The air seemed to freeze at this very moment.
In front of the forging table, Xiao Hongchen's sweat-covered face still held an expression of exertion, but the hammer in his hand had forgotten to fall.
As for Mr. Xuan, his brain experienced a momentary System crash.
What?
What did I just hear?
Finished crafting?
A bit too simple?
He simply could not piece these fragments together and associate them with the youth before him, who had only been in contact with spirit tools for less than an hour.
Thinking back, even Mr. Xuan himself had only managed to barely succeed in creating his first Rank 1 spirit tool after three full months of systematic study and countless failures.
Granted, back then his spirit power Rank was low and his foundation was poor, far from being comparable to the current Liu Yuan.
Liu Yuan was a latecomer to spirit tools, but his spirit power was immense, his physical constitution was freakish, and his foundation was terrifyingly good.
But... this was way too ridiculous!
From theoretical enlightenment to hands-on practice, had it even been half an hour in total?
And he's already finished crafting?
Even with Mr. Xuan's steady Heart-Nature, he felt his worldview taking an unprecedented hit at this moment.
Subconsciously, he took the ordinary-looking Soul Tool Dagger from Liu Yuan's hand and began to inspect it closely.
Xiao Hongchen also leaned in from the side, his eyes wide and his face filled with disbelief.
"No... No way, Brother Liu Yuan? You're already... done?"
Thinking back, even he, whom his grandfather called a once-in-a-century spirit tool Genius, had spent a full month before forging his first spirit tool!
But Brother Liu Yuan forged one in just over half an hour?
And he actually succeeded?
How was he supposed to feel about this!
Mr. Xuan ignored Xiao Hongchen's exclamation; his entire mind was immersed in the dagger in his hand.
It felt slightly heavy in his hand, and the metallic texture was excellent.
His slender fingers gently brushed over the blade, feeling the uniform and dense structure inside the metal.
"This... the purity of this metal refinement is very good! It's perfectly integrated, with almost no Impurities remaining!"
Mr. Xuan was startled.
For a beginner, completing a Hundred-Refining is already an extraordinary achievement, but the quality of Liu Yuan's piece was so high it even rivaled veterans who had been immersed in the Dao for years!
His gaze then fell upon the Core Formation engraved on the dagger.
It was a standard Rank 1 Sharpness Array.
But this most basic array, in Mr. Xuan's eyes, displayed a different kind of beauty.
The lines were smooth, the depth was consistent, there was no hesitation at the turns—it was done in one go!
spirit power flowed smoothly through the circuits of the array without the slightest blockage or dissipation.
Perfect!
It was simply a textbook-level perfect engraving!
Mr. Xuan tried to inject a trace of his own spirit power into it.
"Buzz—"
On the blade of the dagger, a dazzling white light instantly lit up, and a sharp aura rushed toward him, even causing a slight stinging sensation on his face.
spirit power amplification effect... maximum!
Holding the dagger, Mr. Xuan stood dazed in place, speechless for a long time.
He inspected it; he carefully inspected every detail, trying to find even the slightest flaw to prove that this was just a lucky coincidence.
However, there were none.
This Rank 1 Soul Tool Dagger, from forging to engraving, every step was flawlessly perfect!
"Gulp."
Beside him, Xiao Hongchen swallowed hard, looked at Mr. Xuan, and asked cautiously, "Tea... Teacher, how is it? Did it... fail?"
Mr. Xuan slowly raised his head, looking at Liu Yuan with eyes as if he were looking at a monster. His lips moved, and he dryly spat out a few words:
"No... it... is perfect."
"Whoosh—!"
These words were like a heavy bomb, exploding violently throughout the Soul Tool Laboratory!
All the students who were originally whispering and waiting to see a joke instantly fell silent, followed by a heaven-shaking uproar!
"What?! Perfect?!"
"Did I hear that right? Teacher Xuan said he made a perfect spirit tool?"
"Half an hour! Zero foundation! Success on the first try! Is... is he even human?"
The students went completely crazy!
If the talent Liu Yuan showed in Spirit Cultivation before made them feel awe and a sense of distance,
then at this moment, the inhuman Comprehension Ability he displayed in spirit tool production made them feel utter terror and submission!
This wasn't just "God closing a window"; this was clearly tearing down both the door and the window, and while he was at it, blowing the roof off!
In the crowd, Ju Zi and Ke Ke's mouths hung wide open, feeling like their brains had completely stopped thinking.
Not far away, Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes were filled with even more brilliant light.
She had long known that Brother Liu Yuan was very strong and very freakish, but she never imagined that Liu Yuan could also display such shocking talent in the field of spirit tools!
At this moment, the slight sense of balance and relief in everyone's hearts had long since vanished without a trace.
In its place was a... respect that came from the depths of their Souls!
The purest respect for a true, all-around Genius with no blind spots!
And as the perpetrator of all this, after the initial shock, what surged in Mr. Xuan's chest was unprecedented wild joy and excitement!
Genius!
This is a true Genius!
A peerless Genius who possesses unparalleled talent in both Spirit Cultivation and spirit tool production!
Dean! You were right!
This kid... no, this student Liu Yuan, he really might become the ultimate trump card for our Sun Moon Royal Academy to defeat Shrek!
"Hahaha! Good! Great!"
Mr. Xuan suddenly burst into loud laughter. He grabbed Liu Yuan's shoulders, his eyes gleaming, and that long-suppressed teaching passion erupted like a volcano!
"Liu Yuan! It seems I underestimated you before! You're not some specialized student at all; you're clearly an all-rounder!"
"Come, come, come! Rank 1 spirit tools are too simple for you! We'll skip them directly. I'll teach you Rank 2 spirit tool knowledge right now!"
As he spoke, he ignored the other students and directly pulled the bewildered Liu Yuan back to the forging table, beginning to incessantly explain the knowledge of "Compound Circuits" and "Energy Guiding Arrays" required for Rank 2 spirit tools.
That fanatical energy was a hundred times more devoted than during his previous general lecture!
Looking at the energized Mr. Xuan, Liu Yuan was also somewhat helpless.
However, he wasn't opposed to it.
Although the System task only required him to become a Rank 1 Soul Engineer, that didn't mean he should just stop there.
What if the System released a task to become a high-level Soul Engineer later?
Moreover, through the practice just now, he found that he really seemed to learn this stuff quite fast. Since it was so engaging to learn, there was no harm in learning a bit more.
Thus, for the rest of the afternoon, a very bizarre scene appeared in the entire Soul Tool Laboratory.
All the other students were conducting their own practical lessons, while Teacher Xuan alone revolved around Liu Yuan the entire time, from Rank 2 spirit tool theory to Rank 2 spirit tool material ratios, wishing he could cram all this precious knowledge into Liu Yuan's head at once.
And Liu Yuan also displayed a sponge-like absorption capacity. No matter what Mr. Xuan taught, he could understand it quickly and apply it to other cases.
This harmonious atmosphere of mutual learning continued until the bell rang for the end of class.
...
"Brother Liu Yuan, you really are a freak!"
In the academy's cafeteria, Xiao Hongchen gave Liu Yuan a thumbs-up while stuffing his face with food, his face written with a giant word: "Respect."
Meng Hongchen also let out a soft laugh: "Brother Liu Yuan, you really gave Teacher Xuan and all the students a big scare today."
Liu Yuan just smiled and didn't say much.
The meal ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
After bidding farewell to the Hongchen siblings, Liu Yuan returned to his dormitory alone.
He closed the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, calmed his emotions, and then sank his consciousness into his mind.
"System, submit task."
Accompanied by a thought, that familiar cold mechanical voice arrived as scheduled.
[Ding! Detected that the Host has successfully crafted a perfect-quality Rank 1 spirit tool and obtained the recognition of the guiding teacher Mr. Xuan, meeting the Rank 1 Soul Engineer standard.]
[Time-limited Task: Path of the spirit tool, completed!]
[Settling task rewards...]
It's coming!
Liu Yuan's heart beat faster against his will, his eyes filled with anticipation.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the rewards!]
[You will receive a random pokémon Ability ×1!]
It's here! What Ability will it be?!
Liu Yuan held his breath.
[The random Ability you obtained is—]
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