Chapter Eighteen: The Apprentice

  The life of an apprentice is hard, getting up early every morning to start with a session of martial arts training for half an hour, then heading to the smelting room to lend a hand. Older apprentices work on crafting tools, while younger ones like Xiao Bao assist on the side. In the afternoons, they learn the basic skills of smelting in the courtyard.

  In the evening, after a busy day in the smelting room, the apprentices also had to clean up the remaining mess.

  "So I was right, what the previous book said is true, this apprentice really has no human rights!" Little Leopard hugged a wooden stake the size of a bowl and hit it in the yard, muttering to himself about the evil old society.

  This is the daily routine training for these apprentices every afternoon, with one hammer in each hand and a small stone pedestal in front of them, on which there is a piece of wood about the size of a bowl mouth.

  Yes, a wooden stake the size of a bowl mouth, the task of this group of apprentices is to tap the wooden stake on the stone platform with the iron hammer in their hands, of course, it's not that you can hit randomly, there are requirements on this, each hitting position requires being at the same point, that is to say, your hammer must always be tapping where you first tapped.

  Don't think it's easy, the wooden stake is elastic, not only elastic, but also a semi-circular surface, not a flat surface, which indirectly increases the difficulty of hammering.

  "Clang, clang, clang!" A series of dull thuds echoed through the small courtyard, complementing the sound of hammering metal in the smelting room.

  "Alright, kids! Focus! When you can make a hole in this log in just one afternoon, I'll teach you the next step. If you can't finish it within half a year, everyone goes home!"

  Old Xing's head slowly and leisurely circled around the courtyard, looking at his apprentices, finally gradually focusing on Xiao Baozi.

  "This young kid is not very old, but his focus is extremely concentrated, and he has also practiced martial arts. He's a good material!"

  Compared to the other apprentices, Little Leopard, who has only been here for less than ten days, is clearly superior. Each of his strikes doesn't have great power, but it's enough to ensure that each strike is under control, without causing the hammer head to bounce back out of control after a single strike. His other hand, which is supporting the wooden stake, is also very stable, and the wooden stake on the stone platform won't move even a little bit after being struck.

  The only regret was that he couldn't guarantee every strike would be at the same point, although he had tried his best, but still managed to knock out a small bowl-shaped depression on the little wooden stake.

  "Hey kid, don't rush, don't panic. Pay attention to the stability of your right hand when swinging the hammer. It's not enough if only your left hand is stable. If your right hand isn't stable, you won't be able to hit the same spot!"

  Standing beside Xiao Baozi for half a day, Lao Xing suddenly spoke up.

  "Thank you, Master!" The little leopard looked at him with gratitude, and the speed of his hammering slowed down noticeably, starting to slowly feel the force in his hands as he swung the hammer.

  "What are you looking at? If you have a bit of this kid's comprehension, I'll guide you too. Hurry up and practice!"

  While Old Xing and Little Leopard were talking, the other apprentices also involuntarily stopped their work and looked over.

  But unexpectedly, before he could even take a look, they were all scolded away by Old Xing, and one by one, they buried their heads and started hammering again. However, from time to time, Xiao Bao's keen senses still allowed him to feel that some of the glances filled with jealousy and resentment would occasionally fall on his body, making him feel very uncomfortable.

  "What's wrong with me, getting angry with these little brats? I'm really losing face!"

  Feeling the fluctuations in his emotions, Dog Danzi suddenly laughed for no reason. Having lived two lifetimes and being nearly 40 years old, he had long since matured mentally, yet unexpectedly, turmoil arose within him now.

  Not being envied by others is a mediocre talent!

  He was a mediocre person in his past life, although he had already read up to a doctoral degree. However, he had never been envied by others before. After graduating, he mixed with the government agencies and hadn't waited for the opportunity to make a big splash when he ended up playing it out. Therefore, he had never felt the feeling of being envied by others.

  Unexpectedly, I lived another life, but just turned eight years old, and was already envied by others, and it was in the profession of blacksmithing which had a very "promising" future.

  "I hope these little brats don't cause me any trouble, or else it'll be a real headache to deal with!" The little leopard couldn't help but secretly smile wryly to himself, once again focusing his mind on the ironwork.

  "This iron hitting indeed has something in common with martial arts, the key points of exerting force that Old Xing mentioned earlier, how do they have a great deal in common with the key points of fist method that Wang Tianlei taught me?!"

  While fighting, he thought and combined his previous studies of boxing, gradually, Dog Egg's mind entered a profound and mysterious state.

  "Bang, bang, bang, dong, dong, dong——!" No one noticed that his knocking sound had begun to produce a tiny change, this transformation was very small, and the apprentices practicing like little leopards did not notice it either. The only one who felt something was off was an old man named Xing.

  At this time, he was standing with his back to the little leopard, next to an eleven or twelve-year-old apprentice who was second only to the little leopard in terms of qualifications. Although the technique displayed now was not as good as that of the little leopard, it was also a talent worth cultivating. He was about to give guidance to this apprentice just like before when he heard an unbelievable voice in his ear.

  At first, he thought he had misheard, but when he turned back and saw the little leopard concentrating on hammering at the wooden stake with one blow after another, he was stunned. Then, an irrepressible joy surged up his face, and he hastily took two steps forward, came to the front of the little leopard, leaned in gently, looked at the little leopard's hammering, and then looked at the little leopard's calm and bewildered expression. Old Xing took two steps back, and his footsteps were also relaxed unconsciously, as if afraid of startling the little leopard.

  Lao Xing's abnormal behavior also caught the attention of other apprentices, who one by one stopped their work and followed Lao Xing's gaze to look over here.

  This time, Old Xing didn't let them continue working, but rather let it be.

  Slowly, the apprentices also saw the subtlety of the iron hammer in Xiao Bao's hand. His speed was not fast, nor was his strength great, but strangely, with each strike, the striking point of the hammer head was always the same point on the wooden stake. With one strike, the contact point would sink down a bit, and most importantly, Xiao Bao's striking frequency seemed to be fixed. The motion of swinging the hammer became more and more familiar, until finally, it was like floating clouds and flowing water, giving people an extremely harmonious feeling.

  To others' attention, the little leopard seemed oblivious, in fact, he really didn't know that his mind had already been completely immersed in this state.

  It wasn't clear how much time had passed, but suddenly a "thud" sound was heard. The little leopard's movements suddenly stopped for a moment, as if he had woken up from a dream. His eyes, which had been somewhat dazed, instantly returned to normal. Only then did he realize that the wooden stake on the stone pedestal in front of him had already been smashed through by him. A hole the size of a hammerhead appeared in the stake, and the strange sound just now was actually his hammer hitting the stone pedestal below.

  At this time, he finally noticed the situation around him and was stunned.

  "This is it!"

  "Little leopard, you come with me! The rest of you, get the hell back and continue practicing!" Old Xing's head suppressed his own joyful intention, bellowed loudly, and the other apprentices one by one seemed to be stepped on their tails like a cat, and returned to their original positions.

  The little leopard's performance just now was indeed magical, but in their eyes, it was only magical, and even strange. What can a group of teenagers understand? It's just being treated as a trick.

  Lao Xing's situation is different now.

  He knew the state that Xiao Bao had just entered, which is called enlightenment. Enlightenment means suddenly understanding a great principle and gaining an extremely deep understanding in a certain field. This is what enlightenment is.

  This kind of enlightenment has nothing to do with talent or qualifications, but rather depends on good fortune and luck. Some naturally gifted people may not have a single moment of enlightenment in their entire lives, while some fools can have multiple enlightenments and achieve great success in a particular field.

  Lao Xing didn't enter the state of enlightenment, but the legend of enlightenment has spread far and wide between heaven and earth. It's as if it were a legendary tale of immortals in folklore. If you haven't eaten pork, have you never seen a pig run? If not, at least you've heard of such an animal!

  Now Little Leopard is in this state and has achieved the effect, isn't it what he used to hear about pigs, oh no, I'm wrong, what he used to hear about enlightenment?

  At this thought, Lao Xing's heart surged with emotion, and his eyes suddenly softened as he looked at the little leopard, who was startled.

  "This old man shouldn't have some kind of special hobby...?!"

  It turned out that this old man didn't have any special hobbies, he just loved talent.

  "Come over and sit down!"

  Entering the house, Old Xing pointed at a stool beside him and said to Yan Yuese.

  The little leopard wanted to sit down, but after thinking about it, he still stood there and respectfully said, "In front of Master, where is the seat for the small?"

  "Unexpectedly, you are a man of etiquette!" Old Xing's head looked at Little Leopard with some surprise, "You don't seem to be from the mountains and forests!"

  The little leopard smiled and said, "Although I was born in the countryside, I have also studied a few days of poetry and books. As for how to be a person and handle things, I naturally understand some of it!"

  "You've studied poetry for a few days!" Old Xing's face moved, "You can recognize characters?!"

  It's rare to find people who can read and write in this world, just like in the old society where illiteracy rates were extremely high. Even Old Xing, who is standing right here, only knows a little over 100 characters, and as for writing, he probably only knows how to write his own name, which is already considered not bad. In the mountain village where Little Leopard lives, there are even fewer people who can read and write, so when Little Leopard said he could read and write, it was completely beyond his expectations.

  The little leopard smiled awkwardly, looking a bit embarrassed, "These are all my brother-in-law's skills!" As he spoke, he recounted Wang Tianlei's actions in the village one by one, leaving Old Xing stunned.

  "So that's how it is. You're a far-sighted person, no wonder I've heard that in recent years, there's a small village near Qingyangcun that has been very prosperous, it must be your village!"

  He looked at Little Leopard and saw that he was beaming with joy, so he said, "How did you feel just now? Wasn't it wonderful?"

  "What? Oh, yes, it's strange!" Little Leopard was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what Old Xing meant, and hastily said, "It's just that—!"

  "It's just that now when I think back on it, it's really difficult, and I can no longer find the feeling from before, is that right?!"

  "Yes!" The little leopard nodded hastily.

  "Don't look at me, I don't have as much luck as you do. I've never had an epiphany, I just heard people talk about it!" Seeing the little leopard looking at him with a hopeful gaze, Old Xing's face turned red with embarrassment. "However, after this incident, you should have gained a lot of insight into the hammering technique. But staying here as an apprentice is a waste of your talent. I've heard that you've learned martial arts, is it true?"

  "It's true, my brother-in-law used to be a martial artist, I followed him to practice boxing and internal energy!" Little Leopard said with a stir in his heart.

  "Have you practiced internal energy?!" Old Xing was surprised once again. Originally, he had heard that Xiao Bao had practiced martial arts, but he thought he only practiced external skills, and didn't expect him to have also practiced internal energy.

  "Have you cultivated your inner energy?!"

  "It's already been practiced, it's just that the days of practice are still short, so——!"

  Before the words had fallen, Old Xing's left hand probed out and grabbed his right hand, after which a scorching internal energy was transmitted into Xiao Baozi's meridian.

  The little leopard's expression changed, and before he could even realize it, the internal flame energy inside his body had already counterattacked.

  "Hmm, good kid, it's actually the inner energy of fire!" Feeling the counterattack of the little leopard's inner energy, Old Xing's face turned even more solemn. With a burst of his own inner energy, he broke through the little leopard's inner energy.

  This is also the result of Xiao Bao's deliberate restraint. Otherwise, with his cultivation, he could have resisted it a bit.