"Sister Yin, could you bring up the temporary items from that side quest for me?"
"Of course."
While they were eating, Ah Yin and Su Yun had already discussed how to obtain his first Soul Ring.
It would set the course for the future development of Su Yun's Martial Soul.
They couldn't afford to be careless.
Furthermore, Ah Yin had just taken another careful look at the quest rewards and asked the system about a few things.
She had learned what martial arts were.
Whether it was the Taiyi Azure Wood Art, which cultivated the body, or the fragmentary martial arts manuals, on some level, they could all be considered a different kind of Self-Created Soul Skill.
Ah Yin knew just how precious Self-Created Soul Skills were.
Aside from a handful of genius Soul Masters, only Spirit Hall and a few sects possessed Self-Created Soul Skills unique to their own schools.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, there were probably no more than a handful of Soul Masters capable of creating their own Soul Skills.
That alone was enough to show how precious Self-Created Soul Skills were.
And the system had generously given Su Yun two temporary fragmentary martial arts manuals.
Ah Yin believed it wouldn't have done so just to help him obtain a simple Ten-Year Soul Ring.
"Buzz."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ah Yin opened the system interface and displayed it in front of Su Yun.
Watching the pale blue, translucent screen appear before him, Su Yun felt a pang of emotion.
He wondered what that damn system had been thinking when it decided to bind itself to Ah Yin.
Never mind. He'd better see what martial arts were available first.
Since Su Yun couldn't operate the system himself, Ah Yin had already opened the fragmentary martial arts menu before bringing up the interface.
All fifty martial arts appeared before Su Yun.
"There are actually fifty to choose from."
"Let's see—palm techniques, leg techniques, fist techniques, movement techniques..."
"There are also saber techniques, spear techniques..."
Su Yun didn't rush to choose. First, he looked through the kinds of martial arts the system had provided.
Martial arts, after all, were only useful if they suited him.
"Little Su Yun, have you decided what you want?"
After a while, Ah Yin saw that Su Yun still hadn't responded, so she prompted him.
"Sister Yin, I haven't picked anything yet, so I was hoping you could give me some advice."
Su Yun's little brows furrowed, and he looked terribly conflicted.
"Is that so? Then what are you thinking?"
Ah Yin asked.
"If I'm going to hunt Soul Beasts on my own, I'll need enough agility and fighting strength."
"So I have to learn one movement technique and one offensive technique."
After listening to Su Yun, Ah Yin gave a small nod of approval.
That was true.
Soul Beasts, especially Hundred-Year Soul Beasts that had lived for more than ten years, were generally extremely fast and agile.
If Little Su Yun had no training, he might not even be able to touch their fur.
He might even be killed by a Soul Beast instead.
So a movement technique was essential.
And the Blue Silver Emperor's greatest strengths lay in life force and recovery. It offered almost no combat ability.
That made choosing an offensive technique suited to Little Su Yun a real challenge.
"Little Su Yun, do you prefer close-quarters combat, or would you rather use a weapon?"
After thinking it over, Ah Yin asked him.
Everyone's fighting style differed according to their Martial Soul.
For example, Soul Masters with Tool Martial Souls tended to understand weapons deeply, so they naturally preferred to fight with them.
Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls, on the other hand, trusted the bodies strengthened by their Martial Souls even more.
They treated every part of their bodies as a weapon and used them to fight their enemies.
"Now that I think about it, I'd rather fight with weapons."
A thought suddenly occurred to Su Yun, and he made up his mind at once.
"You like weapons?"
Ah Yin asked, "Can you tell big sister why?"
She wanted to know why Su Yun had chosen to fight with weapons.
Su Yun didn't hide anything. "Of course."
"I chose to fight with weapons because I thought of the blacksmith's shop."
The blacksmith's shop?
Ah Yin didn't understand at first.
Seeing that, Su Yun continued explaining. "Sister Yin, you should know that blacksmiths have different ranks."
"I once heard people in the village say that blacksmiths have seven ranks in all."
"Those seven ranks are Junior Blacksmith, Intermediate Blacksmith, Senior Blacksmith, Forger, Grandmaster Forger, Forging Grandmaster, and the highest rank of all, Divine Craftsman!"
Ah Yin nodded.
Of course she knew that.
She also knew that her husband, Tang Hao, was a true Divine Craftsman!
"My Martial Soul is the Blue Silver Emperor. Even though it has strong life force and recovery, it would clearly be difficult to make my body as strong as those of Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls."
"So I think that instead of trying to make up for my weakness, I should find another path and focus on weapons."
"After all, everyone's starting point for understanding weapons is almost the same."
"If I can train with weapons until I reach the level of a grandmaster or higher, I can find a Forging Grandmaster to make me an unparalleled weapon."
"Wouldn't that be much better than forcing myself to train my body?"
"And practicing with weapons should cause less damage to my body than pure physical training."
"I can also use the Blue Silver Emperor to restore my body over and over, making sure my regular training isn't affected too much."
"That's why I chose to fight with weapons."
That made sense.
The physical enhancement a Beast Martial Soul gave its Soul Master was beyond what any Tool Martial Soul could match.
That was why many Soul Masters with Tool Martial Souls avoided direct physical clashes with Soul Masters who had Beast Martial Souls.
But with a weapon, and the support of their Martial Soul, Soul Masters with Tool Martial Souls might stand a chance against Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls.
Besides, Su Yun had just made another crucial point.
Blacksmiths.
A powerful blacksmith could forge a powerful weapon!
And a powerful weapon could increase the combat strength of a Martial Soul many times over!
Before you continue