Douluo: A Fake God in Peerless

"Teacher, shouldn't you treat the bump on your head?" Su Luoheng asked with concern.

"I have already treated it; the swelling will subside in a few days." As he spoke, Ran Yuming reached up and touched the large, protruding lump on his forehead...

Feeling its rock-hard texture, he suddenly felt that life was not worth living.

In his heart, he wished he could dig up the entire Blood Flame Bee colony and slaughter them all over again!

As the master and disciple spoke, Xu Jinyu, having heard their voices, walked toward them.

"Luoheng, who is he?"

"This is Xu Jinyu. We met once before, and since he was severely injured three days ago, I lent him a hand."

Su Luoheng explained the situation in a few brief sentences.

"The surname Xu..."

Ran Yuming scrutinized the young man before him, narrowing his eyes.

Xu was the imperial surname of the Sun Moon Empire.

Normally, this expression would have been quite dignified, but the prominent bump on his forehead was a total mood-killer; no matter what expression he tried to pull, he looked utterly ridiculous.

"Pfft~"

At the first glance, Xu Jinyu nearly burst out laughing.

He thought: Since when did the academy recruit such a... distinctively characterized teacher?

If he walked down the street like this, he would definitely turn every single head!

Fortunately, he managed to compose himself in time and walked over as if nothing were wrong, though his gaze kept darting away, not daring to meet Ran Yuming's eyes.

After a moment of contemplation, Ran Yuming asked, "You are a member of the imperial family, aren't you?"

Xu Jinyu produced his identity token and bowed, saying, "I am Xu Jinyu of the Heng Prince Mansion. May I ask which teacher from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy you are?"

"I am Ran Yuming."

"You are... Teacher Ran?!"

As soon as the name Ran Yuming was spoken, Xu Jinyu looked up in surprise.

Although he had already graduated from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, he had heard of the honorary teacher, Ran Yuming.

However...

How was it that his current appearance was so vastly different from the rumors?

Was this really Teacher Ran?

Noticing the suspicion in Xu Jinyu's eyes, Ran Yuming let out a cold snort and put on his teacher's badge.

Now, there was no room for doubt: the identity badges of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy were crafted from special materials that could not be forged.

"Teacher Ran, please forgive my lack of respect."

Xu Jinyu bowed in apology, then asked curiously, "But how did you suddenly end up..."

"Ahem, I encountered a soul beast attack on the road and had a bit of an accident." Ran Yuming brushed it off with a laugh; he certainly didn't want others to know he had been ambushed by a ten-thousand-year Blood Flame Bee.

To him, that was truly embarrassing.

"..."

After a brief moment of thought, Ran Yuming had already guessed Xu Jinyu's purpose.

"Why are you waiting for me here?"

Xu Jinyu looked troubled and bowed, requesting, "To be honest, Teacher Ran, I have run into some trouble. I cannot mobilize the people within my mansion, so would it be possible to trouble you to escort me back to the Ming Capital?"

"Hmm."

Ran Yuming nodded indifferently. He had already guessed the reason for Xu Jinyu's predicament, and for the sake of the Old Prince, he decided to help.

"In that case, I shall trouble you, Teacher Ran."

"You are too kind."

Xu Jinyu's face lit up with joy, and he quickly bowed to express his gratitude.

With Ran Yuming's protection, he no longer had to worry about whether he could make it back to the Ming Capital.

Time passed in a flash.

They did encounter quite a few checkpoints while leaving the Jingyang Mountain Range.

However, with Ran Yuming there, none of that was an issue. Relying on the Breath Concealment Soul Guidance Device, the group of three left the Jingyang Mountain Range and returned to the Ming Capital in less than two days.

(Because they needed to evade tracking soul masters, the journey out of the mountains had been delayed.)

The two parties parted ways at the city gate.

Xu Jinyu, having escaped the encirclement, repeatedly thanked the master and disciple.

He even invited Su Luoheng to visit their Heng Prince Mansion if he had time in the future.

He then summoned trusted subordinates from the Heng Prince Mansion to return to the manor. Judging by his murderous aura, it seemed he intended to purge everyone around him this time.

He thought a lot on the way back.

Only a handful of people knew Xu Jinyu's whereabouts during this outing.

Excluding the most unlikely individuals, the true traitor had surfaced.

Now, all that remained was to verify his suspicions.

And then... it would be time to settle accounts with the entire manor!

After Xu Jinyu left in a hurry, Su Luoheng and Ran Yuming, master and disciple, also returned to the academy.

After two days of rest, the lump on Ran Yuming's head had significantly reduced. Although it hadn't completely subsided, he looked much better than before.

His forehead was slightly swollen.

However, walking on the street, he wouldn't attract everyone's attention.

Upon returning to the academy's laboratory, Su Luoheng finally demonstrated the ability of his second soul skill.

He hadn't explained it earlier because Xu Jinyu was present on their way back.

"..."

Chapter 67: Selling Soul Tools?

Upon hearing this, Ran Yuming was astonished, "Weapon Projection?"

"Mm."

With a thought, Su Luoheng produced two Ice Rain Swords. One was a genuine Level 1 Soul Tool, and the other was an Ice Rain Sword he had projected.

"Teacher, please look."

Ran Yuming was surprised, "Your soul skill is truly peculiar..."

Su Luoheng held out the two identical Ice Rain Swords and asked slyly, "Teacher, can you tell which one I projected with my second soul skill?"

"Oh, let me see."

Ran Yuming's interest was piqued. He took the two Ice Rain Swords.

He meticulously examined everything, from their appearance to their core formations.

The appearance was identical, and the core formations were the same...

(The weakening of the projected weapon's level does not mean the soul tool formation is downgraded. It remains unchanged; only the guidance of power is reduced.)

However, Ran Yuming soon discovered the discrepancy.

After a moment of contemplation, he picked up the Ice Rain Sword in his right hand and asked, "This one is projected, isn't it?"

"Teacher, how did you know?" Su Luoheng asked in surprise. He had concluded this after clashing the two Ice Rain Swords against each other.

"It's very simple..."

Ran Yuming explained with a faint smile.

As a Level 7 Soul Master, he possessed such insight.

Although these two Ice Rain Swords were identical in appearance, the projected Ice Rain Sword emitted a much weaker aura overall compared to the other one. However, the weapon Su Luoheng projected was incredibly realistic. Apart from this aspect, there was no other difference from the original weapon. If he hadn't witnessed it being performed before him, he would never have believed it was simulated by a soul skill.

"So that's how it is."

Su Luoheng understood, realizing that experience truly made one wiser.

"But your soul skill is indeed peculiar!"

Ran Yuming praised him. After a moment of thought, he changed the subject and asked, "Luoheng, how long can the projected weapons last?"

"Teacher, it's a real weapon," Su Luoheng replied softly.

"A real weapon... can it exist indefinitely?"

"Mm." Ran Yuming was surprised but also seemed to understand, finally grasping why the projected weapon was so lifelike.

"Are there any other characteristics?"

"Weapons projected by the second soul skill will be weaker than the original. I haven't had time to explore anything else."

"..."

Su Luoheng shrugged as he spoke.

Hearing this, Ran Yuming became interested in this peculiar second soul skill. The master and disciple began to research the specific abilities and limitations of the Weapon Projection soul skill together.

Su Luoheng also shared all the conclusions he had summarized.

The master and disciple then commenced a series of tests, such as: soul power consumption for projected weapons, analysis of projected weapon strength, range limitations for projected weapons, and so on.

Of course, testing the first soul skill was also included.

After all, that was the most crucial aspect.

Laboratory Seven, though not large, contained quite a few soul guiding devices for testing.

It was sufficient for testing a Great Soul Master.

"..."

After the initial tests, Su Luoheng's first soul skill, Weapon Analysis, had improved. He could now analyze ordinary soul guiding devices of rank three, and sword-type soul guiding devices of rank four.

His second soul skill, Weapon Projection, was indeed related to his first.

Simply put, any soul guiding device analyzed by his first soul skill could be projected as a corresponding real soul guiding device. The base blueprints for both skills overlapped; one could even say Weapon Projection was an enhanced version of Weapon Analysis. Therefore, its projection range was also equivalent to its analysis range.

As for the soul power consumed by projecting weapons, it was about a quarter of that used for analysis.

Furthermore, the projected weapons were weaker than their blueprints. If converted to soul guiding device ranks, there was a difference of about one rank.

However, these conclusions were based on projection tests with soul guiding devices of ranks one to four. The difference for higher-rank soul guiding devices of rank five and above was unknown and would depend on the specific situation at the time.

These were the current characteristics of Su Luoheng's soul skills.

Overall, his first soul skill was steadily improving, and the effect and characteristics of his second soul skill were quite good.

However, Ran Yuming felt it was not suitable for Su Luoheng.

From a rational perspective, the second soul skill had limited practical use in combat.

There were two reasons: Firstly, as a soul master himself, he did not lack weapons. Secondly, although the weapons projected by the second soul skill were real, they were one rank weaker than the blueprint weapons.

It was more like an auxiliary soul skill.

Therefore, despite the uniqueness of this soul skill, Ran Yuming was somewhat disappointed.

In terms of improving Su Luoheng's abilities as a soul master, it was far less impactful than a close-combat soul skill like Red Gold Bear.

However, the soul ring had already been absorbed and could not be replaced.

He could only try to find a way to enhance Su Luoheng's combat abilities as a soul master when he obtained his third soul ring.