Another year passed.
In the forge, Tang Wulin stood before the anvil, holding the seemingly ordinary wooden hammer in one hand.
He had grown a little taller than he had been a year ago. Some of the childishness had faded from his face, and his features had gained a touch of composure.
He took a deep breath and brought the wooden hammer down.
"Tap."
The first strike touched the iron ingot lightly, as gentle as a caress.
The surface of the ingot quivered. The patterns inside flowed for an instant in the direction of the strike, like a living thing being awakened.
The second strike followed close behind, borrowing the rebound of the first to increase its force by just the right amount.
The wooden hammer remained intact.
The third strike, the fourth, the fifth... Each strike picked up precisely where the force of the previous one left off, and each made the patterns inside the ingot clearer.
The wooden hammer flew in Tang Wulin's hand, its afterimages forming an unbroken stream.
By the fiftieth strike, Tang Wulin's rhythm abruptly quickened. The wooden hammer moved faster and faster, but his control over the force of each strike grew ever finer.
The sixtieth strike.
The seventieth strike.
Tang Wulin breathed steadily, maintaining delicate control over his force throughout.
The eightieth strike.
The eighty-first strike.
"Clack!"
The final strike fell with a crisp, short sound.
The wooden hammer remained intact, its handle held steadily in Tang Wulin's hand.
The iron ingot on the anvil had become a palm-sized piece of silvery-gray metal. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the patterns inside were fine and even, without the slightest flaw.
Tang Hao sat beside the furnace, his wine gourd raised halfway to his mouth.
He looked at the metal on the anvil, then at the intact wooden hammer in Tang Wulin's hand. His mouth slowly spread into a grin.
"You did it."
Just three words, but Tang Wulin heard the weight they carried.
A year ago, Tang Hao had told him to practice eighty-one strikes with a wooden hammer. He had broken who knew how many wooden hammers, falling just a little short every time.
Too much force, and the wooden hammer broke; too little, and the strike had no effect.
Too fast a rhythm, and the rebound built up too quickly for the wooden hammer to withstand; too slow, and he couldn't borrow the force of the previous strike.
The right measure. Tang Hao had said that the right measure was the soul of forging. It had taken Tang Wulin a year, but he had finally carved those words into his bones.
Tang Wulin put down the wooden hammer and let out a long breath, his face full of smiles. "Uncle, I did it!"
Tang Hao took a swig of wine and snorted. "Not bad. A little slower than I expected."
Tang Wulin paid his tough talk no mind.
After a year together, he had long since figured out Tang Hao's temperament: he never went easy on anyone with his words, but he was happier than anyone inside.
"Uncle, how should I train next?" Tang Wulin pressed. "I want to take my forging a step further."
Tang Hao put down his wine gourd and looked at him, silent for a few seconds.
"You can't take it any further for now."
Tang Wulin froze. "Why?"
"Because of your body."
Tang Hao's gaze swept over him.
"You have two rings right now. Your cultivation isn't high enough to sustain your forging. Forging and cultivation are closely connected."
"Even an ordinary person doing the most basic purification can't forge anything without enough strength."
Tang Wulin opened his mouth, a little disappointed, but he understood that Tang Hao was telling the truth.
No matter how quickly he cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, raising his Soul Power Level still took time.
He was eight years old this year and had two rings. In Aolai City, that was already a monstrous pace, and improving further would still take some time.
"However..."
Tang Hao changed tack.
"You can't improve your forging technique for now, but you can practice something else."
"What?"
Tang Hao stood and rolled his shoulders, his bones giving several crisp pops.
"I've looked through a lot of records these past two years, and I finally found out what your hammer is called."
"Your Martial Soul is called the Clear Sky Hammer."
"The Clear Sky Hammer has nine methods of attack, known as the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. They are Empty, Seal, Pierce, Penetrate, Entangle, Shock, Break, Stop, and Collapse."
With every word he uttered, Tang Wulin's heart gave a great leap.
The Clear Sky Nine Absolutes!
When he had read the first part of Douluo Continent in his previous life,
he had come to understand clearly why the Clear Sky Hammer was so powerful. Part of it was the Clear Sky Hammer's own strength, but more important were its inherited Soul Skills. The Clear Sky Nine Absolutes were one of them!
"Since you can't improve your forging technique for now, I'll teach you to practice these."
Tang Wulin nodded almost at once and said excitedly, "All right!"
Tang Hao casually picked up an ordinary forging hammer from the ground, hefted it, and walked to the open space in the middle of the forge.
"The Clear Sky Nine Absolutes are each a technique for applying force and a combat principle. They can unleash destructive power far beyond your own Soul Power Level. I'll teach you the first Absolute first, the Empty Character Absolute."
"Empty?" Tang Wulin tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer and focused.
"Empty is the foundation of the Nine Absolutes."
Tang Hao held the hammer in his right hand, its head pointing down and its handle resting against his arm. His whole stance was loose and relaxed.
"Empty means to empty yourself. Empty your mind, empty your strength, empty your Soul Power."
"Before you strike, don't let your opponent sense any threat from you."
Before he had finished speaking, he suddenly moved.
Tang Wulin's vision blurred, and Tang Hao was already standing three steps in front of him.
The ordinary forging hammer stopped in front of his chest. It didn't come crashing down, but Tang Wulin could feel the force gathered on its face, like a mountain hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
"At the instant you strike, let all your strength explode out." Tang Hao withdrew the hammer. "That is Empty. On the surface, there is nothing, but in truth, power is gathering, ready to burst forth."
Tang Wulin nodded thoughtfully.
"The second Absolute, the Seal Character Absolute."
Tang Hao gave him no time to catch his breath.
"The Seal Character Absolute is about sealing. One strike seals off your opponent's options. Hammer techniques depend on momentum. If your opponent still has room to change moves after one strike, you use the second to seal off every possible change."
"The third Absolute, the Pierce Character Absolute: piercing through. This strike focuses on penetrating force. With one blow, the force passes through the surface and reaches the inside. Strike a shield, and its surface won't break, but the person behind it will have all five internal organs shattered."
"The fourth Absolute, the Penetrate Character Absolute: permeation. More concealed than Pierce, its force seeps into an opponent's defenses like water and breaks them down from within."
"The fifth Absolute, the Entangle Character Absolute: entangling combat. The hammer technique is no longer one strike after another, but a chain of interlocking links, leaving the opponent unable to shake it off or escape."
"The sixth Absolute, the Shock Character Absolute: vibration. When the hammer falls, the force of the shock travels through the ground or the air, making it impossible for the opponent to guard against the internal force."
"The seventh Absolute, the Break Character Absolute: destruction. This is pure destruction. One strike leaves nothing behind."
"The eighth Absolute, the Stop Character Absolute: halting. You stop abruptly in the midst of your fiercest assault, and your force erupts in reverse, throwing off everything your opponent anticipated."
"The ninth Absolute, the Collapse Character Absolute: annihilation. The most powerful strike of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. It stacks the power of all eight previous Absolutes, and when the hammer strikes, heaven and earth change color."
Tang Hao finished explaining the Nine Absolutes in one breath and thumped the forging hammer against the ground.
"The Nine Absolutes can be combined with one another. Different orders produce different effects."
"Empty, Seal, Pierce, Penetrate, Entangle, Shock, Break, Stop, Collapse. The Nine Absolutes cycle, endlessly renewing themselves."
"First master each Absolute separately, then practice combining them."
Tang Wulin gripped the Clear Sky Hammer, his heart pounding.
He took a deep breath and stood before Tang Hao.
"Uncle, let's start with the first Absolute."
Tang Hao nodded and raised the forging hammer.
"Empty. Watch closely."
The furnace fire in the forge illuminated the two figures, one big and one small, as their hammers fell and crossed in the firelight.
The sound of hammering echoed through the spacious forge, one strike after another, without end.