Trying to Lead Tang San Astray

"Heh..."

Lin Xuan shot Tang San a disdainful look.

Before any cheats came into play, Tang Wulin's cultivation talent truly could not compare to Tang San's. But when it came to blacksmithing—

Even if Tang San came galloping over on a horse, he still would not compare to Tang Wulin.

Forget Tang San—even Tang Hao would have been useless.

Tang Wulin had been capable of Thousand Refinements at the age of nine, while even the Divine Craftsman of Douluo Dalu 1 could only reach that level.

So if Tang San wanted to surpass him in forging, he was dreaming.

But this worked out perfectly. It would shift Tang San's attention a little away from cultivation and toward forging.

It would be best if it delayed his Soul Power by one or two levels. Otherwise, three years from now, Tang San might really leave him behind by an entire major realm.

"Don't get cocky. You're only relying on the fact that you're a little stronger than me. I absolutely won't lose to you in forging."

Tang San's pride did not allow him to lose to the same person twice, especially when that person was a native.

"Tch!"

Lin Xuan gave Tang San a contemptuous look, deliberately provoking him.

Tang San clenched his fists in fury, then turned around and swung his forging hammer, beginning his work.

It was as though he had started competing with Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan was more than happy to indulge him. He was not afraid of delaying his own cultivation; slowing Tang San down even a little was worth it.

He immediately began competing with Tang San in forging.

Since Douluo Dalu 1 did not have particularly strict requirements for weapons, and some were simply made as ordinary iron equipment, there was no need for Hundred Refinements Fine Steel.

The two of them simply began hammering Ten Refinements Wrought Iron.

Yet even when Tang San used the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he still had to hammer an Iron Ingot three or four times in stages before he could forge it into Ten Refinements Wrought Iron.

Lin Xuan, on the other hand, could forge Ten Refinements Wrought Iron in a single go.

He could even shape it into a rough blank, reducing the difficulty of later processing.

Seeing Lin Xuan's forging skills far surpass his own, Tang San trembled with rage.

It felt as if Lin Xuan had been sent by heaven specifically to thwart him.

"No. I inherited my forging skills from Dad. How could I lose to him?!"

Tang San encouraged himself and picked up the forging hammer again with trembling hands.

He could not disgrace the hammer technique Tang Hao had passed down to him.

That night.

Lin Xuan walked briskly along the small path back to Nuoding Academy. He looked completely relaxed, without the slightest sign of having done heavy physical labor.

Tang San, following behind him, looked utterly haggard.

It was as if some mysterious hulking man had worn him down over and over again.

"Lin Xuan, I won't lose to you. One day, I'll make you understand what a true genius is."

Tang San looked at the carefree Lin Xuan and shouted at his back view.

It was not that he did not want to use his Sleeve Arrow to kill Lin Xuan. His arms were simply too sore.

Even lifting them felt difficult now.

"I'll wait for you to surpass me.

Though that'll probably take a long time."

Lin Xuan said without turning around, waving a hand at Tang San.

He was completely at ease now. Tang San was working at the Blacksmith Shop, and for the time being, he could only finish the tasks the Boss assigned him. He had no time at all to forge any powerful Hidden Weapons for himself.

And by the time Tang San could forge powerful Hidden Weapons, Lin Xuan's strength might no longer need to fear them.

Besides, while Tang San could forge Hidden Weapons, did that mean he could not forge things himself?

He truly did not know any exquisite Hidden Weapon Forging techniques.

But he still remembered some of the structural designs for crudely made Firearms.

When the time came, they would see whether Hidden Weapons or Firearms had greater killing power.

"Damn it, this Lin Xuan is even harder to deal with than I imagined.

His strength is absurdly great, and his endurance is high as well."

After returning to the dormitory, Tang San could not help punching the bed. But with his hands aching so badly, even controlling his arms was difficult.

"For now, there's probably nothing I can do about him. If I want to defeat him in battle, I'll need a massive breakthrough in Soul Power and become a Soul Grandmaster. Otherwise, Entangle alone simply can't catch him."

Thinking of Lin Xuan's nimble movements, Tang San could not help feeling envious.

Unlike the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track he relied on, Lin Xuan's evasion truly depended entirely on talent.

Under these circumstances, unless he obtained a second soul skill, Entangle alone simply could not truly restrain him.

"And there's forging. I've only been learning it for three months.

As long as I keep forging, sooner or later I'll surpass him.

Besides, forging can also help Soul Masters improve their physical fitness.

As long as I work hard enough, surpassing him shouldn't be difficult."

Tang San sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and prepared to cultivate his Soul Power for a while.

But the moment he shut his eyes, exhaustion completely engulfed him.

His head drooped, and he fell asleep just like that.

He was truly too tired.

As for Lin Xuan, after returning to the academy, he spent another two hours training his control over Soul Power before going to sleep. His schedule was packed to the brim.

Over the following days, Tang San was completely dominated by Lin Xuan.

In order to wash away his humiliation, Tang San constantly wanted to fight Lin Xuan again.

Lin Xuan grew unbearably annoyed and could only set a condition: one Gold Soul Coin per match, and regardless of who won or lost, the Gold Soul Coin would belong to him.

Tang San felt a great deal of pain over this and stubbornly bargained the price down to five Silver Soul Coins.

And then, there was no then.

With his Blue Silver perception, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass attacks were practically nonexistent to Lin Xuan.

And in close combat, Tang San was simply no match for Lin Xuan.

A graze meant injury; a direct hit meant death.

The Blue Silver Whip in particular—one lash nearly made Tang San wish he were dead from the pain.

It wasn't that Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was weak, but his current foundation was simply too frail.

He was utterly incapable of fully bringing out the abilities of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.

In every battle, he was basically beaten down by Lin Xuan.

After losing so often, even Yu Xiaogang could no longer endure it. After all, Tang San only received two Gold Soul Coins a month, and if he wanted to fight one more match, Yu Xiaogang had to pay for it himself.

Unable to win in battle, Tang San shifted his focus to forging.

He refused to believe that Lin Xuan was better than him at everything.

This time, Lin Xuan had learned his lesson and did not crush Tang San so completely from the start.

He had to give Tang San a little hope. That was the only way Tang San would put more effort into forging.

Lin Xuan had originally thought that, after suffering the double blow of combat and forging, Tang San would settle down for a while.

But he had not expected that Tang San would only stay quiet for a short time.

Barely a month had passed before Tang San could no longer hold himself back and sought out Lin Xuan again.

After a month of recuperation, Tang San felt that he had restored his body to peak condition.

With white flour and meat every day, he had basically managed to make up for the deficits of the past six years.

This reignited Tang San's confidence.

The moment school was out, he blocked Lin Xuan's path.

?

Seeing Tang San standing in his way, Lin Xuan slowly produced a question mark.

"Lin Xuan, I wasn't prepared last time. This time, I definitely won't lose to you again. If you have the guts, fight me one more time."

Tang San stared at Lin Xuan, determined to win back the face he had lost.

The two stood facing each other as their auras instantly spread.