Chapter 52: Arrival

As soon as you step into Geng Xin Cheng, you'll notice the temperature inside the city is considerably higher than outside.

In Geng Xin Cheng, blacksmith shops are the most numerous, yet each blacksmith possesses superb skill.

Tie Li's purpose in coming to Geng Xin Cheng is simple: to improve his forging level and craft equipment for himself.

High-Level Metal itself has good soul power compatibility and conductivity; injecting soul power during forging can enhance the equipment's attributes.

If Tie Li forges an item for himself, he will certainly choose Thunder Attribute ore first; the ore already carries the Thunder Attribute, and injecting his own soul power during forging lets the two complement each other, making the finished piece perfectly suited to him.

The same piece forged by another blacksmith might only trigger a five‑percent attribute boost, whereas when the blacksmith himself forges it, the boost could reach seven percent.

The gap may not be huge, but the number of pieces a person can wear is considerable.

Wrist guards, armor, knee guards, etc. —when each piece's attribute boost stacks together, is it still just a tiny number?

This is the only method Tie Li can think of right now to increase his own strength.

Tie Li categorizes the opportunities recorded in his mind into two types: some that appear dangerous, but if you have the ability to obtain them, they belong to you.

But there is a class of opportunities that seem safe yet are actually the most dangerous.

Sometimes, Tie Li has to believe in the notion of destiny.

As a child of destiny, he can touch it and perhaps nothing happens, but if you touch it, the consequences can be terrifying.

You might suffer an unforeseen disaster, or fall into an inexplicable conspiracy that leads to a gruesome death on the spot, after which the items return to his hands in a strange way.

After walking almost half a circuit of Geng Xin Cheng, these blacksmith shops all seem to have no shortage of apprentices.

"This blacksmith shop is so quiet, yet it actually takes apprentices?"

The few blacksmith shops I passed earlier were bustling but didn't take apprentices; this one looks lackluster yet still accepts apprentices.

A notice at the entrance advertises apprentice recruitment, with a priority condition: apprentices must be Soul Masters of at least one ring.

Although I don't know how skilled the master of this shop is, I can give it a try; if his skill is lacking, I'll leave.

They can select apprentices, and we can also select the master.

"Is anyone here?"

Tie Li stepped into the blacksmith shop, and a strong metallic scent hit his nose.

"Someone's here, someone's here."

A crisp, pleasant voice seemed out of place in the shop; a slender figure appeared before Tie Li's eyes. She wore rough cloth with several patches, yet her proudly curvaceous figure made even the cheap garment look extraordinary.

Hearing the voice, she rushed out from the small room next door.

"Do you… take apprentices here?" Tie Li thought for a moment, then asked.

Although she doesn't look like a seasoned forger, one can't judge a book by its cover.

"We're taking apprentices, are you a Soul Master?" She thought Tie Li was still young, perhaps not yet having obtained his first Soul Ring.

"Hmm."

Two yellow Soul Rings appeared at his feet.

"Wow, you look so young yet you're already a second‑ring Great Soul Master."

Since you meet the requirement, I'll take you as an apprentice for my father. By the way, I'm Qianqian, older than you; you can call me Sister Qianqian.

"You look like you just arrived in Geng Xin Cheng; I'll arrange a room for you first."

Tie Li was led by her to a small courtyard behind the shop, where a room had been specially prepared.

"Rest here for now; when my father returns this evening, I'll tell him about you."

So I inexplicably became a blacksmith shop's apprentice?

At dusk, Mu Xin returned from the Blacksmith Association and saw his daughter eagerly greet him, telling him that an apprentice had arrived that afternoon.

"Do you know where he's from?"

"Um…"

From her expression, it was clear she hadn't asked anything and just took him home directly.

"In the future, ask clearly; not everyone is as foolish as you."

"But he…"

Mu Qianqian tried to explain something, but Mu Xin cut her off.

"Go fetch him; I'll ask him a few questions."

"Alright!"

A short while later, Mu Qianqian brought Tie Li before Mu Xin.

"You're here to be an apprentice? Did you see the conditions written at the entrance?"

Tie Li answered with action; two Hundred-Year Soul Rings manifested on his body.

Hm?

Being so young and already at second‑ring level, could he be a disciple of a major sect?

In Mu Xin's mind, Tie Li must be a major‑sect disciple who slipped out, currently only interested in forging, which is why he wants to be an apprentice;

After he endures the hardships of forging, he'll give it up.

Mu Xin would like to reject such an apprentice, but worries that refusing him might anger him and involve his sect, leading to a bad outcome.

Don't be fooled by the blacksmith's high status in Geng Xin Cheng; outside the city, blacksmiths remain a bottom‑tier profession.

Especially in the eyes of major sects, a blacksmith is a dispensable profession, less worthwhile than developing one's own martial soul and soul skill.

If he can't be refused, they have to accept him.

Anyway, such sect disciples won't last long; after a short stint they'll find it unbearable and leave.

"Alright, the requirements are met. We'll start forging tomorrow. Any issues?"

After figuring it out, Mu Xin planned to increase Tie Li's strength tomorrow, making him back off when faced with difficulty.

But Qianqian can't stay with him; such sect disciples are obviously frivolous and unreliable.

"Good."

Tie Li didn't expect it to go so smoothly; for him, it was a good thing.

Back in the room, Tie Li continued to practice the Lei Long Meditation Method, vaguely hearing the intertwining sound of thunder and lightning, the roar of a giant dragon, within his body.

The Fenglei Sect has two major inherited martial souls: the Splitting Wind Dragon and the Yinlei Magic Dragon.

A powerful SoulMasterForce will develop multiple lines based on the martial soul's characteristics; for example, the Splitting Wind Dragon can become an Agile Attack-type Soul Master or a Strong Attack-type Soul Master, mainly depending on the attributes of the absorbed Soul Rings, after all, the Splitting Wind Dragon martial soul possesses the attributes needed by both Agile Attack-type and Strong Attack-type.

Over thousands of years of development, they will record what kind of soul skills the absorbed Soul Beast's Soul Rings yield, then combine and arrange them, and after countless battles select the soul skills most suitable for the martial soul.

Regarding the meditation method, their idea is the same: to keep their force strong forever, they must devise every possible way to develop the martial soul.

Over thousands of years of development, a few special talents will always appear; they will perfect the meditation method's shortcomings, or construct a framework for later generations to attempt countless times, and there will eventually be a day of success; at that point, all this becomes the sect's foundation, the key to the sect's continued development.

(End of chapter)