As the students were introducing themselves to He Caitou and exchanging brief pleasantries, Zhou Yi had already walked silently to Fan Yu's side and whispered, "They have a deeper understanding of spirit tools than I do, so I'll leave it to them."
Fan Yu glanced at his wife and gently patted her arm to comfort her, saying nothing more.
He Caitou had already stepped into his role as a "guide." Rubbing his hands together, he spoke enthusiastically to the freshmen, "Since everyone is here to visit the Soul Tool Department, I'll first take you to see the most basic spirit tool manufacturing process. However, considering safety and access permissions, we can only observe the production of First-rank and Second-rank spirit tools for now. If you're interested, I can find some safe First-rank or Second-rank spirit tools for you to experience firsthand later."
Furina stood in the crowd, calmly observing the youth named He Caitou. In her "memory" information, this person's identity was quite special; he was originally of the Sun Moon Empire's royal Bloodline but had ended up at Shrek Academy due to a palace coup.
However, what impressed her wasn't his tragic past, but the cold attitude he displayed toward the lives of commoners in his former country in certain plots of the original work. That psychological state of venting anger on innocent people due to internal royal strife, and his later nonchalance toward the horrific explosion involving tens of millions of people, made Furina maintain a level of scrutiny toward his true nature.
The current He Caitou appeared honest and simple. His Martial Soul was ostensibly the food system Cigar, but he actually had a Second Martial Soul, the Sun. He was exceptionally talented, especially in the field of spirit tools. In the early stages of the original work, he had a positive image, and his romance with Xiao Xiao was also quite popular; he was indeed a potential asset worth recruiting.
But Furina knew that He Caitou invested a great deal of energy into the "ultimate soldier plan" led by Fan Yu. In her view, this was somewhat of a waste of his twin spirits talent.
The so-called "ultimate soldier plan" had a grand name, but its philosophy seemed a bit narrow to Furina—it aimed to pour resources into training a few "super soldiers" with comprehensive abilities, similar to an ace among special forces.
But in the world of Douluo Continent, where individual might and group strength are equally important, especially when the Shrek Academy Soul Tool Department had limited resources in its early stages, betting everything on one or two people was a questionable risk-to-benefit ratio. Instead, investing resources into training more high-ranking Spirit Masters or promoting the universal development of spirit tool technology might lead to a more significant overall increase in strength.
Of course, Furina could understand the background of Fan Yu's plan: during the douluo 2 era, the spirit tool level of Shrek and even the Three Great Empires lagged behind the Sun Moon Empire. As the academy's only Eighth-rank Soul Engineer and Spirit Douluo, it was normal for Fan Yu to develop some Advanced or even idealistic concepts while exploring.
This plan would even evolve into the "Star War Experimental Class" in the distant future of the fourth installment of Douluo Continent, emphasizing teamwork—a sort of philosophical reflection and upgrade. But those were stories for another time.
For now, Furina had other plans. She turned to Huo Yuhao and several core companions nearby and whispered, "Follow Senior Brother He and observe well. Listen, watch, and ask questions. Especially Yuhao, as I mentioned before, pay attention to Senior Brother He's insights and craftsmanship in spirit tools to see if there's an opportunity for deeper exchange."
She hinted at her intention to recruit him and hoped Huo Yuhao would take the chance to show his interest and potential in spirit tools.
Huo Yuhao understood and nodded, "Alright, Furina, don't worry."
The other students had no objections. Under He Caitou's warm greeting, the group of teenagers followed him toward the work cubicles shimmering with spirit tool light.
After most of the students left, only Furina, Fan Yu, and Zhou Yi—who had silently stepped back a few paces, seemingly unwilling to join the conversation—remained at the edge of the open area.
Fan Yu looked at Furina, who had stayed behind of her own accord. He raised a thick eyebrow inquisitively, "Student Furina, staying behind alone... is there something you want to discuss with me?"
He had naturally heard about yesterday's class, where this white-haired girl sparked a subversive debate and produced an astonishing pistol that didn't require Soul Power to operate.
Furina met his gaze with a perfect smile and went straight to the point, "Teacher Fan Yu, as the pillar of the Soul Tool Department, I assume you have deep attainments and understanding in every aspect of spirit tools?"
Fan Yu nodded slightly, without false modesty, "I know a thing or two. But you, Student Furina, at such a young age, not only have unique insights into Spirit Master theory but also seem to know a lot about spirit tools. I heard you can even produce a special spirit tool that doesn't rely on Soul Power?"
His gaze held undisguised interest, clearly very concerned with that pistol.
"Are you referring to the pistol? Or the Hidden Weaponss of the Tang Sect that rely on mechanical power?" Furina asked knowingly.
"The former, naturally," Fan Yu stated frankly. "I've heard of the Tang Sect's Hidden Weaponss; their mechanisms are ingenious and indeed unique. But by comparison, the pistol you showed seems more novel and thought-provoking in terms of design philosophy, power, and potential for development."
"Teacher Fan Yu indeed has a Wisdom Eye," Furina praised before presenting her view. "However, in my opinion, Tang Sect Hidden Weaponss can be considered a branch or a predecessor of spirit tools in a broad sense. They both aim to amplify or transform the user's power through special structures."
"It's just that the Tang Sect has stuck to tradition and hasn't actively evolved toward spirit tools. If their exquisite mechanical structures could be combined with spirit tools, it might create a new generation of soul weapons that are easier to popularize, more powerful, and perhaps even completely independent of the user's Soul Power."
Her words vaguely pointed toward a possibility different from the current mainstream development path of spirit tools.
A light flashed in Fan Yu's eyes. Furina's insights coincided with some of his vague ideas, but were even clearer and bolder. "Your ideas are very inspiring. I wonder..."
He hesitated briefly before asking directly, "I wonder if you're willing to sell that pistol to the academy's Soul Tool Department for research? The price is negotiable—Spirit Bones, rare metals, gold coin—as long as it's within reason, we'll do our best to meet your demands."
Although the Soul Tool Department's resources weren't as vast as the Martial Soul Department's, they were willing to pay a high price for key research samples.
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