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

Bai Chenxiang obediently did as she was told. Two seconds later, Chen Feng called for a stop and handed her the apple in his left hand, saying:

"Take a bite."

Although Bai Chenxiang didn't understand, she still took a small bite of the apple.

The big white dumpling looked at Bai Chenxiang, then at the bitten apple, and blinked its big eyes.

Chen Feng observed its reaction, then repeated the same trick, and Bai Chenxiang obediently followed the command.

He wasn't sure if his method would work, because theoretically, conditioned reflexes require a nervous system as a hardware foundation, and the big white ball of dough clearly didn't meet the requirements.

But soul beasts are not ordinary creatures, so who knows?

With this in mind, Chen Feng and Bai Chenxiang repeated the exercise several times in unison, then Chen Feng held the apple in his right hand a short distance in front of Xiao Bai and said to it:

"Input soul power."

Little White instinctively hopped forward, wanting to eat the apple, but Chen Feng pulled his right hand back, pointed to the soul guidance frame, and said in a more serious tone:

"Input soul power!"

Little White looked at the metal frame in front of it, and seemed to finally understand something. It hopped lightly and landed on the frame, then closed its big eyes.

The three foundation-building items in the frame immediately reacted, emitting a white light. This white light started from the three foundation-building items and began to spread across the soul guide frame, soon connecting with each other to form a complete ring.

But soon, the white ring began to dissipate.

After a moment's thought, Chen Feng had Tang San try to inject his life force into the metal frame as well, and then prepared to have Bai Yang try it again.

But before Chen Feng could speak to Bai Yang, just as Tang San injected his life force into the framework, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The white ring that was dissipating reformed and, over time, its color deepened rapidly, turning yellow in the blink of an eye.

Chen Feng, seeing the yellow ring still deepening in color, suddenly realized what was happening. He pulled Bai Chenxiang back a few steps, away from the soul-guiding frame, and then reminded the somewhat dazed Bai Yang:

"Quickly absorb the spirit ring!"

Bai Yang came to his senses, swallowed hard, and tried to use his soul power to activate the yellow ring around him.

He succeeded. As he activated it, the yellow ring gradually shrank, turning into a beam of light that entered Bai Yang's body.

The moment the yellow ring disappeared, the Wind Slime Little White seemed to be struck by some invisible force, bounced off the Soul Guidance Frame, and landed not far outside the Frame.

It opened its eyes, its big, innocent eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment, clearly not understanding what had just happened.

But this doubt and confusion came and went quickly, because Chen Feng handed it a plump, red apple.

"Thank you, little one. History will remember you, no, yours."

Just as Xiaobai began to enjoy the delicious and sweet apple, the others had already gathered around Chenfeng. Most of them were filled with excitement and agitation, except for Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, who looked shocked.

"Really, it really worked?" Huo Wushuang was dumbfounded.

"This is unbelievable, am I dreaming?" Huo Wu looked at the now-calm metal frame, her voice slightly unsteady. She subconsciously pinched her thigh. "It doesn't hurt."

Huo Wushuang's voice was full of resentment, "Sister, is it possible that you pinched my thigh?"

Huo Wu coughed awkwardly, then walked forward as if nothing had happened and said to Chen Feng:

"Mr. Chenfeng, congratulations, your experiment was a success."

"Without Miss Huowu's help, this experiment would have been impossible," Chen Feng said with a smile.

"Just call me Fire Dance. What are your plans for the future?" Fire Dance asked.

"After conducting two more experiments to confirm that this is not a coincidence, we can then consider how to apply this technology," Chen Feng replied without hesitation.

"A very cautious approach. I'm really looking forward to the final result," Huo Wu praised.

Gu Yueling glanced at Bai Yang, who was absorbing a soul ring, and said:

"Previously, obtaining the Foundation Establishment Ring required hunting specific types of soul beasts, but that problem should be solved in the future."

Chen Feng nodded. "Indeed, the earlier you acquire the Foundation Establishment Ring, the better. A low age limit makes it difficult to expand the ring. Only after having artificial Foundation Establishment Ring technology can this path be considered basically smooth."

"I was just about to ask, what exactly is Tuohuan?" Huowu asked curiously.

"This is a special technique for obtaining spirit rings, different from the traditional method of hunting spirit beasts to obtain them," Chen Feng explained.

"Such technology actually exists?" Huo Wu's eyes widened, and she quickly seemed to remember something before asking:

"How many of you have a ten-thousand-year-old fourth spirit ring, and you did it using this technique?"

“That’s right,” Chen Feng said with a smile.

"Can you teach me this technique?" Huo Wu asked eagerly.

Chen Feng nodded slightly. "Of course I can teach you, but you need to accept our philosophy. Otherwise, even if I give you the technology, you won't be able to use it."

"What are your philosophies?" Huo Wu asked.

"This is not something that can be explained in a sentence or two," Chen Feng said with a smile.

......

In the days that followed, Chen Feng explained his own ideology to Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang in detail, successfully getting them on board.

He then conducted several more experiments with artificial foundation rings and drew some conclusions.

First, there's the issue of age. The artificial Foundation Building Ring requires the assistance of a Soul Beast, and its age is inevitably shorter than that of the assisting Soul Beast.

But this is not a big problem, because at this stage, the soul masters who need the Foundation Establishment Ring are basically the new generation of junior soul masters.

After all, the Foundation Building Technique has been in effect for six years, and most Soul Masters who need the Foundation Building Ring have already obtained it.

In other words, the age of the auxiliary soul beast for the artificial Foundation Establishment Ring does not need to be too high; a soul beast with seven or eight hundred years of cultivation is more than enough.

Although soul beasts of this age are not very intelligent, with proper training, they can still easily perform simple tasks such as inputting soul power.

Just like when Chen Feng trained the Wind Slime, using food as bait to tame a group of docile soul beasts as foundation-building auxiliary soul beasts is a promising endeavor.

Then there's the issue of attributes. The attributes of the foundation-building object within the Soul Guidance Framework must be the same as the attributes of the Soul Beast into which Soul Power is input, or more accurately, the same as the attributes of the Soul Power input into it.

For example, the Wind-attribute Foundation Ring can only be created by Wind Slimes; if it's a Dark Soul Cat, nothing will happen.

This means that to create a Foundation Establishment Ring with a certain attribute, you need a Soul Beast of the same attribute to assist you.

Unless there is a soul tool like the Nine-Transformation Soul Instrument that can change the attributes of soul power.

But in this day and age, it's just a dream.

In addition, regarding the attribute issue, there is another shortcoming of artificial Foundation Building Rings that cannot be solved for the time being, namely, it is impossible to create Foundation Building Rings of all attributes, because not all attributes can find corresponding Foundation Building materials.

For example, the poison attribute.

This question was raised by Meng Yiran. She pointed out that there were no poison-attribute Foundation Establishment items on the market, and that she enhanced the toxicity of her martial soul by directly absorbing poison.

Similarly, for rare attributes such as killing, fate, and evil, no corresponding foundation-building materials can be found.

In addition, there is the attribute of life. Although Chen Feng knew of the existence of the Gold of Life, it was impossible to find in this era, so it could be considered as if it did not exist.

Therefore, the technology of artificial foundation rings has limitations.

Even so, it can still meet the needs of most Soul Masters and can become an important piece of the new order of Dust Edge.

However, a favorable wind is needed for its proper application.

Just then, this favorable wind arrived soon.

"An invitation to a court gala three days from now?" Chen Feng asked, flipping through the invitation.

“Yes, Mr. Chen, His Majesty originally intended to invite you and your companions upon your return, but His Highness the Crown Prince heard that you seem to have been busy lately and suggested that the party be postponed for a few days until you have more free time,” the attendant in court attire replied.

"Okay, I'll be there then."

"We look forward to your arrival. Goodbye."

Watching the waiter leave, Chen Feng put down the invitation, a thoughtful look on his face.

He had already set the development path for Hydra, with Heaven Dou as the main focus and Star Luo as the secondary focus, which meant that he needed to cooperate with the Heaven Dou Empire.

However, there are different ways to cooperate, and one of the most important issues is the right to take the lead.

How can one gain control? Naturally, it requires Tian Doufang to actively seek Chen Feng's help, thus giving him a chance to take the lead.

In addition, finding suitable partners is also very important.

Xueye should be ruled out first; as an old man, he clearly has no ambition left and is unlikely to go through the trouble with Chenfeng.

Between Xue Qinghe and Xue Beng, Chen Feng leans more towards Xue Qinghe, or rather, Qian Renxue.

Based on their previous interactions, Qian Renxue seemed to have little interest in the nobles, while Xue Beng was the opposite, looking down on the commoners.

If Chen Feng could convince Qian Renxue to be one of his kind, that would be ideal. The two could then work together to deal with the stubborn faction among the nobles. In that case, Qian Renxue's identity would need to be properly addressed.

However, if Qian Renxue does not cooperate, her identity can be used as leverage to ensure that Chen Feng can remove her at any time and then promote Xue Beng as a backup.

In this situation, if even avalanches refuse to cooperate, then...

“Cao Pi’s plan might be feasible…” Chen Feng silently conceived this idea.

Cao Pi replaced Han with Wei. If Chen Feng really can't find a suitable collaborator, then replacing Xue with Chen Feng wouldn't be a bad option.

However, unless absolutely necessary, Chen Feng still doesn't want to personally take charge, because managing a country is no easy task. He's already busy enough and doesn't want to be a workaholic.

"The key to everything lies in what Qian Renxue is thinking. I hope to find out something at the palace gala three days from now," Chen Feng pondered to himself.

......

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That evening, several carriages from the Heavenly Dou Imperial Palace stopped at the entrance of Hydra Academy.

Chen Feng and his friends, along with the Huo siblings, dressed in their finest clothes, boarded the royal carriage one after another and slowly made their way towards the Heavenly Dou Palace.

Chen Feng, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing were sitting in the same carriage. He noticed that both girls were wearing the bracelets he had given them before, and couldn't help but smile.

"I feel that these two bracelets don't quite match the other things you're wearing."

The jewelry he bought wasn't cheap, but it wasn't particularly high-end either. Compared to the two girls' outfits today, the two bracelets looked rather cheap.

Zhu Zhuqing said calmly:

“I think it matches perfectly; none of my other hand jewelry suits it better.”

“I think so too,” Ning Rongrong said with a smile. “This is a gift from the pioneers of biology, and it’s not something you can easily buy on the market. Besides, we don’t need to use something superficial to show off our value.”

"Alright, I was the one who was too superficial." Chen Feng shook his head and chuckled.

Chapter 267 The Heaven Dou Empire is Flourishing

After chatting for a while, the carriage arrived outside the palace.

Chen Feng led Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing off the carriage and saw Xue Qinghe waiting in front of the palace gate.

Upon seeing Chen Feng, Xue Qinghe's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward.

"Mr. Chenfeng, was your journey smooth?"

"It went very smoothly, but Brother Xue, why are you being so formal with that?" Chen Feng asked with a smile.

"Now that we know your true identity, we can't act the same way as before," Xue Qinghe said gently.

"That's not right. No matter what my identity is, I'm still the same person. Brother Xue, you can't treat me like an outsider."

"Haha, that was my fault, Xiao Feng, let's have a good talk later."

"Alright, that's exactly what I was waiting for Brother Xue to say."

A hint of joy flashed in Xue Qinghe's eyes. He began to greet the others one by one to avoid them feeling neglected, and then walked into the palace with everyone.

The banquet was held in Tianchen Hall, which was said to be a place the emperor used to entertain nobles and ministers, so it was quite a high-level event.

"Wow, this place is so magnificent! This is the first time I've ever been to a palace like this." Xiao Wu began to look around.

"If you want to come, you can come often in the future. I will introduce myself to the palace guards," Xue Qinghe said with a smile upon hearing this.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue shyly.

Tang San patted her head, his expression somewhat helpless.

"By the way, why aren't your faculty and staff here?" Xue Qinghe asked curiously.

“The masters don’t like these kinds of occasions,” Chen Feng said.

In fact, Flander wanted to come, but since the master and Liu Erlong were too lazy to come, he simply decided not to come.