The Hidden Effects of Spirit Souls
Gu Rong fell silent.
After a while, he spoke again: "So why are we allowing him to continue spreading the Spirit Soul method?"
They were already enjoying the benefits of Spirit Souls.
"Uncle Bone, didn't I just explain that?" Ning Fengzhi had no choice but to explain once more. "Besides, it's definitely impossible to monopolize Spirit Souls. Zhu Jiuyang already has a Spirit Soul and probably knows the method as well. Could we possibly kill him without anyone knowing?"
Gu Rong grunted twice, indicating he remembered this time.
He'd still not use his brain next time.
Ning Fengzhi forced a bitter smile, seeming somewhat helpless.
He liked to bring Gu Rong along on trips not just because Gu Rong was a defense-type Spirit Master, but more so because Gu Rong was a natural 'bad cop'.
Playing the bad cop came naturally to him.
Gu Rong acted without thinking, but the good thing was that he usually traveled with Ning Fengzhi and rarely went out alone, so the probability of causing trouble wasn't high.
When traveling with Ning Fengzhi, even if Gu Rong got angry at some low-level Spirit Masters, his initial outburst wouldn't be lethal. If he truly developed killing intent, he would first look towards Ning Fengzhi.
"Integrating a single Spirit Soul can directly open the Sea of Consciousness. Although it can't cause a qualitative change in mental power, having an opened Sea of Consciousness versus not having one are two different concepts. It provides two different types of feedback for a Spirit Master's mental power growth," Ning Fengzhi said. "From now on, all disciples of our clan must have at least one Spirit Soul. The first or second spirit ring position is quite good. We don't even need to consider whether a hundred-year Spirit Beast is willing or not."
Gu Rong acknowledged this.
This point had to be implemented.
"As for the situation where one Spirit Soul can bestow multiple spirit rings... let's forget it. We aren't short on the time needed for Spirit Hunting anyway."
Those rare opportunities to see bloodshed couldn't be reduced so easily.
"And there's the feedback," Gu Rong reminded from the side.
The benefits of Spirit Souls were just too many.
There was a reason why Gu Rong, without thinking, always considered simply swallowing the Blacksmiths Association whole.
"The feedback after Thousand Refinement with Spirit won't be too significant. It might indeed increase the Spirit Soul's age a bit, but even if the return on investment is a thousand percent, a single forging session would at most increase the Spirit Soul's cultivation by a few years. A hundred sessions would only amount to a few hundred years, and that's only with a one hundred percent success rate."
Ning Fengzhi shook his head, dismissing this idea.
Spirit Infusion was a groundbreaking technique, but it also had many flaws, giving Ning Fengzhi a sense of it being incomplete.
"So, we won't intervene in Ning Yuan's affairs?"
"No intervention. Having Uncle Sword act to provide the Blacksmiths Association with basic assurance and push the next stage forward is good. At the very least, it announces our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's position within the Blacksmiths Association to other forces joining the cooperation later."
"Whether it's Spirit Hall, the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire, or other clans, they will all slowly cooperate with the Blacksmiths Association in the future. Spirit Metal will become deeply ingrained and gradually change the landscape of the Spirit Master world. The same goes for Spirit Souls."
"This was destined from the moment Su Ming decided to publicize these two technologies."
"During this process, the Blacksmiths Association might continuously evolve, occasionally becoming dominated by a single faction, but its fundamental nature will be difficult to change."
"And at this current stage, the Blacksmiths Association has just been established. What all forces want to see is its complete neutrality."
Ning Fengzhi felt helpless.
Su Ming had timed things very well; they were being led by the nose.
One auction, twelve pieces of Spirit Metal scattered throughout the Star Luo Empire... so what about the Heaven Dou Empire's side?
Of course, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was responsible for persuading them.
"Uncle Bone, it's time to set off. If the Heaven Dou royal family remains in the dark, it will be very difficult for them to catch up in this field later."
Gengxin City.
Spirit Hall Main Hall.
A pitch-black night.
Miles returned to his room and suddenly felt a large hand cover his mouth from behind.
A terrifying Spirit Power pressure appeared for an instant, causing his entire body to tremble with fear.
This was—
A Titled Douluo!
His heart shook wildly.
Who?
He didn't question who would dare.
He was only a Spirit Emperor. His status as a Platinum Bishop might be comparable to a Spirit Douluo's, but it was worthless in front of a Titled Douluo.
He just couldn't understand which Titled Douluo would target him.
"I ask, you answer. If there is the slightest hesitation, or if your answer contains even a half falsehood, then you can only bid farewell to this world."
A hoarse voice sounded from behind. Miles was locked by a murderous intent.
It was as if he saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood; everything around him turned into an ocean of blood. His body trembled like a sieve.
A figure appeared in his mind.
He guessed the person who had captured him from behind.
Precisely because of this, he trembled even more violently.
"How much longer until Spirit Hall's people arrive in Gengxin City?"
Tang Hao's voice was hoarse, devoid of any emotion.
Miles spoke tremblingly: "The letter was sent urgently. It would take at most two days to reach Spirit City. Today is already the fourth day. I haven't received a reply from there. Someone from the Pope's Hall should have already set out directly, most likely one of the elders."
"Two days..."
Tang Hao pondered, calculating the time it would take for someone to travel from Spirit City to Gengxin City at his speed.
Spirit City was in the east of the continent, at the border of the two great empires. Gengxin City was in the northwest region of the Star Luo Empire. There was most of the continent between them, plus the Star Dou Great Forest in the middle. Considering detours, it would take about five days to arrive. If they didn't detour and went straight through the Star Dou Great Forest, perhaps they could save a day.
For the sake of a mere cooperation, they wouldn't be that urgent...
Five days. There are still three days left.
"Who developed the Spirit Refinement system? Who currently masters the Spirit Refinement technique?"
"I... I don't know." Miles was on the verge of tears, speaking urgently. "Zhu Jiuyang is the most likely to have mastered Spirit Refinement. Besides him, I truly don't know who else."
Tang Hao glanced at Miles, then exerted a slight force with his hand.
"You—"
Miles's eyes widened wide as he fell to the ground.
Without any hesitation, Tang Hao left through a nearby window.
After leaving the Spirit Hall Main Hall, he headed straight for the Blacksmiths Association.
As he approached the Association building, he stopped. He did not enter. He could sense an unconcealed sword intent and could guess the other's identity, not daring to expose himself rashly.
He waited outside the Association, his mood somewhat irritable.
"The people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan should know who holds the Spirit Refinement technique. I need to find someone to ask."
At this moment, a piece of Heavy Silver emitting a faint white light appeared in his hand. His hand trembled slightly as he gripped this piece of Spirit Metal tightly.
He urgently needed Spirit Metal.
Either obtain more Spirit Metal or capture the person who mastered this technique.
The former was too difficult; only the twelve pieces from the auction four days ago were circulating outside.
He could only aim for the latter.
However, after investigating Gengxin City for several days, he had some clues, but they were absurd.
An eleven-year-old kid... how could he possibly master the Spirit Refinement method?
Su Ming... Su Ming... that name did seem somewhat familiar...
(End of Chapter)