Tang San stood there, stunned, as if he'd been struck by lightning.
It wasn't because his attack had been blocked.
It was because... how had it been blocked?
The Bone-Piercing Nails he was so proud of had been launched with a special technique, propelled by the explosive force of a mechanism.
Even a defensive Soul Master of the same level might not dare to catch them head-on.
But this wolf...
He hadn't even made a move to block!
He'd simply held up that greasy-looking frying pan in front of himself.
Then, as if they'd spotted their own father, the three Bone-Piercing Nails had twisted off course in midair, tracing an impossible arc as they raced to crash into the pan!
That wasn't a block!
It was magnetic attraction!
"That's impossible..." Tang San muttered to himself. "My Bone-Piercing Nails are made from Deep Sea Heavy Silver. Even with a magnet, there's no way it could have that much pull!"
"Deep Sea Heavy Silver?"
Qin Feng stepped out from behind Grey Wolf and flicked a finger against a Bone-Piercing Nail stuck to the frying pan. It rang out with a crisp ting.
"You mean these nickel-containing iron alloys?"
He peeled a palm-sized, black, disc-shaped object from the back of the pan.
As soon as it was removed, the Bone-Piercing Nails lost their magnetic pull and clattered to the ground.
"Neodymium Iron Boron Magnet—or perhaps an even more advanced electromagnetic array."
Qin Feng toyed with the black disc in his hand. "Discarded equipment from Brother Wolf's Laboratory. Its magnetic flux is a thousand times greater than that of your lousy magnet."
"No matter how refined your Hidden Weapon techniques are, whether it's Flower Scattering Technique or One Thousand and One Nights, as long as they're made of metal—as long as they're ferromagnetic—they'll obey in a strong magnetic field."
"Before your Hidden Weapons are even launched, I've already decided their trajectories."
Qin Feng kicked the Bone-Piercing Nails on the ground back toward Tang San's feet.
"That's what it means to crush someone with a higher dimension."
"Compared to a fundamental force of the universe like electromagnetism, the tricks of human strength are insignificant."
Tang San looked down at the Bone-Piercing Nails. He'd spent several sleepless nights forging them.
Now they lay in the dirt like a pile of scrap metal, silently mocking his ignorance.
He'd lost.
He'd lost completely.
His footwork had been decoded with optics.
His internal force had been broken through with high-voltage electricity.
His Hidden Weapons had been confiscated by a magnetic field.
Facing Qin Feng, he was like a child with a wooden sword challenging a tank. Every trick he had seemed pale and powerless, utterly ridiculous.
Tang San's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
The Tang Sect faith he'd always believed in cracked wide open.
"Do you still want to fight?" Qin Feng asked calmly.
Tang San didn't answer. He only kept his head bowed, his body trembling slightly.
"Incredible! Simply incredible!"
An excited shout broke the silence.
Yu Xiaogang all but charged up to Qin Feng, his usual calm and restraint long forgotten.
He grabbed Qin Feng by the shoulders, his eyes blazing with fervor, like a beggar who hadn't eaten in three days spotting a lavish banquet.
"Qin Feng! Those things you just mentioned... optics, bioelectricity, electromagnetism... What theories are they? Where did you learn them? This entire theoretical framework... it's simply..."
Yu Xiaogang was at a loss for words.
As a theoretical master, he understood better than anyone the significance of that battle.
It wasn't just about who won or lost.
It was a challenge to the entire Soul Master system!
If the "principles" Qin Feng had described could be taught and mastered by anyone...
Then what made Soul Masters so special?
If ordinary people could simply take a device that delivered electric shocks and a disc that attracted Hidden Weapons, couldn't they beat Soul Masters too?
This... this would completely change the history of Douluo Continent!
"You want to learn?" Qin Feng asked with a faint smile, looking at the excited Grandmaster.
"Yes! I want to learn!" Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly. "I'm willing to take you as my disciple! I'll teach you everything I've learned in my life, as long as you're willing to share these theories..."
"Stop."
Qin Feng raised a hand, cutting Yu Xiaogang off.
He pulled away from Yu Xiaogang's grasp and took a step back, his expression turning distant and cool.
"Grandmaster, you've got one thing wrong."
"I don't want to be your disciple."
He pointed behind him at Grey Wolf, who was swatting flies with a frying pan, then tapped his own temple.
"Truth doesn't require a master."
"Science isn't some secret manual belonging to a particular sect. It's a set of objective laws. It exists whether you believe in it or not, and it keeps working all the same."
Qin Feng looked around at the students, none of whom had yet recovered from their shock, and spoke out loud:
"I don't need to be anyone's disciple. Instead, I plan to establish a place here devoted to science."
"Not a sect. Not an academy."
"A... laboratory."
He looked at Yu Xiaogang, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.
"Grandmaster, if you're genuinely interested in the truth, I might consider giving you a position as a research intern. But..."
"You'll have to pass an exam first."
Yu Xiaogang froze.
Everyone else froze too.
Take Grandmaster on as an intern? And make him take an exam?
That was outrageously arrogant!
But when they looked at Qin Feng's confident expression, then at Tang San kneeling on the ground, not one of them thought he was joking.
Just then, a cold voice rang out from beyond the crowd.
"What an arrogant claim! Spreading nonsense and disrupting the academy's order—who gave you the nerve?"
The crowd parted.
Director Su came striding over, his face dark, flanked by two burly enforcement teachers.
He glanced at Tang San on the ground, then at the strange devices in Qin Feng's hands. Greed and apprehension flickered in his eyes.
"Qin Feng, you openly used prohibited equipment to hurt someone. You're coming with us to the Academic Affairs Office! And hand over all those... weapons on you!"
Qin Feng looked at Director Su's face and sighed.
As expected, after beating up the young, the old showed up.
But that worked out just fine.
The shock points from the last round were enough to redeem the next blueprint.
He'd originally prepared that thing for Tang Hao.
Since they were so eager to get themselves killed, he might as well use them to test it.
"Brother Wolf."
Qin Feng turned and snapped his fingers at Grey Wolf.
"Bring out the big guy."
Grey Wolf's eyes lit up at once, gleaming with the ferocity of a predator who'd spotted its prey.
"Heh heh heh, so it's finally time for the heavy artillery?"
A sense of foreboding settled over Director Su.
But before he could react, the ground began to tremble.
It was as if some terrifying giant beast were waking beneath the earth.
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