The ground shook harder and harder, making the horizontal bar by the edge of the field hum.
The pile of junk that had been blocking everyone's view suddenly bulged outward. A moment later came the teeth-grating sound of metal tearing.
A tremendous boom rang out.
Splintered wood and broken stones flew everywhere, and a dark, hulking steel monstrosity burst through the dust.
It stood about three meters tall, with a pair of tank treads beneath it. It clanked as it moved, each step leaving a deep impression in the ground.
Its body was a giant, rusted metal barrel, covered in all sorts of haphazardly welded gears and pipes. Thick black smoke poured from the gaps.
Most eye-catching was the gigantic chainsaw on its left arm, still spinning freely. Its right arm was a thick, pitch-black barrel that looked like trouble.
In the open-air cockpit atop its head, Grey Wolf wore that shabby top hat and gripped two control levers, laughing uproariously.
"Wahahaha! Behold my 'Super Invincible Junk King No. 1,' you bunch of bumpkins!"
Director Su had never seen anything like this. He jumped back in fright, his voice pitching high.
"What... What in the world is that? A mutated Soul Beast? Or some giant Soul Tool?"
The two enforcement teachers behind him were just as dumbfounded. They had even forgotten to activate their Martial Souls, staring blankly at the imposing hunk of iron.
The thing didn't give off any Soul Power, but just looking at the force of its interlocking gears made their bones ache.
Qin Feng brushed the dust off himself, walked over to the steel monster's treads, and patted its rusted metal plating. It rang with a dull thud.
"Director Su, what was it you said just now?"
Qin Feng picked at his ear and looked at Director Su with an earnest expression.
"You said you were going to confiscate my weapon? Is this it?"
Director Su swallowed. Greed and fear fought for dominance on his face.
The thing looked ugly, but how much refined iron had gone into making it? At that size, it could fetch quite a few Gold Soul Coins at a blacksmith's shop!
And it looked powerful, too. If he could get his hands on it...
"Qin Feng! You've manufactured a dangerous object without permission. That's a serious violation of school rules!"
Director Su shouted with false bravado, his trembling finger pointing at Grey Wolf.
"And that wolf-shaped Soul Beast is a threat, too! It must be put down immediately!"
"What are you waiting for? Take it apart!"
He gave the two enforcement teachers behind him a direct order.
The two teachers exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and lit up three Soul Rings each: two yellow and one purple.
Soul Elders!
One had an Iron Staff Martial Soul, and the other had a Blazing Fire Monkey Martial Soul. Both were skilled in the Power Attack System.
"Kid, don't blame us for being ruthless. That thing is too dangerous. We can't let it stay!"
The Iron Staff teacher shouted and swung his Martial Soul, the iron staff whistling through the air as he brought it down on the treads.
If he could break the treads, the hunk of iron would be a sitting duck.
Qin Feng didn't even raise an eyelid. He merely waved at Grey Wolf above.
"Brother Wolf, someone wants to take apart your new toy. You stayed up all night building it from scrap."
Grey Wolf's beady eyes widened at once, and his fur stood on end.
"Take apart my invention? You think you can? Even my wife wouldn't dare take this thing apart!"
He yanked the control lever on the right.
With a clack, the upper half of Super Invincible Junk King No. 1 spun a full 360 degrees, nimble as a top.
The cannon on its right arm, which had been aimed at Director Su, swung around and pointed straight at the Iron Staff teacher.
"Have a taste of my 'Powerful Pepper Cannon'!"
Pffft—
A cloud of yellow-brown smoke erupted from the barrel and splattered across the teacher's face.
There was no explosion, no flash of fire.
The Iron Staff teacher simply dropped his Martial Soul, clutched his face, and let out a pig-like scream.
"Ah! My eyes! My nose! It burns! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"
His nose ran and tears streamed down his face. He fell to his knees, sneezing wildly, and his face swelled up before their eyes until it looked like a puffy bun.
The teacher with the Blazing Fire Monkey Martial Soul gaped, so startled that the flames in his hand nearly went out.
What kind of attack was that? Poison? How underhanded!
Before he could react, Grey Wolf pushed the lever on the left.
The giant chainsaw didn't swing at him. Instead, a huge spring-loaded fist wearing a red boxing glove suddenly shot out from behind it.
It moved so fast it was almost impossible to see, even breaking the sound barrier.
Bang!
A dull thud.
The fist slammed into the Blazing Fire Monkey teacher's stomach, folding him in half. The blow was absurdly powerful: it lifted him clean off his feet and sent him flying seven or eight meters. He ended up "hanging" from the horizontal bar at the edge of the field, swaying like a dried fish. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Two seconds.
Two Soul Elders, both down.
The entire field fell silent.
Only the teacher who had been sneezing kept going, "Ah-choo! Ah-choo!" It hurt just to hear him.
Director Su's legs began to tremble. He looked at the iron monster as it aimed its barrel at him again, and felt a dampness spreading in his pants.
What the hell was that monster?!
It hadn't even used a Soul Skill, yet it had taken down two Soul Elders in an instant?
"Director Su, do you still want to take it apart?"
Qin Feng asked with a beaming smile, one hand still resting on the tread.
"I only recently designed this 'Fully Automatic Teaching Assistant Robot.'"
"The teacher just now tried out the 'Biochemical Protection Drill' function. It seems his protective awareness needs work."
"The one hanging from the horizontal bar tried out the 'Flight Simulation' function. Look at that pose. Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Would you like to try something, too? I've also got a 'Heavy-Duty Toilet Plunger' mode."
Director Su waved his hands frantically. His face had gone pale, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"N-no need! Qin Feng, you... Don't do anything rash! I'm the Director of Academic Affairs!"
"I know you're the director."
Qin Feng's smile faded. His calm expression was somehow frightening.
"I'm a reasonable man. You said I used prohibited equipment to hurt people. Where's your evidence?"
He pointed at the teacher still sneezing on the ground.
"That's pepper, a kitchen seasoning. Does that count as a weapon? Does that mean cooking in the cafeteria is illegal, too?"
Then he pointed at the teacher hanging from the horizontal bar.
"That's a spring and a cotton glove, a child's toy. Does that count as a weapon? What kind of weapon is made of cotton?"
Director Su found himself at a loss for words.
Pepper and cotton gloves?
What the hell kind of pepper was that? Whose pepper could incapacitate a Soul Elder?
And whose cotton glove could send someone flying eight meters? Was that cotton made of iron?
But according to the school rules, these things didn't count as controlled blades or dangerous Soul Tools.
Qin Feng was exploiting a loophole—and driving a tank straight through it!
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