Inside the blacksmith shop in Holy Spirit Village.
Six-year-old Tang San deftly set the food on the table.
The wooden door to the inner room was pushed open, and Tang Hao walked out, rubbing his bleary sleep-deprived eyes. The thick stench of alcohol instantly diffused through the cramped room.
Without even looking at Tang San, he plopped onto a chair, grabbed his bowls and chopsticks, and began to wolf down the food.
Diluted porridge dripped down his beard, yet he remained entirely oblivious, single-mindedly swallowing the food whole.
Tang San sat quietly opposite him, his gaze lingering for a moment on his father's haggard face, hesitant to speak.
Tang Hao seemed to sense his son's unusual demeanor. He lifted his turbid eyes to glance at him, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he merely let out an alcoholic burp, pushed away the empty bowl, and staggered back into the inner room.
Tang San silently cleared the dishes.
He did indeed want to ask about his mother, and using a child's yearning for their mother as an opening should have been perfectly natural.
But he was not a true six-year-old child after all.
More than twenty years spent in the Tang Sect in his past life had long since engraved the word 'caution' into his very bones.
Furthermore, that bizarre "Life Simulation" forced him to deliberate deeply.
The experience in the simulation clearly told him that even by the age of twelve, his father had never disclosed a single word about his mother.
This was by no means normal!
He turned it over in his mind repeatedly and arrived at two possibilities:
Either there was a shameful secret regarding this matter that was hard to speak of!
Or his mother might already be...
Moreover, there was likely a terrifying enemy lurking in the background, leaving his father with no choice but to drown his sorrows in alcohol and bury the truth deep within.
This deduction provided an explanation for his father's current dejected state.
What's more, Fu Shiyan's questioning from the simulation still echoed in his ears:
"Does a common Blue Silver Grass possess the right to form Twin Martial Souls with the Clear Sky Hammer, the number one tool martial soul in the world?"
The title of "number one tool martial soul in the world" made Tang San realize that his blacksmith father was absolutely not simple.
And the fundamental reason why he ultimately chose silence was that he could not explain the source of his information.
He couldn't possibly ask his father out of thin air to verify a question as astonishingly specific as "Is Mother the Emperor of the Blue Silver Grass clan?"
The "Life Simulator," along with his identity as a transmigrator and the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques, was classified by Tang San as a top secret that had to be buried deep in his heart.
Although he did not yet fully believe in the reality of the system and the simulation's contents, what if?
An existence capable of previewing the future possessed immense value alongside equal danger.
"An ordinary man commits no crime, but treasuring a jade ring makes him guilty." He understood this truth from his past life.
Besides, the system claimed that his transmigration was related to it, and the experience in the simulation was terrifyingly real, with every detail vivid in his mind, leaving him no choice but to be prudent.
"Let's wait a bit longer!"
Tang San made up his mind. "Just three more months. Everything will become clear during the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony."
If everything that occurred at the ceremony was no different from the simulation, then the reality of the simulator would be verified.
Only then would the various mysteries regarding his mother, the Blue Silver Grass, and Fu Shiyan have a foundation to be pursued.
Having figured this out, the anxiety he felt due to the mystery of his mother actually calmed down. For now, the priority was verification!
The days passed smoothly amidst anticipation and hidden worries. Tang San practiced the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Purple Demon Eye as usual every day, took care of the household chores, and went to the small hill outside the village to practice the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques. He pressed all his doubts and expectations to the bottom of his heart, focusing exceptionally hard even during cultivation, as if this could make time pass faster.
Three months flew by in the blink of an eye.
On the morning of this day, Old Jack's familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the blacksmith shop.
And inside the blacksmith shop, the rhythmic clanging of iron forging echoed.
Tang Hao was bare-chested, his bronze skin soaked in sweat as he focused on hammering a red-hot iron block.
Amidst the flying sparks, no emotion could be seen on his weathered face.
"Tang Hao, are you busy?"
A familiar voice came from outside the door. That old yet gentle tone was exactly the same as the one heard in the Life Simulator three months ago.
Tang San, who was currently helping his father pull the bellows, snapped his head up, his gaze sharply piercing toward the tightly shut wooden door.
At that moment, he felt as though he could see through the door panels to behold Old Jack's wrinkled yet kind face.
Tang Hao didn't even look up, the iron hammer in his hand still landing precisely on the iron block, only letting out a muffled "Mm" from his throat.
Tang San took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and quickly walked over to open the wooden door with a creak.
The afternoon sunlight poured in, illuminating Old Jack's amiable smile.
"Little San, come, let Grandpa look at you." Old Jack smiled and waved at Tang San.
Tang San obediently walked over to the old man and bowed slightly: "Hello, Grandpa Jack."
Only then did Tang Hao halt his actions, casting a cold glance over: "Is something the matter, Village Chief?"
Old Jack seemed long accustomed to this attitude of his and didn't mind, directly stating his purpose:
"Tang Hao, Little San is about to turn six, right? He should also participate in this year's Awakening Ceremony."
Hearing this, Tang Hao's gaze lingered on Tang San for an instant--a gaze so deep it was hard to read--before turning back to the iron piece in his hand, replying indifferently:
"Then let him participate. Which day?"
"Three days from now," Old Jack smiled, "I'll come pick him up then."
If he hadn't experienced that life simulation, the current Tang San would definitely be like the one in the simulation, curiously pressing Grandpa Jack about what the Awakening Ceremony was.
But at this moment, he merely stood quietly to the side, his hand hanging by his hip unconsciously gripping the corner of his shirt.
Exactly the same!!!
From the timing of Old Jack's knock on the door, to his father's cold response, to the brief dialogue just now, and even the arc of his father's arm swinging when wiping his sweat--every single detail was completely identical to the scenes observed in the simulation!
A chill crept up his spine, making his scalp go slightly numb.
The trajectory of fate was actually reappearing before his eyes in such a precise manner.
Because Tang San didn't ask further questions, Old Jack merely patted his head lovingly, gave a few more instructions, and then bid farewell with a smile.
Watching Old Jack's figure disappear at the end of the village road, Tang San slowly shut the wooden door, leaning his back against the door panel to calm his churning emotions.
The verification from reality came so swiftly that his belief in the "Life Simulator" grew by another thirty percent.
He walked back to the furnace in silence and began pulling the bellows once more.
The whooshing sound of the wind accompanied the regular hammering, seeming to soothe the waves in his heart.
He thought no further, throwing all his energy into the work before him.
Relying on the stamina and control brought by the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he quickly completed the ten-thousand-strike forging task assigned by Tang Hao.
When he presented the evenly and densely hammered iron block to his father, Tang Hao took it, weighed it casually, and rubbed his rough fingers across the surface of the iron block.
Afterward, Tang Hao looked at it closely and said to Tang San, "Do you understand what I said now?"
Hearing these words that couldn't be more familiar, almost subconsciously, Tang San spoke the words he had said in the simulation.
Sure enough, Tang Hao replied exactly as he did in the simulation. He nodded, his face still bearing that expression as unruffled as an ancient well:
"Then this afternoon, continue practicing forging. When you have forged it to the size of a fist, bring it back for me to look at."
"Yes, Father," Tang San replied in a low voice, taking the iron blank and turning around to walk toward his own forging table.
He gripped the heavy iron hammer, feeling that familiar weight, yet his heart was far less calm than he appeared on the surface.
It matched again!!!
Every single word of that brief conversation just now, and even the imperceptible angle of his father's nod, perfectly overlapped with his experience in the simulation.
This precise, error-free "preview" caused the trust toward the "Life Simulator" deep in his heart to grow increasingly profound.
And three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
"Little San, Grandpa has come to pick you up."