Silent Sleeve Dart

After setting out two bowls of thin porridge, Tang San called toward the inner room, "Dad, breakfast's ready~"

After a while, the tattered cloth curtain was lifted.

A tall figure emerged from within. The beard covering the lower half of his face looked as though it had not been tended to for years. His skin was waxy yellow, and his eyes were somewhat vacant.

His worn hemp clothes were patched in several places and filthy, making him look rather disheveled.

As he drew closer, Ye Zhiqiu caught a strong, choking smell of alcohol.

This was Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, a Titled Douluo.

Ye Zhiqiu stared blankly at him. A man like this was actually a legendary figure who had shaken the entire Douluo Continent.

Although he had met him a few times before, Ye Zhiqiu still found it unbelievable whenever he considered that this man was a Titled Douluo.

If he had not known the plot, Ye Zhiqiu felt that if he ran into Tang Hao on the street, he would be more likely to take him for a beggar.

Tang Hao said nothing. In two or three strides, he reached the table, picked up the wooden bowl one-handed, tipped back his head, and poured the porridge into his mouth.

His throat bobbed a few times, and within a single breath, not a drop remained in the bowl.

Then, without acknowledging either Ye Zhiqiu or Tang San, Tang Hao turned and went straight back into the inner room.

Throughout the entire time, Tang Hao had not said a single word or looked at Ye Zhiqiu and Tang San even once. He even ignored the half steamed bun Tang San offered him.

Tang San silently sat down and took small sips of porridge with the steamed bun.

Tang San had long grown used to Tang Hao's ways and did not think much of them. He vaguely remembered some things from the past and knew that his father had become like this after being devastated by his mother's death.

So Tang San harbored no resentment.

In his previous life, Tang San had been an orphan adopted by the Tang Sect.

In this life, Tang San cherished familial affection all the more.

Even though Tang Hao had all sorts of bad habits, he was still his biological father. Tang San felt that he had a responsibility to care for him.

As for Tang Hao's behavior, Ye Zhiqiu could only sigh inwardly. A Titled Douluo really is badass. He chugged freshly boiled, piping-hot porridge like it was nothing. Wasn't he afraid of getting burned? Is this what a true powerhouse is like?

Only after Tang San finished lunch and cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks did Ye Zhiqiu slowly step forward.

The two gathered beside the forge and began picking through various chunks of iron.

They planned to forge two Silent Sleeve Darts, something they had discussed that morning.

The day after tomorrow was the martial soul awakening. Tang San would definitely awaken twin martial souls, Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer. Moreover, because Tang San cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he would directly possess Innate Full Soul Power.

According to the plot, Tang San would enter Nuoding Academy and only return home once a year.

As for Ye Zhiqiu, the chances of him having no Soul Power were much greater. He also needed some means to protect himself, so he had pestered Tang San that morning to make him a weapon.

Originally, he had wanted a short sword, but Tang San said he had something more suitable for him. Once Ye Zhiqiu thought it over, he naturally understood.

Tang San's various secret arts came from the Tang Sect of Shu, and the Tang Sect was renowned throughout the world for its hidden weapons.

Mist and haze, clouds follow as shooting stars fall; Star Rain Flying Flowers leave no trace. That was how Ye Zhiqiu understood the Tang Sect.

At Tang San's current stage, limited by materials, there was only one kind of hidden weapon he could forge: the Silent Sleeve Dart.

After selecting two suitably sized pieces from the pile of iron, the two prepared to begin forging.

The first step in making sleeve darts was forging the iron. Ye Zhiqiu voluntarily ran over to work the bellows. With his current small frame, he could move the several-dozen-pound forging hammer easily enough, but swinging it was still quite difficult.

The burden of forging the iron naturally fell on Tang San.

Relying solely on his own strength, Tang San was not much stronger than Ye Zhiqiu.

But once he circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill within his body, he could easily wield the heavy iron hammer.

The dull clashes between the hammer and pig iron soon rang out from the dilapidated house. The clang clang echoed through half of Holy Spirit Village.

The iron blocks, heated red by the blazing flames, continuously changed shape under Tang San's powerful strikes. Small flakes of black impurities peeled away from their surfaces.

For a time, Ye Zhiqiu and Tang San worked with blazing enthusiasm.

Though their slightly childish faces were covered in sweat, the excitement in their eyes was impossible to hide.

At some point, Tang Hao lifted the tattered cloth curtain again and leaned silently against the doorframe as he watched.

At that moment, his black pupils seemed to regain their color, and his gaze was no longer as unfocused as before.

"Ah Yin, did you see that? Our child was born with divine strength."

Tang Hao murmured softly, sorrow mingling with a trace of comfort in his tiger-like eyes.

Clang clang.

Clang clang~

Clang clang clang~

The hammering continued from noon until evening before finally stopping.

Creak.

Tang San's broken wooden door was pushed open, and a tiny, pitch-black figure staggered out.

Ye Zhiqiu looked as if he had just crawled out of a coal mine. From head to toe, only his large black eyes were still relatively clean.

After an afternoon of work, the various components of the Silent Sleeve Darts had basically been forged.

However, assembly would take some time, and he would not receive them until tomorrow.

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Zhiqiu trudged home. He had worked the bellows all afternoon; who knew how he had managed to endure it.

Though he was exhausted today, the thought of soon having his very first hidden weapon made Ye Zhiqiu exceptionally happy.

He even hummed a little tune on the way home. Before long, Ye Zhiqiu arrived at his front door. His nose twitched a few times. Hmm? It smelled like they were having meat tonight. Had his dad caught another wild rabbit? At that thought, Ye Zhiqiu's stomach obligingly began to growl.

Wiping away the drool about to spill from the corner of his mouth, Ye Zhiqiu's eyes lit up. "Dad, Mom, I'm back!"

Pushing open the door, he found Ye Nan and Liu Qingqing sitting beside the table. Two dishes sat atop it, one of them a roasted rabbit.

Ye Nan and Liu Qingqing froze when they saw the little soot-black thing at the door. After carefully confirming that it really was their son, their faces instantly darkened.

Liu Qingqing rose and hurried toward the kitchen.

Ye Zhiqiu did not think much of it, assuming his mother had gone to bring out another dish. At that moment, the only thing in his eyes was the golden-brown roasted rabbit leg.

He had not eaten meat in weeks, so Ye Zhiqiu quickly climbed onto a stool.

Just then, Liu Qingqing returned. She held two bamboo switches in her hand and casually handed one to Ye Nan.

The expressions in their eyes were less than kind.

Ye Zhiqiu, whose hands were reaching toward the plate, caught sight of this from the corner of his eye and immediately clenched up.

"Dad, Mom, listen to my explanation."

Smack smack.

"Can't you beat me after I finish the rabbit?"

Smack smack smack.

Listening to Ye Zhiqiu's miserable wails from next door, Tang San observed three seconds of silence for him.