Douluo: Trinity, I run through the timeline.

Chapter 12 Apprenticeship
First Soul Skill
Su Ming closed his eyes and sensed the power of the first soul skill from the depths of his martial soul.

"First Soul Skill, Vajra Power!"

He opened his eyes, and the spirit rings around his body emitted a bright yellow light.

On his body, patterns formed by condensed soul power rapidly spread throughout his entire body and took root within him. His body nearly doubled in size, reaching the level of an adult. His body was enveloped in a metallic black luster, and every muscle looked full of explosive power.

"The power of Vajra can transform my physical body into a Vajra body, increasing my physical defense by 100%. A layer of black luster on my body can negate damage and also enhance my strength by 100%."

hiss~
Duan Jin gasped.

This increase is outrageous.

Directly entering the Vajra Body is beyond proportionality. As for the increase in defense and power mentioned by Su Ming, Duan Jin felt that it should not be calculated based on Su Ming's own power, but on his state after transforming into Vajra.

"Under the Vajra Body, my size has increased, my muscles are full of power, and my strength has increased by more than 200%. On this basis, combined with the power of Vajra, my defense and explosive power can be increased by another 100%."

Su Ming further perceived and explained the mechanism by which the power attribute increased, confirming Duan Jin's feelings.

"That means your power can be increased by 500%!" Duan Jin exclaimed.

From one to three, and then to six, isn't that an increase of 500%?

Su Ming shook his head.

"It's only 500% right now. The reason I told Brother Duan that the increase would be 100% later is because the increase in the earlier part is not very significant. As my soul power increases, the difference between my Vajra Body and my original body will become smaller and smaller."

"That's outrageous too," Duan Jin exclaimed in astonishment.

Although Su Ming was modest, he was actually quite satisfied.

Percentage-based increases are the best choice for early-game Soul Skills, and can be maintained with more Soul Power in the later stages.

The Vajra Power amplifies his defense and strength by 100%, regardless of his state. He can fight without entering the Vajra Body form and still receive a 100% power amplification by circulating the Vajra Power within his body.

In fact, the original spirit doesn't need to worry about the age limit of the preceding spirit rings.

During the second period of the Dou Di Zhuan era, although Su Ming was studying soul tools diligently, he did not stop collecting information about the Body Sect. One of the pieces of information was something Su Ming himself did not remember: the second awakening of the Body Martial Soul could cause the Soul Rings of the Body Martial Soul Master to mutate together, which could increase the age of the Soul Rings.

Although this improvement is not stable and may require stringent conditions, it is also quite clear.

"Combat techniques, development."

"By using acquired combat skills to make up for the deficiencies of the soul rings and soul skills, and by supplementing the soul skills, one can complete the acquired improvement of the soul ring's age during the second awakening of the martial soul."

"That is, to further develop the acquired soul rings and soul skills as the core."

"Not all types of combat techniques are available within the Body Sect, so not all disciples can cultivate combat techniques that correspond to their own soul skills."

"The Vajra Power should be considered a very versatile soul skill, with many potential angles for development."

As Su Ming followed Duan Jin away from the Savage Beast Mountain Range and headed to Gengxin City, he pondered the information he had learned from the second stage of the Dou Divine Intervention and formulated a future cultivation strategy.

"In fact, the forging and body tempering method I developed is to temper the whole body. Perhaps it can go a step further and temper an indestructible body."

There's no need to hone the Vajra Body to an exceptionally high level; simply hone the Vajra Body state to your current physical form, and you won't need to waste Vajra power to enter the Vajra Body state in the future.

In this way, even more Vajra power can be used to condense the outer layer of light that can offset damage, that is, the Vajra Shield. Gengxin City.

From a distance, the walls of Gengxin City are entirely iron-gray, making the entire city seem as if it were cast from metal. Even before entering the city, one can already sense the metallic aura.

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but as we approached Gengxin City, the temperature seemed to be slowly rising, and I could vaguely feel the heat of the flames burning my skin.

Entering the city is like stepping into a stuffy oven, as if being steamed or roasted. All you can hear is the dull sound of hammers striking metal. Blacksmith shops are everywhere along the roadside, and some of the most popular shops have signs posted outside that read, "All blacksmiths in this shop are certified by the Blacksmiths Association."

“Xiao Su, with your forging skills, you are already qualified to get certified by the Blacksmith Association.”

"Brother Duan, is this certification important?"

"Yes, the Blacksmiths' Association is an association formed by us blacksmiths. Its purpose is to provide convenience. After all, the association is a huge machine, and its operation has a huge impact. Whether it is the purchase of various metals or forging orders, the association will help provide assistance."

"The most important thing is reputation. The blacksmiths' association is very united and the assessment is very strict. Blacksmiths who are certified by the association are highly valued, so many merchants who come to Gengxin City to forge in bulk will choose to have certified blacksmiths do it."

"If we blacksmiths want to improve, we can only keep forging iron. So even after becoming an apprentice, we still need to keep forging iron. The person I'm taking you to see is my teacher. Once you've successfully become an apprentice, I'll be your senior brother."

Su Ming asked curiously, "Brother Duan, what level of blacksmith is your teacher?"

In the Blacksmiths' Guild, blacksmiths are divided into seven levels, from lowest to highest: novice, intermediate, advanced blacksmith, master blacksmith, grandmaster blacksmith, and divine blacksmith.

This classification system reveals just how lowly the blacksmith's status is. The naming of the classifications imitates the Soul Master system, and the name "Blacksmith Master" sounds awkward.

Moreover, the fourth level seems to correspond to the Soul Master level.

"My teacher is a grandmaster."

Su Ming didn't find it strange.

Given Duan Jin's performance, it's quite normal that his teacher is a master blacksmith.

Duan Jin led Su Ming into one of the two tallest buildings in Gengxin City—the Blacksmiths' Association.

“Every master blacksmith has a dedicated area on the fifth floor of the Blacksmiths' Association, where they can often conduct lectures and research on forging.”

There are 36 rooms on the fifth floor, and the noise came from five of them.

Duan Jin led Su Ming to the room next to the innermost room.

Su Ming looked curiously at the innermost room.

This must be the high-rise foundry of the Divine Craftsman. It was constantly making sounds, not the dull sound of hammering, but the crisp clanging of metal.

Outside the foundry on the high floor, there was a middle-aged man, tall in stature, who appeared to be on guard.

"Master Silong," Duan Jin said respectfully to the middle-aged man.

"Oh, it's Xiao Jin. Why did you bring such a small child to the association?"

Si Long looked at Su Ming with curiosity, a hint of wonder flashing in his eyes.

"Still a Soul Master?"

(End of this chapter)