Duan Tie let Su Ming practice on his own to find the feel.
Su Ming did have some talent. Combined with the related techniques and experience he had seen in the Blacksmithing Basics Compendium, it only took him an hour to complete the task Duan Tie had given him.
The essence of the task wasn't to beat the iron block into a long strip, but to explore techniques like the angle of striking.
Duan Tie was very satisfied after his inspection.
"Good. Now beat it into a cube."
He assigned another task and then went back to work.
Another hour later, Su Ming completed his task.
"Not bad," Duan Tie said, very surprised after checking.
He then had Su Ming use several smaller hammers to beat a fist-sized iron block for more precise shaping.
He first took out some simple molds, like for a sword or a knife, and had Su Ming be responsible for the forging.
By the end of the day, Su Ming was utterly exhausted.
His whole body felt weak and sore.
But it was precisely this kind of forging that allowed him to quickly familiarize himself with the body's various points of force application. Combined with the teachings in the Basics Compendium, he used the forging process to also exercise all the joints and muscles in his body, thereby refining his physique better.
This was a very popular technique in the future forging world, allowing blacksmiths to exercise their bodies through forging.
Different blacksmiths had different upper limits.
This was just a basic technique, not particularly advanced. It was even an insignificant snippet not worth elaborating on in the cultivation of Spirit Masters who had their own methods to enhance their physical qualities.
Unfortunately, Su Ming didn't have his own method to enhance his physical qualities and could only focus on small details for now.
After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to the academy, went straight to dormitory seven, and sank into meditation.
" The whole body is sore and weak. After being soothed by Spirit Power, it's truly comfortable."
While enjoying this comfort, he pondered what he could do in his cultivation.
Since his tentative focus on exploring Body Soul cultivation was on transferring the progress of the Body Soul to the body itself, his starting point was predetermined.
"Today, my Martial Spirit didn't suffer; instead, it's the body that's exhausted."
"I wonder if I can transfer the various sensations of the body to the Martial Spirit."
If the results of the Martial Spirit can be transferred to the body, can the changes in the body be synchronized with the Martial Spirit?
Or even transferred to the Martial Spirit.
The body doesn't need to bear the cost; let the Martial Spirit carry the load?
The Martial Spirit is a special form to begin with, and would recover very quickly. As long as it doesn't exceed the limit, its recovery speed might be tens or hundreds of times faster than the body's.
Thought conceived, action taken.
Action taken, goal achieved.
Martial Spirits were, in some aspects, very convenient things. They were part of the Spirit Master, yet unlike ordinary organs, the Spirit Master could subjectively control them.
When Su Ming thought about transferring the body's pain to the Martial Spirit, this idea was quickly realized.
This was also thanks to the Body Soul. With other Martial Spirits, there would always be some incompatibility with the Spirit Master's body, making perfect pain transfer impossible.
"Recover!"
Su Ming circulated his Spirit Power to heal his Martial Spirit's injuries.
Simultaneously, he also mapped the progress made by the Martial Spirit through this cycle of tempering and replenishment onto his body.
"Mmm~~~ So good!"
While enjoying the pleasurable sensation of progress, Su Ming planned his future cultivation.
"In the future, as long as the pain and various negative sensations don't exceed a certain range, transfer them all to the Martial Spirit at the first moment. That way, I can also enjoy the results synchronously."
The next day.
Su Ming returned to Duan's Blacksmith Shop.
He tried out his idea.
Indeed, all the soreness and weakness in his body were gone, replaced by a tingling, numb, and pleasurable sensation.
With every swing of the hammer, the joints involved in generating force—wrists, arms, waist—felt a tingling numbness, extremely comfortable.
Duan Tie secretly observed Su Ming, feeling this kid was exceptionally suited for forging. He could actually show an expression of enjoyment during forging, not various pained expressions.
He didn't even need to grit his teeth and endure bitterly persevere; he completed the forging process with a very enjoyable attitude!
A born forging saint?
In the days that followed, Duan Tie observed Su Ming and found he was genuinely enjoying it. Even swinging the forging hammer for several hours straight couldn't make him show any sign of pain.
The most crucial point was that Su Ming's progress was very fast, almost changing day by day. He could quickly complete his goals. In just half a month, and after Duan Tie spent a few days repeatedly testing and evaluating him, he determined Su Ming could join the shop's normal forging work.
"You are a qualified blacksmith now. I'll assign you some of the shop's orders from now on," Duan Tie said. "Your wages will be at the same rate as theirs, one Silver Spirit Coin per month, with bonuses if business is good."
"Thank you, boss."
The days passed like this.
Su Ming's three bodies all entered the right track of cultivation.
The past Su Ming used forging to refine his body, stimulating the bidirectional growth of his Body Soul and his body, while his Spirit Power increased rapidly.
The present Su Ming, after obtaining his first Spirit Ring, was personally instructed by his grandfather Su Can, learning various aspects of Spirit Tool knowledge.
The future Su Ming was studying and cultivating at Tianhai Academy.
In the blink of an eye, nine months had passed since enrollment.
The past Su Ming broke through.
"Finally, level 10."
His cultivation speed was steady, maintaining a pace of one level every two months. One month after enrollment, he broke through to level 7. After another four months, he reached level 9. Finally, the jump from level 9 to level 10 slowed his cultivation speed down, leading to the breakthrough to level 10.
"Double the time," Su Ming thought to himself. "Is it because this level is essentially two levels? Breaking through from level 9 to level 10, even if the Spirit Ring is only a ten-year one, can lead to breaking through to level 11. Most of the Spirit Power here comes from the Spirit Master's own cultivation..."
"Awakening the Martial Spirit for a year, breaking through to level 10—acceptable."
Su Ming was still easily satisfied nowadays. After all, his innate Spirit Power was only fifth rank. This speed was very exaggerated in the Soul Land I era.
"Over nine months, combining the earnings from the blacksmith shop and the work-study job, I've saved up two Gold Spirit Coins."
The work-study task was cleaning the academy, paying ten Copper Spirit Coins per month—effectively one Silver Spirit Coin. The blacksmith shop's base wage was also one Silver Spirit Coin. Coupled with Su Ming's Spirit Power increasing bit by bit, his work quality getting better and better, the raises added up too.
This allowed him to save two Gold Spirit Coins in nine months.
(PS: The Douluo currency system collapsed from the start. In the original work, work-study students earned ten Copper Spirit Coins a day, yet it was also said one Gold Spirit Coin was Tang San's income for three years. So, regarding anything involving currency, this book won't strictly compare and discuss based on the original work. Just a heads-up, brothers.)
Two Gold Spirit Coins weren't much.
Because after becoming a Spirit Master, one could receive a subsidy of one Gold Spirit Coin per month from the Spirit Hall without doing anything. You could even forget to collect it for a while and accumulate it, collecting it all at once when you have time.
"With two Gold Spirit Coins, hiring someone for spirit hunting is difficult," Su Ming pondered.
Teachers from Nuoding Academy?
They would most likely just hunt a ten-year Spirit Ring and call it a day. Otherwise, Xiao Chenyu wouldn't have been so shocked upon seeing a hundred-year Spirit Ring.
Hire a spirit hunting team?
People's hearts are treacherous, and two Gold Spirit Coins were completely insufficient anyway.
...
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(End of Chapter)