“What’s Shrek’s greatest advantage? It’s that we have the best soul master educational system and the best soul masters. Like I mentioned earlier, soul masters and soul engineers are not mutually exclusive.

“Let me give a simple example. Imagine we have a Class 4 soul cannon with a firing range of three hundred meters in the hands of both an ordinary soul master and a member of our academy. The effect of this soul tool will be different for both sides. An ordinary soul master will try to increase his soul power and soul skills in order to continue using this soul cannon. Their abilities will become more and more negligible as a result, and they’ll need to rely on the soul cannon to attack. However, how can their judgment, senses, agility, and strength compare to our soul masters?”

“If I were an agility-type soul master carrying the same soul cannon, I could kill my opponent, who wouldn’t be able to put up any resistance. He won’t even be able to lock onto me. If I were a control-type soul master, I could control the situation and close the distance while finding the most appropriate opportunity to attack. If I were an assault-type soul master, I could use the firepower of the soul cannon to suppress my opponent, and use my physically strong body to fight. If my opponent is at the same level of cultivation, how could he possibly beat me?

“That’s why ordinary soul masters will be much inferior to our soul masters if both sides use the same soul tools and are at the same level of cultivation. There’s an even wider gap in terms of the potential to grow even stronger.”

As he concluded, Huo Yuhao stood up and said, “Everyone, please take a look.”

As he spoke, he stood up and retreated a few steps. He lifted his right hand and revealed his Starlight Sapphire ring.

A streak of blue light flashed, and an entirely grey, three-and-a-half-meter-tall metallic man was presented in front of everyone.

Although this metallic man looked a little simple, Dean Xian Lin’er couldn’t help but jump up from her seat when it appeared. She lost her voice as she said, “Human-shaped soul tool!...”

Huo Yuhao nodded and pointed at it with his right hand. The center of the soul tool cracked open, revealing an empty space.

Xian Lin’er was already very eager. She raced up in front of the metallic man and was appalled as she looked it over. “Yuhao, this is from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy..”

Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, “No, I invented this myself. It contains some of Tang Sect’s secret techniques. If I commanded such a soul tool, I could attack up to one kilometer away, and its speed can be increased to the maximum using my twelve Class 6 soul thrusters. It can fly at a high altitude for some time, too! I even installed enough Milk Bottles to provide it with independent soul power. Even if I deplete my own soul power, the Milk Bottles can sustain the fighting strength of a Soul Emperor for some time. However, all this isn’t the most important thing.”

Huo Yuhao stepped forward in front of the human-shaped soul tool. He stepped inside of it, and it closed up. Under his control, the metallic man took a step forward.

“The most important thing is that it has the potential to be enhanced further. This is the future development path of soul tools. A suitable soul master using a suitable soul tool that can exhibit all types of fighting skills will become the future trend. Human-shaped soul tools won’t be left out. However, some problems will arise as human-shaped soul tools develop.

“Soul tools aren’t everything on their own. The more unique they are, the greater their requirements on the person controlling them. Simply put, if a medicinally-boosted five-ringed Soul King controlled this metallic man, he would directly lose his fighting ability and even his life from the instantaneous thrusting force when it flies at high altitudes. However, this won’t happen to me. I can even use my spiritual power to lock onto my target, and tap into my various soul skills to aid it, complementing it to unleash greater fighting strength. Even if it is damaged, I can still fight on the battlefield, since I’m a strong soul master in my own right.”

As he finished, Huo Yuhao exited the metallic man from the clanging metal doors. He returned to the table and said respectfully, “Elders, my final conclusion is that soul tools are only weapons that can be used by soul masters. They are external items. Their presence won’t affect a soul master’s status. On the contrary, they might even make us stronger. Think about it. If our soul masters were equipped with the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s soul tools, we’d be invincible. However, can they do the same thing? No. That’s because they lack the most basic thing. Soul tools can be created and enhanced through research, but what about strong soul masters? Who has a foundation like Shrek Academy?!”

As he reached this last sentence, his voice was determined and resolute. Everyone was moved by his words. Even Yan Shaozhe’s eyes changed continuously.

The strength of Huo Yuhao’s speech was that he evaluated soul tools from the perspective of soul masters, and at the same time addressed their greatest worry.

Yan Shaozhe asked, “Yuhao, I have a question. According to what you say, I’d like to know how long it’ll take for a soul master to learn how to use these various soul tools?”

Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, “If you’re talking about controlling different categories of soul tools, it’ll take two to three years.”

After hearing his reply, Yan Shaozhe heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that that wasn’t a very long time. However, his eyes brightened when Huo Yuhao continued, “However, I think that’s too long. In my opinion, I think it’s easy for soul masters to use soul tools. However, being eclectic isn’t a good choice. That’s because different soul masters are bound to have different soul tools that suit them. It’s like how soul engineers have to choose their future path when they develop soul tools. When soul masters use soul tools, they should also make their own choices.

“For example, assault-type soul masters are most suited to use this human-shaped soul tool in front of me. That’s because their bodies are very strong and more tolerant. Their fighting strength will greatly increase when using such a soul tool. This is especially so for five-ringed Soul Kings and six-ringed Soul Emperors, as they’ll directly gain the ability to fly over long distances. The effect of this on the battlefield will be immense!

“For auxiliary-type soul masters, they’ll need other soul tools. First, soul tools that suit them need to be sufficiently offensive. Then they’ll also need soul tools that they can use to defend themselves. The size of the soul tools will be bigger than this metallic man in front of us, and will be able to guarantee their survival on the battlefield.

“For agility-type soul masters, soul thrusters would suit them. Their speed would be greatly increased. Along with close-combat soul tools, they’ll become very strong. From this, we can conclude that the best thing would be for every soul master to have a custom-made soul tool, and only use that category of soul tool. It’ll then take only a month or two to become familiar with and control one specific category of soul tools. For deeper familiarization, it’ll depend on one’s intelligence and learning speed.”

All the elders couldn’t help but nod as they listened to Huo Yuhao’s explanation. Elder Xuan revealed a comforted look, reassured by these words.

“Everyone, what do you think about Yuhao’s proposal?” Elder Xuan asked.

Elder Song sighed slightly and commented, “In the future, our world will belong to young people like them. The difference in our thinking actually led to such a huge discrepancy in our ideas. However, I must admit that I’m convinced.”

Elder Xuan and looked at Yan Shaozhe before saying, “Shaozhe, what about you?”

Yan Shaozhe said, “Elder Xuan, Elder Song, everyone else. After hearing Yuhao’s words, I have a lot of feelings. I’m most shocked not by this metallic man, but his analysis of Shrek’s advantage. All this while, my biggest mistake was to look at others’ advantages, and I forgot about our own advantages. Yuhao has also convinced me. I reckon that we can try his method out. We can add two more lessons for the Martial Soul Department’s outer courtyard students, introduction to soul tools, and use of soul tools. The younger students can start interacting with soul tools during their learning process. The inner courtyard disciples can be equipped with custom-made soul tools, like Yuhao suggested. In this way, our Shrek Guardians will undoubtedly become stronger. Lin’er, I’ll need you to be in charge of educating the Martial Soul Department’s inner courtyard students on using soul tools.”

“Of course” Xian Lin’er looked at Yan Shaozhe with a slightly weird expression. But that was no surprise; in her heart, Yan Shaozhe was a stubborn old man! Who would have expected him to accept Huo Yuhao’s suggestion?

Although Huo Yuhao had only mentioned the advantages to the Martial Soul Department, his proposal would also make the Soul Tool Department more important in Shrek Academy!