Douluo: Starting by Building Guns

His hands had changed the most, growing more than twice their previous size. White fur covered his palms, and as his fingers flexed, short, dagger-like claws repeatedly slid out from and retracted into his hands.

Each claw was like a blade, eight inches long and gleaming with a chilling light.

All four of his pupils had turned a deep, rich blue, making him seem like a killing machine.

Two shining yellow hundred-year rings rose one after another beneath his feet. As the Soul Rings pulsed, Soul Power carried a savage, feral aura, forming a wave of force that spread in every direction.

At the same time, the nearby Beast Martial Soul Masters shuddered and turned to look this way.

Flender and Zhao Wuji, both Beast Martial Soul users, also turned to look.

Zhao Wuji furrowed his brows. "Martial Soul pressure? Is that a high-grade tiger Martial Soul?"

Shen Rui frowned. "A White Tiger Martial Soul?"

The golden-haired youth seemed to enjoy showing off in front of others. With so many people looking at him, he neither shrank back nor showed the slightest fear. Instead, he even raised the corners of his mouth smugly.

"Examiner, what do you think? Have I passed?"

Shen Rui nodded. "Your Martial Soul qualifies. Your name?"

"Dai Mubai!"

Shen Rui studied Dai Mubai's face. "Your surname is Dai?"

Dai Mubai gave a snort. "Is there a problem?"

Shen Rui shook his head. "No problem."

"An ordinary genius is rare enough to be almost unheard of. Someone named Dai being one is unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable."

As he spoke, Shen Rui took a palm-sized stone token from beneath the table. Soul Power streamed from his finger, sharp as a blade, and he swiftly carved the three characters for Dai Mubai into the stone's surface before tossing it to him.

"This is your token. If you fail any of the later assessments, you can use it to ask us one question about cultivation."

"Xiao Feng, take him inside for the next assessment."

Dai Mubai's pupils contracted. He took the stone token in shock. What exquisite control over Soul Power! That move could already count as a Self-Created Soul Skill, couldn't it? And then there was that fellow who had crushed a rock with his bare hands earlier...

Seeing Dai Mubai standing there, dumbstruck, Shen Feng's lips curled slightly. "Xiao Ao, let's head back. Someone's made it to the second round."

"Coming, coming!" Oscar hurried over and glanced at Dai Mubai. "Big Tiger, come with us."

Following Shen Feng and Oscar into Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai's thoughts churned.

He glanced at the figure walking ahead without a care and furrowed his brows. "Hey, you two brats!"

Shen Feng suddenly turned around. A purple glint flashed in his pupils, and his gaze—sharp as a blade and cold as lightning—fixed on Dai Mubai.

"It's all right if you don't have manners. This is your first time, so I won't hold it against you."

Gulp—

Apparently frightened by Shen Feng's stare, Dai Mubai swallowed and immediately changed his tune. "Y-you two, how many more tests do I need to pass to enroll?"

Shen Feng looked at Oscar. "Xiao Ao, you tell him."

Oscar chuckled and scratched his head as he explained, "Not many. There are four entrance assessments in total. The first is the first item in the admissions rules, and you've already passed it."

"Now we're doing the second assessment: a Soul Power evaluation and Soul Skill appraisal."

As he spoke, Oscar took a Soul Power crystal from his Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Dai Mubai.

Dai Mubai took the crystal and glanced at it, but didn't test his Soul Power right away. "I have another question. Does the level of Soul Power you have when you enroll affect the resources you receive afterward?"

"For example, the time you get in a Mimicry Cultivation Environment, how often instructors personally answer your questions, or the academy's cultivation techniques?"

From the fact that Oscar could split a boulder without using a Soul Ring, and Shen Rui could carve the stone token with only a wisp of Soul Power, Dai Mubai had already keenly guessed that this academy had secrets—and major ones at that.

Oscar scratched his head in confusion. "A Mimicry Cultivation Environment? What's that?"

"Xiao Feng, do you know?"

Shen Feng glanced at Dai Mubai. "There's no Mimicry Cultivation Environment here. The academy only has Xiao Ao and me as students, so we get plenty of personal instruction from the teachers."

"As for the academy's techniques, of course we have some, but those are for after you enroll."

"Besides, the academy won't provide its techniques for free. You'll have to exchange one of your own techniques or Self-Created Soul Skills, or make a major contribution to the academy, before you're granted permission to learn them."

Ever since Shen Feng created the Tree Climbing and Water Treading Soul Power control methods, everyone in Shrek Academy had learned them.

Flender had originally wanted to make the techniques available throughout the academy, granting anyone who joined in the future permission to learn them. Shen Feng, however, had rejected the idea.

After all, a skill known to only a select few was a secret technique. Once everyone knew it, it was no longer worth much.

Anyone who wanted to learn could trade one of their own techniques, knowledge, or Self-Created Soul Skills for it. That was how the exchange could continue, keeping the legacy alive.

At the very least, they had to make a great contribution to the academy before they could be taught how to practice its techniques.

This would not only increase the students' loyalty and strengthen unity within the academy, but also prevent its secrets from being given away without anything in return.

After thinking it over, Flender decided Shen Feng had a point and adopted his suggestion, adding it to the school rules.

In exchange for Shen Feng contributing Tree Climbing and Water Treading, two secret techniques that could rapidly improve Soul Power control and slightly enhance cultivation, Flender had also brought out his most closely guarded knowledge.

It was the inheritance of knowledge from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, obtained from Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong.

It was precisely with the help of this knowledge that Shen Feng had been able to let his imagination run wild and develop a series of Self-Created Soul Skills, including Palm Thunder, the Rasengan, Cannon Fist, and Explosive Step.

Trading two small tricks for the knowledge he lacked most was a fair exchange that met both sides' needs. That was one of Shen Feng's basic principles for dealing with people.

After hearing Shen Feng's explanation, Dai Mubai furrowed his brows and began thinking carefully.

Suddenly, his brow unfurrowed. He understood.

He had fled to another country, and he didn't even know whether he'd ever be able to return. That meant the knowledge and techniques he'd learned in the Star Dou Empire could probably be used in a trade.

After all, his parents didn't care whether he lived or died. They had let his brother, Dai Weisi, take everything from him and rob him of any chance to survive.

So there was no reason for him to hold back. He had no qualms about trading things that weren't his for the chance to grow stronger.

With that thought, Dai Mubai didn't hesitate any longer. He channeled a wisp of Soul Power into the crystal ball in his hand.

The next moment, the crystal ball burst into brilliant light. Even beneath the bright daylight, its glow was dazzling.

"Twenty... eight levels?" Judging by the brightness, Oscar quickly estimated Dai Mubai's current Soul Power.

A crystal ball was essentially a crystal made of a stone highly sensitive to Soul Power. It glowed when it came into contact with Soul Power.

Because the crystal's impurities varied, using its brightness to estimate Soul Power wasn't all that precise.

The reason Martial Soul Awakening took place in a small room instead of an open plaza was that newly awakened children had weak Soul Power. They might worry the crystal ball wouldn't shine brightly enough, leading to a mistaken assessment.

After all, Soul Power at levels one to three—or below level one—was genuinely faint, and yet those were the most common levels among the newly awakened.

Once a Soul Master grew stronger, though, it became less of a problem. As their level rose, the amount of Soul Power corresponding to each level increased as well.

Judging by the brightness might still lead to some error, but not much.

Dai Mubai smiled confidently. "I'm not yet thirteen, and I have twenty-eight levels of Soul Power. I should be able to pass your academy's assessment, right?"

Dai Mubai was extremely confident now, even bordering on arrogant.

After all, Shen Feng and Oscar clearly looked younger than him. They definitely hadn't entered the academy through the regular assessment.

He might even be the first person to pass the ridiculous entrance assessment and join this ridiculous academy.

I'm the strongest, Dai Mubai thought smugly.

A flash of delight passed through Oscar's eyes. He clapped vigorously and congratulated him. "Not bad, not bad. A twenty-eight-level Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster under thirteen is impressive."

"With Soul Power above level twenty-five, you can skip the second and third assessments."

Dai Mubai laughed. "I knew it. My talent is incredible."

"If even I can't pass your academy's assessment, then no one in the world can."

Oscar glanced in confusion at Shen Feng, who looked utterly speechless, then put on an exaggerated expression.

"Uh-huh, sure. You're the best."

"Come with us. We'll head to the training field for the fourth assessment, a combat test."

Dai Mubai raised his chin and looked down his nose. He gave a disdainful snort. "Hmph. My Martial Soul is the White Tiger, one of the top Beast Martial Souls."

"Combat? Is that really necessary? It's my strongest suit. Why test it again?"

Oscar looked at him helplessly, then replied with a calm smile, "Come on. We should still test you."

"It's the academy's rule. You can't enroll without taking the test."

Dai Mubai furrowed his brows, a trace of irritation rising in his heart. "Seriously, what's the point of testing me?"

"I have the top-grade White Tiger Martial Soul, I'm under thirteen, I'm a twenty-eight-level Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, and I have the ideal Soul Ring Configuration."

"With talent this rare, I refuse to believe there's a Grandmaster in the world more outstanding than me. There's no point in testing me."

"Just take me to see your academy's techniques."

"I've got precious secrets here that country bumpkins from a backwater place like yours have never even heard of."

Shen Feng furrowed his brows and gave him a scornful glance. "If you won't take the test, then leave. Our academy has no shortage of conceited fools who don't know what they're talking about."

"Xiao Ao, let's go."

Dai Mubai froze. He hadn't expected them to treat him with such disrespect even after he'd shown them his talent and level.

He was Dai Mubai, the dignified third prince of the Star Luo Empire. They were nothing but commoners from a tiny kingdom, yet they dared look down on him.

His older brother, Dai Weisi, had bullied him in the palace. Now, in this backwater place, he still had to put up with the humiliation of these lowly wretches.

Enough was enough. He wouldn't put up with it any longer.

"Stop right there, you two commoners, you damned brats!"

The pent-up frustration he'd carried in his chest for years erupted all at once, robbing him of his reason. He had to let it out.

A cold light gleamed in his savage eyes. Now Dai Mubai wanted to make a scene, no matter the consequences, and teach these two clueless brats a lesson they would never forget.

Shen Feng stopped and turned to look back at Dai Mubai. Purple-black sparks flashed in his deep eyes, cold and contemptuous.

It was as if Dai Mubai were nothing but trash, not some untouchable prince or a once-in-a-thousand-years genius Soul Master.

"That's the second time." Shen Feng's icy words carried a warning.

Dai Mubai instantly flew into a rage. "That look again! You're giving me that look again!"

"You bastard! I'll tear you apart!"

Soul Power surged through his body. Dai Mubai stomped down hard with both feet and charged forward. He planted his left foot, raised his right, and whipped it toward Shen Feng's head.

Shen Feng's expression didn't change. He didn't even try to dodge.

Thud—

A gust of wind lifted a strand of Shen Feng's black hair.

Oscar stood in front of Shen Feng, his arms firmly blocking Dai Mubai's whip kick.

Grinning, Oscar clasped both hands around Dai Mubai's right leg and pulled down with the momentum, yanking him onto the ground and forcing him into the splits.

The ground was uneven, and the sudden pain between his legs made Dai Mubai suck in a sharp breath.

"Big Tiger, the combat test has to take place on the training field. You're a little too eager, aren't you?"

After effortlessly blocking Dai Mubai's attack, Oscar was thrilled. Xiao Feng hadn't lied to him; he could hold his own against an ordinary Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster.

Dai Mubai had no idea that Oscar, a Food-Type Soul Master, considered him an ordinary Grandmaster.

It wasn't that Oscar was inexperienced. It was just that for the past three years, Shen Feng had been his only opponent, and every spar had ended in a crushing defeat.

Over time, it was only natural that he'd lost confidence.

But Shen Feng knew the truth. Even when his Martial Soul had first awakened, his physical strength had already been at the Soul Elder level. His First Soul Ring had come from an eight-hundred-year-old Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo, and his Second Soul Ring was a purple ring that exceeded two thousand years.

With such a powerful boost, his physical strength was no weaker than that of a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.

And Oscar could fight Shen Feng head-on, forcing him to use Self-Created Soul Skills to win. His combat ability had quietly reached an astonishing level.