Real Use

"..."

Su Luoheng lowered his head, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. His gaze was puzzled, and his lips were slightly pursed as he carefully pondered each word of Ran Yuming's teachings.

"Thought process error?"

"Is my way of thinking the problem...?"

With this thought, Su Luoheng clenched the metal piece in his palm, studying it closely.

"How did the teacher succeed?"

Previously, he had only made modifications according to the instructions of the old master, never carefully observing the details.

Now, he was closely examining the soul guide inscriptions, which had been restructured. There were two additional guiding circuits in the soul guide patterns, and the inscriptions were slightly expanded. Moreover...

Su Luoheng began comparing it with the "standard answer."

As he observed more closely, he also reflected on the various issues he encountered when first making the soul guide.

Comparing it with the successful piece in his hand, bit by bit, it seemed like inspiration was beginning to dawn on him. The key points mentioned by Ran Yuming gradually became clearer in his mind after several rounds of careful analysis.

'Analyze and mimic.'

'The changes and constants of the soul guide.'

'The formation patterns and inscription materials.'

Many thoughts swirled through Su Luoheng's mind.

"The core formation needs to change... Could it mean I shouldn't use my first soul skill?"

"No, that's not what the teacher meant."

"Proper usage, integrating my understanding?"

"Could it be..."

Su Luoheng muttered to himself softly, and suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

"Yes, that's it!"

A glimmer of clarity appeared in his previously confused eyes.

At that moment, it was as if he had been enlightened. The confusion that once clouded his face vanished in an instant. Finally, he understood the true intent behind Ran Yuming's words!

His first soul skill wasn't the problem.

It was his advantage, not the reason for his failures.

What Ran Yuming was trying to convey was that Su Luoheng's method of using it was flawed. He hadn't fully grasped the true purpose of his first soul skill.

The greatest benefit of the first soul skill for a soul engineer was the ability to decipher the core formation's inscriptions.

While ordinary soul engineers needed a significant amount of time to master soul guide inscriptions, Su Luoheng was different. With his soul skill, mastering soul guide inscriptions was easy, and with just a bit of practice, he could wield them effortlessly. This was something other soul engineers couldn't compare to.

A soul engineer typically requires a large amount of time to become proficient in inscriptions, but Su Luoheng could skip that phase entirely.

Thus, in Ran Yuming's eyes, Su Luoheng's prior use of his first soul skill solely to analyze soul guides and replicate entire formations was too rough, shallow, and wasteful. It was, in fact, missing the core point, the essence of his skill.

Su Luoheng needed to grasp the fundamental characteristic of the core formation: 'soul guide inscriptions'.

Soul guide inscriptions form the foundation of the core formation. Once proficient in all the soul guide inscriptions, wouldn't crafting soul guides be as easy as lifting a finger? Not only could he master imitation, but he could also use the inscriptions to create soul guides unique to himself!

This was the true way to use his first soul skill.

And it was the real reason Ran Yuming held Su Luoheng in such high regard.

"Deciphering soul skills..."

"So this is the true meaning of deciphering!"

As these thoughts surfaced, Su Luoheng felt a sudden clarity. His eyes grew brighter!

He understood it all now.

And because of this, Su Luoheng gained a deeper appreciation for Ran Yuming's teaching abilities. He lifted his head and looked at Ran Yuming with admiration, his previous confusion now completely gone.

Su Luoheng sincerely thanked Ran Yuming, who was smiling slightly, "Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance!"

Ran Yuming, who had been watching the whole time, put down his teacup and asked with a gentle smile, "Have you figured out your problem?"

"Yes."

Su Luoheng, calming the excitement in his heart, nodded and said, "The core formation isn't the key. The soul guide inscriptions are the biggest advantage brought by the analysis skill. Just like this second-level core formation, its success is due to your deep understanding of soul guide inscriptions. My failure was also because of this."

"Exactly."

Ran Yuming nodded in approval, clearly satisfied with Su Luoheng's self-assessment. However, he added, "Actually, besides the difference in materials, your failure is also related to your soul power level."

"Hm?"

"If you had engraved the second-level core formation with twenty levels of soul power, you wouldn't have failed. But right now, your soul power is only at seventeen levels. To activate the soul guide circuit, you need to apply a lot of soul power. Since you engraved the normal pattern, it caused a blockage in the soul power flow."

"I see..."

Su Luoheng's expression brightened as he grasped the meaning behind his teacher's words.

A flicker of admiration appeared in Ran Yuming's eyes. Smart students always attract more attention from teachers, no matter the world. What teacher doesn't appreciate a student who understands with just a hint?

Taking this opportunity, Ran Yuming further explained some knowledge about soul guide inscriptions to Su Luoheng. These were small tips that Ran Yuming had accumulated over the years. Every soul engineer has their own habits and experiences, so most teachers wouldn't explain these details thoroughly.

At that moment, Su Luoheng was in the process of recovering his soul power. Though he couldn't make a core formation at the moment, he couldn't afford to waste this time.

...

...

A moment later.

Su Luoheng, staring at the soul guide in his hand, suddenly had an idea and asked, "Teacher, does this mean I can now be considered a second-level soul engineer?"

"What do you think?"

Hearing this, Ran Yuming gave him a half-smiling glance.

"Well... I guess I can?"

"Do you even know how this core formation succeeded?"

"Hehe~"

Su Luoheng chuckled, scratching his head sheepishly.

"You little rascal, you've got quite the imagination."

Ran Yuming was amused and said, "Focus on making your soul guides. We'll talk again when you can independently craft a second-level soul guide."

"But Teacher, didn't you say people should have dreams~?" Su Luoheng said, grinning as he sidled up.

Ran Yuming gave him a sideways glance, though a hint of a smile still played on his lips. "That's to give you a goal, not to encourage you to daydream all day."

"Alright, stop with the jokes. You've rested long enough, and your soul power should be fully recovered. You'll need to craft one more core formation before you can finish for the day."

"Ah, come on~"

As he spoke, Ran Yuming gave Su Luoheng a kick, pushing him towards the workbench.

"Another one?"

"Isn't this a bit much?"

"..."

Though Su Luoheng complained loudly, he didn't slack off when it was time to get serious. He immediately immersed himself in the process of crafting the soul guide.