Xiao Wu nodded, saying:
“Rongrong makes sense. Little San, you have to come with us for a stroll.”
Tang San shook his head:
“Let it be. I still have a lot of things to do. You go. Pay attention to your safety.”
After speaking, he hastily took his leave, always feeling somewhat uncomfortable in the girls’ dorm.
Tang San had long ago properly thought out what to do in these two months before returning to the road.
Through the danger last time in Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San more and more felt his own strength was insufficient. Although after getting Eight Spider Lances he had an even greater advantage against equal level Spirit Masters, once the level gap increased somewhat, this advantage would disappear completely.
Against less than fortieth rank Spirit Masters, Tang San basically had confidence in his victory. Beyond fortieth rank it would depend on the opposing Spirit Masters’ category and attributes.
If the opponent’s attributes were something that he could restrain, he believed he wasn’t powerless if he relied on hidden weapons, but if the opponent could restrain him, it was practically impossible to come out on top.
The furnace Tang San bought from the smithy last time had already been delivered long ago, before returning today he passed by the smithy and specially ordered a batch of metal. Spirit fighting had netted him more than five thousand gold coins, so buying some first rate metal was no problem.
Adding to the metals he purchased last time, he was prepared to in these two months increase his armament strength somewhat, at the same time increasing hidden weapon technique drills.
With insufficient inner strength, the more powerful Tang Sect exquisite inner sect hidden weapons would be unable to display their strength, therefore Tang San still had to rely on his most expert mechanical type hidden weapons techniques.
Although Shrek Academy was crude, the size still wasn’t small. Adding that teachers and students were few, when the furnace and tools had arrived, he had asked Flender for an empty house to use. Of course, it wasn’t for free.
Leaving Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong’s dorm, Tang San directly arrived at this house. It was built very simply from stone bricks. Although it wasn’t very standardized, it was stable and durable, this was the most common way of building among commoners.
The room wasn’t large, with close to thirty square meters. Forging furnace, calciner, over to pounding anvil, forging hammer. Everything was included, only since he hadn’t had time to use them, everything was somewhat corroded.
In a corner there was also a large pile of charcoal and chunks of every kind of metal, the majority of which hadn’t undergone any processing.
Tang San simply put the room in order, as he grasped the casting hammer, a familiar feeling arose involuntarily. In his mind, he couldn’t help recalling when his father taught him forging.
Despite Tang Hao not instructing Tang San for very long, that time was nevertheless when he’d been closest to his father since being born. Tang San recalled every sentence Tang Hao had said to him in that time.
“A godly craftsman isn’t at all a smith that uses godly materials to make godly tools, rather one that uses ordinary materials to make godly tools.”
Tang San muttering repeated his father’s words. The forging hammer in his hand whirled along with his lower legs generating force.
Without any target, creating a whistling sound, the forging hammer danced in the room as Tang San’s hands moved, each swing filled with inner strength. Half turning his body, swing after swing joined together, flawless without exception.
The change of inner strength in his body allowed Tang San to use this Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method with another level of skill, despite not having a target for the hammer, that feeling of joyfully unrestrained venting brought him a feeling entirely free from worry.
Tang San stopped after nine thousand nine hundred eighty one continuous swings. His clothes were already drenched with sweat. Overjoyed, truly overjoyed, Tang San raised the forging hammer before him, in his mind constantly replaying the scenes of studying forging at Tang Sect and under Tang Hao, for a moment all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart.
Thirteen years old, meaning he had already been in this world for thirteen years. In this all new world he had obtained many things he never had before, family, friends, spirit, spirit ability, these had all already completely blended with his soul.
Tang San’s figure flickered, already reaching the area piled with metal, forging hammer striking a half meter diameter chunk of refined iron. The struck iron tilted somewhat, stretching out his toes, lightly raising them, lifting that close to hundred jin[ 100斤 = 50kg] chunk of iron.
He stretched out his left hand and grabbed the chunk of iron. ‘Tang Sect, a mark that can never be forgotten, I will definitely let you blossom brilliantly in this new world.’
Dropping the iron in the casting furnace, Tang San piled charcoal with practiced motions, igniting it, working the bellows.
Rhythmically, a strong sound of bellows began to reverberate within the stone house. In just a moment’s work, deep red flames burst out, the forging furnace starting to recover its use.
Tang San had never forgotten his father’s words. He also understood understood why his father would say that using common iron to forge godly tools was the meaning of a godly craftsman, that wasn’t only a matter of skill, even more important was staunch perseverance.
Even average iron, if struck more than ten thousand times, would become the strongest kind of iron.
Tang Sect’s requirements of their own hidden weapons were extremely strict, and as a once well known figure among mechanical type hidden weapon makers, Tang San was even more rigorous about his own work. He absolutely wouldn’t let his hidden weapons show issues with quality that could put him in a dangerous situation.
The iron burned deep red, like an incomparably immense chunk of ruby. It was also only once it was completely red that he could see the impurities within.
The forging hammer leapt into Tang San’s hand, and its dance began.
Dang. Dang. Dang. Dang…… Pounding full of rhythm and tempo reverberated from within the stone house. Tang San had started his forging.
From this day on, besides eating, Tang San didn’t even return to his dorm to sleep. Every day constantly forging. When tired, he would sit down on the ground and cultivate spirit power. Once his energy had recovered, he immediately started working again.
Nobody knew what Tang San was making, even Grandmaster didn’t understand, but Grandmaster never went to find him at his forge. With complete confidence, Grandmaster believed that Tang San absolutely wouldn’t abandon his cultivation for forging.
Only one person entered the forging room: Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu would go to the forge every day, she didn’t disturb Tang San, only quietly left clean clothes to the side, poured some water and peeled and cored some fruit, arranging it there before quietly leaving.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak with Tang San, it was only that since she came to know Tang San, she had never before seen him so completely wrapped up in his work over anything.
Tang San’s body, brimming with the smell of metal, was all over colored with iron dust and coke.
Xiao Wu was somewhat concerned over Tang San’s present condition. Only as she once again entered the forge and Saw Tang San had changed into the clean clothes, drunk the water she’d poured and emptied the plate of fruit, she would feel somewhat gratified.
Day after day passed, the pounding sound from within the forge only became even more intense. Every day before there was even any light, the sounds began, only when the gathering darkness completely replaced the daylight would it stop.
Meanwhile, even if it was when eating at the dining hall, Tang San would appear uncommunicative. Constantly in a kind of reflective mood.
In this kind of situation, even Dai Mubai looked for Grandmaster and Flender, but Grandmaster only
said to not to disturb him.
Deep blue gradually replaced pure black, in the distant horizon, a golden thread gradually appeared in its misty splendor, dawn was coming once again.
The forging room’s door opened, one person walking out from inside, with disheveled hair, a face covered in iron dust, furthermore with a bare torso smeared with iron dust and coke and brimming with sturdy muscle.
He appeared even stronger than before, and his height seemed to have increased a fraction. Faint purple glinted in his piercing eyes, with a feeling of absorbing peoples’ hearts and souls.
Looking far into the distance, looking at that golden ray gradually expanding in the east, his eyes filled with purple.
Part 2 (TL by Fraustarrow)
Quietly lifting his two hands, he clenched them tightly. His whole body braced was as if it were steel, like a cheetah waiting to pounce. Filled with the beauty of wild power.
“Forty nine days. It took me a total of forty nine days, but I’ve finally completed it.”
He slowly opened his palms. A pair of perfectly round iron balls appeared in his hands.
The iron balls were black. Despite being under the sun, there wasn’t any reflection from it. However, a layer of cold air quietly escaped from within the balls.
There were sixteen identical balls behind him in the room. If the shrek’s seven monsters found out that he had spent most of his energy during these two months working on developing these eighteen iron balls, what would be their reaction?
Tang San started kneading the two metal balls in his hands and murmured, “The only thing missing now is poison. I really want to make another Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, and that unfinished Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Needle. It’s a pity the materials in this world are too restricted.”
His hand slightly shook and the two metal balls flew out. One left and one right, both noiselessly. They bizarrely made two arcs in the air and flew back into his hands. In his palms they never stopped spinning, but the entire time they didn’t touch at all.
After habitually training his Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San walked into the forging room. The metal in the room had already all vanished, including those Tang San bought from the smithy later.
His right hand wiped the table, and including the two in his hand, the eighteen metal balls all vanished into his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges.
His gaze fell onto the corner of the room. On the only clean chair was a set of clean clothes laid there. That was what Xiao Wu sent in yesterday. Looking at them, Tang San’s eyes couldn’t help but let out a trace of gentleness.
What Tang San admired most in Xiao Wu was that she knew what to do at any time. Usually, she was always cheerful and exuberant. But when he needed quiet, she never disturbed him even slightly. All she did was silently doing her seemingly insignificant things, yet these things were what people never forgot.
Right now the day was still early. According to usual, no one would wake up in Shrek Academy at this time.
Tang San got some cold water and bathed, cleaning himself from head to toes and then finally putting on the clean clothes Xiao Wu delivered, making him feel fresh and cool.
Putting everything in order, a sense of relaxation went through his body. Tang San raised his right hand in front of him and a faint blue light came out of his palm. Blue Silver Grass quietly sprouted out, swaying in his palm.
“Looks like I improved again.”Tang San smiled happily.
To Tang San, the fourty-nine days of forging tested his physical strength and mental power just as much as the devilish training Grandmaster forced them through.
Everyday he was continuously forging and thinking. The stress on his body was just as much as the weighted runs. If not for his endurable and tough body and the help of inner power, he might have already stopped.
But it was also because of this everyday exercise that all his muscles were now more taut. The most obvious change was on his arms. They were thicker by one size and didn’t have a single bit of excess fat. Every ridge of his muscles was well defined. His shoulders were wider and in every single movement, his muscles would noticeably contract and retract.
However, Tang San’s hands were still as slim and flawless as before, with no callouses at all. Not only his endurance and spirit power improved, his Mysterious Jade Hand also improved.
According to Tang San’s own estimates, these forty nine days of almost insane forging let his spirit power improve once again, rising to thirty third rank. Of course, this wasn’t only the result of the two months. The previous months also played a key role in this improvement.
In almost four months time, his spirit power ranked up again. This speed could only be described as terrifying. Though he broke through rank thirty, every rank needs accumulating. For normal people, it would take at least more than half a year. Those with less talent might even need a year to rank up.
When Tang San walked into the cafeteria, what surprised him was that everyone were there and had started eating already. It turned out that that day wasn’t the first day they woke up this early, but Tang San was too busy thinking about forging to notice this.
“Here comes our Iron man. Yo, why is Iron Man so clean today?” Dai Mubai spoke with a smiling face.
Dai Mubai was always very arrogant, and he also had the skills to support it. But in front of Tang San, he couldn’t act arrogant no matter what.
Though Tang San’s spirit power was lower than his, Dai Mubai knew that if they were really fighting for their lives, he couldn’t beat Tang San. In the entire Shrek’s Seven Monsters, Tang San undoubtedly had become the most important one. But Dai Mubai also knew Tang San’s achievement wasn’t simply from innate talent. During these forty nine days, though no one knows what Tang San was doing, everyone could hear the almost never halting pounding of his hammer. What kind of willpower was needed to complete this?
Under Tang San’s stimulation, not only Dai Mubai, including the laziest Oscar, everyone were also working hard to cultivate their spirit power.
Grandmaster put forward a way of cultivating without sleep to them so that everyone could replace sleep with spirit power cultivation. Other than the necessary spirit ability training and physical exercise, the rest of the time was all put into cultivation. Though the process was dull, it proved beneficial for their strength.
In the time, Xiao Wu’s spirit power raised to rank thirty two, and the others’ spirit power also had a not insignificant increase.
Now, Shrek’s Seven Devils spirit power ranks were:
Evil Eye White Tiger Dai Mubai, thirty eighth rank Battle Spirit Elder.
Sausage Monopoly Oscar, thirty first rank Tool Spirit Elder.
Thousand Hand Asura Tang San, thirty third rank Battle Spirit Elder.
Evil Fire Phoenix Ma Hongjun, twenty eighth rank Battle Spirit Grandmaster.
Soft Bones Demon Rabbit Xiao Wu, thirty second rank Battle Spirit Elder.
Seven Treasures Glazed Ning Rongrong, twenty seventh rank Tool Spirit Grandmaster.
Hell Civet Zhu Zhuqing, twenty eighth rank Battle Spirit Grandmaster.
Tang San smiled slightly. “I’m all done forging, so of course I came out. Checking the time, it isn’t long until we have to go to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.”
Ning Rongrong said curiously, “Third Brother, what good thing did you make this time, let everyone see.”
Tang San said, “Really, I didn’t make that many things this time because the construction of it is very troublesome. Other than a few hidden weapons, I also made everyone something practical.”
“We also get some?” Ning Rongrong was instantly exulted. The Shrek’s Seven Devils all let out a smile. Tang San’s standard for hidden weapons was very strict. They already got an entire set of high quality hidden weapons. If Tang San used that many days to make it, it couldn’t be bad.
Ma Hongjun chuckled, “Third Brother is the best, sharing even dew equally[ 雨露均沾 - Means everyone gets some no matter who they are.], quickly let ev
eryone see.”
Xiao Wu glared at Ma Hongjun. “What do you mean sharing dew, thats so coarse. Little San hasn’t even eaten yet, let him eat first.”
Ning Rongrong smiled, “Xiao Wu is indeed still the most thoughtful for Tang San!”
Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue and gave Tang San the food specially left for him.
Ever since Grandmaster came, Shrek Academy’s food changed majorly. Of course, the breakfast wasn’t paid by the Academy anymore, but the Shrek Seven Devils paid themselves. The things were the same, and Grandmaster didn’t hide the economic situation of the Academy. After one month of Spirit Battles, everyone had full wallets, so none of them cared about the small food expenses.
“Ok, I’ll eat first. Let’s go out later so I can demonstrate as well, the cafeteria is too small.” Tang San smiled at Xiao Wu and took his breakfast and started gorging himself. The recent workload was way too much, so Tang San’s appetite also rocketed upwards. In Shrek’s Seven Devils, he ate the most.
Part 3 (TL by Bagelson)
The others had more or less eaten, while looking at Tang San gorging himself, inwardly they couldn’t help but itch while thinking about Tang San’s gift.
Being under everyone’s scrutiny couldn’t feel particularly nice, especially when eating. Tang San quickly finished his breakfast, immediately standing up,
“Having you watching me like that, I’ll get indigestion. Let’s go, I’ll give you something good outside.”
Xiao Wu very naturally collected the bowl and chopsticks Tang San had used to clear them away, but Tang San caught her hand, saying:
“There’s time to clean up later. We’ll go outside first.”
The group of seven reached the Academy grounds. The grounds were completely empty, sunshine sprinkling across the field. Right now was already early summer, Shrek Academy was at the center of the continent, so even if it was early morning, it was still extremely warm.
“Little San, quickly take it out. What kind of thing is it?”
Douluo Dalu - Volume 08 - Emperor Team Page 10
