Another Three Years

Seeing the system notification before him, Duan Fan smiled.

"Just as I thought, the modification worked!"

"Yu Xiaogang's obsession ran deeper than I'd imagined. Especially since Tang San hadn't taken him as his master, he had almost no reservations. I only deepened the obsession in his heart a little, and everything developed just as I'd expected."

"Of course, the main reason was that Tang San firmly believed in Yu Xiaogang's theories. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to Yu Xiaogang's proposal."

"Now Tang San's Second Soul Ring has changed from the original six-hundred-year-old Ghost Vine to a three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake, restricting his growth once again. By the time I reach Soul King level, he'll probably still be struggling at Soul Grandmaster level. I'll be able to stay a step ahead of him for the rest of my life."

"I don't even need to wait until then. With my current strength, I can already kill Tang San with ease. Without Tang Hao protecting him, killing Tang San would be as easy as turning over my hand. But it seems more useful to keep him around so I can keep reaping the system's rewards. If I kill him, I might not get all the rewards. That would be no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Setting aside his thoughts, Duan Fan began to carefully examine this round of system rewards.

Besides the usual reward of modification attempts, there was also a skill: [Wind Chasing Lightning].

"Wind Chasing Lightning, a movement skill. It must have come from the fortune tied to Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track."

A wealth of information about Wind Chasing Lightning appeared in Duan Fan's mind.

It was a top-tier skill that turned movement into the force of wind and thunder.

It possessed both the wind's grace and elusiveness, and the lightning's instantaneous burst and penetrating power.

Using Wind Chasing Lightning made the body as light as the wind, allowing its user to move almost without a sound.

It could also unleash speed in an instant, turning the user into a streak of lightning too quick for the naked eye to follow and allowing for short-range, leaping bursts of movement.

As with the skills he had gained before, Duan Fan didn't need to study it in depth. He could use it with just a thought.

Eager to try it, he shifted his feet, and his whole body moved freely around the dormitory like the wind.

At times, he was like lightning, crossing from the dormitory door to the window in the blink of an eye.

"The dormitory's too small. There's no way to bring out the full potential of Wind Chasing Lightning."

Still wanting more, Duan Fan glanced out the window at the sky, now completely dark, and thought, "It wouldn't be appropriate to go out now. I'll try Wind Chasing Lightning in the Soul Skill Practice Area at the Soul Fighting Arena tomorrow, after training."

The Spirit Hall Academy was actually quite safe; there was nothing wrong with going out at night.

But Duan Fan had a rather special status, and too many eyes were on him now.

People had even asked around about the firearm parts he was making.

They had only made inquiries and hadn't pursued the matter any further, but it had still made Duan Fan uneasy.

He realized that people were watching everything he did, which made him instinctively avoid doing anything out of the ordinary.

For a while, Duan Fan had even suspected that people were watching everything he did in the dormitory.

His nerves had been stretched taut during that time, and he had felt awful inside. It had taken quite an effort to adjust his mindset.

He was still a little sensitive now, but he was gradually getting used to it.

Since he was so outstanding—so much so that "monstrous talent" was no exaggeration—it was only natural that so many people would pay attention to him.

But it was obviously impossible for anyone to watch Duan Fan every moment of the day. At most, they were keeping tabs on his movements.

After learning about Wind Chasing Lightning, Duan Fan turned his thoughts to the modification attempts he had received as system rewards.

"This time I've earned another modification attempt. Adding it to the three I already had, I now have four chances to modify my own fate."

"I'll save them for now. My life is peaceful and stable, and everything's moving in a better direction. There's nothing I need to change."

"Saving these chances for later will definitely bring me greater returns."

Duan Fan had once been eager to use his chances to modify fate to make himself stronger.

When he obtained his Third Soul Ring and Fourth Soul Ring, he had even tried to modify the Soul Beasts' "drop rates" so he could gain an External Soul Bone by absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his limit, just like Tang San.

Unfortunately, both attempts had failed.

At the time, Duan Fan had even begun to wonder if his chances to modify fate were nothing but decoration. But gradually, his mindset changed.

When he was still weak, using a chance to modify fate on anything other than a life-or-death situation was more or less a waste.

After all, he was growing steadily. Once he became truly powerful, he would have many more opportunities. Using a chance to alter fate at a critical moment then would clearly give him far more bang for his buck.

He could still get an External Soul Bone or something like that in the future.

Wouldn't an External Soul Bone dropped by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast be stronger than one dropped by a thousand- or ten-thousand-year Soul Beast?

Duan Fan didn't dwell on it any further. His gaze fell on the firearm parts blueprint on the table.

Over the past three years, the AWM had been successfully manufactured.

Duan Fan had test-fired it, and its power was terrifying—far beyond that of the 98K.

Besides the AWM, Duan Fan had also tried making other guns.

He now had several guns in his Black Ring, and his stockpile of bullets continued to grow.

The gun Duan Fan had been working on lately was the Barrett M82. Compared to it, the AWM was a precise scalpel, while the Barrett was a sledgehammer for knocking down walls.

The AWM fired .338 rounds with around 6,500 joules of kinetic energy. It was designed for extreme accuracy and lethal penetration at a thousand meters, making it an exceptionally powerful anti-personnel weapon.

The Barrett fired 12.7×99mm rounds with over 17,000 joules of kinetic energy—more than two and a half times the AWM's. It had originally been designed to punch through light armored vehicles and aircraft.

Against a Soul Sage, the AWM needed to hit an unprotected weak point like the eyes or throat.

The Barrett didn't. Its heavy bullet, paired with an Armor-Piercing Round, could directly challenge the protective defenses of a Martial Soul Avatar. Even if it only grazed the torso, its enormous kinetic energy could shatter the internal organs through the defenses.

"I still need to keep making guns. They may not be useful right now, but if I stock up on more, they'll definitely come in handy someday."

Duan Fan encouraged himself, then continued drawing the firearm parts.

One month later.

The Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament officially began, but Duan Fan didn't receive any notice about participating.

Clearly, the people in charge had no plans to let him compete. Otherwise, they would have told him long ago.

If Duan Fan competed, then with his monstrous fighting strength, the championship would undoubtedly go to the Spirit Hall.

As it turned out, even without Duan Fan, the Spirit Hall Academy team still displayed overwhelming dominance and swept its way to the tournament championship.

In the blink of an eye, another three years passed.

The sky was clear and the air crisp that day. Twelve-year-old Duan Fan arrived at the most exalted and sacred place in Spirit Hall: the Douluo Worship Hall.

Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been in seclusion for several years, emerged that day. He remembered his disciple and summoned him for a meeting.