Douluo: Starting by Building Guns

"Do you still remember the school rules of Shrek Academy?"

Dai Mubai looked like a broken dog that had lost its soul, muttering, "Those without sufficient talent, we do not accept."

"Those who are pampered and spoiled, we do not accept."

"Those who are ignorant and incompetent, we do not accept."

"Those who are incorrigible, no, we do not accept."

"Dean, Dean, I know I was wrong. I will change, I will definitely change, please don't drive me away."

"I, I cannot go back. If I go back, I will surely lose my life, Dean, Dean."

Flender looked at Dai Mubai with even greater disappointment, sighed, and said, "Mubai, say no more. You must fend for yourself."

"I, I..."

Dai Mubai's gaze was dull, as if he had suddenly lost all hope of survival.

No, no, I cannot leave, I absolutely cannot leave.

Going back means death; Dai Weisi will definitely kill me.

The village, yes, the village outside Shrek Academy. There are so many soul masters mingling there; I can just linger there.

I will just stay there, I won't leave, even if I die, I won't leave.

The Dean once said that survival is worth far more than face. Yes, everything is for the sake of staying alive.

Dean, I understand now, I understand, Dean.

Dai Mubai's eyes grew brighter and brighter: "Dean, I know you are disappointed in me, but I will truly change."

"I know you don't believe me, but I don't care. In the days to come, I will prove it to you."

Flender was slightly stunned. What was going on? Why did he suddenly get so fired up? Was the reverse psychology actually effective?

"Uh, uh, fine, I will wait for your proof!"

Forget it, I might as well agree for now and see. If it isn't just a fleeting burst of enthusiasm, then making an exception wouldn't be a big deal.

After all, innate level nine talent is a rarity in this world.

What Flender did not know was that his leniency today would cause the future Douluo Continent to gain a hypocrite who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends.

Night fell, and the interior of the Star Dou Forest quickly turned dark.

Shen Feng pondered for a moment, then stood up: "Teacher Zhao, please keep an eye on Xiao Ao. I am going to sprinkle some Insect Repellent Powder around."

"Xiao Ao doesn't know how long he will be cultivating. If we don't make some preparations, we will all be eaten by the mosquitoes and insects in the Star Dou Forest by the end of the night."

Zhao Wuji nodded: "It is indeed necessary to prepare. When spending the night in the forest, the dangerous things are often not the soul beasts, but these inconspicuous snakes, insects, rats, and ants."

"I have some decent Insect Repellent Powder here; would you like to take some to try?"

Shen Feng waved his hand: "No need. We have been living on the edge of the Star Dou Forest for a year; the effective Insect Repellent Powder we have is better than yours."

"Who knows, the powder you have might even be made according to my formula."

Zhao Wuji was taken aback: "Uh, I did indeed buy this Insect Repellent Powder at Soul Hunting Town yesterday."

Shen Feng chuckled: "Night falls earlier in the Star Dou Forest than in the outside world. If we don't start preparing now, it will be too late."

"Hongjun, come with me. We'll pick up some firewood along the way so we can light a campfire tonight."

"Alright." Responding, Ma Hongjun stood up and followed Shen Feng into the forest.

Before he transmigrated, Shen Feng also thought that one couldn't light a campfire in a forest in an otherworldly place like the Douluo Continent, because it would attract dangerous soul beasts that liked fire.

But after living in Soul Hunting Town for nearly a year, he realized that was complete nonsense.

Forests where soul beasts are active are generally extremely dense, primeval forests. Under the cover of numerous shrubs and weeds, the light of a campfire wouldn't even shine ten meters away.

Within a ten-meter range, what kind of soul beasts could it attract?

Even if it did attract some, fighting in a bright area versus fighting in the dark are two completely different concepts.

Humans, after all, do not have night vision.

Therefore, no matter how dangerous the forest is, lighting a campfire is always more beneficial than harmful.

Moreover, the soul beasts that can be attracted by firelight are generally fire-attribute soul beasts. Under normal circumstances, such soul beasts live near volcanoes.

Only the heat source there can accelerate the condensation of their soul power.

Aside from mosquitoes and insects, the only things that can be attracted by a campfire are big moths.

Well, perhaps a child of destiny could attract a Radiant Goddess Butterfly.

Before long, darkness descended completely, and Shen Feng and Ma Hongjun emerged from the forest.

Clatter, clatter—

A large amount of firewood was poured out from Shen Feng's Soul Tool.

"It got dark too fast, and we were short on time, so I only sprinkled the Insect Repellent Powder within a 10-meter and 15-meter radius of our camp center."

Zhao Wuji pulled out a few logs and stacked them together: "Hongjun, it's time for you to show what you can do."

"Two layers of protection are enough. Xiao Ao is still cultivating, and we have to stand guard for him tonight, so we likely won't be able to rest. Just stay a bit alert and make sure no venomous insects or snakes crawl in."

Ma Hongjun opened his mouth to spit out a ball of purple flame, then rubbed his stomach, which had started to growl. "Two big bosses, do you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten for almost a whole day."

At noon, everyone had eaten Oscar's sausages, but he and Dai Mubai had refused them out of disdain.

Having finally made it to dinner time, Oscar was now unable to even provide sausages because he was in the middle of a breakthrough.

Shen Feng gave a wicked smile and pulled a fat, chubby worm out of his pocket.

The worm was smooth and legless, jade-colored throughout, about ten centimeters long and nearly two centimeters thick. As Shen Feng pinched the head, the worm's slick body twisted frantically between his fingers.

"A ten-year spirit beast, a Hercules Beetle Larva. I found it while gathering firewood. Want to try it?"

Looking at the way the Hercules Beetle Larva was writhing, Ma Hongjun felt a wave of nausea. He suppressed the churning in his stomach, gritted his teeth, and said, "Try it, then try it. Who's afraid of who?"

"It's just a bug, right? No matter how disgusting it is, I can still eat it!"

Zhao Wuji glanced at Ma Hongjun. "Silly kid, you really don't know anything."

"This Hercules Beetle Larva is a potent tonic. Not only is it rich in nutrients, but it also promotes blood circulation, removes stasis, and relaxes the tendons and collaterals. For us spirit masters, it's practically a natural supplement."

"You don't need any seasoning when eating it; just roast it over the fire until both sides are golden brown. Tsk tsk, that mouth-watering aroma is enough to make anyone crave it."

"Xiao Feng, how many did you get? Bring them all out. I really want to satisfy my cravings this time."

Shen Feng smiled, rummaged through his pocket, and pulled out six more Hercules Beetle Larvae of similar size.

"Not many, seven in total. We'll have two each, and leave the last one for Xiao Ao so he can have a taste too."

Zhao Wuji rubbed his palms together. "Enough, enough. Delicacies are hard to come by; two are plenty to satisfy my hunger."

The night passed without incident. By the time the sky began to brighten, Oscar finally emerged from his cultivation, having successfully broken through to the thirtieth rank.

Seeing Oscar wake up, Shen Feng, who had been guarding him the whole time, flipped his wrist and took out the Hercules Beetle Larvae he had roasted the night before.

"Xiao Ao, congratulations on successfully reaching the thirtieth rank."

"This is a celebratory gift, though it's a bit cold."

Oscar was stunned for a moment, then reached out, took the roasted bug, and popped it into his mouth without a second thought.

"It's delicious, I really like it. This is the most delicious thing I've eaten all year."

Shen Feng laughed. "What delicious? You're just hungry."

"Oh, my dear Brother Ao, hurry and make me some sausages. You have no idea how I survived this night."

Suddenly, Ma Hongjun rushed over, clutching his stomach and interrupting the conversation between Shen Feng and Oscar.

Oscar asked in confusion, "What happened last night? Didn't he despise my sausages?"

Shen Feng pursed his lips and smiled. "He was starving. He spent all night eating bugs."

"Not only was he not full, but he also got an upset stomach."

"Give him one of your Big Sausages; otherwise, in his current state, I'm afraid he won't be able to set off today."

Ma Hongjun immediately held up his fingers. "One isn't enough. Two—no, five. I think I can eat five."

Oscar was speechless. "Uh, this..."

The Hercules Beetle Larvae from last night looked big, but in reality, there wasn't much meat on them once roasted.

Just as Zhao Wuji had said, it was really just to satisfy a craving.

Shen Feng and Zhao Wuji were fine; at least they had eaten something at noon, and they hadn't done much while waiting for Dai Mubai to absorb his spirit ring in the afternoon, so their condition was still decent.

But Ma Hongjun was different. Two beetle larvae weren't enough to fill him up, and he was even hungrier after eating them.

Venturing out to find food in the Star Dou Forest during the day was dangerous enough, let alone at night.

Helpless, Ma Hongjun had no choice but to catch whatever bugs were attracted to the campfire, skewer them, and roast them to eat.

It was fine at first; most of the bugs tasted quite good—roasted, they tasted like chicken and were crunchy, with six times the nutrition of beef.

But if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet.

One moment of carelessness and he swallowed a venomous bug. If Ma Hongjun weren't an Evil Fire Phoenix born from a chicken coop, it probably wouldn't have been just a simple case of an upset stomach.

As the sky brightened, the group's breakfast was provided entirely by Oscar.

Ordinary Meat Sausages paired with a small amount of Lemon Sour Sausage for seasoning, smoked over the embers of last night's campfire—the meaty aroma of the sausages mixed with the tart, refreshing scent of lemon made for a surprisingly unique flavor.

Ma Hongjun didn't know if he was truly starving or if he wanted to resolve the tension with Oscar.

The same person who had vehemently refused to eat the Big Sausages with Dai Mubai yesterday downed ten of them in one go today.

Such a performance actually made Oscar's opinion of him improve slightly.

After all, how bad could someone be if they were willing to eat his Big Sausages in big bites?

This frank and unpretentious demeanor also caused Shen Feng to slightly change his perspective on him.

Whether it was taking the initiative to eat bugs yesterday or asking Oscar for sausages today, as long as Ma Hongjun was willing to show goodwill and lean toward Shen Feng's small group, Shen Feng didn't mind trying to accept him.

Just like the philosophy of the Soul Hunting Guild: all rogue spirit masters under heaven are one family.

When rogue spirit masters without power or backing unite, they can unleash an unrivaled force, capable of standing head-on against those massive sects with thousands or even tens of thousands of years of history.

After breakfast, the sun had already risen, and the dim Star Dou Forest quickly brightened.

As the appointed time drew near, Flender, who had escorted Dai Mubai back last night, still had not returned.

Just as everyone began to worry that something might have happened to Flender, a loud, clear eagle cry suddenly echoed from the sky above the forest.

Zhao Wuji's face lit up with joy: "It's Fu Laoda, he's back."

Everyone looked up, and through the dense canopy, they were surprised to see Flender's figure circling in the sky.

Zhao Wuji focused his energy and struck a nearby tree with a powerful punch; the tree crashed down, and the massive commotion immediately caught Flender's attention.

Following the gap created by the fallen tree, Flender swooped down and landed directly in front of the group.

"Why are you back so late? Did something happen?" As soon as Flender landed, Zhao Wuji asked urgently.

Flender shook his head, glanced at Oscar, and said in a good mood: "No, the journey was safe."

"I found something good on the way here and thought it would be very suitable for Xiao Ao, so I spent some time tracking it."

"Something good?" Zhao Wuji was slightly stunned: "Did you find a soul beast suitable for Xiao Ao?"

Flender nodded and took out a bee ornament, about ten centimeters long and carved from fine white jade, from his Storage Soul Tool.

"A jade ornament?" Zhao Wuji was somewhat confused.

Shen Feng shook his head: "No, this isn't an ornament; it's a bee-type soul beast."

Zhao Wuji was slightly stunned: "You recognize it?"

Shen Feng nodded: "I've seen it in a book."