Teacher Was a Soul Master Too?

Only then did Tang Wulin truly notice the man standing by the door.

"Teacher." He froze for a moment, then hurriedly greeted him.

Mang Tian nodded, his gaze traveling from Tang Wulin's face to the Star-Sinking Hammer in his hand. He wasted no words.

"Come." He said only that before continuing, "Show me your First Soul Skill."

The room fell silent.

Lang Yue's eyes were still red, but her fingers unconsciously loosened a little. Tang Ziran also shifted his gaze from his son's face to the hand holding the hammer. Na'er stood to one side, her purple eyes bright as she watched quietly.

Tang Wulin gathered himself as well.

After waking up, he had only known by instinct that he had gained a soul skill, and had a rough sense of what that power was like. This was his first time actually trying to bring it out clearly.

He took a deep breath and raised his right hand slightly.

Dark light flashed, and the Star-Sinking Hammer settled into his palm once more.

At the same time, a pure white soul ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, climbed along his body, then settled around the hammer's silhouette, pulsing quietly.

White soul rings were the least remarkable of all.

Yet somehow, once it settled around this hammer, it showed not the slightest hint of insubstantiality. The hammer remained short, black, and bluntly heavy, with nothing sharp or imposing about it. It even looked rather unimpressive. But the moment the soul ring encircled it, the light in the room seemed to sink slightly—not dimming, but as though something had pressed it downward.

Holding the hammer, Tang Wulin closed his eyes briefly.

The next moment, he spoke softly:

"First Soul Skill, Thousand-Weight Fall."

The instant his words fell, the faint dark-gold patterns on the Star-Sinking Hammer suddenly lit up.

It was not a dazzling glow. Rather, it was as though someone had gently wiped gold threads buried in black iron, bringing them faintly into view. Immediately afterward, a weight distinctly different from usual surged along the handle and bore down into Tang Wulin's arm.

Tang Wulin's wrist sank slightly.

For an instant, he even had the illusion that he was holding not a hammer, but a small mountain compressed to its utmost limit.

"Don't strike anything indoors," Mang Tian suddenly said. "Go to the courtyard."

Tang Wulin paused, then understood.

Right.

Just initiating the soul skill had already made the floorboards beneath him creak softly. If he actually brought the hammer down inside, he might smash straight through the floor.

They quickly moved out into the courtyard.

The night breeze was a little chilly. Moonlight slanted down over the courtyard wall, leaving the ground half bright and half dark. Mang Tian casually picked up a billet of Black Heavy Iron normally used to prop things up beside the wall and set it in the middle of the courtyard.

"Strike this," he said.

Tang Wulin nodded and stepped up to the billet.

The soul ring was still pulsing gently, and the dark-gold patterns on the Star-Sinking Hammer had yet to fade. He tightened his grip on the handle, clearly sensing Little Jun Ant's heavy, steady presence nestled deep within the hammer, gradually forming a connection with his own soul power.

It was not an explosion.

It was compression.

Compressing all the power into a single point, then releasing it in one strike as the hammer fell.

Understanding suddenly dawned on Tang Wulin.

So he did not swing the hammer in a wide arc or deliberately adopt any stance. He simply lifted it slightly and brought it down.

Thud.

It was not a crisp sound.

It was a deeply muffled boom.

As though someone had suddenly pressed an invisible boulder down into the middle of the courtyard.

The Black Heavy Iron billet used as a support sank almost instantly, only then letting out a belated crack. The gray bricks beneath it trembled slightly, and even the empty wooden bucket hanging in the courtyard's corner swayed from the shock.

Lang Yue instinctively covered her mouth.

Tang Ziran's gaze changed at once.

Tang Wulin himself was even more stunned.

The sensation of that strike was completely different from what he had imagined. He had thought his First Soul Skill would simply amplify his strength, or concentrate all his force into one point as he did when Forging. Only after striking did he discover that this soul skill was far more than merely "heavier."

It was as though the small patch of space beneath the hammer had briefly plunged downward along with it.

Mang Tian had already walked over.

He crouched down and examined the billet.

At the center of its once intact, level surface, a distinct hammer impression had been driven in. Few cracks spread outward, but the edges were compressed extremely tightly and solidly, as though all the force had been forcibly locked into that single point in the middle.

Mang Tian touched the impression, his gaze growing even more solemn.

"It didn't smash it apart," he murmured, almost to himself. "It pressed into it."

He stood and turned toward Tang Wulin.

"Give me the hammer."

Tang Wulin hesitated, but still passed him the Star-Sinking Hammer.

Mang Tian reached out to take it.

But the moment the hammer entered his hand, his brow sharply furrowed, and his wrist sank with it.

Heavy.

Heavier than he had imagined.

And this was not an inert weight, but an utterly unreasonable heaviness that almost carried the intent of "falling." It was as though the hammer did not merely possess weight, but constantly dragged its wielder's arm downward.

Mang Tian looked at the hammer in his hand, then up at Tang Wulin.

"You've been forging with this all along?"

"Yes." Tang Wulin nodded honestly. "I've always used it."

Mang Tian said nothing, merely hefting the hammer.

The Star-Sinking Hammer trembled slightly in his palm, seemingly not entirely willing to submit to someone else's grip. The tremor was faint, yet it left Mang Tian's palm tingling.

Now it was not only his expression that changed. Even Tang Ziran vaguely sensed something was wrong.

"Brother Mang, what is it?" he asked instinctively.

Mang Tian still did not answer immediately.

The next moment, his aura suddenly changed.

One white, two yellow, one purple.

Four soul rings rose silently from beneath his feet.

White, yellow, yellow, purple—four rings of differently colored light overlapped in the darkness, casting a faint glow throughout the little courtyard. The pressure belonging to a Soul Ancestor was not violent, but as solid and steady as a wall. The instant it appeared, Tang Wulin instinctively retreated half a step.

He froze.

Teacher... was a Soul Master too?

And a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor at that?

Of course Tang Wulin knew what a Soul Ancestor represented.

Levels eleven through twenty were Soul Masters, twenty-one through thirty were Soul Grandmasters, and thirty-one through forty were Soul Elders. A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor was already a true powerhouse who had crossed those first several thresholds.

He had always known Mang Tian was formidable.

But he had never imagined he was formidable to this extent.

As the soul rings rose, three soul spirits also appeared around Mang Tian's shoulders.

A little white rabbit lay quietly on his left shoulder, wreathed in a layer of gentle white light. On the other side hovered a pair of small hammer silhouettes glowing with dense yellow light, clearly tool soul spirits. The last to leap out was a little brown-furred bear. Though small, its arms were exceptionally thick. Upon landing, it bared its teeth at its surroundings, brimming with ferocity.

Mang Tian's own martial soul revealed itself at that moment as well.

It was a white heavy hammer.

Its body was not ornate, but deep brown patterns covered its surface, like traces left by the earth splitting open and solidifying again. The moment it appeared, Mang Tian's entire presence grew heavier, as though he had transformed from a Forging master back into a true strength-type Soul Ancestor in an instant.

Earth Hammer, Tang Wulin instinctively recited the name in his mind.

The first soul ring beneath Mang Tian's feet lit up.

The little white rabbit trembled in response, and a layer of gentle white light instantly covered his arms, shoulders, and back. His muscles did not visibly swell, yet his whole body seemed to have been gently "tightened," making even the slightest exertion of strength more solid.

"First Soul Skill, Fortitude," he said calmly, as though explaining in passing.

The next moment, he tightened his grip on the Star-Sinking Hammer again and slowly lifted it.

This time, the hammer rose.

But the look in Mang Tian's eyes grew even more serious.

If this were merely an ordinary hammer-type Tool Martial Soul, no matter how heavy it was, he should not have needed to activate his First Soul Skill before he could truly hold it steady. Nor should the web of his hand have begun tingling after gripping its handle for just a few breaths.

This was not a weight a normal Tool Martial Soul should possess.

Nor was this the pressure a white ten-year soul ring should exert.

"Use your soul skill again." Mang Tian suddenly looked at Tang Wulin. "This time, don't strike the ground. Strike my hammer."

Tang Wulin's heart tightened.

"Teacher, wouldn't that..."

"Come," was all Mang Tian replied.

Tang Wulin pressed his lips together and hesitated no longer.

He gathered his soul power again. The Star-Sinking Hammer returned to his hand, and the white soul ring brightened slightly. That familiar intent of "falling" pressed down along the handle again, and the dark-gold patterns emerged on the Star-Sinking Hammer.

"First Soul Skill, Thousand-Weight Fall!"

Mang Tian raised his Earth Hammer as well.

The two hammers collided.

Clang.

This time, it was not a muffled thud, but an exceptionally clear, exceptionally heavy ringing impact.

The instant the sound rang out, the wrist of Mang Tian's hammer hand visibly sank, and even his feet silently sunk half an inch into the ground. His expression shifted slightly, and the little brown-furred bear on his shoulder instinctively bared its teeth.

Tang Wulin was also forced two steps backward by the recoil, his arm tingling, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He could clearly feel that his strike had not been completely driven back.

That was a Soul Ancestor's hammer.

Yet his own First Soul Skill had truly made even his teacher sink a little.

The courtyard remained silent for two breaths.

Mang Tian slowly lowered the Earth Hammer. His gaze was no longer merely appraising; it now held a profound seriousness.

"This isn't an ordinary strength-enhancing soul skill," he said.

"What it truly strengthens isn't your arm, but the 'fall' at the instant you bring your hammer down. Heavy pressure is concentrated, power is contained, neither dispersing nor drifting. Almost all of it strikes a single point."

At this, he looked at the Star-Sinking Hammer in Tang Wulin's hand, his voice lowering.

"And this hammer's underlying potential runs even deeper than I originally thought."

Tang Ziran did not understand those more specialized assessments, but he could read Mang Tian's expression.

For a Soul Ancestor, an exceedingly proud Six-Star Grandmaster, to show such an expression already spoke volumes.

Lang Yue was still stunned, tears lingering in her eyes, but she was no longer filled with nothing but fear. Looking at the hammer in her son's hand and that pure white soul ring, she truly realized something for the first time.

Perhaps this child really was not simply forcing himself to cling to a dream.

He was moving forward.

Meanwhile, Na'er stood in the quietest corner, her purple eyes reflecting the white soul ring and the dark-gold patterns on the hammer. Her expression grew somewhat distant once more, as though through the scene before her, she vaguely glimpsed something older and more indistinct.

But in the end, she said nothing.

She merely looked at Tang Wulin, her eyes curving gently in a smile.

Mang Tian withdrew his Earth Hammer, and his four soul rings sank back into his body as well.

The little courtyard returned to the stillness of night.

He looked at Tang Wulin and said gravely:

"Starting tomorrow, come to the workshop as usual."

"Now that you have a soul ring and soul power, your approach to Forging needs to change too. Before, I taught you how to swing a hammer and endure hardship. Next, you'll learn how to truly compress your soul power into the hammer."

Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he nodded almost immediately.

"Yes, Teacher!"

Mang Tian glanced at him. For once, he did not keep a stern face, instead giving a quiet huff.

"What are you so happy about?" he said. "It's only your first soul ring. The real road ahead is still long."

Though that was what he said, when the word "only" fell, even Tang Ziran could hear the deeply concealed satisfaction in his tone.

Tang Wulin himself lowered his head to look at the Star-Sinking Hammer in his palm.

The white soul ring had gradually withdrawn, and the dark-gold patterns on the hammer had faded back out of sight, leaving only its familiar blackness, quietness, and unremarkable appearance.

But he knew everything had changed.

From today onward, he was no longer merely that child who charged ahead on brute strength, holding a little black hammer.

He had a soul ring.

He had a soul spirit.

And he had a first hammer strike that truly belonged to him.