Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty‑Two

Weapons are extensions of a person's hands and feet; from that perspective, Bai Lang thinks the weapon currently suitable for him is probably a striking weapon, then gradually cultivate swordsmanship, first finding a blade style that fits him. The choice of striking weapon is simple: "I've heard that the general of the whip‑hammer cannot be matched in force; for convenience, there's no doubt it's the iron hammer."

Moreover, the iron hammer has an advantage: it can also be used to practice some moves from sword techniques—"Is there much difference between smashing down and chopping down?" Bai Lang said. He doesn't have many expenses in daily life; perhaps his biggest expense is the occasional outing to a tavern for a feast—yet as one of the Tooth Gang's enforcers, he often receives invitations to such feasts, so the money he saves is still a bit.

Such a matter obviously doesn't belong in a weapons shop, where they sell only famous blades and swords, each costing at least ten taels of silver, even the cheapest being a short sword. So one must look for a blacksmith shop; the martial world here is thriving, and there are many wandering swordsmen who carry knives and swords, so a blacksmith who also forges weapons is perfectly normal.

On ordinary days Bai Lang usually carries a fork‑shaped iron ruler to block and seize the knives of trouble‑making idle men, but more often his fists and feet are so swift that before the opponent can even draw a blade, he has already subdued them. As for the idle men who cause trouble for the Tooth Gang, their techniques amount to at most two or three clumsy moves, not even worth naming.

Truly capable wanderers probably wouldn't quarrel with the Tooth Gang… after all, the Tooth Gang can't really commit much evil. If it's a gambling den or brothel, that's where trouble is more likely, and the enforcers there have at least one level higher martial skill than those of the Tooth Gang, so their pay and side earnings are higher as well.

Bai Lang, pocketing his silver, went to a blacksmith shop—this is the best way to handle business for the Tooth Gang, since he knows exactly which blacksmith is truly skilled. The blacksmith there, Liu Tiejiang, can forge a hundred‑folded blade; it may not look impressive, but in practicality it surpasses the ten‑tael short swords sold in weapons shops.

A hundred‑folded blade like that costs Liu Tiejiang only one and a half taels of silver for labor and material. The weapons Bai Lang wants Liu Tiejiang to forge will certainly use more material than a hundred‑folded blade, but the crafting time will be much less. "Liu Tiejiang, for these two iron hammers I need four edges; sharpen each of the four edges, and shape the hammer heads into a tapered point that can pierce armor—useful against horizontal training techniques. I have a deposit of one tael of patterned silver; the balance you deliver to me. Oh, and also forge me a six‑sided sword, but don't make it long—half the length of my forearm will do."

Liu Tiejiang measured Bai Lang's arm length and palm size, and after Bai Lang chose a suitable weight, he handed over the patterned silver and arranged to pick up the weapons in a few days. Bai Lang then went straight back to training—he needed to open all his meridians, and his daily practice time was already insufficient, leaving no time for wandering.

Moreover, he still has his regular job; when the Tooth Gang operates, he has to set up venues and accompany the gang members as a go‑between, so the most time he can devote to serious training is probably three hours a day at most. Bai Lang doesn't want to stand out—after all, a gang member can't resign… retiring with a golden basin is possible, but as a head enforcer of the Tooth Gang, he holds no official position, so "golden basin retirement" is nonsense. What a huge headache…

The "golden basin retirement" literally requires a golden basin, which is the rule. Bai Lang doesn't care; his total assets are only about twenty taels of silver, which is a fortune for an ordinary single commoner, but in the eyes of the martial world—hahaha.

Bai Lang, who wastes no time, even gestures with his hands while walking, because the Golden Bell Shield is a divine skill that leans heavily on external and dynamic techniques—at least in the early stages. Bai Lang returns to his previous pace; to onlookers he seems dull, a Tooth Gang enforcer who never visits brothels, never causes trouble to make a living, and spends all day training in his small courtyard. Unless he is the toughest in the Tooth Gang, no one would bother with him.

When practicing the Golden Bell Shield, as Internal Force circulates, a faint resonant bell tone can be heard during the pulse of the acupoints; the sound is low, and since the Tooth Gang enforcers have only this level of skill, Bai Lang doesn't worry anyone will see through him. The jade fish has already been set into a silver mount and worn around Bai Lang's neck. He doesn't know whether the jade fish will still transport him across realms, but even without any extraordinary encounter, gaining extra time in another world to cultivate is beneficial.

An Innate Expert's lifespan already approaches three cycles of sixty years, and higher‑level masters live even longer. So Bai Lang feels he is still young and has plenty of capital to gamble. Five days later, Bai Lang went to Liu Tiejiang's place, where the pair of iron hammers and a short sword were laid before him.

The iron hammers aren't pitch‑black; they gleam with a snowy shine, the blacksmith having polished the surface carefully—after all, sharpening requires polishing. The four‑edge blades aren't extremely sharp, but to Bai Lang they're sufficient. At four feet long, the hammers are as thick as a wrist, yet they weigh only a little over a hundred jin because they are hollow.

With Bai Lang's current first‑level Golden Bell Shield power, lifting this iron hammer with one hand feels not heavy at all, rather quite comfortable. The short sword is also half‑palm wide, weighing about twenty‑something jin, making it a relatively heavy sword—short in length but heavy in weight.

The iron hammers come with leather cords to strap to the wrist, and the short sword has a scabbard; Bai Lang is quite satisfied, so he settles the remaining payment and carries the hammers back to his courtyard. Training with the hammers can be mixed into Golden Bell Shield practice, as if holding two dumbbells, and in combat they serve as extensions of the fists.

The hammer techniques are relatively simple: mainly smash, hang, thrust, and their variants. The weapon is designed to injure with force, and compared to swords it is more forgiving—holding a blade in combat and keeping its edge oriented correctly is not easy.

"The Twelve Regular Channels, the Eight Extraordinary Vessels—so far I've only opened the Ren Channel and six of the regular channels plus two meridians; progress isn't slow, yet I feel my Internal Force is lacking. The Golden Bell Shield's internal force breakthrough places the greatest emphasis on resonance; it seems I must slow my breakthrough pace, diligently cultivate enough qi and vital blood before proceeding." Bai Lang thought this as he sat cross‑legged in his room, having just completed a cycle of the micro‑cosmic orbit. At that moment he sensed something odd—a burning sensation in his chest; looking down, he saw a face of some object flash on his chest and then vanish, and Bai Lang drifted into a daze and fainted.