Years Temper the Edge, Hidden Dragon Awaits the Rain!

The sea breeze still carried that familiar salty, fishy tang, but as it blew over the boy, it could no longer take away even a trace of warmth.

Two and a half years, more than nine hundred days and nights.

Time was like the most skilled blacksmith, silently hammering two innocent children into sharp-edged youths.

North of Aolai City, Black Reef Coast.

Boom!

A dull explosion rang out.

Nine-year-old Tang Linyuan stood bare-chested amid the waves.

He had grown much taller. Though not as burly as an adult, every muscle on his body possessed perfect, streamlined contours, while a faint dark gold gleam flowed across his skin.

That was the sign that the [Primordial Body Casting Chapter] had reached its initial stage—the embryonic form of the "Dark Gold Tyrant Body."

Over the past two and a half years, he had drawn baleful energy into his body and used the Tyrant Spear as a hammer, repeatedly tempering his flesh as though it were a piece of raw iron.

Now, in terms of defense and resistance to blows alone, his body could withstand a power-type Soul King head-on without defeat!

"The fourth style, Falling Star... still falls just short."

Tang Linyuan withdrew his stance, his brows slightly furrowed.

He had already mastered the first three styles of the [Nine Calamity Annihilation Styles]—"Mountain Collapse," "Sea Severing," and "Void Splitting"—and could use them with ease.

But the fourth style involved a deeper application of gravity, and he had always remained separated from it by a single thin layer.

He looked inward at his dantian. The droplets of Soul Power there were as thick as mercury, giving off a profound ink-black glow.

Level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster.

In pursuit of the ultimate foundation, he had madly compressed his Soul Power over the past two and a half years, refining every strand of it several times over.

Though his rank had not risen quickly, the explosive power of a level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster like him would absolutely terrify a whole group of Soul Elders.

"Big Brother! Dinner!"

In the distance, Tang Wulin came running over, waving a towel.

At nine years old, he looked delicate and handsome, with large eyes prettier than those of most girls. Yet the lean muscles covering his body and the forceful way he walked carried the wildness of a newborn calf.

Mang Tian Workshop.

This was the brothers' second home, as well as their treasury.

Clang—hum—

The Forging Hammer in Tang Linyuan's hand came down. Instead of a crisp impact, it produced a long, resonant hum.

The piece of Sinking Silver atop the Forging Table seemed to come alive. A dazzling flame nearly a foot high rose from its surface, while its internal structure underwent a qualitative transformation beneath Tang Linyuan's hammer.

Thousand Refinement Grade One!

As early as half a year ago, Tang Linyuan had broken through the limits of Hundred Refinement and entered the realm of "Thousand Refinement," something only third-rank blacksmiths dared to touch.

If this piece of Thousand Refinement Sinking Silver were brought to an auction house, its starting price would be thirty thousand Federation Credits.

Tang Wulin beside him was no less impressive.

"Ha!"

The hammer in his hand fell like raindrops. Though he had yet to reach the Thousand Refinement realm of "granting metal spirituality," the Hundred Refinement metal he forged was dense and resilient—the most perfect Hundred Refinement product Mang Tian had ever seen.

He was only one final flash of insight away from Thousand Refinement.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Mang Tian looked at his two monstrous disciples. His initial shock had long since faded, leaving behind only numb yet gratified pride.

"I've put your share of the workshop's earnings from the past two years into this card. Wulin needs to buy a Soul Spirit, and this money is more than enough."

"Thank you, Teacher." Tang Linyuan took the card without much excitement.

To him, money was merely a number. Strength was the only truth.

Outside the elementary division gates of Red Mountain Academy.

The dismissal bell rang.

Tang Linyuan and Tang Wulin did not hurry home. Instead, they stood at the most conspicuous spot outside the school gates like a pair of guardian deities, one on each side.

The surrounding students instinctively gave them a wide berth when they saw them.

The reputations of Red Mountain Academy's "Tyrant Spear" and "Strength King" had been built through countless "sparring matches."

"Who are those two? Why do they feel like a pair of fiends?" some freshmen whispered.

"Shh! They're waiting for their little sister!" an older student hurriedly covered the freshman's mouth.

Before long, a little silver-haired, purple-eyed girl emerged with the crowd.

Na'er had grown taller, and even more beautiful.

She wore a simple school uniform, yet she looked like a little fairy fallen into the mortal world. Her cool, ethereal temperament was utterly out of place amid her surroundings.

But at that moment, her eyes were somewhat dim.

Several unruly boys followed behind her, laughing and jeering. "Hey, Silver Hair! I heard you still haven't awakened a Martial Soul? You're already this old. Don't tell me you're some freak without a Martial Soul?"

"Exactly. What's the use of being pretty? You don't even have a useless Martial Soul..."

Na'er lowered her head, her little hand tightening around the strap of her schoolbag.

In a world where Soul Masters reigned supreme, lacking a Martial Soul truly was an original sin.

Suddenly, those boys felt the surrounding temperature plummet to freezing.

A tall figure stepped in front of Na'er, his shadow enveloping the troublemakers.

"Who said that just now?"

Tang Linyuan lowered his gaze, his tone as calm as if he were asking about the weather.

Yet the oppressive aura around him, as though it had risen from the Abyss, instantly drained the color from those children's faces and made their legs tremble.

"Big Brother..." Na'er raised her head, and light immediately returned to her purple eyes.

"W-we..." Those boys could not even get the words out.

"Get lost."

Tang Wulin walked over from the other side, cracking his knuckles. The smile on his face was bright, yet dangerous.

"If I see you bullying Na'er again, I'll hang you from the flagpole outside the school gate and dry you into salted fish."

The boys burst into tears and ran away.

Tang Linyuan turned around, and his originally cold, stern face instantly softened.

He naturally took Na'er's schoolbag, then rubbed her silver hair with his other hand.

"Don't listen to their nonsense," Tang Linyuan said softly.

"Whether you have a Martial Soul or not isn't important. As long as Wulin and I are here, if anyone on Douluo Continent dares touch even a single hair on your head, I'll make them regret ever coming into this world."

"Mm!" Na'er nodded hard, taking each of her brothers' hands. The sweetest smile bloomed across her face.

The Tang family's small dining table.

Tonight's meal was especially lavish.

"Dad, Mom, I've got some good news for you."

Tang Wulin had a huge chicken drumstick stuffed in his mouth as he said indistinctly, "I'm level ten! My Soul Power is level ten!"

"Really?!"

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue both put down their chopsticks, the joy in their eyes nearly overflowing.

"That's wonderful! I knew our Wulin was a genius too!" Lang Yue excitedly placed another piece of braised pork into Wulin's bowl.

But then Tang Ziran's brows furrowed slightly. "Then... about the Soul Spirit..."

Though the family did not lack food or clothing, purchasing a Soul Spirit was still an enormous expense.

"Dad, don't worry about the money."

Tang Linyuan took out the card containing their blacksmithing savings and placed it on the table.

"There's enough money here to pick out a good hundred-year Soul Spirit on the second floor of the Spirit Pagoda. Wulin and I earned it from blacksmithing over the past few years."

Tang Ziran looked at the card, then at the thick calluses on his two sons' hands. His eyes reddened slightly.

"Good... good children. Your father is useless. I've made you suffer."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Tang Wulin swallowed the drumstick and waved his fist. "Blacksmithing builds strength and earns money too. I love doing it!"

Na'er quietly ate beside them. Watching this warm scene, a trace of envy flashed through her purple eyes, but even more than that, there was deep attachment.

Though she had no Martial Soul and had lost her memories, she knew that this place was her most precious treasure.

After dinner.

Tang Linyuan stood on the balcony, looking toward the brightly lit Spirit Pagoda in the distance.

"Big Brother." Tang Wulin walked over and stood beside him. "Will I be able to get a suitable Soul Spirit tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Tang Linyuan turned to look at his younger brother.

He could sense that the restless aura suppressed within Tang Wulin's body for so long was yearning for some kind of guidance.

"Wulin, remember this."

Tang Linyuan's voice was low and powerful. "No matter what happens tomorrow, no matter how much it hurts, grit your teeth and endure it. That is the threshold you must cross to become a dragon."

"Once you cross it, this ocean will never be able to trap you again."

Tang Wulin nodded as though he only half understood, but seeing the certainty in his brother's eyes filled his heart with courage.

"I'm not afraid of pain. As long as I can grow stronger and protect Dad, Mom, and Na'er, anything is fine!"

The night wind swept past, lifting the hems of their clothes.

The hidden dragon lay in the Abyss, waiting only for tomorrow's storm to soar into the sky and shake the world.