Douluo Continent, Heaven Dou Empire, southwest of Fasinuo Province, Holy Spirit Village.
The sky was just beginning to brighten. On a small hill over a hundred meters high, Tang San sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes fixed on the gradually brightening white in the east.
After sitting quietly for a long while, Tang San shook his head helplessly and said with a bitter smile, "It's still not working. My Mysterious Heaven Skill is still unable to break through the bottleneck of the first level. It's been a full three months, just what is the reason?"
"Sometimes you need to look for your own reasons. Are you still not working hard enough?"
Just then, a clear and resonant voice sounded from behind Tang San.
"Who's there?!"
Tang San's body trembled violently. He subconsciously raised his right hand, and a small dart shot backward.
This place was several kilometers from the village; ordinary villagers would not come here. He had chosen to practice here precisely to avoid being discovered.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record is my biggest secret!
"Clang!"
A crisp sound of metal colliding rang out.
Tang San looked back to see a youth looking at him with a half-smile. The youth had refined features and looked to be about six or seven years old, yet he was a head taller than Tang San.
At this moment, the youth held a wood-cutting knife in his right hand, a longbow was slung over his left shoulder, and the hemp sack on his back was still dripping with fresh blood.
"Lu Feng? What are you doing here?" Tang San watched the youth before him warily.
Lu Feng was from the same village and was two months older than him. He was a child adopted by the old village hunter.
Last autumn, the old hunter went into the mountains to hunt and never returned; he was never seen again, alive or dead. From then on, Lu Feng lived by himself.
Although he was young, Lu Feng's hunting skills were not to be underestimated.
Every time he entered the mountains, he would always return with a full load. If he had extra game, he would share it with the struggling villagers. Even his own father had praised him a few times.
Looking at the arrowhead snapped in two not far away, Tang San's pupils contracted unconsciously.
The sleeve dart is my strongest trump card at the moment, yet he deflected it so easily?
Tang San caressed his right wrist, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
What are hidden weapons? They are special weapons used secretly to defeat the enemy. If the enemy already knows you are going to use it, then it is no longer a hidden weapon, but an open one.
"Thump."
Lu Feng placed the hemp sack on the ground, making a dull thud.
Seeing Tang San's nervous expression, Lu Feng said mockingly, "Hmph, you have the nerve to ask? The arrowheads your father forged for me, were they made with cut corners?"
As he spoke, Lu Feng untied the sack and pulled out several broken arrows from inside.
"I ran into a big one this time. If it weren't for my superb hunting skills, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back."
Lu Feng took out an arrowhead. Blood still stained it, but the tip had been completely flattened. It had clearly struck some kind of hard bone but failed to penetrate.
Seeing this, Tang San's face flushed slightly, and he quietly pulled down his sleeve to cover his wrist.
This batch of arrowheads for Lu Feng had actually been forged by Tang San. In order to save some materials to make his own hidden weapons, he had indeed been a bit more 'frugal' than usual.
Now that the client had come knocking, Tang San was clearly not prepared with an explanation.
Wait, I still haven't questioned Lu Feng about peeping on me!
Thinking of this, Tang San stared coldly at Lu Feng and said, "I'll talk to my father about the arrowheads when I get back. What did you mean by what you said just now?"
There were indeed some problems with his cultivation, but it wasn't something a country bumpkin could casually comment on.
Moreover, in his past life at the Tang Sect, peeking at others' cultivation was a major taboo!
If Lu Feng has discovered something, I'll have to risk my life to keep him here!
Perhaps not sensing Tang San's thoughts, Lu Feng crossed his arms, looking down on Tang San with disdain. "Tang San, you should be practicing a meditation technique, right?"
Without waiting for Tang San's reply, Lu Feng continued, "When I go to the city to trade goods, I hear those esteemed Soul Masters say that the path of cultivation values perseverance."
"Now look at you! If it weren't for the fact that we're from the same village, I wouldn't even bother saying anything!"
"You don't practice on cloudy days, and you don't practice on rainy days!"
"You don't practice at noon, and you don't practice at night!"
"I often see you go out to train when I'm hunting, but you expect to break through just by relying on this little bit of practice in the morning?"
There was more that Lu Feng didn't say.
Little brother, if you don't cultivate diligently, it's very difficult for me to pick up [Fragments]!
Like Tang San, Lu Feng was also a transmigrator.
And he had his own golden finger.
From the moment he opened his eyes, Lu Feng discovered he could see some strange things. At the time, Lu Feng thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, or that he had some kind of eye disease.
However, when he came into contact with those clusters of light, he found that he had obtained some special abilities.
Playing in the fields, he picked up a white skill [Farming] fragment *1 (1/10).
On the main road, he picked up a white item [Gold Soul Coin] fragment *1 (1/10).
While observing the celestial phenomena at night, he picked up a yellow attribute point [Spiritual Power] fragment *1 (1/10).
The types of fragments were numerous, such as: items, skills, attributes, cultivation techniques, and so on.
Ten fragments could be synthesized into a complete item.
Furthermore, he could also break down unwanted ones into light points to upgrade fragments of the same type.
Lu Feng's yellow skill [Hunting] was obtained after he spent several years collecting skill fragments, breaking them down into light points, and then upgrading it.
Of course, the fragments were also divided into grades, from low to high: white, yellow, purple, and black.
As for whether there were higher grades beyond that, Lu Feng did not know. Among the fragments he had collected so far, the highest grade was black.
[Black Cultivation Technique: Mysterious Heaven Skill (9/10)]
[Black Cultivation Technique: Purple Demon Eye (6/10)]
[Purple Cultivation Technique: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track (3/10)]
[Purple Cultivation Technique: Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon (3/10)]
[Purple Cultivation Technique: Mysterious Jade Hand (2/10)]
[Purple Cultivation Technique: Hundred Solutions for Hidden Weapons (1/10)]
Lu Feng had visited Tang San's house many times under the pretext of helping poor households and having arrowheads forged. These fragments were all dropped by Tang San after his cultivation sessions.
However, even after spending nearly a year, he had not synthesized a single complete cultivation technique.
Thinking of this, Lu Feng's gaze toward Tang San held a hint of 'resentment for failing to meet expectations'.
After hearing Lu Feng's words, Tang San unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he didn't see anything specific, only guessing that I was cultivating.
Thinking about how Lu Feng ordered a large batch of arrowheads from his family every month, coupled with the fact that he occasionally gifted them some game, the icy coldness on Tang San's face slowly disappeared, replaced by the innocence of a child.
"Lu Feng, what did you hunt this time? Do you have any extra? Give me a few, and we can count it as a deduction from your next fee for forging arrowheads."
Tang San looked at the hemp sack next to Lu Feng and asked curiously.
Lu Feng saw all of Tang San's small movements. Looking at Tang San who was now playing dumb again, Lu Feng sighed internally. It seems I didn't encounter the manga's version of Third Brother, but rather the novel's Buddha Tang.
"Hmph, I guess I was lucky and ran into a large mountain boar."
After speaking, Lu Feng took a front leg from the sack and threw it to Tang San.
Tang San caught the boar leg, and its heavy weight almost made him fall to the ground.
"Tang San, it took a lot of effort to hunt this wild boar. I will definitely get an explanation from your father about the arrowheads in a few days!" Lu Feng said, pretending to be angry.
According to the original work, after Tang San awakens his martial soul, Tang Hao will teach him a few blacksmithing skills. If I'm lucky, I might get an unexpected reward!
"Ahem." Tang San coughed lightly. "I still have to go home and cook for my dad, so I'll be heading back now."
With that, Tang San dragged the boar's leg, heading home one stop at a time.
Lu Feng watched Tang San's staggering back and snorted coldly. Just as he was about to leave, a ball of black light dropped out from the spot where Tang San had been cultivating.
"Huh! What's this."