this already made him feel content. At least here there was a person he could call father.

Tang Hao grabbed the bowl from the table, not worried about scalding, and with big gulps poured the congee down into his belly. His dull sallow face appeared to gain a bit of luster.

”Dad, slow down, it’s still hot.”

Tang San took the bowl from his father's hand and refilled it with congee. He also picked up his own bowl.

In Tang Sect, he was never able to leave and very rarely came into contact with outside matters. It goes without saying that just like a blank slate, ending up in this world he became like a little child again, and also had nothing which he could not accept.

Very quickly, a pot of porridge with seven or eight bowls all entered Tang Hao's stomach. Letting out a breath, he placed the bowl on the table. The drooping eyelids opened somewhat, looking at Tang San.

“You continue with the work you have, I will work in the afternoon. I’ll go sleep a little while.”

Tang Hao's work and rest habit had a very regular pattern: sleeping all morning, making a few farm tools in the afternoon, obtaining income, and drinking in the evening.

“Ok, dad.”

Tang San nodded.

Tang Hao stood up. Having had several bowls of congee, he was no longer swaying, and walked towards the inner room.

“Dad.”

Tang San suddenly called out.

Tang Hao stopped, turning his head to look at him, his brows clearly indicating a little impatience.

Tang San pointed at a corner with shining black chunks of pig iron:

“These chunks of iron, can you give them to me to use?”

In his previous incarnation he was Tang Sect's most outstanding outer sect disciple, he was most familiar with the creation of every kind of hidden weapon. Naturally, back then all kinds of material were supplied by Tang Sect. But in this new world, although he practiced several years, his strength still wasn’t enough by far. Moreover, he had never wanted to give up on manufacturing the most advanced hidden weapons. By now he had already tried to forge a few hidden weapons, but finding enough materials was the big issue.

Tang Hao forged farm tools out of metal received from the villagers. It was all impure, very common iron. It all was very difficult to use for high quality hidden weapons. The pieces of pig iron Tang San currently pointed at, delivered only yesterday, had made Tang San astonished; these chunks of iron ore actually definitely contained iron source, which was perfectly suitable for making hidden weapons.

Tang Hao's gaze shifted to the pig iron,

“Huh. Isn’t this fine iron?”

Walking over to take a look, he turned his head to look at Tang San,

“You want to become a blacksmith?”

Tang San nodded slightly. Becoming blacksmith was undoubtedly the most suitable profession for him to make hidden weapons,

“Dad, you’re growing older. For a few years, until I grow up a little, please teach me how to forge kitchen implements and let me take over your work.”

Previously he all he made were the most precise hidden weapons, and on the contrary he had never learned the simplest forging.

Tang Hao slightly absentminded, murmured:

“Blacksmith doesn’t seem bad, either.”

Pulling across a single worn-out chair, sitting down directly by that pile of pig iron, he sluggishly spoke:

“Little San, tell me, what kind of blacksmith, is the best blacksmith.”

 Tang San thought about it, then said:

“The best blacksmith should be capable of divine tools.”

By what the villagers said, divine tools existed in this world, even though he did not know precisely what divine tools were. But being called ‘divine’, presumably they should be pretty good.

 In Tang Hao's eyes flashed a glint of humour,

“Divine tools? Little San also knows about divine tools. Then tell me, what should be used to create divine tools?”

Tang San thought this was unexpected, and immediately said:

“The best materials, of course.”

Tang Hao extended his index finger, wagging it at Tang San's face,

“If you want to become a master blacksmith, remember my words: someone using top class materials to make divine tools, that’s not the best blacksmith; at most it is only a synthesizer. The best blacksmith will create divine tools using common materials.”

“Using common iron to forge divine tools?”

Tang San, somewhat startled, looked at Tang Hao. Ordinarily, Tang Hao very rarely spoke to him; this day already counted as the most at any one time.

Standing up, Tang Hao pointed to a fifty square centimeter big block of iron on the other side of the room,

“If you’re thinking about becoming a blacksmith and learning forging from me, then you must first hammer this ten thousand times. Not until then will you be qualified.”

That was a block of ordinary iron, containing numerous impurities. Compared to the lump of iron source, he couldn’t even tell how much worse it was.

“Right now, you can still change your mind.”

Tang Hao spoke indifferently, already preparing to go back to the inner room to sleep.

“Dad, I want to give it a try.”

Tang San’s voice was clear and calm, yet resolute.

Tang Hao, somewhat taken aback, looked at him,

“Alright.”

With a single word, he walked past, taking up that large lump of iron in his arms, and directly placed it by the bellows on the forge. As long as the coal fire was ignited, it could be used for forging.

After finishing this, Tang Hao returned to the inner room to sleep.

Tang San was a person with staunch resolution. Otherwise, he couldn’t have relied on a single dilapidated drawing to produce Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, the top Tang Sect mechanical hidden weapon. That consumed as much as ten years of his life.

Lighting the charcoal fire, pumping the bellows, he began to work by himself.

Shushu shushu. Sounds rose from the bellows, flame emitted within the coal furnace, scorching that big lump of iron. Though Tang San didn’t know any forging, he had watched Tang Hao forge farm tools every day, and he knew the correct process.

Just as the iron lump had gradually become red hot, he dragged across Tang Hao’s usual hammer, letting it fall to the ground. This long handled iron hammer was even taller than him, and an ordinary five or six year old child couldn’t have moved it at all, let alone wielding it for forging.

But Tang San was still holding it up. With Mysterious Heaven Skill strengthening the whole body, even though it had not yet broken through the first tier, he already possessed physical strength comparable to an adult.

When the iron hammer collided with the iron lump again and again, it rung with a clear and melodious sound. This was Tang San’s first hammer strike, and the prelude to forging.

In the inner room, lying on the bed, Tang Hao turned over. Even though his eyes were closed, his facial expression was somewhat astonished, murmuring in his sleep,

“He can actually lift the hammer, was he born with superhuman strength?”

Dong dong dong dong dong. Pounding sounds started to rise from the blacksmith shop. Tang Hao and Tang San, father and son, continued their prosaic life, but with a difference: starting from this day, Tang Hao let Tang San play with another furnace in the room, pounding that lump of iron on his own forge. He didn’t instruct Tang San with a single sentence, but also from this day onward, Tang Hao's drinking lessened a little, and the family’s food also increased a little.

Forging was an absolutely dull and tiring process, but Tang San still regarded this as the correct way to temper his body. When eleven days had passed, he had already forged numerous times, it felt like by swinging the iron hammer, he was unable to only rely on his body's physical strength, and had to use the help of Mysterious Heaven Skill.

His entire strength was enough to swing the hammer a hundred times or so. Every time his strength was nearly exhausted, he sat cross legged on the ground to recover, and once his inner strength had recovered he immediately returned to hammering.

This wasn’t only tempering his body. Repeatedly depleting and recovering, was also a good way of tempering his Mysterious Heaven Skill and willpower. Unfortunately, Mysterious Heaven Skill’s first tier bottleneck still looked like it was an impregnable barrier. Tang San’s practice couldn’t be said not to be painstaking, but with his ample natural talent, he was still unable to break through and enter the second tier.

But his training still definitely wasn’t a waste. Despite Mysterious Heaven skill being unable to break through, his internal strength still toughened in pace with his iron lump’s forging, and his recovery speed seemed a bit faster than before.

As eleven days went by, Tang San had already swung the hammer more than 8000 times, the iron lump constantly becoming smaller. It was already less than one third of the original volume. As his training and food quantity increased, his body became rather solid and his physical strength seemed to gradually evolve. As a result, during the unceasing forging process, the consumption of inner strength gradually decreased. With increased inner strength duration, his physical strength also increased a great deal.

When he smashed down the hammer one thousand times, that iron lump had certainly changed; it was a small circle, and even though the center of the blazing fire burned red hot, he could still faintly perceive that the interior impurities appeared to have decreased a great deal.

Tempering into steel, this word appeared in Tang San mind. This also made him even more firmly determined to accomplish ten thousand hammer strikes. And the distance to this objective was very close.

Tang San’s persistence astounded Tang Hao greatly. To him it seemed that even if this son of his was born with superhuman strength, it should be impossible to persist beyond three days. The handle of the iron hammer was roughened to prevent slipping, and would inevitably cause extreme injuries to the palm of the hand. But he discovered that although Tang San was forging honestly, both his young and tender small hands did not seem to change. Not even blisters appeared.

Since Tang San didn’t want to lose this father, and he furthermore didn’t want his past identity known, naturally he wouldn’t tell Tang Hao that this was because of practicing Tang Sect’s Mysterious Jade Hand.

In order to make good hidden weapons, the most basic requirements were a combination of eyesight, hand strength, and effort. That’s what is called ‘heart to eye, eye to hand’. Therefore, in Tang Sect inner sect’s practice regimen, the requirements regarding eyesight and hand strength were extremely high.

Purple Demon Eye, had its maximum heightening effect on eyesight from practicing in the brief moment when the sun rises in the east.

Mysterious Jade Hand could cause the palm of the hand to become extremely tough and durable, moreover it could block any poison.

These two abilities were the required course for inner Tang sect disciples. Even though Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand was still far from attaining a sufficient level, it could still protect his palm from being covered with blisters from abrasion.

"In addition, grasping strength can be called complete by now."

Tang San spared no strength swinging the iron hammer in his hand. In this dull process, his heart still wasn’t calm at all. His understanding concerning this world was still tentative, this place was only a small village, nothing more.

In this world called Douluo Dalu, this continent held two great empires, which could perhaps also be spoken of as coalitions. Because within the two empires, a great deal of territory was conferred on feudal vassals, and the number of nobles with armed forces couldn’t be counted.

Of these two empires, the one Tang San was in was Heaven Dou Empire, the other was the southern Star Luo Empire[14].

Fasinuo province was located near the border between both countries, and Holy Spirit village by Nuoding city was no more than two hundred li[15] away.

Tang San knew from talk among the villagers that within the Douluo continent, his world’s martial arts didn’t exist, but there was a kind of thing called Spirits[16]. It was said that everyone