Chapter 63: Juzi

"That fast." Xuan Ziwen was shocked, but mostly puzzled.

When Xuan Ziwen saw what Chen Qiye was holding, he was even more shocked, "You made a baby bottle."

Chen Qiye shook his head and said, "Just take me to the testing site."

"Alright!!"

They arrived at the soul conduit experimental area.

Chen Qiye infused soul power to activate the formation, and a massive force suddenly filled the entire baby bottle.

"Hoo~" Chen Qiye took a deep breath and hurled it at the two‑meter‑thick alloy wall.

Boom! The whole laboratory seemed to tremble from the huge force.

Xuan Ziwen stared dumbfounded as the two‑meter‑thick alloy wall was punched with a huge hole, the cracks spider‑webbing outward.

"Hmm, not bad." Chen Qiye looked at his masterpiece with great satisfaction.

Then Huo Yuhao…

"Is this a soul bomb?" Xuan Ziwen stared at the baby bottle in Chen Qiye's hand as if gone mad.

Chen Qiye squinted, brushed dust off his gauntlet and said lightly, "You could say that."

"Huo Yuhao, Chen Qiye, can you tell me your research results first?" Xuan Ziwen asked eagerly.

The two exchanged a glance and shook their heads: "Sorry, not for sale."

Xuan Ziwen instantly furrowed his brows.

Huo Yuhao explained, "Professor Xuan, you should know the rivalry between the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and our Shrek Academy…"

Xuan Ziwen said, "Then how can you tell me your research results?"

Huo Yuhao looked at Chen Qiye, who shrugged indifferently, leaving the persuasion to the professional Huo Yuhao.

Thus, after Huo Yuhao's cajoling, the two clasped hands in a vow.

"Professor Xuan, can we start the lesson? Wang Yu and I passed your test and are now your students."

Xuan Ziwen nodded and said seriously, "Tell me, what is a soul conduit?"

Huo Yuhao thought and said, "It is a tool guided by a Soul Master's soul power; it can be a weapon or any other implement that assists people's life or work."

But after hearing his words, Xuan Ziwen shook his head in disappointment and turned to Chen Qiye: "What do you think?"

Chen Qiye lazily propped his cheek and said lightly, "It's used to promote social development, productivity…" It's a simple principle, like how fireworks were originally invented for entertainment, but after modification became accomplices of bloody wars.

Xuan Ziwen looked at him appreciatively, a gaze that made Chen Qiye's scalp tingle—how disgusting.

"I have to say, you Shrek folks are really behind on the concept of soul conduits. But at least some of you understand," Xuan Ziwen said while teaching online…

I have to admit, Chen Qiye felt like he was back in elementary school in the 21st century; even when he forced himself to stay awake, he still felt drowsy…

…

Engrossed in his lecture, Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao didn't notice that Chen Qiye beside them had already fallen asleep.

Xuan Ziwen's research on soul conduits truly left Huo Yuhao in awe. Both are Level‑8 Soul Masters, but his impression of Xuan Ziwen was completely different from Fan Yu's. Fan Yu's style is steady and solid, so under his guidance Huo Yuhao's foundation became extremely firm.

In contrast, Xuan Ziwen is a Soul Master with wildly imaginative ideas, brimming with creativity and vigor. His research rarely leans toward warfare, yet some of his concepts give Huo Yuhao an eye‑opening feeling; previously puzzling soul conduit knowledge or incomprehensible matters, guided by Xuan Ziwen's ideas, may not become fully clear, but at least a clear path emerges.

Both teach as Soul Masters, so the gap becomes even more evident. At Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao mainly learned how to memorize the schematics of a soul conduit's core formation, whereas Xuan Ziwen never produced any schematics for him, only sharing innovative concepts about soul conduits. In Xuan Ziwen's words, a Soul Master teacher must never bind disciples with rigid constraints; instead, provide them with a philosophy, and, given sufficient foundation, let them understand and feel the concept, add their own innovation, and create their own soul conduits.

That's why, during his test, Huo Yuhao presented his own creation that impressed Xuan Ziwen, though it still fell short of Chen Qiye's.

Under Xuan Ziwen's instruction, Huo Yuhao felt as if he were relearning the Soul Master's knowledge from scratch; his mind ran at full speed, and whenever he raised a question, Xuan Ziwen answered it one by one. In the blink of an eye, an hour passed. Even as Xuan Ziwen grew a bit weary, Huo Yuhao remained hyper‑energetic—another advantage of a spirit‑type Soul Master.

"Ka—"

The lab door clanged, jolting Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen, who were immersed in a sea of knowledge, and the sleeping Chen Qiye awake; all three instinctively looked toward the door.

At that glance, Huo Yuhao's eyes froze instantly, unable to look away.

It was a young woman, still a bit drowsy, yet her beauty made even Huo Yuhao, who had seen countless beauties, stare blankly.

The girl had long black hair, looked about seventeen or eighteen, her big eyes were still sleepy, her skin was flawless, pink and pore‑less, as if a pinch could squeeze water out. The same school uniform on her highlighted her graceful figure; perhaps she wasn't as beautiful as Jiang Nannan, but her lazy, slightly air‑headed charm easily caught the eye.

Oh oh oh~ Chen Qiye's half‑asleep eyes suddenly lit up. Is this Huo Yuhao's first love—Juzi?

No wonder mother‑deprived Huo Yuhao likes her; this maternal radiance could blind my 24K titanium‑alloy jeweled eyes. "Teacher, why are you here so early? Rare to see you!" The girl seemed not to notice Huo Yuhao or Chen Qiye at all, and lazily greeted Xuan Ziwen. Then she walked to the large lab table, plopped down, and with both hands on the desk fell into a deep sleep.

Xuan Ziwen stood up, walked to Juzi, and shouted loudly, "Time to eat!"

"Ah! It's meal time, hurry up, or the shrimp‑exploded eel will be snatched away and there'll be nothing left!" The previously drowsy beauty sprang up, and, under Huo Yuhao's stunned gaze, dashed out of the lab as if a spring were attached to her behind.

Seeing her, Xuan Ziwen burst into hearty laughter.

After a short while, Juzi stormed back, raised her hand, and a ball of yellow light flew toward Xuan Ziwen: "You liar! You liar again. I'll smash you dead." She said, and one ball after another of yellow light kept shooting from her hand.

Xuan Ziwen managed to catch a few at first, but soon became clumsy, laughing, "Yuhao, hurry over and help."

With his sharp eyesight, Huo Yuhao saw from the start that Juzi was actually throwing oranges—each plump and perfectly round. It seemed she was a food‑type Soul Master wielding an orange martial soul.

When Huo Yuhao acted, he differed from Xuan Ziwen. Though he also hadn't released his martial soul, it was as if countless extra hands appeared. He caught each orange, and they slid down his sides to the ground—none managed to fly away.

"Eh?" The girl named Juzi finally noticed the other two people in the lab, stopped, and asked, "Who are you?"

Xuan Ziwen then stepped out from beside Huo Yuhao, declaring, "This is your new junior, you'll also learn from me."

Huo Yuhao's stature is relatively tall among his peers, and his composed demeanor makes him look like a seventeen‑ or eighteen‑year‑old youth.

Juzi merely waved at him and Chen Qiye, then stormed up to Xuan Ziwen, saying, "Professor Xuan, you liar again. If you keep doing this, I'll demand a new teacher."

Hehe, I guess you were born a foodie. If you react a bit less, it'd be fine. When I'm not here, if this junior of yours has any problems, you need to help him answer them, understand? His name is Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao hurried forward a step, respectfully saying, "Senior Juzi, hello."

Juzi then gave him a serious once‑over, saying, "I don't have that much time; I still need to continue researching my stuff. Fine, I'm leaving; I really need to find something to eat, I'm starving. I haven't even had breakfast this morning." With that, she waved and left the lab again.

Xuan Ziwen, a bit embarrassed, explained to Huo Yuhao, "Here, the learning atmosphere is relatively relaxed. Don't be fooled by Senior Juzi's somewhat closed demeanor; she's extremely gifted with soul conduits, already a Level‑5 Soul Master. The only thing lacking is her cultivation level."

"Professor Xuan, I've also seen some students from the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, and they seem to achieve a considerable amount of soul power at a very young age—under twenty. Is that all because they consume rare heavenly herbs? That's too much."

Xuan Ziwen sighed, "It's like pulling up seedlings to make them grow! The academy does use special methods to accelerate the cultivation of students gifted in soul conduit fabrication, but very few actually rely on rare heavenly materials. Instead, they employ a side‑effect‑laden technique that hampers future development. Don't pry into this; it's classified here."

Xuan Ziwen soon left as well, leaving only Huo Yuhao in the lab. Huo Yuhao sat cross‑legged on the floor and entered a meditative state.

His meditation wasn't just about contemplating Xuan Zhenwen's recent teachings; it was also about imprinting the structure and core formation of every completed soul tool here into his mind. But he didn't draw them out here, after all, he didn't know whether there were any soul tools here that could be used to monitor him.

When Chen Qiye had already gone to the cafeteria, Huo Yuhao was also preparing to go there to eat; the lab door opened and Juzi came back.

"Juzi, senior." Huo Yuhao was already a bit tired, and he greeted Juzi.

Juzi raised her hand, and a badge that looked like crystal instantly flew to Huo Yuhao's face, which he caught.

Juzi said, "Really troublesome. This is the ID badge Xuan Teacher told me to give you; with it you can freely come and go in the lab. Here there aren't many rules—if you have research, just do it yourself, and if there's something you don't understand, go ask that guy, Xuan Teacher. Alright, I need to go back and catch some sleep, then continue research this afternoon." Saying that, she yawned, turned, and walked out.

After walking just a couple steps, she suddenly stopped, turned her head to look at Huo Yuhao, and asked, "Huo Yuhao, right? How did you catch all those oranges of mine before?"

Huo Yuhao said, "That's a technique. It belongs to my sect."

Juzi asked curiously, "What sect are you from?"

Huo Yuhao said, "Tang Sect."

Juzi looked somewhat puzzled and said, "Never heard of it. Is it fun?"

Huo Yuhao gave a speechless look and said, "Senior, a sect really shouldn't be described with the word 'fun'."

Juzi snorted, "If it's not fun, then forget it. I'm leaving." After saying that, she left lightly and hurriedly.

Huo Yuhao simply ate lunch, then returned to the lab in the afternoon, but Xuan Zhenwen and Juzi were nowhere to be seen.

Recalling Xuan Zhenwen's morning teachings, Huo Yuhao also began experimenting with making some soul tools. The soul tools he made were common but valuable—four-level milk bottles.

The demand for this kind of soul tool, the milk bottle, has always been high, but making it is extremely troublesome, especially the core formation. What Huo Yuhao is currently trying to do is simplify its core formation.

After he had been concentrating on making something for about half an hour, Juzi walked in. Seeing Huo Yuhao making a soul tool there, she paid no attention, went to the other side of the workbench, and began making something as well—she was also working on a core formation.

Huo Yuhao's perception was extremely keen; as soon as Juzi entered, he noticed it, and his mental probe silently unfurled, focusing on this senior's movements.

Although he had a good impression of Xuan Zhenwen, he also knew that, because he came from Shrek Academy, it would likely be difficult to learn anything core here. Therefore, he would learn whenever possible.

Juzi's first impression on Huo Yuhao was that she was beautiful and naturally airheaded, yet somewhat clueless. But he soon discovered that, when she entered an experimental state, she seemed like a different person. Her focus was extremely intense, and she seemed to pay no attention to anything outside. Moreover, the core formation she etched was far more complicated than Huo Yuhao's four-level milk bottle. Given Huo Yuhao's memory of various core formations, he couldn't even understand what this one did. Of course, this was also because she had just begun etching it.

Juzi had completely entered a state of utter focus, not even noticing that Huo Yuhao had come up behind her. In her left hand she gripped a piece of silver-white metal, and in her right hand she held an engraving knife of strange color. The knife's entire body was like a piece of clear, translucent crystal, with an orange-red hilt.

(End of chapter)