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If Lou Gao's soul armor could be mass-produced, the strength of the Spirit Hall's grassroots soul masters would improve by two or three levels.
If weapon-type soul tools were also mass-produced, soul masters would undoubtedly gain even more power.
Unfortunately, weapon-type soul tools can't be openly researched yet, as this would antagonize soul masters across the continent. Even within the Spirit Hall, most soul masters, except those without offensive capabilities, don't favor them.
The example of the Star Luo Empire illustrates this point. When the research of soul tool weapons was made public, all the major families strongly opposed it, as it would gradually reduce their importance to the empire.
Although the Spirit Hall's family concepts aren't as severe as those of the two major empires, they still exist. It's necessary to subtly change the internal perceptions and get people to gradually accept new ideas.
Therefore, if a war were to break out now, it would likely still be dominated by cold weapons. It might take at least ten years for soul tools to become predominant.
Alternatively, when the Spirit Hall develops an offensive soul tool capable of destroying a city with a single strike, all the continent's soul masters will realize the era has changed.
"Big Brother, my soul armor can't be mass-produced yet. This is a technical craft," Lou Gao shook his head. "Although it's not as powerful as the Soul Imprint Throne, it's still a new combination of armor and soul tool. It's not easy for others to replicate, requiring at least a thousand refinements. Currently, only my apprentice can achieve this."
"Wouldn't a hundred refinements suffice?" Tang San asked, feeling the soul tool patterns within the armor, knowing that these were its key components.
In theory, metal refined a hundred times can also be used to create soul armor, though it's not as durable as metal refined a thousand times.
"It can be, but that low-quality material is not something I would recognize," Lou Gao scoffed, considering it an insult to soul armor.
"For basic personnel, it's sufficient. They're all metal; if it breaks, it can be melted and recast. The materials can be reused, and the soul tool patterns can be re-etched," Tang San smiled. "Letting ordinary craftsmen practice with it can also improve their skills."
"That's a good suggestion," Lou Gao agreed after some thought, but then asked, "Can you teach me how to pattern forge?"
Compared to spirit forging and fusion forging, he yearned for the magical pattern forging.
That's what truly gives metal life, enabling it to absorb and evolve with the energy of heaven and earth!
"I can, but you need to reach fusion forging and at least the strength of a Soul Douluo," Tang San explained. Though he wanted to teach, Lou Gao was currently only capable of spirit forging, with a significant gap to fusion forging.
Moreover, Lou Gao's own strength was too weak.
Tang San also knew Lou Gao's character and didn't dare teach him prematurely. Otherwise, he'd probably try it himself and end up sacrificing his life.
Lou Gao had extraordinary talent and passion for forging.
Lou Gao sighed, realizing once again the correlation between forging and cultivation, "It seems I need to improve my strength first. Otherwise, I might not even match your girlfriend."
Lou Gao referred to Tang San's girlfriend, naturally Huo Wu.
Using gravity and flames to temper metal, her efficiency surpassed that of ordinary blacksmiths. While others painstakingly compressed iron blocks and removed impurities, she could melt the metal and use gravity to separate pure metal from other substances, mass-producing thousand-refined metal far more efficiently.
Additionally, Huo Wu was considering using gravity to draw in heaven and earth energy while condensing metal, aiming to mass-produce spirit-forged metal.
Honestly, when Lou Gao first learned of this method, his eyes widened in shock, but he could only sigh, "The times are changing too fast."
However, unlike the older generation, Lou Gao's mindset was more open. He didn't see it as cheating. For a blacksmith, tempering metal is just the basics. The real skill lies in shaping the refined metal into finished products.
"Lou Gao, don't be modest. Huo Wu doesn't know how to forge," Tang San smiled, indicating that even if Huo Wu could create finished products in the future, she couldn't compare to Lou Gao, who dedicated everything to forging.
At least in the pursuit of forging, Lou Gao gave up everything, while Huo Wu's main goal in forging was to hone her control over fire and light elements and gravity, with forging as a secondary purpose.
"No need to comfort this old man. It's your youngsters' world now," Lou Gao sighed, his small body stooping before straightening again, laughing heartily. "But this old guy won't give up. I'll find my place in this new era! If there isn't one, I'll make it myself! Watch me catch up with you all!"
"Haha, Lou Gao, you're still going strong!" Tang San praised, then began discussing soul armor creation and offered some suggestions.
When it came to forging, Lou Gao's eyes lit up as if he hadn't had water for three days, absorbing Tang San's knowledge and constantly sharing his own thoughts and suggestions.
Three days quickly passed. Lou Gao left exhausted, and Chrysanthemum Douluo returned with Shen Hou, You Ji, and Hai Zhu.
The soul rings of the three were nearly a thousand years old. As soul masters, their starting point was higher than Tang San's group, but considering they were all over sixteen and their martial souls were part of their bodies, enhancing physical qualities, it wasn't surprising they could bear nearly thousand-year-old soul rings.
Shen Hou's soul ring, undoubtedly from a Big Heart Rat, gave her a skill that could accelerate her heartbeat, stimulating her vital energy and enhancing her physical attributes almost entirely.
After Tang San's examination, he discovered that the soul ring also granted Shen Hou a degree of control over her own blood. This confirmed Tang San's previous speculation: if Shen Hou undergoes a second awakening, her martial soul will not only encompass her heart and blood vessels but also include her blood.
This soul skill was named "River of Vitality" by Tang San.
Given the current situation, it's clear that Shen Hou will have to pursue the path of blood energy cultivation in the future. Her future soul rings will undoubtedly come from Big Heart Rats. As she grows, her energy might surge like a mighty river or even converge into a sea.
You Ji's first soul ring came from a Thousand-Pattern Turtle.
This turtle soul beast has a shell covered in dense wrinkles, which are extremely sensitive, able to detect the slightest movements.
The skill it granted You Ji is called "Turtle-Pattern Skin Armor."
When activated, her skin transforms into an armor resembling a turtle shell, covering her entire body without any gaps.
More importantly, this skill heightened her sensitivity to her skin, allowing her to move the excess wrinkles to her neck, waist, and other areas that can be hidden by clothing.
This revealed her true appearance.
Though not strikingly beautiful, she appeared clean and pleasing, standing out among ordinary people.
This was what made You Ji happiest.
The "skin disease" that had troubled her for the first half of her life was resolved with her first soul ring. Though not completely cured, for her, the soul beast Tang San chose brought a form of rebirth.
Lastly, there was Hai Zhu.
His first soul ring came from an earth dragon soul beast named Steel Armored Dragon, significantly enhancing his skeletal structure. Regardless of muscle or skin, his bones were as hard as unrefined iron.
His first soul skill was named "Bone Armor."
Using his martial soul's skeletal frame, he could grow additional bones, forming an armor-like structure on his body, enhancing all his attributes.
Combined with the power of blood energy, his appearance while using this skill was akin to a demon god from hell.
Through his research, Tang San found that this bone armor form was highly valuable for study. If other soul masters could use their respective martial souls as carriers and adopt this bone armor formation, they might unleash even greater power.
Therefore, Tang San kept the three for a while longer to conduct a more detailed examination. Only after Zishu, Chouniu, and Yihu came to find him did Tang San instruct Shen Hou, You Ji, and Hai Zhu to leave.
With the new arrivals, Tang San began a new round of analysis.
Zishu was a slender man with well-defined muscles, a large nose, wide nostrils, and abundant nose hair that mingled with his mustache, making it hard to distinguish between them.
His martial soul was his nose.
Besides basic physical training, Tang San advised him to sniff various scents and record them, developing a conditioned reflex to imagine the full picture of something based on its scent.
The sky is limitless, and one can trace thousands of miles!
That was his advice.
Chou niu was a tall man, just as tall as Hai Zhu, over two meters, but more robust. His martial soul was his left arm. If he undergoes a second awakening, it might include his left hand and shoulder, or possibly even his right arm.
For him, besides basic training, Tang San recommended standing exercises to stabilize his center of gravity, strengthen his physique, and train his arm strength and attack techniques.
For his future soul beasts, Tang San suggested choosing ones known for powerful or flexible arms.
Tang San's expectations for him were summed up in two words:
Hold the Sky.
To forge arms strong enough to support the vast heavens!
Lastly, Yihu was a woman with a graceful figure. Her martial soul was her right hand, similar to Chouniu's development. However, the most potent part of her hand was not its strength but its flexible fingers.
For this reason, Tang San entrusted her to Xiao Wu to learn medicine. This would help her understand all the meridians, blood vessels, and acupoints in the human body. In addition, she would undergo basic training.
(End of Chapter)