Su Ming could understand Zhang Tianyang's feelings.
His changes over the past year were indeed significant. The easiest to comprehend was the breakthrough in Spirit Power—six levels in fourteen months.
This speed of Spirit Power cultivation was actually a bit slower than that of the Su Ming from Douluo 1. The Su Ming from Douluo 1 advanced one level every two months, though that was before level ten. In reality, after reaching level ten, his advancement speed also decreased.
The Su Ming from Douluo 3 advanced from level 11 to level 17, all within the Spirit Master stage, which could be considered fast.
At this rate, he could break through to Grand Spirit Master before the age of eight.
Given two more years, there was great hope of breaking through to Spirit Elder before the age of ten.
And if he pushed a little harder, he might even break through to Spirit Ancestor by age twelve!
This would place him among the most advanced batch on the entire continent, the entire Douluo Star.
And this was just Su Ming's Spirit Power cultivation.
His improvements in additional fields were even more exaggerated.
"You're simply enjoying the benefits of three Martial Souls," Zhang Tianyang remarked, having learned from Su Ming the reason for his exaggerated improvement in physical quality, and he couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
Borrowing power, and it was actually from Martial Souls, even able to reflect the abilities of the other's Martial Soul onto oneself.
"Regardless, not considering secondary professions, you are already among the top tier on the continent," Zhang Tianyang said, not employing discouraging education but speaking truthfully to Su Ming.
"If we include secondary professions, then absolutely no one can stand on the same stage as you."
Zhang Tianyang didn't think Su Ming would lie to him about something like this for fun, so he first accepted Su Ming's claimed proficiency in the four secondary professions.
Of course, acceptance was one thing; checking was still necessary. After all, he was the teacher, responsible for instructing the student, and he needed to understand what stage the student had reached.
"Are you sure you want to cultivate all four professions simultaneously?"
Zhang Tianyang felt he had asked unnecessarily. Su Ming had begun studying all four secondary professions simultaneously within a year and made rapid progress; clearly, he had talent in these areas.
Especially in forging—achieving Thousand Refinement within a year? What kind of monstrous aptitude was that?
This was almost unprecedented in the forging world, wasn't it?
Su Ming didn't feel he was over the standard. He knew this was the result of his own hard work, hammer strike by hammer strike. His rapid progress was the result of the concerted efforts of his three bodies, each accumulating experience, with memories interchanging and integrating thoroughly, leading to an efficiency that surpassed simple addition.
"If you want to study all four professions simultaneously, this master can indeed help you," Zhang Tianyang said. "Your master is a Mecha Repair Technician. As you understand, a Mecha Repair Technician must master knowledge equivalent to that of both a Mecha Designer and a Mecha Builder, albeit with slightly less depth in specialized capabilities. Since you have simultaneously reached the level of a Level Two Mecha Designer and a Level Two Mecha Builder, you naturally also qualify as a Level Two Mecha Repair Technician."
Zhang Tianyang explained the role of a Mecha Repair Technician to Su Ming in straightforward terms.
This profession, in terms of what must be learned, is the sum of the design and manufacturing aspects. However, it also has easier aspects: it doesn't require going deeply into overseeing the entire process. That is, he doesn't need to design a complete set of core formations for battle armor that is flawless from start to finish. What is required is the ability to make corrections and repairs based on existing blueprints. Even if, over time, the original blueprint might become unrecognizable, no less than a complete overhaul, the initial template always relies on borrowing from others' work. The same principle applies to manufacturing; it also leans towards later-stage repairs and adjustments.
"This master happens to be able to teach you the theory for three professions simultaneously."
This was very convenient. The only profession Su Ming needed to understand and explore on his own now was Blacksmith.
But Blacksmith wasn't a profession one could advance in by working behind closed doors. Having someone teach you hands-on was crucial. Zhang Tianyang, after pondering for a moment, felt it necessary to find a forging teacher for Su Ming.
Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua?
Of course, Zhang Tianyang wanted his disciple to learn from the best master, but the prerequisite was having a way to make it happen.
He wasn't familiar with the Divine Blacksmith and had no prior interactions with him.
"This master will try his best to secure the best teacher for you." Zhang Tianyang decided to try and contact some acquaintances to see who could help get in touch with Zhen Hua.
"These next few days, first consolidate your Thousand Refinement. You can try to explore the properties of more metals. I will contact someone for you as soon as possible."
"Okay."
Douluo 2 Period.
"Still no Spirit."
Su Ming put down the hammer, looking at the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver on the forging table before him, lost in thought.
His three bodies had done no small amount of forging over the past year.
Among them, the Su Ming from Douluo 3 was responsible for learning the most authoritative and cutting-edge techniques and experiences of the later era. The Su Ming from Douluo 1 was responsible for vigorously grinding the most experience. Then, the Su Ming from Douluo 3 also had to verify and consolidate this knowledge. The Su Ming from Douluo 2 was almost just picking up the scraps.
He had no choice. His Spirit Power/Martial Soul self wasn't particularly physically adept, so he could only start forging after the other two selves had thoroughly mastered the Thousand Refinement technique.
"Rare metals are not the root cause of a Spirit being born from Thousand Refinement."
Su Ming frowned.
If that was the case, then he and his Douluo 1 self could only grind experience. To truly break through in forging skill, they had to rely on the Douluo 3 self, whether it was Spirit Refinement, Soul Refinement, or Heaven Refinement.
"Is it that the Laws pertaining to Spirit are insufficient?"
Su Ming recalled all the plot points he knew, scenes flashing through his mind.
"The turning point is after my current self."
Finally, he narrowed his eyes, settling on an image of Tang Hao.
"Tang Hao, Lord of the Plane..."
So, was the forging system actually core to Tang Hao? Relying on the development of the forging system to complete the consolidation of his authority within the plane, that is, to digest the abilities of the Lord of the Plane?
Su Ming did not look down on Tang Hao.
In forging, Tang Hao had certain pursuits, emphasizing the transformation of ordinary iron into divine iron.
"In the Douluo 1 period, it was all ordinary iron. Iron that could be forged with spirituality was essentially divine iron. So, his so-called 'transforming ordinary iron into divine iron' might be pursuing the aspect of Spirit?"
Could he independently create a forging system?
Su Ming didn't quite believe that.
The word 'Spirit' echoed incessantly in his mind.
"Spirit..."
What change prompted the drastic transformation in the Laws related to Spirit within the Douluo Plane?
A gleam of insight flashed in his eyes.
The character for 'Spirit' still reverberated in his mind, but now, before this character, a prefix appeared.
"Spirit Soul!"
It was the Spirit Soul!
Su Ming took a deep breath, feeling he had found the truth.
"The Laws pertaining to Spirit were fully perfected due to the creation of the Spirit Soul, and then, through Spirit Masters imbued with the aura of Spirit, extended to the field of metals."
Whether it was true or not, he felt he had to verify it.
"The perfection of the Laws pertaining to Spirit doesn't happen overnight. The influence of Spirit Souls on the metal field also requires a long time. So, even if I find a way to create Spirit Souls now, it might still require waiting."
Time.
His vision slowly rose, as if the sound of a rushing river appeared around him. In the obscure depths, he seemed to stand upon an endlessly winding long river. A single drop of water around him was a snapshot of a world at a certain instant, countless images scouring his heart and mind.
Su Ming raised his head, looking towards his self located upstream on the long river.
At this moment, his heart was like the waters of the long river around him, turbulent and surging.
...
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(End of Chapter)