The Soul Tool Department of Shrek Academy was a place of fire, metal, and humming arrays. Unlike the traditional Soul Master areas, this sector felt industrial, filled with the smell of ozone and the rhythmic clanging of hammers.
Lin Feng walked alongside Huo Yuhao, who was still reeling from the events of the previous day.
"Feng, are you sure about this?" Yuhao whispered, looking at the massive, experimental cannons lining the walls. "Teacher Zhou said Fan Yu is the most demanding teacher in the entire academy. If he thinks we're wastes of time, he'll throw us out faster than a dross-filled ingot."
"Relax, Yuhao," Lin Feng replied, though his eyes were sharp. "Your Spirit Eyes are the ultimate radar for a Soul Tool user. And as for me... I need to see if these tools can handle the weight I carry."
[System Notification: New Environment Detected.]
Location: Shrek Soul Tool Research Lab 01.
Side Task: Demonstrate 'Absolute Stability' to Fan Yu.
Reward: 800 System Points, 'Soul Guidance Array: Basic Compression' blueprint.
The Test of the Titan
At the center of the lab stood a man with shoulders as broad as a barn door and eyes that seemed to analyze everything in terms of geometric precision. This was Fan Yu, the top Soul Tool creator of Shrek. Beside him stood his disciple, He Caitou, a tall, bald youth with a gentle smile.
"So, these are the two Zhou Yi sent?" Fan Yu didn't look up from a complex core he was etching. "One with eyes that can see everything, and one with a body that acts like an anvil. Caitou, give the small one the mental test. Give the 'Bronze' one the heavy suit."
He Caitou walked over to Lin Feng, dragging a massive suit of armor that looked more like a tank than a piece of clothing. It was the Type-3 Heavy Mobile Fortress, a soul tool designed for stationary defense.
"This suit weighs 1,500 kilograms," He Caitou explained. "Even a Rank 30 Strength-type Soul Master can only move in it for ten minutes before their Spirit Power is drained. We need to see if your 'Body Soul' can handle the feedback."
Lin Feng looked at the suit. With the Clear Sky Hammer hidden in his soul, 1,500kg was like wearing a light jacket.
"Put it on me," Lin Feng said.
Deep Dialogue: The Philosophy of Metal
As the armor plates locked around Lin Feng's golden-tinted skin, the ground groaned. The Soul Guidance arrays on the suit flared a bright orange, attempting to sync with Lin Feng's spirit power.
"He's not even shaking," Fan Yu remarked, finally putting down his tools. He walked over to Lin Feng. "Boy, do you know why Soul Tools were invented? It wasn't to replace Soul Masters. It was because the human body has a limit. Even a Title Douluo can only exert so much pressure before their bones snap."
Lin Feng looked at Fan Yu through the visor of the heavy suit. "I disagree, Teacher."
Fan Yu raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Metal has a melting point," Lin Feng said, his voice echoing inside the armor. "Soul Tools have a breaking point where the arrays fail. But the human soul... if it is forged correctly, it has no limit. A tool is only as strong as the hand that holds it. If the hand is made of gold, the tool becomes a god."
Fan Yu laughed—a rare, booming sound. "Arrogant! Caitou, activate the 'Pressure Pulse'! Let's see how much his 'gold' can take!"
The Experiment: Absolute Stability
He Caitou hesitated but turned the dial on the control panel. The Heavy Mobile Fortress began to vibrate. This wasn't just weight anymore; it was a rhythmic shockwave designed to shatter the wearer's internal organs.
[System: Warning! External vibration at 400Hz detected.]
[Activating: Golden Bell Shield (Internal) + Absolute Gravity (External).]
Lin Feng didn't just stand there. He channeled the Clear Sky Hammer's density into the armor.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The vibrations hit Lin Feng's body and simply... stopped. It was as if he were a black hole for kinetic energy. The massive suit, which usually rattled and clanked, became as silent as a tomb.
"Impossible," Fan Yu whispered, stepping closer. "The arrays aren't failing... he's absorbing the resonance. His body density is higher than the alloy of the suit!"
Huo Yuhao, using his Spirit Sharing, gasped. To his eyes, Lin Feng didn't look human. He looked like a pillar of white-hot gold that reached from the floor to the heavens, pinning the entire laboratory to the earth.
"Teacher Fan!" He Caitou yelled. "The suit's core is overheating! It can't handle Lin Feng's output!"
"Increase the output!" Lin Feng roared, his Golden Spirit Body flaring to its maximum brightness. The purple ring (disguised as yellow) beneath his feet pulsed with hidden power.
BOOM!
The pressure pulse hit its peak, and for a second, the entire lab went silent. Then, the Heavy Mobile Fortress suit literally shattered. The 1,500kg plates of reinforced steel flew outward like shrapnel.
Lin Feng stood in the center of the debris, his golden skin shimmering, completely unharmed.
The Result: A New Path
Fan Yu stared at the ruined suit, then at Lin Feng. A slow, predatory grin appeared on the teacher's face.
"You aren't a Soul Tool user, Lin Feng," Fan Yu said. "You are the perfect Core. If we build a weapon around your body... you won't just be a Soul Master. You'll be a Human-Shaped Soul Guidance Cannon."
[Task Complete: Demonstrate Absolute Stability.]
Reward: 800 System Points.
New Blueprint: 'The Heaven-Shaking Gauntlets' (Custom Rank 4 Tool).
System Message: Fan Yu has decided to sponsor your development. You now have unlimited access to rare metals.
Lin Feng exhaled, his golden glow fading. He looked at his hands. He had successfully used the Soul Tool department to find a way to use his Hammer's power in public without ever actually summoning the Hammer. To everyone else, it was just the "strength of his body soul" and "Soul Tool synchronization."
"Yuhao," Lin Feng said, turning to his friend. "I think we're going to be very busy."
Fan Yu walked over and gripped Lin Feng's shoulder. "From tomorrow, you and Yuhao come here every evening. I'm going to teach you how to forge. If your body is an anvil, I'll show you how to turn your soul into a hammer."
Lin Feng smirked. I already have the hammer, Teacher. I just need you to help me hide it in plain sight.
[Exchange Store Updated:]
Available: 'Deep Sea Silver Essence' (Cost: 1,200 Points). * Note: Essential material for the Heaven-Shaking Gauntlets.
"System," Lin Feng thought as they walked out. "Start a simulation for the gauntlets. I want them to be able to channel the Clear Sky Hammer's Disordered Splitting Wind at 100% efficiency."
[Simulation Initiating... Expected Power Output: Rank 50 Soul King Level.]
Lin Feng's eyes glowed. The Shrek Academy tournament was approaching, and he was about to bring a technological terror to a martial arts fight.