After returning from the Soul Hunting Forest, just two short months passed—clearly not enough time for Han Feng to break through to the next level. After registering at the Spirit Hall, Han Feng settled into a lazy, carefree life.
—"Hard work? Impossible. I'll never work hard in this lifetime. I'll just rely on the annual welfare of gaining two levels of soul power to scrape by..."
However, what annoyed Han Feng was that when he registered at the Spirit Hall, his soul power was only recorded at Level 15!?
Over the past six years, Han Feng had passively gained 12 levels of soul power. His first soul ring had a 400-year age limit, which should have provided a generous amount of power—definitely worth at least one level. On top of that, he had an external soul bone. Although it was only a century-old bone, it still shouldn't be unreasonable to assume it added another level of soul power.
By that logic, 14 of his current 15 soul power levels came from "freebies"...
Even so, the fact that his total was only 15 meant something shocking:
His innate soul power was actually somewhere between half a level to just one level!?
He had twin martial spirits, both of which were decently strong—yet his innate power was so pitifully low!?
Look at Tang San, look at Bibi Dong—compared to them, was Han Feng just a defective product?
Luckily, Han Feng had a golden finger: his soul power would automatically increase by two levels every year. Without it, he might've already given up on himself.
Two months passed quickly, and at the end of that period, Han Feng finally fulfilled his "dream" of enrolling in Stan City Junior Soul Master Academy—as a self-funded student.
As it turned out, Han Feng really didn't have the destiny of a protagonist...
There were no cute girls asking to share a dorm with him. Still, self-funded students enjoyed decent treatment: four-person dorms, gender-separated. Yet Han Feng didn't even have to live in the dorms—his doting mother, Zhang Lingling, would never allow it.
And whether it violated school policy or not... well, the principal of Stan City Junior Soul Master Academy was only a Level 41 Soul Ancestor, and even that was from a support-type martial spirit...
There were no wise and experienced teachers either. Most of the academy's instructors were average at best. A few stood out, but none were particularly exceptional.
To them, Han Feng's father Han Dang, who was just a Soul Ancestor, was already a rare and admirable figure. As for the teachers themselves, most were around the Grand Soul Master level. Naturally, Han Feng couldn't bring himself to treat them with any great respect.
Of course, even though Han Feng was a defense-type battle soul master, no one dared to mess with him.
What a joke—setting aside his parents, Han Feng himself had a "mighty" Level 15 soul power. Who among the younger kids could even challenge him?
Many sixth-year graduates barely reached Level 12 or 13!
If any upperclassmen dared to bully Han Feng, he wouldn't hesitate to tell on them.
He wasn't stupid. His martial spirit was strong, but with only one soul ring and limited attack capabilities, he could hold his own one-on-one. But against a group? He had no chance—he couldn't reveal his external soul bone either.
He wasn't Tang San, didn't have Xuan Tian Gong, and certainly didn't possess secret weapons or poisons. At just six years old, how could he fight a hundred foes alone?
Anyway, with his dad around, even the teachers wouldn't dare to mistreat him!
As a result, Han Feng basically became a little tyrant in the academy. Even in front of the principal, he wasn't afraid to joke around a bit.
Still, it wasn't like Han Feng spent his days idly doing nothing.
Sure, once he learned that his soul power would increase on its own each year, his motivation to train dropped dramatically. After all, if lying down could bring better results than hard work, why bother?
Han Feng also had no grand ambitions. He believed fame invited trouble. He didn't aspire to become a Grand Soul Master at six or a Soul Elder at seven—besides, he didn't have the capability anyway.
With his current Level 15 power, in six years even without any training—he'd reach Level 27. That would put him on par with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing at that age. As long as he could get into Shrek Academy, that was enough.
Even so, Han Feng wasn't completely without purpose.
Coming from the 21st century, his mind was filled with wild ideas that the native Douluo Continent folks couldn't even imagine. After just one day of "meditation" (more like random brainstorming), Han Feng found his training path.
First, he couldn't let his golden finger go to waste!
While he wasn't eager to increase the quantity of his soul power, he could work on improving its quality!
This realization was a result of intense contemplation. Han Feng thought: letting his soul power increase without optimization felt wasteful. He couldn't turn 2 levels into 3 or 4, but he could compress his soul power—making each level denser and more potent!
If each level of his soul power could rival two or three levels of a normal soul master's, wouldn't that mean he effectively gained 5 or 6 levels every year!?
No sane soul master would ever think like that...
Most would go to great lengths just to gain a single level—who would deliberately make leveling up harder for themselves?
Only Han Feng was different... because his soul power didn't come from training!
More importantly, compressing soul power was much easier than increasing it. One was creating something from nothing; the other was refining what already existed. The choice was obvious.
Second, he needed to expand his combat techniques.
After Han Dang strictly forbade him from using his external soul bone in public, Han Feng realized just how limited his skillset was. Other than the first soul skill of the Blazing Heaven Shield, he had nothing noteworthy.
This was unacceptable. Look at Tang San—how many tricks did he have up his sleeve at just six years old?
Martial spirit paired with martial arts, soul skills paired with hidden weapons—he took down Zhao Wuji, a Level 76 powerhouse, with clever strategies and deception. As a hot-blooded teen, how could Han Feng not be inspired?
For Han Feng, the easiest way to gain new tricks was by creating his own soul skills.
It wasn't arrogance. Unlike other soul masters who needed to grind for levels, he had plenty of free time to research. With his modern mind and creativity, inventing new skills wasn't a fantasy!
And he wasn't worried about being caught and studied either.
After all, if Tang San could "create" Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, and a hundred types of hidden weapons at age 12, why couldn't he invent a few basic soul skills by then?
To that end, Han Feng spent nearly every day pestering Han Dang, learning all kinds of shield techniques, hoping to find inspiration.
After over half a year, while he did master many techniques, he still had no concrete ideas for creating his own skills. Worse, by constantly clinging to his father, he unintentionally "neglected" Zhang Lingling, who became quite unhappy—especially at night, where she often "punished" Han Dang...
This left Han Dang very frustrated—when Han Feng was close to Zhang Lingling, he got jealous; now that Han Feng clung to him, Zhang Lingling got jealous...
What kind of mess was this!?
Han Dang quietly made a decision: someday, he'd send this troublesome kid far, far away—so far he wouldn't come back for half a year at least!
He also cleverly sent Han Feng off to spend time with Zhang Lingling, telling him righteously:
"Your Blazing Heaven Shield isn't just a shield—it also has fire. Learn from your mom; it'll help you unlock the flame-based potential of your martial spirit!"
Han Feng had no objection. Unexpectedly, while learning fire control from Zhang Lingling, he finally grasped the first hint of how to create his own soul skills!