Five Years in a Blink

"This... this is actually the strongest continuous forging technique, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer." Seeing this, Tom was dumbfounded, his dark face flushed red from sheer excitement.

Tom knew he could hammer a piece of pig iron into the shape Tang San had achieved, but it would take him the better part of a day. Yet, Tang San had used the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer to finish it in less than a quarter of an hour; how could he not be shocked?

Tang San was equally stunned and asked Tom what the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer was. Naturally, Tom told him everything he knew.

After learning that the hammer technique his father, Tang Ritian, had taught him was the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, Tang San chatted with Tom for a while longer. They finally agreed that he would come to work every afternoon for one silver soul coin a month before he took his leave.

"Haha, good lad, you've found us a treasure for our blacksmith shop." Watching Tang San's retreating back, Tom excitedly patted Lan Si on the shoulder and laughed, "I'll mention this to Uncle Otto later; I'm sure he'll be very happy."

Lan Si smiled, walked to the furnace, and picked up the forging hammer Tang San had just used. He turned to Tom and said, "Uncle Tom, let me try it too!"

Seeing Lan Si lift the heavy hammer with ease, Tom's face filled with surprise as he asked, "Si, could it be that you were born with divine strength?"

Lan Si shook his head, "I wasn't born with divine strength; it's just a simple application of soul power. As long as soul power is used correctly, one can exert several or even ten times the force of the physical body alone."

Tom had a sudden realization. He patted his forehead and chuckled honestly, "Look at my brain, I almost forgot you were a Soul Master. Since you're interested in forging, be careful. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Lan Si nodded slightly, closed his eyes, and recalled the scene of Tang San performing the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. He took a deep breath, let out a low shout, and swung the hammer violently.

"Hah!"

With the same movement and the same force, Lan Si swung the forging hammer in a semicircle through the air, finally striking the piece of pig iron that had already shrunk by a circle.

Clang! Clang! The sound of metal striking metal rang out incessantly.

By the time he swung the thirteenth hammer, Lan Si could no longer hold on, and the hammer nearly flew out of his hand. Fortunately, Lan Si's reflexes were quick, and he managed to avoid an accident.

"Hoo," Lan Si exhaled a long breath of stale air. The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer is certainly not easy to master, he thought. Thirteen hammers is already my limit. It seems I need to observe more in the future.

"Si, just now you..." Seeing Lan Si perform the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, Tom swallowed hard and asked in a low voice.

Lan Si made a shushing gesture and whispered with a chuckle, "Uncle Tom, stealing techniques isn't exactly honorable. Please keep this a secret for me."

Tom nodded heavily, his face dazed. He realized he could no longer understand this child he had watched grow up.

Just like that, sneaking into the Otto Blacksmith Shop to learn the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer became a part of Lan Si's daily routine.

Every morning, Lan Si would wake up early for physical conditioning, while also reviewing his martial arts forms to enhance his close-quarters combat abilities;

In the morning, he attended classes as usual;

In the afternoon, he went to the blacksmith shop to observe Tang San forging and practicing the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, then practiced it himself, while also learning to forge some firearm parts to assemble back in his dormitory;

In the evening, he went to the library to read relevant Soul Master theories;

At night, he practiced the Supreme Universe Art and the Five Thunders Heart Art to temper his soul power and improve his cultivation.

It could be said that Lan Si lived a very fulfilling life every day.

Because Xiao Wu had lost to Lan Si, even though she successfully obtained her Soul Master title, she did not become the "big sister" of Nuoding Academy as she had hoped, nor did she gain the adoration of Xiao Chenyu and his followers.

In Xiao Chenyu's words, although they couldn't beat Xiao Wu, only the strongest person was qualified to be the academy boss.

Since Xiao Wu lost to Lan Si, she could only settle for being the second-in-command.

This made Xiao Wu furious, and she challenged Lan Si every few days. Lan Si never refused; having a punching bag to increase his combat experience was too good to pass up.

The result was always the same: Xiao Wu returned defeated every time, forced to admit her status as the eternal second-in-command.

A year later, when Nuoding Academy went on break, Xiao Wu followed Tang San back to Holy Soul Village, and their relationship became noticeably closer.

Lan Si knew that, barring any accidents, they had become brother and sister—the "romantic" kind.

During that year, Yu Xiaogang had also sought out Lan Si several times, subtly expressing his desire to take him as a disciple, but Lan Si had brushed him off every time.

Are you kidding me? Besides knowing a few more types of soul beasts, does this guy have any other redeeming qualities?

To become the disciple of this hypocritical man for such a negligible, dispensable benefit? Only if I had water in my brain.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five years passed.

Southeast of Nuoding City, at the border between the Balak Kingdom and the Star Luo Empire, within a dense forest adjacent to the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was already night, dark and windy.

Deep in the gloomy forest.

A young figure moved forward cautiously.

She appeared to be only in her teens, a girl carrying no luggage.

The girl had long black hair draped over her shoulders and fair skin, with a figure that was exceptionally voluptuous and fiery, quite at odds with her age. Her expression was slightly cold. Her pair of black eyes lacked even a hint of vitality, which clashed with her otherwise extremely beautiful face. Her limbs were well-proportioned and slender. Although she radiated a deathly, icy stillness that was hard to get used to, and she didn't smile much, one could see a sense of authenticity in her, without a trace of falsehood.

At this moment, she was observing her surroundings with great vigilance, moving forward on foot with extreme caution.

The black-haired girl was surrounded by towering trees dozens of meters high.

In a place she didn't notice, four or five black figures were using the cover of night to ambush her from the trees above.

The scene shifted: one of the dark figures, who possessed an even more fiery and graceful physique than the black-haired girl, lightly tucked her left hand under her chest, raised her right hand, and elegantly snapped her fingers, pointing a slender index finger at the black-haired girl.

The other shadows received the signal, activated their martial souls, and launched an attack on the black-haired girl.

A support-type Soul Master with a violin martial soul held a bow, resting it against the strings, poised and waiting for the right moment to release a melody that could claw at the mind and induce hallucinations, disrupting the black-haired girl's perception.

Three battle Soul Masters with bow martial souls drew their longbows, firing dozens of pale purple soul power arrows at the black-haired girl in continuous succession from all directions.

Pfft! Pfft!

The sound of arrows piercing the air from all sides startled the black-haired girl. Two yellow soul rings rose from beneath her feet. As she activated her martial soul, she leaped into the air, jumping left and right, shifting and moving, flashing in an S-pattern toward the front right to narrowly dodge the arrows.

But before she could steady herself, more arrows swept in, sealing off her space for evasion.

Helpless, the black-haired girl had to leap in place, listening to the sounds to judge the trajectory of the arrows, using the gaps between her limbs and body to dodge.