On Monday morning, a thin veil of dawn mist shrouded Nuoding City.
A faint distortion of space suddenly appeared before the gates of Nuoding Academy. A soft silver ripple spread through the air, and Gu Tian stepped out of the void first. The other three girls seemed reluctant to leave, though it was hard to tell whether they were loath to leave the Star Dou Great Forest or simply didn't want to go to class.
"Nuoding Academy..." Gu Tian glanced up at the slightly weathered arched stone gate.
Compared to the picture-perfect fairyland around the Lake of Life, these buildings carried the vulgarity and oppression of human society. But to Gu Tian, this was a fine stage—a gladiatorial arena where he could watch the so-called Son of Destiny slowly fall apart.
If not for that, he wouldn't have bothered wasting his time here.
Meanwhile, in Dorm Seven at Nuoding Academy, the atmosphere had fallen below freezing. Even the usually mischievous work-study students, now back in their dormitory, instinctively kept their breathing quiet. Some even tiptoed as they walked.
Tang San sat silently on his bed in the innermost corner by the window.
Ever since he'd returned on Friday night, he'd sat there without moving, radiating an air that warned others to stay away. He hadn't gone to the cafeteria or the classroom. He only stared at the bed where Xiao Wu used to sleep. Now it was completely empty—not a single rabbit hair remained.
"Is the gap... really that huge?"
Tang San raised his right hand and looked at the Blue Silver Grass in his palm, frail and shriveled, with an unhealthy gray tinge.
It was the most crushing despair he'd ever suffered in either of his two lives. The Tang Sect Secret Arts he'd always taken pride in had looked like a clumsy joke before that boy. He could even feel that the white Soul Ring wasn't merely wrapped around his Martial Soul—it was wrapped around his dignity, turning him into the laughingstock of the entire academy.
"Lie low and bide your time. Stay silent until the moment comes, then astonish the world with a single brilliant feat."
Tang San gritted his teeth, tasting a trace of rust in his mouth. His eyes turned cold. He'd finally realized that he had no trump cards at all. If he kept up this pointless struggle, he wouldn't get Xiao Wu back—and he might even lose his life in Nuoding City.
"Gu Tian, just you wait. Once I've forged Hidden Weapons and cultivated that Clear Sky Hammer... I'll make you kneel and beg me to let you live, yet find yourself unable to die."
That afternoon, in Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's office, the air was thick with the smell of tobacco and old paper.
Yu Xiaogang sat behind a broad solid-wood desk. His eyes looked tired and unfocused behind his lenses. Over the weekend, he'd scoured every ancient book on Martial Souls he could find, yet still couldn't explain the existence of Gu Tian's purple Soul Ring.
"That pressure... it doesn't seem like a mutation caused by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, either! What kind of Martial Soul is it?" Yu Xiaogang wondered.
He was weighing his options. Tang San was his first disciple, the culmination of all the effort he'd poured into his theories. But Gu Tian's arrival had shown him another path—a path that could make him a god outright and let him hold his head high before Spirit Hall.
Everyone knew you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. The same went for teaching disciples.
"If I can raise Gu Tian into a great talent, no one will ever dispute my name again."
Just then, the office door opened.
Tang San walked in. The agitation on his face had vanished, replaced by a stillness like a calm lake.
"Teacher, I've made up my mind." Tang San stood before the desk, his voice hoarse and hollow. "I've decided to give up cultivating Blue Silver Grass as my main Martial Soul. I want to cultivate that... Clear Sky Hammer."
Yu Xiaogang raised his head sharply, a flicker of conflict crossing his eyes.
"Xiao San, have you forgotten what I asked of you?" Yu Xiaogang's voice turned stern. "Didn't I say to wait until you'd reached the Titled Douluo level before hunting Soul Rings for the Clear Sky Hammer, so you could create the miracle of a Martial Soul bearing nothing but Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings?"
"Teacher, my Blue Silver Grass is already ruined." Tang San stretched out his left hand and stared at the white Soul Ring, his voice full of utter revulsion. "This ring of white trash has become my inner demon. It mocks my incompetence every second of every day. Without absolute power, how can I defeat Gu Tian? How can I avenge myself?"
Yu Xiaogang watched the near-mad obsession in Tang San's eyes and remained silent for a long while.
If he'd had the strength back then, he would have taken Bibi Dong back from Qian Xunji. If he'd successfully inherited the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, Liu Erlong would have willingly stayed with him, too.
Wasn't Tang San now a reflection of him?
Yu Xiaogang knew what it felt like to have someone take the woman you loved. Though he'd also taken Liu Erlong from Flender, that was different. He'd merely reclaimed his Erlong, who had belonged to him all along. It was just that Erlong wasn't as obedient as Xiao Wu and refused to let him have two women at once, no matter what. Otherwise, things wouldn't have ended with him having nothing today.
For Tang San, the Clear Sky Hammer really was his last hope.
"Fine." Yu Xiaogang nodded firmly. "Since you're this determined, I'll help you. The Clear Sky Hammer is the strongest Tool Martial Soul in the world. With the right Soul Ring, its explosive power can make up for your disadvantage in Soul Power Level. Tomorrow, I'll take you to Soul Hunting Forest to hunt the first Soul Ring for your Clear Sky Hammer."
After leaving Grandmaster's office, Tang San hurried to a large blacksmith's shop in the south of Nuoding City and found himself a part-time job.
The forge was called Iron Gall Workshop. Its furnaces blazed without pause, their intense heat making the air shimmer.
From then on, he decided, he wouldn't waste his time watching Xiao Wu after class or caring about Gu Tian's taunts. Every day, he would stand by the smoke-choked forge and swing the heavy hammer.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Sparks flew, and every strike sent an echo ringing through the empty shop.
Sweat slid down his lean, taut back and dripped onto the glowing iron, hissing. Tang San imagined each blow landing on Gu Tian, using the punishing exertion to suppress the madness in his heart.
He hadn't taken a second job as a blacksmith merely to earn money. More importantly, he could use the materials here to forge his own Hidden Weapons.
When it came to making Hidden Weapons, Tang San pursued perfection in every detail—even the Silent Sleeve Arrow he always carried.
At that moment, Gu Tian sat in a pavilion in the academy's rear garden, holding a dozing Na'er in his arms. He had no idea that Tang San's state of mind had undergone a tremendous change. But so what if he had known? A good-for-nothing was still a good-for-nothing.
You can't carve rotten wood, nor plaster over a wall of dung.
Those words suited Tang San perfectly.
Just then, Yu Xiaogang's thin figure appeared in sight. He walked slowly, as if choosing his words with care.
"Gu Tian, could we talk?" Yu Xiaogang stopped outside the pavilion, his tone carrying a hint of ingratiating humility.
Gu Tian didn't even raise his eyes. He lazily toyed with Na'er's hair. "What is it, Grandmaster? If this is about your Martial Soul Theory, I'm not interested."
Yu Xiaogang gave an awkward cough and brazenly took a step closer. "No. I want to ask you for a favor. You've seen Xiao San's situation. Because of a few misunderstandings, he's become a little too eager for quick results. Tomorrow, I'm taking him to Soul Hunting Forest again to hunt the first Soul Ring for his second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer."
"The Clear Sky Hammer's first ring is critical. It determines the foundation of its strength, and the Soul Power guidance must be extremely precise. I'll be there with him, but my cultivation is limited... You're the strongest in our class—no, in the whole academy. I'd like you to come along as our guard."
Gu Tian nearly burst out laughing at that.
Asking an enemy to protect another enemy?
Yu Xiaogang's train of thought really was something else.
Gu Tian sneered inwardly. Since Yu Xiaogang had brought the bait right to his lips, wouldn't it be a shame not to swallow it?
"Sure. Since Grandmaster thinks so highly of me, of course I'll help." Gu Tian put on an amused smile and stood up. "Then... let's set out first thing tomorrow morning!"
Gu Tian watched Yu Xiaogang leave, full of delight, as the curve of his lips slowly turned cold.
Xiao Wu tugged at Gu Tian's clothes, pouting with a wounded look. "Brother Gu Tian, I don't want to go tomorrow. Why are you helping Tang San hunt a Soul Ring?"
"Fine. I'll have Na'er stay with you tomorrow, and Gu Yue can come with me." Gu Tian stroked Xiao Wu's hair and then pulled her onto his lap. "This time, not only will I avoid getting in Tang San's way—I'll do everything I can to help him get the best possible Soul Ring!"
Xiao Wu looked puzzled. "Brother Gu Tian, don't you and Tang San get along? Why are you helping him become stronger?"
"Xiao Wu, you know Tang San has Twin Martial Souls. What do you think will happen if he chooses to raise his Soul Power Level first, then adds Soul Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer after becoming a Titled Douluo?"
"Once he reaches the Titled Douluo level, every Soul Ring could be ten thousand years old!" Xiao Wu shuddered. If things really went as Gu Tian predicted, just how terrifying would Tang San become in the future?
"Exactly. So it might look like I'm helping him, but in truth, I'm limiting his strength." Gu Tian set Xiao Wu down and stood, gazing into the distance. "Besides, I've heard that if a Twin Martial Souls Soul Master cultivates both Martial Souls at the same time despite their conflicting attributes, they can counteract each other and stunt the Soul Master's growth!"