The Gun-Making Plan

Before the sky was completely shrouded in twilight, Fang Qingshan left.

His final words to Duan Fan before leaving were to make sure he ate well.

Duan Fan had originally wanted to walk Fang Qingshan to the academy gates, but after only escorting him to the dormitory building, Shang Heng stopped him.

Fang Qingshan also spoke up, telling Duan Fan to go back to his dorm.

The reason they didn't see each other off was simple: they were afraid they wouldn't be able to bear parting.

Duan Fan understood, of course. Still, after watching Fang Qingshan disappear from sight and returning to his dorm, he felt a little down. His nose even stung.

Parting from one's family was always like that.

The good news was that this parting wouldn't last long.

Fang Qingshan had told Duan Fan that it would be no more than three months. As long as he finished taking care of everything in Notting City, he would move to Spirit City with Auntie and Fang Qian.

Sitting on his dormitory bed, Duan Fan took two tokens and two black cards out of his pocket. He stared at them in a daze.

Fang Qingshan had handed Duan Fan everything his parents had left behind.

The tokens were symbols of identity.

The black cards, on the other hand, held a tremendous fortune.

Fang Qingshan's exact words when he gave them to Duan Fan were, "You're a Spirit Master now. It's time you learned to look after your own things."

In fact, Fang Qingshan had started teaching Duan Fan basic principles like not flaunting one's wealth when he was very young.

Duan Fan had once been puzzled about why his uncle kept repeating such basic principles.

Only now did he understand that his uncle had been preparing for this day all along.

"Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, entrusted to a six-year-old kid like me. Uncle really does trust me."

"Auntie and Uncle are something else, too. They had all that money and never used it!"

"They're moving to Spirit City, so they'll have to sell everything they own in Notting City. Why bother? They've got money!"

Duan Fan let out a quiet sigh, put the things away, then lay down and began thinking about what to do next.

Now that he'd successfully enrolled in Spirit Hall Academy, he would have to focus on improving himself there.

The academy looked excellent, and it had given him such good conditions. He had to make the most of it.

Besides, the academy would have breaks.

He could start the gun-making plan during the holidays.

Before, he hadn't had the money, so he'd had to put the plan on hold.

Now that he had a full twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, he could take a huge step forward with making a gun.

Even with the limitations of industrial manufacturing technology and other factors, making modern firearms like fully automatic rifles was basically impossible.

But there was still a good chance of making an old-fashioned firearm, such as a 98K.

Tang San's Godly Zhuge Crossbow had an effective range of fifty meters and could kill a Soul Ancestor in one shot.

The 98K had a range of eight hundred meters and a muzzle velocity of 755 meters per second. Killing a Soul Emperor shouldn't be hard, right?

With special materials for a special barrel and bullets, its power would be even greater.

"I saw quite a few blacksmith shops around Spirit City while I was out with Uncle this afternoon. Any blacksmith shop that can operate in Spirit City must be out of the ordinary. The blacksmiths there are probably Spirit Masters, and they should have some real forging skills."

"I can draw up the blueprints bit by bit, then find them during the academy holidays and have them forge the gun parts."

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

Once he'd made his plans, Duan Fan had a thought and prepared to check on Tang San's situation. It had become something he did every day.

Just as strings of text appeared before Duan Fan's eyes, a sudden knock sounded at the door. A middle-aged man's voice followed from outside.

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

It was Shang Heng's voice.

Duan Fan got up and opened the door.

As expected, Shang Heng was standing outside, carrying a meal.

"Have your dinner. When you're done, just leave the trash outside the door. Someone will come collect it."

Shang Heng handed Duan Fan the food, then added with a smile, "You're at an age where you're growing fast. Make sure to eat plenty."

"You need a full stomach to have the strength to cultivate."

Duan Fan nodded and thanked him. "I understand. Thank you, Teacher Shang!"

After Shang Heng left, Duan Fan carried the food to the table and dug in.

"The treatment for someone with Innate Full Soul Power really is great. I nearly forgot about dinner, but Teacher Shang remembered and even brought it right to my door."

"The food at Spirit Hall Academy is great, too. A good balance of meat and vegetables, and it's delicious to look at. Just seeing it makes me hungry."

Duan Fan exclaimed, then began wolfing down his meal.

Honestly, the food tasted fantastic—countless times better than the food at the little restaurants in Spirit City.

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

By coincidence, Tang San was eating dinner, too, and his meal looked pretty good.

Tang San even had a dinner companion: Ding Xiulun, a senior Deacon from the Notting City Spirit Branch Hall.

After Ding Xiulun helped Tang San obtain his First Soul Ring, Tang San had been living at his home.

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

He'd also told Tang San that he had applied for a place for him at a special Spirit Hall academy.

In truth, Ding Xiulun hadn't applied, and he couldn't have. Tang San hadn't officially joined Spirit Hall, and Ding Xiulun wanted to keep him by his side.

Ding Xiulun had already come to regard Tang San as his disciple, but Tang San didn't recognize him as his teacher.

During this time, Ding Xiulun had dropped hints to Tang San many times, but Tang San always played dumb and refused to become his disciple.

Whenever Tang San received Ding Xiulun's kindness, he always politely thanked him.

A few days ago, Tang San had gone out shopping with Ding Xiulun and run into Yu Xiaogang again.

It was after that encounter that Tang San came up with a plan.

If the Spirit Hall Academy Ding Xiulun had mentioned still hadn't accepted him after a while, he would attend the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy and find a chance to meet that Grandmaster.

Tang San had heard all about the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy from Old Jack long ago. He also knew that the village had a work-study student spot.

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

Tang San's Soul Power Level was now eleven. His two-hundred-year-old Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring had only just been enough to help him advance.

Tang San had been cultivating during this time, but he could only train for a limited time each day.

He was already planning his first Hidden Weapon. He'd gone to ask around at the Notting City Blacksmith Shop and planned to work there, earning some Soul Coins while having the Hidden Weapon made.

Besides that, he also had to spend a lot of time each day listening to Ding Xiulun explain theoretical knowledge that was of no use to him.

His days were quite full, but his Soul Power hadn't improved much.

Compared to Tang San, Duan Fan's Soul Power Level had already reached fourteen.

Ever since obtaining his First Soul Ring, Duan Fan had been cultivating diligently every day. He'd finally broken through on the way to Spirit City, and was now advancing toward level fifteen.

"Looks like there's no chance to change Tang San's fate today, either. It'll probably stay that way for a while. His life has settled back into a peaceful routine, and nothing important will happen anytime soon."

"I'll have to wait until three months from now, when the Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy starts its new term, to make another change."

After finishing dinner, Duan Fan had a thought, and the text before him vanished.

He gathered up the trash and left it outside the door, then returned to his bed and began cultivating.

He cultivated until well past midnight before going to sleep.

He was only six years old. He couldn't replace sleep with cultivation entirely; his body still needed a certain amount of proper sleep each day to grow.

The next morning.

Duan Fan was woken by a knock at the door.

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

"Duan Fan, it's Teacher Li. I'm here to take you to the classroom!"