Three days later.
On a small hill outside Holy Spirit Village.
Xiao Lin was sparring with Tang San. One held the Horned Dragon Staff, while the other wielded the Clear Sky Hammer. Xiao Lin thrust his staff repeatedly toward Tang San's vital points, making it difficult for the latter to parry.
"Brother Xiao Lin, I give up! Your Horned Dragon Staff is too long; it's practically cheating!"
Tang San raised his hands in surrender.
Without using hidden weapons, he was simply no match for Xiao Lin. The Clear Sky Hammer consumed far too much Soul Power, and his Blue Silver Grass lacked the necessary toughness—Xiao Lin could snap it with a single shrug of his shoulders.
As for his other techniques like the Mysterious Heaven Skill or Purple Demon Eye, he wasn't fully utilizing them yet.
"Call me Brother Lin. Drop the 'Xiao' from the front," Xiao Lin grumbled as he retracted the Horned Dragon Staff. Though Xiao Lin didn't know any formal staff arts, he knew how to thrust and jab.
He utilized the principle of "an inch longer, an inch stronger" to its absolute limit.
"Little San, did you really not ask your dad if he's the Clear Sky Douluo?" Xiao Lin asked without any sense of decorum, plopping down on the grass after retracting his Martial Soul.
"No. My father left without telling me anything." Tang San crouched beside Xiao Lin, looking up as he reminisced for a moment before shaking his head.
"It looks like Uncle Hao probably went to prepare your first Soul Ring for you."
Xiao Lin figured that while Tang Hao was often irresponsible, he would likely leave a letter for Tang San when he finally departed. He lay back on the grass with a carefree air to comfort his friend.
"Don't worry, Little San. Your dad is the Clear Sky Douluo, after all."
"I'm not worried, it's just..."
Tang San stammered in response, looking as though he were afraid Xiao Lin might suspect something. Having lived two lives, this was his first time being someone's son; it still felt somewhat unnatural to him.
"Speaking of which, Little San, why don't you use those martial arts you've been practicing?" Xiao Lin shifted the topic, looking at Tang San with feigned disdain, as if to say his martial arts wasn't all that impressive.
"Oh, right. Little San, do you want to learn my meditation method and Heart Separation Control?"
"Even though these are common across the continent, they have their uses. With Heart Separation Control paired with meditation, you can actually do other things while you cultivate."
"Furthermore, this Heart Separation Control is a specialized technique used by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It's the reason their support capabilities can rival a Titled Douluo."
As soon as Xiao Lin spoke, Tang San grew interested.
A method used by one of the Upper Three Sects was certainly not simple. It might only be slightly different from the common versions, but he couldn't afford not to practice it.
"Can I really learn it?" Tang San asked curiously.
What is going on with this Douluo Continent? Can such things be passed around so freely?
"Of course. It only took me a little time to find the meditation method and Heart Separation Control; it's no big deal."
Xiao Lin had no intention of hoarding these "treasures"—they weren't high-grade goods anyway, unless one could find the method to reach the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart level of Heart Separation Control.
"By the way, Little San, since you're taking the support route, you need to practice Heart Separation Control more. In the world of Soul Masters, it's rarely one-on-one; it's usually group battles. You must have the ability to support at least three people simultaneously."
Xiao Lin advised him earnestly, handing over both the meditation method and the Heart Separation Control technique.
Tang San did not refuse. He immediately began to cultivate the new methods.
However, his brow soon furrowed as he noticed something was off.
"Brother Lin, this meditation method is... a bit useless."
"It stores Soul Power in the meridians but doesn't pass through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, nor is it stored in the Dantian. This kind of manual is practically ineffective."
Tang San didn't notice Xiao Lin's expression and continued talking to himself, his brow eventually relaxing slightly.
"Brother Lin, the Heart Separation Control is somewhat useful, but it's purely theoretical. Without a better method, progress will be slow!"
As a martial arts prodigy, Tang San immediately gave an accurate evaluation of the techniques.
"Little San, all meditation methods on the Douluo Continent are like this. Even the highest-grade ones just have higher efficiency and store more Soul Power in the meridians. What are these 'Eight Extraordinary Meridians' and 'Dantian' you're talking about?"
Xiao Lin asked while knowing the answer. If he could get the Tang Sect secret techniques from Tang San's mouth this time, he would strike it rich.
Xiao Lin's words left Tang San momentarily stunned.
What? The top-tier meditation methods of the Douluo Continent aren't even as good as the basics of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?It seemed that on this Douluo Continent, people knew nothing other than using Soul Rings to advance.
Tang San never would have imagined that the Mysterious Heaven Skill he had been so desperately trying to hide was actually the most peak-level cultivation technique in this world.
"Little San, that old grandpa who taught you that technique... he wouldn't happen to be a Titled Douluo, would he?"
Xiao Lin looked at Tang San suspiciously, providing him with a convenient excuse.
"Right, right! That must be it!"
Tang San scratched his head awkwardly.
Then, he changed the subject, looking at Xiao Lin with bright eyes.
"Brother Lin, do you want to learn it?"
"Huh?" Xiao Lin was blindsided.
Had he really just successfully "talked" his way into the Mysterious Heaven Skill?
"It's nothing much. As long as you don't teach it to anyone else, Brother Lin."
Tang San scratched his head, his thin frame showing no signs of the "double-standard" personality he would later develop.
"I'll learn it!" Xiao Lin agreed instantly.
He made a vow: he must never let Tang San come into contact with Yu Xiaogang or the people from Shrek Academy. Tang San must have been corrupted by them.
The original Tang San had committed suicide without resistance after stealing the Tang Sect secrets, and even then, he wanted to leave all the secret hidden weapon techniques to the sect. Someone with that much guilt and loyalty couldn't have been born a villain.
"Right, Brother Lin, I also have a technique called the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique. Do you want to learn that too?"
"I'll learn it!"
On the grassy hill, two young boys shared radiant smiles, teaching each other their techniques and theories. This act of sharing their best secrets made them feel less like friends and more like true brothers.
"Brother Lin, you've memorized the Soul Power circulation route for the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Just use this instead of your meditation method from now on."
"Also, while the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique is peerless in both offense and defense, it has one flaw: the 'Dead Gate'."
"When attacking from the Dead Gate, you often give the opponent a chance to dodge and counterattack, which is life-threatening. If you don't know how to use hidden weapons to cover it, it's quite dangerous."
Tang San explained the flaws of the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique with extreme seriousness, even going so far as to hint at his knowledge of hidden weapons.
"Hidden weapons? Do I really need them?" Xiao Lin's lips curled upward.
As a modern man, he knew there were always more solutions than problems.
"Since the Dead Gate has a flaw, I'll just use my Martial Soul to compensate."
With that, Xiao Lin clumsily performed a section of the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique. When he reached the final thrust of the Dead Gate, he suddenly injected Soul Power into the Horned Dragon Staff.
In the next instant, something happened that left Tang San slack-jawed.
Xiao Lin's Horned Dragon Staff instantaneously lengthened, reaching its full 2.5-meter size.
With a single thrust, it pierced straight through a solid rock on the hillside.