Initial Gestation

The next day, Tianhai First Hospital.

Liu Tianran walked through the hospital alone. As the son of Tianhai First Hospital's vice director, he had often been brought here by his mother since childhood.

The doctors and nurses were accustomed to seeing him, but this time, Liu Tianran had come with another purpose.

After avoiding every camera and everyone's line of sight, Liu Tianran arrived at the hospital morgue. Since the Black Market Explosion a week ago, a pile of unclaimed bodies had been stored here. They were supposedly going to be cremated and cleared out tomorrow, which was precisely why Liu Tianran had come.

Looking at the corpses that had been blasted into bloody, mangled remains, Liu Tianran silently activated his Sea of Consciousness Space and began collecting their Soul Power, spiritual power, and memory fragments, hoping to find a suitable target for a clone.

The Soul Masters among these corpses were not particularly strong, but there were still several Soul Elders among them. From within the group, Liu Tianran selected a suitable target.

This person was named Li Ziming. He was fifteen years old, possessed the Crimson Flame Hammer Martial Soul, and was a level 32 Soul Elder with three yellow Soul Rings. His father had once been a level-four blacksmith, and his family had left behind a modest amount of savings.

Ever since his parents had both died in an accident six years ago, he had lived alone. Relying on the inheritance his parents left him, he had supported himself until reaching the rank of Soul Elder.

His Soul Master talent made him a genius among commoners. As for his secondary profession, perhaps influenced by his father, he had inherited the family trade and become a blacksmith as well.

However, his talent for forging was truly nothing outstanding. He had studied it since childhood, yet after ten years of learning, he was still only a level-two blacksmith.

He was rather low-key within the Forging Masters Association. He had officially become a level-two blacksmith two years ago, but because of his young age, he could barely be considered a minor genius there—the sort with some talent, but not enough to warrant special attention.

When the explosion occurred, he had been planning to visit the black market to buy some cheap Rare Metals and blacksmithing notes, hoping to advance to level three. He had never expected to run into such terrible misfortune and have his life end so abruptly.

In Liu Tianran's eyes, he was an extremely suitable target for his first clone. His face had been completely ruined in the explosion.

No one had come to claim the body during the past week, and his social circle had been very small. No one would specifically notice that he had died in that explosion.

Moreover, he was low-key to the point of being somewhat withdrawn. He lived alone in the suburbs and had simple relationships, making it difficult for flaws to be exposed.

His identity as a blacksmith also suited Liu Tianran's requirements for building his initial foundation and pursuing his goals.

After all, outstanding blacksmiths held exceptional status in Douluo Continent Three. This also meant that they could possess high-quality connections and broad channels for acquiring rare resources.

Once he developed, he could facilitate the accumulation of identities and cultivation funds for future clones. His identity as an ordinary commoner genius could also provide some cover for his future "progress."

Besides, it was more reassuring to entrust the metals needed for his and his clones' Battle Armor and Mecha to one of their own.

In every respect, he met Liu Tianran's requirements.

Thus, after finishing his energy collection, Liu Tianran took a piece of flesh from each Soul Master. He then quietly went to the hospital's blood storage center, found a blood sample tube marked with the name "Mu Chen," collected a drop of blood, and left the hospital.

Skysea City, a suburban residential district. Avoiding the eyes of passersby, Liu Tianran followed Li Ziming's memories to his home. He opened the door according to those memories and entered.

Although a week had already passed and a layer of dust had settled inside, it was still clear that this was the home of a craftsman devoted to forging. Several pieces of metal and tools could still be seen in the corners. The owner's obsession with forging was obvious. Though the belongings were packed together in a somewhat messy fashion, the dust covering them made the place feel especially desolate.

After sighing for a moment, Liu Tianran began his great undertaking of creating a "clone." Entering the Sea of Consciousness Space, he placed Li Ziming's flesh and Mu Chen's blood on the laboratory table. He activated three large energy storage tanks, and as energy poured in, a new "Li Ziming" gradually came into being.

However, this "Li Ziming" possessed far greater talent than the original. To improve his potential and future prospects, Liu Tianran had specifically gone to the hospital's blood storage center and stolen the blood Mu Chen, the seven-star Saint Craftsman, had provided during his last medical examination.

The results were highly gratifying. Not only had it greatly enhanced his cultivation and forging talents, but it had also allowed him to obtain some forging knowledge from it.

Using the characteristics of Mu Chen's Blazing Sun Martial Soul, he further purified the fire attribute of the Crimson Flame Hammer Martial Soul, causing it to evolve. Its flames became even more powerful, and its Martial Soul quality rose from a high-grade Martial Soul to a top-grade Martial Soul. Compared to its original name, it was now more appropriately called the Blazing Sun Hammer.

His spiritual power and vitality had improved the most. The spiritual power and vitality of nearly a hundred people had been infused into him, allowing Li Ziming's spiritual power to reach the Spirit Sea Realm, while his vitality was already no weaker than that of a five-ring Spirit King.

Next, using the energy he had collected, Liu Tianran raised his cultivation to level 39. Li Ziming now already possessed the ability to achieve Thousand Refinement. As long as he accumulated some more experience, he could challenge level four. Even a Saint Craftsman would be tempted to take in a disciple with such talent.

By then, he would be able to draw the attention and receive the nurturing of the Forging Masters Association's upper ranks, allowing him to grow more quickly.

Even in a first-tier Federation city like Skysea City, a twenty-year-old level-four blacksmith was already an extraordinary forging genius.

A fifteen-year-old level-four blacksmith was a genius rarely seen once in a century within the forging world. With proper cultivation, he could hope to become a Saint Craftsman in the future.

At the Saint Craftsman level, even seven-star Saint Craftsmen stood among the peak figures of the forging world. They could serve in decision-making positions at the Forging Masters Association headquarters or become presidents of major branches.

Even if they took positions at top powers such as Shrek Academy, the Spirit Pagoda, the Tang Sect, or the War God Hall, they would undoubtedly be treated as honored guests.

Ultimately, Saint Craftsmen could perform Soul Forging and provide the metals needed by Title Douluo for Three-Word Battle Armor.

In this era, where Divine Craftsmen were unique and the output of divine-grade metals was limited, Four-Word Battle Armor was almost exclusive to those in power among top factions. Three-Word Battle Armor was already the ultimate pursuit of most Title Douluo and even Super Douluo.

Someone like Tang Wulin in the original story, who became a level-four blacksmith at eleven or twelve, was simply a freakish anomaly with cheats enabled.

As long as Li Ziming entered the sight of the Forging Masters Association's upper ranks, he would certainly bring Liu Tianran even greater returns in the future.