Douluo 2: Way of Fake God With Soul Tools

Su Luoheng casually wiped his wrist, and a small, exquisite dark silver carving knife appeared in his hand.

The carving knife was an essential tool used by soul engineers to inscribe core arrays. Although it wasn't a soul tool itself, it was extremely important. No soul engineer could work without one, as it was a necessity in crafting soul tools.

A suitable carving knife could significantly increase the success rate of soul tool creation. It was essential for any soul engineer aspiring to greatness. On the Douluo Continent, the top-tier carving knives were collectively known as "Ranked Knives," with one hundred of the most famous ones held by the top soul engineers.

This showed just how critical carving knives were to soul engineers.

As a first-level soul engineer, Su Luoheng naturally had his own carving knife. This particular knife was a gift from his mother, Ye Lan, when he first became a soul engineer. Made from incredibly sharp diamond, it possessed attributes of sharpness, durability, and stability. It could handle most metal materials without requiring soul power, making it highly suitable for his use and effective up to the fourth level of soul engineering.

Though the carving knives provided by Teacher Ran Yuming were of better material, at such a critical moment, it was better to use the one Su Luoheng was more familiar with.

He had already decided what soul tool he would craft.

It was the same second-level soul tool short sword he had used to hunt his first soul ring. He had attempted to create this second-level soul tool before at home, and although he had never succeeded, he had gained plenty of experience.

"Hu…"

Su Luoheng calmly picked up the carving knife, his gaze focused.

In his hand, the small knife moved with exceptional agility. His fingers danced, the knife flickered, and its blade gleamed like a shadow. His hand speed increased, almost transforming into a blur, each movement as elegant and fluid as a beautiful dance. In no time, he had refined the palm-sized piece of mithril into a rhombus-shaped silver metal block, perfectly prepared for inscribing the core array.

At this point, Su Luoheng paused briefly, flipping the carving knife around.

As he began inscribing the core array, his expression became even more serious.

Now was the real start.

"Zzzz…"

The knife made soft scratching sounds as it met the metal. Though his movements and speed slowed, his hand remained steady. Each cut was firm and precise. With every stroke, Su Luoheng's focus deepened, his entire being fully absorbed in the task of wielding the knife and inscribing the core array.

Ran Yuming stood silently behind him, watching every move.

At times he nodded, and at others, he frowned.

As Su Luoheng's carving movements evolved, time passed. Under the detailed carving and polishing, powered by Su Luoheng's soul force, intricate lines gradually emerged, and silver light began to sparkle from the metal block. A strange aura emanated from it, as the core array's patterns became clearer.

The array was now almost complete, with only a few strokes left before success.

However, Su Luoheng suddenly hesitated. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his entire body visibly tense with nerves.

In his past attempts at home, he had always failed at this final stage of the second-level soul tool array.

Now that he had reached this point again, it was only natural that he felt pressure and tension.

Could he succeed this time?

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He repeated this several times until his once-nervous emotions calmed.

There was no need to doubt himself.

Both his soul power and understanding were stronger than before.

This time, he was determined to succeed!

Su Luoheng's gaze grew resolute as he returned to his initial state of calm. He gripped the carving knife firmly and resumed inscribing. His movements were once again smooth and steady.

Seeing this, a satisfied smile appeared on Ran Yuming's face.

Su Luoheng hadn't disappointed him. He had quickly adjusted his mindset. Even if he failed this time, it wouldn't affect his confidence.

The path of a soul engineer was one of progress through failure and setbacks. Developing new soul tools and crafting advanced ones all came through trials and errors. 

Failure is not something to be feared. What should be feared is losing confidence and being unable to recover.

Only those with strong perseverance and an unyielding mindset can become powerful soul mentors, and this has been a stumbling block for many.

Yet, Su Luoheng possessed such a mindset at a young age, which made it all the more valuable.

At the same time…

"Shh... shh..."

Metal fragments kept falling as the core formation gradually neared completion. The aura emanating from the metal block grew stronger, and the silver glow became more radiant.

It seemed that success was within reach!

*Swish, swish—*

After a few more strokes, Su Luoheng gently put down the metal block.

The core formation inscription was successfully completed. Now, the silver-white rhomboid metal bore numerous soul inscription patterns, meticulously detailed and tightly arranged.

This was his first time carving a complete core formation, marking significant progress for him.

However, it wasn't entirely over yet.

The next step was to activate the core formation and confirm that it could be used properly, only then would it truly be considered a second-level soul tool.

"…"

Su Luoheng held his breath, carefully removing all the fragments from the gaps. Then, he held up the metal block in his left hand, gently infusing his soul power into it.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed intently on the circuits.

As the soul power continued to flow in, the core formation was activated, and the metal block emitted a silver light. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction. Yet, just as success was within sight, a problem emerged in the core formation: the soul power, which was about to activate the entire formation and link all the previously inscribed patterns, suddenly got stuck at the final connection point, preventing the core formation from functioning properly.

How could this be?!

Su Luoheng frowned deeply, staring at the scene before him in confusion.

He had constructed every circuit carefully and precisely. Why was it now failing to activate?

This was impossible...

For a moment, Su Luoheng froze, and his mind went blank.

The result caught him completely off guard.

While he was puzzled, his soul power continued to pour in.

With the continuous impact of the accumulating soul power, which couldn't form a proper cycle, it clogged at the connection point. As more and more soul power rushed in, cracks began to appear in the surrounding inscriptions, on the verge of breaking apart!

*Crack, crack—*

The sound of shattering reached his ears, jolting Su Luoheng back to his senses, and he hastily withdrew his soul power.

But it was too late.

Once the core formation began to collapse, it triggered a chain reaction, and Su Luoheng was powerless to stop the disintegration.

Was it going to fail again?

It was so close to success—why did it end like this?

Watching the cracks spreading before him, a wave of frustration surged within Su Luoheng's heart.