Selling Soul Tools?

"Teacher, shouldn't you do something about that bump on your head?" Su Luoheng asked worriedly.

"I've already treated it. The swelling should go down in a few days." As he spoke, Ran Yuming reached up and touched the huge bump on his forehead...

The rock-hard feel of it made him feel utterly hopeless.

He wanted nothing more than to dig up the entire Blood Flame Bee swarm and kill them all over again!

While master and disciple were talking,

Xu Jinyu, having heard their voices, walked over to them as well.

"Luo Heng, who is he?"

"Xu Jinyu. We've met once before. Three days ago, he was seriously injured, so I lent him a hand."

Su Luoheng explained the situation in just a few words.

"The surname Xu..."

Ran Yuming sized up the young man in front of him, narrowing his eyes.

Xu was the imperial surname of the Sun Moon Empire.

Under normal circumstances, his expression would have seemed perfectly ordinary. But the conspicuous bump on his forehead killed the mood, making any expression he tried to put on look comical.

"Pfft—"

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

When did the academy hire a teacher with such... distinctive features?

If he walked down the street, everyone would turn to stare!

Fortunately, he quickly held it in and walked over as if nothing had happened. His gaze kept drifting elsewhere, though, and he didn't dare meet Ran Yuming's eyes.

After a moment's thought, Ran Yuming asked, "You're part of the imperial family, aren't you?"

Xu Jinyu took out his identification token and cupped his hands. "I'm Xu Jinyu of the Heng Prince Mansion. May I ask which teacher you are at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy?"

"This old man is Ran Yuming."

"You're... Teacher Ran?!"

The moment Xu Jinyu heard the name Ran Yuming, he looked up in surprise.

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

It was just that...

How could he look so different from the rumors?

Was this really Teacher Ran?

Ran Yuming caught the doubt in Xu Jinyu's eyes. With a cold snort, he put on his teacher's identification badge.

That put all doubt to rest. The identification badges of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy were made of a special material and couldn't be forged.

"Teacher Ran, please forgive this junior for his disrespect."

Xu Jinyu cupped his hands in apology, then asked curiously, "But why did you suddenly become..."

"Ahem. We ran into a Soul Beast on the road, and there was a bit of an accident." Ran Yuming brushed it off. He didn't want anyone to know he'd been caught off guard by a ten-thousand-year Blood Flame Bee.

That would truly be humiliating.

"..."

After a brief pause, Ran Yuming had already guessed why Xu Jinyu was waiting here.

"What are you waiting for me here?"

Xu Jinyu looked troubled and cupped his hands in appeal. "To be honest, Teacher Ran, I've run into a little trouble. I can't call on the people at the mansion right now, so could I trouble you to escort me back to Ming Capital?"

"Mm."

Ran Yuming nodded coolly. He had more or less guessed the reason for Xu Jinyu's request, and for the sake of the Old Prince, he decided to help.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, Teacher Ran."

"Don't mention it."

Xu Jinyu brightened and quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

With Ran Yuming protecting him, he no longer had to worry about whether he could make it back to Ming Capital.

Time passed in a flash.

They saw quite a few checkpoints as they left the Jingyang Mountain Range.

But with Ran Yuming along, none of that was a problem. Thanks to the Breath Concealment Soul Guidance Device, the three of them made it out of the Jingyang Mountain Range and back to Ming Capital in less than two days.

(They had been delayed on their way out of the mountains because they needed to avoid the Soul Masters tracking them.)

The two parties parted ways at the city gate.

After escaping the encirclement, Xu Jinyu thanked the master and disciple again and again.

He even invited Su Luoheng to visit the Heng Prince Mansion whenever he had the time.

Then he summoned trusted men from the Heng Prince Mansion to escort him home. Judging by their grim, murderous air, it seemed he was about to purge everyone around him.

On the way back, he thought of many things.

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

After ruling out the few least likely suspects, the real traitor had begun to emerge.

Now all that remained was to confirm his suspicion.

And then... settle accounts with the entire mansion!

Once Xu Jinyu had hurried off, master and disciple Su Luoheng and Ran Yuming also made their way back to the academy.

After two days of recuperation, the bump on Ran Yuming's head had shrunk considerably. It hadn't completely gone down, but it looked much better than before.

His forehead was still a little swollen.

But he no longer drew every eye when he walked down the street.

Back in the academy's laboratory, Su Luoheng finally showed him what his Second Soul Skill could do.

Xu Jinyu had been with them on the way back, so Su Luoheng hadn't explained it then.

"..."

Chapter 67: Selling Soul Tools?

Ran Yuming was astonished when he heard the explanation. "Weapon Projection?"

"Mm."

With a thought, Su Luoheng took out two Ice Rain Swords. One was a genuine Level 1 Soul Tool, and the other was an Ice Rain Sword he had created through Projection.

"Teacher, take a look."

Ran Yuming was surprised. "Your Soul Skill is truly unusual..."

Su Luoheng held up the two identical Ice Rain Swords and asked with a sly look, "Teacher, can you tell which one I created with my Second Soul Skill?"

"Oh? Let me see."

Ran Yuming grew interested and took the two Ice Rain Swords.

He examined them closely, from their appearance to their Core Arrays.

Same appearance, same Core Array...

(Weapon Projection's lower level didn't mean the Soul Guidance Array itself had been downgraded. It remained unchanged; only the force it could channel had been reduced.)

But Ran Yuming soon noticed a discrepancy.

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

"Teacher, how could you tell?" Su Luoheng asked in surprise. He'd only figured it out after striking the two Ice Rain Swords against each other.

"It's simple..."

Ran Yuming explained with a faint smile.

As a Level 7 Soul Engineer, he had a good eye for this sort of thing.

Although the two Ice Rain Swords looked alike, the one created through Projection gave off a much weaker aura overall. But the weapon Luoheng had projected was remarkably lifelike. Aside from that one difference, it was no different from the original. If Ran Yuming hadn't seen him use the Soul Skill himself, he would never have believed it was created through a Soul Skill's Simulation.

"I see."

Su Luoheng understood. As expected, experience counted for a lot.

"Still, your Soul Skill really is unusual!"

Ran Yuming praised him, then paused before asking, "Luoheng, how long can a projected weapon last?"

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

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

"Mm." Ran Yuming was surprised, then seemed to understand. Now he knew why the projected weapon was so lifelike.

"What other properties does it have?"

"Weapons projected by my Second Soul Skill are weaker than the original. I haven't had time to investigate anything else."

"..."

As he spoke, Su Luoheng shrugged.

Hearing that, Ran Yuming grew interested in the unusual Second Soul Skill, and the two of them began studying the abilities and limits of Weapon Projection together.

Su Luoheng also told him all the conclusions he had reached.

The two of them began a series of tests: the Soul Power consumed by Weapon Projection, the strength of projected weapons, the range limits of Weapon Projection, and so on.

Naturally, they also tested his First Soul Skill.

After all, that was the real priority.

Laboratory Seven wasn't very large, but it had plenty of Soul Tool testing equipment.

It was more than adequate for testing a Soul Grandmaster.

"..."

The tests showed that Su Luoheng's First Soul Skill, Weapon Analysis, had improved. He could now analyze ordinary Level 3 Soul Tools, and sword-type Soul Tools up to Level 4.

His Second Soul Skill, Weapon Projection, was indeed connected to his First Soul Skill.

Simply put, as long as he had analyzed a Soul Tool with his First Soul Skill, he could project a corresponding real Soul Tool. The two Soul Skills shared the same template, and Weapon Projection could even be considered an enhanced form of Weapon Analysis. So its range was about the same as the range of his Analysis.

As for the Soul Power consumed by Weapon Projection, it was roughly a quarter of what Analysis used.

The projected weapons were also weaker than the originals. In terms of Soul Tool levels, they were roughly one level lower.

However, these conclusions were based on tests using Level 1 to Level 4 Soul Tools. They still didn't know how great the difference would be for higher-level Soul Tools, Level 5 and above. They would have to wait and see what happened.

Those were the current properties of Su Luoheng's Soul Skills.

Overall, his First Soul Skill was steadily improving, and his Second Soul Skill had some pretty good properties as well.

But Ran Yuming didn't think it suited Su Luoheng.

From a practical standpoint, the Second Soul Skill wasn't very useful in combat.

There were two reasons. First, as a Soul Engineer, he already had no shortage of weapons. Second, although the weapons projected by his Second Soul Skill were real, they were still one level weaker than the original.

It was more like an auxiliary Soul Skill.

So although the Soul Skill was unusual, Ran Yuming was still a little disappointed.

Because when it came to improving Su Luoheng's abilities as a Soul Master, it was nowhere near as useful as a close-combat Soul Skill like the one from a Red Gold Bear.

But the Soul Ring had already been absorbed, and he couldn't replace it.

He could only find a way to improve Su Luoheng's combat ability as a Soul Master when it came time for his Third Soul Ring.