"As far as I know, black-class mecha can only allow soul spirits to partially integrate. Actually controlling a mecha in battle with a soul spirit—is that even possible?" Gu Yuena voiced her doubts.
She was a soul tool master. For a special branch of soul tools—mecha—she was very knowledgeable.
Yun Ze smiled.
"Exactly. It was impossible before. I made it possible through some improvements."
"And this integration can even be permanent. Simply put, once a soul spirit takes residence, it can treat the mecha as its new body."
"The mecha becomes the body, the soul spirit becomes the soul. Together—what you get is a 'Mecha Beast.' You could even call it a robot if you like."
"I once met someone from a technological civilization who used that word for machines with independent thought."
"Though, what he built was far more advanced than what I'm designing—they didn't need a soul at all. They created their own mechanical 'souls.'"
When he said this, Yun Ze looked faintly regretful.
That technology had been quite interesting. If he'd known, he wouldn't have slapped that man to death on the spot.He should have asked for some mechanical engineering techniques, maybe even built a few robots for fun. Something to tinker with when bored.
But really, it was that man's own fault—too weak, too arrogant.He thought that with weapons capable of destroying the stars, he could challenge Yun Ze.In the end, he couldn't even take a single blow.
Seeing how fragile the man was, Yun Ze lost interest in the technology altogether, burned it all to ash in one go, and never looked back.
"You're serious?" Gu Yuena's eyes widened in shock, her breathing quickened.
Di Tian's pupils shrank as well.
If soul spirits could permanently inhabit mecha, wasn't that basically… reviving soul beasts in another form?
Their bodies might no longer be flesh and blood, but cold metal was still far better than nothing.
"In theory it works. In practice? I don't see any issues," Yun Ze said confidently, fully trusting his own design.
"If that's really the case, then this is amazing!"
"Those soul beasts that became soul spirits and weren't yet absorbed—they'd finally have a chance to live again!"
Gu Yuena shot to her feet, her cheeks flushing with excitement, her heartbeat racing faster than normal.
Hearing this, Di Tian, Xiong Jun, and the others were all instantly alert, equally thrilled.
"If you want to think of it as resurrection, you can," Yun Ze said calmly.
True resurrection, no. But a soul, a mind, and a body to move in—yes. In essence, a kind of return.
"Can you teach me how to build these mecha?" Gu Yuena asked eagerly, eyes full of hope.
Yun Ze nodded with a faint chuckle.
"If you want to learn, I'll teach you. It's actually very simple. Compared to normal mecha, it's just a matter of swapping out a few formation arrays."
"When the time comes, I'll draw the arrays for you, along with the design schematics. With your talent, it won't take you more than a few years to master."
"Thank you."
A bright smile bloomed on Gu Yuena's face, dimples showing as her lips curved with delight.
Then a thought struck her.
"Wait. The arrays used in black-class mecha usually require at least a rank-seven soul engineer to engrave. Can you even engrave rank-seven arrays yet?"
She frowned. That was a critical point. Yun Ze, as far as she knew, could only manage rank-four arrays at best. Rank seven was still a long way off.
"If it were standard rank-seven arrays, then no—I couldn't engrave them with my current soul power," Yun Ze admitted calmly.
"But the arrays I plan to engrave on black-class mecha are ones I've personally redesigned. I drastically reduced their soul power requirements. I can engrave them easily right now."
"Once I hit rank thirty, it'll be even easier," he added.
In the past three days, he had been cultivating using the energy within that dragon pearl. With such abundant energy, his cultivation speed had skyrocketed, pushing him right to the bottleneck of rank thirty.
He hadn't used a thousand-year soul spirit to directly grant himself his third soul ring yet. Instead, he planned to obtain a second soul spirit, and let that soul spirit provide the ring.
In the last half-year, his spiritual power had increased rapidly, reaching the Spirit Sea Realm. With more than nine hundred spiritual power points, he could now safely absorb a second soul spirit.
Normally, once a soul master reached rank thirty, a thousand-year soul spirit would automatically provide the third soul ring and allow a breakthrough.
But Yun Ze's soul spirit wasn't that free. Without his permission, it couldn't form a soul ring at all.
"So what you're saying," Gu Yuena pieced it together, "is that you can't engrave rank-seven arrays, but you can engrave arrays with the same power as rank-seven ones?"
Yun Ze nodded.
"That's about right."
"This makes no sense," Gu Yuena said, frowning, feeling genuinely puzzled.
By logic, if someone could engrave arrays of rank-seven strength, they should be able to engrave regular rank-seven ones, not just "equivalents."
"Tell me," Yun Ze asked with a smile, "what rank would you say the arrays I engrave count as?"
"At least rank nine, top tier—maybe even god-level arrays," Gu Yuena blurted out before freezing in place.
"Exactly. So why can I engrave arrays more complex than rank-nine arrays, yet not simple rank-seven or eight soul-tool arrays?"
Before, she hadn't really thought about it. But now that Yun Ze had asked, her head was suddenly full of question marks.
"Don't tell me those miraculous arrays are actually easier to engrave than normal ones—I wouldn't believe that," Gu Yuena said firmly.
Those arrays made her dizzy just looking at them. She couldn't understand them at all. Meanwhile, soul-tool arrays were a hundred times simpler, easier to read, even if far weaker in power.
Even Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others who didn't know much about soul-tool arrays could sense the contradiction in this, their curiosity piqued.
"For me," Yun Ze said honestly, "the arrays really are easier to engrave than soul-tool formations. Otherwise, how else could I engrave something so intricate yet not manage a simple rank-seven?"
"But why?" Gu Yuena stared at him, eyes sparkling with childlike curiosity.
Yun Ze thought for a moment, then said:
"Let me put it in simple terms. Engraving arrays or formations is like driving a soul-powered car up a mountain."
"My soul power is the car's fuel. Engraving arrays is like taking a straight, gentle road up."
"The slope is mild, the path short, and it doesn't burn much energy. But along the way there are many obstacles, requiring incredibly precise maneuvering to avoid."
"Engraving soul-tool formations, on the other hand, is like taking the long winding mountain road. You have to go through dozens or even hundreds of switchbacks before reaching the top. The journey itself isn't difficult—just follow the route—but it burns through a ton of fuel."
"So, tell me. With my current soul power, which path do you think is easier?" Yun Ze asked with a grin.
"The straight, gentle road," Gu Yuena answered instantly, realization dawning on her face as her brows slowly eased.
She mulled it over, speaking her thoughts aloud:
"Engraving arrays is complex in process but consumes little soul power, while soul-tool formations are simpler but require massive amounts of soul power."
"Soul power is a hard limit—no skill can bypass it. That's why you can't engrave normal rank-seven or eight arrays, but you can engrave even deeper, higher-level ones of your own."
Yun Ze nodded.
"That's basically it. I turned the winding mountain road those rank-seven and eight arrays require into a straight path."
"I raised the technical difficulty but lowered the power requirement—so now I can engrave them."
"You really are a genius!" Gu Yuena exclaimed in awe.
"Not genius," Yun Ze corrected calmly. "Just perspective. If you studied arrays, you could do the same."
"I doubt I could do it as well as you," Gu Yuena said shyly, thinking Yun Ze was complimenting her, a sweet, delighted warmth blooming in her chest.
(End of Chapter)