Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

Chapter 9 Blacksmith Apprentice

The next day, Yang Ping'an arrived at the blacksmith shop wearing a set of ordinary old clothes and began his blacksmith apprenticeship.

The boss, Tie Lin, was quite considerate of Yang Ping'an, and directly arranged for a skilled old blacksmith to be Yang Ping'an's teacher.

The old blacksmith's surname was Lin, and his given name was Lin Daniu. Everyone in the shop respectfully called him Master Lin.

Everyone in the shop understood that Yang Ping'an was just a temporary blacksmith, and his future goal was definitely to become a Soul Master. Therefore, Yang Ping'an did not formally become an apprentice, but instead directly learned from Lin Daniu.

After entering the blacksmith shop to begin his studies, Yang Ping'an felt a slight tremor within him. After careful consideration, he summoned the Purple-Gold Mastiff.

After entering the blacksmith's shop, the golden mastiff seemed relatively satisfied with the environment. Even though it was still sleeping, it looked like it was sleeping more soundly.

After communicating with the boss Tie Lin, Yang Ping'an found an empty workbench in the blacksmith shop and let the Purple Gold Mastiff sleep on it. He didn't need to worry about anything else.

Of course, Yang Ping'an also repeatedly warned the golden mastiff that it absolutely must not fart in the blacksmith shop, otherwise it would be driven away by everyone.

The golden mastiff seemed to be very intelligent. After hearing Yang Ping'an's instructions, it slightly opened its eyes, glanced at Yang Ping'an with a hint of disdain, and then continued to sleep.

It must be said that although the Purple Gold Mastiff is very weak, it has a great advantage: it consumes very little soul power after being summoned, and can basically stay away from the body for a long time.

After settling the Golden Mastiff, Yang Ping'an began his apprenticeship as a blacksmith.

From that day on, Yang Ping'an made a complete plan for his cultivation, running around the school every morning and practicing his fist and foot techniques.

I go to class in the morning, but I hardly listen during class. Instead, I borrow several books from the library and read them during class time. Sometimes I just go to the library to read instead of going to class.

We ate lunch at the blacksmith's shop, and then worked there until evening. The workload was quite heavy.

After dinner, the blacksmith shop was about to close, so Yang Ping'an returned to his dormitory to meditate and rest, each meditation session lasting an entire night.

After some planning, my days are basically full and I'm always busy, at least my body is undergoing high-intensity training.

For the first three months of working at the blacksmith's shop, Lin Daniu blacksmith assigned Yang Ping'an to do odd jobs.

Although blacksmithing is just a physically demanding job, it is also very complex. In addition to blacksmithing skills and mastery of techniques, it also requires knowledge of various other things.

This includes the selection and use of iron ore, ignition and temperature control using bellows, identification of various iron ores, and even the separation of iron ores containing multiple different elements.

During the first three months, in addition to the tasks assigned by Lin the blacksmith, he also had to help other blacksmiths with some tasks, including serving tea and water and carrying heavy loads.

These tasks seem very simple on the surface, but for Yang Ping'an, a six-year-old child, they are quite heavy. After finishing them every afternoon, he is basically exhausted.

This odd job lasted for three months. During these three months, Yang Ping'an clearly felt that his body had become much stronger and his strength had increased significantly. His originally thin body even began to show some muscle definition, which was somewhat beyond the level of a six-year-old child.

Yang Ping'an's other time was also very busy.

Every morning, in addition to the boxing techniques his father taught him, Yang Ping'an also does 500 push-ups, 500 frog jumps, and a 5-kilometer run every morning.

My morning exercise time is only about two hours, which means I have to get up at six o'clock and finish before eight o'clock, otherwise it will affect my studies in the morning.

After this morning workout, I quickly eat breakfast to replenish my energy and start my morning studies.

Although Notting Elementary School is a primary Soul Master Academy, it has a large collection of books, including many books on martial souls and cultivation, though they are generally not very in-depth.

Unexpectedly, Yang Ping'an found an advanced meditation method in the library, which was even marked as being provided by Yu Xiaogang. However, due to its profound nature, many elementary school students scoffed at it, while Yang Ping'an treasured it.

Of course, the library also contains many books provided by Yu Xiaogang, including the famous "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls", the Soul Ring Age Chart, and even his other books.

However, judging from the appearance of these books, they probably don't attract much attention from students, at least they are much newer than the other books.

Yang Ping'an, on the other hand, accepted all kinds of books and read them carefully. Yu Xiaogang's theories may be wrong or have certain limitations, but they still have some reference value. At least for Yang Ping'an now, they are treasures for learning.

Evening meditation is the key to everything. Every afternoon, after his muscles are sore from exhaustion, Yang Ping'an returns to his dormitory to meditate. Under such extreme fatigue, his meditation speed is significantly better than usual.

After three months of study, Yang Ping'an's soul power finally improved, reaching level one. At this rate, it was like a tortoise.

Moreover, this is only the initial meditation. It should be noted that the higher the Soul Master's Soul Power level, the slower the Soul Power increases. At this rate, it is estimated that it will be difficult to increase two levels in a year, especially after reaching level nine, where breaking through from level nine to level ten will be a minor bottleneck.

This kind of bottleneck might not be a big deal for those geniuses, but for Yang Ping'an, who has half a level of innate soul power, every major level breakthrough would probably be a significant bottleneck.

In addition to Yang Ping'an's diligent training every night, the fact that he increased his soul power by half a level in three months also benefited from the Purple Gold Mastiff's long hours spent in the blacksmith's shop during the day.

Yang Ping'an always felt that the Purple Gold Mastiff was unusually happy in the blacksmith's shop. The Purple Gold Mastiff could also absorb more metal elements in this environment. He always felt that every time the Purple Gold Mastiff returned to his body, his body would also undergo a slight change. This change was so small that it was hard to even feel it.

But for some reason, Yang Ping'an could feel changes in his body. He always felt that something was wrong with his body, but he could never find the reason or source of this problem.

Moreover, even though he only meditates at night, Yang Ping'an feels that his time is very tight. He meditates for almost eight hours every day, which is a long time, even more than he sleeps.

(End of this chapter)