27 Secondary Professions

The first day at the Intermediate Academy was about the same as at the Primary Academy. Classes got shuffled and a few new classmates joined to replace the old ones that had left. Their teacher introduced himself before asking the children to do the same. Although many of the new classmates weren't bad, Sheng Feilong, JianWang and Xiao Yuewu still stood out the most. Even the teacher stumbled when he heard that Sheng Feilong had already reached rank 24!

At the Intermediate Academy, students had the opportunity to stay after classes for extra training. Mostly physical training or mock combat. Naturally, Sheng Feilong and his friends didn't take that opportunity and instead went to the Spirit Pagoda to train with Song Weihan after classes.

The first week of class passed by quickly, as most of the time was used to familiarize the children with the new schedule and with each other. It wasn't before the second week started that real classes were held and one of them really got Sheng Feilong to deliberate his options.

According to the teacher that held the class, Soul Masters often had a secondary profession. That secondary profession can be about any- or everything, though there were a few that stood at the top. The four most sought after secondary professions were Blacksmiths, Mecha Designers, Mecha Makers and Mechanics. As someone who already had a secondary profession, Jian Wang was asked to tell the class a few things about it and coincidently also told them about his dream to build the strongest Mecha and make it his own.

Many of the children were hooked by his dream and the teacher explained, that Jian Wang wouldn't be able to create a Mecha with blacksmithing alone, shattering his dream. However, he then explained, that Mecha Designers and Makers work closely together with Blacksmiths to create the best possible Mechas and that many of them make teams of their own at a young age.

Jian Shiguan and Su Liyun told Jian Wang, that they want to become Mecha Designers and help him to make his Mecha. Sheng Feilong on the other hand decided to postpone his decision and consult his Master about the matter first. Later that day, they trained with Song Weihan at the Spirit Pagoda again and after Jian Wang and Jian Shiguan left, Sheng Feilong talked with Song Weihan at his office again.

After a bit of their usual talk about artificial Spirit Souls and Soul Bones, as well as Soul Beasts, Sheng Feilong asked about the secondary professions and Jian Wangs and Jian Shiguans plan to make their own Mecha. Song Weihan thought about it for a while before smiling at Sheng Feilong.

"Why don't you become a Mecha Maker then? With that, the three of you have everything you need to build your own Mecha. A Mechanic can always be found later and just to build a Mecha, a Blacksmith, Designer and Maker are enough. Moreover, good Makers are always sought after, especially by the military or institutions like the Spirit Pagoda. I can recommend you to a few good Makers to teach you."

Sheng Feilong agreed and Song Weihan brought him over to another building next to the Spirit Pagoda. Inside there, it looked like a combination of a laboratory and a mechanic's garage. A few half build Purple and Yellow Mechas were fixed to some kind of stations while a few people were working on them. Song Weihan asked a worker to tell someone of his arrival and a moment later, an old man with a rugged, dark grey beard arrived, wiping his hands with a cloth.

The old man looked like your usual down the road mechanic with common, dirty cloths and rough skin. He glanced at Sheng Feilong before focusing on Song Weihan and speaking in a casual but deep and strained voice.

"Little Song, it's rare for you to come over. Got a problem with your Battle Armour? Oh, and who's the brat?"

Song Weihan smiled at the old man and didn't seem to mind his casual attitude and rough way of speaking.

"Senior Bao, it's been a while, indeed. There's no problem with my Battle Armour; I've come for something else today." He put his hand on Sheng Feilong's shoulder and pushed the latter forward a bit.

"This is Sheng Feilong, my disciple. I was wondering if you could teach him about the work of a Mecha Maker?"

Bao Li's eyes widened slightly and he stopped wiping his hands. He looked Sheng Feilong up and down a spoke to Song Weihan while still staring at Sheng Feilong.

"You took a disciple? Well, you've always been picky, so I guess he's quite good anyways."

He then stared Sheng Feilong straight into the eyes and paused for a moment. Sheng Feilong was clearly a bit uncomfortable and wanted to voice his opinion, but Bao Li cut him off with a question.

"Got any experience?"

Sheng Feilong flinched, but answered in a clear voice.

"No, senior. We were talking about secondary professions at the academy today and I was interested in Mecha making. Master directly brought me over afterwards. It's the dream of my friend to build his own Mecha and I want to help him with that."

Bao Li listened to Sheng Feilong and showed a bored and somewhat displeased expression when the former finished. He snorted and then spoke to Sheng Feilong in an unpleasant voice.

"Build a Mecha? What's the point? If you're dreaming, then dream big! And you want to become a Maker out of convenience for your friend? What do you take us Mecha Makers for, brat?"

Sheng Feilong didn't know what to say. His answer had clearly displeased Bao Li and he quickly tried to pacify the old man with a stammer.

"S-Senior, I didn't mean to, I-" Before he could continue, Bao Li cut him off again.

"Whatever. Go to the office over there and take a look at the blueprints. Tell them I sent you. If you have any questions, ask them. I've got work to do. Little Song, don't annoy me anymore if you don't need something important!"

Sheng Feilong was frozen in place and regret was written all over his face. Song Weihan chuckled and waved at Bao Li, who was already returning to his prior work.

"Work hard, Senior!" He heard the old man snort again and looked over to Sheng Feilong.

"What are you waiting for? Senior Bao gave you a task, didn't he?"

Sheng Feilong turned his head stiffly and looked at Song Weihan with uncertainty.

"Master, I messed up, right? Senior Bao just sent me away."

Song Weihan chuckled again.

"What are you talking about? He send you to take a look at the blueprints to see if you've got what it takes to be a Mecha Maker. Don't sweat his attitude. He's just a little impatient and uptight old man, anyways."

Just as he finished speaking, a wrench flew at him, which Song Weihan caught in the last second. Sheng Feilong was shocked at looked at the old man who was still working.

"I heard that, Song-brat!"

"Please don't mind me, Senior, ha, ha!" Song Weihan said nonchalantly while still smiling and threw the wrench back at Bao Li, before facing Sheng Feilong again.

"Now, go. I'll be going back to the Pagoda. I'll tell your father that you'll come a bit later."

After that, Song Weihan left, leaving Sheng Feilong standing alone in the hall. He quickly looked around and walked over to the office Bao Li had pointed out before. Knocking on the door, an aged voice asked him to enter. Inside the room, Sheng Feilong saw an old man who closely resembled Bao Li, with a similar grey beard and hair and common clothes, although his were clean and not dirty like Bao Li's. The old man had a calm aura and was looking at a blueprint on his desk before he looked up to Sheng Feilong.

"Oh, a child? Can I help you, little fellow?"

Sheng Feilong closed the door behind himself and noticed that the noise from outside was completely gone. He quickly figured that it must be a sound isolating array and bowed to the old man.

"Hello Senior. I'm Sheng Feilong and Senior Bao told me to look at a few blueprints... Um, I came here to become a Mecha Maker..."

The old man looked a bit surprised but but soon smiled lightly again.

"Oh, so you want to become a Maker. Since old Li sent you here, you probably have no experience whatsoever in reading and understanding Mecha Designs and the such, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct, Senior." Sheng Feilong nodded with a light twinkle in his eyes. This new old man was way friendlier than Bao Li outside. If Sheng Feilong were to learn from him, it'll probably be really exciting.

The old man smiled and walked over to a shelf. He skipped through a number of blueprints and put a few on another desk next to the shelf, before then looking back at Sheng Feilong.

"I've put a few blueprints aside for you. They were created by a rank 1 Mecha Designer and shouldn't be too hard. Look them through and try to understand their contents. You can ask me, if you have any questions. Ah, my name is Bao Zha, old Li, who you met before, is my younger brother. You may call me grandpa Zha, ha, ha."