Douluo: A Person in Peerless, Fake God Chapter 9

Sensing the shift in Su Luoheng's mood, Su Junran quietly slowed his pace.

The distance from Maple Leaf City to the Maple Leaf Forest was only ten kilometers in total.

With Su Junran's soul power driving the flight-type soul tool, even at a reduced speed, they returned to Maple Leaf City in less than a quarter of an hour.

However, a small incident occurred right before the city gates.

With a pale face, Su Luoheng stumbled toward a tree and began to retch uncontrollably.

While high-altitude flight was an exhilarating experience, the first time was so intense that even a soul master could barely handle it, especially once the novelty faded and the physical reaction could no longer be suppressed.

Su Junran also inevitably faced a lecture from Ye Lan.

Su Luoheng's first soul skill was quite unique.

He could analyze some soul tools of the same rank, while others remained beyond his reach.

After a great deal of testing by the father and son, they finally grasped the rules of his analysis.

With Su Luoheng's current twelve-level soul power, he could only analyze first-rank soul tools for the time being, which generally consumed about seventy percent of his soul power.

Second-rank soul tools required at least three attempts to analyze, and he was currently unable to analyze anything higher.

However, if the item was a sword-type weapon, Su Luoheng's consumption dropped significantly; for instance, the first time he analyzed a second-rank short sword, it consumed less than forty percent of his soul power.

With his current soul power, his limit for analyzing sword-type soul tools was the third rank.

Among the melee soul tools tested so far, only sword-type soul tools possessed this characteristic. As for whether this lead would change once he reached a higher rank, it remained unknown.

Beyond that, if the soul tool was one Su Luoheng had already studied, the soul power consumption would decrease accordingly, regardless of its form.

The specific degree of reduction depended on the actual circumstances.

This was the basic nature of Su Luoheng's first soul skill.

Furthermore, after dozens of analyses, he suddenly felt a sensation of being transported into a desert projected by his martial soul. Looking at the vast array of sword-type soul tools he had projected, a name suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Unlimited Blade Works!

This was the name of his martial soul; from this moment on, his peculiar martial soul had a title.

No one was happier about him obtaining his first soul skill than Ye Lan, who was a soul tool master herself.

She believed that with his ability to analyze weapons, she could confidently cultivate her son into an outstanding soul tool master.

That very day, she began teaching him the techniques of soul tool crafting and practical drills.

Su Junran, on the other hand, felt somewhat dejected.

His original plan had been to raise his son into an exceptional soul master, though fortunately, he was not as prejudiced against soul tool masters as traditional soul masters were.

However, the training for soul mastery was not sidelined; if anything, it became even more rigorous.

According to Su Junran, an enemy in battle would not care whether you were a soul tool master or a soul master, and since his first soul skill provided no help in combat, this natural disadvantage had to be compensated for with extensive training.

This was a golden rule born from extensive practice.

Su Luoheng understood his father's good intentions and diligently carried out every training plan.

As the seasons turned, time flew by, and more than a year had passed since he obtained his first soul ring.

Ever since Su Luoheng's talent for soul tools was identified, they had become a mandatory subject alongside his daily training.

This included a series of knowledge frameworks such as soul tool theory, forging, array formations, and engraving.

In Ye Lan's original estimation, it would take at least two years before Su Luoheng could begin attempting to engrave core arrays for soul tools. After all, while forging was not difficult, it was exceptionally tedious, and it was hard for a child to maintain focus.

But unexpectedly, little Luoheng was surprisingly diligent.

He completed all his basic studies in less than a year, beginning his work on core array engraving half as early as she had anticipated.

And this was only the beginning.

His true talent for soul tools only fully manifested when he began learning array engraving!

For most soul tool masters, the greatest difficulty in crafting a soul tool was the carving of the core array. Many times, soul tool masters would make mistakes at this step, causing the entire crafting process to fail.

But this problem simply did not exist for Su Luoheng.

His first soul skill was too broken!

As long as there was a soul tool base to provide an analysis, he faced no difficulties in crafting.

He did not need to study a strange soul tool blueprint; he simply used his soul power to analyze the physical object, and it was imprinted in his mind.

For him, the actual carving was merely a process of reproduction.

The position, direction, force, and length of every stroke were nearly flawless.

Thus, in just three short months...

Su Luoheng had already fully mastered the production of first-class soul tools, successfully crafting twenty of various types. Had his supply of materials not been completely exhausted, he could have actually produced even more.

The talent displayed by her son left Ye Lan both incredibly surprised and overjoyed!

Even by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's rigorous grading standards, he was now a bona fide first-class soul engineer.

A first-class soul engineer under the age of ten—that was surely a rare phenomenon even on the Douluo Continent, right?

However, Su Luoheng did not let it go to his head.

After completing the engraving of the first-class core arrays, he began to attempt the core arrays for second-class soul tools.

Yet, this time, he hit a bottleneck.

Although the structure of the second-class soul tool core array was already clear in his mind, he always fell short in the final few steps.

As a fourth-class soul engineer, Ye Lan saw the problem at a glance: Luoheng had made no mistakes in the array engraving; the issue lay in his soul power. His own soul power reserves were limiting his further performance.

As long as his soul power could break through, the second-class soul tool would naturally be completed with ease.

Conversely, if his soul power could not break through, he would be unable to craft the second-class soul tool core array.

Consequently, Su Luoheng had no choice but to put it on hold for the time being.

In truth, his rate of soul power improvement was not slow. In the year or so since obtaining his first soul ring, Su Luoheng's soul power had already risen from the initial level twelve to level seventeen.

But compared to his soul power growth, his progress in soul tools was even faster.

Fortunately, he felt that it wouldn't be long before his soul power broke through again, at which point he could continue attempting to engrave the second-class soul tool core arrays.

Late at night, at the Su residence.

Just as Su Luoheng was about to begin meditation after another day of cultivation, he was called out by his father.

Walking into the courtyard, he saw his mother sitting to the side as well.

"Mom, Dad, what's wrong?" Su Luoheng asked curiously.

"Luoheng, we have something we want to ask your opinion on."

Su Junran gestured for Su Luoheng to sit beside them, then went straight to the point. "Luoheng, you are already at level seventeen soul power. Your mother and I have been thinking that it is time to send you to a soul master academy to study."

"A soul master academy?"

"Yes."

When he first awakened his martial soul, they had taught him personally to ensure he received the best education.

But over these past three years, the couple had already laid a solid foundation for little Luoheng. Now, whether in terms of soul master training or soul engineering, the child would not make much more progress by staying at home. Only by entering an advanced soul master academy could little Luoheng's inherent talent be maximized.

"It just so happens to be the enrollment season for all the major soul master academies. With your soul power level, you are qualified for every academy on the continent. Even for Shrek Academy, if you want to go, your father can manage to get you an invitation letter from the city lord."

"You don't have to give me an answer right now."

As he spoke, Su Junran took out a notebook and handed it to Su Luoheng. "This is a summary I've compiled of the characteristics of various advanced academies. You decide which academy to choose; we will support you regardless."

"Mm."

A look of anticipation flashed in Su Luoheng's eyes. He had always felt a deep yearning for soul master academies.

Back in his room.

Su Luoheng opened the academy information his father had compiled.

After a rough flip-through, there were over a dozen advanced soul master academies listed, including the Douling Royal Academy, Star Luo National Academy, Di'ao Academy, Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Zhengtian Soul Master Academy, and so on.

Without exception, they were all long-established institutions with prestigious reputations across the Douluo Continent.

They had cultivated countless powerhouses for the continent.

The academies listed by Su Junran each had their own unique characteristics in student development.

However, the most renowned among them were undoubtedly Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

The two were considered the best on the continent for cultivating soul masters and soul engineers, respectively. It could be said that they were far ahead of all other advanced soul master academies in their respective fields.

Other academies, whether in terms of educational standards or faculty strength, lagged far behind these two.

They were like the red flowers and the green leaves.

Although he could receive preferential resources by joining those other academies due to his talent, Su Luoheng had enough confidence in his own potential; he would be treated as a core student even at those two top institutions.

Added to that was the fact that most academies held a bias against soul tools.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Su Luoheng's top choices remained Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

After reading the detailed introductions of the two major academies back and forth several times, Su Luoheng found himself unable to make a decision for the moment.

Shrek Academy had many issues.

For instance, the death quota incidents in the Inner Court, the double standards during the Spirit Master Tournament, the cheating, and so on.

However, after ten thousand years of development, the current Shrek Academy possesses a formidable faculty and is undoubtedly the most authoritative institution for the cultivation and education of spirit masters on the continent today; any qualified spirit master's first choice is Shrek Academy.

It occupies a pivotal position across the entire continent, even surpassing the Spirit Hall of ten thousand years ago.

Yet, Shrek Academy has also inherited the tradition of spirit masters rejecting soul guidance devices.

Most of the elders and students at Shrek Academy hold the belief that soul guidance devices only offer a temporary advantage, and once a cultivator reaches the Spirit Saint level, a soul guidance master is no match for a spirit master in a one-on-one fight.

In their view:

Soul guidance masters are inferior to spirit masters → Learning soul guidance devices is equivalent to uselessness → Soul guidance masters are abandoning the root to pursue the tip and wasting their time.

As the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En has never explicitly stated his stance or attitude beyond deciding to establish the Soul Guidance Department.

Therefore, although Shrek Academy has a Soul Guidance Department, its status and treatment are far inferior to those of the Spirit Department. If he were to choose Shrek Academy, Su Luoheng's talent in soul guidance devices would inevitably be restricted.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Guidance Academy, on the other hand, is the opposite: they rely too heavily on the assistance provided by soul guidance devices and downplay the cultivation of a spirit master's own strength.

Although the higher-ups at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy have realized this flaw and are attempting to correct it, they cannot catch up to Shrek Academy in spirit master cultivation overnight; if he were at Sun Moon, his spirit master development would be similarly affected.

Shrek Academy is weak in soul guidance master cultivation.

Sun Moon Imperial Academy is weak in spirit master cultivation.

Both have their own merits and drawbacks, and Su Luoheng did not know how to choose between the two academies for a moment.

"Shrek, or Sun Moon?"

Su Luoheng rested his chin in his hands, muttering softly.

Suddenly, he thought of something and pulled a coin from his pocket.

Back on Blue Star in his previous life, whenever he encountered a difficult decision, he would choose to flip a coin to decide; now that he had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, he had kept this habit.

"Heads for Shrek, tails for Sun Moon."