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Jing Hongchen's mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of soul tools at this moment.
It was as if Su Yu had opened the door to a whole new world for him.
Indeed, formations weren't just the core of soul tools.
Formations themselves were the fundamental structure through which the energy of this world operated!
They summarized the flow of energy and explained its movements.
However, soul engineers had discovered these formations and applied them in the creation of soul tools.
Thanks to Su Yu's "reminder," Jing Hongchen was now bursting with inspiration.
Formations could be integrated into martial souls, enhancing them.
Formations could be embedded within a soul master's body, increasing their power.
Formations could even merge with spiritual energy!
Jing Hongchen's mind suddenly opened to endless possibilities.
This broadening of his perspective gave him a clear direction for upgrading soul tool armor.
The set of soul tool armor worn by Meng Hongchen was still incomplete. Once finished, it would consist of thirteen parts, covering the forehead, shoulders, chest, elbows, abdomen, hips, knees, and hands.
When fully assembled, the armor would provide full-body defense. The interlocking mechanisms between the thirteen components would generate a defensive capability second only to a Level Five Invincible Shield!
When fully activated, there was hope that it could even withstand a full-force strike from a Soul Saint.
Of course, using it would consume an immense amount of soul power.
However, the advantage lay in its durability—it wouldn't break down and could be reused.
This was already the limit of Jing Hongchen's capabilities.
It wasn't that higher-level soul tool armor couldn't be created, but whether it could be used once made was the real issue.
Each of the thirteen parts consumed soul power to function, and the synchronization of the components also required soul power to operate smoothly.
As the individual components' levels increased, so did the soul power consumption, beyond what most soul masters could handle.
Beyond soul power consumption, there was also the issue of control.
This problem wasn't exclusive to soul tool armor—it was a common flaw in all high-level soul tools above level seven.
They often had a sluggishness in operation, a sense of being out of sync.
Unless the tools were custom-made and perfectly tailored to the user, high-level soul tools would exhibit a very noticeable sluggishness when used.
As a result, most high-level soul tools tended to take the form of soul cannons.
Non-soul cannon high-level soul tools often became the masterpieces that defined a soul engineer's legacy.
This trend trickled down, influencing lower-level soul tools, which also began focusing more on soul cannon research. After all, the heritage and future of this path seemed more promising.
But after today, everything might change.
Jing Hongchen knew very well that if his current ideas came to fruition, they would alter the course of soul tool history!
Using formations to achieve a deeper integration between soul tools and soul masters would greatly reduce the dissonance between the two.
Jing Hongchen delved into intense research.
His office was filled with the relentless sound of forging rare metals.
Meanwhile, Su Yu's training returned to normal.
This recent battle had given Su Yu a clearer understanding of his own power.
Refining the Nine-Grade Snow Lotus significantly enhanced Su Yu in all aspects.
"The important thing is that Jing Hongchen and my teacher have both become quite busy."
The techniques Su Yu revealed in this recent battle all had specific purposes.
"Will they be able to seize that inspiration?"
Training had always been monotonous.
But by incorporating the study of new things into his routine, it added a splash of excitement to the otherwise dull process.
That's exactly how Su Yu trained.
While cultivating, he tirelessly studied soul tools.
His battle with the Xiao Hongchen siblings had exposed Su Yu's skill as a level three soul engineer.
This left Xiao Hongchen, who prided himself as a genius, feeling suffocated.
How long had Su Yu been studying soul tools? Five months, at most?
Five months and already a level three soul engineer!
It was simply absurd.
After the battle, Xiao Hongchen threw himself into a frenzy of learning, obsessively crafting soul tools and strengthening his foundation.
Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, remained more composed but equally relentless. She successfully obtained her level four soul engineer certification just one month later.
Both siblings did not neglect their soul power cultivation either. Two months after the battle, they had achieved breakthroughs.
Xiao Hongchen reached level 49, while Meng Hongchen reached level 48!
"Boss, did you break through again?"
Sensing the surge of soul power coming from Su Yu's direction, Qian Bu Duo cried out in dismay.
"How am I supposed to keep living at this rate?"
"Do you even know how I've been struggling over the past six months?"
"Stop raising the bar already!"
"I've finally broken through to level 40." Su Yu smiled.
With just one more soul ring, he'd become a 40th-level Soul Sect at the age of 13!
Six months had passed since Su Yu's duel with the Xiao Hongchen siblings.
Two months ago, Su Yu had celebrated his 13th birthday.
It hadn't even been a year since he acquired his third soul ring.
Su Yu himself hadn't expected to be on the verge of hunting for another soul ring so soon.
The resources at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were just too generous.
No, it would be more accurate to say the cultivation resources in the Sun Moon Empire were incredibly abundant.
In all honesty, aside from the exploration of martial souls and the summarization of martial soul cultivation techniques, the Sun Moon Empire far surpassed the three empires of the Douluo Continent in most other areas—especially in terms of martial soul support and cultivation resources.
Not even Shrek could compare!
It wasn't just the cultivation-supporting medicines. The Sun Moon Empire also had the most advanced soul master monitoring technology.
The latest device developed by Mingde Hall could quantitatively measure a soul master's various attributes and provide specific data!
The device could monitor martial soul strength, the quality and quantity of soul power, physical fitness, and even the strength of spiritual energy!
This made Su Yu's training more intuitive, scientific, and efficient.
Additionally, after accepting him as a disciple, Kong Deming had provided Su Yu with pills to assist in soul power cultivation.
All these factors combined had doubled Su Yu's cultivation speed!
On top of that, the Nine-Grade Snow Lotus had boosted Su Yu's soul power by three levels, and after absorbing his third soul ring, Su Yu had jumped straight to level 33.
With so many advantages stacked up, Su Yu had the opportunity to obtain both his third and fourth soul rings in less than a year.
"As for the fourth soul ring, I'll have to be more selective with the soul beasts here in the Sun Moon Empire."
Su Yu shared the news of his breakthrough to level 40 with Jing Hongchen.
As for why he hadn't informed his teacher, that was a story tied to a recent major battle at the Tang Sect's old site.
To put it simply, Kong Deming had gone to search for the Tang Sect's legacy.
The result, however, was far from ideal.
Kong Deming had mysteriously come under attack by the Body Sect and then ended up in a standoff with Shrek Academy.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
The God of Destruction's voice echoed through the Divine Realm Committee.
"Tang San, you've overstepped!"
But Tang San, possessing both the Sea God and Asura God positions, wore an expression that said he had done nothing wrong.
"My legacy on the Douluo Continent has been stolen—"
"As long as it's not a godly inheritance, interfering with the lower realm's workings is a violation!"
(End of chapter)