The Villain Strikes First

Lin Xuan already possessed Forging Knowledge twenty thousand years ahead of the continent. Over the past three months, the forging experience shared by the Tang Wulin Template, his own unique understanding of hammering, and his deep study of the principles of Borrow Strength to Strike had long since built a solid foundation in his mind.

And Tang San's standard Twenty-Nine Hammers Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, performed just now to show off, was like a key that instantly opened the floodgates of inspiration—a Dual Hammer Disorder Splitting Wind uniquely his own was rapidly taking shape.

Boom!

Essence Light flashed fiercely in Lin Xuan's eyes. Mimicking Tang San's stance, he bent his calves slightly. Power erupted from the soles of his feet, flowed through his meridians to his waist, then gathered in both arms.

Under Tang San's dumbfounded gaze, he swung his Dual Hammers and unleashed a hammer technique that resembled Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, yet carried even greater impact.

The instant the Dual Hammers struck the Iron Ingot, before the recoil could spread to his palms, Lin Xuan followed the motion and spun around once. Borrowing the momentum of the rotation, the two hammers crashed down again.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The familiar rhythm of Borrow Strength to Strike rang out through the Blacksmith Shop. Compared to Tang San's single hammer, Lin Xuan's Dual Hammers not only struck with greater force, but also displayed several exquisite details of control—after all, the core of the Dual Hammer Style lay in precision and coordination.

After twenty consecutive strikes, Lin Xuan's rhythm abruptly broke. It was not because he had run out of strength, but because a slight error had appeared in the adjustment of the hammers' angles and the transfer of force, disrupting his balance.

Even so, his face was not flushed and his breathing remained steady. He stood upright, clearly still far from his limit.

Tang San, on the other hand, had nearly collapsed from exhaustion after delivering twenty-nine hammers. The difference between them was obvious.

"Only twenty hammers?" Lin Xuan scratched his head and began reviewing where the problem lay.

The Dual Hammer Style differed from the single-hammer style. It required not only attention to the force of each strike, but precise control over the landing point and angle of every blow, so the metal blank could gradually take shape during forging.

Just now, his attempt to land the hammers precisely had conflicted with the momentum of Borrow Strength to Strike, ultimately causing his rhythm to break.

In his view, this was merely an unfinished attempt, not a success.

But in the eyes of the Blacksmiths and Tang San, Lin Xuan's display was undoubtedly the genuine Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!

"Y-you, how do you know Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer too?" Tang San's worldview nearly collapsed. What he was proudest of was this hammer technique learned from his father, yet Lin Xuan had casually replicated it. How could he accept that?

"Did you secretly learn it?" He suddenly rushed forward, his expression so vicious that he looked ready to devour someone. His tone brimmed with unquestionable anger—what belonged to him was absolutely not to be touched by others.

"Is something wrong with you?" Lin Xuan blinked, then immediately accused him first.

"Who says Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer can only be known by your family?

"Besides, mine is Dual Hammer Style Disorder Splitting Wind. Does your single-hammer style even deserve to compare?

"I haven't even asked where you learned your Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!"

He spoke with complete righteousness. Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer was essentially a forging skill based on Borrow Strength to Strike; it did not even count as a soul skill.

The Clear Sky Hammer's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer was famous because the Clear Sky Hammer weighed two hundred jin, far heavier than an ordinary iron hammer, making its power immense when wielded. But that did not mean hammer techniques based on Borrow Strength to Strike belonged exclusively to the Clear Sky Sect.

For someone from a family of Blacksmiths to know a few Borrow Strength to Strike techniques was perfectly normal.

What was more, anyone with eyes could see that Dual Hammer Disorder Splitting Wind demanded far greater technical skill than the single-hammer style.

"Y-you!" Tang San was left speechless, nearly unable to catch his breath.

Lin Xuan's explanation was perfectly reasonable, and the finesse of the Dual Hammers was indeed plain to see. Yet Tang San still felt that something was off, though he could not say what. He could only hold it in until his face turned red.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Lin Xuan's smile became ever more delighted. He had finally experienced the joy the seniors found in "messing with San." "You don't really think Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer is some peerless hammer technique, do you?

"Secretly learned it? Was that even necessary? Who here can't swing a hammer a couple of times using Borrow Strength to Strike?"

He truly was not talking nonsense. The core principle of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, Borrow Strength to Strike, was no secret in the blacksmithing trade. It was simply that few people had mastered the knack of chaining many strikes together.

Shi San and the other Blacksmiths had occasionally tried imitating it once or twice. Although they could manage only three or four strikes at most, it showed that they were no strangers to the essence of this technique.

The reason Lin Xuan had been able to see through the essence of Tang San's hammer technique at a glance was also related to his usual observations of these Blacksmiths' attempts.

"But Boss clearly said that Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer is a Blacksmith's highest-level forging method! You're just Country Folk..." Tang San turned to Shi San, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.

If it was such a top-tier method, how could just anyone know it? Especially Lin Xuan, who in his eyes was nothing more than a mud-legged country boy.

"What? I'm Country Folk, so you aren't?" Lin Xuan shot back without the slightest courtesy.

"You make it sound like your family is so much nobler than mine."

At a time like this, the more one retreated, the easier it was to reveal weakness.

Lin Xuan knew perfectly well that Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer was never an exclusive skill of the Clear Sky Sect. It had first been a forging hammer technique, only later adapted into a combat soul skill for the Clear Sky Hammer.

There were not many Blacksmiths on the continent who knew this hammer technique, but it was definitely not rare—otherwise Shi San would not have recognized it at a glance.

His Dual Hammer Style was fundamentally different from Tang San's single-hammer style. As long as he refused to admit anything, no one would believe he had secretly learned it.

Tang San froze at the retort, then instantly understood.

Though he possessed the Tang Sect's ultimate arts, in the eyes of others, his father Tang Hao was merely an Ordinary Person who drank heavily and worked as a Blacksmith.

He had actually treated a hammer technique that even ordinary people knew as some exclusive secret inheritance.

When he looked at Shi San and the others again, there was no surprise on their faces. Instead, they wore expressions of "just as expected," making Tang San doubt himself even more. Could Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer really be widely passed down in the blacksmithing trade?

"Hmph, so what if you're right?" Tang San was unwilling to admit that his understanding was wrong and immediately changed his angle of attack.

"Dual Hammers aren't necessarily better than a single hammer!" He stared fixedly at Lin Xuan's Dual Hammers, his gaze full of stubbornness and unwillingness—he could not beat Lin Xuan in a fight, and if he even lost in the family's inherited field of forging, then he would be far too much of a failure.

Shi San stood to one side, watching the two boys confront each other, a teasing smile on his face.

Having lived most of his life, it was his first time seeing two such exceptionally gifted Young Men. One excelled at single-hammer Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, while the other had created a new Dual Hammer Style. This Blacksmith Shop was probably about to become lively.

The other Blacksmiths also stopped their work and gathered around to watch with interest.

Some supported Tang San, believing that the consecutive strikes of single-hammer Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer better demonstrated one's foundation. Others favored Lin Xuan, believing that the Dual Hammers' detailed control displayed greater craftsmanship.

For a time, the atmosphere in the Blacksmith Shop was even more heated than the sounds of forging from before.

Seeing Tang San's unwilling expression, Lin Xuan laughed inwardly. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Not only had he learned the core techniques of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he had also taken the opportunity to strike at Tang San's confidence.

As for what came next? He had already begun considering how to incorporate more of Tang Wulin's forging experience into Dual Hammer Disorder Splitting Wind and create a hammer technique that truly belonged to him.

Tang San, meanwhile, clenched the iron hammer in his hand tightly, blazing fighting spirit burning in his eyes.

He would never allow himself to lose to Lin Xuan, whether in fighting or forging.