Douluo: Starting by Building Guns

According to the price set by Fels, the deputy City Lord of Suotuo City—no, he is the City Lord now—hunting two soul beasts around twenty thousand years old would cost about three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Zhao Wuji is fine; when he hunted for his Seventh Soul Ring, Shen Rui and Ling Na went to help, so that favor can be considered repaid.

But the favor owed to Flender has truly dragged on until now.

If they accepted the Gold Soul Coins now, heaven knows how much longer that favor would drag on. Could it be that they would have to wait until they helped him hunt for his Eighth Soul Ring?

Oscar has the same reasoning.

Since he has already decided to follow Shen Feng, he must distinguish between public and private matters as early as possible, and past debts of favor must be repaid as soon as possible.

He doesn't want someone holding a debt of favor over his head in the future, using past kindness to force him to do things that harm Shen Feng's interests.

Flender looked at Shen Feng, then at Oscar, and gripped the ice-cold Cold Jade in his hand, suddenly feeling that this piece of jade was quite scorching.

He had long since understood Shen Feng's mindset. The day Shen Feng's family left, he already understood that they drew a very clear line between public and private matters.

In their eyes, Shrek Academy was just a very ordinary academy; you pay to attend, and you leave when you finish. They had no sense of belonging to the name Shrek at all.

During Shen Feng's time at the academy, everything followed the principle of equivalent exchange. Even if you didn't ask for it, he would find a way to compensate you from elsewhere.

For example, he used the secret techniques of Tree Climbing and Water Treading to exchange for the academy's knowledge, and used his help in improving the academy's finances to exchange for the guidance of the academy's teachers.

Furthermore, the City Lord's Mansion of Suotuo City and the Martial Soul Hall of Suotuo City endorsing Shrek Academy was also something brought about under Shen Feng's suggestion.

Shen Feng even left behind the two self-created soul skills, Blast Fist and Explosive Step, which allow auxiliary-type soul masters to possess a certain level of combat power, at Shrek Academy, intending for them to serve as payment for helping Shen Rui and Ling Na hunt for soul rings.

Thinking about it now, they even provided their own food.

His family truly does not owe Shrek Academy a single thing.

Now, is even the five years of upbringing for Oscar to be repaid by him solving the problem with Ma Hongjun's martial soul?

"Dean? Dean Flender?"

Shen Feng's call suddenly startled Flender out of his deep thoughts.

"What is it? Xiao Feng?"

"I was talking about Junior Brother Hongjun's soul ring. Our guild has channels to find a Blazing Falcon."

Flender was shocked. The Blazing Falcon is a fire-type soul beast that lives in active volcanic regions and possesses a trace of Phoenix bloodline.

Its level of rarity is in no way inferior to sub-dragon soul beasts that possess dragon bloodlines.

In terms of scarcity, the Blazing Falcon with its Phoenix bloodline is even rarer than the numerous types of sub-dragon soul beasts.

Sigh, using such a method to repay a favor is truly distressing. If every student were this grateful, it would actually be quite nice.

"Alright, then I will trouble you both to help with this matter."

Seeing Flender accept this goodwill, Shen Feng and Oscar exchanged a smile, and a sense of inexplicable relief suddenly rose in their hearts.

Sure enough, one is only truly light when free of debt; debts of favor are debts, too.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Shen Feng and Oscar arrived at the Soul Hunting Tavern early to wait.

Today, they planned to take Flender's group of four into the Soul Hunting Forest. First, to find a Blazing Falcon for Ma Hongjun, and second, because Oscar would be breaking through to level 30 in a few days.

Since they had two Soul Saints as bodyguards, they might as well head deep into the Star Dou Forest together to find a better soul ring for Oscar.

As for the soul rings Oscar had in the original story, Shen Feng didn't even want to comment on whether they were good or not; he could only say they were too mediocre.

Third Soul Skill: High-Speed Flight Mushroom Sausage.

Flying at the speed of a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent for one minute, about 2000 meters, averaging 33 meters per second, or 120 km/h.

If you call this speed fast, it's certainly not slow, but the distance of 2000 meters in one minute is truly an eyesore.

When encountering a strong opponent, this distance is nothing; when encountering a weak opponent, well, then why bother running?

It can't be used for traveling, and the duration for escaping or tracking is too short.

It is truly tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard.

Fourth Soul Skill: Excitement Pink Sausage, increases all attributes by ten percent and includes the effect of negating negative status effects.

A ten percent increase in all attributes is too weak compared to other auxiliary soul masters, and the secondary effect conflicts with the second soul skill's ability to remove abnormal status effects.

If it were on an average food-type or auxiliary-type soul master, it might count as a decent soul skill, but for a food-type soul master with innate full soul power, it is really hard to evaluate.

To ensure Oscar doesn't repeat the same mistakes, Shen Feng felt it was better to put in some effort and carefully select his soul rings.

Before long, Flender arrived with Ma Hongjun, and Zhao Wuji arrived with Dai Mubai; the four of them walked slowly into the tavern.

"Xiao Feng, Xiao Ao, why are you two here so early?"

Seeing the two of them, Zhao Wuji was clearly stunned, as Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were obviously still sleepy, while Shen Feng and Oscar had been waiting here for a long time.

Shen Feng smiled: "As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. Simple tasks with generous bounties are always snatched up quickly."

"The two of us left the academy early; we have to rely on ourselves for everything."

Flender glanced at Ma Hongjun, who was still yawning, and his face darkened instantly as he reached out and grabbed his ear.

"Are you that sleepy? Did you sneak off to reward yourself again last night?"

"Look at Xiao Feng and Xiao Ao; look at them and then look at yourself. Aren't you ashamed?"

"You're only level twenty at ten years old; I really don't know how you manage to sleep at night."

"Back in the day, little Shen Feng broke through to level twenty at eight, and little Oscar was level twenty at nine. And you?"

"All you know is eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. Why don't you just sleep yourself to death?"

The pain in his ear instantly jolted Ma Hongjun awake, and he began to wail as he clawed at Flender's hand.

"Teacher, Teacher, I was wrong! I'll definitely cultivate diligently from now on, I won't be lazy ever again!"

Seeing this scene, Shen Feng shook his head helplessly.

"Dean, stop provoking junior brother Hongjun. Both Oscar and I possess Innate Full Soul Power; if he wants to catch up to our cultivation speed, simple hard work just isn't enough."

Oscar covered his mouth and chuckled, nodding as he said, "Little Feng is right, because the two of us are working even harder than he is."

"I've been at level twenty-nine for a while now. Perhaps this trip into the Star Dou Forest will allow me to break through to level thirty."

"What about you, little Feng? You should be close too, right?"

Shen Feng sensed the soul power within his body, which was already nearing completion, and nodded gently: "Mm, I'm close too."

As Shen Feng and Oscar chatted as if no one else were around, Dai Mubai stood to the side with a grave expression, his sleepiness completely gone.

Only today did he truly realize how terrifying the cultivation talents of Shen Feng and Oscar were.

One reached level twenty at eight and is nearing level thirty at ten.

The other reached level twenty at nine and is at level twenty-nine at twelve, on the verge of a breakthrough.

With such terrifying cultivation talent, if he wanted to wash away his shame and break the mental demon that was Shen Feng, this soul-hunting trip was his only chance to turn the tables.

I must obtain my third ring as soon as possible and crush him with my level. I will definitely not lose.

Zhao Wuji glanced at the complex-looking Dai Mubai without leaving a trace and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Xiao Bai, what's wrong? Were you scared by the cultivation speed of little Feng and little Oscar?"

"Actually, it's nothing. They both have Innate Full Soul Power and are extremely diligent themselves. It's perfectly normal that you and Hongjun can't compare."

"When you first enrolled, little Feng and little Oscar had already left. The Dean was worried that telling you their cultivation speeds would discourage you, so he didn't mention it."

"I didn't expect you to be so rattled by it."

Dai Mubai clenched his fists and looked up at Shen Feng: "No, I'm not scared. I will definitely defeat Shen Feng this time."

Zhao Wuji froze for a moment, looking from Shen Feng to Dai Mubai, and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Xiao Bai, little Feng has never been your enemy; he is a companion you should strive to win over."

"Listen to me, let go of the hatred in your heart."

"Everyone has their youth; don't let a moment of impulse ruin your future."

Dai Mubai looked up at Zhao Wuji's earnest face: "Does Teacher Zhao think I will lose?"

Zhao Wuji shook his head speechlessly. Silly kid, you can't win at all, damn it.

Never mind little Feng; even that freak Food-Type Soul Master, little Oscar, is enough to give you a hard time.

If he said that directly, Dai Mubai would surely be even more unconvinced.

It is hard to persuade a stubborn fool with kind words; perhaps after being beaten enough, he will get used to it.

"Sigh, think it over yourself. You choose your own path, and the pain and suffering that come with it."

After saying this, Zhao Wuji stopped paying attention to Dai Mubai and instead walked over to Shen Feng and Oscar.

The hearts of geniuses are incredibly proud; repeated preaching will only annoy them, especially when it comes from someone whose talent is inferior to their own.

Rather than causing friction between teacher and student, it is better to let them unleash their nature, try things for themselves, and realize their own mistakes.

As teachers, they only need to watch from behind and provide subtle guidance.

Of course, these educational philosophies summarized by Shrek Academy over twenty years were simply not applicable to Shen Feng and Oscar.

Shen Feng was a transmigrator; his worldview had already matured in his previous life. He had long since understood what was right and wrong, and what could or could not be done.

Even after living a second life, though Shen Feng's worldview was impacted by the localization of the feudal society of the Douluo Continent, his code of conduct and moral bottom line remained far higher than those of the native inhabitants.

As for Oscar, he had been overshadowed by Shen Feng since childhood and had learned many things from him, benefiting greatly.

This relationship, which was both teacher-like and friend-like, led Oscar to have absolute faith in Shen Feng—a genius who was younger than him but far surpassed him in talent and insight.

Influenced by Shen Feng, Oscar's own worldview gradually began to align with his.

This was precisely why Oscar always followed Shen Feng; two people with consistent worldviews found it very comfortable to be around each other.

"Little Feng, this time Xiao Bai needs a Millennium Soul Ring from a beast-type, and Hongjun needs a Blazing Falcon around eight hundred years old. What do you think?"

Hearing Zhao Wuji's words, Shen Feng glanced at Dai Mubai, who was standing off to the side and not approaching.

"A beast-type Millennium Soul Beast is easy to find, but a Blazing Falcon around eight hundred years old is not."

"The Blazing Falcon is a fire-attribute raptor that possesses a trace of Phoenix bloodline. It usually builds its nest near the most dangerous active volcanoes. It is fast, highly aggressive, extremely heat-resistant, and has the habit of gnawing on lava."

"As for the Volcano Cluster where Blazing Falcons are active, the closest one to us is three hundred miles deep into the Star Dou Forest."

"Although that area hasn't truly reached the core of the Star Dou Forest, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are already common there, and Millennium Soul Beasts are countless."

"We can head straight to the Volcano Cluster. While we search for the Blazing Falcon, we can help Xiao Bai hunt for a suitable soul beast to serve as his soul ring."

Zhao Wuji nodded and turned to look at Dai Mubai: "Xiao Bai, what do you think?"

Dai Mubai frowned slightly and gave a gentle nod: "That works. I'll follow your arrangements."

Damn that Shen Feng, he actually wants to use this method to delay my progress toward becoming a Soul Elder.

Don't worry, I will absolutely not let you get your way. I will definitely break through to Soul Elder before you, and then I will trample you beneath my feet.

The humiliation you dealt me that day, I will make sure to pay it back to you tenfold.

Shen Feng glanced at Dai Mubai with a strange expression. Why was this kid being so obedient?

Could it be that Zhao Wuji, this Great Chaos Demon King, had actually tamed this street thug?

With a faint smile, Shen Feng stopped overthinking it. He waved his hand at the group and said: "Alright, since it's decided, let's set off. Destination: the Volcano Cluster of the Star Dou Forest."

Soul Hunting Town was very close to the Star Dou Forest, less than ten kilometers away. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a town built right inside the Star Dou Forest.

After leaving Soul Hunting Town, it took Shen Feng and his group less than half an hour to reach the entrance zone of the Star Dou Forest.

It was an endless forest, with nothing but massive trees as far as the eye could see.

Aside from some fallen leaves, there wasn't a single patch of underbrush on the ground. It didn't look like a primeval forest at all; instead, it looked more like a public park that anyone could wander into.

Ma Hongjun tugged on the corner of Flender's robe: "Teacher?"

"Is this the Star Dou Forest you described as being filled with dense thickets, impassable paths, rampant soul beasts, and countless dangers?"

"It doesn't look like much. It's not even as complex as the Soul Hunting Forest where they keep captive soul beasts."