"Grandpa Huang, I'm here!"
Le Bai had learned that the old man at the Blacksmith Shop was Master Huang, the one Aunt had mentioned when she bought his toys, so he changed how he addressed him.
"You're here!"
Old Master Huang stopped his pushing and pulling, giving up his spot. "Get to work!"
"Right!"
Le Bai promptly sat down and began pushing and pulling with an easy expression, looking even more practiced than Old Master Huang.
"Just how did you suddenly get the hang of it, kid?"
As he watched, Old Master Huang could not help but laugh. "When other people figure something out, they just understand it better. But you? Even your strength has grown!"
"Ahahaha, I just learned how to use Soul Power!"
Le Bai was telling the truth. "Even though I haven't become a Soul Master yet, I still have Soul Power!"
"You little brat, always trying to fool people!"
Old Master Huang laughed and scolded him. "Do you think this old man doesn't know anything? What use could your two or three levels of Soul Power possibly have? If it were really as useful as you said, those gentlemen at Spirit Hall wouldn't require at least one Soul Ring before someone could count as a Soul Master!"
"No, really~ I'm telling the truth~"
Le Bai said it jokingly, but it really was the truth.
Ten nights ago, Le Bai had realized that his understanding of Soul Power was far too shallow. He had even viewed it only as "MP" and "experience points," without ever considering using Soul Power itself.
But Soul Power was, at its core, "energy"—not merely MP or experience points, but a "universal tool" capable of producing all kinds of effects depending on how it was used!
Simply circulating Soul Power through the body could strengthen physical abilities to a certain extent;
Using Soul Power for Augmentation during an attack could increase its power;
Releasing Soul Power directly could create impacts and even cause damage;
It could also alter the nature of Soul Power according to the user's control, giving it properties such as ice, fire, light, and more.
In short, it was not that Soul Power could not do something—it was that you had not thought of it yet!
Not to mention that manipulating and controlling Soul Power itself was far simpler than using external tools! With a single thought, Soul Power could take on any form he needed!
After understanding this, Le Bai could not help but sigh. "What incredibly convenient energy!"
Then he threw himself wholeheartedly into developing and applying different ways to use Soul Power.
After ten days and nights of nonstop practice, Le Bai's Soul Power Level and Soul Power cultivation level had not changed, but the level of his Soul Power Control skill had already soared to Lv10.
This also made Le Bai realize that he seemed to possess considerable talent for Soul Power Control. It was not an effect of the Panel, but a talent inherent to this body itself.
The increased strength Old Master Huang mentioned was also a technique Le Bai had developed after improving his Soul Power Control—continuously circulating Soul Power through his body while keeping it compressed. The Meridians, which became empty due to the compression of Soul Power, would absorb and restore more Soul Power. If he continued compressing that Soul Power, the Meridians could continue absorbing and restoring it, until the compressed Soul Power eventually filled them completely.
Although once he stopped compressing it, any compressed Soul Power beyond his own Soul Power limit would be released, overflow, and dissipate outside his body, as long as he could maintain the compressed state, the total amount of Soul Power he could temporarily control and use could exceed the limitations of his Soul Power Level!
Before Le Bai had even thought of a name for this technique, the Panel had already named it for him: [Spirit Power Overclocking] Lv4.
Le Bai did not know exactly how much Soul Power Spirit Power Overclocking had granted him, but he knew that his enhanced Soul Power was enough to help him accomplish many things he could not have done before.
Whether it was maintaining Soul Power circulation to increase his strength or directly controlling Soul Power to do other things—after a full ten days, Le Bai had naturally developed more than one way to use Soul Power.
"Alright, Le Bai. We've finished everything that needed to be done lately. You can rest for a while."
Old Master Huang set down his hammer. "Sure enough, having a helper makes things much faster!"
"Grandpa Huang, can I have this piece of Iron?"
Le Bai was not tired. The abundant Soul Power within him had greatly reduced his physical exertion. "I want to try making something."
"You can, but that piece is scrap Iron. If you need Iron, take that piece of Raw Iron beside it instead. Though you'll have to hammer it yourself."
Old Master Huang took a gulp of water, then added, "Now that I think about it, although it hasn't been long, you can already help out. I should start calculating your wages too."
"I get paid!"
Le Bai looked at Old Master Huang. "How much will you give me?"
"Hahahaha! Look at you, your eyes light up the moment money comes up!"
Old Master Huang laughed. "An apprentice's wages depend on how much work they do. You're quite capable, kid, but you haven't been here long, so for now, I'll count it as five Silver Soul Coins a month. You'll get one more every month afterward, up to a maximum of ten. Once you can forge better Iron, I'll raise it to twenty. But before that happens, I reckon you'll already have become a Soul Master. Hahahaha!"
"Alright! Thank you, Grandpa Huang!"
Le Bai was very happy. With a relatively stable income, the days ahead would be easier. "Oh, right, Grandpa Huang, can you sell me some of the scrap Iron in the shop for cheap?"
"Scrap Iron? What do you want that stuff for?"
Old Master Huang could not understand Le Bai's thinking. "Scrap Iron isn't worth much. If you want it, just take it and use it. Don't talk about buying it."
That was the truth.
Most of the scrap Iron from the Blacksmith Shop came from iron ore containing too many impurities. Not only did that affect the quality of the Iron, but the impurities were also difficult to remove. Rather than waste time and effort on scrap Iron, it was better to use a new piece without problems.
That said, simply throwing away scrap Iron was a pity, so every Blacksmith Shop accumulated quite a bit of it.
"Thank you, Grandpa Huang!"
Le Bai did not stand on ceremony any longer. After thanking Old Master Huang, he selected a fist-sized piece of scrap Iron and began heating it until it melted.
"Whew, now comes the real test."
Le Bai took a deep breath and controlled the compressed Soul Power inside him, concentrating it in his right hand before releasing it outside his body. In Le Bai's perception, the invisible Soul Power seemed like a dense cloud of mist, but this mist was under his control.
Le Bai focused intensely, controlling the Soul Power released outside his body as it slowly wrapped around the molten Iron. He "grabbed" a drop from it and, before that drop cooled and hardened, used Soul Power to fix it into the shape he needed.
Very soon, the molten Iron gripped by Soul Power cooled and hardened, its color gradually fading from orange-red to dull gray. But it was still extremely hot, so Le Bai controlled the Soul Power to toss it into the cooling liquid, where it let out a hiss.
After it had cooled completely, he took it out with two long, thin Iron strips.
It was a screw with fine threads. It was small, about one centimeter long and roughly five millimeters in diameter. In Le Bai's former world, it would probably have been nothing more than roadside litter.
"Success!"
Le Bai clenched his fist excitedly, his heart filled with incredulous cheers and joy.
This was only a small "experiment," yet its significance was extraordinary.
This success meant that Le Bai's "line of thought" was correct, and it also proved the "convenience" of Soul Power.
But most importantly, Le Bai had found the direction for his future development.
Soul Power, Soul Power, Soul Power!
As long as he had enough Soul Power, Le Bai believed he could do everything that every other type of Soul Master could do.
Then, become a "Monster"!
"But now, I need to grind the cultivation method's level; Soul Power Level is even more important to grind; Soul Power Control can't be left behind while grinding Soul Power Level; and I can't neglect my blacksmithing skill in the short term either. How should I distribute my grinding effort from here on out?"
Once again, Le Bai fell into distress because he lacked enough grinding effort...
Before you continue