With his right foot steady, he slowly raised his left foot the same way. Shen Feng was now horizontal, suspended against the tree trunk seventy centimeters above the ground.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and joy welled up inside him.
"Haha."
He let out a quiet laugh. When he saw that he hadn't fallen out of the tree, Shen Feng grew bolder. In a few steps, he reached a branch three meters up, folded his arms across his chest, and pretended to hang upside down from it.
"Hahahaha! I did it! I, Shen Feng, really am a heaven-gifted genius! Hahahaha!"
The more reckless you were, the sooner heaven brought you down. Laughing too loudly, he bit his tongue.
"Xiao Feng, what are you laughing at? What are you doing? How did you get up there?"
A rapid-fire string of questions suddenly came from behind him, making Shen Feng jolt. His laughter stopped dead.
His attention wavered for just a moment, and the suction holding his feet in place faltered. With a strange cry, Shen Feng toppled headfirst from the tree.
"Look out!"
The warning had barely sounded when Shen Feng reacted swiftly, bracing himself on the ground with both hands and flipping over to land steadily on his feet.
"Haah... haah... haah... It hurts like hell."
As soon as he landed, Shen Feng stuck out his tongue and blew hard on its tip to cool it down.
There was no doubt about it—he'd really bitten his tongue.
"Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng, are you all right? I didn't mean to scare you."
Seeing Shen Feng's miserable state, eight-year-old Oscar hurried over. His handsome little face scrunched up, his peach-blossom eyes brimming with tears. He was close to crying from worry.
Shen Feng wasn't petty, especially not toward people who liked him.
Besides, Oscar was so cute when he was little.
At the moment, they were the only two students at Shrek Academy, and they were around the same age, so naturally they'd become playmates.
Well, to be more precise, the older-minded Shen Feng was the one indulging Oscar.
Whatever the case, Shen Feng didn't actually dislike Oscar.
Since Oscar had seen him training, Shen Feng simply shared a few of his little training tricks with him.
Oscar's first attempt naturally failed, but Shen Feng also discovered that Oscar's Food System Soul Power was gentler and more delicate, making it easier to control. He could even release it directly outside his body to cling to the tree trunk.
Unlike Shen Feng, Oscar didn't need to create electromagnetic force first and control things indirectly.
But progress was slow when Oscar practiced tree climbing by using Soul Power directly. After Oscar fell several times, Shen Feng suggested that he first practice using Soul Power to cling to small objects, such as pebbles.
Once he got the hang of it, he could move on to climbing trees.
Half a month later, Shen Feng hung upside down from the same tree branch, swinging back and forth at his leisure. Below him, Oscar was hard at work practicing how to make stones stick.
"Xiao Ao, how's your training going?"
Shen Feng's sudden question startled Oscar.
Oscar jerked his head up and asked in confusion, "Xiao Feng, what's up?"
"I asked how your training's going. Can you try climbing a tree yet?"
Oscar thought for a moment. "Probably not. The suction from my Soul Power still isn't strong enough. Right now, I can barely lift a stone weighing thirty-some pounds. It's nowhere near enough to hold up my weight."
"But I'm getting close. I think in a few more days, I'll be able to do it just like you."
Shen Feng nodded, released his feet, and flipped in midair before landing steadily.
"Keep at it, then. I'm heading out."
"Huh?" Oscar looked surprised. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to keep training?"
Shen Feng waved a hand. "Climbing trees doesn't do anything for me anymore. I'm going to the river to try a different training method."
"You can come find me once you've mastered tree climbing."
Oscar suddenly understood. "I get it! You're going to the river to electrocute fish."
Pfft—
With his talent for saying the most astonishing things, Shen Feng nearly tripped on flat ground.
What the hell, electrocute fish? Didn't Oscar know that was illegal?
"I'm going to the river to develop a new training method. Once you've learned to climb trees, come find me and I'll teach you."
"Okay!"
After Shen Feng left, three people stood silently on a nearby rooftop.
"What do you think? How valuable is this training method?"
There was a note of pride in Shen Rui's voice, as if he were thinking, That's my boy.
Zhao Wuji burst out laughing. "Very valuable, of course! Once I learned it, even using Soul Skills saved me about one percent of my Soul Power."
"For those little kids who still need to build a foundation, it'll be even more beneficial."
Flender nodded slightly. "Not only that. Controlling Soul Power more skillfully will also help a Soul Master meditate faster, indirectly speeding up the accumulation of their Soul Power."
"We don't have the Mimicry Cultivation Environments that the major powers do. Xiao Feng's method can serve as a substitute for the children who enroll."
"So I suggest we make this training method a secret art of the academy, taught only to our own students."
Shen Rui nodded. "That's fine, but make sure the creator's name is clearly credited. Don't try to pass it off as someone else's work."
Flender laughed. "Of course. The credit belongs to Xiao Feng."
"Actually, I have some valuable books of my own, copied from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. You can have Xiao Feng come see me sometime."
Shen Rui's face lit up, and he cupped his hands toward Flender. "Then I'll thank you on Xiao Feng's behalf, Dean."
Flender waved him off. "There's no need. In my view, knowledge is only truly valuable when it's in the mind of someone clever."
"Xiao Feng reminds me of a friend of mine. He's clever and quick-witted, but Xiao Feng is also very different from him—his cultivation talent is far, far superior. The two of them are worlds apart."
"Ah..."
Everything that needed to be said was contained in that long sigh.
Shen Rui could tell that Flender had his own story. The fact that he possessed knowledge passed down from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was proof enough.
But Shen Rui didn't pry. Everyone had their secrets, just as he was currently hiding a Ten-Thousand Year Left Leg Spirit Bone that nobody knew about.
Besides, Shen Rui didn't need to know Flender's past. He only needed to know that Shen Feng could keep growing, especially since the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's inheritance was extremely important to him.
As a Soul Master who also used lightning-attribute Soul Power, Shen Feng could certainly learn from it and accelerate his growth.
Of course, Shen Feng knew nothing about any of this. By then, he'd already left Shrek Academy and reached a small river not far from the village.
It was called a small river, but it was nearly twenty meters wide, and the deepest parts were eight or nine meters deep.
Since the great city of Suotuo City stood nearby, people had dug an artificial river there for convenience.
Shen Feng hadn't come to the river to electrocute fish, as Oscar had said, and he certainly hadn't come to bathe.
He'd come to practice Water Treading.
That's right—Water Treading.
Of course, this wasn't ordinary Water Treading. He intended to walk across the surface without sinking.
It sounded difficult, and it wasn't any easier in practice.
Fortunately, he'd already learned to climb trees. Water Treading simply required him to do the opposite.
If climbing a tree used electromagnetic attraction, then Water Treading required electromagnetic repulsion.
A tree was solid, so climbing it with attraction was easy. Shen Feng had succeeded after only one try.
Water was different. It was a liquid and constantly moved. To stand on its surface, he had to adjust the flow of his Soul Power every second to match the water's movement.
The difference between the two methods was like the difference between heaven and earth.
But Shen Feng refused to give up. He still hadn't achieved his ultimate goal: using electromagnetic force to fly.
Time passed, and another half month went by.
That day, Shen Feng stood motionless on the water. He was bare-chested, and his only pair of shorts was soaked through. In the distance, a small figure came running toward him.
"Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng! I did it! I did it! I climbed the tree!"
Hearing Oscar call out to him, Shen Feng's attention wavered. With a splash, he fell into the river.
"Am I cursed? Do I bring bad luck to Xiao Feng?"
Oscar stared silently at the riverbank, already beginning to question his life.
It took Shen Feng a while to swim back to shore. He stood beside Oscar, wringing out his shorts.
"Xiao Feng, I did it! I learned to climb trees!"
"Oh, if you've learned, then try Water Treading like me." Shen Feng replied casually, not even looking up as he continued to wring out his shorts.
"Climbing trees uses Soul Power to create attraction, while Water Treading uses Soul Power to create repulsion. You can go try it."
Oscar hunched his shoulders. "I can't swim."
Shen Feng didn't look up. "That's fine. I couldn't swim before either. You'll learn after swallowing a few mouthfuls of water. You can start in the shallowest part."
Oscar glanced at the river and hunched his shoulders again. "I... I'm scared."
Shen Feng sighed and looked up at Oscar. "Then, Xiao Ao, do you want to fight?"
As he spoke, Shen Feng raised his right hand, and Soul Power surged wildly inside him.
"Palm Thunder."
A dazzling light flashed. No Soul Ring appeared, but a purple ball of lightning crackling with sound took shape in Shen Feng's hand.
"Look at that rock ten meters away."
Shen Feng gently reminded the stunned Oscar, then hurled the lightning ball at the rock.
Boom—
An explosion rang out. Electricity flashed in every direction, and the rock shattered.
"Want to learn? Then learn to swim first."
Oscar swallowed hard, his gaze unusually resolute. "Okay!"
Time flew by, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.
On the artificial river not far from Shrek Academy, two adolescent boys stood facing each other on the water, one to the north and one to the south.
The boy to the north, facing south, was a little older, around eleven or twelve years old and about 1.6 meters tall. His handsome peach-blossom eyes were filled with solemnity.
The boy to the south, facing north, was younger, around eight or nine years old and about 1.5 meters tall. His eyes were bleary with sleep, as if he'd just woken up.
He stood lazily on the water, still yawning, seemingly unable to muster any enthusiasm.
These two were Shen Feng and Oscar. Over the past three years, they had both grown quite a bit, and their strength had improved tremendously.
Three years ago, even Shen Feng had struggled to practice Water Treading. Now, even Oscar could do it with ease.
"Xiao Ao, hurry up and attack. Then we can go back. It's so sunny today, and I'm getting roasted out here."
Oscar had said he'd made another breakthrough today and had dragged Shen Feng over, eager for their 137th match.
But so far, Oscar's record was still 136 losses and zero wins. That was the main reason Shen Feng couldn't get fired up.
"Xiao Feng, don't rush me. I'm looking for your weakness. This time, I'm definitely going to win."
Shen Feng stared at him in disbelief, then looked down at his own relaxed posture. An overwhelming sense of speechlessness suddenly washed over him.
A weakness? He was practically leaving himself wide open. Shen Feng really had no idea what kind of weakness Oscar was still looking for.
Was Oscar planning to win by endurance? Maybe he was waiting for the sun overhead to roast Shen Feng to death.
But a Battle Soul Master had much better physical fitness than a Food-Type Soul Master, didn't he?
Before you continue