Doulou Dalu: Reborn As Tang San - Chapter 5

In a rundown house, we find a 5-year-old clearing away all the dishes, Tang San returned to his room and continued his blacksmithing skills that his dad has finally taught him. With the collision between forging hammer and iron chunk, clanking noises resounded. Although he did not know at what time this chunk of pig iron could become the fist size that his dad demanded, but this type of forging had a not inconsiderable benefit regarding increasing his physical training and spiritual energy control.

Tang San already started trying to exhaust less spirit energy when wielding the iron hammer if possible. This way, he could maintain the time he could successively swing the hammer even longer.

From noon he beat another three hundred times, perceiving that every now and then a few impurities had been driven out of the chunk of iron. Lifting the door curtain, Tang Hao entered. This afternoon he seemingly had not forged any farm tools, at least Tang San had not heard the familiar beating sounds.

“Dad.”

Tang San looked in his father’s direction, halting the hammer in his hands and lowering it.

Tang Hao motioned him to continue, walking near to stand calmly at one side. He did not start to speak, only looked at him.

Tang San only then continued to wield the hammer. By now his clothes were already soaked with sweat. With his current inner strength, he still could not adapt to the temperature level, let alone this absolutely heavy physical labour.

Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang…

Looking at Tang San dripping with sweat, Tang Hao finally set his determination.

“Pause a moment.”

Tang Hao started to speak.

Tang San lowered the iron hammer in his hands, faintly panting somewhat, quietly urging his body’s spiritual energy to adjust his breathing, in order to recover his physical strength.

Tang Hao walked over in front of Tang San, taking the iron hammer in his hands, and looked at the stove where the iron chunk was glowing red hot in the fire,

“Beating it like this, even with a year it could not become fist-sized.”

Tang san faced up, looking at his tall and big father,

“Then how should I do it?”

Tang Hao indifferently said:

Tang San thought, then said:

“It should be the waist, right. From the waist through the back, then afterwards along the arm to raise the forging hammer?”

Tang Hao did not confirm nor deny Tang San’s statement, but continued asking,

“Of the human body apart from the brain, which part is the most important?”

“It’s the heart.”

Tang Hao paused for a moment, then said:

“Then you tell me how many hearts a person has?”

“A regular person should have one heart”

Tang Hao shook his head, saying:

“No, you’re mistaken. Remember, people have three hearts, not one.”

Tang Hao reversed his grip on the iron hammer, using the handle to poke both Tang San’s calves,

“Here. On people’s two calf muscles, in other words, are the second and third hearts. If a person wants to bring out one’s entire physical strength, in that case, he must use three hearts simultaneously to have a result. Therefore, when bringing out strength, it definitely does not stem from the lower back. The three hearts is the correct starting point.”

“When the heart inside your ċhėst beats rapidly, power originating from the two calves, force transmits up, reaching the thɨġh, passing through the waist, back, arm, and finally releasing. This is how to hit with all one’s strength. Hearts give force, the waist is the axis. Watch.”

Tang Hao raised the hammer in his hand, making Tang San drawback several steps. At the same time, the hammer in his hand already changed direction to return, and with a deep loud shout, his body half turning, both legs sticking firmly to the ground, uncovered by tattered trouser legs both calves momentarily tensed, his whole person resembling a fierce tiger ready to spring. Legs emitting strength, waist twisting, and the forging hammer was invisible in the midst of already being brought back down, with a clanging sound. Heavily coming down on top of the red hot chunk of pig iron.

Tang San could completely feel that this was only a single person emitting physical strength. Tang Hao didn’t have internal strength, and even further he had not released some kind of spirit power. This was entirely the strength of the human body, and that chunk of previously red hot iron, still had completely caved in nearly a third from the smash, the deformation was extremely distinct.

“With the lower legs emitting strength, controlling the body’s strength to successfully link it into a whole, is how to go all out.”

Tang Hao passed the iron hammer into Tang San’s hands,

“You do it.”

Tang San hadn’t thought that forging also had this kind of striking method. This simple method of emitting strength could not only be used for forging. Both hands gripping the hammer handle, imitating Tang Hao’s posture from before, Tang San’s both eyes firmly fixed on the red hot iron chunk. Spirit energy slowly working deep in his lower legs, both feet firmly gripping the ground.

Tang San shouted loudly, the physical power of the legs together with the Spirit energy burst from the lower legs, spreading in a flash, waist turning, through the back, across both shoulders, further into the arms. He distinctly felt as if his strength had become more powerful than ever before, that starting via the lower legs erupting up until the arms swinging the iron hammer, his body seemingly wanted to fly from this great force.

Dang~~~~~~, the iron hammer accurately smashed down on the iron lump, emitting a loud sound.

Because of Tang San’s whole body swinging the iron hammer both his feet left the ground, staggering forward a step. The iron hammer rebounded back up, and even though he had been practising the iron palm, his hands certainly did not have any trouble, but both arms suffered a burst of tingling from the shock of the rebound. Fortunately, Spirit energy worked without delay, and the tingling sensation gradually faded.

The result was obvious, despite Tang San’s age. Adding on Spirit energy, that this result was inferior to Tang Hao was clear, but compared to his previous hits, this effect was even more than could be made with ten before.

Seeing Tang San’s movement, Tang Hao certainly did not give praise, but in his eyes flashed a trace of an astonished look. Tang San’s work was clearly beyond what he had anticipated. Tang Hao did not expect Tang San to actually master this force emitting method in this short time.

“Dad, did I do it right?”

Tang Hao slowly nodded,

“You understand the effect of the heart? Humans employ the most muscles precisely in calves, so the calves are the source of all strength. Use the power of the lower legs well, gathering strength to greatly increase effort.”

“In forging, the effect of the bellows is also especially significant. Fully heated metal can be forged even better, and this can cause its toughness to become even stronger. Any block of metal, even if it is very impure metal, it also has its own soul. If the temperature is inadequate, and when forging if too much physical strength is used it will shatter. Like that, even if melted and reforged this chunk of metal is still only waste. Therefore, when you use all your strength to hammer an iron chunk, you must maintain its temperature well. Pumping bellows is similarly also using the power of the lower legs. Not only can you as far as possible preserve physical strength, you can also cause the bellows effect to reach the greatest temperature.”

Both feet pressing down on the pedals, he abruptly released his strength. Starting at the legs, the whole body rapidly bounced back, both arms naturally driving the bellows handle to open, legs straightening and bending, again bringing the handles back. Between coming and returning, the bellows operated at full strength. Tang Hao’s movements certainly did not appear swift, but everyone brought into play the bellows to the utmost. The muscles on the calf lead down, and as his body with the bellows took on a particular kind of rhythm, flames suddenly leapt up from the centre of the furnace, the iron chunk at once burned a fierce red.

“You, come draw the bellows, according to my movements just now.”

Tang Hao gave over his seat to Tang San.

Having previously experienced wielding the iron hammer and carefully observing, Tang San sat on Tang Hao’s previous seat, very quickly grasping the method to work the bellows, although still somewhat jerky. But he attentively noted that every time strength released, it started from the lower legs. Sure enough, as Tang Hao said, not only did he save very much of his physical strength, but the result as compared to before was also incomparably better.

Tang Hao held Tang San’s forging hammer, and coolly said:

“Using all your strength in wielding the hammer to forge can fully bring your physical strength into use. But equally, with the hammer’s descent, the force from the rebound can create a very great load on you. In the event of being without a suitable guiding method, it is easy to injure yourself, and it can also cause part of the physical strength to be wasted, unable to act on the metal. Following my movement you must attentively observe, this is the key to whether you can beat this lump of pig iron into fist size in a short time.”

Inhaling deeply, Tang Hao’s eyes focused. Following Tang San’s working on the bellows, the whole lump of iron lump already burned an intense red, blazing flame leapt up, causing the inside of the room to grow exceedingly scorching hot.

As Tang Hao moved, his motion did not seem to be any different from before, from leg to waist, waist to back, back to arms, with a clanging sound the iron hammer pounded down on the iron chunk.

The iron hammer rebounded up high, and Tang Hao’s movement with the magnitude of the iron hammer’s rise seemingly attained a kind of perfect harmony. Not early not late, just in the split second the iron hammer reached its upward peak, his body drove the iron hammer in a full circle, to once again smash down.

Tang San’s eyes shone. This was unmistakably a method to leverage force, utilizing the rebound force from the impact between hammer and metal and converting it into downward force. The motion was perfectly coordinated in order to the greatest degree avoid being harmed from the rebound force and instead transforming this physical force to especially add to the hit. Starting from the second strike, the physical force of every hit surpassed Tang Hao’s full strength but was still under his control.

Tang Hao moved faster and faster, the forging hammer lashing down on the iron chunk like a violent storm, the iron chunk continuously being deformed by the beats of the forging hammer. It was shocking, the precision of Tang Hao’s strikes was unreal. Every time the iron chunk was hit it was reduced to half its former thickness, and when it started to become flat, the forging hammer in his hand would at once hit the iron chunk’s edge, causing it to flip. Thus, the iron chunk was evenly enduring his hammer blows and was not simply pounded into an iron flat cake.

In a flash, the hammer had already struck thirty-six times, and Tang Hao’s both hands drove the iron hammer to spin overhead successively in three circles. Not until the force of the hammer was dispersed, did he stand down the hammer. His face not red, breath not laboured, as if that previous mad storm of blows had not been produced by him at all.

The whole iron chunk, after just thirty-six blows in the whole small circle, with the nȧkėd eye it was actually already hard to see any impurities within.

This just now was true blacksmith mastery, a beautiful hammer method.

“Understand?”

Tang Hao looked at Tang San who was unceasingly pumping the bellows.

Tang San thought, then said:

“Leverage the force, I understand the principle. Only, this seems to be not simple at all.”

Tang Hao indifferently said:

“If you want to accomplish my kind of level, there is only one way: skill comes from practice. Furthermore, you must bear in mind, if you are striking a piece of common metal, then when it is the most impure, it is also most likely to shatter. At that time, when you beat it the physical force must be smaller, and as its impurities gradually decrease, your physical force can begin to gradually increase to maintain the effect of the strikes. This way of dynamic control is pivotal. You slowly practice by yourself, ok. Don’t blindly increase force and speed: accuracy is equally important. At least you must understand the hammer’s descent unless you can hit any place, what use is more physical strength?”

With the weight of the forging hammer returned into Tang San’s hands, Tang Hao turned and left.

‘Father did not go back on his word, he really taught his forging methods, and also, from father teaching his point of view on these things, any profession all have their own profound mysteries, they are all not so simple.’

—–

In the next half months’ time, Tang San everyday practised the force borrowing hammer forging method Tang Hao taught him. Despite having his hand conditioning to ȧssist his strength control, and having the Sharingan to determine the position of his hammer blows, this forging method was still more difficult to master than he could have imagined.

Since it was hitting with all his strength, using full strength was in itself very hard to control. Drawing strength from the rebound, and again controlling the body’s balance in order to position the hammer blow was extremely difficult. With increasing hits, the required essential force control increased somewhat, and the body’s unceasing rotation could not only cause a sense of dizziness but at the same time, the force of each falling strike also became even harder to control.

Fortunately, he had already been striking that chunk of iron for a very long time, so its impurities were already very few and it was not so easy to shatter. Otherwise, he would not be able to control the weight of that forging hammer, and would probably already have smashed it to pieces.

From the first day when he was only able to swing twice before starting to deviate in position, up until today half a month later, he could already continuously swing seven times, accurately striking the iron chunk without error. The improvement was extremely obvious. At the same time, the iron chunk under his full strength beating became smaller and smaller; every day brought results.

Of course, this also had an inseparable connection with that lower leg force generating method. With this kind of force generating method, he could greatly reduce the consumption of the spirit energy, enabling Tang San to have even more time to pump the bellows and forge.

Originally his father swung the hammer thirty-six times, but also it would appear that he had surplus energy. He himself could only swing seven times, he didn’t know when he could reach his father’s level. Every time Tang San thought about this, he immediately had additional motivation to practice.

Three months’ time passed very quickly, and just as Tang San could begin to wield the hammer thirteen times, Tang Hao began to instruct him on how to forge tools. Tang Hao’s teaching method was very direct: exactly like before he would do it once, then let Tang San do it again, and as long as he saw some of the basics were learned he did not interfere with his practice, never having many words of direction. Only at crucial parts, did he say a few words.

Precisely because of this, every time Tang Hao gave pointers, Tang San remembered it all the more clearly.

(Copy and paste is a godly technique, with one click, I can write a thousand words)