Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

"Alright, alright," Chen Cheng chuckled, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder as he withdrew his martial spirit. "You've only just enrolled; you're still a freshman. Don't overthink it. Your priority is to improve yourself in every way possible. You've been too emotional tonight; it's not suitable for further theoretical study. How about this: since we need to forge the outer shells for our soul tools, excellent forging skills are indispensable."

Huo Yuhao wiped away his tears and began to listen attentively again. The gray sphere of light in his sea of ​​consciousness stirred slightly before returning to calm. It had clearly been disturbed by Huo Yuhao's series of emotional fluctuations.

"Among our Tang Clan's unique martial arts, there is one called the 'Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique,' which consists of eighty-one hammer blows. It uses the power of the calves to drive the entire body, then transmits it to the waist and hips, rotates through the back, and finally swings it out with the arms. After the hammer falls, don't stop. Use the force of the hammer being bounced up by the metal to transform it in the air and strike down in a specific arc. Use the force against the force, and each blow is stronger than the last! It can greatly improve forging efficiency, and it is also a good power generation technique that can be used in combat."

Without further ado, Chen Cheng took a piece of red-hot metal from the furnace, placed it in position, and gripped the hammer with both hands, using his mental energy to sense the texture of the metal. Once his spirit, energy, and mind were perfectly aligned, he raised and lowered the hammer!

Suddenly, a deep, rhythmic symphony began to resound in the experimental area. Sparks flew everywhere, and even the intense heat of the sparks falling on Chen Cheng did not cause him the slightest change. The metal shrank at a visible speed, and the gray impurities, like fine ash, were precisely hammered away from the metal surface by Chen Cheng under the observation of his mental power.

"when!"

Finally, the hammer no longer landed precisely on the metal. Sixty-six blows! This was Chen Cheng's physical limit. The metal, now fully purified, appeared smaller and more compact than before.

"Sigh, wasn't this thing supposed to glow? Wasn't it supposed to provide feedback after being forged a hundred times? Or is it that the version hasn't been updated yet and this feature isn't available? But I must say, it's still useful. After the impurities in the metal are removed, it becomes stronger and denser. At the same time, the forging process is also a forging process."

Chen Cheng didn't stop. After a series of processing steps, he crafted the refined metal into two hammers and handed them to Huo Yuhao. He himself had just pushed the limits of the hammers two more times than before, gaining a new understanding of using the opponent's force against them. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, but it was fleeting, and he missed its mark.

Chen Cheng gestured for Huo Yuhao to give it a try, while he himself pondered the situation. Unfortunately, despite his deep thought, he couldn't come up with anything new.

Huo Yuhao had been using his mental detection the entire time, precisely observing Chen Cheng's every move. Chen Cheng took out a piece of metal, placed it down, and began to wield the hammer with a practiced air. The first strike, however, was so powerful that the recoil made his arm go numb and he almost couldn't hold the handle anymore. But he gritted his teeth, mimicking Chen Cheng's movements in mid-air, and swung the hammer down again! ...

Each hammer blow caused Huo Yuhao excruciating pain, and sweat had pooled around his feet. His thumb and forefinger were torn, and his fingernails dug deep into his palms to grip the hammer handle tightly and prevent it from slipping. His clothes were gradually turning red, indicating that his condition was not optimistic, but he gritted his teeth and desperately hammered down again!

This is Huo Yuhao! He is indeed the chosen one, and his luck is so good it's like he's cheating, but he didn't succeed solely because of luck! His hard work and perseverance are the key factors that allowed him to pull himself out of the mud at the very bottom!

"Stop!" Chen Cheng kept a close eye on Huo Yuhao's condition and immediately called for a stop when he sensed that Huo Yuhao was nearing his limit. Huo Yuhao tried desperately to lift the hammer again, but Chen Cheng's hand was already in his, gently taking the hammer away. Then, Huo Yuhao had no more strength to support himself and collapsed limply, losing consciousness.

"Wow, everyone's been saying Huo Yuhao is amazing, but he's not only amazing, he's also incredibly hardworking!" Chen Cheng thought to himself, giving Huo Yuhao a few bamboo pills and then using his fourth soul skill to heal and restore Huo Yuhao's soul power, relieving his fatigue and pain.

After Huo Yuhao's injuries healed, Chen Cheng took out a large bathtub and added medicinal herbs and hot water. Chen Cheng then soaked Huo Yuhao in it. After carefully circulating his soul power throughout Huo Yuhao's body for one cycle, he confirmed that Huo Yuhao had fully absorbed the medicinal power of the previous Xuan Shui Pill. He then took out the Xuan Shui Pill that he had previously asked Xu Sanshi for and gave it to Huo Yuhao.

By the time the medicinal effects of the bath had worn off, it was already late at night. Chen Cheng did not try to wake Huo Yuhao. He knew that Huo Yuhao's spiritual power had also improved through tonight's training, and both his soul power and spirit were now slowly increasing.

  

So Chen Cheng had no choice but to carry Huo Yuhao back to his dormitory. When they arrived at the dormitory door, Mu En looked at the two of them with some surprise but didn't say anything. Chen Cheng nodded in greeting and then went into the building. He knocked on Huo Yuhao's dormitory door and heard Wang Dong muttering as he came to open it. When he saw that it was Chen Cheng carrying Huo Yuhao to bring him there, he was quite surprised. After making way for him, Chen Cheng put Huo Yuhao on the bed, covered him with a blanket, and settled him in before leaving the room.

"What's wrong with him? Wasn't he supposed to be learning about soul tools with you? Why does it look like he got into a fight?" Wang Dong followed Chen Cheng out of the room. He had initially thought Huo Yuhao was coming back so late and wanted to complain about disturbing his sleep, but when he saw that Huo Yuhao had been brought back, he became a little impatient.

"Shh, everyone's resting or cultivating, don't be so loud," Chen Cheng gestured and whispered. "I have high hopes for this kid. Although his aptitude is arguably the worst among the freshmen, he's not afraid of any hardship! Today, after teaching him some soul tool theory, I also taught him the Tang Sect's ultimate technique, the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique. He was incredibly hardworking! He hammered himself until he was bleeding all over and completely exhausted before stopping..."

Wang Dong had already agreed with Chen Cheng's advice to keep her voice down, but upon hearing Huo Yuhao's earnest words, she couldn't help but gasp in surprise, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. However, the urgency in her eyes conveyed a desire to shout out the words she wanted to say.

"Alright, alright, your relationship with him wasn't bad to begin with, so why are you suddenly concerned about him? He has no family, no one to rely on, so he's working extra hard to become stronger and achieve his goals!" Seeing Wang Dong's reaction, Chen Cheng decided to give her a mental blow. Someone was going to feel so guilty tonight that they couldn't sleep and would end up slapping themselves in the middle of the night! "But don't worry, his efforts haven't been in vain. The Xuan Shui Pill he took was fully absorbed, and after my martial soul healing, his injuries have completely healed. He even took a medicinal bath to ensure there were no aftereffects. Oh, right, there's another Xuan Shui Pill. This kind of pill is best suited for people with poor aptitude when their bodies reach their limits..."

Wang Dong stood there motionless for a long time, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

"In the original story, Wang Dong is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, at most a little, well, arrogant! His character is quite good! Especially after hearing about Huo Yuhao's background, he hurriedly apologized and comforted him, and then slowly became moved and admired by Huo Yuhao's efforts... Sigh, I admire him too..." Chen Cheng thought to himself as he went out, intending to find another place with lush vegetation to cultivate. He greeted Mu En as he passed by the door.

"Your name is Chen Cheng, right? Why don't you wait a moment and say a few words to the old man?" Mu En suddenly said.

"Of course, no problem. Grandpa, what would you like to talk about?" Chen Cheng turned around quickly when he heard Mu En call him. He didn't even ask why Mu En knew him; after all, Mu En was the head of Shrek Academy, so it wouldn't be surprising if he knew anyone. The important thing was, what did he want to do?

"I can see that you are kind-hearted, upright, and have a bright mind. You also have ideals and goals, some of which are very ambitious!" Moon said calmly, closing his eyes.

"Holy crap! Could it be that Mu En overheard the Soul Guidance Department's chat with Huo Yuhao? Is the Limit Douluo's hearing that good? That shouldn't be possible! Even if I had half that level of sensitivity when I was younger, I wouldn't have caused such a love triangle farce. Is he testing me now? Otherwise, he would have already taken me down. No rush, let's see what he's up to first. Walls have ears! Next time we talk about this kind of topic, we must communicate directly through the Sea of ​​Spirits. After all, Mu En seemed to never know that the characters in Huo Yuhao's Sea of ​​Spirits were enough to play mahjong. Oh, and Tang Shenwang too. We haven't seen his methods yet, so we can't truly judge him objectively, but he's definitely someone who would lose sight of the bigger picture for petty grudges. His vision and magnanimity are not broad enough. We need to be even more careful when communicating with him in the future..."

Seeing Chen Cheng's calm yet thoughtful expression, Mu En smiled and said, "I think you might have guessed my identity. You have many secrets, even more than Huo Yuhao. But you treat everyone you care about well, especially by conveying the right values. I admire you for that."

Then, Mu En slowly closed his eyes: "That's why I won't pry into your secrets. I can sense that you are a person who acts righteously but also has a clear sense of right and wrong. You won't act until you've truly and comprehensively understood both sides of a matter. Being close to you will infect you with your righteousness, and you won't have to worry about being harmed by your martial soul because of your mentality. At the same time, you have the same kindness as Huo Yuhao. You are both people who don't say it, but repay a small kindness with great gratitude..." Mu En suddenly started coughing, as if saying so much in one breath was indeed a burden on his body.

"Do whatever you want. These old bones of mine can still move around, so it's time for me to do my part for you young people. Also, your insistence on developing your martial spirit is the right thing to do. Your martial spirit still has a long way to go and you need to explore it yourself..."

When Chen Cheng walked somewhat unsteadily to the place of cultivation, he still felt a little unreal. How did he end up being stopped and praised by the top student in the academy for no reason, who wanted to praise every aspect of his work?

"In the original story, Mu En seemed to have some spare time at this point. Perhaps it was a premonition from a Limit Douluo? He sensed a major upheaval at Shrek Academy, which is why he stayed in the outer courtyard dormitory observing the students, judging which ones had potential, and then taking them as disciples or nurturing them. Hmm, he took a liking to me? Am I that strong? Probably not. His long praise was just about my character, perhaps also out of gratitude for my help in training the students? As for what he said... hmm, that my martial soul development was correct? There's still a long way to go for me to explore? My flash of inspiration during forging tonight wasn't unfounded, but I still need a certain opportunity to truly understand..."

It took Chen Cheng quite a while to finally calm down and begin his sleepless cultivation...