The difference he felt was subtle.
Should I…check it out?
He should! Tang Ling took a deep breath while holding the hammer in his left hand. The second strike fell in the same way.
However, the result of the second hammer strike was even worse than the first whereby he held it with his right hand out of habit. As long as he was not left-handed, his right hand would always be the dominant one that possessed more strength and agility.
Therefore, Tang Ling did not assume that he became worse due to the bad outcome. He calmed himself down and figured out the correct method bit by bit. He slowly tried his best to achieve the perfect strike.
Since the moveset consisted of three hammer strikes, he ought to complete the third.
The third hammer strike had no techniques involved and was not complex either. It required him to hold the hammer with both his hands and swing it down with all his might.
At first, Tang Ling thought he had seen it wrongly. That was why after the first demonstration and after Boss Huang asked about what he thought, he provided an explanation despite not being very sure of the answer.
Strangely, Boss Huang did not correct or acknowledge him at all.
If he got the explanation wrong, Tang Ling believed he would be corrected since he was working for Boss Huang who would not have allowed him to smith in the wrong way as that would result in a waste of materials.
Finally, Tang Ling got the answer. The third hammer strike should be the heaviest and he would need to swing it with all his might.
How would the heaviest strike help in the refining process? Although Tang Ling was a newbie in smithing, he did not bother to ask either. He believed he should learn the basics and understand how things work first before asking the necessary questions. That would be the right way to learn new things.
After a little adjustment, he savored the subtle changes in his strength from the first two strikes. He then gripped the hammer tightly with both hands, raised it up, and with all his strength, he swung it down.
Clank!
The third strike produced a quick and heavy clunk that sounded very similar to Boss Huang’s third strike, but after that, Tang Ling noticed something surprising.
With his Precise Instinct, he was able to tell that when he exerted all his strength into the hammer, it was depleted, but upon impact, it then recovered rapidly. As his strength recovered, he felt like it had changed a little, or in more precise terms, his strength had grown firmer.
The feeling was unlike the subtle feeling from the first two strikes. The subtle feeling from the first two strikes was about how his strength was being concentrated when he exerted himself during the final bounceback.
As for the third hammer strike, upon impact, he felt like the strength that he recovered with was now more powerful than before.
…
Boss Huang was sitting in the large parlor which was also the storefront for his smithing business.
However, the storefront felt strange. It was not messy and did not look strange. On quite the contrary, the storefront was decorated elegantly. Be it the wooden furniture or the paintings and wall decorations, everything was installed very tastefully.
It was not very messy at first glance as it felt like there were many details hidden in plain sight and one would miss them if he or she was not paying attention. Every piece of decoration in the storefront complemented each other, and at the same time, possessed their own unique presence.
So, why would the meticulously decorated storefront feel so peculiar?
The strange thing was that it was a storefront of a blacksmith, yet there was not a single display of items related to smithing. In fact, it looked like an elegant parlor which was used to receive important guests.
Tang Ling had never seen the storefront before. If he did, he would have wondered how Boss Huang made a living.
Boss Huang was having his own leisure time.
The couch in the store was comfortable while the woolen carpet beneath it was soft. The fine fur of the carpet was fluffy yet tensile and was perfect to soothe the legs.
Anyone with a little knowledge would know at first glance that the woolen carpet was actually from a Level 4 vicious beast from the cold sea. It was the pelt of a Polar Storm Seal which made great material for an inner mail yet it was being used as a carpet. The owner certainly lived a luxurious life, but the owner, Boss Huang, could not care less.
A Level 4 vicious beast? If he could get his hands on something better, he would not have settled for this cheap pelt.
Beside him was a tea table, and there was a pot of tea that Ding Ling had made for him. It was the greenish-red tea that he drank before. There was also another expensive-looking bottle of alcohol, a plate of crispy grains, and a plate of fruit which was rare and unique to the sea, the Scarlet Sea.
His eyes were half-closed and the smoking pipe hung at his mouth. He was as comfortable as a deity in heaven.
Tang Ling’s smithing clanks echoed from the smithing room. They were not perfect, but when Boss Huang heard them, a faint smile appeared on his face. In a muffled voice, he only muttered two words clearly, “Not bad”.
The door of the store was facing the crowded street. A woman walked by the entrance from around the corner and unintentionally glanced over at Boss Huang’s smile. Her face immediately turned red.
Boss Huang sharply sensed her gaze, so he flirtatiously winked at her and she stopped walking, seeming to hesitate about something.
However, in the next second, Boss Huang frowned. What’s the little bastard doing? Why did the clanks stop at three? I’m enjoying myself here!
The woman saw his furrowed brows, so she quickly shuffled away in embarrassment.
Then, Tang Ling rushed out of the smithing room and looked at Boss Huang with a thrilled expression. “Am I refining blanks or am I refining my strength? This is a way to grind my strength, am I right?” he fired a barrage of questions at Boss Huang the moment he came out.
As his furrowed brows loosened, Boss Huang then looked askance at Tang Ling. What’s with kids nowadays, being so impatient? Where’s the charm in that? It’s not a gentleman’s way of being impatient.
He picked up the Purple Sand teapot and took a sip from its spout before saying, “It’s just smithing. Why should I grind your strength without any reason?”
“But I felt it! I’ve been stuck at a bottleneck for a while now. I can’t figure out how to merge my strength thoroughly, and now it finally loosened up!” Tang Ling started to mumble gibberish. He did not have a mentor when it came to this, so he had to figure out the questions all by himself.
If it was not for his Perfect Genetic Chain, he would have been stuck in a bottleneck earlier than this and might not have been able to improve anymore. It was the first time he was at a bottleneck. He might have figured out the reason but was unable to find a way around it, and since he felt a minute change, the excitement in him exploded.
Boss Huang smiled at the enthused Tang Ling while he put the teapot down and said in a casual tone, “It’s just a side effect, don’t be too concerned about it.”
“Of course, I’m concerned! So, why did it loosen up?”Tang Ling ran out just to ask this question that bothered him. Only by understanding the theory could he get a direction, and with a clear direction, he would be able to work towards it.
“Of course, it will loosen. The purpose of accumulating strength in the first two strikes is to gather and merge the strength at a single point. When you exert your strength during the bounceback, that’s actually the strength that you’ve gathered in the hammer.
“The last strike that exhausts your body strength will recover rapidly and the recovered strength will be even more substantial than before.
“Do you want to know the theory? There, it’s that simple, so you should understand that there are no shortcuts in this process. All you can do is hammer all the way to merge your current strength thoroughly, making it firmer than before.
“Until then, the energy that you’ve stored will replenish you and transform into new energy. You’ll then proceed with new grinding methods,” Boss Huang replied to all of Tang Ling’s questions in a single breath without holding anything back. The words he used might be simple, but they were all straight to the point.
Tang Ling nodded vigorously. He was very humble while learning at the moment. “Then, does everyone use this method to merge their strength thoroughly?”
“No way! I’m a blacksmith and this is my unique smithing technique. Should I teach everyone and make them blacksmiths too? Others usually use the pressurized method to merge their strength thoroughly. They exhaust the strength in a pressured environment and gather their strength to make it more powerful.” Boss Huang sounded like he really knew everything.
“Which one is better than?” Tang Ling pressed.
“What does it have to do with you? Now, all you can do is smith, and since it has the effect of merging your strength, enjoy it while you can. The rich can rent a pressurized room to do it, but do you have money? Those who don’t have money can go carry rocks, but do you have the time? Stop asking useless questions.”
Boss Huang looked askance at him. He obviously did not want to tell Tang Ling which way was better. He simply acknowledged the side effect of smithing.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll go back and continue smithing.” Tang Ling ceased his questions and went back to the smithing room, hammering his way to his goal.
As for whether or not he believed Boss Huang’s words, it was no longer important. Since smithing was for the long term and it was able to accumulate his strength and ultimately merge it thoroughly, he would work hard towards this particular goal.
“This kid is cuter than his old man,” Boss Huang mumbled. Back then, Tang Feng had not been as honest as Tang Ling. He had been as impatient as a madman.
Boss Huang fished out a bell from his sleeve pocket and rang it. Seconds later, Ding Ling came out with a grumpy face.
“I’m studying. What do you want?”
“Hoho?” Boss Huang pinched Ding Ling’s puffy face and he got rolled eyes as a reply.
“What are you studying? Don’t tell me you are drooling over some cookbook again.”
Ding Ling blushed, making her look like a red tangyuan. She said, “Forget about that. What do you want, Boss?”
“Go and heat up Tang Ling’s leftovers and take it to the smithing room. Hmm, and send him his lunch in two hours.” Boss Huang stretched his body.
It was at that moment when the crowded street got noisy and merrier while everyone’s excited shouts and screams were loud.
However, Boss Huang and Ding Ling did not care. Boss Huang continued, “Judging from the situation, he should be able to have lunch. As for dinner, we’ll see.”
Ding Ling nodded and went back in.
It was then that Boss Huang turned around to the merry street, but he just spared it a glance. He poured himself a cup of alcohol and drained it.
“Are they already here? I guess they’ll eventually come for him. Tang Ling doesn’t have much time left. How far can he reach?” Boss Huang muttered to himself. As he gargled his mouth with alcohol, he sighed. “Hmm, I guess it’s all up to fate then.”
Amidst the crowded and merry street, among the excited throng was a young boy with a sword on his back.
