It seemed that talking about his work piqued Tang Hao's interest.
He dragged over a worn-out chair, sat directly in front of the raw iron block, and lazily said, "Xiao San, tell me, what kind of blacksmith is the best blacksmith?"
Upon hearing his unfortunate name, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, taking the opportunity to pretend to be deep in thought.
Xiao San? How about Xiao Si?
After muttering in his heart, Xiao Yan began to seriously think about the question Tang Hao had asked.
It was rare for this old dog Tang Hao to be a little serious.
Moreover, in order to get that iron essence, he had to appease the old dog Tang Hao a little.
"It should be the blacksmith who can forge divine artifacts, right?"
He had once heard villagers talk about divine artifacts existing in this world.
Since they had reached the level of divine artifacts, they had to be extraordinary things.
A glimmer of mockery flashed in Tang Hao's dim eyes: "Divine artifacts? Xiao San, you know about divine artifacts? Then tell me, what are divine artifacts made from?"
"What else can divine artifacts be made from? Naturally, they're made from divine-level materials."
Tang Hao raised a finger and shook it in front of Xiao Yan's face, "If you want to be a qualified blacksmith, remember my words: using top-quality materials to forge divine artifacts doesn't make you the best blacksmith; you're at most just a synthesizer. Using ordinary iron to forge divine artifacts—that's the real divine blacksmith."
If Xiao Yan wasn't so composed, he would have already burst out laughing.
This old dog Tang Hao must have drunk too much, his brain got muddled.
Ordinary iron to forge divine artifacts?
Isn't that a case of being mentally ill?
What Tang Hao meant was essentially that for a person to succeed, they had to rise from an ordinary commoner step by step.
If someone was born as a rich second generation, the best option was to commit suicide and be reborn.
Because, no matter how excellent they became later, their whole life would still be a failure.
To have superior materials and not use them, but instead use ordinary iron, and still expect to forge a divine artifact?
Even famous smiths like Geng Jiāng, Mo Ye, and Ou Yèzi wouldn't dare to think like this.
Seeing that Xiao Yan remained silent, Tang Hao pointed to a large iron block weighing about fifty kilograms in the corner of the room, "If you want to be a blacksmith and learn forging from me, then you need to hammer this one ten thousand times before you're qualified."
Xiao Yan raised his head and followed Tang Hao's finger, realizing it was an ordinary iron block with many impurities. Its quality was far worse than the iron essence.
"Now, you can still change your mind," Tang Hao said indifferently, preparing to return to the inner room to continue sleeping.
Xiao Yan hesitated.
Hammering ten thousand times would be an enormous challenge for an ordinary child, nearly impossible to complete without three to five months of effort.
But for him, it was a simple task, not even taking a whole day.
However, wasting time on such a worthless piece of iron seemed a bit unworthy.
But, after just telling Tang Hao that he wanted to become a blacksmith, it would be uncharacteristic of him, as a "good son," to back out now.
After some careful thinking, Xiao Yan spoke firmly, "Dad, I'm willing."
Tang Hao looked at Xiao Yan with some surprise, "Good."
Saying that, Tang Hao walked over to the large iron block, picked it up, and placed it on the nearby furnace.
Once the charcoal fire was lit, it would be ready for forging.
After finishing this, Tang Hao went directly to the inner room to sleep.
Today, he had already wasted too much time sleeping.
After Tang Hao walked into the inner room, Xiao Yan walked up to the iron block and tried to move it.
With the support of his internal strength, lifting the large iron block wasn't difficult for Xiao Yan.
However, he didn't directly pick it up.
After estimating its weight, Xiao Yan couldn't help but gasp.
This iron block weighed at least a hundred jin (about 220 pounds), and yet Tang Hao, someone who had been drinking for years, did it effortlessly.
If an ordinary person were to try, not only would they struggle to move the iron block, but they would likely be in danger of their life.
Xiao Yan was now even more certain that Tang Hao was a powerful soul master.
Arms crossed over his chest as he thought, Xiao Yan began to ignite the charcoal and operate the bellows.
Looking at the giant iron hammer not far from him, it would be almost impossible for an ordinary child to even lift it, let alone use it to forge iron.
If he used it, it would inevitably reveal his overwhelming strength to Tang Hao, and that would not be a good thing.
But, based on Tang Hao's behavior, he wasn't a drunken fool but rather a deeply hidden powerful soul master.
It was possible that Tang Hao had already noticed some of his secrets from the time he was training outside Holy Soul Village.
When he had earlier spoken about wanting the iron essence, Xiao Yan had already prepared for Tang Hao to discover some of his secrets, so he was now fully committed.
Since Tang Hao had already sensed some things, he was no longer afraid of Tang Hao discovering more.
It didn't seem like Tang Hao had any intention to kill him—perhaps he was keeping him around for some grand purpose in the future?
Once the iron block was red-hot, Xiao Yan stood up and walked over to Tang Hao's giant hammer, grabbing the thick handle. Using his internal strength, he attempted to lift it, but couldn't get it fully off the ground.
"It's so light… If I swung this hammer with all my might, I could probably do ten thousand swings in less than a day."
"Although I've decided to expose some things, if I finish this in just one day, it's not going to amaze Tang Hao—it will just make him think I'm some kind of monster."
With that thought, Xiao Yan withdrew his internal strength and used his physical strength alone to grip the hammer's handle, swinging it with all his might.
Since childhood, Xiao Yan had been practicing the Xuan Tian Body Refining Technique, which had nurtured his body with internal strength and various medicinal materials.
Though he was still young, his strength was not inferior to that of several adults.
Strangely enough, in Tang Men's world, medicinal materials were considered extremely precious, but in this world, Douluo Continent, many of them seemed to be found everywhere in the wild.
It seemed this world didn't have a deep understanding of medicinal materials, or perhaps there were so many high-level ones here that the "good" materials in Xiao Yan's eyes were just considered ordinary to others.
Which of these explanations was correct? Xiao Yan wasn't sure, but it didn't stop him from enjoying the real benefits.
The hammer swung down heavily onto the iron block, and with a loud "clang," the dull sound echoed through the room.
Rubbing his ears, Xiao Yan secretly laughed. This old dog Tang Hao was really good at pretending. He didn't believe that Tang Hao could still sleep through this noise!
Inside the inner room, Tang Hao, lying on the bed, turned over. Even though his eyes were closed, there was still a hint of surprise on his face as he muttered, "He can actually lift the hammer. Does he have innate divine strength?"
(End of Chapter)