Volume 23, Chapter 202.3: Human-shaped Soul Tool
Huo Yuhao’s control was a little rough at the start. But the movements of this metallic man became increasingly smooth as he familiarized himself with the controls.
Although this metallic man’s movements were still a little delayed, and deviated slightly from how a real human moved, it was pertinent to note that it was being controlled by Huo Yuhao using joysticks and buttons! His ability to maintain balance had already shocked Xuan Ziwen.
Time passed second after second. The metallic man only stopped ten minutes later. Finally, it adopted a half-squat position before straightening.
Following this, Huo Yuhao inserted his arms and legs into the empty sides of the metallic man’s interior. The control panel that was initially in front of him was retracted to the side of his waist. The soul tool started to move again.
Through his two spiritual perspectives, Xuan Ziwen could see that the metallic man was now being controlled by Huo Yuhao’s soul power and limbs. It boasted a far greater flexibility now.
When Huo Yuhao controlled it and used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Xuan Ziwen felt like he was being strangled. He was becoming extremely emotional.
He saw the results from the outside, and watched how he did it from the inside. The human-form soul tool didn’t use any offensive soul tools throughout the entire process, but it greatly moved Xuan Ziwen.
The projection started to turn blurry. Everything seemed to return to normal, and the spiritual power that had surged into Xuan Ziwen’s spiritual sea slowly faded away.
“Impossible!” When Xuan Ziwen recovered from the projection Huo Yuhao had showed him, he shouted without a care. He already stood up at this point, and there was strong undulations of soul power surging from his body. The rare metals that were strewn on the ground started to scatter in the air, and even Huo Yuhao staggered a few steps back before he managed to stabilize himself.
Xuan Ziwen was perspiring, and his eyes were red. He was like a competitive bull, one that was staring at Huo Yuhao, and he said word by word, “This. Is. Impossible! Tell me that it’s not real!”
Huo Yuhao looked at him calmly and said, “Teacher Xuan, you’re a Class 8 soul engineer and you shouldn’t be that far off from a Class 9 soul engineer. Can’t you tell if it’s real or not? Even if it was only a projection, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have the ability to produce it in reality.”
Xuan Ziwen glared at him and asked, “How did you create those images? And how did you divide them into different perspectives too?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “I refuse to answer your questions. They involve secrets regarding my soul skills.”
Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath and was a little anxious as he walked up and down in the room. He didn’t even care as he kicked the rare metals that were strewn about.
Huo Yuhao seemed to have expected this result. He sat in the chair that Xuan Ziwen was just using and waited calmly.
In the dorm room, one of them was pacing up and down frantically, while the other remained seated calmly. Neither of them made any other moves.
Time passed second after second. Xuan Ziwen didn’t stop perspiring, and in fact started to sweat even more. It started to drip from his jaw, while the back of his shirt was already soaked.
He was completely immersed in his thoughts now. His mind was circulating quickly as he pondered.
This carried on for fifteen minutes before Xuan Ziwen suddenly stopped. He turned around to face Huo Yuhao suddenly, and the beads of perspiration on his face were flung off by the sudden turn.
“How many formation arrays did you use?” Xuan Ziwen’s voice was trembling.
Huo Yuhao replied, “Thirty-two.”
“Impossible. How can it be so few? Did you know… you didn’t know!” Xuan Ziwen was muttering to himself as he stared at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Teacher Xuan, I’m only a at most Class 6 soul engineer.
“How many formation arrays did you think I’d use to complete this soul tool? Furthermore, you saw its size, internal structure and physical form. Without adding any offensive tools, there’s only a handful of places that can contain formation arrays. How many formation arrays did you think there would be?”
Xuan Ziwen replied, “Then how did you manage to make it move, and even make it fly, without pouring in soul power?”
Huo Yuhao didn’t hide the truth. He said almost naturally, “Milk Bottles! I added twelve Class 6 Milk Bottles. While the soul power in the Milk Bottles becomes volatile, it happens much slower compared to other soul tools. Theoretically speaking, it can maintain flight for two hours without using my own soul power as long as these twelve Milk Bottles are filled with soul power beforehand. Otherwise, I can engage in an intense fight for ten minutes, but that will include other offensive soul tools. I won’t talk much about the internal design. This is a stupid design because only soul masters can control this soul tool. After all, Milk Bottles are only replenished by soul masters.”
Xuan Ziwen stared at Huo Yuhao. “How did you know that I was researching soul power outflow prevention in Milk Bottles?”
Huo Yuhao was stunned. “I didn’t!”
“You didn’t know?” Xuan Ziwen was now the one who was stunned. “Then why did you use Milk Bottles to provide power for this human-form soul tool?”
Huo Yuhao looked at him anxiously and replied, “It was the only method I could think of. Teacher Xuan, have you really found a way to prevent the outflow of soul power? That’s great!” If Xuan Ziwen wasn’t lying, the practicality of his human-form soul tool would be greatly enhanced.
Xuan Ziwen changed the topic instantly and said, “That’s not the main point. The main point is, how did you manage to balance the human-form soul tool? Doesn’t every joint have to be controlled using formation arrays? There’s also the linkage and coordination between the arrays. Problems will definitely arise. Did you think about all these problems?
Huo Yuhao replied, “I thought of them! Not everything requires formation arrays.”
“Then what did you use?” Xuan Ziwen probed.
Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, “Sorry! Teacher Xuan, I can’t tell you. That’s a secret.”
Xuan Ziwen turned gloomy. Huo Yuhao answered his questions at the start, but claimed that it was a secret when he got to the critical questions. He was obviously playing with him!
With Xuan Ziwen’s proficiency in soul tools, he wanted to use his Milk Bottle formula on human-form soul tools after they developed one. However, the human-form soul tools in the Illustrious Virtue Hall were too large. If he only used Milk Bottles, he wouldn’t be able to create Class 9 Milk Bottles. Even if he could use Class 8 Milk Bottles, he needed more than ten of them to ensure the experiment ran smoothly. And then it would only be able to work normally for an hour. This also meant that more than ten eight-ringed Soul Douluos had to follow the soul tool to make it move before it could work properly. In addition, Xuan Ziwen was certain that the soul tool couldn’t compare to Huo Yuhao’s metallic man in terms of flexibility.
Xuan Ziwen wasn’t concerned about Huo Yuhao’s craftsmanship. The metallic man might have many problems. He found five to six problems that couldn’t be resolved right away. However, the key thing was his concept!
He had only used thirty-two formation arrays before he managed to make the metallic man move. It was practical, and didn’t require Huo Yuhao to use his soul power to make it move. At least it could be used to escape.
Xuan Ziwen was puzzled by all this. He started to become very restless.
“Impressive! Huo Yuhao, you are impressive.” Xuan Ziwen looked at him and was filled with emotions. He knew that Huo Yuhao wasn’t lying. That human-form soul tool couldn’t have been created by him alone.
The complex structure that it possessed couldn’t have been completed in just two years. It must be related to his sect. How should Xuan Ziwen go about asking him then?
Xuan Ziwen knew that this was all Huo Yuhao’s grand ploy to attract him. On the surface, he said that he didn’t have ten new creations. However, he came up with a product that represented the essence of the research that Xuan Ziwen had always been invested in. How could he not be interested?
Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath and said, “Yuhao, tell me if this is agreeable. I don’t want your detailed production method. I just want to know the concept and ideas behind this human-form soul tool. I’ll trade for them with the Sealed Milk Bottle formula that I just completed. You need to know that this formula will change the whole development of soul tools. I haven’t reported it to the Hall yet. But once more data is collected, I believe this formula will become one of the most important bits of research in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Do you want to make a trade?”
Huo Yuhao was a little hesitant now on this. As a Class 6 soul engineer, he knew that Xuan Ziwen was right. The appearance of Sealed Milk Bottles was bound to change the world of soul tools! Ordinary people wouldn’t find it so difficult to control soul tools anymore. Although the price of Sealed Milk Bottles was bound to be astronomical, they could solve the huge power problem when used on human-form soul tools. Even though this didn’t solve the root of the problem, it wasn’t completely out of the question to create huge Milk Bottles for Test Subject 1. Thinking about it gave Huo Yuhao the chills.