Choosing a path

Chen Feng knew that the Swaying Wind Sword Technique that his master was demonstrating at this moment was just a concept.

Just as he said, he only taught Chen Feng the essence, not asked Chen Feng to copy his path.

Those who learn from me will live; those who imitate me will die.

What Chen Feng needs to do is to understand the essence of his master's swordsmanship, then integrate it into his own swordsmanship and make it completely his own.

But this is not easy. Understanding what is going on is one difficulty, knowing how to do it is another, not to mention thoroughly integrating other people's ideas, which is yet another difficulty.

Fortunately, Chen Feng wasn't in a hurry. His main focus was on scientific research and self-cultivation. As for enlightenment, he could put it aside for now, since he didn't even have a Wind Attribute Soul Ring, so there was no way for him to gain enlightenment.

Furthermore, enlightenment depends on Inspiration; Inspiration might suddenly come one day, so there's no need to spend too much energy on it.

In the following days, Chen Xin came to teach Chen Feng a few more times. After confirming that he had a basic understanding of the Swaying Wind Sword Technique, he did not come again, saying that he was going to take a look at the Death Desert.

Chen Feng knew that his master was going to search for those who might still be members of the Chen Clan members. There was nothing he could do to help, and he had done all he could. He could only silently wish his master a fruitful journey.

A few days later, the partners who had gone out to inquire about people and materials gradually returned to the Academy.

Bai Chenxiang's search mission went smoothly; she brought back a little boy and two little girls, who were children from the Speed Clan who had awakened their Martial Soul in the past two years.

The little boy had just reached level ten. If Bai Chenxiang hadn't arrived in time, he would have had to go with the sect elders to obtain his first Soul Ring.

The other two little girls both have level nine Soul Power and are twins. It won't take them too long to cultivate to level ten, so they can be considered as candidates for the experiment.

Ning Rongrong returned with Bai Chenxiang, bringing with her a piece of material that was said to be the hardest in the Heavenly Treasury. After Tang San examined it, he discovered that it was actually a piece of Cold Heart Iron Essence.

This made Tang San extremely happy.

In addition, Ning Rongrong brought back many good things, but in Chen Feng's opinion, most of them were not of much help to the soul guide business.

Because the Soul Guidance Industry System and Earth's Industrial System are actually very similar, both pursuing something that is popular, replicable, mass-producible, cheap, and can be produced quickly.

More is better, bigger is better; only in this way can we leverage the advantages of production capacity.

It's not impossible to refine things like during the Douluo Dalu 2 period, relying on Soul Engineer to meticulously craft them by hand, but that's best used on high-powered weapons that can deliver a decisive blow.

On Earth, we have nuclear bombs; here, we should be using advanced Fixed Soul Cannon Shell. Everything else should be made as cheap and mass-producible as possible.

This is where Chen Feng's soul guidance approach differs from that of the Douluo Dalu 2 era.

However, some of the things Ning Rongrong brought back were useful; they were several Soul Tool with different functions.

For example, there's the Heart Lock Chain, which can accelerate the recovery of Soul Power; the Azure Cloud Boots, which can make one feel lighter and increase speed; and the Red Sun Armor, which can maintain a certain temperature even in extremely cold regions.

In Chen Feng's view, their value lies in providing Soul Power Circuit with different functions, enriching the Soul Power Circuit, or it could be said to be the reserve of the Core Array.

As for how to utilize these Soul Power Circuit, that still requires further thought and experimentation.

Of course, this is on the premise that these Soul Tool must be perfectly disassembled so that their structure and Soul Power Circuit can be completely recorded, ensuring that there are no omissions or errors.

If anything is missing or overlooked, a lot of time and energy will have to be spent to make up for it, and there's no guarantee that it will be fully repaired.

This is the disadvantage of relying on archaeology for technological development.

And the person chosen to dismantle the Soul Tool is undoubtedly Tang San.

However, since the Soul Tool that Ning Rongrong brought back this time were extremely exquisite, Tang San was not entirely confident that he could disassemble them perfectly. Under these circumstances, he could only choose to observe them first, practice with other cheaper Soul Tool, and accumulate some experience in handling Soul Tool before making any decisions.

To be honest, when faced with those Soul Tool that Ning Rongrong brought back, Tang San felt like he had returned to his previous life when he was restoring the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, and he was so engrossed in it that he forgot to eat and sleep and racked his brains.

However, the research environment now is much better than in my previous life. Not only can I conduct research openly and honestly, but I also have partners to help me find any resources I need, and I don't have to bear the psychological pressure of being discovered at any time.

This rekindled Tang San's initial enthusiasm for research, and he secretly vowed to help Xiao Feng lay a solid foundation for the soul guidance system.

He dared not even think about perfecting the Soul Guidance System, because during his conversation with Chen Feng, he could sense that it was an extremely vast and self-consistent system with immense potential for development. It was not something that could be accomplished by one or two people making a few Soul Tool; it required a continuous stream of geniuses and a great deal of time to perfect it.

Therefore, we can only hope for the wisdom of future generations. What Tang San needs to do is lay a solid foundation first.

After Ning Rongrong and Bai Chenxiang, the others also returned with their respective spoils.

As a new concept, Soul Tool Metal are quite difficult to find, so the team didn't find many, only a few metals with relatively good Soul Tool Performance.

But that's enough. After all, Soul Tool aren't made entirely of Soul Tool Metal. Only the key parts need to be made of Soul Tool Metal, while the rest can be made of cheaper and more durable metals.

After everyone returned to the Academy, the symposium was held again in front of the Wooden House in the forest. This time, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, the brother and sister, were not invited to the symposium, as they had only been there for a short time and some topics were not suitable to be discussed in front of them.

"Hey, Bro Feng, what do you think about building a conference hall here? We could all discuss important future plans together in a conference hall, it would feel really cool. The way it is now just feels a bit shabby," Ma Hongjun suggested as soon as he sat down.

Chen Feng shook his head. "Building it now would be a waste of time. Have you forgotten? We're moving eventually. If we're going to build a conference hall, we should build it on the new campus."

"Oh, right, it's better to do it all at once," Ma Hongjun said, scratching his head.

"Bro Feng, when will the experiment start?" Bai Chenxiang asked curiously, eager to see the creation of the Artificial Soul Ring.

"In the next couple of days, choose one of the Soul Tool Metal you brought back and forge it. Let's try casting it into a ring first. It would be best to leave a groove on it to hold the Wind Attribute Foundation Establishment item. By the way, how many Wind Attribute Foundation Establishment items do we have?" Chen Feng asked.

"I have two, one I'm currently using and one I have as a spare. Both are of relatively good quality, but they can't compare to Fatty's Fire Cloud Rock," Dai Mubai said.

"I only have one, and the quality is not bad, though it's a little worse than Big Brother Dai's," Bai Chenxiang said, hugging the Wind Slime.

After she returned, she saw Chen Feng petting a cat in the woods one day, and feeling a little itchy to pet it herself, she brought the Wind Slime over as well.

Anyway, after so much time, the people in the Academy are quite familiar with this Wind Slime. They all know that it is her raised Soul Beast, so there shouldn't be any problems.

"Three pieces? I don't know if that's too many or too few... Let's try them first and see how it goes," Chen Feng said, stroking his chin.

The primary concern of the first experiment is its success; the quality of the Soul Ring is a secondary consideration, as long as no one dies.

"By the way, how's the production of those Soul Tool Metal you brought back?" Chen Feng suddenly remembered something.

Oscar answered his question, "After we came back, we compared them. The most produced metal is Soul Iron, but its Soul Tool Performance are not as good as the other metals. The other metals have stronger Soul Tool Performance, but their production is relatively scarce."

"As long as the Soul Tool Performance isn't too bad, there won't be any problems. High production volume is the most important thing. To build a soul guidance system, the storage and transmission of Soul Power are of paramount importance. I don't have any ideas about storage yet, but I think Soul Iron can solve the transmission problem," Chen Feng explained his thoughts.

Tang San then reminded them, "The output of metal ore isn't fixed; it mainly depends on the abundance of the deposits. If we want to increase metal production, we can send people to explore various places, and we should find some results."

Chen Feng nodded. "Yes, I've considered this as well, but I'm still not quite sure about the organizational structure."

"Organizational structure? What do you mean?" Tang San asked, puzzled.

Chen Feng thought for a moment and said, "If it's just small-scale work, then mining can be done by relying on sects or even the new school in the future. But if we really want to establish a soul guidance system and change the entire Douluo Continent, then the power of sects and schools is not enough. We must introduce a more powerful force, such as a nation, which will make the problem much more complicated."

In fact, Chen Feng had another option: to establish a company and fully promote its development, and even bring both empires under his control in the future.

A behemoth with a hundred different skills!

However, there is a problem with this path: there is no basis for the existence of enterprises in this world, let alone giant enterprises. Chen Feng also does not understand how enterprises operate, and he is worried that he will overstep his bounds and cause problems, so he has not considered this matter.

Given the current stage of society in the Douluo Continent, it would have to be a nation-state, even if those nations are still in a feudal stage. That would be much more reliable than building a giant enterprise from scratch.

"So the question now is, which country's power should we bring in, and how should we handle relations with other countries on the continent?" Chen Feng posed his question.

Upon hearing this question, everyone fell silent. They clearly realized that they were making a very important decision that would not only affect their own future but also the future of the mainland.

Oscar licked his dry lips, glanced at Dai Mubai who was frowning and silent, and didn't say anything.

Zhu Zhuqing subconsciously took Chen Feng's hand, but didn't say anything.

Ning Rongrong sighed Youyou. From her perspective, she should have firmly chosen the Heaven Dou Empire, but... she simply couldn't bring herself to say it.

Even the most oblivious Ma Hongjun realized something at this moment, and sat there with his neck hunched, not daring to express his opinion at all, as did the others.

Gu Yue Ling disliked the atmosphere and couldn't help but speak up, "I think we should elect a leader. While such an extremely important decision can be discussed by everyone, the final decision should be made by the leader."

"Is it true that planning is valued by the masses, while making decisions is valued by oneself?" Chen Feng asked.

Gu Yue Ling was taken aback, somewhat surprised that her thoughts had been summarized so accurately. She nodded and said, "That's exactly what I mean."

"We do have a leader, right?" Meng Yiran whispered in Oscar's ear.

Oscar nodded slightly and said softly, "To be precise, it should be a leader, but this leader isn't fixed and will be adjusted according to the situation. Now it's time to finalize it."

"If we're talking about leaders, would it be Big Brother Dai or Bro Feng?" Bai Chenxiang looked around uncertainly.

Dai Mubai waved his hand, "I'm fine as a team captain, but the leader of an organization needs to grasp the overall direction, which I can't do. It can only be Xiao Feng."

After Gu Yue Ling broke the ice, the atmosphere became much more lively after a few conversations, no longer as oppressive as before. And when Gu Yue Ling suggested becoming the "leader," everyone unanimously chose Chen Feng.

At this point, the Hydra, this Nine-Headed Serpent hydra, had gained true dominance.

Chen Feng then smoothly steered the conversation forward. "Let's all analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the two great empires, temporarily setting aside our respective identities and without any reservations."

Dai Mubai glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, "Then I'll go first. The advantage of the Star Luo Empire is that the royal family controls the Hell White Tiger, making them more powerful than the Heaven Dou Royal Family. They have stronger control over the various Nobles forces within the country, although the strength is still limited. However, in the Star Luo Empire, as long as we gain the royal family's approval, our work will be much easier to carry out."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Ning Rongrong, and everyone else's eyes also turned to Ning Rongrong.

Among those present, there were no members of the Heaven Dou Royal Family Heaven Dou Royal Family, making Ning Rongrong the person closest to them.

Even Chen Feng couldn't compare in this respect, because he had only been back in the sect for a few years, and his relationship with Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue) was still in a back-and-forth phase.

Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, was raised under the care of Xue Ye and had a good relationship with Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue). She was even once considered by outsiders to be chosen as the Crown Princess.

Therefore, this is the most appropriate time for her to speak.

"As Big Brother Dai said, the Heaven Dou Royal Family is relatively weak and its control over the feudal forces within the country is not strong, which makes the Nobles forces less obedient. But this also has an advantage, that is, the royal family will rely more on the regent, such as my father. Moreover, I have heard my father say that His Highness the current His Highness the Crown Prince has the heart to eliminate old evils and reform. He also has a good relationship with Xiao Feng and has helped us a few times before. He should support us."

"As for those less obedient Nobles forces, we can try to persuade and win them over first; if that doesn't work..."

Ning Rongrong glanced at Chen Feng, gritted her teeth, and said, "We can go all out!"

These words immediately shocked everyone present.

Chen Feng glanced at her in surprise, then chuckled, "Rongrong, is your 'bold and decisive' an adjective or a noun?"

"It's a noun," Ning Rongrong answered without hesitation.