After returning from the Soul Hunting Forest, only two months had passed—clearly not enough time for Han Feng to break through to the next level again. After registering at the Spirit Hall, Han Feng fully embraced a "laid-back lifestyle."
Hard work? Impossible. I'll never work hard in this lifetime. I'll just coast by on my annual two-level soul power welfare.
But what left Han Feng feeling seriously unsettled was the registration result at the Spirit Hall: his spirit power was only at level 15?!
This made no sense. In the past six years, his spirit power had increased by twelve levels automatically. His first spirit ring was from a 400-year-old soul beast—providing a substantial boost, at least one full level. On top of that, he'd also absorbed an external spirit bone. Though it was only a century-level bone, granting a full level of spirit power shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
By that math, 14 of his levels were practically handed to him for free.
And yet, despite all of that… he was only at level 15?
What did that mean?
It meant his innate spirit power—the level of power he was born with—was somewhere between half a level and one level!?
Twin spirits. Both of them seemingly powerful. And yet… such pitiful innate talent?!
Look at Tang San. Look at Bibi Dong. Compared to them, wasn't he just… defective?
Thank goodness he had a "golden finger"—the ability to automatically gain two levels of spirit power each year. Otherwise, Han Feng really might have just given up on life.
Before he knew it, two months had passed. Finally, Han Feng was "granted his wish" and enrolled in Stan City Junior Spirit Master Academy—as a self-funded student.
Reality quickly proved one thing: Han Feng was definitely not the main character of this story.
No cute girls fighting to be his roommate. Still, self-funded students got decent treatment—four students to a dorm, separated by gender. But Han Feng? He didn't even live on campus.
Zhang Lingling loved her son too much to let him stay in the dorms.
And as for school regulations...
The principal of Stan City's academy was merely a Spirit Ancestor at level 41—and a support type at that...
There was no wise, all-knowing master figure either. Most of the academy's teachers were just average. A few were decent, but no one exceptional.
In their eyes, someone like Han Dang—a Spirit Ancestor—was already an incredible figure. And they themselves? Most were just around the Spirit Grandmaster level. With people so short-sighted, Han Feng had no intention of treating them like true mentors.
Of course, even though Han Feng was a defensive-type battle spirit master, no one dared provoke him.
Are you kidding?
Never mind his parents—Han Feng himself was already at a whopping level 15. How could any kid even think of bullying him?
Some graduating sixth-years didn't even have level 13 yet!
If some upperclassman really tried to mess with him? Han Feng would just tattle!
He wasn't stupid. His martial spirit wasn't weak, but with only one soul ring and no direct offensive skills, he could handle a one-on-one. If it turned into a group fight, he'd be toast. No way he could reveal his external spirit bone.
He wasn't Tang San. He didn't know Xuantian techniques, poison skills, or hidden weapons. He was six years old—was he supposed to go all one-versus-a-hundred?
With his dad around, not even the teachers dared treat him unfairly.
Because of this, Han Feng became something of a little tyrant at the academy. Even the principal wasn't safe—Han Feng had no fear teasing him right to his face.
Of course, that didn't mean Han Feng was actually lazy or idle.
True, after realizing his soul power would automatically increase each year, his passion for cultivation waned significantly. After all, why suffer through training when doing nothing actually yielded better results?
He wasn't chasing any grand ambitions, either. Fame invites trouble. He didn't want to become a six-year-old Spirit Grandmaster or a seven-year-old Spirit Expert. That sort of freakish progress would only draw attention—and besides, he couldn't achieve it anyway.
Right now, he was level 15. In six years, even if he didn't train at all, he'd hit level 27. By then, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing would likely be around the same level. That would be enough to enter Shrek Academy.
Still, Han Feng didn't plan to do nothing all day.
After all, he came from the 21st century. His mind was full of wild ideas—things the natives of Douluo Continent couldn't even imagine.
All it took was a single day of "meditation" (really just daydreaming), and Han Feng figured out a unique training path.
First—don't waste the golden finger.
With two free levels of spirit power every year, he might not be keen on increasing the quantity, but he could work on improving the quality.
This was a breakthrough Han Feng came up with after lots of thought. If his soul power just rose unchecked, wasn't that a bit wasteful? He couldn't change the rate (two levels a year), but he could compress his soul power—make each level denser and more refined.
If he could make one level of his soul power as potent as two or three levels of a normal spirit master's, wouldn't that mean he was effectively gaining five or six levels every year?
No ordinary spirit master would think this way.
Anyone in their right mind would do everything possible to level up faster—not deliberately make it harder for themselves.
But Han Feng was different. His power wasn't earned—it was handed to him.
More importantly, compressing soul power was much easier than generating it from scratch. One was "something from nothing," and the other was just converting quantity to quality. The choice was obvious.
Second—diversify his techniques.
After Han Dang ordered him never to use the external spirit bone in public, Han Feng quickly realized just how limited his combat options were.
Aside from the Shield of Seraphim's first soul skill, he had nothing else.
That was unacceptable.
Look at Tang San at age six—pulling off all kinds of flashy techniques!
Spirit power and martial arts soared together. Soul skills and hidden weapons side-by-side. With just sub-thirty levels of spirit power, he made a Spirit King like Zhao Wuji look like a fool.
As a diehard chuunibyou, how could Han Feng not be envious?
For him, the easiest way to expand his arsenal was to create his own soul skills.
And it wasn't bragging—he really could. Unlike other spirit masters, he didn't have to spend all his time grinding for power. He had plenty of free time to tinker and experiment. With his modern-world imagination, inventing soul skills wasn't some wild fantasy.
Was he worried about being captured and dissected for research?
Please.
Tang San was thirty-two when he "invented" Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Catching Dragon, and Hidden Weapon Encyclopedia.
Han Feng was twelve. Coming up with a few basic techniques? Totally doable.
To that end, Han Feng pestered Han Dang almost every day after school, learning all kinds of shield techniques in hopes of inspiration.
Half a year passed. He learned a lot about using a shield but had zero progress on creating a soul skill.
Meanwhile, he spent so much time clinging to Han Dang that Zhang Lingling felt neglected. At night, she often took out her frustration on Han Dang.
Which left Han Dang deeply bitter—when Han Feng was clingy with his mom, Han Dang got jealous. Now Han Feng was closer to him, and Zhang Lingling was jealous!?
What kind of twisted logic was this?!
Eventually, Han Dang made a secret decision: one day, he would send this troublesome brat far, far away—the kind of place he could only visit once or twice a year.
At the same time, Han Dang cleverly passed the torch, urging Han Feng to spend more time with Zhang Lingling, and said, with a perfectly serious face:
"Your Shield of Seraphim isn't just a shield—it also has fire-type attributes. Go train with your mother. She'll help you develop the flame aspect of your martial spirit."
Han Feng readily agreed.
But what he didn't expect was… while training with Zhang Lingling to control fire, he actually stumbled upon the very spark of his first self-created soul skill!