Douluo: Trinity, I run through the timeline.

Chapter 14 Xiao Ming's Blacksmith Shop Opens for Business (Please Read On!!!)
Don't roll it up, it won't help.

This is Duan Jin's advice to Su Ming.

At least that's how he understands it; once you've cultivated your soul power, forging becomes much easier.

Su Ming naturally agreed.

Cultivation is the foundation.

This applies not only now, but also to the era of Douluo Continent III. A strategic approach is always more efficient than blindly figuring things out and taking detours. Wasting too much energy on secondary professions when you are at a low level will hinder your cultivation.

Of course, it's not unreasonable that an entire era believed in cultivating strength from weak to strong, since it was the most cost-effective way to improve one's power.

If you only cultivate soul power and don't learn any secondary professions, you'll at most reach the Soul Saint level by the age of twenty. If you learn a secondary profession, once your soul power reaches the Soul King level and you simultaneously create a One-Word Battle Armor, you can also possess the strength of a Soul Saint.

What next?

Is it easier to advance from Soul Saint to Soul Douluo, or to advance from Soul King to Soul Emperor, while also crafting a two-word battle armor?

The same principle applies going forward.

As for starting to cultivate a secondary profession from the Soul Saint level, this would disrupt the planned rhythm of one's life. Most Soul Masters cannot accept wasting energy on cultivating a secondary profession when their cultivation speed has already been greatly reduced. The torment of that would wear down their enthusiasm for the secondary profession, thus leading to nothing being accomplished.

Kindness is ultimately rare; otherwise, it wouldn't have become a legend.

It can only be said that different systems are compatible, but it is also necessary to find the right balance and modify the corresponding system at the appropriate stage in order to go far.

Since his body is not yet fully developed and his soul power is not high, Su Ming naturally needs to focus on cultivating his soul power.

"This is a shop that your teacher applied for for you. The location is quite remote, but with you as the blacksmith, there won't be a lack of business. For the next few years, you just need to run the shop yourself, and do your job when there is business. Then you can focus on cultivating your soul power."

Su Ming took the business license, never expecting that cultivating under his teacher's tutelage would be so close to real life.

Wow, opening a shop and refining it yourself means you can come back to your teacher for guidance and learn from their experience whenever you encounter difficulties.

"Senior brother, I still have to go to school," Su Ming reminded Duan Jin.

Duan Jin said, "Don't worry, I've enrolled you in the Advanced Soul Master Academy. It's the only Advanced Soul Master Academy in Gengxin City, called Shen Tie Academy."

Shen Tie Academy?

Su Ming said he had no recollection of it.

"The Divine Iron Academy mainly consists of internal weapon martial spirits. It was built with funds from the Blacksmith Association. The best career path after graduation is to join the Blacksmith Association and become a high-level blacksmith. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to recruit students and there are not many geniuses."

Su Ming understood.

There weren't many geniuses, so there wasn't much fame.

Xiaoming Forging Shop.

A middle-aged man, accompanied by two henchmen, walked into the rather deserted little shop.

Compared to the sweltering heat outside, the stoves inside the small shop weren't even fully turned on, making it surprisingly cool.

"is the boss around?"

The man asked the child who was lying on the recliner with his eyes closed in meditation.

Su Ming opened his eyes and said, "I am the boss."

"Stop joking, I have a large number of orders to place." The man frowned.

"I am the boss, I am the blacksmith." As he spoke, Su Ming produced a paper certificate in his hand.

The man took the certificate, glanced at it, and confirmed that it was indeed the child's certificate.

The certificate was valid; it was issued by the Blacksmiths' Association, and it stated that the blacksmith, who possessed master-level skills, was named Su Ming and was only seven years old. "You're so young, can you even swing a hammer?" the man couldn't help but ask.

Su Ming rolled his eyes and didn't answer.

I've given you all the proof, and you still doubt whether I can lift a hammer?

I'll punch you on the head!

The man knew he had asked a pointless question, but he was genuinely surprised.

However, he was also a worldly person, and he quickly compared his worldly experience with Su Ming's situation, accepting the fact that Su Ming could become a blacksmith at such a young age.

As long as one is a Soul Master, their Martial Soul excels in strength, they are willing to put in the effort, and they have forging talent, it is still possible.

"I have an order here, it's a pretty big one, can you take a look?"

The man handed Su Ming a very long form.

The list contains all the parts that are needed.

Su Ming glanced at it and hesitated before asking, "You must have hundreds of sets of armor here, right?"

The man said, "Don't worry about that. It's only for the support-type Soul Masters of the sect."

Su Ming glanced at the man with a suspicious look.

Why would a support-type Soul Master wear such exquisite armor?
"Can you build it?" the man asked.

"Don't worry about that. I'm a blacksmith. If these skilled blacksmiths can do it, of course I can do it too."

"Although the Blacksmith Association's certificate is very credible, I still need to verify it. Here's what we'll do: you forge me a set of armor first, and I'll come back in three days to inspect it. I'll pay you 500 gold soul coins for this set. If it's up to standard, the rest of the orders will be yours to complete. A total of 100 sets, and I'll give you 30,000 gold soul coins."

One hundred sets, 30,000 Gold Soul Coins?

It would be much easier to mass-produce them, so for 100 sets, each set would be priced at 300 gold soul coins.

Su Ming estimated that the requirements for the parts on the blueprints were reasonable, and the price offered by the man was even slightly higher than the market price.

"Sure, three days should be enough." Su Ming suddenly remembered something and asked, "How long will it take to complete this order?"

"Three months."

"Forget it then. I'm the only blacksmith here. Three days is the limit for one set. It will take at least three hundred days, or ten months, to finish forging it." Su Ming shrugged.

The man stared at Su Ming, sizing him up and down, and thought that what he said made sense.

"Use your best skills to make it first. If the quality is acceptable, everything else is negotiable."

Su Ming was surprised that the other party still insisted.

"Row."

As they left Xiao Ming's blacksmith shop, the two henchmen behind the man asked in confusion, "Sir, this batch of armor is meant to be distributed to the disciples of the sect. Are we really going to wait for him to slowly forge it?"

“Only about twenty people need the armor. The rest are just reserves. Giving him time to forge it won’t hurt,” the steward said. “This child is already a blacksmith at such a young age. He may not become a master blacksmith in ten months, but three years is enough. We can place some orders with him occasionally during these three years. After he becomes a master blacksmith, we can continue to cooperate.”

Once a blacksmith becomes a master blacksmith, it's a highly skilled job. Even if the profession itself isn't prestigious, the job is still very competitive.

Ordinary blacksmiths are looked down upon, but that's only true in the world of Soul Masters.

Even high-level blacksmiths can be looked down upon, but that's because they're looked down upon by high-level soul masters.

A blacksmith is no less powerful than a Soul Master of level 10 or 12; a master blacksmith is even more powerful, comparable to a Soul Master, because the products made by a master blacksmith are more or less compatible with Soul Power, and their effects far exceed those of ordinary tools. Moreover, they can use this skill to repair the damaged Soul Tools unearthed from ruins.

(End of this chapter)