Eastsea Academy 1

Tang Wulin slowly woke from his sleep. When he opened his eyes, the first person he saw was Mang Tian.

Mang Tian stood beside the bed, smiling at the boy lying there, his voice tinged with emotion. "Little fellow, even I'm a little envious of you. Stacked Hammers—you've grasped its secrets at such a young age. You've only gained a preliminary command of it for now, but once you fully master the effects of Stacked Hammer Resonance, you'll achieve twice the results with half the effort and improve with every step, no matter what metal you forge."

Those words exploded like thunder in Tang Wulin's mind. Understanding struck him at once, and he finally grasped what had been unusual about his forging earlier.

The essence of Stacked Hammers lay in the high-frequency resonance produced when a hammer strike subjected the metal to a violent impact, generating the effect of a second strike, or even several overlapping strikes. Throughout the forging process, he had been utterly absorbed in his hammer technique and the tempering of the metal. His concentration had been so complete that he had not even noticed himself executing Stacked Hammers.

Mang Tian marveled inwardly. Wulin had managed to make up for the shortcomings of his innately weak martial soul through forging. With his talent for Stacked Hammers and mastery of Thousand Refinement, he was destined to walk this path more smoothly and steadily than anyone else.

After a moment's thought, Mang Tian's smile faded, and his expression grew solemn. In a low voice, he warned Tang Wulin, "Wulin, remember this. From now on, you must deliberately hone your Stacked Hammers whenever you forge, until you can control its power with ease. More importantly, while you're still weak and unable to protect yourself completely, you must never reveal your trump cards lightly, nor disclose anything unusual about yourself."

With that, Mang Tian raised his hand and offered him two plain, antique-looking metal rings.

Tang Wulin examined them closely, and his eyes filled with astonishment. He cried out involuntarily, "Are these... made from Thousand-Refined heavy silver?"

A kindly smile returned to Mang Tian's face as he explained, "These are works I was proud of forging in my younger days. Each ring has one-eighth of a cubic meter of storage space. That isn't particularly large, but it's enough for your daily cultivation and storage needs."

Tang Wulin understood immediately—these were extremely precious Storage Soul Tools!

Civilization on the Douluo Continent stretched back ten thousand years. Ever since Storage Soul Tools had first appeared, they had been rare and valuable, never cheap. The combined capacity of these two Heavy Silver Rings was less than a cubic meter, but their value already approached a hundred thousand Federation Credits.

Faced with such a generous gift, he instinctively hurried to refuse. "Teacher, these are far too valuable. I can't accept them."

Mang Tian shook his head gently, his voice warm but leaving no room for refusal. "It's all right. They aren't such a grand gift. You've devoted yourself to learning forging from me for three full years, working diligently and steadily without ever slacking off. The wages I usually paid you were meager to begin with. Consider this your bonus for completing your studies and successfully finishing your apprenticeship. Just accept them with an easy mind."

Hearing his teacher's words, Tang Wulin stopped insisting on refusing. He solemnly accepted the two Heavy Silver Rings and gently slipped them onto his wrists.

The instant the Heavy Silver Rings touched his skin, Tang Wulin willed the soul power within his body into motion.

A faint, lustrous white glow slowly rippled across the two rings, soft and gentle. He clearly sensed the Heavy Silver Twin Hammers he had just forged himself, which Mang Tian had then tempered a second time to raise them to two-thousand-refinement quality, turn into streaks of light and slip securely into the rings' storage spaces, vanishing without a trace.

Mang Tian looked at him with warmth and solemnity, offering one final reminder. "Go home. Remember every instruction I gave you today."

Tang Wulin nodded firmly. "All right."

Eastsea City, Sun Moon Federation.

It was the federation's second-largest city bordering the shores of the East Sea, both a major trading port with connections in every direction and a fishing hub blessed with boundless ocean resources. A million permanent residents lived on this fertile land. Thanks to thriving marine development and maritime trade, its people lived and worked in peace, enjoying prosperity and good health. It was truly a wealthy, flourishing place.

Eastsea City had deep roots and a long history. Over the past century, the federation had placed increasing importance on preserving the cultural legacy of old architecture, adding many of the city's older buildings to its traditional cultural preservation register. Timeworn buildings stood scattered throughout the city, complementing the gleaming modern soul-guidance structures and lending this ancient coastal city both classical elegance and contemporary brilliance.

Inside Eastsea Soul Guidance Train Station, the rumble of machinery slowly subsided.

A Soul Guidance Train, deep azure from end to end, gradually slowed and glided smoothly into the platform before coming to a steady halt. With crisp clicks as the locks released, its doors opened one after another, and a steady stream of passengers stepped off. The once-empty, quiet platform filled with noise in an instant, the bustling crowd flowing toward the station exit in orderly streams.

Tang Wulin stood alone amid that crowd.

He took a gentle, deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh, moist air of this coastal city.

Deep down, he had always harbored an indescribable aversion to Soul Guidance Trains. In the hazy memories of his previous life, he had once borne the peculiar title of "Soul Guidance Train Killer." He had no way of knowing whether that seemingly fated trait would manifest again, or when it might strike. That unknown danger always left him wary, with a lingering chill of fear.

Before making this journey to Eastsea City to study, Tang Wulin had already quietly mapped out his future path.

Compared with Eastsea Academy, where he would soon enroll, his adoptive parents, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, remained his greatest concern.

In this life, he was far more clearheaded and perceptive than his counterpart in the original story. Once his mind had fully matured and he could consciously direct his own thoughts, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue had frankly told him about his origins—he was a child they had found and brought home years ago.

Tang Wulin had never felt any distance grow between them because of it. He had simply kept it in his heart. His greatest difference from the original story was his distinctive appearance, unforgettable at a glance.

The boy's short hair was as clear as the blue sea, a pure, translucent azure. His eyes resembled exquisitely cut sapphires, clear, bright, and sparkling. A simple, clean white short-sleeved shirt set off his straight, slender figure. His striking looks and unique hair and eye colors made him stand out amid the station's constant flow of people, immediately drawing many nearby gazes.

Most passersby were privately surprised that such a strikingly handsome child was traveling far from home alone, without his parents accompanying him.

In truth, Tang Wulin had initially hoped his adoptive parents would come with him, but Tang Ziran had gently declined. He had told Tang Wulin that he was grown now and ought to gain experience on his own, venturing down the road ahead by himself.

This was the first time in Tang Wulin's life that he had traveled far from home alone.

Unlike the bewildered boy arriving in an unfamiliar place in the original story, he carried the memories of a lifetime and had long since matured mentally. There was no anxiety or timidity in his eyes, only composure and certainty. He had already given clear thought to his future cultivation and daily life.

After leaving the train station, Tang Wulin followed the crowd slowly forward. The people on the previously crowded sidewalk ahead suddenly parted to either side. A soul-guidance car sat quietly at the curb, its paint gleaming as though brand-new, and instantly captured all his attention.

The boy's eyes lit up, and an irresistible fondness rose within him. As a boy, it was hard not to yearn for a vehicle with such sharp, aggressive styling. Its lines were exceptionally sleek, blending the finest design elements of the Ferrari and Lamborghini supercars from his previous life's memories. Its body was long and low, with auxiliary tracks fitted along the edges of the chassis to combine speed with the ability to handle difficult terrain. Its appearance was both striking and distinctive.

Tang Wulin stood to one side, quietly studying it, his heart and eyes full of envy. He secretly clenched his fists to encourage himself. Once I have enough savings, I'll build my own soul-guidance car—one even more stunning than this, with performance far beyond it.

While Tang Wulin stood at the roadside, absorbed in admiring the stylish soul-guidance car, a figure strode out from his right.

The boy was about his age, dressed in a neat blue tracksuit. He had fluffy, fresh-looking reddish-brown short hair, fair skin, a high nose bridge, and a particularly distinctive pair of dark green eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled open the door and climbed straight into the eye-catching soul-guidance car.

Watching the other boy's departing figure, Tang Wulin reflected inwardly. He really does come from a well-off family. How enviable.

He lingered no longer and continued outward with the people leaving the station. As he walked farther, the dense crowd from the station gradually dispersed behind him.

Continuing along, Tang Wulin stopped before a sign with blue lettering on a white background. Printed clearly upon it were the words "Eastsea Academy."

Looking at the school sign, he suddenly felt a touch of self-mocking amusement. He had put in far more sweat than his counterpart in the original timeline. Thanks to his talent for Stacked Hammers, his forging had already far surpassed that of the naive boy he had once been, yet his progress in soul power cultivation was almost the same. His soul power was currently at rank eleven, only a step away from rank twelve. Even if he successfully broke through, he would still only be a rank-twelve One-Ring Soul Master.

The greatest difference between him and the Tang Wulin of the original story was that he had acquired a hundred-year blue silver grass soul spirit early on. The Soul Skill it granted him was practical and convenient. More unusually, a hundred-year soul spirit could produce two Soul Rings. This meant he would not have to fuse with another soul spirit before attempting to reach Soul Elder.

Having settled his thoughts, Tang Wulin was just about to step through the academy gates when a black-haired girl walked straight toward him. With a gentle smile in her eyes, she asked softly, "Little brother, are you here to register as a new student?"