Teaching Forging

As he prepared lunch, Tang San thought about the world of martial souls he had encountered today. Twin Martial Souls, four martial souls—such things seemed rare in this world. Otherwise, his father would not have been so shocked. It seemed that his hammer martial soul and Little Xue's three martial souls had deeply affected him.

More important to him, however, was the relationship between martial souls and the Mysterious Heaven Skill. If those Soul Rings were the key preventing his Mysterious Heaven Skill from breaking through, then no matter what, he had to find a way to obtain a Soul Ring and test it.

At lunch, Tang Hao was unusually silent. Even his appetite seemed much smaller than usual. His gaze frequently fell on Tang San and Lan Xue, as though he were hesitating over something.

After lunch, Tang San and Lan Xue habitually prepared to clear the bowls and chopsticks, but Tang Hao stopped them.

"Leave it for later. Little San, Little Xue, tell me, do you want to become Soul Masters?"

Tang San and Lan Xue froze for a moment and looked at Tang Hao. They did not want to deceive their father. After hesitating briefly, they nodded.

Tang Hao sighed, and his face seemed to age several more years. "In the end, you still chose to walk this path." After saying only that, he returned to his room.

Tang San noticed that when Tang Hao sighed, there was disappointment in his expression, but even more than that, there was relief. He understood that his father seemed to be hiding many things in his heart.

After clearing the dishes, Tang San and Lan Xue returned to their room and continued their work. The rhythmic clang of the forging hammer striking iron rang out. Although he did not know when he would be able to forge this pig iron block down to the fist-sized lump Tang Hao required, this method of forging was greatly beneficial to improving his use of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and it was also good physical training. Tang San had begun trying to swing the hammer with as little Mysterious Heaven Skill inner force as possible. That way, he could sustain each series of consecutive strikes for longer.

When the afternoon's hammering had passed three hundred strikes, and it felt as though some more impurities had been removed from the pig iron, the door curtain was lifted and Tang Hao walked in. He apparently had not forged any farm tools that afternoon. At least, Tang San had not heard the familiar hammering.

"Father." Tang San looked at his father, and the hammer in his hand unconsciously stopped. "Uncle." Lan Xue also looked at Tang Hao.

Tang Hao gestured for them to continue, then walked to the side and stood there. He said nothing, merely watching them.

Only then did Tang San and Lan Xue resume swinging their hammers. By now, their clothes were soaked through with sweat. With Tang San's current inner force, he was still far from being able to adapt to temperatures, not to mention that this was unquestionably grueling manual labor.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang. The sounds of hammering rang out without pause. Tang San and Little Xue's young bodies seemed out of proportion with the forging hammers in their hands, yet every swing cut through the air with fierce force.

Tang Hao thought to himself, Born with divine strength, Innate Full Soul Power, and Surpassing Soul Power—no wonder they can wield forging hammers at such a young age. Perhaps Old Jack was right. I should not let my own decadence affect these two children's development. As for the road ahead, let them walk it themselves.

Watching Tang San and Lan Xue sweat profusely, Tang Hao finally made up his mind.

"Stop for a moment," Tang Hao said.

Tang San and Lan Xue set down their forging hammers. Tang San was breathing slightly heavily as he quietly circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill within his body to regulate his breathing and restore his strength.

Tang Hao walked over to Tang San, took the forging hammer from his hand, then looked at the glowing red iron block in the furnace. "If you keep hammering like this, you will not turn it into a fist-sized piece even after a year."

Tang San and Little Xue raised their heads to look at their tall father. "Then what should I do?"

Tang Hao said coldly, "Tell me, when you swing the forging hammer and strike it, what part of your body exerts force first?"

Tang San thought for a moment. "It should be the waist. The waist drives the back, then the back drives the arms to swing the forging hammer." "It should be the calves."

After hearing Lan Xue's answer, a trace of approval appeared in Tang Hao's eyes. He neither affirmed nor denied Tang San's answer and continued asking, "Other than the brain, what is the most important part of the human body?"

"The heart." Tang San answered without hesitation. The heart and brain were both areas where a strike could kill instantly, but the brain was protected by the skull, while the heart had only skin and muscle protecting it. As a disciple of the Tang Sect, he knew the structure of the human body extremely well. Piercing an enemy's heart with a hidden weapon was the most effective and simplest lethal method.

Tang Hao paused before saying, "Then tell me, how many hearts does a person have?"

"Ah?" Tang San looked at him in shock, utterly confused. Did that even need to be asked? How many hearts could a person have?

"Answer me." Tang Hao looked at him coldly. The pressure from his build and aura made Tang San feel as though he could barely breathe.

"One."

"Three, right?" Lan Xue interjected.

Tang Hao nodded. "Correct. Remember this: a person has three hearts, not one."

"Three?" Tang San stared at Tang Hao in astonishment, unable to understand what he meant.

Tang Hao reversed the forging hammer in his hand and tapped Tang San's two calves with the handle. "Here. The muscles in a person's two calves are the second and third hearts. If someone wants to bring out all of their strength, it must be the result of all three hearts working at once. Therefore, the waist is not the starting point of exertion. The three hearts are the starting point."

"When the heart in your chest beats rapidly, exert force from both calves. Let the strength travel upward, through the thighs, waist, back, and arms, before finally releasing it. That is a full-power strike. The heart provides the force; the waist is the pivot. Watch."