Qian Duoduo looked at the two little ones turning back to stare at him. He chuckled inwardly and deliberately asked, "What, you two little rascals also think that soul tools shouldn't be banned in the assessment?"
"Of course!" Ning Tian naturally responded.
"I'm purely a support-type Soul Master. If we were allowed to use soul tools, we definitely wouldn't have been in such a passive situation just now."
Although she didn't know who Qian Duoduo was, as the young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had an exceptional political sense.
During the match, this burly middle-aged man had stood side by side with Martial Soul Department Dean Yan Shaozhe, while the Director of Education, Du Weilun, stood behind them. The two conversed in a relaxed and casual manner, which indicated that this man's status was definitely not low—at the very least, he was on the same level as Yan Shaozhe.Judging from his attitude towards soul tools, he was undoubtedly a teacher from the Soul Tool Department. Most likely, he was either the head or the deputy head of the department.
Since he took the initiative to strike up a conversation, she certainly couldn't afford to be negligent.Building a good relationship with a major figure from Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department would be highly beneficial for the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.After all, aside from the emerging soul engineers from the new city, Qian Duoduo was the only genuine Rank 9 Soul Engineer in the three original nations of the Douluo Continent.On the other side, Huo Yuqing was also nodding furiously.
However, unlike Ning Tian, she wasn't thinking that deeply—she simply agreed with what Qian Duoduo was saying."If we could use soul tools, there were several moments in that match where we could have knocked the opponent off the stage," Huo Yuqing said with slight frustration.
"Oh?" Qian Duoduo's interest was piqued. "Tell me more."
"For example, during the transition between the opponent's first and second defensive skills, their support-type teammate was completely exposed within the range of a Grade 1 soul tool," Huo Yuqing explained.
"And during the last third of the match, we could have attacked the strong assault-type fighter's protective barrier with a soul tool. At that moment, she had just used her second soul skill and wouldn't have had time to counter. If we had drained her soul power in advance, we could have taken her down in one go…"
"You've got some solid combat instincts, kid," Qian Duoduo said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. After reviewing the match in his mind, he realized that Huo Yuqing was absolutely right. If they had capitalized on those opportunities, they could have ended the battle much sooner. "But think about this—if your side could use soul tools, so could your opponents. What would you do then?"
"Then it would come down to who has the better soul tools, better aim, and more flexible tactics," Huo Yuqing shrugged.
"Alright, then, tell me—what kind of low-level soul tools would have been useful in that situation?" Qian Duoduo was now in full-on mentor mode, testing her knowledge. Huo Yuqing answered fluently and in detail.
Wang Rui, standing nearby, smiled as he watched Huo Yuqing engage in conversation with Qian Duoduo. A strange sense of pride welled up in him. See? The kid I raised is already better than canon's Huo Hang at this stage, isn't she?
He didn't stop Huo Yuqing from interacting with Qian Duoduo, nor was he the least bit worried about her being poached.Qian Duoduo was an open-minded man—his head wasn't completely stuffed with thoughts of Shrek's so-called "glory." If Huo Yuqing could establish a connection with him and become a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, that would actually make up for missing out on the Fan Yu storyline.
Gaining early access to a proper soul tool workshop for practice wouldn't be bad at all.From the looks of it, the Martial Soul Department clearly didn't value Huo Yuqing much and probably wouldn't grant her core disciple status. Even though she contributed significantly to the championship victory, if things played out the same way as in the original story—where she wasn't recognized as a core disciple—she would definitely be heartbroken.
Sure, Huo Yuqing would end up resenting Shrek Academy even more because of it, but Wang Rui felt that wasn't necessary. The kid had suffered enough already.She deserved to be happy.
"Have you ever learned how to craft soul tools at home?" Qian Duoduo asked.Huo Yuqing's familiarity with low-level soul tools suggested she had a solid foundation, which pleased him.
Sigh, I gave old Yan too much respect back then and only picked one little sapling with a single soul ring out of all the talented seedlings. Yan Shaozhe better show some appreciation for this favor.
"Yes, I have," Huo Yuqing nodded." Did you bring any of your works? Show me," Qian Duoduo said. At not even twelve years old, just starting to learn how to make soul tools was already quite impressive. If this kid had managed to create a complete outer shell, he might even consider giving him a core disciple spot right away.
Huo Yuqing thought for a moment and then pulled out a Grade 1 core formation. The crude sleeve cannon casing had been salvaged from other discarded soul tools, so it couldn't truly be considered her own work. But she had engraved all these core formations by hand, one stroke at a time.
In fact, she had already started experimenting with engraving Grade 2 core formations, though her progress had been slow, and she had yet to successfully complete one. So she didn't bring those out.
Qian Duoduo: ?
Qian Duoduo rubbed his eyes, feeling as if he had gotten up too quickly and was hallucinating. He took a closer look—sure enough, that handful of core formations was all there. Qian Duoduo: ?? He had definitely gotten up too fast. Way too fast.
"You… you engraved all these yourself?" He stared at the core formations, then at Huo Yuqing, before sucking in a sharp breath. He picked up the metal plates and examined them one by one. Each contained a different type of formation, varying in complexity. He flipped through them multiple times and couldn't find a single flaw." Yeah," Huo Yuqing nodded.
Qian Duoduo nearly swore out loud. Being able to engrave a Grade 1 core formation meant that she was already a certified Grade 1 Soul Engineer.
He wasn't sure about the standards in the Sun-Moon Empire, but he could guarantee that in the three nations of the Douluo Continent, you could count the number of Soul Engineers at this age on one hand."…Do you have an official Soul Engineer certification badge?" he asked."A what?" Huo Yuqing blinked in confusion.
"He's not too familiar with those things," Wang Rui interjected with a smug grin.
"Yuhao has only been learning about soul tools for less than half a year, so he's still unaware of many rules. He hasn't gone for any official certification yet. Please don't mind it too much, sir… By the way, Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department can handle Soul Engineer certifications, right? So, could we…?"
Qian Duoduo: …
Qian Duoduo felt like he was about to have a heart attack. How long? How long has this kid been learning? A certified Grade 1 Soul Engineer in just half a year… That speed definitely broke every known record!And judging from the quality of her core formations, he had already mastered all Grade 1 formations— he wasn't some barely-qualified rookie. he needed to be snatched up by the Soul Tool Department immediately! Qian Duoduo's gaze toward Huo Yuqing changed in an instant, as if he were looking at a giant pile of gold soul coins. "
Kid, how about this—your final match is this afternoon, so I won't take up your time. But tomorrow, come find me in the Soul Tool Department, and I'll arrange your Soul Engineer certification. Sound good?"
Huo Yuqing nodded. She didn't particularly care about the badge, but getting certified wouldn't hurt, so she agreed without hesitation.Seeing her nod, Qian Duoduo's last shred of doubt vanished. He wasn't worried about her lying—after all, she was still a student. There was no reason to fabricate something like this.
"Alright, then it's settled. We'll certify you as a Soul Engineer tomorrow," Qian Duoduo patted her shoulder before practically sprinting away.
He needed to go home and tell his wife—this jackpot had to be secured for their department immediately!
Qian Duoduo: Damn. A Grade 1 Soul Engineer, not even twelve years old, and only learned for half a year?
I got up way too fast today…Even though she's not in Zhou Yi's class, Huo Yuqing still needs to go to the Soul Tool Department.The Martial Soul Department is blind.
(End of Chapter)