Dark Moon Era

Chapter 284: Unique Technique

Clang!

A clear and heavy clunk came from the black iron blank on top of the anvil.

Boss Huang looked at Tang Ling after the first hammer strike and noticed him furrowing his brows. Then, Boss Huang swapped his hand and took a deep breath, a clear and heavy clunk followed after the second hammer strike.

Tang Ling’s brows were tightly knitted while he listened to the clunk carefully. The clear and heavy clunk was actually a combination of multiple clunks. It was just that the interval between each noise was too short, hence it sounded like a single clunk.

The clunk echoed in the room. As Tang Ling closed his eyes and carefully listened to the echo, he was able to grasp a general idea of the hammer strike but he still needed some details to make sure.

Boss Huang allowed him to think and was not in a hurry to launch the third strike. When Tang Ling opened his eyes, Boss Huang said, “This is the third strike. Look carefully.”

He then wielded the hammer with both his hands. With a deep breath, he swung the hammer down on the black iron blank.

Clang!

The loudest clunk came from the black iron blank, but it subsided quicker than the previous two clunks.

Boss Huang put the hammer down and fished out his pipe from his pocket. He shook it before leisurely wiping it and turning to Tang Ling. “What do you think?”

“The first and second were the same. You used the technique to borrow strength. The third strike is different as it’s a normal hammer strike,” Tang Ling explained. Since he was able to spot the details in the hammering, he was a little disappointed because the hammering technique was not much use in battle. Of course, he could think of a way to apply the theory behind the first and second strikes in battle when he calmed down.

As he answered, Boss Huang fished out a pouch of tobacco shreds. He pinched and rolled them before filling his pipe, but Tang Ling’s answer made him pause for a while. Whether he was happy or not with the answer, it was anybody’s guess.

However, when he looked at Tang Ling and spotted his slight disappointment, he said, “Are you trying to apply the hammering theory in battle? Stop wasting your time. Everything has its own purpose like how cultivation only enhances your combat capability. You can’t use it in battles directly. As for the hammering technique, hmm, it’s just for smithing.” Once again, Boss Huang saw through Tang Ling’s thoughts.

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Tang Ling raised a surprised brow. How did Boss Huang read his thoughts every single time? He felt it was like the notebook from Tang Feng whereby all the descriptions seemed to be able to predict his movements.

Tang Ling was a proud teenager to his bones. He had his pride to maintain and slightly loathed being exposed.

After Boss Huang had filled his pipe with tobacco, he tested the elasticity of the tobacco shreds with a pinch and nodded in satisfaction. He fished out a matchstick, lit it up and swirled the little ember around the tobacco shreds as if he was smudging them.

“I don’t. But since everyone was once a teenager, I understand what you feel. I was young and always wanted to apply what I learn, even if it was a little. I wanted my efforts to yield short, immediate results. To put it in a better way, you are motivated, and if you want the truth, it’s also known as being impatient.” Boss Huang put the smoking pipe in front of Tang Ling as he explained.

The tobacco shreds in the pipe did not light up because all Boss Huang did was smudge them but the shreds stood up vertically and the surface appeared charred.

“I lit the match but didn’t light the pipe up. Why do you think I did it? In order to have a longer smoking session, you must first create a burning bed. I used the first match to create one before I actually lit up the pipe.

“Try to imagine the burning bed as the basics. You…you shouldn’t be so impatient. You are too anxious to transform your effort into immediate results. The strength is accumulated little by little over a very long period. Only then it can stack up into something powerful. Discard your impatience. Learn to be steady and you’ll be able to complete it from start to end.” As he spoke, Boss Huang showed his signature charming smile once more.

Tang Ling looked at the smoking pipe in Boss Huang’s hand and went blank for a few seconds. He then asked, “Is it better to use a smoking pipe?”

Boss Huang’s face twitched. He felt an immense itch as he had the urge to punch the boy in front of him. What did he focus on? I rarely have the chance to look cool, yet this little bastard doesn’t want to go along with the vibe…

With that in mind, Boss Huang’s charming smile turned into impatient disgust. “Did you get the demonstration just now? Can you perform the three hammer strikes?”

“I need one more demonstration.” Tang Ling had already grasped the general idea of the hammering. Such a technique was not something his Precise Instinct could master in a single viewing, so he had to understand its theory first before he used the Precise Instinct to lock down the details.

It seemed like there was a reason why Boss Huang offered to demonstrate it twice.

“It seems like my guess is right. You really need two demonstrations.” Boss Huang was calm, his true emotions veiled by his composure.

Tang Ling had been moving at Boss Huang’s pace until now, but he finally got the chance to make a comeback, so he could not help but ask, “Does that mean I’m a genius?”

Everyone needed some kind of acknowledgment in their lives, and Tang Ling was no exception.

Boss Huang looked at Tang Ling with disdain as he sighed. “Not really. This set of hammering techniques is simple. It only takes three strikes. It’s the entry-level technique for my unique smithing skills. Humans usually only need one demonstration while a pig needs at least two.”

As he spoke, he picked the hammer up again and prepared for the second demonstration.

Despite turning red with annoyance, Tang Ling had to endure the insult.

…

After the second demonstration, Boss Huang went out with his smoking pipe while humming a melody.

In front of Tang Ling were five black iron blacks lined up neatly.

According to Boss Huang, nine hours of work would pass easily, so time was never the standard to measure his attitude towards the job. Instead, there were tasks that he had to achieve by the end of the day.

The task on his first day was to hammer all five of the black iron blacks and refine them. If he could not complete the task, he could not leave even after nine hours. He would have to hammer the black iron blanks until they turned silver in order to complete his task.

He had no idea how difficult it would be, but the second round of demonstration boosted his confidence. He should be able to complete the task if he hammered repeatedly according to the hammering technique.

Tang Ling gripped the hammer with his right hand. Then, he stood in front of the anvil calmly. The black iron blank was clamped to the anvil. The first two strikes were the same. The only difference was the use of his right and his left hand.

As a matter of fact, all he needed to do was exert his strength to raise the hammer up. When the hammer was raised up to a certain angle, he should allow it to freefall and let gravity help him accelerate the strike, hence increasing the momentum. In other words, when the hammer struck the black iron blank, it was not using his own strength but the force gained from the momentum of the fall.

However, if that was really what happened, Boss Huang’s hammering technique would be too simple. The difficult part was that the force gained from the momentum would produce a perfectly timed rebounding force, and the key was to utilize the rebounding force to pound the black iron blank.

The moment when the hammer bounced back, the wielder would have to exert his strength and press the hammer down onto the anvil. It would then bounce back again, but the second bounce should not be considered an actual bounce since it would be weaker than the first. Instead, it should be more like a vibration.

The vibration would contain the strength in the hammer and preserve it. Therefore, the key to mastering the hammering technique was to skillfully exert one’s strength and generate a repeated vibration.

As the hammer vibrated, it would stack layer after layer like waves crashing onto each other. That would be the time for the user to exert even more strength. When the vibration reached a certain frequency, the strength contained in the hammer would also reach its most powerful point and it would be time for the hammer to truly strike the blank.

It might sound profound and difficult to understand. From how to form the vibration and how to contain the strength during the vibration, every single detail was an obstacle for Tang Ling to overcome.

Based on Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct, when Boss Huang swung the hammer, it vibrated 11 times, which meant the hammer stored 11 times of his strength. The accumulated strength would be no weaker than a single powerful hammer strike.

Tang Ling might not be able to understand the theory behind the hammering technique using the mechanics of the old civilization, but he was sensitive towards strength and the hammering action required thorough control of his strength. The strike that seemed to possess explosive strength was skillfully altered using all the possible elements. In turn, the strength was stored in the action and the hammer in order to further enhance the power.

It was a lot more demanding than a simple hammer strike. Because of its demanding nature, the requirements of skills and technique were high, including the angle of the swing, the point to exert the strength, and the exact moment to exert strength. The slightest misstep in any of the requirements would make one stray far away from the perfect strike.

Therefore, even with his Precise Instinct, Tang Ling had to watch Boss Huang’s every move during the hammering twice to remember all the details.

However, remembering the details did not mean he could master the technique! In its current state, Precise Instinct could not reveal the flow of energy on one’s body, therefore Tang Ling would still have to find out how Boss Huang exerted his strength, as well as where and when to exert his strength.

With all that in mind, Tang Ling took a deep breath. The first step to master the hammering technique was to perform the moves in a single breath.

As the strength of eight bulls was exerted to the maximum, the hammer that weighed six tons was lifted up high and his arm bent in the correct angle. Then, the weight of the hammer would bring his hand down towards the black iron blank.

Upon impact, Tang Ling felt a tinge of numbness throb throughout his arm, and the moment the hammer bounced back, he exerted his own strength. The hammer started to vibrate softly and the numbness continued spreading throughout his arm.

Tang Ling calmed his thoughts and copied Boss Huang’s moves from the posture of the waist and the angle of the arm to the turn of the wrist and how he exerted strength…Everything was detailed to him.

As the vibration started to form, his strength stacked up layer by layer. He lifted his wrist slightly and pounded the black iron blank!

The process looked complicated as it always demanded speed. Without a certain level of speed, the vibration might not even begin. If the strike was perfect, it should only sound like a single clank and only by listening carefully would the details manifest.

Clang, clang clang…

Tang Ling’s first clank came from the smithing room.

Compared to Boss Huang’s clank, Tang Ling’s was obviously different and was far from perfect.

“The angle is wrong. When the weight brought my hand down, it wasn’t natural enough. I even used my strength to control the direction of the hammer, but I should have let it fall naturally. Because of that, my strength got scattered, so the first bounceback wasn’t powerful enough. I only achieved 7 times instead of 11, and the strength stored isn’t enough either.

“Lastly, I failed to keep my strength in a single point when it fell, and because of that, there were only two bouncebacks… ” Tang Ling shook his head. He managed to capture all the details, but just as he expected, when he performed the hammer strikes himself, none of them was even close to Boss Huang’s.

However, Tang Ling was not defeated. He shook his right hand and swapped his grip to his left.

Accumulate it little by little. Discard the impatience and calm down to last longer. Only then can I complete it from start to end. I must do my best even if it’s just smithing, right?

Tang Ling’s left hand gripped the hammer tightly and it was at that moment when he suddenly realized that after the first round, he sensed something different in his strength.