Shi You's Admonition, Investment!

The youth possessed the strength of Thousand Jun; the anvil was as light as nothing, hoisted into the air by Fang Le with a single hand.

However, before Fang Le could even attempt a juggling trick with the anvil, "No, no, no! Easy! Steady!! My fine steel! Don't you dare let it drop!"

Shi You looked like an old father whose secret stash had been stolen.

He begged Fang Le to return the anvil to its original spot.

No, to be more precise, he wanted the metal that had been forged on the anvil returned to its place.

"Shoo, shoo! You little brat! You nearly ruined a perfectly good piece of steel!"

Shi You assisted Fang Le in placing the anvil back down steadily.

He pushed Fang Le away to a position he deemed safe.

Only then did he carefully use his iron tongs to set the steel in a secure spot, before turning back to glare at Fang Le in annoyance.

"Isn't it enough to just swing the hammer a few times? Why must you show off so much? Aren't you afraid of being spotted by human traffickers and dragged off to do hard labor?"

Shi You looked at Fang Le, who was acting like a wronged child receiving a scolding after making a mistake, and snapped at him irritably.

"It's just that I was afraid swinging the hammer alone wouldn't show my true strength, and you wouldn't invest in me~~"

Fang Le picked at his fingers and said aggrievedly.

"Sigh! Don't ever do that again! As for a mere investment! It's not like I can't afford it."

This child was indeed gifted, but his temperament was far too naive.

In this world, there were no shortage of people who grew jealous of geniuses, couldn't stand to see others stand out, and sought to nip them in the bud.

Being young, weak, and without a background, one should naturally hide their talents and bide their time until success was achieved.

How could he be so showy!

"Then, hehe, how much do you plan to invest? I don't need much, just one good sword will do! I guarantee you won't lose out later."

Perhaps because he had stayed in a harmonious society and a simple, honest village for too long, Fang Le still hadn't adapted to this cruel world.

He failed to understand Shi You's worries.

He just kept grinning, still fixated on his first sword.

Shi You looked at him, feeling utterly helpless.

"You brat, you're still thinking about that sword? It was only because there were few people around just now that no one noticed this side.

Plus, you were fast and hid it early.

Otherwise, when you woke up tomorrow, you'd already be in some noble's dungeon."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Le wore an expression of complete confusion.

"Ah!?"

Facing the ignorant and innocent-looking Fang Le, Shi You explained helplessly:

"What's with the 'ah'?

Just two years ago, at that Nuoding City academy, I heard a little fellow with exceptional talent arrived.

But what happened? The moment he revealed his potential, the very next day he was sold to a noble's house to be trained as a dead soldier.

The methods of those noble lords...

Drug conditioning, physical and mental control, breeding for bloodlines, removing the father to keep the child—who knows how many little geniuses have already been ruined by them..."

In this Nuoding City, things might seem stable, but geniuses? Especially those from commoner backgrounds? They all had a price tag.

This kid was lucky he ran into him.

If he had met someone cunning who wanted to make a quick buck, he might have been sold and still be counting the money for them.

This Douluo Continent might look like it had been stuck in feudalism for ten thousand years, but those man-eating methods were increasing year by year.

"This... damn! This wasn't in the novel!"

After hearing Shi You's explanation, Fang Le broke out in a cold sweat.

Right, this wasn't the novel he once knew! This was a real, flesh-and-blood world.

There was no such thing as a plot where the protagonist shows off his might and everyone comes to pledge their loyalty.

How could outsiders be as close as one's own kin?

Yes, investments existed, but the prerequisite was that you had to be strong enough to handle them.

Those novel protagonists either navigated between various factions themselves or had powerful backgrounds from the start.

Those nobles weren't stupid (at least, not all of them).

For someone like him, a "wild" talent, they would just capture him, raise him, and then "remove the father to keep the child."

No one would fight over the inheritance, and no one would seek revenge! Plus, it would improve their bloodline quality—how wonderful.

Safety and stability are the priorities.

"Have you figured it out yet? It's only because I'm kind-hearted and don't have a daughter of my own that I didn't just snatch you up to carry on my legacy. You have innate divine strength; at your age, you can already lift my 600-pound anvil. Heaven itself is chasing you down to be a blacksmith."

Shi You saw the look of post-incident terror on Fang Le's face and gave him another round of grumpy intimidation.

Today, he really was having a massive outburst of benevolence.

He figured he might as well see this good deed through to the end and cement the connection.

"Many thanks for the warning, Uncle Shi. This kid understands! I will certainly never be as flashy as I was today."

Fang Le bowed in gratitude.

At the same time, he felt lucky—truly lucky—to have run into a good person. Otherwise, the consequences...

The late emperor's cause remained half-finished, yet he perished midway...

Becoming a slave to labor would have been the least of it; he was lucky.

If someone had come along with mental brainwashing, given his current scrawny physique... he didn't dare think about it, absolutely didn't dare.

"Fine. Based on what you said earlier, you must be some kind of genius. And now you're here to buy weapons—Innate Full Soul Power? Regardless, it must be quite high. That's your secret, so I won't pry. You're heading out to hunt souls and obtain a spirit ring, aren't you?"

Shi You looked at the quick-witted little guy before him and made a casual guess.

Although he didn't guess much correctly, he wasn't wrong about one thing: Fang Le was indeed going to hunt soul beasts.

Killing monsters to drop experience—this was his new discovery regarding his martial soul.

As long as his MC domain was active, any living creature he killed within that domain would turn into experience, becoming his soul power cultivation.

It was very much like an Evil Soul Master, but not quite evil—not with his talent of only half a level of innate soul power.

If he could reach level 29 by the time he turned 50, it would be considered diligent cultivation.

Yes... everything was for the sake of surviving in this broken world!

"Yes! I am going to hunt soul beasts! I originally thought a sword would be enough, but after hearing Uncle Shi's words, I realize it's still not stable enough!"

Fang Le didn't offer much explanation, nodding and agreeing that everything Shi You said was right.

Shi You wore a look of self-satisfaction, never having realized he had the talent to be a mentor. He truly was something else.

"Mm! Not bad! A child worth teaching."

However, the words that followed made him realize just how much of a contrast one person could have.

"Yes, it's too unstable! Uncle Shi, can you forge arrowheads? Also, do you know of any places nearby that sell poison? If that's not an option, aphrodisiacs would work too. And armor—can you make that? I don't need full-body protection, just enough to cover the vital parts. If I don't have enough money, I can work here for a few more days to save up! If you could get your hands on any defensive or offensive Soul Tool, that would be even better!"

Fang Le said this with great seriousness.

If he could fight from a distance, that was best, and adding some poison would make it even safer.

As for the armor and Soul Tool, he was just throwing those out there; he didn't dare dream of such things yet.

For minor injuries, he could just eat something and tough it out.

Even though he knew he was a destined powerhouse, he had to develop cautiously and not get cocky.

The less danger, the better.

In the early stages, survival and development were the main goals.

"You! Fine! Follow me! I'll take you to get something good!"

Shi You's expression was a kaleidoscope of colors, but it eventually settled into a look of determination as he headed toward the back room of the smithy.

At the same time, he gestured for Fang Le to follow.