Formal Apprenticeship, Learning Forging

At last, the two finished hammering. After taking a brief rest, they went out to find Mang Tian and report the results. Qiu Tian was naturally astonished when he heard about it and saw the finished products.

After all, they were only two six-year-old children. It was extremely rare for them to accomplish something like this. It seemed he had picked up two genius children today.

"What? You finished the hammering?" Mang Tian asked.

"Yes, Uncle Mang Tian. Wulin and I both finished."

Even Mang Tian froze for a moment. Looking at the watch on his wrist, he realized that less than twenty minutes had passed since he had assigned the task to Wu Yang Jin and Tang Wu Lin. It truly had been less than twenty minutes.

He could see that Tang Wu Lin and Wu Yang Jin were drenched in sweat. There was no need to ask about their bodies either. They were only six years old, so they were certainly sore and aching. Still, Wu Yang Jin looked somewhat more relaxed than Tang Wu Lin.

Yet the number of strikes—one thousand—was right before his eyes. Mang Tian had personally set up this device, so there was no way these two six-year-old children could have cheated.

But it was still unbelievable. Those two hammers were not hollow, and each one was genuinely heavy.

Even an ordinary adult man would probably find it difficult to lift his arms after swinging those hammers a thousand times. Finishing within half an hour would be hard enough, and he would be exhausted half to death afterward, let alone two children who were only six.

The test Mang Tian had given them had actually been a way of tactfully refusing them. He was on good terms with Tang Zi Ran, but it was difficult to reject him outright. Besides, he truly had no desire to teach two six-year-old children whom he believed had no chance of learning forging well.

Moreover, there was really no need for him to teach Wu Yang Jin in any sense. He had not seen the child often, and they were not related in the slightest. Yet seeing how persistent the two children were, he found it hard to refuse.

"Ah..."

Had he really encountered two prodigies?

"Uncle Mang Tian?"

"Hm? You two... keep hammering. Don't stop until I tell you to."

Hearing that, the two shook out their shoulders, loosened up a little, and continued.

Then, with resolute expressions, they began hammering again. The crisp ringing of metal striking metal continued without end. As he watched their movements, the satisfaction and astonishment in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

As the hammering continued, he still did not tell them to stop. Today, he had to find out exactly where the limits of these two lay.

Time slowly passed. After a while, on top of the thousand strikes they had already completed, their backs, which had long been soaked with sweat, became drenched all over again. Their breathing grew ragged once more.

Determination. That was the spirit Mang Tian saw, and it was something anyone learning forging had to possess. Yet the determination in the eyes of the two children carried different meanings.

In Tang Wu Lin's eyes, he could see an unwillingness to lose, a desire to excel, and a determination born for the sake of those around him. It was ordinary, yet not quite ordinary.

But in Wu Yang Jin's eyes, the determination he saw was profound. He could not quite see through what the child was striving for. It was as though he carried many burdens—for many people, many matters, many things...

Even so, Mang Tian could see persistence in Wu Yang Jin's eyes: a steadfast will that would not slacken, that would work and struggle without rest.

"Hahaha! Not bad. You two can stop now. From now on, you'll be my apprentices. Come here at this time every evening, and I'll personally guide you. Oh, and apply this ointment to your arms. After resting for ten minutes, I'll explain what forging truly is."

As he spoke, Mang Tian took out two jars of ointment from a cabinet beside the Forging Table and handed one each to Wu Yang Jin and Tang Wu Lin.

The two stopped and both smiled.

Wu Yang Jin did not find such explanations boring. It was not merely because he did not understand them, but because the doors to a new world and to the future had opened before him. Through his own efforts, he had taken another step toward his future and identity.

Before Lang Yue and Tang Zi Ran arrived, Mang Tian assigned them their future tasks. They were to hammer iron blocks. Wu Yang Jin's task was 3,300 strikes each day, while Tang Wu Lin's was 3,000, in order to train their fundamentals.

He also wanted to observe Wu Yang Jin more thoroughly, which was why he had him strike three hundred more times. Tang Wu Lin's number of strikes had also been increased somewhat from the original amount.

Later, when the couple came to pick them up, Mang Tian said this.

"You've raised good children. Have them come at this time from now on. When you get home, remember to help the two children apply the ointment to their arms. Oh, and this Wu Yang Jin... it's a real pity that he isn't your child, but he's an excellent child too."

They had not noticed at first, but when they returned home, Tang Wu Lin's family reacted like this...

"Heavens! What... what did he do to you?"

Tears nearly welled up in her eyes at once. She had never imagined that in just two hours, her son would suffer so much.

"It's nothing! Uncle Mang Tian said he was testing me, and I passed, Mom. Don't cry!"

That was right. Tang Wu Lin felt that it was nothing at all. Meanwhile, at Wu Yang Jin's home, Na'er reacted the same way.

"Big Brother! What happened to you? How did your arms end up like this?! Did... did that man bully you?"

The moment she saw him, Na'er bombarded him with questions. She had been so happy to see her brother return, only to be met with this.

"Na'er, it's nothing. Uncle Mang Tian... well, he was only testing me. It's fine."

"Really, Big Brother?"

"Mm. When have I ever lied to you?"

"Mm, then I believe you. But... Big Brother, you have to take care of yourself. Otherwise, what will Na'er do?"

"Okay, okay. Na'er is the best. I'll be careful." Wu Yang Jin said as he patted Na'er on the head.

Seeing him like this, Na'er naturally felt heartbroken. She had originally planned to have her brother accompany her somewhere today, perhaps go out for a walk, but now she could only put those plans aside.

After roughly an hour to an hour and a half of recovery, the soreness in his body had almost completely vanished. The torn tendons had mostly healed, and although the bruises remained, they had miraculously improved greatly as well.

During the forging process, he had learned many things, but he also thought of the even greater challenges and difficulties that would await him in the future.

His physical strength, power, speed, endurance, determination, perseverance, bloodline, and other aspects had also received corresponding training once again.

Afterward, Na'er decided they would eat out today. She could not let her brother cook, and she did not think they should trouble Lang Yue and Tang Zi Ran either, so they went out to eat.

The next day was mostly spent studying theory and general subjects. Naturally, the two children arrived in the classroom before the bell had even rung.