Douluo: Starting by Crafting a Gun Chapter 14

His hands underwent the most dramatic change, swelling to twice their original size. White fur covered his entire palms, and as his ten fingers twitched, dagger-like claws continuously extended and retracted from his fingertips.

Each claw was like a blade, reaching a length of eight inches and shimmering with a cold, lethal light.

His double-pupiled eyes had turned a deep, profound azure, giving him the appearance of a pure killing machine.

Beneath his feet, two shining yellow century-old spirit rings rose in succession. As the spirit rings pulsed, his spirit power, imbued with a savage and ferocious aura, formed a shockwave that rippled outward in all directions.

At the same time, the many beast spirit masters nearby felt their bodies jolt, and they all turned to look in this direction.

Flender and Zhao Wuji, both possessing beast spirits, also turned their heads to look.

Zhao Wuji frowned slightly: "Spirit pressure? Is this a high-level tiger-type spirit?"

Shen Rui furrowed his brows: "White Tiger spirit?"

The blonde youth seemed to relish the thrill of showing off in front of others. With so many eyes fixed upon him, he didn't dodge or hide, showing not a hint of timidity; he even raised the corners of his mouth in a smug smirk.

"This examiner, how is it? Do I qualify?"

Shen Rui nodded: "Spirit qualifies. Name?"

"Dai Mubai!"

Shen Rui looked earnestly at Dai Mubai's face: "Surname Dai?"

Dai Mubai gave a light huff: "Is there a problem?"

Shen Rui shook his head: "No problem."

"Common geniuses are rare, but the surname Dai is unexpected, yet within reason."

As he spoke, Shen Rui took a palm-sized stone tablet from under the table. A wisp of spirit power surged from his finger, sharp as a blade or sword, and he carved the three characters "Dai Mubai" onto the surface of the tablet with effortless grace before tossing it to Dai Mubai.

"This is your proof. If you fail the subsequent assessments, you can use this tablet to ask us one question regarding cultivation."

"Xiao Feng, take him inside for the following assessments."

Dai Mubai's pupils contracted sharply. He caught the stone tablet in shock—what exquisite control over spirit power! This move could already be considered a Self-Created Soul Skill. And then there was that guy from earlier who shattered stone with his bare hands...

Glancing at the stunned Dai Mubai, the corners of Shen Feng's mouth curled up slightly: "Xiao Ao, let's head back. Someone has made it to the second round."

"Coming, coming." Running over quickly, Oscar glanced at Dai Mubai: "Big Tiger, follow us."

Following behind Shen Feng and Oscar into the interior of Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai's mind was racing with thoughts.

He looked at the backs of the two walking ahead, and Dai Mubai frowned slightly: "Hey, you two brats!"

Shen Feng suddenly turned his head, a flash of purple light crossing his pupils. His gaze was like a blade or lightning, staring coldly at Dai Mubai.

"Being impolite is fine. This is the first time, so I won't hold it against you."

Gulp—

Seemingly intimidated by Shen Feng's gaze, Dai Mubai swallowed hard and immediately changed his tone: "T-two little brothers, how many more trials must I pass to enroll?"

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

Oscar chuckled and scratched his head as he explained: "Not many, not many. There are four rounds in the enrollment assessment. The first round is the first rule of the enrollment guidelines, which you have already passed."

"Now we are proceeding to the second round: spirit power assessment and spirit skill identification."

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

Dai Mubai took the crystal and looked at it, but didn't test it immediately: "I have one more question. Does the level of spirit power at enrollment affect resource allocation after admission?"

"For example, the duration of time in a simulated cultivation environment, the number of times teachers provide personal guidance, or the academy's secret cultivation techniques?"

From Oscar being able to split a large rock without using his spirit rings, to Shen Rui carving a stone tablet with only a wisp of spirit power, Dai Mubai, as a prince, had already keenly guessed that this academy held secrets—and very big ones at that.

Oscar scratched his head in confusion: "Simulated cultivation environment? What is that?"

"Xiao Feng, do you know?"

Shen Feng glanced at Dai Mubai: "There is no simulated cultivation environment here. The academy only has two students, Xiao Ao and me, so there is plenty of personal guidance from the teachers."

"As for the academy's secret techniques, they certainly exist, but that is a matter for after enrollment."

"Furthermore, the academy's secret techniques are not provided for free. You must trade your own secret techniques or Self-Created Soul Skills, or make a significant contribution to the academy, to be granted the qualification to practice them."

Ever since Shen Feng created the Tree Climbing and Water Treading methods for spirit power control, everyone at Shrek Academy had been learning them.

Originally, Flender wanted to make these secret techniques public within the academy, granting anyone who joined in the future the qualification to learn them, but he was turned down by Shen Feng.

After all, techniques are only "secret" if known by a few; once everyone knows them, they lose their value.

If you want to learn, you can, but you must trade your own secret techniques, knowledge, or Self-Created Soul Skills. Only in this way can the cycle continue and the legacy remain unbroken.

At the very least, one must make a major contribution to the academy to be taught the methods of practicing its secret techniques.

This not only increases the loyalty of the students and strengthens internal unity, but also avoids the situation of "throwing a meat bun at a dog—never to return."

After pondering it, Flender felt that Shen Feng's words made sense, so he adopted the suggestion and incorporated it into the school rules.

And while Shen Feng contributed the Tree Climbing and Water Treading secret techniques—which could rapidly improve spirit power control and slightly enhance cultivation—Flender also brought out his own hidden treasures.

That was the knowledge and heritage obtained from Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong, originating from Martial Soul Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

It was precisely with the support of this knowledge that Shen Feng was able to use his imagination to develop a series of Self-Created Soul Skills such as Palm Thunder, Rasengan, Cannon Fist, and Explosive Step.

Using two small techniques to trade for the legacy knowledge he lacked most—each taking what they needed in a fair exchange—was precisely the fundamental principle by which Shen Feng conducted himself.

At this moment, after hearing Shen Feng's explanation, Dai Mubai also furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

Suddenly, Dai Mubai's brow smoothed out, and he had a moment of clarity.

He had already fled to another country and didn't know if he would ever be able to return, so the knowledge and secret techniques he had learned from the Star Luo Empire could surely be used for trade.

After all, his parents didn't care whether he lived or died, allowing his brother Dai Weisi to seize everything of his and deprive him of his space to survive.

Since that was the case, he had no need to show any mercy; using things that no longer belonged to him to trade for an increase in his own strength gave him absolutely no psychological burden.

Thinking this, Dai Mubai no longer hesitated, releasing a wisp of soul power and injecting it into the crystal ball in his hand.

The next moment, the crystal ball suddenly bloomed with brilliant light, appearing dazzling even under the bright daylight.

"Twenty-eight?"

Seeing the brightness of the light, Oscar quickly judged Dai Mubai's current soul power.

A crystal ball is essentially a type of stone crystal extremely sensitive to soul power, which emits light upon contact with it.

Because the impurities in the crystals vary, this method of judging soul power based on brightness is not entirely precise.

The reason why soul awakening must be conducted in a small room rather than an open square is that the soul power of newly awakened children is weak, and there is a fear that the crystal ball's brightness would be insufficient, leading to misjudgment.

After all, soul power of one to three levels, or even less than one level, is very faint, yet this level of aptitude has the highest awakening rate.

But it is not so troublesome after one's strength grows; as a soul master's level increases, the proportion of their soul power at each level also increases accordingly.

Relying on brightness to judge, even if there is a deviation, it will not be too significant.

Dai Mubai smiled confidently: "Under thirteen years old, twenty-eight levels of soul power; I should be able to pass your academy's examination now, right?"

At this moment, Dai Mubai was extremely confident, perhaps even bordering on arrogant.

After all, Shen Feng and Oscar didn't look older than him, so they certainly hadn't entered the academy through a formal examination.

He might even be the first person to pass the perverted examination and join this perverted academy.

I am the strongest, Dai Mubai thought triumphantly.

A flash of joy crossed Oscar's eyes as he clapped vigorously to congratulate him: "Not bad, not bad. A twenty-eight level Soul Grand Master under thirteen is indeed quite good."

"With soul power exceeding twenty-five levels, you can be exempted from the second and third rounds."

Dai Mubai laughed: "I knew it, my talent is very strong."

"If I can't pass your academy's examination, then no one in this world can."

Oscar glanced suspiciously at the speechless Shen Feng, then put on an extremely exaggerated expression.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, you are the most amazing."

"Come with us; let's go to the playground for the fourth round, the practical combat examination."

Dai Mubai held his head high with his nostrils pointed at the sky, snorting disdainfully: "Hmph, my martial soul is the top-tier beast martial soul, the White Tiger."

"Practical combat? Is that really necessary? That is my greatest strength; why test it at all?"

Oscar looked at him speechlessly and said with a calm, smiling tone: "Let's go, we should still test it."

"After all, it is the academy's rule; if you don't test, you can't enroll."

Dai Mubai frowned, a trace of annoyance suddenly rising in his heart: "Seriously, what is there to test about this?"

"I am a top-tier White Tiger martial soul, under thirteen, a twenty-eight level two-ring Soul Grand Master with the best soul ring configuration."

"With such rare aptitude, I don't believe there is any Soul Grand Master in this world more outstanding than me; there is simply no need for a test."

"Just hurry up and take me to see your academy's secret techniques."

"I have precious secret transmissions here that you backwater villagers from this remote place have never even heard of."

Shen Feng frowned, casting a contemptuous glance at him: "Leave if you aren't going to test. Our academy isn't short of arrogant fools who don't know their place."

"Xiao Ao, let's go."

Dai Mubai was stunned; he truly hadn't expected that even after showing his aptitude and level, the other party would still dare to treat him so rudely.

He, Dai Mubai, was the dignified Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire; how dare a mere commoner from a tiny kingdom look down on him.

He had been bullied by his older brother Dai Weisi in the imperial palace, and after coming to this godforsaken place, he had to endure the cowardly insults of these low-lives.

This was unbearable; if the uncle could bear it, the aunt certainly couldn't.

"Stop right there, you two commoners, you damned little brats."

The frustration that had been accumulating in his chest for years erupted at this moment, causing him to lose his reason; he had to vent it.

Cold light flickered in his cruel pupils; at this moment, Dai Mubai just wanted to cause a scene regardless of the consequences, so that these two ignorant brats before him would receive a profound and unforgettable lesson.

Shen Feng stopped and turned to look back at Dai Mubai, purple-black electricity flashing in his deep eyes, cold and contemptuous.

It was as if the Dai Mubai before him was just trash, not some unreachable prince or some rare genius soul master.

"This is the second time." A cold, warning-filled sentence spilled from Shen Feng's mouth.

Dai Mubai was instantly enraged by shame: "That look again, it's that look again."

"Damn you, I'm going to tear you to shreds."

Soul power surged within his body as Dai Mubai stomped heavily onto the ground. With a forward dash, he planted his left foot and swung his right leg upward, aiming a fierce kick at Shen Feng's head.

Shen Feng's expression remained unchanged; he didn't even make a move to dodge.

Bang—

With a dull thud, a lock of Shen Feng's black hair was lifted by the force of the wind.

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

With a chuckle, Oscar grabbed Dai Mubai's right leg with both hands and pulled downward, instantly forcing Dai Mubai to sit on the ground in a painful split.

The ground was uneven, and the sudden pain in his crotch made Dai Mubai gasp.

"Big Tiger, the practical assessment is supposed to be on the training field. You're way too impatient."

Having easily blocked Dai Mubai's strike, Oscar felt a surge of satisfaction. Xiao Feng didn't lie to me; I actually have the strength to fight an average two-ring Soul Grand Master.

At this moment, Dai Mubai had no idea that he had become nothing more than an "average Soul Grand Master" in the eyes of a food-system soul master like Oscar.

It wasn't that Oscar was ignorant, but rather that his only opponent for the past three years had been Shen Feng, and every sparring session had ended in a crushing defeat.

Over time, he had naturally lost his confidence.

But Shen Feng knew the truth; his physical strength had reached the level of a Soul Elder the moment his martial soul awakened. His first soul ring was an 800-year-old Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo, and his second was a purple soul ring exceeding 2,000 years.

With such a boost, his physical constitution was not inferior even when compared to a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

Since Oscar could trade blows with Shen Feng and force him to use a Self-Created Soul Skill just to secure a victory, his combat power had reached an exaggerated level without anyone realizing it.