Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"This isn't Spirit Refinement... it's Soul Refinement?!"

Feeling the small silver metal sphere in his hand, Chen Ming was genuinely shocked.

He had originally thought that although Lou Gao was a divine craftsman-level blacksmith of this era, he would be limited by the times. At most, Lou Gao might break through from a Thousand Refinements to Spirit Refinement in a year, perhaps even dabbling in basic Fusion Refinement. But to his surprise, Lou Gao had given him a genuine shock: in less than a year, Lou Gao had directly leaped from Thousand Refinements to the level of Soul Refinement.

Granting metal spirituality is the requirement for Spirit Refinement (fifth-level blacksmiths in later generations), while Soul Refinement involves granting metal not only spirituality but also life, endowing it with qualities akin to living beings. In later generations, this is the requirement for seventh-level blacksmiths, who are already honored as saint craftsmen.@@novelbin@@

Above this level, there are only two higher tiers: eighth-level saint craftsmen and ninth-level divine craftsmen. These two tiers represent the ability to fuse complex metals and imbue them with innate abilities (complex Fusion Refinement) and the capability to summon tribulation lightning to temper metal (Heaven Refinement).

Seeing Chen Ming's shocked expression, Lou Gao revealed a mischievous grin, as if he had successfully played a prank. His entire demeanor seemed to relax, and his physical condition appeared to improve slightly. In reality, however, he had simply entered the final stage of his life—a brief resurgence before the inevitable.

If things followed the usual script, Lou Gao would now tell Chen Ming about the immense effort and sacrifice he had made to break through to Soul Refinement. He would explain how this breakthrough had consumed much of his vitality and life force, leaving him on the brink of death. Yet, he had held on just long enough to personally deliver the result to Chen Ming. After handing over the metal sphere, Lou Gao would take his last breath and pass away with a smile, leaving his disciple to inherit his will and continue serving the Hall of Soul.

However, Chen Ming was not short on life force. There was no way he would stand idly by and watch such a treasure—a craftsman who was already approaching the level of a divine craftsman in later generations—die before his eyes.

To be frank, even in this era, when combat power had not yet inflated and Title Douluos were not commonplace, a saint craftsman was far more valuable than a Title Douluo.

"Elder Lou, hold on. Don't speak yet. Your condition is very dangerous. Let me stabilize you first."

Chen Ming grabbed Lou Gao's wrist and slowly injected life force and soul power into him. Lou Gao's body, which had entered the final stage of its resurgence, absorbed Chen Ming's energy like a sponge. Lou Gao could feel his condition improving rapidly.

As life force poured into him, Lou Gao's expression changed quickly. With his body recovering, the corners of his mouth lifted higher and higher, while his eyes filled with increasing astonishment.

Although he didn't fully understand how this was possible, being able to continue forging was undoubtedly better than leaving behind his final masterpiece and passing away with a smile.

After over half an hour of slow life force infusion, the damage Lou Gao had accumulated over the past year was completely alleviated. Even some of his old ailments were healed or significantly improved. He felt as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and he could once again happily swing his forging hammer.

As soon as Chen Ming stopped injecting life force and soul power, Lou Gao nearly fell to his knees in gratitude. But Chen Ming stopped him once again.

To prevent Lou Gao from attempting to kneel again, Chen Ming decided to clarify things outright.

"Elder Lou, there's no point in kneeling. I'm not some tyrant who obsesses over authority. When I brought you into my fold, it was for the sake of the forging system and your abilities as a blacksmith. Now that your forging skills have improved so dramatically, that's already the best result I could hope for."

"Kneeling a thousand or ten thousand times is meaningless compared to the improvement of your forging skills."

"Yes, the Hall Master is right! Compared to tedious formalities, the art of forging is what truly matters."

Lou Gao grasped Chen Ming's arm tightly, his eyes brimming with tears. His expression resembled that of someone seeing the sun after a long storm. His mind was filled with gratitude and a deep sense of indebtedness. "Hall Master, please come with me. Let me tell you about everything I've experienced in forging over the past year."

Lou Gao led Chen Ming to a workbench. There was no wine, no snacks—just the two of them sitting down for a straightforward discussion.

Through Lou Gao's account, Chen Ming learned about everything that had transpired over the past year.

After returning to Gengxin City, Lou Gao tirelessly studied the small golden sphere Chen Ming had given him. He felt its spirituality and repeatedly recalled every word Chen Ming had said, jotting down notes in a small notebook. After numerous attempts, Lou Gao finally succeeded in awakening the metal's spirituality for the first time.

Initially, Lou Gao worked with metals that were naturally rich in spirituality. After several successful attempts at awakening their spirituality, he gradually switched to metals with a lower innate spirituality. This process took about three months, during which Lou Gao steadily advanced his forging skills to the level of Spirit Refinement.

Because Chen Ming had mentioned higher realms, Lou Gao celebrated his breakthrough to Spirit Refinement with his disciples only briefly before immersing himself in further study.

After Spirit Refinement came to basic Fusion Refinement, which involved simply merging several metals and awakening their spirituality. For Lou Gao, who had been stuck below Spirit Refinement for decades, this stage was not particularly difficult. He completed it within about a week and then faced the challenge of Soul Refinement.

Spirit Refinement grants metals spirituality, while Soul Refinement grants them life. While Lou Gao had achieved Spirit Refinement with Chen Ming's guidance, granting life to metal proved far more challenging—and oddly familiar.

Lou Gao combed through ancient texts left by blacksmith predecessors and found a shortcut for granting life to metal.

This shortcut, described in ancient records, was a secret technique created by divine craftsmen of old. It used the blacksmith's life force and soul power as fuel to temper metal. The technique's creator had envisioned achieving the ultimate goal of granting life to metal.

Lou Gao began with simple experiments and discovered that this ancient technique was indeed effective, though not particularly powerful. Still, it had the potential to achieve the desired result.

From then on, Lou Gao became almost obsessed, repeatedly attempting and refining his process.

Thanks to Chen Ming's connections with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, many rare materials, originally scarce in blacksmith associations, were transported to Gengxin City in large quantities for Lou Gao's use. Lou Gao continuously experimented with the secret technique, recording his insights.

Finally, a few months ago, in a moment of serendipity, Lou Gao reached the realm envisioned by the technique's creator. In one forging session, he successfully granted life to metal, stepping through the gateway of Soul Refinement.

The liquid metal-like substance, possessing plasticity and the ability to transform, was the product of that forging session.