"Uncle Mang, how'd I do?"
Tang Heng's words pulled Mang Tian back to reality from his amazement at the Hundred-Refinement in One Hammer.
"Ahem. Very good, very good! Xiao Heng, you're practically born to be a forging genius!"
Mang Tian looked at Tang Heng with hope in his eyes.
He very much wanted to take this disciple in. When Tang Heng eventually became a Divine Craftsman, Mang Tian would go down in history as his teacher.
But doing so would only bury Tang Heng's talent—the future Divine Craftsman of the forging world.
Mang Tian said, "You can learn the basics from me. As for a teacher, I'll recommend someone suitable for you."
Then he looked at Tang Wulin, who was watching him with admiration, and said slowly, "As for you, you can keep learning forging from me. Come here to work after school every day."
Though the younger brother fell a little short of his older brother, and his Martial Soul was quite ordinary,
his determination and strength were plain to see. He was another promising talent.
"ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ Yay!"
Tang Wulin threw his arms around Tang Heng, overjoyed.
Tang Heng pushed him away with a look of disgust and couldn't help saying, "You're covered in sweat. Don't rub it all over me. Remember to take a bath when we get home."
"Oh, right! Okay."
Watching the two brothers together, Mang Tian smiled knowingly, his gaze softening.
Then he took out a bottle of ointment and handed it to Tang Heng. "Take this. Rub it on your little brother later. It's very effective for easing soreness and fatigue."
Tang Heng took the ointment and said to Tang Wulin, "Aren't you going to say thank you?"
"Thank you, Uncle Mang!"
Mang Tian raised an eyebrow, looking a little displeased.
"Still calling me Uncle? You really don't know any better, do you? You should call me Master now!"
After Tang Heng's reminder, Tang Wulin finally caught on and hurriedly corrected himself. "Master, I was wrong. Please be the bigger person and forgive this small fry!"
Mang Tian chuckled and ruffled Tang Wulin's hair. "From now on, I'll train you properly. I hope you won't give up halfway, or your brother will leave you in the dust before long, with talent like his."
Tang Wulin nodded, brimming with confidence. "I can't match my brother's talent, but when it comes to hard work, I'm confident!"
Good! Full of spirit!
Tang Heng silently made the joke to himself.
"Are you going home now, or will you stay here for a while? I'm about to get to work, so I might not be able to look after you."
As a master-class blacksmith, Mang Tian rarely went without orders. Even though he lived in a small place like this, visitors still came to his door in a steady stream.
After all, good wine needed no bush.
Tang Heng wanted to see whether he could use materials from the Douluo Plane to make things from the Minecraft Plane, so he said, "Go ahead and get to work, Uncle Mang. Just give my little brother and me a forging table, and we'll practice on our own."
"Sure. There are two empty forging rooms on the left. You can each use one. Be careful, and don't mess with anything you don't understand."
"Don't worry, Uncle. We know what we're doing."
Before long, the brothers split up and went to separate forging rooms.
With a thought, Tang Heng took [Bamboo Light] and the other materials from his inventory.
In the Minecraft Plane, crafting was limited by crafting recipes and the Crafting Table.
But what about the Douluo Plane? Would it work differently here?
Just like his Hundred-Refinement in One Hammer earlier. It was his first time forging, yet when he struck, it had felt completely natural, as if he had been born to forge, simply because he had the body of a Minecraft player.
He took out the piece of Hundred-Refinement Sinking Silver and the brilliantly colored Soul Orb.
Tang Heng raised his forging hammer and began striking the materials on the table, his movements smooth as flowing water.
As a brilliant light surged, some mysterious law was triggered. The shattered Soul Orb actually fused with the Hundred-Refinement Sinking Silver, and the two flowed into Bamboo Light's blade.
At last, a completely different katana appeared on the forging table.
Tang Heng gripped the hilt and swung it through the air, the blade cutting through with a whoosh.
Compared with Bamboo Light, Silver Paper Bamboo Light was clearly much sharper.
Tang Heng could also clearly feel that Silver Paper Bamboo Light, forged with Sinking Silver in place of Iron Ingots, had gained increased durability.
That proved it was possible to use rare metals from the Douluo Continent to make tools, armor, and the like.
"I remember Thousand-Refinement is when metal gains a spirit, and the forging process makes it sublime, giving it additional attributes? What would happen if I added an Enchanted Book while forging?"
Tang Heng wondered.
But he wasn't planning to try it yet. He didn't have any decent Enchanted Books in his warehouse. He could get some after he went home.
After putting Silver Paper Bamboo Light back in his inventory and spending some time getting familiar with forging in the room, Tang Heng was soon joined by Lang Yue, who had come to pick them up.
When they met, Mang Tian, who rarely smiled, was chatting and laughing with Lang Yue. He lavishly praised both Tang Heng and Tang Wulin, leaving Lang Yue so taken aback that she didn't know how to react.
"So you're saying both my sons have a talent for forging?"
Mang Tian nodded with a smile. "That's right. I'm planning to take Wulin on as my apprentice. As for Xiao Heng, I can't teach him for long, so I'll report what happened today to an old friend of mine. He's more qualified than I am to teach Xiao Heng."
Lang Yue didn't know who Mang Tian meant to recommend as Tang Heng's teacher, but from the way he spoke, that old friend's professional rank had to be higher than Mang Tian's.
Wouldn't that make him a Saint Craftsman?!
On the way home, Lang Yue was beaming, her eyes filled with uncontainable joy.
"Xiao Heng, now that you've got a new teacher, you'll have to give Wulin plenty of guidance. Your father and I don't expect you to be rich and famous, but at the very least, you should be brothers who get along. Understand?"
"Don't worry, Mom. If my big brother tells me to go east, I won't go west. If he tells me to go south, I won't go north!"
Tang Wulin said this as he ate a chicken leg.
Seeing this, Tang Heng took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to his little brother. "Wipe your mouth when you're done eating. If you go home with grease all over it, Na'er will definitely find you disgusting."
Mother and sons chatted and laughed all the way home, arriving before long.
After the three of them left, Mang Tian took out his communicator, sat down, and began writing a recommendation letter that could change the entire forging world of the Douluo Continent.
[To: You stubborn old mule, Cen Yue]
"You should still be awake at this hour, right? If you are, send me a reply when you see this."
"It's been a long time since I contacted you, old geezer, and I'm not in the mood for pleasantries."
"I found two treasures in Aolai City. Both are six years old, and they only recently awakened their Martial Souls. I figure the younger one has the makings of a Saint Craftsman, so I've already taken him on as my apprentice."
"The older one... I can't teach him. He's extraordinarily gifted. He only picked up a forging hammer for the first time today, and he went straight to Hundred-Refinement Sinking Silver. I know their family's circumstances inside and out. There's no way he could've studied forging beforehand. And his Martial Soul is top quality, a True Dragon Martial Soul."
"I've attached more information. There's footage from the workshop to prove it. Don't go saying I lied to you later."
"Old Cen, I really don't want this uncut jade buried in the dirt. When I've taught him to complete Thousand-Refinement, bring Zhen Hua over to take him as a disciple. I have a feeling this kid will turn the forging world upside down."
"—Your father, Mang Tian."
Tap. Send.
Mang Tian watched the words "Transmission successful" appear on his communicator and let out a long breath. He slumped into his chair, drinking tea as he waited for a reply.
"Old Cen, don't let me down."
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