul cultivation.
If the other party insisted, he even thought about using Yan Shaozhe as a shield.
Surely that Dean of the Martial Soul Department would be more than happy to help him block the people from the Soul Tool Department.
However, before he could speak, Fan Yu's tone suddenly shifted, "But, we are also soberly aware that with Shrek's current Soul Tool Department teaching system and resources, we may not be able to provide you with the top-tier spirit tool education."
"More importantly, we don't want your stunning Martial Soul cultivation talent to be delayed because of spirit tool studies."
Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.
Fan Yu continued, "Therefore, after discussion, we decided to adjust your next learning mode. You no longer need to learn the basic theory and manufacturing processes of spirit tools, which are time-consuming. You can save this part of your time completely and focus on your Martial Soul cultivation. You only need to be proficient in using spirit tools."
He pointed to Coarse Vegetable Head next to him, "And the design, production, maintenance, and even customized modification of spirit tools according to your needs will be handled by Coarse Vegetable Head."
"From today on, the two of you are officially partners. He is responsible for building, and you are responsible for using. You will complement each other and progress together."
Seeing the subtle changes in Lin Xuan's expression, Fan Yu and Qian Duoduo, who seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, both breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
In their view, the core reason why Lin Xuan had distanced himself from the Soul Tool Department before was that he felt learning those complicated pieces of knowledge was a waste of time.
Since that was the case, they would simply cut out the most time-consuming part, keep only the usage phase, and have a dedicated person provide technical support.
This condition was indeed good, but it wasn't enough for Lin Xuan.
At this moment, Qian Duoduo, who had been listening quietly, suddenly coughed lightly. He looked at Lin Xuan with a gentle gaze and said in a calm voice, "Student Lin Xuan, I heard Teacher Fan Yu mention that you seem to have a special fondness for offensive spirit tools?"
"Yes, Dean Qian," Lin Xuan admitted frankly. After all, to tame Mahoraga, only high-power offensive spirit tools would be useful.
"Your idea is shared by many students who have just entered the Soul Tool Department."
Qian Duoduo was not surprised. Instead, he showed an understanding smile, "But what I want to tell you is that the World of spirit tools is much broader than two armies facing off and shelling each other. It has countless forms, can handle countless scenarios, and can make up for various shortcomings of a Soul Master."
He spoke persuasively, "Concealment, infiltration, disguise, high-speed mobility, environmental adaptation, behind-the-lines sabotage, intelligence gathering, emergency medical treatment—in these areas, spirit tools can provide incredible help."
"When a Soul Master's own strength reaches a certain height, supplemented by a tailor-made, fully functional spirit tool equipment system, then—"
"To influence the direction of a battle or even subvert a local battlefield situation by one's own strength alone is by no means a pipe dream."
Hearing Qian Duoduo's description, Lin Xuan's eyes became a bit strange.
This concept—why does it sound more and more like the ultimate soldier plan?
Just then, Fan Yu took over the conversation, his tone solemn, "What Dean Qian said is exactly one of the important future research directions of our Soul Tool Department. Specializing in offense is certainly a powerful path, but it may not be the most suitable path for a genius like you who has infinite possibilities."
He looked at Lin Xuan, "Therefore, after careful consideration, the department has decided to make a special adjustment to your training curriculum."
Lin Xuan became interested, "Please go ahead, Teacher Fan Yu."
"We plan to issue you a set of full-function spirit tool equipment including reconnaissance, concealment, defense, mobility, support, and offense."
Fan Yu continued, "Then, you will choose a suitable Soul Beast forest to conduct a ten-day field test. Upon your return, you will need to submit detailed usage data and combat feedback. Based on this firsthand information, the department will tailor a unique spirit tool usage and subsequent training plan that best suits your fighting style and development direction."
Ten days of time away!
Lin Xuan was delighted. This was like someone bringing a pillow just as he was about to doze off!
Seeing the slight light in Lin Xuan's eyes, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu exchanged a look, both seeing joy in each other's eyes.
However, this was not enough. To completely win over Lin Xuan, they had to use a potent dose of medicine.
Qian Duoduo cleared his throat and said, "Student Lin Xuan, there's one more thing, regarding the accident you encountered while performing a mission in the Sunset Forest at the end of the last school year."
"The academy's post-event evaluation concluded that there were loopholes in the protection measures at that time, which almost led to a major mistake."
Qian Duoduo's tone was full of apology, "For a treasure of the academy like you, any small mishap is an unbearable loss for us. Therefore, for your absolute safety in the future, especially the safety guarantee during this kind of field test."
"The department's high-level management decided, after discussion, to make an exception and lend you a high-level spirit tool from the academy's collection for a long period as a temporary protection measure."
As he spoke, Qian Duoduo flipped his wrist, and an object appeared out of thin air in his palm.
It was a mask that was pure white and flawless, as if carved from the finest jade.
The mask's design was simple to the extreme. No patterns or designs were carved on its smooth surface, and there were not even holes for eyes or breathing; it was a single, seamless piece.
At the first sight of this mask, Lin Xuan's gaze instantly froze!
Qian Duoduo didn't keep him in suspense. Holding the white mask, he slowly introduced, "This item is called the thousand-faced demonic visage. It is a level 8 mental-attribute spirit tool. It was a trophy captured from the Mingde Hall by the academy during a conflict with the Sun Moon Empire many years ago."
"Its core is made from a damaged 80,000-year-old mental-attribute head Soul Bone as the main material, combined with the top-tier spirit tool refining technology of the Mingde Hall."
"Its ability is very simple to describe. It has only one: ever-changing, hiding without a trace."
"After wearing it, you can change your appearance and body shape as you wish. As long as you can imagine it, it can almost simulate it."
"At the same time, it can perfectly hide your own aura and Soul Power fluctuations, and form a powerful mental barrier, enough to block all mental detection below the Titled Douluo level."
Qian Duoduo paused and continued, "Even for an ordinary Titled Douluo, their mental force can at most perceive the existence of the thousand-faced demonic visage spirit tool itself, but cannot penetrate its barrier to peer at your true face and aura under the disguise."
The laboratory was silent.
Coarse Vegetable Head held his breath as he looked at the white mask, his eyes filled with shock.
A level 8 spirit tool! The academy's generosity this time was too great!
Lin Xuan's gaze was firmly locked on the thousand-faced demonic visage. He was calm on the surface, but waves were already surging in his heart.
Look! What is called sincerity? This is it!
Although Qian Duoduo said it was a long-term loan, everyone knew in their hearts that there was basically no difference between this and giving it away for free.
After all, there was no telling exactly how long "long-term" would be.
Qian Duoduo looked at the shifting expression in Lin Xuan's eyes and knew that the other party was already tempted.
He gently pushed the white mask toward Lin Xuan and said in a gentle voice, "Now, Student Lin Xuan—what do you think of this training plan and this guarantee from the department?"
Lin Xuan quickly calmed his emotions. As for the idea of leaving the Soul Tool Department, it had long since vanished without a trace.
Leave? What a joke! I, Lin Xuan, am a person of the Soul Tool Department in life—uh, that's a bit too much, but at least for now, the Soul Tool Department is his strongest backing!
Lin Xuan reached out with both hands and solemnly took the thousand-faced demonic visage, "Thank you, Dean Qian, Teacher Fan Yu. I will keep the Soul Tool Department's cultivation and kindness in my heart. I will certainly do my best and live up to this trust and expectation."
Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu looked at each other, both seeing a satisfied smile in each other's eyes.
"Good! Good!" Qian Duoduo chuckled and clapped his hands. "Then, Teacher Fan Yu will give you the specific equipment list and test requirements later. As for the test time, you decide."
"As for the time... let's make it three days from now."
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