If the Source Core lacked the ability to grow and sustain itself, Huo Yuhao wouldn't consider incorporating it into a Lifebound Soul Tool. At most, he would include a Reactor Furnace in the design, into which he could place metal to refine a Source Core when needed.
The Reactor Furnace was the device for refining Source Cores, and one of the core components Huo Yuhao planned to include in his Lifebound Soul Tool design. With the Reactor Furnace, he could, when necessary, feed metal into the soul tool to extract Source energy as a temporary power source.
With an evolvable Monomer Forward Cycle Source Core as the primary power source and a Reactor Furnace as backup, the Lifebound Soul Tool would possess a "heart" that never ran dry.
Ordinary soul tools required continuous spirit power input from a soul master to function. But Huo Yuhao's Lifebound Soul Tool, with its Source Core constantly generating energy, could even provide spirit power support to its master in return.
When the Lifebound Soul Tool truly developed sentience, it would be able to awaken on its own without its master's urging and unleash its full power in battle.
Such an enhancement was significant.
Once it became a super-divine artifact, it would serve as a not-insignificant trump card.
After all, while most super-divine artifacts contained terrifying energy, fully unleashing that power ultimately required the master's input to trigger it. Even if the master fell, a super-divine artifact's power was limited.
But the Lifebound Soul Tool Huo Yuhao was forging could, in the future, become a super-divine artifact capable of fighting on its own. Its advantages in battle were self-evident.
Under Ling Zichen's watchful gaze, Huo Yuhao first used the lab's equipment to forge the Reactor Furnace.
Its appearance could be compared to a certain Iron Man's Arc Reactor—a palm-sized ring-shaped device, its interior inlaid with densely packed soul tool circuits, with a recess at the center for placing metal materials. The entire Reactor Furnace hovered above the workbench, emitting a faint blue glow.
Huo Yuhao inspected the Reactor Furnace's various parameters and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, with a flip of his right hand, he retrieved a fist-sized piece of metal from his storage soul tool.
It wasn't a single metal, but a Divine Alloy smelted from nine different metals, including Magic Silver and Blue Gestation Copper. Moreover, it had already undergone Soul Forging and been baptized by Elemental Divine Thunder. Its energy reaction was no less than that of some Heaven-Forge metals.
Although Ling Zichen hadn't reacted at first, her previous research on Source Core technology had given her deep knowledge of various alloys and metals. She quickly noticed something unusual.
"This Soul-Forged alloy of yours... how many metals did you use?"
"Nine."
"The legendary Divine Alloy? You actually developed it?"
Ling Zichen was somewhat surprised, but considering Huo Yuhao's abilities, she quickly accepted it.
Nothing to be surprised about. She had long witnessed his capabilities. It was understandable that he could develop a Divine Alloy.
Similarly, even though extracting Source energy from a fusion-forged alloy was difficult, she believed Huo Yuhao had the ability.
(Note: The settings regarding Source Core extraction vary widely. The original text has various settings—some say only ordinary metals can be used, some say higher-tier forged metals can't be used for Source Core extraction, some say divine-level metals can successfully extract Source Cores. In short, it's very inconsistent. We'll follow this story's settings.)
However...
"The energy contained in this Divine Alloy, after fusion, is probably no less than the energy from a Heaven-Forge metal's fusion. That's comparable energy to a God-Slaying Grade Soul Tool Cannon Shell. Using it to forge a soul tool..."
Ling Zichen murmured, "What level would this soul tool be? Level 11, or Level 12?"
Don't underestimate a single piece of alloy. Soul-Forged metal already contained considerable energy, and this was a Divine Alloy. Its internal energy was no worse than Heaven-Forge metals.
And if a Heaven-Forge metal was refined and fused into a Source Core, its power would definitely reach the divine level—comparable to, or even surpassing, a God-Slaying Grade Soul Tool Cannon Shell.
That was the power of metal energy fusion.
Using such a thing as one of the materials for forging a soul tool, Ling Zichen felt that the Lifebound Soul Tool Huo Yuhao had designed was at least Level 12 or above.
After all, the Federation had classified three God-Slaying Grade Soul Tool Cannon Shells as Level 12 soul tools.
"It seems I'm about to witness the birth of a super soul tool."
Ling Zichen murmured, excitement glimmering in her eyes.
As a soul tool researcher, witnessing the birth of a work that surpassed the era naturally filled her with anticipation.
But Huo Yuhao, who had produced the Divine Alloy, sighed inwardly.
"Unfortunately, a Source Core refined from Heaven-Forge metal can't be used as an energy source."
Even if a Heaven-Forge metal was made into a Source Core, it was very difficult to use as an energy source. Such a thing was only suitable as a one-time bomb.
Because after undergoing a heavenly tribulation, the metal—like a human who had passed the tribulation to become a deity—underwent a complete transformation, becoming a lifeform and energy body. This was why Heaven-Forge metals were called divine-level metals.
Extracting and forging a Source Core meant depriving the divine-level metal of its life—or rather, killing the metal's body, leaving only its energy and soul for fusion and sublimation. Naturally, divine-level metals wouldn't accept this willingly.
A Source Core forged from divine-level metal was filled with the resentment and rage of the metal being "killed." Its energy was completely uncontrollable. It could serve as a one-time bomb, but as a controlled nuclear fusion-like energy source, it was inadequate.
This was also the origin of the forbidden weapon God's Wrath from Soul Land IV.
Huo Yuhao had once specifically verified this using the Heaven-Forge metal Zhen Hua had forged for him, confirming it was true.
If not for this, Huo Yuhao would have very much liked to use Heaven-Forge Divine Alloy to forge a Monomer Forward Cycle Source Core. That would have given the Source Core a higher starting point.
But nothing in the world could be perfect. Huo Yuhao simply regretted it briefly without dwelling on it.
The higher the tier of metal, the more difficult it was to extract a Source Core. If it had been a Heaven-Forge grade Divine Alloy, he might not have been able to extract a Source Core at all.
Moreover, the Divine Alloy in his possession had already undergone Soul Forging and wasn't far inferior to ordinary divine-level metals in essence. The Source Core extracted from it had spirituality and growth potential, with high energy potential, and wouldn't be filled with resentment and rebellious consciousness like divine-level metals. That was already very good.
Time passed as Huo Yuhao forged the Metal Source.
After an unknown period, the Reactor Furnace let out a clear chime.
The light gradually faded. In the center of the furnace chamber, a fist-sized core, its surface flowing with metallic luster, hovered quietly.
Huo Yuhao reached out and retrieved the core, feeling the seemingly calm but actually terrifying power within, and paused.
If he hadn't added self-made soul tool arrays like the Siphon Inscription Soul Tool Array to the Reactor Furnace, and if this Divine Alloy hadn't achieved 100% fusion compatibility, extracting a Metal Source of this level wouldn't have been easy.
Ling Zichen had expected Huo Yuhao to immediately begin forging the soul tool there, but instead he stopped. She asked in confusion, "Not going to forge it here? No one will disturb you."
Huo Yuhao put away the Source Core and Reactor Furnace and shook his head. "This isn't the right place. I'm going somewhere else."
"Can I come watch?" Ling Zichen couldn't suppress her curiosity about this Lifebound Soul Tool. As a soul tool researcher, witnessing the birth of a Level 12 or higher soul tool was too tempting.
Huo Yuhao glanced at her, thought for a moment, and finally nodded. "Fine."
With that, he walked out. Ling Zichen followed and asked, "After you finish your Lifebound Soul Tool, could you give me some of that Divine Alloy?"
"You want to make weapons with it? This Divine Alloy is quite valuable. Using it as a disposable item would be wasteful—and dangerous."
Huo Yuhao didn't agree.
This Divine Alloy had been forged by Gu Yuena. After a fusion reaction, the power of a single explosion could reach the level of a third-class deity's full-force strike in the mortal world. Perhaps not as powerful as the God's Wrath from Soul Land IV, which could reach second-class deity level, but still quite dangerous.
Handing Divine Alloy over to Ling Zichen—a research fanatic who loved playing with "Human Cannons"—wasn't something he felt comfortable with.
"I don't want to make weapons out of it. I just want to study the Divine Alloy..."
Seeing the direction Huo Yuhao was heading, Ling Zichen's words gradually trailed off.
Huo Yuhao wasn't heading to a cultivation chamber or another research lab. He was going straight to the Spirit Transmission Tower's basement level.
Ling Zichen looked at him in confusion.
Why was he going there?
Just then, Huo Yuhao asked, "Speaking of which, do you know why the Spirit Transmission Tower is called the Spirit Transmission Tower?"
Ling Zichen raised an eyebrow. "Because building the tower in a pagoda shape allows the formation to make the spirit transmission process easier and condense a soul master's spiritual power more effectively. That's why our organization was named the Spirit Transmission Tower. Is there a problem?"
That was common knowledge left behind when the Spirit-Ice Douluo established the Spirit Transmission Tower.
"No problem. You answered correctly."
But you're missing a key piece.
Huo Yuhao smiled, closed his eyes, and connected with the formation within the Spirit Transmission Tower, sinking his consciousness into its depths.
There, at the core of the entire Spirit Transmission Tower's magic array, countless fine formations converged into a massive six-pointed star array. Within that array was a sphere of light, surrounded by countless soft glows hovering quietly.
As Ling Zichen had said, the entire Spirit Transmission Tower was a massive magic array. But its function wasn't limited to assisting the spirit transmission process.
It had another purpose—converging faith!
Faith had directionality. Without a clear target, faith power would scatter like rootless duckweed, dissipating into the world, unable to be effectively used.
When a believer prayed with someone in mind, that faith would naturally drift toward that person. A deity could use the Divine Realm as a medium to absorb, purify, and convert that faith power into their own strength.
Huo Yuhao didn't have the Divine Realm as a convenient relay station, nor could he, being away from the Douluo Continent for long periods, absorb that faith power himself. Without prior preparation, the accumulated faith power from ten thousand years of the Spirit Transmission Tower would have long since dissipated entirely.
So when he first established the Spirit Transmission Tower, he had deliberately left a wisp of divine consciousness in the foundational formations of two towers.
One in Mingdu. The other in the Extreme North Spirit Transmission Tower.
That divine consciousness was the "beacon" for faith.
When people worshiped the Spirit-Ice Douluo, the faith they generated would converge along that beacon, stored and purified by the formation. Over the years, it had accumulated into this vast, pure sea of light.
That wisp of divine consciousness, nourished by the faith power, hadn't dissipated, but the separated divine consciousness couldn't grow—its strength remained the same as when it had been split off.
"Ten thousand years of accumulation. Thank you for your hard work."
Huo Yuhao said, but he didn't reclaim that wisp of divine consciousness. He simply mobilized a portion of the faith power.
For the initial forging of the Lifebound Soul Tool, he didn't need such a massive amount of faith power.
After Huo Yuhao's spiritual power made contact with the faith power, it was like meeting its master. Countless soft glows converged from all directions, forming rivers of light that surrounded him. The entire basement floor was illuminated bright as day. A warm, sacred aura spread, inspiring awe.
Witnessing this, Ling Zichen's eyes widened, and she involuntarily stepped back.
What was happening?!
For someone proficient in soul tool knowledge but not a Limit-level expert, this scene was clearly beyond understanding.
Within the Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters, Gu Yuena, Snow Empress, Qianku Dicing, and others sensed it as well.
"So... it really is the Ancestor?" Qianku Dicing's gaze turned toward the basement direction.
Having cultivated to his level, faith power wasn't something he couldn't perceive. Scattered bits were one thing, but the aura beneath the Spirit Transmission Tower was too immense—naturally, he sensed it.
A complex expression rose on his face—awe, relief, and an indescribable emotion.
"With this person here, what will the next era look like?" As he pondered, a knock came at the door. Without waiting for him to respond, Snow Empress walked in.
Seeing her, Qianku Dicing smiled. "Tower Master Snow Empress, please rest assured. Dongfeng and the others won't disturb that person."
"Good."
Huo Yuhao looked at the pagoda formed from faith power.
It resembled the Spirit Transmission Tower in appearance, but with fewer levels—only nine stories.
"Preparations are nearly complete."
Huo Yuhao looked up at Ling Zichen.
"Since you want to watch, then watch carefully. It might help your future research."
"Yes!" Ling Zichen said instinctively, quickly composing herself and fixing her gaze on him.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao waved his right hand. Various soul tool equipment appeared before him, and numerous materials flew out of his storage soul tool, hovering around him.
There was the Source Core he had forged earlier, a considerable amount of Divine Alloy, and even some Gold of Life.
Gold of Life wasn't suitable as an alloy component, but it was itself a divine-level material—more than qualified as a Lifebound Soul Tool material.
At the same time, a soul tool design blueprint appeared before Huo Yuhao.
Ling Zichen knew the blueprint was for her to see. After all, as the designer, Huo Yuhao was already familiar with the complete picture and didn't need it as reference.
She studied the blueprint intentionally, a hint of fascination in her eyes.
Those soul tool formations not recorded in any text, those Level 10—no, Level 12 core soul tool formations—held her spellbound. She wished she could etch every circuit into her memory.
But as Huo Yuhao began to work, her attention shifted to him.
The Blade of Life's Guardian had appeared in Huo Yuhao's hand at some point, and he began engraving soul tool formations onto the metal.
There was no overwhelming aura. All Ling Zichen could sense was an astonishing focus, which eased her mind slightly.
She felt this was how forging a soul tool should look. The earlier summoning of the sea of light had nothing to do with soul tool technology.
But as time passed, she gradually became unsettled.
Incomprehensible law imprints, with unfathomable auras, were continuously hammered into the weapon embryo by Huo Yuhao.
A seven-colored divine flame that made her hair stand on end appeared out of nowhere, assisting in the forging.
The Faith Pagoda formed from faith power gradually fused with the weapon embryo Huo Yuhao was forging, their auras growing increasingly astonishing...
"You want me to learn all this? How can I possibly learn?"
Ling Zichen muttered inwardly.
Learned?
She'd learned nothing!
***
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