"Once you get to the Soul Master Academy, make sure to listen to your teachers. Become a Soul Master as soon as possible. Holy Soul Village finally has Soul Masters this time."
Old Jack was delighted the entire way.
Tang San had awakened with Innate Full Soul Power, while Su Ming possessed level 5 Innate Soul Power. No matter what, both of them would be able to become Soul Masters.
As long as one was a Soul Master, one stood above ordinary people.
The enrollment process went just as imagined: a gate guard who made things difficult, a master who happened to pass by, and Tang San being called away alone to become his disciple.
Su Ming did not pay it any mind. After registering and tidying up his dormitory, he took a stroll around the academy.
Once he had familiarized himself with everything, he found a suitable place for cultivation—the back mountain.
"A Martial Soul is a Martial Soul, and the body is the body. When the two become entwined, the Main Body affects the Martial Soul, and the Martial Soul affects the Main Body as well."
Su Ming closed his eyes in meditation, contemplating the characteristics of a Body Martial Soul.
"As Soul Power cultivates, my body will definitely become stronger and stronger, and my Martial Soul will naturally strengthen along with it. But the human body has limits. The Martial Soul will also be constrained, and after reaching that limit, it may even in turn hinder my Soul Power cultivation."
"This is the Body Martial Soul."
What was the limit under normal circumstances?
Su Ming pondered...
Was it the threshold before the Second Awakening?
The simplest model was naturally for the Soul Master and Martial Soul to grow in tandem, reaching their limits at the Soul King or Soul Emperor stage. Then, the Soul Master would complete the Second Awakening of the Body Martial Soul, break through those shackles, and continue cultivating.
But was the human body's limit truly that high?
"My body affects my Martial Soul. In turn, the Martial Soul should also affect my body, helping it break through its shackles and giving it greater potential to tap into—a body beyond that of ordinary Soul Masters."
"And the only ways I can think of for a Martial Soul to affect the Main Body are Soul Rings and Soul Skills."
There was no need to elaborate on Soul Rings. Every Soul Ring comprehensively transformed a Soul Master, and its impact was enormous.
Soul Skills, meanwhile, were another crucial point.
A Body Martial Soul was born from the body, yet it existed in the form of a Martial Soul.
The Martial Soul and the Soul Master's body merely overlapped at one point rather than completely overlapping. It still possessed characteristics belonging entirely to the Martial Soul.
"There is a difference between the Main Body and a Body Martial Soul—a fundamental difference," Su Ming thought. "The Body Martial Soul is far more malleable. It can be comprehensively tempered with Soul Power without worrying about it being unable to endure it. As long as the tempering effects can be synchronized to the Main Body, that would be a supreme body-tempering method."
"So the reason the Body Sect excels at all kinds of Battle Techniques must be that they use their Martial Souls to temper their bodies in reverse."
"Twenty thousand years later, they even developed a Bloodline Power system, pushing the Martial Soul's influence over the body to the limit."
Su Ming had reasoned out these fundamentals himself, but he lacked any practical method.
"Wait. Once the me of ten thousand years later joins the Body Sect, I'll be able to learn Battle Techniques." (P.S. When the protagonist thought for himself, "ten thousand years later," "twenty thousand years later," or "ten thousand years ago" referred to the perspective of the version of the protagonist doing the thinking.)
"Of course, I can't give up on developing Battle Techniques myself—Self-Created Soul Skills."
"What I possess is not the Soul Master techniques and cultivation experience of this era, but experience from twenty thousand years later. Creating my own Soul Skills is not impossible."
In the blink of an eye, the sky darkened. Su Ming opened his eyes and stopped meditating.
After eating, he returned to the dormitory and continued meditating.
The next day.
Su Ming rose early, left the academy, and arrived at a blacksmith shop not far from the academy.
He had made up his mind. Since he possessed a Body Martial Soul, he was ideally suited for the side profession of a Blacksmith. Starting now, he would begin practicing Forging.
It was not merely a matter of Martial Soul configuration. Another important factor was the environment of the era he was in.
With Rare Metal already difficult to find, he could only go to the Metal Capital, Gengxin City, to find enough suitable metals.
This era did not lack Rare Metal entirely, nor had Rare Metal vanished completely from Douluo Continent. There was simply very little of it, and no one had the ability to effectively utilize the properties of those Rare Metals.
If he wanted to find suitable metals in Gengxin City, the best way would be to join the association there.
"The biggest problem is not learning Forging or finding Rare Metal, but whether this era even has a Forging system."
Forging had not developed into its full form overnight.
The Blacksmith system had likewise only emerged at a particular point in time.
Su Ming suspected that the establishment of the Forging system was inseparable from the evolution of the plane's laws.
"Boss, are you hiring apprentices?"
Duan Family Blacksmith Shop.
Three or five burly men were swinging Iron Hammers bare-chested. Hearing Su Ming's childish voice, they all looked up and gave him a glance.
"Kid, with that build of yours, you probably can't even swing a hammer, can you?"
Su Ming said, "I've awakened my Martial Soul, and I have Soul Power. My Martial Soul can also enhance my body in every aspect, so I should still be able to do some apprentice work."
After hearing Su Ming's words, the blacksmith shop's owner, Duan Tie, handed over the large hammer in his hand.
"Come on. Let me see how strong you are."
Su Ming stepped forward and reached out to take the hammer.
Duan Tie slowly loosened his grip. He felt the hammer sink slightly, yet it was still held steady, so he let go completely.
Su Ming activated Martial Soul Possession, and Soul Power flowed through his body.
The large hammer Duan Tie had handed him was extremely heavy. Its handle alone was 1.2 meters long, and the hammerhead was a slightly rounded rectangular block larger than three of Su Ming's heads.
"Good!"
Seeing Su Ming hold the hammer steady, Duan Tie shouted in approval.
"Try swinging it."
Su Ming nodded. Gripping the handle with both hands, he slowly raised the hammer high before smashing it viciously onto the table. He repeated the motion more than ten times in succession.
From Su Ming's hammering movements, Duan Tie could tell that he had absolutely no Forging experience, but he did not mind.
Strength was enough.
He was only an apprentice, after all. Usually, he would just serve tea and run errands, with the occasional easy Forging task.
"Working here is much harder than going to school. If you can accept the environment here, you can be an apprentice under me. There's no pay at first, since your skills are too poor and you can't take orders at all. But you'll get all the food you can eat. Once your skills are up to standard, I'll give you one Silver Soul Coin a month, same as the others. If business is good, I'll give you more."
Su Ming thanked him. "Thank you, Boss."
Duan Tie laughed heartily. "Not many Soul Masters are interested in Forging these days."
Even work-study students at the Soul Master Academy had academy assignments to complete. Helping the academy clean every day was enough to cover their living expenses there, so there was no need for them to come out and earn money by working iron.
If Su Ming had come to the blacksmith shop, he was either here for the experience or genuinely interested in Forging.
"You don't have any prior Forging experience, right?"
Duan Tie had the other blacksmiths continue working while he personally led Su Ming inside.
"No," Su Ming answered truthfully.
"I won't pay you during the early stages, then. As for a Forging Hammer, use one of my old discarded ones." As Duan Tie spoke, he scanned the iron blocks indoors and selected one of moderate size.
Su Ming stepped forward, lifted the Forging Hammer Duan Tie had mentioned, and tested its weight.
This hammer was much lighter than the one outside, but he still had to use all his strength to swing it.
"Your task today is to hammer this block of iron into a long strip. Don't just pound it with brute force. Take it slowly. It would be best if you can find the knack for it."
Before you continue