Chapter 4

The door curtain was suddenly flung open, and Tang Hao appeared in the outer room again. His face was filled with shock, his eyes red as though he had just cried.

Tang San did not speak. Just as he had raised his right hand earlier, he slowly raised his left hand. This time, there was no blue light. A faint black glow surged from his palm and instantly condensed.

A strange object appeared in his palm.

It was a pitch-black hammer. The handle was roughly half a foot long, while the head was cylindrical, resembling a shrunken forging hammer. Yet a special gleam shone across its black surface, and a faint pattern coiled around the cylindrical hammerhead. This was the strongest assault-type Martial Soul on Douluo Continent—the Clear Sky Hammer.

Tang San had never seen such an expression on his father's face. All sorts of complicated emotions continually appeared on Tang Hao's face. After a long while, he slowly said, "Remember this. In the future, you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right hand. Forever..."

Tang San nodded, not understanding why. But Tang Yin understood. Tang Hao wanted Tang San to accomplish what he himself had failed to do. Tang Hao stood up and returned to the inner room without looking back.

Tang San thought about the world of Martial Souls he had encountered today. Twin Martial Souls seemed to be extremely rare in this world, or else his father would not have been so shocked. It seemed that his hammer Martial Soul had deeply stirred him.

What mattered more to him, however, was the relationship between Martial Souls and the Mysterious Heaven Skill. If that Soul Ring was the key to breaking through the bottleneck of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, then no matter what, he had to find a way to obtain one and test it.

After lunch, Tang Hao stopped Tang San. "Little San, let me ask you something. Do you want to become a Spirit Master?"

Tang San froze for a moment and looked at Tang Hao. He did not want to deceive his father, so after hesitating briefly, he nodded.

Tang Hao sighed. His face seemed to have aged 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 emotions, but even more than that, there was a look of relief. He understood that his father seemed to be hiding many things in his heart. Tang Yin also sighed inwardly. Even the Clear Sky Douluo was not invincible!

Tang San returned to his room and continued working. The rhythmic clanging of the forging hammer striking iron rang out.

Tang Hao did not seem to forge any farm tools that afternoon. At least, Tang San did not hear the familiar pounding. He should have gone to find Old Jack, Tang Yin thought.

"Dad." Tang San looked toward his father, and the iron hammer in his hand unconsciously stopped. Tang Hao gestured for him to continue, then walked to the side and stood there. He did not speak, merely watching him.

Only then did Tang San continue swinging the hammer. By then, his clothes were already soaked through with sweat. Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang... The sounds of hammering continued without end.

Then Tang Hao taught Tang San the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. As a result, Tang Yin did not sleep for several nights in a row. Fortunately, he was an elf. Going without sleep for a month was nothing to him. One Origin Elf had gone thirty years without sleeping and had not dropped dead. What was this?

Early that morning, Tang Hao went out. Over the past few years, it seemed to be the first time Tang Hao had not slept in. Just as Tang San was wondering what Tang Hao had gone out to do, Tang Hao returned.

"Little San, what did you go out to do this morning?" Tang Hao asked casually.

Tang San said, "I went out to exercise. I go out for a run every morning." This was not really a lie. He had indeed gone out to "exercise."

"Mm." Tang Hao did not press the matter. He said calmly, "You do not need to practice forging today. Pack your things. Tomorrow, Old Jack will take you to Nuoding City." Tang San froze. "Nuoding City? What are we going there for?" The last time he had gone to Nuoding City was probably a year ago, when Tang Yin had gone into the city to buy things and brought him along to look around.

Tang Hao glanced at him. "Didn't you want to learn the abilities of a Spirit Master? Old Jack will take you to Nuoding City Junior Spirit Master Academy to become a Work-Study Student. There, you will learn what you want to learn."

Under Tang Yin's persuasion and Tang San's eager gaze, Tang Hao finally relented.

Hearing his father's words, Tang San's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. An indescribable excitement surged into his heart. The Mysterious Heaven Skill's inability to break through had always been his greatest concern, and a Spirit Master's Soul Ring was clearly an opportunity.

"Dad, why did you change your mind?"

Tang Hao asked in return, "So, are you going or not?"

Tang San said, "But before, you..." By now, he understood that the reason his father had gotten up so early was to find Village Chief Jack.

Tang Yin said from the side, "All right, stop asking so much. I'll help you pack."

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

Early in the morning, Old Jack arrived. Perhaps because he was going to Nuoding City, Old Jack had deliberately put on a new set of clothes today, making him look even more spirited. "Little San, let's go. Your drunkard father isn't getting up." Jack called to Tang San.

Tang San made a shushing gesture at Jack. "Grandpa Jack, please keep your voice down. Dad hates it most when people disturb his sleep." As he spoke, he pulled a piece of burnt charcoal from the stove and wrote several lines on the ground. He then looked back reluctantly at his father's door before shouldering his bag and quietly leaving with Jack. Tang Yin stood at the doorway and watched them depart. "Since you're awake, come out and take a look. You won't be able to see them from here much longer," he said to the person behind him.

The door curtain lifted, and a tall figure walked out from the inner room. There was not a trace of sleepiness in Tang Hao's eyes. When he reached the doorway, he could still vaguely see Old Jack and Tang San's thin figures. Tang Hao stood motionlessly. Even after Tang San and Village Chief Jack's backs had completely disappeared, he remained there in a daze for a long while. As though he had remembered something, Tang Hao suddenly turned and walked back into the blacksmith shop, looking at the words Tang San had left on the ground. There were only two simple sentences: "Dad, Grandpa Jack and I are leaving. Take good care of yourself, and drink less. The porridge is in the pot. Don't forget to eat it."

"He made breakfast himself today. He said he wanted to cook a meal for you with his own hands," Tang Yin explained.

Tang Hao's gaze moved from the words on the ground to the iron pot beside them. He suddenly rushed over, swept off the lid with one hand, and lifted the iron pot directly with both hands. Since Tang San had just added water, the porridge inside had not yet come back to a boil. But Tang Hao paid it no heed and raised the pot to his mouth, gulping down the porridge mouthful after mouthful. At some point, a misty sheen had appeared in his eyes. On the road, Tang San silently followed beside Old Jack, occasionally turning back to look in the direction of the village. "Little San, can't bear to leave the village, or can't bear to leave your brother and that drunkard father of yours?" Jack patted Tang San's head and asked with a smile.

"A little of both," Tang San answered softly. Jack smiled faintly. "Compared to my useless grandsons, you and Little Yin are far more sensible. How wonderful it would be if you were my grandsons. That drunkard Tang Hao is truly lucky. Don't think too much about it. The world outside is vast. At the academy, you'll meet many friends and learn many things..."

Inside the house, Tang Hao drank porridge in great gulps while Tang Yin silently watched from the side. Suddenly, Tang Yin spoke. "Dad, I want to go out and gain experience." Tang Yin had considered this for a long time. He had to leave; he still had many things to do.

"No. Your Innate Soul Power is only half-level. You can't even protect yourself..." Tang Hao had not finished speaking before he was interrupted. "I don't want to give up like this. I want to try."

Tang Hao was silent for a long time. "Go, then. Be careful." For some reason, Tang Hao believed that this son of his would definitely not be ordinary in the future. He believed it firmly.