By the fifth day, Tang San was already able to hold his position on the round stone for five seconds.
Even without the aid of Soul Power, when he stood on the stone, his body could sway gently according to the properties of the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail, deflecting the waterfall's impact and searching for the optimal point of balance to bear the force.
Even when breathing became difficult, he tried his best to hold on just a little longer.
For Tang San, this was undoubtedly a good start. As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest. Those first moments of endurance were inevitably the most painful. Tang San had to withstand not only the fierce onslaught of the waterfall, but also the torment of being unable to use his Soul Power.
It was like an adult suddenly turned into a child — strength vanishing in an instant, requiring time to adapt.
And five days happened to be exactly that period of adaptation. Over those five days of constantly being battered by the current, Tang San gradually recovered from the pain of being unable to use the Mysterious Heaven Skill. With the boost to his mental acuity granted by his wisdom skull, he slowly figured out the right approach.
Starting from the sixth day, the amount of time he could stay on the round stone increased geometrically, and the forging hammer in his hand could finally begin to swing.
Generating force on a smooth, rounded stone was an extremely painful endeavor. But Tang San was exceptionally clever — he didn't rush into practicing the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique. Instead, he first focused on adapting to standing in the waterfall, struggling to maintain his balance and letting the torrent of water wash over him.
When Tang San was finally able to stand firm beneath the waterfall without being knocked into the pool below, Tang Hao gave him his second instruction.
Train. Train his Soul Power. For Tang San, of course, that meant cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Tang San had been bewildered by his father's words at first. His Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal energy had been sealed — how could he possibly cultivate? But once he actually began, he discovered that the seal his father had placed on him was remarkably peculiar. Although he couldn't use the internal energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the cultivation process itself was unaffected.
Every time he began cultivating within his hollow body, the accumulated internal energy, after completing one full cycle, would naturally merge into the scorching seal, fusing with his original reserves.
Although this meant Tang San couldn't sense the degree of progress in his Mysterious Heaven Skill, his body's recovery speed noticeably increased after each session.
And so, from that day onward, Tang San devoted three hours each day to cultivation, spending the rest of his time training beneath the waterfall.
*Pu—*
The forging hammer struck the waterfall, sending up a modest spray of water. It completed one full rotation and returned to hover above Tang San's head.
He had succeeded. Tang San was overjoyed, though his delight lasted only a moment before his concentration wavered, and the waterfall knocked him into the pool.
Today marked his fifteenth day here. Through relentless effort, he had finally managed to successfully execute the first strike of the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique without slipping off the round stone when generating force.
With the first strike came the second. As Tang San continued to train, the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique began to unfold in his hands.
The forging hammer was not the Clear Sky Hammer after all — it didn't have that terrifying weight, and its own mass actually helped Tang San maintain his balance on the stone. Gradually, his execution of the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique under the waterfall grew more and more refined.
From initially producing only small splashes of water, he progressed to swinging the hammer in a formation so seamless that wind and rain could not penetrate. Beneath the waterfall, it formed a circular barrier that continuously deflected the rushing water, sending enormous plumes of spray into the air.
The number of hammer strikes increased rapidly and steadily. In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.
*BOOM—*
The final hammer strike launched out, and Tang San's body shot skyward like a cannonball, surging ten meters straight up against the downward-pounding waterfall. Within that ten-meter radius, the falling water was deflected back upward, and with the momentum of his body, it unleashed a tremendous roar. Even the rainbow arching across the pool was thrown into disarray in that instant.
That, of course, was not something Tang San's own strength could achieve — it was a property of the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique itself.
Each strike stronger than the last, each force layered upon the previous. If not for the extraordinary resilience of Tang San's body, that massive cumulative impact alone would have been enough to tear every muscle apart.
The moment all eighty-one strikes were completed, the forces from those eighty-one accumulated layers condensed together. Even though he couldn't use a shred of Soul Power at that moment, the terrifying offensive power of that single instant surpassed his peak.
*BANG—*
The force dissipated, and Tang San's body crashed heavily into the pool beneath the waterfall. But in that moment, the exhilaration in his heart was beyond description.
Three months — he had finally fulfilled his father's requirement and delivered the eighty-first hammer strike.
The Tang San of today had a healthy bronze glow to his skin, and he had grown a few inches taller. Though his hair and the stubble on his face were a disheveled mess, those eyes of his — sharp as cold stars — blazed with brilliant light.