Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

The door closed.

Luo Yun took a deep breath and picked up the carving knife.

An hour later, he finished carving the first block.

Twenty straight lines, the first few were ridiculously crooked, then they gradually became straighter, and finally the last few finally took shape.

He put the carved block aside and picked up the second one.

The tip of the knife landed on the metal sheet and pushed.

His hands started to ache, and his fingertips ached from being rubbed raw by the knife handle, but he didn't stop.

After carving the second piece, the third, the fourth...

It was dark outside. Luo Yun lit the soul-guiding lamp and continued carving.

The sixteenth piece, the seventeenth piece, the eighteenth piece...

As he delivered the final blow, he put the knife down, leaned back, and let out a long breath.

The workbench was piled high with iron sheets, each engraved with twenty straight lines. The earlier ones were crooked and uneven, but they became straighter and straighter towards the end, with the last few sheets having much neater lines.

---

In the days that followed, Luo Yun went to Master Fang's shop every afternoon.

They practiced forging one day and engraving the next, alternating between the two.

While forging, Master Fang would sit beside him reading a book, occasionally looking up to say something like, "Uneven force" or "Too slow to flip," before looking down at his book again.

The same applies when engraving. Luo Yun holds the engraving knife and makes strokes on the iron sheet, while Master Fang watches from the side, occasionally saying things like, "Your wrist is moving again," or "Press the knife tip down."

Time passed very slowly.

One day, Luo Yun's wrist ached from carving lines, so he put down his knife and moved around a bit.

Master Fang suddenly spoke up: "Have you ever heard of a list-carving knife?"

Luo Yun was taken aback; having read the novel, he naturally knew.

"There's a saying in the Soul Master world: 'A good knife is like a limb.'" Master Fang's tone rarely showed any emotion. "A good carving knife can improve a Soul Master's skills by 30%. The List Carving Knives are even more legendary; each one has a name, an origin, and its own unique characteristics."

He glanced at the ordinary carving knife in Luo Yun's hand.

"The engraving knife for listing achievements is ultimately something that can only be encountered by chance."

After saying that, he lowered his head and went back to reading.

Luo Yun glanced at the carving knife in his hand, said nothing, and continued carving lines.

---

Two months later, Master Fang took out a blueprint. It showed a complete, simple magic circle—the smallest section of the core magic circle for the lighting lamp, with seven or eight lines intertwined.

"Carve this out. Once you get it right, you can start learning about material handling."

Luo Yun took the blueprints and picked up the carving knife.

The tip of the knife landed on the metal sheet.

Luo Yun took a deep breath, mobilized the soul power within his body, and slowly poured it into the carving knife.

This is the first real attempt to inscribe a magic circle—not just simple lines, but to integrate soul power with the carving knife to leave patterns with energy circulation on the metal.

Master Fang sat to the side, without saying a word.

The blade tip began to move.

He had only walked about a finger's width when Luo Yun sensed something was wrong. The speed at which his soul power surged from the tip of the knife fluctuated, and the resistance of the carving knife against the metal also changed accordingly. He tried to adjust it, but the more he tried, the more chaotic it became.

"laugh--"

The knife tip veered off course, leaving a diagonal crack on the metal sheet.

obsolete.

Luo Yun put down the carving knife and looked at the piece of iron. For the past half month, he had practiced straight lines, curves, and zigzags, ruining hundreds of pieces of iron, but those were just simple carving. Now, after injecting soul power, it felt completely different—the carving knife was no longer a tool in his hand, but a leaky opening, with soul power surging out uncontrollably, impossible to stabilize.

"Again," said Master Fang.

Luo Yun replaced the iron sheet with a new one and started cutting again.

This time, he deliberately suppressed his soul power, trying to make the output even. But as soon as the soul power entered the carving knife, the tip of the knife went astray again—he pressed too hard, and the soul power was intermittent, so the patterns were also intermittent.

The third piece, the soul power was stabilized, but when the arc turned, the hand trembled and it was carved through.

An hour later, there were more than a dozen pieces of scrap metal piled on the table, none of them usable.

Luo Yun put down the carving knife and stretched his stiff fingers. His wrist ached, his fingertips hurt, and he felt mentally exhausted.

Master Fang stood up and looked at the pile of waste film.

That's all for today.

Luo Yun was stunned for a moment.

Normally, Master Fang would let him practice until dark before releasing him, but today the sun was still high in the sky.

"Go back and think about it," Master Fang said. "Carving lines and carving arrays are two different things. No matter how well the lines are carved, if the soul power can't enter, it's useless. Even if the soul power enters, it's useless if it can't be stabilized. Think it through before you practice."

---

Back home, Luo Yun sat in his room and stared blankly for a while.

My condition was definitely not good today. I knew something was wrong as soon as I picked up the carving knife. Soul power and the carving knife felt like two different things. Trying to force them together just didn't work smoothly.

He recalled what Master Fang had said: "Engraving lines and engraving arrays are two different things."

No matter how well the engraving is done, it's useless if the soul power can't penetrate it.

Even if the soul power enters, it can't be stabilized, so it's useless.

He looked down at his hands. He had practiced forging for two months and engraving for two months; now he needed to practice combining the two skills.

It's not that easy.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened. Luo Yun leaned against the headboard and suddenly remembered something—the system was cooling down, and it seemed to be today.

He checked the date, and it was indeed today.

With a thought, the system interface appeared in my mind.

Luo Yun chose to overdraw his savings for a year.

[Selection Confirmed: Overdrawing the Future for a Year]

[Simulation begins...]

[Simulation complete]

[Synchronization begins——]

A familiar, warm energy surged into his body, flowing along his meridians. This was the feeling during system synchronization; he had experienced it many times and was already used to it.

But this time, it's different.

As energy surged in, a strange message suddenly appeared in my mind—not a picture, not a sound, but a strange feeling, as if someone had inserted a memory into my mind.

Luo Yun was stunned.

The synchronization ended, and he opened his eyes, his brows furrowing.

What was that just now?

He thought about it carefully, and the information gradually became clear—it was a pair of hands, holding a carving knife, carving something on a piece of metal. The movements were slow and steady, and the force, angle, and soul power output of each stroke were clearly imprinted in his mind.

That's not something he did.

That was his experience at some point in the future when he was inscribing a magic circle.

Luo Yun looked down at his hands and tried to clench his fist. His soul power had indeed increased, but the more obvious change was that his sense of the carving knife seemed to have suddenly become clearer.

The awkward feeling that "soul power and carving knife are two different things" has faded considerably.

"The system can provide this?"

He muttered to himself, staring at his hands for a long time.

Completely baffled, Luo Yun eventually chose to stop thinking about it and gradually fell asleep.

The next afternoon, Luo Yun pushed open the door of Master Fang's shop.

Master Fang was standing in front of the worktable. When he saw him come in, he pointed to the seat next to him.

"Let's keep practicing today."

Luo Yun walked over and picked up the carving knife.

The blade tip landed on the metal sheet, and soul power slowly flowed in. This time, the carving knife felt much more stable in my hand. The rhythm of the soul power output, the speed of the blade tip's movement, the resistance from the metal feedback—these things suddenly seemed to make sense.

He followed the lines on the drawing and carved them down, one stroke at a time.

Arcs, broken lines, intersections...

After an incense stick had burned, he put down his carving knife.

On the iron sheet, there was a complete magic array pattern, from beginning to end, without any breaks, crookedness, or engraving.

Master Fang glanced down and remained silent for a few moments.

"continue."