Forging! Forging!

As Little Black Dog went straight in for the kill, Li Ang focused more on observing his surroundings—or, more precisely, studying this precious environment that had once belonged to the Star Luo Great Forest.

He studied it intently, but to guard against a sneak attack, he still raised a hand and cast a Jade Shield over himself.

The Jade Shield was one of the talents that came with the Geo Archon Rex Lapis Template. It was a shield formed by gathering the elements around him.

After careful study, he estimated that the shield's basic defensive strength was roughly ten times that of his own body.

And when elemental energy was added to the mix, the stronger the elements in the area, the stronger the shield became.

There was another crucial point that others might not notice, but Li Ang had easily figured out: the changes in the earth element around him.

He didn't understand what the earth element was, but through his own knowledge and deductions, along with repeatedly analyzing his Jade Shield, he had still managed to discover some patterns.

During his earlier tests, he had quickly grasped one principle.

The strength of the earth element—or Rock Element—in the surroundings also affected the strength of the Jade Shield.

So, after Li Ang stopped where he was, he first took a handful of soil from his pocket. It was local soil he had found in the little garden downstairs at the Spirit Pagoda.

This soil was rich in earth element, and the Rock Element of the Geo Archon Rex Lapis had already seeped into it.

He scattered the soil into the air. A slight ripple of power sent it dissolving into a skyful of elemental energy.

The soil landed on the ground—or rather, scattered around him. Rock Element began appearing in the area at a faster rate, while the Rock Element already contained in the soil quickly drew close to him, forming the first layer of the Jade Shield.

Feeling the strength of the shield around him, Li Ang nodded in satisfaction. Then he began moving deeper into the forest.

Of course, he didn't move very slowly.

He focused mostly on observing. Unless a Soul Beast came right up to him, he generally didn't attack them of his own accord.

Meanwhile, Little Black stood quietly amid the corpses of all kinds of Soul Beasts. Most of them were Ten-Year Soul Beasts.

There was also the corpse of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. At that moment, however, Little Black's eyes were awash with blood-red light.

A faint blood-red sheen seemed to mingle with its glossy coat.

With the bloodline of a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, Little Black's claws were not only incredibly sharp; they also possessed Berserk, an ability that enhanced its strength.

Now, as Little Black used its own power to devour the Soul Beast corpses, the age of Li Ang's Soul Ring began to rise as well.

Watching the yellow Soul Ring visibly turn a deeper shade of yellow, Li Ang kept walking.

He had already gone quite deep, though the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform was still a long way off.

Even so, he was already well inside the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.

As he walked, Li Ang's pace suddenly slowed.

His gaze swept from side to side. The trees here had grown taller and taller, and hardly any sunlight filtered through.

He looked over the trees. They were no different from ordinary trees, but his powerful spiritual strength and instincts told him that some other creature was definitely nearby.

The feeling was strange, and Li Ang's brows furrowed deeply.

When he released his control over the Rock Element around him, it spread out in every direction like a surging tide, quickly helping him locate the creature.

His gaze settled on a clump of grass in a clearing. It was perfectly still, without the slightest movement.

But the instant Li Ang looked over, he abruptly twisted aside and threw a punch.

Elemental energy gathered around his arm. The terrifying punch stirred up clouds of dust and formed a gigantic stone fistprint that slammed viciously toward the grass.

A figure shot out from the clump. It was a Wind Wolf—or, more precisely, a Forest Wolf. Moving at great speed, it charged straight at Li Ang, its body bolstered by the wind element.

Facing the Hundred-Year Wind Wolf, Li Ang didn't even furrow his brow. The Jade Shield already enveloped him completely.

The Wind Wolf's massive jaws clamped down on the Jade Shield. It creaked and groaned, but not a single crack appeared.

Li Ang looked at his shield, still as good as new, and fell silent for a moment. Then, without pausing, he raised his sandbag-sized fist and slammed it down.

A ton of force—being struck by a heavy truck would hardly be any different.

The only difference was that a heavy truck had a larger impact area, enough to turn a person into a meat patty.

Li Ang's fist was small, so it pierced through the target at a single point.

When the cultivation pod opened, Li Ang sat up, looking somewhat tired.

He rubbed his head. This round of growth had taken Little Black from an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast to one of around three hundred years old.

Based on his estimates, if he was willing to sleep in the Spirit Pagoda a few more times, getting Little Black to a thousand years should be no problem.

As for going from a thousand years to ten thousand, the difficulty would rise, but it should still be manageable. The hardest part would probably be going from ten thousand to a hundred thousand years.

That stage would likely be the most difficult of all. Especially since he hadn't mastered Douluo Planet yet, helping Little Black grow by giving it a lightning tribulation would be extremely hard.

"This is going to be a long road. But it doesn't matter. I'm only six this year."

"At most, it'll be a few more years before Little Black grows up."

Li Ang muttered to himself, stood up, and yawned before heading straight back to his room to sleep.

The next day passed as usual. He ate a simple breakfast in the morning, then had the driver take him to the junior academy.

He didn't run into Xie Xie today, though. For some reason, Xie Xie had taken leave, and apparently he'd asked for several days off.

Li Ang only paid a little attention to Xie Xie's absence. He didn't take it too seriously.

After all, he and Xie Xie weren't close, and he had no idea why the other boy had taken leave.

This time, though, when classes ended, Li Ang didn't head straight back to the Spirit Pagoda.

At the entrance to the Spirit Pagoda, Shen Ming opened the car door and sat in the back as well.

He glanced at Li Ang, his face showing a trace of helplessness.

"Let's go straight there. Teacher Cen Yue came back today. We'll have him test your forging talent, then get him to take you on as a disciple."

"Forging is something we can learn if we're able to; if not, it's no big deal. At worst, you can study some easygoing major like mecha repair. Either way, it'll be fine."