Three and a half years later.
The sun was about to set. Bare-chested, Long Qianming kept practicing the most basic spear techniques in the courtyard, every move already showing a measure of a grandmaster's bearing.
A breeze swept up the scattered leaves, sending them whirling through the air. Xiao Tian stood guard nearby, the fluctuations of Soul Power around him gradually growing more solid, showing signs of an impending breakthrough.
Suddenly, with a bang, a hollow, resonant burst of Soul Power erupted around Long Qianming and spread outward. He set his spear upright beside him, excitement showing on his face.
"Five years, five whole years! I've finally broken through to rank ten!"
Ever since killing the Shadow Tiger for Soul Beast meat, Long Qianming had changed his daily routine. At night, he entered the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt dark-attribute Soul Beasts for their meat; during the day, he returned to the clinic and opened for patients at noon.
To hunt Soul Beasts more effectively and avoid the pronounced weakness of External Martial Soul Masters in later stages-a powerful Martial Soul but a weak Soul Master-Long Qianming had specifically asked patients who came for consultations to teach him techniques for long-handled weapons such as spears and lances.
With day and night reversed, he cycled between Soul Hunting and running his clinic. After accumulating a certain amount of money, he began buying whale rubber and some high-grade medicinal bath ingredients.
Taking whale rubber while soaking in medicinal baths strengthened his physique and also slightly increased his cultivation speed.
Although whale rubber of different ages had different effects, and the first dose had the best effect, Long Qianming still persisted in taking it every three days. Quantitative change would eventually bring about qualitative change.
At only eleven years old, he was already a meter and a half tall, with an exceptionally sturdy build and handsome features, utterly different from the frail, sallow boy he had once been.
Just then, a seven-year-old child walked in carrying some things and spoke in a childish voice.
"Big Brother Long, my parents asked me to bring you a jug of wine and some freshly made homemade lotus seed soup for you to try."
"Thank you. The blacksmith assessment is coming up in the next few days! Make sure you review properly. I'm waiting for the day you become a divine blacksmith's personal disciple and forge divine weapons for me."
Long Qianming accepted the gifts and very gently stroked Si Long's head.
The child was named Si Long, and his Martial Soul was the Diamond Chisel. A year earlier, his family of six had moved diagonally across from the clinic.
They had opened a restaurant, but whenever mealtime came around, Si Long and his three brothers would always follow the scent over to cadge a meal.
It was not that their own family's cooking was bad, but that Long Qianming's medicinal cuisine was simply too delicious. Not only could it slightly improve a Soul Master's cultivation speed, it could also ease some fatigue.
Through these repeated visits, the two families had grown close. Whenever the clinic was crowded with patients, Si Long and his three brothers would come over to help with whatever tasks they could manage.
Long Qianming also taught them how to make some medicinal dishes. While helping their restaurant's business boom, he could earn an extra share of the profits and, in turn, boost the medicinal herb business at his own shop.
"Big Brother Long, I definitely won't disappoint you. After all, my Innate Soul Power is rank five. I'm the person best suited to becoming a blacksmith."
"My dream is to become a divine blacksmith and forge a divine spear for you."
As Si Long said this, his little eyes became exceptionally resolute, as though the world of blacksmithing would undergo a sudden, dramatic upheaval the moment he became a junior blacksmith.
"All right, all right, all right. This is the latest medicinal dish recipe. Keep it safe and take it home to your parents."
"Off you go!"
After seeing Si Long off, Long Qianming immediately packed his things and left Gengxin City. As before, he took advantage of the fading light before the city gates closed, riding a fine horse swiftly toward the Forging God Mountain Range.
Before long, darkness had shrouded the sky. After leaving his horse in a village, Long Qianming immediately headed deep into the Forging God Mountain Range along a route he had previously scouted.
Following the marks he had left before, he gradually approached the territory of a four-hundred-year Soul Beast.
"A Shadow Moon Bear around five hundred years old. I've had my eye on you for a long time. Today, just obediently become my Soul Ring!"
After repeated deliberation over his five years of Soul Hunting, Long Qianming had chosen the Shadow Moon Bear as the Soul Beast best suited to becoming his first Soul Ring.
After all, Long Qianming had yet to encounter a single dark-attribute Soul Beast with a dragon bloodline. He could only settle for the next best option and choose a Shadow Moon Bear of relatively good quality.
Most dark-attribute Soul Beasts focused on speed and concealment in battle, but Shadow Moon Bears were different. They could be considered one of the few dark-attribute Soul Beast species that abandoned the advantage of speed while retaining a bear's high defense and powerful attacks.
Not only did this kind of Soul Beast's attribute suit Xiao Tian, but the Soul Skill obtained from it was also highly likely to be a powerful offensive Soul Skill.
Yet Long Qianming searched its territory for an entire hour without finding that five-hundred-year Shadow Moon Bear.
"How strange. Not only have I not seen the Shadow Moon Bear, I haven't even seen a single Soul Beast under a hundred years old in its territory."
Long Qianming's puzzlement deepened further. There was not a single Soul Beast with even a little strength in this Shadow Moon Bear's territory. That was impossible.
"Did I come too late? Did another Soul Master or Soul Hunting team beat me to it?"
Just as he was preparing to head elsewhere to search for Soul Beasts, somewhat disappointed, a savage tiger's roar suddenly interrupted his progress.
Long Qianming immediately crouched down, while Xiao Tian, who had been leading the way, stared fiercely ahead and let out a low growl.
A tiger-like Soul Beast, roughly three meters long and wreathed in black mist, slowly emerged from the distant darkness and blocked their path.
"What? What Soul Beast is this?"
Long Qianming stared at the Soul Beast blocking his path, utterly bewildered. He had read numerous illustrated catalogs of Soul Beasts and Martial Souls, but none had recorded a tiger-type Soul Beast that emitted thick black mist all over its body.
"Could it be a mutant?"
At that moment, Long Qianming began to panic. From the looks of things, all the Soul Beasts in this area had now died in this tiger-type Soul Beast's jaws. In other words, the mutant Soul Beast before him was extremely powerful and could very well be seven hundred years old or even older.
With his current strength, even with the help of the Dragon Whisker Needle, killing it would be difficult. As for fleeing under the eyes of a dark-attribute Soul Beast, that was no different from deliberately courting death, much less fleeing before a Soul Beast this powerful.
Long Qianming kept his eyes fixed on the tiger-type Soul Beast ahead. He did not dare move a muscle, hoping it would not detect their presence.
Unexpectedly, the very next moment, the tiger-type Soul Beast charged straight toward Long Qianming's hiding place at tremendous speed.
"Xiao Tian, stop it!"
Yet before Xiao Tian had taken more than a few steps, the tiger-type Soul Beast used the black mist around its body to conceal itself and vanished?
Within seconds, the tiger-type Soul Beast suddenly appeared behind him, swinging a claw at Long Qianming.
With his vast experience fighting Soul Beasts, Long Qianming immediately drew the spear from his back and thrust it swiftly as he dodged.