With his martial souls awakened and his spirit soul obtained, the next step was choosing a secondary profession.
To become a Battle Armor Master and possess one's own battle armor, one had to participate in at least one of the four processes involved in its creation: blacksmithing, mecha design, mecha manufacturing, or mecha maintenance, representing materials, design, construction, and repair respectively.
Su Qiu was not particularly worried about choosing a secondary profession. No matter what, as long as his strength reached the required level, becoming a Battle Armor Master would never be a problem.
Why?
Because there existed a lifesaving profession, mecha maintenance.
High-level battle armor could automatically repair minor damage, meaning maintenance masters were rarely essential. Moreover, both designers and manufacturers could eventually learn to repair their own armor after sufficient advancement.
So why did mecha maintenance still stand alongside the other three major professions?
Simple.
It was the perfect profession for slackers, for those who wanted to coast their way to victory.
Once battle armor passed through the stages of design, materials, and construction, it was already complete. Maintenance was a matter for later, which conveniently gave certain people the opportunity to become Battle Armor Masters without doing the heavy lifting.
Design required brains. Forging required strength. Manufacturing required delicate hands.
Slackers simply picked maintenance, doing just enough to get by.
"Have you decided which profession to choose?" Su Wuyan asked.
He had even more confidence than Su Qiu himself about whether the boy could become a Battle Armor Master. After all, he knew the inside workings very well, he himself was a mecha maintenance master.
Ever since obtaining his three-word battle armor, he had barely needed to repair it. Minor damage fixed itself, while severe damage was often easier solved by forging new parts altogether.
"Blacksmithing. I'll try that first," Su Qiu replied without hesitation.
Design and manufacturing demanded too much mental effort. Blacksmithing also required talent, but cultivation level and physical strength played a much larger role.
Su Qiu knew himself well, back in his previous life he had struggled even with higher mathematics and physics, let alone something as complex as mecha design.
Forging was better. With enough strength alone, one could still achieve respectable results.
And if forging didn't work out… he could always switch to maintenance and live comfortably as a professional slacker.
"Blacksmithing, huh? That works." Su Wuyan's eyes turned sly as he patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, Xiao Qiu, I'll find you an Eight-Star Saint Craftsman to be your teacher!"
An Eight-Star Saint Craftsman…
Even without thinking, Su Qiu knew exactly who his uncle had in mind, the president of the East Sea City Blacksmith Association: Mu Chen.
Su Wuyan and Mu Chen had once been classmates at Shrek Academy and even belonged to the same team. Back then, their relationship had been close enough to be described as "wearing the same pair of pants."
"Old man, if I remember correctly, don't you still owe Uncle Mu Chen the materials cost for an entire set of three-word battle armor?"
"And you still have the nerve to ask him to teach me?" Su Qiu examined Su Wuyan's face carefully, yet found not a trace of embarrassment.
"Don't worry. If I ask nicely, it'll work out."
"But we don't even know yet whether I have any talent for forging."
"Ah, that's beside the point," Su Wuyan replied shamelessly. "What does it matter if you have talent or not?"
He spoke matter-of-factly, "Connections exist precisely for people who don't have talent!"
"If you actually did have talent, I wouldn't even need to ask him. Plenty of Saint Craftsmen would come knocking on your door themselves."
…That actually makes sense.
Su Qiu suddenly understood.
The less talent you had, the more you needed to rely shamelessly on connections!
Sure enough, having an elder in the family truly was like having a treasure.
Having reached an agreement, the uncle and nephew, both highly proactive individuals, set off immediately, boarding a Spirit Pagoda vehicle.
Their destination: Mu Chen.
The East Sea City Blacksmith Association stood in one of the city's most prosperous districts, a gray thirty-story building marked by a massive hammer emblem on its exterior.
Pedestrians passing by could not help but glance upward each time, their eyes filled with longing.
And today, the Blacksmith Association welcomed one, no, two, unexpected visitors.
Through the glass doors on the first floor walked a burly middle-aged man, accompanied by a blond, blue-eyed young boy.
Behind the reception desk stood a beautiful young woman dressed in a gray professional uniform. Her eyes immediately locked onto the adorable child. His soft golden hair and clear blue-green eyes gave him an air of elegance and nobility beyond his years, a pure and sacred temperament that made her want to scoop him up and hug him tightly.
"Little friend, you-"
She stepped forward to greet him, only to freeze halfway when she recognized the person standing beside the boy.
Dragon Sparrow Douluo!
That name was thunderously famous to her.
Not because of his formidable cultivation, nor because of his status as the East Sea Spirit Pagoda branch master.
But because Dragon Sparrow Douluo was infamous within the East Sea City Blacksmith Association as a professional freeloader, someone who constantly came to take metal materials without paying. President Mu Chen had long since placed him on the association's blacklist.
The receptionist smoothly turned around, pretending not to see them. Although the president had repeatedly declared that Dragon Sparrow Douluo, and even dogs, were strictly forbidden from entering, she made no attempt to stop him.
After all, he was a Titled Douluo.
And anyone with eyes could tell that the president and Dragon Sparrow Douluo were actually extremely close friends. The "ban" was mostly symbolic. If she truly stopped him at the door, the president might end up displeased instead.
"Is Mu Chen here?" Su Wuyan asked politely upon entering.
The receptionist lowered her head, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Y-Yes, Your Excellency Dragon Sparrow. The president is in his office."
"Oh, good."
Pulling Su Qiu along, Su Wuyan walked through the building unimpeded, the surrounding blacksmiths stepping aside like people avoiding the plague.
Familiar with the route, he soon reached the office door, and kicked it open without hesitation.
"Mu Dog! I've got something to ask of you!"
His voice arrived before he did.
Inside the office sat a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties behind a desk. He possessed dignified features and a sturdy build, dressed in a silver-gray fitted outfit.
Pinned to the left side of his chest was a badge with a golden base and a raised hammer emblem identical to the one displayed outside the building.
Eight black stars adorned the badge, marking him as a noble Eight-Star Saint Craftsman.
"...Sigh."
Mu Chen rubbed his forehead with one hand, taking several deep breaths to suppress his irritation. "Go on, what part of your battle armor broke this time? What materials do you need?"
"I'll forge them for you when I have time in the next few days. Now get out and wait for my message. I'm busy."
Over the past two years, Su Wuyan had gone nearly mad hunting evil soul masters across the continent. Under such intense, nonstop battles, even self-repairing three-word battle armor could not keep up. Parts frequently became completely inoperative, forcing him to return to Mu Chen for reforging.
On one occasion, Su Wuyan had even killed two Titled Douluo-level evil soul masters, destroying his entire set of three-word battle armor in the process and having to rebuild it from scratch.
"It's not that this time. I came for my nephew, I'd like you to teach him forging."
Su Wuyan then noticed the girl standing beside Mu Chen.
"Oh? Xiao Xi is here too."