After seeing Lao Jie Ke off, Tang San felt a touch of disappointment. After all, what Su Yun Tao had said about Soul Rings might very well be related to his Mysterious Heaven Skill's breakthrough problem. But he didn't let it show. He believed there would still be chances.
He walked slowly back to the blacksmith shop. Tang Hao, surprisingly, hadn't gone back to his room to sleep. Instead, he sat in his chair with his eyes closed, resting.
"Father, why don't you go back to your room and rest a bit longer? I'll go prepare lunch."
Tang Hao kept his eyes closed and said flatly, "Are you feeling disappointed too? You want to become a Soul Master as well?"
Tang San was stunned for a moment. "It's fine, Father. Being a blacksmith is perfectly good too. I can still support us. Didn't you promise to teach me how to forge farm tools?"
Tang Hao slowly opened his eyes. In them, Tang San could see a wave of emotion. Unknowingly, Tang Hao's right fist had already clenched tight. On his weathered face, a trace of bone-chilling coldness emerged. "Soul Masters? What use are Soul Masters? Forget a useless Martial Soul—even the most powerful Martial Soul, the most formidable Soul Master, what use are they? Nothing but trash."
Tang Hao's emotions surged, his body trembling. In that moment, Tang San caught a faint glimmer of something wet in his father's eyes.
Tang San hurried over and grasped Tang Hao's fist. "Father, don't be angry. I won't become a Soul Master. I'll stay with you and cook for you."
Tang Hao took a deep breath. His agitation came quickly and left just as fast. He said mildly, "Release your Martial Soul and let me see."
"Alright." Tang San nodded, raised his right hand, and quietly circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill within him. In his consciousness, he felt that peculiar surge of heat merge as one with his Mysterious Heaven Skill. A faint blue glow appeared in his palm, and in an instant, a small blade of shimmering Blue Silver Grass materialized.
Tang Hao stared blankly at the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand, dazed. It took a long while before he gradually came back to himself. The light in his eyes flickered uncertainly as he murmured in a low voice, "Blue Silver Grass… it really is Blue Silver Grass. Just like hers."
Suddenly, Tang Hao shot to his feet and spun around to head for the back room. The abrupt movement nearly knocked Tang San over, and the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul vanished on its own.
"Father—"
Tang Hao waved his hand impatiently. "Don't bother me." With that, he pushed through the curtain and disappeared into the back.
"But… I have another Martial Soul." Tang San spoke up anyway, revealing what made him different after today's Awakening Ceremony. This was something he hadn't dared ask Su Yun Tao or Jie Ke about—after all, they were outsiders.
……
[From the General Principles of the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, First Rule: Never let anyone you cannot fully trust know the true extent of your abilities.]
……
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record was something Tang San had long since committed to memory, and the General Principles were something he followed absolutely.
The curtain was suddenly thrown aside, and Tang Hao reappeared in the outer room. This time, his face was filled with shock. His eyes were visibly red—he had apparently been crying.
Tang San didn't say a word. Instead, just as he had raised his right hand before, he slowly raised his left. This time, it was no blue light that emerged. A faint black glow surged forth from his palm, condensing in an instant as a strange object took shape in his hand.
It was a hammer, entirely jet-black. The handle was roughly half a foot long, and the hammerhead was cylindrical, closely resembling a miniature forging hammer. But on the pitch-black surface of that hammer, there was a peculiar luminescence, and a faint pattern of rings coiled around the cylindrical head.
For some unknown reason, the moment the hammer appeared in Tang San's hand, the air in the entire room grew oppressive. Tang San seemed unable to bear the weight of the small hammer—he could only grip it as his arm slowly drooped downward. His face had already turned rather pale.
Unlike the Blue Silver Grass, which consumed virtually none of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, the moment this small black hammer appeared, it had absorbed nearly all of Tang San's inner energy. He could barely maintain his grip on the handle. Although the hammer looked tiny, its actual weight far exceeded that of his forging hammer.
"This—this is—…" Tang Hao crossed the distance to Tang San in a single lunge, seizing the hand that held the hammer and bringing it before his own eyes. Tang Hao's grip was immensely strong; at the very least, Tang San no longer felt the strain on his arm from the hammer's weight.
When Tang Hao's hand closed over his, a warmth of blood bond connected them, filling Tang San with an extraordinary sense of comfort. "Father, is something wrong?"
Gazing at the small black hammer, the look of emotion that had vanished moments ago blazed once more in Tang Hao's eyes. "Twin Martial Soul. It's actually a Twin Martial Soul. Son, my son."
In one swift motion, Tang Hao threw open his powerful arms and pulled Tang San tightly into his embrace.
Tang Hao's chest was broad—perhaps from years of blacksmithing. Though he appeared lazy on the surface, his muscles had not diminished with time. His embrace was warm, and the sense of security that came from a father's love was something nothing else in the world could replace.
"Father." Tang San was momentarily stunned. In all his memories, this seemed to be the first time Tang Hao had ever held him like this.
The small iron hammer in his hand seemed to grow heavier by the moment. As much as Tang San cherished the warmth of his father's embrace, he was even more concerned about the hammer slipping from his grasp and striking the man holding him.
"Father, I can't hold on much longer," Tang San couldn't help but say.
Tang Hao released his arms. "Put it away."
The black glow dissipated, and the weight vanished. Tang San felt puzzled—the hammer was clearly formed from his own Mysterious Heaven Skill combined with a unique power within his body, so why couldn't he hold it? What surprised him even more was that after summoning the small hammer, he had already consumed seventy to eighty percent of his inner energy.
(End of Chapter)