SoulLand:Ascending to Godhood through Science

While the other Soul-Battle Beasts were busy with the handover process, You Chen headed straight into the research facility alone.

He found his appointed deputy director, Lin Zhi, and handed over a ring-shaped storage soul tool. "Lin Zhi, here's the data I recorded during this trip regarding the performance of the Blackfire Crossbow. It's all in here."

"Yes, sir."

The man called Lin Zhi, whose head was noticeably larger than the average person's and seemed somewhat bloated, nodded woodenly as he accepted the storage ring. He looked a bit dazed and sluggish, but You Chen knew better.

This guy's intelligence in certain areas was absolutely on par with his own!

Lin Zhi, 18 years old, had the Wisdom Owl as his martial spirit.

What was a Wisdom Owl? You could think of it as a "clever owl."

Its most notable characteristic was its extraordinary intelligence and spiritual power.

Before You Chen helped resolve the beastly mutation that afflicted Lin Zhi, his head was so grotesquely large that it was borderline frightening and even interfered with his daily life.

Though the symptoms were greatly alleviated once he could cultivate normally, his head was still noticeably larger than average. This affected his mobility and made excelling as a battle soul master nearly impossible.

At 18 years old, Lin Zhi was among the older members of the Soul-Battle Beasts.

Despite his age, and with a significant allocation of resources, his soul power level had only just reached level 33. While this seemed impressive, the investment in his cultivation rivaled what had been spent on You Chen himself. By most standards, such returns would be considered a waste.

However, You Chen wasn't interested in Lin Zhi's combat ability. Boosting his cultivation level was purely to increase his spiritual capacity, which indirectly enhanced his research capabilities.

The truth was, without Lin Zhi's assistance, You Chen, with his attention divided across multiple projects, could never have developed the Blackfire Crossbow in such a short time.

Now, You Chen planned to entrust Lin Zhi with the Blackfire Crossbow's subsequent development while he shifted his focus to advancing the Two-Ring Borrowing Technique.

"How is it? Even though it's just a rudimentary Blackfire weapon, it's already proven capable of killing Soul Emperors and even Soul Sages," You Chen said, complimenting Lin Zhi as the latter reviewed the data.

In a way, Lin Zhi was practically the crossbow's co-creator.

Faced with You Chen's praise, Lin Zhi remained humble, responding in a calm tone, "The design of the axle can't withstand the impact of firing the bolts; the wear and tear are too severe. After just two reloads, the risk of a misfire or explosion increases drastically. In other words, after six shots, the weapon is practically useless. Its efficiency is too low."

"Don't worry too much about it."

You Chen patted Lin Zhi's shoulder. Though Lin Zhi's tone was neutral, You Chen, having spent years with the original Soul-Battle Beasts, could tell the young man was disheartened.

He offered reassurance: "This was always meant to be a prototype for practice, a transitional weapon to test feasibility. Take a look at this."

With that, You Chen handed over a stack of pristine blueprints.

These were initial designs for a modern firearm-inspired Blackfire weapon.

Lin Zhi only needed one glance before his eyes locked onto the intricate mechanical structures. Completely captivated, he forgot about politeness and grabbed the blueprints, flipping through them at lightning speed.

In just a few minutes, thanks to his extraordinary intellect, Lin Zhi had completed a preliminary review.

He looked up abruptly, his gaze at You Chen filled with reverence, as if seeing a deity. "Sir, did you design all of this yourself? I will do my utmost to bring these into existence for you!"

"No, this time it's not 'us'; it's just you. Lin Zhi, I'm entrusting the entire development process to you from now on."

"Huh?"

For once, Lin Zhi looked flustered. He shook his head vehemently. "No, I can't do it! Without you, the original designer, guiding the development, there will undoubtedly be errors—"

"You still don't realize your own potential."

You Chen interrupted, saying, "Lin Zhi, you're excellent in every way, except for one thing—you lack confidence!"

Lin Zhi bit his lip and fell silent, clearly unconvinced despite You Chen's words.

Unperturbed, You Chen chuckled and patted his shoulder again. "If you can't bring yourself to believe in yourself, then believe in me, who believes in you! Lin Zhi, I know you're capable of this."

"Believe in you, who believes in me…"

Lin Zhi murmured those words, momentarily dazed. When he came back to his senses, seeing the encouragement in You Chen's eyes, he finally nodded resolutely. "Sir, while I still don't think I'm qualified…I will give it my all! And I will believe in you, who believes in me!"

"Hahaha, that's so convoluted. How would anyone else even understand what you're saying?"

Seeing Lin Zhi's earnest yet awkward demeanor, You Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Then his expression turned serious. "You've gone through the blueprints I gave you, right? Forget about the other 'firearms' for now. Your priority is to develop the 'Barrett Sniper Rifle'! Cost and consumption don't matter. I only ask that you create a working prototype within three years. Can you do it?"

"The Barrett Sniper Rifle…"

Lin Zhi's mind raced as he recalled the design he had just browsed. His pupils contracted as he quickly pulled one particular page from the stack.

Carefully tracing a few lines of text with his fingers, he murmured in a voice tinged with awe, "This…this weapon is designed to kill powerhouses at the Title Douluo level. It's an ultimate weapon!"

As he imagined a mere soul master wielding a Barrett rifle to assassinate a supreme Title Douluo, Lin Zhi couldn't help but tremble with both fear and exhilaration.

His hands shook uncontrollably as he held the blueprint, as if it weren't a piece of paper but a ticking time bomb about to explode.

"An ultimate weapon?"

You Chen shook his head, not bothering to explain further.

To a Soul Master at the Soul Elder level, a weapon capable of killing a Title Douluo might as well be considered "ultimate."

Instead, he simply asked, "Do you have confidence?"

Lin Zhi swallowed hard. His first instinct was to reflexively say "no," but when he

remembered You Chen's trusting gaze, he gritted his teeth and nodded firmly. "I'll do my best!"