Douluo: A Person in Peerless, Fake God

Ran Yuming looked at Su Luoheng, his deep gaze distant and profound.

"Luoheng, do you know why I went to such great lengths to take you as my disciple? I even went so far as to come out of retirement for your sake and transfer to teach the second-year class for the first time."

After a moment of contemplation, Su Luoheng guessed, "My... soul skill?"

"Yes."

Ran Yuming nodded slightly. "Your Analysis soul skill is unique. The hardest part of becoming a soul master is the mental power and the inscription of soul guidance arrays, yet both are effortless for you. One could even say this soul skill was tailor-made for a soul master. I had originally intended to retire, but then you appeared."

"Perhaps the dreams I failed to realize myself could be successfully achieved through you, which is why I decided to take you as my disciple at any cost."

Su Luoheng nodded in realization; it was much as he had guessed.

"..."

After a brief pause, Ran Yuming gave a self-deprecating smile. "Luoheng, do you... think your teacher is too calculating?"

"I don't think so." Upon hearing this, Su Luoheng shook his head.

"Oh, why is that?"

Su Luoheng said, "Teacher, everyone has their own goals and thoughts. Just like when I displayed enough talent, wasn't it to receive the academy's focused cultivation? If you put it that way, my becoming your disciple is the same. Everyone has their own objectives, but these do not affect the relationship between master and disciple."

"..."

Hearing this, Ran Yuming was stunned for a moment, then suddenly enlightened.

He laughed heartily and patted Su Luoheng on the shoulder. "Hahaha, this old man is truly getting old! I've lived this long and still don't see things as clearly as you, a mere child!"

Su Luoheng said with a faint smile, "You flatter me, Teacher."

He looked at Su Luoheng with gratification, liking him more the longer he looked.

This disciple was not only gifted with extraordinary talent but was also exceptionally intelligent. These words truly cleared away his lingering worries.

Ran Yuming gazed at Su Luoheng, his eyes burning. "Luoheng, I will certainly cultivate you into the most outstanding soul master in the Sun Moon Empire!"

"I will not let you down." Su Luoheng's gaze was firm.

Chapter 52: Crystal Shadow Beast and Red Gold Bear

"Good, hahaha~~"

"..."

After this heart-to-heart, the master-disciple relationship became even closer, and the final barrier between the two was broken.

"..."

Ran Yuming arranged, "Alright, Luoheng, it is getting late. You need to hunt for a soul ring tomorrow, so go back to the tent and get some rest to recharge your energy. I will keep watch for you tonight."

"Yes."

Su Luoheng nodded and returned to the tent to rest.

Before absorbing a soul ring, one must certainly be in the best possible condition.

The next morning, Jingyang Mountain Range.

A thin layer of mist shrouded the forest, appearing hazy and blurred.

The tall trees were lush with foliage, their dense shade blocking the sun, covering the entire mountain range in layers.

Two figures were moving rapidly through the dense jungle; they were none other than the master and disciple, Su Luoheng and Ran Yuming. Any soul beasts they occasionally encountered were easily dealt with.

They were not searching aimlessly.

Before coming, Ran Yuming had specifically compiled statistics. The Jingyang Mountain Range had a vast landscape, and there were many types of soul beasts suitable for Su Luoheng.

For example: Silver Wolf, Crystal Shadow Beast, Single-Horned Crystal Snake, Mirror Jade Rhino, Red Gold Bear, Thunder Cloud Leopard, Phantom Tiger, and so on. These soul beasts all possessed mental-type abilities to varying degrees, which were quite compatible with the characteristics of Su Luoheng's martial soul, making them all potential candidates for his second soul ring.

Among them, Ran Yuming most favored the Crystal Shadow Beast and the Red Gold Bear.

The Crystal Shadow Beast is a mental-type soul beast with a slender, agile build and swift, flexible movements. It excels at using mental-type attacks like illusions. However, its physical combat ability is poor, and it is rare in number. Its advantage lies in its extreme speed, and combined with illusion attacks, even if someone were lucky enough to spot one, they would be unable to capture it.

Its mental abilities were highly compatible with Su Luoheng.

The Red Gold Bear is a soul beast unique to the Jingyang Mountain Range. They feed on a type of Red Sun Gold. They are massive in size with formidable defense and thick skin. In addition to possessing fierce attack power, they also have partial mental attributes, emitting battle roars during combat to disrupt the enemy's mind.

Given its characteristics, it would very likely provide Su Luoheng with a powerful combat soul skill, which was also extremely important for Su Luoheng, who needed balanced development in both soul master and soul guidance abilities.

That was why Ran Yuming had targeted these two soul beasts as the best choices for the second soul ring.

He intended to scout every area in the Jingyang Mountain Range where these two soul beasts appeared, appearing as though he would not give up until he found one of them for Su Luoheng's soul ring.

"..."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Ran Yuming had taken Su Luoheng through nearly a third of the Jingyang Mountain Range.

During this period, they encountered many suitable soul beasts, such as the Thunder Cloud Leopard, the Single-Horned Crystal Snake, and the Mirror Jade Rhino, all of which fell within the optimal age range for a second soul ring.

They had also encountered Crystal Shadow Beasts and Red Gold Bears along the way, but either their age was too high or too low.

Adhering to the principle of not settling, Su Luoheng did not choose any of them.

However, just in case, Ran Yuming also noted the locations of these soul beasts; if they truly could not find a suitable Crystal Shadow Beast or Red Gold Bear later on, they would have no choice but to select from among them.

It was unclear whether it was bad luck or some other reason.

The master and disciple stayed in the Jingyang Mountain Range for nearly half a month. Aside from seeing those two types of soul beasts in the first two days, they hadn't even managed to find a single Crystal Shadow Beast or Red Gold Bear since, regardless of whether the age was suitable! Both of them couldn't help but start to wonder if these two types of soul beasts were intentionally hiding from them.

With no results for such a long time, Su Luoheng even began to consider giving up.

Ran Yuming also started to hesitate about whether they should continue.

Although they had enough time to search for soul beasts, continuing to waste it here pointlessly was, in the end, not a solution.

After some discussion, the master and disciple reached a consensus.

They ultimately decided to search for three more days; if they still couldn't find one, they would have to give up.

Suddenly, Ran Yuming paused his steps.

His gaze fixed on the area not far ahead, a flash of pleasant surprise appearing in his eyes.

"It's that!"

Ran Yuming tugged at his beard abruptly and muttered in a low voice, "I must be truly senile to have forgotten such an important matter..."

"Hmm?"

Su Luoheng curiously followed his line of sight, only to see an ancient tree nearly a hundred meters tall. The tree reached into the clouds, its branches twisted and coiled, appearing to be nearly a thousand years old.

It was truly rare to see such an intact ancient tree in the mountain range.

But even if it were rare, surely his teacher wouldn't be amazed by just an ancient tree?

Su Luoheng couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, what are you talking about?"

"Luoheng, your second soul ring has been found!" Ran Yuming pointed at the ancient tree before him, his tone slightly excited.

"Ah?"

Su Luoheng was stunned for a moment, his mind quickly racing: judging by his teacher's tone, could it be that this ancient tree before him was related to his second soul ring?

He began to observe the ancient tree carefully, but he couldn't see anything unusual about it.

Su Luoheng looked confused, unable to make sense of it for a moment.

"Look up, at the very top of the canopy." Ran Yuming let out a long breath to calm himself, while simultaneously raising his hand to point out the direction for Su Luoheng.

"Up there..."

Su Luoheng whispered.

At the same time, he followed the direction of the finger and lifted his gaze to the very top.

He narrowed his eyes slightly to observe carefully.

He saw that the top of the ancient tree was lush with foliage and thick branches.

However, about ten zhang away between the tree branches, a massive, dark-brown, cylindrical beehive was nestled among the boughs.

Many large red bees were flying and dancing around it.

Previously, because the ancient tree's canopy was so huge and the branches were intertwined, it had blocked most of the hive; without his teacher's guidance, it would have been very difficult for him to find the location of the hive on his own.

"That is... a beehive?"

Su Luoheng's mouth opened slightly, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

"Yes."

Ran Yuming nodded and explained, "That is the nest of the Blood Flame Bee. This type of bee is extremely special; their toxicity is two to three times that of a normal bee. The toxicity of a hundred-year-old Blood Flame Bee is equivalent to that of an ordinary three-hundred-year-old poisonous bee, and once stung, the pain is as unbearable as being scorched by flames."

After a brief pause, Ran Yuming's expression turned serious. "Luoheng, do not underestimate these Blood Flame Bees. Although they only have one chance to attack in their entire lives, the poison they accumulate over four or five hundred years is enough to take down even a Soul Ancestor if they are not careful!"

"The toxicity of this thing is that strong?!"

Su Luoheng was shocked, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes.

He had underestimated these bees.

One had to know that a Soul Ancestor-level soul master was already equivalent to a three-thousand-year-old soul beast, and even then, they could potentially be poisoned by these Blood Flame Bees!

Ran Yuming turned back to look at the hive, his gaze flickering.

"However, the more toxic the bees, the rarer and more exquisite the honey they produce."

"The Blood Flame Bees are no exception. Their venom is highly potent, but the honey they produce is equally peerless. Judging by the size of these worker bees outside, the queen controlling the entire hive should be at least nearly a thousand years old... Beyond enhancing soul power and physique, the royal jelly of a thousand-year-level Blood Flame Bee possesses remarkable healing properties. It is a rare treasure for any soul master."

"..."

Hearing this, Su Luoheng could not help but interrupt.

"Teacher, I understand everything you've said, but... what does this have to do with my second soul skill?"

"What's the rush, kid? I haven't finished yet."

Ran Yuming chuckled, then shifted the topic and asked, "Luoheng, tell me, what do bears like to eat?"

"Honey."

The moment the words left his lips, a realization dawned in Su Luoheng's eyes!

He was quick-witted and immediately grasped his teacher's intent.

"Teacher, do you mean... that the Red Gold Bear likes the honey of the Blood Flame Bees?"

"Mm."

Ran Yuming nodded slightly and smiled faintly. "Aside from devouring metal, what the Red Gold Bear loves most is the honey brewed by these Blood Flame Bees. More importantly, they have thick skin and dense flesh; Blood Flame Bees of the same level cannot pierce their hide. It is rare to see a hive built by Blood Flame Bees in the Jingyang Mountain Range because most are hollowed out by the Red Gold Bears. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Red Gold Bear is the natural predator of the Blood Flame Bee."

After a brief pause, Ran Yuming examined the hive before them and said, "I suspect this hive has been spared only because it is located too high up for the Red Gold Bear to reach."

"So..."

Following Ran Yuming's line of reasoning, Su Luoheng guessed, "You want to use the honey inside to lure the Red Gold Bear?"

"Exactly!"

"The Red Gold Bear has an extremely keen sense of smell and can detect the scent of honey within a hundred-mile radius. As long as we have the Blood Flame Bee honey in our hands, finding them will be effortless."

Ran Yuming pointed at the hive in the treetop and smiled lightly. "That is why I said your second soul ring is now within reach."