Feeling Su Luoheng's mood shift, Su Junran quietly slowed down.
Maple Leaf City was only ten kilometers from Maple Leaf Forest.
Powered by Su Junran's Soul Power, the Flying Soul Tool could get them back to Maple Leaf City in less than fifteen minutes, even at a slower speed.
But a minor incident occurred just before they reached the city gates.
Su Luoheng, his little face pale, clung miserably to a tree trunk and retched nonstop.
Flying high in the sky had been exhilarating, but after such an intense first experience, even a Soul Master couldn't take it. Especially once the novelty wore off, he could no longer suppress his body's reaction.
Su Junran inevitably got an earful from Ye Lan.
Su Luoheng's First Soul Skill was very unusual.
Some Soul Tools of the same level could be analyzed, while others could not.
Only after extensive testing by father and son did they finally figure out the rules governing its analysis.
With Su Luoheng's current Soul Power at Level 12, he could only analyze Level 1 Soul Tools for the time being. Doing so generally consumed around seventy percent of his Soul Power.
Analyzing a Level 2 Soul Tool, on the other hand, required at least three attempts. As for Soul Tools of a higher level, he still couldn't analyze them.
But when it came to sword-type weapons, the amount of Soul Power Su Luoheng used dropped sharply. For example, when he first analyzed a Level 2 dagger Soul Tool, it consumed less than forty percent of his Soul Power.
With his current Soul Power, he could analyze sword-type Soul Tools up to Level 3.
Among the melee Soul Tools they had tested so far, only sword-type Soul Tools showed this trait. Whether this advantage over Level 1 Soul Tools would change at higher levels remained unclear.
Besides that,
if Su Luoheng had some familiarity with a Soul Tool, the amount of Soul Power consumed would decrease accordingly, no matter its form.
The extent of the reduction depended on the circumstances.
Those were the basic characteristics of Su Luoheng's First Soul Skill.
In addition, after analyzing dozens of Soul Tools, he suddenly felt an inspiration and found himself in the barren desert of his Martial Soul Projection. As he looked at the many sword-type Soul Tools projected by him, a name suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Unlimited Blade Works!
That was the name of his Martial Soul. From that moment on, his unusual Martial Soul had a name.
The person most delighted by his gaining a First Soul Skill was Ye Lan, who was a Soul Engineer herself.
She believed that with the unique properties of Weapon Analysis, she could raise her son into an outstanding Soul Engineer.
That very day, she began teaching him the ins and outs of making Soul Tools, along with practical exercises.
Su Junran, by contrast, was somewhat disgruntled.
He had originally planned to raise his son into an outstanding Soul Master. Fortunately, he wasn't as prejudiced against Soul Engineers as traditional Soul Masters were.
That said, Su Luoheng's Soul Master training didn't slacken. If anything, it became even stricter.
As Su Junran put it, an enemy in battle wouldn't care whether you were a Soul Engineer or a Soul Master. And Su Luoheng's First Soul Skill offered no help in combat, leaving him at an innate disadvantage that could only be made up for with extensive training.
It was wisdom drawn from hard-won experience.
Su Luoheng understood his father's good intentions and diligently followed every training plan.
The seasons came and went; autumn brought harvest, and winter called for storing provisions.
More than a year had passed in the blink of an eye since he had obtained his First Soul Ring.
Once Ye Lan had determined that Su Luoheng had a talent for Soul Tools, making them became a required part of his studies alongside his daily training.
His lessons covered the theory of Soul Tools, forging, arrays, carving, and a whole framework of related knowledge.
Ye Lan had expected it would take at least two years before Su Luoheng could try carving Core Arrays for Soul Tools. Forging wasn't difficult, but it was extremely tedious, and she hadn't thought a child could stick with it for long.
But little Luoheng turned out to be unexpectedly diligent.
In less than a year, he had completed all the fundamentals. He began carving Core Arrays for Soul Tools six months ahead of her estimate.
And that was only the beginning.
His true talent for Soul Tools showed itself when he started learning to carve arrays!
For most Soul Engineers, the hardest part of making a Soul Tool was carving its Core Array. Soul Engineers often made mistakes at that step, causing the entire Soul Tool to fail.
But Su Luoheng never had that problem.
His First Soul Skill was simply too overpowered!
As long as he had the body of a Soul Tool to analyze, making one posed no difficulty for him.
When faced with the blueprint of an unfamiliar Soul Tool, he didn't need to study it. He only had to analyze the actual Soul Tool with his Soul Power, and its structure would be etched into his mind.
For him, carving it was just a matter of copying what he had learned.
The position, direction, pressure, and length of every stroke were almost always perfect.
So, in just three months,
Su Luoheng had completely mastered making Level 1 Soul Tools and successfully made twenty of them in various forms. If he hadn't run out of materials, he could have made even more.
His talent filled Ye Lan with both astonishment and delight!
By the Sun Moon Empire's strict standards, he was already a bona fide Level 1 Soul Engineer.
A Level 1 Soul Engineer who hadn't even turned ten—he had to be a rare sight on Douluo Continent, right?
But Su Luoheng didn't let success go to his head.
After finishing his first Level 1 Core Array, he began trying to carve the Core Array for a Level 2 Soul Tool.
This time, however, he hit a bottleneck.
Although he already had the complete structure of a Level 2 Soul Tool's Core Array in his mind, he always got stuck in the last few steps.
As a Level 4 Soul Engineer, Ye Lan immediately saw the problem: Luoheng had made no mistakes in carving the array. The problem was his Soul Power. His reserves were limiting how far he could go.
As soon as his Soul Power broke through, making a Level 2 Soul Tool would come naturally.
Conversely, if his Soul Power couldn't break through, he wouldn't be able to complete a Level 2 Soul Tool's Core Array.
So Su Luoheng had no choice but to put it aside for the time being.
His Soul Power wasn't increasing slowly. A little over a year had passed since he obtained his First Soul Ring, and his Soul Power had risen from Level 12 to Level 17.
But his progress with Soul Tools was even faster than his growth in Soul Power.
Fortunately, he felt that his Soul Power would break through again before long. Then he could try carving a Level 2 Soul Tool's Core Array once more.
Late at night, at the Su residence.
After finishing another day of cultivation, Su Luoheng was about to begin meditating when his father called him out.
When he reached the courtyard, his mother was sitting nearby as well.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" Su Luoheng asked curiously.
"Luoheng, there's something we'd like your opinion on."
Su Junran gestured for Su Luoheng to sit down, then got straight to the point. "Luoheng, your Soul Power is Level 17 now. Your mother and I have talked it over, and we think it's time to send you to a Soul Master Academy."
"An academy?"
"Mm."
They had chosen to teach him themselves when he first awakened his Martial Soul so they could give him a better education.
Over the past three years, the couple had laid a solid foundation for little Luoheng. Now, whether it was his Soul Master training or his Soul Engineer studies, he wasn't making much progress at home. Only by attending an advanced Soul Master Academy could he make the most of his talents.
"It's enrollment season for the various Soul Master Academies. With your Soul Power level, you're eligible to attend any academy on the continent. Even if you want to go to Shrek Academy, your father can get you an invitation from the city lord."
"You don't have to give me an answer right now."
As he spoke, Su Junran handed Su Luoheng a notebook. "I've written down the strengths of the various advanced academies. You can decide for yourself which one to attend. Your mother and I will support whatever you choose."
"Okay."
A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Su Luoheng's eyes. He had always longed to attend a Soul Master Academy.
Back in his room,
Su Luoheng opened the notes about the academies his father had prepared.
He skimmed through them. The notebook covered more than a dozen advanced Soul Master Academies, including Douling Royal Academy, Star Luo National Academy, Di'ao Academy, Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, and Zhengtian Soul Master Academy.
Without exception, they were all established academies with long histories and renowned reputations across Douluo Continent.
They had trained countless powerful figures for the continent.
Each academy Su Junran had included had its own strengths when it came to educating students.
But the two with the greatest reputations were undoubtedly Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
They were considered the best on the continent at training Soul Masters and Soul Engineers, respectively, and stood far ahead of every other advanced Soul Master Academy in their respective fields.
The other academies lagged far behind both in educational standards and in the strength of their teaching staff.
They were like red flowers and green leaves.
With his talent, he could earn extra resources by joining any of those academies. But Su Luoheng had full confidence in himself. Even at those two academies, he would be treated as a promising talent.
And most academies were prejudiced against Soul Tools.
So after much thought, Su Luoheng narrowed his first choices to Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
He read through the detailed descriptions of the two academies again and again, but still couldn't make up his mind.
Shrek Academy had plenty of problems.
For example, the death quota in the inner academy, double standards in the Soul Master Tournament, cheating, and so on.
But after ten thousand years of development, Shrek Academy now had an impressive faculty. When it came to educating and training Soul Masters, it was unquestionably the most authoritative academy on the continent. Every qualified Soul Master considered Shrek Academy their first choice.
It also held a position of immense influence across the continent, perhaps even surpassing Spirit Hall from ten thousand years ago.
But Shrek Academy had also inherited the tradition of Soul Masters looking down on Soul Tools.
Most of Shrek Academy's elders and students believed that Soul Engineers only had a temporary advantage, and that once a Soul Master reached Soul Saint, a Soul Engineer was no match in a one-on-one fight.
In their eyes,
Soul Engineers were inferior to Soul Masters → learning about Soul Tools was useless → Soul Engineers were neglecting the fundamentals and wasting their time.
Aside from deciding to establish the Soul Guidance Department, Mu En, the master of Sea God Pavilion, had never clearly stated his position or attitude.
So although Shrek Academy had a Soul Guidance Department, it was far below the Martial Soul Department in both status and treatment. If Su Luoheng chose to attend Shrek Academy, his talent for Soul Tools would inevitably be held back.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, on the other hand, had the opposite problem: it relied too heavily on the assistance provided by Soul Tools and downplayed the development of Soul Masters' own abilities.
Although the academy's leadership had realized the flaw and was trying to correct it, it would take time for them to catch up with Shrek Academy in training Soul Masters. If he went to Sun Moon, his Soul Master training would be affected as well.
Shrek Academy was weak at training Soul Engineers.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was weak at training Soul Masters.
Both had their merits, and Su Luoheng couldn't decide which one to choose.
"Shrek, or Sun Moon?"
Su Luoheng cupped his chin in his hands and muttered softly.
Then he thought of something and pulled a coin from his pocket.
Back on Blue Star in his previous life, whenever he couldn't decide something, he would flip a coin. He had kept up the habit even after crossing over to Douluo Continent.
"Heads for Shrek, tails for Sun Moon."
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