Click, click, click—
Shen Feng filled the casings with gunpowder while Shen Rui used his fingers in place of a machine to press in the bullets. Father and son worked together like an assembly line, and one golden bullet after another quickly took shape with a series of faint clicks.
Flender watched the two of them working together with curiosity and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Um, may I ask if what you're making is a Soul Tool?"
Having never seen a bullet before, Flender actually mistook it for some kind of Soul Tool.
Shen Rui held up a freshly pressed bullet. "Are you asking about this, Senior?"
"This thing is called a bullet. It's not a Soul Tool, and it doesn't need Soul Power to use."
"If you really had to classify it, it would count as a kind of arrow. It's launched using a mechanical device similar to a bow or crossbow, allowing it to injure targets at a distance."
"Xiao Feng, you brought a gun, right? Take it out and let Senior have a look."
Shen Rui was quite generous, because he was certain that Flender wouldn't understand how firearms were triggered.
Shen Feng nodded, took a black handgun about a dozen centimeters long from his backpack, and handed it to Flender.
"Senior, this is called a handgun. It's a device specifically designed to fire bullets."
Flender took the handgun with great curiosity and turned it over in his hands for a while. He only managed to figure out what the trigger did: it was probably some kind of firing mechanism, like the one on a hand crossbow.
Flender opened the carriage window, held the handgun, pointed it outside, and pulled the trigger hard. Nothing happened.
His brows furrowing, Flender refused to give up and pulled the trigger several more times, but still nothing happened.
Shen Feng chuckled. "Senior, that's not how you use it. You haven't even loaded any bullets, so pulling the trigger won't do a thing."
Flender froze for a moment, then smiled awkwardly. "I was just testing it. Just testing."
"I was simply curious how something so small, with no bowstring in sight, could fire short bolts like a hand crossbow."
"And this thing has neither a point nor an edge. Why is it called a gun?"
Shen Feng smiled faintly. "How about I give you a demonstration?"
Flender examined the handgun in his hand once more, then curiously returned it to Shen Feng.
"Here. I really am curious how this little thing works."
"You said earlier that you'd use it to defend yourself, so it must be pretty powerful."
Shen Feng smiled mysteriously. "Of course. It definitely won't disappoint you."
Taking the handgun, Shen Feng skillfully removed the magazine, loaded it with bullets, reinserted it, and chambered a round. Every movement flowed seamlessly into the next.
After a moment's thought, Shen Feng took a tubular object about a dozen centimeters long from his backpack and carefully attached it to the muzzle.
Then he leaned out of the carriage window, looked around for a target, raised the gun, and took aim.
Pfft—
A faint sound rang out, and half a bird about twenty meters from the carriage dropped from the sky.
Seeing this, Flender's pupils suddenly contracted. "S-so fast!"
"This weapon is several times faster than a crossbow bolt. Even I could only make out the faintest afterimage."
"If it were used for a sneak attack, even I might get hit if I wasn't careful."
As he spoke, Flender seemed to think of something. He grabbed Shen Feng by the shoulder, looking extremely excited. "Xiao Feng, how much is a weapon like this worth? Is it difficult to make?"
"If you have any to spare, I—I'd like to buy two."
"Of course, I wouldn't use them myself. But our Shrek Academy has two Food-Type Soul Masters. I'd like to buy the guns for them to protect themselves."
As everyone knew, Auxiliary-Type Soul Masters were the weakest fighters on the Douluo Continent. Among them, Food-Type Soul Masters had the hardest time cultivating and were the weakest of all.
The moment Flender mentioned the two Food-Type Soul Masters at Shrek Academy, Shen Feng immediately thought of Shao Xin and Oscar.
In the original story, Shao Xin's Martial Soul was Sugar Bean. He was a rare Food-Type Soul Saint who had yet to reach level seventy.
Oscar, meanwhile, was Shao Xin's disciple and the first Food-Type Soul Master on record to possess Innate Full Soul Power. In the original story, he even broke through level one hundred and inherited the divine position of the Second-Level God, God of Food.
However, cultivating as a Food-Type Soul Master was simply too difficult. Though Oscar had Innate Full Soul Power, his actual cultivation speed was probably slower than that of a Battle Soul Master born with Soul Power around level seven or eight.
Shen Feng hadn't expected Flender to think first of buying guns to protect the two of them as soon as he saw one. Or rather, he'd never imagined that Flender had such a righteous side to him.
Considering Flender's stinginess in the original story, the fact that he'd offered without hesitation to spend money on guns to keep them safe showed that, in his heart, the safety of those close to him mattered far more than wealth or other worldly possessions.
If everyone at Shrek Academy was like Flender, always putting the people close to them first, Shen Feng wouldn't mind sincerely joining the academy.
After all, the people who'd made the original story so detestable hadn't come to Shrek Academy yet. He still had plenty of time to make some changes to the place.
Thinking of this, Shen Feng smiled calmly. "Dean Flender, I'm a student at the academy too, aren't I? It would be too formal to talk about buying them."
"Once we finish Soul Hunting and return to the academy, I'll make one for everyone to try out."
Flender was clearly taken aback, then burst into laughter. "That's right, you're a student at our academy too. We're family—we don't need to stand on ceremony."
"Then I'll leave this to you when we get back, Xiao Feng."
"But even brothers should keep their accounts straight. We'll pay whatever amount of Gold Soul Coins is fair. We teachers can't take advantage of our students. In fact, that's one of our academy's rules."
Shen Feng waved his hand dismissively. "This little thing is extremely easy to make. Even with the materials, it's hardly worth anything."
"Forget Gold Soul Coins—even making one wouldn't cost a single Silver Soul Coin."
"But I can't provide bullets for everyone. They're consumables, after all. Once a bullet is fired, there's no way to recover it."
"If I made them in large quantities, it would inevitably take time away from my cultivation, so..."
Flender waved his hands repeatedly. "That's fine, that's fine. You only need to provide enough bullets for those two."
"As for everyone else, they're Battle Soul Masters and can protect themselves."
"Besides, this little thing of yours doesn't seem particularly powerful. Its main advantages are its speed, its small projectiles, and how hard they are to defend against."
"Even if you caught someone by surprise, it would only pose a serious threat to Soul Masters below level fifty. Soul Masters with five rings or more react too quickly to give you a chance to aim."
Shen Feng shook his head slightly and didn't explain further. There was no point in saying more to someone who'd never experienced a barrage of gunfire.
For one thing, a machine gun's sustained fire alone would be enough to give Flender, an agility-type Soul Saint, a rough time.
After that little interlude with the handgun, no one said much during the rest of the journey. They simply sat in the carriage and chatted.
At noon three days later, Shen Feng and the others arrived by carriage at the edge of the Star Dou Forest.
As soon as he got off the carriage, Shen Feng felt a fresh breeze wafting over from the distance. It carried the scent of plants, refreshing the spirit and leaving his whole body at ease.
Like a forest oxygen bar, the place made him feel indescribably refreshed. One deep breath seemed to open every one of his thirty-six thousand pores.
Shen Feng looked into the distance. A vast green ocean stretched out more than ten miles away.
The endless green, rippling like waves, was a breathtaking sight. The soothing, fresh air came from there, too.
After paying the coachman the remaining fare in Gold Soul Coins, Shen Rui walked over to Shen Feng.
"What do you think? Impressive, isn't it? I was just as impressed the first time I came here."
"More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. I've seen plenty of scenery since then, so a view that's just green as far as the eye can see doesn't make me quite as happy anymore."
Shen Feng looked up at his father. Something about his choice of words made it sound like he wasn't talking about scenery at all.
But there was no such thing as being cuckolded on the Douluo Continent, so Shen Feng could only believe that Shen Rui really was talking about the view.
Ling Na stepped forward and patted Shen Rui on the shoulder. "Stop reminiscing. It's still early, so we'd better hurry in and search."
Flender came over as well and considered the matter for a moment. "When I came to the Star Dou Forest last year to obtain my Seventh Soul Ring, I happened upon an area where lightning-type Soul Beasts gathered. It's about three days' journey from here."
"There might be a Soul Beast suitable for Xiao Feng there. Should we go take a look?"
Shen Rui smiled mysteriously and shook his head. "I know that place. Ling Na got her Fifth Soul Ring there."
"But we won't go there this time. Two years ago, when I was hired to help someone hunt Soul Beasts, I happened to discover a Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo about eight hundred years old."
Ling Na's heart skipped a beat. "Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo? Da Feng, you found one?"
Shen Rui laughed. "I just got lucky and stumbled across it."
"I thought that if Xiao Feng awakened your Martial Soul when he grew up, this Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo would be the most suitable Second Soul Ring for him."
"Who would've thought Xiao Feng's innate conditions would be so good? He could absorb this Soul Beast as his First Soul Ring."
Shen Feng frowned slightly. "Mom, Dad, what is this Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo? How is it related to Thunder Sword Bamboo?"
Ling Na took a deep breath. "Thunder Sword Bamboo is a plant-type Soul Beast that favors lightning elements. It usually grows in mountainous areas with frequent thunderstorms, so it can be exposed to lightning during storms."
"Although that means Thunder Sword Bamboo is often destroyed by lightning, the survivors become even tougher. Not only do they gain a considerable number of years in cultivation, their vitality also far surpasses that of other plant-type Soul Beasts."
"Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo is the king among Thunder Sword Bamboos. Usually, only after an especially violent storm wipes out nine-tenths of a Thunder Sword Bamboo population do the survivors have a chance of advancing into Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo."
"You could even say that Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo is an absolute king born by stepping over the corpses of its entire clan."
"Xiao Feng, this is a rare opportunity. This eight-hundred-year-old Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo is in no way inferior to other types of Millennium Soul Rings. You must successfully absorb it."
Shen Feng nodded solemnly. "All right, Mom. I'll do my best."
Shen Rui smiled faintly and patted Shen Feng on the head. "Don't be nervous. Just do your best."
"I found this Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo two years ago. Its growing place is well hidden, but after two years, there's no telling whether someone else has hunted it. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Ling Na glared fiercely at Shen Rui. "Stop talking nonsense. That Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo belongs to Xiao Feng. It'll still be there."
Shen Rui chuckled. "Yes, yes. You're right, dear. Shall we set out now?"
"Let's go. You're leading."
Once they entered the Star Dou Forest, they were surrounded by towering trees. The dense canopy blocked the sunlight overhead so thoroughly that not a single ray could get through. Countless low shrubs crowded the ground, leaving almost no path to walk along.
Ling Na led the way with her Thunder Blade, while Shen Rui and Flender kept to the sides and rear, ready to support her at a moment's notice. Shen Feng, the youngest, stayed in the safest spot at the center of the three.
That small triangular formation was their greatest safeguard as they made their way through the Star Dou Forest.
It was Shen Feng's first time in a primeval forest like the Star Dou Forest, and everything fascinated him. He kept looking this way and that, even imagining that a Soul Beast might suddenly burst out of the thick undergrowth.
After all, he'd been in the Douluo Continent for six years, but the most he'd seen of Soul Beasts was meat sold in chunks. He'd never seen a wild Soul Beast or a Soul Ring.
Seeing him in this state, Shen Rui frowned slightly. "Xiao Feng, don't let your guard down. The Star Dou Forest isn't the hill behind Shuiyun Village."
"The wild Soul Beasts here are extremely aggressive. They also hate humans who hunt them to improve their strength. Whenever they encounter humans, they'll try to follow them. The moment they get a chance, they'll attack without hesitation."
"The worst part is that the Soul Beasts are on home ground. They're far more nimble in the forest than human Soul Masters from outside. Many Soul Masters have been careless, only to be attacked by elusive Soul Beasts and lose their lives."
"Although the three of us are protecting you inside the Star Dou Forest, I don't want you to develop the bad habit of relying on others."
"Everyone only has one life. If you entrust your safety to someone else, the day will inevitably come when you regret it."
Ling Na listened to Shen Rui lecture Shen Feng from behind. Without turning around, she stayed alert and continued to lead the way.
She was a Soul Master herself, so she knew Shen Rui was right.
Some things could be tried because the price of failure was low. They could let their child experiment and learn from failure.
But some things couldn't be tried because the price was simply too high. They couldn't afford it.
In such cases, the older generation had to use their experience to remind those who came after them over and over again, patiently warning them not to go down the wrong path.
Shen Feng hunched his shoulders. Knowing he was in the wrong, he didn't argue with Shen Rui. He stuck out his tongue, flicked off the safety on his handgun, and focused completely on watching everything around him.
Flender watched the family without saying a word and couldn't help nodding.
The parents were sensible, and the child was well behaved. That would make things much easier when it came to getting along and teaching them in the future.
At least he wouldn't have to worry that they'd leave as soon as they got to Shrek Academy and heard the school history and rules he'd made up. They might at least give him a chance to explain, leaving room to turn things around.
What bad intentions could Flender possibly have? He'd only made up that school history and those rules to keep the talented students in line and make them easier to manage.
After that interlude, the four continued onward in silence. Before long, they heard a great deal of rustling coming from behind a thicket up ahead.
Ling Na raised her right hand, and everyone stopped at once. She made a hand signal. Shen Rui nodded, then slipped into the bushes beside them like a nimble wildcat, without making a sound.
A moment later, Shen Rui emerged from the bushes ahead.
"There's a Qianjun Ant nest covering an area several dozen meters across. They're not very old, but there are too many of them. It'd be a nuisance to get entangled with them. We should go around."
Ling Na nodded. "Qianjun Ants are small, young, and live in groups. There's not much to gain from killing them, so we can go around." Usually, when Soul Masters risked hunting Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings, they would also kill other Soul Beasts of value along the way.
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