Yu Xiaogang followed Tang Hao's instructions, found his second "heart," and learned the proper technique for exerting force.
Before long, the forging hammer was spinning in Yu Xiaogang's hands.
As he demonstrated, he also explained things to Tang San, teaching him the correct way to exert force.
"Teacher, your hammer technique is a little rusty, but you make it look much easier than I do!"
"But why does your hammer technique seem a little different from mine?"
He noticed that when Yu Xiaogang demonstrated the technique, he seemed to be dancing, paying far too much attention to his appearance.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang couldn't keep going. He began to ease off and set down the forging hammer.
His Martial Soul was an External Beast Martial Soul, and he wasn't very strong to begin with, so he couldn't complete all Eighty-One Hammers.
He couldn't even manage as many strikes as Tang San had stacked together.
"Xiao San, have you grasped it?" Yu Xiaogang asked, unable to hide a hint of smugness.
"Hmph, Haotian Crown underestimated me. This hammer technique isn't that difficult!"
"Teacher, let me try. If I do anything wrong, please point it out!" Tang San said.
"All right, go ahead and try!"
Yu Xiaogang gave the spot to Tang San, who began practicing the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique.
Tang San had already been just one step away. With Tang Hao's guidance from afar, he quickly grasped the knack.
Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction, then returned to Notting Academy by himself.
Dusk was falling. When Yu Xiaogang returned to his room, he caught the heavy smell of alcohol.
He frowned. He didn't like the smell of liquor that someone had already digested and then vomited back up.
"Haotian Crown, you haven't left yet?" Yu Xiaogang's expression relaxed.
Hearing the movement, Tang Hao immediately came to. Recognizing the footsteps as Grandmaster's, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Grandmaster, I drank your fine liquor without permission and borrowed your place to rest for a while. Please don't hold it against me!"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "It's fine. It's my honor!"
When he was young, Tang Hao had already made a name for himself throughout the land. Yu Xiaogang had always regarded him as his idol.
How could he mind his idol sleeping in his bed?
"Wait, Haotian Crown said he drank my liquor? When did I buy any liquor?"
Yu Xiaogang glanced around and saw the wine jar on the table. His face stiffened.
"Why is it this jar?" Yu Xiaogang was instantly dumbfounded.
He'd thought Tang Hao wouldn't come, so he'd used this jar to store his second brother's liquor.
Although he couldn't reattach the thing, he'd wanted to keep something to remember it by, harboring the same sort of sentiment as the eunuchs in the palace.
Yu Xiaogang hurried over, picked up the jar, and peered inside.
It was completely empty. Not only was his second brother gone, but not a drop of liquor remained. He didn't know whether it had evaporated or been drunk.
"Haotian Crown, you drank all of it?" Yu Xiaogang asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
Perhaps his second brother hadn't been eaten, but had been tossed aside?
Tang Hao nodded, thinking Yu Xiaogang was astonished by how much he could drink.
"Grandmaster, this Soul King Drunk is excellent. I got a little carried away!"
"Oh, right. What Soul Beast's beast whip was steeped in this Soul King Drunk? I don't think I've ever tasted anything like it."
Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened. Tang Hao had completely crushed the last of his hopes.
His second brother really had been eaten by Tang Hao.
"Grandmaster, what's wrong?"
Tang Hao noticed that Grandmaster's expression was off and asked with concern.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Haotian Crown, I'm fine!"
He looked at Tang Hao with a strange glint in his eyes, feeling as though he and Tang Hao now shared some unusual connection.
"Crown, with my guidance, Xiao San has completely mastered every aspect of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique."
For some reason, Yu Xiaogang sounded as if he were taking credit before Tang Hao.
"Thank you, Grandmaster. Xiao San is truly fortunate to have a teacher like you!"
"I've been staying here this whole time. It might cause trouble for you, so I'll take my leave."
After saying that, Tang Hao went out and headed for Shi San Blacksmith Shop.
He didn't entirely trust what Grandmaster had said, so he planned to check the blacksmith shop himself and confirm whether Tang San had learned the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique.
Only after Tang Hao left did the tension in Yu Xiaogang's heart finally ease.
He lay down on the bed. It seemed to still hold Tang Hao's warmth, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
In Dorm Seven, Li Ping'an sat cross-legged on his bed, practicing all alone.
Xiao Wu had finally broken through to level twenty. She'd gone into hiding to condense a Soul Ring.
To conceal her strength, she hadn't asked the academy for leave, lest the Titled Douluo watching her find out.
"It's time for me to get a Soul Ring, too!"
"With my current strength, if I prepare well, I should be able to venture into the Soul Hunting Forest without any trouble."
"But I have a system. Why should I risk going to the Soul Hunting Forest?" Li Ping'an thought.
The Soul Hunting Forest was a place where the Heaven Dou Empire kept Soul Beasts. As long as you didn't venture too deep, there wasn't much danger.
But entering the Soul Hunting Forest required a permit from the empire.
To get one, you had to apply through the academy, and a teacher would lead you into the forest to hunt Soul Beasts.
Li Ping'an didn't want to reveal his strength for now, so he had no way to apply for a permit.
"So, if I want to get a Soul Ring, I can only go to another Soul Beast forest. That's too dangerous!"
"Why not have the system arrange a Soul Ring for me?" Li Ping'an thought.
Li Ping'an opened the system and saw that Yu Xiaogang had just broken through to level thirty.
"Yu Xiaogang actually broke through? That wasn't easy!"
Li Ping'an quickly issued a task to Yu Xiaogang, letting him complete it and claim the reward.
And the reward was a Soul Ring.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully broken through your bottleneck and reached level thirty. A task has been triggered!] [Task: Make a name for yourself in Nuoding City!] [Reward: One Thousand-Year Soul Ring (choose a Soul Beast)!] [Task description: Go to the brothel in Nuoding City, learn sword dancing, and defeat the top courtesan in a dance-off!]
At dawn, Yu Xiaogang woke from his sleep and saw the task issued by the system.
"What? It wants me to go to a brothel and learn those prostitutes' dances? And compete against the top courtesan?"
"Th-this... why would the system issue a task like this?"
"If I actually do it, how will I ever show my face in Nuoding City again?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned and grumbled, but for some reason, he didn't reject the task outright.
"Forget it. For the system's reward, what's a little humiliation?" Yu Xiaogang thought.
He could hunt Soul Beasts in the forest himself, but who would want to fight tooth and nail when he could break through to Soul Elder without any risk?
Besides, it was a thousand-year Soul Ring with a Soul Beast of his choice. It was perfect for putting his Martial Soul Theory into practice!
He didn't notice that, ever since he had castrated himself to practice the Evil-Warding Sword Manual, something inside him had changed.
He even found himself looking forward to the system's tasks.
Before you continue