Su Ming walked out of the cultivation room he had rented.
Within the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, there were specialized cultivation rooms available for rent. These rooms were not only equipped with Spirit Gathering Arrays to aid meditation but also featured the Pagoda's latest guided Simulated Environment Construction Arrays. Additionally, they could be outfitted with a room for practicing a secondary profession, be it a forging room, a design room, or a manufacturing room. However, for Su Ming, it was a Multi-purpose Room; he had reconfigured the layout to create separate areas for forging, design, and manufacturing.
He was simultaneously training in all three secondary professions!
The long-term rental cost in Contribution Points for such a cultivation room was very high. Combined with Su Ming's cultivation expenses, the startup funds provided by Zhang Tianyang had already been depleted. Fortunately, he had also been consistently generating income. Whenever he practiced his three secondary professions, he simultaneously took on tasks. As long as he succeeded, he could recoup some of the costs. Moreover, having mastered Thousand Refinements in forging, he was essentially able to steadily support his current cultivation expenditures.
Top floor of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda.
Zhang Tianyang was already waiting, a smile on his face.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Su Ming opened the door and entered.
"Teacher."
Seeing Su Ming, Zhang Tianyang's eyes lit up. He felt that this disciple of his had changed dramatically; that frail, weak aura had completely vanished, replaced by a sense of power and a unique spirit.
Before awakening his Martial Soul, Su Ming was an orphan who grew up in a welfare institute and didn't eat particularly well, so he appeared somewhat thin and weak.
Now, he was brimming with strength. From a distance, he looked like a small, human-shaped tyrannosaurus.
"Quite a change in a year."
He walked forward and measured Su Ming's height against himself.
"Grown quite a bit taller, and your body is stronger too."
After measuring, he patted Su Ming's shoulder, subtly gauging his strength.
"Excellent!"
"Teacher, your seclusion this time was quite long. Were there any issues?" Su Ming asked.
Zhang Tianyang let out a bitter laugh. "This time, your teacher miscalculated. But I still managed the breakthrough."
Speaking of the breakthrough, his expression instantly shifted from wryness to confidence.
"Now, your teacher is a Ninety-Seventh Level Super Douluo!"
Although his seclusion lasted longer than anticipated, it wasn't due to problems. Instead, he had gained new insights, further refining his Three-Word Battle Armor and achieving a slight increase in its amplification.
With his current strength enhanced by the battle armor, if placed in the era of the first or second Douluo Dalu installments, he would be a solid Limit Douluo.
In the common understanding of the Spirit Master world, a One-Word Battle Armor Master is equivalent to a seven-ringed Spirit Sage, and so on. A Two-Word Battle Armor Master corresponds to an eight-ringed Spirit Douluo, and a Three-Word Battle Armor Master is equivalent to a nine-ringed Titled Douluo.
Actually, this is the lower limit.
A Spirit King equipped with One-Word Battle Armor is equivalent to a Spirit Sage. However, a Spirit Emperor equipped with One-Word Battle Armor, while still technically a Spirit Sage, would undoubtedly possess top-tier strength among Spirit Sages.
Similarly, Spirit Sage is the minimum cultivation level for Three-Word Battle Armor, allowing one to directly bridge two major stages and possess strength at the Titled Douluo level. But if the Three-Word Battle Armor Master is already a Titled Douluo, the amplification from the battle armor would be even more terrifying.
Perhaps the percentage increase might be lower, but the technology of the battle armor can also be improved.
The creation of battle armor is meant to perfectly adapt to the Spirit Master. The Core Formations must be constantly adjusted according to the Spirit Master's cultivation, adapting to their abilities and Spirit Power. Therefore, the Core Formations within the battle armor of a newly promoted Three-Word Battle Armor Master and a veteran Three-Word Battle Armor Master could be worlds apart.
The ones responsible for these upgrades are Mecha Repair Technicians.
Zhang Tianyang was a Mecha Repair Technician.
His Three-Word Battle Armor had already been synchronized to amplify his current Ninety-Seventh Level strength,sufficient to elevate his power to the level of the most basic Limit Douluo.
"Let your teacher check if you've been slacking off this year."
Although he said this, Zhang Tianyang didn't actually doubt Su Ming. Just from the vitality and spirit he sensed at first glance today, he could feel Su Ming's progress.
This past year might not only have been fruitful for himself but also a perfect start for his disciple's journey into Spirit Master cultivation.
He walked out, heading towards his private cultivation room next to the office, and said, "Follow me."
The corners of Su Ming's mouth unconsciously turned up into a slight smile.
He was very confident in his progress over the past year.
He followed Zhang Tianyang into his teacher's cultivation room.
Zhang Tianyang's private cultivation room was much larger than the ones the Spirit Transmission Pagoda rented out. Upon entering, Su Ming couldn't help but marvel.
The walls felt like they were made of Spirit Refined metal, with complex Core Formations engraved on every inch. One could imagine the cost of this cultivation room must have been astronomical.
"Come on, report to me one by one," Zhang Tianyang turned and asked, "What level is your Spirit Power?"
"Level 17."
Hiss—
Zhang Tianyang inhaled a breath of heaven and earth origin energy.
He remembered Su Ming was at Level 11 before he went into seclusion. That meant he had broken through six levels in this year and two months!
"How did you cultivate?" he couldn't help but ask.
Su Ming said, "Teacher, I used up all the 100,000 Contribution Points you gave me."
Zhang Tianyang didn't immediately grasp Su Ming's meaning, but then he understood. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
What a spendthrift disciple!
100,000 Contribution Points, used up in just a year?
"Well, that explains it," he said, stepping forward and placing his hand on Su Ming's shoulder. "Don't resist," he said seriously.
Su Ming allowed Zhang Tianyang's Spirit Power to circulate through his body once.
"Good, your foundation is extremely solid. No problems at all. Not only are there no issues, but the effect is even better than normal cultivation!" Zhang Tianyang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let me check... your physical fitness is very high. Let's test your physical attributes."
Zhang Tianyang only had a Strength Tester here, so he only had Su Ming test his strength.
Su Ming was very obedient. He went to the tester, assumed a stance, and without using Spirit Power, relied purely on his body to generate force.
Bang!
A very powerful punch.
Zhang Tianyang acknowledged it inwardly.
He looked at the number on the tester and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
One hundred kilograms.
A seven-year-old body, unleashing a force of one hundred kilograms, was already extremely outrageous.
Worth it!
It was fine that the 100,000 Contribution Points were spent. It was worth it to exchange for such an excellent foundation for his disciple.
"Try again with Spirit Power burst."
Su Ming nodded, circulated his Spirit Power, and coordinated it with his physical strength to generate force simultaneously.
Bang!
This punch hit the tester with a duller sound.
One hundred and eighty kilograms!
"Use a Spirit Skill."
Su Ming borrowed the minimum amount of power from the two previous Su Mings, entered the form of the Trinity Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and even subtly activated the Diamond Body's power.
This punch landed with an explosive sound.
Zhang Tianyang's gaze fixed on the screen of the tester. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Four hundred kilograms!
This was already data comparable to a pure strength-type Battle Spirit Master with two spirit rings.
Zhang Tianyang was starting to feel like this was somewhat dreamlike. Su Ming had only been cultivating for a little over a year, yet he had achieved such an exaggerated improvement.
"Any other progress?" he asked.
Su Ming nodded, not hiding anything, and said directly, "Teacher, I've also been cultivating my secondary professions."
Zhang Tianyang looked at his disciple curiously.
He hadn't expected his disciple to have already started dabbling in secondary professions.
"Secondary professions consume a lot of energy. Since you've started early, it's probably fine," Zhang Tianyang nodded slowly. "So? Have you decided which secondary profession to develop?"
"Teacher, I've been learning them together. I have now mastered Thousand Refinements and become a Level Three Blacksmith. Both Mecha Manufacturing and Mecha Design have reached Level Two standard. As for Mecha Repair, I haven't focused on it specifically, but since Mecha Manufacturing and Mecha Design are both Level Two, Mecha Repair should probably be considered Level Two as well."
Zhang Tianyang:
Zhang Tianyang: ???
Zhang Tianyang: !!!
He stared at Su Ming, unable to stop the question from forming in his heart: "How long was I in seclusion for?"
(End of Chapter)