Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-!
The bellows pumped hard, and flames leaped from the furnace, burning ever more fiercely as the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
Tang Hao stood before the furnace, his expression more solemn and focused than ever. At this moment, he finally displayed a trace of the bearing of the once-renowned Clear Sky Douluo.
Tang Hao moved. His feet gripped the ground, his calf muscles abruptly tensing. Power rose from his roots, traveled through his waist and back, and drove his arms.
The hammer fell.
A crisp clang rang out!
The hammer rebounded high into the air, and Tang Hao's arm followed its motion. Just as it reached its highest point, his body drove the hammer down hard again.
Clang, clang, clang!
The blows rang out like a hurricane and driving rain. Tang Hao moved faster and faster, the hammer roaming like a dragon in his hand as it struck the iron block with precision.
Most importantly, he was not simply pounding the iron into a pancake through brute force as Tang Yin had done.
Instead, he constantly adjusted where he struck according to the changes in the iron.
In a flash, he delivered thirty-six blows, and the entire iron block had shrunk considerably.
Tang Hao stopped and stood with his hammer, stealing a quick, discreet glance at Tang Yin. He thought smugly, Now you must see the difference.
To change his image in his son's eyes, Tang Hao had truly pushed his skills to their utmost.
Now, he was just waiting for Tang Yin to ask him questions.
After all, there was no way anyone could master such an intricate technique after seeing it once.
Tang Yin narrowed his eyes slightly. It was a remarkably refined technique for borrowing force and turning it to one's own use.
Tang Chen was something of an anomaly in Douluo I. Without relying on any outside resources, he had developed his Martial Soul to its utmost through his own abilities alone, earning the title "Ground Invincible."
By comparison...
Looking again at Tang Hao before him, Tang Yin shook his head imperceptibly.
The lack of admiration on his dear son's face left Tang Hao a little disappointed. Having a child who was too mature was not such a good thing either.
Soon, Tang Hao composed himself and handed over the hammer.
"Yin, go ahead and try it yourself."
Teaching would undoubtedly bring father and son much closer, and Tang Hao was full of anticipation.
As for only teaching him once, that had obviously been a joke. Back then, he himself had practiced for seven whole days before gaining a basic grasp of it.
All that remained now was to wait for his dear son to ask him for help. To deepen their bond, Tang Hao did not mind teaching him a few more times.
Tang Yin calmly accepted the hammer. Forging was a matter of practice making perfect, something that required accumulated experience.
But if it was only the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, that was not difficult.
In an instant...
Tang Yin moved. He flipped through the air, bringing the hammer down for his first strike.
Clang! A tremendous crash echoed!
Then he perfectly reproduced Tang Hao's movement, delivering the second blow as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water.
When the hammer rebounded high once more...
Tang Yin's gaze shifted. His left foot suddenly extended forward, turning slightly inward. His arms opened a little, as though cradling an iron ball, while his waist relaxed and sank.
This posture was none other than the Taiji Grasping Sparrow's Tail Moving Stance!
Grasping Sparrow's Tail was the comprehensive form of Taiji Fist, encompassing both practice and application. It contained the four primary forces-ward-off, rollback, press, and push-and served as Taiji Fist's core foundational form. The Grasping Sparrow's Tail Moving Stance was its central moving stance, also called the living stance.
The living stance emphasized combining movement and stillness. The four primary forces were rooted in the feet, generated in the legs, directed by the waist, and expressed through the fingers, uniting all strength into a seamless, unbroken flow.
"What is this?" Tang Hao froze at the sight.
Just then, Tang Yin twisted his waist and hips, using rollback force to guide the hammer downward along its momentum. Immediately afterward, his waist and hips turned slightly right, and his shoulders abruptly sank. A tremendous force surged into both arms, their combined power erupting as the hammer crashed down.
Clang-!
"What? His strength actually increased that much?!" Tang Hao's expression changed in shock.
Tang Yin's movements grew more practiced and faster, and each blow became stronger. His motions followed a certain rhythm, flowing together as naturally as if born that way.
After thirty-six consecutive strikes, Tang Yin's body followed the hammer's movement. He flipped three times in the air to dissipate the forging hammer's force, then landed steadily.
Because of his lack of practice, the iron ingot had still become an iron pancake. This time, however, it was noticeably thinner, and its impurities had clearly been expelled completely. He had forcibly forged a lump of pig iron into refined iron.
Tang Hao's Adam's apple bobbed, unparalleled shock filling his eyes. "You... why did you change the posture you used to exert force?"
"Because I realized that with my height and strength, a slight adjustment would let me exert force better. So I did."
A slight adjustment?!!
Was that even something a human would say?
Was this something you could just casually adjust?
Moreover, with Tang Hao's discerning eye, he could tell that the adjusted posture truly did suit Tang Yin's current physique better.
A monster! Such monstrous talent!
Thud-!
The iron-tower of a man crashed to his knees once again!
Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox!
He swept Tang Yin into his arms, a glimmer of tears at the corners of his eyes. "My wonderful son! My wonderful boy!" he said in a trembling voice.
At that moment, Tang Hao seemed to glimpse a new height for the Clear Sky Sect.
With talent like this, once his son grew up, he would surely follow in his grandfather's footsteps and develop the Clear Sky Hammer to even greater heights.
For Tang Hao, who revered the Clear Sky Hammer as his faith, how could he not be excited? How could he not lose his composure?!
"You stink..." Tang Yin frowned.
Embarrassed, Tang Hao hurriedly released him.
Had Tang San Niang shown such disrespect toward her elders, he would already have slapped her across the face.
But looking at his precious son before him, Tang Hao felt nothing but joy.
How was this merely his son? He was clearly the beacon lighting up his life! The future of the Clear Sky Sect!
Ever since Ah Yin's sacrifice, Tang Hao had been unable to bear the blow and had never recovered.
Now that he had found a reason to live again, he was instantly filled with new life.
"Yin, keep practicing diligently. Dad will go wash up first." Tang Hao's voice unconsciously softened a little.
In his eyes, all Tang Yin lacked now was forging experience. As long as he practiced diligently, surpassing him was only a matter of time.
Suddenly, Tang Hao turned his gaze toward the bedroom door, his voice growing stern. "Come out!"
Tang San Niang emerged from the room, her face deathly pale and her entire body trembling.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in your room? You actually dared to peek?!" Tang Hao's eyes blazed with fury.
This was a secret technique passed down within the Clear Sky Sect. Was just anyone allowed to steal it?
Why did this daughter have no manners whatsoever? Who had she taken after?!
Tang Yin frowned slightly. "Let it go, old man. Little San Niang is still young. It's normal for her to be curious."
People tended to follow familiar paths. In her previous life, Tang San Niang had achieved great success by secretly learning the Tang Sect's techniques.
So in this life, she also wanted to secretly learn forging skills to prove her ability and make her father and brother see her in a new light.
After all, she was the younger sister he had raised with his own hands.
Tang Yin understood Tang San Niang's thoughts like the back of his hand.
The more she was denied access, the more she wanted to prove she could do better than anyone else.
She desperately craved recognition and approval from others.
Hearing his precious son's words, Tang Hao's expression eased somewhat. Mostly, he did not believe Tang San Niang could learn it from peeking just once.
"Yin, an eldest brother is like a father. You must discipline your younger sister strictly from now on." Leaving those earnest words behind, Tang Hao departed.
What the hell... are you dead or something?
Tang Yin's face darkened with exasperation.
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