Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

"Snap!"

The last part was perfectly assembled onto the shield. Chen Cheng picked it up and examined it with great satisfaction.

The entire shield is primarily made of a rare metal with relatively low density, and its main defensive capability relies on a designed "force-dissipating structure." The shield's shape is modeled after Captain America's, being circular in shape and composed of three interlocking parts, each with a force-dissipating structure between it and the next. When the shield is subjected to force, the force is dissipated layer by layer through these three layers, ultimately reducing the force received to about half of the initial amount. This is actually quite impressive. While it might seem somewhat flawed for a shield, especially one specifically designed and made of rare metals, to not offer superior defensive capabilities, it is not a soul tool, has no activation time, is readily available, suitable for most situations, and its weight is not excessive, making it easy to carry. From these aspects, it is excellent.

"Most importantly, this is basically a replica of Captain America's shield that I made myself! Who wouldn't want to go to great lengths to create a set of merchandise that's both practical and aesthetically pleasing?"

He mounted the shield on a target for testing its power, then found two soul-guided guns for testing defense, fired them in turn, and recorded the data. Once everything was complete, Chen Cheng picked up the shield and examined it carefully for a while, becoming even more satisfied. The tests proved that the shield's defensive data was roughly in line with the calculations during the design phase: it could easily withstand attacks from non-powerful attack-type soul masters below the third ring, while the effectiveness against powerful attack-type soul masters depended on the situation. It should also be able to withstand attacks from non-powerful attack-type soul masters above the third ring, but this might affect its subsequent use. As for attacks from third-ring powerful attack-type soul masters, he had to be prepared to lose it.

Picking up the shield, he carefully walked behind Huo Yuhao. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was at the experimental table trying to inscribe a soul guide core, he didn't disturb him.

Huo Yuhao's movements were very immature, but his strength lay in their cleanliness. There were no superfluous or meaningless operations. Every cut seemed to have been rehearsed countless times, with a precise grasp of the metal's structure, ensuring the rationality of the metal and its structure as much as possible.

"Using Mental Detection in the Soul Guidance System is way too overpowered! This thing is practically cheating! When I first trained the Purple Gold Demon Child, I used it to observe metal and it felt pretty awesome. Now it seems there are even more experts! With this divine skill, Mental Detection, it's practically impossible to make a mistake, unless your soul power is insufficient. Otherwise, the success rate should be as high as 100%! Holy crap, Zhou Weiqing next door has an ability similar to the Time Stone to do this, while Huo Yuhao is naturally suited for this. Sigh, this makes me want to try my luck with an Arctic Ice Silkworm, but unfortunately, most of the soul skills I can get are similar to simulation."

Time ticked by, sweat beading on Huo Yuhao's face. Aside from a slight head shake, he dared not make the slightest movement, lest the slightest movement disrupt the trajectory of his strike. Gradually, his hands began to tremble, a result of muscle soreness from maintaining the same posture for so long. His movements grew increasingly slow, his eyelids becoming heavy and he could barely lift them; his soul power and mental strength were both failing.

"He's only been learning for less than a month, and to have achieved this level is already quite impressive. Ultimately, it's because his soul power is somewhat insufficient. Although mental detection can improve the accuracy during crafting, it's still incredibly difficult for a one-ring soul master to continuously activate their soul skill and control the cutting with soul power. Furthermore, mental detection consumes mental energy, essentially draining both his soul power and mental energy. This kid needs more encouragement and some confidence..."

Just as Chen Cheng was thinking about how to comfort Huo Yuhao after his defeat, Huo Yuhao suddenly bit his tongue, his spirits lifted, and his hand movements suddenly quickened, but the accuracy and position of his knife remained perfect.

"It's done!" Cheers echoed in the room. Chen Cheng jumped and danced around the room. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had advanced to the fifth level of Soul Master!

"Hey Chen Cheng, I just finished making a very basic soul guide core, why are you so excited?" Huo Yuhao covered his face. He felt that Chen Cheng's reliability was like a quantum superposition state, completely depending on whether he wanted to be silly or not. However, Chen Cheng's carefree behavior warmed Huo Yuhao's heart. From childhood to adulthood, he had rarely received recognition and encouragement from others.

"How about that? I wasn't wrong, was I? I told you, you're a genius at being a Soul Guidance Master. How could I be wrong? If you take this core and go around Shrek Academy right now, you'll be the first person in Shrek's history to independently create a Level 1 Soul Guidance Core! But that's partly because freshmen haven't been assigned to any departments yet. But that also shows your talent better. After all, being able to see your own path and make choices is a skill in itself."

Chen Cheng patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and praised him enthusiastically. Seeing Huo Yuhao's face getting redder and redder, Chen Cheng was afraid that he would run away out of embarrassment if he listened any longer, so he quickly changed the subject to the completed shield. After receiving it, Huo Yuhao curiously handled it back and forth, trying to figure out the structure of the shield.

"Now that's more like a child! If I had a shield like that at his age, I could play with it all day! Actually, all that thinking about the shield's defensive strength was completely unnecessary. I suddenly remembered that Tianmeng Ice Silkworm is going to get him a Life Reflection Shield later. Although it can only be used three times a day, its effect is just too powerful! It can absorb all physical and mental attacks. As long as the damage isn't caused by external objects like soul tools, it can reflect it in full. The remaining damage is absorbed by Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's own life force. The key is, the energy it consumes can be replenished by Tianmeng eating some grilled fish. And it can even trigger a life-steal effect on damage dealt to the opponent. It's overpowered, really overpowered!"

Chen Cheng explained the use of the shield to Huo Yuhao, and then let him figure it out on his own. It was getting late, so the two of them prepared to go back.

Two months passed uneventfully, and just like in the original story, Huo Yuhao's efforts astounded everyone. Since enrolling, he hadn't spent a single night sleeping. Every day, after practicing the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique in the Soul Guidance Area, even if he couldn't lift a single finger, he would force himself to sit cross-legged and enter a meditative state. Often, this made Wang Dong, who was sound asleep nearby, feel embarrassed, and he eventually joined in the meditation himself. In the early morning, as the sun rose, he would wake Wang Dong to cultivate the Purple Demon Eye together. Then he would go out to find Chen Cheng, call Xiao Xiao, and the four of them would train together. After breakfast, they would have a full day of classes, squeeze in time to go to the library, and in the evening, he would go to find Chen Cheng again to learn about soul tools and practice the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique.

Therefore, Chen Cheng sincerely believes that this is simply a talking steel plate, a nuclear-powered donkey!

However, fate doesn't let down those who are willing to put in the effort. Huo Yuhao now looks completely different from before he enrolled. When he first enrolled, even with the help of Chen Cheng's Profound Water Pill and the nourishment of his soul power, his soul power had increased to level 12. However, his aptitude and level were still arguably the worst and lowest in the entire academy. Wang Dong's disdain for him at the beginning of the semester was entirely justified. Any genius young master from any family, upon arriving at the so-called number one soul master academy in the world and discovering that his roommate was a weakling who got in through connections, would probably react in a way that would make Wang Dong seem like a saint.

  

But what happened after these two months? All the teachers knew about Huo Yuhao. In every class, he would stare intently at the teacher with his beautiful eyes, always listening attentively. After class, he would still go to the teacher from time to time to discuss the knowledge points he had not understood in the library.

Most people consider themselves the chosen ones, and how many of those who get into Shrek Academy are mediocre? After class, they mostly either go out to have fun or go back to their dorms to rest. In contrast, Huo Yuhao is always either in the library or in the Soul Guidance Area if you can't find him.

Zhou Yi, that old woman, was often moved by Huo Yuhao's dedication. More than once, she saw him dragging his weary body back to the dormitory late at night after practicing the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique. Before the freshman assessment, each class had a rigorous physical training plan. In the early morning, Huo Yuhao had already completed a round of intense physical training, following the entire schedule. Then, he would do another round during freshman classes, and in the evening, he would swing two heavy hammers again, exhausting himself completely! His only rest time during physical training was when he was studying theory! Huo Yuhao's presence even accelerated the expulsion of students from Zhou Yi's class. Anyone who dared to object was met with the excuse, "Look at how good Huo Yuhao is in the next class!" A single sentence left everyone speechless. Everyone knew his efforts were unparalleled.

"Early bird catches the worm," and "Diligence can make up for lack of talent." This attitude and spirit not only motivated Chen Cheng and Huo Yuhao's small group but also gradually changed the class atmosphere. Compared to other classes, especially Zhou Yi's class which only had a third of its original members, their class appeared more united and enterprising. The class leader had suggested Huo Yuhao become class monitor more than once, but he always declined, citing his lack of time. However, in reality, the students' trust in him was far more genuine than that of Wang Dong, the nominal class monitor. Even the lazy Wang Dong, to save face, worked harder than before.

Regarding soul tools, Chen Cheng bluntly declared, "Huo Yuhao is the most outrageous soul tool genius in history!" In just three months, through evening study of soul tool systems, Chen Cheng was certain that Huo Yuhao could now pass all the rigorous Level 1 Soul Tool Master tests. Many times, knowledge points that Chen Cheng had forgotten could be answered by Huo Yuhao without hesitation. Furthermore, since both were from the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao was the only one in the outer academy who could understand Chen Cheng's wildly imaginative ideas. Because of this, Chen Cheng was even more certain that when Huo Yuhao participated in the soul tool system tests after the freshman assessment, he would completely astonish these conservative old fogies of soul tools! He believed that from then on, these people would think twice before dismissing Chen Cheng's ideas—was it really impossible?

Physically, Huo Yuhao showed no trace of his former thinness. Thanks to the intense training he had undergone recently, coupled with Chen Cheng's occasional, cost-insensitive medicinal baths, Huo Yuhao had even grown taller than Wang Dong. His physique was well-proportioned, and while his muscles under his clothes weren't particularly prominent, they were powerful.

In terms of cultivation, besides cultivating the Purple Demon Eye every day, Tianmeng was also able to gradually release a little bit of Huo Yuhao's spiritual essence for him to absorb and cultivate due to the improvement of Huo Yuhao's physique. His spiritual power improvement was simply exaggerated! The capacity of his spiritual sea was already three times that after Tianmeng first expanded it!

Correspondingly, the improvement in soul power is not to be underestimated. When Chen Cheng first helped Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao's soul power had only reached level 12, but now it has directly reached level 18! Although he had the help of the Profound Water Pill and the Soul Ascension Pill, it's important to remember that Huo Yuhao's initial aptitude was definitely poor; even circulating his soul power was extremely difficult! His former assistant, Bei Bei, without the help of the Profound Water Pill, tried to circulate the Profound Heaven Technique for Huo Yuhao, which not only triggered some damage to his meridians but also resulted in the expulsion of a large amount of stagnant blood. His meridians were also pitifully fragile and small. Even though Chen Cheng used the Profound Water Pill and soul power to nourish him upon their first meeting, his aptitude was still far below the level of a normal person! But after this period of nourishment with the Profound Water Pill, the Profound Heaven Technique, and various other methods, Huo Yuhao was finally able to cultivate with less burden. With the help of the Soul Ascension Pill, his soul power finally caught up with the average level of his class. It's important to note that at this time, he didn't have the help of Hao Dong's power as a soul power accelerator; all his progress in soul power was achieved through his own step-by-step accumulation!

"The freshman assessment that Brother Chen Cheng mentioned is finally coming!"