Douluo: Trinity, I run through the timeline.

Chapter 9: Is the Path of the Battle Armor Master Broken? (Please Read On!!!)
Su Ming stopped using the forging hammer.

He looked at the iron block in front of him, which he had already tempered to its limit, and fell into deep thought.

Beside him, Duan Jin stared at Su Ming with the eyes of someone looking at a rare treasure, and then looked at the iron block that Su Ming had forged.

He looked at Su Ming, who was deep in thought, and assumed that Su Ming was in a great state just now and was now digesting his recent progress.

In reality, Su Ming was filled with doubt.

“Just now, I was in perfect condition. I was following the blacksmith’s forging method to open the window of the metal and communicate with it, but the metal did not have that spirituality.”

The forging principle from the Douluo Continent III era—that metals possess a spirit—is no longer applicable to the Douluo Continent I era!
This is not good news.

If this speculation is true, it means that Su Ming of Douyi will lose the possibility of becoming a blacksmith and mastering the forging techniques of later generations, such as spirit forging, soul forging, and even heaven forging, in this era.

Without the possibility of becoming a blacksmith, he would also lose the qualification to continue on the path of a battle armor master.

Su Ming took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Perhaps this piece of iron is just ordinary iron, not a rare metal, which is why it lacks spirituality."

He also managed to overcome his frustration. In reality, even if he couldn't follow the path of a Battle Armor Master, it wouldn't have a significant impact on him. He could still be invincible among his peers in the first era of the Battle Armor Master, a confidence stemming from his original martial soul.

This increased the pressure on his other two clones, meaning that instead of three clones simultaneously handling the three secondary professions, only two clones were required to do so.

After all, if the battle armor cannot improve Su Ming's Douyi level, then it would be a losing proposition for him to study any secondary profession. In an era where it is easiest to become a god, wasting energy on a losing proposition will only result in greater losses.

"It's not entirely certain that spirit forging is impossible in this era, so I need to remain optimistic."

While Su Ming was struggling internally, Duan Jin had already picked up the piece of refined iron he had forged and began to examine it.

"It's too perfect. This piece of iron looks like it's about to transform at any moment." He murmured, "If it were made from the legendary divine iron, it could probably transform even further and be born with spirituality."

Su Ming regained consciousness and heard Duan Jin muttering to himself.

A glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Just moments ago, he was doubting whether spirit forging was possible in this era, but Duan Jin gave him the answer.

So, the concept of spirit forging already existed in this era?

This passage suggests that metals possess a spiritual quality, indicating that the Blacksmiths' Association has records of this.

"Brother Duan, what did you mean by 'born with spirituality'? Does that mean metal can also possess intelligence?"

Duan Jin didn't expect that Su Ming would focus on his words after waking up.

He smiled and explained to Su Ming, "It's not that being born with spirituality means having wisdom. It's just that metal is more vibrant, and it also has the prerequisites to become a true life form and give birth to wisdom."

He said, "In our Douluo Continent, everything can become a soul beast. There are animal-type soul beasts, plant-type soul beasts, and many other unique life forms that transform into soul beasts. The Blacksmith Association has recorded the works of some legendary craftsmen who have made their mark in history. Their masterpieces were all born with spirituality and indeed had the potential to become soul beasts."

Yes, there is!
Su Ming caught Duan Jin's choice of words.

In other words, the Blacksmith Association has cases where metals that initially only possessed basic spirituality have been transformed into soul beasts through the test of time!

"Metal can also become a soul beast," Su Ming murmured to himself.

He didn't mutter it to himself, but spoke it aloud, hoping that Duan Jin would explain further.

"Yes, metal can also have life, and this is what we blacksmiths pursue throughout our lives. As long as we can forge metal with a spirit, we can become master craftsmen!"

"To become the undisputed god of the entire blacksmithing world!"

Su Ming gasped. "So, this is the standard by which a master craftsman is judged."

“That’s right!” Duan Jin said, “This is no secret in the Blacksmith Association. To become a master blacksmith, you have to forge a piece that possesses a spirit.”

There are three master craftsmen in this era, meaning that three people have accomplished this feat.

But there were only three people.

While Su Ming felt excited, he also felt heavy-hearted.

He could sense that there were many limitations to forging spiritual metals in this era.

"Alas, it's a pity that true spiritual metal is not so easy to make. The right time, place, and people are all indispensable. Not only do you need the right special metal, but you also need an environment that matches the metal, plus the forging techniques of a truly top-notch blacksmith."

Su Ming asked, "Is this special metal rare?"

“It’s more than just rare.” Duan Jin shook his head and said, “Gengxin City gathers most of the precious metals on the continent, but special metals with the potential to give birth to spirits may not be found even once every ten years. These special metals are all divine irons, and the difficulty of forging them increases exponentially compared to ordinary irons. Take your situation for example, you forged this piece of ordinary iron to the threshold of giving birth to spirits, but with your level, you might not even be able to complete a hundred forgings of those special metals.”

Su Ming talked with Duan Jin for a long time to learn about the current state of the blacksmith industry.

Finally, recalling what Duan Jin had just said about metals becoming soul beasts, he asked, "Brother Duan, does the Blacksmith Association really have metals that can transform into soul beasts?"

That should be considered Heavenly Forging, right?
Although it takes time to complete, theoretically speaking, it has already completed the steps of Soul Forging and Heaven Forging after Spirit Forging.

"Yes, all the blacksmiths in Gengxin City know that the masterpiece of the first master blacksmith in the field a thousand years ago has transformed into a soul beast after five hundred years."

A work from a thousand years ago?

Five hundred years to transform into a soul beast?
This time period wasn't very long—

If spiritual metals could be forged in batches, wouldn't it be possible to harvest a batch of Heavenly Forged Metals in five hundred years? Su Ming naturally assumed that the soul beasts formed from the metals were Heavenly Forged Metals.

"Over the millennia, generations of master craftsmen have poured their hearts and souls into their work, yet only one piece of metal has been transformed into a soul beast."

Well, after hearing Duan Jin's words, Su Ming felt that this metal soul beast must be quite special.

"Is this soul beast still in the Blacksmith Association?"

Duan Jin said regretfully, "No, that soul beast was killed more than a hundred years ago and became that person's soul ring."

Su Ming also showed a regretful expression.

After his reflections, Duan Jin remembered his business.

"Dad said you want the first spirit ring of the hundred-year period?"

Su Ming nodded.

“No problem, but you have to come with me to Gengxin City. I will help you find a teacher.”

"it is good!"

After learning about the existence of special metals, Su Ming no longer doubted whether spirit forging was possible in this era.

Spirit forging is definitely possible, it's just that the materials are scarce.

"Have you decided what type of spirit ring you want?" Duan Jin asked.

(End of this chapter)