The next day, under everyone's attention.
Xu Tianxi walked out of the single dormitory and followed Jing Hongchen to the entrance test site.
"Tianxi, you already know the requirements. This is just a formality. You can do whatever you want."
Jing Hongchen patted Xu Tianxi on the shoulder, telling him not to feel pressured and to relax.
Xu Tianxi said "hmm", walked to the metal workbench in the middle of the field, picked up the standard carving knife in his right hand, picked up a piece of metal in his left hand, and processed the rare metal with ease. The blade in his hand was cold and flashing, and he carved magic circle patterns, which attracted everyone's attention right away.
Lin Jiayi was surprised and said, "Dean, he moves very quickly. It seems that he wants to carve a second-level soul guide right away."
Jing Hongchen stared at him motionlessly, and whispered, "I don't think his technique is only capable of carving a second-level soul guide core array..."
"You mean..."
"There wasn't enough material on the table, which probably limited his performance."
Half an hour later, Xu Tianxi hammered and pounded, completing the shaping, casting, quenching and polishing of the soul guide shell on the workbench. Everyone was dazzled and their eyes gradually narrowed into a line.
They were very familiar with this thing, a fixed-load soul-guided cannonball and a cannonball launcher, and it was a second-level one! "My soul-guided device is ready." Xu Tianxi raised the second-level fixed-load soul-guided cannon loaded with cannonballs and waved it at Lin Jiayi.
"Dean, this..." Lin Jiayi broke out in sweat on his forehead and looked at Jing Hongchen in embarrassment.
In the past entrance examinations, no one had ever made a second-level fixed-install soul guide shell. And it was made in just half an hour. They gave one day! Among the three types of soul guides, fixed-install soul guides are the most powerful and the most expensive. It is more difficult to make a second-level fixed-install soul guide shell than many third-level soul guides!
Moreover, the power of this thing is much more terrifying than the attack of most fourth-level soul guides. Once it is fired, not to mention a hundred-year soul beast, even a weaker thousand-year soul beast can report directly to the King of Hell. Is there any need for an examination? "It's a normal examination, just do it as it should."
Jing Hongchen gave the order with his eyes closed. Now he probably knew why Xu Tianxi's master uncle had bought so many fixed-type soul guide shells.
The obsessed look in the child's eyes when he was making the shells just now didn't seem fake, and his technique was incredibly skillful, far beyond the level of a second-level soul engineer. He must have made fixed-type soul guide shells of level three or above.
Moreover, even for a third-level soul engineer, one must be extremely cautious when making a second-level fixed-type soul guide shell. If one makes a mistake, he must start all over again. However, Xu Tianxi's movements are as smooth as flowing water, and his strength is top-notch among third-level soul engineers.
His talent in soul guides is definitely no worse than Xiao's!
"Ouch~!"
The century-old coyote used in the test came out of the cage, fangs and claws bared, and pounced on Xu Tianxi.
Xu Tianxi dodged and stepped back, set up a gun mount like a rocket launcher, pressed the button, and a high-temperature shell was fired out, leaving a trail of fire.
"Boom!"
The shell exploded with a shock wave, and the hundred-year-old coyote died painlessly in the light and heat, and a hundred-year-old soul ring rose in its place.
"Don't waste it, collect it quickly." Jing Hongchen ordered when he saw this.
Lin Jiayi immediately came down and used a special soul guide that could store soul rings to collect the hundred-year soul ring.
"Very good, perfect through!"
Jing Hongchen led the applause, looked at Xu Tianxi meaningfully, and said admiringly: "Your talent is enough to enter the fourth grade directly. Do you want to transfer directly or start from the first grade?"
"I haven't taken any certificate exams, and I haven't learned any knowledge. Of course, I still have to start from the basics of the first grade. Just like a great building starts from the ground." Xu Tianxi said with a smile.
Jing Hongchen said, "Okay! From now on, you will report to the first grade. Director Lin and I will follow up on your studies throughout the whole process."
"As long as you can pass the exam and obtain a certificate of a sufficient level, I will allow you to skip a level at any time. I look forward to you resetting your record."
"By the way, Xiao, you've seen Tianxi's strength, right? You should have a sense of crisis... Hey Xiao, what's wrong with you?"
Xu Tianxi looked in the direction of the voice and discovered that Hongchen, who had been smiling beautifully before, had suddenly become extremely solemn with his brows furrowed, as if he was lost in deep thought.
Meng Hongchen covered his face and pushed Xiao Hongchen aside, waving his hands and saying with a wry smile: "It's okay, it's okay. He didn't sleep well last night. He will be fine after he goes back to sleep a little longer."
Jing Hongchen and Xu Tianxi nodded slightly and chose not to see it at the same time.
Young people are under a lot of pressure, I understand.
"By the way, Xiao Xu, do you have any other requests? Feel free to ask."
"If you ask me... I plan to use my mother's surname for the next period of time. You can just call me Kong Tianxi. Dean, please keep it a secret for me."
"Why?"
"I have a few acquaintances in the former Three Kingdoms, and I want to give them a surprise in two years."...
"I'm really stupid, really."
Xiao Hongchen raised his lifeless eyes and continued, "I only knew that Xu Tianxi had not been able to verify and could only make some single soul guides. I didn't expect that he specialized in the most difficult to make fixed soul guide shells, and his skills were so amazing!"
"From the excitement in his eyes when he was making the shells, I can be sure that this guy is an expert. Not to mention the second-level fixed-type soul guide shells, I'm afraid he has even tried to make third-level and even fourth-level ones!"
Meng Hongchen asked curiously, "Why are you so sure?"
"Heh! As the Sun-Moon Empire's greatest genius in a thousand years, I understand too well the arrogance that is unique to geniuses. People like us all like to challenge our limits! He must not be willing to be lonely, and he has challenged the fourth-level fixed-type soul guide cannonball!"
Xiao Hongchen said with a confident look on his face and a beaming expression.
Meng Hongchen looked at their current position and asked doubtfully:
"So this is why you dragged me to the roof of the first grade classroom to eavesdrop on their class? Being sneaky is not the style of genius, right?"
"Ahem, isn't this just to get to know him better? Geniuses also need encouragement, so they can progress faster."
Xiao Hongchen covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then he sighed deeply with emotion:
"Meng, you don't know how lonely I have been in the academy these past few years. I finally met a genius who might be able to catch up with me. I am so excited."
Meng Hongchen turned his head away and didn't look at him, silently reminding him: "Xiao Xu has finished introducing himself, and Director Lin has gone up to take over the class."
"Huh? Director Lin is actually going to give a lecture? That's rare, but it won't be another bunch of sleep-inducing nonsense, will it?"
"...I think you guessed right."
Meng Hongchen looked at Lin Jiayi who wrote on the blackboard "In the long run, will soul mentors completely replace soul masters?" and couldn't help but sigh.
These old antiques just like to talk about the same old things. They don't teach real skills. Isn't it better to explain some high-level soul guides than this? "Students, today I want to discuss with you the future development trend of soul guides. Our school has always believed that when soul guide technology develops to a very high level, that is, when soul guides do not need to be injected with soul power to use, the profession of soul master will be replaced and disappear in the long river of history."
"But there is also a completely different voice in the academic community. They believe that the development of soul masters is also a top priority. Please feel free to speak freely about today's topic. I, an old antique, am all ears. I am just here to listen to your young people's ideas."
On the podium, Lin Jiayi, enjoying the admiring gazes of many students, finished his opening remarks in a rhythmic manner. The students below the stage immediately started chattering and expressing their opinions.
"I think soul guides are omnipotent. A soul master only has nine soul skills at most. How can they compare to the variety of soul guides?"
"I think the importance of soul master training cannot be ignored. Sometimes you may get unexpected soul skills."
"How many gifted soul masters are there in our Sun Moon Empire? If you want to have unique soul skills, you must also have a powerful martial soul."
"Researching soul guides consumes a lot of energy, and there is not much energy left for martial soul training. I think we can't have both. We can only train soul guides. Don't forget that soul guides can beat soul masters of the same level into a hornet's nest if they keep a distance..."
"In a one-on-one fight, a powerful spirit master may be able to defeat a spirit guide, but if they fight in full force, a spirit guide army can blow up a spirit master army of the same number, unless there are Titled Douluo-level warriors on the other side..."
"…"
All kinds of noisy sounds jumped into Lin Jiayi's ears. He raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and his eyes swept across the crowd and fell on Xu Tianxi, who had not said a word from beginning to end.
The dean has emphasized that teaching should be tailored to the students' abilities, so I must first understand Xu Tianxi's views on soul guides.
"Everyone's speeches are very meaningful, but I want to hear more voices. Mr. Kong Tianxi, do you have any unique opinions?"
As the Dean spoke, the classroom fell silent. All the students looked at him silently, waiting to hear the opinion of this temporary transfer student.
"My understanding of soul guides is still very superficial, but from my personal point of view... I think that simple soul masters and soul guides are not the ultimate direction of history."
Xu Tianxi, who was silently thinking about the technology tree of Douluo Continent over the past 10,000 years and summarizing the theoretical knowledge of soul guides, was not panicked when he was suddenly named. He stood up calmly, stared at Lin Jiayi and said slowly: "I think from the perspective of the best development direction for individuals, we should take the individual's martial soul ability as the foundation, combine the soul guide with the martial soul or the soul master himself, learn from each other's strengths to make up for each other's weaknesses or increase their strengths, and reach the peak of individual strength."
"In my opinion, the development of soul guides and soul masters are not actually in conflict with each other. It's just that in the original Three Kingdoms, they generally look down on the role of soul guides, and here, the power of a single soul master is insufficient, which has led many people to have the misconception that 'soul guides and soul masters are incompatible'."
"As for the military, I know nothing about it, so I won't comment on it, lest I become a laughing stock."
In a nutshell: Soul masters and soul guides are not incompatible.