Tang Wulin thought for a moment. "It's a kind of sensation in my body."
"I just felt that my body needed those things, so I gave it a try. Sure enough, my body underwent a huge change."
Mang Tian stared at him for quite a while. The beard on his cheeks twitched, and he finally sighed.
"Sensation." He repeated the word, his tone complicated. "All right. Since you can say that, it seems you know what you're doing."
"I heard from Cen Yue that you still need four other thousand-year spirit treasures?"
"Mm." Tang Wulin nodded.
"That's right. They can make me stronger again."
Mang Tian fell silent and didn't speak for a long time.
After a while, he finally let out a long breath.
"If it were before you took those two spirit fruits, I definitely would have stopped you."
"But since you've already succeeded, all I can say to you is,"
"Keep it up."
Tang Wulin grinned. "Thanks for your support, Uncle Mang Tian."
Mang Tian snorted, put away the emotion on his face, and returned to his usual manner.
"All right, don't stand around here. More orders have piled up these past few days. Get to work on them."
"Okay!"
Tang Wulin walked over to the anvil and turned his right hand over. The Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his palm.
The first piece of metal to be forged went into the furnace. Once it was heated to the right temperature, he took it out with tongs and placed it on the anvil.
The Clear Sky Hammer fell.
Clang!
With that first hammer blow, Tang Wulin felt the difference.
The difficulty of forging was completely different from before.
He was stronger, and the Clear Sky Hammer was heavier. This was so easy!
What surprised him even more was that he wasn't tired at all after completing a First Grade Thousand Refinement.
In the past, after one Thousand Refinement, he could only perform Hundred Refinement afterward, because his remaining stamina, Soul Power, and Spiritual Power weren't enough to support a second Thousand Refinement.
But after finishing the job today, he felt he still had plenty of strength left!
Tang Wulin blinked, picked up the second piece of material, and put it on the heating platform.
When Mang Tian saw what he was doing, his brows immediately knitted together.
"Wulin, are you going to do another Thousand Refinement?"
"Mm." Tang Wulin flexed his wrist.
"After absorbing those two spirit fruits, I felt my Qi and blood increase a lot. I'm not tired at all."
"I feel like I can keep forging."
Mang Tian stared at him for several seconds. Tang Wulin really didn't look the least bit tired, so he agreed to let him try.
"All right."
"Then continue. Stop immediately if you notice anything wrong."
"Understood!"
Tang Wulin nodded firmly, and the second piece went into the furnace.
When it reached the right temperature, he took it out with tongs and placed it on the anvil. The Clear Sky Hammer fell again.
This time, Mang Tian watched carefully. Only after confirming that Tang Wulin's forging process hadn't changed from before did he relax.
Those two spirit fruits really had brought about a great change in him.
The second piece of Thousand Refinement First Grade was complete.
Tang Wulin still didn't stop.
The third piece went into the furnace.
When he struck the final blow on the third piece, a Thousand Refined Heavy Silver, Tang Wulin finally felt that familiar fatigue.
His arms began to ache, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers felt a little swollen, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He put away the Clear Sky Hammer and let out a long breath.
Mang Tian walked over and picked up each piece to inspect it, then reached out and patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder.
"Completing three Thousand Refinement First Grades in one go,"
"Now you've truly reached the level of a fourth-rank blacksmith."
By the time Tang Wulin came out of Mang Tian's shop, it was completely dark.
Tang Wulin walked home with a light step.
Three Thousand Refinement First Grades in one go—he wouldn't have dared imagine it before.
Back then, one Thousand Refinement a day had been enough to drain his stamina.
For the rest of the day, he could only do some Hundred Refinements to earn a little spare money.
Now things were better. He could reliably complete three Thousand Refinements, earning money three times as fast as before.
Even if the third and fourth seals later on required a lot of money, he would be able to earn it.
When Tang Wulin got home,
Lang Yue had already set dinner on the table.
Na'er sat on a chair with her cheeks in her hands, her silvery-white hair tied into two little braids. Her eyes lit up when she saw him come in.
"Big brother!"
"Why are you so late today?"
"Mm, there was a lot of work today, so I came back late. But I can earn more money too, and buy Na'er more tasty things."
Tang Wulin washed his hands, sat down, picked up his bowl, and began shoveling food into his mouth.
Now that the family had money, they no longer had to worry about not having enough to eat. Tang Wulin and Na'er steadily polished off large quantities of vegetables and meat.
Tang Wulin had originally wanted to move his family somewhere better, but Tang Ziran and Lang Yue said this place was already good enough and they were used to it, so they didn't move.
But how could Tang Wulin not understand? They were afraid that he, as a Soul Master, would have plenty of expenses in the future.
After dinner, Tang Wulin and Na'er returned to their room.
Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes. His Soul Power circulated along the route of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
His consciousness sank, a hazy gray light appeared, and the outline of the forge emerged before his eyes.
Tang Wulin breathed a sigh of relief.
Last time, in Eastsea City, he hadn't come to the forge while cultivating for several days in a row.
"Uncle."
When Tang Hao saw it was him, the corners of his mouth moved.
"You're back?"
Tang Hao stood up and rolled his shoulders a couple of times, his bones cracking.
Tang Wulin answered honestly, "I went away for a bit. It's a pity I couldn't bring you anything, Uncle. The rice wine there was really good too."
Tang Hao chuckled. "It's the thought that counts, good boy."
He put down his wine gourd and suddenly changed the subject. "By the way, there's something I need to make clear to you."
Tang Wulin looked at him.
"I'm not your teacher."
Tang Wulin froze for a moment.
"Uncle, I'm an apprentice here, learning forging and the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes from you. Doesn't that make you my teacher?"
Tang Hao fell silent for a moment, his expression somewhat complicated.
Several seconds passed before he spoke, his tone a little more serious than usual.
"Here, it counts as me teaching a disciple on my master's behalf."
"Don't tell people outside that I'm your teacher."
"You can take another teacher outside. That would help you too, since you could draw on their influence. I'm just a useless blacksmith. All I can do is teach you to forge here in the forge."
Tang Wulin's heart was as clear as a mirror.
Of course he knew the reason.
If Tang Hao was his teacher, then what did that make Tang San?
Going by the seniority system on the Douluo Continent,
if he called Tang Hao his teacher, the whole order of seniority would be thrown into chaos. Tang Hao had obviously thought of that too, which was why he'd specifically brought it up.
"All right, Uncle."
"I understand, but Uncle, you'll always be first in my heart!"
Tang Wulin readily agreed and didn't ask any more questions.
"Uncle, am I still learning the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes?" "When can I take another step forward in forging? I feel like I've gotten stronger again. Can I learn something new now?"
"Not in forging for the time being."
Tang Hao shook his head. "Your strength still isn't enough. You need to keep getting stronger."
"I reckon another half a year should be about right."
Half a year.
Tang Wulin made a note of it in his heart.
"Then let's continue with the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes."
Tang Hao picked up a forging hammer from the floor and hefted it.
Tang Wulin tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer and stood across from Tang Hao.
The furnace fire reflected their figures, and the sound of hammers rang out in the forge once more.