Spirit Forging Theory Alarmed Kong Deming, Holy Spirit Cult Arrives

Yan Jingchuan's spirit forging technique was something Jing Hongchen had never even heard of.

No normal person would believe in a technique that had yet to be proven in this era, let alone one proposed by a child.

But precisely because Yan Jingchuan had proposed it, Jing Hongchen was certain it was real.

Hadn't he also treated Yan Jingchuan as a child just a few days ago? Yet everything Yan Jingchuan had displayed had completely stunned him.

Leaving everything else aside, Yan Jingchuan's knowledge of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cave's exact location was enough to make Jing Hongchen believe him.

"Hundred Forging is easy enough to achieve. Thousand Forging is somewhat difficult, while Spirit Forging is best tailored to the individual."

Xiao Hongchen suddenly voiced his understanding.

Yan Jingchuan and Jing Hongchen had not avoided discussing the matter in front of the Hongchen siblings. They had heard every word.

Jing Hongchen said nothing. He knew his grandson too well. The boy considered himself the Sun Moon Empire's greatest genius, but in truth, he was somewhat like a frog at the bottom of a well.

He wasn't even a blacksmith, had never forged metal before, so where did that confidence come from...

As Jing Hongchen inwardly mocked his grandson, he froze before suddenly realizing something. Metal!?

Xiao Hongchen's Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul was renowned for controlling metal. With Xiao Hongchen around, what need was there for a blacksmith?

Having figured that out, Jing Hongchen looked at Yan Jingchuan. Yan Jingchuan had also caught on by then. They met each other's eyes for a moment, then started laughing at the same time.

The way they looked at Xiao Hongchen was all wrong.

"Hey! Grandpa, why are you looking at me like that...?"

Stared at by two people wearing sinister grins, their gazes clearly full of ill intent, Xiao Hongchen felt a chill run down his back.

Yan Jingchuan could not suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth. Wasn't Old Xiao a natural-born metal production machine? He could control metal over a wide area to purify it and "forge" it at its core. If his soul power ran low, they could feed him cheap metal to replenish it, keeping him going twenty-four hours a day.

A nuclear-powered workhorse had just been born!

Xiao Hongchen could more or less achieve Hundred Forging and Thousand Forging already. It didn't matter if he could not manage the later Spirit Forging, Soul Forging, or even Heaven Forging yet. They could take it slowly; they had plenty of time.

With that in mind, there was a strong chance Battle Armor would emerge in this era.

Filled with excitement, the two returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy of Mingdu with the chilled Xiao Hongchen and the gloating Meng Hongchen.

The first thing they did upon returning was neither rest nor recover from their injuries. They rushed straight to the Hall of Virtue.

Meng Hongchen was naturally excluded. It was not that her talent for soul tools was lacking, but that she had something more important to do.

The remaining half of the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow in the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cave had all been prepared for her. If she made good use of it, even if Meng Hongchen's Martial Soul could not reach Ultimate Ice, it would certainly come very close.

Once Meng Hongchen's cultivation gradually improved in the future, she might even be able to absorb the Ice Emperor's soul ring.

During this trip to the Extreme North, the Ice Emperor had already made it onto Yan Jingchuan's must-kill list. Since he could not absorb the Ice Emperor's soul ring, Meng Hongchen was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

After settling Meng Hongchen in, the remaining three entered the underground Hall of Virtue.

As the Sun Moon Empire's core soul tool research institution, the Hall of Virtue stood alongside Shrek's Sea God Pavilion and the Noumenon Sect as one of the present era's three great powers.

There was a famous saying in the Soul Master world: Any soul tool produced by the Hall of Virtue was guaranteed to be exceptional!

This massive underground institution was Yan Jingchuan's first visit.

On one hand, there had been no need for him to come before. Yan Jingchuan's talent in soul tools was not especially outstanding, so there was little difference in where he studied.

On the other hand, Jing Hongchen had not trusted Yan Jingchuan at the time and had deliberately guarded against him. But things were different now.

Jing Hongchen found a laboratory specifically for them and placed Xiao Hongchen at his workstation. From now on, Old Xiao would probably be hammering metal here.

Yan Jingchuan's series of ideas were still only theories and had yet to be put into practice. They needed Xiao Hongchen to first try completing Hundred Forging and Thousand Forging.

Forced into work, Xiao Hongchen regretted ever opening his mouth to join the conversation.

Of course, it was already too late for regrets.

Xiao Hongchen summoned his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul, and three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared.

The surrounding metal slowly rose under his control, turning liquid in midair as it warped and twisted.

Jing Hongchen and Yan Jingchuan watched without blinking.

After a series of transformations, the metal took shape once more. All impurities had been removed and it had been purified. As expected, Hundred Forging succeeded.

Next came Thousand Forging. After undergoing secondary processing, various metals gave off different resonances.

The resonance could be used to determine the metal's internal structure, allowing it to be ranked from first to fifth grade.

Though Thousand Forging succeeded, its overall quality was generally low. Xiao Hongchen was clearly unskilled at this on his first attempt.

Picking up a piece of Thousand Forged metal, Jing Hongchen could barely restrain the wild delight in his eyes.

"So this is Thousand Forging? If this unique property is used to craft soul tools, both their power and special characteristics will increase tremendously."

"Dean, should we inform that person and have him join us as well?"

Unlike Jing Hongchen, Yan Jingchuan was not overly excited as he spoke meaningfully.

The person he meant was naturally Kong Deming, chief of the Sun Moon Empire's Worship Hall and a level-ten soul engineer.

Jing Hongchen understood Yan Jingchuan's meaning and naturally had no reason to refuse. If they wanted to quickly implement Yan Jingchuan's fantastical ideas, having Kong Deming, the father of soul tools, help them would indeed yield twice the result with half the effort.

Jing Hongchen immediately went to the Worship Hall to meet Kong Deming.

He merely repeated the techniques and ideas Yan Jingchuan had described, and Kong Deming became interested. When Jing Hongchen produced the finished Hundred Forged and Thousand Forged products as proof, Kong Deming was already seventy percent convinced.

Without hesitation, Kong Deming summoned Ye Yulin and followed Jing Hongchen to the Hall of Virtue.

Yan Jingchuan and Xiao Hongchen had not waited long before they saw the three arrive together.

Kong Deming looked ordinary. He was tall and thin, appearing no different from any other elderly man. Without knowing his name, no one would associate him with the father of soul tools.

"You are Yan Jingchuan?"

Kong Deming stepped forward and examined Yan Jingchuan.

"Yes, Elder Kong."

Yan Jingchuan gave a proper bow. He was calm, without the slightest trace of nervous awe.

"This old man finds those things you spoke of very interesting. The production and fusion of Lifebound Soul Tools will no longer be difficult, but you should still have things you haven't mentioned, correct?"

Meeting Kong Deming's eyes—murky yet gleaming with sharp light—Yan Jingchuan did not care whether the old man was trying to bluff him. He would have to say it sooner or later anyway.

So he laid out the mecha and Battle Armor from ten thousand years in the future in full.

Kong Deming, Jing Hongchen, and Ye Yulin's eyes grew brighter the more they listened.

"Good boy, this old man truly wants to crack open your head and see what exactly is inside to produce so many fantastical ideas."

Kong Deming looked at Yan Jingchuan before turning to Xiao Hongchen.

"It seems this old man will not be lonely in his later years! Are you two willing to take me as your master?"

Not only was no one around them surprised by this, they felt it was only natural.

Just by proposing so many ideas that transcended the era, Yan Jingchuan was qualified to become Kong Deming's disciple, even if only as an experimental consultant.

There was even less to say about Xiao Hongchen. In terms of metal forging ability alone, he would be the core executor of Yan Jingchuan's theories in the future.

Neither hesitated for long before decisively taking him as their master.

A thigh as powerful as a Limit Douluo was not something they would pass up for nothing.

After leaving the Hall of Virtue, Yan Jingchuan first checked on Meng Hongchen. Once he confirmed that she had officially entered seclusion, he did not disturb her further.

Halfway back to his residence, at the same place where Wang Shaojie had blocked his path before, a group of people suddenly appeared and surrounded him.

Yan Jingchuan had not expected to be surrounded again, at the same place and the same time. Jing Hongchen's management truly seemed utterly useless.

His gaze swept over the people encircling him one by one. All of them wore black robes that concealed their faces, yet Yan Jingchuan was not the least bit panicked. After all, this time was different from the last.

There was a tremendous difference between having backing and having none. Kong Deming had just given him a gift upon accepting him as a disciple. Unless they were Titled Douluo, no one could take him down in a single move.

"Who are you?"

Not one of the black-robed figures answered. A sinister, bloody aura rushed toward him.

Yan Jingchuan raised an eyebrow. Evil Soul Masters! And Evil Soul Masters on this scale and in such numbers.

Evil Soul Masters, black robes, concealed identities, and gathering in such large numbers... Could these be people from the Holy Spirit Cult?