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"What about me?"
Gu Yuena was a bit displeased that Tang San skipped over her after his explanation.
"You?" Tang San glanced at her, "You're already very excellent. No need to overshadow others."
The Silver Dragon King's avatar primarily mastered elements, and her soul ring abilities were just a manifestation of that. She didn't need much guidance from him. A bit more physical training or helping Guang Ling with soul tools would suffice. When their mutual trust reached a certain level, he could help her heal, which would be a significant benefit for the Silver Dragon King.
"Haha, don't say that. You'll make me shy." Gu Yuena's lively nature belied her determination to catch up with the others quickly, lest she be looked down upon.
While everyone was busy, Tang San went to Spirit City to find architects, bricklayers, and workers to build a blacksmith shop near the artificial lake in the mid-level area of Soul Weapon Manor.
Although these people weren't soul masters, they all had soul power above level five. In less than a day, the shop was built, and the necessary blacksmithing tools like the furnace and bellows were procured and set up.
"It's an honor to serve you, Holy Son. No payment needed," the architects declined when Tang San offered them a large bag of gold soul coins.
"I can't let you work for free. Take it." Tang San pushed the money into the lead architect's hands. "Distribute it among everyone. You all have families to support."
"Thank you, Holy Son." The lead architect gratefully distributed the money and then took his leave.
Tang San lit the furnace and worked the bellows. Once the iron block was red-hot, he began hammering it, using force and vibration to remove impurities.
Before long, the iron block shrank, its red glow turning to silver, emanating a faint energy perceivable by soul masters, almost as if it had gained sentience.
Tang San continued hammering, his blood and qi flowing like a river, emitting intense heat contained within his body. If released, it could have obliterated the entire blacksmith shop.
With the final strike, his qi and blood infused the silvery metal, creating a unique energy circuit on its surface, endowing it with a strong spirit capable of absorbing and enhancing itself with energy from the environment.
According to the forging levels in "Legend of the Dragon King": Ordinary Forging, Rare Metal Forging, Hundred Forging, Thousand Forging, Spirit Forging, Fusion Forging, Soul Forging, Ultimate Soul Forging, and Heavenly Forging.
This piece of metal, forged from ordinary iron, had reached the level of Ultimate Soul Forging, even close to Heavenly Forging.
But Tang San believed this classification didn't quite fit.
If he were to define it, this metal surpassed Heavenly Forging, capable of constantly absorbing energy and potentially becoming super-divine or even beyond.
"Electrolux, did you see how that unique energy circuit formed on the metal's surface?" Tang San asked.
"A truly remarkable world!" Electrolux exclaimed. "When the metal's density reached a certain point, it created a magnetic field that resonated with environmental energy, forming an energy circuit under the influence of your qi and soul power. Simply put, the world's rules helped shape it. I never thought metal could reach this level."
"I used to think that artifacts with spirit were the pinnacle, and artifact spirits were just remnants of other gods' thoughts."
"But when metal forms an energy circuit, it suggests it could one day gain its own life."
"Creating life! That's the domain of gods!"
Tang San shook his head, "This isn't creating life. It's still just metal, though highly spiritual."
"True, but now I see that the gods' control over laws is just an efficient use of universal principles. They don't control the entire universe, only a limited number of life planets," Electrolux said, losing his reverence for the gods. "What will you call this kind of forging? You're essentially the founder."
"The system in 'Legend of the Dragon King' suits other blacksmiths, but mine... let's call it Pattern Forging." Tang San raised his hand, and the spirited silver metal floated to his palm. "I have a feeling it can form multiple energy circuits. The more patterns it has, the faster it absorbs energy and the more spiritual it becomes."
"One Pattern Forging, Two Pattern Forging... and so on. Easy to remember."
Electrolux nodded, "Simple and understandable. Good choice."
Next, Tang San took out the other metals from his storage bracelet and began practicing the art of pattern forging while contemplating the method of vibration. By noon, he had forged all the metals.
His best work was a piece of red copper, which he called Patterned Copper, featuring five energy circuits. Its absorption rate of ambient energy was sixteen times that of a single-pattern copper.
According to Tang San's research, the increase in energy absorption efficiency for different metals through pattern forging was indeed fixed. For instance:
A block of iron with one pattern, or One-Pattern Iron, has an energy absorption efficiency set to one. Two-Pattern Iron has an efficiency of two, and Three-Pattern Iron has an efficiency of three.
In contrast, copper behaves differently:
One-Pattern Copper has an absorption efficiency of one, Two-Pattern Copper has an efficiency of two, Three-Pattern Copper is four, and Four-Pattern Copper is eight.
Copper's absorption efficiency doubles with each additional pattern. Therefore, each type of pure metal, once pattern forged, exhibits unique enhancement effects. Tang San also found that the size of the metal did not affect its energy absorption efficiency.
Although larger pieces of the same pattern-forged metal absorbed more energy overall, the efficiency per unit remained constant. Additionally, cutting the pattern-forged metal did not break the energy circuits; they persisted.
This realization led Tang San to conclude that pattern forging might operate at an atomic level, with the visible energy patterns being a unique "decoration."
Tang San conducted further tests on the pattern-forged metals. He found that pieces of the same metal with different numbers of energy circuits repelled each other, while those with the same number of circuits could merge into one.
Between different pattern-forged metals, there were also cases of attraction and repulsion. This was unrelated to the number of energy circuits but rather due to compatibility between the metals.
"I'm starting to look forward to seeing what kind of Divine Seal Throne you will create," Electrolux's spirit gleamed with excitement. Seeing familiar techniques in a foreign world was both nostalgic and hopeful for the future.
"You'll see it," Tang San smiled, his eyes showing a hint of excitement. If a Divine Seal Throne were made entirely from this pattern-forged metal, even a Soul Sage could wield god-like power. Truly something to look forward to!
Half a month passed quickly.
Tang San kept himself busy with his schedule: training, researching Spirit cultivation theories, soul tool patterns, forging, guiding the women's cultivation, and mentoring the Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall.
He also frequently held private discussions with Bibi Dong, providing strategic guidance.
"Holy Pontiff, for the Martial Soul Temple to establish a nation, it needs more than just a foundation; it needs a guiding principle," Tang San spoke confidently.
"Isn't the glory of the Martial Soul Temple enough of a concept?" Bibi Dong looked puzzled.
"It's too vague and impractical," Tang San shook his head. "I suspect that the majority, including several Titled Douluo from other branches, don't truly understand what the glory of the Martial Soul Temple entails. They might even think that glory means allowing the radiance of angels to shine upon the continent."
Bibi Dong's expression darkened. She despised angels to the core, wishing to eradicate them all if they weren't her own daughter...
"So, what do you think the glory of the Martial Soul Temple should be?" Bibi Dong felt that replacing "angels" wasn't a bad idea. After all, she wanted to destroy the angelic lineage, so why not start by dismantling their beliefs? Tang San's proposal seemed to fit her appetite.
"To establish martial prowess for the world, and to forge souls for all living beings," Tang San proclaimed firmly, his voice echoing within the Pope's chamber, lingering for a long time.
"What do you mean?" Bibi Dong could sense the profound meaning behind these words but still wanted to hear Tang San's explanation.
"I mentioned earlier that for the Martial Soul Temple to establish a nation, its foundation is sorely lacking. It's a hundred or even a thousand times harder than you defeating the Five Supreme Pontiffs after becoming a god."
Bibi Dong: "..." No need to compare me to that.
"So, we have to take a shortcut. We need to awaken people from their numbness, their tendency to endure injustice, and use this as a foundation to make the Martial Soul Temple the beacon in everyone's hearts."
"We will create a world of enlightenment."
"In this world, even the weak can ascend. They don't need to listen to the words of the resigned. They can do what they are capable of and speak their minds. A spark of passion can illuminate even the darkest night, like a feeble firefly shining in the darkness."
"We will awaken the will of the people and understand one truth: we don't need to wait for torches. If torches go out, then we shall become the new torches!"
Improvements in ruling methods can be gradual, but thoughts can indeed take great leaps. By offering grand promises to those in power, the Martial Soul Temple, with its philosophical foundation, differs greatly from other sects. After all, it's essentially a religious institution...
(End of this chapter)