The Gun-Making Plan

Fang Qingshan left before the twilight completely swallowed the sky.

The last thing he urged Duan Fan to do before departing was to eat well.

Duan Fan had intended to see Fang Qingshan to the academy gates, but Shang Heng stopped him just as they reached the bottom of the dormitory building.

Fang Qingshan also took the initiative to tell Duan Fan to return to his room.

The reason for avoiding a formal farewell was simple: they were afraid of the reluctance to part.

Duan Fan understood this, of course, but after watching Fang Qingshan disappear from sight and returning to his dormitory, he still felt a heavy ache in his chest and a stinging sensation in his nose.

Partings between family members were always like this.

The good news was that this separation would not last long.

Fang Qingshan had told Duan Fan that in three months at most, once he finished handling everything in Notting City, he would move to Spirit City with his aunt and Fang Qian.

Duan Fan sat on his dormitory bed, taking two tokens and two black cards from his pocket, staring at them in a daze.

Fang Qingshan had handed over everything Duan Fan's parents had left behind.

The tokens were symbols of status.

The black cards represented a massive fortune.

Fang Qingshan's exact words when handing them over were: "You are a Spirit Master now; it is time you learned to look after your own belongings."

In truth, Fang Qingshan had begun teaching him basic principles, such as not flaunting wealth, when Duan Fan was very young.

Duan Fan had often wondered in the past why his uncle kept repeating such basic lessons.

Only now did he realize that he had been preparing for this day all along.

Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins—he really is comfortable handing that much over to a six-year-old child.

He and Aunt are really something; they have so much money, yet they don't even know how to spend it!

If they are moving to Spirit City, they will surely have to sell off all their assets in Notting City. Why bother? It's not like they're short on cash!

Duan Fan sighed softly, tucked the items away, and lay back on the bed to contemplate his future plans.

Now that he had successfully enrolled in Spirit Hall Academy, he had to focus on improving himself.

The academy looked excellent and had provided him with such favorable conditions; he had to cherish this opportunity.

Furthermore, the academy would have holidays.

He could begin his plan to build firearms during the breaks.

Previously, he had no money, so the plan had to be shelved.

Now, with a full twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, he could definitely take a giant leap forward in his weapon-making project.

Even if industrial manufacturing limitations and other factors made it impossible to build modern firearms like automatic rifles, older designs—like the 98K—were well within the realm of possibility.

Tang San's Zhuge Crossbow had an effective range of fifty meters and could take down a Spirit Ancestor in seconds.

With an eight-hundred-meter range and a muzzle velocity of 755 meters per second, killing a Spirit Emperor shouldn't be too difficult, right?

If he could acquire special materials to craft unique barrels and ammunition, the power would undoubtedly be even greater.

I saw quite a few blacksmith shops while walking through Spirit City with my uncle this afternoon. Shops that can operate in Spirit City certainly aren't ordinary; I suspect the smiths there are Spirit Masters who possess genuine forging techniques.

I can slowly draft the blueprints, and when the academy goes on break, I'll go find them to forge the parts.

I can start with simple firearms and take it one step at a time.

After finalizing his plans, Duan Fan focused his mind, preparing to check on Tang San's current status—a routine that had become a daily necessity.

Just as lines of text began to appear before his eyes, a sudden knock at the door echoed through the room, followed by the voice of a middle-aged man.

"Duan Fan, it's me, Teacher Shang. I've brought you dinner!"

It was Shang Heng.

Duan Fan stood up to open the door.

Sure enough, Shang Heng was standing outside, carrying a meal.

"Eat up. Just leave the tray outside the door when you're finished; someone will come to collect it."

Shang Heng handed the food to Duan Fan and added with a smile, "You're at the age where you're growing rapidly, so make sure you eat plenty."

"You need to be well-fed to have the strength to cultivate."

Duan Fan nodded gently and thanked him, "I understand, thank you, Teacher Shang!"

After Shang Heng left, Duan Fan brought the meal to the table and began to eat.

The perks of having Full Innate Soul Power are truly something. I'd almost forgotten about dinner, but Teacher Shang actually remembered and even brought it to my door.

The food at Spirit Hall Academy is also excellent; the balance of meat and vegetables is perfect, and it looks and smells so appetizing.

Duan Fan sighed in appreciation and began to devour the meal.

To be fair, the food tasted incredible—far better than anything he had sampled at the small eateries in Spirit City.

While eating, Duan Fan checked on Tang San's current situation.

Coincidentally, Tang San was also eating dinner at that moment, and his meal looked quite decent.

Furthermore, Tang San had a dining companion: Ding Xiulun, a high-ranking deacon of the Notting City Spirit Branch Hall.

Ever since Ding Xiulun helped Tang San obtain his First Soul Ring, Tang San had been living at Ding Xiulun's home.

Ding Xiulun treated Tang San well, providing him with food and shelter, and occasionally teaching him knowledge about Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts.

He had even told Tang San that he had already applied for him to attend a specialized Spirit Hall Academy.

In reality, Ding Xiulun hadn't applied, nor could he, because Tang San hadn't officially joined Spirit Hall yet, and Ding Xiulun simply wanted to keep Tang San by his side.

Ding Xiulun had already begun to treat Tang San as his own disciple, but Tang San did not recognize Ding Xiulun as his teacher.

Over these past few days, Ding Xiulun had hinted at it many times, but Tang San consistently played dumb and refused to apprentice himself.

As for the kindness he received from Ding Xiulun, Tang San always politely thanked him.

Just a few days ago, while Tang San was out shopping with Ding Xiulun, he had run into Yu Xiaogang again.

It was since that encounter that Tang San had formed a plan.

If the Spirit Hall Academy application Ding Xiulun spoke of never came through, he would attend the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy, and he would definitely find an opportunity to get to know that Grandmaster.

Tang San had long heard about the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy from Old Jack, and he knew there was a work-study student quota available for their village.

When the time came, even without Ding Xiulun's help, he could enroll as a work-study student.

Tang San's current spirit power level was eleven; the boost provided by the two-hundred-year Solitary Bamboo soul ring had just barely allowed him to advance.

Tang San had been cultivating during this time, but his daily practice time was very limited.

He was already planning his first Hidden Weapon, having inquired about the situation at the Notting City Blacksmith Shop, and intended to work there to earn some spirit coins while simultaneously forging his Hidden Weapon.

Besides that, he had to spend a significant amount of time every day listening to Ding Xiulun lecture on theoretical knowledge that was of little use.

His days were quite full, though his spirit power hadn't improved much.

In contrast to Tang San, Duan Fan's spirit power level had already reached fourteen.

Since obtaining his First Soul Ring, Duan Fan had been cultivating diligently every day, finally achieving a breakthrough on the road to Spirit City, and was now pushing toward level fifteen.

"It seems there is no opportunity to alter Tang San's fate today. I expect it will be like this for a while; his life has returned to calm, and no major events will occur in the near future."

"I will just have to wait until the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy opens in three months to make another adjustment."

After finishing his dinner, Duan Fan moved his mind, and the text before him vanished.

He tidied up his trash, placed it outside the door, and returned to his bed to begin cultivating.

He cultivated until the middle of the night before finally going to sleep.

He was only six years old and could not yet fully replace sleep with cultivation; he still required a certain amount of normal sleep every day for his body to develop.

The next morning.

Duan Fan was awakened by a knock at the door.

A somewhat familiar middle-aged woman's voice rang out from outside.

"Duan Fan, this is Teacher Li. I've come to take you to the classroom!"