Douluo Continent, southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, Fasno Province, Holy Soul Village.
Just before dawn, atop a small hill over a hundred meters high, Tang San sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes firmly fixed on the gradually brightening eastern sky.
After sitting silently for a while, Tang San shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.
"It's still not working. My Xuan Tian Technique still can't break through the first level bottleneck. It's been three whole months already... Why?"
"Sometimes you need to reflect on yourself. Maybe… you just haven't worked hard enough?"
At that moment, a clear voice rang out behind him.
"Who's there?!"
Tang San's body trembled, instinctively raising his right hand as a small dart shot backward.
This spot was several miles away from the village. Normal villagers wouldn't come here. He had chosen this place specifically to train in secret.
After all, the Xuan Tian Record was his greatest secret!
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal clashing echoed.
Tang San turned his head to see a boy looking at him with a half-smile. The boy had delicate features, appeared about six or seven years old, yet was a head taller than Tang San.
In his right hand was a woodcutting knife. A longbow hung over his left shoulder, and a burlap sack on his back was still dripping with fresh blood.
"Lu Feng? What are you doing here?" Tang San asked cautiously.
Lu Feng was from the same village, two months older than him, adopted by the village's old hunter.
Last autumn, the old hunter went into the mountains and never returned. Since then, Lu Feng had lived on his own.
Though young, Lu Feng was an exceptional hunter. Every time he entered the mountains, he returned with a full haul. He even shared extra game with struggling villagers—Tang San's father had praised him more than once.
Looking at the dart split cleanly in half on the ground, Tang San's pupils shrank slightly.
That hidden dart was his strongest trump card—yet Lu Feng had neutralized it with ease?
Tang San subtly stroked his right wrist, his expression uncertain.
What is a hidden weapon? A concealed tool used to gain the upper hand. But once the enemy is aware of it, it's no longer "hidden," it becomes "revealed."
Thud.
Lu Feng dropped the burlap sack on the ground with a muffled sound.
Noticing Tang San's tension, Lu Feng teased,
"Hmph, you're seriously asking me that? Did your father skimp on the materials when forging these arrowheads for me?"
He untied the sack and pulled out a few broken arrows.
"This time, I ran into a big beast. If it weren't for my solid hunting skills, I wouldn't have made it back alive."
Lu Feng held up an arrowhead still stained with blood—its tip completely flattened, clearly from striking a hard bone but failing to pierce it.
Seeing this, Tang San's face flushed. He quietly tugged at his sleeve to hide his wrist.
These arrowheads were indeed forged by Tang San. To conserve materials for crafting hidden weapons, he'd "economized" a bit.
Now that the client had come knocking, he wasn't ready to explain.
"But wait, I haven't even questioned him for spying on me yet!"
Thinking of this, Tang San stared coldly at Lu Feng.
"I'll talk to my father about the arrowheads. But what did you mean by what you said earlier?"
Though his cultivation was hitting a wall, he wasn't someone any country bumpkin could just criticize.
Especially in the Tang Sect of his previous life, peeking at another's cultivation was a serious taboo!
If Lu Feng had discovered anything… he'd have to be silenced.
Perhaps unaware of Tang San's thoughts, Lu Feng crossed his arms and looked down at him with disdain.
"Tang San, you're practicing a meditation method, right?"
Before Tang San could reply, Lu Feng continued,
"When I went to town to trade, I overheard some soul masters saying that persistence is key in cultivation."
"But look at you. If we weren't from the same village, I wouldn't even bother telling you!"
"No training when it's cloudy, none when it's raining!"
"Noon? Nope. Night? Also nope!"
"I often see you go out to train in the morning while I'm hunting, but just that little time? You think you can break through like that?"
There were more things Lu Feng didn't say.
Kid, if you don't work harder, how am I supposed to pick up your [fragments]?
Just like Tang San, Lu Feng was a transmigrator.
And he had his own golden cheat.
From the moment he opened his eyes in this world, Lu Feng had been able to see strange things. At first, he thought it was an eye disease or an illusion.
But after interacting with those glowing orbs, he found he could gain special abilities.
Playing in the fields, he picked up a white skill fragment: [Farming] 1 (1/10)
On the road, he found a white item fragment: [Gold Soul Coin] 1 (1/10)
Stargazing at night, he got a yellow attribute fragment: [Spirit Power] 1 (1/10)
There were many types of fragments: items, skills, attributes, cultivation techniques, etc.
Ten fragments made a complete version.
He could also break down unwanted ones into light points to level up fragments of the same type.
His yellow-grade skill [Hunting] was formed by collecting fragments over several years and upgrading them via light points.
Fragments had tiers: White → Yellow → Purple → Black.
Whether there were higher ranks beyond that, Lu Feng didn't know. So far, black was the highest he'd seen.
[Black Cultivation Technique: Xuan Tian Technique (9/10)]
[Black Cultivation Technique: Purple Demon Eye (6/10)]
[Purple Technique: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track (3/10)]
[Purple Technique: Crane Control Dragon Capture (3/10)]
[Purple Technique: Mysterious Jade Hand (2/10)]
[Purple Technique: Hundred Solutions to Hidden Weapons (1/10)]
Using the excuse of charity and ordering arrowheads, Lu Feng had visited Tang San's house many times. These fragments had all come from Tang San's training sessions.
Yet, even after nearly a year, he hadn't managed to assemble a single complete technique.
Thinking of this, Lu Feng looked at Tang San with a disappointed, "why are you like this?" expression.
Hearing Lu Feng's rant, Tang San subconsciously relaxed.
Thankfully, he didn't notice anything specific—just guessed I was cultivating.
Remembering how Lu Feng regularly ordered large batches of arrowheads and sometimes gifted them game, the coldness faded from Tang San's face, replaced by a childlike innocence.
"Lu Feng, what'd you hunt this time? Got any extras? Give me a few, and I'll count them as your down payment for next time's arrows."
Tang San asked curiously, eyeing the sack next to Lu Feng.
Lu Feng had noticed all of Tang San's little gestures. Watching him pretend to be naïve now, he sighed internally.
Looks like I didn't run into the Tang San from the comics... but the Tang Buddha from the novel.
"Hmph, I got lucky—bagged a big wild boar."
He pulled out a front leg and tossed it to Tang San.
Tang San caught the boar leg—its heavy weight almost making him fall over.
"Tang San, hunting this wild boar cost me a lot of effort. I'll definitely have a word with your dad about those arrowheads!" Lu Feng said with mock anger.
According to the original story, after awakening his martial spirit, Tang Hao would teach Tang San some forging skills.
If he played his cards right, Lu Feng might benefit from that!
"Cough." Tang San cleared his throat. "I need to head back and cook for Dad. I'll be going now."
With that, he dragged the boar leg, pausing with each step as he staggered home.
Watching Tang San's retreating figure, Lu Feng gave a cold snort. Just as he turned to leave, a dark orb of light dropped from the spot where Tang San had been cultivating.
"Huh? What's this…"