Tie Li’s Spirit was a Forging Hammer, with Innate Rank two spirit power; each Rank increase brought a twenty-point attribute boost to his body.
But what if it were a White Tiger Spirit? Each spirit power Rank increase would add at least an eighty-point attribute boost—that was the difference between the two.
In the early stages, they might not have understood, but as their spirit power Ranks increased, the attribute boost alone created a huge gap.
If one could Cultivate Advanced Reiki Meditation, long-term Cultivation would improve the Spirit’s quality, and perhaps every subsequent spirit power Rank could bring a progressive increase.
Starting with twenty, then twenty-two, twenty-four.
Perhaps the only way to close the gap with a Genius was to acquire a Spirit Bone.
A Spirit Bone could purify your Aptitude, and the effect would be very significant.
Even a Spirit Bone produced by a thousand-year Spirit Beast could increase your spirit power attribute boost from twenty to thirty for each Rank.
The sooner you absorbed the Spirit Bone, the more its attributes would increase alongside your spirit power Rank.
Once the Spirit Bone was Fused, it became part of the body; the increase in spirit power Rank would naturally drive the Spirit Bone’s improvement.
At that time, the additional attribute boost for each spirit power increase would be thirty plus the Spirit Bone’s twenty.
Compared to the huge gap before, it immediately closed by a large margin.
Tie Li shook his head; it was better to abandon this unrealistic fantasy for now—a Spirit Bone was too far out of his reach.
He didn't consider himself a Son of Destiny who could just kill a Spirit Beast and get a Spirit Bone.
The current Son of Destiny...
Tie Li gazed into the distance, remaining silent for a long time.
Both were Reborn with memories, both started as blacksmiths, so why was the gap so vast?
Upon returning home, Tie Li went to his room and carefully took out the Xuan Ling Dew from his embrace.
He swallowed it and immediately began to refine it.
Compared to Xuan Ling Grass, the Spiritual Qi released by Xuan Ling Dew was even more immense.
Tiny black Impurities were expelled from his body, and the sweat on his body mixed with the black Impurities, filling the room with a strong stench.
Tie Li felt as if he had become a block of iron, undergoing the quenching process of a Forging Hammer.
Perhaps the lingering foul smell in the room caused Tie Li to end his Cultivation state early.
“Ugh.”
Tie Li, gagging, immediately opened the window for ventilation, eagerly stripped off his clothes, put them in a bucket to soak, and then went to wash himself.
No one was home at the moment; normally, his father and mother would be at the blacksmith shop, his father responsible for forging, and his mother doing odd jobs nearby.
Now that Tie Wen and Tie Wu were old enough, they followed their father to learn; they might not be born with Innate spirit power, so if they couldn't become Spirit Masters, they would learn the forging trade from their father, or learn a trade on their own outside—either was fine.
They would only return for lunch around noon, then take a short nap.
His mother would come back earlier, as she was responsible for buying groceries and cooking.
After washing up, Tie Li saw his mother return, carrying a vegetable basket.
“Dali, where did you go last night?”
Seeing the faint dark circles around his mother's eyes, he knew she hadn't rested well last night.
“I went out with a classmate yesterday.”
Tie Li briefly mentioned what happened last night, but altered the facts: the hundred-year Spirit Beast became a ten-year Spirit Beast, Xuan Ling Grass became an ordinary Spiritual Plant, and then the hunted Spirit Beast and Spiritual Plant were sold, earning him forty gold coins.
“That much? You’re not lying to me, are you?” His mother was surprised at first, then hesitant.
To keep them from worrying, Tie Li stuck to his story.
When his father and younger brothers returned, they too were shocked by so many gold coins.
Tie Li still insisted on his explanation and asked his father to accept the gold coins.
But his father firmly refused, stating that the wolf hide and wolf teeth had already been exchanged for a good amount of money, enough for the upcoming expenses, and told Tie Li to use the gold coins on himself.
Seeing that he couldn't convince his father, he could only put the gold coins away for now.
For the following days, Tie Li Cultivated at home, striving to refine the Xuan Ling Dew.
Every day, his body would expel black Impurities, and the benefit in return was an improvement in his Spirit’s quality.
The scale patterns on the hammer body became increasingly clear, and the most obvious change was its weight, which was almost seventy catties.
Correspondingly, his own strength was also increasing.
One afternoon, Tie Li went to the blacksmith shop to help. With no lack of skill or strength, his forging speed was fast, and the quality of the artifacts was good.
During the forging process, Tie Li found that his body would subconsciously match the frequency of the Forging Hammer, and at this time, the speed of refining Xuan Ling Dew was three times faster than usual.
With this discovery, Tie Li's visits to the blacksmith shop became more frequent.
Tie Niu even specifically added an extra ten percent to the cost of the artifacts Tie Li forged; after all, they were crafted by a Spirit Master, a privilege granted by a Spirit Master's status.
On the fourteenth day, Tie Li’s spirit power Rank successfully Broke through to Rank thirteen.
The Xuan Ling Dew was completely refined, and his Cultivation speed returned to its usual snail's pace.
During the time Tie Li was absent from school, Li Li was the most worried. He wondered if Tie Li had met with an accident at the Fengxue Merchant Guild, or encountered some trouble, and if the matter of him obtaining Xuan Ling Grass would be exposed?
While eating in the cafeteria, Li Li saw Tie Li carrying two plates of meat dishes and six large steamed buns, and his heart finally relaxed.
Tie Li's life then returned to its usual routine of two points and one line: classes and Cultivation.
The only disruption to his life was his younger brother's Spirit Awakening ceremony.
He Awakened his father's Forging Hammer Spirit, but without Innate spirit power, he was destined not to become a Spirit Master.
He had always looked up to Tie Li as a role model, hoping that he too could be born with Innate spirit power and become a Spirit Master, but reality slapped him in the face, and he fully dedicated himself to the blacksmith shop.
“Dali, many Intermediate Academies are recruiting in Manno City today.” In the cafeteria, Jin Bao sat next to Tie Li, sharing the news he had just received.
“Oh? Do you know where?” Tie Li asked curiously.
He wanted to see the recruitment scene for Intermediate Academies and what requirements were needed to enter them.
“I heard it’s in Guno Plaza. It must be packed with people. If we go now, we definitely won't be able to squeeze in,” Jin Bao said.
His spirit power Rank was only Rank six; whether he could Break through to a one-spirit ring Spirit Master within the next two years was still unknown.
One of the strict standards for entering an Intermediate Soul Master Academy was to be a one-spirit ring Spirit Master.
“It doesn't hurt to go and see.”
Tie Li sped up his eating, finishing both large plates of meat dishes and all the steamed buns.
“Wait, I haven’t finished eating yet.”
Seeing that Tie Li was really going, Jin Bao grew anxious; of course, he also wanted to see such a spectacle.
The two quickly arrived at Guno Plaza, and everywhere their eyes landed, there were people.
To watch the excitement, many people had closed their shops and specifically rushed to Guno Plaza.
“Is that Young Master Harman’s son? He’s amazing, he has a hundred-year spirit ring.”
“Look at the students from Manno Elementary Soul Master Academy, they also have a hundred-year spirit ring.”
“Wow, he has two spirit rings, he’s a Spirit Grandmaster.”