Tang San Wanted a Hidden Weapon Contest? I Used a Gatling Gun

Ever since Yi Yun had slapped the Titan Giant Ape flying, Xiao Wu's attitude toward him had undergone a subtle change.

Although Xiao Wu had been close to Yi Yun before, she had mostly treated him as an amusing big brother, the kind she could play with and eat carrots with.

But things were different now.

Now, there was something more in the way Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun.

Admiration.

Pure, undisguised admiration.

"Brother Yun, are you really a level 99 Peerless Douluo?"

"Brother Yun, how much strength did you put into that slap?"

"Brother Yun, are you the strongest person on the entire continent?"

Every day, she greeted him with that triple barrage of questions, until even Yi Yun felt a little embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Tang San could only watch silently from the side, silently tighten his grip on his pole, and silently practice his pole vaulting.

It was an unpleasant feeling.

Tang San found himself growing increasingly irritable.

Every time he saw Xiao Wu hovering around Yi Yun, every time he heard her calling "Brother Yun" this and "Brother Yun" that, it felt as though a stone were blocking his heart.

But he had no idea how to express it.

In his previous life in the Tang Sect, he had grown used to being alone, to burying every emotion deep in his heart.

Even after transmigrating to the Douluo Continent, he had hardly changed.

Xiao Wu was one of the few people he was willing to talk to, while Yi Yun...

Yi Yun was one of the few people he wanted to beat up but couldn't.

No, Tang San thought as he practiced pole vaulting on the training ground. I have to prove myself. I have to show Xiao Wu that I, Tang San, am no slouch either.

But how could he prove himself?

Soul Power? He was only in the twenties, while Yi Yun was level 99. There was no comparison.

Combat techniques? He couldn't even touch the hem of Yi Yun's clothes.

Martial Soul? Blue Silver Grass plus a pole. It was embarrassing even to say it.

After turning it over and over in his mind, Tang San finally found a direction: hidden weapons.

Hidden weapons were his old trade. He had trained in the Tang Sect for over a decade in his previous life, learning every method, technique, and mechanism by heart.

Although Yi Yun's AK-47 had dealt him quite a blow last time, Tang San felt that the problem wasn't hidden weapons, but technology.

Something like an AK-47 no longer fell within the realm of hidden weapons. It was a firearm. It was cheating.

He would prove himself in the field of traditional hidden weapons.

"Yes, improved hidden weapons!" Tang San clenched his fists, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. "I'll create an entirely new hidden weapon and make Yi Yun see me in a new light!"

Late that night, the light in Tang San's dormitory was still on.

Tang San sat at his desk, with an assortment of tools and materials spread out before him, all secretly taken from the academy's tool room.

"The weakness of traditional hidden weapons lies in their limited firing methods. They're either thrown by hand or launched by mechanisms. Their power is limited, and their range is short," Tang San muttered to himself as he drew his plans.

"If I could use Soul Power as the power source and combine a hidden weapon's firing mechanism with Soul Power..."

Tang San's pen flew across the paper, individual components, sets of gears, and transmission mechanisms taking shape beneath its tip.

In his previous life in the Tang Sect, he had been a mechanical genius among the outer disciples, knowing every kind of mechanical hidden weapon like the back of his hand.

In this life, he would combine the Tang Sect's wisdom with the Douluo Continent's Soul Power system to create an entirely new hidden weapon.

"I've got it!" Tang San suddenly stopped writing, his eyes lighting up.

An intricate mechanical device was drawn on the paper. It resembled a small box, with an extremely complex interior in which gears, springs, and levers interlocked.

"I'll call it the Soul Power Repeating Crossbow!"

Tang San's design concept was simple: replace manual effort with Soul Power to cock and fire the weapon, enabling continuous shooting.

Traditional crossbows had to be cocked again after every shot, making them slow and inefficient.

But his Soul Power Repeating Crossbow could keep firing bolts as long as Soul Power was supplied, achieving a firing rate comparable to Yi Yun's AK-47.

Although its power certainly couldn't compare, he had at least caught up in principle.

"I'll show Yi Yun tomorrow." Tang San was so excited that he nearly jumped up.

Before dawn, Tang San arrived at the training ground with his Soul Power Repeating Crossbow in his arms.

He couldn't wait.

He would show Yi Yun what a true hidden weapons genius looked like.

The sun slowly rose, and Yi Yun and Xiao Wu came to the training ground as usual.

Seeing the strange object in Tang San's arms, Yi Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Little San, what have you got there?"

"A hidden weapon." Tang San puffed out his chest, a trace of pride in his voice.

"A hidden weapon?" Yi Yun took a few steps closer and examined what Tang San was holding.

It was a small wooden box, roughly the size of two palms, its surface polished smooth. It had a grip and a trigger, with a small hole at the front that was probably the firing port.

The workmanship was quite fine. Clearly, its maker had put considerable thought into it.

"I made it myself," Tang San said. "The Soul Power Repeating Crossbow."

"The Soul Power Repeating Crossbow?" Yi Yun's interest was piqued. "Let me see."

Tang San hesitated, but still handed the crossbow to Yi Yun.

Yi Yun took it, turned it over to examine it, then hefted it in his hand.

"Good workmanship, and the mechanism is quite ingenious too. The materials are a little lacking, though. Wood isn't durable. Refined steel would be much better."

Tang San was secretly astonished. With just a casual look, Yi Yun had identified both the strengths and weaknesses of his design.

"Let's test its power." Yi Yun handed the crossbow back.

Tang San took it, drew a deep breath, and aimed at a dummy on the training ground.

He channeled Soul Power into the crossbow. Its mechanism clicked, and the gears inside began turning.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A stream of bolts flew from the firing port, swift as lightning, striking the dummy with precision.

The dummy was riddled with holes, wood chips flying everywhere.

Five seconds. Twelve shots.

Tang San stopped firing and turned toward Yi Yun, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Well?"

Silence fell over the training ground for a few seconds.

Xiao Wu's mouth fell open. She hadn't expected Tang San to make such a powerful hidden weapon.

Seeing Xiao Wu's expression, Tang San felt even prouder.

Then he looked at Yi Yun.

Yi Yun's expression was calm. A little too calm.

He walked over to the dummy and examined the bolts embedded in it.

They had penetrated quite deeply, about two or three inches. Against an ordinary person, that kind of destructive power was already terrifying.

"Not bad." Yi Yun nodded.

Tang San's eyes lit up.

But Yi Yun's next words froze the smile on his face.

"Not bad, but still weaker than the toy guns back home."

Tang San: "..."

That line again.

Last time it had been an AK-47. What would it be this time?

"A toy gun?" The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched. "What toy gun?"

"This." Yi Yun pulled something from inside his clothes.

It was a lump of iron a size larger than Tang San's Soul Power Repeating Crossbow, black all over, with a grip, a stock, a trigger, and a long barrel.

Unlike the AK-47 from last time, this thing had six barrels arranged in a circle. It looked intimidating enough on its own.

Tang San's eyelid twitched. "What is that?"

"A Gatling Gun." Yi Yun rested it on his shoulder, smiling brightly. "Soul Power version. Six rotating barrels. Three thousand rounds per minute."

Tang San: "..."

Three thousand rounds?

He had thought his twelve shots were a lot. What did three thousand rounds even mean?

"Here, I'll demonstrate." Yi Yun walked to the center of the training ground and aimed the Gatling Gun at a row of dummies in the distance.

Tang San instinctively covered his ears.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

The Gatling Gun opened fire.

That wasn't the sound of shooting. It was the sound of a metal storm.

Countless Soul Power bullets poured from the six barrels, as dense as a torrential downpour and too fast for the naked eye to follow.

The first row of dummies was blasted to pieces within half a second.

The second row became powder in the next half second.

The third row ceased to exist before it even had time to react.

Rows of bowl-sized holes were punched through the training ground's perimeter wall. Trees beyond the holes were shot down, rocks behind the trees were shattered, and the hillside behind the rocks was blasted into collapse.

The entire process lasted less than three seconds.

Tang San turned to stone.

The Soul Power Repeating Crossbow in his hands clattered to the ground, but he didn't notice at all.

His mind was blank, with only one thought echoing over and over:

That's a fucking toy gun?

Yi Yun released the trigger, and the Gatling Gun stopped roaring.

Its barrels were still slowly rotating, wisps of smoke rising from them.

"See? That's a toy gun from back home." Yi Yun patted the Gatling Gun as though patting an obedient pet. "Average power. It just fires a little faster."

Tang San's lips were trembling.

Average power?

Average?

"That thing..." Tang San's voice was as dry and rough as sandpaper. "You call that a hidden weapon?"

"Of course not." Yi Yun shook his head. "Hidden weapons are used sneakily. I use this openly, so it's an open weapon."

"..."

"Just kidding. This is called a firearm. It's a completely different system from hidden weapons." Yi Yun smiled. "But, well, you've seen what it can do."

Tang San remained silent for a long time.

He looked at the dummy fragments strewn across the ground, the wall riddled with holes, and the collapsed hillside, then back at his own little wooden box. Suddenly, he felt that he must have looked ridiculous staying up late drawing plans last night.

"Little San." Yi Yun walked over and patted Tang San's shoulder. "Your design concept is right. Soul Power propulsion, continuous firing-that's the right direction. But your horizons are too narrow."

"My horizons?" Tang San looked up.

"Yes, your horizons," Yi Yun said. "You made a crossbow that fires bolts. How powerful can bolts be? However much you improve them, bolts are still bolts. Their power is limited."

"What I made is a gun that fires Soul Power bullets. Their power depends on the Soul Power supplied. I put in level 99 Soul Power, and I get level 99 power."

Tang San's eyes slowly lit up.

He seemed to have understood something.

"You mean..."

"I mean you're heading in the right direction, but you chose the wrong weapon platform," Yi Yun said seriously. "Don't confine yourself to the framework of hidden weapons. Only by stepping outside that framework can you see a bigger world."

Tang San froze.

He hadn't expected Yi Yun to explain things to him seriously, much less that what Yi Yun said would actually make sense.

"Thank you," Tang San said quietly.

"You're welcome." Yi Yun smiled. "You're my little brother, after all. It's only right that I teach you."

Tang San: "...Since when was I your little brother?"

"Since the moment you accepted the pole Martial Soul."

"You forced it on me."

"You still accepted it."

Tang San wanted to argue, but found that he seemingly couldn't.

He took a deep breath and decided to change the subject.

"Yi Yun, can you lend me that Gatling Gun to study?"

"I can, but not for free." Yi Yun held up three fingers. "Three conditions."

"Three conditions again?"

"Yes. First, call me Brother Yun from now on. Second, completely give up any ideas about Xiao Wu. Third, you owe me three favors."

Tang San: "...Wasn't it one favor last time?"

"The price went up."

"Isn't that a little too fast?"

"Inflation. Nothing I can do."

Tang San gritted his teeth, but finally nodded.

"Fine. Deal."

"That's more like it." Yi Yun handed the Gatling Gun to Tang San. "Take it and study it. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Tang San took the Gatling Gun. It was hefty, far heavier than he had imagined.

He lowered his head to look at the lump of iron, his mind already beginning to analyze its internal structure.

It was complicated, but not completely beyond his understanding.

"I'll definitely make a weapon stronger than this." Tang San tightened his grip on the Gatling Gun, a new fighting spirit kindling in his eyes.

Yi Yun smiled as he watched Tang San's serious expression.

This kid really refused to admit defeat.

Still, that was good. Competition drove progress.

Though Tang San would never be able to beat him.

Xiao Wu had watched the entire process of Yi Yun crushing Tang San with the Gatling Gun.

Seeing Tang San looking so lost and dejected, she felt a little sorry for him.

"Brother Yun, weren't you a little too hard on Tang San?" Xiao Wu asked quietly.

"Hard?" Yi Yun tilted his head. "I thought it was fine."

"He was about to cry."

"He's a man. A little crying will help him grow up."

Xiao Wu was speechless.

She increasingly felt that beneath Yi Yun's smiling exterior, he was actually quite devious.

"But Brother Yun," Xiao Wu tugged at Yi Yun's sleeve, "will you really teach him?"

"Of course," Yi Yun said. "I like messing with him, but I never lie to him."

"Really?"

"Really. If I say I'll teach him, I'll teach him. As for how much he can learn, that depends on his ability."

Looking at Yi Yun, Xiao Wu suddenly felt that he was full of contradictions.

He was clearly very strong, yet he liked playing tricks on people.

He was clearly devious, yet he kept his word.

He could clearly slap Tang San to death with one blow, yet he was willing to spend time teaching him things.

"Brother Yun, you really are a strange person," Xiao Wu said.

"Strange? I think I'm pretty normal."

"No, you're not normal at all."

"Then what am I?"

"You're... one of a kind." After saying that, Xiao Wu blushed, turned, and ran.

Watching Xiao Wu's retreating figure, Yi Yun rubbed his chin.

"Has this little bunny learned how to flirt?"

He smiled, his spirits soaring.

Late that night, Tang San sat at his desk, with Yi Yun's Gatling Gun and the Soul Power Repeating Crossbow he had made laid out before him.

He had taken the Gatling Gun apart, its components covering the entire desk.

Every component was unbelievably precise, especially the Soul Power conversion device, which could convert the Soul Power fed into it into the kinetic energy of bullets with absurdly high efficiency.

Tang San picked up his own Soul Power Repeating Crossbow, compared the two, and sighed.

The gap was too great.

If Yi Yun's Gatling Gun was a precision clock, then his Soul Power Repeating Crossbow was a lump of clay molded by a child.

They were not even on the same level.

But Tang San did not lose heart.

He picked up a pen and began drawing new blueprints on paper.

Yi Yun was right. His direction was sound, but his horizons were too narrow.

He couldn't confine himself within the framework of hidden weapons. Only by stepping outside that framework could he see a wider world.

"I can't make a Soul Power Gatling Gun... but perhaps I can make something between a hidden weapon and a firearm..."

Tang San's pen flew across the paper as a new concept took shape in his mind.

Tang San's hand paused for a moment, then continued drawing.

One day, he would become stronger.

Strong enough to make Yi Yun see him in a new light.

Strong enough to make Xiao Wu...

Forget it. As for Xiao Wu, he would leave it to fate.