In the early morning, Tang San headed back home from the hilltop feeling refreshed and clear-headed. These past days, thanks to his daily use of Purple Extreme Demon Eye and his continuous morning practice, his ability had improved considerably. He could now clearly see the subtle movement of a mosquito beating its wings within a ten-meter range. Had it not been for the bottleneck in his Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San was certain his progress in all other areas would have been even greater.
Forging a fifty-centimeter-square block of pig iron down to the size of a fist—something that had once seemed impossible—Tang San had already accomplished over half a month ago. The forging hammer technique that Tang Hao had taught him, using borrowed force to generate force, was something he could now perform in a continuous sequence of twenty-four strikes. Every blow landed with precision, including the control of force. Although Tang Hao had never praised him outright, Tang San could tell from the occasional glint of satisfaction in his father's eyes that his hammer technique had reached a modest level of proficiency. To improve further, though, would still require relentless practice.
Just about to step through the front door, Tang San gently touched his wrist, and a faint smile of satisfaction crossed his face. Strapped to his wrist was his first creation since arriving in this world—and it was a piece where every single step had been done entirely by his own hands.
It was a Sleeve Arrow. In the Tang Sect of his previous life, the Sleeve Arrow had been the most common type of mechanical Hidden Weapon. The key to crafting a Sleeve Arrow lay in the power of the spring mechanism and the sophistication of its design. The one Tang San had built even incorporated a safety mechanism—it was entirely impossible for it to misfire.
A complete Sleeve Arrow set typically consisted of three bolts and one sleeve tube, and the one on Tang San's wrist was no exception. As for its material, it had been forged from that very block of pig iron he had spent nearly a hundred days hammering.
When Tang San had completed the task Tang Hao set for him—forging that block of pig iron down to the size of a fist—he had discovered with astonishment that the iron, once riddled with impurities, had transformed into a piece of Iron Mother. True Iron Mother.
In his previous life, let alone himself, even the finest forging masters of the Tang Sect would never have known the method of forging ordinary pig iron into Iron Mother. Yet in this world, it had become reality. That in itself was an incredible thing. And the Sleeve Arrow now strapped to Tang San's wrist had been crafted from that very piece of Iron Mother. Completing the Sleeve Arrow, including the three four-inch bolts, had used up every last bit of it.
When it came to forging, Tang San was no match for Tang Hao—not even close. But when it came to crafting ingenious Hidden Weapons, forget Tang Hao—there was likely no one in all of Soul Land who could rival this outer-court genius of the Tang Sect.
A standard Sleeve Arrow had an effective range of roughly fifteen meters, but the one Tang San had built could maintain an effective attack distance of over thirty meters.
Effective attack distance referred to the straight-line distance the bolt traveled after firing—meaning the range at which it could still deliver full lethal force.
Though Tang San's Sleeve Arrow held only three bolts, the craftsmanship was exquisite. Each bolt featured three blood grooves, and were it not for the limited quantity, he had even considered adding barbs to the tips. The tiny four-fletched tail finning allowed the bolts to fly with remarkable stability. The conical arrowheads bore spiral rifling, giving the bolts even greater penetrating power once fired.
When it came to the design and creation of Hidden Weapons, Tang San always pursued perfection—even if this was nothing more than a simple Sleeve Arrow.
Tang San knew that he was still young, and his Mysterious Heaven Skill had yet to break through its bottleneck. Against an ordinary person, he wouldn't have much to worry about, but if he ran into someone like Su Yun Tao from before—a Soul Master capable of wielding a Martial Soul—his strength would fall far short. With this Sleeve Arrow, however, things were different. Tang San was confident that, armed with it, he could deal with any Soul Master whose strength wasn't too overwhelming.
……
[From the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record of the Tang Sect, General Principles, Article Two: What is a Hidden Weapon? A special weapon used covertly to defeat the enemy is a Hidden Weapon. If the enemy already knows you intend to use it, then it is no longer a Hidden Weapon, but an open weapon.]
……
Tang San would certainly never let his Hidden Weapons become open weapons. And Tang Hao had never asked what he had done with that piece of Iron Mother. So this Sleeve Arrow was his secret alone.
Stepping through the door, the aroma of congee wafted toward him. It was the same thing he did every single day—long since second nature.
"Dad, breakfast is ready," Tang San called toward the back room.
Strangely, Tang Hao—who usually emerged the moment he heard the word "food"—did not appear today.
Tang San's heart tightened. Had his father fallen ill? He hurried inside in quick, anxious steps to his father's room.
Tang Hao was not in the room. In all these years, this seemed to be the first time he hadn't slept in.
Just as Tang San was wondering where his father had gone, Tang Hao returned.
"Xiao San, where did you go this morning?" Tang Hao asked calmly.
"I went out for some exercise," Tang San replied. "I go for a run every morning." It wasn't really a lie—he had indeed gone out to "exercise."
"Mm." Tang Hao didn't press further. He said simply, "You don't need to practice forging today. Pack your things. Tomorrow, Lao Jie Ke will take you to Nuoding City."
Tang San blinked. "Nuoding City? What for?" The last time he had gone to Nuoding City was about a year ago, when Lao Jie Ke had gone to buy supplies and brought him along to see the sights.
Tang Hao glanced at him. "Didn't you want to learn the abilities of a Soul Master? Lao Jie Ke will take you to the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy as a Work-study Student. You'll learn what you want to learn there."
At his father's words, Tang San's heart rate surged. An indescribable wave of excitement washed over him. His inability to break through the bottleneck of the Mysterious Heaven Skill had been his greatest source of frustration—and Soul Rings from a Soul Master were clearly an opportunity.
"Dad, you changed your mind?"
Tang Hao countered, "Well? Are you going or not?"
"But if I go, who'll cook for you?" Tang San said. By now he understood—the reason his father had risen so early today was to go see Village Chief Jie Ke.
(End of Chapter)