Immortal Path To Heaven

by Srtyi

"Master Ouyang, please smith a divine weapon for me!" "Master Ouyang, you're the only person who can forge a weapon with seven attributes. Please make my dream come true!" "Master Ouyang, could you..." "Ouyang my *ss! My surname is Ou!" Ou Yangming was an orphan who was adopted by a reputable old blacksmith from a military camp. After working as a helper under the old man for years

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Immortal Path To Heaven

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"Master Ouyang, please smith a divine weapon for me!"

"Master Ouyang, you're the only person who can forge a weapon with seven attributes. Please make my dream come true!"

"Master Ouyang, could you..."

"Ouyang my *ss! My surname is Ou!"

Ou Yangming was an orphan who was adopted by a reputable old blacksmith from a military camp. After working as a helper under the old man for years, he was given a chance to acquire the Military Fire—a trait allowing him to smith and restore equipment with the Military Fire produced from his hands.

Gifted with mental power, Ou Yangming controlled his Military Fire unusually well and was also strangely talented in martial arts. On top of it, he could also attach Unique Attributes into weapons with a hundred-percent success rate. Those who belittled Ou Yangming because of his background and age eventually honored him so much that they would do anything to get their hands on his equipment.

Little did Ou Yangming know that as he slowly unfolded the mysteries of the Military Fire and his mental power, he was advancing step by step on the immortal path to Heaven!

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"Heh! Hah! Kill! …'

On the training ground, thousands of armored soldiers armed with sabers and spears, bows and arrows, as well as shields, formed rows under the scorching sun to slash and shoot with all their might.

A mixture of sweat and manly smells filled the air, causing their blood to pump involuntarily.

Not far away from the training ground, at the outermost area of a row of barracks, a half-grown fellow watched the thousands of soldiers training, envious of them.

All of a sudden, a big hand reached for his neck from behind him.

"Ouch! Old man, be gentler. It hurts, it hurts…"

"Hmph, now you know that it hurts? I told you to do ironwork but instead, I find you here watching them do their drills, do you want me to drill you too?"

The young man shivered, then quickly said, "Old man, I was wrong, please don't!"

While gripping the young man's neck, the gray-haired elder lifted him and made a few turns to enter one of the barracks.

"Ou Yangming, I know you want to join them, but you can't do it now!" He put the young man down, and said, "Think about it again only when you grow older!"

Ou Yangming grimaced and rubbed his painful neck. "Old man, I've grown older!"

"You?" The elder cast a disdainful look at him, then reached for a broken saber in the corner. It was a military saber, but there was a fracture on the handle, rendering it useless.

After taking a look at the broken saber for some time, the elder placed the broken part on a platform. Subsequently, he rubbed his hand to create a flame around the fracture.

Ou Yangming widened his eyes, then straightened his body carefully while watching quietly, so as to not make any noise.

Although the old man often scolded and beat him, he knew that the unimpressive-looking old man was the only person who treated him sincerely in the military camp.

Roughly 30 minutes later, the elder exhaled deeply as he stopped. Some beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead, but when the flame disappeared, the fractured military saber had been fixed.

Ou Yangming took a step forward to pick it up, then checked it for a while before he commented, "Old man, you're godly! The connection is seamless! Hehe, in this military camp, you're definitely this!" He gave a thumbs-up and shook his hand a few times.

The elder smiled proudly, then asked, "Why? Do you want to learn?"

The young man sighed. "Of course, but I don't have the opportunity…"

The trick used by the elder was the military's secret art that originated from a Military Fire Smithing Technique gifted by the dynasty, which could not be pursued by normal people.

Ou Yangming was an orphan who grew up being fed by a hundred families in his village. He entered the military camp as a helper by coincidence and caught the eye of the lonely old man, whom he began learning forging from. Unfortunately, while the craftsman could be learned, the Military Fire was beyond reach.

The elder chuckled as he was pleased. "Oh right, take this saber to Zhang Yinfan, he's looking for you."

Ou Yangming frowned. "I'm not going! He's a stingy person, it's not good if he's looking for me!"

The elder glared at him, then kicked him. "Aren't you going?!"

He dodged the kick, and responded, "Yes, yes, yes, I'm going now." Then, scurried away with the fixed military saber.

The elder shook his head and sighed. "I wonder if his laziness can be changed. Hopefully, he'll be given a chance this time."

Ou Yangming hurried to the rear. Zhang Yinfan was part of the force as he was a provisions officer in charge of logistics. While it was not the main position, it was one of the deputy positions where one had real authority.

At the rear, just as Ou Yangming was about to say something after he passed the military saber to be recorded, the officer responsible for accounts said with a smile, "Fella, you're finally here, Sir Zhang told us to expect your arrival. Quick, go in."

He entered the rear but was slightly perturbed.

This was because he could not figure out why an important person like Zhang Yinfan was looking for a nobody like him.

In one of the barracks, a middle-aged man looked up upon Ou Yangming's arrival. He was a gentle white-faced scholar, which made him out of sync with the manly environment in the camp.

"Sir Zhang, were you looking for me?" Ou Yangming bowed and asked respectfully.

Zhang Yinfan nodded. "You're Ou Yangming, take a seat." He poured a cup of tea for him.

Ou Yangming was both surprised and happy. Zhang Yinfan had always been regarded as an untouchable figure, yet he was treating him kindly at the moment, which made him feel anxious.

"What's your relationship with Old Craftsman?" Zhang Yinfan asked abruptly.

The young man was stunned, but he quickly responded, "I'm just a helper who does miscellaneous work for him."

"Oh? Just a helper?" Zhang Yinfan seemed doubtful.

Ou Yangming immediately affirmed, "I'm really just a helper, you can ask around if you don't believe me. If I lied to you, I'm willing to be killed."

Zhang Yinfan finally loosened up and smiled. "I see." He pondered for a while, then continued, "Ou Yangming, I'd like to discuss something with you, would you be willing?"

Ou Yangming stood up, and answered, "Sir, what orders do you have?"

Zhang Yinfan had a friendly smile on his face. "It has been hard for you to work for Old Craftsman, hehe, I wonder if you'd like to come to the Provision Camp? If you'd like to, I'll guarantee you a way to become an official soldier."

Ou Yangming looked up right away as he was in disbelief.

Upon seeing him, Zhang Yinfan nodded satisfyingly. "Old Craftsman found a job for you, but in my opinion, it's not suitable." He then clapped his hands softly, and a handsome young man who was around Ou Yangming's age walked out.

"This is Zhang Hanyu, my nephew," Zhang Yinfan introduced, then mentioned coldly, "We'll meet a few senior officers in a while. You'll reject the job in front of them, then recommend Hanyu take over. Do you understand?"

Ou Yangming might be young, but he was not dumb. More than a decade of a lonely and bitter life had taught him well.

'This isn't a blessing at all, he's clearly trying to steal my benefit!'

Seeing that Ou Yangming was murmuring to himself, Zhang Yinfan's face turned cold. "You received orders from Old Craftsman, which means you're under my rule. Hehe, you should know what the consequences are if you don't obey me, right?"

Ou Yangming's face changed. Needless to say, he could sense the threat coming from those words.

Zhang Yinfan added, "Think carefully. If you listen to me, not only will I guarantee you a place as an official soldier, but I'll also give you a hundred taels of silver as your reward. If you don't…" When his voice slowly became softer, it was as though the room temperature lowered too.

Ou Yangming shuddered. He sensed slight pain on his skin and quickly realized that Zhang Yinfan was going to kill him.

Feeling appalled, he fell to the ground and replied, "I understand, I'll obey your orders!"

It was then when Zhang Yinfan finally showed a gentle face. He helped Ou Yangming up, and even knocked the dust out of his clothes for him. "Good, I admire young men like you. Remember your promise, and come with me."

Ou Yangming followed him obediently along with Zhang Hanyu.

On their way, he stole a glance at Zhang Hanyu and noticed that he was extremely elated.

He cried to himself. 'Old Craftsman, is the job you've given me a blessing or a curse…'

Before long, they arrived at a courtyard in the rear.

A brocade-clothed elder was seen sitting leisurely in the inner hall, and he stood and laughed as soon as he saw Zhang Yinfan. "Sir Zhang, did you bring him?"

Zhang Yinfan replied respectfully, "Sir, I've brought Ou Yangming." He then reached his hand out in introduction, "Sir, I've informed Ou Yangming about the matter, but he knows that he's not that blessed, so he dares not accept the job. As such, he wants to give the chance to a friend."

"Give the chance to a friend?" The brocade-clothed elder curled his lips and looked at Zhang Yinfan coldly.

Zhang Yinfan trembled a little, and he quickly explained, "Sir, you and my elder brother are both courtiers. He always says that you're just, stern, and sharp-eyed, so he told me to learn from you."

The brocade-clothed man was stunned. He hesitated for a while, then sighed. "I'm here by the order of the imperial court, thus I'm just here to carry out my duty. As long as everything complies with the rules, I'll act accordingly."

Zhang Yinfan was delighted. "Yes, sir, you're very wise!" He then turned to say, "Ou Yangming, this is Sir Hu from the imperial court's Inspection Division, quick, greet him!"

Ou Yangming responded nervously, "Greetings, Sir Hu."

The brocade-clothed man smiled. "I'm Hu Yicheng from the Inspection Division, what's your name?"

Ou Yangming secretly cursed him for asking deliberately, but he answered with respect, "I'm Ou Yangming from the Armament Camp, sir."

Hu Yicheng nodded lightly. "Alright, let me ask you. Do you refuse to receive the Military Fire, so you're giving the opportunity to him?" When he asked, he glanced at Zhang Hanyu who was behind Zhang Yinfan.

Zhang Hanyu's eyes instantly glowed and his muscles were slightly tensed up.

The handsome young man, who maintained a calm look until this moment, had finally revealed his nervousness.

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Chapter 2: A Purple Shooting Star At That Instant

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming was about to answer Hu Yicheng when he was suddenly moved.

'The Military Fire?'

He looked up strangely.

On their way here, he had been guessing what post it was that made Zhang Yinfan want to seize it by force, and was willing to exchange it for the opportunity to become an official soldier. Judging from Zhang Yinfan's stingy character, he would not have done that if he was not going to benefit.

Finally, the truth was revealed. It turned out that Old Craftsman had gotten the Military Fire for Ou Yangming instead of an official post.

When Ou Yangming recalled the mysterious flames that Old Craftsman used to fix the broken saber, his heart pumped fast and his face reddened.

Hu Yicheng turned to frown at Zhang Yinfan as he was stunned and scoffed out of discontent.

Next, Zhang Yinfan and his nephew looked at each other with the feeling that things might not be right.

He spoke with a dark face, "Ou Yangming, Sir Hu is asking you a question, answer him!"

Zhang Hanyu also expressed his impatience. "Ou Yangming, what did you promise earlier? You better think it through!" It was evident through his tone that he was threatening Ou Yangming.

Upon hearing them, Ou Yangming clenched his fists tightly and had conflicting thoughts in his head.

'The Military Fire, it's the Military Fire! As long as I possess it, I'll become a real blacksmith in the Armament Camp, just like Old Craftsman.

'Though there are many official soldiers at the camp, there are only slightly more than twenty blacksmiths who possessed the Military Fire. A normal Military Fire Blacksmith may not be an honorable position, but the fact that one possessed the Military Fire is enough to let one keep a foothold in the station.'

However, when he turned to look at Zhang Hanyu, who stared back fiercely, it was as if a pail of ice water had been poured on the burning fire in his heart, so much so that he felt like he was shivering in severe winter.

'So what if I possess the Military Fire? The Armament Camp is still under the Provision Camp's control. What should I do if Zhang Yinfan goes after me?'

Ou Yangming was drenched in sweat at that moment.

On the other hand, Zhang Hanyu gritted his teeth because a great opportunity was within reach, but the silly fellow was not saying anything. His eyes were fiery and his handsome face turned hideous as he shouted again, "Ou Yangming, give him your answer now!"

When Ou Yangming saw the hatred in his eyes, he suddenly felt cheerful.

'I offended them the instant I hesitated, so even if I stand down now, they won't let me off easily. Especially Zhang Hanyu, the killing intent shown through his eyes frightens me.'

In actual fact, Ou Yangming might be swayed if Zhang Hanyu were to persuade him with tactful words and offered him great benefits, but Zhang Hanyu's strong killing intent encouraged him to be cruel.

After all, he was an orphan. While he did not have anyone to support him, it was the bit of ruthlessness and viciousness he had that helped him survive so far.

With that, he stuck his chest out and took a step forward to kowtow at Hu Yicheng. "Sir Hu, I'm willing to accept the Military Fire. I'm sure you understand."

Zhang Yinfan's face twitched right away. He forced himself to keep a smile on his face.

On the opposite end, Zhang Hanyu was not as shrewd. He glared at Ou Yangming with tightly clenched fists. Had Hu Yicheng not been present, he would have pounced on Ou Yangming to tear his heart apart.

Hu Yicheng cleared his throat. "Sir Zhang, you heard him." He then waved his hand. "Since you brought him here, I'll be carrying out my duty."

Zhang Yinfan bowed at him and responded, "Yes, I'll be making a move then." Next, he glanced at Ou Yangming and remarked, "Ou Yangming, you're very good, you're indeed an outstanding talent in the Armament Camp." His tone was calm yet cold.

Following that, he quickly left with Zhang Hanyu.

Ou Yangming was having mixed feelings at that moment because he knew that he offended Zhang Yinfan, but it was too late to regret.

Hu Yicheng shook his head and looked at the young man pitifully as if he could foresee his impending misery. Nevertheless, it had nothing to do with him, and he only needed to execute his duty.

He lifted his hand to retrieve a badge. "Ou Yangming, this is a Military Fire Badge. Guide yourself by sticking it on your forehead."

Ou Yangming was startled. "That, that's it?"

Hu Yicheng nodded slowly. "The wonders of a Military Fire Badge are beyond your imagination, just do it."

Sure enough, receiving the Military Fire was a great opportunity, but it did not mean much to a figure like Hu Yicheng. Besides, having angered Zhang Yinfan, it was uncertain if Ou Yangming could survive. Thus, Hu Yicheng was not going to associate himself with him.

Ou Yangming accepted the Military Fire Badge carefully, then placed it on his forehead.

The metal used to forge the Military Fire Badge was unknown and it felt ice-cold when he stuck it on, but burning energy that seemed capable of destroying Heaven and destructing Earth quickly surged into his head.

He screamed and wanted to remove the badge, but it stuck as if it was glued to his forehead.

Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly realized that his consciousness had left his body to enter a peculiar yet mysterious space.

It was a space that was lit by countless stars.

This space was boundless with innumerable stars.

Ou Yangming was struck dumb as he sensed the endless stars in the illusory world. He had a misconception at that moment that he could touch the stars as long as he reached his hand out, no matter how near or far, and how big or small they were.

Nonetheless, he did not reach out to grab them. Instead, he tried his best to recall his days spent with Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman had spoken to him about the Military Fire numerous times. Though he did not talk about it in detail, he often leaked some important information, be it intentionally or otherwise. Ou Yangming never noticed anything off about it in the past, but when he finally recalled those moments, he began to feel that Old Craftsman did it on purpose.

The Military Fire was a unique spirit fire gifted by the dynasty. It could be used by ordinary people, consuming their physical power and endurance without causing negative effects on their life. On the contrary, one who was hardworking in using it could achieve the special effect of tempering one's body or even one's vital internal organs.

The biggest advantage of having the Military Fire was the ability to forge and fix armaments such as sabers, spears, shields, and armor at any time. Furthermore, since the Military Fire was a type of spirit fire, a lucky person could add extra attributes to armor.

In a way, those who possessed the Military Fire were like walking smithing tables that could do whatever they wanted.

As such, they were the most welcomed people in the military camp.

Even though the Military Fire was a spirit fire of the lowest grade, it could also either be fine, poor, good, or bad. If one was lucky enough to acquire a high-grade Military Fire, the treatment and benefits one would receive as compared to acquiring a low-grade one were Heaven and Earth apart.

There were plenty of stars at that moment, but Ou Yangming could only pick one.

The sizes of the stars represented the spirit fire's foundational strength. The bigger it was, the higher the spirit fire's temperature. Naturally, he would pick the biggest one if he wanted to be blessed with good days.

For all that, it was actually difficult to judge the sizes of the stars due to the distance. Unless he was nearer to them, he could not identify their real sizes.

Ou Yangming's consciousness drifted in the sea of stars, and he had seen at least 800 stars, yet he could not make a decision.

Eventually, he noticed that he felt unusually exhausted, as though he had not slept for three days and three nights. He felt like he was going to pass out.

He quickly awoke. Seeing as he was about to fall unconscious, he gritted his teeth to gather his remaining mental conception on a star.

The instant his mental conception was about to touch the star, he suddenly noticed a purple light.

The light was a shooting star that had a long tail, and it came from an unknown spot far away. It bore a beautiful purple color that attracted him right away.

Subsequently, Ou Yangming's mental conception disappeared, and the last thought he had before he passed out was that it would be great to have that beautiful star…Ou Yangming felt like his mental conception slowly emerged from a vast ocean.

He tried to find his footing as he stood up and held his head while grimacing in pain.

A gentle voice was heard. "You overused your mental power, which is why you're getting a headache. Sit and rest before you leave."

Ou Yangming could barely open his eyes, but he responded, "Sir Hu."

Hu Yicheng nodded, then went toward the inner hall, and left the dazed Ou Yangming behind.

In the inner hall, a scholar was seen sitting in front of a chessboard. He mentioned, "Elder Hu, you were going to lose, how could you leave with the excuse that you have official business to attend to? Hmph, you're shameless!"

Hu Yicheng did not know whether to laugh or to cry. "I had a military affair to deal with. An armament master exchanged his fifty years of diligence in the empire for a chance to use the Military Fire Badge, and the person he sent came earlier, so should I have attended to him or not?"

The scholar was stunned for a while before he said, "I see, looks like I've wrongfully accused you. Eh, why is your complexion unusual? Did something happen?"

Hu Yicheng replied, "I really can't hide anything from you because of your Ghost Eye." Hence, he told the scholar about Zhang Yinfan and the others, then sighed. "Scum like him should really be killed."

The scholar shook his head. "Zhang Yinfan is a member of the Zhang family. He may be filthy, but he didn't commit a sin so heavy that he deserves to die." He then waved his hand to change the topic. "Enough of this, let's play chess!"

Hu Yicheng scoffed at him but went to sit on the other side of the chessboard anyway. When he picked up a chess piece, a thought crossed his mind.

'I can't believe that Ou Yangming is gifted with mental power. He's very talented to have stayed half an hour inside the Military Fire Badge considering that he never cultivated martial arts.'

'He offended the Zhang family though, what a pity.'

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Ou Yangming frowned and left the big residence with a twisted expression.

He ran back to the Armament Camp as fast as he could. Old Craftsman had been waiting for him in his barracks for a long time, and chuckled upon seeing him running back quickly. "Fella, how are you feeling?"

Ou Yangming felt relieved the moment he saw Old Craftsman. In the entire military camp, the old man was the only person he trusted completely.

He uttered, "Old man, I… I brought you trouble." As soon as he finished, he collapsed in Old Craftsman's arms.

Old Craftsman caught him but was puzzled.

'Didn't he go to acquire the Military Fire Badge? Why did he say that he's caused me trouble?'

The old man scoffed at Ou Yangming, who had passed out, then carried him to his bed, removed his coat and shoes, and covered him with a blanket. While doing all that, the old man scolded Ou Yangming softly, saying that he would beat him up once the young fellow awoke, but he spoke so softly that it would only be strange if Ou Yangming heard him.

A day and night later, Ou Yangming finally woke up.

He rolled around with the intention of staying in bed but suddenly realized that he was wide awake, without a hint of sleepiness.

Even after blinking a few times, he could not figure it out, thus he quickly recalled the various events before he slept.

He later sighed a breath of relief when he sat up to find a familiar environment.

Old Craftsman entered the barrack upon hearing his movement and tossed him a bag of clothes. "Fella, when did you become a lazy pig? Quick, get dressed and get to work."

Ou Yangming responded to him, got himself dressed and gobbled up some food before he followed Old Craftsman to the Armament Camp.

Old Craftsman had an exalted position in the camp. Not only was he the blacksmith chief, but he also had over ten years of experience. In fact, even the general treated him with respect.

He brought Ou Yangming into his personal smithing workshop, then asked, "Fella, tell me honestly, did you receive the Military Fire?"

Ou Yangming took a deep breath as he recalled the wonderful feeling when he entered the Military Fire Badge.

Eventually, he felt like he gained something inside his body.

When he reached his palm out and focused on a spot within it, something seemed to emerge.

Finally, a shattering sound could be heard in his mind, and a white flame appeared on his palm.

"Nice!"

Old Craftsman's eyes glowed with happiness.

He looked at Ou Yangming admiringly. The old man had always treated him like a son, and now had high expectations that he would become successful.

Ou Yangming blinked his eyes as he was unusually happy too.

According to what Old Craftsman said in the past, it was not simple for someone to manipulate the Military Fire even if one were to acquire it through the Military Fire Badge, and a normal person would only activate it successfully after ten to thirty days. Needless to say, it was even tougher for one to operate it smoothly, and would only be possible if one tried hard for a few months.

Nevertheless, it could be perfected after a considerable period of time.

"Good fella, take this!" Old Craftsman picked up a fractured saber and tossed it to Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming nodded and began recollecting Old Craftsman's teachings from the past.

Back then, he did not have the Military Fire, but Old Craftsman still taught him diligently. Perhaps the old man had planned everything for a long time.

Ou Yangming paid full attention to his Military Fire.

When it approached the military saber that was aligned on the platform, he suddenly had a look of disbelief.

This was because a set of strange numbers appeared in his mind.

[Item: Fractured military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]

[Attributes: Sharpness 1, Durability 0]

Ou Yangming was bewildered. 'What… What exactly is this?'

A long time after, he subdued his confusion, and focused on the fractured saber again.

'Restore. Mm, I should be restoring this now.

'Restore, restore, restore…'

He tried to concentrate his mind on fixing the fracture.

Despite that, since it was his first time using the Military Fire, even if he was gifted with mental power and could control it faster than others, it was wishful thinking for him to do as he wished.

The fracture slowly merged due to the burning spirit fire, but at the expense of Ou Yangming's power.

This was because the cost of using Military Fire was one's physical strength.

After half an hour, the fracture was finally closed under the constant burn.

Ou Yangming's eyes sparkled as he was overjoyed.

Right then, a purple light flickered in his mind, and a question popped up.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

The muscles on Ou Yangming's face twitched, and he was so taken aback that he almost screamed.

He subconsciously responded, "Yes."

Subsequently, a peculiar energy that could not be seen was released from the military saber, which entered his body. At the same time, two faint, bean-sized purple lights appeared in his mind.

He did not know what they were and was clueless about why they appeared in his mind. When he wanted to shout for help, he could not make a sound as he was tongue-tied.

"Fella, fella, what happened? Don't scare me!"

A worried voice finally woke Ou Yangming up, and he shivered. The instant Old Craftsman's anxious look came into view, he felt a warmth in his heart, as though a clear spring poured down on him, which made him feel comfortable.

The feeling of being cared for and thought of was great.

"Hey, old man, how did I do?" He asked with a bright smile.

Old Craftsman scanned him from head to toe, then sighed a breath of relief. "Were you so happy about fixing a military saber that you turned silly?"

Ou Yangming scratched his head and chuckled embarrassingly as if he silently agreed.

"You did pretty well considering that you restored a military saber right after you obtained the Military Fire. Hmm, it looks slightly ugly, but… It will do." Old Craftsman nodded.

Ou Yangming's face reddened when he looked at the saber.

It was merged by the Military Fire's energy, but the area around the fracture was uneven, and it looked like something had bit it.

One would not take a second look at it due to its ugliness.

Old Craftsman laughed. "Fella, don't be discouraged. It's your first time using the Military Fire, so it's really good that already you're able to do this. I think you're tired, why not go back to take a rest?"

Ou Yangming blinked, then looked at Old Craftsman in disbelief. "Old man, you actually praised me? Did… Did the sun rise from the West today? Or did you finally find a partner? Oh, don't be mad, I'll leave now, I'll leave now…" Before he finished his sentence, he scurried away.

The smile on Old Craftsman's face instantly disappeared, his face turned dark and cursed. "B*stard, you need a spanking!" Nonetheless, he was still happy when he looked at the fella who was hopping away.

When he got his Military Fire back then, he only succeeded in stimulating it after half a month, and could only repair a fractured saber a month after.

Compared to Ou Yangming's accomplishment, he was as slow as a tortoise.

Therefore, no matter how ugly the fractured sword was, he was still pleased and was not at all regretful.

When Old Craftsman lifted the restored military saber, he wondered if he should keep it. After all, it was Ou Yangming's first smithed product using the Military Fire, thus it was worth keeping for memory's sake. Besides, he would undoubtedly be happy seeing Ou Yangming's helpless face in the future if he were to show him the ugly saber in a few years' time.

However, his smile suddenly disappeared after a brief moment.

He approached a Sword-testing Stone with the military saber, then slashed it.

"Ding—"

Sparks flew, and a rice-sized crack could be seen on the saber, whereas the Sword-testing Stone was not even scratched.

Old Craftsman threw the military saber to the floor furiously. "Damn the Provision Camp, how dare those law-bending people cut corners on the armaments? With those borer bugs around, the nation will be in peril…"

Of course, Ou Yangming was not aware of Old Craftsman's lamentations. He ran toward an armory in the Armament Camp.

The armory was full of piled-up armor that was abandoned.

After taking a glance at the pile of scrap metals, Ou Yangming quickly found a damaged saber.

Although it was also a military saber, it had not been fractured yet. That being said, it was covered in rust, and a number of big chips were found on its blade, thus it lost its restoration value.

A moment of hesitation later, Ou Yangming gathered his mental power to summon his Military Fire.

Evidently, he was much more familiar with it than he was the first time. He did not know that it was because of his natural gift of having mental power, that he had the option to consume physical power or mental power during the usage of the Military Fire.

With that, it was much easier for him to use it compared to other people, and he could also endure the process for a longer time.

A list of information appeared in his mind as soon as his Military Fire touched the saber.

[Item: Damaged military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]

[Attributes: Sharpness 1, Durability 0]

Ou Yangming was unmoved. He continued operating the burning Military Fire until the rust on the military saber slowly disappeared, and the blade became shiny, as though snow met fire.

Just as the outer appearance of the military saber was about to fully recover, another notice appeared in his mind.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

Ou Yangming was stunned. 'Why are there two options now?'

Intrigued, he decided to upgrade it since he chose the drawing option earlier.

Consequently, he noticed the two small purple light balls disappearing from his mind. Oh, they did not disappear, but they strangely entered the military saber that was being burned by the Military Fire.

Afterward, completely different changes in the military saber's attributes were observed through the Military Fire.

[Item: Military Saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Three]

[Attributes: Sharpness 3, Toughness 2, Durability 2]

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Chapter 4: A Sharp Military Saber

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming was in a daze when he looked at the shiny military saber in his hand, but was quickly overjoyed.

Since he was an orphan, he did not have much knowledge, but it did not mean that he was clueless about basic mathematics and words.

It was at that moment that he was thankful to Old Craftsman, from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he entered the military camp two years ago, and was picked by the old man to be his helper, he had been taught to read and calculate. Although Old Craftsman's knowledge standard was only average, it was more than enough to give him a head start.

Throughout the two years, Ou Yangming was hit on his palm by the Old Craftsman numerous times, but he had learned everything he could from him.

As such, he knew what was going on when he saw the information that appeared in his mind.

The Military Fire that he acquired was definitely unusual and it carried a big secret.

When the fire burned, he could easily identify the military saber's attributes, and what was more unbelievable was that it could even draw and upgrade them. He was extremely shocked by what he found.

He took a deep breath and hesitated for a while.

Next, he decided that he would not mention this to anyone, not even Old Craftsman.

Afterward, he looked into the piles of damaged weapons to pick out suitable military sabers.

The armory stored abandoned items, where military sabers without restoration value were piled up for a second chance to be melted down for use again.

Hence, Ou Yangming easily found many military sabers that were not too terribly damaged.

When he activated the Military Fire again, he quickly realized that those damaged sabers had poor attributes indeed. Normally, a military saber that was up to standard would have a sharpness of 1 or 2, and a toughness of 1 or 2 as well.

However, the damaged military sabers only had one attribute, which was either a sharpness of 1 or a toughness of 1.

None of them had an attribute of 2, let alone possessed both attributes.

On top of that, they did not have durability since they were damaged items.

Ou Yangming curbed his thoughts again, then began trying.

His Military Fire burned a damaged saber, but instead of restoring it, he said to himself. 'Draw.'

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

Familiar words appeared in his mind again. His eyelids twitched a few times, and he was pleasantly surprised.

As expected, he could draw the military sabers' attributes without fixing them.

Without any consideration, he chose to draw the attribute, resulting in a small purple light ball appearing in his mind again.

Perhaps Ou Yangming was too thrilled, so he was not very exhausted after using his Military Fire this time. He looked at the damaged military saber and noticed that it became more damaged after its only attribute was taken away.

He later turned to pick up the saber that he had repaired.

Another sentence appeared in his mind when he used the Military Fire.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade.'

As soon as Ou Yangming confirmed his answer, the saber shone for a while before it returned to normal.

After inhaling deeply. He realized that the physical power needed for upgrading was at least double what he used for drawing attributes.

It was easier to destroy but difficult to build, this also applied to drawing and upgrading using the Military Fire.

[Item: Military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Three]

[Attributes: Sharpness 3, Toughness 3, Durability 3]

Seeing as the military saber's toughness was upgraded again, Ou Yangming smiled happily.

Excited about what he did with the saber, he was extremely motivated. As such, he continued drawing the attributes of four damaged sabers with the intention of adding them to the upgraded saber.

Nonetheless, he was disappointed and regretful when the saber only upgraded two attributes even though he chose to upgrade it again.

Eventually, Ou Yangming's body swayed because he had become extremely tired, and he was about to pass out any time.

He immediately stopped because his mind and physical power were almost completely exhausted like the time he previously used the Military Fire Badge.

While sensing the two small purple light balls in his mind, he looked at the brand new military saber.

[Item: Sharp military badge]

[Equipment Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Four]

[Attributes: Sharpness 4, Toughness 4, Durability 4]

Ou Yangming was finally satisfied. Although each attribute increased by a little, the saber was definitely considered a rare and exquisite one.

Unfortunately, his physical power was entirely worn out, or the military saber could have been improved further if he added the other two attributes.

It was only natural for a child to show off after doing something great.

Therefore, Ou Yangming was so excited that his dizziness went away. Later, he strode off with the saber to look for Old Craftsman.

He wanted a person who was close to him to witness the results of his hard work.

"Old man, old man…"

Ou Yangming barged into Old Craftsman's personal smithing workshop.

Old Craftsman was fixing a premium steel shield with his Military Fire at that moment and he almost failed at it because he was irked by Ou Yangming's scream.

He glared at the young fellow. "Why are you being so short-tempered? Can't you be more steady?"

Ou Yangming smiled embarrassingly, but he quickly mentioned, "Old Man, this is the military saber that I just restored, take a look at it!"

Old Craftsman did not know to cry or to laugh. "Where did you find this?"

"I simply picked one from those abandoned tents," Ou Yangming answered cheerfully.

"Do you want to die? You've just controlled the Military Fire, but you continued using it, don't you know that haste brings no success?" Old Craftsman frowned.

"Old Man, I just felt that I could take it, so I tried." Ou Yangming scratched his head, then said to himself, 'I didn't just use it twice, I used it a number of times.'

Old Craftsman was stunned. He looked at him strangely for a while, then mentioned, "This is strange, could it be that… You're naturally gifted with mental power?"

Ou Yangming was surprised. "Old Man, what's that?"

Old Craftsman explained, "When normal people like you use the Military Fire, you'll consume physical power, so you can't use it for long. Unless you have practiced martial arts, you won't be able to extend the time. However, there are some people who have the natural gift of strong mental power. They can use mental power in place of physical power to burn the Military Fire. Mm, if you controlled the Military Fire so quickly, and can use it continuously, you're likely one of them."

Ou Yangming nodded as if he understood, but he quickly urged the old man. "Old man, quick, take a look at this!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? If you're so impatient, I wonder if you'll be successful in the future. Eh, this military saber…" Old Craftsman said snappily, but he suddenly stopped and had a strange look on his face.

A brief moment later, he put the saber down to say to Ou Yangming seriously, "Fella, you're really something to have restored a military saber to this grade, I underestimated you."

Ou Yangming chuckled. There was nothing he could hide from the old man.

Just as he was immersed in joy, a pair of sinister eyes came into mind, causing his face to turn gloomy right away.

Upon seeing that, Old Craftsman asked, "What's wrong?"

Ou Yangming sighed. "I'm in trouble."

He later explained everything that happened at the Provision Camp, as well as his journey to the big residence with Zhang Yinfan and his nephew. "Now that I have the Military Fire, they definitely despise me. I'm afraid that I won't be having peaceful days anymore…"

"How dare that stingy ghost eye my meritorious service!" Old Craftsman was furious. Nevertheless, there was nothing much he could do against one of the main people in charge of the Provision Camp.

After pondering for a long time, he stomped his feet. "From today onward, I'll teach you real Military Fire Smithing Art! If you can become a real Military Fire Blacksmith, that stingy fella won't do anything to you."

"A Military Fire Blacksmith?" Ou Yangming gulped, and his eyes sparkled.

Ever since he acquired the Military Fire, he gained benefits in repairing armaments and could do it easily and more effectively than normal blacksmiths. That being said, as many pieces of armaments as he could fix, he was just a qualified restoration master.

As compared to blacksmiths who were adept in the Military Fire and could forge divine weapons and sharp weapons, one who just learned how to control the Military Fire was less profound.

"Once you become a Military Fire Blacksmith, you'll have quite some authority in the camp, which will be enough for you to survive. However, you'll have to forge a suitable armament by yourself in a short period of time if you'd like to be a blacksmith that won't be denounced," Old Craftsman explained, then added after a short pause, "Do you remember what I taught you?'

Ou Yangming nodded and pointed at his head. "Yes, old man, it's all here."

"Alright, I'll explain again, so make sure you remember well. Since you've just started operating the fire today, you don't understand Curbing Art, so go eat and sleep, then come learn tomorrow."

Ou Yangming stood straight and was going to say that he had just woken up, and was full of energy.

At the next instant, he realized that he was really hungry, and was actually quite tired.

After blinking his eyes for a while, he nodded. "Yes, old man, I'll listen to you."

With that, he returned to his barrack and slept for a long time.

When he awoke two hours later, he felt so refreshed it was as though his troubles were no longer worth mentioning.

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At Old Craftsman's smithing workshop, the old man began explaining in detail to Ou Yangming.

It was definitely not an easy job to forge a high-quality armament.

Using military sabers as an example, without the Military Fire, one would need to first turn raw iron into a ball, which would be heated at a high temperature in a coal furnace to produce sponge iron. It would later be made into a long rod, which would be separated into many sections for further processing depending on their grades. Those with better quality would be used to craft sabers, whereas poorer ones were used to make farming tools and the like.

Following that, fine materials were used to smith the saber blade through foldforming1, then the blade, the saber back, and the saber grip were beaten into shape.

The entire process was complicated, time-consuming, and could not be accomplished at one go.

However, it would be completely different using the Military Fire. If one were to smith using the fire, the whole process would speed up. With enough energy and profound skills, it would even be possible to forge a military saber in an hour.

Of course, it was a simple task for Old Craftsman, but could not be achieved by Ou Yangming yet.

"Fella, what do you think is the most important thing to do now?" Old Craftsman asked seriously.

Ou Yangming pondered for some time before he answered, "Prepare to forge an armament."

Old Craftsman scoffed. "Wrong. The most important thing for you to do now is to learn how to operate your Military Fire because it's not easy to use it. If you don't know how to have control, or you're oblivious to some details during the smithing process, hehe, it'll be very difficult for you to be a qualified Military Fire Blacksmith."

Although Ou Yangming was normally a rather playful person, he could settle down during crucial moments and be quite decisive, or he would not have chosen the Military Fire while being watched by Zhang Yinfan.

Through Old Craftsman's careful guidance, he was totally focused on learning the operation and control of the Military Fire.

Controlling his Military Fire was certainly a technical skill even though it seemed like it only involved a ball of flame because the way to unleash its most powerful might was knowledge to be learned.

For the whole day, Old Craftsman had been correcting some minor moves by Ou Yangming when he used the Military Fire. Small movements looked like they made little difference, but the small details were the ones that helped one to have better control.

It was a fundamental skill, thus it was worth it for Military Fire Blacksmiths even if they had to consume more energy.

Sweat began dripping from Ou Yangming's head like raindrops after numerous rounds of practice.

While his mental power helped him to have a better start in the control and the timing of the Military Fire, he had not controlled it for long, hence he was still quite far from starting life anew.

Upon noticing Ou Yangming's weariness through his eyes, his body, and his movements, Old Craftsman felt sorry for him. "Can you endure it?"

Ou Yangming breathed heavily, but responded with a smile, "Old man, what are you saying? Isn't this just a bit of work? It won't be a problem for me!" He then took a deep breath and became extremely focused.

Another small flame emerged from his palm, and even though he was becoming more exhausted, his determination grew stronger.

Old Craftsman nodded gladly and decided to give Ou Yangming more food for dinner. Even if it was the opposite of how he usually treated him, he wanted to let the young fellow have the best food to eat.For three whole days under Old Craftsman's supervision, Ou Yangming focused on controlling the Military Fire. In the beginning, he could not achieve the ability to control the fire as he wished though he gave his utmost effort.

According to Old Craftsman, he had only scratched the surface and was still far from the real essence.

However, three days later, while the old man still kept a straight face, the delighted look in his eyes was obvious.

"Fella, you're doing very well," Old Craftsman commented satisfyingly. "In just three days, you're able to release Military Fire from your heart and can activate the strongest energy in an instant. Mm, that's pretty good."

Ou Yangming's eyes shone brightly. "Old man, how am I as compared to you?"

Old Craftsman's expression instantly froze, and he sneered. "Hmph, you're just a young b*stard, how dare you compare yourself with me?"

Nevertheless, he was actually very pleased with Ou Yangming's performance.

A normal person had to explore for about a month just to stimulate the Military Fire and was considered talented if one could succeed in ten to thirty days.

While Ou Yangming had a head start since he possessed the natural gift of mental power, he was probably the only one who could incite the Military Fire and restore weapons the day after acquiring the fire.

"Old Man—" All of a sudden, a loud voice was heard outside.

Old Craftsman replied snappily, "Who's that?"

"Old Man, General Chen has returned and asked that you pay him a visit."

"What for?" Old Craftsman asked with a frown.

Ou Yangming clicked his tongue. General Chen's full name was Chen Yifan, and he was a brigadier general in the military.

Although the post of a brigadier general was not a significant one in the dynasty, it was quite an honorable one in the military camp.

"Old Man, General Chen seems to have found a fine ore from his trip…"

Before the sentence was finished, Old Craftsman's eyes shone. "Alright, I understand, inform him that I'll be there right away."

The reason he dedicated his life to being a blacksmith was that he truly loved the profession, thus he was moved the instant he heard that there was fine material.

"Fella, it's dark now, so that's all for today. You should pack up and go home," he mentioned, then left in a hurry.

Ou Yangming shook his head with a bitter smile, but he did not stop the old man because he knew it was more than a job for him. It was his greatest hobby.

Once the old man left, Ou Yangming regained his composure and was about to continue practicing controlling the Military Fire when a soft knock was heard on the door.

He was stunned for a while, but he opened the door as he did not suspect anything.

His face changed the moment he saw who was standing outside.

Zhang Hanyu, the handsome, fair-skinned man was curling his lips at him.

A million thoughts crossed Ou Yangming's mind, and when he was about to shout for help, Zhang Hanyu reached his hand out to hit him.

Ou Yangming tried his best to dodge the hit, but Zhang Hanyu's palm moved as fast as lightning and hit his chest in the blink of an eye.

Subsequently, Ou Yangming's chest hurt, which was followed by a hot stream gushing upward. Although his mouth was opened, he could not make a sound.

Since Zhang Hanyu planned this, he strode toward Ou Yangming to strike his neck as well. As a result, Ou Yangming collapsed to the ground as he fainted, and could no longer tolerate it.

After many years of being in the military, Zhang Hanyu had built a strong body, thus he was not someone who Ou Yangming, a young man who was not done with puberty, could contend with.

Therefore, it was as easy as a pie for him to capture Ou Yangming through a sneak attack.

Despite that, he still looked around carefully after knocking Ou Yangming out.

The sky was already dark, and while the military camp was not dead silent, there were very few people moving around in the Armament Camp.

He pulled Ou Yangming up, then walked around the camp discreetly. Before long, he brought him to the abandoned armory.

For all that, he was so focused on avoiding people along the way that he did not notice that Ou Yangming opened his eyes for a brief moment, then returned to normal.

In the armory, Zhang Hanyu glanced around to make sure that it was empty.

He put Ou Yangming on the floor, then retrieved a cylinder, and said with a hideous smile, "Fella, how dare you steal what's mine? Hmph, I'll let you pay with interest!"

After sticking the cylinder to the back of Ou Yangming's head, he carefully took a talisman out and pressed it on the other end of the cylinder.

The talisman lit up without a fire source, and, as it burned, the cylinder shone.

When the talisman eventually finished burning, the cylinder's light dimmed too.

However, Zhang Hanyu had a strange look on his face, because he did not see what he expected to see. There was no Military Fire Seed in the cylinder; it was still empty.

Feeling slightly at a loss, he muttered, "What, what is this? Where's the Military Fire Seed? Where's the Military Fire Seed? Was this fella so dumb that he didn't acquire the Military Fire Seed from the Military Fire Badge? No, that doesn't seem like it. Old Craftsman has been taking special care of him lately, he must've sensed the seed inside his body."

He felt like an ant on fire as he held the empty cylinder.

After looking at Ou Yangming who was on the floor, he vented his anger at him, then put his leg out to kick Ou Yangming's stomach. "It's all your fault, you're going to pay for this!"

Just as he was about to kick him, Ou Yangming, who was initially unconscious ,opened his eyes, then placed his hand in front of his stomach.

It was then that Zhang Hanyu widened his eyes at him as though he just saw the most unbelievable thing in the world.

There was only one thing on his mind. 'Why didn't he pass out?'

At the next instant, a hint of red light was seen at the corner of his eyes.

A ball of shining red light was seen in the hand that Ou Yangming used to stop him.

'Military Fire!'

'Oh god! It's actually the Military Fire!'

At the spur of the moment, Zhang Hanyu came to a sudden realization.

'No wonder I couldn't gain anything, it's because he has already stimulated the Military Fire.'

He was instantly appalled. 'My foot, my foot…'

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"Pow…"

Zhang Hanyu kicked Ou Yangming's hand hard.

"Humph—"

The two of them grunted at the same time. Ou Yangming even flew up and did a somersault in mid-air before he fell to the ground.

Nevertheless, the young fellow immediately got up again, then he scurried away like an agile rat to hide among the piles of abandoned weapons in the armory.

Their military camp was not at the frontline, so they would not face enemies right away. According to the division made by the dynasty, it was only a secondary camp for assistance and training. Furthermore, it also served an important purpose, which was gathering the eliminated and damaged armor from other camps or the battlefield.

Once there was a certain amount of armor collected, strong men would pick them up and bring them to the big workshop in the national capital for them to be melted for a second use.

However, the armor was piled up at the armory for the time being due to the insufficient amount and were left unbothered. As such, they became natural shelters for Ou Yangming to hide from being hunted.

A thud was heard when Zhang Hanyu fell butt first to the ground. He grabbed his foot with his hands tightly, and his handsome face was twisted as he was in immense pain.

He swore with his soul that the instant he saw the red light, he curbed his power as much as he could.

That was because he recognized the Military Fire, and only a moron would kick the fire directly with one's body.

Sadly, by the time he realized it, he had already kicked. Although he controlled his strength as he only wanted to make Ou Yangming spit blood and break a few of his ribs, he could not stop whenever he wanted to.

This was because he could not choose to hold back or to attack in a flash of thought as his martial art cultivation base was not profound enough.

Therefore, even when he decided to withdraw his kick, he could only watch as his irreversible action hit the red light.

Consequently, sharp pain was felt in his leg, and the pain was so extreme that he lost his footing. When he fell to the ground, he almost passed out too.

'Mm, the Military Fire is used to smith weapons, it's definitely not meant for fighting.'

There were plenty of Military Fire Blacksmiths in the past dynasties, but none of them were famous for fighting. This was because nobody would fight against them with bare hands.

If the Military Fire was used to forge weapons, one could imagine how high the temperature was.

Using one's body to compete with the Military Fire… It was Ou Yangming's first time encountering a fool like that.

As Zhang Hanyu breathed heavily, every breath he took felt like a severely injured creature was struggling desperately, and he felt like he would faint any time.

After a long time, he finally recovered from the discomfort that felt similar to death.

The only thing that made him glad was that his leg was not in contact with the Military Fire for a long time, and had only brushed it. Hence, while his leg was terribly hurt due to the burn, it was not crippled, so he gritted his teeth and endured it to get rid of the dizziness.

When he looked up again at the piles of armor, he heard an extremely soft sound.

It was Ou Yangming. He neither escaped when Zhang Hanyu was too occupied to look for him nor took the opportunity to attack him. Instead, he hid like a mouse.

Upon realizing that, Zhang Hanyu's face that was previously twisted due to the pain became even more terrifying.

He would have been helpless if Ou Yangming simply escaped, or if Ou Yangming had the courage to attack him.

A shiver ran down his body when he thought about it, so he quickly got rid of those thoughts. Nonetheless, he also negated the possibility of them actually happening because Ou Yangming, who was an orphan, was anything but brave.

'Since he didn't escape, he must die today!'

Zhang Hanyu was determined to not let Ou Yangming live because he stimulated the Military Fire. Whether it was the pain from his leg injury or his uncontainable jealousy of Ou Yangming, he could not allow him to live like a normal person.

Enduring the pain, he hopped over to where Ou Yangming was and picked up a broken short sword along the way. Though his injured leg was making things inconvenient for him, he was confident enough to kill.

He knew that Ou Yangming had never received any martial arts training, hence he could simply kill him if he had some strength left.

However, he was unaware that Ou Yangming, who was hiding behind a pile of discarded weapons, was not trembling in a corner, but was doing something within his power.

When Zhang Hanyu hit the back of Ou Yangming's neck at the smithing workshop, it was true that Ou Yangming had fainted, but he had only passed out for an extremely short period of time. That was because a purple light suddenly flashed in his mind.

The purple light appeared very abruptly and Ou Yangming changed at that instant.

He did not acquire power that could destroy Heaven and destruct Earth, but his consciousness seemed to have been withdrawn from his body. Though he could still control his body like normal, he felt like he was watching from the side.

In a way, his consciousness split into two due to the strange purple light.

Half of it remained in his body, whereas the other half became a spectator.

Perhaps the odd yet mysterious split of Ou Yangming consciousness made him feel exceptionally calm like never before.

He watched Zhang Hanyu's every move calmly, or in fact, a more objective explanation for that would be that he was sensing it.

Even when he closed his eyes, he was able to have full control of his surroundings, but it was only limited to slightly more than a ten-meter range.

Despite that, it was a wonderful experience for him.

By having the ability to cheat, he saw through Zhang Hanyu's every move and could make the right judgment calmly. In addition, he was able to pretend to be unconscious to let Zhang Hanyu drop his guard. Only when his body was in grave danger as he was being kicked did he attempt to defeat his enemy in one move.

After hiding behind a pile of abandoned armor, Ou Yangming's body and consciousness remained in the same state. He was like an ice-cold machine without any emotions.

Needless to say, he also knew that attacking Zhang Hanyu at this moment was one of the better options.

In spite of that, he had no idea if Zhang Hanyu had a trump card, and his consciousness was telling him to not let his opponent make a comeback.

Thus, he was going to use the most reliable method that he was most familiar with to save himself.

Without any hesitation, Ou Yangming pulled one of the weapons out from the pile behind him. It was a broken saber, missing half of its blade. Even so, he found by examining with Military Fire that its attributes were among the highest.

[Sharpness 2]

Ou Yangming did not stop after he was done with the broken saber, he picked up another dumped weapon.

As his Military Fire shone, the last bit of luster on the weapon disappeared, and it became completely worthless junk. If any craftsman were to forge a weapon of that standard, one would likely be beaten to death by the inspector in charge of inspecting them.

At this moment, Ou Yangming also knew that he was at one of the biggest obstacles in his life.

He would be doomed if he could not get through it, and he knew through Zhang Hanyu's sinister look how badly he would die if he was caught.

'Mm, it'll be a more pathetic end than his half-crippled leg.'

Therefore, Ou Yangming drove all the potential in his body and was like a machine that exerted all its energy without holding back at all.

His Military Fire kept burning, and weapon after weapon turned into scraps with zero worth.

Consequently, his physical power was consumed at a high speed, and even his mental power was becoming unstable. It was a sign that he was consuming too much in a short period of time.

Ou Yangming immediately stopped to take a deep breath, and when he focused again, he noticed something.

It was the cylinder that Zhang Hanyu used against him. Zhang Hanyu was in such extreme pain when he kicked the Military Fire that he accidentally threw the item away, and it landed right where Ou Yangming was at the moment.

Ou Yangming reached his hand out curiously and wrapped the item with Military Fire.

[Item: Fire-absorbing Badge]

[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool]

[Attribute: Devouring 1]

'Fire-absorbing Badge, what's this?' Ou Yangming wondered but was unconcerned.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

'Draw.'

Next, when his Military Fire dispersed, the only devouring attribute on the badge transformed into a purple light ball into his mind. The strangest thing was that when the attribute disappeared, the cylinder shattered.

It did not just break, but it turned into powder right in front of his eyes, then vanished into thin air.

Normally, Ou Yangming would have been quite dumbfounded, but he only glanced at it for a while, then forgot about it.

Feeling determined, he gritted his teeth as he used the Military Fire again.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade.'

With that, he released all the accumulated purple lights in his mind to the first broken saber that he picked.

As a result, a brand new saber appeared.

[Item: Super broken saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank One]

[Attributes: Sharpness 6, Toughness 6, Devouring 1, Durability 6]

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Chapter 7: Killed By A Saber

4

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Hanyu hopped toward his target step by step. A loud sound was heard each time his foot landed as though a drum was beaten. The closer he was, the higher the pressure he gave out.

He looked hideous and the hostility in his eyes was substantial.

Since he had been protected by his family since young, this was his first time suffering such a heavy loss. In fact, there was an indescribable fear at the bottom of his heart. 'How did that fella activate the Military Fire so quickly? If he's so gifted, he might become like Old Craftsman in the future.

'A person like that is going to be a huge problem to those he considers an enemy. If that's the case, I should just kill him before he develops.'

Zhang Hanyu held his short sword tightly. He did not pick it up to boost his courage, but instead, he was planning to throw it like a dagger if he had the chance to.

Under his uncle's guidance, he learned the martial art to use hidden weapons. Although he could not go against warriors who had plenty of experience from war, if he aimed at a timid fellow who trembled in fear easily, he could shoot and not miss.

Nevertheless, the pain in his leg distracted him. The moment he thought about his injury, he gritted his teeth and swore to himself that he must kill Ou Yangming to vent his anger.

He could not be bothered about how he would clean up the mess after and did not think about how he could make sure that nobody would notice him.

Slowly, Zhang Hanyu arrived beside the pile of abandoned weapons, then he heard a vague breathing sound.

He sneered. "Fella, why don't you just show yourself and die!"

Subsequently, he saw a figure jumping out from behind the pile, then a white light was seen as the person slashed something at him without warning.

Though his leg was injured, it did not affect his sight. Hence, he noticed that the figure was Ou Yangming, the coward, and he was holding a broken saber.

Yes, a discarded weapon that was half-broken and missing the tip.

Perhaps Zhang Hanyu would be afraid if Ou Yangming was holding a brand new military saber, but since it was just a broken saber, he made little of it.

He instantly deduced that the fellow picked up a broken saber to put up a desperate fight.

Feeling scornful, he raised his short sword to face Ou Yangming.

If Ou Yangming were to escape right away, Zhang Hanyu would have killed him, but he decided to play with him since he was bold enough to face the fight. Countless torture methods crossed his mind at that moment. He would first pick out the tendons from Ou Yangming's limbs, then remove his vocal cords, so as to make him die a torturous death.

Upon thinking about this, the immense pain on his leg felt as if it had been reduced significantly.

He could somehow picture Ou Yangming shrieking in pain from feeling more dead than alive, thus he became unusually happy.

"Ding—"

Finally, the short sword and the broken saber clashed in the air.

Subsequently, a loud crack was heard as the short sword broke, whereas the broken saber continued forward unobstructed, as though it had just sliced a thread of hair. It slashed down on the right side of Zhang Hanyu's neck, then his chest.

It was then that Zhang Hanyu's eyes and mouth became wide open. He stared at the broken sword in front of his chest, but could not even feel the extreme pain that he should have been feeling.

The only thing he felt was his power and his life leaving him quickly. When he wanted to raise his hands, it was to no avail no matter how hard he tried, and he could only stare at the broken saber that numbed him.

'Broken saber, a broken saber…

'This, is, a, f*cking… Broken saber!'

That was the last thought he had. Following that, his consciousness faded away, but even when he died, he could not comprehend why a broken saber had such strength.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming maintained the posture of slashing with the broken saber.

In actual fact, it was not a wise move, because humans or beasts could struggle desperately before dying. The most terrifying beast was one that was injured as it could likely perish together with its enemy when it struggled.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not stay away because he could not do it, not because he was not willing to.

After the slash from his saber broke Zhang Hanyu's short sword and even cut his body, he was very calm and unperturbed.

It was definitely not the act of someone who had never seen blood.

However, he naturally behaved like that when his consciousness miraculously split into two.

When Ou Yangming wanted to withdraw his broken saber after his first attack so that he could take the opportunity to hit his enemy's head, an odd hot stream flowed from the saber into his body.

Therefore, his movement slowed down a little. Even though he could not understand why, he had a feeling that the hot stream would benefit him greatly.

At the next instant, he witnessed the frightening scene.

Under his broken saber, blood did not splatter everywhere.

Since it was a slash that stretched across the right side of Zhang Hanyu's neck to his chest, it would only be normal for blood to flow out. On the contrary, not a single trace of blood was seen, because all of it had been absorbed by Ou Yangming's broken saber.

The broken saber seemed to possess unbelievable magic power. Not only could it absorb blood, but it could also absorb flesh.

As such, Zhang Hanyu's body slowly shriveled in front of Ou Yangming's eyes.

Had Ou Yangming's consciousness not been split, perhaps he would faint upon seeing the fearsome scene. On the contrary, he just watched the change with widened eyes. It was as if the deflating body did not belong to a person, but was instead a human-shaped balloon with a hole.

In just the blink of an eye, Zhang Hanyu disappeared.

Some clothing fell along with a few items, but his body vanished. Not even a single thread of his hair or a piece of nail was left behind.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming glowed with health, was in high spirits, and was full of surging energy.

Actually, he was very much exhausted from the day. Under Old Craftsman's supervision and guidance, he had been using his Military Fire for the whole day. He did control himself, but it was inevitable for him to feel weary.

In addition, after Zhang Hanyu brought him there, he was forced to exert his potential during the life or death situation and used the fire a number of times within a short period.

The consumption rate was definitely unbearable for a person of his age, but he had no choice when his consciousness split.

It could damage his body due to the overuse, so much so that his core could be injured, and it might be hard for him to improve in the future.

For all that, nobody would believe that Ou Yangming's body was hurt at all.

His body seemed to contain inexhaustible power, and his eyes sparkled. Even when his vital essence was in the best condition, this had never happened before.

Ou Yangming actually had an urge to roar at that moment, but his consciousness was still split, which made his heart as cold as ice.

After taking a look around him, he activated his Military Fire again, and the broken saber in his hands became dull in a flash.

'Draw.'

He absorbed all of the saber's attributes without hesitation, turning it into completely worthless scrap metal, then he kicked the parts of Zhang Hanyu's broken short sword into two different piles of armor.

Since there were numerous discarded weapons around, it would definitely be tough to piece anything together. Afterward, he threw his broken saber away, then quickly left the armory with the clothes and items on the floor.

Zhang Hanyu was extremely careful when he brought Ou Yangming here, and Ou Yangming did the same when he returned to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop.

Fortunately, the sky was already dark, or Ou Yangming would not be confident about pulling it off.

Once he returned to the workshop, he tore the clothes into pieces, then threw them into the furnace.

Old Craftsman was the chief of Military Fire Blacksmiths, and although he had the Military Fire, it did not mean that he did not need a furnace.

As a matter of fact, he mostly used the furnace for the preliminary processing of certain materials.

Of course, it was also possible to process coarse ores through the Military Fire, but it would consume a substantial amount of physical power. Besides, the refinement of coarse ores was not done through fine control because it had to be processed for a long time.

Using the Military Fire to remove the impurities in coarse ores…

The people who were persistent in doing that were all dead, and there were no exceptions. They did not die from old age or stupidity, instead, they died from exhaustion.

Therefore, there was an exquisite furnace in the smithing workshop.

It was worth noting that Old Craftsman usually handled fine materials, whereas heavy works like preliminary processes were done by Ou Yangming.

Since he was familiar with the process, he quickly lit the furnace, then threw the items inside, which turned into ash right away.

When he used a long iron rod to stir the remains in the furnace, he found that even a celestial being would not be able to identify what was burned.

Throughout the process, Ou Yangming did not just idle his time away. He found some coarse ores in the workshop to refine them by throwing them into the fire until they softened, then he hammered them, and repeated the process.

Before this, he only burned the ores and left the beating part to Old Craftsman as he did not have enough strength.

However, his strength somehow increased a lot more, and sparks flew when he came down with the iron hammer.

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Chapter 8: Where Did You Go?

2

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming worked so quickly that the coarse ores were hammered into desired shapes one after another.

He exclaimed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. If Ou Yangming had done the same thing in the past, he would have been out of breath very quickly. Though he would not be worn out, he probably could not endure the process any longer. After all, he was so much younger than the famous strong men in the military.

However, Ou Yangming felt entirely different at that moment. Even after hammering a hundred times, there was no need for him to catch his breath.

"Creak…"

Ou Yangming was stunned when the door was opened, and he wondered who would be here at this hour.

When he looked up, he saw Old Craftsman and a man in his thirties. The man was a burly, sturdy man. His eyes were sharp like blades, which made him look intimidating.

Upon seeing Ou Yangming holding a hammer, Old Craftsman asked with a dark face, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you sleeping at this hour!"

Ou Yangming was lost for words when he looked at the iron hammer in his hands.

He initially wanted to get rid of Zhang Hanyu's possessions and only intended to hammer for a while after lighting up the furnace, but he became so addicted that he could not stop.

"Hehe, Old Craftsman, who's this?" The tall man took a step to Old Craftsman's side as if he was unintentionally protecting him.

Old Craftsman raised his eyebrows and answered proudly, "General Chen, he's Ou Yangming, my only disciple."

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed the moment he realized that the big man was General Chen Yifan.

He noticed that Old Craftsman and General Chen were rather congenial with each other, but it had nothing to do with him.

"I see." Chen Yifan chuckled. The fierce aura he carried could be sensed and after he looked at Ou Yangming from head to toe, he mentioned, "Old Craftsman, it's a pity that your disciple isn't a soldier."

Old Craftsman was stunned. "General Chen, I've already filled the gap for him in the camp, he's one of the members of the military."

Chen Yifan waved his hand. "I meant that it's a pity that he's not a soldier under me."

Needless to say, what was mentioned by Old Craftsman was different from the military branch mentioned by Chen Yifan. When Old Craftsman understood what he meant, he smiled bitterly. "General Chen, you're joking. He was born an orphan and he grew up being fed by a hundred families in his village, why would he catch your attention?"

Chen Yifan shook his head. "Old Craftsman, I'm not joking. This fella's naturally gifted, and he's rich in Qi and blood. If he practices martial arts under me, he'll achieve twice the result by doing just half the work."

Old Craftsman was struck dumb. He clicked his tongue, then thought to himself, 'What do you mean that he's naturally gifted, and is rich in Qi and blood?'

'He's easily worn out even by using the hammer a few times, so don't hope that he'll succeed in martial arts, it's definitely wishful thinking.'

He only had a slight knowledge of martial arts since he lived in the military camp for half his life, so he was bound to know a thing or two.

When he turned to look at Ou Yangming and was about to tell the general the truth, he suddenly sensed something strange about the young fellow. He was startled when he looked at the hammer because he realized that his strength seemed to have grown.

He asked with a frown, "Young fella, did you stay to train your physical power?"

Ou Yangming was alert when he heard him. He answered, "Old man, I need to strengthen my body now, so I worked while you're gone."

His face reddened as he was quite agitated, but Chen Yifan and Old Craftsman thought that he was embarrassed.

"Little fella." Old Craftsman pointed at him, then looked at his work before he asked again, "You've already beaten so many ores, have you been training here all this while?"

Ou Yangming nodded. "Apart from resting, I've been staying here."

In actual fact, he had not been hammering for long, but the inexplicable growth in his power allowed him to work very efficiently in a short period of time.

Since Old Craftsman was unaware of that, he looked at Ou Yangming the same way he used to. Clearly, he deduced the wrong time.

Chen Yifan laughed. "Young fella, do you want to train your body and power? Hehe, it won't work if you're just using brute force. How about you train under me for a few months? I guarantee that you'll have a bright future."

"General Chen, he has used the Military Fire Badge." Old Craftsman's face immediately changed, then added after a short pause, "While he hasn't activated the fire, I can sense the Military Fire Seed inside his body. He'll definitely produce his fire in roughly ten days and then become a qualified Military Fire Blacksmith."

Chen Yifan looked at Ou Yangming shockingly, then sighed. "It's such a pity that you're becoming a Military Fire Blacksmith when you have such a great physique."

Being an outspoken person, he spoke bluntly even in front of Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman's face slowly darkened. 'What do you mean by it's a pity being a Military Fire Blacksmith? You're an uneducated man.'

Nevertheless, Chen Yifan was the brigadier general in the camp. Though he was sent here not long ago, it proved that he had many supporters, thus Old Craftsman would not get on his bad side because of what he just said.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming was puzzled as he did not know why Old Craftsman lied about him.

Chen Yifan approached him and pushed his shoulder hard.

As such, his body shook a little, and he would have fallen to the ground if he was the weak man he used to be, but his power to withstand the push was no longer the same as it was before. Hence, his legs shook a little, but he was able to keep a strong foothold.

"Good fella. Although you never learned martial arts, you have enough strength, and you're steady. Great, if you're interested, I welcome you to the West Camp at any time," Chen Yifan commented with a nod, then turned to smile at Old Craftsman and continued, "For your master's sake, I'll personally train you."

While he was thrilled and delighted by what he chanced upon, he would not ruin relationships just like that. Since he was asking Old Craftsman for help, his attitude was different.

Old Craftsman was moved, so he quickly said, "Young fella, General Chen is being kind to you, quickly thank him!"

Ou Yangming bowed even though he did not fully understand. "Thank you, General."

"It's fine." Chen Yifan laughed and waved his hand, then turned to say to the old man, "Old Craftsman, it's time for serious business."

Following that, Old Craftsman went to a corner of his workshop to search from a pile of ores, then retrieved an item. "General Chen, what do you think about matching the Blood-thirsty Ore you found with this Titanium Ore?"

Chen Yifan looked at the item for a brief moment and was instantly elated. "Old Craftsman, I knew you'd have a precious item here. Hehe, if I refine a spear with this ore, perhaps that attribute can be refined, right?"

Old Craftsman pondered for a while, then replied, "I'll gather a few more unique items, and I'll try my best. If I really succeed…" He became excited too. "Perhaps, I can really forge a magic tool while I'm still alive!"

Chen Yifan's eyes sparkled too. Evidently, the magic tool that was mentioned was extremely important to him.

"Who's there!" All of a sudden, his face changed as he yelled. The moment he uttered those words, the energy inside his body surged, and an indescribable, fearsome feeling filled the air, so much so that Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming could not move.

Ou Yangming broke out in a cold sweat, and he finally understood how frightening a real martial arts powerhouse was.

Zhang Hanyu was not at all worth mentioning as compared to Chen Yifan.

"General Chen, please don't misunderstand, it's me," A rather awkward voice was heard, then a person appeared at the door.

Chen Yifan furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Supervisor Zhang, why are you here?"

The person who showed up was Zhang Yinfan. He smiled bitterly. "General Chen, I'm here to inspect the Armament Camp's armory, why are you here?"

"Do I need to report my movements to you?" Chen Yifan scoffed. He sounded very hostile, and it was clear that he treated Zhang Yinfan lightly.

Zhang Yinfan quickly lowered his head and apologized, "I dare not."

Afterward, Chen Yifan said impatiently, "I'm discussing something with Old Craftsman, so go do your inspection, and don't disturb me!"

"Yes!" Zhang Yinfan responded, then glanced at Ou Yangming before he left.

Just as he was about to leave, Chen Yifan raised his brows as he recalled something. He mentioned to Zhang Yinfan, "Supervisor Zhang, Old Craftsman needs to focus on smithing a bladed weapon for me, so delegate the tasks that are under him to other people, I don't want him to overwork himself."

"Yes, I accept your order."

Zhang Yinfan bowed at him, then hurried away.

Obviously, he was not there to inspect anything.

As soon as he learnt Chen Yifan had returned to the camp with a peculiar ore, he made a prompt decision to ask Zhang Hanyu to make a move while Old Craftsman was gone.

Based on Zhang Hanyu's ability, he could easily take out Ou Yangming with a sneak attack, but he did not return even though Zhang Yinfan had waited for him at his residence for a long time.

When he thought about the precious item that his nephew had, he was extremely anxious, thus he decided to come to the camp himself, but happened to bump into Chen Yifan.

Though he only took a glance, he was sure that Ou Yangming did not seem like he was attacked as he had a great complexion.

If Zhang Hanyu had really made a move, it was impossible for Ou Yangming to maintain a good condition.

Nonetheless, Zhang Yinfan could not find anything after looking all over the Armament Camp. Feeling frustrated, he looked up at the sky.

'B*stard, where are you…'

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Chen Yifan did not stay at the workshop for too long and left after asking Old Craftsman about some items he needed.

"Hmph, that stingy supervisor is so impatient that he came all the way here to visit." Afterward, Old Craftsman scoffed with a gloomy face, and shook his head as he mumbled, "But it's strange, this isn't like him…"

On the other hand, Ou Yangming obviously knew why Zhang Yinfan was here, but there was no way he would reveal it.

He later asked, "Old Man, why didn't you tell General Chen that I've already stimulated the Military Fire?"

Old Craftsman knew that his good intention was misinterpreted, thus he stared at Ou Yangming snappily, then sighed. "Young fella, don't you know that the taller trees in the woods are the ones that get their tops blown off? Hmph, I've told the others that you have the Military Fire Seed in you, so I'll announce it in a few days' time."

Ou Yangming nodded although he did not fully understand it. He felt slightly pitiful, but he knew that Old Craftsman would never harm him.

"Fella, from tomorrow onward, report to the West Camp," Old Man mentioned after pondering for a while.

"What?" Ou Yangming looked up at him as he was shocked. "Old Man, you're really letting me go?"

"If Zhang Yinfan hadn't come earlier, it wouldn't matter if you go or not since he can't do anything to you once you become an official Military Fire Blacksmith, but he must be holding a grudge against you since he came over so quickly." Old Craftsman nodded slowly, then added after a sigh, "I can't suppress that stingy fella, but General Chen can. If you train at his camp, Zhang Yinfan won't do anything to you."

Ou Yangming's eyes shone. "Old Man, what's General Chen's background? Why is Zhang Yinfan so afraid of him?"

Even a fool could tell from General Chen and Zhang Yinfan's conversation earlier that they were not of the same level.

Old Craftsman smiled bitterly. "General Chen was sent here three months ago, so I'm not sure of his background, and we're able to get along because of our similar opinions on smithing. However, since Zhang Yinfan's afraid of him, I'm sure he has a powerful background."

Ou Yangming nodded. "I understand. As long as General Chen's around, Zhang Yinfan won't dare to do anything to me."

Old Craftsman chuckled. "You've really become smarter. General Chen's right, you can't just beat ores here if you want to improve your power and your body. Since you've activated your Military Fire, you need a strong body to unleash its full strength, so follow him and take it as training."

Ou Yangming nodded. He knew that Old Craftsman had been doing his utmost for him.

Later, Old Craftsman suddenly spoke strictly, "For the next few days, you must work really hard. Hmph, you'll go train at the West Camp in the morning, then come over at night, and I'll teach you real smithing techniques."

Ou Yangming was delighted. "Old Man, you're finally teaching me?"

Old Craftsman stared at him indifferently. "Your fundamentals are still not there, but I need to forge weapons for General Chen soon, so I don't have too much time for you left. Remember, even after learning smithing art, you mustn't be arrogant, and you must strive to improve."

Ou Yangming nodded and swore that he would not forsake the old man.

While Old Craftsman shook his head, he was actually very touched.

Though he said that Ou Yangming was still lacking in many aspects, in actual fact, he felt that Ou Yangming's control over the Military Fire was already at the lowest requirement to forge armor.

Back then, Old Craftsman took three months to accomplish that, yet Ou Yangming only took three days.

Though he was aware that those who controlled Military Fire through mental power were much more powerful than those who relied on physical power, he was still in awe at Ou Yangming's performance.

This was actually the biggest reason why the old man dared not let others know that Ou Yangming had already activated his Military Fire.

Old Craftsman did not know what to feel about Ou Yangming being so overjoyed at the moment.

'How far will this fella go?'The next morning, Ou Yangming woke up early to head to the West Camp instead of going to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop.

In the military camp, rules were extremely strict, but everything was smooth for him once he mentioned Chen Yifan's name there, and nobody questioned him anymore. Of course, it was also because he had been in the military camp for two years. It would be impossible for a real stranger to walk around the camp so freely.

When Ou Yangming finally met Chen Yifan again, the sturdy general looked at him with a strange, curious look.

He felt a tingling sensation as if he could not hide anything from those eyes.

Chen Yifan approached him to pinch and tap some of his body parts, then mentioned, "Nice, you're indeed a martial arts seed full of Qi and blood. Young fella, since you're here, you'll have to train hard. Hehe, if you can't complete my tasks, I won't go easy on you, do you understand?"

Ou Yangming nodded. "Yes!"

Being a small boy, he had always envied the soldiers who drilled on the field and it was his dream to join them. Since he was given a chance at that moment, he would surely treasure it.

Furthermore, after the sneak attack from Zhang Hanyu yesterday, he knew very well that he was in a dangerous spot.

Therefore, martial art cultivation was crucial for him to save himself.

"Fella, if you want to practice martial arts, you must first have a stable stance, watch me." Chen Yifan brought Ou Yangming to a tent and lowered himself into a squat. "Follow me."

After taking a quick look, Ou Yangming did the same.

In actual fact, he had seen martial-art squats in the military camp many times because many soldiers would do it during their free time, but there was something different about Chen Yifan's squat.

Chen Yifan frowned and lectured him, "Hmph, get your spirits up. Did I ask you to just sit?"

Ou Yangming was tongue-tied. When he looked at Chen Yifan closely, he somehow felt uncomfortable.

Even though Chen Yifan remained still in a martial-art squat, Ou Yangming felt as though he saw a galloping horse in him. If he stared longer, he could even sense an irresistible aura coming from the general, which was going to oppress him.

Additionally, Ou Yangming's face reddened because Chen Yifan was staring at him. Though it looked like their squats were the same, Ou Yangming's seemed to be slacking and that he was going to fall at any time.

Of course, without the strong comparison between them both, Ou Yangming could not have sensed the great disparity.

Afterward, Chen Yifan swayed a little and appeared in front of him like a ghost.

Ou Yangming who was shocked fell butt first to the ground and shouted.

Chen Yifan said coldly, "Get up!"

As such, Ou Yangming quickly got up and was embarrassed as he did not know how to explain himself.

Chen Yifan then spoke slowly, "Fella, if you want to succeed in practicing martial arts, you must go through all sorts of hardships. Now, get into a martial-art squat."

Ou Yangming responded to him, then squatted as he did earlier.

The moment Chen Yifan looked, he reached his hand out to hit Ou Yangming's body on a few spots. "Raise your hands, bend your knees, keep a straight back, and don't look around too much."

Ou Yangming followed his instructions and maintained the stance as he dared not relax. Strangely enough, he suddenly realized that his body somehow became looser and less tensed-up after Chen Yifan corrected him.

Chen Yifan remarked, "It's not easy to have a good martial-art squat. Hmph, I'll teach you a trick, so listen well. It's up to you how much you're able to comprehend."

Subsequently, he spoke while pressing a few points on Ou Yangming's body.

Each time he pressed, Ou Yangming could clearly feel an airflow in his body that was warm and comfortable.

It was also then that he found out how much attention one needed to pay to a martial-art squat. It was not as simple as it looked, and apart from the breathing and the conception imagination, a lot had to be learned.

He slowly closed his eyes, then imagined the energy flow inside his body according to Chen Yifan's description. Eventually, the energy grew larger and stronger, and it finally stabilized.

On the other hand, Chen Yifan, who had been watching him, widened his eyes as he was in disbelief.

He had a complicated look as he stared at Ou Yangming as though it was his first time meeting him. After a long time, he exhaled deeply, then mumbled, "I actually found a martial art genius in this small place, heh, my luck…"

Apart from the fact that he generally liked talented people, he agreed to teach Ou Yangming martial arts mainly because of Old Craftsman.

After all, Old Craftsman was the only one who could forge the weapons that he wanted.

However, Ou Yangming's performance exceeded his expectations because he actually comprehended Qi sense during his first martial-art squat. 'Hmm, based on the slight wave of his aura, it seems like he possessed more than just Qi sense.

'Perhaps this fella can actually surprise me.'

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Chapter 10: Smithing Art

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After a deep exhale, Ou Yangming awoke from the mysterious state and realized that he was still in a martial-art squat.

"Fella, you may stand up." A hoarse voice was heard, which came from Chen Yifan. "Are you going to squat forever?"

Ou Yangming jumped up due to the shock, then quickly stood straight. "Yes, General."

Chen Yifan was satisfied. "You're Ou Yangming, right?"

"Yes, General." Ou Yangming was puzzled because Old Craftsman had introduced them to each other the day before.

However, he was unaware that it was not at all simple for an important figure to remember his name. If he could not give a good impression through his performance, Chen Yifan would never have remembered his name.

"Mm, Little Ming, you have a good aptitude and you'll definitely succeed in the future if you're hardworking in cultivating martial arts, but the most important thing about cultivation is perseverance. For the coming month, train according to what I taught you today," Chen Yifan mentioned, then looked at Ou Yangming meaningfully. "Come find me again in ten days."

Ou Yangming stuttered a little. Though he was confused, he dared not question Chen Yifan upon seeing his strict look, so he obeyed him and left.

Chen Yifan shook his head when he watched Ou Yangming leave.

It was true that Ou Yangming had a great aptitude, but he was slightly too old, thus his success would really depend on his hard work.

If he could give his utmost effort, Chen Yifan would be willing to lend him a helping hand, but if the young fellow was not self-motivated, there was no point for him to trouble himself.

By the time Ou Yangming returned to the Armament Camp after leaving the West Camp, he noticed that everyone was already having lunch.

He was rather shocked as he did not think that he spent the whole morning practicing the martial-art squat. Moreover, his body was not sore at all and he was still so energized that his body was still full of strength.

When he clenched his fists, he vaguely felt that his strength increased again. Indeed, a martial arts exercise like that could easily get one addicted.

Nevertheless, he did not know that the miraculous effect from his cultivation earlier was not due to his exceptional talent, but because his body was really full of Qi and blood, and his mental power was above average. This was why Chen Yifan was moved by his performance.

The foundation of martial arts was the practice of Qi and blood.

A person who was new to martial arts would first find a way to increase one's Qi and blood, because that was the only way to cultivate better martial art skill.

Ou Yangming's Qi and blood were initially ordinary, but they became rich and abundant after his fight at the armory.

If his Qi and blood were not properly guided, most of it would disappear after staying in his body for some time, but coincidentally, he had an encounter with Chen Yifan and began his martial arts journey.

Therefore, the abundant Qi and blood slowly transformed into martial arts power inside his body, which would not be wasted anymore.

Needless to say, doing the martial-art squat once would not transform all his Qi and blood, so he had to work harder if he wanted to be more successful.

After having his lunch in the kitchen, Ou Yangming went to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop.

Although Old Craftsman accepted the task of smithing an armament for Chen Yifan, he still had free time to guide Ou Yangming in controlling his Military Fire.

"You did well today, it's a good thing to gain General Chen's approval." As soon as they met, he asked how Ou Yangming's meeting with Chen Yifan was, then added, "Since it's General Chen's order, for the coming ten days, you'll be doing martial-art squat in the morning, and will practice using the Military Fire in the afternoon."

Ou Yangming nodded, then began practicing his fundamentals in the Military Fire under Old Craftsman's guidance and supervision.

He had a new discovery this time, which was that the Military Fire's consumption was not limited to physical power and mental power only because he realized that the mysterious aura produced from doing martial-art squats could also provide energy to the fire. What made him more surprised was that the energy efficiency from that aura seemed to be much stronger than his physical energy.

If he had more of that aura, he could possibly endure for a longer time.

When Ou Yangming figured that out, he became more driven in practicing martial arts.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and ten days had passed.

For the ten days, Ou Yangming had been worried that Zhang Yinfan might have found evidence or clues and was going to take his life in revenge. Nonetheless, Zhang Yinfan did not make a move for some reason, and there was no news about Zhang Hanyu's disappearance at all.

It was as though Zhang Hanyu never existed.

Even though Ou Yangming knew that something was off, he was glad as long as he was not involved.

After ten days, he headed to the West Camp to meet Chen Yifan.

Chen Yifan was surprised when he scanned him from head to toe and frowned "Young fella, you've been cultivating well these days, but… Have you not been eating?"

Ou Yangming was stunned and bewildered.

He quickly responded, "General, I've been eating well!"

"Your Qi and blood are much weaker now, you can't let this go on." Chen Yifan shook his head, then pondered, "You must get extra nutrition, or you might not be able to keep up with the cultivation, which is more harmful than helpful."

Ou Yangming was startled. "Thank you, General."

When he recalled how he had been cultivating, he was touched.

While Ou Yangming had been getting stronger due to the aura that was produced from doing martial-art squats, his growth during the last few days was not as good as before.

He would have been extremely satisfied if he did not compare his progress, but how could he be content if he suddenly switched from having scrumptious food to having just vegetables and beancurd?

All of a sudden, he made a guess, but he needed to verify his thought.

Subsequently, he did the martial-art squat for an hour under Chen Yifan's watch. Chen Yifan had a strange look after the session, and he said to him, "I have some good ingredients with me, and I'll ask someone to send them over to you later. You should… Train for another ten days."

Ou Yangming responded to him, then left.

Chen Yifan shook his head as he was confused. The results of the young fellow's cultivation after ten days were quite obvious, such that his aura stabilized and he was indeed a genius to be able to accomplish what he did in ten days. Despite that, Ou Yangming's Qi and blood were no longer rich, and Chen Yifan could not figure out why.

He ordered his men to send some precious ingredients over to Ou Yangming as that was the only thing he could do. If Ou Yangming could not recover his previous state, it would be quite tough for him to advance further.

Ou Yangming returned to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop after he left the camp.

On his way there, he had been thinking a lot and was struck with a very fearsome thought.

'Was I abundant in Qi and blood because of what happened that day?'

When he thought about how Zhang Hanyu disappeared strangely in front of him, he felt chills down his spine. If he could, he definitely would not want to repeat the incident again.

It was also after the battle of life and death that he realized that he would be like fish on a chopping board that could be chopped any time if he was not powerful enough to protect himself.

That being said, success could not be achieved in a day. Before he could protect himself through martial arts, he needed some other tricks or another identity.

While gritting his teeth, Ou Yangming approached Old Craftsman. "Old man, I want to learn Military Fire Smithing Technique."

Old Craftsman pondered for a while, then replied, "Okay, since you can somewhat control your Military Fire, you can start learning."

Although Ou Yangming could restore some weapons, and also met Old Craftsman's expectations, the restoration and smithing of weapons were two different things.

If one could not complete the whole process of smithing a weapon, how could one be a qualified blacksmith?

Since Old Craftsman decided to teach him, he was not going to hide any tricks from him. As such, he taught him how to pick materials, shape weapons using the Military Fire, polish important parts, and so on.

Ou Yangming was totally immersed in learning. When he combined his knowledge about the fire with what he already knew, he felt like everything became clear to him.

Under Old Craftsman's guidance, he selected a good iron ingot, melted it with his Military Fire, then began refining it.

Military Fire Smithing Technique was extremely different from normal smithing techniques. As long as one had enough physical power, the results produced by the fire could not be matched by those that were forged using the normal way.

Ou Yangming could not afford to use his Military Power since he had enough power.

In his hands, his Military Fire seemed to have grown a size bigger, and the iron ingot was transformed into a huge steel saber in no time.

The steel saber shone brightly in the fire, and since the fire was also burning violently, they looked terrifying as a whole.

Old Craftsman was thrilled as he did not expect Ou Yangming to succeed on his first try. A brief moment later, he was at ease again.

'Not only does he have mental power, but he also has some achievements in martial arts. With the abundant supply from his Military Fire, it's clearly easier for him to smith something like that.'

At last, a brand new military saber was produced.

Ou Yangming was excited when he looked at the saber because a list of attributes instantly appeared.

[Item: Military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Armament, Common Grade, Rank Two]

[Attributes: Sharpness 2, Toughness 2, Durability 2]

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A military saber, it was a real military saber.

Ou Yangming felt an upsurge of emotions when he looked at the saber in his hands.

In the past, he had restored military sabers that had stronger attributes than the one he currently held, which was almost like a blank slate, but one that was restored and one that was forged could not be discussed on equal terms.

This military saber was the first weapon Ou Yangming had ever forged.

It might not have great attributes, but its commemorative significance was extraordinary.

A wrinkled hand with calluses reached over for the military saber.

Ou Yangming looked at Old Craftsman eagerly, hoping to hear praise.

However, the old man turned the saber around to look at it for some time, then tossed it back to him. "It's barely satisfactory, but it's okay."

Ou Yangming's excitement instantly disappeared as though a pail of cold water had been poured on him, and sighed when he looked at the saber. Nevertheless, he was aware that though he smithed the saber, its attributes were no different from something forged by ordinary craftsmen.

For a Military Fire Blacksmith to create a military saber of this quality, it was actually very nice of Old Craftsman to have evaluated it as barely satisfactory.

Old Craftsman tapped on Ou Yangming's shoulder. "Listen carefully, a real Military Fire Blacksmith isn't an ordinary blacksmith. Each time you forge a weapon, you must use your heart."

Ou Yangming was stunned. "Use my heart?"

He was puzzled. Ou Yangming was really attentive when using his Military Fire, and was never distracted. Why did Old Craftsman say that he was not using his heart?

Old Craftsman explained seriously, "Young fella, the Military Fire is a natural gift. Not only is it used for smithing, but it's also used to probe an item's nature. During the smithing process, you must use your heart to perceive the item's nature, and evenly spread the best and strongest to the important parts."

Ou Yangming widened his mouth, his eyelids twitching, and his heart pounding.

'Nature.'

'What's an item's nature, and how to spread it to the important parts evenly?'

Oddly enough, he felt that he grasped the main points of what the old man was saying.

Upon seeing Ou Yangming deep in thought, Old Craftsman nodded.

A master would lead one's apprentice to the door, but the rest would be up to the apprentice's effort. All Military Fire Blacksmiths had their own experience in the understanding and usage of the Military Fire. However, not all could pass on their experience, and not all experiences would be accepted.

That being said, Old Craftsman saw hope in Ou Yangming.

'Perhaps this fella really can inherit my legacy, and will carry forward the experience I've gained over the decades.'

"Come, watch how I do it, and use your heart to perceive."

Subsequently, Old Craftsman retrieved an iron ingot and began forging it using the Military Fire.

The Military Fire could only be used by consuming one's physical power, and the old man's was no longer at its peak. However, the moment he produced the fire with his hands, Ou Yangming was completely drawn to it.

Previously, Ou Yangming had not possessed the Military Fire, and only felt envy whenever he watched.

Since he acquired the fire, he comprehended it differently. The Military Fire appeared like a dancing elf to him, and under the elf's guidance, the iron ingot underwent wonderful changes.

Due to his old age, Old Craftsman was extremely careful with how he used his Military Fire, and almost every bit of the fire's energy was used to its limit. This was the difference between the apprentice and his master. It was certainly not a gap that could be filled in a short period of time.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming was already practicing martial arts, and also had mental power to supply his Military Fire, so in terms of persistence, he was above Old Craftsman.

"Boom…"

Old Craftsman's Military Fire burned for some time before he exhaled deeply, then he handed the smithed military saber to Ou Yangming. "Did you watch me carefully?"

Ou Yangming took the saber carefully, then a light shone on his palm, and he quickly identified its attributes.

[Item: Outstanding military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Two]

[Attributes: Sharpness 7, Toughness 5, Durability 7]

'Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Two…'

Upon seeing the item's equivalent rank, Ou Yangming was in awe.

This was because he understood the meaning of Good Grade better than he did before.

Back then, in order to produce a broken saber of Good Grade Rank One, which had a toughness of 6, he had had to put in a lot of effort on many abandoned weapons. It was this broken saber that easily broke Zhang Hanyu's short sword, and even killed him.

Now, using similar iron ingots, he managed to smith an ordinary military saber, while Old Craftsman had forged an outstanding one that was of Good Grade Rank Two.

"I'm old and not that fit anymore." Old Craftsman later remarked, shaking his head. "With raw material of this grade, I could've smithed something better in the past. Hehe, if I were to use aluminum, I can even smith one with a fine grade!"

Ou Yangming nodded his head non-stop. Since he had worked with the old man for many years, he was not a stranger to weapons' grades and ranks.

Corresponding with a soldier's martial art cultivation base, which were Force, Yin, Yang, and Extreme, armaments were separated into Common Grade, Good Grade, High Grade, and Fine Grade.

For all that, regular soldiers only used Common Grade armaments. The higher the grades of those items, the more precious they were, This meant that they could not be easily attainable by normal people.

Needless to say, weapons and armors of higher grades were more difficult to create. Even if a normal person wanted to smith a top-grade item, one would not actually have the raw materials to do so.

The qualities of the trial items made by Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming using iron ingots were quite decent, but forging Good Quality items was the limit of what iron ingots could be used for.

Old Craftsman was able to unleash the iron ingot's extreme quality. Military Fire Blacksmiths like him were true masters, which was why General Chen Yifan regarded him with the utmost respect.

While he said that he was exhausted, he did not look like he was in low spirits at all. Instead, he began passionately explaining things to Ou Yangming.

Following his explanation and demonstration, Ou Yangming's eyes glowed, and he slowly became more excited.

Old Craftsman chuckled. "That's all the experience I have. If you'd like to try, get started!"

"Okay!" Ou Yangming nodded. He retrieved another iron ingot, then began following Old Craftsman's words. Instead of releasing his Military Fire right away, he took a deep breath to calm himself down as much as possible.

During the smithing process, one had to be so focused that one could ignore any sort of noise, even someone shouting right in one's ears.

Of course, it was impossible for Ou Yangming to achieve that now, but he would get there if he kept working.

Right when he calmed himself down to a certain level, a purple light shone in his mind, and an ice-cold aura filled his body. Even so, he did not feel cold at all. His consciousness withdrew from his body, and he observed it from a distance.

Under this wonderful condition, his mental state became exceptionally peaceful, as if his feelings had been sealed away. He became like a robot and was completely emotionless.

Afterward, his Military Fire ignited in his hands.

As the flame burned, the iron ingot gradually transformed into a military saber.

Old Craftsman stared at Ou Yangming closely, paying close attention to the Military Fire that appeared like a dancing elf. His face reddened as he mumbled, "How is this possible?"

Ou Yangming was trying his best to imitate what Old Craftsman did earlier. Although it was impossible for him to do it as effortlessly as the old man had, due to the difference in their experience, Old Craftsman saw a charm through his dancing fire.

It was an indescribable feeling, similar to what he had been pursuing after using the Military Fire for decades.

He held his hands together tightly while he watched the light that he had never seen before.

There was only a thought in his head at that moment.

'I have a worthy successor, I have a worthy successor!'

Ou Yangming was fully immersed in what he was doing. When the military saber was about to be formed, a sentence appeared in his mind.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

Previously, he would have been distracted if this happened, but since he was completely composed now, he picked yes without any hesitation.

Therefore, his Military Fire lasted for a longer time, and the accumulated purple lights in his mind began drifting toward the military saber.

However, when one of the lights moved, he forced it back to his mind.

Whenever the military saber's attributes fluctuated, Ou Yangming used the Military Fire to distribute them evenly to the important parts.

All of a sudden, he had a feeling that he could not increase those attributes anymore, because the saber's raw material would not be able to withstand it.

As such, he shook his wrist a little, and the burning Military Fire slowly dimmed until it disappeared.

Consequently, a brand new military saber was formed.

Using the Military Fire, a list of details appeared brightly.

[Item: Outstanding military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 10, Toughness 10, Durability 6]

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Chapter 12: Killing A Pig

1

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Old Craftsman was speechless for a long time when he held the newly forged military saber.

He looked at Ou Yangming, intending to criticize him a little to prevent him from growing arrogant, but found he could not do so.

Although he could not tell the military saber's specific attributes with his sight, he could sense that it was a top-notch Good Grade item. It had been a long time since he had met anyone who could forge a military saber of such quality using a concentrated iron ingot, and without mixing other items.

When Old Craftsman was forty, and his body quality had not declined, he was at his peak. He used concentrated iron ingots of the same grade to smith a top-notch Good Grade military saber.

Needless to say, the probability of him forging a fine item like that was very low, at most one in ten. Even then, it was what helped him become the chief of the Military Fire Blacksmiths, and he had been unsurpassed ever since.

Nonetheless, as he aged, it was no longer easy for him to perform something like that anymore.

A moment later when he looked at the Military Fire in his hands, his eyes went blurry.

'B*stard, you don't disappoint…'

Ou Yangming looked at him carefully, and asked softly, "Old Man, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, you did pretty well, but you're still lacking in some areas." Old Craftsman waved his hand and held back his emotions. He then took Ou Yangming by the hand and showed him the mistakes he made during the smithing process, explaining how he could improve them.

Ou Yangming paid full attention to him and remembered everything that the old man said.

Though he had the wonderful purple light in his mind that allowed him to shift attributes around, it did not mean that he did not need to learn the art of smithing.

Old Craftsman spoke for a long time before he said. "What you used were some concentrated ordinary iron ingots, so, by producing a military saber of this level, you've hit the limit. Mm, when I gather better materials next time, I hope that you can surpass me."

Ou Yangming was moved. He asked, "Old Man, what if I smith a better weapon using concentrated iron ingot?"

"Don't get your head in the clouds, you should know that. If you elevate the weapon's quality by force, it'll only end up breaking." Old Craftsman shook his head, then added after a pause, "The amount of cargo on a ship depends on the ship's size, the same goes to the amount of rice a person eats. You must remember not to force anything."

Ou Yangming quickly nodded. He was aware of it because when he tried to improve the saber's attributes earlier, he had a feeling that it was going to break. Luckily, he stopped, or the saber would have shattered into pieces.

After a moment of hesitation, Old Craftsman commented, "Your military saber is indeed a fine item, but the development of its edge is a little excessive, so you must be careful when you use it, or it'll be damaged beyond its original quality."

Ou Yangming was stunned, then looked at the military saber.

While the saber's sharpness and toughness were at the upper limit of Good Grade, which was 10, its durability was only 6.

It was then that he finally realized his mistake. Compared to Old Craftsman's method, his was indeed much fresher. Without the ability to substitute the attributes stealthily, his saber could not be compared with the old man's at all.

He bowed to Old Craftsman, then mentioned sincerely, "Old Man, thanks for your pointers."

Old Craftsman chuckled and waved his hand. "Alright, since you've smithed two military sabers in a row, you should rest. Remember, learn more, practice more, and think more."

Ou Yangming answered him politely, then stared at the Good Grade Rank Five military saber for a long time.

Old Craftsman laughed. "You're such a little weasel. Keep it, you smithed it after all."

Ou Yangming cheered instantly, then picked up the military saber as well as a random scabbard before he left.

It was natural for a military camp to have strict rules. Though it was not strange to carry a military saber around, if a person carried one without permission and was found, it was a huge sin. Since Old Craftsman gave him permission, he was no longer worried.

After all, nobody would say anything about the old man giving his apprentice a martial tool.

Ou Yangming took long strides in the military camp while carrying his saber. Perhaps because he was finally carrying a sharp tool, his footsteps were very light.

Soon enough, he arrived at the camp's entrance.

According to what he had heard, there was a dense forest 15 kilometers to the west of the camp. The forest had countless ferocious beasts, which made it a good hunting spot for the men in the camp.

Of course, those who hunted in the forest were first-class men in the military, but people often went missing without ever returning. It was said that those who did not return were killed by the beasts, and their skeletons could not be found.

Nevertheless, the men from the military often went into the dangerous forest together to hunt, and they sometimes competed with each other over the number of kills they got.

Ou Yangming held his military saber tightly as he looked to the west fervently.

He pictured a beautiful scene in his head, where he used his saber to kill every beast in his way, and he hunted so many of them that he received a lot of respect.

It was natural for men in the military camp to dream about being victorious.

Knowing that it was impossible in reality, Ou Yangming buried this thought.

However, since he began cultivating martial arts, and possessed a top-notch Good Grade military saber, his hidden ambition burned fiercely, like a prairie fire.

Following that, he hurried toward the… The South of the military camp.

The west of the military camp was where the dangerous forest was situated. For those who entered it, one would either return with glory or be killed in the forest.

While Ou Yangming was ambitious, he was not a fool, so he knew that his present self was not qualified enough to enter the forest. Perhaps his dream would come true one day, but it would definitely not happen now.

Should he venture into the forest now, he would very likely become food for a ferocious beast, and would later turn into feces, which was only an insignificant source of nutrition for the plants.

Thus, he got rid of his delusion and ran toward the south.

There was also a camp that occupied a huge space at the south side of the military camp, but it was loosely guarded, so nobody noticed Ou Yangming when he tried to sneak in.

The camp was surrounded by a railing made of wood, and the place smelled so awful that people would want to leave when they got close.

Despite that, it seemed to be Ou Yangming's first time smelling the scent. He went closer to the railing carefully, then lowered his hand, and crawled in in a flash.

After walking along the railing for a while, he entered a barracks.

In the barracks, numerous white and fat pigs were scattered everywhere, gobbling up food from a hollow stone trough.

Pigs.

Yes, this was where livestock was most abundant in the camp.

In comparison with the dense forest in the west, the giant pigpen was extremely safe.

After Ou Yangming looked around to confirm that nobody was present, he took a deep breath, then pulled his military saber out of its scabbard. The moment his Military Fire flashed, the strangest attribute in his mind instantly entered the saber.

Next, there was a wonderful change to the military saber's attributes.

[Item: Outstanding military saber (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 10, Toughness 10, Devouring 1, Durability 6]

On top of the base attributes, a devouring 1 attributed was added. Besides, the item's name had the word red shown in a bracket.

Ou Yangming was stunned. 'What does the red mean?'

When he killed Zhang Hanyu, he did not recall seeing a similar word.

'Was it because I used a broken saber, so the words didn't show?'

He shook his head, then got rid of all his questions. He had come here to verify something, not figure out the military saber's secret.

When he looked at the fat pigs, so focused on eating that they neglected their surroundings, he gritted his teeth, then slashed his saber at the fattest pig.

Owing to the fact that his military saber was a treasure saber that was at the peak of Good Grade, a slash could split normal steel, let alone a person's body.

With that, the saber was slashed into the domestic pig's body.

Next, a strange thing happened.

The domestic pig actually had a body that was much bigger than Ou Yangming's and was probably 500 to 600 pounds, so it should not die immediately after being slashed by a saber.

That being said, when the saber cut the pig's body, the pig shivered violently and fell to the ground, unable to move. Later, it shriveled at average speed, and its flesh, its skin, and its bones transformed into energy that was absorbed by Ou Yangming's saber.

Instead of staying in the military saber, the energies gushed into his body through the saber.

Consequently, Ou Yangming felt his blood boil, and he became unusually excited. Additionally, he felt that he was filled with Qi and blood again.

In a flash, a huge domestic pig vanished into thin air, even its hair had disappeared.

Ou Yangming breathed heavily, his eyes were bright, and he cheered to himself.

'As expected, that's what happens!'

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Chapter 13: Force Grade Martial Artist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before Ou Yangming practiced martial arts, General Chen mentioned that he was rich in Qi and blood, and was truly a beginner in embryo1. It was later proven that his performance did not disappoint Chen Yifan. When he first did stake standing, he displayed a strong talent and cultivated a hint of inner breath.

Chen Yifan gasped in amazement and praised him for his achievement.

Nevertheless, the last time they met, there was a change in Chen Yifan's attitude, and it was because he noticed a decline in Ou Yangming's Qi and blood.

Based on Ou Yangming's age, though he could still practice martial arts, it was necessary for him to be abundant with Qi and blood if he wanted to reach the peak. If the Qi and blood that moved Chen Yifan disappeared, naturally, he would not spend too much time on Ou Yangming.

In actual fact, without Zhang Yinfan and his nephew, Ou Yangming might not actually bother with Chen Yifan. After all, he had Old Craftsman to support him and was totally immersed in the usage of the Military Fire, thus his desire to learn martial arts was not as strong as before.

However, he could not lower his guard since Zhang Yinfan was still in the military camp. It was a matter of life or death for him.

Other people might make guesses, but Ou Yangming knew very well that he was definitely not a remarkable talent in martial arts. The only reason he was previously rich in Qi and blood was that he used a broken saber to kill Zhang Hanyu.

By killing a domestic pig with a treasure saber, he verified that the richness of his Qi and blood were related to the killing of Zhang Hanyu. No, it was probably related to the devouring attribute in his treasure saber.

The devouring attribute was strange and unpredictable as it could devour a person and a pig completely without leaving anything behind, as well as transform the devoured energy into Qi and blood for his body. Had he not experienced it first hand, he would not have believed it.

Nonetheless, when he thought about it, this peculiar devouring attribute actually came from the cylinder carried by Zhang Hanyu.

The fellow had reaped what he sowed, and it benefited Ou Yangming instead.

Ou Yangming frowned when he sensed his Qi and blood stirring in his body. He noticed that they were plentiful but far from being as full as the previous time.

He stomped his feet and decided since he had already killed one, to not go easy on the pigs anymore.

He left the pigpen carefully, then went to another pigpen.

Similarly, he killed the biggest fat pig without leaving a trace due to the devouring attribute. Additionally, since the pigs had been tamed and were not wild, they did not attack him even though they feared him.

Ou Yangming quickly sensed around him again, then went to the third pigpen, and went after a third pig.

Only after that did he finally feel that his Qi and blood were full to the brim.

He was rather shocked because each fat pig killed weighed roughly 500 to 600 kilograms, which amounted to around 1500 kilograms.

Despite that, he realized that the Qi and blood gained from the three fat pigs were not much different from Zhang Hanyu's, which made him fearful.

Zhang Hanyu was definitely a martial arts powerhouse, much more powerful than Ou Yangming. It was terrible luck to have been killed by Ou Yangming.

Since Ou Yangming had replenished his Qi and blood, he was not going to stay in this place much longer. He used his Military Fire to draw the frightening devouring attribute, and as it disappeared from the saber, the red words in brackets beside the item's name disappeared as well.

Following that, he returned the way he came, which was a path he had taken many times. Throughout his journey, he was not noticed by many people.

Once he returned to his room, he washed up to remove the odor on his body and changed into clean clothes before he was finally at ease.

After calming himself down, he began cultivating the martial-art squat taught by Chen Yifan and instantly felt the surge of his Qi and blood. They flowed in an unimaginable speed through his meridians, then slowly transformed into his power.

The richer his Qi and blood were, the easier it was for him to cultivate.

A strong man who wielded a meteor hammer could easily swing it around, but if a skinny, disabled person were to use it, it would be more like a suicidal tool than a martial tool used to sweep millions of enemies away.

Ou Yangming felt the same when he did the martial-art squat. Starting out was great, but as his Qi and blood slowly transformed into his own power, dissipating over time, the obvious result was that his cultivation eventually reduced to around the same as a normal person's.

When he did the squat again, he no longer felt the strong pleasure he felt during his first cultivation. A substantial amount of Qi and blood turned into energy in his body, and he could not stop even if he wanted to.

As a matter of fact, though the devouring effect was indeed terrifying, it consumed significant amounts of energy during the transformation of Qi and blood, the martial-art squat cultivation was similar. In a way, only ten percent of the energy that was devoured could be used.

In terms of price-performance ratio, it was an unfavorable cultivation method.

That said, it was a shortcut for Ou Yangming to increase his strength. Due to the enormous pressure from Zhang Yinfan, he dared not take it easy.

After a long time, when he stopped his training, a series of explosions were heard coming from his bones.

Later, a great deal of energy gathered in his dantian, forming a small light.

Ou Yangming was stunned for a while, then he concentrated on his mental conception to probe his dantian and immediately sensed the broad-bean-sized light.

He shivered a little as he was in disbelief and elated at the same time. Since he had been in the military camp for a long time, even though he had never cultivated martial arts, through hearsay from some martial artists, he knew a thing or two about martial arts cultivation.

The four martial arts boundaries were Force, Yin, Yang, and Extreme.

A Force Artist built one's body to enrich Qi and blood, sensed the flow of aura, and gathered energies in the dantian.

A Yin Artist tempered Qi in the dantian to be endless, preparing for a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

A Yang Artist moved into Yang upon reaching the extremity of Yin, such that one in the Yang Boundary could break a stele with bare hands, and was known as the enemy of a hundred people.

An Extreme Artist had reached the peak of martial arts cultivation, where the Yin and Yang energies in one's body became one and would change endlessly, according to one's heart desires.

Zhang Hanyu used to be a Force Artist, which was why he was so at ease when he fought Ou Yangming. Without the Military Fire and the sneak attack from the strange devouring ability of Ou Yangming's broken saber, the final result would be the total opposite.

Ou Yangming also knew that the symbol of a Force Artist was powerful energies, which were accumulated in the dantian as light.

Yes, it was the light he sensed earlier. While the light was weak and small, like candlelight that was being blown by the wind, it was indeed Dantian Light. This meant that he had become a real martial artist after the cultivation.

Although he was only a Force Artist of the lowest level and had just entered the Force Boundary, which was far from the peak like Zhang Hanyu was, his status was completely different now.

Ou Yangming jumped up excitedly, then ran back to Old Craftsman's barracks, but the old man was not there. He quickly realized the Old Craftsman was definitely at his smithing workshop.

Old Craftsman had been fully focused on smithing a suitable weapon for Chen Yifan.

Apart from giving Ou Yangming pointers, he paid attention to nothing else.

At the smithing workshop, Ou Yangming saw Old Craftsman touching an ore while deep in thought.

Normally, Ou Yangming would not have disturbed the old man, but he was so thrilled that he wanted to share it with someone, and Old Craftsman was the person closest to him. Therefore, he could not control his excitement. "Old Man, I did it!"

Old Craftsman was taken by surprise, so he scolded, "Little b*stard, why are you making such a big fuss?"

Ou Yangming giggled. "Old Man, I became a martial artist!"

"So what if you became a martial art… Eh? What did you say?" Old Craftsman was shocked when he realized what had happened.

Ou Yangming mentioned, "Old Man, General Chen taught me a martial-art squat technique to cultivate my energy, and I've been following it for a few days. I finally sensed Dantian Light just now!"

Old Craftsman was dumbfounded. A brief moment later, he reached his hand out to place it on Ou Yangming's dantian.

Subsequently, his face twitched.

Even though he was old, he was still an excellent martial artist. While he could not be said to be on equal terms with Chen Yifan, he could identify Dantian Light.

'A little more than ten days, it has only been a little more than ten days, yet he's refined his Qi and blood, and gathered them into the light.'

When he thought about Ou Yangming's talent in the Military Fire too, he felt dizzy.

After a long time, he finally collected himself, then glanced at Ou Yangming. "Young fella, go meet General Chen tomorrow morning."

Ou Yangming was stunned. "Why?"

Old Craftsman explained, "He's the one who passed you the martial art technique, so he must be informed if you succeed."

Ou Yangming nodded and agreed.

Upon seeing Ou Yangming's silly smile, Old Craftsman wondered. 'Indeed, I've grown old, I couldn't tell that he's actually a martial arts genius.'

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The next morning, Ou Yangming went to the West Camp happily.

He had become familiar with the place, and the soldiers under Chen Yifan no longer found him strange, so he met Chen Yifan successfully.

The general was training his soldiers, and under his supervision, hundreds of soldiers in armor practiced Joint Attack Art. Normally, outsiders were not allowed to observe the practice of Joint Attack Art, but who really cared about an underage fellow?

Ou Yangming watched with great interest and could not wait to do that as well.

Nonetheless, he knew very well that those on the drill ground were at least Force Artists, but unlike him, they underwent severe training to acquire Dantian Light and grasped certain powerful techniques. If he were to battle them… Unless the same situation with Zhang Hanyu appeared again, he would definitely die.

"Hehe, young fella, you seem fascinated." A hearty laugh was heard beside Ou Yangming. "Do you want to join them?"

Ou Yangming, who was surprised, quickly turned to look.

As soon as he saw who it was, he exhaled deeply. "Captain Liu, are you trying to scare me to death?"

Captain Liu was not an outsider. His full name was Liu Zhengye, and he was General Chen's guard captain, in charge of the Guards that had a hundred elite people. As such, he was one of Chen Yifan's confidants.

Naturally, Ou Yangming was insignificant to him, but being one of General Chen's confidants, he was aware that the general valued the young fellow, so he was extra friendly and polite to him.

About Ou Yangming watching the soldiers drill… Since the general said nothing about it, he would not care too much.

Liu Zhengye asked with a smile, "You're here to find the general? I think he's not here today."

Ou Yangming quickly replied, "Captain Liu, the old man asked me to come."

Liu Zhengye then said seriously, "Old Craftsman? Why did he ask you to come? Is there something wrong with the martial tool he's making for General Chen?"

Ou Yangming waved his hand. "Captain Liu, don't worry, do you not trust the old man's skill?"

Liu Zhengye was relieved. He knew that the general was very hopeful about the smithing of his weapon, and would be extremely unhappy if something were to go wrong.

He stared at Ou Yangming snappily, then said, "Why are you here if it's not about the martial tool? Hmph, the general is very busy, he doesn't have much time for you."

Ou Yangming pouted his lips. "Okay, I'll leave then."

Liu Zhengye was stunned. He grabbed the young fellow, then demanded, "Don't go, tell me what it is."

Normally, he would not have cared, but since Old Craftsman was smithing a divine weapon for the general, it would be more harm than good if Old Craftsman was upset about anything.

Ou Yangming shrugged. "I managed to acquire Dantian Light yesterday, so the old man asked me to come and look for the general."

"Oh, Dantian… What? You acquired Dantian Light?" Liu Zhengye was unconcerned at first because he had seen many martial artists in the military, thus he thought little of a Force Grade martial artist who had just obtained Dantian Light. However, at that instant, he understood why Old Craftsman had sent Ou Yangming here.

Ou Yangming nodded. "Yes, I can't lie about something like this."

Liu Zhengye twitched his mouth, then asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you've only strengthened your muscles and bones in less than half a month, right?"

Ou Yangming thought for a while, then answered, "Almost."

Liu Zhengye cursed to himself. 'What do you mean by almost? You became a martial artist by doing the martial-art squat for half a month, that's… That's unbelievable.'

He suddenly reached his hand out to place it on Ou Yangming's dantian.

Ou Yangming was stunned and could not react in time, so Liu Zhengye managed to get him.

"Not bad, you really attained Dantian Light." Nevertheless, Liu Zhengye did not mean ill. He withdrew his hand a brief moment later and nodded. "General is drilling soldiers at the moment, and he'll only be done in half an hour, so you can wait in the tent."

Ou Yangming nodded with a lingering fear, then hurried away. He cursed silently. 'Captain Liu's strength is much higher than Zhang Hanyu's, but a sudden attack is not a good habit.'

Half an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.

Soon, Chen Yifan walked into the tent majestically, then looked at Ou Yangming with his lightning eyes. "Nice, your aptitude is decent. You didn't let me down."

Ou Yangming shivered a little because the look from Chen Yifan actually made him slightly afraid.

Old Craftsman and Liu Zhengye verified his status as a Force Grade martial artist by touching his dantian, yet Chen Yifan had verified it by just taking a look at him.

However, what Ou Yangming did not know was that Chen Yifan was equally shocked.

Ou Yangming's martial art path began from Chen Yifan, but he had only been taught a martial-art squat technique thus far.

It was the martial-art squat that turned him into a Force Artist in such a short period of time, which was definitely surprising. In fact, Chen Yifan had not expected it at all.

After pondering for a while, Chen Yifan mentioned, "Come with me."

Once they left the tent, he shouted, "Sui Hezhi, step out!"

"Yes!" A burly soldier ran over to him, then asked, "General, what orders do you have?"

Chen Yifan said as he pointed at the soldier, "Young fella, this is a normal soldier from the Guard, exchange a few blows with him."

Both Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi were startled, and they looked at each other in confusion.

Ou Yangming wondered. 'He's a big guy, won't I be courting death?'

Sui Hezhi thought to himself too. 'Can this beansprout-sized person withstand my punch?'

Cheng Yifan stared at them. "Why are you still standing there? Why aren't you fighting?"

"Yes," Sui Hezhi quickly responded, then cupped his hands at Ou Yangming. "Little brother, please excuse me."

Although he had no clue about Ou Yangming's identity, he had seen the young fellow before and knew that he was not an enemy. Besides, the general sounded like he wanted to test the young fellow's capability, thus Sui Hezhi was rather polite before they fought.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming's face turned gloomy, and he was about to decline when a vinegar-jar-sized fist whooshed in his direction.

Though Sui Hezhi was not on Liu Zhengye's level, he was too good to be matched by Ou Yangming.

Even if Sui Hezhi did not use all his might, Ou Yangming was extremely tense. Due to the sense of crisis, the purple light in his mind shone again, and his consciousness instantly exited his body. He was watching events from a distance.

At that instant, he deduced that it was impossible for him to withstand the impact from the punch, Sui Hezhi's power was above Zhang Hanyu's.

Without hesitation, Ou Yangming took a step back and drew his saber.

'Since I can't fight with my fists, I'll have to use a weapon. It was a simple and direct thought that he had.

Chen Yifan and the others were slightly stunned, but they quickly chuckled when they recalled that Ou Yangming was not a soldier. He was a blacksmith, so it was normal for him to boost his courage with a saber upon facing the fierce Sui Hezhi.

Sui Hezhi was surprised and looked at Chen Yifan. He was obviously not afraid of Ou Yangming's martial tool, but he was puzzled. 'Didn't the general mean to test the young fella? Why is he using a saber? What does that mean?'

Chen Yifan shook his head and laughed. "Coward! Hmph, Sui Hezhi, use your saber as well!"

Sui Hezhi instantly understood what the general meant, thus he shouted, "Little brother, be careful!"

Following that, he drew his saber. Honestly, he felt that he could take the young fellow out without using any weapon, but he dared not disobey the general.

Since he was asked to use his saber, he had to do it.

Saber-light flashed in the air as he used his dantian to slash downwards.

Of course, he used his strength carefully so that it would not hurt Ou Yangming who might not ward off the blow.

Ou Yangming gritted his teeth as he felt that Sui Hezhi's saber was so flexible that there was no way he could protect himself. At that instant, he decided to just lift his treasure saber and mindlessly swung it at his opponent.

Sui Hezhi was surprised. He had not expected the young fellow to have the courage to die together with him, but courage was not enough. He then pulled his saber back to block Ou Yangming's saber.

"Ding…"

A loud sound was heard, and Sui Hezhi's face changed. He did a reverse plank bridge at once to dodge the violent saber-light.

In the air, a broken blade section was seen rising for a while before it fell straight down into the soil.

Ou Yangming showed no mercy. Just as he acquired the upper hand with his saber, his eyes went blurry as he was kicked on the wrist.

It was a strong kick, which caused his treasure saber to fly into the air as though it had wings.

Subsequently, Sui Hezhi moved as fast as lightning, and jumped up like an ape to catch the treasure saber, then landed steadily.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming was dispirited as he held his red and swollen wrist.

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Chapter 15: This Saber, I Smithed It!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sui Hezhi's face changed a little, and he was embarrassed when he glanced at Chen Yifan.

He had not used his full strength when he blocked with his saber earlier, but he expected to easily let Ou Yangming have a bitter taste of his attack.

Obviously, he could not bully the weak in front of the general, but he had to display his strength too. After all, he was a part of the Guards, and would not have been chosen if he was not remarkably valiant.

However, the fact that the young fellow's treasure saber was so sharp had been completely unexpected.

There was no resistance at all when both sabers clashed, yet the military saber that Sui Hezhi had for over a year broke just like that. At that moment, he felt that his saber had been a big iron sheet instead of a military treasure saber.

Since he had been caught off guard, he could have been in danger had their strengths been similar, but there was actually a great disparity between their levels.

Therefore, Sui Hezhi subconsciously dodged, then kicked with his leg. At that moment, he remembered that they were just exchanging blows, and he was not fighting an enemy on the battlefield, so he did not kick Ou Yangming's chest, head, or any other important parts.

Even so, the kick was so strong that Ou Yangming could not withstand it.

As such, Sui Hezhi jumped aside and was at a loss as he held the saber in his hands.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming held his wrist carefully. Though it was not fractured, it was a ghastly sight as it was red and swollen.

Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye looked at each other, and they were both shocked.

Ou Yangming had never learned any martial arts skill and had only acquired Dantian Light the day before, so he had just crossed the threshold of a Force Artist. Meanwhile, the masters in the Guards led by Chen Yifan were carefully picked, even the weakest had the cultivation base of a Yin Artist at the peak.

It was justifiable for Sui Hezhi to injure Ou Yangming with his kick, but Ou Yangming's attack with his sword left them in awe. Of course, they were not surprised by his blade technique, they did not think much of such an insignificant technique.

It was the light from the treasure saber that moved them.

Chen Yifan waved his hand at Sui Hezhi.

Following that, the saber in Sui Hezhi's hand flew into his hand as though it had an invisible string tied to it.

Ou Yangming was struck dumb, and he thought to himself, 'It'd be great if I had a wonderful skill like that.' Slowly, the pain in his wrist lessened.

Chen Yifan took a good look at his treasure saber. "Not bad, this is a good item. It's probably at the peak of Good Grade, and is near to High Grade?"

Ou Yangming nodded. "General, you have a great sight. That's what the old man said too."

Old Craftsman could tell a military saber's quality by just looking at it, which was not strange at all since he dealt with weapons for years. Even if he were to close his eyes, he could feel with his hands.

For all that, Ou Yangming respected Chen Yifan for being able to point that out so easily.

The general's skill was genuine, and he was unlike a worthless person whose stomach was just full of straw bags.

Chen Yifan laughed. "Did Old Craftsman forge this for you to defend yourself? Hehe, he really treats you quite well!"

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while, then shook his head. "General, it wasn't Old Craftsman who smithed it."

"Oh?" Chen Yifan was stunned. He observed the saber carefully, then mentioned, "This is probably made from a featured iron ingot."

Ou Yangming nodded and replied earnestly, "General Chen, you have great sight!"

Chen Yifan could not help but laugh. If he was not interested in smithing and did not have a certain level of attainment, he would not have admired Old Craftsman.

Needless to say, he loved one thing on account of another, so he also regarded Ou Yangming with special respect.

"This is strange, this military saber is sharp, so it's obviously done by a skilled person. A person who can smith a saber of this level using a featured iron ingot probably has a profound skill that's not at all inferior to Old Craftsman, but…" After touching the saber, he frowned as he was puzzled, then he mumbled. "Why are there uneven spots on the blade? They seem like mistakes done by a beginner…"

Liu Zhengye and Sui Hezhi were dumbfounded, thinking that the general made a mistake.

If one could smith a military saber at the peak of Good Grade using a featured iron ingot, one was definitely not a normal craftsman. In the whole military camp, Old Craftsman was the only one who could achieve that, yet the general mentioned that there were mistakes done by a beginner. He was contradicting himself.

Nevertheless, Chen Yifan was the West Camp's general, so they dared not point out his mistake.

Ou Yangming's face reddened. "Is that so? Are there uneven spots on the blade?"

Chen Yifan laughed as he handed the treasure saber to him, then pointed. "Here."

Ou Yangming forgot about the immense pain on his wrist. He took his treasure saber, then touched it carefully. A brief moment later, his face changed because he finally felt the flaws that could not be seen through the naked eye.

It was no wonder that the durability of his treasure saber was only 6, and he realized that his smithing skill was indeed far from Old Craftsman's.

Ou Yangming sighed. "There really are flaws on the saber, I only paid attention to its sharpness and its toughness when I forged it, but I forgot about the other aspect of balance."

"Yes, the other aspect of balance is missing." Cheng Yifan nodded, but he quickly froze and stared at Ou Yangming. "What did you say?"

Ou Yangming was taken aback by his expression. He quickly answered, "I said that it lacks another aspect of balance, which is why its surface is…"

"Not this." Chen Yifan waved his hand to cut him off. "Did you say that you forged this?"

"Yes…" Ou Yangming nodded. He was confused about why the general was making such a big fuss.

Chen Yifan looked at him strangely, then asked. "Did you really smith this?"

"Yes." Ou Yangming gulped. He was not guilty of anything but was frightened by Chen Yifan's expression because of his status.

Chen Yifan looked at him for some time before he asked, "What did you smith it with?"

Ou Yangming answered without any hesitation, "A featured iron ingot and the Military Fire."

"A featured iron ingot and the Military Fire?" Chen Yifan's face twitched. "You're telling me that, less than a month after acquiring the Military Fire Seed, you can already smith a weapon at the peak of Good Grade using a featured iron ingot?"

'It hasn't even been a month since I got the Military Fire Seed.' Ou Yangming calculated in his head and wondered. Nonetheless, upon seeing Chen Yifan's expression, he decided not to comment, simply nodding.

Chen Yifan suddenly turned his head. "Zhengye, go to the Armament Camp to pick a featured iron ingot."

Liu Zhengye responded to him, then looked at Ou Yangming meaningfully before he left.

Subsequently, Chen Yifan waved his hand. "Sui Hezhi, bring him to the tent to rest."

"Yes." Sui Hezhi took a step forward. "Little brother, come with me."

Chen Yifan had always acted arbitrarily and never asked for other people's opinions. Feeling helpless, Ou Yangming could only follow Sui Hezhi to the tent.

Sui Hezhi did not leave after they entered the tent, instead, he apologized, "Little brother, please forgive me if I offended you earlier."

Ou Yangming took a look at his wrist. It was strange because despite being in tremendous pain earlier, his Qi and blood somehow helped him to feel much better in a flash.

Sui Hezhi praised him too, "Little brother, you're really rich in Qi and blood, You're definitely a potential martial artist. As long as you train under the general for a few days, I guarantee that you'll defeat me!"

Ou Yangming chuckled, and his bitter resentment toward him vanished into thin air.

Sui Hezhi was a member of the Guards led by General Chen and was considered one of the general's most trusted followers, yet he was flattering Ou Yangming. There was no way Ou Yangming could hate him.

Ou Yangming waved his hand. "Big Brother Sui, you're joking. I'm really sorry for breaking your saber just now."

Sui Hezhi instantly looked regretful. "Little brother, for soldiers like us, our weapon is our life. It's supposedly my turn to hunt in the forest tomorrow, but it looks like I won't be able to go."

Ou Yangming was intrigued. "Which forest?"

Sui Hezhi pointed at the west. "There's a forest near our camp…"

Ou Yangming's face changed right away. "Big Brother Sui, it's extremely dangerous to hunt in that forest!"

"We're used to it, so it's fine." Sui Hezhi laughed. He then looked around them before he asked, "Little brother, tell me the truth, did you really smith that saber?"

Ou Yangming smiled. "Why? Do you not trust me?"

"No, no, heroes are found hidden among youngsters, so of course I trust you, but…" Sui Hezhi quickly explained, then lowered his voice. "I think the general wants to test you immediately. If you're not well-prepared or have any difficulty, why don't you tell me? If the general finds out, he'll probably…"

Ou Yangming understood what he meant. He replied gratefully, "Big Brother Sui, don't worry, I got this."

Upon seeing his confident look, Sui Hezhi was somewhat bewildered. 'Did he really make that treasure saber?'

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Chapter 16: A Beautiful Misunderstanding

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye entered the tent one after the other.

They glanced at Sui Hezhi at the same time and noticed that he nodded his head vaguely.

Obviously, Chen Yifan made Sui Hezhi spend some time alone with Ou Yangming to find out the truth. He wanted to know if Ou Yangming had truly forged the treasure saber, or if he simply spoke nonsense to blow his own trumpet.

After all, if Chen Yifan were to expose him right away, it would be embarrassing.

However, they could tell from Sui Hezhi's expression that Ou Yangming did not say anything.

"Greetings, General." Ou Yangming immediately bowed at him.

Chen Yifan nodded slowly. "Young fella, I brought you a featured iron ingot, is this the one?"

Liu Zhengye handed him an iron ingot with a smile. "Little brother, here."

Ou Yangming accepted it to check it, and he could tell at once that it was indeed a featured iron ingot. It was of a higher quality than the ones he saw at Old Craftsman's workshop.

"General, are you asking me to smith a military saber for you here?"

Chen Yifan answered seriously, "That's right. Do your best, You're not required to forge one that's at the peak of Good Grade. As long as you forge one that's of Good Grade, or at the peak of Common Grade, you pass."

Success was not guaranteed when smithing weapons, even for an experienced Military Fire Blacksmith.

When Old Craftsman was at his peak, his success rate for smithing Good Grade military sabers using a featured iron ingot was only seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent were either discarded or of Common Grade.

If one in ten weapons forged was at the peak of Good Grade, it was considered a good result.

Therefore, Chen Yifan did not request something difficult. It was something that should not be a problem for Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming nodded, then his face changed. "Ah, General, can you wait for me for a while?"

Chen Yifan asked calmly, "What are you going to do?"

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. "General, I have something urgent to attend to. I'll be right back!" With that, he put the iron ingot down, left the tent, and was nowhere to be found.

Liu Zhengye and Sui Hezhi looked at each other, whereas Chen Yifan's face was completely dark.

It was natural for soldiers to be disciplined, thus it was their first time seeing someone escaping like Ou Yangming.

Liu Zhengye cleared his throat. "General, do you want me to bring him back?"

Chen Yifan pondered, then replied, "Forget it, he's not my soldier. Hmph, if he were, I would've already chopped his head off."

"Yes, yes. General, I don't think he smithed this saber. That's why he ran away." Liu Zhengye responded, then stared at Sui Hezhi. "What were you doing? Useless!"

Sui Hezhi was frustrated, but he dared not speak.

'Ou Yangming, why did you pretend to be something when you're just nothing? You dragged me into this. I'll definitely settle the score with you next time.'

Chen Yifan thought for a while, then mentioned, "That might not necessarily be the case. He can be quite short-tempered, but he doesn't look like a boastful person. Hehe, very well, I'll wait for him for half an hour."

Liu Zhenye and Sui Hezhi were startled. They could tell that the general was very fond of the young fellow.Ou Yangming scurried away from the West Camp because while he was able to smith a Good Grade military saber using the Military Fire, the purple lights that could draw and upgrade attributes were the key.

Sadly, he had used up the purple lights when he smithed the treasure saber, and could no longer forge anything good.

Therefore, he had no choice but to escape even though it would displease Chen Yifan.

In a flash, Ou Yangming went to the armaments warehouse. Upon seeing that nobody was present, he went to one of the piles to pick up a weapon, then began drawing its attributes.

His control over the Military Fire was much better compared to a few days ago, so over twenty purple light balls appeared in his mind in the blink of an eye.

Though he was short of time, he found it strange.

In the beginning, his mind could only store ten purple lights. He felt like his mind would explode if there were more. Now, there were over twenty lights in his mind, but he did not feel uncomfortable at all.

He guessed. 'Is this because I'm rich in Qi and blood, and also advanced to Force Grade martial art?'

Nevertheless, it was not the time to find out the truth. He picked another military saber, but just as he was about to absorb its attributes, he was shocked by what he saw.

Under his Military Fire's burning flame, the saber's attributes were clear to him.

It was a discarded military saber that only had a sharpness of 1, but it had another strange attribute, which was power 1.

Ou Yangming reacted faster than he thought. Before he figured out what it was, the power attribute turned into a purple light that entered his mind.

After a moment of hesitation, he threw the discarded saber away, then ran to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop.

"Old man!" Ou Yangming breathed heavily. "I want to ask you something!"

Old Craftsman was thinking about something at that moment, so his train of thought was cut off the moment Ou Yangming yelled. Although he snapped at the young fellow, he quickly stood up to pour a glass of water for him. "B*stard, what trouble did you cause this time? Drink some water, and tell me slowly."

Ou Yangming accepted the glass and downed the water, then replied, "Old man, General Chen wants me to smith a weapon in front of him. Should I show him my real skill?"

Old Craftsman was stunned, and he did not know whether to cry or laugh. "Did you run back here to ask this?"

"Yes!" Ou Yangming nodded. "General Chen and the others are still waiting at the West Camp!"

"Idiot, do you want me to die from anger? Hmph, come with me." Old Craftsman was mad, so he kicked him. He grabbed Ou Yangming, then ran to the West Camp.

As Ou Yangming followed, he thought to himself. 'Old man, you don't have to react like this, do you?'

In actual fact, he had only sought out Old Craftsman as an excuse, so he was surprised that the old man was so anxious.

Before long, they arrived at the tent.

Upon seeing Old Craftsman himself, Chen Yifan and the others sighed. 'The young fella really had lied.

'It makes sense. He acquired the Military Fire Seed less than a month ago, yet he claims that he can smith a military saber at the peak of Good Grade using a featured iron ingot. Such fantasies shouldn't be taken seriously. It would be really funny if anyone believed it…

'At least he's clever enough to bring Old Craftsman here.'

Chen Yinfan took a quick glance at Ou Yangming and said to himself, 'For the sake of Old Craftsman, I shall not make things difficult for him, but he's not going to be a useful person. There's no need for him to meet me anymore.'

"Hehe, Old Craftsman, why did you come here personally?" Chen Yifan stood up and smiled.

Old Craftsman pulled Ou Yangming's ear. "General Chen, I brought him here to apologize."

Chen Yifan waved his hand. "Hehe, Old Craftsman, don't be angry."

It was as though Old Craftsman did not hear him at all. He said, "This fella's such a blockhead. You asking to see his Military Fire Smithing Art is a huge honor, but he ran back to ask me if he should show you. Tell me, isn't he trying to make me die from anger?"

Chen Yifan chuckled. "Don't punish him. He's a young man. It's inevitable for him to be ambi… Wait, what did you say? He sought you out to ask if he should show his skills?"

Old Craftsman nodded and sighed. "General Chen, he's an orphan, and he doesn't have much sense, so please don't blame him."

When Chen Yifan looked up, Liu Zhengye and Sui Hezhi were looking at him with strange looks.

They had the same thought. 'Ou Yangming didn't escape, and he didn't bring Old Craftsman here to speak on his behalf. Does that mean that he really smithed the treasure saber?'

Right away, Chen Yifan's attitude changed.

He laughed. "B*stard, am I that scary? What exactly were you thinking?"

Ou Yangming lowered his head embarrassedly. 'A misunderstanding, this is definitely a misunderstanding…'

Chen Yifan handed the treasure saber to Old Craftsman. "Old Craftsman, did he smith this?"

"General, the young fella might be a little timid, but he's really talented. This is the second military saber he created, and its quality is excellent!" Old Craftsman raised his eyebrow, then answered proudly as he gave a thumbs-up.

Indeed, the more powerful his successor was, the prouder he was.

Chen Yifan looked at Ou Yangming for some time before he responded, "Boy, show me your skills."

Old Craftsman nodded, and instructed, "B*stard, do it attentively, and don't embarrass me!"

Ou Yangming pouted his lips. "Don't worry, old man. Since you've told me to, I'll definitely do my best."

He waved his hand, then took the iron ingot from Liu Zhengye. His nervousness slowly went away after he took a deep breath.

When Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye sensed the change in his aura, they nodded to themselves. 'The fact that he calmed down so quickly makes him a person with a lot of potential.'

However, they had no clue that Ou Yangming was able to calm down so quickly because of the purple light.

He began controlling his Military Fire to his heart's desire, then the featured iron ingot transformed into a sharp military saber after being burned.

[Item: Outstanding military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 10, Toughness 10. Durability 9]

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Chapter 17: Beating A Pig Head

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chen Yifan was utterly shocked when he held the divine weapon.

In the past, he had commanded an army to fight for the empire, participated in martial contests in rings, and triumphed over others in battles of life and death. Even during the most dangerous of times, he was never hesitant, anxious or fearful, but he somehow revealed his feelings at this moment.

After looking up at Ou Yangming for some time, he mentioned, "Good, you didn't let me down."

"General," Old Craftsman said smilingly, "This fellow is naturally gifted to be a Military Fire Blacksmith!"

"Not bad. This is my first time meeting someone as talented as him." Chen Yifan nodded.

Old Craftsman shook his head. "General, don't spoil him, his level is far below that."

Chen Yifan, Liu Zhengye, and the others wondered. "You're smiling so happily, yet you're pretending to be humble. Who are you trying to fool…'

"Ahem—" Liu Zhengye cleared his throat, then took a step forward. "General, since he's so talented in smithing, you can train him. If he succeeds in the future, your reputation will grow!"

Chen Yifan instructed, "Zhengye, make a trip to the Supply Division with Old Craftsman, and get a few precious ores for this fella to practice."

"Ah?" Old Craftsman was shocked. "General, that can't be done!"

"If I say it can, it can. Old Craftsman, I won't be stingy over a few precious ores it'll help him train." Chen Yifan waved his hand, then stopped for a while before adding, "Are you afraid that he'll surpass you, so you're being defensive?"

"Why would I be defensive?" Old Craftsman's face instantly reddened. He exhaled deeply, then continued, "Okay, since you're so generous, I'm more than happy to do it. I won't disappoint you."

The others thought to themselves. 'It's only weird if you're not happy to do it.'

Chen Yifan laughed out loud. "Go, go, I'll be waiting for good news."

Subsequently, Liu Zhengye and Old Craftsman left for the Supply Division, whereas Ou Yangming left the tent with Sui Hezhi. Since Chen Yifan was very occupied as the West Camp's general, he did not stay to talk to them.

As such, Sui Hezhi and Ou Yangming left as well.

Once Sui Hezhi escorted Ou Yangming back to the Armament Camp, the latter mentioned, "Big Brother Sui, thank you for escorting me back."

Sui Hezhi smiled and intended to say something but he was hesitant. In the end, he sighed and left.

Ou Yangming watched him leave, then entered the camp.

After walking just a short distance, a chilly voice was heard. "You, Ou Yangming, come here."

He was stunned and noticed a cold middle-aged man was waving at him when he turned to look.

The man was not a stranger to him. He was Han Changling, one of the Military Fire Blacksmiths in the Armament Camp.

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he approached him. "Master Han, what's the matter?"

Han Changling replied arrogantly, "I need to smith some weapons today, but I lack a helper. Come over and fill the spot."

Ou Yangming responded, "Master Han, I'm Old Craftsman's helper."

In the Armament Camp, Old Craftsman was the chief of the Military Fire Blacksmiths, but he refused to be called a master due to his odd character, thus everyone addressed him as Old Craftsman.

Nevertheless, the other Military Fire Blacksmiths were known as masters.

"Hmph, are you trying to oppress me by using Old Craftsman's name?" Han Changling was indifferent. "He's not here at the moment, so you're a general helper for the Armament Camp. If I'm asking for your help, are you going to disobey me?"

Ou Yangming shivered a little. For some reason, he felt that Han Changling was behaving strangely.

In the Armament Camp, though there was no ranking among the Military Fire Blacksmiths, Old Craftsman was the chief for a reason. Under normal circumstances, unless Han Changling had gone crazy, he would not offend him.

Nonetheless, it was clear that Han Changling did not care at the moment.

Ou Yangming subconsciously took a step back and decided that he must not leave with Han Changling.

"Master Han, Old Craftsman gave me a refining task, and I have to get it done as soon as possible. I hope that you understand." He bowed, then turned to leave.

Right then, Han Changling sneered and got in front of Ou Yangming in a flash.

He reached out his hand to grab Ou Yangming's shoulder immediately. Ou Yangming would be under his control once he grabbed him with his Iron Palm.

Ou Yangming's face changed as he had not expected Han Changling to attack him, and it frightened him.

He clenched his fists together, then yelled as he attacked too.

"Boom…"

The fist and the palm clashed in mid-air, causing Ou Yangming's chest to hurt as if his body was electrified. Additionally, he tasted blood in his throat.

Han Changling paused for a moment to look at Ou Yangming, surprised. "Very well, you're already a Force Grade martial artist, no wonder you have the courage to resist."

A Military Fire Blacksmith had to be abundant in physical power to generate the Military Fire, but the fire would not last for a long time if one only relied on physical power. Thus, qualified Military Fire Blacksmiths usually practiced martial arts. Of course, martial arts were not the main focus, so Han Changling was not that powerful.

That being said, he was powerful enough to go against Ou Yangming, who had just started practicing martial arts.

With that, he kicked again and smiled sinisterly. He had managed to get the measure of Ou Yangming's strength through the punch earlier and realized that he was only a Rank One Force Grade martial artist, so he thought little of him.

Han Changling had come prepared and was confident about taking Ou Yangming out easily.

Upon facing the fierce claw, Ou Yangming heard the wind whistle around him and felt like he was trapped in a cage. Just as he was at his wit's end, the purple light in his mind glowed, and he entered the mysterious realm where his consciousness split into two.

The world seemed to be slowing down around him.

While Han Changling's claw was violent, Ou Yangming noticed that it was not at all perfect. Instead, it had many openings.

He lowered his body, then slipped under Han Changling's armpit like a small fish.

Needless to say, that was his limit. If he wanted to counterattack… He had to have the strength to do so.

Ou Yangming was not happy with his current state at all. If he was successful in martial arts and was capable enough to protect himself, he would not be bullied.

However, he knew that he had only practiced martial arts for a short time, so even when he could devour Qi and blood, there was only so much he could do.

Han Changling roared, and his face turned dark. Clearly, he was enraged.

He was embarrassed because Ou Yangming kept escaping him, so he gathered his strength in his fist and threw a punch.

The punch should not be underestimated at all. If he only wanted to capture Ou Yangming earlier, he probably wanted to tear his face apart now. Ou Yangming would be severely injured if he was hit, or worse, he would die.

Ou Yangming's face took on a ghastly expression and he was even more reluctant to leave with Han Changling. This was because he sensed strong killing intent from him and was puzzled about why Han Changling had such a strong hatred toward him.

Nevertheless, even a fool knew that Han Changling had planned this in advance because it did not make sense for him to behave like this due to a small dispute.

Although Ou Yangming did not understand why he had such a bitter resentment against him, he could not just wait and die.

While extremely calm, Ou Yangming suddenly fell down. The fist wind that brushed across his head caused his face to hurt. He ignored the fist wind and kicked Han Changling's ankle.

Han Changling shrieked in pain. He glared at Ou Yangming, eager to kill him with a punch.

When he turned to look again, Ou Yangming had already escaped, scurrying out of the Armament Camp.

Han Changling was startled and furious. The little fellow was unbelievably cunning. He screamed and chased after Ou Yangming, "Stop right there!"

Ou Yangming ran faster when he heard him.

The two of them left the Armament Camp in the blink of an eye, and in a dark corner, Zhang Yinfan cursed, "Trash." He then disappeared soundlessly.

Ou Yangming noticed a familiar figure soon after he left the Armament Camp. His eyes shone, and he shouted as though a drowning man was holding onto a lifebuoy, "Big Brother Sui, save me."

The person stopped to turn around, then ran over to him like a whirlwind.

Just as Ou Yangming was relieved, he heard the sound of a heavy punch behind him, which was accompanied by an awful wail.

When he turned around, he saw Sui Hezhi standing in front of him, staring at Han Changling coldly. Meanwhile, Han Changming had his hand on his chest and was in extreme pain.

Sui Hezhi raised his eyebrows. "Brother Ouyang, did he bully you?"

Ou Yangming nodded. "Yes, he wanted to… He wanted to beat me!"

Sui Hezhi put on a grim smile. "Okay, I'll beat him until his head becomes a pig's head."

With that, he took a step forward and punched as fast as lightning.

As a result, Han Changling howled in grief, and, indeed, his head seemed to have turned into a pig's head.

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"Stop!"

A row of armed soldiers came over to pull both parties aside.

After all, they were in a military camp, so the Armament Camp was guarded by soldiers who quickly interfered when the incident happened.

Sui Hezhi took a few steps back, then crossed his arms in front of him disdainfully.

Those who were picked by Chen Yifan to join the Guards were wild and unruly soldiers. Since Sui Hezhi was one of them, he was not afraid at all, even when surrounded by soldiers.

An elder walked out of the camp and frowned. "What's going on?"

Upon seeing the elder, Ou Yangming was relieved.

The elder was Zhong Yunda, an experienced Military Fire Blacksmith in the Armament Camp. Though he was not on par with Old Craftsman, he was quite a remarkable figure.

Besides, he was close to Old Craftsman, so he would not make things difficult for Ou Yangming.

After a soldier approached him to whisper to his ear, he cast an unfriendly look at Sui Hezhi, then looked at Han Changling, who was on the ground. He felt that the man whose face was like steamed bread was familiar, but could not recognize him.

"Hmph, who are you? Why are you fighting in the Armament Camp?"

Sui Hezhi cupped his hands at him, and answered, "I'm Sui Hezhi, a guard soldier under General Chen Yifan."

The soldiers who surrounded him were stunned and slowly lowered their weapons.

'The Armament Camp's an important section of the military, but compared to General Chen Yifan… Hmm, it's best that we take things easy instead of courting our own death.

Zhong Yunda's face turned dark. "General Chen's Guards are wild indeed. Hehe, I'll go look for General Chen to discuss this incident!"

Sui Hezhi's face changed slightly, and he turned to look at Ou Yangming. Should Chen Yifan find out that he caused trouble and fought for no reason, he would not end well.

"Grandfather Zhong, listen to me," Ou Yangming quickly spoke, pointing at the muddle-headed Han Changling with tears on his face, "After Big Brother Sui escorted me back here, I met Han Changling. He wanted me to be his helper, but the old man already gave me a task, so I said that I'd finish the task before I helped him. He refused to listen and started attacking me. You should know that my weak body can't take many blows, but he kept hitting me, look…"

Zhong Yunda later noticed that Ou Yangming's clothes were muddy, and few parts were torn. On top of that, dried blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth.

"Jeez, how can this brute be so ruthless!" He was startled and enraged when he took a closer look at Ou Yangming. He turned to look at Han Changling with disgust. "Drag him away, I'll explain to Sir Kang!"

The soldiers responded to him at the same time, then took Han Changling away.

"It doesn't matter if those rude fellas don't learn diligently, but the fact that they put on an act in front of you really embarrasses Military Fire Blacksmiths." Zhong Yunda sighed, then tapped Ou Yangming's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll stand up for you."

Ou Yangming nodded. "Thank you, Grandfather Zhong."

Zhong Yunda left after he comforted him.

Ou Yangming was relieved, then he bowed at Sui Hezhi. "Thank you for saving me, Big Brother Sui."

Sui Hezhi waved his hand and helped Ou Yangming up. "Sheesh, Brother Ouyang, what are you doing? Get up, quickly."

Afterward, he rubbed his hands together and was about to say something but he stopped on second thought.

Ou Yangming guessed what he wanted to say, so he chuckled. "Big Brother Sui, what's the matter with you?"

Sui Hezhi hesitated. "Brother Ouyang…"

Ou Yangming quickly corrected him. "Big Brother Sui, you said it wrong!"

"What?"

"My surname is Ou, not Ouyang!"

Sui Hezhi was stunned for a moment. He thought. 'Since your surname is Ou, why did you give yourself a confusing name?' However, he said, "So your surname is Ou, Ou Yangming is such a nice name!"

Ou Yangming chuckled. "Big Brother Sui, you're flattering me. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Sui Hezhi quickly replied, "Ah, Brother Ou, I'd like to ask about the… The military saber that you created earlier. I wonder what you're going to do with it?"

His eyes were sparkling when he spoke, and sweat could be seen on his forehead.

Ou Yangming was not surprised because he had guessed what Sui Hezhi wanted to say. "Big Brother Sui, I did smith this military saber, but it's military property, so it should be put in storage."

The muscles on Sui Hezhi's face twitched. "Brother Ou, that's a small matter, why should you go through the trouble of doing it? How about I do it for you?"

Ou Yangming laughed. "Big Brother, I think you want to keep it for yourself!"

Sui Hezhi's face reddened as he was embarrassed. "Brother Ou, honestly, for rough fellas like us, a good weapon is like life. When I saw the military saber you forged, I don't feel like using normal ones anymore."

In actual fact, the saber he used to battle with Ou Yangming earlier had been carefully selected, but he could only pick from Common Grade weapons, which were far from one that was at the peak of Good Grade. As such, his saber was cut into two.

Ou Yangming grinned, then gave him the military saber. "Since you put it like that, I'll have you take it to the armory for me."

Sui Hezhi's eyes glowed right away and he accepted the saber without wanting to let go of it.

Ou Yangming knew that Sui Hezhi would not take the saber to the armory, but he also knew that Sui Hezhi would not make things hard for him. Another saber would surely be brought to the armory. It would be none of his business.

Sui Hezhi was elated when he looked at the military saber, but he suddenly frowned. "Hey, Brother Ou. I owe you a huge favor this time, and I really don't know how I can repay your kindness."

Ou Yangming replied, "Big Brother, you just saved my life…"

Sui Hezhi waved his hand to cut him off. "Brother, I only helped you to deal with a scoundrel, I didn't save your life. Please don't put me to shame."

Ou Yangming was touched, and he suddenly recalled something. "Big Brother Sui, I heard that the members of the Guards often hunt in the dense forest?"

"Yes, it's a rule set by the general. Hehe, the guard soldiers of the five camps in the military will head to the forest every ten days or so, and the general that leads the Guards with the most kills gains more reputation." Sui Hezhi was filled with pride as he spoke. He then tapped the saber in his hands. "With this good item to assist me, I'm very confident!"

Ou Yangming nodded. "I hope that you'll be victorious!"

Sui Hezhi laughed happily. The battle for honor was extremely important to soldiers like them because anyone who caught the general's eye would certainly be promoted in the future.

Ou Yangming blinked his eyes as he asked, "Big Brother Sui, what do you usually do with your kills?"

Sui Hezhi answered without any hesitation, "That depends on their grade, but most wild beasts are sent to the kitchen and cooked for everyone to enjoy."

"Ah," Ou Yangming responded, seemingly disappointed.

Sui Hezhi was stunned. "Brother Ou, do you have any opinion on this?"

Ou Yangming shrugged. "Nothing. I actually enjoy wild animal meat very much, but there isn't enough to eat…"

Sui Hezhi burst out laughing as he finally understood what the young fellow meant. Instead of feeling unhappy, he was extremely excited.

That was because from that day onward, everyone would be able to tell that Ou Yangming had a bright future.

His talent in smithing truly made one's blood boil. If he could smith a Good Grade military saber now, what could he smith in the future?

Sui Hezhi was very aware of where he stood and he knew that he could still converse with Ou Yangming at the moment, but once Ou Yangming became famous, there would surely be a big difference between their status.

Nevertheless, if there was a chance for him to continue being acquainted with Ou Yangming, it would be a perfect gift.

Once he decided, he slapped his chest. "Brother Ou, that's a small matter, so leave it to me. Hehe, I'll bring a wild beast to you every ten days. I guarantee that you'll be blessed with delicious food!"

Ou Yangming was overjoyed, but he was rather hesitant. "It won't be good if people see it…"

Sui Hezhi replied proudly, "There's a rule in the Guards that allows us to keep one of the kills for ourselves. Hehe, don't worry, it's just a beast, so it's not a big deal."

He actually had to pay a certain price if he wanted to obtain the entire beast, but if it meant that he could be close friends with Ou Yangming, it was definitely worth it.

After sending Sui Hezhi away, Ou Yangming was all smiles.

Now that he finally understood the source of his Qi and blood, he had to ensure they were constantly replenished. Although it would be a strange method, he was left with no choice.

Of course, it would be fine for him to steal from the pigpen occasionally because nobody would say a thing if only a few pigs were missing.

However, someone would notice if he were to use the domestic pigs to replenish his Qi and blood for years.

Three missing pigs could be easily dismissed by a simple excuse, but if there were thirty or even three hundred missing pigs…

Therefore, Ou Yangming decided to approach Sui Hezhi after he knew that the Guards often went hunting. He made a great deal by exchanging a military saber that could be smithed at any time for an endless supply of Qi and blood!

Nonetheless, he did not know that Sui Hezhi was thinking similarly.

Sui Hezhi also felt that he made a great deal by exchanging some wild beasts for a long-term friendship with Ou Yangming!

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Chapter 19: White Slate And Attribute

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming did not wait for long at Old Craftsman's smithing workshop before the old man returned with a radiant face.

Joyful happenings resounded in one's spirit and it somehow made Old Craftsman look younger.

Nevertheless, the old man's face darkened again when he heard about the conflict between Ou Yangming and Han Changling.

He sneered. "Hehe, Han Changling isn't that daring. Someone must've instructed him to do that."

Ou Yangming's face changed. "Old man, you're saying…"

"We'll talk about this next time. Come, I'll show you something good!" Old Craftsman waved his hand, then put down the odd-shaped ores that he was carrying, and was very careful so as to not break anything.

In actual fact, while the ores were not as tough as gold or iron, they were not as fragile as eggs. Even if someone were to throw them on the ground, nothing would happen to them. However, they were priceless items to Old Craftsman, so he would never treat them with disrespect.

Ou Yangming took a step closer to glance at them, then asked earnestly, "Old Man, what are these?"

"Hehe, young fella, these are precious ores, and they have magical uses!" Old Craftsman spoke in a somewhat exaggerated tone, then he picked one up. "Look, though this one looks like an ordinary hard ore, it's actually a rare Power Ore. If it's incorporated into a weapon, it'll increase the user's power."

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed, and he instantly recalled the attribute of power 1 that he found at the abandoned armory.

Back then, he was uncertain what it meant, but after using a weapon, he finally understood its source and function.

'It can increase one's power. Mm, it's a good thing, but I'll have to confirm its effect after I try it.'

"This is Agility Ore, which increases a user's speed." Old Craftsman lifted another ore, then proceeded to show Ou Yangming the rest of the precious ores. "The general's really generous, he gave us ten precious ores!"

Ou Yangming was touched. "Old Man, didn't General Chen give you a Blood-thirsty Ore previously? Is that a precious ore too?"

Old Craftsman nodded seriously. "Yes, but the Blood-thirsty Ore is a high-end precious ore, and General Chen put in a lot of effort to get it. Hehe, the general asked me to smith an armament for him because he trusts me, so I must do it well."

Ou Yangming nodded. "Old man, are there only Power Ores and Agility Ores here? What about others?"

"Hmph, you haven't learned to crawl, but you already want to run? You're such a greedy fella. There are many others who wish to practice with basic precious ores, are you going to be picky?" Old Craftsmen stared at him snappily, then tapped Ou Yangming's head. "If you speak nonsense again, I won't let you touch any of them!"

Although he sounded ruthless, Ou Yangming knew that he always left the best things for him.

Later, Old Craftsman said, "Young fella, you're qualified to be a real Military Fire Blacksmith now, so I should teach you my secret skills."

Ou Yangming quickly straightened his body. "Old man, please."

"The armaments that we normally forge are separated into four grades; Common, Good, High, and Fine. They're collectively known as White Slate Armaments," Old Craftsman explained. He continued after a short pause, "Apart from that, if armaments are created with a unique ability, they become Attribute Armaments. Hehe, Attribute Armaments are amazing, and each of them is a super treasure, so much so that people will do whatever it takes to get one!"

Ou Yangming looked at the precious ores, then asked, "Old Man, are Attribute Armaments made by incorporating armaments with these precious ores?"

Old Craftsman nodded. "That's right, but it's not easy to attach attributes successfully to an armament when precious ores are used." He sighed. "Even though I've been working on it for a long time, my success rate is only around thirty percent. It's too difficult, it's really too difficult…"

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes around. "Old Man, are Attribute Armaments separated into different colors?"

Old Craftsman chuckled. "You're quite smart. Normally, those with an extra attribute are known as Red Armaments, those with two extra attributes are known as Orange Armaments… In increasing order, it's Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, and Purple. Oh, I heard that there's a higher grade that's known as a Golden attribute, but that's only a legend. I've never seen it before."

Ou Yangming calculated in his head, then questioned, "Old Man, does Purple have seven attributes then?" He was doubtful. "You've seen it before?"

Old Craftsman was speechless, and his face slowly darkened. He scolded, "B*stard, what does it have to do with you if I've seen it before or not? Listen, I'll be teaching you how to smith with a precious ore, and you must memorize everything word by word. If you make even the slightest mistake…" He looked around the room, then picked up a burning staff. "I'll let you know why flowers are so red!"

Ou Yangming felt a chill down his spine, and he smiled bitterly. "Old man, when did you upgrade your staff? If you hit me with that, I'll be half-dead!"

Old Craftsman giggled. "Nonsense. Didn't you acquire Dantian Light? You're a Force Grade martial artist, so this staff won't kill you. You'll only suffer pain for a few days, and your memory will improve."

Ou Yangming was stunned, and he cried to himself. 'I didn't know that being a martial artist had its cons too. If I knew, I wouldn't have revealed anything to him, no matter what.'

Half an hour later, similar conversations were heard in the room.

"Do you remember it?"

"Yes!"

"Repeat it."

"Yes, if I want to melt a precious ore, firstly…. Secondly… Thirdly, jeez, why did you hit me?"

"Idiot, you can't even memorize the formula. Who should I hit if not you!"

"You're teaching so quickly, how can I memorize it word for word!"

"Okay, I'll tell you again. Listen carefully… Memorize it!"

"Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly, jeez, why did you hit me again? I didn't memorize it wrongly!"

"Ah, sorry, I'm too used to it. Continue… Why are you staring at me? Are you unhappy?"

"No, old man, I'm… I'm admiring you. Yes, can't you tell that I'm admiring you?"

"Stop flattering me, memorize it again."

Around ten steps outside the workshop, Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye looked at each other. After a long time, Chen Yifan shook his head. "Forget it, let's not disturb them."

He had a bright smile on his face because the pair was quite interesting. As such, he began to have higher expectations.

Liu Zhengye hesitated for a while before he said, "General, if they continue, the smithing of your armament might be affected…"

Chen Yifan waved his hand and grinned. "If it's going to be later, so be it, I can wait. Hehe, I'm really curious how the young fella will turn out to be."As the days passed by, Ou Yangming kept learning.

From morning till night, he followed Chen Yifan's instruction and practiced the martial-art squat.

Yes, Chen Yifan did not teach him anything else. Chen Yifan told him to continue practicing the martial-art squat. It was not only to train his patience but also to build an extremely solid foundation.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was not idle during other times.

Under Old Craftsman's supervision, he practiced controlling the Military Fire. According to the old man, it was not enough to be naturally gifted. He had to go through hardships to be worthy of such talent.

Hence, other than training and refining his strength, he was also strictly supervised by Old Craftsman.

The tough training caused Ou Yangming's accumulated Qi and blood to be consumed very quickly, and, after a few days, he could no longer bear it.

It was then that Sui Hezhi brought him a wild beast, a wild pig that weighed 700 kilograms. Even though it was also a pig, one could tell from its ferocious tusks that, compared to a domestic pig, there was a great difference in combat power.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming was delighted. He cut off one of its legs to share it with Old Craftsman, while the rest of its flesh was transformed into Qi and blood using the devouring attribute.

Afterward, Ou Yangming found that the Qi and blood contained in the wild beast was far above a domestic pig's.

The wild pig with only three legs gave him Qi and blood so abundant that they were much more than what he gained from the three domestic pigs combined. With that, his problem was solved.

Following that, Sui Hezhi gave him huge wild beasts every ten days, which was enough for him to maintain rich Qi and blood.

A month later, not only had Ou Yangming's Dantian Light become stable, but he had also grown stronger.

That being said, comparatively, his control over the Military Fire was what had truly improved.

One day, after getting Old Craftsman's permission, he finally began smithing his first-ever Attribute Armament.

As his Military Fire burned, a featured iron ingot was shaped into a military saber. This did not mean that Ou Yangming only knew how to forge military sabers, it was simply what he was most familiar with. In order to increase his success rate, it was best to forge a military saber.

Once the saber was about to take its form, Ou Yangming reached for a Power Stone, then attached it to the saber.

Next, his Military Fire became fiery, engulfing both the military saber and the Power Stone.

At the same time, words that he had been longing to see appeared in his mind.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

'Draw!'

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade!'

Finally, his Military Fire stopped burning, and a brand new military saber was produced.

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Chapter 20: Attribute Equipment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When the blazing hot Military Fire was slowly suppressed, the temperature in the workshop reduced as well, but the heat inside Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming's eyes did not go away.

This was the first Attribute Armament forged by Ou Yangming. Similar to the first time he generated the Military Fire, restored an armament with the fire, and smithed an armament with the fire, it was a meaningful milestone. Of course, this only applied to him because it was insignificant in the history of smithing with the Military Fire.

Nevertheless, the master and his apprentice were extremely excited. Old Craftsman asked, "What do you think?"

Ou Yangming waved the saber around and identified the treasure saber's attributes through the afterglow of his Military Fire.

[Item: Outstanding military saber (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 10, Toughness 10, Power 1, Durability 9]

He was overjoyed. "Old man, I did it! Yes, I did it!" He repeated his words excitedly as he could not express his emotions in any other way.

In actual fact, when his Military Fire enveloped the previous ore and the drawable composition was found, Ou Yangming knew that he would succeed, but he only confirmed it in the end. As such, he cheered happily.

Old Craftsman took the military saber, then looked at it happily for a long time.

Ou Yangming then questioned, "Old Man, didn't you say that the Power Stone will let a user gain extra power? But…" He pointed at the saber in confusion. "Why didn't I feel it?"

Old Craftsman scoffed disdainfully. "Do you think just anyone can use this power?" He tossed the saber back to Ou Yangming. "Take it."

Ou Yangming accepted the military saber, then fixed his gaze at Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman wondered. 'This apprentice of mine is too talented, he actually succeeded during his first try at smithing an Attribute Armament. This is more just talent, his luck is simply law-defying. If this goes on, he'll learn all my tricks, and I'll have nothing left to teach him.'

"Channel your Dantian Qi into the military saber, then try it," he mentioned with a smile.

Ou Yangming was slightly moved. After a month of hard work, his Dantian Light was much more solid than it was before, and due to his constant effort, he could control it easily.

Following that, he used his mind to release light from his dantian, which entered the saber through his arm's meridian.

He instantly sensed a peculiar power being born in the saber, which was connected with his aura. Additionally, he felt that his body was filled with power.

Yes, it was an indescribable feeling that was so strong that it could not be questioned.

A brief moment later, Ou Yangming finally confirmed that it was not an illusion.

It turned out that the unique attribute could only be activated by a martial artist's power, but once it was triggered, it would be easy to maintain it because he realized that Dantian Light was mainly required during the activation. As long as he held the saber, the power remained, and the Dantian Light consumed to maintain it was negligible.

"Swoosh…"

When he swung the saber casually, a light was seen, and the blade was sharp and threatening.

Old Craftsman's face changed, and he quickly yelled, "Stop!"

Ou Yangming was stunned. "What is it?"

Old Craftsman snapped. "Where are you? Is this a place for you to test your saber? Are you trying to wreck my smithing workshop?"

It was then that Ou Yangming realized that they were in the smithing workshop that Old Craftsman valued the most. Since the military saber was sharp, and he had gained extra power, an accident might actually happen.

Feeling embarrassed, he put the saber down, but the instant the treasure saber left him, the extra power vanished into thin air.

The disappointment made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

Old Craftsman giggled. "Young fella, you'll get used to it after you try a few times. Now, strike while the iron is hot, and practice to get more adept at it."

Ou Yangming responded to him. His physical power, Dantian Light, and mental power had clearly improved, and the duration of his Military Fire usage was at a point where even Old Craftsman commended him. Hence, he could continue forging.

He retrieved another featured iron ingot, then reached for an Agility Ore.

However, Old Craftsman reached his hand out. "No!"

Ou Yangming was startled. "Old man, what's wrong?"

"The martial tool you're matching it with is wrong."

Ou Yangming was puzzled when he looked at the item in his hand. 'How is this wrong?'

"You want to create another military saber, right?"

Ou Yangming nodded, but he thought, 'Why are you asking the obvious?'

"The military saber is a violent weapon on the battlefield and is mainly used to kill. Such a weapon can't be matched with an Agility Ore," Old Craftsman explained patiently. "If you match them together forcefully, there's a high chance that it'll fail."

Ou Yangming widened his mouth. He realized that there was still much to learn about Smithing Art.

Although he had worked under Old Craftsman for two years, he just obtained the Military Fire, and there had been no point for the old man to teach him a lot. Therefore, he had only grasped some basic theories and knowledge and knew nothing about anything beyond that.

Ou Yangming nodded slightly. "Old Man, are you saying that a military saber can't have the agility attribute?"

Old Craftsman shook his head. "Nonsense. Smithing technique is as vast as the ocean, so anything is possible. It doesn't matter if a military saber has the agility attribute, but…" He paused for a while, then continued, "The success rate for it isn't high as they don't match. I don't want you to waste it."

Ou Yangming nodded, but he said to himself, 'It's unlikely that I'll waste it.'

Of course, he was not going to mention it because Old Craftsman would lecture him and hit him with Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.

Afterward, he asked, "Old Man, how should the Agility Ore be used then?"

Old Craftsman rolled his eyes. "Don't ask, think."

Ou Yangming mumbled, "Armor, knee pads, greaves, boots… No, not boots."

Armors, knee pads, and greaves could be made with steel, but not boots.

However, Old Craftsman stared at him. "Although normal boots can't withstand the process, beast-skinned boots with strong Qi and blood, as well as rare boots made from magical beast skin and spirit beast skin can have the attribute attached. Moreover, equipment like boots is favored more than armaments."

Ou Yangming was shocked. "Why?"

Old Craftsman snapped. "Didn't you get a taste of power earlier? What did it feel when you let go of the saber?"

Ou Yangming hit his head. "I understand."

Boots and military sabers were different. As long as one was not lying in bed, one would be wearing boots, and only by wearing a piece of equipment then activating it with essential Qi could one enjoy an attribute's benefit.

One would not attract any attention if one continuously wore boots, but if one never let go of a military saber…

If someone were to hold a military saber while looking for a general in the military camp, one would probably be chopped into pieces before one could meet the general, but if one were to wear a pair of boots with attributes… Nobody would pay any attention.

Thus, even if a military saber and a pair of boots had the same attribute, the boots would be more favored than the saber.

Nonetheless, this only applied to normal people. For those in the military, who licked the blood off a saber, their first choice would always be a killing weapon.

Old Craftsman smiled. "It's good that you understand. Don't make a military saber this time, try a knee pad."

Ou Yangming nodded, then turned his wrist to produce the Military Fire.

A whole iron ingot was required to smith a military saber, but if one wanted to forge a knee pad, less than a quarter of the same iron ingot was needed.

Ou Yangming mostly created military sabers as he had a special liking for them, but he never went overboard because of Old Craftsman's guidance. It was not his first time smithing a knee pad, hence he finished it successfully using the Military Fire.

By applying the same method on the Agility Ore, and through the prompts of his fire's drawing and upgrading abilities, a knee pad was produced.

[Item: Outstanding knee pad (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Toughness 10, Agility 1, Durability 8]

Ou Yangming smiled happily. Though its durability was less than perfect, its toughness was 10, and it had the attribute of agility 1. The knee pad was definitely presentable.

Old Craftsman was delighted when he took the knee pad. His eyes sparkled, and he appeared to be happier than Ou Yangming.

He strapped the knee pad on his knees, then connected with his Dantian Light, and felt lighter instantly.

Afterward, he laughed and tapped Ou Yangming's shoulder a few times. "Nice, this is great! You're really capable. You're very amazing to have succeeded twice, you're almost better than me!"

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming's smile froze because he had a very important question to ask.

Even Old Craftsman could only guarantee a thirty-percent success rate when he smithed Attribute Armaments. If he maintained a hundred-percent success rate, what would happen?

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Chapter 21: Qi Return

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming was never a flower in a greenhouse, and he understood many things from a young age as he was an orphan.

It was obviously good to be outstanding, but not if he was too outstanding. The bird that poked its head out would be shot, and he knew this very well because of the battles between gangsters in town, and the consequences of fault-finders who were new in the military camp.

After taking a deep breath, Ou Yangming said, "Old Man, the other greave is missing, so I'll make another one."

"Okay." Old Craftsman smiled. He was quite pleased with his disciple.

Ou Yangming put the remaining iron ingot together with another Agility Ore, then used his mind to envelope his Military Fire around the iron ingot.

The usage of the Military Fire to refine an iron ingot was the most basic requirement for smithing art, but it was as simple as breathing for Ou Yangming, who was unusually calm due to the purple light. Before long, the greave was done.

When he tapped the Agility Ore, it went into the Military Fire.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

'Draw.'

The Agility Ore instantly melted in the Military Fire, and it flowed down like liquid to cover the greave.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Don't upgrade.'

The purple light that contained the Agility attribute remained still.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade.'

On the other hand, another purple light for Toughness integrated into the greave.

It would definitely be shocking if Ou Yangming were to smith another Attribute Armament, but it would be too pretentious if he could not even smith a White Slate Armament.

Therefore, it was inevitable for him to disguise his skill.

A brief moment later, the Military Fire disappeared, and a brand new greave was formed.

[Item: Outstanding grave]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Three]

[Attributes: Toughness 8, Durability 8]

Ou Yangming was secretly satisfied when he saw the attributes revealed by the Military Fire.

Although it was still of Good Grade, it was not at its peak, and it did not have extra attributes. Nonetheless, a greave of such grade was rare to normal soldiers.

Of course, Ou Yangming looked disheartened instead of delighted.

Old Craftsman was stunned, then he laughed after he looked at the greave. "Young fella, why do you look discouraged when you smithed a Good Grade greave?"

Ou Yangming mumbled, "Old Man, I didn't smith an Attribute Armament, which means I wasted a precious ore…"

Old Craftsman laughed out loud, and pointed at his nose as he commented, "Why do you have such wishful thinking? You smithed two Attribute Armaments successfully out of the three precious ores, so why are you dissatisfied? Hehe, do you think that you're a godly blacksmith who can smith Attribute Armaments without fail?"

He blinked. "Old Man, you don't blame me?"

Old Craftsman shook his head, then pointed at the remaining precious ores. "Why would I? When the general gave you ten precious ores to train with, we were already prepared for the worst, so we won't blame you even if you can't smith any Attribute Armament. Hehe, I didn't expect you to succeed on your first try, so this is enough to cover the cost."

Normally, Military Blacksmiths could only smith While Slate Armaments. Unless one was the best among one's peers and had a unique sense in Attribute Ores, one could not attach attributes to equipment.

Even if one was talented and was guided by a teacher, one would probably ruin around ten precious ores in the beginning before smithing an Attribute Equipment. Furthermore, Military Fire Smithing Art could only be perfected through practice. While a master craftsman had a high success rate, a beginner's success rate could be frustrating.

Old Craftsman was second to none in the military camp, but his success rate in smithing Attribute Equipment was only around thirty percent, whereas the other Military Fire Blacksmiths who were qualified to smith such equipment were worse.

Apart from two of them who barely passed the twenty percent mark, the others only had a ten percent success rate, or could barely hit the mark.

Old Craftsman's words were of enormous weight in the Armament Camp. Though he was not the supervisor, even the supervisor dared not disrespect him, because his strength was matchless.

Therefore, since Ou Yangming smithed two Attribute Equipment successfully, nobody would criticize him even if the rest he smithed would be scrapped.

Besides, Old Craftsman believed that Ou Yangming could smith at least one Attribute Equipment from the seven remaining precious ores.

"I should be blamed for being too greedy. You've consumed too much energy to smith two Attribute Equipment in a row, yet I didn't ask you to rest." He comforted Ou Yangming by patting him on his shoulders, then mentioned after looking at the seven precious ores on the smithing table, "That's all for today, we'll continue tomorrow. You'll smith only two each day from now on, no more than that."

Ou Yangming nodded in agreement.

He initially wanted to stay in the smithing workshop to practice the Military Fire's controls, but Old Craftsman scolded him and forced him to rest.

After returning to his room, he wondered if he went overboard earlier, and decided after some considerations that he would be more careful in the future.

Even though Ou Yangming previously smithed three pieces of equipment in a row, he was not exactly tired at all and was extremely excited instead.

The days he spent working hard to temper his body were obviously rewarding. Of course, he was able to achieve those results because he replenished his Qi and blood endlessly, or he could not have withstood the tough cultivation.

When he paced back and forth in his room, he felt as uncomfortable as a cat scratching an itch.

Once a man became addicted to something, he would subconsciously want to put his mind and body into it.

Similar to people who were obsessed with playing online games, Ou Yangming was extremely interested in Military Fire Smithing Art at the moment since he was just starting to get somewhere.

It would be fine if he could not smith due to the lack of qualifications. However, he had the strength to do so, but could not perform it, thus it made him feel uneasy.

All of a sudden, he was struck with an idea.

He could still make a move even if Old Craftsman disallowed him to practice.

Upon having the thought, Ou Yangming left his room without hesitation and headed to the abandoned depot with ease. When he looked at the piles of discarded weapons, he began absorbing their attributes quickly.

Ever since he acquired the Dantian Light, his mental power increased correspondingly, and he knew after a few tries that the upper limit of the purple light capacity in his mind was fifty. In other words, he could store fifty attributes at most.

Nevertheless, instead of using up his quota, he would usually leave around five of them empty just in case.

The attributes of the abandoned armaments were generally Power and Toughness, but Ou Yangming found a unique one by chance.

Needless to say, the chances of finding Unique Attributes were very low. He had come to the depot numerous times in a month, but apart from the Power 1 attribute that he found, he did not find a similar one.

His Military Fire flashed as it absorbed the remaining attributes one after another.

Each time he did that, an armament would be completely scrapped, so much so that it could not be melted in the furnace to be used again.

Nonetheless, the wastage was not worth mentioning at all as compared to the piles of armament.

At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming was stunned, and he could not help but exclaim.

His Military Fire found a Unique Attribute when he picked up a damaged breastplate.

Qi Return 1.

'What is this attribute? Why have I never seen it before?'

Despite that, Ou Yangming could somewhat make a guess when he saw the name of the attribute.

He absorbed the rare attribute without hesitation, which turned into a purple light in his mind. Subsequently, he realized that he had stored forty-five lights.

After patting his butt to get rid of the dirt, Ou Yangming left the abandoned depot.

Instead of returning to his room, he headed to the Armament Camp's equipment depot.

The equipment depot was completely different from the abandoned depot as it was guarded by soldiers and overseen by a person in charge.

As soon as Ou Yangming arrived at the equipment depot, he noticed that the person in the accounts office was familiar. The person was Xiong Gaoan, one of the two people in charge at the Armament Camp's accounts office. He seemed to be making a record in the account book at the moment.

"Hello, Officer Xiong." Ou Yangming smiled.

Xiong Gaoan stopped what he was doing to look at him. "Oh, it's you. Why are you here?"

Ou Yangming quickly replied, "Officer Xiong, I'm here to retrieve some iron ingots."

Xiong Gaoan's face darkened a little. "Didn't we distribute the featured iron ingots for this month already? Does Old Craftsman not have enough?"

Ou Yangming thought to himself, 'Of course he has enough, but I don't…'

He chuckled embarrassedly. "Officer Xiong, too many were used, so please give us some more."

Since Old Craftsman was reputable, it would not be a big deal for Ou Yangming to withdraw more featured iron ingots. He had done the same in the past and believed that the old man would not deny it even if Xiong Gaoan were to question him.

That being said, Xiong Gaoan looked troubled. "Ou Yangming, I can't agree with that."

Ou Yangming asked as he was stunned, "Why?"

"It's a military order given by our superior. He said that the Armament Camp's consumption is too high, so in order to control the cost, nobody's allowed to withdraw equipment at their will." Xiong Gaoan felt helpless. He paused for a while before he continued, "Unless you have a warrant from Supervisor Kang, I can't help you."

Ou Yangming was startled. "Who gave the order?"

"Sir Zhang Yinfan, the Provision Camp's assistant supervisor."

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Chapter 22: Take A Guess

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Sir… Zhang Yinfan," Ou Yangming mumbled and frowned.

He probably would not be too concerned if someone else had given the order, but since it was Zhang Yinfan, he could not help but link this issue to something else.

"Yes." Xiong Gaoan was helpless. "Although the Armament Camp and the Provision Camp are both under the Supply Division, you should know that everything involves money, and they can stop us anytime they want… Even if Old Craftsman comes personally, I dare not open the depot for him."

Ou Yangming curled his lip and thought to himself, 'If you don't open the depot when the old man comes personally, I'll change my surname to yours.'

Nevertheless, he dared not say it as he would be smacking the supervisor in his face.

Feeling helpless, Ou Yangming could only leave disappointedly.

A brief moment after he left, a stout man arrived.

Xiong Gaoan quickly stood up to greet the person affectionately. "Sir Kang, why are you here?"

"I just had my meal, so I'm here to check the depot's inventory." The person was Kang Weibo, the Armament Camp's supervisor. He smiled when he spoke, but sighed after that. "The Armament Camp isn't very peaceful lately."

"Yes, Sir Zhang just ordered us to control the cost strictly, and he asked that we don't waste too much stock, but Old Craftsman's spending increased recently…" Xiong Gaoan gestured to Kang Weibo to sit, then asked him softly, "Sir, how about you talk to Old Craftsman about this?"

"Hmph!" Kang Weibo glared at him. "Old Craftsman's the only presentable person in the Armament Camp. If I go talk to him about it, am I not bringing bad luck upon myself?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiong Gaoan's face turned bitter. "Sir, Ou Yangming, Old Craftsman's helper, was here just now to withdraw some featured iron ingot. I didn't open the depot, look…"

Kang Weibo was stunned. "Ou Yangming was here?"

"Yes."

Kang Weibo furrowed his eyebrows a little and began pondering.

Xiong Gaoan was rather surprised as he did not know why Kang Weibo looked so prudent. He knew that Ou Yangming was only Old Craftsman's helper and did not think that it was a big deal when he rejected Ou Yangming earlier as Old Craftsman could simply make a visit himself. As long as the old man made a fuss about it, he would open the depot for him.

Being a powerless person, Xiong Gaoan could not go against a prestigious person like Old Craftsman, but he also did not want to be blamed for a breach of responsibility.

Since Kang Weibo has been the Armament Camp's supervisor for many years, he figured that he understood the situation very well and saw through the little trick.

After all, the way of being an official was to look after oneself first. Opening the depot for Ou Yangming and for Old Craftsman were two different matters.

However, Xiong Gaoan felt that it was not as simple as he thought when he noticed Kang Weibo's facial expression. Feeling quite anxious, he asked carefully, "Sir, did I do something inappropriate?"

It was clear that he was Kang Weibo's confidant since he managed the accounts in the Armament Camp, or he would not have been so straightforward with his question.

"I heard a rumor a few days ago." Kang Weibo sighed, then lowered his voice. "Old Craftsman exchanged his meritorious deeds over the years for a Military Fire Badge as he wanted Ou Yangming to be successful, and Ou Yangming acquired the Military Fire Seed."

Xiong Gaoan was stunned. He commented enviously, "That fella's quite lucky."

Ou Yangming was not related to Old Craftsman at all, but they coincidentally clicked with each other and were closer than a grandfather and a grandson who were blood-related.

This was also why Xiong Gaoan spoke to Ou Yangming nicely. If another helper were to act so rashly, he would have sent him to be caned.

"Hehe, it's not necessarily good luck!" Kang Weibo sneered. "Sir Zhang found out about it, and he put an obstacle in the way as he wanted someone else to take the place instead. Ou Yangming agreed at first, but he broke his promise when it was time for him to decide, and he accepted the Military Fire Badge's legacy."

"Ah." Xiong Gaoan was dumbfounded. "That, that… Sir Zhang?"

Kang Weibo responded, "Which Sir Zhang can it be if it's not that one?"

Xiong Gaoan felt uneasy. "Sir, if that's the case, the order from the Provision Camp is probably not as simple as it seems. What should we do?"

Kang Weibo sighed. "The Provision Camp is our superior, but Old Craftsman isn't one to be messed with. Moreover, he has been getting a lot of attention because General Chen recently asked him to smith a weapon. If we make things difficult for him, General Chen will definitely chop our heads off to warn the others."

Xiong Gaoan shrunk his neck as a chill went down, which gave him goosebumps.

"Forget it, guard the depot strictly, and don't open it unless it's really necessary. I'll go visit Old Craftsman to check out the situation," Kang Weibo said as he stood up as he said.

Xiong Gaoan sighed after Kang Weibo left. In a fight between celestial beings, things were especially difficult for little devils like them who were stuck in the middle.

Kang Weibo arrived at Old Craftsman's smithing workshop with a smile on his face and noticed that the old man was making gestures at a staff. He hesitated for a while before knocking on the door.

When Old Craftsman opened the door and saw him, he smiled. "Sir Kang, why are you here?"

Since Kang Weibo was the Armament Camp's supervisor, Old Craftsman was under him in terms of their rank, so he greeted him politely. Nonetheless, the politeness was only on the surface because Old Craftsman did not intend to invite him inside.

Kang Weibo smiled bitterly as he asked, "Old Craftsman, are you lacking materials lately?"

"What?" Old Craftsman was stunned.

"Ou Yangming went to the depot earlier to ask for some featured iron ingots," Kang Weibo explained quickly, then sighed. "It would've been a small matter half a month ago, but Sir Zhang from the Provision Camp has just ordered the Armament Camp to reduce our expenses…"

"Oh, was it Zhang Yinfan who gave the order?" Old Craftsman asked calmly.

"Yes, it was Sir Zhang, but don't worry." Kang Weibo nodded right away, then stuck his chest out like he was ready to go through thick and thin with the old man. "Your expenses won't be reduced at all, and I'll prepare everything for you no matter how hard it is, even if I'll have to give up my post as an official in the Armament Camp."

Old Craftsman could not help but laugh. He was not a 3-year-old child, so he obviously did not believe the nonsense.

Due to his many experiences in life, he instantly understood Kang Weibo's purpose of visiting.

He chuckled. "Sir Kang, I understand. Mm, if that young fella asks to withdraw materials from the depot in the future, you don't have to charge it to my account."

Kang Weibo was startled. "Oh, Old Craftsman, please don't misunderstand, I'm not asking you not to withdraw materials anymore. Alright, alright, I'll let my men open the depot for Ou Yangming if he goes there again, is that okay?"

He thought that Old Craftsman was being sarcastic. Normally, although he could not do anything against the unruly old man, he did not fear him.

However, Old Craftsman was close to General Chen Yifan and had the responsibility of smithing a weapon for the general, so Kang Weibo dared not offend him during this crucial time.

If Old Craftsman were to complain about him to General Chen, he would be in serious trouble.

After all, General Chen Yifan was more powerful than Zhang Yinfan.

Old Craftsman laughed out loud. "Sir Kang, you really misunderstood me, I meant what I said. If the young fella really goes to the depot to withdraw materials in the future, it has nothing to do with me."

Kang Weibo was stunned. When he noticed that Old Craftsman was neither faking it nor showing signs of anger, he wondered why.

"Old Craftsman, I don't understand what you mean…" He asked carefully, "Are you asking us to reject him when he asks to retrieve materials for you?"

"Take a guess?" Old Craftsman winked mysteriously.

Kang Weibo's face darkened a little. 'Take a guess? Take a guess my *ss! How can you wink when you're already so old? Why aren't you blind!'

Needless to say, he did not have the courage to voice it out, so he smiled bitterly instead. "Old Craftsman, I've been providing you with everything you need all these years, and I'm sure that my hard work should be recognized even if they're not commendable. Tell me the truth, what do you really mean?"

Old Craftsman cleared his throat. Since his nominal senior officer had put it that way, he could not hide things from him anymore.

"Sir Kang, perhaps you already know that I exchanged my meritorious deeds for Ou Yangming to obtain a Military Fire Seed."

Kang Weibo's face changed a little as he was shocked. "Old Craftsman, are you saying that Little Brother… Ouyang stimulated the Military Fire successfully?"

Upon realizing that, he began to feel uneasy, and even changed the way he addressed Ou Yangming.

Old Craftsman shook his head. "You're wrong."

Kang Weibo almost choked on his own breath. He inhaled deeply before he responded, "Okay, I understand. I'll order my men to not bother him if he asks to retrieve materials again."

He addressed Ou Yangming by his name again as soon as he knew that the young fellow had not activated the Military Fire.

Old Craftsman still had a smile on his face. He then took a military saber from the smithing workshop to show it to Kang Weibo. "Oh, Sir Kang, let me show you something."

Kang Weibo studied the saber for a while by using a bit of his essential Qi. His face glowed. "An Attribute Military Saber."

"Yes, this is an Attribute Military Saber at the peak of Good Grade."

"Old Craftsman, congratulations, it'll be recorded on the Merits Record. Ah, can this saber be stored in the depot?"

"Sadly, I didn't smith the saber, so I don't have the right to decide," Old Craftsman replied when he saw the eager look on Kang Weibo's face.

"It wasn't you?" Kang Weibo was surprised. "Who did it then?"

Old Craftsman winked mysteriously again, and responded casually, "Take a guess…"

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Chapter 23: Two In Ten

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Kang Weibo's face changed. If he still could not make the right guess, his years of being an official were simply wasted.

However, the answer he had in mind was truly shocking, and he was in disbelief. After hesitating for a while, he answered, "Old Craftsman, if I'm not mistaken, it has only been less than two months since Little Brother Ouyang obtained the Military Fire Seed, right?"

Old Craftsman replied, "It has almost been two months."

Kang Weibo had a strange look on his face. "Oh, two months. According to what I know, a person can't normally stimulate the Military Fire successfully!"

"Are you saying that I'm lying to you?" Old Craftsman cast a cold look at him.

"Oh, come on, Old Man, why would I doubt you? But, but…" Kang Weibo waved his hand, then stomped his foot hard. "Did Little Brother Ouyang really smith this Attribute Military Sword?"

Old Craftsman scoffed. "Do you know that General Chen sent his men to the Supply Division to retrieve ten precious ores for me?"

Kang Weibo responded quickly, "I know, I know. Everyone in the military camp knows that you're smithing a weapon for General Chen."

The Supply Division was the real supervisor of the military's logistics. Although the Armament Camp had its Material Department too, the real precious raw materials were stored at the Supply Division, and only someone mighty in the military could withdraw materials.

"Sir Kang, you guessed it wrong this time. General Chen didn't retrieve the ten precious ores for me." Old Craftsman laughed out loud.

"Old Craftsman, don't, don't lie to me!" Kang Weibo was so dumbfounded that he stammered.

"Okay, take the saber to the young fellow. I'm very occupied now, so don't disturb me anymore." Old Craftsman glared at him, then closed the door and returned to his workshop.

Kang Weibo's eyelids twitched when the door was closed. He smiled bitterly as he felt helpless against the extremely talented blacksmiths in the camp, and it made him think that his post as the Armament Camp's supervisor was meaningless.

Nevertheless, he would not give up his post no matter what.

Kang Weibo's eyes glowed when he looked at the Attribute Military Saber in his hands as though a golden path was laid out in front of him. He would have to judge if the path was a short one or a long one.

Subsequently, he left in a hurry with the treasure sword.Ou Yangming was frowning in his room.

Since he had been under Old Craftsman and Chen Yifan's care lately, he did not bother about anything else apart from practicing the martial-art squat and the technique to control the Military Fire. As such, he neglected the matter of Zhang Yinfan and his nephew.

After making a trip to the equipment depot, he heard the frightening name again.

It was then when he came to a sudden realization that a venomous snake was still lurking.

If Zhang Hanyu had not attacked Ou Yangming, Ou Yangming would not have killed him. In that case, when General Chen Yifan got involved, Zhang Yinfan and his nephew would let Ou Yangming go or even try to be friends with him.

The instant Ou Yangming killed Zhang Hanyu, he knew that the resentment would be unsolvable.

Zhang Yinfan was only holding back at the moment because he was fearful, but if he were to take his revenge in the future, it would be impossible for Ou Yangming to guard against him.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not have a solution to the problem.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on his door, which really shocked him.

Ever since Zhang Hanyu's sneak attack, he had been more alert. Besides, Zhang Yinfan was still the Provision Camp's assistant supervisor, so he dared not let his guard down although Zhang Yinfan had not messed with him yet.

"Who's there?" Ou Yangming shouted.

"Haha, Ou Yangming, it's me, Kang Weibo!"

Ou Yangming was stunned. 'One doesn't visit a temple without a cause, why is he here?'

Kang Weibo was the Armament Camp's supervisor, such that everything in the camp was under his care, but the Armament Camp was different from other camps. It housed the highest number of skilled people, especially the old masters with superb craftsmanship. As such, the camp was well-known and the commanding general valued it very much.

Therefore, even though Kang Weibo was the camp's supervisor, he behaved well in front of the old masters, especially Old Craftsman.

Needless to say, he showed a different side of him to the normal craftsmen.

Since Ou Yangming was valued by Old Craftsman and was appointed as his helper, Kang Weibo treated him well, to the extent that he arranged a small single room for him.

Despite that, that was the most Kang Weibo could do to show his sincerity. After all, there was a huge difference between their ranks, thus Ou Yangming could not figure out why the Armament Camp's supervisor was here to visit him.

While Ou Yangming was dubious, he opened the door. "Sir Kang, what's the matter?"

Kang Weibo laughed out loud, then cupped his hands at him. "My boy, you hid it from me so well!"

Ou Yangming was puzzled. 'What did I hide from him?'

Upon seeing his confused look, Kang Weibo quickly retrieved a military saber and asked, "Look, what's this?"

Ou Yangming immediately identified that it was the Attribute Military Saber that he smithed earlier.

He instantly realized why Kang Weibo was treating him with such warmth.

"Sir Kang, isn't this just a military saber? It's not a big deal." Ou Yangming chuckled.

Kang Weibo's face darkened. "My boy, tell me, did Old Craftsman smith this saber, or did you smith it?"

Ou Yangming shrugged. "Of course I did."

Kang Weibo took a deep breath when he saw Ou Yangming answering so casually. "General Chen retrieved ten precious ores for you, right? Are, are you confident about smithing two Attribute Equipment?"

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. He figured that Old Craftsman told Kang Weibo that he smithed an Attribute Equipment, but did not inform him of the truth.

By using only three of the ten precious ores, he produced two pieces of Attribute Equipment. Even if the remaining seven ores were discarded, he already made two finished products.

He nodded. "If I only have to make two, I'm confident."

Kang Weibo's eyes shone as he laughed. "My boy, you have such a heroic spirit, and I respect you for that."

'Isn't it just a twenty percent criterion? What does it have to do with a heroic spirit? You're being too obvious about flattering me,' Ou Yangming said to himself.

However, he did not know that the twenty percent criterion was only normal for him and Old Craftsman. On the other hand, it was an unsurpassable moat for the other Military Fire Blacksmiths in the military camp.

Kang Weibo stopped laughing. "My boy, why didn't you come to report it if you're already a Military Fire Blacksmith?"

Ou Yangming slapped his forehead. "Ah, I forgot, sorry."

In actual fact, he did not forget about it because Old Craftsman hid the truth on purpose to disguise the specific date.

The number of people in the military camp who knew that he incited the Military Fire were numbered even if Old Craftsman and Chen Yifan were included.

'Little master, it's true that you're guided by Old Craftsman. Although you haven't learned all of his skills, you managed to pick up his strange character as well,' The muscles on Kang Weibo's face twitched as he thought to himself.

The most powerful thing in the Armament Camp was not one's power, but a blacksmith's craftsmanship.

Therefore, those with genuine talent could definitely get on well.

"Hehe." Kang Weibo was struck with an idea, so he smiled as he said, "My boy, how about I discuss something with you?"

Ou Yangming replied seriously, "Sir Kang, let me know if you need me to do anything, I'll do it for you."

Kang Weibo was the Armament Camp's supervisor, whereas he was only a little helper, thus he had no room to negotiate.

"Ah, please don't say that. We'll discuss anything that happens in the future," Kang Weibo responded enthusiastically. After a short pause, he continued, "Since you can smith Attribute Equipment, I'll arrange a smithing workshop for you. Two in ten, will you accept the condition?"

Ou Yangming was taken aback. "Out of the ten precious ores, I only have to hand two pieces of Attribute Equipment?"

"Yes, only two, and all materials will be provided by the camp." Kang Weibo nodded, then added after he pondered for a while, "Let me know if you need anything, but you must fulfill the condition."

Countless thoughts crossed Ou Yangming's mind at that moment. He asked carefully, "Sir Kang, what if I'm so lucky that I'm able to smith a third Attribute Equipment?"

"Haha, if you're so capable, only two in ten will be taken by the Armament Camp regardless of the finished products," Kang Weibo answered right away, and wondered, 'With a twenty percent passing rate, even if you seek help from Old Craftsman, it'll only increase to thirty percent? Hehe, you should work hard for another eight to ten years, but you probably won't be in the Armament Camp anymore then, so you don't have to consider that.'

Ou Yangming nodded. "Okay, I'll follow your order, Sir Kang."

Feeling elated, Kang Weibo pulled him by his hand. "My boy, come with me."

"Where are we going?" Ou Yangming was shocked.

"Of course we're going to the equipment depot!" Kang Weibo laughed. "Retrieve the materials you need in the future as you wish, I'd like to see who has the courage to stop you!"

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Chapter 24: A Master's Treatment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

While being in a daze, Ou Yangming was brought by Kang Weibo to the equipment depot.

Upon seeing Supervisor Kang, everyone at the depot greeted him quickly, but they looked at Ou Yangming strangely, including Xiong Gaoan.

They could not understand why Sir Kang was pulling Ou Yangming by his hand, and they seemed to be conversing happily. In fact, Sir Kang treated him respectfully and was very friendly.

Actually, the expression on Sir Kang's face was not rare at all, because that was how he usually welcomed top-notch Military Fire Blacksmiths in the camp.

However, Ou Yangming was not a big master like Old Craftsman as he was only a little helper. Though the little helper was personally appointed by Old Craftsman, who was the chief of Military Fire Blacksmiths, they did not think that Sir Kang had to humble himself to get acquainted with him.

Kang Weibo glanced at the others, then winked at Xiong Gaoan.

While Xiong Gaoan was indeed Kang Weibo's confidant, he could not figure out what the wink meant.

Subsequently, Kang Weibo's angry voice was heard. "Officer Xiong, why did you obstruct Little Brother Ouyang earlier when he came to retrieve some materials?"

Xiong Gaoan was startled, and he finally realized what the wink meant, but he could not understand why Sir Kang was doing this.

Whether he understood it or not, he had to cooperate since Sir Kang made his choice, or his position as the accounts officer would fly away.

After bowing at Ou Yangming, Xiong Gaoan replied, "Brother Ouyang, please don't blame me. I'm only a small accounts officer, and I dare not disobey the order given by the Provision Camp's superior!"

Kang Weibo scoffed. "Orders from the Provision Camp must be obeyed, but the way they're executed differs from person to person. What are you doing? You've been living for nothing!"

"Yes, yes." Xiong Gaoan dared not defend himself. "Sir, don't worry, I'll definitely allow Old Craftsman to withdraw materials in the future."

Kang Weibo widened his eyes. "Nonsense!"

"Huh?" Xiong Gaoan was dumbfounded because he did not know what he did wrong.

Kang Weibo pointed at Ou Yangming. "From now on, if anyone brings Little Brother Ouyang's personal letter here, the materials he requests will be approved! Hmph, those that are available should be given to him immediately, and those that aren't available must be requested from the Supply Division! I don't care how you do it, but you must do it well."

Xiong Gaoan and the others looked at each other as they wondered if they heard him wrongly.

If Kang Weibo was pointing at Old Craftsman, nobody would object to it, but he was pointing at Ou Yangming… They wondered, 'He's just a little helper, so why does he get to enjoy this treatment?

'Won't the other old blacksmiths be displeased if they know about this?'

"Why? You can't hear me?" Kang Weibo questioned coldly.

He was extremely polite to Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming, but showed his threatening aura to his followers, which caused Xiong Gaoan and the others to shiver.

"Yes, we'll obey you," Xiong Gaoan responded, then said to Ou Yangming, "Brother Ouyang, I'll assign a help… Oh, an errand boy for you. If you need anything in the future, just give an order!"

Xiong Gaoan initially wanted to say that he would assign a helper for Ou Yangming, but Ou Yangming was a helper himself, so how could he assign a helper for him? Luckily, he was smart enough to change the term quickly.

Nonetheless, Kang Weibo laughed. "What do you mean by an errand boy? Gaoan, Little Brother Ouyang is already an official Military Fire Blacksmith, so you should arrange a personal smithing workshop and a new accommodation for him. Mm, you should do it according to Old Craftsman's standard!"

"What?" This time, Xiong Gaoan exclaimed, and he looked at Ou Yangming for some time before he smiled bitterly. "Brother, you're already a blacksmith! Oh, you hid it very well!"

He finally understood why Kang Weibo was being so friendly.

Ou Yangming became an official Military Fire Blacksmith at such a young age, so he would definitely have a bright future. When should Xiong Gaoan and Kang Weibo become friends with him if not now?

In spite of that, Xiong Gaoan felt that the investment made by Sir Kang was too big because Sir Kang asked that he refer to the treatment given to Old Craftsman, which confused him.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming had been feeling like an outsider the moment he arrived.

His face changed only when Kang Weibo gave his order. "Sir Kang, you mustn't do that!"

"Why mustn't I do that? Don't worry, I'll bear all the responsibilities." He laughed, then tossed a military saber to Xiong Gaoan. "This was made by Little Brother Ouyang, so store it in the depot, and keep it well before handing it to the Supply Division at the end of the month." Following that, he pulled Ou Yangming outside. "My boy, let's take a look at the smithing workshops and the courtyards, you must pick the one you like."

Xiong Gaoan and the others felt like they were dreaming when they saw them leaving happily.

Sir Kang actually brought Ou Yangming over, scolded his followers, and told them that Ou Yangming was a blacksmith. Additionally, he asked that they give him the same treatment given to Old Craftsman.

The change was so big that they found it hard to accept it.

Xiong Gaoan sighed. "Everyone, this is Sir Kang's order, so listen well. From now on, if Ou Yangming comes, you must welcome him properly."

The others responded to him. Even though they could not understand it, they would execute it since it was Sir Kang's order, and they would try their best to understand it.

"Go, record this." Xiong Gaoan handed the military saber in his hands to a person beside him.

The person was about to leave when Xiong Gaoan suddenly called out to him, "Wait!"

Everyone else turned to look at him. He had taken the military saber back to check it out.

A brief moment later, someone asked him carefully, "Officer Xiong, is there something mysterious about the saber?"

Xiong Gaoan did not bother, and he channeled a hint of his essential Qi into the saber. At once, a light flashed, and it was as if lightning struck although there was only a glimpse of it. It lit the pitch-black earth, and it was unforgettable.

"This, this is an Attribute Military Saber!"

"Who, who was it that Sir Kang said… Made the saber?"

The others fell silent as they looked in the same direction. They knew at once that the Armament Camp had a new master who could not be offended from now on, but the master was too young to be one.After an hour, Ou Yangming was touched when he looked at the courtyard that he was assigned to.

The courtyard was simply luxurious as compared to the single room that he used to stay in. Not only did it have a master bedroom, but it also had a side bedroom, a living room, a guest room, a kitchen, a dining room, a garden, etc. Besides, the rooms were already decorated with fine materials.

Nevertheless, it was somewhat scary that he was the only one living in the huge courtyard.

Once Kang Weibo left, Ou Yangming did not stay in his new courtyard for long as he went to find Old Craftsman.

The old man was still in deep thoughts in the smithing workshop, so much so that he only smiled at Ou Yangming when he arrived, then continued thinking.

Ou Yangming scratched his ears and cheeks for half an hour before Old Craftsman finally sighed. "Can't you just behave well. You're already a master who has a personal smithing workshop, yet you're still unsteady."

"Old Man, you know already?" Ou Yangming was surprised.

Old Craftsman chuckled. "Since Kang Weibo knows that you can smith an Attribute Equipment, he'll definitely do anything he can to flatter you. Hehe, if I guessed it right, you have a personal smithing workshop and a courtyard now, right?"

Ou Yangming nodded. "Old Man, you guessed it right!"

"What's the split ratio he set for you?" Old Craftsman pouted his lips indifferently.

"Two in ten." Ou Yangming dared not hide the truth.

"Two in ten, hmph, he's so wicked," Old Craftsman commented as he was displeased, "Among the twenty over Military Fire Blacksmiths in the Armament Camp, other than three of them, the ratio given to the others is one in ten."

Ou Yangming was startled. "Sir Kang really thinks highly of me…"

Old Craftsman laughed. "It's not you whom he thinks highly of, it's me."

"I understand, he must think that I'll seek help from you if I can't do it." Ou Yangming quickly realized what was going on.

"Not bad. The standard set by the Supply Division for the Armament Camp is one in ten. Above that, it'll be considered as the Armament Camp's benefit, so blacksmiths who can achieve two in ten have a high status. Hehe, Kang Weibo thinks that he took advantage of us!" Old Craftsman nodded, and he looked wise and sly as though he could see through everything.

Ou Yangming laughed as he thought to himself, 'I wonder how Kang Weibo's face will change if he finds out that I only used three precious ores to smith two pieces of Attribute Equipment.'

Following that, the master and his apprentice looked at each other and laughed together.

Old Craftsman patted Ou Yangming on his shoulder. "Young fella, you're a rising treasure in the Armament Camp, so you must work harder!"

Ou Yangming nodded.

"Besides that, based on what you did today, Zhang Yinfan will probably face you squarely. Hehe, they won't give you a hard time anymore," Old Craftsman mentioned confidently.

However, Ou Yangming's face changed.

If Zhang Hanyu was still alive, Old Craftsman's words might come true, but since that was not the case, Ou Yangming was not sure of what would happen

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Chapter 25: Force Grade Class Two

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Heh…"

Ou Yangming straightened his body all of a sudden and his dantian shone in a cold light as it released a powerful hot stream. When the hot stream circulated inside his body, he felt as though he was in a hot spring and enjoyed the warm, boiling feeling.

Ever since Sui Hezhi sent him strong wild beasts regularly, his Qi and blood were constantly replenished, and the fact that his body was always rich in them naturally helped him improve his essential Qi cultivation.

A martial artist's cultivation was separated into four grades, which were Force Artist, Yin Artist, Yang Artist, and Extreme Artist. There were also five small passes in the four grades, and they were known collectively as Four Grades Five Classes.

Though Ou Yangming previously acquired the Dantian Light, he only opened the door to martial arts, because he had just reached the threshold of a Force Artist.

A Class One Force Artist was considered a martial artist but was not presentable in the military camp.

After replenishing Qi and blood for more than a month, Ou Yangming had been transforming them into essential Qi, thus finally advancing to a Class Two Force Artist.

He was elated when he sensed the light that was emitted from his dantian.

Even though he was not a pure martial artist, he was familiar with the advancing speed of the men in the military camp.

Hence, he knew very well that it was extremely tough for him to cultivate his essential Qi to Class Two of a Force Artist in just two months.

Apart from those who were truly talented, those who kept consuming top-grade medicine could also advance quickly.

In fact, Ou Yangming actually belonged to the latter group but instead of taking precious medicine, he relied on the feature of a devouring attribute that absorbed energy from blood and flesh and transformed the energy into Qi and blood for his body.

When he stood up slowly, popping sounds were heard coming from his bones, and he seemed to have grown a little taller.

He chuckled as he walked over to his smithing table.

Once Kang Weibo registered him as a Military Fire Blacksmith, he was given a personal smithing workshop.

A smithing workshop was not a rich facility in the military camp, but normally, only a few top-notch Military Fire Blacksmiths could have a personal workshop.

Since Ou Yangming was a new blacksmith, he should not be an exception. However, when Kang Weibo promised Ou Yangming that he would have the right to use a personal smithing workshop by giving two of the ten pieces of Attribute Equipment that he would produce, there were no more objections.

The people who could achieve that in the military camp were countable, and Old Craftsman, who was the chief of blacksmiths, was one of them too.

Therefore, nobody dared to go against Ou Yangming even though they doubted him.

After taking a glance at the smithing table, Ou Yangming picked up a featured iron ingot casually, then refined it with his Military Fire. At the next instant, he felt the greatest advantage of improving his strength as a martial artist.

He felt more at ease when he used the Military Fire. The situation was similar to when he trained with a 2-kilogram dumbbell, which felt rather strenuous at first, but as he kept training and his strength increased, the dumbbell was not so much a burden anymore.

The iron ingot melted quickly after being burned by the Military Fire, and it slowly turned into a greave.

When the greave was almost formed, Ou Yangming quickly attached an Agility Ore to it. On top of that, he completed the drawing and upgrading processes swiftly through his mind.

As he curbed his Military Fire slowly, he found out about the greave's attributes.

[Item: Outstanding greave (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Toughness 10, Agility 1, Durability 9]

Not only was the greave an Ordinary Tool of Good Grade, Rank Five, but its Durability was also at 9 points. This proved that Ou Yangming's level of attainment in smithing increased to a stage where there were no major flaws anymore.

In actual fact, a piece of Good Grade equipment could be smithed using a featured iron ingot, but Ou Yangming had to put sufficient stored attributes into the equipment previously. After exploring for more than two months, while he still needed to put certain attributes into a piece of equipment, he only needed to add a maximum of 3 attribute points to smith one of Good Grade, Rank Five.

This meant that he could now smith equipment of Good Grade, Rank Two, or even Rank Three, from featured iron ingots by using only his own strength.

His standard was not equivalent to Old Craftsman's when the old man was still at his peak, but it was more or less the same.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming's seemingly impossible speed of progress was closely related to the purple energy in his mind.

The purple energy was the purple brilliance he saw in the Military Fire Badge. When the energy unfolded, he was able to enter a completely rational and unique state as if he was watching from a bystander's perspective.

He was absolutely calm whenever he was in that state.

It was the extremely calm state that he relied on in the past to turn the tide, to survive on the verge of death, to kill Zhang Hanyu, and to advance by leaps and bounds in smithing.

Afterward, Ou Yangming went through the things on his smithing table and found five pieces of Attribute Equipment, as well as five remaining precious ores.

He smiled bitterly. If the others found out that he could maintain a hundred percent success rate in smithing Attribute Equipment, it would probably cause an unimaginable sensation.

When he weighed the five precious ores in his hands, he felt troubled.

A fifty percent success rate was the biggest limit that he could hit, but how should he handle the five remaining precious ores?

Ou Yangming sighed, then activated his Military Fire again.

He would be worried no matter where he kept the precious ores, so he figured that it was best for him to draw their attributes to be stored in his mind.

However, there was a limit to the number of purple lights that could be stored, which was fifty. Thus, he would need to need to get rid of some of the Common Attributes after storing Unique Attributes.

Through the Military Fire, the five precious ores turned into powder and then vanished.

On the other hand, five small light balls appeared in Ou Yangming's mind. Before long, a surprised and delighted look was seen on his face.

That was because he suddenly realized that the light storage in his mind seemed to have increased.

According to his estimation, roughly ten slots were added to the space, which meant that he could now store sixty purple lights instead of fifty.

Ou Yangming was overjoyed. It was as if he was given a pillow as soon as he began to feel sleepy.

How did he achieve the sudden change?

He thought about his advancement in martial arts and figured that not only did his force improve when he moved one class up, but the capacity in his mind increased too.

Following that, Ou Yangming carried the five pieces of Attribute Equipment to Old Craftsman's smithing workshop.

His smithing workshop was not far from Old Craftsman's at all as they were almost next to each other. Perhaps Kang Weibo arranged it on purpose.

The moment Ou Yangming entered the workshop casually, Old Craftsman could tell who it was without turning to look. Other than the immature young fellow, even General Chen Yifan would knock on the door.

"B*stard, don't you have your own smithing workshop? Why are you still here… Eh, why are you carrying a bunch of trash?"

"Old Man, what are you saying? If you don't like me, I'll leave now." Ou Yangming refused to give in, but even though he said that he would leave, he sat next to Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman reached his hand out to pull Ou Yangming's ear. "B*stard, you're independent now, and you learned how to talk back to me too?"

Ou Yangming shrieked in pain. "Old Man, it hurts, let go…"

Old Craftsman did not use a lot of force, so he knew that Ou Yangming was pretending to be in pain, but he still let go.

"Hmph, tell me, what is it?"

Ou Yangming put the five pieces of equipment down, then rubbed his ear as he said, "Old Man, I smithed these. Take a look at them."

Old Craftsman frowned. "You only smithed five pieces of equipment in two days? It's too little."

A Military Fire Blacksmith was not an ordinary blacksmith because a qualified one could smith ten weapons a day with the help of the Military Fire.

The efficiency was way above a normal blacksmith's, and it was the efficiency of the lowest grade Military Fire Blacksmith.

Although Ou Yangming had only been independent for two days, he was below the mark for smithing only five pieces of equipment.

"Old Man, just take a look at it first!" Ou Yangming pouted his lips as he felt helpless.

Old Craftsman was slightly moved, so he lowered his body to pick up a military saber. He was surprised after looking at it carefully, and he glanced at Ou Yangming before channeling a hint of essential Qi into the saber. Subsequently, his eyelids twitched.

'An Attribute Military Saber. This isn't an ordinary weapon, it's an Attribute Military Saber!'

Old Craftsman put the military saber down, then picked the second equipment and channeled a hint of essential Qi into it too.

He proceeded to do the same with the third equipment, the fourth, and the fifth.

In the end, he stood up slowly while pursing his lips tightly. "Did you smith all of them in two days?"

"Sir Kang sent me ten precious ores yesterday, and I used them because I couldn't wait." Ou Yangming scratched his head. He then pretended to sigh, but could not disguise the proud look on his face. "Sadly, half of them were successes, half were failures."

Old Craftsman took a deep breath and stared at Ou Yangming, but he was so stunned that he could not speak.

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Chapter 26: Switched From Arrogance To Humility

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

An Attribute Equipment, it was an Attribute Equipment!

Even if it was the worst Attribute Equipment, it was much more precious than a White Slate Equipment.

If Ou Yangming had forged only one Attribute Equipment instead of five in just two days, Old Craftsman would still be extremely overjoyed. Therefore, when the old man saw the five pieces of Attribute Equipment laid in front of him, the shock he felt was indescribable.

"Ah…" Old Craftsman sighed. "Young fella, didn't I tell you to rest a few days before smithing another Attribute Equipment? Why did you do it again so soon?"

"Old Man, you can't blame me. After Sir Kang arranged a smithing workshop for me, he gave me enough raw materials, and sent ten precious ores over so that I could smith some pieces of Attribute Equipment as soon as possible." Ou Yangming paused for a while before he continued, "He gave me a courtyard and a smithing workshop, and the arrangements made were great, so I should repay his kindness."

"You're repaying too much." Old Craftsman scoffed, then continued after some thoughts, "Forget it. After all, Kang Weibo is the Armament Camp's supervisor. I'm guessing that he was pressured by the task index, so he had no choice but to be thick-skinned to ask you for help."

Ou Yangming chuckled. He naturally knew what was going on since he was a member of the military camp.

The Armament Camp was an exceptionally special part in the military camp, and it probably spent the most money a month, because the cost of precious ores was not of the common run.

Hence, there was an assessment criterion in the Armament Camp.

However, the criterion was not for the smithing and restoration or normal armaments. Honestly, while Military Fire Blacksmiths could smith normal armaments in a large amount and at a high speed, the main source of armaments was the munition factories in the empire.

It was said that the munition factories had an assembly line operation that increased a normal blacksmith's efficiency by a few times, and a collaboration would be similar to the Military Fire Smithing Art in terms of speed.

With that, the main job of Military Fire Blacksmiths in the military camp was to smith Attribute Equipment. Needless to say, the smithing of top-notch equipment was time- and energy-consuming, so one needed to have sufficient energy and patience.

Under normal circumstances, a Military Fire Blacksmith would take a month to use ten precious ores, but the success rate this month had been terribly low.

Taking their military camp as an example, apart from Old Craftsman and two experienced Military Fire Blacksmiths, the others had a one-in-ten success rate. Sure enough, a two-in-ten success rate would be an unexpected joy, but it would be impossible to maintain that for a long time.

Being the Armament Camp's supervisor, other than managing daily tasks, Kang Weibo paid special importance to supervising the amount of Attribute Equipment smithed.

Since Old Craftsman had been focusing on smithing a weapon for General Chen Yifan lately, he stopped forging Attribute Equipment.

With that, Kang Weibo had three less Attribute Equipment for the month, and he was so anxious that he simply wanted to remove a few pieces of equipment from a Military Fire Blacksmith to report on his task.

Despite that, he dared not put it into action, but he managed to seize Ou Yangming who made a timely appearance. As such, Kang Weibo would do anything to flatter the new and young blacksmith who agreed to the two-in-ten condition.

Old Craftsman tapped the armaments as he mentioned, "Kang Weibo may be snobbish, but he's a decent man. Take these armaments to him, and tell him that three of them are to make up for what I owe him last month."

Ou Yangming nodded. "Yes."

"Ask for twenty more precious ores from him, and…" Old Craftsman paused for a moment, then continued, "Your control of the Military Fire is qualified, so you may use steel now."

"Old Man, can I use special grade steel?" Ou Yangming's eyes glowed.

"Hmph, in your dreams." Old Craftsman stared at him. "Start with normal steel, because you'll have to forge Fine Grade armaments using normal steel first before you can use special grade steel!"

Ou Yangming nodded. He quickly packed the armaments he smithed into a bundle wrapped in cloth, then hurried away.

Old Craftsman yelled at him, "B*stard, seal your lips, and don't simply say anything!"

"Don't worry, I know what to do," Ou Yangming shouted back at him from far.

He was obviously not going to tell Kang Weibo the truth. If Kang Weibo knew that he used ten precious ores in two days, and had a fifty percent success rate, it would only cause him unnecessary trouble.

Ou Yangming did not want to bring trouble upon himself.

He arrived at the equipment depot with the armaments.

There were two big depots in the Armament Camp. One was an abandoned depot, which was treated as a dumpster, whereas the other one was an equipment depot, which was heavily guarded by soldiers.

The former could be accessed by anyone as it was a place where many blacksmiths and helpers picked usable items from. Nobody would be stopped from entering, because it was an open secret and a benefit for everyone.

On the opposite, the latter was the most important place in the Armament Camp. Normal Military Fire Blacksmiths might not even be allowed to enter, let alone a helper.

Ou Yangming noticed Xiong Gaoan as soon as he arrived at the depot.

He immediately slowed down, and was hesitating if he should enter.

At that moment, Xiong Gaoan happened to see Ou Yangming standing there when he looked up, so he quickly put his work aside to approach him with a smile. Even from a distance away, he was already cupping his hands together to greet Ou Yangming in a friendly manner, "Oh, isn't that Brother Ouyang? Quick, quick, come in!"

Ou Yangming smiled embarrassedly. Though he knew why Xiong Gaoan switched from arrogance to humility, he was reluctant to deal with him. Nevertheless, since Xiong Gaoan was willing to humble himself, he should not leave in displeasure, because one should never slap a smiling face.

"Officer Xiong," Ou Yangming replied helplessly, "you're wrong."

"Huh? What?" Xiong Gaoan was puzzled.

Ou Yangming answered, "My surname is Ou, not Ouyang."

"I see. Brother Ou, I was wrong." Xiong Gaoan slapped his forehead after being stunned for a while, but he thought to himself, 'Since your surname is Ou, why is it followed by Yang? Isn't that just a trap…'

Although he knew that Old Craftsman's helper was called Ou Yangming, he did not take the time to understand him better since he was just a helper. If Ou Yangming had not pointed out the mistake, he would never know.

"Brother Ou, you're here to…" Xiong Gaoan asked when he looked at Ou Yangming's bundle.

Ou Yangming revealed his visitation purpose without keeping Xiong Gaoan in suspense. "I'm here to deliver some armaments, so please help me store them."

"Okay, okay." Xiong Gaoan was dumbfounded and confused. 'He was just given a smithing workshop two days ago, and only retrieved the materials yesterday, so why does he have something to hand in already? Did he smith armaments of a better grade? Hmm, if these armaments are of Good Grade, they're qualified to be stored.'

At the outer court of the equipment depot, someone was there to collect the armaments.

Even though Ou Yangming had been there before to hand in armaments, it had been on Old Craftsman's behalf. This time, he represented himself, hence people at the equipment depot stole a glance at him from time to time to see what he was going to store in the depot.

Five armaments were revealed when he opened his bundle.

Xiong Gaoan would not attend to the matter personally if anyone else brought armaments to the depot, but since it was Ou Yangming whom Kang Weibo valued, he dared not neglect him.

He lowered himself to retrieve one of the military sabers, then flicked it with his fingers, causing a loud and clear buzz to be heard.

"Nice, the saber is of Good Grade indeed, and it's at the peak of Good Grade," Xiong Gaoan exclaimed as he looked at Ou Yangming. "Brother Ou, your skills are truly unordinary."

While the munition factories produced a substantial amount of military sabers, their claims to perfect the sabers were empty talks.

Soldiers in the military usually used Common Grade military sabers, and unless one had a way, it was difficult to obtain a Good Grade military saber.

"Officer Xiong, look at them closely." Ou Yangming shook his head, and was slightly dissatisfied. "If they're just Good Grade military sabers, will I hand them in?"

"Oh." Xiong Gaoan was startled, and his heart skipped a beat when an unbelievable thought crossed his mind.

'Are these five armaments…'

Nonetheless, he dared not think about it further, because it was definitely impossible, but…

After taking a deep breath, Xiong Gaoan cast his thoughts aside, then channeled a hint of essential Qi into the military saber. He was instantly elated.

'An Attribute Equipment, this is actually an Attribute Equipment!'

He could not be bothered about etiquette at the moment, and he picked up a greave after putting the military saber down carefully.

In a flash, he inspected the five pieces of equipment, and was so overjoyed that he felt dizzy.

Xiong Gaoan stammered when he looked up at Ou Yangming, "Ou, Brother Ou, you… No, what's the meaning of this?"

Ou Yangming responded, "What do you mean what's the meaning of this? I brought them here for storage!"

"Ah, storage, yes, they should be stored!" Xiong Gaoan came to a sudden realization, and he turned to yell at the other men, "B*stards, why are you still standing there? Can't you see that Brother Ou… Master Ou is here? Quick, bring some good tea, the ones that Sir Kang values very much. You, ask for Sir Kang, and tell him that Master Ou's here to store some equipment. Five, a total of five Attribute Equipment!"

The equipment depot was dead silent for a while as if the sound of a dropping needle could be heard.

Subsequently, everyone started working.

Upon seeing the chaotic scene, Ou Yangming knew even better how much thought Old Craftsman had put into this.

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Kang Weibo arrived faster than Ou Yangming thought he would.

Upon hearing that Ou Yangming had personally brought five pieces of Attribute Equipment, Kang Weibo hurried to the depot before his subordinate finished reporting to him.

After inspecting the pieces of equipment himself, he was unable to conceal his happiness. He initially fawned over Ou Yangming as much as he could as it was his only choice, so he did not expect his investment to give him a high return so quickly.

Five pieces of Attribute Equipment, these were five pieces of Attribute Equipment.

There were only a few more than twenty Military Fire Blacksmiths in the Armament Camp, but apart from Old Craftsman and two experienced blacksmiths, the total Attribute Equipment handed in by the other blacksmiths every month was roughly twenty pieces.

In actual fact, Kang Weibo knew that there was something fishy about it.

Each time, there were definitely a few blacksmiths who exceeded the quota given, but the extra ones were considered their personal income. If he dared to take those by force, he would probably lose his position as the Armament Camp's supervisor.

This was because even the commander-in-chief could not protect him in all Military Fire Blacksmiths despised him.

Therefore, less than thirty pieces of Attribute Equipment were normally kept in the Armament Camp's storage. This was also why Kang Weibo was so anxious when Old Craftsman did not hand in anything for a month. Some of his hair had even turned white.

Three pieces of Attribute Equipment were a tenth of the total amount, so it made sense that he was concerned.

Since Ou Yangming suddenly submitted five pieces at once, Kang Weibo was overjoyed.

"Oh, oh, oh, Master Ou, you're my angel!" Kang Weibo changed the way he addressed Ou Yangming after hearing Xiong Gaoan's report.

Ou Yangming smiled. "Sir Kang, you're being too polite, but I'm not the only one who contributed to these five pieces of Attribute Equipment."

"What?" Kang Weibo was surprised.

"My master said that he'll make up for the ones he owed last month."

Kang Weibo and the others finally realized that three of the five pieces of Attribute Equipment were from Old Craftsman. They exhaled deeply at the same time, and figured that this made more sense.

If Ou Yangming had smithed all five of them in two days, the commander-in-chief would probably be startled by his efficiency, but since some of them were from Old Craftsman, that would not happen.

Kang Weibo laughed. "Old Man truly has a sharp sense of integrity, he didn't forget about us even though he's busy forging a weapon for General Chen."

Xiong Gaoan and the others praised Old Craftsman too, but they gave so many praises that Ou Yangming's face reddened.

Ou Yangming cleared his throat. "Sir Kang, I'd like to withdraw twenty more precious ores, ten of them are for Old Man. Additionally, I need some normal steel."

Kang Weibo was stunned. While twenty precious ores cost a lot, they were nothing compared to five finished Attribute Equipment. In fact, he would not mind if Ou Yangming asked for more.

However, he was rather perturbed when Ou Yangming asked for steel.

After a moment of hesitation, he asked carefully, "Master Ou, are you planning to smith High Grade armaments?"

The limit of a featured iron ingot was the peak of Good Grade, thus the raw material had to be changed if one wanted to produce something above that. The raw material above a featured iron ingot was steel, but even normal steel was much more expensive than a featured iron ingot.

Ou Yangming nodded. "Yes, I'd like to try."

Kang Weibo replied cautiously, "Master Ou, it's good to have that thinking, but don't you think that it's a bit too early?"

"Alright, I'll retrieve some featured iron ingots along with some steel, is that okay?" Ou Yangming could not help but laugh.

"Master Ou, look at you. Hehe, we'll send you anything you need!" Kang Weibo was relieved.

Ou Yangming nodded. "Okay, I'll be waiting then, but send them fast."

Whether it was the featured iron ingots, the steel, or the precious ores, he could not get them right away. Besides, he could not carry everything by himself, so Kang Weibo had to send his men to carry them to his smithing workshop.

Kang Weibo nodded as he sent Ou Yangming off.

Afterward, Xiong Gaoan bowed at him. "Sir Kang, congratulations!"

Kang Weibo laughed out loud as he was delighted. With Ou Yangming's help, his task of collecting Attribute Equipment for the month became easier.

Xiong Gaoan then sighed. "But he had Old Craftsman's help this time, so it's hard to tell how he'll do in the future."

"Old Craftsman treats him like his own son, so he definitely won't let the young fella lose his reputation. As for us, as long as he hands the pieces of Attribute Equipment for storage on time, I don't care where they come from." Kang Weibo grinned.

"Sir, you're very wise indeed." Xiong Gaoan chuckled, then shook his head after a short pause. "Ou Yangming was already a good seedling because he has Old Craftsman's guidance, but he's reaching for something that's beyond his grasp. How can he think about smithing High Grade equipment so soon after stimulating the Military Fire? He's being overconfident…"

Kang Weibo hesitated for a while before he mentioned, "Gaoan, the first Attribute Military Saber was probably smithed by Ou Yangming."

Xiong Gaoan was stunned, and he looked at Kang Weibo with a confused look as he did not understand what he meant.

Kang Weibo explained, "As much as Old Craftsman pampers Ou Yangming, he won't lie in this. No matter what Ou Yangming's success rate is, he surely smithed at least one Attribute Equipment."

Xiong Gaoan nodded, but he still found it odd because that was already a known fact to him.

"Gaoan, have you heard of anyone who can smith Attribute Equipment two months after acquiring the Military Fire Seed?"

"Sir, you're right, I was acting like a snob." Xiong Gaoan's face changed when he came to a sudden realization, and his back was drenched in a cold sweat.

Kang Weibo laughed out loud. "You don't need to belittle yourself. After all, Ou Yangming is truly a madman for being able to smith a Good Grade armament after just two months. Hehe, I hope that he's really as capable as he seems."After returning to his smithing workshop, Ou Yangming neither practiced the martial-art squat nor the Military Fire's control.

Chen Yifan told him before that it was important to strike a proper balance between work and rest. If he blindly worked hard, it might not actually yield great results.

Ou Yangming kept Chen Yifan's words in mind as he respected him very much.

He pulled a small bookshelf out from the corner of his workshop, then picked a book to read.

Since Ou Yangming was an orphan, he could not read at first. It was only after he became Old Craftsman's helper that he was forced to learn to read and write from the old man. While Ou Yangming had his own writing style, to the extent that he might not be able to read his own words, he could read very well.

He was reading a book related to smithing art, which was what Old Craftsman asked him to learn.

Back then, there were many things that Ou Yangming did not understand when he read, but after experiencing a few months of practical training with the Military Fire, most of the contents made sense to him. At times, he was so enlightened that he gained plenty of knowledge from them.

Needless to say, he was able to advance by leaps and bounds in Military Fire Smithing Art due to the wonderful Military Fire, but it was also closely related to his hard work.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming had a grim expression on his face when he read, and his brain functioned quickly as he looked at the descriptions in the book.

The book recorded that apart from weapons and armors, there was a unique branch from the so-called equipment.

The Jade Branch.

It was said that some extremely unique attributes in the world could not be attached to weapons and armors easily, and they could only be seen in Jade Equipment.

For instance… Qi Return.

Ou Yangming found the Qi Return attribute in the abandoned depot, and he vaguely remembered that it was from a damaged breastplate.

Nevertheless, he found from the book's description that the Qi Return attribute did not belong to the breastplate. Instead, it belonged to a shattered treasure ore that was originally embedded on the breastplate.

Ou Yangming really wanted to try the Qi Return attribute, but he did not know where to purchase a suitable treasure ore.

Though there were many materials in the military camp's equipment depot, as far as he knew, there was no such treasure ore.

Moreover, even if he acquired a suitable treasure ore, he might not be able to attach the attribute on it successfully. It was clearly stated in the book that armament smithing and treasure ore refinement were two completely different matters. In fact, it was a different research path in smithing art. Nonetheless, it was not recorded in the book how treasure ores could be refined, thus Ou Yanming was disappointed.

If he had the chance to, he would like to travel outside to open his eyes.

It was also what Old Craftsman hoped for Ou Yangming. After realizing Ou Yangming's talent, the old man hoped that he would not be trapped in the military camp his whole life, and that he would soar in the sky like an eagle.

Ou Yangming hid the book after pondering for a long time.

Following that, he began practicing the martial-art squat. He was so familiar with the posture that it became a part of him.

Ou Yangming knew that he had to build a strong martial arts foundation if he wanted to travel the world, because the world outside was not all in peace.

He could sense his essential Qi flowing slowly in his dantian and meridians, and each time it flowed, his Qi and blood declined a little, whereas his essential Qi became richer.

The fact that Ou Yangming would certainly gain results if he put his utmost effort in his martial arts cultivation was the exact reason he was willing to work tirelessly.

If one could not improve even after working so hard, one's desire to cultivate would definitely decrease.

The sound of an aura being stirred up filled the smithing workshop, and it was extremely pleasing to the ear.

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Chapter 28: High Grade Equipment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Ou Yangming's Military Fire burned, the tough steel became soft, and was finally turned into a military saber after the constant burning.

Yes, it was a military saber, because that was what Ou Yangming was most skilled at.

Old Craftsman watched with a dignified expression. Although the smithing process using steel and a featured iron ingot were similar, there were still some differences due to the different raw materials. The old man had taught Ou Yangming how different materials should be handled, so it was up to the young fellow to grasp the patterns and changes.

Ou Yangming needed experience the most from the process, because it would increase his success rate.

He did not cheat at the moment as he did not increase the military saber's attributes using the purple lights. Instead, he sensed the differences between steel and iron ingots wholeheartedly according to Old Craftsman's guidance.

At last, when his Military Fire stopped, a military saber was formed.

He frowned a little, and was rather embarrassed.

[Item: Outstanding military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 10. Toughness 10, Durability 10]

The saber was of Good Grade, and was the best of that grade, yet Ou Yangming was dissatisfied.

That was because he used steel instead of a featured iron ingot. It was a precious material that could have allowed him to smith a High Grade weapon, but he only managed to force a Good Grade one.

It was then when Ou Yangming lost his confidence.

He wondered, 'Without the purple lights' support, this is all I have.'

Old Craftsman took the military saber to look at it for a while before he exclaimed, "Ah, young fella, you're good."

Ou Yangming felt helpless. "Old Man, I know I made a mistake. Don't attack me, okay?"

"Nonsense. It's your first time using steel, and you forged something that's at the peak of Good Grade. What more do you want?" Old Craftsman glared at him, and scoffed. "I failed more than ten times before I figured it out and smithed a High Grade weapon. Come, let me tell you what your mistake was."

"Thank you, Old Man." Ou Yangming was stunned. He regained half of his confidence upon hearing the old man.

He knew that Old Craftsman was only saying that because of the sad look on his face.

Nevertheless, he also knew that the old man was right, because one could not improve one's smithing technique in one move. As such, he realized that it was unreasonable for him to feel disappointed.

Ou Yangming lowered his head, and picked up more steel to begin smithing again.

Even though he did not use the attribute lights stored in his mind, he automatically triggered the purple lights the moment he used the Military Fire. Consequently, he became extremely calm as though his consciousness was detached.

Under the state, he was almost able to perform perfectly.

After experiencing failure, Ou Yangming's Military Fire became exceptionally stable, and it did not fluctuate at all as though it was controlled by a machine.

The flaws that were present before were compensated excellently, such that even the picky Old Craftsman could not find any fault.

'He did it,' Old Craftsman said to himself the moment the military saber was formed, and a joyful look was seen on his face. Though he had not touched the finished product yet, he had a feeling that the young fellow succeeded.

[Item: Distinguished military saber]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, High Grade, Rank Two]

[Attributes: Sharpness 12, Toughness 11, Durability 12]

High Grade.

Through the Military Fire's afterglow, Ou Yangming saw the attributes stated clearly.

He finally fulfilled his wish of smithing a High Grade equipment.

A result like that worth celebrating even for other Military Fire Blacksmiths. Those blacksmiths would usually attempt smithing with steel only after having years of experience, and none of them could guarantee that they could definitely smith High Grade equipment with steel. In fact, even Old Craftsman, who was the chief of blacksmiths, dared not guarantee it too.

Sure enough, a piece of High Grade equipment was far more appreciated than a Good Grade one, but a piece of equipment like that could only be a wild wish for normal soldiers.

"Young fella, you're amazing!" Old Craftsman punched Ou Yangming jokingly as he remarked excitedly.

The greater the young fellow's achievements, the happier he was. He was not aware at all that he would lose his job when his apprentice mastered the knowledge.

Ou Yangming smiled awkwardly. "Old Man, this isn't an Attribute Equipment…"

Old Craftsman scoffed. "You greedy fella. Before you control the different properties of steel completely, you're not allowed to use precious ores of them, do you understand?"

Ou Yangming quickly responded to him, but it remained unknown whether he could do it or not.

"Go back to your smithing workshop, you'll only annoy me if you stay here," Old Craftsman waved his hand as if he was irritated. He added after a short pause, "After a few days, if you can forge a piece of High Grade Attribute Equipment, bring it to General Chen, do you understand?"

"Old Man, you're not going with me?" Ou Yangming was stunned.

"Young fella, are you asking for a beating? Why do you have to trouble me? Do you not have hands? Or did you break your leg?" Old Craftsman smiled meaningfully.

Ou Yangming was shocked, so he quickly escaped back to his smithing workshop.

He knew that Old Craftsman was busy planning the smithing proposal for General Chen's weapon, so it was best that he did not provoke him.

Upon seeing Ou Yangming leaving like a monkey, Old Craftsman shook his head and sighed.

'Young fella, you should learn to be independent, because I can't take care of you much longer.'

Once Ou Yangming returned to his smithing workshop, he continued to figure out the different properties of steel, and forged three more times.

Owing to his improvement in martial arts cultivation, he was able to use his Military Fire for a much longer time. While a higher consumption was required to smith using steel as compared to using iron ingots, a few times would not do any harm.

After three days, he finally grasped the properties of steel with the help of the wonderful state.

Needless to say, having controlled the basics was one thing, because it was difficult to unleash all properties to the maximum. Based on Ou Yangming's current smithing art, it would not be tough to maintain his smithed products at Good Grade, but it would not be easy to smith one at the peak of that grade.

Experience. He still lacked experience. If he had enough experiences as Old Craftsman did, even without using the stored attributes, he could create armaments at the peak of High Grade consistently with the help of the purple light.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not want to attract unnecessary attention. For the following days, he continued to practice the martial-art squat and his Military Fire, read books, and spared time to forge some equipment.

Of course, instead of smithing High Grade Attribute Equipment, he smithed normal equipment of High Grade and Good Grade Attribute Equipment.

Despite that, from Old Craftsman's perspective, Ou Yangming was taking slow and steady steps one at a time.

At last, ten days went by again, and Sui Hezhi sent him another bloody ferocious beast as he did before.

Ou Yangming greeted him affectionately, "Big Brother Sui, I'm sorry for troubling you all the time."

"Brother Ou, we're brothers, so you don't have to be so polite." Sui Hezhi laughed, then tapped the saber that he carried. "When you gave me this treasure saber that's at the peak of Good Grade, I wasn't apologetic."

Ou Yangming chuckled. Although he was young, he knew very well there would be an end to favors.

The military saber that he gave to Sui Hezhi might be extremely rare for a normal soldier, but that was all. If Sui Hezhi were to send him quarries over the years just because of that saber, it would not be worthy at all.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming already had a solution to his problem.

"Big Brother Sui, this is the latest saber I smithed. Give it a try!" Ou Yangming mentioned smilingly.

Sui Hezhi was immediately elated as he had been flattering Ou Yangming in wait for this day. However, he did not expect the day to come so soon, because he thought that it would take at least half a year.

He nodded, then accepted the military saber to wield it.

"Big Brother Sui, use your essential Qi!" Ou Yangming squinted his eyes as he smiled.

Sui Hezhi's face changed a little. He looked at Ou Yangming for a long time before he decided to release a bit of his essential Qi. At the next moment, Sui Hezhi's body quivered a little, and his aura rose so much that he even released a hint of killing intent.

Ou Yangming gasped, because Sui Hezhi seemed to have turned into a fearsome beast at that moment. On top of that, it was as if Sui Hezhi was going to slash him into two, and the enormous pressure made him feel dizzy.

All of a sudden, the purple light in Ou Yangming's mind flashed, and his consciousness detached from his body. As a result, he went into an exceptionally composed state.

He immediately realized that it was momentum. A momentum that belonged to a martial artist who experienced many wars and drifted between life and death.

When a martial artist with bloody hands released his momentum, the pressure caused would be quite frightening.

Ou Yangming only knew that Sui Hezhi was part of the Guards led by General Chen Yifan, thus he did not expect him to have such momentum.

In a flash, Sui Hezhi realized what was happening, so he quickly curbed his momentum. "Brother Ou, were you, were you frightened?"

The instant Sui Hezhi's momentum disappeared, the purple light in Ou Yangming's head vanished too.

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly and sighed. "Big Brother Sui, what are you doing…"

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Chapter 29: Blade Technique Cultivation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sui Hezhi smiled embarrassedly. "Brother Ou, I lost control just now, so… Ah, I'm so sorry."

Ou Yangmind nodded. "Big Brother Sui, are you satisfied with this saber?"

"Brother Ou, are you sure that you want to give it to me?" Sui Hezhi was both surprised and overjoyed when he asked.

"Why did I show you if I don't want to give it to you?"

"Bu, but…" Sui Hezhi hesitated for a while before he mentioned, "This is an Attribute Military Saber! Even a normal squad leader can't have Attribute Equipment, let alone a little soldier like me!"

In the military camp, ten soldiers formed a squad, whereas a hundred formed a company. A squad leader was the leader of ten soldiers, and was considered the most basic officer.

Ou Yangming grinned. "Big Brother Sui, you're from the Guards led by General Chen, how can you be mentioned on equal terms with a normal squad leader?"

Sui Hezhi chuckled. "Brother Ou, you're such an understanding person. Hehe, other than the Guards, nobody really catches my eye."

Although it sounded very exaggerated, from another perspective, one could verify how arrogant the Guards under Chen Yifan were.

"Big Brother Sui, I have a favor to ask too." Ou Yangming smiled.

"Brother Ou, let me know what you need. As long as it's within my capability, I won't hesitate to help no matter how dangerous and difficult it is." Sui Hezhi's eyes glowed, and he slapped his chest.

"You're worrying too much, I just want to practice martial arts with you…" Ou Yangming laughed, then continued after a short pause, "Practical training."

"Aren't you being personally guided by General Chen in martial arts?" Sui Hezhi was surprised. He then asked seriously, "Are you starting to feel sick of the martial-art squat?"

Ou Yangming shook his head. "Why would the martial-art squat make me feel sick? I just want to learn something practical as soon as possible."

"Ah, Brother Ou, how should I put this?" Sui Hezhi exhaled deeply, and pondered before explaining, "The most important thing for martial artists like us isn't mere form, it's our grade and class. Yes, our grade and class." He then proceeded to perform a half-squat, and punched with his fist.

The punch's might was astonishing, and the fist wind that brushed past Ou Yangming's body caused his skin to hurt.

Sui Hezhi mentioned, "Brother Ou, did you watch me well? If you have the same class and grade as me, how can anything resist your punch?"

Ou Yangming was dumbstruck, and he felt a chill down his spine. Yes, how could he resist a mighty punch like that? If he were to fight back recklessly, he might be punched to death.

"Instead of teaching you skills, General is only letting you practice the martial-art squat to prevent you from being distracted. As long as you commit to the cultivation of Dantian Light, you'll reach the end of Force Boundary and the beginning of Yin Boundary. What will you not know then?" Sui Hezhi added.

Ou Yangming knew that he would not lie. Nevertheless, without Zhang Yinfan as a variable in the military camp, Ou Yangming would cultivate step by step, and would only learn martial art skills after meeting Chen Yifan's expectations.

In actual fact, the main objective of a Military Fire Blacksmith's martial arts cultivation was to control the Military Fire more easily to produce a more powerful fire.

Therefore, the blacksmiths cultivated Dantian Light, but they did not bother learning useless martial arts skills.

However, Ou Yangming was in a different situation. He knew that a venomous snake that lurked in dark corners in the military camp was watching him closely, so he dared not slack at all.

"Big Brother Sui, thank you for your kindness, but I'd like to learn some martial arts for self-defense, so please teach me!"

Sui Hezhi sighed. "Alright. Since you insist, I'll teach you a blade technique and a fist technique."

Even though he did not agree with this from the bottom of his heart, he could not reject Ou Yangming as he had accepted the treasure saber.

On an empty ground in his courtyard, Sui Hezhi began practicing with a military saber.

Throughout the process, he kept describing the blade technique, as well as his personal experiences over the years. Once he was done with the black technique, he proceeded to perform a fist technique and a step technique. The step technique could actually be used in conjunction with the blade and fist techniques, and it was the simplest skill in the military.

Nonetheless, it was exactly because of its simplicity and that it was the swiftest and fiercest martial art.

Whether Sui Hezhi performed a fist art or a blade technique, he bore a rich killing intent. Perhaps the martial arts were not elegant, but they were what Ou Yangming needed the most at the moment.

Once Sui Hezhi was done, he said, "I'll only teach you once today, so it's up to you how much you remember. I'll come again after three days to see how much you've practiced."

"Thank you, Big Brother Sui." Ou Yangming was touched.

"You don't have to thank me, I should thank you instead." Sui Hezhi smiled bitterly as he tapped the Attribute Military Saber on his waist.

Ou Yangming then asked, "I'd like to follow you to hunt in the dense forest…"

"Don't even think about it! Hmph, unless you have the general's permission, nobody will bring you there." Sui Hezhi waved his hand, then explained sincerely, "You're not a helper anymore, you're a Military Fire Blacksmith. Other than the general, nobody can bear the responsibility."

Ou Yangming stared at him for a while, but did not force him anymore.

After Sui Hezhi left, Ou Yangming returned to his own courtyard.

When he closed his eyes, he recalled everything he saw and heard earlier. Even so, he realized that he could not remember everything that Sui Hezhi mentioned.

Just as he was feeling annoyed and was wondering if he should think of a way to let Sui Hezhi demonstrate everything again, the purple light that was hidden in his mind flashed.

Ou Yangming was extremely familiar with the light as if he was born with it.

Hence, he was not surprised at all when it appeared again.

Subsequently, his consciousness split into two naturally, but there was an odd change to the consciousness that was detached to overlook from above him.

Through the consciousness' hollow eyes, a figure suddenly appeared in his courtyard.

The figure belonged to Sui Hezhi, and he was seen performing a blade technique while giving an explanation.

Ou Yangming was in a daze as he watched and listened. He also paid full attention to observe and experience everything.

After watching the process numerous times, he comprehended everything at last.

As such, the consciousness that controlled his body began practicing the blade technique, the fist technique, and the step technique.

Ou Yangming had put some thoughts into this before he began, but when he actually started practicing, he realized that his body was completely different from how he imagined it to be. For the same slash done using a saber, the blade force from Sui Hezhi was violent like a ferocious tiger leaping down a mountain, whereas the force from him was soft and powerless.

Without the comparison, Ou Yangming could not have noticed the difference.

However, half of his consciousness was like an outsider at the moment, and he was able to compare himself to Sui Hezhi when he practiced the blade technique. Under the circumstances, he could identify even the tiniest flaw, let alone noticing the huge difference between them.

Ou Yangming sighed. Though Sui Hezhi's slash looked simple, he probably underwent countless training and bloody fights.

It was simply a pipe dream for Ou Yangming if he wanted to learn the essence so quickly.

He would need to go through severe training if he wanted to achieve Sui Hezhi's blade technique that was suitable for wars, and there was no shortcut to it.

In actual fact, even if normal Military Fire Blacksmiths noticed the difference, they would not waste their time practicing the blade technique since they would not be able to use it anyway.

Despite that, Ou Yangming was very interested in it. He was forced to be interested due to the pressure from someone else.

"Swoosh…"

He made another slash, but it was not the follow-up of Sui Hezhi's blade technique as he was still practicing the first slash. That being said, there was something different about it this time.

Ou Yangming made adjustments after looking at the comparison. While he knew that it was impossible for him to be on par with Sui Hezhi in such a short time, he tried his best to get as close as he could to that.

A slash, a slash, a slash…

As the sun set slowly, the courtyard was painted in a beautiful afterglow.

Basking in the sunset glow, Ou Yangming's strong and robust figure was seen. Even though he was shirtless and drenched in sweat, he seemed to be unaware of the exhaustion at all, and continued to wield his sword tirelessly.

At last, the sun had set, and not a bit of sunlight could be seen anymore.

Ou Yangming paused instantly, and he finally regained his normal state.

A thud was heard when he fell to the ground, and beads of sweat dripped to the floor so quickly that they formed a tiny puddle.

Ou Yangming was absolutely worn out to the point that he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes, but he did not give up, and his eyes were full of determination.

After forcing himself to stand up, the Military Fire that burned in his hand spiraled around the military saber. He then headed to a corner to stab his saber into the wild beast that was brought by Sui Hezhi earlier.

A brief moment later, Ou Yangming's face reddened as his fatigue body regained endless power.

He smiled happily like a baby.

Following that, he looked forward with a sharp and firm look, which was accompanied by a hint of killing intent.

"Kill!"

Ou Yangming roared, then took a step forward to slash his saber down.

The sharp blade of his saber, the blade intent, and the momentum, were exactly the same as Sui Hezhi's!

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Chapter 30: Smithing Madly

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

On the third day, Ou Yangming stopped practicing the blade technique and the fist art all of a sudden.

It was not because he wanted to slack, but because he had not enough Qi and blood to consume.

Although Sui Hezhi sent him a wild beast, which unexceptionally transformed into Qi and blood that were stored in his body, he noticed a troubling issue after cultivating the blade technique for three days.

The Qi and blood consumptions during the cultivation of the blade technique and the fist art were a few times higher than what was needed for a martial-art squat.

It was not strange at all. After all, the martial-art squat was a type of mediation, whereas sword-wielding and punching required Ou Yangming to jump around, thus the energy consumed could not be matched by the former.

Needless to say, the exhaustion of his Qi and blood caused his essential Qi to increase faster, but the increased margin was not proportionate to the Qi and blood consumption.

In actual fact, Chen Yifan was very knowledgeable, and he assigned Ou Yangming to practice the martial-art squat on purpose.

Everyone was gifted in a different way, hence one person's Qi and blood were Heaven and Earth apart from another person's. According to the conversion speed of Ou Yangming's Qi and blood that were absorbed from a ferocious beast once in ten days, they were perfect for a martial-art squat. It allowed him to strike a perfect balance between the production and consumption of his Qi and blood, so his body would not be destroyed by undue haste.

However, it would be different if he cultivated a blade technique and a fist art unrestrained.

If anyone else were to cultivate as hard as Ou Yangming did, one would suffer an extreme deficit in Qi and blood, which would only be harmful.

Similar to an athlete, there must be a limit to one's difficult training. Above the limit, one would get hurt easily, and would be forced to bid farewell to the field in advance.

Sui Hezhi had no choice but to teach Ou Yangming a blade technique and a fist art since he received benefits. Even though he intended well, he was actually harming Ou Yangming.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was out of the ordinary.

Once Ou Yangming sensed that his Qi and blood could not compensate for their loss, he immediately stopped without forcing himself to continue. This was because he knew better than anyone else that he was not a talented genius in martial arts. The only reason people started looking at Ou Yangming differently was that he devoured blood and flesh to maintain the richness of his Qi and blood.

Without abundant Qi and blood, which was Ou Yangming's greatest reliance, he could not achieve anything.

Countless thoughts crossed his mind when he looked at the military saber in his hands.

It was impossible for him to secretly kill pigs, because he would be exposed one day. His actions would be inexcusable if that happened.

Ou Yangming could not ask Sui Hezhi to send him quarries more frequently too.

He was already receiving a ferocious beast once in ten days, and if he asked to receive one in three days, it would seem suspicious as he actually turned the beasts into Qi and blood for his own usage.

Besides, how would he explain if Old Craftsman asked him about it?

Ou Yangming stomped his foot when he finally made a decision.

He returned to his house, then burned steel with his Military Fire to turn it into armor.

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade.'

Ou Yangming chose to upgrade it without hesitation, and he wanted to test where his limit was.

As a result, the purple lights in his mind gradually reduced. Other than the Toughness attributes, he added some Power attributes too. In the past, he would have stopped, but this time, he concentrated on attaching more Unique Attributes.

Agility 1, Power 1 again, Agility 1 again…

After adding the Power and Agility attributes to 2 points each, Ou Yangming's Military Fire swayed a little as if it was about to be uncontrollable.

His face changed, and he quickly understood that the armor had reached its limit for attributes.

If Ou Yangming upgraded it further forcefully, the armor would likely be ruined.

As he calmed his mind, the Military Fire disappeared, and a brand new armor was produced.

[Item: Distinguished armor (Orange)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, High Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Toughness 15, Power 2, Agility 2, Durability 15]

Ou Yangming was overjoyed. As expected, the Unique Attributes in each equipment can be overlayed, and they were not limited to 1 point.

Nonetheless, the better the equipment's quality, the lower the success rate, and the higher the smithing difficulty.

It was an unchanging theory. The process of attaching a Unique Attribute was already very difficult for normal Military Fire Blacksmiths, so if one counted on them to do better than that, one would simply be forcing them to do the impossible.

Perhaps there were actually blacksmiths who could achieve excellence, but definitely not the ones in the military camp. In fact, even Old Craftsman could not do it.

The armor smithed by Ou Yangming was a size smaller than the ones usually forged in the camp because he had forged it for himself. There were only a few in the entire military camp who could fit in the armor.

Nevertheless, the armor was already at the limit of the grade that could be achieved by using normal steel, and the attributes that were attached were at a maximum. Ou Yangming needed to use a better raw material if he wanted to upgrade it further.

That being said, this was only one of the equipment he prepared to upgrade himself.

Without further ado, Ou Yangming continued to work.

Through the burning of his Military Fire, other pieces of equipment that were a size smaller than the usual ones were produced.

He was able to attain such an amazing result due to his accumulated experience.

An armor, a military saber, greaves, arm guards, and a helmet.

The five pieces of equipment formed an equipment set that could only be possessed by the most elite soldiers. Normally, only a general's Guard like Sui Hezhi had the full set.

Of course, they only possessed pieces of White Slate Equipment, which were completely different from the ones Ou Yangming was wearing.

Ou Yangming had a pair of greaves and arm guards. If he only had one of each, he could only attach 1 point of Power and 1 point of Agility, but since they were in pairs, their attributes were above the armor's attributes.

He was even more surprised by the helmet and the military saber smithed.

[Item: Distinguished helmet (Orange)]

[Equivalent rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Toughness 15, Power 3, Vision 1, Durability 14]

Apart from the Toughness and Power attributes that he was familiar with, the helmet had an extra attribute, which was Vision.

Ou Yangming had no idea where the Vision attribute came from, and he did not possess any precious ore that contained such an attribute.

While looking at the orange helmet, he began pondering.

He thought about the various explanations about the Military Fire. The fire was an extremely peculiar thing, and there were special situations during the smithing process where its ability to attach attributes occasionally increased.

However, the situation was extremely rare, and it could not be viewed under normal circumstances.

Ou Yangming did not understand it before, but he slowly began to fathom it.

In spite of that, he could not figure out what was the abnormality that caused the surprising outcome earlier.

He could not make sense of it even after thinking for a long time. As such, he cast the thought aside for now.

Other than the amazing helmet, the military saber turned out great too as it was the equipment that he smithed the most.

[Item: Distinguished military saber (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, High Grade, Rank Five]

[Attributes: Sharpness 15, Toughness 15, Power 4, Durability 14]

If Ou Yangming put on all five pieces of equipment, he would have 11 points of Power and 4 points of Agility in total.

Although the points for Agility were lesser, there was nothing he could do. He heard that some masters created miracles by adding the Agility attribute to boots, but it was beyond his capability.

Ou Yangming was thrilled when he looked at the pieces of equipment smithed using his ultimate power.

He took a deep breath, then packed them into a bag.

If he simply put them on, he would definitely attract a lot of attention in the camp. Even though people would stare at him too if he carried them in a bag, it would be less eye-catching.

When Ou Yangming tried to carry the bag, he gasped.

The bag was much heavier than he imagined, and he could not lift it easily due to his current power. In other words, he would likely become an unmovable fort if he put the pieces of equipment on.

He could at least put them on since he was already in Force Grade Class Two, because his past self could not have lifted them at all.

After hesitating for a while, Ou Yangming did not give up. He retrieved the arm guards to put them on.

As he released his essential Qi, hot streams flowed into the guards then back into his body.

Power. Ou Yangming sensed strong power at that instant. It was indescribable, and he felt like his power increased by a few times. With that, he could carry the heavy bag easily with one hand.

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed. This was the magical effect of equipment, which was his biggest reliance at the moment.

Afterward, he looked for a long robe to cover his swollen wrists, then left the military camp confidently.

In the past, when Ou Yangming was still a helper, he would surely be checked if he left the camp with the bag. This time, he left the camp without obstructions by showing the waist tag of an official Military Fire Blacksmith. Even if someone was suspicious about what he carried, nobody would displease him because of a small matter.

This was the unapparent treatment that could be enjoyed by Military Fire Blacksmiths in the military camp, and Ou Yangming was extremely happy about it.

After leaving the camp, he took a small path to head to the dense forest in the west.

The dense forest was 15 kilometers away from the military camp. Ou Yangming paused after walking for 15 minutes, and upon noticing that nobody was around him, he put on the greaves too.

Ou Yangming was delighted when he channeled his essential Qi. When he moved his legs, he naturally dashed forward as though an arrow left its bow.

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Chapter 31: First Entry To The Dense Forest

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Swoosh…"

Ou Yangming zoomed in a flash with his hands in the air and widened his eyes.

His body twisted mid-air in an extremely awkward way before he fell hard to the ground.

When he groaned while getting up, he realized that he was more than a meter away from his original spot.

Countless thoughts crossed his mind as he looked behind him dumbfoundedly.

Through the martial arts cultivation that Ou Yangming underwent, he had a certain understanding of his body quality. His external power and speed became much more valiant ever since he achieved Force Grade Class Two, and especially when he condensed essential Qi, his power increased to more than twice of what it was.

Besides, his physical power was much better than before, which was extremely obvious when he used the Military Fire. Without the assistance of his essential Qi, he could not have smithed many pieces of equipment at once.

Nevertheless, his performance today exceeded his own expectations as well.

The 2 points of Power on his arm guards allowed him to carry the heavy bag easily, and it seemed like the points increased his power by a few times.

However, the change was inferior to the change from Agility.

Ou Yangming's body became as light as a sparrow's due to the 2 points of Agility, such that his usual acceleration made him feel like he was flying this time.

The change was more obvious than the effect of the increased power, so much so that it was unbearable for him. Hence, he could not control his body when he flew forward, and ended up falling and rolling like a gourd.

After clapping his hands to get rid of dirt, Ou Yangming stood up to pick up the bag that was thrown aside when he flew, then put on the helmet and armor.

He finally knew the importance of equipment, and that Attribute Equipment and normal equipment were completely different when worn.

Whether it was the increased power or agility, it would make a new martial artist like him feel like he was born again. Although he did not acquire those abilities through cultivation, the power that he possessed was real.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming needed an adaptation process to familiarize himself with the power.

Fortunately, nobody was around him at that moment. If he had experienced this in the dense forest where ferocious beasts lurked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, Ou Yangming got rid of his concerns once he noticed the hidden trouble and put on the other equipment.

He put on the helmet, the armor, and held the military saber.

When his essential Qi circulated in his body and entered the pieces of equipment, his face could not help but redden.

It was then when he finally understood how it felt to have every piece of equipment stimulated.

The equipment set was smithed using steel, and each of them was a piece of top-notch High Grade equipment. They were considerably heavy, where Ou Yangming could not have carried them without the additional power gained.

With the overlapped Power attribute that amounted to 11 points, he felt that the pieces of equipment were weightless.

Yes. Whether it was the military saber of the armor, they were as light as rice straw.

When Ou Yangming swung his hand, if not for the military saber that came into view, he would have doubted if the object was carved from wood.

He decided that he would forge a heavier saber once he returned because the weight of his current one did not make him feel secure.

Subsequently, he kept the empty bag and took a step forward.

As expected, there was a tremendous change in Ou Yangming's speed due to the increased power and agility.

He could leap far with a slight move, all while wearing heavy armor. Although he could not really feel the weight, the actual weight was not a joke at all.

Having 4 points of Agility might not seem much, but it did more than just doubling Ou Yangming's speed.

The main objective of smithing the equipment set was to allow him to hunt in the dense forest, but before he could do that, he had to adapt to the sudden power and speed improvement.

Ou Yangming took a deep breath after slowing down, and the purple light in his head shone.

He then strode and moved forward according to the steps taught by Sui Hezhi.

In the military, one must pay attention to taking concise steps to move forward and backward quickly, and the steps were done perpendicularly without any flashy moves. They were perfect for Ou Yangming at the moment.

When his consciousness split into two again, he suddenly realized that he became better at controlling his body.

With sufficient mental preparation, he did not have to end up not knowing where he would land after taking a step. Moreover, he began experiencing the extra power and agility in a new way with each step taken.

COMMENT

In actual fact, a normal Force Grade Class Two cultivator would definitely take ten to thirty days to adapt to the newly gained power. However, due to the split consciousness that allowed Ou Yangming to observe as an outsider, his body and his consciousness were able to get used to it at an unbelievable speed.

Slowly, he spread his legs and increased his speed to the maximum.

Although he had heavy armor on him, he was as fast as a galloping horse. The essential Qi in his body circulated slowly to provide a powerful backup force for him.

While it seemed like the improved power and agility had nothing much to do with Ou Yangming's physical power, they were in fact closely related to each other. Without sufficient power, he would have panted long ago from sprinting in the equipment set.

By the time he traveled 15 kilometers in his fastest speed, though he was tired, he did not feel as exhausted as he thought he would be.

Apart from being in Force Grade Class Two, the equipment set was the most important key.

Upon seeing the dark and gloomy dense forest, Ou Yangming stopped subconsciously.

He knew very well that the place was full of danger, and a slight mistake could cost his life.

Despite that, he regained his confidence after looking at his thick and solid equipment set.

After gritting his teeth, Ou Yangming used his Military Fire to attach the Devouring ability on his military saber. Following that, he stomped his feet, then entered the dense forest. Needless to say, he was not going to act recklessly, so he drew up a plan before entering. He would only linger in the periphery without going deeper than that.

Once he was in the dense forest, he suddenly exclaimed.

This was because he realized that his vision underwent a wonderful change, by which he could see further and deeper. Additionally, the detection ability was not affected by the trees around him at all as though he could see past them.

[Vision 1]

Ou Yangming quickly recalled the magical Unique Attribute in his helmet.

The Vision 1 attribute could not be experienced in an open field, but when he was in a much narrower space in the forest, the attribute changed his vision.

When Ou Yangming looked around him, he made a shocking discovery that not only his front vision was increased, but the angle of his line of sight increased too when he used the attribute.

Even though it did not let him have an extra pair of eyes on the back of his head, Ou Yangming was glad about the change.

He was struck with a strange idea. 'If I increase the Vision attribute further, will it form a visibility range with no blind spots?'

Ou Yangming later shook his head to get rid of that thought and focused on observing his surroundings.

After taking more than ten steps quietly, not a single sound was made. He benefitted in many ways as he could now use the Power and Agility attributes on his equipment set very well.

At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming noticed a gray shadow at the end of his sight.

He instantly stopped and stuck close to the side of a big tree.

The gray shadow did not notice him as it hopped past the big tree. It was a gray hare that was looking around cautiously as if it was ready to escape anytime.

Ou Yangming's eyes flowed. The moment the gray hare hopped past the big tree, saber-light was seen as he slashed his saber at it.

Without the upgraded equipment, his slash would not be slow, but he would have to depend on his luck if he wanted to hit the gray hare.

At the moment, his attack was as fast as lightning, and he successfully hit the hare before it could react.

With no ability to resist at all, the unlucky gray hare became Ou Yangming's first capture in the dense forest. None of its blood, flesh, or skin were wasted because its energy was completely devoured to transform into Ou Yangming's Qi and blood.

However, Ou Yangming was not satisfied after absorbing the gray hare's Qi and blood.

As compared to the really powerful ferocious beasts in the forest, the hare was too small and weak, and it could not compensate for the loss of Ou Yangming's Qi and blood.

With that, Ou Yangming advanced again carefully. The dense forest was well-known for violent beasts, but they were not seen lurking at the border. Within an hour, he only noticed small animals such as hares, pheasants, and lynxes through his improved vision.

Although some of them were agile enough to escape as soon as they sensed the slightest movement, many of them were killed by Ou Yangming with his military saber.

Other than an increased speed due to the 4 points of Agility, Ou Yangming's reaction speed was improved too.

After devouring the tenth innocent animal, Ou Yangming realized that he was abundant in Qi and blood again.

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Chapter 32: Essential Qi Advancement

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although the small animals in the dense forest were not as big as the domestic pigs, they faced much more danger in the forest.

Due to sufficient activity, they were also richer in Qi and blood compared to the pigs.

Ou Yangming strode to the dense forest's border. Instead of going deeper into the forest, he only stayed along the border so as to not get lost. However, just as he was going to leave, he suddenly stopped.

After a moment of hesitation, Ou Yangming took a deep breath and began cultivating a blade technique instead of leaving the dense forest.

He would never do that if he was deep in the forest or being watched by a powerful enemy, but since he was in a low-risk area with no sign of other people, he could practice with ease. Besides, Ou Yangming could notice any danger in advance with his helmet that had a Vision 1 attribute.

"Pow…"

Following a slash from the saber, saber wind pierced the air such that there was an explosive shock.

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. He suddenly realized that his Qi and blood was consumed at an outrageous rate.

When he practiced the blade technique in his courtyard at the military camp, his Qi and blood were also consumed by a huge margin, but it seemed insignificant as compared to the current consumption.

He made a rough estimation that the current Qi and blood consumption was four times higher than usual.

This was in comparison with a blade technique cultivation. The martial-art squat was not worth mentioning at all.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming clearly felt his Dantian Light growing stronger as a substantial amount of Qi and blood were consumed, which meant that there was a huge improvement in his essential Qi.

In actual fact, it had not been long since he began practicing martial arts and only entered Force Grade Class Two not long ago. There should be a limit no matter how hard he trained, yet he felt like he was about to break through again soon.

Ou Yangming began figuring it out and quickly realized that he was feeling that way because of his equipment set.

11 points of Power and 4 points of Agility made him go through an enormous change as though he was born again.

Nonetheless, a lot more Qi and blood had to be consumed to unleash the real might of those changes, and the more the Qi and blood consumed, the better it was for his essential Qi cultivation. This was simply a cultivation shortcut.

Other than Ou Yangming, nobody could cultivate like that regardless of the cost.

This was unless they had a weapon with a strange attribute like Devouring, as well as a top-notch equipment set that was way above their cultivation base.

Upon realizing this, Ou Yangming was overjoyed.

He began cultivating a fist art next, and the might of his punches could not be mentioned in the same breath as before due to the increase of his power and agility.

Needless to say, the mightier his fist art, the higher the Qi and blood consumption, but the faster his essential Qi advanced.

Honestly, cultivating recklessly was a huge burden for his body. Not only would it be tough for his body to withstand the process, but his meridians and dantian would also be damaged.

Despite that, once Ou Yangming lifted his military saber to begin hunting again, those drawbacks were no longer a problem anymore.

The most fearsome feature of the Devouring attribute was not its ability to transform blood and flesh into his Qi and blood.

Before the transformation was done, the energy from the blood and flesh would first restore Ou Yangming's body. As such, no matter how many hidden problems there were before, his body would recover completely as a result of the vitality.

Only when his body returned to its best state, the blood and flesh would be transformed into his Qi and blood.

With that, Ou Yangming stayed at the dense forest's border for three days.

During that time, he kept cultivating the blade technique and the fist art and hunted for small animals whenever his Qi and blood were lost.

He was able to spot quarries in advance through his excellent vision, and owing to the extra power and agility that he possessed, most of them could not escape once they were locked on.

When Ou Yangming cultivated, Qi and blood were consumed. He then hunted to restore his body and to replenish Qi and blood.

He was immersed in the near-perfect cycle so much so that he forgot about sleep. In spite of not resting for three days, he did not expect to be in high spirits and full of energy.

Ou Yangming had used the Devouring attribute's energy to the maximum.

He bent his knees and swayed slowly in an extremely odd frequency. If one were to watch him at that moment, one would have an illusion of a horse galloping as fast as lightning.

The martial-art squat was the unique method that Ou Yangming used to replace sleep. Moreover, the effect was very beneficial for him.

There was a sudden agitation in his dantian as his Qi and blood began boiling. His dantian seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit and was drawing every bit of Qi and blood from his body in a forceful manner.

Despite that, Ou Yangming did not move at all when he did the martial-art squat. He channeled his essential Qi to let his Qi and blood into his dantian without any problem.

Plenty of Qi and blood transformed into essential Qi that lingered around the shining center. Consequently, the light became brighter, and it flickered as if a wonderful change was about to happen.

"Boom…"

Ou Yangming seemed to have heard a thunderous voice in his head and straightened his back instantly.

Dantian Qi gushed out to every part of his body. Subsequently, Ou Yangming exhaled impure air deeply, which gave him an indescribable rejuvenation.

He sensed that his Dantian Light became more intense.

After a brief moment, he was surprised, elated, and in disbelief.

Class Three.

Force Grade Class Three.

Yes. When he was so fully focused on the cultivation that he forgot about everything else, he unknowingly entered a higher class.

He only realized his strength improvement after sensing the endless essential Qi in his dantian, which was different from before.

It was not his equipment set's attributes that caused the improvement, but his own power.

Ou Yangming calmed down after realizing the sudden surprise. His face changed a little as he thought about an extremely serious problem at that moment.

He had left the military camp for three days.

In addition, Ou Yangming did not mention it to anyone else before he left, and did not ask for permission.

When he twitched his nose, he smelled an extremely strong sweat smell.

Whether he was cultivating a blade technique or a fist art, he would sweat due to the exercise, and the smell was definitely sour since he wore his armor for three days. It was no wonder the small animals became more alert. Although Ou Yangming was able to spot them in advance, as soon as he approached them, they would escape even if he did not make a sound.

'So this was the real reason.'

Ou Yangming shook his head and laughed bitterly. Following that, he held his military saber and moved around to hunt for more small animals.

The small animals might be very wary, but due to Ou Yangming's speed, they still became his Qi and blood one after another.

This time, he did not spend much time replenishing his Qi and blood. In fact, it was much faster than the first time. The reason being he could make judgments to intercept in advance as he slowly grasped the animals' habits, and more importantly, he adapted to his extra attributes better.

While the time used was shorter, Ou Yangming could feel that his Qi and blood were richer.

As his martial arts cultivation base increased, he could store more Qi and blood. There was a huge difference between Force Grade Class Three and Class Two.

However, Ou Yangming did not know that the difference would become more obvious the higher his cultivation base was. Thus, the feeling that he felt at that moment would mean nothing in the future.

After replenishing his Qi and blood, he activated his Military Fire to absorb the Devouring attribute in his military saber.

The attribute was his biggest trump card, by which it must be kept a secret no matter what.

Ou Yangming removed his armor and helmet after a moment of hesitation. He instantly felt strong discomfort, but amidst the discomfort, he was also very disappointed.

Even though he felt uncomfortable when he previously wore the pieces of equipment, the increase in his power and agility gave him confidence.

Just as he had adapted to the power of his equipment set, he was suddenly free from it.

It was easy for the frugal to become extravagant, but it was very difficult to reverse the process.

He finally understood what it meant.

When one who possessed mighty power suddenly returned to being an ordinary person, the disappointment was certainly a heavy blow.

Fortunately, Ou Yangming knew that he could regain the powerful state as long as he wanted to, or he would not be able to overcome the sadness easily.

Once he curbed his thoughts and was ready to leave, he was slightly moved.

Ou Yangming used his Military Fire to draw the Unique Attributes from his helmet, armor, and military saber. Of course, he left the ones in his arm guards and greaves untouched.

This was because he needed them to return to the military camp or he would not know how to travel 15 kilometers without extra power and agility.

Ou Yangming packed everything in his bag apart from the arm guards and the greaves, then left the dense forest that he stayed in for three days.

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