The Legend Of The Dragon King

by Srtyi

Following the advancement of soul technology, the humans of Douluo Continent conquered the ocean and discovered two new continents. After being hunted by spirit masters excessively, the soul beasts are nearly extinct. After countless years of lying dormant, the King of the Soul Beasts has awakened in the Great Star Dou Forest. It will lead its remaining clansmen in taking vengeance

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Prologue

A dense canopy of overarching trees blocked out the sun, serving as an impenetrable barrier to the sun's glare. Shrouded in darkness, sunlight was completely forbidden from entering the depths of this forest.

Deep within the forest laid a small lake whose clear waters allowed even the lakebed to be visible. This clear and pure water resembled a deep blue crystal in richness, but the waterline rested far below the shores, as if it could dry up at any moment.

A breath of life within the lake waters rippled out, but it wasn't very intense; truthfully, it was rather weak.

A lone man stood beside the lake.

He wore a black robe and looked to be in his forties. A strand of golden hair hung down from his forehead to rest alongside his cheek, accentuating his handsome and resolute appearance.

He simply stood there, lifeless, an aura of listlessness radiating off him.

A short distance away from him stood several people of varying heights and sizes. They had all sorts of appearances, but one common trait among them was their expression: an expression full of gloom.

"Beast God." A woman in a green jade cheong sam had quietly arrived at the black robed man's side, a respectful tone lacing her voice when she spoke up.

The black robed man addressed as the Beast God began trembling, a tint of agony gracing the corners of his mouth. "Beast God? I fear that we are all that is left of the soul beasts. Who am I supposed to be the god of?"

The green robed woman went silent for a moment before softly saying, "Ten thousand years have already gone by. Ten thousand years have gone by since Huo Yuhao established the Spirit Pagoda. The Spirit Pagoda still exists today, but as for us soul beasts… we are nearing extinction."

The Beast God bitterly remarked, "Humanity… They have already grown too powerful for us to contend with. Star Dou Forest is the sole haven left for us soul beasts."

"That's right…" The green robed woman trailed off in silence.

The Beast God suddenly raised his head, two golden blazes of rich light emitting from his eyes. In that moment, a terrifying aura broke out, causing the entire world to shudder.

Hum… The ground beneath their feet shook for a moment before increasing in intensity The lake waters were still as clear as before, but bubbles were now rapidly rising from its surface. After another moment, the quivering of the earth intensified even further, becoming even more violent.

"What's going on? Have the humans come?" The green robed woman cried out in alarm.

"Let us fight to the death then!" A powerful, burly man bellowed out as his entire body underwent a sudden transformation. He transformed into a ferocious bear over thirty meters in height, his entire body covered in a dark gold luster.

"Bear Lord, calm down. It isn't the humans!" Beast God shouted out. His formerly grim face was now overcome with an indescribable euphoria.

"Finished! Finished! Finished!" A muffled voice resounded throughout the forest without warning. The voice seemed to echo from all directions, which, in addition to it being muffled, made it difficult to determine the gender of the voice.

Bang! The earth cracked open, and the entire forest shuddered. The little water still within the lake was sent spraying upwards, instantly exposing the barren lakebed.

Bang! A silvery light bubbled up from the crevice in the earth and then heavily smacked into the shore.

It was a giant claw of a glorious silver color. That silver claw was covered in numerous silver hexagonal scales, each one refracting light to create an astonishing splendor. That pounding sound brought with it an incomparable oppressive power that made all living beings kneel reverently.

The Beast God's rapt gaze grew even brighter as he took a step forward and kneeled down on one knee. He respectfully proclaimed, "I welcome the lord!"

The earth exploded forth instantly, releasing a powerful aura that even caused the ferocious, thirty meter tall bear to be sent flying. A gigantic figure over three hundred meters in length suddenly soared out before landing heavily.

The nearby towering trees that had once stood tall were now replaced by this giant beast. When faced with this silver colossus, however, they could only prostrate themselves before it.

"It died, but I still live!" The deep voice roared with sorrow. "Those despicable humans want to exterminate us!? Since I have awakened, their day of destruction has arrived at last!"

A resplendent silver light blinded all of the soul beasts. They could only kneel, head lowered, as their bodies trembled with ecstasy.

The Beast God eagerly said, "Lord! Humanity has already grown too powerful! Even I am unable to contend for very long against their best soul mechas! Humanity has managed to thoroughly suppress us with their science and technology!"

The silver figure slowly lowered its head and spoke, but this time, its voice didn't resonate throughout the forest. "In order to destroy them, you must first understand them! Follow me! Since our world is already on the brink of destruction, then we will go and conquer their world!

The gigantic figure slowly stepped forward, towards the forest's exit. Through the canopy of the of towering trees, a single ray of light broke through and illuminated its tremendous form. But with each step it took, it slowly began to shrink in size. Just as its figure disappeared into the distance, it had taken on the form of a human being.

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Chapter 1 – Awakening Day

Glorybound City was a small town sitting on the border between the ocean and the eastern coast of the Sun Moon Federation.

Today was an exceptionally bustling day in the city, it was the annual Awakening Day.

All of the people residing upon the Douluo Continent possessed something called a "martial soul." The martial soul was a part of the body which could be awakened when they became six years old, regardless of whether they were animals or plants. Through the means of an awakening ceremony, they were able to awaken their own martial soul. This was precisely the purpose of the annual Awakening Day, to awaken their martial souls.

If someone's martial soul was a hoe, then their ability to till the fields would far exceed those of others. If instead they had an animal for a martial soul, they might possess some of the abilities of said animal. Due to this, the martial soul had long since become the most significant factor in determining someone's life.

However, the emergence of soul power was even more important. Soul power was a type of energy that nourished and upgraded the martial soul. Although everyone possessed a martial soul, only one in a thousand people might possess soul power.

The soul power rank represented someone's future and power. As soon as their martial soul was awakened, they could cultivate soul power in order to nourish and upgrade their martial soul. Thus, over the 100,000 years the Douluo Continent has existed, the most noble profession has been that of a Soul Master.

Due to this, even commoners would look forward to their children becoming six years old and awakening their martial soul, in hopes that they would possess soul power. If they possessed soul power, their lives would be transformed, benefitting them and their whole family.

The moment dawn arrived, the streets in front of the Red Mountain Academy were packed. The streets were flooded with parents and their children who had come to participate in the Awakening.

"Dad, what do you think my martial soul will be?" A small boy, just barely six years old, said with excitement as he looked towards his father. He loved to listen to his father's stories about Soul Masters. He had a pair of large eyes filled with a longing for the future.

The young boy had a head full of short black hair and a stature slightly taller than others of the same age. However, his most attractive feature were his large, clear black eyes and long eyelashes which wouldn't lose to a girl at all. Even with his commoner's clothing, his outstanding appearance could easily draw the eyes of others.

His father was a middle aged man who shared a similar appearance. He had a medium build and an average height, everything about him was just average.

"Dad doesn't know either. It all depends on luck." His father released a gloomy sigh within his heart. Actually, the Awakening Day was a decisive day that decided one's life and future. Whether or not someone had soul power would decide the trajectory of their life. Fortunately, in this era those who were unable to become Soul Masters were still able to have a pretty good future.

"I'll definitely have soul power, right?" The pretty young boy's eyes were filled with hope.

His father patted his head and smiled. "Regardless of whether or not you have soul power, dad will always love you."

There was an unceasing torrent of parents and children passing as they exited the academy. The overwhelming majority of them all left with sighs of disappointment, but occasionally one of them would be overjoyed. There was no need to ask why; their martial soul must have given birth to soul power. This immediately attracted the envious and jealous gazes of others.

As time passed, the sun's radiance intensified, while the pretty young boy's previous enthusiasm continued to wane.

"Tang Wulin!" A teacher walked out from the Red Mountain Academy with a list in hand, calling out the next name.

"I'm here!" With wide eyes, the pretty boy jumped up full of excitement.

Tang Ziran was also slightly startled as his excited son pulled him forward with his small hands.

"Follow me." Perhaps it was due to the excessive workload on Awakening Day, but the teacher seemed somewhat apathetic as he quickly turned around and began walking ahead. Tang Ziran brought Tang Wulin and hastened to catch up with the teacher.

As they walked along the small path inside of the academy, Tang Wulin was excitedly taking everything in. It was just like he had said, everything was a novelty to him. Red Mountain Academy was an elementary grade comprehensive academy able to hold two thousand students. The buildings within the academy were all simple and unadorned with white roofs and red walls. The academy grounds were exceptionally clean. Awakening Day was right before the start of a new term. In comparison to the clamor outside of the walls, the academy seemed unusually peaceful. Tang Wulin's excited heart seemed to have been calmed by this environment.

The teacher brought them to the front of a circular building before telling Tang Ziran, "Would the child's parent please wait here for a moment?"

Tang Ziran nodded his head and told his son, "Listen to the teacher's commands, and good luck son! Dad will be waiting right here for you."

Tang Wulin rigorously nodded his head. "I'll definitely have a powerful martial soul, dad!"

As he watched his son follow the teacher into the circular building, a trace of disappointment and frustration appeared within Tang Ziran's eyes as he reminisced of the past. Every single elementary academy would have this circular building. It was called the Awakening Chamber, and it was specifically used to aid six year old children in the awakening of their martial soul. Before the day of the awakening ceremony, the academy would invite a Spirit Master from the Spirit Pagoda to conduct the awakening ceremony. Decades ago, he had the same hopes when he entered the Awakening Chamber.

There wasn't just a single awakening area within the Awakening Chamber, rather there were seven floors and within each one was an Awakening Chamber. Tang Wulin was brought to the Awakening Chamber on the third floor.

As soon as he entered the Awakening Chamber, Tang Wulin was dazzled. All of the floors, the walls, and even the ceiling had wonderful inscriptions carved into them to create an elegant, decorative design.

Within the Awakening Chamber was a middle aged man wearing a simple orange robe, that featured the embroidered form of a soul beast.

Since childhood, Tang Wulin had loved to listen to his father's stories and within those stories, Spirit Masters would always appear. These Spirit Masters from the Spirit Pagoda were powerful and mysterious existences. They were an exceptionally special group of Soul Masters and held an extremely majestic status on the Douluo Continent. However, this was the first time he had ever seen one.

"Hello." Tang Wulin shyly replied.

The Soul Master wore a gentle smile on his face. "Come here child. Stand in the middle."

Tang Wulin blinked for a moment before he cutely walked over and stood in the middle. He couldn't help but ask, "Lord Spirit Master, what kind of martial soul will I have?"

The Spirit Master replied with a smile, "Ah, I don't know either! After you've awakened, you'll naturally be able to see what it is. Anyway your eyes are so pretty, it would be just perfect if you got a martial soul related to your eyes."

Tang Wulin's eyes shined. "Soul eyes? I heard that the first master of the Spirit Pagoda had spirit eyes…."

The Spirit Master interrupted him, "Quiet down. I'm about to begin."

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Chapter 2 – Martial Soul Awakening

Tang Wulin stood nervously in the middle of the Awakening Chamber with his eyes darting all over the room, after all, he was only six years old. Without a parent accompanying him in this strange and exciting environment, how could his mind be serene?

Right at that moment, a gentle white light shone from the Spirit Master's hands and attracted his attention.

That white light, could it be the fabled soul power that only Spirit Masters possess?

While under his astonished gaze, the Spirit Master raised his right arm slightly. The white light vibrated before flying off towards the sky and blossoming into fireworks that illuminated the Awakening Chamber with its splendor.

Starting from the ceiling, the inscription lines filled with light as it moved towards the walls. It was as if it possessed a strong and revitalizing energy, as well as a life of its own. The lines kept lighting up until they converged below Tang Wulin's feet.

A comfortably numbing energy crept up his legs before entering his body from his heart. Tang Wulin's body couldn't help but tremble as he struggled to hold on. It felt as if his body was being electrocuted.

Everything blurred before his eyes, and an unclear image unceasingly flickered within his mind. He wanted a clear look at it, but he could only feel its flowing shadows. In the end, he was able to see it, but he couldn't remember what it was.

From the view of the Spirit Master, Tang Wulin's body was already being enveloped in the light, and in turn, was releasing its own light. Within this ancient traditional ceremony, his martial soul had been awakened.

"Ah——!" Tang Wulin suddenly screamed, causing the Spirit Master to jump in fright. An ordinary child usually wouldn't feel too much during their Awakening, but an extremely low number of them would experience intense pain due to their weak bodies being unable to bear the energy.

The Spirit Master's body disappeared in a flash and appeared in front of Tang Wulin. In case the situation truly did take a turn for the worse, he would immediately stop the ceremony and ensure Tang Wulin's safety.

After he got close, he was astonished to see that some golden lines were flickering on Tang Wulin's forehead. Afterwards, those golden lines began to spread to his four limbs, creating a network of golden lines.

What kind of martial soul was this? This Spirit Master was extremely experienced; he had awakened thousands and tens of thousands of children. Yet, this was the first time he had seen the situation that was occurring in Tang Wulin's body.

A faint energy undulated as it was emitted from Tang Wulin's body. This energy originated from his lower abdomen, the most common place for soul power to appear from. Although the energy was feeble, its existence was undoubtedly real.

The Spirit Master was pleasantly surprised, this was a martial soul with soul power! Most of the time, he could conduct the ceremony for days without encountering a child with soul power. It would seem that today's luck was pretty good. The only question was: what was his martial soul?

The previous golden lines from before had already disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed at all. Tang Wulin seemed to be enduring an immense pain as his eyes were tightly closed. He slowly raised his right arm.

The hollow of his palm faced upwards, and a pale blue light emitted from it. In his hands appeared a small light blue grass that quietly rotated and extended in his hand. With a delicate and soft sway, an exceptionally feeble energy fluctuated out.

"Bluesilver Grass?" The Spirit Master's voice exuded disappointment, but it was once again substituted with amazement in a moment. He had seen the Bluesilver Grass martial soul so many times before, this was a completely ordinary martial soul! Bluesilver Grass was so common that it covered the whole Douluo Continent as well as the Star Luo Continent and Sky Dou Continent. Even the lawn of Red Mountain Academy was covered in Bluesilver Grass. How could this type of trash martial soul give birth to soul power?

So painful! It felt as if Tang Wulin's body was being ripped to shreds.

His body became limp and numb to the point of being nearly comfortable, as that gentle energy continued to be poured into his body. However, an intense heat quickly bubbled forth from the hundreds of bones of his four limbs. The heat wrecked havoc on his body, making him feel like he had a bloated stomach that was about to burst. Under this pain, he was unable to breathe.

His whole body felt as if it was being ripped apart. Bone, muscle and flesh. There wasn't a single aspect spared from the pain.

After what seemed like a very, very long time, this fit of pain gradually dissipated. Afterwards he felt a warm thread from the hollow of his palm, Tang Wulin opened his eyes.

A small light blue grass, verdant and lush, was undulating in the palm of his hand. 'Bluesilver Grass?'

Although Tang Wulin was young, he clearly remembered what he was doing at that moment. Immediately after waking up to reality, he said, "Bluesilver Grass? This is my martial soul?"

Even though he hadn't properly studied spirit beasts before, he still had some common knowledge. Naturally, he knew that Bluesilver Grass was a type of trash martial soul. Furthermore, it was the worst trash of them all.

"En. It is. This is your martial soul." The Spirit Master said so with a smile, yet his eyes couldn't help but reveal a trace of pity.

Possessing soul power was definitely a good thing, but if his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass…

Tang Wulin's lips softly quivered, and an intense torrent of sadness attacked his tiny heart. After anticipating for so long, it turned out that he actually had a trash martial soul.

"Child, don't be sad. You possess soul power." The Spirit Master hastily said.

"I, I have soul power?" Tang Wulin met his words with a look of astonishment.

The Spirit Master nodded in response. "After I tested it, you actually have rank 3 innate soul power. Although it can't be considered amazing, it still means that you possess soul power. As long as you put in great effort, then you will be able to become a Soul Master too!"

Tang Wulin foolishly stared. "But, but my martial soul is Bluesilver Grass…"

The Spirit Master laughed. "Have you ever heard the tale of the Tang Sect? The founding patriarch of the Tang Sect's martial soul was actually the Bluesilver Grass! He relied on this martial soul that other deemed as trash to rebuke the Heavens and Earth and defeated the wicked Martial Soul Hall twenty thousand years ago."

Tang Wulin blinked in surprise. How could he have never heard of the tale of the Tang Sect's founding patriarch? After all, the legend of the almighty masters of the Tang Sect and Spirit Pagoda were the most widespread legends on the continent as well as the most universally appreciated.

"But wasn't the Tang Sect's founding patriarch's martial soul the Bluesilver Emperor?" Tang Wulin earnestly asked.

"Eh…" The Spirit Master was somewhat embarrassed. Clearly, this little guy wasn't so easy to fool. "The Bluesilver Emperor is the equivalent of an evolved Bluesilver Grass. If you wish to become a Soul Master, then you must put in your greatest effort."

Tang Wulin bit his lip. "Thank you, Lord Spirit Master."

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Chapter 3 – Little Wulin's Family

Even as he exited the gates of Red Mountain Academy, Tang Wulin was flummoxed.

Like every year, those who awakened soul power along with their martial soul were invited to join the Soul Master class of Red Mountain Academy as new students. No matter which elementary academy it was, the Soul Master class was undoubtedly the most important.

Tang Wulin's previous agitation hadn't completely dissipated; his head felt swollen, and his body was heating up. He dizzily continued walking.

"Son, you really are one in a million!" Tang Ziran's gentle voice awakened Tang Wulin from his dazed state.

Tang Wulin raised his head and faced his father's gentle and loving expression. "Dad, is Bluesilver Grass a trash martial soul?"

Tang Ziran solemnly replied, "How could it be a trash martial soul? You need to know only one in a thousand people have soul power! You have both a trash martial soul and soul power, doesn't that mean you're one in a million? Therefore, my son is unique and by definition unmatched. Haven't I told you the story of the founding ancestor of the Tang Sect, Tang San? It was with his Bluesilver Grass…."

Tang Wulin's family lived in the commoner's district of Glorybound City. His father was a machine repairman specializing in soul machines. However, his skill was only ordinary so he could only earn a meager wage to support his family.

His mother, Lan Yue, was a housewife and had single handedly taken care of Tang Wulin. She was exceptionally skilled at cooking delicious dishes.

The entirety of their home was comprised of a living room about a dozen square meters large, a small kitchen, a washroom and two rooms with less than ten square meters in space.

"Son, you're home! You must be hungry. Mom will cook up something delicious for you." Lang Yue couldn't be regarded as a beauty, but she was definitely charming. She crouched down and hugged little Wulin.

"I'm not hungry mom, just a bit sleepy. I want to go take a nap." Tang Wulin hugged her neck in response before scurrying off towards his own room.

Lang Yue watched the little figure retreat into his room before gently sighing. "This child has wanted to become a Soul Master since childhood, but becoming a Soul Master isn't that easy! We need to go comfort him."

Tang Ziran entered the small living room and sat down beside the dinner table. For lunch, there was sauted vegetables, stewed pork ribs, some salad and a bowl of three vegetable soup. This was already considered luxurious for the Tang family.

"He has soul power, but I wish he didn't." Tang Ziran sighed.

Astonished, Lang Yue sat down beside her husband. "What did you say? Wulin possesses soul power? Doesn't that mean he can become a Soul Master?"

Tang Ziran forced out a bitter laugh. "How could it be that easy? His martial soul is Bluesilver Grass, and his innate soul power is only rank 3. Becoming a Soul Master is easier said than done. Although he is able to enter the Soul Master class, I fear that the pressure will be too much for him."

Lang Yue was confused for a moment, but quickly understood the meaning of her husband's words. "Then Wulin, he…."

Tang Ziran replied, "He seems to be in shock. He didn't say anything on the way back. In the process of growing up, our family's little man will definitely encounter some setbacks. It's best to just leave him be for now."

Lang Yue glanced at her son's room with worried eyes. Sighing loudly, she refilled her husband's bowl of rice. "Let's eat first then, we won't disturb him either. Wulin has always been obedient. So we'll transfer him to the normal class if it doesn't work out."

"En."

Tang Ziran and his wife both didn't know that it wasn't because he encountered this setback that Tang Wulin didn't eat lunch. He truly was too exhausted to eat.

As soon as he returned to his room, he fell headfirst onto his bed and entered the land of dreams.

Soon after, Tang Wulin's body began twisting and turning atop the bed, his skin flushed crimson. If Tang Ziran or Lang Yue were there, they would discover that Tang Wulin's body temperature was increasing at an astonishing rate.

The deep red pigmentation of his skin began to gradually penetrate deeper and deeper until his meridian channels were becoming faintly visible. Even with this faintness, his blood flow could be seen. His heartbeat began increasing rapidly; it had become at least three times his normal heartbeat.

The gold lines that had appeared in the awakening chamber, once again re-emerged on his forehead. The line pattern began to extend from his head to his toes, before returning upwards once again.

After three cycles of traveling the length of his body, the gold line pattern quietly receded back into the depths his body once again. Tang Wulin's whole body began making slight creaking noises, but after a moment, the undisturbed silence returned, and his body returned to its normal temperature. He then entered an even deeper slumber.

In his dreams, Tang Wulin found himself in a prairie completely covered in Bluesilver Grass with a golden sky overhead. In front of him stood a gigantic colossus possessing a large golden mouth that seemed to have dropped from the golden sky. In the next moment, he was swallowed by the golden mouth and entered a borderless golden realm.

"Ah~" He cried out in surprise and abruptly sat up. Tang Wulin found himself covered in oily and sticky sweat. He couldn't even find the words to describe the discomfort he was in.

Having been raised in an impoverished family, Tang Wulin was significantly more sensible and mature than others of his age. He didn't go disturb his mother and father. Rather, he peeled off his clothes and went to the washroom to wash himself off. He was amazed to discover that the odorous sweat immediately disappeared after he washed himself.

"Ah, where's Lin Lin?" Just then, Lang Yue's voice called out from outside.

"I'm in here mom. I'm taking a bath." Tang Wulin hurriedly dashed out in nothing but his underwear, trying to respond to his mother's calls.

Rebukingly, Lang Yue said, "Hurry up and put on some clothes. You're going to freeze." She pinched her son's tender little pink face before pushing him into his room.

After closing the door, Lang Yue muttered to herself, 'That little guy's skin is even more tender and elastic now. Mom is so jealous!'

It was only after Tang Wulin dressed himself and left his small room that he realized the sky had already turned dark. He had actually slept away the whole afternoon.

Tang Ziran had taken a leave of absence today, so he would be at home the entire time. He beckoned to Tang Wulin, "Come over here son."

Tang Wulin sat down beside his father. Right when Tang Ziran was about to speak, Tang Wulin's belly cried out. Gugu. After hearing it Tang Ziran immediately broke out into laughter with Lang Yue.

Tang Wulin happily smiled, at their good-natured laughter. "Mom, can I go eat? I'm really hungry."

"Go eat." Lang Yue served him a bowl of rice. She shot her husband a glance, indicating that they should speak after he finished eating.

When Tang Wulin raised his rice bowl a fourth time, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were already extremely shocked. Even if he hadn't eaten lunch, it was impossible for him to be able to eat this much!

"Mom, it's delicious. I still want more…"

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Chapter 4 – Entering the Academy

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue hadn't eaten their fill yet as all the food on the table had been sucked into their son's belly like a tornado. Yet, Tang Wulin still wasn't full.

"Son, are you the indignant food devourer of legend?" said Tang Ziran helplessly. In the end, all of the food on the table was inhaled by Tang Wulin's belly, and Lang Yue had to forbid him from eating anymore.

Puzzled, Tang Wulin looked at his father. "Dad, why am I indignant?"

Tang Ziran replied, "Dad really wants to ask you son, do you plan on entering the Soul Master class, or do you want dad to help you enter the ordinary class?"

Tang Wulin answered. "Of course it's the Soul Master class! I want to become a famous Soul Master!"

Tang ZI Ran firmly said, "Your martial soul is the Bluesilver Grass. Even in the legends about the Tang Sect's ancestor, the Bluesilver Grass was an extremely average martial soul. Cultivating it will definitely be difficult, and you will encounter many challenges. Do you really wish to walk down this path?"

"Yeah! I want to become a Soul Master. After I become a Soul Master, I can make lots of money and buy mom and dad lots of delicious food." Tang Wulin was full to the brim with childish dreams. To the side Lang Yue watched him with red eyes and thought about how he had always been well-behaved and thoughtful since he was little.

"Good," Tang Ziran nodded. "Since you're set on this, then mom and dad will support you. But if you regret this choice in the future, just tell dad, and I'll help you transfer classes. Just remember that mom and dad have never wanted you to become a dragon or a phoenix. We only want you to be happy. We'll be content as long as you're happy. There's nothing else more important in our hearts than your happiness. Do you understand?"

Tang Wulin beamed a bright smile in reply. "I'm already really happy right now!"

Aside from being hungrier than before, Tang Wulin also seemed much thirstier and sleepier as well resulting in him going to bed early.

The next day, just as the sky revealed the first glimmers of light, Tang Wulin was woken up by his father. Today was the day he would begin attending the academy. He had officially entered the Red Mountain Academy's Soul Master class. This would be the first day of his nine years of learning.

According to the regulations set by the Sun Moon Federation, elementary and intermediate academies had free tuition and were compulsory. Elementary academy was three years while the intermediate academy was six years long. There were several ways to enter an advanced academy: outstanding achievements, paying an exceedingly expensive tuition, or entering an academy of science and specializing in a field of study.

Tang Ziran accompanied Tang Wulin to the academy gates before leaving as the academy was very close to their home. Before leaving to go work, Tang Ziran repeatedly urged Tang Wulin to directly return home after school.

The Soul Master class specially had a teacher at the front doors to welcome the new students. Clearly, they were treated much better than the ordinary students.

The ordinary class would receive a normal cultural education while the Soul Master class would also learn how use their innate soul power to become Soul Masters. They would also be taught knowledge essential to Soul Masters and prepare to enter an intermediate academy.

This year's Soul Master class only had 15 students, the number of children who had awakened soul power were simply too low. It was even more apparent in a small city like Glorybound City. This year's arrivals could actually be considered a lot.

"Hey, what's your martial soul?" A chubby boy who wasn't too tall asked, happening to be beside Tang Wulin.

They were all the same age, all brimming with curiosity and anticipation for the Soul Master class.

Tang Wulin proudly answered, "It's the same as the Tang Sect's founding ancestor's, the Bluesilver Grass." As he said this, his flipped his hand, and a blue light flickered in his palm. A single strand of Bluesilver Grass danced in his palm. However, he didn't notice that this Bluesilver Grass was different than yesterday's, near its roots the grass had changed to a faint golden color. It was so indistinct that if no one would be able to discover it unless they meticulously examined it.

"Pff." The little fatty said disdainfully, "Ah, Bluesilver Grass! That's a trash martial soul." After insulting Tang Wulin, he ignored him and coldly walked away.

Tang Wulin couldn't accept this. "Then what about you? What's your martial soul?"

With a snort, the little fatty waved his right hand, causing a cold light to glow and a small knife to materialized in his hands. "Have you had a good look? My martial soul is a knife. If I'm able to cultivate to the rank of Titled Douluo, then I'll be the Knife God Douluo. I have rank 5 innate soul power. I can casually chop your Bluesilver Grass into tatters."

Looking at the difference between the fatty's short knife and his own Bluesilver Grass, Tang Wulin suddenly recalled the words his father had said the evening before.

Will cultivating Bluesilver Grass as a Soul Master really be that difficult?

All of the other students had already displayed their martial soul and boasted about its characteristics. Regardless of which martial soul it was, they were all far better than his Bluesilver Grass. Due to this, none of the other students paid any attention to him as they began forming their groups.

'I'll definitely become a Soul Master!' Tang Wulin resolved to himself with clenched fists.

"Hello everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Lin Ximeng. I'll be teaching you the basic knowledge required for Soul Masters over the next three years. How about you all introduce yourselves now? Tell us your name, martial soul and innate soul power rank."

There were only 15 students, so the introductions went by quickly. When Li Ximeng heard that Tang Wulin's martial soul was Bluesilver Grass, he couldn't help but be startled while the other students roared with laughter.

Tang Wulin's little face blushed a deep red. It felt as if he was restraining a ball of fire within his heart. 'Were these the challenges that you spoke of dad?'

Lin Ximeng quickly regained his composure and smiled. "Today is your first day of class, so I'll be explaining the different classifications for martial souls first. In the afternoon, I'll teach you how to meditate. Meditation is the only way to temper and improve your soul power. If you want to become a true Soul Master, then you all must strive your hardest."

"As you all know, everyone in our world has a martial soul. One's martial soul awakens at the age of six, and it can be anything. If one also awakens soul power, then they can cultivate to become a Soul Master. Now a question for all of you, what classifications are there for martial souls?"

"First of all, the two main classes are tool souls and beast souls. Among them, all of the martial souls that appear on the body are beast souls. If they appear separately from the body, then they're tool souls. By cultivating your soul power, you're able to upgrade your martial soul. After your soul power reaches rank 10, then you're able to become a Soul Master."

"There are also two main classes of Soul Masters. The Battle Soul Masters and Utility Soul Masters. Those who cultivate with the goal of fighting are Battle Soul Masters. Regardless of what someone's martial soul is, they are still a Soul Master. There are also many minor classifications…"

Tang Wulin's depression gradually faded away as he listened to Lin Ximeng explain the classifications of martial souls and Soul Masters. He had been filled with a curiosity towards Soul Masters since he was small. To him, this knowledge was like a door, opening up a brand new magnificent world.

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Chapter 5 – Na'er

Tang Wulin was clearly unhappy as he walked out of the Red Mountain Academy's gates. The long day coupled with these major events clearly dampened his expectations.

He had grown up in an ordinary household, full of harmony. His parent's relationship was excellent, and they loved him dearly. Even when he made a mistake, they would sincerely correct him.

However, today was the first time he had ever encountered these so called "challenges." Because his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass, he was rejected at by the other students. To make matters worse, the teacher didn't treat him very well either.

During the afternoon, the teacher clearly spent the least amount of time instructing him on how to meditate.

"Is my martial soul really that bad?" Tang Wulin's depressed expression gradually changed into one of stubbornness. "Even if my martial soul is no good, I'll definitely become an important Soul Master. Dad told me before, success is 99% effort and 1% talent. Since my martial soul isn't any good, then I'll just have to put in even more effort!'

With his optimistic nature, he had already overcome the depression of the day while inadvertently resolving himself.

'Anyways, why am I so hungry?' Tang Wulin was puzzled as he rubbed his belly. The academy included one meal for lunch, and that meal was limitless. In the aspect of food, the Soul Master class also had much better food than the ordinary classes. Tang Wulin had eaten so much that he was given the nickname of "Rice Bucket." He had eaten enough to fill half a dozen other students, and far surpassed the capacity of an adult.

His eating capacity wasn't small before, but it certainly hadn't reached this extent! It was only afternoon now, yet he was already hungry.

He was going to go and see if there was anything good to eat at home. His eye lit up at the mere thought of eating.

As he was walking down the road, a small figure attracted his attention.

The afternoon sun wasn't too harsh, but the weather that day was unusually good. So, the sunshine simply produced a comfortable warmth. The sunlight had shined down upon a smear of silver, catching Tang Wulin's attention.

A little girl was squatted down near the roadside. She was slightly shorter than him with a head of short silver hair. The sunlight had reflected off it, creating a silver flash and attracting Tang Wulin's attention.

It was as if there was some sort of profound attraction between the two of them. The young girl raised her head and returned his gaze. She wore shabby clothes in addition to a dirt stained face, clearly resembling a little beggar. However, aside from her silver hair, she also had two eyes that stood out from the crowd.

She had big eyes, with two crystal clear amethyst pupils. Even though they were separated by a distance, Tang Wulin could see his image reflected in her eyes, naturally long eyelashes framing them.

Tang Wulin's eyes were very pretty, so when he encountered a fellow large-eyed person, he automatically had a favorable impression of her. He had unconsciously stopped walking. Two pairs of eyes peered into each other as the little girl directly met his gaze with her pretty eyes, somewhat bewildered.

"Little girl, where are your parents?" Right at that moment, several young delinquents surrounded her after being attracted by her silver hair.

The little girl avoided their eyes, once again lowering her head.

The delinquents shot looks to one another before one of them called out, "Silver hair is really rare! Could you be from one of the other two continents? I reckon the black market dealers will really like her silver hair and purple eyes."

Greed colored their eyes as they nodded towards each other.

The youngster who had previously spoken squatted down. "Hey, little girl. Where's your family?"

Without speaking, she shook her lowered head.

Beaming with smiles, the youngster said, "Are you hungry? Big brother will bring you to eat some good things, how about it?"

The little girl shook her head once again, but this time, she shook it much more forcefully.

The youngster shot a meaningful look to his companions before reaching out his hand to pull the little girl's arm, lifting her up against her will. His companions encircled them, obstructing others from seeing this.

Even as the little girl let out a frightened scream, the youngster already had her over his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Right at that moment, a childish voice full of fury called out, giving the youngster and his companions a fright.They couldn't help but reveal resentful faces when they turned around to look. The person who had come to aid the one suffering an injustice was unexpectedly a tiny pretty boy who didn't even reach their waists.

The youngster in the back revealed a trace of cruelty. He raised one of his legs and kicked Tang Wulin away. "Brat, you dare to meddle with us."

Tang Wulin tumbled away and landed a little more than two meters away, completely covered in dirt.

"You guys are villains!" He had rolled on the ground but immediately got up. He charged towards the youngsters in order to bar their way.

The youngster who was carrying the little girl exposed a vicious face. The ruckus they had made had already attracted the attention of some pedestrians. After all, this had all occurred on a main street.

A cold light flickered from his wrist and a dagger appeared in the youngster's hand. He gestured towards Tang Wulin, "Fuck off if you don't want to die!"

Tang Wulin stubborning glared and furiously replied, "Villains won't have a good end. I'm a Soul Master; I'm not afraid of you. Release her!"

As he spoke, Tang Wulin lifted his right hand, and a light blue ring of light twinkled. The Bluesilver Grass appeared in his palm in its waving fashion. A faint energy undulated outwards from it.

What could rank 3 soul power do? It only made him a bit more powerful than his peers. He didn't have a soul ring to support his soul. His soul was far from being battle capable. This was also the reason why cultivation was essential to being promoted from the lowest Soul Scholar rank to the Soul Master rank.

The youngster blanked out for a moment as his companions tugged on his arm.

If it was only a regular boy, then they wouldn't have to do anything in particular. They would only have to cover for each other, and there wouldn't be any trouble. But a child that possessed soul power was different, the government maintained special records on these children. Even the Spirit Pagoda had records on these children. If anything happened to these special children, the federal government would definitely put in expend a lot of resources to search for the cause. What's more, many bystanders have already witnessed their deeds.

"Such bad luck!" The head of the youngsters was unresigned, but he set down little girl with an angry growl and quickly left with his companions.

The little girl stumbled and fell onto her butt. Seeing this, Tang Wulin hurriedly ran over and crouched beside her. "Don't be scared. I'm a man. I'll protect you!"

The little girl raised her head and looked at him. Up close, those large purple eyes of hers were even prettier. Within her pupils, a layer of mist seemed to have appeared.

"Don't cry, don't cry. I've already driven away the villains. My name is Tang Wulin. What's your name?"

The little girl foolishly stared at him for a moment before finally opening her mouth. "My name is Na'er."

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Chapter 6 – Bringing Her Home

"Na'er? That's a nice name, and your voice is so pleasant to hear." Tang Wulin helped her up.

Na'er lowered her head but didn't say a word.

"Where's your mom and dad? Where is your home?" Tang Wulin asked.

Na'er shook her head.

"Gu gu!" A peculiar sound suddenly disrupted their harmony.

Tang Wulin hastily lowered his head to look at his stomach, but he quickly realized that those sounds weren't made by him. Even though Na'er's face was covered in dust, an indistinct blush could be seen.

Are you hungry? If you can't find your mom and dad, I can bring you to my house. My mom's cooking is delicious!" As Tang Wulin spoke, he pulled onto Na'er's hand while walking in the direction of his home.

Na'er raised her head and looked towards him. From her position, she could only see the side of his face. His face was rosy thanks to the previous fight with a few youths, turning red with vigour. He had large black eyes and long eyelashes. She couldn't help but stare blankly at his meaningful glance.

"Mom, I'm home!" Tang Wulin shouted before even stepping into his home.

"Child, lower your voice! Don't disturb the neighbours." Lang Yue rebuked him while opening the door.

"How was school today? Hmm? Why are you covered in dirt?" Lang Yue frowned as she looked at her son, who was covered in dust. After that, she saw Na'er, whose hand was being held by Tang Wulin.

"Mom, I've encountered some villains." Tang Wulin lively and realistically told her what had just transpired.

After hearing his words, Lang Yue's expression changed before she dragged him inside the house. Na'er, whose hand was being held by Tang Wulin, naturally entered the house as well.

"Child, don't you know how dangerous that is? How could you……." Lang Yue was obviously anxious, judging from her erratic breathing. She completely understood what those youths from the common streets were capable of doing.

Tang Wulin replied stubbornly, "But Father had said that boys need to be brave and gutsy to fight against villains."

"You……" When Lang Yue saw the resolution in her son's large eyes, she didn't continued to reproach him. Was he wrong? Of course not. What he did was right. However, as a mother, she was more worried about her child's safety.

Tang Wulin giggled and ran forward to hug his mother's leg. "Mom, don't be angry. Na'er and I are hungry. Can you make some delicious food for us?"

Regarding this adorable and obedient child, Lang Yue really couldn't continue to be mad at him. She helplessly shook her head before she crouched down towards Na'er, who didn't say a single word. "Little friend, are you called Na'er? Where's your mother and father?"

Na'er just shook her head as she had done previously, without saying a single word.

Only a kind hearted mother could bring up such a kind hearted son. Lang Yue said, "Alright. Look at how filthy the two of you are, you should go and wash up first before changing your clothes."

5-6 year old children naturally didn't need to be separated by genders. Lang Yue pulled the two dirt covered monkeys into the bathroom to give them a wash.

When Tang Wulin asked Lang Yue why he and Na'er were different, she only laughed without answering. However, Na'er bashfully hid behind Lang Yue.

"Wah! Na'er, you're so pretty!" As Tang Wulin sat at the side of the dining table, he supported his chin with both of his hands while looking at Na'er who was at his side, wearing his clothes.

Tang Wulin was taller than Na'er by half a head, so his clothes were very baggy when worn by Na'er. Yet, this didn't affect Na'er's beauty at all.

Her skin was even fairer than Tang Wulin's. It was so white and delicate that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out with the slightest pinch, and after she showered, a faint, refreshing light fragrance was given off from her body. She was akin to a porcelain doll cut out of the finest pink jade.

Na'er raised her head and looked at him, but she remained as silent as before. It seemed that she really disliked speaking.

It wasn't time for dinner yet, so Lang Yue served the two hungry children two small plates of biscuits and two cups of milk.

One shouldn't judge Na'er, because she didn't like to talk. When she ate, she was unhesitant and devoured the food rapidly. In a short period of time, she had completely eaten all of the biscuits and drank all of the milk before her.

Although Tang Wulin was hungry, it was clear that his curiosity towards Na'er was beyond his hunger. When Na'er was looking at the biscuit on his plate, he knew that Na'er had already finished her portion.

"Here you go." Tang Wulin generously pushed his biscuits to be in front of Na'er.

Na'er looked at him as she shook her head.

"It's ok. You can have it. I ate a lot at noon." Tang Wulin said beamingly.

Na'er hesitated for a moment, but clearly the enticement of the biscuits was too great for her. In the end, the biscuits were eaten by her.

Lang Yue also sat down. "Na'er, do you know where you come from or where your home is?"

Na'er shook her head.

Lang Yue continued to ask, "Do you know any methods to contact your family? Anything will do."

Na'er still shook her head.

Lang Yue said, "Then how old are you?"

Na'er shook her head once again, but at last, she opened her mouth. "Five and a half."

"Wah! This means that I'm your elder brother. I'm older than you as I'm six years old." Tang Wulin said in high spirits.

Lang Yue snappily glared at him. "Mother will bring Na'er to the Administrative Office to investigate in a moment. We'll see if we can locate her family. You stay here and behave yourself, understood?"

"Oh." Tang Wulin obediently nodded his head but as he looked at Na'er, he didn't know why he felt reluctant. It was probably because she was too beautiful.

Lang Yue brought Na'er out. Na'er was her typical self as she didn't talk much before leaving with her.

After they left, Tang Wulin returned to his room. He thought about what the teacher had taught in class today and decided to give meditation a try.

Tang Wulin sat up straight in serenity. Meditation required tranquility to sense one's self and nature. This was the first step.

Tang Wulin originally didn't have any distracting thoughts so he quickly calmed down. He subconsciously felt his Bluesilver Grass martial soul which wasn't strong but had feasible soul power. When first meditating, he was just required to accomplish that step. He should first feel his own martial soul and soul power, forcing his mind to maintain an intimate connection with each other. After this step was done, he could then continue to really meditate.

Bluesilver Grass lightly swayed in his mind. Tang Wulin suddenly felt that he could sense some of the world's Bluesilver Grass.

It was delicate yet strong with one year of withered glory as the spring breeze was reborn.

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Chapter 7 – Stay here and be my little sister

While immersed in the Bluesilver Grass's world, Tang Wulin thought he heard many voices. These voices came in bits and pieces, yet were everywhere.

Bluesilver Grass was gentle, but it had tenacious vitality. It was the most abundant plant on the continent. Their staunch existence traced back tens of millions of years.

Powerful soul beasts from that era were on the verge of extinction, but Bluesilver Grass covered the planet, the same as it did tens of thousands of years ago.

Tang Wulin's faint awareness allowed him to sense the tiny existences in the air, as they were quietly absorbed into his body. Those existences blended completely in his feeble soul power. This fusion was neither fast nor substantial, yet he could still sense that this fusion was gradually increasing his soul power. Although it was only increasing it slightly, this increase was stable and persistent.

After an unknown period of time, Tang Wulin naturally awakened from his state of meditation. His body felt cool and relaxed, as if he was wrapped up in countless strands of Bluesilver Grass.

However, he was given a fright when he saw his father sitting opposite of him.

"Dad, how come you're home so early?" Tang Wulin asked in astonishment.

Tang Ziran smiled, "I'm not early. It's already night time. I see that you've already learnt meditation? It seems the Red Mountain Academy's education is pretty good!"

Tang Wulin excitedly responded, "That's right! It seems that I can meditate now. Earlier, it felt as if many little things entered my body, dad. Afterwards, my soul power began increasing. Can this be considered as learning meditation?"

Tang Ziran was startled within his heart. In only one day, Tang Wulin was able to grasp the secrets of meditation? The things his son had sensed was definitely the art of meditation! This wasn't as simple as good instruction. Originally, he himself…

"Yes, that's right. You've learned how to meditate. It seems that my son's comprehension abilities are pretty good!" Tang Ziran has always been generous with praise towards his son. One must praise one's child when one saw their growth after all. For children, confidence was the most important thing.

Tang Wulin couldn't help but be proud of himself when his father praised him. However, Tang Ziran interjected solemnly before Tang Wulin could respond.

"Son, there's something I need to ask you."

Tang Wulin rarely saw his father so serious, so he immediately restrained himself. "What's the matter dad? Have I done something wrong? You said that men have to be brave enough to battle villains. Furthermore, I didn't fight the other students when they ridiculed my Bluesilver Grass at school today. I was very obedient."

Tang Ziran answered, "There's nothing wrong with being brave. But you also need to be wise in addition to being brave. When you know you don't have enough power to save others, then you must seek the help of others rather than rushing forward. If they weren't scared off by you showing your martial soul, you would have been caught up in a dangerous situation son. That isn't brave, it's reckless."

Tang Wulin contemplated this and took it to heart before lowering his head. "I was wrong Dad."

It was only now that Tang Ziran's smile reappeared. His son only had to be willing to acknowledge his mistake for him to truly realize his error.

"Men won't make that kind of mistake."

"Hn." Tang Wulin nodded.

Tang Ziran smiled. "Good then. Let's discuss the next matter."

Tang Wulin asked in surprise, "There's still another matter?"

Tang Ziran let out a grunt. "Naturally, right when you turn six years old, you bring home a girl. Then what will you be like when you've grown up? What's more, you were the hero who saved a beauty. Not bad!"

It was only now that Tang Wulin remembered the matter of Na'er and hurriedly asked, "Dad, has Na'er found her family? She's certainly very pretty."

Tang Ziran shook his head. "Your mother brought her to the administrative office to inquire, but we didn't find her information."

Tang Wulin asked, "Then what's going to happen to her?"

Tang Ziran responded, "You tell dad. What do you want to do?"

Tang Wulin pondered over this. "How about we let her live with us dad? Is that alright?"

Tang Ziran revealed a smile that wasn't quite a smile as he look at him. "Live in our house? Mom and dad couldn't possibly take care of two children!"

Tang Wulin hastily said, "I can take care of her. I can look after her after school."

Tang Ziran smiled. "Alright then. Let's eat first."

When he entered the living room, Tang Wulin was surprised to see Na'er already sitting at the dinner table with a docile appearance.

"Na'er!" Tang Wulin shouted before bouncing vivaciously to her side and very naturally began pulling on her delicate small hand.

Lang Yue said, "We couldn't find any records on this child. We can only send her to the orphanage."

"No! Let Na'er stay mom." Tang Wulin stood in front of Na'er with his arms spread wide. "Don't send her to the orphanage. Can't we let her stay here? At worst, I'll just have to eat a little less in the future."

Na'er raised her head, and looked at Tang Wulin in a daze. Tang Wulin's body wasn't big or tall, but when Na'er saw him protecting her, she couldn't help but tear up a bit.

Lang Yue said, "Linlin, you can't do as you wish and take the place of her family. You have to ask Na'er if she wants to stay here or go to the orphanage!"

Tang Wulin immediately turned around, looking directly at Na'er. "Na'er, why don't you stay with us? My mom makes really good food, and my dad is really nice. You can live together with me, and I'll definitely protect you. I've always wanted to have a younger sister. Why don't you stay and be my younger sister?"

"En." Unexpectedly, Na'er took the initiative to nod this time.

"Yay. This is great, I have a younger sister now." Tang Wulin happily bounced up and down.

Afterwards, it was discovered that the children were unable to control their hunger. Despite the fact that Lang Yue had made extra food today, it still wasn't enough to satisfy the two big eaters. That was right, not only did Tang Wulin's food capacity increase, that petite body of Na'er's was also a bottomless pit. Unexpectedly, her stomach wasn't any smaller than Tang Wulin's. They even ate the lunch Lang Yue had prepared for Tang Ziran to eat the next day. Even after all that, they didn't look satisfied at all.

The house only had two rooms, and with the addition of Na'er, she could only share a room with Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin and Tang Ziran had put up a divider in the middle of the room.

Na'er was very tired, falling asleep quickly.

"Dad, I'm going to meditate now." Tang Wulin felt unusually satisfied when he was meditating, and was impatiently desiring to feel that sensation again. He wanted to become a Soul Master. He had even more reason to become powerful now. He now had a little sister to protect.

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Chapter 8 – Learning to Forge

"Wait a moment." Tang Ziran called out to Tang Wulin.

"What is it dad?"

Tang Ziran patted the chair beside him. "Come and sit down. Dad has something to discuss with you."

"Oh." Tang Wulin went over, sitting beside his father while giving him a suspicious look.

Tang Ziran said, "Son, you chose the path of becoming a Soul Master so dad will support you. However, you must understand that you will face many challenges. This not only includes your studies, but also at home."

"Once a Soul Master cultivates to rank 10, they will require a soul ring in order to break through. In the distant past, you could obtain a soul ring by hunting soul beasts. However, ten thousand years later, that is now, we have discovered through research that the spirit soul is superior to soul rings. In fact, high level spirit souls can possess the ability to grow, furthermore, they can be artificially manufactured. Thus, spirit souls are equivalent to soul rings. The various ranks of spirit souls can bestow a Soul Master with one or more soul rings. However, for us commoners we can only buy them from the Spirit Pagoda."

"Dad can't do anything about this with my meager wage. I make just enough to provide for our household. However, with the addition of Na'er and how much you two eat, dad will be hard pressed to buy even the lowest grade spirit soul for you when you cultivate to rank 10 soul power.

"There are two methods to get a spirit soul from the Spirit Pagoda. The first is to be a genius Soul Master with an exceedingly fast cultivation speed. Those geniuses will be be granted their first spirit soul free of charge. However, it's clear that your Bluesilver Grass won't qualify for that opportunity. Therefore, we are left only with the second method of purchasing one."

Tang Wulin was stunned at his father's words. He had never considered this problem before. That's right! Soul Masters required soul rings. soul rings could be obtained from soul beasts or from a spirit soul. Soul beasts were exceedingly rare now, making it very difficult to obtain a high grade soul ring from them. His only option was to purchase one.

As a six year old child his concept of money was still quite faint, yet the issue of money was now forced upon him.

"What should I do then dad?"

Tang Ziran bitterly laughed, "This is the extent of dad's abilities. In the next few years, dad will work hard to earn enough money to at least help you out a little bit. However, you will still have to rely on your own efforts. Do you still remember Uncle Mang Tian?"

"I remember! Isn't he the one who visited us before?" The image of a tall rugged middle aged man appeared within Tang Wulin's mind.

Tang Ziran said, "Your Uncle Mang Tian is an outstanding blacksmith. I've told him about our circumstances and he said that he can give you the opportunity to apprentice under him. For two hours everyday, over the next three months, he will teach you. If you can forge some simple things after three months, then you'll be able to earn some money."

Tang Wulin's eyes were shining. "I want to do it Dad. When can I begin?"

Tang Ziran meaningfully looked at him and said, "Forging is a highly difficult profession. Do you truly want to do this?"

Tang Wulin nodded. "I can do it! I'll earn the money to buy a spirit soul myself."

Tang Ziran smiled in response. "Good. You can go and try it out then. If it doesn't suit you, then you can stop."

"Alright. I'm going to go meditate then dad."

After Tang Wulin returned to his room, a single drop of a liquid fell upon Tang Ziran's shoulders. He turned his head around to see his teary eyed wife.

"Wulin is still so young, why did you have to do this? If we live frugally, we should be able to help him save some money for a spirit soul." Lang Yue said, choking with emotion. She had never gone against/contradicted her husband before, but this time…

Tang Ziran released a sigh. "It truly is too difficult to become a Soul Master with Bluesilver Grass. Blacksmithing is a craft, Lin Lin is still young but he has a strong character. Blacksmithing can be more than just forging metal, it can also serve to temper himself in the process. If he can truly persevere through these hardships, he'll have another means to make money when he grows up. Furthermore, he can toughen himself up. It truly has too many advantages and no disadvantages for him, you also understand our circumstances. I only fear that one day, we will…. Naturally it would also be great if Lin Lin manages to obtain Mang Tian's approval, his occupation's status would be even higher than mine."

The morning of the next day, after bidding farewell to his mother and Na'er, Tang Wulin hurried to school in high spirits.

After a night of meditation, Tang Wulin felt even more intimate with the Bluesilver Grass. His intimacy was to the point that he gained a courageous and amiable feeling towards it.

Soul Masters didn't learn about Soul Master topics everyday. Instead, they alternated between Soul Master topics and cultural classes. Today was the cultural classes' turn.

Tang Wulin was very smart. He listened to the lectures earnestly and even earned words of praise from his cultural teacher.

"Why have you come to pick me up, mom? Where's Na'er?" After the end of the school day, Tang Wulin was greeted with the sight of Lang Yue.

A thread of regret was present within Lang Yue's eyes. With quick steps, she walked over and picked up her son.

"Hurry up and let me down mom. I'm already a big kid. You're embarrassing me in front of my classmates!"

Lang Yue spurted out a laugh, "No matter how big you are, you will always be my son. I'm here to bring you to Uncle Mang Tian. Do you really want to learn blacksmithing?"

Tang Wulin nodded. "That's right! Dad said that men can only rely on themselves. I want to earn the money for a Spirit Soul on my own."

Lang Yue put down her son and crouched down in front of him. "Son, if you're unable to persevere through ten million difficulties, then mom will find some work to help you buy a spirit soul."

"No, I want to earn the money myself." Tang Wulin resolutely said.

Lang Yue fought against her own tears, instead, she repeatedly kissed her sons face. "Good. Let's get going."

Fundamentally, Glorybound City was large but there wasn't a need to use vehicles. After walking for approximately 20 minutes, Lang Yue and Tang Wulin arrived in front of a somewhat, large workshop's door.

The exterior of the workshop seemed somewhat shabby. On top, three words were written,

Mang Tian's Workshop."

Even when they were in front of the doors, the smell of metal assaulted their nostrils.

Lang Yue pushed the doorbell, and it was not long before the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was tall and dark skinned. With his full beard, he appeared somewhat fierce and tough.

"Younger sister has arrived," his deep voice was low and forceful. Listening to it, Tang Wulin felt a little buzz.

"Uncle Mang Tian," he politely addressed his uncle, who he had met several times previously.

"En," Mang Tian expressionlessly nodded. Turning to Lang Yue he said, "Younger sister should return first, you can pick him up two hours later."

"Big Brother Mang Tian, thank you for your troubles." Lang Yue, slightly unwilling, parted with her son, taking one last look at him. She had something to say, but in the end she gritted her teeth and restrained herself.

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Chapter 9 – Gifted

"Come on in," Mang Tian said to Tang Wulin.

"Oh."

Tang Wulin followed Mang Tian into the workshop's chaotic hall. The hall was littered with all sorts of metal components Tang Wulin could barely recognize. Most of these were likely components for soul machines, though.

Mang Tian didn't pause as he walked deeper into the workshop, causing Tang Wulin to hasten his steps.

The shop wasn't large nor small. After passing through the halls, Mang Tian brought Tang Wulin to one of the inner rooms.

Inside of the room was a workbench, which was just barely taller than Tang Wulin.

Mang Tian stopped here, turning around to face Tang Wulin. "Do you know what forging is?"

At a loss, Tang Wulin shook his head.

Mang Tian indifferently said, "Actually, I didn't want to accept you in the beginning. You're too young, completely unsuited for forging. However, your dad was determined to have me give you a chance. If I don't find you acceptable, then you'll have to leave. When that happens, don't stay here and weep endlessly, understand?"

"I won't cry, Uncle Mang Tian," Tang Wulin defiantly answered.

"This is your task for today," Mang Tian said as he pointed to the side.

Off to the side was a half meter tall metal table. On top of the table was a round lump of metal and below it was a soul machine screen.

Mang Tian picked up two small metal hammers from the side and held them out to Tang Wulin. "You see that lump of metal? Use this hammer to strike it a thousand times. The screen will display the number of hits with sufficient strength. It'll require all your strength to swing it down. If you're able to complete this task, I'll tell you what forging is. If you're unable to finish, then you don't have to come here tomorrow."

After speaking, he placed the two hammers in Tang Wulin's hands before turning around and walking away.

The metal hammer's handle was about a third of a meter with a cylindrical head that was half a foot long and ten centimeters in diameter. They weighed about five kilograms each. For a six year old child, this wasn't light at all, let alone the fact that he had to swing it a thousand times.

Tang Wulin had looked at the hammer with a bitter expression, but when he took the hammer from Mang Tian, he was amazed to discover they weren't so heavy, after all.

Is it hollow? Uncle Mang Tian looks very fierce on the outside, but he's actually so kind.

Tang Wulin smiled to convey his understanding and swung the hammer in his right hand down on the lump of metal.

Bang! The metal boomed and he jumped in surprise. The soul screen below it activated, displaying the number '1.'

He raised the hammer in his left hand and smashed it down with a bang!

2.

'This isn't too hard!' Tang Wulin thought as he began swinging his arms in a steady rhythm.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!" The numbers on the screen increased unceasingly in tune with the continuous thumping. Neither hammer wavered at all, as Tang Wulin didn't feel they were too much of a burden. The pair of hammers constantly beat down the the lump of metal, and in return, the number on the screen persisted in its ascension.

After hammering it for the hundredth time, Tang Wulin was already beginning to sweat. At three hundred, his arms began to feel sore.

I must persevere. Dad said so. I must persevere!

Tang Wulin continued to swing the pair of hammers, enduring the soreness.

At five hundred, the soreness turned into aching, but he continued on just as before and persisted with all his power, refusing to stop.

As the aching in his muscles intensified, Tang Wulin's arms shifted to a faint red, but he just clenched his teeth, pushing past the pain.

He repeated to himself, 'I must do my best to learn forging and earn money to buy a spirit soul. That way I can make mom and dad happy, and protect Na'er."

At the seven hundred mark, he couldn't even feel his arms when he raised them and his hammering speed was much slower.

Just like before, he clenched his teeth and persevered. His sweat had practically turned into broth, making his school uniform to stick to his body. His sweat dripped like a waterfall, and Tang Wulin felt his spine go numb. His whole body shuddered as if he were electrically shocked. His original aching eased up, and the hammer felt a bit lighter.

"Bang, bang, bang!" He proceeded to strike the last three hundred times with even more ease than the start.

"One thousand!" It was only after reaching the objective Mang Tian had set for him that Tang Wulin lowered his hammers. As he gasped for breath, Tang Wulin could feel an unspeakable aching from his palms and his arms had swollen so much that they were beyond recognition. Apart from this, he felt unexpectedly invigorated. The numbness in his spine spread to his seven vertebrae and back down his spine in cycles, leaving him speechless.

What he didn't notice was a golden veined pattern accompanying the numbness he felt in his spine.

It was only after five minutes that he was able to catch his breath.

"Uncle Mang Tian, I'm done." Tang Wulin searched for Mang Tian for a long time before finding him in a room, fiddling with some components.

Mang Tian blankly stared at him. He glanced at his wristwatch and discovered that it had only been half an hour since he left Tang Wulin to his task.

"You're done hammering it?"

"Yes!" Tang Wulin nodded.

Mang Tian didn't question him again after seeing his sweaty appearance. He would rather let the facts speak for themselves. After standing up, he brought Tang Wulin back to the previous room.

'1000.' The number was displayed on the screen. Mang Tian had set up the screen himself; naturally, it was impossible for a six year old child to cheat. But the result was still unbelievable.

The two metal hammers couldn't be considered heavy for him, of course, but neither were they hollow. Each hammer was truly 5 kilograms in weight, and even an adult male's arms would be too numb and limp to raise after a thousand swings. Furthermore, it would be very difficult for them to finish in only half an hour, much less a six year old child.

The test Mang Tian had given him was just a way to tactfully decline him. His relationship with Tang Ziran was pretty good, so he couldn't directly refuse. After all, he didn't want to instruct a six year old child who he deemed unsuitable for forging.

But before his eyes…

"Hammer it a few more times for me. Don't stop unless I tell you to." Mang Tian said heavily.

"Yes." Tang Wulin picked up the hammer once again. After having rested a moment, the aching in his arms had already dulled.

"Bang, bang, bang…" Each strike was done without any technique, or even leverage. He was relying purely on strength to hammer the metal lump!

After only a few times, Mang Tian was able to ascertain with his own eyes, based on his past experience, that this child's strength was sufficient to completely pound the metal lump.

Was this a legendary genius?

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Chapter 10 – I will protect you in the future

The qualifications of a genius naturally differed depending on a person's age.

A six year old child who was able to swing a metal hammer a thousand times, he was absolutely worthy of being called a genius.

However, Mang Tian didn't tell him to stop. Instead, he stood to the side and silently watched Tang Wulin continue hammering.

His movements were direct, and powerful. However, there wasn't any mitigation of the rebounding force in his technique, all of it was taken in by his arms.

Fifty times, eighty times, one hundred times.

Sweat began pouring forth once again and the aching he felt now far surpassed the aching from before. Both of his arms heated up. Each time he exerted himself, his scalp began to swell. However, Tang Wulin still continued to grit his teeth and bear the pain as he never stopped hammering.

After hammering it 150 times, Tang Wulin's body began to sway. His vision was hazy, both of his arms were swollen and aching to the point that they felt foreign to him, yet he continued to persevere with clenched teeth.

I can persevere. I can overcome this test. I am a man. Perseverance will lead to victory.

Tang Wulin couldn't even count the number of times he had swung the hammer when Mang Tian finally called for him to stop. If Mang Tian hadn't supported him, he would have collapsed onto the floor.

As he took the hammer from his hands, Mang Tian clearly saw Tang Wulin's hands had been worn out by the hammer and had became swollen.

The fierce blacksmithing master was finally moved. It was not only due to Tang Wulin's innate talents, but his perseverance too.

His strength could still be trained later, but for such an unwavering determination to appear in a six year old child, it was truly too precious.

"You two have raised a good child. I'll accept him as my disciple. From tomorrow onwards, have him come over everyday at the same time as today. Once you're home, smear this ointment on his arms." When Lang Yue came to pick up Tang Wulin, she was greeted with Mang Tian's gentle expression as he passed over a bottle of ointment.

After an hour of rest, Tang Wulin had already regained his vigor. It was just that his arms ached too much to raise them.

Mang Tian's explanation of forging still lingered in his mind.

"What is forging? Forging and casting are entirely different. Casting only requires a mold, and afterwards, the use of machinery to grind out the desired shape. That is casting. As for forging, it requires a blacksmith to personally hammer the metal from start to finish. Of course, you could use a machine to pound the metal and forge it, but metal is a living thing. A machine will never be able to grasp the veins of the metal. Thus, all first-rate machine components were forged by a blacksmith. A good blacksmith is a true craftsman that possesses a status no less than that of a Spirit Master."

Spirit Master and Machine Master, those were the dreams of all young boys.

"Ouch." Tang Wulin cried out in pain when Lang Yue pulled on his hand.

It was only then that Lang Yue discovered the wound on her son's palm.

"Heavens! He, he did this to you?" Tears were streaming down from her eyes. She had never expected that her son would suffer so much in only two hours.

Tang Wulin shook his head and replied, "He didn't do anything! Uncle Mang Tian tested me and I passed. Aren't I strong mom? Don't cry! It doesn't hurt."

"Let's go home." Lang Yue said as she wiped her tears away with eyes full of sorrow.

"There's really nothing wrong mom. In fact, I'm really happy. I passed Uncle Mang Tian's test. Aren't you happy for me? Isn't this the sense of achievement that dad talked about?"

"I'm happy, I'm really happy." Lang Yue patted her son's head and once more, glistening teardrops appeared in her eyes.

As soon as they returned home and crossed the doorway, Tang Wulin saw Na'er sitting to the side. With a bounce, he immediately ran over to her while Lang Yue went to the kitchen to cook dinner.

"Na'er, did you know? I passed Uncle Mang Tian's test today so I can learn how to forge from him now. Wait for big brother to earn some money with forging, then I can save money to buy a spirit soul. I can also buy food for you…." With the temperament of a child, he had already forgotten the pain in his arms as he spoke of his accomplishment to Na'er.

Na'er earnestly listened, but her eyes occasionally revealed a trace of blankness.

"Na'er, you really don't remember anything about your family?" After he finished talking about his accomplishment, he asked the question which had been lurking in his mind.

Na'er shook her head. "I really don't remember. I only remember that my name is Na'er. Everything else is fuzzy. Big Brother Lin, am I stupid?"

Tang Wulin hastily replied, "No. Of course you're not stupid, Na'er. It doesn't matter if you can't remember. This is your home now. My mom and dad are your mom and dad. You're my little sister."

Na'er stared at him, as she gradually revealed a sweet smile. This was the first time she had smiled since she had came to their house.

"Wow! Your smile is really pretty, Na'er. I'll tell you a secret then; big brother will work hard to become a Soul Master, then I'll be able to protect you in the future. All right?"

"Yes."

When Tang Ziran returned, dinner was already prepared.

"Zi Ran, come with me. Go ahead and eat first, children." With a serene appearance, Lang Yue shot a glance at Tang Ziran before heading to their room.

Tang Ziran distractedly looked at his son with an inquiring look. In return, Tang Wulin shrugged, indicating that he didn't know what's going on with his mother either.

Tang Ziran hastily followed Lang Yue into their room, then Lang Yue closed the door.

"We'll eat first, Na'er. Aren't you hungry?" Accounting for how many snacks they had eaten before, Lang Yue made sure to cook lots of food today.

Na'er clearly had no resistance when it came to eating. She nodded and began to eat heartily.

After she ate for a while, she noticed that Tang Wulin wasn't acting the same as the day before. She raised her head and looked at him, and discovered that he was miserably turning and twisting his body with a pained face.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Na'er crisply asked.

"My arms are really sore after my test. I can't raise them at all." Tang Wulin had been unusually hungry lately; with the addition of his work after school, one can only imagine his longing for food now…

Na'er blinked a few times. "I'll feed you then."

"Yes! Alright!" Tang Wulin said in exultation.

With shaky movements, Na'er clumsily fed Tang Wulin one spoonful after another.

Two children, one six years old and the other five and a half years old, enjoyed each other's company with the naivety of youth. In this small house, the atmosphere made the lights appear gentler as well.

"Na'er, You're the best"

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Chapter 11 – Astonishing Recovery

"Out of the question! No matter what you say, I won't let Lin Lin work under Mang Tian again!" Restraining her emotions in order to prevent the two children outside from hearing, Lang Yue choked back a sob.

After hearing Lang Yue's thoughts, Tang Ziran was unable to reply. He could only stand there silently, his heart filled with pain.

"Without going through thick and thin, how can one see the rainbow? No one can succeed simply by doing as one wishes. Ah Yue, it also pains my heart to know that Lin Lin has to bear these hardships! But if he doesn't bear them now, then he will face even more hardships when he grows up."

"When I visited Mang Tian that day, I could tell that he was unwilling. He has the pride of a master blacksmith, yet Lin Lin was able to get his approval. Do you understand how outstanding our son is? This son of ours truly is a very pleasant surprise."

"On my way home after work, Mang Tian told me something. He told me that our son is unusually gifted, that he has godly talent. He has enough strength to match an ordinary man and what's even more praiseworthy is Lin Lin's determination. With Bluesilver Grass as his martial soul, his chances of becoming a powerful Soul Master are next to nothing, but if he's able to become an outstanding blacksmith, at the very least he won't have to worry about clothing or food for the rest of his life. Our child isn't weak, so how can we, as his parents, show weakness? We ought to support and encourage him. Moreover, I'm convinced that as a 6 star blacksmith, Mang Tian will definitely be able to instruct his disciple appropriately. He definitely wouldn't harm a child!"

"Let's just let Lin Lin try it out, alright? If it turns out that he really is being harmed, then I'll prevent him from continuing by all means possible."

Lang Yue compromised in the end. It was clear to her that both her and her husband loved their son, and Tang Ziran's reasoning had persuaded her.

When the two of them returned to the living room, they saw Tang Wulin sitting there, vigorously chewing his food with a grin as he looked at Na'er beside him. She was feeding him one spoonful at a time.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue couldn't help but be dumbfounded and shocked at this scene. Two beautiful children were sitting there beaming with an intense radiance. It was as if they had suddenly stumbled into an extremely harmonious scene.

Tang Ziran muttered to himself, "We'll adopt this child then. Growing up together with another child will be helpful for Lin Lin."

"Mnn," Lang Yue agreed, revealing a slight smile at last.

In this way, the intimate family dinner ended with such an atmosphere. But once again, Tang Wulin and Na'er's eating capabilities shocked the married couple.

In order to raise these two children, they first had to confront the issue of whether they would be able to feed the two of them.

After dinner, Lang Yue and Tang Ziran discussed the topic and decided that she would go and find a job too. If they only relied on Tang Ziran's income, it would be very difficult for them to live.

"Look, Na'er! This is my martial soul." Tang Wulin raised his hand with much difficulty, revealing a small blue colored strand of grass that was slowly turning in the palm of his hands. Along with a faint blue light, it also emitted a gentle undulating energy.

Full of wonder, Na'er fiddled with the Bluesilver Grass in his palms. "Big brother, will I have a martial soul in the future too?"

Tang Wulin answered, "Of course you will! Everyone has their own martial soul. Just wait until you're six years old, then you can awaken your martial soul on next year's Awakening Day. I'm tired, I can't raise my hand up anymore. I'm going to go sleep. You should sleep early too."

Even as he was speaking, Tang Wulin was already laying down onto his bed. In but a few short moments, his breathing had steadied and he was fast asleep.

Na'er foolishly looked at him. She really wanted to recall some of her memories, but her mind continued to stay hazy and she was unable to remember anything.

After she laid down on her bed, it wasn't too long before she also fell asleep.

In the dead of the night, the door to Tang Wulin and Na'er's room opened and Tang Ziran entered. He went over and knelt down beside his son's bed, taking out the bottle of medicine Mang Tian had given Lang Yue. Preparing to smear the medicine all over his son's arms, he pulled Tang Wulin's sleeve up.

He pressed a button on his own shoulders, turning on a small light on his shoulder, which started shining directly on Tang Wulin's arm.

"Huh?" Tang Ziran was surprised when he saw Tang Wulin's arm. He was astonished to discover that his son's arm wasn't bruised. Rather, compared to what Lang Yue had described, it looked completely normal.

He carefully opened Tang Wulin's palms. His palms were as bright and clean as jade, without the slightest bruise.

Shocked, Tang Ziran hastily pulled up the sleeves on his son's other arm. The condition was exactly the same as the other one. No matter how he looked at it, both his son's arms looked completely unharmed.

Tang Ziran knew that his wife wouldn't lie to himself.

However, why had the supposed bruising and cuts disappeared? What was the cause of this?

Could it be? Was it the effect of his son's martial soul? There were some special martial souls that were able to automatically heal one's self, but he had never heard of Bluesilver Grass having this kind of ability!

What he didn't notice was that underneath Tang Wulin's black hair, his forehead had a dim golden veined pattern which was quietly fading.

Tang Ziran sat there and pondered for a moment. Looking at the bottle of medicine in his hands and then at his son's arms, his eyes shone in contemplation.

After a moment, he put away the medicine bottle and left the room. It would be best to investigate his son's circumstances in the morning.

Early morning.

Tang Wulin woke up early in the morning. After washing up, he ran to the kitchen to help his mother with her work. Although he didn't know how to cook yet, he was still able to carry the bowls and plates.

"Lin Lin, do your arms still hurt?" Lang Yue's heart began to hurt again as soon as she saw her son being so thoughtful.

"Huh. They don't seem to hurt at all. It's nothing too serious," Tang Wulin responded as he swung his arms around. The pain from yesterday had already completely disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place. What's more, he felt that his arms were even more powerful now.

Lang Yue's tone relaxed. "It seems that the medicine Uncle Mang Tian gave us yesterday is pretty good. If it's like this, then mom can be at ease. After you fell asleep yesterday, dad went and smeared some medicine on your arms.

Right as he was leaving their room, Tang Ziran heard this conversation. He hadn't smeared any medicine at all!

Could it be? His son's martial soul had been excited, triggering a self-restoring ability as well as growing more powerful? There was no way that Bluesilver Grass could have these kinds of effects!

Throughout their sumptuous breakfast, this small home of theirs was brimming with cheers and laughter.

"Dad, hurry up and take me to school! We're learning about martial souls today. Aiya! I was too tired yesterday and I forgot to meditate. Remind me when I get home later to meditate! I, Tang Wulin, must definitely become a powerful Soul Master!"

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Chapter 12 – Three Years Later

Three years later. Red Mountain Academy.

Wan Yunchao twisted his chubby body, moving closer to Tang Wulin's side and whispered, "Wulin, I heard that Zhou Shao Long broke through rank 10, and he's going to buy a spirit soul tonight. How about you? Didn't you tell me last time that you're already at rank 9? We're about to graduate. If you're not rank 10 by the time we graduate, you'll have to go home and cultivate without the academy's recommendation letter. It'll be very troublesome to enter an intermediate academy later."

Three years had gone by, and with it came big changes for Tang Wulin.

Originally only 1.2 meters in height, he had now grown to a height of 1.4 meters. He was already somewhat taller than his peers. With a moderate build, he was neither fat nor thin. From an outsider's perspective, he didn't seem particularly strong. Along with his growth, his face had become increasingly handsome, especially his crystal clear black eyes that reflected light like mirrors. Although his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass, he was still very popular within Red Mountain Academy.

Wan Yunchao was the fatty that he had encountered in his first year. He had originally looked down upon Tang Wulin, but he had the tables turned on him one day when he tried bullying Tang Wulin, and was instead pushed onto the floor by Tang Wulin and beaten senseless. He had been well-behaved ever since that beating.

Neither of them had a soul skill yet, nor were there any significant differences in their soul power ranks. Tang Wulin's physical strength undoubtedly played an important role in their relationship. Although he didn't look particularly strong or sturdy, that time he had lifted up Wan Yunchao with a single arm had frightened Wan Yunchao into crying loudly, wah wah. Since then, Wan Yunchao had been Tang Wulin's shadow.

The martial soul class only had a dozen or so students, and six of them had already reached rank 10 soul power. They could already advance from the lowest Soul Master rank of Soul Scholar to the rank of Soul Master. Naturally, they first had to obtain a spirit soul to advance.

In these three years, they had nearly finished their studies at this elementary academy. Once they entered an intermediate academy, they would be divided into their specializations and would attend an academy for their specialization. Glorybound City was a small city. Thus, it didn't have an intermediate Soul Master academy. In order to enroll in an intermediate academy in a medium sized city, one was required to have a spirit soul.

Wan Yunchao was one of the six students who had achieved rank 10 soul power. Any students who reached rank 10 soul power before graduation were eligible to receive a recommendation letter from the academy, making it significantly easier to enter an intermediate academy. This was due to the fact that it acted as proof that the student had the necessary skill. If they didn't cultivate to rank 10 before they were 10 years old, they would have to take several tests before being allowed to enroll in an intermediate academy.

"I should be nearly there. I think I've hit the bottleneck," Tang Wulin said with a smile.

His cultivation speed had shocked their teacher, Teacher Lin Ximeng. Cultivating to rank 10 soul power from rank 3 innate soul power in three years couldn't be considered fast among Soul Masters. At most, it was only considered an average speed.

However, his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass! Cultivating to rank 10 in three years with this kind of trash martial soul certainly couldn't be considered slow. Although it couldn't be compared with those geniuses, it was still within the upper levels within the class.

As Lin Ximeng guided Tang Wulin, she discovered that this child had a gift for meditation. It was very easy for him to sense the energy in the atmosphere. Moreover, his meditative state was exceedingly focused. Later, she discovered the cause of Tang Wulin's fast cultivation speed. This child's spiritual power was far higher than his peers, enabling him to cultivate with more focus and thus, speed.

If even one more student was able to reach rank 10 before graduation, the teacher would win glory as well as a bonus. Thus, in their last year of studies, Lin Ximeng had treated Tang Wulin with much more importance. She would frequently give him pointers and one on one instruction. Tang Wulin didn't disappoint her either. With half a month to spare before graduation, Tang Wulin had reached rank 9 and was just a step away from rank 10. After this last step, he would be able to fuse with a spirit soul and become a true Soul Master.

A Soul Scholar without a spirit soul wasn't much stronger than an ordinary person. However, once they became a Soul Master and possessed a spirit soul's soul skill, they would enter a completely different realm.

"Good luck, good luck. Who can say for certain if we'll enter the same intermediate academy after graduating." Wan Yunchao laughed. "Don't say that big brother bullied you. Once you have your own spirit soul, we'll have another spar. When the time comes, we'll see who beats up who."

Tang Wulin shot him a glance as he put on his schoolbag. "You can slowly dream on." He naturally wouldn't tell Wan Yunchao how strong he was now.

Tang Wulin wasn't eager to leave as they approached the academy's gates. Rather, he stood outside the gates and waited.

Not too long after, a smear of radiant silver hair wandered over from the composite academy building.

"Na'er, slow down. You're going to trip." Tang Wulin's voice was brimming with love as he doted on her.

Na'er had a head of short silver hair, and even after three years, she hadn't changed too much. She was just a bit taller than before while remaining just as adorably pretty. It was just that, no matter how you looked at it, Tang Wulin and Na'er didn't look like they only had a one year age difference between the two of them. She was just a loli who hadn't grown too much.

"Big brother, I want to eat a lollipop," Na'er giggled as she held onto Tang Wulin's arm.

"Alright. Let's go buy one and then I'll bring you home before I head off to the workshop." Tang Wulin said as he patted her head.

As the dismissed students left, none of them were surprised by the sight of these two siblings. They had long since gotten used to it.

In the second year that Na'er stayed with the Tang family, she had attended the Awakening Ceremony and brought about a marvel. This marvel wasn't that her martial soul was exceedingly powerful. Instead, she didn't possess any martial soul at all. This was something that was rarely seen throughout the history of the continent.

Naturally she could only enter the ordinary section of the academy to study without a martial soul.

Na'er grew to become very pretty, making all of the other girls jealous while arousing the curiosity of all of the boys. Due to this, Tang Wulin never had a shortage of fights. One time, a group of male students stopped him, and since he was unable to beat them all by himself, he just used his body to protect Na'er. In the end, he was covered in cuts and bruises, but not a single hair on Na'er was damaged.

The next day, Tang Wulin found the leader and would have a fierce fight every day until finally, he had beaten his opponent until they were afraid of him and were too scared to bully Na'er anymore. Because he was in the Soul Master class, he didn't receive any serious punishments. He was famous after that fight, and no one in the Red Mountain Academy dared to bully Na'er again.

Since he was eight years old, Tang Wulin had acted like a young man. He shouldered the responsibility of picking up and dropping off his younger sister.

After buying some snacks, Tang Wulin dropped off Na'er at their home along with his schoolbag. In exchange, he put on some oil soaked work clothes and left the house once again.

Mang Tian's workshop had already become a part of his everyday life.

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Chapter 13 – Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer

"Wulin's here!" A youngster in his twenties, with a tall and sturdy build, called out to Tang Wulin in greeting.

"Brother Long." Tang Wulin asked with a smile, "What task has teacher assigned to me today?"

Brother Long grinned, "There's quite a lot for you to do. Just go into the room and take a look for yourself. Speaking of which, I'm really envious of you. You're so young, yet your workload is already more than mine!" Blacksmithing was an industrious profession. Naturally, the more work one did, the more one's income would be.

With a chuckle, Tang Wulin asked, "If I'm comparable to you, then how come Teacher still hasn't let me forge large components?"

Brother Gong answered, "That's so you can have a stronger foundation. Fine then, hurry up and go! Otherwise you won't be able to finish today's work in the two hours you have."

Mang Tian's workshop had just three members, Mang Tian, Brother Long, and Tang Wulin. Originally, Brother Long was Mang Tian's sole disciple, but with Tang Wulin's arrival, he had gained a second disciple. Starting from his second visit to the workshop three years before, Tang Wulin had begun calling Mang Tian 'Teacher'.

Mang Tian was an extremely strict teacher. He had high demands of his disciples, but he also taught them earnestly. Tang Wulin would often find himself thinking that he learned more things here at the workshop than at the academy.

Everyone had a workshop to work in. Mang Tian brought some forged machine components from outside before distributing them. He gave the simple ones to Brother Long and Tang Wulin, while he personally oversaw the forging of the complex ones.

Every week they would each have one day of specialized training when Mang Tian would instruct them personally. For the rest of the week, they only had to finish the tasks that Mang Tian gave them. The more they worked, the better their craftsmanship and the more money they earned.

Tang Wulin entered his own forging room. It was very different from the dirty and disordered reception room outside. In contrast, he had kept his room extremely neat and tidy.

There were already some raw materials lying on the forging bench, as well as a blueprint by its side.

When he had first come here, Mang Tian had made him pound iron for three months in order to teach him the proper force transmission and mitigation techniques. Each day he had to strike the iron for two hours. Those two hours were always an abyss of suffering for him.

Due to his constant practice, Tang Wulin had grown even stronger than before. Originally, he had used a small iron hammer, but the necessary hammer was gradually replaced by larger and larger ones. After three months of practice, he was allowed to do some simple metal extraction work. One year later, he began making the simplest of components.

It wasn't until half a year before that he had been promoted from forging small components to medium sized components. Mang Tian even began comparing him and Brother Long more and more strictly. However, Tang Wulin's temperament had a special sort of perseverance. In the three years he had been working there, not once had he complained about his hardships.

After seriously looking over the blueprint, he understood what today's task was. He had to make ten machine armored ankle-joints. They were spherical in shape so if the work was done with a mold, it would only have to be pressed twice in order to be finished. However, when it came to forging it, the demands were much higher.

Blacksmithing was divided into many ranks. Generally speaking, there was the Hundred Refined. Hundred Refined was when a component was refined a hundred times throughout. Even higher than that was Thousand Refined.

The more times it was refined, the less impurities a metal would have. Naturally, a metal of quality was required to withstand the pressure of a thousand refinements. For now, Tang Wulin was still unable to create a Thousand Refined component, so he was rarely required to do this sort of work.

With practiced movements, he pressed the button on the workbench, causing it to split open in the middle which exposed a forging furnace. He fastened some metal to the channel on the side, then pressed another button which delivered the metal into the furnace.

He picked up a pair of metal hammers with a shiny black finish. These two hammers were about the same size as the ones he had first used when he had first come here. For this kind of small component, hammers of this size were the most suitable.

However, these hammers were also a present that Mang Tian had given him after having worked in his workshop for one year. Mang Tian had personally manufactured these Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers. Each one weighed about 40 kilograms, which made it exceedingly difficult for an ordinary person to swing them. Nevertheless, they seemed nearly weightless in Tang Wulin's hands.

Under the high temperature of the furnace the metal quickly blushed a deep red. Tang Wulin swung the hammer in his right hand onto the crown of the metal. The hammer in his left hand soon connected from the bottom. Pressing down from either side, Tang Wulin was able to remove the chunk of heated metal.

He rapidly swung the tungsten hammers in each hand and a succession of 'dings' could be heard. With those resounding 'dings', he began that day's forging.

Blacksmithing was a craftsman's job. It wasn't just a simple skilled trade. Mang Tian had told him when he first started that in order to become a blacksmith, he had to use his brain. During the process of pounding the metal, he had to feel the vibrations and the changes in the metal's vein lines. Only after grasping these two things would he be able to forge quality goods.

In the aspect of perception, Tang Wulin was excellent. Tang Wulin wasn't aware of the fact that when Mang Tian had gifted him this pair of Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers, it had signified that he had formally become a blacksmith.

His monthly income couldn't be considered much but he still earnestly saved a set amount each month. With the remainder, he set apart a small portion to spend for his little sister, while the rest was given to his mother as aid in their family expenses.

He was only a nine year old child right now, but with his three years of forging as well as his resolute nature, he was much more steadfast in comparison to his peers.

Two hours later he gave the final component the finishing strike. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed a nearby towel and wiped away his sweat. Looking upon the ten shining joint components in front of him, he revealed a satisfied expression.

After becoming accustomed to forging, he had grown to like this type of work. Everyday he would brandish his hammer and pound metal. It was a way for him to vent his feelings in a carefree manner. Moreover, there were times when he was pounding the metal that he would enter a peculiarly fantastic state. It was as if he resonated with his hammer as well as with the metal he was forging. Whenever this state occurred, the components that he forged would be especially outstanding. Those components would even draw praise from the cold natured Mang Tian.

"Teacher." Tang Wulin was just preparing to hand in his work when he discovered that Mang Tian was already in his forging room.

Mang Tian walked over to the workbench to inspect the product first. He nodded, then handed Tang Wulin some paper bills. "Here's this month's wages. Your work is pretty good."

"Thank you, teacher." Tang Wulin was elated as he hurriedly received the paper bills and stuffed them into this pocket. Due to his excitement, Tang Wulin's little face was somewhat red yet he couldn't help but wave his fists in joy.

Mang Tian gave him a doubtful look. "I've never seen you so happy to receive your monthly wages before."

Slightly short of breath, Tang Wulin took a deep breath of air before saying, "Teacher, I've saved up enough money to buy a spirit soul!"

Mang Tian blankly looked at him, then said with a hint of emotion, "You're saying that your martial soul has already reached rank 10?"

Tang Wulin nodded his head. "I should nearly be there."

Mang Tian gave a rare trace of a smile. "Good luck."

"Teacher, I'll head back first then." Tang Wulin placed his finished components in a box, then departed full of joy.

As he watched Tang Wulin's departing back, Mang Tian couldn't help but show a bigger smile. "At last, that kid is acting like a normal kid. It's a pity that his martial soul is Bluesilver Grass. No matter what his spirit soul is, I fear that it's all… However, this is also fortunate for me. This child's talent in forging far surpasses my own."

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Chapter 14 – Enough Money at Last

Tang Wulin was happily bouncing up and down the whole trip home. He was truly happy at the moment.

Three years. It had been three whole years. He had painstakingly forged metal everyday. All those swings of his hammer, they had all been for the sake of earning enough money for a spirit soul.

Although he had already calculated the month before that he would finally have enough money for a spirit soul this month. Now that he actually had the money in his hands, he just wanted to shout out in excitement.

Thirty thousand Federation Coins. For those upper class wealthy families, this was nothing. however, to a child who was barely nine years old, it was the fruit of over one thousand days of hard work and sweat! He couldn't even count the number of times he had raised his hammer in order to earn this amount of money, let alone how much he had sweat for it.

He had finally succeeded! The more he thought about his achievement, the more elated he became. His emotions were simply impossible to convey right now!

The moment he succeeds in breaking through the bottleneck, he would finally be able to obtain a spirit soul. And now he was so close that he was just counting down the number of days before it happened. His soul power was about to make a breakthrough and what's more, it would be likely be before graduation! Breaking into rank 10 would signify the moment he became a Soul Master.

Although Tang Wulin had taken a liking to forging, it didn't mean that he wished to take it on as his profession. His dream was still to become a Soul Master, and in the future, he even dreamed of becoming a Machine Armor Master.

All boys had this kind of dream, but how many people were able to put in the necessary effort to achieve their dreams?

Diligence compensates for dullness. Over the last three years, Tang Wulin had always kept these four words in his heart and strived to follow its teachings.

He could finally see this come to fruition now.

"Mom, dad, I've earned enough money now! I have enough now!" As soon as Tang Wulin rushed through the doorway, he already began shouting out in excitement.

Na'er was sitting in the living room, sucking on the lollipop Tang Wulin had bought her.

"Big brother, you have enough money to buy a spirit soul now?" She understood Tang Wulin's excitement too well.

"Mn. I have enough now. I have all thirty thousand." Tang Wulin swiftly took out the money and put it on top of the table. Afterwards, he quickly returned to his room and retrieved an iron case from underneath his bed. He ran back to the living room and poured out all of the money that was inside of the case."

"One hundred, two hundred, two hundred twenty…"

"Twenty-nine thousand six hundred, twenty-nine thousand seven hundred… Thirty thousand, thirty thousand and two hundred. There's actually an extra two hundred! Na'er, I'll give you a hundred to buy some good food to eat."

Looking at the large pile of Federation Coins in front of him, Tang Wulin's little face turned red with excitement.

Lang Yue had already finished working and returned home before them. Even from the kitchen, she could hear her son's shouts. Tang Ziran had finished work and he was just stepping through the doorway when he also heard his son's cheers. When they saw all the money on top of the table, the two of them couldn't help but tear up a bit.

This child, truly had it too hard. While other children were playing, he was already earning money.

Lang Yue walked to her husband's side and thumped on his shoulder. She didn't turn around, in fear that the children would see her tears.

"I know what you're capable of. You're a very capable son," said Tang Ziran while patting his wife's back in comfort. With a smile, Tang Ziran walked over to Tang Wulin and hugged his shoulders from the side and gave him a big thumbs up.

"Once I've broken through into the 10th rank, I'll be able to go buy my spirit soul, right dad?" Tang Wulin excitedly asked.

"That's correct. When that time comes, I'll accompany you. No, our whole family will go. You're about to become a Soul Master, son! I'm very proud of you."

He was truly ecstatic.Once the night came, no matter how hard he tried, Tang Wulin wasn't able to enter a meditative state.

Na'er had already fallen asleep. The moon and stars were especially bright that night. The next day would definitely be a sunny day!

Tang Wulin quietly got off his bed. His excitement was simply too much for him to fall asleep. He pulled on Na'er's blanket and adjusted it so that it covered her delicate body. As usual, she couldn't stay still while she slept.

'Mom said that once I turn 10 next year, I won't be able to sleep in the same room as Na'er anymore. When that time comes, I'll have to give the room to Na'er and I'll go sleep in the living room. But why is that?'

At the thought of this, Tang Wulin began to feel uneasy. He liked to being greeted with the sight of Na'er the moment he woke up everyday.

He carefully opened the door, then softly and quietly went out. He wanted to go out for a walk and let his heart calm down. Then he would be able to meditate after he came back.

Opening and closing the door, he didn't make the slightest sound as he quietly went out.

Bright moonlight shone into the bedroom, falling upon Na'er's body. This night's moon was especially bright. Na'er's silver hair glistened and shone under the blanket of moonlight.

Blanketed by moonlight, suddenly, a ring of light quietly appeared from Na'ers body. Yellow, green, red, blue, purple, gold and silver. These seven colors twinkled one by one.

Had Tang Wulin still been in the room, he would have been able to see this extraordinary scene.

Na'er's body trembled slightly. After twinkling for a while, the seven-colored ring of light began fusing into the space between her eyes. After a long time, she returned to her previous peaceful state.

The moonlight was still as bright as before, but the ring of light on Na'er's body had already disappeared. It seemed as if her delicate body had grown a bit. Although she hadn't grown too much in the last three years, tonight she had a breakthrough.

Her trembling faded away, and once again, Na'er's breathing returned to normal. However, her eyebrows were knit. It seemed as if the dream she was having wasn't wonderful or beautiful at all.

This night's air was especially cool. There was a small garden in the commoners' area that Tang Wulin lived in. He would often bring Na'er here to play, whenever there was a school holiday.

As soon as he entered the garden, he felt a powerful attraction force from a strand of Bluesilver Grass. He breathed in the sweet scent of the plant as well as the fresh air and a satisfied smile gradually overcame him.

Subconsciously, he sat down cross-legged.

Birds were chirping quietly, the air was cold and pure and he was basking in the the dim radiance of the moon and stars. Under these conditions, he was gradually able to calm down and enter a meditative state.

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Chapter 15 – 10th Rank

A countless number of blue specks of light congregated from all around him, quietly boring into his body and permeating throughout.

Tang Wulin felt as if he was soaking in a blue ocean as countless tiny voices blanketed and called out to him.

The distinctive fragrance of Bluesilver Grass permeated into every cell in his body. The soul power within his dantian took on a warm feeling as it began to unfold.

In Tang Wulin's perception, everything began to turn a bizarre blue color. The scent of Bluesilver Grass was present everywhere in his body.

Faint golden lines lit up on his forehead with the same pattern as before, extending outwards. After extending all over his skin, the golden lines gradually withdrew.

His body shone as he sat there in meditation. One moment it was a faint blue color and in the next the light shining from his body had traces of gold.

Early morning.

"Lin Lin, Lin Lin… " Lang Yue's anxious voice resounded in the streets.

Inside the small garden, Tang Wulin stirred from his cross-legged sitting position and slowly awoke from his meditative state. The morning dew moistened his lapels, but at this very moment he felt an indescribable feeling penetrating throughout his whole body.

"Lin Lin, Lin Lin…" Lang Yue's distinct voice was heard.

"Mom, I'm over here." Tang Wulin hurriedly responded as he got off the lawn and ran over.

As he hurried to answered his mother's call, he could feel that his body was much more relaxed than before.

"You child, why are you out here? You nearly worried me to death." Lang Yue said sternly as she examined her son.

"I'm sorry mom. I was meditating in the garden. I think I've broken through to the 10th rank." Although Tang Wulin wasn't sure, the changes in his body indicated that he had most likely had a breakthrough.

Lang Yue gaped at him for a moment before she lowered her head to examine her son. Tang Wulin's height already reached her shoulders. Although his body was a bit moist, his skin still glistened with the luster of a gem and he was looking to her with a pair of large spirited eyes.

"Listen to mom's words. Your safety is the most important thing. Let's go home then. I'll cook you some breakfast." Lang Yue kissed his head a few times before she held onto his hand and walked him home.

"You've made a breakthrough?" When Tang Ziran found out that his son had made a breakthrough, he was very happy. "Since you think you've made a breakthrough, we'll go to the academy today and test you. If you really have made a breakthrough, then I'll take you to buy a spirit soul tomorrow."

"Long live dad!" Tang Wulin cheered.

"Na'er, what's the matter? Aren't you happy for big brother?" Tang Wulin was in high spirits, but he discovered that unexpectedly, Na'er was a bit different today. Usually she would gorge herself on breakfast first thing in the morning, but she just sat there with a blank stare today. None of his excitement had rubbed off on her.

"Ah? Nothing's the matter! Congratulations big brother!" Na'er gave him a sweet smile before digging into her breakfast.

Tang Wulin thought she was down because she didn't have a martial soul, so he didn't pursue the topic.

In fact, Tang Wulin's guess about his breakthrough was correct. After arriving at the academy, he told Teacher Lin Ximeng about his feeling and was then taken to undergo the soul power test. The apparatus displayed that his soul power had indeed reached rank 10.

Every ten soul power ranks, Soul Masters would require a soul ring in order to break through to the next rank. They could kill a soul beast to obtain a soul ring, but soul beasts were too rare nowadays. It was much more common for people to choose the second method, of obtaining a spirit soul manufactured by the Spirit Pagoda.

Tang Wulin was the seventh student in his class to break through. After stepping through the threshold of the 10th rank, he had become a true Soul Master and had taken his first step on this road.

"Tang Wulin, have your family quickly take you to the Spirit Pagoda to buy a spirit soul. Once you've fused with a spirit soul, you'll be a Soul Master. Official Soul Masters are able to receive a stipend of 1000 Federal Coins every month. That should be enough for your tuition fees at an intermediate academy." Lin Ximeng urged him.

Tang Wulin nodded in excitement. "I already have enough money to buy a spirit soul, Teacher Lin. I'll go buy one tomorrow."

Lin Ximeng nodded with a smile. "Good. I'll request a leave of absence for you tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck in obtaining a satisfactory spirit soul."

"Thank you, teacher."

After becoming a Soul Master, he would receive a monthly stipend. Although intermediate academy was compulsory, his monthly stipend of a thousand coins would just barely be enough to pay for his everyday expenses. He would have to leave Glorybound City to attend an intermediate academy. With his monthly stipend, he would no longer need to use his parent's money. If he was able to cultivate to become a Soul Grandmaster, his monthly stipend would increase even more!

Tang Wulin was elated, step by step he was moving closer to his dream.

If it was any other child, they might not have been able to control their emotions, but Tang Wulin's heart had grown exceedingly steady after three years of forging. That night, he went to Mang Tian's workshop and completed his forging assignments. Only after finishing did he go home.

As soon as Tang Ziran received the notification from the academy, he went and requested the next day off, so that he could take Tang Wulin to buy a spirit soul. Lang Yue had requested a day off too, but because there was too much work, her request wasn't approved.

"Na'er, why are you so lost in thought today?" Tang Wulin gave a puzzled look from the side. "Don't worry. Even though you don't have a martial soul, big brother will protect you instead. I'll protect you for your whole life. All right?" Tang Wulin said as he rubbed her head.

Na'er raised her head and looked at him, revealing clear purple eyes which now displayed a fantastic splendor. "Big brother, can you take me to play on the beach after we eat?"

Tang Wulin turned to look at Tang Ziran.

"Go ahead. Just don't come back too late." Tang Ziran smiled.

Although Glorybound City was called a city, it was actually just a very large village. There weren't any city walls. The commoner's district where Tang Wulin's family lived in was exceptionally close to the beach.

It only took a ten minute walk from their home to the beach.

This beach couldn't be considered pretty as it lacked fine sand. Rather, it was filled with rough, gravel-like sand and shells. Legends said that due to humanity's excessive hunting of the ocean's soul beasts, they had attracted the wrath of nature.

The moonlight this night was just as beautiful as the night before as it glittered pure white, like snow. Stars as brilliant as gems were embedded into the canopy of the sky, which complemented the splendor of the moon.

The ocean reflected the radiance of the moon and stars in the sky, as waves constantly surged forth. The sounds of crashing waves and seabirds filled the air, addingextraordinary vitality to this image of the starry sky above the ocean.

Na'er looked out towards the ocean, then looked up towards the stars. "There sure are a lot of stars tonight, big brother!"

Tang Wulin laughed. "Yes! Maybe they've all come out tonight to congratulate me on becoming a Soul Master. Na'er, are you sad that you're unable to become a Soul Master?"

Na'er shook her head. "That's not it." After a moment of silence, she turned around and looked into Tang Wulin's eyes. "Would you miss me if I left one day, big brother?"

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Chapter 16 – The Starry Sky and the Vast Sea

"If I left one day, would you miss me?" Na'er asked as she raised her head to look at Tang Wulin. Her petite face was even more fairy-like under the splendor of the moon and stars.

Tang Wulin dumbly asked, "Why? Are you going to leave?"

Na'er pouted, "I'm just asking if I leave."

Tang Wulin replied, "You're my little sister. Of course I would miss you. I would really, really miss you. Eh, have you grown a bit taller, Na'er? You're nearly up to my nose now."

"I'll miss you too. I'll really, really miss you." Na'er gave an answer beside the point. Her large purple eyes seemed to contain a hazy layer of water.

Tang Wulin happily embraced her by her shoulders. "We're together everyday, so we don't have to miss each other. I've already talked it over with mom and dad. Once I've entered an intermediate academy, you'll be coming with me to attend an academy in the same city. Big brother will always protect you."

Silently, the radiance in Na'er's eyes dimmed and she rested her head on Tang Wulin's shoulder.

Early morning.

Tang Wulin got up especially early and ate a smaller breakfast than usual today. Seeing the eager shine in his son's eyes, Tang Ziran couldn't help but smile. "Aren't you awfully impatient? There's no need to be so eager. Even if we went early, the Spirit Pagoda wouldn't be open."

For Tang Wulin, today was a very special day. Today was the day he was going to buy a spirit soul.

"Dad, what kind of spirit soul do you think I'll be able to buy?" Tang Wulin was only a nine year old child. He had been working his hardest all for this day, and now that the day had finally come, how could he possibly be calm?

Tang Ziran revealed a slight smile. "How would dad know? But no matter what kind of spirit soul you get, you'll still be promoted from a Soul Scholar to a Soul Master. Then you'll truly be a Soul Master. The gap between you and ordinary people will grow even larger."

"Mn." Tang Wulin excitedly nodded his head. However, he had overlooked something in his father's tone.

As Na'er watched Tang Wulin impatiently pulling his father out of the home, her pretty eyes displayed a perplexed look. She knitted her eyebrows, as if deep in thought.

"Dad, walk a bit faster. Let's hurry up." Tang Wulin urged as he practically skipped ahead.

Tang Ziran couldn't help but shake his head while the deepest depths of his eyes revealed his worries. Obtaining a suitable spirit soul couldn't possibly be that easy! Just because he could buy one didn't mean he was able to buy a suitable one.

The Spirit Pagoda's reach spread throughout the continent. Not only was it present in the Douluo Continent, it was even able to spread to the other two continents several thousand years ago.

Ten thousand years ago, the remnants of the Heaven Dou Empire after its defeat at the hands of the Sun-Moon Empire had embarked on a voyage and had experienced many hardships and perils. In the end, they discovered a huge continent which also had some indigenous humans. However, their development couldn't even compare with the Douluo Continent's. They were conquered by the Heaven Dou remnants and the continent was named the Heaven Dou Continent.

On the Douluo Continent, the conflict between the Sun-Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire was never ending. While the Sun-Moon Empire rapidly developed, the Star Luo Empire gradually declined. Instead, they chose to take a different route. The Star Luo Empire decided to invest in seafaring technology. Thanks to their research, they were able to discover another large continent which was followed by a quiet occupation shortly afterwards. With the whole continent taken, the Star Luo Empire migrated the whole empire over along with their many resources and named it the Star Luo Continent. Afterwards, the Star Luo Empire also changed to a federal system and became the Star Luo Federation.

The Sun-Moon Empire was able to unify the Douluo Continent and became the Sun-Moon Federation.

The Spirit Pagoda had a ten thousand year history. Due to their importance to Soul Masters and their groundbreaking research into artificial spirit souls, their status had risen dramatically to its current state. Throughout the three continents, they were the strongest power.

Glorybound City also had a Spirit Pagoda branch located in the heart of the city. It was a three layer pagoda. This was the lowest rank possible for a Spirit Pagoda branch. A mid-sized city would have a seven layer Spirit Pagoda branch. Major cities would have a thirteen layer Spirit Pagoda branch. However, the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters was situated in Shrek City. The headquarters had gone through many renovations over the years and it now had eighty layers. It was said to be the most magnificent building on the Douluo Continent.

In regards to Tang Wulin, the three layered pagoda in front of him was already a holy land. This Spirit Pagoda branch was the largest building in Glorybound City. Everybody knew where it was, but few had ever entered it.

When they arrived the Spirit Pagoda's doors were already wide open, yet there weren't too many people there. After all, this was a place for Soul Masters. With Glorybound City being as small as it was, there were simply too few Soul Masters.

After Tang Ziran brought his son into the Spirit Pagoda, Tang Wulin's eyes constantly fluttered all about his surroundings. He was very curious about this fabled place.

The Spirit Pagoda was shaped like an octagon with three floors. The interior was very spacious and the marble floor carried the symbol of the Spirit Pagoda. Inside the huge hall, there was a circular door which led to an unknown location. There was a reception counter in the front with an ashen robed Soul Master seated behind it.

The Soul Master had already stood up by the time the two of them arrived in front of the counter and was inspecting Tang Ziran. "Hello, may I ask what you're here for?"

Tang Ziran respectfully greeted, "Hello Lord Soul Master. I've brought my son to buy a spirit soul. His martial soul has reached the 10th rank."

Once he heard this, the Soul Master's enthusiastic expression clearly dampened a bit as Tang Ziran wasn't a Soul Master.

"Do you have enough money?" He unenthusiastically asked.

Tang Wulin scrambled over. "Enough. I have enough."

The Soul Master said, "What rank of spirit soul do you want to buy?"

Somewhat embarrassed, Tang Ziran answered, "Lord Soul Master, we're not quite knowledgeable about these things. Could we possibly inconvenience you to explain this to us?"

The Soul Master impatiently said, "You don't know about this yet you've still come? For such a small city like Glorybound City, the Spirit Pagoda only offers three types of spirit souls. Ten year white spirit souls, hundred year yellow spirit souls, and random spirit soul selection.

"There are 73 ten year white spirit souls and 11 hundred year yellow spirit souls to choose from. The price of a white spirit soul is seventy thousand coins, while yellow spirit souls are one million coins. Which one do you want to buy?"

Tang Wulin was stunned at his words and nearly lost his voice as he asked, "Lord Soul Master, aren't spirit souls thirty thousand coins? How, how could it be…?"

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Chapter 17 – Spiritual Power Test

The Spirit Master shot him a glance. "Thirty thousand is for a random spirit soul. You can get a ten year spirit soul, or a hundred year spirit soul, but what you get is random. There's a very high chance that the spirit soul you get won't be suitable for your martial soul. Some people who want to save money and bet on luck would choose this type. However, I suggest that you get a suitable ten year spirit soul instead, it'll be much more helpful.

From their tone of voice, it was clear to the Spirit Master that this father and son pair weren't people who were able to purchase a hundred year spirit soul.

Tang Wulin looked over at his father. His original excitement had already been obliterated completely.

Tang Ziran crouched down to face Tang Wulin. At that moment, he had all sorts of feelings swell up in his heart, but he didn't know what he should say in this situation.

"Son, let's choose a random spirit soul then. Your martial soul's adaptability should be very high and it should be able to fuse with most spirit souls."

If Tang Wulin didn't have the trash martial soul of Bluesilver Grass, Tang Ziran might not have opted to take this risk…

However, Bluesilver Grass truly didn't have too much room for improvement. So being able to cultivate it to the 10th rank was already a surprise.

"I must warn you." The Spirit Master's voice caught the attention of the father and son pair.

He indifferently continued, "It's possible to obtain a hundred year spirit soul from the random spirit soul selection, but it's also possible to obtain a defective spirit soul."

Tang Ziran asked in bewilderment, "Defective spirit soul? How could they be defective?"

The Spirit Master said, "When a spirit soul is being manufactured, it won't necessarily succeed every single time. Sometimes, defective ones may appear. The defectives ones are also very expensive to manufacture and they can also be fused with too. So we include it in the random selection. If we didn't and just left it as all white and yellow spirit souls, wouldn't the losses outweigh the profits? It would seem that thirty thousand federal coins is quite a bit for you two, so you must think about this thoroughly."

Tang Ziran looked at Tang Wulin and saw the lifeless look in his eyes. He had never thought that after all the effort he had put in these last three years, he would still be faced with this kind of situation.

"Son, how about we first go home. Dad will help you think of an idea. If there's no other way, we can borrow some to try to gather up seventy thousand…" Tang Ziran saw his son's appearance and couldn't help feeling his heart ache.

Tang Wulin shook his head. "Dad, you and mom already tire yourselves out for me everyday. And anyways, my martial soul is only Bluesilver Grass. I'll just try my luck and see if the Heavens care about me then. Maybe I'll get a decent spirit soul."

His eating capacity had increased by a lot ever since his martial soul had awakened. What's more, Na'er also had a large appetite despite her petite frame. For a household living on a salary, it was already quite difficult for Tang Ziran and Lang Yue. All the good things were already given to the children to eat; the husband and wife weren't even willing to eat meat.

The children of the poor had to take on household responsibilities at a young age. To Tang Wulin's eyes, his household was already struggling hard enough as it is. How could he possibly let them strain themselves further to borrow money for him? His mom and dad worked very hard, so he wanted a strong spirit soul to become a renowned and powerful Soul Master. Although becoming a powerful Soul Master was important to him, his mother, father, and Na'er were much more important.

"He really is a thoughtful child." When the somewhat impatient Spirit Master heard what Tang Wulin said, his expression couldn't help but soften a bit.

"Sigh…" Tang Ziran's sigh was full of bitterness. "It's all because dad is useless."

Tang Wulin held his father's hand, then looked towards the Spirit Master and asked, "Lord Spirit Master, could I trouble you to take me to select a random spirit soul?" Saying this, he took out the thirty thousand federal coins he had saved up.

The Spirit Master nodded and said, "You really are a sensible child. Much better than my family's stinky kid. Originally, you would have had to pay a fee for the spiritual power examination, but I'll help you out and exempt you from the fee."

Tang Wulin stared blankly at him before hastening to say, "Thank you. I really am thankful to you."

The Spirit Master laughed as he rubbed his head. "Follow me. Your father will wait here. Ordinary people can't look into the world of Soul Masters."

The room he brought Tang Wulin into was different on the inside compared to its simple and unadorned outer appearance. It was brimming with modern technological apparatuses that were arranged about the room.

The Spirit Master gestured for Tang Wulin to sit down on a metal chair before he began speaking. "Do you know why we why test spiritual power?"

Tang Wulin blankly shook his head.

The Spirit Master explained, "This is your first time coming to choose a spirit soul. After fusing with a spirit soul, you'll become a true Soul Master and the Spirit Pagoda will make a record of your spiritual power's strength, the level and type of spirit soul you fused with, and other things. You'll most likely attend an intermediate Soul Master academy later on."

Tang Wulin responded in amazement. "Lord Spirit Master, spiritual power also has ranks? Like soul power? Is spiritual power very important?"

The Spirit Master answered, "For normal Soul Masters, spiritual power isn't too important. It's also divided into ranks, but it isn't divided the same way soul power is. However, when it comes to high level Soul Masters, the strength of their spiritual powers becomes much more significant. A strong spirit soul requires spiritual power equally as strong to fuse with."

"Before the existence of spirit souls, there weren't any ranks for spiritual power at all. But when spirit souls first appeared, the previous generations gradually realized that fusing with a spirit soul required much more spiritual power than fusing with a spirit ring. After extensive research, they created the rankings for spiritual power. It was only in the last two thousand years or so that the rankings were completed."

Tang Wulin inquisitively asked, "Then how many levels is spiritual power divided into?"

The Spirit Master responded, "From low to high, spiritual power is divided into: Spirit Origin, Spirit Opening, Spirit Sea, Spirit Abyss, Spirit Domain, and the fabled Divine Origin. These six realms are quite simple. Everyone is in the Spirit Origin realm when they are born. As for the meaning behind Spirit Origin, it means that it's the single origin everyone starts from. Afterwards, nature takes on a new look. This is the most basic of soul levels. You should be at this level. As for the rest, you'll learn it in school so I won't speak of it. Alright then. I'll start testing what degree of Spirit Origin you've reached."

A metal helmet fell onto his head. Then, metal arms linked together and strapped his head in.

"Don't be so tense. Relax your body. You might feel a bit of vertigo in a bit; that's normal. You just need to stay relaxed." The Spirit Master repeatedly warned.

"Yes." Tang Wulin hastily promised.

A slight humming noise arose as the helmet began to emit a soft white glow. The Spirit Master watched the soul transmitter screen on the side as the screen began to display data.

When the numbers first appeared, they jumped up extremely quickly. After a moment, the numbers gradually stabilized. When the Spirit Master saw the number, his expression changed to one of astonishment.

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Chapter 18 – Random Draw

The numbers stopped increasing after a moment and settled within a range.

The Spirit Master turned off the apparatus and took off the helmet.

"It's done."

Tang Wulin really did feel dizzy, even though he had previously only felt a slight irritation in his head. He had once seen the indistinct sight of the golden world of fused spirit souls, and now, during the test, he had once again managed to see it. He had to put in a lot of effort in order to see it clearly, and when he almost succeeded to clearly glimpse it, the test had already ended.

"It's a pretty good number." The Spirit Master nodded and smiled at Tang Wulin. "You have the best spiritual power out of all the Soul Scholars I've had these past few years. Your spiritual power is 38. Remember this number. I'm going to have the machine make a record for you, so you can hand it over once you attend an intermediate Soul Master academy.

As he was unclear about the boundaries of the spiritual power system, Tang Wulin also wasn't clear about the significance of having a spiritual power level of 38.

Seeing Tang Wulin's perplexed expression, the Spirit Master kindly explained, "Spirit Origin realm can be ranged between level 1 to 100 spiritual power. Levels 30 and below are elementary ranked. Levels 30 to 60 are intermediate ranked. Levels 60 to 90 are advanced rank. Levels 90 to 100 is the peak of Spirit Origin. You've already entered Spirit Origin realm intermediate rank at such a young age; that isn't easy at all. I'm a 28th rank Soul Grandmaster, yet my spiritual power is only at level 87. With spiritual power in the intermediate rank of Spirit Origin realm, you'll be able to fuse with a hundred year yellow spirit soul."

This good news caused Tang Wulin to immediately brighten up a bit. What's more, the Spirit Master's explanation of spiritual power had enabled him to see another magnificent side to the world of Soul Masters.

"If you accept, then we'll see just how good your luck is." The Spirit Master brought Tang Wulin directly into an adjacent room afterwards.

Inside of this much larger room, there was a three meter tall, six meter wide gigantic machine. Numerous glowing spheres with a diameter of about one third of a meter could be seen within it. Each and every one of these balls of light were exactly the same.

The Spirit Master pointed at two buttons on the machine and said, "The green button is to start, the red button is to stop. After stopping, the spirit soul at that location will roll out. You may begin whenever you're ready."

Tang Wulin's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken in front of this odd machine. Teacher Lin Ximeng had said before that the quality of a spirit soul played a significant role in a Soul Master's strength. Fusing with a strong spirit soul would help a Soul Master upgrade their own power. On the other hand, if they fused with a weak spirit soul, the spirit skill bestowed upon them would be equally weak. A Soul Master could have a maximum of nine spirit skills. Although it was exceedingly rare for someone to reach nine spirit rings, this just made the lower level spirit skills that much more important.

What is to be, will be.

Tang Wulin clenched his teeth, then bravely pressed the green button.

A succession of lights within the machine immediately began to shine, until every single ball was illuminated.

The hundred or so spirit souls within the machine slowly began to circulate. Not too long after, it reached a shockingly fast speed, giving off the feeling of being too much for one's eyes to take in.

The spirit souls were all concealed from the outside world by the spirit soul ball. Nothing of the inner contents could be discerned by the eye. The result could only be left up to the will of the Heavens.

Tang Wulin's hand rested upon the red button. Although he could normally hold a forty kilogram thousand refined tungsten hammer with steady hands, at this moment his hand had a slight tremble to it. He knew that as soon as he pressed the button, his fate as a Soul Master would be sealed!

After breathing in forcefully, he shut his eyes and finally pressed the button.

"Bang!" The machine stopped circulating and a pure white spirit soul ball fell out of the machine, tumbling into the metal case beside Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin subconsciously opened his eyes and turned to look. At that moment, his heartbeat was beating like a drum.

The Spirit Master walked over, took out the spirit soul ball, and handed it to Tang Wulin.

"Come on. Take a look."

Tang Wulin gasped for breath as he held the ball close to his chest. He looked at it as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.

'I finally have it! This is my first spirit soul!'

After Tang Wulin tensely returned to his father, the Spirit Master handed him an oval shaped device.

"When you press this button and shine the device's light upon the spirit soul ball, your spirit soul will break out of its shell. After releasing the spirit soul, its power will belong to you.Not even speaking of Tang Wulin's nervousness, Tang Ziran couldn't possibly clench his fists any tighter from the anticipation of that moment. What would the result be?

Tang Wulin looked at his father. In return, Tang Ziran gave him a nod brimming with encouragement.

At the push of the button, a gentle yellow light was released from the device and fell upon the spirit soul ball. The spirit soul ball reacted by emitting a faint radiance, then slowly turned transparent. The contents within could already be vaguely seen.

Tang Wulin could clearly sense the breath of the being within the spirit soul ball when it made a slight movement.

'What is it?'

The radiance emitted by the spirit soul ball turned white at that moment, and in its center, the brilliance of a shining ring was seen. The spirit soul ball slowly unfurled from the center outwards.

When he saw the white light, the Spirit Master explained from the side. "It's a ten year spirit soul."

Tang Ziran's expression darkened. In the end, the Heavens didn't care for his son. A hundred year spirit soul worth over a million coins simply wasn't that easy to obtain.

Tang Wulin's gaze was fixed on the spirit soul ball that slowly opened up. His first spirit soul would be a ten year spirit soul, but what kind would it be?

The white light began to dissipate as the spirit soul ball opened up completely. The spirit soul inside had appeared at last.

As soon as he saw it, the Spirit Master's expression changed a bit. Tang Ziran and Tang Wulin were both dumbfounded.

The spirit soul was actually…

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Chapter 19 – Spirit Soul

Author's note: Don't cry Wulin. Stand up… cough cough. I request collections, I request recommendation tickets, then I will treat him a bit nicer. (Guide on how to stop Wulin Cruelty here, courtesy of CKTalon and Etvolare)

Within the white spirit soul ball, a little fellow was quietly crawling.

It really was too tiny, measuring only about ten centimeters in length and was about as thin as a child's finger. Its body was an earthen yellow color, and if you looked at it closely, a tiny rhombus shaped scale could be seen.

"This is a spirit soul?" Tang Ziran raised his head and looked towards the Spirit Master as he asked with a dubious voice.

Nearly everyone would recognize what this tiny thing was. This was because it was the commonly seen Grass Snake, a type of harmless, small animal. Although it was a type of snake, it was definitely the weakest of its species.

A fully grown Grass Snake would be about twenty to thirty centimeters in length and about as thick as a finger. It would only be able to feed on some puny insects.

If it was to be described in the simplest of words, only four were needed. Harmless human raised livestock!

Ever since his martial soul awakened and he found that he possessed spirit power, Tang Wulin had countless fantasies as to what his first spirit soul would be. He fantasized that after combining his martial soul with a spirit soul, his martial soul would improve and become powerful. It would bestow upon him a dazzlingly powerful spirit skill, and he would officially become a Soul Master.

Fantasies were fine, but reality was cruel.

Grass Snake? This wasn't even a question of its strength, but whether or not it was actually a spirit soul.

The Spirit Master was also staring blankly at this Grass Snake. He let out a gentle sigh and said somewhat bitterly, "When it rains, it pours. Child, your luck really is…"

He knew that artificial spirit souls were still reliant on the genes of the soul beast they were created from. As a result of the gradual extinction of soul beasts, soul beast genes had also unceasingly depleted. The researchers of the Spirit Pagoda had tried many times to use non-soul beast genes to create a spirit soul and see if the result was acceptable.

The experiment was a success, but the fact was, the spirit souls made from those genes were pitifully weak. Basically, no one would be willing to buy them.

Without a doubt, this Grass Snake was one of the defective goods he had spoken of earlier. What's more, it wasn't just any defective goods, it was a spirit soul that lacked the slightest bit of soul beast genes. This spirit soul occupied the hundredth position in the spirit soul extraction machine, and there was a constant number of a hundred spirit soul balls in the machine at all times…

The Spirit Master sighed then nodded his head. "I'm certain that it's a spirit soul, but it's a weak spirit soul. The spirit soul has already been activated after its extraction, so you must fuse with it within twenty four hours. If not, it will die. You can decide for yourself if you want to fuse with it. If you don't wish to, then you can return in the future to select another spirit soul."

Tang Ziran looked at his lifeless son and was barely able to suppress the pain in his heart. He held his son's shoulders and said, "Lin Lin, let's go home."

Tang Wulin remained silent as he began walking away.

"Wait a moment." The Spirit Master couldn't bear it anymore, and called out to them.

"You should renounce this spirit soul. Although it was a successful product of the experiments, but it's still…" Out of compassion, he still continued to explain the origin of this Grass Snake.

Tang Wulin didn't know how he had gotten home, but he had been holding the spirit soul ball close to his heart the whole time. That Grass Snake spirit soul had a very lovable appearance and wasn't afraid of slithering out of the spirit soul ball at all. In fact, this kind of low level spirit soul didn't have any sort of intelligence. Before fusing with a martial soul, it wouldn't even be able to react to its environment.

"Don't be sad, son. Dad will think of a way to make enough money. You can be relieved. I'll definitely be able to make enough money in a short period of time and help you buy a suitable spirit soul." Tang Ziran's eyes flickered with a resolute light. For the sake of his son, he had steeled his resolve to face this matter head on.

Tang Wulin gently shook his head. "Dad, I'm going to my room first."

Sitting quietly to the side, Na'er got up and followed Tang Wulin to their room.

He sat on his bed and gazed at the spirit soul in his hands, then looked to his own callused hands. In the end, tears began to stream uncontrollably down his face.

Even after his martial soul had awakened, only to discover it was a trash spirit like Bluesilver Grass, he didn't cry. After all, he possessed spirit power. As long as he had spirit power, he still had a chance.

His father had told him that his family's conditions weren't too good. Even when he was told that they had no money to buy a spirit soul for him, he still hadn't cried. His father had said before that one must take responsibility for one's own matters. He could earn the money himself, while also helping his parents.

When he first arrived at Mang Tian's workshop and had to swing the the hammer for a thousand times, resulting in aching arms that desired to break and prevented him to even lift his arms to feed himself, he still hadn't cried. He had invested all of his efforts into it and had passed the test, giving him some more hope. As long as he had hope, then there was a chance that he could succeed.

Countless liters of sweat had been shed as he continually forged everyday for the last three years. When his classmates were at home playing, he would be pounding metal again and again. He would meditate for longer periods than the others, bearing through the pain and suffering, not shedding a single tear. He had smiled in the face of everything each and every day, and would always tell his parents to relax.

But now, he cried.

He had finally saved enough money after three years, and his spirit power had also reached the 10th rank. He was just about to succeed. Thirty thousand coins. All of his sweat had condensed into those thirty thousand coins. In the blink of an eye, those thirty thousand coins had transformed into this spirit soul with next to nothing in soul beast genes. All of his efforts were like bubbles that easily popped.

All of his toughness, his strength, and his determination, had been crushed in a moment and turned into tears. Drop by drop, they flowed.

Teardrops dripped onto the spirit soul ball one after another, gradually soaking that tiny Grass Snake. The Grass Snake writhed a bit, as if enjoying the taste of the salty tears.

A delicate hand extended towards him, intending to wipe away his tears. Na'er stood in front of him with puffy red eyes.

In this moment, it was as if their hearts were linked together. She could feel the pain and suffering in his heart in its entirety.

Despair, sorrow, and all sorts of dark emotions lingered within Tang Wulin's heart.

Tang Wulin wanted to cry out, but it was as if he was drained of all the strength necessary to scream at this moment.

"Big brother, big brother, don't cry." Without wiping away the tears, Na'er went forward and brought his head into her embrace.

Tang Wulin was choking on sobs as he cried, "Why? Why do the Heavens treat me so unjustly? Even after all my efforts, there isn't a single opportunity for me to grasp. I want to become a Soul Master. I want to become a powerful Soul Master!"

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Chapter 20 – Fusion

Crying really was the best way to vent one's feelings. After wetting Na'er's shoulder with his tears, the sound of weeping gradually stopped.

"Na'er, am I weak?" Tang Wulin asked after he raised his head and wiped away his tears.

Na'er shook her head vigorously.

Tang Wulin looked at the spirit soul in his hand. The tiny Grass Snake was moving about within the spirit soul ball in a carefree manner.

"You can go first, Na'er. I want to fuse with this spirit soul." Tang Wulin said bitterly.

Na'er hesitated and said, "But, this one isn't any good?"

Tang Wulin forced out a smile. "It's already difficult for mom and dad to provide for us, so I can't increase their burden. Dad said he would help me earn the money to buy another one just now, but our family doesn't have much money to begin with. I can't let mom and dad carry another burden for my sake. Even if it's not too good, it's still a spirit soul. It'll still let me become an official Soul Master. Also, dad won't have to face any more difficulties after I fuse with it."

Na'er blankly stared at him. "Big brother…"

Tang Wulin gave her a big smile. "I'm fine. It was only a dream of mine anyways. Maybe becoming a master forger is most suitable for me after all."

At this moment, Tang Wulin's profound smile was engraved within her heart. It was the kind of optimistic smile of relief and helplessness which masked the depth of his sorrows.

His eyes followed Na'er as she left the room. Then he bit his lip and turned his gaze towards the Grass Snake once again. In that moment as he gazed at it, all sorts of feelings began to well up within his heart.

He knew that after fusing with this spirit soul, he would lose any chance of achieving his dream of becoming a powerful Soul Master. But what could he do?

He gently touched the spirit soul ball within his hand. A spirit soul didn't possess much of a material existence, much less a low grade spirit soul such as this one.

His finger gently passed through the Grass Snake's body. It seemed to have felt it, as it uncoiled itself. Even though it had an illusory form, it was still able to twist around his finger and intimately stick out its little forked tongue as if to lick him.

He brought his hand up to his face, allowing him to clearly look into the Grass Snake spirit soul's small brown eyes. Its eyes were cloudy and unfocused, with a hint of terror to its confusion.

It was also a living being and would permanently dissipate if he didn't fuse with it within twenty-four hours.

'A trash martial soul and a defective spirit soul. That's very fitting.' Tang Wulin mocked himself as he flipped his palm, releasing soul power to summon a faint blue halo from which the Bluesilver Grass appeared from.

The Grass Snake could instinctively sense the existence of the Bluesilver Grass as it climbed up Tang Wulin's finger, quickly reaching the Bluesilver Grass.

The soft blue light glowing from the Bluesilver Grass suddenly released a powerful radiance. When the light fell upon the Grass Snake, a faint earthen yellow ring of light emerged from its body.

This was the first time Tang Wulin fused with a spirit soul, but Lin Ximeng had taught their class about spirit souls as well as what fusion felt like long ago.

A feeble mind penetrated into Tang Wulin's head. It felt amiable and frightened, but it was also brimming with a feeling of dependence.

Tang Wulin opened up his soul and accepted it inside. Changes immediately began to arise upon the Bluesilver Grass while its soul power surged forth.

He closed his eyes and silently entered a state of meditation as his fusion began.

The little Grass Snake twisted and turned within his palms. Apart from that first connection between the two of them, nothing else had been transmitted. This was the intelligence of spirit soul of the lowest grade. The more powerful a spirit soul was, the more intelligent it would be. A spirit soul above the purple rank was even capable of communicating with its host. Legends say that a spirit soul that surpassed that rank could even help the host in battle.

However, legends were only legends to Tang Wulin.

The little Grass Snake's earthen yellow body gradually took on a blue tint while the blade of Bluesilver Grass rapidly grew.

The originally weak and frail grass harmoniously curled up and gradually grew until it was about as thick as a finger with an appearance similar to that of a vine's. Upon a careful inspection, vestiges of scales could be found on the blade of grass. It now possessed a dark luster similar to the Grass Snake's. Although it was rougher, it still seemed as frail as before.

The Grass Snake's body had grown a bit and was now approximately eight centimeters long. A blue smear had also appeared upon its scales. The fusion smoothly finished.

The Grass Snake's spiritual power was too weak; it was basically impossible for it to resist at all. Although the Bluesilver Grass was a trash martial soul, Tang Wulin's spiritual power had already reached the intermediate rank of the Spirit Origin realm, thus allowing him to dominate in this fusion.

The blade of Bluesilver Grass had grown longer and had become a vine which coiled around his body.

Tang Wulin's soul power began to violently fluctuate as it met with the bottleneck and surged through, breaking through and evolving his martial soul at the same time.

Tang Wulin's whole body felt light as the condensed soul power within his dantian had countless threads penetrating into every single cell of his body. The cells in his body were aroused and brimming with energy. They were filled with a light-hearted and worry-free feeling which finally relieved the depression within his heart.

Right at that moment, Tang Wulin suddenly felt a wave of heat coming from his tailbone. This heat soon turned into a scorching hot sensation which traveled up his spine before continuing to spread throughout his body. The aura around his body had experienced a slight change after this.

The blade of Bluesilver Grass which had just finished evolving and the little Grass Snake suddenly stiffened and froze in place.

The faint golden veined pattern appeared once again, rapidly descending from Tang Wulin's forehead while the golden thread from his tailbone quickly rose. The two golden lights met at the apex of his vertebra and merged into one.

This golden color was much clearer than before. It hadn't only spread all over his body, but also onto the little Grass Snake in his palm and the Bluesilver Grass which had just finished evolving.

The originally dark and gloomy Bluesilver Grass now had a slender golden line along it, reaching all the way to its tip. Another change arose in it under the influence of the golden veined pattern.

It was as if the dull vine-like grass had suddenly gained a skeleton and its tenacity had drastically increased. Moreover, the grass's dull surface gradually gained a glossy luster with a faintly discernable blue halo and a slender gold stripe. It appeared more striking than before.

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Chapter 21 – Rank 11 Soul Master

The same transformation appeared on the little Grass Snake as its earthen yellow body gradually turned yellow. Its scales stuck out a bit now, and they contained a distinct radiance to them. Those golden stripes extended from its tail and up its body, converging at a single point on its head. The Grass Snake grew one centimeter from its previous eight centimeters. Its protruding tiny scales had turned golden in color.

The murky look in its eyes was gone, replaced with clarity.

So hot. Ah, so hot!

Tang Wulin wasn't aware of what was happening to his body. The only thing he could feel at the moment was an indescribable pain from an intense heat, as if his body was being smelted inside a furnace.

After an unknown period of time, the scorching heat began to cool down. However, it was replaced by a numbness which permeated throughout the four limbs and hundred bones. It was as if a myriad of insects was crawling about within his body. Tang Wulin wanted to cry out in pain, but he was unable to release a single sound. He already began to look back fondly at the scorching heat he had experienced beforehand.

The pain tormented him to the point that his body wished for a release of death, but his mind was abnormally clear. He could clearly feel all of the pain throughout his body.

If the Spirit Master from before were here to test his spiritual power, he would have discovered that Tang Wulin's spiritual power continually rose under this torment.

The pain in his body gradually disappeared and his fuzzy consciousness went with it. Under his clothes drenched in sweat, the golden veined pattern hadn't waned at all; instead, it had permeated into his skin.

The Bluesilver Grass moved like a receding tide as the little Grass Snake climbed onto the hollow of Tang Wulin's palm and entered it. The golden scales upon its forehead returned to normal as its body returned to its original dullness.

When Tang Ziran joyously returned home, he encountered Na'er blocking the doorway.

"Big brother is fusing with the spirit soul. You can't go in." Na'er resolutely said as she gazed at Tang Ziran.

Tang Ziran asked with a dull voice, "What did you say? He's already begun fusing with it?"

Na'er nodded. "Big brother said that he didn't wanted to burden mom and dad."

Tang Ziran stumbled a few steps backwards and collapsed into a chair. His expression changed in an instant as pain colored his face.

He forcefully struck his own head and said to himself, "Tang Ziran, why can't you face reality? Why must you be so weak. It's because of your weakness that you've harmed your child!"

The large federal coins he clutched in his hand spilled onto the table. It was too late. It was too late!

He suddenly lifted his head. "Na'er, how long has Lin Lin been fusing with the spirit soul?"

Na'er said, "He started shortly after you left."

Tang Ziran cried out in alarm, "He still hasn't finished? He should have already finished after so long. Let's go take a look quickly."

Na'er hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.

After he opened the door, Tang Ziran saw Tang Wulin lying on the bed.

"Lin Lin!" He cried as he flew over to Tang Wulin's side.

The spirit soul ball was left beside the bed, already devoid of the Grass Snake spirit soul. Tang Wulin's brow creased as he lay on the bed, his clothes completely soaked in sweat.

Tang Ziran blamed himself within his heart. He thoroughly understood that such a situation shouldn't have occurred during a spirit soul fusion. It was highly likely that his son encountered an accident while he was fusing.

Tang Wulin was immersed in deep sleep. Fortunately, his vital signs were normal.

Two streams of tears flowed down his cheek as Tang Ziran tightly embraced his son. His son was only nine years old, yet had to bear so much already! 'I'm sorry, son. Dad is so sorry! It's all because of dad's incompetence.'

Na'er stood to the side and silently watched as Tang Ziran cried. Once again, a look of perplexion colored her pretty purple eyes.

In the evening, Tang Wulin woke up. As he opened his eyes, he gradually regained awareness of his surroundings.

He abruptly sat up, sensing the changes within his body.

The scorching heat and numbness had already completely disappeared and his body now felt as light as a feather. What's more, his clothes had already been swapped for a set of clean, fresh ones.

Breathing had even turned into a type of pleasure for him as his whole body felt free and invigorated.

The soul power within his body had strengthened by a lot. With just a thought, a layer of soul power emanated from his body. Rank 11. He had broken through and entered realm of rank 11 soul power, officially becoming a Soul Master.

Although the little Grass Snake was indeed a defective spirit soul, it still managed to complete its mission. Its heart was full of sadness as it entered Tang Wulin's body. Tang Wulin thought to himself, 'Even if I can't become a powerful Soul Master, I still have the support of soul power. At the very least, I'll be able to become a pretty good blacksmith.'

After thinking these thoughts, he swung his arms out energetically.

Pa! A popping sound resounded in the room. Tang Wulin was astonished at the feeling in that instant when he had waved his arm through the air.

What kind of situation was this?

The door opened before he had the chance to try again as three adults and one child entered the room.

"Son, son, are you alright?" Lang Yue had already burst into tears as she rushed ahead and embraced Tang Wulin.

The sky had darkened outside of the window. Surprisingly, it was already evening.

Tang Wulin still remembered that he had begun fusing in the morning. It had actually taken him this long?

Aside from Lang Yue, Tang Ziran, and Na'er, there was one other person. That person was Tang Wulin's forging teacher, Mang Tian.

Tang Wulin hadn't gone to work that day, so Mang Tian had called over with a soul communicator. After finding out about this matter, he immediately rushed over.

"I'm fine mom." Tang Wulin softly said.

Lang Yue looked down towards her son and firmly said, "Son, let's not try to become Soul Masters anymore, just staying as an ordinary person is fine."

Tang Wulin smiled. "Mom, I really am fine! It's just that I'm a true SoulMaster now. I'm at rank 11. My fusion finished without a hitch. That Grass Snake spirit soul was really suitable for my martial soul. If it was a powerful spirit soul, I can't say for sure that I would have been able to fuse with it."

Lang Yue's tears couldn't help but surge forth again when she heard her son's comforting words.

Tang Ziran let out a sigh. The matter was finished; continuing the conversation would be pointless. It was impossible to reverse a spirit soul fusion. It would only upset Tang Wulin more if he was told that Tang Ziran had managed to secure the money.

"Rank 11? Bring out your martial soul and let me take a look," Mang Tian said with a deep and resounding voice.

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Chapter 22 – Teacher is also a Soul Master?

Tang Wulin finally noticed him and hastily said, "Teacher."

Mang Tian nodded. "Come here."

Tang Wulin looked at his mother, then his teacher, before jumping off the bed. He lifted his right hand and with just a thought, the dim room immediately lit up.

A white ring of light slowly rose from his feet and revolved rhythmically around his body.

This was a Soul Master's soul ring. A white soul ring represented a 10 year soul ring, the lowest type.

Spirit souls hadn't existed ten thousand years ago when soul rings were still the most defining characteristic of a Soul Master.

Tang Wulin opened up his hand to reveal a brilliant yellow radiance. Within it appeared the little grass snake. Immediately afterwards, a slender blade of blue vine-like grass as thick as a finger twirled into existence. The vine spread outwards, quickly spreading into every corner of the room.

This was the first time he had released his martial soul since he had become a true Soul Master. The difference between not having a soul ring before and having one now was as different as black and white. He felt as if this grass was an extension of his own consciousness. Anything it touched would be immediately transmitted back to him. In fact, he could even sense the elated mood that the little Grass Snake sent. This feeling was much clearer than during his fusion.

Despite the fact that it was merely a 10 year soul ring, the rhythmic up and down motion of the white light still basked Tang Wulin's body with a radiant luster. This was the glamor of a Soul Master. Even a single soul ring would make a Soul Master and an ordinary person as different as night and day.

Lang Yue was stunned, Tang Ziran's eyes finally regained some determination, and Na'er was once again at a loss.

Mang Tian lifted up his arm and pulled on some Bluesilver Grass. It seemed as if these slenders vines were really weak. After all, how could a trash martial soul and a defective spirit soul fuse together to produce a good evolution?

Mang Tian's heart was a bit dreary as looked towards Tang Wulin and said, "Don't be discouraged. Although your spirit soul isn't too good, you have still become a true Soul Master. Your soul power now has space to continue growing. The possession of soul power will prove helpful to any profession you choose. Ten thousand years ago, many Soul Masters had approved of the first soul tools because their martial souls and soul rings weren't powerful. It was with the help of soul tools that they were able to increase their own power. The same goes with mechas. As long as you have soul power, you can still become a mecha master even if without the aid of a powerful soul soul. A mecha master with a weak martial soul but a formidable strength isn't necessarily impossible. soul power is also very useful when forging; it can sharpen your senses while also increasing your strength."

Mang Tian released the Bluesilver Grass as he said this, letting it fall onto the ground to make a crisp sound.

"Ah!" Mang Tian revealed a look of surprise as he once again picked up the Bluesilver Grass. His brows immediately creased.

Tang Wulin's heart was filled with hope again at Mang Tian's words. Even if he couldn't become a powerful Soul Master, he could still become a formidable mecha master.

"Brother Mang, what is it?" Tang Ziran noticed Mang Tian's reaction, and asked thoughtlessly.

Mang Tian didn't speak. Instead, he grabbed some Bluesilver Grass and tried to pull it apart.

One could only imagine the physical strength he possessed as a blacksmith. However, the Bluesilver Grass only straightened out when he pulled it without any signs of it snapping. This seemingly weak existence was unexpectedly so tenacious.

"Your Bluesilver Grass is a bit abnormal." Mang Tian said to Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin doubtfully asked, "Teacher, what part of it is abnormal?"

Mang Tian answered, "First of all is its weight. I didn't feel it at first, but I noticed when it fell onto the ground that the sound it made wasn't light at all. After inspecting it again, I discovered that although it is very slender, its body is actually very heavy. It's even heavier than a vine. Bluesilver Grass with only one soul ring shouldn't possess this type of attribute. Let me test it again first."

His eyes suddenly began shining as he said this when four soul rings appeared, one white, two yellow and one purple. They immediately lit up the room. As a fellow Soul Master, Tang Wulin subconsciously retreated from the aura released by Mang Tian.

Tang Wulin was shocked into speechlessness.

According to how Soul Masters were ranked, 0 to 10 were Soul Scholars, ranks 11 to 20 were Soul Masters, and after every ten ranks they would be promoted to a new title. After Soul Master was Soul Grandmaster, Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Sage, Soul Douluo and at the very peak with nine soul rings, Title Douluos.

His blacksmithing master was unexpectedly a powerful Soul Ancestor with four soul rings!

After the soul rings appeared, three spirit souls became visible on Mang Tian's shoulders. The first one was the smallest and weakest, a tiny rabbit. It was crawling about his body while emitting a white ring of light. The yellow spirit soul was a pair of hammers that flickered with a yellow shine. Artificial spirit soul manufacturing process could even make tool spirit souls. It would be impossible for a tool spirit soul to appear naturally.

The last spirit soul was purple, a brown bear that was about a meter tall with two unusually thick arms. It looked very fierce as it bared its fangs whilst jumping down upon Mang Tian's shoulders, as if it was deciding who it wanted to bite.

In addition to the three types of spirit souls released, Mang Tian's martial soul was also shown. It was actually a hammer that glowed with a dim white light nearly identical in appearance to a forging hammer. On top of the hammer were some deep brown vein lines.

Mang Tian's martial soul was the Earth Hammer.

After releasing his martial soul, Mang Tian appeared much more imposing as well as magnificent. His first spirit soul shined for a moment before the little white rabbit transformed into a layer of white light that covered his body.

First soul skill, ten year soul ability, Tenacity.

This was an ordinary soul skill that made Mang Tian's muscles more flexible and powerful.

Mang Tian forcefully pulled on the Bluesilver Grass with the backing of his soul skill as well as his formidable soul power.

A bizarre scene appeared in front of them all. Everyone, including Tang Wulin, expected the Bluesilver Grass to be torn apart. Unexpectedly however, the dim body of the Bluesilver Grass began to shine under the opposing forces exerted upon it.

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Chapter 23 – Variant Martial Soul

It twinkled with a blue radiance as it turned translucent, revealing a faint golden light from the veins within. Even as Mang Tian continued to pull at it, it showed no desire of breaking.

However, Tang Wulin felt his soul power throb for a moment before it abruptly decreased.

"Aiyou!" He cried out.

Mang Tian looked towards him in surprise. "Did you feel something?"

Tang Wulin told the truth and said, "It seems like my soul power has been consumed."

Mang Tian revealed a complex expression as he looked at his disciple. He no longer tried to pull apart the Bluesilver Grass. Instead, he recalled his martial soul and spirit souls, then released the grass.

Tang Ziran anxiously asked, "Brother Mang, what's the situation?"

Mang Tian gave him a slight smile. "It seems that the Heavens haven't abandoned this child. I'm certain that his martial soul is a variant and what's more, it's a good kind of variant."

Variant? Tang Wulin was at a loss when he heard this word, as he had never learned anything about variant martial souls.

Mang Tian answered, "Under special circumstances, variations can arise in the martial soul. For example, fusing with a highly compatible or highly incompatible spirit soul or soul ring, or being stimulated by an external factor, will all create the circumstances necessary for variation to occur. It's also possible for someone to be born with a variant martial soul or that their martial soul undergoes variation during awakening."

"There are good and bad kinds of variations. It's possible for a powerful martial soul to be weakened by its variation. On the other hand, it's also possible for a weak martial soul to become powerful due to the variation."

His eyes contained a profoundness in them as he looked at Tang Wulin and said, "Everyone knows that Bluesilver Grass is a trash martial soul, but a snake type spirit soul is nevertheless still very suitable for it. Generally speaking, it is possible for Bluesilver Grass to transform into a vine. However, with a martial soul like Bluesilver Grass, the odds of soul power appearing was simply impossibly low. However, I knew someone in the past who also had Bluesilver Grass. When he cultivated to rank 10, he too fused with a snake type spirit soul and his Bluesilver Grass became a vine even thicker than yours. Yet, it was still very weak. I didn't even need to utilize my martial soul in order to tear it apart.

"However, your Bluesilver Grass is completely different. Even with my first soul skill, I still wasn't able to tear it apart. Common sense would dictate this to be impossible. This is also the first time that I have seen a martial soul's strength in relation to one's soul power. That is to say, it would have been impossible for me to tear apart your Bluesilver Grass until your soul power ran out. I can't think of any other explanation other than a martial soul variation."

Tang Wulin sluggishly looked at Mang Tian. "Teacher, so is this is a good thing?"

Mang Tian answered, "Of course this is good. However, it isn't absolutely good. It'll all depend on how well you control your martial soul. Logically, when Bluesilver Grass becomes a vine, you should be able to develop towards the control system. Your soul skills should mostly be of the basic harassing vine type. In the scenario that you are able to entwine your opponent, as long as your opponent's soul power is higher than yours, he'll be able to struggle free while also exhausting your soul power. Thus, it will turn into a war of attrition. You won't have any chances of winning in that case. Therefore, it wouldn't be too bad to use your Bluesilver Grass more like a whip. Moreover, who knows if there'll be another variation once you obtain your second soul ring. Due to this, I can't judge how it will turn out in the future, but at the very least, it's promising. From now on, it's no longer a trash martial soul. You can consider yourself to have profited from a disaster."

"Really?" Tang Wulin asked. He looked towards Mang Tian with an expression that revealed his reluctance to believe. It wasn't a trash martial soul anymore? Even if it's not a powerful one, at least it's no longer a trash martial soul!

Mang Tian said with a dull voice, "You saw it just now. My first soul ring is a white 10 year spirit soul, and is equally as weak. However, I was also able to obtain a 100 year spirit soul after putting in great effort. Moreover, I was even able to obtain a 1000 year spirit soul. Due to me being a blacksmith, I'm able to earn enough money to buy the spirit souls that I wanted. You're very talented at forging, so anything that I'm able to do, you will be able to do as well."

Nothing could move someone as much as being able to sympathize with someone in a similar situation. The depression within Tang Wulin's heart had been wiped clean. He didn't have a trash martial soul anymore and he also had his teacher as a goal for the future now. This re-ignited the hope in his heart. I still have a chance at becoming a powerful Soul Master!

"You didn't request a leave of absence today from work and you didn't show up, so I'll deduct one day's worth of wages from your pay." Mang Tian made to leave after saying this, but Tang Wulin's excitement wasn't influenced in the least. He jumped up and gave Mang Tian a big hug.

"You're so light." Mang Tian said in surprise. Yet, this child's strength…

After Mang Tian left, the Tang family's cloud of worries and fog of cruelty had transformed into an atmosphere of joy.

"I'm sorry mom, dad. I made you two worry." Tang Wulin was somewhat ashamed as he said this.

Lang Yue once again pulled her son's head into her bosom. "It's us who should be apologizing. You're still so young, yet you have to bear such a large burden already."

Tang Ziran lowered his head as if to contemplate some unknown matters.

Na'er's lips quivered a bit. It seemed that she wanted to say something, but wasn't able to do so in the end.

After eating dinner, another day had passed by once again. Tang Ziran and Lang Yue slept early that night while Na'er also entered the land of dreams in a similarly tired state.

Only Tang Wulin was left awake.

He quietly snuck out of the house, and went to the garden where he had previously made a breakthrough. After sitting down, his heart began to stir as he gazed at the bright moon in the sky.

From joy to sorrow, he once again had hope. What he experienced this day influenced him far more than anything else in the past three years.

With a thought, the little Grass Snake appeared in the hollow of his palm.

"Thank you little fellow. You have given me hope, yet I turned my back on you. I'm so sorry!" Tang Wulin softly said.

The little Grass Snake seemed to have sensed something as it raised its head slightly and flicked its tongue.

Tang Wulin smiled, "I'll give you a name alright? We're going to be partners from now on." A spirit soul would accompany its master for life, and would dissipate only upon its master's death.

The little Grass Snake seemed to understand his words and gently wiggled its body in response.

Tang Wulin said, "Now what's a good name for you?"

Right at that moment, the little Grass Snake's body suddenly began to shine. The little scale on its forehead flashed a golden light.

"Yi! Is this also due to the variation?" He firmly believed in the words of his teacher without a single doubt. His martial soul had undergone variation and was no longer an ordinary, trashy Bluesilver Grass.

"That gold color was really pretty just now. How about you flash it one more time for me to see? Is that fine?" Tang Wulin giggled as he spoke.

However, the little Grass Snake showed no reaction to his words. It couldn't fully comprehend Tang Wulin's desire with its low intelligence. This type of low level spirit soul could only offer one soul ring, and couldn't give any other type of aid.

Tang Wulin's heart stirred as he said, "You can turn golden, so I'll call you Goldlight. How's that? If your whole body can turn into gold in the future, then just think of how formidable you'll be!"

Naturally, the little Grass Snake couldn't reject at all. Thus, its name was decided to be Goldlight. A simple name, yet brimming with beauty and freedom.

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Chapter 24 – Na'er Leaves

Early in the morning, Tang Wulin awoke from his meditation and discovered himself surrounded by grass.

It was as if he was meditating in a world of Bluesilver Grass. The feeling here was much better than the one at his home. He was unaware that this was due to the fact that his soul power had entered the realm of Soul Masters, as well as due to the variation in his martial soul. His cultivation speed was much faster now.

Tang Wulin jumped up from the lawn and shook the morning dew off of his body.

"Lin Lin! Lin Lin!" Lang Yue's anxious voice called out from afar.

"Mom, I'm over here," Tang Wulin said as he hastily ran out of the little garden.

"Something's wrong. Na'er, Na'er… She…" Lang Yue was panting as she ran over.

"What happened to Na'er?" Tang Wulin's heart tensed up.

Lang Yue took a deep breath to calm herself before she anxiously said, "She's gone. Na'er is gone."

"Ah?" Tang Wulin was gobsmacked and quickly followed his mother back home.

It was true. Na'er was gone. She had only left a letter on her bed.

Mom, Dad, big brother, I'll be leaving now. Thank you for taking care of me these past few years, but I remember who I am now. My family has come to pick me up, so I have to go. I was really happy during the days I spent with you all. Extremely happy. I really didn't want to part with you all, but from the memories I've recalled, I know that I must leave. I have many things I must do. Big brother, I will always remember how you looked when you protected me from those bad guys. I will always remember the taste of all the treats you've bought me.

– Na'er.

Tang Wulin was dumbfounded as he stared at this letter.

Despite adding to their burdens, Na'er had brought them numerous joys ever since she'd joined their household.

Tang Wulin was so happy after getting a little sister. He always felt unusually satisfied whenever he watched Na'er eat the treats he bought with his forging money, especially when she gave him a sweet smile.

"How can this be!? Na'er, how could you leave like this? How could you? Even if you found your family, you can't leave like this! You can't leave…"Tang Wulin turned around and ran out. Lang Yue wasn't able to stop him before he rushed out of the house.

"Na'er, Na'er!" Sobbing screams resounded throughout the small town as Tang Wulin madly ran about, shouting out as he searched for Na'er's silver hair and violet eyes.

Na'er tightly held onto a crude rag doll as she leaned against a wall, one tear drop after another dripping down her face.

That was the first present Tang Wulin had bought her with his monthly wage. The rag doll had violet eyes and silver hair that Tang Wulin had dyed himself. It looked just like her.

Tang Wulin's image unceasingly revolved in her mind.

It was only when they were together that both of them were full of smiles. He seemed to have always been thinking of ways to bring a smile to her face.

He was always there to protect her when someone tried to bully her. Even if he was facing a powerful bad guy, he would still be as stubborn as before.

"Big brother, big brother…" Na'er whispered, as pearl-like teardrops fell onto the ground.

"Young Lady, we must leave now."

He scoured the whole town, searching every corner for anywhere Na'er might have gone. He even ran along the coastline in search of her for a long time. In the end, Tang Wulin couldn't find a single trace of her.

His throat had long since gone hoarse from shouting. Regardless of that, Na'er was gone without a trace.

Aside from the letter, Na'er had left behind a few other things. She had left a small silver pendant necklace with an inlaid silver gem. The gemstone was perfectly round, with a silver thread around its edges.

Seven rays of light could be faintly distinguished as they twinkled within the gem. One look and it was easy to tell that it held considerable value.

However, in Tang Wulin's heart, this gemstone couldn't possibly compensate for his little sister's presence.

Tang Wulin attended school and went to the forging workshop with a muddled head.

For the next several days, it was as if Tang Wulin had lost his soul. Every day, he would prowl the great streets and small alleys of Glorybound City until late in the night to search for a trace of Na'er.

He made many mistakes in his forging work due to his mental state, and was firmly scolded by Mang Tian. Tang Wulin couldn't help but continually ask himself, 'Why did Na'er leave? Why didn't she tell me where she went?'

His spirit didn't recover until a whole week later.

Red Mountain Academy.

"Tang Wulin," Lin Ximeng called out from the lectern.

"Here." Tang Wulin stood up. His sadness over Na'er leaving had lessened a bit after a whole week had passed.

He went up to the lectern and accepted Lin Ximeng's recommendation letter. This was the special recommendation letter from the Red Mountain Academy. As long as one was granted this letter, they would be able to register for an intermediate Soul Master academy. Every single student in the elementary academy who successfully became Soul Masters could be recommended to continue their studies at an intermediate academy. No matter what one's martial soul was, they would meet the requirements if they possessed a soul ring.

Accepting this letter also signified the conclusion of Tang Wulin's days of attending the elementary academy.

Wan Yunchao winked at Tang Wulin from the seat beside him. "We're graduating now. Let's go swap pointers later."

Tang Wulin unhappily shot a glance at him. "I'm busy. I have to go to work later."

Due to the mistakes he had made a few days ago, Mang Tian had added three hours to his daily working hours.

Wan Yunchao's mouth twitched as he said, "Coward. You're just afraid to lose to me."

Tang Wulin eyes flashed with a furious light. "I'm not a coward. Fine then. I'll spar with you after school in the grove."

There was a large grove behind Red Mountain Academy. This was where students usually took their Nature Studies Class.

It was very quiet here after school, since very few people would generally come here.

Wan Yunchao was still as fat as before. He joyfully dragged Tang Wulin to the grove as soon as the school day ended.

"Let me tell you, Tang Wulin, you absolutely can't match up to me as an opponent!"

Tang Wulin didn't utter a word.

"Good, then. We'll start right here!" Wan Yunchao stopped walking, then impatiently released his martial soul from his hands.

After a flash, a short blade appeared in his palm. Compared to when it didn't have a soul ring, the short blade seemed somewhat wider, with lit-up veined patterns on its surface.

A white 10-year soul ring rose from the soles of his feet. Wan Yunchao silently moved the soul ring onto the short blade, causing the blade's tip to extend out as 15 centimeters of length were added to the upper part of the martial soul.

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Chapter 25 – Thousand Refinements

"Did you see it? My first soul skill is Knife Tip. I even spent an extra 10,000 Federal Coins to invite a Spirit Master over to help me pick this spirit soul! Since this spirit soul is also a knife, it directly complements my martial soul! My Knife Tip will conquer all!"

Tang Wulin furrowed his eyebrows, "Why are you so full of nonsense."

Wan Yunchao glared at him, "At this point in time you're still saying I'm full of crap? Since I'm worried I'd hurt you, just hurry up and admit defeat. I'll let you off this time. If you don't, my Knife Tip will not spare you any mercy." As Wan Yunchao said this, he flicked his wrist and a knife tip shot out towards a sapling's trunk. It was as wide as a bowl, but was still instantly cut down.

Tang Wulin stared at him disdainfully, "Plants are also living creatures, why did you cut that sapling for no reason?"

Wan Yunchao was going to open his mouth and reply when he saw that similarly, a white ring had materialized around Tang Wulin's legs. Vine after vine of Bluesilver Grass grew simultaneously from the palm of his hand.

Those slender vines of Bluesilver Grass however, did not rush directly at Wan Yunchao. Their ends were instead suspended mid air around Tang Wulin. Moments later, ear piercing screams could be heard echoing out from the small forest.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

"Aiyou! It hurts! Tang Wulin, you are shameless! If you have the ability to do so, come closer and fight me!"

Pa! Pa! Pa!

"Aiyou! Aiyou! I surrender! Can I please surrender? How could you even use your Bluesilver Grass in such a fashion?"

When the two individuals left the forest, out of the two it was Wan Yunchao who looked the most pathetic. His entire body was riddled with numerous lash marks.

Tang Wulin was still incapable of fully controlling his Bluesilver Grass. He had spent all those days searching for Na'er, to the point where he had even neglected part of his meditation. This did not influence the whipping aspect of his control however, when he used it to attack Wan Yunchao.

Both of them were still kids, thus they did not know any battle techniques. That inch thick Bluesilver Grass proved how tenacious it was. Since Wan Yunchao's short knife and Knife Tip could not attack from a distance and he had no knowledge of any other battle techniques, the result was obvious.

"Why? Why did it turn out like this? With a soul skill, I should have been able to beat you!" Wan Yunchao shouted indignantly at Tang Wulin who was currently supporting him.

Tang Wulin replied angrily, "Teacher Lin had already said it before; your martial soul is well suited for melee battles. Thus it is well suited for the path of the agility attack system. However, you're so fat. How could you possibly be agile?"

Wan Yunchao had an unconvinced expression on his face as he asked, "Then why was it that when my Knife Tip attempted to hack your Bluesilver Grass apart, it was unable to do so?"

Tang Wulin replied, "Well this is my Bluesilver Grass's specialty; so long as my soul power is not depleted, you cannot hack it apart."

Wan Yunchao looked up to the skies and bellowed, "I WILL LOSE WEIGHT! I WILL BECOME AN AGILITY ATTACKER!"

"What are you going to eat tonight?"

"I think….. it should be pork shoulder"

After sending the lightly injured Wan Yunchao back home, Tang Wulin rushed over to Mang Tian's workshop.

What surprised him was that Mang Tian was already waiting for him inside.

"Teacher." Tang Wulin respectfully addressed Mang Tian. Ever since he knew that his teacher was a 40thranked Soul Ancestor expert, he had even greater respect for him.

Mang Tian nodded his head and asked, "So have you graduated?"

Tang Wulin replied, "Yes. I have graduated."

Mang Tian then asked, "Will you have to go to the Intermediate Soul Academy in Eastsea City?"

"Yes! I was planning to tell you. Once I go to Eastsea City to study, I will not be able to continue learning how to forge from you." Tang Wulin replied.

Mang Tian gave an unenthusiastic reply, "Just because I like this place for its peacefulness does not mean I won't leave this place. The truth is, all of the work that is requested comes from Eastsea City. Your blacksmithing education cannot deteriorate. I also have a workshop at Eastsea City and I will give you your own blacksmithing workshop. Every so often, I'll visit you and give you some instruction."

Tang Wulin's heart felt a surge of warmth, "Teacher, you…"

Mang Tian's fiery gaze glared at him. "Eastsea City is a truly large city. It is not like here. Before you go, you have to first complete my test. If not, you have no qualifications to continue learning the blacksmithing craft from me there!"

"A test?" Tang Wulin stared blankly at him. "Teacher, what test?"

A ray of light gleamed in Mang Tian's eyes. "The Thousand Refinements!"

Tang Wulin asked in surprise, "Teacher, you are finally going to teach me the Thousand Refinements?"

Mang Tian nodded his head. "You have fused with a spirit soul and your strength has risen sufficiently. You should be able to withstand the Thousand Refinements. Finishing one execution of the Thousand Refinements will count as you passing my test."

As he said those words, Mang Tian felt a peculiar feeling within his heart. He could still clearly remember that when he had just started practicing the Thousand Refinements, he was already 15 years old and his soul power had surpassed the 20th rank. In addition, his martial soul was the Earth Hammer and was the one that possessed absolute physical strength. By completing the Thousand Refinements at 15 years old, he was already been seen as a talent in the blacksmithing world.

Unfortunately…

"Teacher, can we begin?" Tang Wulin's excited voice brought Mang Tian out of his reminiscence.

"Hold on a moment, I have to first gauge your strength. These few days you have failed many of your assignments. Firstly, you were not focused on your work. Secondly, it seems as though problems have arisen with regards to your ability to control your strength." Mang Tian had been silently observing his disciple and thus had determined the root of his disciple's problems.

Indeed, it was not only Mang Tian, but also Tang Wulin who realized that problems seemed to have arisen with regards to his physical strength.

That day, after he fused with the spirit soul, he had tried to apply force through his arm and that had resulted in a resounding crack as his movements split the air apart. His strength had indeed grown immensely.

In the end, since he had been constantly out in search for Na'er, along with the fact that he was still extremely depressed due to her departure, he had not paid any attention to the situation of his body. It was only when Mang Tian reminded him of it that he remembered that there was such a problem that occurred prior to everything that had happened!

Thus for the last few days, as he had attempted to forge his assigned tasks, he had failed several times due to his strength being too forceful.

Mang Tian brought Tang Wulin to his own workshop. His workshop was a lot messier than Tang Wulin's workspace. In a large pile of randomly strewn tools, Mang Tian managed to find the tool that was specially designed to gauge one's physical strength.

Strength Testing Tool

While it was a simple act to manufacture such a tool, it still required one to be meticulous in order to ensure that it would be able to accurately gauge a person's strength. This strength testing tool was built using two parts. The lower portion was a flat square base, while the upper portion consists of a round cylindrical pillar. Behind it lies a two meter tall metal pillar, whereas inside the pillar was a long thin tube filled with mercury.

When the blacksmith wishes to test his strength, all he has to do was strike the metal pillar, at that point, the mercury would rise according to the force of the strike and thus gauge the strength.

One would have to use a blacksmithing hammer weighing 50kg for the test; the strength testing tool would automatically deduct the excess force acquired from the hammer's weight.

Ever since Tang Wulin arrived at Mang Tian's workshop, he was required to test his strength each year.

The first time he tested his strength, he could produce a force of 70kg. At that point in time he was only 7 years old. When he was 8 years old, this had increased to a force of 100kg! Although being able to produce this force was largely in part to him constantly swinging the hammer as part of his work, it must still be said that producing such strength was extremely shocking.

He had yet to test his strength at 9 years old, thus, today was the perfect day to do it.

"First start the test with your left hand." Mang Tian passed him the blacksmithing hammer required for strength testing.

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Chapter 26 – Five Hundred Kilograms of Strength

The blacksmith's strength test was split into the left and right arms. Tang Wulin had surprised Mang Tian the first time he had taken the test, as his left and right arms were exceedingly balanced in strength. His right arm had only been a bit stronger than his left.

Tang Wulin gripped the forging hammer in his left hand. The spiral pattern on its handle dug into his tender hand and tough calluses. His grip became exceptionally firm.

He took a deep breath and turned his body around halfway. Then his arms suddenly swung the forging hammer with the condensed power of his whole body. At that moment when he fully exerted his strength, he felt a surge of warmth flowing from his tailbone. In a flash, this warmth spread up throughout his vertebrae. The hammer let out an ear-piercing whistle as he swung it, ruthlessly smashing the plate.

Bang~~~

The mercury inside of the pillar shot up in a flash. A clear sound rang out in Tang Wulin and Mang Tian's ears, giving them a brief moment of tinnitus.

Mang Tian kneaded his eyes, as if to confirm that what he saw before him was the truth. At this time, the screen revealed a number.

An electronic voice coldly stated, "Striking power, 483 kilograms." Tang Wulin and Mang Tian could only stand there foolishly in shock.

When he took the test the year before, Tang Wulin was already able to shock Mang Tian when his right arm exerted 200 kilograms of force. But now, this number already exceeded the fully grown Brother Long's!

In but a short year, his strength had shockingly increased dramatically again. Moreover, this was just his left arm… A nine-year-old child was actually able to exert nearly 500 kilograms of force with a single arm! This truly had to be innate divine strength!

Mang Tian did his best to restrain his emotions as he said, "Right arm."

Tang Wulin switched the hammer over to his right hand and once again took a deep breath. A flash of golden light appeared within the deepest depths of his eyes. He twisted his body again, then swung his arm. Once more, a warm feeling began flowing into him from his vertebrae. This time, the hammer howled through the air with an even greater ear-piercing ferocity, causing a series of explosions to sound in the air.

Bang~~~

The whole room trembled slightly under its power. This time, Mang Tian had to cover his ears to protect himself from the ringing. The room continued to tremble from the impact.

"Striking power, 543 kilograms." 543 kilograms? He had broken through 500 kilograms!?

Mang Tian was once again at a loss. Although he had already guessed the boy's strength increased by no small amount, he definitely hadn't expected it to have increased by such an extent.

At nine years old, his two arms had a combined strength of over a thousand kilograms. His existence could already be considered to that of a little monster's. Although this was merely explosive power, this was still the strength that could be used when forging. Even with the machine's automatic deduction of the hammer's weight, his arms could still reach a strength of about five hundred kilograms. Even power system Soul Grandmasters wouldn't necessarily possess such strength! It wasn't until the Soul Elder ranks that this type of strength could be seen.

He had this kind of innate divine strength, but why was his martial soul Bluesilver Grass!? It should have been a power type martial soul. If his martial soul had been a hammer, then he truly would have been a genius.

Tang Wulin was also shocked by his own strength. Even if he didn't understand the significance of 500 kilograms of strength, he still clearly understood how terrifying this type of strength was for someone who only had one soul ring. Few could compare with his strength even if they used a soul skill.

"Teacher, c-can I really learn the Thousand Refinements?" He asked tentatively.

Mang Tian woke up from his daze and nodded. "I didn't expect your strength to actually reach such a level. Let's go to your forging room."

After returning to Tang Wulin's forging room, Mang Tian took out a chunk of silver-white metal. "I've already taught you what types of metals can undergo the Thousand Refinements. This here is a piece of Heavy Silver. Its ductility is superb and it possesses excellent soul power transferring properties. Only the Thousand Refinements can bring out the full potential of this grade of metal. Take it and use it to attempt your first Thousand Refinements."

"The so-called Thousand Refinements isn't as simple as just pounding the metal a thousand times. Rather, the metal's impurities must be dispelled under continuous forgings, thus increasing its density. Also, the most important effect of the Thousand Refinements is refining. It can only be called Thousand Refinements if the metal is refined and improved."

"For example, there's the tungsten steel in the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer you're using. It was already very strong, but after undergoing Thousand Refinements, its size has been reduced by a third while its strength has doubled! Another effect is that its weight has increased by thirty percent. Compared to another piece of tungsten, only a qualitative change could increase its weight as well as its exceedingly tremendous strength.

"The tungsten steel's refinement is among the simplest of refinements. Exceptionally good Thousand Refinements can give rise to even more unusual effects. The better the effect of its refinement, the higher the value of the Thousand Refined metal. After reaching the level of the Thousand Refinements, you must first have the metal undergo the Thousand Refinements before you use other techniques to shape it. As a result, the value of anything made with Thousand Refined metal is a hundred times higher than those made of Hundred Forged metal. Only after you've attained the skill of utilizing the Thousand Refinements can you then be considered a true blacksmith."

Tang Wulin didn't know that for ninety percent of blacksmiths, the level Mang Tian spoke of was an unattainable dream.

Thousand Refinements required more than just strength; what truly mattered was comprehension. Especially in regards to the feelings of the metal.

Tang Wulin had studied hard for three years. Only now, coupled with his innate divine strength, did he finally have the qualifications to attempt the Thousand Refinements.

"Teacher, what techniques are needed when performing the Thousand Refinements?" Tang Wulin asked.

Mang Tian shook his head. "There aren't any techniques that I can teach you. The only thing I can tell you is that when you are forging, you must treat the metal as if it were a living organism. You must think of a way to communicate with the metal while you are forging it. Only with perfect communication will you be able to attain its approval. Find its secrets, its veins. Thousand Refinements is also called Thought Forging. Every single blacksmith's style of doing the Thousand Refinements is different. They all have their own distinct characteristics. Use your heart to forge. Go and try to comprehend my words."

"Yes." Tang Wulin nodded.

He had originally thought that Mang Tian would at least give him a demonstration, but it seems that his teacher had completely different ideas. Rather, he left Tang Wulin to learn it on his own.

After opening up the forging table, he placed the Heavy Silver within the forging table's furnace and began heating it.

This piece of Heavy Silver was about 30 centimetres squared. It twinkled a soft silver light. When it entered the forging furnace, Tang Wulin began to recall the introduction to the properties of Heavy Silver that Mang Tian had given him before.

Heavy Silver was an uncommon metal that could only be found on the seafloor at depths surpassing one kilometer. It was extraordinarily hard and possessed amazing ductility under high temperatures, it was also an excellent conductor of soul power. In fact, it was so good that it could amplify soul power and give it a five to ten percent boost.

Whether it is used for industrial purposes or for manufacturing mechas, it was still an excellent metal that was hard to come by.

Still, Heavy Silver was not without its own flaws. It was simply too dense, bestowing upon it an extraordinary weight. For instance, this piece of Heavy Silver that was less than a third of a meter long was over 200 kilograms in weight. In fact, it likely neared 300 kilograms!

As a result, even if Heavy Silver was produced in excess, it would still be impossible to use it in large-scale mecha manufacturing. Its weight also restricted its applications in mecha manufacturing. It was much more prevalent in large, solid state soul devices.

Heavy Silver was rarely found in cities that were located further inland. It was instead much more common in seaside towns and acted as an important source of income for these seaside towns.

His teacher had given him a chunk of Heavy Silver. Upon inspection, it appeared extraordinarily perfect. Its color was very even, signifying that it had already been purified before. Lastly, it felt heavier than usual.

The Heavy Silver was hard, but it was still softened under the blazing heat of the furnace, becoming far more ductile. Only when Heavy Silver was in this state would it be suitable for forging.

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Chapter 27 – Concentration of Forging

Tang Wulin picked up his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers as he had recalled his knowledge about Heavy Silver.

The cold handles of his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers' invigorated him. At this moment, his depressed self disappeared. There was only two words in his mind: Thousand Refinements.

If you look closely, you would find that the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers' body had turned black. On the hammer one, could vaguely see a petal pattern that was unique to the Thousand Forgings.

After heating the Heavy Silver in the forging furnace for half an hour, it finally reached a suitable temperature for forging.

Tang Wulin took out the Heavy Silver. He then gripped his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers and focused his vision. Raising the hammer in his right hand, he lightly tapped the Heavy Silver, producing a "ding" sound.

This test was called the testing hammer. Before blacksmiths began their work, they would do this to test the forging metal's toughness.

Mang Tian nodded when he saw Tang Wulin's look of complete focus. This child's perception was exceptionally high, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lay down such an excellent foundation in three short years. He had a steady temperament while also being extremely clever. It was only fitting for Mang Tian to pass on his legacy to this child.

The Thousand Refinements he faced at the moment was undoubtedly a very important test for him. As Mang Tian stood at the back and observed Tang Wulin, he was convinced that Tang Wulin had the ability to pass this test. Above all else, his body wasn't lacking in anything that could cause complications after Wulin's recent growth in strength.

He was only nine years old this year. If he was actually able to complete this Thousand Refinements, then Mang Tian feared that Tang Wulin would have broken a record. The Blacksmith's Association current record holder for Thousand Refinements was held by a Saint Craftsman level blacksmith at 13 years, 3 months and and 2 days!

Naturally, Tang Wulin was unaware of Mang Tian's thoughts. He was currently concentrating all of his attention and spirit on the Heavy Silver in front of him.

He raised the hammer in his left hand then smashed it down on the edge of the Heavy Silver. Dang! Even as the entire chunk of Heavy Silver throbbed, the hammer in his right hand was already descending at lightning speed, pounding at the silver once again.

Although he hadn't reached the realm of Thousand Refinements, he had already produced many Hundred Refined metal components before. Regardless of how the Thousand Refinements were, it had to start with a Hundred Refined metal! During the process of Hundred Refinements, he would come to understand its characteristics.

Tang Wulin wouldn't usually forge with such an uncommon and high grade metal. This was his first time forging with Heavy Silver, so he had to understand its characteristics first.

The pair of hammers moved in harmony, continuously pounding the Heavy Silver. He wasn't even using his full power, merely thirty to forty percent of his full power.

Sparks flew off in all directions in flashes. A rich tempo of pounding filled the room as it created a lively song of forging,

Soon after, the Hundred Refinements had been completed. Similar to Thousand Refinements, Hundred Refinements wasn't as simple as pounding the metal a hundred times. Rather, the impurities within the metal had to be gotten rid of while preserving the integrity of the metal and increasing its density.

After the Hundred Refinements, Tang Wulin understood the valiance of the Heavy Silver. First of all, Heavy Silver's hardness surpassed all the metals he had previously forged. Furthermore, it was exceptionally flexible. When struck, it would only vibrate for a moment, as if it were resisting Tang Wulin's strength.

Fortunately, Tang Wulin hadn't used his full strength to strike it, so he still had plenty of energy to control the casting hammer.

When faced with the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers that weighed 40 kilograms, ordinary metals weighing 80 kilograms would have a cavity struck into them with only one strike. However, the Heavy Silver was only slightly deformed after one strike, even after being heated to a suitable forging temperature. This kind of uncommon and strong metal wouldn't be Thousand Refined easily.

During these three years of tempering himself with forging, Tang Wulin had learned the value of patience long ago. He didn't feel even a trace of anxiousness. For such an uncommon metal, even if he couldn't finish the Thousand Refinements, he would at least purify it with the Hundred Refinements.

He treated it like his most precious treasure. His pounding force didn't increase at all, rather, he restrained his strength a bit. Through his unceasing pounding, he had come to understand the Heavy Silver's veins and characteristics. Little by little, he purified it completely.

Although Mang Tian was just as serious as any other day, he gradually began to reveal a smile. This child truly was clever. He hadn't given Tang Wulin any tips at all, yet he was able to find his own rhythm.

This chunk of uncommon metal should be treated like one's most beloved woman. One had to cherish it during the forging process rather than blindly pounding it. Although it seemed valiant on the outside, its inner viens would be met with destruction, causing all of its other characteristics to suffer too.

Although pounding it with a weaker strength would take much longer, it was undoubtedly the most dependable method, especially with an unfamiliar chunk of metal. Through a long process of forging it, he can also familiarize himself and feels its internal structure changing.

Tang Wulin became more and more concentrated in his forging as time went on until finally, he entered a fantastic state. To him, the only thing that existed was the Heavy Silver in front of him. His soul power enhanced his strength, thus increasing his stamina and focus even more.

In fact, after undergoing such pain and suffering, his spiritual power had definitely grown by a degree.

soul power below the realm of Spirit Opening didn't seem useful at all, its effects, however, was actually present everywhere. It could improves one's perception as well as support one's persistence.

Tang Wulin was even more focused on his forging under the effects of his increased spiritual power. His three years of forging hadn't definitely contributed to his spiritual power being assessed at level 38 by the Spirit Pagoda's spiritual power machine.

An hour later, the Heavy Silver didn't seem to have changed much, it was only slightly deformed.

Two hours later, the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers began pounding the metal even more intensively.

Tang Wulin's forehead was covered with sweat. After his unceasing forging, his body was already exhausted, but his spirit was still extremely stimulated. Two hours later yielded little results. In fact, the state of the Heavy Silver wasn't too far off from when it was only Hundred Refined. However, he had managed to gradually communicate with this chunk of Heavy Silver in these two hours.

If someone looked closely at the surface of the Heavy Silver, they would find that each corner had a small circular depression. Tang Wulin didn't know how many times he struck each of the corners with the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer.

Every time it was struck, its whole body would vibrate, giving Tang Wulin more insight into its characteristics.

Dang! This strike was clearly louder than the previous ones, raising the eyebrows of the nearby Mang Tian.

Tang Wulin finally started to use more strength! Afterwards, loud hammering noises resounded one after another.

After two hours of careful forging, he had already understood the character of this metal. Now it was time to truly begin forging it.

His whole body trembled each time he hammered the metal. Starting from his calves, his power then travelled to his waist, before moving onto his back, then arms, until finally, it descended down towards the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers. The power of each strike already exceeded 300 kilograms!

The button for controlling the furnace's flames were underneath. With a light tap of his left foot, the furnace fire reached its maximum intensity. The orange flames that were sputtering out of the furnace's ventilation holes had already heated the Heavy Silver into a bright red color.

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Chapter 28 – Thousand Refined Heavy Silver

The higher the temperature, the more ductile the Heavy Silver became.

Two hours of patient forging passed. The metal suddenly erupted, but Tang Wulin continued his relentless forging. With each powerful strike, the Heavy Silver gave off sparks as it began to deform.

Whenever his arms began to ache, another wave of heat would circulate out from his vertebrate. It dissolved all of his aches the moment it flowed into the hundred bones of his four limbs. Tang Wulin also automatically transferred soul power into his arms in order to maintain his strength.

Gradually, the chunk of Heavy Silver grew smaller and smaller as it became progressively more pure.

It must be said that Heavy Silver's strength was that it already had very high and incredibly dense characteristics. If one wanted to purify and shrink it, it would be exceedingly difficult, especially if one wanted to avoid destroying its veins.

As Tang Wulin's hands purified the metal, however, this chunk of Heavy Silver's value would increase by at least two or three-fold.

Tang Wulin wasn't even aware of how many times he had struck the chunk of metal. Gradually, the sounds of pounding died down. In front of him was a chunk of Heavy SIlver that was releasing a faintly discernable radiance. Everytime he struck, it appeared as if it would breathe in unison with him. Tang Wulin's vertebrae was already scorching hot and, hidden under his clothes, a dim golden-veined pattern appeared.

Off to the side, Mang Tian's attention was completely focused upon the chunk of Heavy Silver and he hadn't noticed the change in his disciple's body at all.

A golden spark appeared within the deepest depths of Tang Wulin's eyes as his hammer became one with his body. With every strike, the Heavy Silver would sing out a comforting note.

Tang Wulin's eyes shone brighter and brighter as his hammering also sped up. All of his strength was condensed into the pair of Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers he held in his hands.

The Heavy Silver was beginning to reveal its purest state. It shrunk more and more. Shrinking by five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent. After reaching this degree of shrinking, its density had also reached its limit. It couldn't possibly shrink inwards anymore. Tang Wulin still continued to hammer it. With every strike, the Heavy Silver's vein lines would improve a little. Its vein lines were becoming more and more fair.

The light of the forging flames had long since illuminated the blacksmiths within the room, turning them into a deep red. Tang Wulin's clothes were soaked in sweat. Even Mang Tian, who was watching from the sidelines, had his forehead covered with sweat.

Thousand Refinings. This was the feeling of the Thousand Refinings.

As a Grandmaster Blacksmith, Mang Tian had an outstandingly acute perception and knew that Tang Wulin and the Heavy Silver had come to an agreement.

This was a type of indescribable feeling that one could only understand after completing the Thousand Refinements.

Mang Tian had originally wanted Tang Wulin to just gain an understanding of Heavy Silver, and then he could finish his first Thousand Refinements any time before he went off to attend the intermediate academy. He absolutely didn't expect that Tang Wulin would be able to begin his Thousand Refinements the very first day he touched the Heavy Silver. Moreover, he had already entered this special state.

This could be attributed to not just Tang Wulin's strength, but also his perception! A child like this was definitely destined to become a great master!

Throughout his life, Mang Tian's greatest regret was his inability to become a Saint Craftsman level blacksmith. As he watched Tang Wulin however, he could see the boy fulfil his dreams in his place.

Three hours had passed. Tang Wulin had never forged continuously for such a long period of time, especially with such intensity.

Soon, three and a half hours went by and it was four hours!

Unaware of what was happening, Tang Ziran stood outside of the forging room's doorway and waited. His son hadn't returned after so long, so he had come looking for him, just in time to see his son dripping with sweat.

That fantastic tempo was like a symphony of hammering played under the focused gaze of his son.

This was the first time he had seen his son forging. Clearly, this was a higher level of forging than he had expected! Tang Wulin was only nine years old too! In these three short years, he had unexpectedly already reached such a level in forging. Tang Ziran had met his fair share of master blacksmiths before, and now he could discern the aura of a master blacksmith coming from Tang Wulin!

Tang Ziran didn't dare disturb him. Tang Wulin was clearly focused on his forging and gave it his heart and soul. Furthermore, Mang Tian was still observing from the side, clearly indicating that Tang Wulin was making a breakthrough in his forging right now.

Four and a half hours later, Tang Wulin's expression had turned pale. The golden pattern on Tang Wulin's body had even disappeared long before Tang Ziran's arrival.

The swollen ache that he felt in his first year of forging emerged once more at this time. His arms began feeling heavier and heavier. Evidently, he was overdrafting his strength, but still he didn't stop. He persistently continued using the majority of his strength, each strike having an equal amount of power as the one before. His body was being supported through sheer willpower as he continued on forging.

'Almost done. I'm almost done. I can't stop now. Not now. I'll have wastes all of my efforts if I stop now.'

Due to a sort of profound connection between him and that piece of Heavy Silver, Tang Wulin was able to grit his teeth and bear the pain as he continued forging.

Mang Tian subconsciously clenched his fists as he watched worriedly. In fact, he was even more anxious than Tang Wulin!

If this child was able to succeed on his first attempt at the Thousand Refinements, then without a doubt, he would gain a lot of confidence. With that confidence, it would greatly benefit in any attempts at the Thousand Refinings he does in the future. His success rate would be much higher than other blacksmiths!

However, would he be able to hold on until the end? It had nearly been five hours now. Even for Mang Tian, he would have to spare no effort and use his soul power in order to continuously forge for five hours straight.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang… The Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers continued hammering the metal as it baked in the fires of the furnace and stayed a bright red. If the hammers hadn't been Thousand Refined already, then they likely would have broken down long ago.

Suddenly, that chunk of Heavy Silver trembled a bit under Tang Wulin's hammer blow and released a silver radiance, basking the whole room in a silver light.

Tang Wulin lifted that hammer and then heavily smashed downwards with both hammers at once. In response, the silver light grew even more wild.

Fast as lightning, Mang Tian reached Tang Wulin's side. A knife had suddenly appeared in his hands as his quickly slashed the tired boy's wrist.

Once the blood sprinkled out, it landed on top of the twinkling Heavy Silver.

Tang Ziran cried out in alarm but in the next moment, Mang Tian already covered up the wound on Tang Wulin's wrist. He was intensely staring at the twinkling chunk of Heavy Silver as he simultaneously closed the furnace.

The blood drops on the Heavy Silver made a series of 'chi chi' sounds as they evaporated into smoke. The fires were extinguished, revealing the metal.

The chunk of Heavy Silver was now a whole circle smaller than it was before. Its fiery red color quickly faded away and along with it, the twinkling silver light also dimmed.

Before it had been forged, its dazzling silver color was already worn away and looked closer to a humble gray. There had been an additional layer of detailed lines on its exterior, just like the great waves of the sea. These veined patterns seemed as if they were carved on its body, yet it actually felt exceedingly smooth.

The grey Heavy Silver had given off a profound feeling. It truly had fantastic qualities.

It was the same for the Thousand Refinements version. Different metals would have varying difficulties for being Thousand Refined. If the difficulty of forging his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers was said to be a level of one, then the difficulty of the Heavy Silver could said to be level five, maybe even level eight!

When Mang Tian had Tang Wulin try the Thousand Refinements with this chunk of Heavy Silver, he had never expected Tang Wulin to actually succeed. Rather, he wanted to use this sturdy metal to temper Tang Wulin and let him gain a feeling for the Thousand Refinings.

However, five hours later, a whole five hours, he had succeeded!

That Heavy Silver had been Thousand Refined!

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Chapter 29 – Understanding Refinement

Tang Wulin sat down on the floor as he was overcome by a surging wave of weakness. Mang Tian expertly removed a bandage from his pocket and pasted it onto his apprentice's wrist, covering the previous wound.

Mang Tian, a master blacksmith, had a strange look on his face. His mouth was still slightly ajar at the sight of what had just happened.

A genius was still a genius at the end of the day. Even if Tang Wulin didn't have a hammer as his martial soul, this fact remains unchanged. His ability to comprehend more than makes up for this deficiency.

The Thousand Refinements. Even amongst most blacksmiths, it was a challenge that could not be accomplished. Yet, it was actually done at the hands of this 9 year old child! This was an unbelievable act.

Tang Ziran had already rushed in to hold his son up.

Mang Tian had been quietly mulling over his thoughts for quite some time before he spoke. "Genius, this is a genius at work. Wulin, you must always remember the feeling you had today. To you, this is just the beginning… This is just the first of the shocks you will bring to the blacksmithing world!"

Unfortunately, the five hours of forging had led him to being completely spent and Tang Wulin hadn't heard the words his teacher spoke. He had already dozed off in the arms of his father.

When he next awoke, Tang Wulin was on his bed.

The sky was bright and the sun's rays pierced through the window sill and into the room. It shone on the bed Na'er used to sleep on.

Although Na'er had already left, Tang Wulin had never allowed his parents to remove her bed. Deep down, he had always felt that Na'er would come back one day.

Although his wrists no longer caused him pain, his body still felt weak. His body felt warm, thus he lazed about on his bed. He felt an odd sense of comfort.

A faint smile broke out on his face. The Thousand Refinements, it should have been completed!

So this was how it felt like to experience the Thousand Refinements.

Even when he lost consciousness, he could still clearly remember the feeling. At that point during the final stages of the forging, every hammer stroke resonated with the Heavy Silver. There was an extremely profound feeling. To him, the Heavy Silver felt as though it were alive. As Tang Wulin took a breath, so too did the Heavy Silver. Every stroke of the hammer was like a massage for the Heavy Silver and it called out with feelings of relief.

When this feeling reached a peak, the Heavy Silver transformed. Its physical changes had accumulated to a point where it had become fundamentally engraved into the metal.

Even if he didn't know what happened afterwards, he was still confident that he had succeeded.

'I am not a piece of trash, at least not when it comes to blacksmithing. Even as a Soul Master, my Bluesilver Grass is no ordinary Bluesilver Grass.

'Na'er, if you were still around, how great would this have been. You would definitely be happy for me! Brother will get stronger and will protect you, I will never let anyone harm you.

'Na'er, please come back soon, if not, tell me where you are! Why did you not explain yourself clearly before you left? I really miss you.'

Na'er's sweet smile was etched into his mind. Her voice was like that of a skylark. When she called out for her brother, that pleasantness left him greatly satisfied.

'I will definitely find you in the future. I promise you.'

Gradually, the warmth from his body had led him back to dreamland and he fell into a deep sleep.

When he next awoke, it was due to his hunger. The sky had already turned dark. Considering that he had slept since last night, this meant he had slept for an entire day!

"Mom, dad!" Tang Wulin shouted as he got up. His exhaustion had already dissipated but his stomach was still empty. He felt so hungry that he could eat an entire cow!

"Son, you're awake!" The door opened as Lang Yue rushed in.

Tang Wulin said with a hint of pride, "Mother, I can already execute the Thousand Refinements!"

Lang Yue's eyes were bloodshot. To her this was not important, what was important was her son's well being!

"Good boy, is your body uncomfortable in any way?" Lang Yue asked gently.

Tang Wulin shook his head, "Nope! I'm just hungry. Mom, since I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

"Yes, yes, Mom bought a fat chicken for you and boiled chicken soup with it. Its waiting for you to drink. Your teacher said that you overexerted yourself and after waking up, you would need some nutritious and digestible food."

15 Minutes Later.

Lang Yue and Tang Ziran stared speechlessly as their son gorged himself. To their son, what was a nutritious and digestible dish? So long as it could be eaten, it could be digested!

An entire fat chicken, along with a pot of chicken soup, 5 buns, and 2 plates of vegetables had already been consumed by this 9 year old child and stuffed into his stomach. In addition, he looked as though he still hadn't had enough. He was still eating his sixth bun.

"Go and cook a few more dishes for our son," Tang Ziran said as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Looking at his son eating with such gusto, even he felt like eating.

Lang Yue hurriedly stood up.

Tang Wulin really could eat, especially after spending such a large amount of energy. He spent almost an entire hour gorging before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Son, you didn't hold anything back, right?" If it hadn't been for Tang Ziran stopping her, Lang Yue would have stopped letting Tang Wulin eat his fill. That capacity for food had already long surpassed a normal individual.

Tang Wulin had a smile on his face as he said, "Mom's cooking is still the best. I ate till I was content."

Tang Ziran carefully inspected his son's wrist, his eyes shining with a strange light. The place where Mang Tian had cut open Wulin's wrist just the day before had truly already healed. There was only a faint red line left in its place.

At this point, Tang Wulin remembered and asked, "Father, was I successful in yesterday's Thousand Refinements?"

Tang Ziran smiled and nodded, "Of course! You were successful, very successful! Your teacher could not stop praising you and said that when you awoke, you should quickly go and find him."

Tang Wulin jumped off his chair and said, "Then I will be on my way!"

Lang Yue frowned. "It's so late already, why don't you go tomorrow?"

Tang Ziran also stood up and said, "He just awoke, an hour and a half later and he will still not be asleep. Since it still isn't too late, I will bring him and we'll be back after that."

Lang Yue gave him a glance, then threatened, "If anything happens to my son, I tell you, you will be sleeping in the living room."

Tang Ziran sheepishly touched his nose. "Well, he's my son as well."

The father and son duo left the house and made their way towards Mang Tian's workshop.

"Master, I'm here!" Tang Wulin shouted once he entered the doorway. He eagerly anticipated what his first Thousand Refinings work had produced and what it looked like. The feeling of finishing the Thousand Refinements had led him to feel exceptionally happy at the moment.

Mang Tian, clothed in his worn work clothes, walked out from the inside of the workshop. He usually had a cold exterior but today, upon seeing Tang Wulin, he actually let out a smile. Unknowingly, his eyes were full of satisfaction.

He looked at Tang Ziran and nodded his head before beckoning to Tang Wulin. "Follow me."

That piece of Heavy Silver was still in Tang Wulin's workshop. Mang Tian did not even shift the metal from its location after Tang Wulin was taken by father yesterday.

"Take a look at your work," said Mang Tian to Tang Wulin. He pointed towards the Heavy Silver.

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Chapter 30 – Blood Sacrificed Thousand Refinement

Actually, without Mang Tian's urgings, Tang Wulin had already moved over to inspect his own creation.

Compared with its original state, the metal had already shrunk by one circle and the originally lustrous silver had turned into a dull grey colour. Tang Wulin's first impression was that the object possessed a deep, reserved, and simple quality.

Engraved on the surface of that gray metal were endless layers of a wave-like pattern, as though it represented unlimited life force. What was even more surprising was that when Tang Wulin looked, it felt as though there was a connection between him and that piece of metal.

This feeling was extremely strange. It was as though that piece of metal were a part of him.

Mang Tian's voice resounded from behind him. "To be honest, I had never expected that you would succeed on your first try. This result is due, in part, to your body and its physical abilities. Most importantly, it was possible because of your comprehension of the process while you refined it. I did not recognize the wrong apprentice; in this regard, you are a genius. Even if your martial soul is unsuited for forging, your ability to comprehend, along with your innate divine strength has more than made up for that gap."

Tang Ziran looked at Mang Tian in astonishment. He understood this old friend of his. With his personality, being able to praise someone with such high regard was something that happened rarely.

"Mang Tian, you better not spoil this son of mine." Tang Ziran laughed.

Mang Tian looked him in the eye and said, "I have already restrained myself."

Indeed, he did not give praise to every aspect of this achievement. He did not mention that Tang Wulin had actually broken a new record of being the youngest individual to achieve this. If news of his age and his achievement were to be spread, it would definitely lead to a large uproar in the blacksmithing world.

"Do you understand what the Thousand Refinements are now?" Mang Tian asked Tang Wulin. His method of teaching was different from others, he would usually not give a lot of guidance and would only speak when his disciples had attained enlightenment through practice.

Tang Wulin nodded his head and said, "It was as if the metal had gained a life of its own. Every time I struck it, I could hear the sounds it was making."

Mang Tian smiled yet again. These two days he had smiled more than he had in the past year!

"Not bad, what you said is true. The Thousand Refinements create vitality. The Hundred Refinements purifies and removes the impurities. The Thousand Refinements bestows life into the metal. The Thousand Refinements was originally a method created by us blacksmiths to infuse life into a metal. The metal that has life can then be considered to be the most precious by us, and in turn this can allow it to awaken its innate special qualities."

"The Thousand Refinements creates vitality?" Tang Wulin silently mulled over those words before his eyes lit up in understanding.

Mang Tian continued, "This is your first Thousand Refinements work. Traditionally, in the blacksmithing world, when a blacksmith creates their first Thousand Refined work, this object should undergo the Blood Sacrifice, in order to forever be part of the blacksmith's belongings."

"Blood Sacrifice? What is that?" Tang Wulin asked curiously.

Mang Tian continued, "If one were to say that the Thousand Refinements were to bestow life to the metal, then the Blood Sacrifice would be to let it become one with your blood vessels. It would become a part of your body. Combining the Blood Sacrifice with a metal that has undergone the Thousand Refinements, this would result in your blood vessels having the same improvement, being able to bring out stronger innate qualities!"

At the side, Tang Ziran couldn't help but shout out, "Brother Mang, if every Thousand Refinements requires the Blood Sacrifice, how much blood will a blacksmith lose?"

Mang Tian retorted, "If you don't understand, don't blabber rubbish. Do you think that every Thousand Refinements produces an object worthy of using the Blood Sacrifice on?

"A blacksmith's first Thousand Refined work will have to undergo the Blood Sacrifice, as this is our tradition. From today onwards, very few objects will require the Blood Sacrifice. Usually, only when one is wholly satisfied with the result would one do so. Once you utilize the Blood Sacrifice, this piece of metal can only be used by the individual. Even if others were to attempt to forge with it, it would not be possible as the metal would not recognize anyone else. Even if they tried, the metal would just shatter; it only recognizes its master."

"Thus, a Thousand Forging's work, would usually not undergo the Blood Sacrifice. Unless the client wishes to use their own blood to do so, then it would work. Tang Wulin, I want to emphasize to you on this point. In the future, unless you really need the metal and the Thousand Refinements is successful, do not easily utilize the Blood Sacrifice. That will only harm your vitality."

"Yes, Master," Tang Wulin promised as he nodded furiously. His eyes, however, were already focused on that piece of Heavy Silver.

"It's yours." Mang Tian smiled as he said it.

Wulin replied in shock, "But Master, I cannot afford it."

Mang Tian continued, "This is what you deserve, this Heavy Silver might have a price on it, but the Thousand Refinements is priceless. Also, as per the rules of the blacksmithing world, regardless of whomever provides the material, for the first work produced by the Thousand Refinements , it belongs to the blacksmith who made it. Being able to undergo the Thousand Refinements, that tungsten hammer is not very suitable for your use. With the size of this Heavy Silver, it is perfect for producing two hammers. Before you leave to for an intermediate academy, first finish crafting this. I also want to see what your first Thousand Refinements work's awakened special quality is."

"Are you really giving it to me?" Tang Wulin's eyes shone with happiness as he asked.

"Do you actually think I want to fool you?" Mang Tian retorted. "It's no longer early, go back tonight and rest well. Come again tomorrow to forge your Heavy Silver hammer."

"OH YEAH! Thank you master!" Tang Wulin cheered happily. He gave a deep bow to Mang Tian before grabbing the Heavy Silver and hugging it.

As the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver was grasped in his hand, Tang Wulin could feel that it was extremely heavy. This piece of Heavy Silver was approximately 150 kilograms in weight! When one looked upon it, it didn't seem all that large.

Metal in hand, Tang Wulin could feel what his Master had said about the connection with his blood. He could already feel that this Heavy Silver was a part of him as he held it. This feeling was both wonderful and strange. If he were to use this material for his forging hammer, what kind of result would that bring?

For the next few days, Tang Wulin was immersed in the forging process. Blacksmithing brought him a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

What he didn't know was that only after he finished the Thousand Refinements had Mang Tian truly recognized him as his disciple, to the point where Mang Tian stopped his work to patiently teach Tang Wulin.

Three days later, the Heavy Silver forging was finally complete.

Looking at the hammer on the forging anvil, Tang Wulin's heart was filled with pride. When he had just finished the Thousand Refinements on the Heavy Silver, that was just the base of what was to come. Now, this was truly his first complete Thousand Refinements work.

Looking at the appearance of the hammer, this Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammer was no different from the Thousand Refined Tungsten hammer. Even its size was similar. The difference was that the weight was several times heavier. If not for Tang Wulin's strength combined with his spirit soul's strengthening, even moving the hammer would not have been an easy task.

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Chapter 31 – Peak Special Effect

At first glance, the pair of Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers didn't appear eye-catching. Their grey exterior made them appear like ordinary forging hammers. Upon closer inspection however, one would discover dark, wave-like patterns covering its whole body. The dark wavy patterns on the handle even seemed to be nurturing an endless strength.

A spiral pattern twisted along the hammers' handles, down to the very end, where it stopped at a sharp point.

He had spent three whole days forging these hammers, little by little. During the forging process, he could feel in his blood that he was doing half the work for twice the results. Even though he worked with such efficiency, it had still taken him three whole days to complete the project.

"It's finished. Let's see what the Thousand Refined special effect is," Mang Tian said to Tang Wulin. Even a master blacksmith like Mang Tian had expectant eyes.

"Mn." Tang Wulin nodded and gripped the pair of Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers in his hands.

He had already conducted a series of measurements after forging them. The hammer in his left hand weighed 152 kilograms while the hammer in his right hand weighed 166 kilograms. Although these hammers appeared small, their weight could definitely be described by using one word: astonishing.

As Tang Wulin held the spiral patterned handles, he could sense the soul power in his body surging forth. In a flash, his soul power connected with the two hammers.

Although Tang Wulin's increase in strength wasn't small by any measure, it wasn't enough to solely rely on brute strength when forging these hammers. Even if he had innate divine strength, there was still the restriction of him being only nine years old.

As he felt the connection between his blood and these hammers, it was as if they grew lighter by a bit. Moreover, with the addition of his soul power, his grip on the two hammers became exceptionally steady.

Tang Wulin took out a chunk of metal from the forging furnace that had been prepared beforehand. After a moment, his eyes focused and he gave the customary light tap on the chunk of metal with the hammer in his left hand.

Ding ding ding! Three brittle notes resounded.

Tang Wulin stood there foolishly while Mang Tian's pupils contracted momentarily.

"Test it out again." Mang Tian eagerly said.

Tang Wulin once again tapped the chunk of metal with the hammer in his left hand.

Ding ding ding. Three brittle notes resounded once again, despite the fact that he had only tapped the metal once.

"Use a heavy strike!" Mang Tian said deeply.

Tang Wulin's right hand was already trailing an arc in the air as he heavily hammered the chunk of metal.

DANG DANG DANG! Three crisp bangs exploded out. Due to the stronger strike this time, Tang Wulin and Mang Tian were clearly able to see that the moment the hammer made contact with the chunk of metal, two blurred images similar to the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammer had appeared behind it. The two extra 'dang's had come from those phantom copies.

"This is…" Tang Wulin looked towards Mang Tian in bewilderment.

Mang Tian stared blankly, nearly losing his voice as he said, "Stacked Hammers effect."

"Teacher, what is the 'Stacked Hammers'?"

Mang Tian looked at him with eccentric eyes, "You brat, you really are a little monster! Even I haven't ever forged hammers with the Stacked Hammers effect."

After a few frantic breaths, Mang Tian was able to calm himself down. Mang Tian had thought that Tang Wulin's first Thousand Refinements would have a pretty good special effect, but he had never expected that it would actually be such an outrageous one.

"The reason blacksmiths use the Blood Sacrifice for their first Thousand Refinements is because it usually has a good special effect. Thus, the Blood Sacrifice will connect the metal with your blood vessels and push the awakened special effect to its peak. As a result, almost all blacksmiths will have their first Thousand Refined work be a pair of forging hammers that they will use throughout their life."

Tang Wulin was a smart kid, so he was immediately able to understand that Mang Tian had been prepared to gift that chunk of Heavy Silver to him the moment he had taken it out. Tang Wulin wasn't too clear about the exact value of Heavy Silver, but he understood that it was exceedingly valuable. Especially since it was such a large chunk of purified Heavy Silver.

Mang Tian continued on. "There are several amazing special effects that can be produced by the Thousand Refinements, but only an effect that is truly fitting for its user can be considered perfect. I've already explained to you before that the first mold of a Thousand Refined metal will be its peak. Any subsequent forgings to change its shape will inevitably cause damage to its internal structure, thus influencing its quality. As a result, it is exceedingly rare for the first forging of the metal to have a suitable effect."

Tang Wulin clearly understood the meaning of his teacher's words. "So you're saying that the Stacked Hammers effect of my Heavy Silver Hammers is a peak special effect? Moreover, it's very suitable for my Heavy Silver Hammers?"

Mang Tian nodded and smiled. "I'm actually a bit envious. After the blood sacrifice, these hammers with such a peak special effect can only be used by you.

"The so called 'Stacked Hammers' is when a strike of the hammer causes resonates within itself, and creates a second, or maybe even a third strike. You have a Thrice Stacked Hammer, which is also the peak of the Stacked Hammers effect. Simply said, when you try to Hundred Refine metals in the future, your Thrice Stacked Hammers will cut down the necessary forging time by half! The two stacked hammers should have a power of 70% and 50% of the original strike. Once you've gained better control of the Stacked Hammers effect, you'll definitely be able to do half the work for twice the results, no matter what metal you're forging."

Tang Wulin asked, "Controlling the Stacked Hammers effect?"

Mang Tian replied, "It's actually quite hard to control. However, your hammers are Blood Sacrificed and thus, its like the hammers are integrated into your body, making controlling much easier."

The Blood Sacrifice creates a sort of fantastic bond between one's blood and the metal. Blood Sacrificed metals can only be forged by the one who offered their blood. As a result, Blood Sacrificed Thousand Refined items are the personal items of the blacksmith. Even if others sacrificed their blood instead, they would have to forge it themselves for the best product."

Thus, the Blood Sacrifice isn't commonly used when forging. Blacksmiths rarely create their own Blood Sacrificed products.

Tang Wulin had bad luck in the aspect of his martial soul and spirit soul. It seemed that he had finally found his luck on the path of forging. With the Stacked Hammers effect of his Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers, he would undoubtedly be able to smoothly walk the path of a blacksmith in the future.

"You must practice diligently and quickly learn to control the Stacked Hammers," Mang Tian said. "In addition, try to keep your hammers a secret. The competition within the blacksmithing world is just as intense as the world of Soul Masters. Until you're able to protect your hammers, you can't lightly reveal them. Understand?"

Tang Wulin hadn't completely understood the meaning behind Mang Tian's warning, but he nodded nonetheless. He knew that whatever his teacher told him to do was for his own good.

"I'll give you these then." Mang Tian lifted up his hand. Two metal hoops rested in his palms. These two metal hoops were grey in appearance, but were actually forged from Thousand Refined Heavy Silver.

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