bookbashuk Chapter 7 Heaven's Favor
Chapter 7 Heaven's Favor
"Boom!"
A torrential downpour, accompanied by thunder, poured down. Xiao Yan lived on a hilltop, and his tiled house was the first to be washed by the rain. A light rain was falling in the main hall of the house, but fortunately, the roof tiles inside the rooms were quite resilient.
The rolling ball beast trembled with fear from the thunder and huddled tightly in Xiao Yan's arms.
"Xiao Yan, why are you still cultivating? Wasn't it said that your soul power level wouldn't increase until you obtained a soul ring?"
Around three o'clock, Xiao Yan was awakened by the thunder. Looking at the sleeping Rolling Ball Beast, he simply sat cross-legged and continued to cultivate his soul power.
"Before the breakthrough, the apparent values will not change, but I can use soul power to temper my physical strength while accumulating experience."
Although Xiao Yan can only stay at level 10 and will not be able to improve before obtaining a soul ring, once he breaks through the level, all the soul power he has cultivated during this period will erupt at once, thus rewarding him with a new soul power level.
The reason why few people on the mainland do this is twofold. Firstly, the acquisition of each soul ring represents a qualitative leap for a soul master, so there is no need to deliberately suppress it. Secondly, the soul power that can be obtained at level 10 and level 10+ is vastly different, and even more so at higher levels, with the difference increasing exponentially. Therefore, few people suppress their level to cultivate soul power.
"You didn't understand what Koromon said."
"Just know that I didn't do anything in vain."
"Alright, are we going to the Soul Hunter Forest today?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"As soon as you hear thunder, you immediately get up to check the situation outside, and didn't you tell Brother Yong that you wanted to pick a thunderstorm day?"
"So you were woken up by the thunder in the first place, and you were pretending to be asleep?"
"Hehe, no, I'll fall asleep again soon, going back to sleep, going back to sleep."
"Let's go, it's about time. It's five in the morning now. Let's have breakfast and then head down the mountain. It would be best if we could find a suitable spirit beast to use as a spirit ring. It would be too dangerous to spend the night in the forest."
The man and the beast got out of bed, and after tidying themselves up, they put on straw raincoats and went down the mountain.
"Clang!—Clang!—"
The sounds coming from the blacksmith's shop were always the same, clanging and banging. Xiao Yan still didn't disturb Uncle Norton and Brother Yong's work. They were the same as master and apprentice; once they started, they were completely focused on their work.
Norton stopped working, raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face, which only made his already charcoal-black face even dirtier. He glanced at Xiao Yan, who was already sitting to the side, and said irritably, "Xiao Yan, is this the good weather you were talking about?"
"Excellent."
"With thunder and rain, spirit beasts don't like hunting in this terrible weather. If you do encounter one, it'll just be a weak spirit beast that's starving and dizzy. Hmm, that seems to make sense. Your spirit's attack method is to spit bubbles, which means you're looking for a water-loving spirit beast."
Xiao Yan shook his head: "Uncle Norton, I'm looking for fire-attribute plant or animal-type soul beasts."
"Ridiculous! I've been blacksmithing my whole life and I've never seen anyone start by combining water and fire. What, you expect a fire-attribute soul ring to make your martial soul bubble so hot it'll scald people to death? You might as well work at my blacksmith shop. The temperature of my forge is no lower than that of those soul beasts."
Besides, in this thunderstorm, whose fire spirit beast is running around everywhere?
"Master, I think Xiao Yan must have his own ideas. My first spirit ring was obtained by hunting down a monster on his advice. Now, using it for forging is really twice as effective with half the effort."
Apprentice A Yong stopped what he was doing and joined in the conversation between his master and Xiao Yan.
"Oh, Uncle Norton, just trust me. My first spirit ring is my first step into becoming a spirit master, so of course I'll take responsibility for it."
Xiao Yan knew better than anyone that no soul beast of any attribute or race was more suitable for him than the Rolling Ball Beast, whether it was in its growth stage or mature stage, it used fire as its main means of attack.
Norton didn't say anything more. This child, who looked only six years old, always made him feel like he was dealing with an adult not much younger than himself. Moreover, in the past two years, Xiao Yan had not only put forward many points about minerals that he didn't know, but his insights into martial souls were also unique. He believed that even if this child didn't make much progress on the path of a soul master, he would still become a renowned figure in the theoretical world, just like Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
"Here are the remaining copper needles you requested. I've already given the warrant to Xiaoyong. Since you've decided to go today, both of you better be careful."
"Understood, Master."
"Alright, Uncle Norton."
Xiao Yan reached out and took the needle case from Norton, putting it into his bag at his waist. After A Yong put on his raincoat and straw hat, the two were about to set off.
"Here you go."
Uncle Norton, who had a cigarette dangling from his mouth at some point, tossed a money pouch to his apprentice, the coins inside clinking together.
Ah Yong reached out and caught it, but looked at his master with confusion.
"If you two don't find a suitable soul beast, stay at an inn nearby. Do not spend the night in the Soul Hunting Forest. Consider this money as overdraft for your wages. Be careful on the road."
Xiao Yan went over, took the money bag from Yong Ge's hand, and shook it.
"Your master can't be serious, he's going to charge overdraft for this little bit of money? But I remember when you were an apprentice, you only got meals, not wages, right?"
"Yes, I don't know where Master will deduct it from."
"Great, Yong-ge, does that mean your master means you're ready to leave the apprenticeship and become a full-fledged blacksmith?"
"No, no, my master and mistress are very good to me. There is still a lot I need to learn." Ah Yong seemed to have misunderstood that he would be leaving the blacksmith shop after his promotion.
"Hey, what I mean is, your master is finally willing to pay you your wages."
"Cough cough."
The blacksmith Norton's voice came from inside the house. After two coughs, the two men outside fell silent. They looked at each other, surprised that their conversation could be heard by the people inside despite the heavy rain.
The rain showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, it grew heavier and heavier. Combined with the wind, it was so strong that pedestrians could barely open their eyes. Fortunately, Qing Shi Village was located in the suburbs, so it wasn't too far from the Soul Hunting Forest.
Ah Yong acquired his first spirit ring a year ago. At that time, Xiao Yan followed behind the blacksmith and his apprentice, pointing and commenting all the way.
Uncle Norton wanted to shake off Little Pudding, but the kid was cunning. After hearing that he was going to the Soul Hunter Forest, he followed him all the way. Helpless, he had no choice but to agree to go with him. It was only on this occasion that he stopped treating Xiao Yan as a little brat who played on the mountain and bought rare stones he found at a low price.
After arriving at the Soul Hunting Forest, although the little brat mispronounced the names of the soul beasts, he was able to name them all after I corrected him, including their habits and their compatibility with Xiao Yong's martial soul.