Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

The assembly line project made Luo Xing's shop a huge success.

In just one month, shipments increased eightfold, while costs only rose by 30%, resulting in a skyrocketing profit. Luo Xing hired a few more people and expanded the production line to two, but demand still exceeded supply—merchants from several surrounding cities came to pick up goods, and orders were booked up for three months in advance.

That evening, Luo Yun went to the shop with his father again.

The shop was brightly lit, and several employees were busy moving goods, taking inventory, and greeting customers. Luo Xing sat behind the counter, a stack of orders piled up in front of him, his face beaming with joy.

"Yoona, guess how much profit we'll make this month?"

Luo Yun shook his head.

Luo Xing gestured a number and lowered his voice: "More than a thousand gold soul coins."

Luo Yun nodded, not too surprised.

He walked around the shop, looking at the soul-guided devices on the shelves—lights, heaters, communicators—all mass-produced. The items were good, but displayed there, they were no different from those sold in other shops on the street.

This reminded Luo Yun of coarse grains on Earth. Besides mobile phones, coarse grains also sell various home appliances and daily necessities, making them like a general store. With their simple, solid-color designs and cost-effectiveness, they can often carve out a piece of the pie in their respective fields.

"Dad, could you make our things a little different?"

Luo Xing looked up: "What do you mean?"

Luo Yun picked up a lamp: "Look, this kind of thing is everywhere on the market, they all look pretty much the same. Customers can buy from any of them, why should they buy from ours?"

Luo Xing was stunned for a moment.

"We need to make our customers remember us," Luo Yun said. "The colors, designs, and packaging should all be consistent. We'll create our own brand, and the name will be 'Huami'."

"Huami?" Luo Xing looked bewildered.

"I just said it offhand, we can think of a name later," Luo Yun said with a smile. "Nothing fancy, just durable and easy to use. Keep the appearance simple, pure white, without any carvings. Compared to those fancy ones, it will be easy to recognize at a glance."

Luo Xing pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

---

The next day, Luo Xing found several artisans who did design work.

The pure white metal casing has no carvings, only the words "Huami" engraved on the side. The switch is made of rounded arc, and the lampshade is made of frosted white crystal.

When the first batch of samples came out, Luo Xing put them in the store without any special promotion.

It was sold out that same day.

A few days later, someone came specifically to ask, "Do you still have those white lights?"

Later on, there were even orders specifically requesting "Huami". Luo Xing privately asked why they wanted this particular model, and most of the answers were that it looked good.

Luo Xing looked at the account book, both surprised and delighted.

---

As his business grew, Luo Xing became more willing to spend money on his son.

That evening, he called Luo Yun to his side.

"Yun'er, Dad has hired a teacher for you," Luo Xing said. "A level three Soul Master, considered top-tier in our city. You're a one-ring Soul Master now, so if you want to advance further, learning more skills won't hurt."

Luo Yun was taken aback. "Father, where did you find him? The highest-ranking Soul Master in our city is only a Level 3 Soul Master, right?"

"Don't worry about that, your old man has his own ways." Luo Xing waved his hand. "You should learn more skills now so you can move towards higher levels in the future."

The next day, the level three soul master came to their door.

His surname was Fang, he was in his forties, had an average appearance, and his skin was somewhat dark, but his eyes were very bright.

"You're Luo Yun?" Master Fang looked him up and down. "Your father said you wanted to learn about soul tools?"

Luo Yun nodded.

"I'm just doing this for money, there's no question of good or bad. If you want to learn, I'll teach you," Master Fang said. "But soul tools depend on talent. Without talent, no amount of teaching will help. Let's see how far you can go first."

He took three books out of his bag and placed them on the table.

"Fundamentals of Soul Tools Theory," "Introduction to Magic Array Patterns," and "Illustrated Explanation of Common Soul Tools Principles," Master Fang said. "Finish reading these three books first. You have one month. I'll test you after you've finished. If you don't pass, you don't need to continue studying."

Luo Yun looked at the three books; even the thinnest one was two fingers thick.

"Is there a problem?"

"no."

"Okay, that's settled then." Master Fang stood up. "I'll come again on this day next month."

Finished talking and left.

Luo Yun carried the three books back to his room and opened the first one.

"Theoretical Foundations of Soul Guidance Devices", Chapter 1: The Essence and Transformation Principle of Soul Power.

He took a deep breath and began to look down.

---

In the days that followed, Luo Yun cultivated his soul power every morning and spent his afternoons and evenings immersed in books.

The three books left by Master Fang were increasingly dry. "Theoretical Foundations" explained how soul power was transformed into various effects, all abstract concepts and formulas. "Introduction to Magic Array Patterns" was slightly better, at least it had diagrams, but those winding patterns were still dizzying to look at. "Illustrated Explanation of Common Soul Tools" was the thickest, listing diagrams of dozens of common soul tools on the market, each diagram filled with annotations.

At first, Luo Yun read very slowly.

It took me half a month to finish the first book.

Another half month passed, and I finally finished reading all three books.

Luo Yun closed the book and rubbed his eyes. He still only vaguely understood many parts, but at least he had a general framework in his mind—what soul tools were, how magic arrays worked, what types of common soul tools were, and what their respective principles were.

When the month was up, Mr. Fang arrived on time.

"Finished watching?"

"I've finished watching it."

Master Fang sat down and began asking questions.

First, some basic questions: What are the three basic ways of soul power conversion? What are the four main components of a magic array pattern? What factors generally cause energy loss in a soul tool?

Luo Yun answered each question.

Master Fang continued to ask questions, becoming more and more detailed and in-depth. Luo Yun could answer some of the questions, but not others, and for some, he had to think for a long time to understand what the question was asking.

They asked questions for a full hour.

Master Fang stopped and took a sip of water.

"My brain is still okay," he said. "I've memorized about 70% of the basic concepts, understood about 50% of the principles, and guessed on some parts. But for a first-timer, I've done pretty well."

He took three more books out of his bag.

"Advanced Magic Array Patterns," "Metallic Materials and Soul Power Conduction," and "Introduction to Soul Tool Design," Master Fang said. "Still one month. After you finish reading, you'll take the exam."

Luo Yun took the book; it was even thicker than the three books from last time.

"Also," Master Fang stood up, "starting tomorrow, you'll read books in the morning and come to my place in the afternoon. Just reading isn't enough; you have to get hands-on experience. First, learn how to handle materials, polish metal, and carve simple patterns."

Luo Yun was stunned for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Luo Yun said. "I understand."

Master Fang nodded, then stopped at the door.

"By the way, was your dad's idea for dividing the production process yours?"

Luo Yun didn't expect him to ask this.

"Yes."

Master Fang turned around and glanced at him.

"That's interesting."