Though Lin Xiao was puzzled about why Shangguan Qing had sought him out, as a new student at the academy, he had no idea where to start investigating and could only set the matter aside for now.
After a night of meditation, the following morning, Lin Xiao saw Lin Jiayi again in the soul tool research lab. The somewhat bulky figure was hunched over a desk, his fingertip carving knife gliding to inscribe complex patterns.
As an eighth-level soul engineer, Lin Jiayi naturally sensed Lin Xiao's arrival but didn't look up until he finished his work, slowly putting away the knife.
"You're back?" Lin Jiayi let out a soft breath, a hint of fatigue in his tone.
"Yes," Lin Xiao nodded, glancing at the desk. Unfortunately, with his current skill level, he couldn't discern the purpose of the array Lin Jiayi was crafting.
"I heard from the Hall Master that you had some personal matters to attend to. No trouble, I hope?" Lin Jiayi asked.
"No. Teacher, didn't you rest last night?" Lin Xiao replied.
Lin Jiayi chuckled. "Rest? You know Mingdu's been unsettled lately. The Hall Master just took his position, and there's a lot to handle. Since you're back, I'll take this chance to rest a bit. Before you left, you were learning how to use soul tools, right?"
Lin Xiao nodded, following Lin Jiayi to the side.
"By the way, do you have the soul tools I gave you?" Lin Jiayi asked.
Lin Xiao touched his wrist, speaking somewhat sheepishly. "Teacher, I have the others, but the soul cannon… I encountered a soul beast, and it got overloaded and damaged during the fight."
Lin Jiayi turned sharply to look at him. "You're more skilled in soul master combat. For a soul tool to get damaged, that soul beast must have been tough."
"It was manageable," Lin Xiao said, thinking back to the Gold-Devouring Beast. Though the encounter was somewhat perilous, it was within his expectations. "Teacher, how much is the academy's soul tool? I'll compensate for it."
"No need," Lin Jiayi said, eyeing Lin Xiao again. Seeing his steady aura and lack of visible injuries, he relaxed. "Whether you're a soul master or a soul engineer, growth comes with combat."
"Damage to soul tools is inevitable in that process. The academy has a quota for soul tools damaged during training. I'll report it for you, so you don't need to pay. But since you've already damaged a soul tool, you should be familiar with their basic usage."
"It's simpler than using soul skills," Lin Xiao said, recalling the experience of using the soul cannon. It only required supplying soul power and aiming to unleash its power, far easier than activating soul skills.
"Good. One of the advantages soul engineers have over soul masters lies in this," Lin Jiayi said. "But to fully harness a soul tool's power, you need to understand how different soul tools work together and their respective strengths."
"There are many similarities between soul masters and soul engineers. Since you're skilled in mid-to-long-range combat as a soul master, you already know some basic tactics. What I'll teach you is how to choose the right soul tool for different situations and how to identify the types and functions of soul tools your opponents use."
"As for combining soul tools with your martial soul to create a fighting style suited to you, that's not something I can teach. You'll need to figure that out yourself. Words alone won't make it clear. Let's go to the soul tool testing area."
Lin Xiao followed Lin Jiayi, observing his somewhat bulky figure. He couldn't help but think that, whether due to Jing Hongchen's influence or his own talent, Lin Jiayi felt far more like a true teacher than Nightmare Douluo ever did.
In nearly a decade at the Holy Spirit Church, Lin Xiao had to handle countless tasks for Nightmare Douluo to earn cultivation resources. But with Lin Jiayi, shortly after enrolling, he had received a full set of soul tool equipment and even a valuable Invincible Shield as a gift for becoming his student.
"Here we are," Lin Jiayi said, interrupting Lin Xiao's thoughts.
Looking around, the vast soul tool testing area was divided into various sections. Some were for testing soul tool power, while others were set up as spacious arenas, each over a hundred meters in length and width.
Soul engineers had a much larger attack range than soul masters, so they needed sufficiently spacious venues to fully perform.
"You'll become more familiar with this place over time. Whether developing new soul tools or practicing combat with them, this will be a frequent spot for you. Today is your first practical control lesson, so we'll start with the basics."
"See that target over there?" Lin Jiayi pointed into the distance, where a target a hundred meters away was barely a speck. "You can't lock onto a target that far with just your eyes. Sometimes, you need intuition—or rather, the aid of spiritual power."
"The Level 5 soul cannon in your hand is standard academy equipment, but it's already a mid-tier soul tool. Even after firing, you can guide the attack with spiritual power. Most soul masters don't focus on cultivating spiritual power, letting it grow naturally with their soul power."
"But for us soul engineers, the stronger your spiritual power, the more precisely and focused you can inscribe arrays, control, and use soul tools. Some complex soul tools even have minimum spiritual power requirements for their users."
"This is one reason I have high hopes for you," Lin Jiayi said with a soft sigh. "Over the years, the academy has tried to improve students' spiritual power, but we still don't have a fully developed training method, only some external approaches."
"Teacher, what are these external approaches?" Lin Xiao asked curiously. He knew spiritual power wasn't just useful for controlling soul tools—it played a significant role in both combat and cultivation.
"There are only two known methods. One is practice—generally, soul engineers of the same cultivation level have stronger spiritual power than soul masters. The other is rare treasures that enhance spiritual power, but those are hard to come by."
"Don't worry, though. Even without a mature method, the academy consciously nurtures your abilities. With your outstanding talent, I won't let it go to waste," Lin Jiayi said, smiling as he patted Lin Xiao's shoulder.
"Go try it. You'll need to attempt it multiple times to grasp how spiritual power integrates with soul tools."
Lin Xiao nodded, stepping forward. Following Lin Jiayi's guidance, he sensed the changes in his spiritual power with each attack.