Jing Hongchen gave Crown Prince Xu Tianran a surprised glance. He agreed just like that?
But when he caught the faint, dangerous smile flickering at the corners of Xu Tianran's lips, Jing Hongchen looked away and nodded in understanding. So, Xu Tianran was growing impatient too. He wanted to deal with both the throne—and the nation's internal problems—as soon as possible.
"However, Hallmaster Hongchen," Xu Tianran said with a smile, "education reform won't happen overnight. We'll need a foundation laid out first—and that responsibility will fall to Mingde Hall."
Jing Hongchen caught the hint immediately and nodded.
"Naturally, Your Highness. If you wish for the people to study soul tools, then they must first have access to them. As for spreading that access to the public, I hope to count on your support."
"Heh heh... not a problem at all."
And just like that, two old foxes finalized one of the most consequential decisions in the empire's future, chatting and laughing as if it were nothing.
---
Back in his private lab at Mingde Hall, Huo Yuhao sat at his desk, gnawing on his pen in frustration. One hand kneaded his temples as he stared hard at the blank soul tool design paper before him.
His master, Jing Hongchen, had finally given him a task: develop a civilian-use soul tool that could be widely deployed and spark the implementation of the education reform.
After all, for any reform in education to work, the common people had to have a reason to embrace it. In a feudal nation, where class divisions ran deep and the common folk struggled just to survive, who had the time—or desire—to go learn something? And it wasn't like the empire could afford to pay peasants a "learning wage" while they attended school.
The problem had Huo Yuhao stumped. If you wanted advanced soul weapons—planes, cannons, tech-heavy tools—he was your man. But to make something for civilians? That was a different beast.
With a sigh, Huo Yuhao tossed the pen aside, rubbed his face, and muttered,
"Come on, Huo Yuhao. There has to be something that fits."
He had two conditions to meet:
First, The soul tool had to improve the people's lives. Second, It had to motivate them to want to learn how to use it.
But how?
He stared at the blank blueprint, deep in thought. Then, with a slap to his forehead, he suddenly sat up straight.
"Why does it have to be just one soul tool? Why can't it be many?"
Feeling the spark of inspiration, Huo Yuhao waved his fingers, and stacks of blank design paper floated toward him in a flutter of white.
He realized something critical—conditions one and two weren't separate. In fact, they fed into each other. A civilian soul tool that improved daily life and helped someone earn more income would naturally motivate them to study it, learn how to use it, and eventually improve their lives even more.
What sector was most vital to a nation's survival?
Food.
From Earth to this fantasy realm, agriculture had always been the backbone of society. And in the Sun Moon Empire, farmers made up at least sixty percent of the population. Cities like Mingdu were the exception—not the rule.
"Sowing machines, irrigation sprayers, water pumps, combine harvesters, disc harrows..."
Huo Yuhao rattled off the names of agricultural machinery like a scholar reciting sacred texts. Then he grabbed a pen and began rapidly sketching out designs across the blueprints. These machines were simple tech on Earth, cheap and easy to build—and even easier to adapt into soul tool versions.
Before long, over a dozen designs for agricultural-use soul tools had taken shape.
But Yuhao didn't stop there. Riding the wave of inspiration, he kept going, diving into other areas of civilian life.
"Engineering... air compressors, bulldozers, excavators, rollers, graders, water trucks, concrete mixers..."
"Mining... crushers, mining rigs, excavation drills, tunnel borers, coal harvesters, rock splitters..."
"Transportation... cars, trucks, buses, trains—uh, the train design's almost done already. Planes? Mmm... maybe too soon for that."
"Domestic use... electric lamps, water heaters, fans, air conditioners..."
---
One hour later.
Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the now-empty stack of design paper, lost in thought.
"...This doesn't feel like just education reform anymore. It's a complete transformation of the entire empire."
If even half of the soul tool designs on his desk were introduced into society, the Sun Moon Empire would undergo a revolution unlike anything in its history.
"It might be a lot... but the more, the better. If even I feel overwhelmed, imagine the commoners. With so many new things, how could they not want to learn how to use them?"
Of course, it wasn't practical to roll out everything at once. Huo Yuhao decided to select a few of the most impactful designs—tools that would wow the public—and introduce those first. Step by step, he'd draw the people in and spark their hunger to learn.
Honestly, calling this an education reform barely scratched the surface. He was reshaping the very structure of the empire. Just the agricultural equipment alone would send crop yields skyrocketing across the nation.
With that in mind, Huo Yuhao selected a few designs and headed straight for Jing Hongchen's office.
---
Jing Hongchen flipped through the design papers with shaking hands, his breath growing heavy.
How had this boy... thought of so many useful things?
Forget everything else—the heavy-duty mining machines alone gave him a deep sense of awe. The Sun Moon Empire had long required vast amounts of rare metals. Yes, there were soul tools that aided in mining, but they were expensive and inefficient—nothing like what Huo Yuhao had just shown him.
There were so many untapped mineral veins within the empire, with only a fraction currently in use due to the sheer slowness of extraction.
And then there were the agricultural machines.
How had Yuhao even thought of using soul tools for farming?
In the minds of most people, farming was simple—sowing, watering, harvesting. But Yuhao had taken that and mechanized the entire process.
Jing Hongchen might not understand how he came up with all of it, but he could understand just how much impact it would have. It was impossible to estimate how much crop yields would increase.
Slowly putting down the papers, he stared at Huo Yuhao—who was now lounging lazily on the couch, spinning a pen in his fingers—and asked:
"Yuhao... just what is inside that head of yours?"
(End of Chapter)---
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