The Spirit Pagoda's motto was simple:
Make soul spirits feel the warmth of home!
Otherwise... how else could they convince more soul beasts to voluntarily become soul spirits?
That was precisely why the Ascension Platform's Quarantine Zone had come into being.
After all, once soul beasts became soul spirits, they needed a place to roam freely before being chosen by a Soul Master. Otherwise, wouldn't it be nothing more than disguised imprisonment?
Just as humans entered the Ascension Platform, soul spirits had dedicated devices that projected them into the Quarantine Zone. Much like a virtual reality simulation, the soul spirits could experience their original lives here.
The Quarantine Zone was connected to the Ascension Platform's simulated environment, but formidable guardian soul beasts stood watch at the boundary between them. They kept the two sides apart, preventing Soul Masters from wandering in and accidentally slaying real soul spirits, while also ensuring powerful soul spirits did not break out and leave visiting Soul Masters traumatized. Hence the name: Quarantine Zone.
The Quarantine Zone simulated an even wider array of environments. Beyond the Star Dou Great Forest, it also encompassed regions like the Extreme North and the ocean.
The sector Huo Yuhao entered simulated the frozen expanse of the Extreme North.
'To think my return to the Extreme North would be inside the Ascension Platform.'
Gazing at the boundless snow and ice around him, a flicker of nostalgia crossed Huo Yuhao's eyes.
Back then in the Extreme North... he had spent truly unforgettable days.
Thinking back, Huo Yuhao could not help but grit his teeth.
In those days, to temper his combat experience, the Ice Empress had directly rallied her kin. A massive swarm of Ice Jade Scorpions had charged straight at him without even asking for his opinion. One could easily imagine how miserable he had been.
Later on, the Snow Empress, Xiao Bai, the Titan Snow Demon King, and others had followed suit, calling up their own clansmen to spar with him and feed him moves.
Huo Yuhao dared say that when it came to dealing with the soul beasts of the Extreme North, no one had more experience than him. And when it came to being pummeled by them, no one was more seasoned either.
Fortunately, those trials had borne fruit. His combat instincts and battle experience were exceptionally rich compared to peers of his rank.
When Luo Yanglu entered the Quarantine Zone to stand by as a safety precaution, he saw Huo Yuhao locked in fierce combat with a thousand-year soul beast—and firmly holding the upper hand.
Trapped inside Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Interference Domain, the soul beast had completely lost its bearings, flailing about and launching innate soul skills in sheer confusion.
The Spiritual Interference Domain could distort sight and perception across a certain radius, plunging opponents into disorientation where discerning truth from illusion became nearly impossible. This soul beast's spiritual power fell far short of Huo Yuhao's, and it had already succumbed to hallucinations from being engulfed in the domain.
'A thousand-year Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad?'
Recognizing the beast's appearance, Luo Yanglu raised an eyebrow.
The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was an extraordinarily rare ice-attribute soul beast. Because it inhabited the fringes of the Extreme North—the borderline zone bordering the human world—it was renowned as the "King of the Borderlands." Its population was sparse, its movements elusive, and it was notoriously difficult to spot.
Its deadliest trait lay in its venom. Nourished by the world's most biting chill, it cultivated an exceptionally virulent poison. Not only was this toxin bone-chillingly cold, but it could rapidly corrode living vitality, making the creature a terror whispered about on the outskirts of the Extreme North.
Yet unable to pierce Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Interference Domain, no matter how potent its venom was, it had nowhere to apply it.
"Able to affect a thousand-year soul beast at his age... spiritual power of this caliber... No wonder Yichen dared let you in here,"
Luo Yanglu marveled inwardly.
There was an intrinsic difference between genuine soul spirits and artificial ones. The former held a distinct edge in both battle experience and intellect.
Moreover, the soul spirits residing permanently in the Quarantine Zone were all powerful specimens that had willingly chosen to stay here after failing to find a compatible Soul Master for a contract.
Hua Yichen truly placed immense confidence in Huo Yuhao by setting him to train here, and Huo Yuhao had certainly not let those expectations down.
After a thorough warm-up, Huo Yuhao gradually found his rhythm. Deciding not to torment the thoroughly disoriented Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad any further, he let it go.
With his various abilities currently diminished, maintaining full combat effectiveness required time to adjust. Slaying soul spirits here was strictly forbidden, but under such a constraint, the environment served to temper a person even more effectively.
***
Three years later, at the Eastsea Mecha Master Association.
A staff member took the soul tool Huo Yuhao handed over, scrutinized it closely for a moment, and stared at the boy with a numb, dazed expression.
"Little Yuhao... how about you go take the rank-four exam? Set another new record, perhaps?"
Nearly three years ago, this child had come to register for both the Mecha Crafter and Mecha Designer rank assessments.
Indeed, not just one secondary profession, but two. By now, he had reached rank three in both simultaneously, smashing historical records across two fields at once.
It was worth remembering that while those two professions were not quite as demanding as forging, the fastest recorded milestone was still reaching rank three at ten years old!
Yet Huo Yuhao was only nine! Rank three in two secondary professions—who would believe it if told?
More crucially, judging from the piece he had just submitted, breaking through to rank four in both would pose no problem whatsoever.
The staff member felt that over these three years, the constant shock had practically worn him numb. He simply lacked the energy to waste any more expressions...
"A tower ten thousand feet tall begins from the ground up. I think I'd better consolidate my foundation a bit longer."
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "Please settle my payment."
The staff member sighed. "Rank-three solar soul tool energy accumulator. Capable of absorbing solar energy and converting it into stored soul power. Exquisite design, flawless craftsmanship... A peak rank-three soul tool, with you as both designer and crafter. That comes to three hundred thousand Federation Coins in total. I'll transfer it right over."
Once the payment went through, Huo Yuhao turned and headed up to the second floor, taking on several more rank-three design and crafting commissions before finally leaving the Mecha Master Association.
Although the Spirit Pagoda covered his expenses and Hua Yichen had even given him a bank card—meaning he was by no means short on funds—honing his secondary skills while earning a little money on the side was certainly nothing to sneer at.
Besides, spending money he earned with his own hands brought genuine peace of mind.
Watching Huo Yuhao leave, the staff member found a colleague to cover his station, took Huo Yuhao's finished piece, and headed straight to the president's office, presenting it to Li Yucheng.
"Elder Li, this is Huo Yuhao's latest piece. Once again, it's crafted entirely from ordinary metals."
Li Yucheng took it, inspected the soul tool, and furrowed his brows. "So his teacher really is a traditionalist?"
Mecha Designers, Crafters, and Mechanics were all branches of the original Soul Engineer tradition. In the distant past, many Soul Engineers had even forged their own metals, functioning as Forging Masters as well...
Yet over ten thousand years of development, it had become virtually impossible for a single individual to master every aspect at once, leading to the division into several distinct secondary professions.
In the modern era, the title of Soul Engineer had transitioned entirely into that of a research scholar, bearing little resemblance to its origins.
The traditionalists, by contrast, referred to those who sought to emulate the ancient Soul Engineers from ten thousand years ago: cultivating their soul power while designing and crafting powerful soul tools entirely with their own hands.
Yet human energy was inherently finite. Scattering one's focus like that ultimately resulted in mediocrity across the board—mastering nothing while striving for everything.
That was precisely why Li Yucheng was frowning.
"This is absolute madness! No matter how astonishingly gifted this child is, if he has to cultivate soul power while studying multiple secondary professions at once, he'll burn out sooner or later! What on earth is the Unrestrained Douluo thinking? Why did he saddle the boy with a traditionalist teacher? Did a ten-year soul beast kick him in the head?"
Li Yucheng was genuinely furious. Designing and crafting a rank-three soul tool entirely on his own at nine years old meant that if the boy focused his efforts on a single craft, he might already be nearing rank five by now.
Rank five at nine years old—what kind of monster prodigy would that be?
Their Eastsea Mecha Master Association had not seen a generational talent in ages. Now another faction had stumbled upon such a gem, only to squander his potential like this...
No, he had to find time to have a word with Hua Yichen. He would stay out of the boy's soul power cultivation, but regarding his secondary professions, he absolutely had to talk some sense into that traditionalist!
If they didn't know how to teach a disciple, then hand Huo Yuhao over to him!
Chapter 16