Chapter 25 Development of the First Soul Skill
Inside the blacksmith's shop, the furnace roared.
The heavy, rhythmic hammering echoed as Tang San concentrated intently on hammering a red-hot iron billet.
Tang Hao stood to one side, occasionally giving Tang San instructions.
Tang Chuan sat quietly on a bench in the corner.
His gaze wasn't entirely fixed on Tang San's actions, but rather fixed on the iron block itself, which was constantly changing shape under the hammer blows.
"Dad."
"Do you think iron can be considered food?"
After failing to devour the iron filings with Blue Silver Grass for the ninth time, Tang Chuan finally spoke.
Tang Hao stopped instructing Tang San, picked up the bowl of water next to him, drank a large chunk of water, and walked over to his eldest son.
"Of course it counts!"
"For those soul beasts that feed on metal, iron is more appealing than meat, and the higher the quality of the iron, the more attractive it is to them."
Tang Hao nodded affirmatively and gave some examples: "In the Star Dou Great Forest, the Iron-Eating Ants live by eating iron, the shells of the Vajra Tortoises are made entirely of refined iron, and even the venom of the Crystal Iron Scorpion contains iron filings..."
"But Blue Silver Grass is a plant and does not feed on metal."
"Does Ogawa want the Blue Silver Grass to weave iron blocks?"
Tang Hao looked at Tang Chuan with puzzlement, thinking that his eldest son was indeed intelligent, but his ideas were too unconventional.
"Um."
"Dad, my first Spirit ring was given to me by the God of Food. It can record all kinds of food, but it doesn't say whether it's for humans or Spirit beasts."
Tang Chuan pondered, resting his chin on his hand: "But I still can't get the Blue Silver Grass to eat iron filings and iron blocks and record the taste of iron."
Upon hearing this, Tang Hao countered, "Xiao Chuan, what exactly is the scent recorded by your Blue Silver Grass?"
"The taste of recording..."
Tang Chuan picked up a speck of iron filings with his fingertips: "Currently, the main task is to record how plant fibers intertwine, how meat textures are distributed, how water and sugar in fruit juice blend, their energy flow and material combination methods, and then my soul power can imitate this structure and weave it out."
"What about the iron?"
Tang Chuan frowned slightly and said, "Its structure is too dense and too hard. The Blue Silver Herb resists it and feels that it cannot be digested and is not food."
Tang Hao stroked the stubble on his chin, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
"Wait."
He suddenly stood up and disappeared from the blacksmith's shop, leaving behind a puzzled Tang Chuan and Tang San who had temporarily stopped hammering.
About two hours later.
Tang Hao returned, carrying a wire cage. Inside were three small, gray-black Spirit beasts gnawing on the cage walls, their front teeth grinding against the wire.
"Give."
"Ogawa, didn't you want to know how iron can be made into food?"
Tang Hao placed the cage in front of Tang Chuan: "This is an Iron-Eating Rat, a kind of Spirit beast that feeds on iron. Take a close look."
As he spoke, Tang Hao took an iron bar and handed it in.
One of the iron-eating rats immediately grabbed it, its front teeth flying, and iron filings fell into its mouth. In less than half an incense stick's time, the iron bar was shortened.
"For the iron-eating rat, its teeth and stomach are naturally designed to break down, digest, and absorb metals."
"Xiao Chuan, devour an Iron-Eating Rat and let the Blue Silver Grass learn its digestive method."
"Let's see if we can help Blue Silver Grass digest the iron ore."
"Good!"
Tang Chuan nodded, and the Blue Silver Grass shot out from his palm, reaching into the cage and wrapping around the most active Iron-Eating Rat.
The Iron-Eating Rat squeaked twice in panic before being swallowed up by the Blue Silver Grass.
Tang Chuan kept his eyes tightly closed.
All his mental energy was focused on the Blue Silver Grass, trying his best to sense and record every change in the Iron-Eating Rat and its body.
Tang Hao and Tang San watched intently, not daring to make a sound to disturb them.
"Dad, the iron bar!"
Tang Chuan gave a low shout, and the golden threads in the veins of the Blue Silver Grass in his palm shone brightly. Tang Hao immediately handed him a piece of iron.
Grass strands entwined around it, and pale green gastric juice seeped from the tips of the grass, enveloping the iron bar.
With a hissing sound, the originally hard iron bar slowly softened and was eventually completely absorbed by the Blue Silver Grass and disappeared.
"It's a success!"
Tang San's hammering stopped abruptly, his eyes filled with shock.
Tang Chuan didn't stop; his soul power surged along the veins of the leaf: "A thousand threads reappear, a hundred flavors arise."
Blue Silver Grass intertwined in his palm, and an iron bar slowly took shape. Its weight, length, and even the texture on its surface were exactly the same as the one that had just been absorbed.
"It actually succeeded?!"
Tang Hao's face was filled with shock and excitement. He had only intended for Xiao Chuan to try it out, but he never expected that it would succeed so easily.
Tang Chuan looked towards the Sea of Spirit, where the newly lit page of the "Ingredients Illustrated Guide" gleamed with golden light:
[Ingredient: Iron]
Category: Metal
[Source: Widely found in mineral veins and rocks]
[Properties: Hard, electrical, thermally conductive, ductile]
[Effect: Can consume Soul Power to recreate basic iron items; strength and appearance are related to Soul Power consumption and depth of understanding]
[Note: This entry is for food items that are not directly consumed. You can expand this entry by including other metals to enrich the catalog.]
The night wind, carrying moisture, blew into the temporary camp in the Soul Hunter Forest.
By the campfire, Xiao Wu munched on roasted snake meat. After Tang Chuan finished explaining the process of developing Spirit skills, her eyes widened in surprise: "So the spear and arrows you used to stab the Mandragora Serpent were woven from Blue Silver Grass?"
"Yes, and realgar powder too."
Tang Chuan pointed to the pale yellow powder scattered on the ground and laughed, "Theoretically, I can reproduce any edible food."
"Wow...!"
"You can do that?"
Xiao Wu suddenly realized, and her eyes showed more admiration when she looked at Tang Chuan.
"Tang Chuan, you're amazing!"
"I've heard people say that food-type Spirit Masters can only cook, but you're completely different!"
Tang Chuan smiled but didn't reply. He simply bit off the last piece of snake meat, feeling his soul power slowly recovering within him.
"Eat quickly."
"Let's eat breakfast and get some rest; we need to continue searching for ingredients tomorrow!"
After Xiao Wu yawned and crawled into the Blue Silver hammock, he got up and walked to the stream. The moonlight shone on the water, reflecting the depth in his eyes.
He was not an ordinary food-type Spirit Master.
Since preparing to enter the Soul Hunter Forest to find ingredients to complete his encyclopedia, Tang Chuan had specially copied realgar powder and the hidden arrow that his younger brother Tang San had made for him.
In addition, there have been these past three months.
The spears, axes, and other weapons that Tang Hao had forged at the blacksmith's shop were enough to ensure his safety in the Soul Hunting Forest.
However, during the fight with the Datura snake, Tang Chuan discovered a problem.
"It's not just a direct replica..."
Tang Chuan murmured softly, a strand of Blue Silver Grass gathering at his fingertips. The grass strands first wove the outline of the fluorite fruit in the air, then added a touch of iron texture.
The next second, a fluorite fruit encased in an iron shell landed in the palm of the hand.
"Really!"
"The first Spirit ring is not just a simple copy; it can be disassembled and reassembled based on the recorded characteristics of the ingredients to create entirely new food."
Tang Chuan thoughtfully flipped through the "Ingredients Illustrated Guide," and a faint purple halo appeared on the thousand-year-old Spirit ring beneath his feet.
[end of the chapter]