A month later, Arthur stretched his limbs after finishing the day's cultivation session.
"Level thirty-six."
He felt his Soul Power break through again.
Arthur felt as though something inside him had finally cracked open.
The supposed suppression from his extreme attributes on his cultivation speed was practically nonexistent.
If anything, he was cultivating faster than before.
Beside him, Mu Chen gave a satisfied nod and explained, "With the medicated bath and the Body Sect's techniques supporting you, your foundation has been tempered to perfection. The mysterious power hidden within you has begun to awaken, and it's nourishing your body as it does."
"That's why your cultivation speed has been far exceeding what it used to be."
Mu Chen stepped forward and pressed a fingertip lightly to Arthur's shoulder, sending a gentle current of energy into him.
As the current generation's sect master of the Body Sect, he had a far clearer view of changes to the physical body than most.
He could feel that the power within Arthur seemed almost alive, already impatient, nourishing and elevating Arthur's soul at a pace that couldn't be forced.
"If I'm not mistaken, your cultivation from here on will flow without obstruction, advancing rapidly, all the way until you reach Spirit Ancestor."
Arthur heard this and raised his hand, closing it into a fist. Feeling the increasingly dense Soul Power within him, he couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Teacher."
"Don't thank me."
Mu Chen fell into thought. "You may undergo a qualitative transformation right at the Spirit Ancestor stage."
"Though I wonder whether that's a blessing or a curse."
Arthur picked up on the gravity in Mu Chen's tone and asked, "Teacher, what do you mean by that?"
Withdrawing the Soul Power he had extended into Arthur, Mu Chen's brow furrowed slightly. "The mysterious power inside you is too unusual. Even I cannot see through its true nature."
"My original intention was to have you follow the Body Sect's methods step by step, and only draw upon that power once the time was right."
"I didn't expect that tempering your foundation this time would stimulate it into awakening ahead of schedule."
A contemplative flicker crossed Arthur's eyes. "Teacher, is there some kind of risk in it awakening early?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Arthur blinked.
Mu Chen shook his head, his expression growing more serious. "Arthur, on the path of the Body, the greatest danger is always the unknown."
"That power may allow you to leap forward in a single bound, laying the groundwork for reaching the ultimate pinnacle of the Body path in the future."
"Or it may lead you down the wrong road entirely."
"Once the arrow leaves the bow, there is no pulling it back. Every gain the physical body makes is real and permanent, and cannot be undone."
"There are Soul Masters whose Soul Power has regressed and dropped in rank, but have you ever heard of anyone whose body reverted to its weaker state to rebuild their foundation from scratch?"
"The unknown means the uncontrollable."
"Haah, Spirit Ancestor is still too soon." Mu Chen sighed. "I was too impatient. I should have taken your development more slowly."
Arthur quickly shook his head, his tone earnest. "Teacher, there's no need to worry. Look on the bright side: since this power is connected to me, it won't work against me."
"If it awakened early, that means I can handle it."
"Whether its effect on my body's foundation turns out to be good or bad, either way my strength is going to increase by a great deal, right?" Arthur kept his composure, and even managed a cheerful smile. "I can't lose either way. What is there to worry about?"
Seeing Arthur's attitude, the tension in Mu Chen's expression softened a little. "Well, that's true. I suppose I was overthinking it."
Not that Mu Chen could be blamed for his concern. After all, Arthur was the most talented disciple he had ever come across in his entire life.
Not only did Arthur have the potential to fully inherit the Body Sect's path, but he might even surpass those who had come before him and go one step further.
Mu Chen had seen too many geniuses fall because their power spiraled out of control. Naturally, he could not afford even the smallest misstep.
It was like a person who had spent a lifetime playing a card-drawing game and finally pulled their most treasured SSR character. Of course they would want to raise that character in the best, most perfect way possible.
Even a single flaw would be enough to keep them up at night.
"Oh, right, Teacher." Arthur asked suddenly. "Where is the Blacksmith Association in Glorybound?"
"It's in the central district. Why do you ask all of a sudden?" Mu Chen raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised.
"I chose smithing as my secondary profession. I have a feeling I'm about to break through."
Spirit Forging had been a wall Arthur was stuck against for a long time now. He had a sense that today might be the day he could complete a Spirit Forge on his own, without relying on instinct alone.
"Smithing, is it." Mu Chen paused briefly, then thought it over and decided it was fine.
A good opportunity, actually. He could have Zhen Hua give his disciple a few pointers.
Still, he reminded himself to caution Arthur not to spend too much focus on a secondary profession during such a critical period of cultivation. Letting it interfere with his development as a Soul Master down the road would be a real loss.
That was precisely why Mu Chen himself had been stuck at level ninety-four, unable to advance a single step.
Glorybound. The Blacksmith Association.
With Mu Chen leading the way, Arthur arrived at one of the forging rooms without any trouble.
"Don't rush into forging just yet." Mu Chen instructed. "As it happens, I have a friend here who has made quite a name for himself in smithing. We can wait for him to come and give you some guidance."
Arthur nodded.
The friend Teacher mentioned had to be Zhen Hua: the one and only Divine Blacksmith on the Douluo Continent.
They didn't have to wait long. In under a minute, Zhen Hua came striding in.
"Mu Chen, where on earth have you been all this time?" His voice arrived before he did.
The moment Mu Chen had reached out to him, Zhen Hua had come running.
The days without his good friend around had left Zhen Hua feeling truly on edge.
Being the sole Divine Blacksmith on the continent was something like being the only woman in a world full of men.
No, actually, it was worse than that.
No woman could match the intensity with which Soul Masters yearned for a four-word battle armor.
Because of that, Soul Masters were constantly looking for ways to seize or kidnap Zhen Hua.
Evil Soul Masters in particular had launched too many attacks on him to count.
Various major powers did station strong protectors in the shadows to keep watch over him.
But even so, Zhen Hua only ever felt truly at ease when Mu Chen was around.
Zhen Hua swept into the forging room with long, purposeful strides, already on the verge of complaining about Mu Chen's prolonged disappearance.
Then his gaze landed on Arthur standing to the side, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "And this is...?"
"My new disciple, Arthur."
Mu Chen patted Arthur on the shoulder. "He chose smithing as his secondary profession. Today he has a feeling he's about to break through, so I brought him here specifically so you, the great Divine Blacksmith, could offer some guidance."
He then turned to Arthur and made the introduction. "This is Zhen Hua. If you've chosen smithing as a secondary profession, I imagine his name is familiar to you."
Arthur stepped forward immediately and gave a respectful bow. "Arthur greets President Zhen Hua. The name of the Divine Blacksmith has long been known to me."
"It is a true honor to receive your guidance today."
"Oh?" Zhen Hua raised an eyebrow and looked Arthur up and down. Since he was Mu Chen's disciple, helping with a few pointers seemed reasonable enough.
Besides, anyone Mu Chen took as a disciple surely had no shortage of strength, and Soul Masters with greater physical power tended not to be half bad at forging either.
"In terms of smithing, you are..."
"A level four Smith." Arthur answered plainly.
"Level four?" Zhen Hua had just picked up the tea Mu Chen had handed him, and nearly spat it out. "And the breakthrough you mentioned?"
"Spirit Forging."
Zhen Hua stared at Arthur with wide eyes, then turned around to look at Mu Chen. "How old is this disciple of yours?"
"Nine."
"Nine years old, and Spirit Forging?"
Are you pulling my leg?
Zhen Hua laughed despite himself, convinced Mu Chen was playing a trick on him. After all, as old friends, this sort of thing had happened before.