Douro Continent

Chapter 14 Twin Martial Souls (Part 5)

Tang Hao moved. His movements seemed no different from before. He used his legs to drive his waist, his waist to drive his back, and his back to drive his arms. With a clang, the hammer smashed into the iron block.

As the hammer bounced up due to the reaction force, Tang Hao suddenly turned around, still using his lower leg to generate power. He swung the rebounding hammer up, making a circle in the air with a strong whistling sound, and then with another loud bang, it landed on the iron block again. This strike was not only incredibly fast, but also seemed to be even stronger than the first strike.

The hammer bounced high into the air, and Tang Hao's movements seemed to perfectly match the height of the hammer's bounce. Not too early, not too late, just as the hammer was about to reach its highest point, his body spun the hammer around once and then brought it down again.

Tang San's eyes lit up. This was clearly a technique of using the opponent's force against them, transforming the rebound force from the collision of the hammer and metal into the power for his next strike. His movements were perfect and coordinated, minimizing the harm from the rebound force and instead turning it into a continuous barrage of attacks. From the second strike onward, each strike exceeded Tang Hao's full strength, yet it remained under his control.

Tang Hao's movements became faster and faster. The casting hammer struck the iron block as usual, and the iron block was constantly deformed under the hammer's blows. Surprisingly, Tang Hao's hammering was extremely accurate. Whenever the iron block was hammered down to half its original thickness and began to flatten, the casting hammer in his hand would strike the edge of the iron block, causing it to flip. In this way, the iron block was evenly subjected to his hammering, rather than simply being smashed into an iron disc.

In the blink of an eye, thirty-six hammer blows had been delivered. Tang Hao spun the forging hammer three times in the air with both hands before dissipating the force of the blows and standing still. His face was not flushed, and he was not out of breath, as if the previous blows had not been delivered by him.

The entire iron block shrank by a full size between these thirty-six hammer blows, and it became so small that it was difficult to see any impurities with the naked eye.

This is true blacksmithing skill! Such beautiful hammering technique.

"Do you understand?" Tang Hao asked, looking at Tang San who was constantly pulling the bellows.

Tang San thought for a moment and said, "I understand the principle of using someone else's strength. However, it doesn't seem to be that simple."

Tang Hao said calmly, "To reach my level, there's only one way: practice makes perfect. Also, remember, when you're hammering an ordinary piece of metal, it's most fragile when it has the most impurities. At that point, you need to use less force. As the impurities decrease, you can gradually increase the force while maintaining the desired effect. The key is controlling the force. Practice slowly on your own. Don't blindly increase power and speed; accuracy is equally important. At least you need to know where you're hitting with your hammer; otherwise, what's the point of using force?"

The forging hammer returned to Tang San's hands, and Tang Hao turned and left.

My father kept his word and taught me the methods of casting. Moreover, from what my father taught me, I realized that every industry has its own secrets and is not so simple.

For the next two weeks, Tang San practiced the forging method of using leverage to swing his hammer that Tang Hao had taught him every day. Although he had the Crane Control and Dragon Capture to assist in controlling the force and the Purple Demon Eye to determine the position of his hammer strikes, this forging method was more difficult to master than he had imagined.

Since it's a full-force strike, the power used is inherently difficult to control. Using the rebound force to maintain balance and strike the desired location makes it even more challenging. With each additional strike, the required control increases. The constant spinning of the body not only causes dizziness but also makes controlling the force of each strike even more difficult.

Fortunately, he had been hammering that iron ore for a long time, so it had very few impurities and was not so easy to break. Otherwise, it would probably have shattered long ago under his uncontrollable casting hammer.

However, during this practice, Tang San's application of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, as well as the coordination of Crane Control and Dragon Capture, Mysterious Jade Hand, and Purple Demon Eye, were all improving imperceptibly.

From being able to swing the hammer twice before veering off course on the first day, to being able to swing it seven times in a row, hitting the iron block accurately, just half a month later, his progress is remarkable. Meanwhile, the iron block is getting smaller and smaller under his full-force blows, with daily improvements.

Of course, this is also closely related to the method of generating power from the calves. With this method of generating power, the consumption of Xuan Tian Gong was greatly reduced, allowing Tang San to have more time to operate the bellows and carry out forging.

His father swung the hammer thirty-six times, and seemed to have plenty of strength left, while he himself only managed seven. He wondered when he would ever reach his father's level. Whenever Tang San thought of this, he became especially motivated to practice.

These days, he seems to have forgotten about martial spirit and spirit rings. Even when he goes to the mountaintop in the early morning to cultivate the Purple Demon Eye, he is thinking about how to swing the hammer.

Three months passed quickly. When Tang San could unleash thirteen consecutive hammer strikes, Tang Hao began teaching him how to forge weapons. Tang Hao's teaching method was very direct: he would demonstrate it himself first, then have Tang San do it again. Once he saw that Tang San had grasped the basics, he would let him practice on his own without much verbal guidance. He would only offer a word or two at crucial moments.

That's why Tang San remembers Tang Hao's advice so clearly.

(End of this chapter)