Time flowed slowly, and soon, over a month had passed.
Inside the laboratory of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, Huo Yuhao looked at the special blue-and-silver bicolored core in his hand with a tense expression.
His mental power flicked the switch. In the next instant, the soul tool formation atop that special core began to operate. Blue energy veins began to fill up, and the heaven-and-earth primordial energy in the laboratory started to be absorbed naturally!
Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted, looking at the "soul power storage device" connected to this special core. He watched the light bar representing the soul power reserve; it remained motionless at first... then, suddenly, at a certain moment, it began to rise!
It was a success! His "Blue Silver Soul-Converting Core" was a success!!
But this was not over yet. Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, deactivated the core, and then raised his hand to retrieve a soul tool creation roughly three meters tall and two meters wide from his storage ring.
Without hesitation, he skillfully opened this soul tool creation and installed the "Blue Silver Soul-Converting Core" into the pre-prepared groove.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. The next moment, he started the machine.
Hum—
The wondrous humming unique to soul tool machinery rang out. The massive machinery began to operate, and a steady stream of life force began to be injected. Countless units of pure soul power, devoid of any attributes, were output bit by bit, subsequently being stored entirely within the adjacent soul power storage device!
"Success..."
Watching the machine before him, the corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth gradually curled upward. A brilliant light erupted in his azure eyes, and an indescribable sense of accomplishment surged in his heart.
—The "Blue Silver Life-Soul Engine".
By fusing the Dark Blue Silver King with Spirit-Forging metal, he obtained a special "Blue Silver Alloy." Then, using this alloy as the raw material and engraving it with a "Soul-Converting Soul Tool Formation," he obtained the most crucial component: the "Blue Silver Soul-Converting Core."
Finally, with the core as the heart, he mounted it onto the "life force conversion device" that he had previously regarded as a semi-finished product or even a failure. At this moment, the "Blue Silver Life-Soul Engine"... was born!
It could absorb life force or heaven-and-earth primordial energy to naturally convert it into soul power!
Furthermore, because the material used to manufacture it was the Dark Blue Silver King, its essence remained biological even though it had fused with Spirit-Forging metal to become a semi-metallic, semi-plant "Blue Silver Alloy."
To put it simply, this core made of "Blue Silver Alloy" possessed "growth potential."
Just like a normal Soul Master who has just obtained a soul skill, this core—having only just begun to absorb energy—was not yet proficient.
Once it became proficient, its efficiency would increase. Moreover, just as a normal Soul Master absorbs energy to increase their cultivation, it would naturally begin to evolve!
At this moment, an idea inexplicably popped into Huo Yuhao's head.
Eh? If I treat this "Blue Silver Alloy" as a living being, grant it wisdom through a contract method, and finally use the alloy to manufacture a "mecha"!
The wisdom granted by the contract would be enough to allow the pilot and the mecha to achieve a synchronized mental resonance. Thus, with a single thought from the pilot, the mecha would activate!
At the same time, because of the "growth" and "devouring" traits of the "Blue Silver Alloy," it could completely continue to evolve later by devouring natural treasures or fusing with more Spirit-Forging metal!
And based on this, one could gradually develop a mecha with the pilot's unique personal characteristics!
Old Xiao... your mecha dream... seems to have come true!
...
At the Illustrious Virtue Soul Tool Academy, Xiao Hongchen, who was currently cultivating, inexplicably sneezed.
"A-choo—!"
Xiao Hongchen rubbed his nose, feeling his left eyelid twitching wildly.
"Left eye twitching means wealth, right eye means superstition... could it be that something good is happening?"
Xiao Hongchen was confused, but he felt his mood becoming inexplicably better.
...
A few more days later, using the "Blue Silver Alloy" as a foundation, Huo Yuhao naturally extended several conjectures and plans, all of which were highly feasible.
There was no helping it; the "devouring" trait of the Dark Blue Silver King could, in a sense, also be viewed as a "fusing" trait.
With this jack-of-all-trades characteristic, as long as one removed the "Blue Silver King" components and left only the "devouring" part, it could be combined with the vast majority of metals! This would yield even more special alloys with varying traits.
This was a revolution in materials for soul tool technology!
With a satisfied smile on his face, Huo Yuhao sat up slightly. However, in the next moment, a voice rang out:
"Finally finished?"
Qiu'er was sitting on a nearby metal platform, swinging her legs, holding a cup of water which she then handed to him.
"Drink some water and rest for a while."
Huo Yuhao took the cup, blinked, and couldn't help but smile: "This considerate style doesn't suit you."
As the words fell, Qiu'er broke character. She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao's neck, and sat on his lap.
"Doesn't suit me? Is it 'doesn't suit' or 'don't like'? How come I remember you being quite happy when Wang Dong'er was this considerate to you?"
Qiu'er curled her lip condescendingly, reverting to her usual fearless and haughty self.
"It's different..." Huo Yuhao shook his head, put down the alloy, and gently hugged Qiu'er:
"You don't need to change your style to make me happy. It's you that I like; no matter what version of you it is, I'm just as happy looking at you."
"You..."
Qiu'er was at a loss for words, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
Damn it, after this wooden block finally wised up, how did he become so smooth!
"Heh, just saying whatever comes to mind. You must say this often to that scorpion and that worm, right?"
Qiu'er changed the subject, trying to regain the upper hand, but the resentment in her voice was very real.
Clearly, Qiu'er was still a bit disgruntled about not getting the "first bite" and having her home base "raided" by the Great Lady.
"That's actually not the case. Since you prefer being jealous, I'm usually busy coaxing you most of the time."
Huo Yuhao's voice was gentle, using a matter-of-fact tone that broke Qiu'er's defenses once again.
This guy?! When did I get jealous?! What nonsense! I... what jealousy?!
Qiu'er was slightly annoyed and inexplicably wanted to bite this bastard to death. But hearing that last sentence—that he was "coaxing her most of the time"—she felt a little happy inside.
She wanted to say something more, but in the next moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly tightened his grip around her and buried his head in her chest.
His breathing gradually became steady. The exhaustion from a month of continuous research dissipated in this moment of peace, causing Huo Yuhao to feel an involuntary drowsiness.
Qiu'er blinked and didn't speak. Looking at the youth in her arms who seemed to have fallen asleep, a touch of heartache appeared in her blue-gold eyes. She gently stroked the youth's deep blue hair.
Take a good rest...