Forging and an Agreement

A forging room at the Spirit Pagoda headquarters.

"Big Brother, you're already a Level 5 Blacksmith?"

Qian Gu Huang Yu played with Qian Gu Qing Feng's Level 5 Blacksmith badge, her beautiful eyes full of disbelief.

After leaving the Spirit Ascension Platform, Qian Gu Huang Yu had stopped by to see how her prickly older brother, who was prone to shutting himself away, had been progressing in his cultivation. Instead, Qian Gu Qing Feng told her that he had just completed his first Spirit Forging and successfully advanced to become a Level 5 Blacksmith.

He had walked the path Tang Wulin took six years to complete in the original work in just two and a half years!

But Qian Gu Huang Yu quickly accepted it. After all, Qian Gu Qing Feng had taught himself to become the foremost expert in the Brain Domain using the study materials left behind by the Holy Spirit Cult. That talent was no joke.

"It didn't feel that difficult," Qian Gu Qing Feng said calmly.

"Yes, yes." Qian Gu Huang Yu decided not to argue with a genius. "Did you know? With your current forging ability, you could probably enter Shrek Academy without even taking the entrance exam."

Of course, Qian Gu Qing Feng's cultivation was not lacking either. Perhaps because he had found something through which he could prove himself, once the knot in his heart had been untied, his cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds. He was now on the verge of breaking through to the fifth ring.

"That only proves there's no need to go to Shrek."

Qian Gu Huang Yu swore that if anyone else spoke to her in such a pretentious tone, she would definitely make them regret it. But when it came to Qian Gu Qing Feng, she truly had no way to deal with him.

Qian Gu Qing Feng was an extremely proud yet extremely insecure person. Pride and insecurity did not seem like traits that should coexist in one person, but they had appeared in him by an odd coincidence.

Because their mother had died too early and he had lacked the care of relatives, he was deeply sensitive. Especially after Qian Gu Dong Feng awakened his martial soul, the gap in their talents once made him believe that perhaps his weakness was what had brought misfortune upon him.

Repeated blows had made him increasingly fragile and insecure, until he finally ran away from home at the age of fourteen in the original story.

Yet he was also a very proud person. His pride would not allow him to lose to a younger brother three years his junior, nor would it allow him to be bound by a place that could not even be called a home. That was why he had run away in the original timeline.

Likewise, his pride would not allow him to lose to death, enabling him to force himself through ten thousand years by relying on his own efforts.

Therefore, when facing Qian Gu Qing Feng, Qian Gu Huang Yu usually went along with him, speaking in the form of discussion and suggestions. Qian Gu Dong Feng's habit of directly insulting him was truly like dancing through a minefield.

Looking at his little sister, who had fallen into thought, Qian Gu Qing Feng lightly pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, seeming very conflicted.

In the end, his furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Qian Gu Qing Feng looked at Qian Gu Huang Yu as if he had made a major decision, then softly called out,

"Xiao Yu."

"Hm?"

Pulled abruptly from her own thoughts, Qian Gu Huang Yu lifted her head blankly and looked at Qian Gu Qing Feng.

"I'll forge your Battle Armor in the future."

Qian Gu Qing Feng deliberately emphasized the words "in the future."

Seeing the solemn look on her brother's face, Qian Gu Huang Yu immediately understood what he meant and smiled. "Of course. I don't have a habit of changing blacksmiths halfway through."

As she spoke, Qian Gu Huang Yu tossed the Level 5 Blacksmith badge back to Qian Gu Qing Feng. "But my standards are very high, you know~"

"What a coincidence. My standards for myself are very high too."

A confident smile appeared on Qian Gu Qing Feng's face.

After their mother passed away, Qian Gu Qing Feng had felt the warmth of a home from Qian Gu Huang Yu for the first time.

That was why Qian Gu Qing Feng wanted to help Qian Gu Huang Yu in his own way, just like a normal family would.

Unfortunately, soul spirits, soul bones, and Heavenly Treasures related to soul masters were completely beyond what he could provide.

Thus, Qian Gu Qing Feng chose to forge Battle Armor. His success in forging had restored his confidence in himself, but that was far from enough. He needed others to believe in him as well. That was why Qian Gu Qing Feng told Qian Gu Huang Yu that he would forge all of her future Battle Armor.

After all, a Titled Douluo could use Four-word Battle Armor, and Qian Gu Qing Feng did not doubt that Qian Gu Huang Yu could cultivate to become a Limit Douluo.

Qian Gu Qing Feng's real question was: would you believe that I could become a Divine Craftsman before you reached the Titled Douluo rank?

Qian Gu Qing Feng was an insecure person, so insecure that he needed to obtain trust from his own little sister to fill out his confidence. Yet he was also a proud person, proud enough to guarantee that he would become a Divine Craftsman.

And Qian Gu Huang Yu chose to believe him. Or rather, her trust in her older brother had been full from the very beginning.

Just as the siblings understood everything without needing words, Qian Gu Dong Feng suddenly pushed open the door and barged in.

"Qing Feng, Father told us to go... Xiao Yu, why are you here too?"

Qian Gu Dong Feng noticed Qian Gu Huang Yu halfway through his sentence and immediately asked in surprise.

"Why can't Xiao Yu be here with me?" Qian Gu Qing Feng asked coldly. Naturally, he had no pleasant expression to spare for Qian Gu Dong Feng.

"You..."

Seeing that the two were about to start fighting again over a single disagreement, Qian Gu Huang Yu hurriedly played peacemaker. "Let's not talk about me for now. Brother, what instructions does Father have?"

At Qian Gu Huang Yu's words, neither of them pressed the matter further, though they both snorted coldly at the same time.

Qian Gu Dong Feng continued, "Uncle Leng has apparently taken in a new disciple. A banquet to acknowledge the master will be held tonight, and Father wants all of us to attend. We can get acquainted in advance."

"Got it." With that, Qian Gu Qing Feng headed outside. He had no desire whatsoever to stay around Qian Gu Dong Feng.

As Qian Gu Qing Feng and Qian Gu Dong Feng passed each other, Qian Gu Dong Feng finally noticed the Level 5 Blacksmith badge on Qian Gu Qing Feng's chest.

"When did you become a Level 5 Blacksmith?" Qian Gu Dong Feng could not possibly fail to understand what a fourteen-year-old Level 5 Blacksmith meant, especially since Qian Gu Qing Feng had studied forging for only a little over two years.

"Today." Qian Gu Qing Feng did not even turn his head.

"Then our Battle Armor will be in your hands in the future."

By "our," Qian Gu Dong Feng meant himself, Qian Gu Huang Yu, and the sisters Leng Yao Zhu and Leng Yulai.

Although they could certainly have Spirit Pagoda blacksmiths forge their Battle Armor, they had grown up with Qian Gu Qing Feng after all. They knew one another better, and it would be easier to forge metals suited to them.

Qian Gu Qing Feng had already walked out of the forging room. His voice drifted back from afar. "You, remember to pay."

Watching Qian Gu Qing Feng's figure disappear, Qian Gu Dong Feng grew even more irritated. He looked at Qian Gu Huang Yu and complained, "He actually wants to charge us money! That's too much!"

"Is it possible that Big Brother only intends to charge you?" Qian Gu Huang Yu quietly stabbed him where it hurt.

"Isn't that even worse? Just because he didn't beat me, does he have to..."

Qian Gu Huang Yu hurriedly stopped Qian Gu Dong Feng. After all, Qian Gu Dong Feng might not even be able to defeat Qian Gu Qing Feng anymore.

In a corner where no one could see, the corner of Qian Gu Qing Feng's mouth curled up slightly.

I'd like to discuss my ideas for the Soul Core settings with everyone. For some reason, the Soul Core progression in Dragon King changed from one at each � level during the era of Peerless Tang Sect to obtaining the first one at � or before. As for when the second one was condensed, I could not find it in the original text.

Therefore, I want to revise the Soul Core settings. The first Soul Core should be condensed at level 70 or before, and this would also be a requirement for breaking through level seventy. The second would serve as the major threshold at � rank; in other words, condensing the second Soul Core would be one of the prerequisites for entering � cultivation. Barring accidents, one could cultivate �. The third Soul Core, meanwhile, would be something only a very small number of soul masters could successfully cultivate. The original work explicitly mentioned only � and Gu Yue as possessing one. This would not be a standard configuration for most Limits, though perhaps Yun Ming and Chen Xin Jie might have one as well?

That is the setting I am tentatively planning. I wonder whether everyone can accept it?

(End of this chapter)