Picking Up Fragments on Douluo Continent: Chapter 17

Hard work was simply not worth mentioning in the face of talent!

This was the Douluo Continent!

Lu Feng looked at the pool before him, and a flash of wild joy crossed his eyes.

"Even with the boost from the Mysterious Heaven Skill, my true Innate Soul Power isn't high—at most, it's around Level Three."

"In the early stages, the gap between Tang San, Xiao Wu, and me isn't large. But after reaching Soul Elder, the difference in talent will gradually show."

"Originally, I planned to synthesize the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and then go to Heaven Dou City to try contacting Dugu Bo. Now, it seems I can put that off for a while."

"A Title Douluo is no pushover, much less when I don't have a Title Douluo father."

With that thought, Lu Feng stopped hesitating. He stripped off his clothes, wrapped his body in Soul Power, and jumped straight into the pool.

Let me address two setting questions at once:

First, the protagonist won't have too many martial souls. I'll keep the number under control. Just like in games, early-game equipment is only transitional.

Second, after absorbing one soul ring, all martial souls can gain the corresponding soul skill, except Cannon Five. If each martial soul had to absorb soul rings separately, the protagonist would be stuffed to death. The Five Elements mutual generation theory mentioned earlier was written so that the soul rings he absorbs can suit most of his martial souls.

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Cultivation

The pool was not very deep, only around two or three meters. Lu Feng leaned against its edge, his entire body submerged in the spirit liquid.

His teeth chattered nonstop. It felt as though he had entered an ice cave, and the freezing cold was unbearable.

Even with Soul Power protecting him, a layer of white frost rapidly covered his face.

Enduring the bone-piercing chill, Lu Feng began circulating his Soul Power. The Mysterious Heaven Skill revolved rapidly within him as the energy contained in the Thousand Year Cold Ice Spirit Liquid was slowly drawn into his body and circulated along his meridians.

Lu Feng could clearly feel a powerful energy tempering his body. First came his meridians, then his bones, and finally, it penetrated deep into his marrow.

Lu Feng had a feeling that if he absorbed all the energy in the spirit liquid, his talent would absolutely be no worse than Tang San's and Xiao Wu's.

As time passed, Lu Feng felt the Soul Power within his body flowing more and more smoothly.

A current of cold air spun around his body, faster and faster. Ice began forming on the ground and quickly spread outward until a layer of white frost covered the entire cave.

Crack!

The sound of ice breaking rang out as Lu Feng leaped from the pool, stirring up a violent whirlwind. Powerful Soul Power fluctuations spread outward, and the ice on the water's surface shattered like a mirror, producing a string of cracking sounds.

Level Fourteen!

Lu Feng lowered his head and looked at his body. There was no great change in his height or build, but his skin had become as white as jade, smooth and delicate. If young girls saw it, they would probably go crazy over it.

As he circulated his Soul Power, he found his meridians completely unobstructed. His meditation speed was at least one-third faster than before.

After cultivating for less than an hour, Lu Feng had not only broken through in Soul Power rank, but his physical condition had also risen to a new level.

However, this sort of transformation only occurred during the first tempering. From here on, Lu Feng would need to spend a great deal of time absorbing the remaining energy in the spirit liquid.

"Five, hang in there!"

"Think about your good brother Luo Sanpao. Do you want to be like him and spend your whole life as a pig?"

By the pool, Lu Feng munched on compressed biscuits while cheering Cannon Five on.

In the pool, Cannon Five had long since frozen into an ice sculpture. It was unknown whether it could even hear Lu Feng's words.

After one session of body tempering, Lu Feng had been so bored that he summoned Cannon Five. Although it could not speak, having a living creature around at least eased the oppressive atmosphere.

Later, an idea suddenly struck Lu Feng.

Since the damage Cannon Five suffered would be reflected onto him, could he use Cannon Five to cultivate instead?

After testing it, the results were delightful.

Around ninety percent of Cannon Five's body-tempering results were directly fed back to Lu Feng, while the remaining ten percent was absorbed by Cannon Five itself to strengthen the quality of its martial soul.

Even capitalists would weep at this!

Trapped in the cave, Lu Feng had no idea exactly how much time had passed outside. However, his compressed biscuits were nearly gone.

The biscuits he had prepared had originally been enough for three months.

Lu Feng dipped a finger into the pool. He could no longer feel that bone-piercing cold, and the mist over the water had completely vanished.

"Looks like it's time for me to leave too."

On this trip, he had not only obtained his first soul ring, but had also fortuitously gained Thousand Year spirit liquid to temper his body. His strength had risen tremendously, and his natural aptitude had undergone a qualitative leap!

Lu Feng dared to say that his current aptitude was in no way inferior to Tang San's and Xiao Wu's, perhaps even slightly better.

In other words, as long as he cultivated steadily, becoming a Title Douluo was a certainty.

Crack!

Cannon Five shook the ice off its body, then jumped ashore and vigorously flung the droplets from its fur.

Caught off guard, Lu Feng was splashed all over, and his shirt was completely soaked.

"Roro!"

Cannon Five let out a triumphant laugh, then stretched out its little stubby legs and slapped another splash of water at Lu Feng.

"Five, you dare sneak-attack me? Die!"

Lu Feng directly picked up a stone and smashed it into the pool, sending up a huge splash. Cannon Five had nowhere to dodge and was struck full in the face, instantly becoming a drowned dog.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing that, Lu Feng clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.

"Roro!" Cannon Five angrily ran up to Lu Feng, bit down on his pant leg, and began tugging at it.

After being tempered by the spirit liquid, not only had Lu Feng's aptitude undergone a qualitative change, Cannon Five's transformation was also earth-shaking.

First, its body had slimmed down by two whole sizes, becoming about the size of a small dog. Then, its fur had turned entirely yellow. The only things unchanged were its large head and four short little legs.

Cannon Five now looked like an adorably foolish little puppy, somewhat resembling the manga version of Luo Sanpao.

Its greatest change, of course, was its aptitude.

After absorbing the spirit liquid, Cannon Five's aptitude had evolved to purple, placing it on the same level as Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul.

"Five, let's go. It's time to head home!"

Nuoding City, Spirit Hall.

"Yuntao, do you have time after work to browse the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce with me?" A curvaceous woman smiled at Su Yuntao.

Su Yuntao's heart immediately leaped with joy. He had asked Sisi out several times before, only to be rejected each time. He had not expected her to invite him first today.

However, his mood quickly sank. He waved his hand and said, "Sisi, I'm not in a good mood today. You go by yourself."

"By myself?" Sisi's expression immediately turned cold.

If Su Yuntao did not go, would she not have to pay for that necklace she had her eye on herself?

Yet Sisi's smile instantly returned. She took hold of Su Yuntao's sleeve and asked with concern, "What's wrong, Yuntao? Are you still worried about that child?"

"Yeah." Su Yuntao nodded.

Today, Tang San and Xiao Wu had suddenly come to Spirit Hall to ask about Lu Feng's soul hunting.

Su Yuntao had found it strange at the time. In his memory, had Lu Feng not gone to ask an academy teacher for help?

After the three of them exchanged information, they discovered that Lu Feng had neither sought help from an academy teacher nor asked Spirit Hall for assistance. He might have hired another soul hunting team, or perhaps even gone into the forest alone.

A seven-year-old child, hunting soul beasts alone?

Su Yuntao did not dare imagine how Lu Feng could possibly walk out of the forest alive.

What was more, three months had already passed.

"I'm such an idiot! A complete idiot!"

Su Yuntao said self-reproachfully, "I never should have given him that map. Sisi, he has Innate Level Five Soul Power!"

"Don't be sad, Yuntao. Come on, I'll go for a walk with you."

With that, Sisi linked arms with Su Yuntao and headed outside.

Nuoding Academy.

Xiao Wu sat listlessly by the window, staring blankly at the distant sunset.

"Little San, Lu Feng should be all right, shouldn't he?"

Tang San fell silent at her words.

He recalled the time he had hunted the Mandala Snake. He never wanted to experience that life-or-death feeling again for the rest of his life.

Even if he did it again, Tang San did not have absolute confidence that he could kill it.

And Lu Feng?

Although Lu Feng had always held the upper hand when sparring with him, those were soul beasts!

"Xiao Wu, everyone has their fate. It is all decided by heaven. Lu Feng and I grew up together, and I'm deeply saddened by his disappearance too."

"Hmph, Sister Xiao Wu is very angry now! Little San, take this!"

A Righteous Aura!

"Stop! Get out of the vehicle for inspection!"

At Nuoding City's gate, a soldier stopped Lu Feng.

"Open it and let's see what's inside!"

As he spoke, the soldier untied the rope binding the bundle. In an instant, a mass of multicolored light reflected under the sunlight.

"Damn! My eyes!"

Caught off guard, the soldier felt as if he had stared directly at the sun. The glare forced him to shut his eyes at once.

"Where did you get these ores?" The soldier tied up the sack and sternly questioned him.

He looked Lu Feng up and down, his small eyes darting from side to side as though plotting something.

Lu Feng looked rather disheveled at the moment. After staying in the cave for three straight months, his clothes were badly damaged and his hair was a mess.

"Hmph!" Lu Feng snorted.

Lu Feng had seen every one of the soldier's little movements and naturally knew what he was after.

A faint surge of Soul Power rose, and a bright soul ring slowly emerged beneath Lu Feng's feet.

"Is there a problem?" Lu Feng asked calmly.

"L-Lord Soul Master!"

The soldier's body trembled involuntarily as he hurriedly explained, "N-no, nothing. The trading market is in the east of the city. Does Lord Soul Master need someone to guide you?"

"No need. Stand your post properly."

With that, Lu Feng ignored the uneasy soldier, slung the bundle over his back, and entered the city.

Watching Lu Feng's departing figure, the soldier let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Damn it, I thought he was an easy target. Didn't expect to run into someone tough."

Nuoding City's Spirit Hall was a massive domed building.

The entire structure was brown, over a hundred meters wide at the front and fifty to sixty meters tall. A longsword was carved above the main entrance.

Lu Feng encountered no obstruction upon arriving. After showing his soul hunting warrant, the two guards courteously let him pass.

There were not many people in the hall at this time, only a few servants cleaning.

Just as Lu Feng was about to find someone to ask, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.

No, it should have been two.

"Sisi, isn't it enough that I admit I was wrong?"

Su Yuntao chased after his female companion, pleading desperately all the way down from the second-floor stairs.