Chapter 30: Second Tier Soul Engineer
"The grilled fish is ready," Huo Yuhao said.
"Mm." Meng Hongchen stepped forward, took a skewer of grilled fish, and started eating.
Soon, her eyes lit up. "Huo Yuhao, your cooking is amazing! This is the best grilled fish I've ever had. Even the imperial chefs of the Sun Moon Palace can't compare to you when it comes to grilling fish."
For a moment, she became even more curious about Huo Yuhao. He was already a genius in the field of soul tools, yet he also had extraordinary culinary skills such people were rare.
"Senior Sister Meng, you're too kind," Huo Yuhao responded modestly.
"Have you ever thought about selling grilled meat? Other meats are similar to fish, and with your skills, you could make them just as delicious."
"Senior Sister Meng, selling grilled meat isn't profitable. It's nowhere near as lucrative as making soul tools. If I make just one first tier soul tool and sell it, I'd earn at least as much as selling hundreds of skewers of grilled meat!" Huo Yuhao explained.
That was the truth. Even in the highly expensive Shrek City, regular grilled meat couldn't fetch an outrageous price it didn't enhance one's cultivation, after all.
Meng Hongchen's eyes glimmered with an idea. She activated a soundproofing soul tool to prevent nearby students from overhearing, then leaned in mysteriously. "I don't mean selling to just anyone. I'll buy it from you at a high price."
"Hm? A high price?" Huo Yuhao was puzzled.
"Yes." Meng Hongchen moved even closer, locking eyes with him. "I'll provide you with soul beast meat, and you just have to cook it. I'll handle the distribution. Don't worry I have the perfect buyer. I guarantee we'll both make a fortune!"
"This…" Huo Yuhao became even more confused. "Senior Sister Meng, can I ask who this 'perfect buyer' is?"
"Don't ask!" Meng Hongchen sighed. "You just need to handle the cooking. It won't take much of your time just one meal a day at lunchtime. That person's appetite is limited. As for pricing… I'll pay you 200 gold soul coins per skewer as a processing fee."
"Deal!"
Huo Yuhao quickly did the math and realized this was a great opportunity. Based on the original story, even in Shrek Academy's dining hall, the top tier dishes prepared for Zhou Yi's students only cost about 30 gold soul coins per serving.
So, he continued grilling, working hard to earn more gold soul coins.
While he could make money by crafting soul tools, low tier soul tools didn't bring in much profit. Even in the original story, a fourth tier milk bottle a relatively new invention in Star Luo Empire only sold for 25,000 gold soul coins at an auction.
"Aside from my grilled fish business, my next major goal is cultivating my soul power and passing the second tier soul engineer assessment."
Library Fifth Floor
"Teacher Xuan Ziwen is truly an eighth tier soul engineer. Reading this book has been incredibly enlightening!"
Xiao Hongchen closed the book with a satisfied expression.
Standing up, he walked over to the window, deep in thought. Even so, I can't afford to slack off. Huo Yuhao is a growing threat. I must set a record so high that he can never surpass me that's the only way to secure my position as the number one genius!
Huo Yuhao, I'll make sure you understand I am the Sun Moon Empire's once in a millennium prodigy!
He clenched his fist, imagining a scenario where Huo Yuhao would admire his talent, admit defeat, and willingly become his subordinate. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smirk.
Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed behind him, followed by a familiar female voice.
"Xiao, I knew you'd be here, secretly studying!"
"Hm? Meng? What do you mean secretly studying? I never hid the fact that I'm in the library learning about fifth tier core formations." Xiao Hongchen turned to look at Meng Hongchen at the doorway.
"You've been studying for a while now you must be hungry," Meng Hongchen said.
"A little. I was planning to head to the cafeteria for a special meal."
Meng Hongchen smiled. "Well, I have some delicious grilled meat with me. Maybe this will fill you up."
She rubbed her storage ring, and several skewers of grilled meat appeared in her hands.
"Grilled meat?" Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up. "You brought this for me?"
For a moment, he was touched. Despite their frequent bickering, his sister actually cared about him she even brought him food.
"It's not a gift, it's for sale. 500 gold soul coins per skewer!" Meng Hongchen grinned. She had to make a profit aside from Huo Yuhao's processing fee, the soul beast meat had its own costs.
"500 gold soul coins?" Xiao Hongchen frowned. "Is this ten thousand year soul beast meat?"
To the wealthy Xiao Hongchen, this amount wasn't a problem, but he still had to clarify.
"No, just regular soul beast meat. But I guarantee this meat is incredibly delicious."
"Really? Fine, give me one to try."
Meng Hongchen handed him a skewer. At first, Xiao Hongchen assumed she was trying to scam him, but after taking a bite, his expression changed. "This… this is amazing! Where did you buy it?"
"I'm not telling you. So, do you want more?"
"Of course! At 500 gold soul coins per skewer, this is the best grilled meat I've ever had it's worth it!" Xiao Hongchen said confidently.
Some time later, Xiao Hongchen leaned back, satisfied. "That was a fantastic meal. Whoever cooked this is an absolute master."
"Glad you liked it! Now, pay up you ate 50 skewers, so your total is… 25,000 gold soul coins!"
"25,000 gold soul coins?" Xiao Hongchen calculated silently, then simply paid up. Before leaving, he added, "By the way, Meng, I've been busy studying lately, so I don't have time to keep track of Huo Yuhao. Make sure to watch him closely and find out when he applies for the second tier soul engineer assessment!"
Meng Hongchen waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, got it, Xiao. I'm leaving now!"
After leaving the library, she quickly found Huo Yuhao and handed him a card. "There's 10,000 gold soul coins in here your earnings for today. I kept the leftover grilled meat in a special freezing soul tool, so I'll sell it tomorrow. Then, we'll split the profits again."
"Alright," Huo Yuhao replied, taking the card with a smile. Making money was always satisfying.
Of course, he knew that Meng Hongchen, as the middleman, was definitely pocketing a share of the profits.
Since Meng Hongchen was making money, Huo Yuhao was making money, and the mysterious grilled meat buyer was enjoying delicious food, there was no doubt that this was a win win situation for everyone.
A Month and a Half Later
Inside the Third Laboratory, Huo Yuhao stood in front of a workbench and said to Xuan Ziwen, "Teacher Xuan, I'm ready. Today, I'm taking the second tier soul engineer assessment!"
"Alright, I'll prepare the rare metals for you. Wait here for a moment." Xuan Ziwen smiled and turned toward the inner section of the laboratory.
Although he had a large supply of rare metals in his storage ring, most of them were too high grade to be used for crafting second tier soul tools.
"Understood, Teacher Xuan," Huo Yuhao nodded.
For the past few days, he had been diligently studying soul tool knowledge, ensuring he met the requirements to take the second tier assessment. To be extra cautious, he had spent additional time refining his core inscription skills to guarantee his success in one go.
Of course, he hadn't neglected his martial soul cultivation either. After all, soul power level was the foundation of a soul master, and he devoted a lot of effort to improving it.
Thanks to Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's efficient teaching system, he had been able to maximize his use of time.
As for Zimu, the student who had a crush on Juzi and had been relentlessly pursuing her, he hadn't come to cause any trouble.
After all, everyone knew that Huo Yuhao was a genius soul engineer who was highly favored by both the headmaster and Xuan Ziwen. Knowing this, Zimu wouldn't dare lay a hand on him!
To Huo Yuhao, life at Sun Moon Academy was undeniably better than it had been at Shrek Academy. At the very least, he didn't have to constantly engage in mental battles with unreasonable teachers.
Compared to Sun Moon's instructors, Shrek had far too many insane teachers.
Aside from Xuan Ziwen, who was called "Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Church" behind his back, Shrek also had the incredibly outdated Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi's entire qualification as a teacher only existed because she was a Soul Emperor and because her husband, Fan Yu, was an eighth tier soul engineer. If not for that, she would've long lost the right to teach students.
After all, what kind of competent teacher would start the first day of class by making students run laps around Shrek Square?!
Sure, physical fitness was important for soul masters, but wasn't there a better way to improve it?
This was supposed to be the top soul master academy on the continent, and yet they resorted to such outdated training methods?
Students came to Shrek Academy to improve their strength, not to run laps. If running was all it took, why bother enrolling?
Did Shrek's running track somehow enhance soul power? Did it randomly drop soul bones?
And to make matters worse, Zhou Yi applied the same running rule to everyone whether they were Support Type or Assault Type soul masters, she made them all run the same distance.
A one size fits all approach was the worst method of teaching it completely ignored individual circumstances.
To brainwash students into accepting this, Zhou Yi even used the excuse, "Enemies won't go easy on you in battle."
Sure, that made some sense…
But running laps during training didn't guarantee that students would survive a real battle.
Later, when Shrek Academy fought against the Sun Moon Empire, did Zhou Yi expect her students to dodge fixed soul guided artillery shells by running laps?
And another ridiculous aspect of Shrek Academy its cafeteria.
The Shrek cafeteria was completely bizarre.
There weren't even tables or chairs inside! That meant if students wanted to eat, they had to either squat, stand, or activate their martial soul just to find a place to sit.
And if a student wanted to take their meal elsewhere, that was technically against the rules, because Shrek Academy's cafeteria didn't allow takeout.
When Huo Yuhao had read about this in the original story, he had wanted to complain.
Why design such a cafeteria?
Who does this benefit?
This is just pointless suffering!
Second Tier Soul Engineer Assessment
"Yuhao, your required rare metals are ready. You can begin now. As long as you craft a qualified second tier soul tool, you'll pass the assessment and be promoted.
"If you fail, then you won't pass. Just do your best I'll be in the other room continuing my research on the sealed milk bottle." Xuan Ziwen placed a stack of rare metals on the workbench before heading to another section of the lab.
"Understood, thank you, Teacher Xuan," Huo Yuhao replied politely before watching Xuan Ziwen leave.
Then, he began his work.
He first used the soul tool forging equipment to refine the metals, crafting the outer casing, inner casing, and core.
While the outer and inner casings were relatively easy to make, the core formation was the most critical part of any soul tool.
After some time, a black metal rod lay on Huo Yuhao's workbench. The lower half had a button attached.
"Teacher Xuan, I'm done," Huo Yuhao called out.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Xuan Ziwen walked over, examining the strange looking metal rod with curiosity.
"And this is…?" He frowned, unable to immediately determine its function despite his years of experience.
"It's an electric baton. Teacher Xuan, would you like to see how it works?" Huo Yuhao asked. This design was inspired by the electric batons from his past life, but since soul power was a universal energy source in this world, he had modified it accordingly.
"Mm. Do you need another living soul beast for testing?"
"Yes. But this time, I need you to secure it to the workbench."
Xuan Ziwen quickly retrieved a Soft Bone Rabbit, then tied it down according to Huo Yuhao's instructions.
Huo Yuhao pressed the tip of the electric baton against the rabbit, then pressed the button.
In an instant, blinding arcs of electricity surged from the baton's tip, striking the rabbit's body.
The rabbit, which had been struggling just moments ago, was instantly charred black, filling the air with the scent of burnt fur.
"This is at least as powerful as a Soul Elder's attack… A second tier melee soul tool that can achieve this level of damage?"
Xuan Ziwen's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Yuhao, you truly are a genius!
"You've passed the assessment! From today onward, you are officially a second tier soul engineer!
"And from now on, you are my direct disciple. Any knowledge I have, I will teach you without reservation!"
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