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The battle in Sun-Moon forced Xuan Ziwen to end his seclusion.
Huo Yuhao confirmed this through the oranges and, after obtaining Xuan Ziwen's consent, immediately informed Su Yu.
Su Yu didn't delay. After arranging a meeting with Xuan Ziwen, he visited his research lab the following day.
"Su Yu?"
Xuan Ziwen had always admired Kong Deming, and by extension, he had a good impression of Su Yu, Kong Deming's direct disciple. He made time in his schedule to meet with Su Yu.
"Senior Brother Xuan."
Su Yu's address made Xuan Ziwen happy, calling him a "senior brother" in such a friendly manner.
"I heard from Yuhao that you need my help?"
Xuan Ziwen, who was deeply engrossed in soul tools, got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
"That's right," Su Yu replied, appreciating this straightforward approach. "I've developed a rune technique and would like to learn from your sealing bottle technology."
Su Yu briefly explained his needs.
Xuan Ziwen listened to Su Yu's description of the rune technique, his eyes widening in surprise.
This rune technique sounded extraordinary, as it was a method of cultivating spiritual power.
"Senior Brother, if you teach me your sealing bottle technique, I can exchange it with you for this rune technique."
Xuan Ziwen waved his hand.
"You're being too formal."
His research into the sealing bottle technology was never driven by any profit motives.
The prince had repeatedly requested the technology, but Xuan Ziwen had refused because the prince's intentions were too obvious.
He wanted to equip the military with the sealing bottle technology, which Xuan Ziwen strongly opposed.
Still, despite his reservations, he planned to hand over the sealing bottle technology soon enough.
As he had always said, his research into the sealing bottle also served his own goals.
The most important of these goals, in his view, was to promote the development of civilian soul tools.
The Sun Moon Empire had already begun to popularize the use of soul tools, initiating the process of their civilian use.
They had minimized the soul power consumption of soul tools, particularly with the soul-powered light bulbs, which used a simplified battery-style sealing bottle. A single charge could power the bulb for at least three days.
A single soul master could charge hundreds of these battery-style sealing bottles in a day.
Even soul masters below rank 10 were capable of charging these bottles.
However, despite this progress, the widespread use of civilian soul tools was still hindered.
The problem was the sealing technology. The sealing methods for the bottles were not perfected, leading to significant soul power leakage.
Even when not in use, the best-made bottles would lose their energy within a week after charging.
This created a compulsive nature, where consumers felt forced to use the items immediately after purchase to avoid wasting their investment.
The popularization of simplified soul tools, such as the soul-powered light bulbs, was still just an experiment.
And it had stagnated at that.
Sealing technology was the key factor preventing the continuation of this experiment.
If the sealing technology could be perfected, and the energy in the bottles could be preserved for a month or even several months, the spread of household soul tools would be far more rapid.
The experiment would continue.
Various types of soul tools with different functions would soon appear in non-soul master households.
This technology was already set to be handed over, and since Su Yu was Kong Deming's direct disciple, Xuan Ziwen had no intention of keeping it a secret when he came to ask for help.
However, in the end, Su Yu still handed over the rune technique to Xuan Ziwen.
The main reason was that Su Yu had another request.
But that wasn't necessary to bring up right now. First, Xuan Ziwen needed to practice the rune technique and gain a deeper understanding of it before Su Yu could feel comfortable making his next request.
"This rune technique is truly a magnificent concept."
The potential for the widespread use of this rune technique was vast.
Any soul master who had opened their Spiritual Sea would have the potential to sketch runes for cultivation.
Of course, opening the Spiritual Sea itself was a major challenge, otherwise, the impact of this rune technique would have been even greater.
Su Yu didn't hesitate at all in passing the rune technique to Xuan Ziwen.
When he said he wouldn't spread it around, he meant not to make it widely known or publicly distributed—not that only a select few could know, and others must remain in the dark.
Xuan Ziwen was an important assistant Su Yu had planned for the development of battle armor technology, so giving him the rune technique early was also part of laying the groundwork for the future.
As for whether the rune technique would eventually make its way to the Tang Sect…
Su Yu wasn't concerned in the slightest.
Xuan Ziwen was simply obsessed with soul tools and dedicated to their research; he wasn't inherently rebellious. As long as Su Yu provided him with enough research projects and inspiration, he wouldn't leave.
A worker like Xuan Ziwen was hard to find, even with a lantern.
Su Yu took a tour of Xuan Ziwen's lab.
It had to be said that Xuan Ziwen's research scope was vast.
Aside from soul-guided cannons, Xuan Ziwen was conducting innovative research in almost every aspect of soul tools.
"Senior Brother, is this a soul-guided armor?"
Su Yu was holding a heart-shaped shield-like soul tool and asked.
"Indeed, this heart shield and the two wrist guards were made by me."
The term "senior brother" still worked wonders. Xuan Ziwen explained everything to Su Yu in great detail.
Since they were now calling each other senior brothers, there was no harm in explaining more.
"I'm trying to create an eighth-level soul tool through the interconnection of the armor's parts," Xuan Ziwen continued.
"Unfortunately, three parts is the limit of what I can currently achieve."
Su Yu twitched his mouth.
An eighth-level soul tool, brother?
Before Xuan Ziwen had been inspired by me, the soul-guided armor he produced only reached the level of a sixth-level soul tool!
And here you are trying to make an entire set of eighth-level armor.
Xuan Ziwen was only an eighth-level soul master, while Hongchen was a ninth-level soul master—the most powerful among them, on par with the rank of a Titled Douluo at the 98th level.
Yet Xuan Ziwen had created three components of a soul-guided armor, which already spoke volumes about his research ability.
"Senior Brother, there seems to be progress on the soul-guided armor technology with the Hall Master. If you're interested, I think it would be worthwhile to consult with him."
Xuan Ziwen nodded, agreeing to seek advice from the Hall Master when he had the time.
Su Yu continued to explore the lab.
"Hmm!"
Su Yu pointed to a staff-shaped soul tool and asked Xuan Ziwen, "Senior Brother, what kind of soul tool is this?"
It didn't look like a laser-type offensive soul tool, and the material didn't seem suited for defense either.
"This is a supportive-type soul tool I developed—called the Star Staff," Xuan Ziwen sighed.
"Unfortunately, this Star Staff is a seventh-level soul tool, but its effects are only on the level of a fourth-level support-type soul master."
No matter how much he tinkered with it, the auxiliary effects of this eternal soul skill always fell short, causing the seventh-level soul tool to end up being underwhelming.
Su Yu's eyes, however, gleamed as he listened.
Although Xuan Ziwen didn't place much importance on the soul tool, Su Yu was very satisfied with the Star Staff.
It was a soul tool capable of influencing the power of the stars.
He could easily incorporate its core structure into his rune techniques, making it useful in both combat and cultivation in the future.
"Senior Brother, could I get a copy of the design blueprint for this Star Staff?"
(End of Chapter)