Previously, there was no need to stir up trouble and forcibly change history. Now, Su Ming had a reason and wanted to give it a try.
He was also intensely curious: with his three selves located in different times, would the impact each made resonate through the River of Time and affect the subsequent points?
If influence was possible, could the Douluo 1 version of himself achieve Spirit Refinement more easily? It was hard to say if he could smoothly produce Battle Armor, but the Su Ming in the Douluo 2 period had a high probability of being able to complete Spirit Refinement.
From the current perspective, with three bodies at three different temporal nodes, all the faction distributions and development rhythms Su Ming knew about were identical to the original story. It seemed his three selves had no impact on this world.
Su Ming understood two possible reasons. One was that the nodes his three bodies occupied simply did not affect each other. The second was that he had just entered this world and hadn't yet formed a stable Time Loop. He leaned towards the latter because, using the first Spirit Skill of his Douluo 3 self, he could see his own positions on the long river—clearly only three, not countless versions of himself at countless nodes.
To influence later eras, he had to start now.
For example, if the Douluo 1 Su Ming wanted to influence the layout of Douluo 2, he needed to make a tangible change, like hunting the Titan Giant Ape and absorbing its Spirit Ring. Then, in Douluo 2, it would no longer be the legend of the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python becoming Tang San's Spirit Rings and being resurrected after going to the God Realm. History should change to state that the Titan Giant Ape was slain by Su Ming ten thousand years ago and transformed into a Spirit Ring. However, if the Douluo 1 Su Ming was only seven years old now, merely intending to hunt the Titan Giant Ape in the future once he had the ability, then the Douluo 2 period would remain completely unchanged.
Even if he managed to become the disciple of three Titled Douluos, one of them being Qian Daoliu, giving him a 100% chance to hunt the Titan Giant Ape, as long as he hadn't actually done it, it would not affect later history.
The Douluo 2 Su Ming handed the task of changing history to his Douluo 1 self and returned to his normal cultivation.
Douluo 1 Period.
The corners of Su Ming's mouth twitched slightly.
"I only just got my first ring. It'll take at least a few years before I can fuse a Spirit Soul. And the Douluo 3 version needs to learn more about Spirit Souls too."
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, twenty months went by.
"Finally bought it."
Su Ming looked excitedly at the gelatinous substance in his hand, which emitted a strong fishy odor.
Although this Whale Glue wasn't as hard to buy or as expensive as in Douluo 2, it was still contraband for children. He couldn't ask Zhu Jiuyang or Duan Jin to find a way to get it, so he had to buy it stealthily himself.
"Such a large piece of Thousand-Year Whale Glue for one thousand Gold Spirit Coins isn't too bad."
In later eras, a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Glue this size would likely cost double, and most importantly, it would be priceless—even if you could afford it, there would be no way to purchase it.
Ordinary nobles didn't buy a piece and eat it all at once. The piece Su Ming held was enough for a noble with strong libido to use for three months, so one thousand Gold Spirit Coins really wasn't expensive.
Absorbing a Spirit Ring a few decades beyond the limit for his first ring hadn't significantly boosted his body's endurance. During this period, he had tempered his body while controlling the intensity. Although the limit for his second ring was definitely no longer seven hundred years, it was at most around nine hundred years. Breaking through the thousand-year barrier wasn't simple, so Whale Glue was essential.
"Taking it directly should allow me to break through the level twenty threshold as well."
After becoming a Spirit Master, Su Ming's cultivation speed dropped from one level every two months to one level every two and a half months. Twenty months had passed since he decided to attempt Spirit Soul conversion.
After obtaining his first ring, he directly broke through to level twelve. Reaching level twenty meant an eight-level difference. Although, at a rate of one level every two and a half months, twenty months should be exactly enough, he couldn't avoid the bottleneck at the tens levels.
Even with sufficient aptitude, one was always hindered by this kind of bottleneck for a while. In Su Ming's understanding, this bottleneck existed because it accumulated the one level that would manifest after absorbing the next Spirit Ring.
In other words, under normal circumstances, he would be stuck at level nineteen for another two and a half months before breaking through to level twenty.
Now that he had the Whale Glue, he didn't need to remain stuck. When consuming Whale Glue, its energy also integrated into the Spirit Master's Spirit Power, having a certain Spirit Power growth effect.
Su Ming placed the Whale Glue over the furnace to roast it. Soon, the fishy smell dissipated, replaced by a faint fragrance. After letting it cool slightly, Su Ming took a bite. The soft, glutinous substance melted in his mouth.
He took several more bites, quickly finishing the large piece of Whale Glue, then sat cross-legged, circulating his Spirit Power to refine and absorb the medicinal efficacy.
The effect of the Whale Glue was potent. In just a short while, Su Ming felt as if a ball of evil fire was rampaging in his lower abdomen, and he could only suppress it with great effort.
Hiss—
His willpower was astonishing. He forcefully discarded all distracting thoughts, focusing his entire being on refining the Whale Glue's medicinal power, subjecting his meridians to repeated baptism and scouring.
Three hours later.
Su Ming opened his eyes.
"Indeed broke through."
Feeling the surging Spirit Power within him, Su Ming stood up, feeling like he had endless strength.
He was now full of vigor and vitality.
"I could take on ten with one punch!"
He practiced a set of fist techniques in his room, and his whole body felt comfortable.
"I've broken through to level twenty and preparing to absorb a thousand-year Spirit Ring. I can attempt Spirit Soul conversion and change history. Over in the Douluo 2 period, Grandfather came through and contacted the Body Sect; I'll be joining them soon. In the Douluo 3 period, Teacher Zhang Tianyang finally found a connection and can introduce me to the Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua."
All three temporal nodes had good news.
After taking a bath, Su Ming left the blacksmith shop.
"Find the teacher, hunt a spirit!"
He walked with purpose, jogging to the end of the fifth-floor corridor in the Blacksmith Association.
"Little Ming, here to study again?"
Si Long, guarding the door outside Lou Gao's room, saw Su Ming and greeted him with a smile.
Su Ming's talent had spread among their circle of Grandmasters. They all marveled at Zhu Jiuyang's incredible luck in finding such a promising blacksmith seedling.
A seven-year-old Blacksmith Master directly broke the Blacksmith Association's record.
Of course, now, over a year later, there had been no further news of Su Ming becoming a Grand Blacksmith Master.
This was normal. No one thought a genius had fallen.
If Su Ming really became a Master-level blacksmith at this time, the Blacksmith Association would truly cause an uproar.
"It's Senior Si Long again today."
Su Ming also bowed slightly and said with surprise.
He recalled that over the past year or so, every time he came to Zhu Jiuyang's place to study, it was Si Long on duty.
Perhaps this was fate.
Zhu Jiuyang didn't expect Su Ming to come find him today.
"Little Ming? There's no class scheduled for today, is there?"
Su Ming said, "That's right, Teacher. I'm not here to learn forging today."
"Oh? You're so busy every day. Not here to learn forging today, so what brings you to your teacher?" Zhu Jiuyang said.
"Teacher, I've broken through to level twenty."
"I knew it. You wouldn't come find your teacher for no reason. So you broke through to level twenty..." Zhu Jiuyang processed this, then frowned and asked, "Didn't you just break through to level nineteen less than three months ago?"
...
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(End of Chapter)