Douluo: Starting by Building Guns

As he spoke, Shen Rui even winked at Ling Na, as if conveying some kind of message.

Ling Na immediately caught on and followed Shen Rui's lead. "Right, right. How could I forget about that?"

"We really should check Xiao Feng's physical strength. If his first Soul Ring is too weak, it could hold back his future, and that wouldn't be good."

Flender looked completely baffled. "What exactly are you two talking about?"

Shen Rui chuckled and explained, "Senior, here's what happened."

"Back then, I picked a red fruit in the Star Dou Forest. It gave off a strange fragrance. What was it called again?"

"Zhu Fruit!" Shen Feng reminded him.

"Ah, right, Zhu Fruit. After Xiao Feng ate it, he became exceptionally clever. Not only did his memory improve tremendously, but his physical strength also far surpassed that of other children his age."

"Xiao Feng, go lift one of those rocks for Senior."

"Got it." At Shen Rui's instruction, Shen Feng dashed over to a pile of rocks scattered beside the road.

He picked out a medium-sized rock weighing around a hundred jin.

Shen Feng bent down and hooked his small hand beneath a protruding edge. Without any other movement, he simply exerted a little force and lifted the rock with ease.

"Dad, is this enough?"

As he spoke, Shen Feng tossed the hundred-jin rock more than a meter into the air, then caught it steadily, looking perfectly relaxed.

Flender stared at the scene, dumbfounded. "Th-this... How is this possible?"

It wasn't that Flender didn't want to believe it. It was just far too outrageous.

Even a fully grown adult—or even a One-Ring Soul Master—would struggle to do this without using Soul Power, let alone Shen Feng, who was only six and hadn't finished growing.

And that was before you considered tossing the rock over a meter into the air and catching it steadily, just as Shen Feng had done.

In fact, Shen Feng hadn't been able to do this an hour ago. But after his Martial Soul Awakening, that had changed.

That was because the Body Martial Soul was the most special kind of Martial Soul.

It didn't need to possess its user to take effect like a Beast Martial Soul, nor was most of its enhancement confined to a weapon outside the body like a tool Martial Soul.

A Body Martial Soul was the Soul Master's own body. Even when it wasn't actively brought forth, it still provided a substantial boost.

This was especially true when absorbing Soul Rings. Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls were truly heaven's chosen, with an overwhelming advantage.

Take Shen Rui, for example. His Body Martial Soul was only his arms, yet his First Soul Ring was already around five hundred years old, while his Second Soul Ring reached nine hundred years, nearly a thousand.

That so-called four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year limit for the First Soul Ring? Heh. It simply didn't apply to Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls.

And Shen Feng's Second Martial Soul was his entire body. With such a huge boost, never mind some supposedly perfect four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year limit—he could probably even try for a First Soul Ring of seven or eight hundred years.

After a long while, Flender finally accepted, still looking dazed, that he wasn't dreaming and that Shen Feng truly had exceptional talent.

"Xiao Feng, come here. I'll check your physical strength."

At Flender's call, Shen Feng glanced at his parents. Only after they gave their approval did he put down the rock and walk over to Flender.

"Senior, how are you going to check?"

Flender smiled kindly. "Don't be nervous. I'll feel your bones and muscles, and that'll tell me."

As Flender ran his hands over Shen Feng, feeling him from head to toe, his expression grew increasingly grave.

It wasn't that Shen Feng's physical strength was poor. Rather, his powerful physique had once again shattered Flender's already meager understanding of the world.

"A Soul... Soul Elder!!"

When Flender uttered the words "Soul Elder" in utter shock, even Shen Rui and Ling Na, who had been somewhat prepared, were stunned.

Honestly, even Shen Feng hadn't expected his body to be this strong.

He'd only awakened a Body Martial Soul. He'd only happened to have Twin Martial Souls. He merely had Innate Full Soul Power—nothing worth mentioning. And yet it had improved the body of a six-year-old child by such an incredible amount.

Shen Rui's voice sounded a little hoarse. "S-Senior, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

Flender looked confused too, and not entirely certain. "M-maybe I did. You two should check him as well, just to be sure."

Feeling someone's bones was a simple matter. For Soul Masters who knew the human body inside and out, it was one of the most basic skills.

As expected, Shen Feng soon found himself at the mercy of the three adults.

After Flender, Shen Rui, and Ling Na had prodded and squeezed him for a while, they finally confirmed that Shen Feng's physical strength really was comparable to that of a three-ring Soul Elder.

Once they had confirmed Shen Feng's physical strength, an obvious problem confronted the three of them.

Flender's eyes flickered. He seemed unable to make the decision himself. "You two have confirmed Xiao Feng's physical strength as well. He really has the strength of a three-ring Soul Elder."

"Should we take the risk and hunt down a thousand-year Soul Ring for his first, something unprecedented? Or should we play it safe and have him absorb a hundred-year Soul Ring? I'll leave the decision to you."

In principle, Shen Feng attempting to absorb a purple thousand-year Soul Ring would do more to make a name for Shrek Academy.

But Flender wasn't the sort of person who would abandon all principles for that. If something went wrong while Shen Feng absorbed his first thousand-year Soul Ring, he'd have a hard time living with himself.

Shen Rui glanced at Ling Na. "Nana, what do you think?"

Ling Na furrowed her brows, unable to decide either. "You make the call. I trust you."

Shen Rui nodded, his voice heavy. "Xiao Feng's physical strength really is on par with that of a three-ring Soul Elder."

"If he successfully absorbs a thousand-year Soul Ring as his first, it'll be an unprecedented feat. It'll also lay a solid foundation for his future. A ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring won't be out of the question."

"But the meridians in the human body are complex and fragile. No one can guarantee with absolute certainty that Xiao Feng's meridians will withstand the extremely violent energy of a Soul Ring."

"To avoid seriously injuring Xiao Feng and ruining his bright future, I think we should play it safe."

"So I've decided to have Xiao Feng absorb a hundred-year First Soul Ring."

Ling Na nodded solemnly. "I agree. Xiao Feng has a brilliant future ahead of him. There's no need to gamble on a thousand-year First Soul Ring."

By now, Ling Na had thought it through as well. Shen Feng had Twin Martial Souls. Once he'd fully cultivated his First Martial Soul, he could start cultivating his Second Martial Soul—and then his Second Martial Soul would have at least black ten-thousand-year Soul Rings.

A mere thousand-year First Soul Ring wasn't worth gambling for.

As the saying went, gamblers never came to a good end.

Flender nodded, looking somewhat regretful. "That's true. A thousand-year First Soul Ring would be astonishing, but gambling a genius's future on it would be a terrible trade."

"But Xiao Feng has such excellent innate conditions. We can't waste them either. At the very least, he should absorb a Soul Ring around nine hundred years old."

"Then a thousand-year Second Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring would still be enough to astonish the world."

Shen Rui nodded in agreement. "That's true, but I think we should lower the Soul Ring's age a little more."

"After all, Xiao Feng needs to absorb the most violent kind of thunder-attribute Soul Ring. I think a First Soul Ring of around eight hundred years would be enough."

"A First Soul Ring of that age wouldn't affect Xiao Feng's ability to absorb a thousand-year Second Soul Ring in the future, and it would give him the greatest chance of staying safe. Besides, it wouldn't waste his excellent innate talent."

Flender thought it over. "You're right. I didn't consider it carefully enough. A nine-hundred-year thunder-attribute First Soul Ring really would be risky."

"Then we'll do as you say. But where should we go to hunt for Soul Rings? The Star Dou Forest?"

Shen Rui looked toward the Star Dou Forest. "Yes, we'll go to the Star Dou Forest."

As the three adults continued discussing, debating, and arguing over his affairs, Shen Feng didn't say a word.

He knew that you shouldn't say too much about unfamiliar fields, and shouldn't comment on things you didn't understand.

He'd never hunted a Soul Beast or absorbed a Soul Ring. How could he know whether a thousand-year Soul Ring's energy was really that violent?

If he insisted on absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring and something went wrong, damaging his meridians and leaving him unable to cultivate ever again, he might not even have anywhere to cry about it.

An eight-hundred-year First Soul Ring was just right. It would let him get one over on Tang San without drawing too much attention. Perfect—at least, Shen Feng was satisfied.

Once everything had been settled, Shen Rui politely invited Flender along.

"Senior, we need to go home and prepare some supplies for the Soul Hunt. Would you care to come with us?"

Flender glanced at Shen Feng. "I'll come along. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well go with you."

He'd finally managed to persuade Shen Feng to attend Shrek Academy. Flender couldn't bear to let him out of his sight at a time like this.

The world was a big place. If the family changed their minds and ran off, Flender wouldn't know where to cry about it.

Shen Rui gave an awkward smile. "Our humble home is at the foot of the mountain, just a few hundred meters away. Please follow me, Senior."

A few hundred meters wasn't far. In less than ten minutes, the Shen family of three had brought Flender to their home.

Shen Rui gestured toward the house. "Please come in, Senior. Our home is simple, so I hope you'll excuse any shortcomings."

Flender looked at the cozy stone house and waved his hands repeatedly. "Not at all, not at all."

"Your home is clean and welcoming. It may not rival the grand mansions of the wealthy, but it's nestled by the mountain and water, and its small, charming appearance has the air of a hidden master's retreat."

"Besides, for Soul Masters like us, only strength is worth pursuing. All other possessions are just passing clouds."

Flender didn't dare say anything bad about Shen Feng's home. His own Shrek Academy couldn't even find a few intact wooden houses, so how could he look down on a stone house?

Shen Rui glanced around the home where he'd lived for six years, looking a little astonished. He couldn't see anything as wonderful as Flender claimed, so he could only offer an awkward smile and usher Flender inside.

Shen Rui stayed in the living room with Flender, drinking tea and asking all sorts of questions to learn a little about Shrek Academy's basic information.

Ling Na went into the back room and began gathering the supplies they would need to take into the Star Dou Forest.

Shen Feng hurried into the little room where he developed gunpowder and firearms. He took an automatic handgun he'd assembled from various handcrafted parts, then some matching brass casings and lead-alloy bullets. Finally, he brought a small box of smokeless powder and packed everything into his little backpack.

Shen Feng had originally planned to assemble bullets for his automatic handgun after Shen Rui successfully tested the firearm that morning. But now they were going to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for Soul Rings, so he'd have to assemble them on the road instead.

Half an hour later, everyone had finished packing. They headed east and reached Suotuo City, thirty kilometers away. There they rented a carriage and set off for the Star Dou Forest.

The Star Dou Forest lay southeast of the Balak Kingdom. It was about five hundred kilometers from Suotuo City, where Shen Feng lived, and was one of the three most famous gathering places for wild Soul Beasts on Douluo Continent.

It was so vast that its area was almost equal to the territory of the Balak Kingdom. It spanned the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the two largest empires on the continent.

Two-fifths of it lay in the Heaven Dou Empire, while the remaining three-fifths lay in the Star Luo Empire.

Of course, the Heaven Dou Empire had never admitted this. The Star Dou Forest was, in truth, disputed territory between the two empires.

Yet, ironically, the two empires had argued over the Star Dou Forest for hundreds of years, and still neither had any real control over it.

That was because the Star Dou Forest was a vast, untouched primeval forest. Its terrain was extremely complex, with wetlands, mountains, swamps, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, and nearly every other kind of landscape.

The Soul Beasts there were also terrifying. The closer one got to the forest's center, the stronger the Soul Beasts became.

At its core, many hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts comparable to nine-ring Titled Douluo roamed. Few human Soul Masters had dared to venture there over the centuries.

But risk and opportunity went hand in hand. The forest was the cradle of all Soul Beasts, home to the greatest variety of them anywhere in the world. It was also the favorite destination of powerful Soul Masters,

because every time they went there, it meant they were about to obtain a Soul Ring and break through—or help someone hunt for a Soul Ring and earn a fortune.

Of course, it was also where Soul Masters suffered the most casualties, the most perilous place in the world and the one with the greatest number of Soul Master skeletons.

The four members of Shen Feng's group would need at least three days to reach the Star Dou Forest by carriage.

It wasn't that the horses were too slow. The roads in this world were simply terrible. The better ones might be covered with gravel and packed down, while the worse ones were nothing but muddy dirt, full of ruts and bumps. The conditions were simply impossible to describe.

If they made the horses gallop the whole way, they might all be so battered by the time they arrived that their bodies would feel like they were falling apart.

The carriage jolted as it rolled along, but they were all Soul Masters, so none of them paid the bumps any mind.

Even Shen Feng, the youngest, adapted quickly thanks to the passive boost from his Body Martial Soul.

As soon as he got used to the dizziness of riding in a carriage, Shen Feng pulled the backpack he'd brought from home in front of him.

He took out the gleaming yellow bullet casings, filled each with a standard amount of smokeless powder, then fitted a lead-alloy bullet on top and handed it to Shen Rui beside him.

"Dad, could you help me out? I need a way to protect myself too."

Shen Rui glanced at the bullet Shen Feng handed him and gave a slight nod. He said nothing as he took it.

His right arm glowed with a faint golden light. He pressed down with his fingers, and with a soft click, the bullet and casing fitted together seamlessly.

"Here. Is this okay?"

Shen Feng took the finished bullet and inspected it carefully. "It's fine. You did an even better job than my machine."

"There are more than a hundred here. I'll have to trouble you with all of them, Dad."

Shen Rui waved a hand. "It's nothing. You fill them with powder, and I'll press them together."

After all these years, Shen Rui had learned everything about firearms and bullet-making inside and out. The only thing he didn't know was how to make smokeless powder.