socalfunplaces Chapter 8, 6 years later
Chapter 8, 6 years later
Spring and autumn pass quickly, but the sun and moon remain constant; six years have flown by like an arrow.
Tian Dou City.
On a not-so-bustling street in the south of the city, a small shop called "Yangshitang" is quietly open.
The shop was small, with the storefront in the front and the workshop in the back. The signboard was written by Chen Yingwu himself; the three characters on the wooden plaque were upright and peaceful, without any sharp edge.
There were no shop assistants hawking their wares at the door. Only the occasional passerby would glance inside and see a few mecha parts on the shelves, knowing that it was a business run by a blacksmith.
Chen Yingwu sat before the forging table, the heavy silver stretching and deforming under the hammer, sparks flying, the rhythm steady. He was now twelve years old, much taller than six years ago, his features more defined, and his demeanor increasingly serene.
The hammering stopped.
He set the forging aside, then leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the small, antique mirror on the table—his martial spirit, the Mirror of Morality.
Six years.
From the First Junior Soul Master Academy in Mingdu to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, and then graduating and leaving school to come to this Heaven Dou City, time has passed faster than I imagined.
His soul power has reached level fifty-six.
In just six years, he went from a Soul Master to a Soul King—a speed that is astonishing even on the entire continent.
Even a hundred years from now, those geniuses who are listed on the list of young prodigies will only be at the Soul Master level at this age.
But Chen Yingwu knew in his heart that there was guidance from the omniscient nature of this—the Mirror of Morality would provide the best solution for when to go where, what to do, and what resources to acquire, and he could easily obtain some resources.
Regarding soul spirits, he has already obtained three. The second soul spirit was acquired during his time at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, and the third soul spirit was obtained unexpectedly just before he left the academy.
The actual configuration of the spirit rings is five black ten-thousand-year spirit rings. However, only three purple and two black ones are shown to the public.
It's quite simple—the reflection of the moral mirror is controllable; whatever color he wants others to see, that's the only color they can see.
Furthermore, by applying the reverse of the Dao Interception Line, he precisely weakened his own aura, so that unless one was three levels above him, no one could detect anything amiss.
If he were to encounter a powerful opponent of that level, he could suppress his soul power and qi and blood pressure deep within his body, so that even if the opponent probed inch by inch with their face close to his, they might not be able to find anything.
Of course, even his outward cultivation level and soul ring color scheme were only known to some of the academy's higher-ups or teachers.
They talked about some things.
Using this skill, he changed identities several times, entering and exiting the Spirit Ascension Platforms in different cities, and upgraded his spirit rings to his ideal configuration. This would be extremely difficult for others, but for him, who possessed omniscience, it was not difficult at all.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is divided into a general department and a research department. The latter is similar to the inner academy of Shrek Academy, but he only studied in the general department.
Because there's no point in continuing to read.
This won't significantly improve his chances.
More importantly, he has now become a Soul King. Although he cannot be called a strongman yet, he is not someone who can be easily manipulated, and he has the strength to protect himself.
There is no need for you to stay in school.
Therefore, he applied for graduation at the age of twelve with the cultivation level of a four-ring Soul Master. Although the academy regretted it, they did not force him to stay—after all, graduating from the ordinary department with the cultivation level of a four-ring Soul Master was already considered extremely outstanding and would not attract too much attention.
After leaving the academy, he came to Tiandou City.
The reason is simple: the headquarters of the Mainland Forging Masters Association is here, and he wants to learn forging.
Tiandou City is the most active place for rare metal trading on the entire continent. Various types of ores and alloys are gathered and circulated here, supplying the needs of countless blacksmiths. Moreover, master craftsmen often give public lectures here.
Chen Yingwu needs to learn forging. If Soul Guidance Technology is the strongest driving force for the development of the mainland to date, then forging is the core driving force of Soul Guidance Technology.
Mechs, battle armor, and high-level soul tools all rely on forging.
Although he possessed omniscience, and could inquire about the blacksmith's knowledge—from hundred-fold forging to thousand-fold forging, from spirit forging to soul forging, and even higher-level secret techniques and insights—it was ultimately just written words.
The words could tell him that "spirit forging is the process of giving life to metal," but they could not make him truly experience the unique rhythm of life under the hammer.
At its most profound level, forging becomes a process of creating and interpreting life. That's too abstract.
It can't be explained in just a few words.
You must see it with your own eyes, feel it with your own hands, remember the vibration of each hammer blow with your body, and capture every subtle change in the metal during the shaping process with your mind.
So he didn't stay at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy to continue his training, but came here instead.
Before this, he had already tried some forging on his own and reached the level of a third-level blacksmith, able to reliably complete a thousand forgings.
Reaching the level three blacksmith at the age of twelve is already an exceptional blacksmithing genius.
Although a thousand-fold forging is only level three in the blacksmiths' association's rating system, it is already quite remarkable, as 80% of blacksmiths cannot reach this level.
This is also because he has a talent. To be precise, his martial soul, the Moral Mirror, has the characteristic of leaving a trace on everything. It can easily sense the subtle changes inside and outside the metal, and thus comprehend its spirituality.
Although omniscience cannot allow him to perceive changes in life or communicate with the spiritual, it can enable him to strike with perfect precision, without the slightest error.
This is why he didn't study forging much before, but has now become a level three forger, and he's not far from becoming a level four forger.
Now, six months after its opening, Yangshitang has gotten on track.
The shop was rented and not very big, but it was quiet. He didn't have many items on display; most of them were soul guide weapon parts of the thousand-refinement level. He occasionally took custom orders, and the prices were fair and the quality was consistent.
The neighbors gradually learned that there was a young blacksmith on the street who was quite skilled, didn't talk much, and was reliable.
He doesn't care whether the business is good or bad.
Yangshitang was originally a place for practice. Every day, they would open the furnace, select materials, forge, quench, and think, repeating the process over and over again, making fine adjustments time and time again.
Through countless hammer blows, he gradually began to understand things beyond words—the "breathing" of metal when it is hammered, the "pulse" of crystal structure reorganizing under force, and the "charm" that emerges from the material after a thousand forgings, a kind of life-like rhythm.
These are things that omniscience could not give him.
Or rather, the omniscient can tell him the answer, but the process of understanding the answer must be completed by himself.
Boom boom boom!
There was knocking on the door outside.
A guest has arrived.
Chen Yingwu, his thoughts still racing, looked at the newcomer.
The man who arrived was middle-aged, dressed in dark casual clothes. He had an ordinary face, but his eyes held a discerning look. He carried a leather bag, which he placed on the counter with a dull metallic clang.
"Sinking silver ingot".
The man said succinctly: "Twelve pieces, forged into parts. The blueprints are here."
He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and laid it flat. Dimensions and tolerances were densely marked on it. Chen Yingwu glanced at it; it was a batch of structural parts. The shape wasn't complicated, but the precision requirements were high. Clearly, they were matching parts for a certain soul tool component.
"A thousand forgings?" Chen Yingwu asked.
"A thousand refinements." The man nodded. "Can you do that?"
"able."
The man said nothing more, leaving behind the silver ingot and the blueprints before departing. Yangshitang had dealt with many customers like this; they didn't waste time talking, didn't haggle, and only looked at the finished product.
Chen Yingwu carried the leather bag into the forging room and untied it. Twelve heavy silver ingots were neatly stacked, each about the size of a fist, with a matte silver sheen on the surface, and they felt heavy in his hand.
Heavy silver is a metal with extremely high density and good ductility, making it an excellent material for crafting soul tools. The fact that the other party could produce so much heavy silver suggests they have an extraordinary background, but that's irrelevant to him.
He only cared about forging.
The furnace was lit, and the temperature in the forging room quickly rose. Chen Yingwu took off his outer robe and draped it aside, wearing only a close-fitting short brown shirt, revealing a section of his well-proportioned forearm. Six years had passed, and he had grown considerably taller; the frame of a young man was beginning to take shape, yet he did not appear thin.
The first ingot of sunken silver was put into the furnace.
His gaze fell on the flickering flames, but his mind gradually sank.
Omniscience couldn't help him much with forging. He knew the melting point of the silver, the optimal forging temperature range, and how to distribute the angle and force of each hammer strike—all this information was in the mirror, and he could understand it all in just a few breaths.
Knowing something is one thing, but feeling it in your hands is another.
The silver ingot in the furnace began to change color, gradually turning from silvery-gray to dark red, then to bright red, and finally approaching a warm orange-white. Chen Yingwu used iron tongs to take it out, fixed it on the anvil, and swung the hammer with his right hand.
The first hammer blow fell.
"clang--"
Sparks flew, and a shallow pit appeared on the surface of the silver ingot. His arm was as steady as if it were frozen in place; the point, force, and angle of each hammer blow were exactly as he had planned.
Forging is not simply about brute force; it involves countless hammerings to smooth out the internal texture of the metal, gradually squeezing out impurities, maximizing density, and achieving a uniform structure.
This is the work of water milling.
One hammer blow after another.
Only the sound of hammers remained in the forging room. Monotonous and repetitive, yet a strange rhythm flowed within it.
The slush silver spread out under the hammer, slowly transforming from a square ingot into a flat strip, and then gradually contracting into the shape specified in the blueprint.
Every time he reheated the furnace, every time he took it out to forge, he did it perfectly. This sense of proportion wasn't something he gained from omniscience; it was something he earned himself, hammer blow by hammer blow.
By the time the first part was completed, it was already dark. He ran his fingers over the surface, feeling the fine, dense texture of the silver after being forged a thousand times, like touching a very faint layer of dragon scale patterns.
Those are patterns that naturally form after the internal structure of the metal has been combed to a certain extent.
Okay.
He set the finished product aside and picked up the second piece of sunken silver ingot.
The firelight reflected on his face, making his features stand out clearly in the interplay of light and shadow. The knowledge gleaned from the mirror would ultimately become his own with each hammer blow.
In the distance, twilight descended upon Tiandou City. The firelight from the forging room shone through the crack in the door, casting a thin, bright line on the ground, like a beam of light reflected from a mirror.
The sound of hammers from Yangshitang continued until late at night.
As evening fell, Chen Yingwu closed the shop door and returned to the rest room at the back.
He picked up an object resembling a bronze mirror—not the actual Mirror of Morality, but an ordinary bronze mirror he had forged using his thousand-times-forging technique, for daily practice. The mirror's surface was smooth and flat, reflecting his own face.
At twelve years old, the childishness of six years ago has faded from her eyes and brows.
According to the story from his previous life, he was 1.9 meters tall and looked like an 18-year-old male high school student.
Moreover, he can use the Dao Intercepting One Line to compress his life force deep into his body, causing his appearance to age and transform him into a middle-aged man or even an old man.
He put the bronze mirror back on the shelf, sat down on the bed, and looked through the skylight at the darkening sky.
The nights in Tiandou City are quieter than in Mingdu. There are not as many lights that burn all night, nor the buzzing of flying soul tools streaking across the sky.
Six years.
He roughly knew what the next step should be.
He wanted to forge his own battle armor.
In this era, the true strongman must be a Battle Armor Master.
Creating a suit of armor typically requires a mecha designer, a mecha maker, a mecha repairman, and a blacksmith.
The most important of these is the blacksmith, because it is the most difficult, requires the highest level of talent, and has the fewest number of members.
For the other three professions, mech repair is not a concern, as better battle armor can repair itself.
The mecha design can be directly deduced by the omniscient one, and the mecha manufacturing can be guided step by step with simple, foolproof instructions. He can complete the task by following the steps.
After all, they are not as mysterious as forging; even if you are told the answer, you still wouldn't know how to do it.
Life is fleeting, like morning dew. To waste your limited energy on unnecessary things is to squander your own life!
He did not take it.
……
The night was still, and the crimson moon hung high in the sky.
"Um?"
Sitting on the bed, Chen Yingwu, who had been using meditation instead of sleep, opened his eyes:
"What is that?"
With traces of everything etched upon him, his divine senses are extremely sharp, allowing him to perceive things without hearing them.
He knew that the thing was in the sky.
Above Tiandou City, hundreds of meters away in the sky, clouds rolled like dragons, and two beams of light crashed one after the other, smashing through the thick air wall and making a series of sharp explosions.
The deafening roar that crashed down from the sky shattered the tranquility of the night in Tiandou City.
One by one, the soul-guiding lamps lit up, seemingly echoing the starry sky. This was followed by shouts and curses from the disturbed residents.
Unfortunately, these sounds did not reach the ears of the two figures caught in the blast wave.
The figure at the back wore magnificent battle armor in blue and black, engraved with various soul-guiding arrays. He not only wore a helmet but also a mask to cover his face.
He shouted sternly at the figure in front of him, "Evil Soul Master, where do you think you can escape to? Surrender now!"
The figure in front was shrouded in black robes, surrounded by a dense aura of bloodlust, with powerful soul energy emanating from his body.
As can be seen, this evil soul master was not wearing battle armor, but he was able to fly in the air by his own strength, indicating that his soul master level was at least seven rings or higher.
The evil spirit master stared coldly ahead, not even turning his head: "Wishful thinking!"
Soul power surged forth once more, propelling it forward at breakneck speed.
The clouds in the sky spread out in a wave-like pattern.
The evil spirit master clearly wanted to shake off the battle armor master behind him, but before that battle armor master could also unleash his spirit power to give chase—
Purple purple purple black black black black black black!
Nine soul rings, exuding overwhelming power, suddenly appeared in the sky!
That was a Title Douluo making a move!
That titled Douluo didn't even wear battle armor; he relied solely on his physical body to quickly break through the air and approach the evil soul master.
With a gentle grasp, the Title Douluo conjured a silver-white longsword from the void and held it in his hand.
He casually waved his hand forward.
A blade of energy, hundreds of meters long, swept across the sky from top to bottom, transcending length and width, and slashed straight towards the evil soul master.
A line of blood appeared on the evil soul master's body, starting from his chest and ending at his groin. His body was almost torn in two by this blade of light!
The evil spirit master's aura plummeted, clearly indicating that he had suffered a severe injury.
The evil soul master looked at the titled Douluo rapidly approaching him and the battle armor master who had been chasing him earlier:
"You think you can kill me like this? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Suddenly, strands of blood energy rose from his body, and a red and green magic array was activated almost instantly, enveloping his body.
Seeing the strange behavior of the evil spirit master, serious expressions quickly appeared on the faces of the two.
Just as the titled Douluo was about to unleash another strike, an extremely dense spatial force flashed from the magic array.
In that instant, the evil spirit master's body had already vanished from the spot.
He used spatial powers to teleport away.
Although the titled Douluo reacted quickly, pieces of his battle armor appeared one after another, revealing that it was a three-word battle armor!
With the enhancement of his battle armor, the titled Douluo quickly sensed the location of the evil soul master.
"That evil spirit master has already teleported to the south of the city..."
Before the sound had even faded completely, this titled Douluo had already traversed the sky, heading straight for the evil soul master more than ten kilometers away.
In just a few seconds, the battle changed dramatically.
The battle armor master looked somewhat worried, but he could only grit his teeth and chase after them.
Some powerful figures from Heaven Dou City who were watching the battle thought that with a Title Douluo empowered by a three-word battle armor, the attack should be foolproof. However, they did not expect that this evil soul master could use spatial power and escaped.
Left with no other choice, some of the powerful individuals took to the air and headed towards the south of the city.