Chapter 41: Gains from the Alternative Spirit Avatar, Progress in Forging, and Departure
"So that's how it is."
After listening to Tang Shan's explanation, Su Yuntao finally gained a relatively clear understanding of the special state he had been in earlier.
"The reason I call entering this state a Treasure Trove is because it has several major benefits."
Tang Shan explained with a hint of amazement.
"Those increased combat instincts and experiences are one benefit, and another is the circulation route of the spirit power within your body when you were in that state earlier, Big Brother."
"That circulation route can be used directly for Cultivation?"
Su Yuntao clearly had some doubts.
"There is a high probability that it can be." Tang Shan paused slightly and continued, "The fact that it could run smoothly in your body without backlash while in the Alternative Spirit Avatar state means there are no errors in those spirit power circulation routes. If you use them directly after exiting that state, there shouldn't be any major issues. After all, Martial Soul Possession grants combat instincts rather than changing your physical structure."
"Then let me try." Su Yuntao immediately sat down cross-legged and quickly fell into a state of Cultivation.
After a while, Su Yuntao, having exited the state of Cultivation, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "What a fast Cultivation speed! But why do I feel like the spirit power in my body is being compressed?"
Compressing spirit power? Could it be that this method of cultivation, derived from Big Brother's Spirit and Bloodline, provides some assistance in condensing a Spirit Core?
Tang Shan hadn't forgotten that in the douluo one era, Spirit Masters didn't have such things as Spirit Cores; only Spirit Beasts would condense them. Since this Cultivation Technique was specifically derived from the combination of Spirit Beast Bloodline and Spirit along with his physical characteristics, it was normal for it to have the special effect of compressing spirit power during operation.
"Is compressing spirit power a bad thing? Your spirit power will become more refined and dense, and you can even release your Spirit Ability a few more times."
"But won't my Cultivation speed slow down?" Su Yuntao felt a bit depressed.
"You've gained a brand new method of cultivation, so your Cultivation speed will definitely increase. Even if the compression of spirit power slows it down slightly, the trade-off is that your spirit power becomes denser, and there's no loss in other aspects. You're actually making a profit, Big Brother."
"Little Brother, then how do you think I should further develop this Alternative Spirit Avatar?"
Under Tang Shan's unique interpretation, Su Yuntao's mood finally calmed down, and he began to ponder the future development direction of this Alternative Spirit Avatar.
Su Yuntao waited for a long while without receiving a response. He looked up, only to see Tang Shan looking at him with a strange gaze.
Tang Shan also felt quite helpless. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke, "Big Brother, I'm currently just an ordinary Spirit Master with a Body Martial Soul. Why on earth would you think of asking me for advice on developing a Spirit Avatar?"
"That does seem to be the case." Su Yuntao felt a bit embarrassed. Growing up, Tang Shan's attainments in theory had left such a deep impression on him that he subconsciously felt Tang Shan was rarely ignorant, if not all-knowing, on a theoretical level.
Now that he had comprehended an alternative version of a Spirit Avatar by chance, he had subconsciously asked an 'ordinary Spirit Master.' Thinking carefully, it was indeed somewhat inappropriate.
"My current understanding of the Spirit Avatar isn't deep yet, and I probably won't be researching in this direction in the short term. Actually, Big Brother, don't be in a hurry to figure out how to develop it. Just honestly utilizing its original effects is enough. What I can help you with is letting you enter that Alternative Spirit Avatar state a few more times, so that in the future, you can actively release it even without pressure."
Tang Shan could only offer this suggestion. After all, he was indeed still just a Spirit Master at this moment, and facing an ability at the level of a Spirit Avatar truly gave him a feeling of being unable to start.
"Fine, then let's continue." Su Yuntao didn't have many other strengths, but he was exceptionally good at taking advice.
He knew very well that if even Tang Shan couldn't find a direction to develop the Alternative Spirit Avatar in the short term, then an ordinary Spirit Grandmaster like himself had even less to say.
Instead of obsessing over theoretical matters, it was better to do as Tang Shan said and enter the Alternative Spirit Avatar state a few more times, striving to actively control this state.
Two spirit rings slowly emerged beneath his feet, and wolf-like characteristics reappeared on Su Yuntao's body. Meanwhile, the muscles on Tang Shan's body also rapidly bulged, and his entire frame quickly expanded and grew taller.
"Big Brother, let's have an all-out fight. Just now I was focused on testing, and I haven't measured your true strength after your combat instincts and experience skyrocketed."
As he spoke, Tang Shan subconsciously clenched his fists. His fingers, as thick as carrots, closed one by one, and blue-black veins stood out, full of power like a giant hammer that could forge the heavens and earth.
"Then let's fight with everything!" Su Yuntao's body crouched slightly, ready to strike like a hungry wolf choosing its prey, yet his eyes were extraordinarily calm.
Is it a great demon turning human, or a demonic owl becoming a Buddha—
Clang! Clang!
The iron hammer fell strike after strike, and the volume of the metal on the forging table shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Phew!
Master Tie let out a long breath and put down the forging hammer in his hand, his face filled with joy that was hard to hide.
"Master Tie, good skills!" Tang Shan, who was standing aside observing, praised from the bottom of his heart. This admiration was sincere. In just a few short days, Master Tie had been able to take another step forward in metal purification. Even if it was the result of long-term accumulation, it was enough to see his outstanding forging talent.
One must know that the further metal purification goes, the greater the difficulty becomes. It's like how it's easy to improve from a zero base to eighty points, but from eighty points to ninety or even pushing for a hundred, every step of improvement requires a sharp increase in technical requirements. Otherwise, the path of deep metal purification would have been figured out long ago.
"Master Tie is indeed extraordinary. To achieve such amazing progress in metal purification in just a few days, in my view, you definitely have the potential of a Divine Craftsman."
"You flatter me, you flatter me." Although Master Tie appeared humble on the surface, the smile on his face already said everything. Who doesn't like to hear words of praise?
"It's mainly because the direction you pointed out, Tang Shan, was correct, which allowed me to delve forward without any worries." As the saying goes, people lift each other up. Master Tie wasn't as simple-minded as he appeared and took the Opportunity to praise Tang Shan back.
Tang Shan smiled and didn't say anything more. He knew very well that before the real results came out, so-called correct directions were just empty talk. Only when results were obtained could it be called a correct direction. Even though he was deducing backward based on future results, he couldn't guarantee this path was one hundred percent correct. Master Tie's effort and contribution in this were absolutely indelible.
"Tang Shan, are you leaving?" Thinking about the discussions and exchanges regarding forging during this time, Master Tie's tone carried a hint of regret.
"That's right. I've already stayed in Stark City for eight or nine days. If nothing goes wrong, I should set out tomorrow." Tang Shan nodded in response.
"That—" A trace of embarrassment appeared on Master Tie's face, and he hesitated to speak.
"Master Tie, if you have something to say, please speak plainly." Tang Shan saw through Master Tie's predicament at a glance and took the initiative to ask.
"I just wanted to ask if I can share this forging direction with my Senior Brother? Let him participate in the research together; perhaps the progress will be even faster. Besides, my Senior Brother is also a Spirit Master. Tang Shan, we are willing to pay the corresponding fees."
"Master Tie, this forging method was researched by you in the first place; I only offered some suggestions. You can pass it on to whomever you want, and there's no need to pay any fees. I only hope that if there's a further Breakthrough in this forging method in the future, you will be kind enough to grant me your guidance then."
Tang Shan agreed without hesitation. In the end, this was only progress in metal purification at the hundred-refinement level; there was really nothing worth hiding. Even if they truly managed to research it to the level of thousand-refinement purification, the impact on the overall situation of the continent would ultimately be limited.
Just like the millennium second spirit ring theory he had released earlier, even if more top-tier Spirit Masters were born because of his theory in the future, that would be a long time from now. Meanwhile, the situation of the entire continent would undergo earth-shattering changes within the next few decades. Who could have imagined that in less than thirty years, three gods would be born on the entire continent, and four God Positions would appear?
Furthermore, as he said, this forging method was the result of Master Tie's painstaking research. He wasn't thick-skinned enough to claim the greatest contribution to the final result for himself just by suggesting a direction.
He was a Grandmaster, but ultimately not 'the' Grandmaster. He couldn't bring himself to take the core information of other forces as his own and turn it into his own achievements.
"That's natural, no problem!" Having received Tang Shan's consent, Master Tie immediately agreed readily. In Tang Shan's view, he had only provided a direction and didn't deserve to solely control this method of further purifying metal, but in Master Tie's eyes, Tang Shan was completely worthy of that recognition.
During these few days, Tang Shan had already demonstrated his own forging talent to the fullest. In Master Tie's view, even without him, Tang Shan would have surely made a Breakthrough in metal purification within a year at most just by his own forging.
"By the way, Master Tie, I wonder who your Senior Brother is?" Tang Shan felt a bit more curious. In his view, Master Tie's forging skills were already quite high, so what kind of achievements would his Senior Brother have in the field of forging?
Master Tie subconsciously looked around as if guarding against someone eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and said, "Tang Shan, I'll tell you who my Senior Brother is, but you must never go out and spread it around."
Tang Shan's expression turned serious, and his heart felt a bit more solemn. Could Master Tie's Senior Brother's identity be very special?
"My Senior Brother is Iron Dragon."
Tang Shan blinked. This name sounded a bit familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Shan's expression became a bit strange. He asked with some bewilderment, "Could it be the owner of the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop?"
Master Tie nodded honestly, "He's not just my Senior Brother, but also my distant cousin."
Tang Shan suddenly fell into silence, finally remembering where he had heard this name. One instance was the dark gold armor Ning Fengzhi had made; it seemed it was crafted at the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop. The second was when he had wanted to learn forging himself, he had heard the name of the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop.
The Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop should be the best blacksmith shop in Stark City, but rumors said Iron Dragon was very greedy and often maliciously raised prices. If he weren't a Spirit King himself, he probably would have been dealt with long ago.
Later, the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop came into being. Looking at the shop name alone, it seemed to be specifically set up to go against the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop. Whenever the other party maliciously raised prices, the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop would sell weapons and armor at a lower price. Although the quality was slightly inferior, it was affordable and favored by others.
Previously, some people were worried that since Master Tie wasn't a Spirit Master, his blacksmith shop would be suppressed by Iron Dragon. But the result was that besides commercial competition, the two sides had almost no direct conflicts.
Many people speculated that there might be a powerful force supporting the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop, or it might even be a front pushed out by some major powers to compete with the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop, thereby forcing the other party to lower prices.
After all, Iron Dragon's forging skills were indeed superb, but his pricing was simply too high. People were unwilling to spend extra money, which was why the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop had a place to stand.
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