On the Development of Gravity Skills

Smack!

A pebble struck the water, sending ripples spreading across the surface.

Mu Xi sat on a park bench, her eyes vacant as she mechanically repeated the motion of throwing stones.

At that moment, a familiar presence approached. Then, the person quietly sat down beside her.

And she naturally leaned lightly against that shoulder—somewhat slender, yet already faintly carrying a sense of steadiness.

"Xu Yue, do you think my talent is really that bad?" Mu Xi's voice was gentle, like a breeze passing through the park.

Seeing her like this, Xu Yue's voice softened as well.

"How could that be? Who in the Blacksmith Association hasn't heard of Mu Xi the genius girl?"

"You became a first-rank blacksmith before you were even eleven. Uncle Mu said you were even better than he had been at your age."

"If you ask me, you're not much worse than Uncle Zhen Hua. If I were him, I'd be crying and begging to take you as my disciple."

"Pfft!" Mu Xi could not help laughing at Xu Yue's words, and much of her gloom dissipated.

"How could I be as good as you say? Uncle Zhen Hua dotes on me because I'm his niece, not because my talent is that outstanding."

Yet the next moment, Mu Xi's tone shifted, and her voice fell again. "But... I really do love blacksmithing!"

Xu Yue could clearly hear that those words came from the bottom of her heart.

When it came to gifts such as innate full soul power and innate domains, Mu Xi felt nothing but surprise and pride for Xu Yue. But in blacksmithing, he had dealt her a genuine blow.

From the age of five, Mu Xi had begun swinging a specially made little iron hammer. At first, Mu Chen had only thought she was playing around, but she persisted for two whole years, day after day imitating her father's movements.

Xu Yue had watched all of it.

"Xu Yue, do you know?" Mu Xi said softly. "These past few days, I've kept thinking that your talent is so good that you'll definitely become a Limit Douluo in the future."

"When that time comes, you'll surely need a four-word battle armor too! I also want to work toward becoming a Divine Craftsman... I hope that one day, I can personally forge the most suitable battle armor for you."

She paused, her tone carrying a trace of complicated emotion. "I just never expected your talent for blacksmithing to be this good..."

"No, even the word 'good' isn't enough to describe it."

"So, Sister Mu Xi, are you jealous of me?" Xu Yue did not deny it, teasing her with a smile.

"Jealous?" The lovely head resting against his shoulder shook slightly, tinged with bitterness.

"Jealousy is for targets you can still catch up to. Someone like you... I can't even bring myself to feel jealous."

For a moment, the two fell silent.

Just then, Mu Xi caught a glimpse of a brilliant starlight from the corner of her eye.

On Xu Yue's open palm before her lay an exquisite forging hammer.

"Xu Yue, this is... that piece of spirit-forged starfall iron of yours?!" Mu Xi recognized the material and cried out in surprise.

"Yeah, I forged it into a hammer." Xu Yue nodded and placed the hammer in Mu Xi's hand. "Sister Mu Xi, it's for you."

"No! This is your first work. It has extraordinary meaning—I can't accept it!" Mu Xi hurriedly refused.

But Xu Yue insistently pressed the hammer into her palm. At the same time, another glimmer of starlight appeared in his other hand. "Look, I have one too! That piece of starfall iron was large enough, so I forged it into two hammers."

Feeling the resistance in Mu Xi's hand weaken, he continued.

"If you want to become a good blacksmith, how can you not have a good forging hammer? I tested the special effect of this Spirit-Forged Starfall Hammer. It's called 'Star Spirit.'

"If a blacksmith has a star-type martial soul, using it can produce different effects based on the traits of their martial soul. It should make your forging go more smoothly."

"And besides," he said, changing the subject, "I have a way to help you improve your forging skills faster."

"Really?" Mu Xi's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true." Xu Yue said solemnly, "But the condition is that you have to accept this Spirit-Forged Starfall Hammer."

"...All right, I'll accept it." Mu Xi hesitated for a moment before nodding heavily. "Xu Yue, tell me quickly. How can I improve?"

"Of course—" Xu Yue paused, and an invisible gravity domain descended instantly, making Mu Xi's body sink. "By training under my domain."

"It's a principle recognized by the Blacksmith Association: the better your physical condition, the faster your forging skills improve."

"You want to become the first female Divine Craftsman, and you want to forge battle armor for me. You can definitely persevere, right?"

Naturally, an outstanding blacksmith could not rely on brute force alone. They also needed comprehension, skill, perseverance, and more—but none of those were problems for Mu Xi.

Although the Radiant Sun Martial Soul provided certain benefits for blacksmithing, it could not improve her physical condition. That had become the fundamental constraint on the growth of her skill.

"Of course!" Determination flashed in Mu Xi's eyes as she tightly gripped the Spirit-Forged Starfall Hammer in her hand.

The two hammers reflected each other's brilliance, as though blessing the two of them.

Seeing Mu Xi regain her confidence, Xu Yue smiled. "Sister Mu Xi, let's go home. Uncle and Auntie must be getting worried."

But Mu Xi narrowed her beautiful eyes, her tone carrying a touch of coy sweetness.

"No. The exam was too exhausting. I want to stay a little longer."

Though she said that, whether she wanted to remain in the park or simply spend more time with the person beside her, both of them knew perfectly well.

Late at night, in the bedroom.

Xu Yue sat cross-legged, with Eden's Star floating quietly before him.

As soul power flowed into it, the dark-blue sphere instantly turned black-red, radiating invisible gravitational fluctuations.

Using a gravity field to assist training was not a spur-of-the-moment idea he had come up with to comfort Mu Xi. It was the result of careful thought after several days of cultivating his martial soul.

No matter what kind of training environment or auxiliary equipment one used, there would always be areas they could not cover.

Gravity, however, was different. It could penetrate every corner of the human body.

Whether it was muscles and bones, internal organs, or every single cell, all would be affected by gravity.

As long as it was controlled within a certain range, it could efficiently strengthen one's physique without damaging the body.

However, his plans for gravity went far beyond that.

"Right now, I only have the Jade Shield as a soul skill. Whether I can obtain offensive soul skills in the future is still uncertain."

"But my methods cannot be limited to Douluo Continent's soul master system. That would be far too wasteful."

He thought of how the Herrschers of Earth from both eras in the Honkai Impact 3rd world had failed to truly display the power of gravity.

Still, the previous Herrscher of Earth had at least devoured Mu Continent, causing the deaths of one-sixth of the world's population.

As for Chen Tianwu of the current era, he had become fusion material the moment he appeared, merging with Anna to become the Herrscher of Meteoric Ice.

Instead, it was the successive Herrschers of Reason who had truly brought gravity to its full potential.

"I can completely imitate Welt's development of Eden's Star and create gravity-based skills."

"For example, gravitational confinement, gravity slashes, even the three rated outputs... though I can't simply copy the game's settings."

"A pseudo-black hole clearly possesses all the physical properties of a real black hole, yet during the Second Honkai Eruption, its coverage was limited to the Siberian battlefield."

"Perhaps I can combine that with the physics knowledge I've learned and develop it on a deeper level."

With that thought, Xu Yue focused his gaze on Eden's Star.

The next moment, the black-red gravity field no longer spread evenly. Instead, it began to gather and compress.

The air above his palm twisted slightly, and a tiny black-red spark flickered and danced faintly in his hand.