**Chapter 54: "Yuhao is So Fierce!" (2500 words)**
Xuan Ziwen observed the appearance of the grenade gun and slowly said, "The gun body is a ray gun, but the barrel is a soul cannon. The idea is quite good."
"But such a combination is unscientific."
He immediately saw the biggest problem that Huo Yuhao encountered during the production process and pointed out the defects of the grenade gun as he perceived them.
"The design of the gun body and barrel contradicts common sense. The strength of the metal makes it difficult to support the launch of the shells."
The essence of the hundred-forging purification is to remove impurities from the metal through continuous forging with a forging hammer.
The soul guidance technology has been developed for at least thousands of years, allowing for countless soul guides to be created using metal, alongside increasingly powerful core arrays.
However, why has no one thought of purifying metals and enhancing their quality?
If one possesses a high IQ and studies it a little, developing the basic forging technology of Hundred Forging Purification should not be too difficult.
It's impossible that the concept and principles of "Hundred Forging Purification" are truly too complex for people to grasp, right?
This brings to mind the aura that acts to diminish intelligence.
The soul guide technology closely related to metal has developed to the ninth level, but the forging technology has been lagging for tens of thousands of years.
Xu Sheng patted Xuan Ziwen on the shoulder, laughing: "Since Yuhao can present this soul guidance device for the assessment, he must have a certain level of confidence."
"After all, many things that seem unreasonable to us have happened with Yuhao."
"That's true." Xuan Ziwen nodded gently. Before knowing about Huo Yuhao's second martial soul, he could never have imagined that a soul master could master the two extreme attributes of ice and fire.
Meng Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao, who was holding the grenade gun in one hand, and her eyes lit up. "Why is there a sense of contrast? Strange."
She felt that Huo Yuhao appeared quite domineering in his combat readiness.
Xiao Hongchen snorted upon hearing this. "Meng, I told you yesterday that Yuhao's submissive demeanor was an act in front of you. He must have a bunch of tricks up his sleeve... Eh? Meng, why do you have such an expression?"
He was trying to change Huo Yuhao's favorable image in Meng Hongchen's eyes.
He glanced at his sister and was stunned when he saw her undisguised smile.
Why did his sister seem to like Huo Yuhao even more?
Xiao Hongchen felt miserable, staring at Huo Yuhao in the field and wishing to jump down and challenge him to a duel.
"Hey, isn't this the great genius Xiao? Why do you show such an expression towards Yuhao?"
Xuan Ziwen's tall and thin figure suddenly appeared beside Xiao Hongchen, gazing without a hint of distraction.
"Have you noticed that the talent of the young man I brought back seems to exceed your expectations, affecting your title as 'the first genius of soul guidance device in the past thousand years'?"
Xiao Hongchen crossed his arms, holding his chest high, his sense of pride unshaken.
"Hehe, Teacher Xuan, during my entrance examination, it was no problem for me to defeat six hundred-year-old soul beasts at the same time, not to mention just three."
Xuan Ziwen chuckled: "Six hundred-year-old soul beasts? In comparison..."
"Xiao, I thought you were just being modest, but I didn't expect you to be so ordinary."
Xiao Hongchen waved his hand, talking and laughing calmly.
"Six soul beasts are merely the beginning. With that number, I could condense a few soul cannons on my chest and take them out as easily as breathing."
If he didn't want to affect the progress of the examination, he would have jumped off the stage to pick a dozen thousand-year-old soul beasts, letting Xuan Ziwen see the devastating power of soul cannon bombardments.
"And, Teacher Xuan, you also mentioned that the soul guidance device made by Yuhao has defects. Even if it can successfully launch a cannonball, it is just a soul guidance device at the end of the day, which cannot compare to the dozens of soul cannons that I could instantly condense."
Xuan Ziwen said slowly, "Perhaps Yuhao can easily defeat three soul beasts, as long as he can fire a cannonball."
Xiao Hongchen had no doubts about this. After all, he also knew that Huo Yuhao had the dual extreme attributes of ice and fire. It was typical for Huo Yuhao to perform worse than him and defeat three soul-beasts in an instant.
In the examination venue, Jing Hongchen and an invigilator walked towards Huo Yuhao.
Seeing the hall master so concerned about this student, the invigilator did not question Huo Yuhao's creativity. Instead, he was amazed at the somewhat unscientific grenade gun in Huo Yuhao's hand. "Mr. Huo, did you consider the metal tolerance issue when you made this?"
Huo Yuhao nodded: "I did. I utilized a metal purification method to enhance the quality of the titanium to a certain extent."
The invigilator thought for a moment, feeling an itch in his head before a look of realization appeared in his eyes, and he mumbled to himself.
"First strengthen the metal itself and then use the reinforced metal to create a soul guidance device... It's quite ingenious."
Jing Hongchen, standing beside him, fell into deep thought, and the back of his head felt itchy as if something that should have been sealed for tens of thousands of years had just begun to loosen.
Perhaps, when Huo Yuhao officially demonstrates his forging skills someday, the aura of diminishing intelligence could be broken.
The invigilator and Jing Hongchen retreated outside the venue and shouted a reminder: "The assessment is about to begin. Mr. Huo, please be ready; the soul beasts will be released shortly."
Huo Yuhao held the grenade gun, opened his spirit eye, martial soul, and used mental detection before nodding to the invigilator.
Just as the soul beast was released, through the detection map in his mind, he suddenly saw a familiar figure, albeit one that was relatively large.
"Teacher, release the wind baboon inside."
"But that wind baboon is a thousand years old," the invigilator hesitated.
Huo Yuhao looked at the corridor opposite and said, "It's okay. I have some entanglements with soul beasts like wind baboons. Let it out. I'm confident I can defeat it."
The invigilator looked towards Jing Hongchen for directions.
After a moment, Jing Hongchen nodded slowly, a smile on his face. He had heard Xu Sheng mention Huo Yuhao's experiences.
When Huo Yuhao ran away from home, the first soul beast that attacked him was a wind baboon, which was particularly ferocious.
Later, when Xu Sheng and Xuan Ziwen encountered Huo Yuhao, he had already slain a six-thousand-year-old crypt demonic spider beast. Thus, Jing Hongchen was not concerned about Huo Yuhao's ability to handle the thousand-year-old wind baboon.
"Student Huo, I will release the wind baboon later. Don't force yourself during the test; you will pass as long as you defeat the other three soul beasts."
After receiving the hall master's signal, the invigilator took out a soul guide device and pressed it.
Three ten-year soul beasts with nearly a hundred years of cultivation and a thousand-year wind baboon were released.
The intelligence of this wind baboon was much higher than that of the other three soul beasts. Just by appearing in the corridor, it established its dominant position.
The thousand-year wind baboon, leading a tiger, a wolf, and a hyena, rushed out of the corridor with great momentum.
Huo Yuhao's mouth curled slightly: "When Run left the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, he fought against the wind baboon. Now Run is in the Sun Moon Empire, where he is still battling the wind baboon."
The thousand-year wind baboon poked its head out and, upon spotting Huo Yuhao, seemed to stimulate some instincts within its genes.
Its eyes emitted a fierce red light, making it clear it was not to be trifled with.
The wolf and hyena, having cultivated for less than a hundred years, displayed lower intelligence; their IQ was only slightly higher than that of the ten-year wind baboon. They instinctively attacked Huo Yuhao.
The thousand-year wind baboon fixed its gaze on Huo Yuhao, its fangs and claws elongating as its demeanor grew increasingly ferocious.
In the next moment, an extremely strong white light condensed in its mouth, ready to show Huo Yuhao just how powerful it could be.
"Heh, it even condensed white light."
Witnessing the signature soul skill of the wind baboon, Huo Yuhao picked up the grenade gun.
With the assistance of mental detection and by locking onto his enemy, white and purple streams of light flickered at the mouth of the gun barrel, releasing an ominous and dangerous signal.
"Angry Buddha Lotus Flame, Angry Buddha Lotus Flame, Angry Buddha Lotus Flame!"
Huo Yuhao fired three flame lotus grenades in succession.
As the grenade gun discharged, the powerful recoil slammed into Huo Yuhao's shoulders.
If an ordinary second-ring soul master were to use this Angry Buddha Lotus Flame version of the grenade gun, even firing just one shot could tear their arm apart.
Huo Yuhao mobilized the cold air, enveloping his entire arm with a layer of ice-white frost. He shifted his body slightly backward to absorb the recoil from the grenade gun.
Three interwoven white and purple metal fire lotuses, resembling artillery shells, accurately struck the forehead of the thousand-year wind baboon in an instant.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Three explosions boomed nearly simultaneously, sending mist wrapped in flames soaring—a truly terrifying sight.
The thousand-year wind baboon was obliterated.
The wolf and hyena that had rushed forward became disoriented under the blast's aftermath, their bones scattered across the field.
The invigilator was completely stunned: "Master, did you know this new student was so powerful?"
"I can feel that the core array in the soul guide he used is indeed level one, but this power is extraordinary."
He moved his lips, gazing at the three lotus-shaped mists blooming in the venue while struggling to contain his astonishment.
"I'm afraid I would need to create a level three fixed soul guidance shell to match that."
Jing Hongchen's face flushed with excitement. He had anticipated that Huo Yuhao's attack capability would be remarkable compared to others at the same level.
However, he never expected that the shells fired from the soul guidance device would possess such terrifying power.
During this assessment, Huo Yuhao used the soul guide to fire just three shots. While his formidable martial soul was undoubtedly responsible for the impact, the technical value of the soul guidance device itself could not be overlooked.
After a brief pause, Jing Hongchen spoke.
"This hall master knew Yuhao would be strong, but I didn't expect him to be this strong. He has far exceeded my expectations."
"More importantly, the technology he used to create that soul guidance device compensates for the low strength of the metal itself. Perhaps a new path will emerge from this."
Once all the soul beasts in front of Huo Yuhao vanished, he stored the powerful grenade gun away.
Just moments ago, while facing the feral wind baboon, his hands had trembled slightly when firing three flame lotus grenades in rapid succession. Although the explosions were impressive, it wasn't truly possible to gauge the power of a single shell.
"I should have fired just one first to see if the wind baboon could withstand it." Huo Yuhao reflected on a tactical oversight.
In the stands, Xiao Hongchen was left speechless for a long time.
"Is Yuhao using a soul guidance gun to fire fixed soul cannon shells?"
The three flame lotus grenades had nearly blinded him. Not only did he assess that they surpassed his level, but Xiao Hongchen also felt that condensing three level 4 soul cannons would be required to achieve that level of destruction.
Meng Hongchen momentarily forgot to sip from her drink as she blinked, watching Huo Yuhao—the thin and weak figure—unleash such a fierce attack.
In addition to Huo Yuhao's impressive display, her fascination with the contrasting perceptions regarding him grew, filling her with joy.
"Y-You, Yuhao, he's powerful," Meng Hongchen thought, feeling he was indeed fierce.
Once Xiao Hongchen regained his composure, he nodded, "It is indeed impressive. His soul guidance device is remarkable. It has solved the problem that Teacher Xuan identified."
Xu Sheng and Xuan Ziwen remained relatively calm due to their prior exposure to even more powerful, hand-rubbed Angry Buddha Lotus Flames.
They were primarily astonished at the soul guidance device created by Huo Yuhao, as it was quite unscientific and conflicted with their theoretical background, yet it effectively utilized the shells.
Xuan Ziwen, demonstrating his quick wit, remarked on the key detail: "The titanium Yuhao used is much stronger than the standard titanium."
"Otherwise, the core array of the soul guidance device itself would collapse before the shells were fired."
In the examination venue, Huo Yuhao lifted the grenade gun and waved happily at the invigilator.
"Teacher, it's time to announce the results of the examination."
The invigilator, taken aback by Huo Yuhao's exuberance, quickly made his way forward to announce that he had passed the examination and presented Huo Yuhao with a special admission notice.
Then, Jing Hongchen led everyone out of the examination venue, walking back to Mingde Hall.
Along the way, he briefly introduced Mingdu to Huo Yuhao: "You will be enrolled tomorrow. This city is very suitable for you."
"Our Mingdu is known for its simple folk customs and abundance of talent."
Jing Hongchen said with a hint of pride.
In their Mingdu, there was no need for city walls; the range of their level 9 fixed soul guidance shells served as the invisible city wall surrounding it.
He gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and asked in a kind tone, "Yuhao, I'm very curious where the inspiration for the grenade gun originated."
Huo Yuhao contemplated for a moment and smiled: "In reality, it's mostly flashes of inspiration."
"The specific inspiration mainly comes from the application of my martial soul, the Chilling Bone Flame. I've mastered a technique called 'Angry Buddha Lotus Flame', which is quite potent. Teacher Xu and Teacher Xuan should be aware of it."
"Thus, I considered whether this move could be integrated with the soul guidance device, so I constructed the grenade gun."
Xiao Hongchen shamelessly requested the drawings for the grenade gun, meticulously studying the details he could glean from them.
"Grandpa, do you think that once I understand the principles behind making a grenade gun, I could control the gold element to condense it into a grenade gun using my martial soul?"
Jing Hongchen gave him a sidelong glance: "Oh? Xiao, do you also want to use a grenade gun?"
Xiao Hongchen nodded in affirmation. If he could condense a grenade gun, his combat power would increase several times.
"Yuhao, since you created the grenade gun, do you think I can condense one myself?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. First and foremost, metal forging requires the soul master's direct involvement, which was impossible for the gold element.
"Brother Xiao, while the design of the grenade gun is one aspect, the more critical factor is that its special flame lotus bomb can only be made by me."
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Day 3
(End of this chapter)