"Living in this era, forget about absorbing Spirit Rings beyond your level; just obtaining the optimal Spirit Ring ratio is a problem in itself."
Su Ming felt somewhat helpless.
His current status wasn't great. His goal for the first Spirit Ring was only to get a hundred-year-old one. As for absorbing beyond his level, that would have to wait until the next Spirit Ring.
"Little Su, you've reached level 10 Spirit Power, right?"
While Su Ming was thinking, Duan Tie came over and asked.
The question made Su Ming pause for a moment before he replied, "Yes."
"Can't figure out how to get a Spirit Ring?"
Su Ming nodded.
"Uncle Duan, are you a hidden Spirit Master or something?"
Duan Tie smiled wryly and waved his hand.
"No, I'm not a Spirit Master. But my son is. He'll be back to visit me in a couple of days. If you need help, I can ask him for you, see if he can take you spirit hunting."
Duan Tie's son?
Su Ming had some impression. While working at the blacksmith shop, he'd occasionally heard the adults mention Duan Tie's son, who seemed to have gone to Gengxin City for further study.
So Duan Tie's son was a Spirit Master.
"Little Jin is a three-ring Spirit Elder. He should be able to help you."
Spirit Elder?
"Then thank you, Uncle Duan."
Duan Tie laughed. "You have good talent in forging. When my son returns, I wanted to introduce you to him, hoping he could take you to Gengxin City."
Gengxin City?
Su Ming's expression shifted slightly.
Didn't this coincide with his own thoughts?
"Little Su, Gengxin City is the true holy land for blacksmiths. You can learn the most advanced forging techniques there," Duan Tie said. "I see you also have a passion for forging, Little Su, hence the idea."
Su Ming said, "Uncle Duan, you mean you suggest I go with your son to Gengxin City to learn forging?"
"Exactly," Duan Tie said. "I also know you have Spirit Master talent and many other choices. If you don't want to go to Gengxin City and have a better option, Uncle Duan won't say more."
Su Ming smiled.
"Uncle Duan, why wouldn't I want to go?"
Duan Tie's eyes lit up.
He hadn't brought it up with Su Ming earlier precisely because he was worried about being rejected.
Although he'd known Su Ming for less than a year, witnessing Su Ming grow from a complete novice to someone whose forging skills were becoming increasingly proficient, even surpassing his own, he naturally wanted Su Ming to have a better future in forging.
He had sent his son to Gengxin City to find a master with the same idea back then.
"Uncle Duan, what is your son's Martial Spirit?" Su Ming inquired.
"His Martial Spirit is an iron hammer, looks just like my new forging hammer over there," Duan Tie said, pointing to the forging hammer he used outside on the stall.
An iron hammer?
That was pretty good.
With such a Martial Spirit and Spirit Elder cultivation, dealing with a hundred-year Spirit Beast shouldn't be a problem.
So...
The spirit hunting problem was solved just like that?
If so, I wonder if I could try to absorb a Spirit Ring beyond my level?
"Although surpassing the first ring might not seem hugely significant—it's very hard to get a thousand-year first ring, after all—the act of surpassing limits itself is meaningful. Breaking through limits can often allow the Martial Spirit's growth to break through its current limits."
For a Body Soul, breaking through limits must become the norm to ensure a smooth Secondary Awakening later.
"I've also been refining my body this past year, considering it brings out the advantage of the Body Soul. I won't aim too high, surpass; just find a four-hundred-year Spirit Beast."
According to the Grandmaster's statistics, the limit for the first Spirit Ring was 423 years.
Although pinpointing the Spirit Beast's age limit down to the single digit was ridiculous, it should be roughly accurate. The limit was around four hundred years, maybe a dozen or two decades more. Su Ming could try to approach five hundred years.
"Surpass a little less, first experience the feeling of absorbing beyond my level," Su Ming thought to himself.
This time, Su Ming wasn't one hundred percent confident, but he had at least eighty percent confidence.
He had even asked his future self to collect some information on absorbing Spirit Rings beyond one's level to confirm his situation met the prerequisites.
Soon, two days later.
Su Ming came to Duan's Blacksmith Shop.
"Little Jin, this is the Little Su I told you about," Duan Tie brought Su Ming into the inner room.
Su Ming was very surprised when he saw Duan Jin because Duan Jin wasn't middle-aged but rather youthful, very young-looking, and full of vitality.
He didn't have the traditional burly blacksmith image; instead, he was the lean type with perfect muscle lines, looking very explosive.
"Little Su, this is my son, Duan Jin. He's only twenty this year. You can just call him brother."
Only twenty years old?
Su Ming was even more surprised.
At that age, becoming a Spirit Elder was already considered a genius. The Spirit Master tournament required participants to be under twenty-five, and Spirit Elders were already very rare in the tournament.
At Duan Jin's age, there was even hope of reaching Spirit Ancestor within five years!
At the Spirit Master tournament, Spirit Ancestors were among the top tier.
"All thanks to my teacher's help," Duan Jin said.
He sounded very sincere, truly believing his current achievements were due to finding a good teacher.
Blacksmiths with Spirit Power were a minority. Even in Gengxin City, finding a disciple with decent Spirit Master talent was very rare, and they were usually carefully cultivated.
Similarly, the disciple also had to work hard and genuinely pursue forging.
It required mutual effort.
Master-disciple pairs that met this condition were often the most enviable.
"My dad said it only took you half a year to learn all his skills."
Seeing this, Duan Tie had Su Ming light the forge and start forging.
"Little Su, show Little Jin what you can do."
"Alright!"
Su Ming was also very motivated.
He knew that performing well in front of Duan Jin now would make the other more dedicated when helping him hunt Spirit Beasts.
He could sense that the Duan father and son were both blacksmiths who pursued forging.
As long as he could show talent in forging and demonstrate his heart for it, he could gain their regard.
It wasn't just about the first Spirit Ring; Su Ming would need second, third, and more Spirit Rings in the future. If he wanted to consistently absorb beyond his level, he definitely couldn't hunt them himself, so he needed backing.
Duan Jin might not have a Titled Douluo behind him, but he could help Su Ming quickly gain a foothold in the Blacksmith Association.
Next, Su Ming threw himself wholeheartedly into forging.
In fact, he didn't need to deliberately perform. Just his normal state during forging could let others sense his attitude towards it. When Duan Jin saw the pleasurable expression on Su Ming's face with every swing of the hammer, he could tell Su Ming was enjoying the process.
This was crucial for any blacksmith.
If one couldn't enjoy the joy of forging, then one couldn't pursue the ultimate mysteries of forging.
Su Ming felt his condition was unusually good.
Every strike was perfectly measured.
He felt like he was dancing, wielding the forging hammer, giving the iron block before him a massage. Every strike landed on the most comfortable point of the iron.
The iron block didn't emit any dull thuds but rather clear, crisp dings, as if responding to Su Ming's state.
(End of Chapter)