Douluo: Starting by Forging a Gun Chapter 48

After all, since Oscar was a Food-Type Soul Master who could break through to level 30 at the age of 12, if he continued to cultivate step by step, ten years until he was 22 would be more than enough for him to break through to level 50 and beyond.

As for the original work claiming that Feng Xiaotian delayed his soul power cultivation because he was researching a Self-Created Soul Skill, Shen Feng did not believe it for a second.

After all, did that crude Self-Created Soul Skill of his, which relied on borrowing force to strike back, really require that much time to research?

One must know that the talent of Innate Full Soul Power is not only reflected in the speed of soul power cultivation, but the ability to control soul power is also far superior to others by a wide margin.

Otherwise, Oscar would not have been able to learn several Self-Created Soul Skills in just two years, while Dai Mubai couldn't even manage to walk on water after a year.

This is the superiority of Innate Full Soul Power, forming a crushing advantage over other soul masters in every aspect and from every angle.

One must know that an Innate level 9 soul power means your talent is only level 9, whereas Innate Full Soul Power is limited by the rules of heaven and earth, capping the limit at level 10.

In any case, for that crude Self-Created Soul Skill of borrowing force to strike back, even if Shen Feng had to develop it from scratch, it wouldn't take him three months at all.

If there were a higher-level soul master guiding him, he could even get it done in a week.

Looking at it this way, the original work really seems to just be highlighting how Tang San shows off, without depicting the darkness of this continent at all.

Thinking of this, Shen Feng turned his head to look at Dugu Bo: "Old man, I might need to return to the Soul Hunting Guild."

Dugu Bo was stunned: "Why so sudden?"

Shen Feng sighed: "Heaven Dou City has numerous factions and is a mixed bag of people; I don't want to become the next Feng Xiaotian."

"Moreover, my Fifth Soul Ring requires a soul ring of over 50,000 years, and the Sunset Forest can hardly satisfy me anymore."

Dugu Bo pondered for a moment: "If you aren't in a rush, I hope you can wait a few more days."

"Five days from now is the Birthday Banquet for that old fellow Xue Ye. When the time comes, I will go and ask him for an official certificate to recognize the legitimacy of our Soul Hunting Guild."

"In this way, our Soul Hunting Guild will be able to move unimpeded in the Heaven Dou Empire, and development will be even more rapid."

"Then I will accompany you back to the Soul Hunting Guild to help you hunt for a suitable soul ring."

"After all, for a soul beast over 50,000 years, without me, it would be hard for you all to handle it, right?"

Dugu Bo was right; the combat power of a soul beast over 50,000 years is already comparable to an eight-ring Soul Douluo expert.

If he didn't go, with Shen Rui, Ling Na, Zhao Wuji, and even adding Flender, a group of people who were only Soul Saints, it would likely be very difficult to take down a 50,000-year soul beast.

Furthermore, the official certificate from the Heaven Dou Empire could also allow the Soul Hunting Guild to develop more rapidly, at least without worrying about open suppression from other factions.

Besides that, probing the depth of Qian Renxue to see exactly how much she had investigated was also an urgent matter; after all, one must know oneself and the enemy to be invincible in a hundred battles.

As for the risk of exposure, as long as he didn't reveal his soul rings and fight others in public, he figured there wouldn't be any major problems.

"Fine, then we'll wait until after attending Xue Ye's Birthday Banquet to go back."

Dugu Bo clearly saw Shen Feng's concerns and nodded with a smile: "At that time, you just stay by Yanyan's side. If there is any trouble, let her handle it for you. You don't need to take action, and there won't be any risk of exposure."

Shen Feng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and smiled: "Alright, then this time I'll trouble sister Yanyan to be my shield."

Just then, a faint fluctuation of soul power suddenly erupted from Dugu Yan, who was not far away.

Dugu Bo's face lit up with joy: "Oh? It seems Yanyan heard your words too. Being so impatient to break through, perhaps it's to protect you, this little brother."

Shen Feng laughed: "Sister Yanyan is good to me."

"Let's go, old man. Let's go wait by sister Yanyan's side and give her a surprise when the time comes."

Dugu Bo chuckled: "Quietly, stand behind her."

Half an hour later, after a violent fluctuation of soul power within her body, Dugu Yan finally succeeded in absorbing the nearly 20,000-year Datura Snake soul ring.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—five soul rings with the best configuration leaped out from her body, and a fierce shockwave of soul power instantly spread outward.

"Whoa, sister Yanyan, quite an improvement."

Shen Feng's voice suddenly sounded behind Dugu Yan, just as Dugu Bo had startled him earlier.

"Who!"

Dugu Yan was startled like a frightened snake, let out a cry, and instantly activated her Martial Soul Avatar. In the blink of an eye, her legs disappeared, turning into a thick, blue-purple snake tail over three meters long, and she slithered rapidly along the ground, quickly fleeing the spot.

Immediately following, the third soul ring on Dugu Yan's body lit up, and she opened her mouth to spray a large amount of thick purple poisonous mist, instantly obscuring her figure.

Shen Feng's pupils constricted. He kicked off the ground and, taking advantage of the fact that the poisonous mist hadn't spread yet, leaped rapidly toward the rear, pulling distance away from Dugu Yan in the opposite direction.

"Sister Yanyan, was that necessary? I was just startling you; your stress response is actually this intense."

Dugu Yan, inside the poisonous mist, only then reacted and gave a light hum: "Little brother, don't you know that you shouldn't suddenly appear in a soul master's blind spot?"

"Doing that is very easy to cause misunderstandings!"

The next moment, several concentrated jets of venom, like arrows released from a bowstring, pierced through the purple poisonous mist and shot toward Shen Feng's face.

Shen Feng was shocked. He lifted his feet and retreated repeatedly, always dodging Dugu Yan's venom attacks a step ahead.

Several jets of concentrated venom landed on the ground one after another, immediately emitting a faint sizzling sound, followed by wisps of imperceptible light smoke.

Shen Feng's expression froze: "Sister Yanyan, you're actually playing for real."

Dugu Yan's giggling voice came from the poisonous mist: "Haha, when we were at the academy, they didn't dare to spar with me. You kid have enough strength, how about playing with me?"

"Just right, it'll also help me test my Fifth Soul Skill."

Shen Feng grinned: "I wouldn't dare refuse. As it happens, I also want to test my Fourth Soul Skill."

As soon as Shen Feng finished speaking, the surrounding air suddenly solidified.

Dugu Bo stared at Shen Feng with a face full of vigilance, his voice cold as he transmitted his words directly into the boy's mind: "Kid, if you dare to hurt Yanyan, I will make you regret it."

Shen Feng's expression stiffened. He turned his head rigidly toward Dugu Bo and grinned awkwardly, saying, "Old man, how could I ever dare to do that?"

"Good chance, Xiao Feng, take this!"

Shen Feng was being suppressed by Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan was overjoyed, thinking she had discovered a flaw in his defense. Her Fifth Soul Ring suddenly lit up, and a yellow Datura Snake—twelve meters long and as thick as an adult's thigh, condensed entirely from venom—slithered along the ground and lunged toward Shen Feng at high speed.

Shen Feng's soul power circulated frantically within his body as he struggled with all his might to break free from Dugu Bo's soul power suppression.

The Black Scale Thunder Armor rapidly covered his entire body, and a massive amount of purple-black lightning crackled across him. The Water and Fire Dual Soul Cores in his dantian spun rapidly, instantly forming the shape of a Taiji diagram.

At this moment, Dugu Yan's attack had already reached Shen Feng. The Datura Snake formed from venom had opened its sharp fangs and was about to bite into Shen Feng's leg.

"Ha!"

Shen Feng let out a loud shout and immediately broke free from Dugu Bo's soul power suppression.

His Second Soul Ring flashed, and at the critical moment, Thunder Flash was activated.

Transforming into lightning, he leaped and shifted more than ten meters to the left, and Shen Feng let out a long breath.

"Old man, you can't be this biased; you actually used your soul power to suppress me."

Dugu Bo looked at Shen Feng, who had escaped his suppression, in disbelief. Only he knew that he had just exerted enough soul power pressure to suppress a seven-ring Soul Saint, yet he still hadn't managed to pin Shen Feng down.

One had to know that, generally speaking, when a low-level soul master endured direct soul power pressure from a high-level one, being able to hold on against pressure equivalent to two-thirds of their own level was already considered quite outstanding. If they could hold on until it reached the level of their own soul power, their willpower would be considered extremely firm.

But these were all under the premise that one had to release their martial soul, and it had to be a beast martial soul master with the greatest physical attribute amplification.

Take Tang San from the original story, for example: when he was level 33 and just entering the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he was forced to reveal his martial soul and External Spirit Bone just by enduring the soul power pressure of the level 83 Soul Douluo Zhilin, which was only at the level 45 intensity.

Yet Shen Feng had actually broken free from the soul power pressure of the level 93 Dugu Bo while being 20 levels lower.

How could such a scene not shock him?

"Grandpa, this is a duel between me and Xiao Feng, you are not allowed to interfere anymore."

As she spoke, Dugu Yan, hidden within the poison mist, moved her mind. The previously released Datura Snake immediately turned its head and chased after Shen Feng again at high speed.

Hearing Dugu Yan's voice, Dugu Bo was left between laughter and tears.

"Fine, fine, fine. Grandpa won't interfere, you two keep fighting."

Shen Feng glanced at Dugu Bo, who was standing not far away without giving any further signals, and could only sigh before fleeing once again.

Who didn't know that Dugu Yan was the apple of Dugu Bo's eye? Since Dugu Bo hadn't signaled him, Shen Feng naturally wouldn't easily offend her.

Teasing her a bit was fine, but was he really supposed to fight her for real?

Watching Shen Feng narrowly dodge every single one of Dugu Yan's attacks, Dugu Bo shook his head helplessly.

Silly girl, Xiao Feng isn't some freak you can handle.

Thinking this, Dugu Bo transmitted his voice to Shen Feng: "Fight properly, you must win this battle cleanly, but remember, if you hurt Yanyan, I will make you regret it."

At this moment, Dugu Bo clearly saw Dugu Yan's problem: she was arrogant and bloated, unaware of how high the sky was or how deep the earth was.

The efficacy of the immortal herbs had allowed her to increase her soul power by ten levels in just one year, making her the number one person of the younger generation in all of Heaven Dou City, and even the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

However, cultivation was also about cultivating the heart. If one only improved their cultivation level without a corresponding state of mind, major problems would naturally arise.

Clearly, Shen Feng was now being used by Dugu Bo as a wake-up call to knock Dugu Yan down a peg.

Hearing the voice in his mind, Shen Feng, who had been fleeing frantically under Dugu Yan's attacks, suddenly felt his spirits lift.

If he could counterattack, then what was there to be afraid of? Just do it.

With a grin, Shen Feng gave Dugu Bo a "received" gesture, and his Third Soul Ring suddenly lit up.

"Third Soul Skill: Thunder Shock!"

Purple lightning erupted from Shen Feng's body, forming a ring of thunder that instantly knocked the lunging Datura Snake away.

The lightning scattered outward, and a secondary strike immediately shattered it into a puddle of venom that flew in all directions.

Where the venom splashed, a sizzling sound was immediately heard, showing just how potent the poison was.

"Sister Yanyan, do you have any other tricks? If not, I'm going to start attacking."

Dugu Yan, within the poison mist, gave a light snort. "Don't look down on people; I was just playing with you earlier."

Dugu Yan touched the ground with both hands, and her Fifth Soul Ring lit up again. The next moment, countless venomous Datura snakes the size of chopsticks rushed out from the poison formation, sweeping toward Shen Feng like a tidal wave, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

Clearly, Dugu Yan had changed the way she released her Fifth Soul Skill, shifting from large and precise to small and numerous.

The corners of Shen Feng's mouth curled up slightly, and his Third Soul Ring lit up once more.

Shen Feng's Third Soul Ring came from a 9,999-year-old Ox Dragon, and its powerful might was not inferior to a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Coupled with his solid-state soul power, which was comparable to a Title Douluo, the power of the soul skill he released was even more formidable.

Let alone Dugu Yan's Fifth Soul Ring, which was only close to twenty thousand years, even if it were thirty thousand years, Shen Feng's Third Soul Skill would still have the strength to put up a fight.

Sure enough, the ring of thunder erupted from Shen Feng's body again, and a large number of Datura snakes were instantly knocked away, turning into poison mist that filled the air.

Poison mist?

Shen Feng felt a jolt in his heart, instantly realizing something was wrong.

"Little brother, you've fallen for it."

The next moment, under the control of Dugu Yan, the poisonous mist seemed to be swept by an invisible wind, rapidly surrounding Shen Feng and enveloping him within it.

Crackle—crackle—crackle—

Lightning danced incessantly across the surface of Shen Feng's body, and the poisonous mist that drifted within a certain distance of him was scattered by the strikes.

This was an inspiration Shen Feng had learned from the Thunder Armor Scorpion: using violent, masculine lightning to strike the air at a high frequency to generate intense heat, then relying on that heat to destroy the proteins in the snake venom, thereby rendering it non-toxic.

And the venom of the Datura Snake was just like that of traditional snakes, its main components being proteins that could not withstand high temperatures.

"Sister Yanyan, snake venom cannot withstand high temperatures; your poisonous mist is useless against me."

Dugu Yan chuckled softly: "Of course I know snake venom isn't heat-resistant, but who told you that snake venom is my only method of attack?"

Shen Feng froze for a moment. That's right, biological toxins include not only protein-based poisons but also alkaloid-based toxins.

Take the pufferfish, for example; its toxin is extremely heat-resistant, to the point that greedy humans dare not easily attempt to eat it.

There are also biological toxins that contain benzene rings, cyano groups, and various organic and inorganic compounds used in the struggle for survival.

These rarer types of toxins can even withstand temperatures of over 1000 degrees Celsius without losing their toxicity.

Damn it, I was careless.

The next moment, Shen Feng felt his head spinning, his limbs growing weak, his muscles going numb, and his physical senses becoming slightly dulled.

Clearly, Shen Feng's body had already begun to show signs of poisoning.