Tang San's Preparations for a Rainy Day

The moment the Yellow Potato Powder was poured onto the wound, the Spirit Rhyme Turtle trembled. Zhou Qing and Tang San were so frightened that they immediately jumped off its back and hid in the bushes.

However, the Spirit Rhyme Turtle ultimately did not wake up.

Zhou Qing breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward with Tang San once more. They applied Yellow Potato Powder to the cracks in the Spirit Rhyme Turtle's shell, then smoothed it out evenly.

"Done."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhou Qing took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Let's head back. This Spirit Rhyme Turtle probably won't wake up for a while."

"Mm."

Tang San was tired too. After all, he had needed to keep an eye on the Spirit Rhyme Turtle's breathing at all times, in case it suddenly woke up...

Before leaving, however, Zhou Qing and Tang San caught two Great White Carp around twenty centimeters long from the stream. Zhou Qing used medicinal powder to lure them over, while Tang San struck their heads with Bamboo Leaf Darts.

The Bamboo Leaf Darts had originally been Tang San's trump card in case the Spirit Rhyme Turtle suddenly woke up, but now they had become fishing tools.

If the Tang Sect disciples from my past life found out, they'd laugh at me for the rest of my life!

Tang San silently grumbled, but he did not hold back while eating the grilled fish. After finishing, he even licked his fingers.

"Perhaps the Bamboo Leaf Darts could be made even more powerful."

Zhou Qing brought up the Bamboo Leaf Darts.

"How?"

Tang San did not believe a child could improve Bamboo Leaf Darts. Although Zhou Qing really was clever, this world did not even have things like Hidden Weapons. Without anything to refer to, what could he possibly come up with?

"Come to my house."

Zhou Qing brought Tang San to the second floor of his home and found a book about Soul Tools. "This book introduces the Soul Tools of Douluo Continent."

Tang San took it and flipped through it, discovering pictures of many things he had never seen before.

Of course.

This book about Soul Tools did not explain how to make them. It merely described the types, styles, functions, and other general information about certain everyday Soul Tools.

It was similar to a buyer's guide.

However, in Zhou Qing's view, aside from helping people understand the classifications and uses of everyday Soul Tools, this book also had other practical value.

Some simple Soul Guiding Inscriptions could still be found within it.

Among the everyday Soul Tools introduced in the booklet, the most common were fan-like Soul Tools.

Perhaps the Soul Masters of this world had no concept of "intellectual property," or perhaps it was because of their immense power. It might also have been because the Soul Guiding Inscriptions on everyday Soul Tools were unimportant. In any case, the blades of the Soul Tool Fans shown in the booklet all had largely similar Soul Guiding Inscription patterns.

Why largely similar?

Because after comparing them, Zhou Qing found that the images of the fan-structured Soul Guiding Inscriptions in the book were nearly identical. Any differences were most likely minor details caused by printing layout, proportions, and the like.

"So these are pictures of Soul Tools?"

Tang San looked at those everyday Soul Tools. Only after reading their descriptions did he understand their functions. For example, a fan with blades shaped somewhat like Hidden Weapons could be made to rotate and create a breeze by infusing it with Soul Power.

Tang San had already equated Soul Power with Internal Energy. He suddenly felt that this world was even more wondrous than he had imagined. It could actually apply Internal Energy to everyday life.

Unfortunately—

Holy Soul Village did not have a single Soul Tool.

Seeing that Tang San could not make anything of it, Zhou Qing took the book back. He flipped through the pages about Soul Tool Fans one by one, pointing at the Soul Guiding Inscriptions on the blades of different fans as he asked, "Have you noticed anything?"

"The patterns are almost identical."

Tang San suddenly realized that if the Soul Tool Fans could rotate because of those patterns, then could he engrave them onto Hidden Weapons and use Internal Energy to make them spin faster the instant they flew out?

If so, the power of Hidden Weapons would definitely increase!

If my idea works, I'll need to modify the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons... Even everyday Soul Tools in this world have such functions. The weapons used by Soul Masters in the Soul Master World must be incredibly powerful Soul Guidance Weapons as well. The higher-ranking Tang Sect Hidden Weapons are certainly not weak, but—

Tang San had no way to mass-produce them!

The patterns on the Soul Tools gave Tang San a sense of urgency. He felt that while this world's cultivation development might not compare to the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, in other aspects—especially weaponry—it was unquestionably countless times more advanced than the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons. It might even be capable of large-scale mass production!

I have to improve my Hidden Weapons. I have to make the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons stronger. Otherwise—

Thinking of an everyday Soul Tool he had just seen in the book, one that could use Soul Power to produce flames without firewood and serve as a coal stove, Tang San pictured a scene in his mind:

He held a Sleeve Arrow while his opponent held a Soul Tool capable of spewing high-temperature flames. The instant those flames erupted, his Sleeve Arrow would melt away, and he himself would be burned to death.

Although the essence of Hidden Weapons was to strike unexpectedly and exploit unpreparedness for assassination, Tang San had a trace of pride in his heart. He did not want the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons to be inferior to others' weapons in direct combat.

Therefore.

The Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons had to change as well!

Restore the Tang Sect's glory...

At that moment.

As he looked at the Soul Guiding Inscriptions in the pictures of everyday Soul Tools...

As he imagined the powerful Soul Guidance Weapons that Soul Masters in the Soul Master World might possess...

And as he recalled memories from his past life buried deep in his heart:

Back in the Tang Sect, because he had been an outer disciple, he had been unable to learn the methods for crafting more complex Hidden Weapons. The Hidden Weapons he made had been crushed beneath the feet of inner disciples, who mocked, ridiculed, and taunted him, even beating him—

That had also been the main reason he had finally decided to steal the sect's cultivation techniques in his previous life.

To prove himself!

Given the chance, his achievements would absolutely be no worse than those inner disciples!

And the truth had indeed been so. Before jumping from the cliff in his past life, he had crafted the long-lost Buddha Fury Tang Lotus of the Tang Sect...

Yet at this moment, Tang San had an even greater ambition.

I will surpass the Tang Sect!

"You seem excited?"

Zhou Qing noticed the change in Tang San's eyes. They seemed to have become increasingly resolute, leaving him somewhat confused.

"It's nothing. I just thought of my unreliable dad." Tang San pushed everything onto Tang Hao. "Brother Qing, so why did you show me this?"

"Look, since fans can rotate because of these Soul Guiding Inscriptions, then they should be able to be engraved onto Bamboo Leaf Darts, which have a somewhat similar shape."

Zhou Qing did not dwell on what Tang San was thinking. He merely offered his suggestions as much as possible, guiding Tang San toward developing Soul Tools.

From Great God-King Tang's hatred of Soul Tools to becoming a future Soul Tool Grandmaster...

That would definitely be very interesting!

Tang San took out a Bamboo Leaf Dart and compared it with a Soul Tool Fan, speechless. "How are they alike?"

Although he already understood the function of Soul Guiding Inscriptions, Tang San was still influenced by the instincts natural to this age. He displayed the sort of nitpicking one would expect from a child.

"Other than the fact that both can spin, their blade sizes are different. Soul Tool Fan blades are large, while my Bamboo Leaf Darts are just as their name suggests—narrow like bamboo leaves."

"Don't worry about such details. Your family runs a forge anyway, so you can try following these inscriptions and experiment more. You might succeed." Zhou Qing opened his wide eyes, full of trust in Tang San. "Although Soul Tools require Soul Power to use, and neither of us has awakened a Martial Soul yet, there's no harm in preparing ahead of time. Maybe adding patterns to your darts will let them spin faster through the air."

"Like a Paper Airplane—"

As he spoke, Zhou Qing took out a sheet of white paper and folded it into a Paper Airplane. He threw it out the window, and it glided onward, flying more than twenty meters before landing on the ground.

Then he took out another sheet of paper and simply tossed it out. It fluttered unsteadily before falling into his family's yard.

"Look, two identical sheets of paper, with the same weight and size. Yet because I folded one into a Paper Airplane, it can fly farther. I think the air supports its two wings and creates some kind of balance, letting it fly farther. Maybe your Bamboo Leaf Darts can also use engraved patterns to let the air support them."

Seeing this, Tang San fell into thought before asking, "Why is it called a Paper Flying Chicken?"

Realizing that Tang San might have mistaken "airplane" for "flying chicken," Zhou Qing went along with it. "It's made of paper and it flies. In Holy Soul Village, the birds I see most often are chickens, so I called it a Paper Flying Chicken. If you think that sounds bad, you can call it a Paper Airplane instead—the 'plane' from mechanism."

Tang San's face darkened...

The animated adaptation had indeed enriched the original novel's imagery, so it was incorporated here.