Douluo Continent: I am a biologist, and I have awakened a weapon spirit?

Chapter 19 Changing the Path of the Tiger and the Cat

"Is there something wrong with what I said?" Dai Mubai asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Actually, the reason I made the hypothesis that willpower can influence soul skills was inspired by your Star Luo Dai family." Chen Feng patted Dai Mubai's arm.

"Inspiration from my home? What does that mean?" Dai Mubai still didn't quite understand, but Chen Yun, who was standing next to him, had already roughly figured it out.

"He was probably referring to the fact that the first few soul skills of the White Tiger Martial Soul are fixed."

"That's right, Brother Dai, I want to ask you, have all the White Tiger Martial Soul owners in the past hunted the same Soul Beasts?" Chen Feng asked Dai Mubai.

"I don't think so. I haven't paid much attention to this. My target this time was designated by my father, Uncle Chen, do you know that?" Dai Mubai subconsciously looked at Chen Yun.

"No," Chen Yun said succinctly.

Chen Feng, standing to the side, was speechless. "You, Dai Mubai, are a prince? Do you need to ask others about such things? Don't you care about your ancestors at all?"

However, what Chen Feng didn't know was that because he had passed down the tradition of dueling among heirs, Dai Mubai harbored extreme resentment towards the Dai family's ancestors.

It's already a favor that he didn't start cursing at these ancestral tablets; to expect him to research what kind of spirit beasts these ancestors hunted? What a joke!

Chen Feng was unaware of Dai Mubai's inner thoughts about his filial piety, and he continued with his own topic:

"Beast Soul Masters who hunt different Soul Beasts obtain the same Soul Skills, while Weapon Soul Masters who hunt the same Soul Beasts obtain different Soul Skills. By controlling the variables involved, I finally came to the conjecture that the effects of Soul Skills are likely influenced by willpower."

"Because Soul Masters want Soul Skills with a certain effect, and Soul Rings condensed by Soul Beasts also have Soul Skills with that effect, the Soul Skill absorbed in the end will most likely have that effect. This is my conjecture about the law of Soul Ring absorption."

"This conjecture is currently only derived through logical reasoning and has not been verified by actual samples, so it can only be a conjecture for now. However, we may be able to rely on this conjecture to obtain the soul skill we want."

The master stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then said:

"Based on what I've seen in the past, this conjecture is most likely true."

Unlike Dai Mubai, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family, which enabled him to make his judgment.

"So, does that mean I can skip the soul beast that Father designated?" Dai Mubai suddenly asked.

"Why not give it a try?" Chen Feng urged.

"Never mind." Dai Mubai ultimately didn't dare.

The group chatted as they walked and soon entered the Sand Gold Valley.

This valley covers a vast area and is rich in various kinds of minerals, thus becoming an artificial gathering place for earth-attribute and metal-attribute soul beasts.

The people of Sand Gold City often hire Soul Masters to protect them as they enter the valley to mine, making a living from it.

The saying "those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water" is roughly true.

Upon entering the valley, Chen Feng noticed that the vegetation was sparse, allowing sunlight and moonlight to shine through unimpeded, which explained why Moon-Calling Foxes were found here.

Umbrella sunflowers aren't too hard to find, but sunflowers of the right age are a bit harder to find.

Fortunately, the team had a master, an expert in judging the age of soul beasts, and Chen Yun, a soul king, to protect them. After experiencing two soul beast attacks, the group finally found a sunflower with an umbrella-shaped canopy that was over four hundred years old.

"Go for it, Tang San." Chen Feng patted Tang San on the shoulder.

"Hmm." Tang San nodded, drew the dagger from his waist, and stepped forward.

The sunflower's flower head is large, and its umbrella shape protects its stems underneath. Tang San tried to make a few cuts on the flower head, but saw that the cuts healed quickly.

“The umbrella-shaped sunflower is very resilient. Your dagger won’t kill it. Use this.” The master reached to his waist and pulled out a wood-chopping axe.

"Thank you, Master." Tang San took the wood-chopping axe, activated the Mysterious Jade Hand, and chopped the flowerpot hard with the axe. Before the wound healed, he continued to chop down the flowerpot with the axe.

Ultimately, the Umbrella Sunflower transformed into a yellow spirit ring under the relentless axe strikes.

Tang San sat cross-legged next to the spirit ring and began to absorb his first spirit ring.

The crowd stood guard beside him, protecting him.

Watching Tang San absorb the spirit ring, Chen Feng suddenly spoke to Dai Mubai:

"Brother Dai, is your first soul skill the White Tiger Protective Barrier?"

"correct."

"You're planning to use the White Tiger's Blazing Light Wave for your second soul skill?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Dai Mubai asked, puzzled.

Chen Feng pondered for a few seconds and then said:

"Brother Dai, I have no right to comment on your choices, but if I said I could solve your problems, would you like to hear my advice?"

"What do you mean?" Dai Mubai asked, puzzled.

Everyone else looked over, including Zhu Zhuqing, who had been lost in thought.

Chen Feng glanced at Dai Mubai, then at Zhu Zhuqing, and said:

"Brother Dai, if I'm not mistaken, you two should have the potential to form a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, right?"

Dai Mubai remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"So, you're going to be forced to participate in the duel for the heir to the Star Luo Empire's royal family?" Chen Feng continued to ask.

"What are you trying to say?" Dai Mubai was already a little annoyed. Why did you have to bring up the thing you didn't want to talk about?

"I'd like to ask you, if I had a way to make it so that you two don't have to participate in this duel, would you be willing?" Chen Feng asked in a surprising way.

"What method?" For the first time, a noticeable change in expression appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face.

Dai Mubai's eyes widened as well. "You really have a way?"

Chen Yun, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Chen Feng, and then at the master.

Although the master didn't show much expression at this moment, judging from the surprised look in his eyes when he looked at Chen Feng, he was clearly unaware of the matter.

In other words, it was the child's own decision? Chen Yun's gaze returned to Chen Feng.

At this moment, Chen Feng was speaking eloquently:

"As we have said before, a Soul Master's will can influence the acquisition of Soul Skills. If I am not mistaken, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of your Dai and Zhu families should not be something you were born with, but rather something that your ancestors cultivated through generations of targeted training, eventually forming this connection."

"The Netherworld Cat is a dark attribute martial soul, so your ancestors gave the White Tiger a certain light attribute while weakening the Netherworld Cat's dark attribute, so that the two could be compatible. Thus, the martial soul fusion skill was formed, and the Zhu family became a staunch ally of the Dai family."

"So, Brother Dai, if you want to extricate yourself from this life-or-death duel, it's actually quite simple. Just sever the subtle martial soul connection between yourself and Zhu Zhuqing and pursue your own path."

Chapter 20: The Heavenly Hammer Warns!

"Sever the connection between martial souls? How is that even possible?" Dai Mubai was somewhat skeptical.

Moreover, the person who said this was a seven-year-old child. Although Chen Feng's level of knowledge along the way was quite good, it was still not enough to earn Dai Mubai's trust.

After all, acquiring a soul skill is a life-changing event, so how can one blindly trust others?

The original path of the White Tiger Martial Soul may not have been perfect, but at least it has been proven feasible by the ancestors of the Dai family. However, Chen Feng does not have any research results to show for himself. How can Dai Mubai trust him?

Zhu Zhuqing was also skeptical. Although she didn't want to participate in any succession battle, she couldn't just hand over her future to a seven-year-old child.

At the very least, Chen Feng needs to show her tangible results.

The two men didn't quite believe Chen Feng's explanation, but the master had indeed witnessed Chen Feng's abilities. After thinking for a while, he gradually understood what Chen Feng meant.

"Xiao Feng, do you mean to let Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing acquire soul skills of other attributes, thereby changing the attributes of their martial souls and severing their connection?"

“Yes and no.” Chen Feng nodded, then shook his head. “The only one who can truly make a change is Brother Dai, because Zhu Zhuqing’s martial soul is the Netherworld Cat, which can only be of the dark attribute. Not only can she not change to another path, but she also has to go deeper into the dark path.”

"Of course, because the connection between martial souls is very subtle. If either of them makes a change, this connection is very likely to be severed. At that time, they will lose the possibility of forming a martial soul fusion skill, and at the same time lose the qualification to compete for the succession of the Star Luo Empire."

He said to Dai and Zhu:

"I know you have doubts about what I'm saying, which is normal. But what I want to tell you is that Xiao San's first soul skill was the one I recommended him to choose, and his martial soul is Blue Silver Grass. You can see what happens to Xiao San after he gets his first soul ring and then decide whether or not to listen to my advice."

After saying that, he looked towards Tang San and waited quietly.

The reason why Chen Feng wanted to make changes to Hu Mao and his companion, freeing them from the predicament of a life-or-death duel, was only part of the reason.

The main reason is that Chen Feng sensed that Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Cat Martial Soul corresponds to the Kun trigram in the Tai Chi Bagua Sword.

The Kun hexagram belongs to the pure Yin hexagram, and the most representative Yin image is "darkness," so it makes sense that the ghostly cat belongs to the Kun hexagram.

However, like Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, although corresponding to the Kun trigram, is not pure enough.

Therefore, Chen Feng wanted to change Zhu Zhuqing's path, making her darkness more pure, rather than the incongruous and outdated version as depicted in the original work.

"Blue Silver Grass? You mean Tang San's martial soul is Blue Silver Grass? Blue Silver Grass can actually be cultivated?" After hearing Chen Feng's words, Dai Mubai and the other two were very surprised, and Chen Yun even asked directly.

"The world is vast and full of wonders," Chen Feng said calmly.

"Was his first spirit ring really recommended by you?" Zhu Zhuqing asked quietly as she approached Chen Feng.

“That’s right. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him after Xiao San wakes up,” Chen Feng nodded and said.

"Then I'll wait and see. If Tang San's first soul skill is truly excellent, then I'll follow your instructions regarding my soul skill, as long as you can resolve my current predicament," Zhu Zhuqing said softly with a hint of anticipation.

“Of course.” Chen Feng smiled slightly. “If it’s just you who makes the change, I’m 50% sure I can solve your problem, because Brother Dai might be able to enhance the light attribute of his martial soul to maintain the pairing with you. But if Brother Dai also makes the change, then I’m 100% sure.”

Dai Mubai frowned and said unhappily, "I won't do that!"

How could he possibly still be so eager to get close to Zhu Zhuqing after she made changes?

Chen Feng shook his head, and with just one sentence, Dai Mubai's displeasure turned into helplessness:

“Brother Dai, as a prince of the Star Luo Empire, there are some things that are beyond your control. Do you truly wish to compete with your elder brother for the throne?”

"Of course not! Who cares about this lousy throne? I just want freedom." Dai Mubai said indignantly.

"But you have no choice but to fight for it, because there is a possibility of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill between you and Zhu Zhuqing. This is both a blessing from heaven and a constraint on you."

Chen Feng sighed softly, his tone laced with seductive allure, and said:

“You are like birds in a cage or fish in a net. Only by actively giving up this gift and its constraints can you possibly gain true freedom.”

"At that time, you will be like birds soaring into the sky and fish swimming in the sea, no longer bound by any constraints!"

"Never again will I be bound by anything..." Zhu Zhuqing murmured these words softly, her resolve gradually hardening.

“Birds soar to the blue sky, fish swim into the sea…” Dai Mubai clenched his fists, a struggle appearing in his eyes.

“That’s right, that will be true freedom.” Chen Feng’s voice, like a devil’s whisper, pierced Dai Mubai’s ears.

“Great freedom…” Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, about to make a decision, when he suddenly realized something.

"No, you haven't even proven your abilities yet. At least... at least we should see the effect of Tang San's first soul skill before we talk!"

Dai Mubai had made up his mind that as long as Tang San's first soul skill wasn't too weak, he would take the gamble as Chen Feng had suggested!

Chen Yun watched everything unfold quietly, saying nothing.

His family had served the Dai family for generations, and he liked both Davis and Dai Mubai very much, and did not want the two children to have a life-or-death duel.

But the power of tradition is strong, and Chen Yun was powerless to change that in the past. Now that there is a glimmer of hope, Chen Yun is naturally happy to see it succeed.

Shortly after Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing made their decision, Tang San woke up after absorbing the spirit ring.

"Little San, how are you feeling? What's the effect of your first soul skill?" Chen Feng asked, a little nervously.

Although he felt that his theory was most likely correct, he was not 100% certain.

Tang San's first soul skill is an experimental subject to verify his theory. If it succeeds, everything will be fine.

However, if the effect is not good, Chen Feng will not only lose hope of repairing his martial soul, but may also be warned by Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.

Upon hearing Chen Feng's question, Tang San sighed heavily, his expression gradually becoming somber.

"Is...is something wrong?" Chen Feng's voice trembled slightly.

In the distance, Tang Hao's expression gradually darkened.

Chapter 21 Twisted Tree Spirit - Tang San

"Sigh..." Tang San sighed again.

"Stop sighing! Tell me quickly, what's wrong with your first soul skill?" Chen Feng was genuinely panicked at this point.

He felt as if he had been locked onto by Tang Hao and could be hit on the head by the Haotian Hammer at any moment.

"The effect of my first soul skill... sigh, don't be scared when I tell you." Tang San sighed again.

"You, you say it." Chen Feng swallowed hard, and everyone around him, including Tang Hao in the distance, listened attentively.