Douluo: A Fake God in Peerless

Mastering theory is merely the foundation for becoming a soul master; only by independently crafting a soul tool can one truly be called a soul master.

It is difficult to become a soul master if one's theoretical knowledge is lacking.

But if one cannot craft a soul tool, one will certainly never become a soul master!

Therefore, while theoretical assessments are important, practical ability is the fundamental factor in determining whether one can become a soul master.

For the freshmen who performed poorly on the written exam, the practical assessment is their second chance.

If the soul tool they craft meets the requirements, there is still a great chance of advancing to the second grade.

With this, all the freshmen steeled themselves, ready to show off their skills in soul tool crafting. After all, who among those who become first-grade soul masters before the age of twelve isn't a prodigy?

No one wanted to fall behind and be held back in the first grade.

The testing area was not far from the teaching buildings, with clear warning signs marking the boundary between them.

Soon, the group arrived at the testing area, and under Ran Ruobing's lead, they entered smoothly.

This was Su Luoheng's first time here, as the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had a rule: students from the first to fourth grades must be accompanied by a teacher to enter the testing area.

According to what he had learned over the past few days, the academy did not have this rule in the past.

It was only after an accident caused by a student's improper operation that this school rule was specifically enacted.

As for what kind of accident it was, no one knew.

Regardless, there is always a story behind every school rule.

Returning to the matter at hand.

The most obvious difference between the buildings in the testing area and the teaching area was that they were mostly single-story structures. Even the tallest buildings were no more than three stories high, appearing very sturdy. They weren't just built of brick and stone; many surfaces had a metallic luster, suggesting they were reinforced with a significant amount of metal. Furthermore, each testing ground covered an area roughly the size of a soccer field. From within the buildings, low, rumbling sounds could be heard from time to time, sometimes even causing the ground beneath their feet to vibrate slightly.

Ran Ruobing led the freshmen and stopped in front of a testing ground on the left.

The metal gate was labeled: Assessment Testing Ground.

Ran Ruobing pulled a nameplate from her pocket and waved it in front of the door. A flash of light swept across, and the doors parted to both sides.

"Let's go."

The freshmen followed her through the gate of the testing ground.

As soon as he stepped inside, Su Luoheng noticed that the interior of this soul tool testing area was entirely metallic. The metal forming the structure was a dark brown color, likely serving to stabilize the testing ground.

Beyond the entrance was a long, horizontal corridor that looked somewhat like the dormitory area, but with doors spaced every thirty meters along one side. They were labeled with signs like "Second Grade Assessment Area 1," "Second Grade Assessment Area 2," "Second Grade Assessment Area 3," and so on, all the way up to "Sixth Grade Assessment Area 1."

Ran Ruobing was no stranger to this place and led the freshmen down the corridor toward the south with practiced ease.

As they walked along the corridor, they encountered several other groups of candidates—students from other grades participating in their own advancement assessments.

Every year, when the new students enroll, the other grades begin their advancement assessments simultaneously.

The freshmen looked around, their eyes wide with curiosity.

Su Luoheng was no exception; after all, it was his first time in the testing area, and he was filled with curiosity about everything inside.

Ran Ruobing took in the reactions of the freshmen.

However, she did not urge them to speed up; instead, she quietly slowed her pace.

This seemingly stern, icy beauty of a teacher, Ran Ruobing, was not as unapproachable as she appeared.

Before long, Ran Ruobing stopped in front of a door deep inside labeled "Freshman Assessment Area."

Ran Ruobing flipped her wrist.

A crescent-shaped silver token appeared in her hand. She pressed it against the door of the Freshman Assessment Area, and after a brief fluctuation of soul power, the token popped out from a slot. Immediately following a grinding sound, the doors of the Freshman Assessment Area slid open to both sides.

"Let's go."

At Ran Ruobing's call, the freshmen filed into the assessment area.

The freshmen, who had been waiting for so long, were filled with curiosity, and they were instantly captivated the moment they stepped inside.

The space inside the assessment area was vast, divided roughly into two main sections by metal partitions.

The area containing over fifty tables, each about six square meters, was the soul tool crafting zone. These tables were already equipped with the necessary metal materials, the carving knives essential for engraving soul tool arrays, and a small soul tool smelting furnace for crafting the outer shells of the soul tools.

The slightly larger area behind it was the soul tool testing zone.

The soul tools crafted by the students would be tested and graded there.

Ran Ruobing walked to the podium, unfazed.

When they had first entered the testing area, their reactions had been much the same as these children's.

Once the excitement had died down, she spoke up.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Your names are already marked on the experimental tables. You have two minutes to find your respective stations."

Ran Ruobing did not intentionally raise her voice, but her calm tone caused the noisy hall to fall silent instantly.

Before long, the freshmen were standing at their respective experimental tables.

Ran Ruobing announced, "The upcoming soul tool crafting assessment is limited to three hours. Just like the previous written exam, you must hand in all your soul tools. Within the allotted time, use the materials provided on your tables to craft a first-grade soul tool. The type of soul tool is not restricted, but it must be successfully crafted. If it fails the inspection, it will be considered an automatic failure."

"Do you understand?"

Her gaze swept over the crowd, pausing briefly when it landed on Su Luoheng.

"Understood," the group replied in unison.

"Good. The assessment begins now."

No sooner had Ran Ruobing finished speaking than the sound of clinking metal filled the air; many of the freshmen had already begun selecting their materials.

Su Luoheng was no exception.

The materials provided for the assessment were quite comprehensive, offering a wide array of options for first-level soul devices.

Mithril, Fire Rock Iron, Ice Cold Iron, Deep Silver, and more—these were all suitable engraving materials for a first-level soul master, compatible with the core arrays of most first-level soul devices. Su Luoheng alone knew of over a dozen he could choose from.

While others hesitated because they didn't know what to make, he hesitated because he had too many choices.

He hadn't been wandering the streets aimlessly these past few days. He had so many first-level soul device designs in his head that he felt truly spoiled for choice.

After a moment of thought, he made up his mind!

The model of a longsword surfaced in his mind: the Ice Rain Sword.

The first-level soul device Su Luoheng was most familiar with was the Ice Rain Sword, as it was the very first one he had successfully crafted. Although he had recorded many designs, he found sword-type soul devices the most intuitive to produce.

Thus, he chose the Ice Rain Sword to complete the assessment.

"Three hours should be enough."

Su Luoheng muttered to himself, calculating the time in his heart.

Given his speed in engraving the core array and forging the body, three hours would be no problem at all.

With the device decided, the next step was to select the appropriate material.

Su Luoheng's gaze wandered over the dozen or so materials before finally settling on the Ice Cold Iron in the corner.

Ice Cold Iron: sourced from the Far North.

As the name implied, it possessed a faint, extreme cold attribute.

The Ice Rain Sword Su Luoheng had chosen featured an ice-attribute array, and among the available materials, this one was the most compatible with the sword's properties. It was the perfect carrier for the core array.

With that in mind, Su Luoheng picked up the piece of Ice Cold Iron from the table.

After weighing it in his hand, he frowned slightly, then picked up a carving knife from the side and began to trim it. Before long, a blue-black sphere appeared in his palm.

"Hmm, that's better."

Su Luoheng weighed it again, a look of satisfaction on his face.

The size and weight of the material used for carving a core array were critical, and only the soul master could determine the perfect balance.

He immediately began further processing with his carving knife.

Ice Cold Iron was relatively hard, but it was easy enough to cut once he channeled his soul power into the blade; the academy had naturally ensured the provided metals were workable for the students.

The Ice Rain Sword required two core arrays, making it of moderate difficulty for a first-level soul device.

As layer after layer of iron shavings fell away, the palm-sized sphere of Ice Cold Iron was transformed into a hexagonal block. The core array engraved upon it began to shimmer, the material and the array resonating to emit a faint, chilling aura.

As he reached the final strokes of the engraving, Su Luoheng gradually slowed his pace.

His nimble fingers guided the carving knife with precision across the metal block.

This stage was vital; he had to ensure the accuracy of every single stroke. Even though he had a high success rate with the Ice Rain Sword, he could not afford to be careless.

His mother had once said: "Guard against arrogance and impetuosity."

These were essential qualities for becoming an excellent soul master.

Su Luoheng had always kept those words in his heart.

Time slipped away slowly, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed.

Looking at the ink-blue core array of the Ice Rain Sword in his palm, Su Luoheng let out a long breath. He placed the hexagonal block in his left hand and slowly channeled his gentle soul power into it. Instantly, the metal block emitted a distinct blue glow, and a soft halo radiated a wave of cold.

"It's done."

Seeing this, Su Luoheng wore a satisfied smile.

The core array for the Ice Rain Sword was complete; the next step was to forge the sword body—the outer shell of the soul device.

Su Luoheng selected a few suitable pieces of Iron Essence from the material rack and tossed them into the smelting furnace.

The smelting furnace was crucial for a soul master.

While some metal shells could be crafted directly using soul power, materials that were hard or resistant to soul power required traditional forging methods. Furthermore, processes like purification and quenching—unless performed by a highly skilled veteran soul master—still required the assistance of a furnace.

The smelting furnaces at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy were different from ordinary ones.

They could withstand higher temperatures and were much easier to operate; one simply had to load the materials and use soul power to control the process. As long as one had sufficient soul power, they could obtain the desired blank.

However, this smelting furnace technology was unique to the Sun Moon Empire, so soul masters from the three Douluo nations still had to rely on traditional forging furnaces to craft their shells.

The small forging furnace they were using now was a second-level soul device. One shouldn't underestimate it, though; its full-scale version was a ninth-level soul device!

Although, this was Su Luoheng's first time using one.

However, his mother had often spoken to him about the Sun Moon Empire's soul guidance technology, and the smelting furnace was one such device; he was well aware of its simple operation.

It was nothing more than controlling one's soul power, and he had no issues in that regard.

With more than half of his soul power remaining, Su Luoheng had calculated that it would be sufficient to complete the forging of the longsword.

He placed his palm onto the smelting furnace and injected his soul power, causing a raging fire to ignite within and temper the refined iron inside. Under the intense heat, it was gradually transforming from a solid into a liquid, slowly taking on the shape of a sword.

By the time Su Luoheng had already begun forging the sword body, the fastest of the other freshmen had only just finished inscribing half of their core arrays.

Time slipped away rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, another hour had passed.

At this moment, the temperature inside the smelting furnace was climbing higher and higher, and Su Luoheng, standing outside, was also affected. When he had forged soul tools before, he could rely on his Ice Crystal Bracer for protection, but now he had to endure it alone. Before long, his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Fortunately, as the temperature rose, the body of the Ice Rain Sword was nearing completion.

Finally, as all the materials merged into one, the sword body—having undergone the three major steps of smelting, shaping, and quenching—was complete!

Su Luoheng seized the moment and integrated the core array into it.

In an instant, blue flames surged upward, and the core array on the metal block began to fuse with the longsword!

The entire process was not slow.

As the sword body bloomed with radiance, he ceased the output of his soul power.

As the temperature inside the furnace stopped rising, the Ice Rain Sword began to emit a faint chill into its surroundings.

This was not the end yet.

Once the longsword had cooled down sufficiently, Su Luoheng hurriedly began the meticulous polishing process.

He did his best to refine every edge and corner; this was a habit he had developed under his mother's guidance: regardless of a soul tool's grade, one must treat every single creation with seriousness.

Perhaps...