Ling Na thought for a moment. "Do we even have a choice?"
"Flender already knows Xiao Feng has Innate Full Soul Power. If we really fall out with him, I'm afraid we won't have a peaceful day again."
"You and I only have innate Soul Power of level eight, and we ran into plenty of trouble even while we were at the academy. What about Xiao Feng?"
Shen Rui sighed. "That's right. There are only so many resources in this world."
"When someone rises, someone else has to give something up. Those great powers with unbroken legacies won't just sit back and watch people like us commoners rise."
"If we don't join them, we die. Otherwise, we wouldn't have spent all these years holed up in some remote mountain village like Shuiyun Village."
Ling Na nodded. "I imagine the teachers at Shrek Academy couldn't stand the petty scheming of the great powers either, so they gathered in a small village like this."
"We share the same fate, but not the same lives. Perhaps coming here was the right choice."
This was the first time Shen Feng had heard his parents talk about things like this. In that moment, his whole worldview was suddenly turned upside down.
He realized that the Douluo Continent he had lived on for six years wasn't the world of a novel from his previous life, but a real world that truly existed.
If he really became arrogant and unrealistic, or treated this place like the Romance Continent, as netizens in his previous life had, then his future would surely be bleak.
Looking at the entire Douluo Continent, Dugu Bo seemed to be the only unaffiliated Titled Douluo.
And even he had occupied the blessed land of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, suffered countless hardships—including the destruction of his family and a debilitating illness—and only then managed to attain the title of Titled Douluo.
Even so, he was only a bottom-tier Titled Douluo, his Soul Power stuck at level 91 for ten years without advancing.
That was the greatest disadvantage of having no backing and no legacy.
He sat on a treasure without realizing its value, guarding a blessed land and growing medicinal herbs.
Just look at Tang Hao. Even after losing his hands and feet and dropping to level seventy-something, he had never once taken Dugu Bo seriously.
Even Flender and Liu Erlong, two Soul Saints, dared to take him on head-on while dragging along Yu Xiaogang, a level twenty-nine tagalong.
Why?
Wasn't it because Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang were members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Flender had become the head of Blue Tyrant Academy, indirectly climbing into the good graces of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?
They simply weren't afraid of an unaffiliated Soul Master like Dugu Bo, who had no support or organization.
People said he couldn't beat a Titled Douluo, but he could wipe out another faction until only its Titled Douluo remained.
Just try making him fight one. Those great powers would make sure he was dealt with properly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo had nearly driven him to his death, yet afterward, Dugu Bo never retaliated against Spirit Hall—not even by spreading a few rumors.
Put simply, he didn't dare. After living in this world for decades, he knew how terrifying those great powers were.
Sometimes, even seeking death was a kind of release in the eyes of those great powers.
All of this was more than enough to show how hard it was for unaffiliated Soul Masters to get by.
Although Shrek Academy was a little run-down, its knowledge came from Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong, and thus indirectly from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
It might not have any of the most advanced core knowledge, but it certainly had no shortage of basic teachings.
At the very least, its legacy was far more complete than those of other junior and intermediate Soul Master academies.
For one thing, its Soul Power meditation method was definitely different.
When Tang San had first become Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Yu Xiaogang had given him an advanced meditation method covering most of the body's meridians. Although Tang San had inherited his own teachings and hadn't used it,
for a penniless nobody like Shen Feng, it was absolutely a pleasant surprise.
"Hahaha, Zhao, listen. Don't get too excited in a moment. Remember to keep your cool."
Just as Shen Feng was lost in thought, Flender's voice came from outside the door.
"Don't worry, don't worry. It's been years. Don't you trust me to handle things?"
A booming, hearty voice followed. Shen Feng guessed this had to be Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Bright King.
Bang—
Suddenly, someone shoved the office door open with brute force.
A middle-aged man in his forties barged in.
He wasn't tall—only about 1.6 meters. He wore a short jacket, and the muscles exposed beneath it bulged prominently. He was short and stocky.
A defiant, hostile look filled his brow, giving him the air of a honey badger ready to fight anyone who crossed him.
"Where's the brat with Innate Full Soul Power? Come out and let old Zhao get a good look at you."
Shen Rui's eyes sharpened. He pulled Shen Feng behind him and stared fixedly at Zhao Wuji, who had barged in without warning.
"I'm Shen Rui, a level fifty-five Power Attack System Battle Soul King. What do you want?"
Ling Na stepped forward too. "I'm Ling Na, a level fifty-five Power Attack System Battle Soul King."
They had barely met before they were already announcing their levels. The tension in the room immediately grew palpable.
"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding."
Flender hurried in behind them and stepped between the three.
"Shen Rui, Ling Na, don't fight. It's all a misunderstanding."
"He isn't a bad guy. He's the vice principal of my academy, Zhao Wuji."
Shen Rui furrowed his brow and exchanged a glance with Ling Na before finally easing his guard a little.
Flender let out a breath of relief and wiped a bead of nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
He knew Shen Rui and Ling Na had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. If they really started fighting, Zhao Wuji would definitely end up a crippled bear.
"Zhao Wuji!" Flender's face darkened as he roared at him.
Before he could say anything more, Zhao Wuji gave a sheepish grin, rushed over to Shen Rui, and grabbed his hand.
"Oh, well, if it isn't Brother Shen and Sister Ling Na!"
"I'm sorry, truly sorry. Old Zhao here is just a rough sort, and I'm used to speaking loudly. I didn't startle you, did I?"
Zhao Wuji didn't want Flender lecturing him in front of outsiders. He'd lose face and respect.
It was better to admit his mistake first and leave people with the impression that he was honest and good-natured.
Old Zhao might look rough, but he had a clever side to him—he was as sharp as they came.
Though every now and then his head got muddled and he liked to stir up trouble.
Zhao Wuji's combination of striking first and then apologizing left Shen Rui completely dumbfounded.
"Uh, no, you didn't startle us."
At the same time, Shen Feng, standing behind Shen Rui, saw the four people who had entered after Zhao Wuji.
Three adults and one child.
The three adults looked to be around sixty. Two were tall and thin, while the third was plump. All three were elderly, with gray-white hair and beards.
The little boy was quite handsome, around seven or eight years old, with peach-blossom eyes. He looked about 1.3 meters tall, and seemed a little shy around strangers, repeatedly edging behind the plump, middle-aged man.
Looking at these people, who were both unfamiliar and familiar, Shen Feng couldn't help feeling a ripple deep in his heart.
They were unfamiliar because this was his first time seeing them in this life. They were familiar because he knew every one of their names—he could even match each name to its owner.
As for that ripple in his heart, well, his previous life had passed like drifting clouds. He could never go back.
His exciting life would begin today.
Time flew by. Before long, Shen Feng and his family had been at Shrek Academy for over a week.
Ever since Zhao Wuji had grabbed Shen Rui's hand that day, the story between the two men had begun.
Zhao Wuji was delighted to discover that Shen Rui was also a strength-type Soul Master, and was one Soul Ring below him. Unable to contain himself, he latched on to Shen Rui.
After that, muffled thuds rang out again and again from Shrek Academy's training grounds. The place became the perfect spot for two grown men to shed blood, sweat, and tears, and it had been that way for over a week.
During that time, Shen Feng and Ling Na also went home and packed their things into a Soul Tool before bringing them to Shrek Academy.
Most importantly, there was all the equipment Shen Feng used to make Firearms and bullets. It wasn't worth much, but gathering the materials and making it all had taken quite a while.
Fortunately, the Storage Soul Tool he had obtained in the Star Dou Forest was large enough to hold everything he owned.
Afterward, as promised, Shen Feng gave everyone at Shrek Academy a Handgun, along with fifty bullets apiece. Oscar and Shao Xin each got three hundred bullets.
Shen Feng even kindly reminded them to practice shooting and improve their aim. If they ran out of bullets, they could come get more from him.
Although Shen Feng kept saying he didn't want any money, everyone still chipped in and gave him seventy Gold Soul Coins as a token of their appreciation.
It was worth mentioning that the currency on the Douluo Continent consisted of Gold Soul Coins, Silver Soul Coins, and Copper Soul Coins: 1 Gold Soul Coin = 100 Silver Soul Coins = 10,000 Copper Soul Coins. (The original work's currency system was inconsistent, so I changed it.)
A single Gold Soul Coin could support a family of three for several months. (It could be roughly converted to ten thousand RMB.)
That was enough to show just how substantial those seventy Gold Soul Coins were.
Early one morning, after a busy week, Shen Feng got up at the crack of dawn.
The previous week, he had been busy moving house and helping everyone assemble their Firearms and bullets. In his spare time, he had also gone to Flender's office to look through the useful books there, leaving him with barely any time to cultivate.
At last, he had some free time today. Shen Feng decided to use what he had learned from those books, along with his own ideas, to design a more scientific cultivation method for himself.
Since he was still so young, constantly training his physical strength was definitely out of the question.
Shen Feng didn't want to end up like Zhao Wuji, who clearly had the Martial Soul of a Vajra Bear but somehow wound up with the height of a raccoon.
If he couldn't train his strength too much, then improving his control over Soul Power seemed promising.
The more skillfully he controlled his Soul Power, the less rigidly he would use his Soul Skills, and the less Soul Power he would consume to produce the same force.
What's more, mastering control over his own Soul Power was also one of the prerequisites for developing and using Self-Created Soul Skills.
When he met an enemy, he could open with American Style Iaijutsu. Then, as the enemy struggled to close in, he could unleash a Soul Skill before even revealing his Martial Soul—an instantly activated Self-Created Soul Skill with no cooldown, right in the enemy's face. Wouldn't that be satisfying?
Even if the Self-Created Soul Skill didn't work, he could still assume a fighting stance and reveal his Soul Rings. At the very least, he would already have figured out the other side's trump cards, giving himself the advantage from the start.
In a Soul Master duel, whoever revealed their hand first died.
For example, if you knew Tang San had a whole set of slippery martial arts and was protected by Mother's Entanglement, would you still get close and let him entangle you?
Wouldn't it be more satisfying to raise a shield against his Hidden Weapons and trade shots from a distance?
You might not win, but at least you wouldn't lose.
Once the idea came to him, Shen Feng acted at once and immediately found a good tree at Shrek Academy.
That was right: his method of training Soul Power was Tree Climbing.
He based it on an anime from an island nation that he had watched in his previous life: climb a tree without using your hands, only your feet.
He would attach Soul Power to the soles of his feet and stick them to the trunk. Then he could climb it step by step, just as if he were walking normally.
It sounded simple, but it was actually quite difficult.
Shen Feng had to try several times before he managed to attach his Soul Power to the soles of his feet.
Normally, when using a Soul Skill, he gathered Soul Power in his hands. Suddenly trying to gather it in his feet was like asking someone to walk on their hands. The abrupt change felt extremely unnatural.
But that was what training was all about: becoming skilled at unfamiliar actions, or even turning them into instinct. Only by doing what others couldn't could you surpass them and rise above the rest.
Besides, challenges made things interesting. Success would feel all the more satisfying.
As soon as Shen Feng completed the first step, he immediately ran into another problem.
His Soul Power had the Lightning attribute. It was fine inside his body, but the moment he released it, it became quite unruly.
Forget sticking or clinging to the tree—the explosive repulsion from the Lightning attribute could even make Shen Feng jump straight into the air.
Fortunately, Shen Feng had graduated from an engineering school in his previous life. He knew the four fundamental forces in nature: gravity, the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force.
Although the Douluo Continent was a world with extraordinary powers, those four forces were even more remarkable. They could rightfully be called the building blocks of the boundless universe.
So those four forces still existed on the Douluo Continent. It was just that the rise of extraordinary powers had stopped people from investigating them in that direction.
He could set gravity, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force aside for now. Shen Feng probably wouldn't need them—or wouldn't be able to control them at all.
But he could at least hope to make use of the electromagnetic force, also known simply as electromagnetism.
As the saying went, if a tree stayed put, it died; if a person moved, they could thrive. Shen Feng would draw on what he had learned in his previous life to tame the unruly Lightning-attribute Soul Power—or rather, to channel it smoothly like wiring. He would form an electromagnetic force with an adhesive effect on the soles of his feet.
Once he had done all that, Shen Feng took a step. His right foot adhered firmly to the tree trunk.
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