"Free my ass!"
Ma Xiaotao playfully punched Chen Fu in the arm. She could tell from his expression—he must have made another major breakthrough and couldn't wait to show it off.
He pulled her into the laboratory and slammed the heavy alloy door shut just before the overzealous hamster girl could rush in after them.
"Come back when you've actually made progress."
"You bastard!"
Outside, the big hamster girl stomped her foot in frustration, then stormed back to her greenhouse to continue her research in peace.
Lanyin Pavilion had ultimately been replaced by Lin Pavilion, but the site itself was vast. Mo Lin had already cultivated a large flower field in the backyard, which she was now using to grow specialized spirit plants.
"Look at my soul ring," Chen Fu said with a grin.
He released his martial soul. A faintly glowing, pale-blue spiritual body formed around his body like a soft aura—completely irregular in shape.
"Where's your soul ring?!"
Ma Xiaotao grabbed him by the collar and gave him a vigorous shake, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find a trace of the spirit ring she expected.
"Uhh…"
Even with Chen Fu's breakthrough to Rank 47 thanks to soul ring extraction, his physical constitution remained fragile. Against Ma Xiaotao, a Rank 58 Battle Soul King, he was still a glass cannon through and through.
"Look more closely."
Chen Fu lifted his hand, presenting what appeared to be nothing but air in front of Ma Xiaotao.
"Hm?"
With her spiritual perception, Ma Xiaotao sensed a transparent, circular ring in his hand.
"Why doesn't it have any color?"
Soul rings were usually vibrant and dazzling—this one felt unusually low-profile.
"My soul skills stem from the martial soul itself. The soul ring just unlocks the upper limit. So I extracted the residual soul from it and absorbed all the soul power. That's why it turned out like this."
"???"
So you're playing with black tech now?!
Seeing Ma Xiaotao's bewildered expression, Chen Fu began explaining his new research on soul rings.
"You've already figured out ring detonation and fusion?!"
"It's not fusion—it's integration. And yes, the theory for ring detonation is complete, but I'm not going to teach you. That technique is crude and inefficient."
"How do you verify ring augmentation then? What's the next step?"
"Hold on, don't rush. I still need to prepare the soul tool. Once you're ready to break through to Soul Emperor, bring that wheelchair-bound Douluo with you. We'll find a fierce beast and test the method."
"???"
Ma Xiaotao's mind was filled with question marks—not because she didn't understand, but because Chen Fu sounded more and more outrageous.
That wheelchair-bound Douluo radiated soul power like tempered steel. The sense of danger he gave off was stronger than even that disheveled old dean. Chen Fu had already pegged him as Shrek Academy's ultimate hidden boss. If anyone could beat a fierce beast into submission for a test run, it'd be him.
"The ring storage technique is perfect for you. I can modify your soul ring right now."
Saying that, Chen Fu grabbed her hand excitedly and prepared to get started.
"Wait—hold on!"
It wasn't that she didn't trust Chen Fu. She just hadn't mentally prepared for this. Being suddenly dragged into some unknown experiment triggered her natural resistance.
"Your soul skills get a significant boost from your ring. Removing the residual soul might reduce the soul ring's level temporarily. Your soul power rank won't change, but the ring could drop a tier for a while," Chen Fu explained seriously.
"But! It'll unlock the potential for further upgrades later!"
"Just let me breathe, okay? I'm not running away."
She shot him an exasperated look. After calming down a bit, she ultimately chose to trust him. Despite his tendency to treat her like a test subject, she didn't believe he'd ever truly harm her.
"Haha, great! Give me a moment—I'll craft the new soul tool."
Chen Fu brought out a small stool and table, sat Ma Xiaotao down, handed her some snacks, and let her rest.
Then, from his spatial wristband, he began pulling out his stockpile of high-grade materials: Deep Sea Mystic Gold, Earth Core Essence, Lunar Flame Crystal, Azure Star Iron... enough to create a Tier 9 soul tool.
Some of these were "borrowed" from Instructor Fan Yu, but the bulk had been quietly skimmed from unlucky clients who came to him for custom work. As long as he delivered the desired results, nobody questioned the process.
After subtly adjusting alloy parameters with his martial soul to achieve the same effects, Chen Fu would quietly pocket the excess premium materials.
In his hands, these resources were used to their fullest potential—exceeding even their natural limits.
"Project initiation: tentative codename—[Divine Ring] Plan."
[Task tracking initiated.]
It was Ma Xiaotao's first time witnessing Chen Fu craft a soul tool up close. Materials visibly melted and reshaped under his control, forming new components before her eyes.
Behind him hovered a two-meter-wide energy matrix built from a Tier 4 [Ark] Core, ensuring a continuous flow of soul power for rapid synthesis and structural molding.
This was the very matrix that had made it impossible for her to defeat Chen Fu in the unrestricted duels.
Sure, he had to burn an entire month's worth of soul power reserves to beat her. And yes, if she fought him twice in a row, she could force him into cursing defeat. But it still left her feeling incredibly frustrated.
That was all in the past. According to theory, she'd soon get to enjoy this unlimited firepower herself.
Unnoticed, two hours passed. Chen Fu completed the initial refinement of materials and began soul power inscription.
The blueprint was an enhanced version of his original spirit-impact device—upgraded for precision, adjustable parameters, adaptive tuning, and most importantly, micro-level spiritual manipulation.
Guiding patterns automatically formed across the surface of each module. His soul power-guided engraving blade danced across the circuits, tweaking conduits mid-process with seamless mental control until each blueprint was perfectly embedded.
"This is literal cheating…" Ma Xiaotao muttered under her breath.
She'd seen Instructor Fan Yu forge soul tools—every line carved slowly and carefully to avoid mistakes. But Chen Fu? He etched the main structure in one sweep and polished the rest using only mental micro-adjustments.
As soon as one module was finished, he jumped straight into the next.
Time continued slipping by. From midday to midnight, after ten hours of nonstop work, Chen Fu finally completed the [Divine Ring] soul tool.
Unlike [Nirvana] or [Emerald], which required meticulous micromechanical work and fragmented timelines, [Divine Ring] was forged in one go. Only the core required micro-detailing—most modules were completed in a single precise motion.
"Xiao Tao…"
Chen Fu assembled the last module. The finished device resembled a suspended incubation chamber.
He turned around, ready to call Ma Xiaotao over for testing—only to find her curled up on the small table, sound asleep.
One glance at the soul tool time display confirmed—it was already late into the night.
He fetched a blanket from his spatial wristband and gently draped it over her, then carefully picked her up and carried her into the adjacent rest room.
The girl tugged the blanket closer as she slept. The soft glow of the lab's lights brushed across her delicate lashes.
Smiling faintly, Chen Fu turned and leaned against the doorframe.
He was waiting for someone.
An old man.
Moments later, the mental perception rune on the lab wall flickered—someone with overwhelming pressure was approaching the metal door.
To avoid damage to his lab from an incoming brute, Chen Fu took the initiative to open the door.
"Well, what wind blew the Headmaster over here?"
"Is Xiao Tao in there?"
The old man's tone was stern as he frowned and flared his nostrils.
"She was supposed to assist in an experiment, but we ended up taking longer than expected. She waited for a while, got tired, and fell asleep."
The old man examined Chen Fu closely, then let out a cold snort and disappeared without another word.
"…I just hope, when he sees her soul ring's color change, he doesn't come back to tear this place down."
Chen Fu sighed helplessly. The old man's temper might be foul, but at least he was reasonable.