Tang Hao

The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record recorded only six martial arts: the internal cultivation method, Mysterious Heaven Skill; the hand-training method, Mystic Jade Hands; the eye-training method, Purple Demon Eyes; the grappling method, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon; the movement method, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track; and the method for using hidden weapons, the Hidden Weapon Compendium.

The first five were the foundation. Without a solid foundation, how could one bring out the essence of Tang Sect hidden weapons?

Tang San had begun cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill when he was just over a year old. Now, he was nearly six, yet he was still laying his foundation.

Tang San's home stood on the western side of Holy Soul Village, near its entrance. Its three mud-brick rooms were among the most rudimentary in the entire village. Above the central room hung a wooden sign about a meter across, painted with a crude hammer. In this world, a hammer most commonly represented a blacksmith.

That was right. Tang San's father, Tang Hao, was a blacksmith—the village's only blacksmith.

In this world, blacksmiths could be considered one of the lowliest professions. For certain special reasons, this world's finest weapons were not forged by blacksmiths.

As the village's only blacksmith, Tang San's family should not have been so poor. Yet most of that meager income...

The moment Tang San stepped inside, he smelled the fragrant aroma of food. It was not breakfast Tang Hao had made for him, but breakfast he had made for Tang Hao.

Ever since he was four, when he had not even been tall enough to reach the stove, cooking had already become a task he had to perform every day—even if he had to stand on a stool to reach it.

It was not because Tang Hao had demanded it. Rather, if he did not cook, Tang San would scarcely ever get enough to eat.

Tang San gently placed Lan Xue on the bed, then walked to the stove. He skillfully climbed onto the wooden stool, lifted the lid of the large iron pot, and was greeted by the rich scent of rice. The porridge inside had long since been cooked until soft.

Before heading up the mountain every day, Tang San would put the rice in the pot and prepare the firewood. By the time he returned, the porridge would be ready.

Tang San picked up the two bowls beside the stove, each chipped in more than ten places, carefully filled them with porridge, and set them on the table behind him. The grains of rice in the porridge could practically be counted at a glance. For Tang San, who was still growing, such meager nutrition was clearly not enough. That was why his body was so slender.

"Dad, breakfast is ready," Tang San called.

After a while, the curtain to the inner room was lifted, and a tall figure staggered out.

He was a middle-aged man who looked close to fifty, with a tall, burly build. Yet his appearance was truly hard to praise.

His tattered robe did not even have patches, exposing the bronze-colored skin beneath. His once-decent features were covered by a waxy yellow pallor, and he looked half-asleep. His messy hair resembled a bird's nest, while his face was covered in a beard that had not been trimmed in who knew how long. His gaze was dull and murky. Though a whole night had passed, the reeking stench of alcohol still clung to him, making Tang San frown.

This was Tang Hao, Tang San's father in this world.

Since childhood, Tang San had never known what it meant to have

a father's love. Tang Hao had always neglected him completely. At first, he would at least cook some food for Tang San, but as time passed and Tang San began taking the initiative to cook, Tang Hao stopped caring about anything at all. Their home was so poor that they did not even have proper tables or chairs, and even food was a problem. The main reason was that Tang Hao spent all of his meager earnings as a blacksmith on alcohol.

The fathers of children Tang San's age were generally only around thirty. Those who had married early were not even thirty yet. But Tang Hao looked far older than them, more like Tang San's grandfather.

Tang San had never resented Tang Hao's attitude. In his previous life, he had been an orphan. In this life, although Tang Hao did not treat him well, he at least had a relative. To Tang San, that was already enough to make him content. At the very least, there was someone here he could call Dad.

Tang Hao grabbed the bowl from the table without fearing the heat and gulped down the porridge. Only then did some color return to his sallow face.

"Dad, drink slowly. There's more." Tang San took the bowl from his father, filled it with another serving of porridge, then picked up his own bowl and began drinking.

Back when he had been in the Tang Sect, he had never left it and had rarely come into contact with the outside world. He had been like a blank sheet of paper to begin with. Now that he had come to this world and become a child again, there was nothing he could not accept.

Very soon, seventy or eighty percent of the pot of porridge had gone into Tang Hao's stomach. He let out a long breath, set down his bowl, and opened his drooping eyelids a little wider as he looked at Tang San.

"If there's work, take it first. I'll do it this afternoon. I'm going back to sleep for a while."

Tang Hao's daily routine was very regular. He slept in the mornings, forged some farming tools for income in the afternoons, and drank at night.

"Alright, Dad." Tang San nodded.

Tang Hao swept his gaze around and suddenly noticed Lan Xue lying on the bed. His eyes went blank. "Ah Yin..." Tang Hao slowly walked toward Lan Xue. "Dad, she's a girl I met outside. Can we adopt her?" Tang San called to Tang Hao. "Do as you please." Tang Hao composed himself and headed into the inner room.

"Dad," Tang San suddenly called out.

Tang Hao stopped and turned to look at him, his brows clearly showing a little more impatience.

Tang San pointed to a piece of pig iron in the corner that gave off a faint dark gleam. "Can I use this piece of iron?" In his previous life, he had been the Tang Sect's most outstanding outer disciple and was extremely familiar with crafting all kinds of hidden weapons. Of course, back then, the Tang Sect had provided all the materials. But after coming to this world, although he had cultivated for several years, his strength was still far from sufficient. At the same time, he had never intended to abandon the hidden weapon crafting he excelled at most. He had already begun trying to forge some hidden weapons, but materials had become a major problem.

The metal Tang Hao used to forge farming tools was brought by the villagers. It was ordinary iron full of impurities, making it difficult to create refined hidden weapons. The pig iron Tang San was pointing at had only been delivered yesterday. To Tang San's surprise, this piece of iron ore actually contained a certain amount of Iron Essence, making it perfectly suited for forging hidden weapons.

Tang Hao shifted his gaze to the pig iron. "Eh? There's Iron Essence in this?" He walked over and lowered his head to inspect it, then turned back to Tang San. "Do you want to become a blacksmith someday?"