NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 108: Infusing Soul into Crafting
Simultaneously, two halos appeared beneath Ling Yi's feet—one a bright yellow, the other a deep yellow—circling around him, moving up and down in rhythm.
The blue radiance of soul power combined with the yellow glow of the soul rings illuminated the entire underground space, making it even brighter.
Seeing this, Zhang Lei, who was beside Ling Yi, extended his right hand, causing a grey light to flash. It transformed into a brown-yellow long-handled tool, a "hoe" martial soul with a dark, shiny blade, which he grasped firmly in his hand.
Likewise, a bright yellow halo appeared, encircling Zhang Lei's feet.
This soul ring came from a three-hundred-thirty-year-old "Iron Birch Tree" in the old forest north of the original Shanhai Village!
In the Douluo calendar year 2605, at the end of January—nearly two years ago—Ling Yi returned to 'Mu Plant City' and was granted the title of baron after becoming a blacksmith.
When he returned home for reflection, it coincided with seventeen-year-old Zhang Lei reaching the tenth level in soul power cultivation.
Armed with a thousand-forged battle axe, after practicing "Farmer's Three Stances" and "Basic Body Training Exercises" for over a decade, Zhang Lei had honed a strength of over five hundred pounds. With the augmentation of Ling Yi's first soul skill, 'Abundant Vitality', which enhanced his five senses, Zhang Lei followed the weak spot indicated by Ling Yi and struck down.
Successfully acquiring the soul ring of the three-hundred-thirty-year-old "Iron Birch Tree" was quite a feat!
Soul technique: As Firm as Diamonds!
The soul skill activates with an effect: the Martial Spirit "Hoe" transforms to match the hardness of the "Iron Birch Tree" heartwood at the same level, with its weight increasing tenfold. The soul master themself ignores the weight change.
This is a support-type soul skill, lacking offensive or defensive capabilities. By the prevailing views on the Douluo Continent, it's considered a useless soul skill.
It's also the reason why, aside from a few weapon-type Martial Spirit masters, very few people choose the "Iron Birch Tree" as an option for their soul rings.
Nevertheless, out of either trust in Ling Yi or the fact that this old "Iron Birch Tree" had lived for over three hundred years, Zhang Lei didn't hesitate for a moment. He decided to follow Ling Yi's arrangement, felling the tree that held many childhood memories for the two of them.
Zhang Mufeng, whose Martial Spirit is the "Iron Rod", made a similar choice. For his second soul ring, he selected a six-hundred-year-old "Iron Birch Tree" from the Frost Forest, located in the northern Primary Soul Hunting Forest of the [Shuimu Kingdom].
With the addition of the soul ring, Zhang Lei's soul power surged to level 11.38%. Nearly two years of cultivation later, at nineteen years old, his soul power has reached level 14.77%. His progress speed is even faster now than it was during his early soul master phase!
Flashes of memories from the past flood Zhang Lei's mind — chopping down the "Iron Birch Tree", absorbing the soul ring, testing the soul skill effects. Step by step, he follows closely behind Ling Yi, reaching the center of this space.
Their eyes are drawn to a grid of circular indentations, each over a zhang and a half in diameter, arranged in a four-by-five formation.
Most of the pits are empty, but the edges of three are cluttered with numerous weapon fragments.
Zhang Lei knows that unlike the broken weapons outside, these within the pits were collected from battlefield ruins of the [Heaven Dou Empire] and [Star Luo Empire], costing the [Blacksmith Association of Shuimu Kingdom] a great deal of manpower, resources, and finances.
Ling Yi cast a brief glance at the two pits on either side, not lingering, as he walked straight to the one in the middle. He leaped down, with Zhang Lei following closely behind.
In a pit about one and a half meters wide and slightly over a meter deep, fragments of broken weapons lay scattered chaotically, leaving almost no space to stand.
Yet at this moment, Zhang Lei's focus wasn't on these remnants that had once slain numerous foes and been stained with hot blood. Instead, his eyes were fixed unwaveringly on a figure standing in the center of the pit, his gaze bright and filled with eagerness.
This was not Zhang Lei's first visit here.
In fact, even in Ling Yi's absence, Zhang Lei would visit this place every day.
All for the sake of the magnificent figure in this pit that he held in such high esteem.
It was a mighty war weapon standing in the pit's base, with a long handle rising two and a half meters tall!
Gray soul energy surged, threading like silk from Zhang Lei's right hand into the war halberd, revealing radiant patterns on the purple-black shaft.
Simultaneously, the soul ring underneath Zhang Lei's feet, like a signal connection, flashed with bright yellow light intermittently.
Seeing this, Ling Yi nodded in satisfaction. Since he couldn't forge a weapon that allowed unhindered soul energy operation, he would focus on the materials!
The long handle of the battle halberd, measuring over two meters, originates from the core of the "Iron Birch Tree" from Zhang Lei’s first soul ring.
The "Iron Birch Tree" towered over ten meters, yet Ling Yi only extracted the heartwood from the five-meter section near the base, meticulously crafting two halberd shafts.
Using the alloy formula he learned from Lou Gao, he forged halberd heads with hardness equal to the "Cold Iron Essence."
The crafted battle halberd, in terms of quality, stands among Ling Yi's strongest creations, one of the top works within his current repertoire. Even the trio of master craftsmen from the "Waterwood Principality," including Old Master Jin, could only admire its quality.
One of the two halberds rests in the left pit, initially used by Ling Yi for experimental purposes. Over time, he developed a technique for nurturing weapons with soul power.
This also led to further refinement of the "Art of Weapon Forge Soul: Forging Secret," initially conceived during his years at the Cold Wind Camp.
It's worth mentioning that Ling Yi established the "Art of Weapon Forge Soul: Forging Secret" not to parallel the "Beast Soul Fist Frame," stemming from any data obsession.
His purpose primarily revolves around three goals.
First, to research the formation principles of soul masters' martial souls.
Second, to discover methods for creating artificial weapon spirits through the link between weapon spirits and soul masters.
The third reason is to build a theoretical foundation for the creation of soul tools in the future.
If the manifestation of beast martial souls derives from a legacy similar to beast bloodline sorcerers in Western fantasy, with power sourced from certain soul beasts, then the origin of weapon martial souls clearly has little connection with soul beast bloodlines.
Additionally, how weapon martial souls, particularly those of weapons and tools, transition between material and energy forms intrigues Ling Yi.
Unfortunately, due to his own limited power and restricted access to martial soul knowledge, Ling Yi feels his foundation is too shallow to support deeper exploration.
With a thought, Ling Yi emits a green glow from his right hand.
His Blue Silver Grass martial soul extends instantly like a whip, entwining Zhang Lei's right arm.
The vibrant life energy is channeled through the vine into Zhang Lei's body, merging with the flowing soul power, marking the soul power path between Zhang Lei and his battle halberd.
This path has noticeably changed from what Ling Yi taught Zhang Lei years ago, aligning more closely with the soul power route Zhang Lei uses when activating his first soul skill, "Fortress of Diamond."
Clearly, Zhang Lei has taken Ling Yi's guidance to heart and has spent nearly two years developing a rough outline for his first soul skill.
(End of Chapter)
