Chapter 53: Third Soul Ring

Cultivating a low‑quality martial soul with advanced meditation can silently improve its quality, providing a higher foundation; perhaps during a Soul Ring acquisition, hunting a top‑bloodline Soul Beast and absorbing its Soul Ring could make the martial soul evolve.

……

"Try forging the iron block; first strike it two hundred times and see."

Mu Xin handed Tie Li a Forging Hammer, letting him strike the square iron block before him.

Tie Li didn't say he knew basic forging, but he obeyed outright.

"When"

When Tie Li delivered the first blow, Mu Xin already knew Tie Li was not a beginner.

"Have you studied forging before?"

"I studied it for a while."

"Now strike the iron block with all your might; remember, with full force."

"Alright."

"When—buzz"

Under the huge sound, the iron block emitted a buzzing vibration.

"Not bad, kid," Mu Xin said, rarely showing a smile.

"With forging like this, how many consecutive strikes can you make?"

"I'll give it a try."

His brows twitched; honestly, he hadn't tried it himself.

"Clang clang"

The continuous hammering rang through the forge, each strike immensely powerful.

Twenty‑seven full blows!

"Not bad, seems your prior study was good, but with your forging method relying solely on waist and arm strength, you waste a lot of effort."

Mu Xin took the Forging Hammer from Tie Li's hand and demonstrated his forging technique in front of him.

"Clang clang"

Tie Li's gaze stayed on Mu Xin's movements; after dozens of consecutive strikes, he finally discovered where his secret lay.

"Did you find it?"

"It's the legs."

"Right, now it's your turn."

"Alright."

Yet his trembling arms revealed Tie Li's current condition.

He didn't rest; instead he reduced his force and first learned Mu Xin's forging method.

"When"

His own strength waned, but the force on the iron block didn't diminish at all.

As expected!

Having grasped the secret, Tie Li hammered the iron block strike after strike.

But by night, even eating became a problem for Tie Li.

His trembling arms couldn't even pick up the vegetables.

"You might be unaccustomed at first; after a while it'll improve," Mu Qianqian said to Tie Li from the perspective of someone who's been there.

"Kid, I almost forgot to ask, what's your martial soul?" Mu Xin asked.

"Forging Hammer."

"Why didn't you say earlier?" Mu Xin was stunned; such a fitting martial soul for a blacksmith, why not mention it sooner?

"What's the matter, any difference?"

"Tomorrow, use your martial soul to forge and you'll see for yourself."

"Oh."

After dinner, Tie Li still planned to go to the pharmacy outside; relying only on his body's recovery, he feared he wouldn't recuperate by tomorrow.

"Wait, take this and apply it to your arms; you'll feel better the next day."

"Alright, thanks."

Tie Li took the small bottle of ointment from Mu Xin with his trembling right hand.

Back in his room, Tie Li opened the ointment and a faint fragrance drifted out.

He squeezed a dab with his finger, spread it evenly on his arm, and soon a cool sensation melted the burning feeling.

After coating both arms with the ointment, the exhausted Tie Li quickly fell asleep.

The ointment worked surprisingly well; by the next day he had recovered most of his strength.

"You look to be in good condition."

Early in the morning, Mu Xin was waiting for him at the forge.

"I'm fine; the ointment you gave is excellent," he said, with a subtle shift in address.

"Summon your martial soul and try forging the iron block again."

"Alright."

Tie Li summoned the Forging Hammer and struck the iron block using yesterday's forging method.

After ten consecutive strikes, Mu Xin called a stop.

"Feel the iron block; notice any differences?"

Tie Li placed his hand on the iron block and, besides higher purity and better quality, sensed a faint current.

"Discovered?"

"Your martial soul's attached Soul Ring has the Thunder and Lightning Attribute; during the tempering process it will imperceptibly grant the metal this quality;

metal is alive, and as you endow it with the quality, it will also feed back to you."

Mu Xin swapped a regular iron block for a soil‑colored ore iron.

"You might not feel a normal iron block; try it now."

"Alright."

Tie Li summoned his martial soul again and forged the ore iron just as before.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes…

This time he struck a full twenty times, and in the instant of the twentieth strike Tie Li suddenly understood the feedback Mu Xin had spoken of.

His soul power increased by a sliver—though only a sliver, it was undeniably there.

But relying on this method for cultivation is hardly feasible.

Continuing to strike like this, you wouldn't advance a single level in ten years.

Unless you replace yourself with a rare metal, you might achieve a level in three to five years.

"Your road is still long; once you master the Hundred Forgings, you'll notice a difference."

After speaking, Mu Xin turned and resumed his own work.

Today the forge received an order, and Mu Xin had to step in.

The basic iron block tempering was handed to Tie Li.

After that day's work, Tie Li gave Mu Qianqian a Gold Soul Coin, letting her add Soul Beast meat to her meal.

This act made Mu Xin even more certain of Tie Li's identity.

One might think Tie Li couldn't hold out long, yet this very lifestyle has been stubbornly sustained by him for three years.

Even Mu Xin found it unbelievable.

Though his cultivation time was scant, Tie Li managed to break through to level thirty within three years.

"Do you need me to help you obtain the third Soul Ring?" Mu Xin asked with concern.

After three years together, he had already seen Tie Li's perseverance; it wasn't a fleeting impulse—he truly intended to learn forging.

Mu Xin was genuinely satisfied with this disciple and began to impart the true forging arts to Tie Li bit by bit.

"My third Soul Ring needs a thousand‑year grade."

"You stinky brat, what do you mean, looking down on me?" Mu Xin pretended to be annoyed.

Besides being a blacksmith, Mu Xin is also a Four Ring Soul Ancestor.

"Dad, stop beating around the bush; haven't you already contacted Uncle Yu? It's to get Da Li the third Soul Ring."

Seeing his daughter's provocation, Mu Xin's old face flushed red.

"It just so happens Uncle Yu owes me a favor, and thinking this kid's Soul Ring is still unresolved, I asked Uncle Yu to come over."

"But you…"

"Enough, why are you so wordy? So much meat can't even fill your mouth."

Mu Qianqian pursed her lips, said nothing more, but she forcefully scooped the meat on the plate with her chopsticks.

Tie Li tried to pick up meat, but she gave him a sharp glance with her big eyes, and he awkwardly went to grab other dishes instead.

The Soul Beast forest nearest to Geng Xin Cheng is the Gold Iron Forest.

In both quantity and quality of Soul Beasts it cannot compare to the Star Dou Great Forest, but it more than satisfies the requirements for a third Soul Ring.

(End of chapter)