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

3. 65

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Chapter 65: Layering Art

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Soon after Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming left the courtyard, seeing that nobody was around, the old man quickly asked, "Young fella, when did you see him, and even compete with him?"

Ou Yangming scratched his head as he knew that he could not fool Old Craftsman anymore. In order to not let his body suffer, he could only reveal the truth that he was involved in a night battle. Of course, Ou Yangming did not disclose the part where Ni Yunhong defeated Yan Chengcai and the others, as well as when he did his best to save the situation and ended up being victorious.

He described the night battle vaguely, so it sounded like Yan Chengcai and the others played a bigger part, and they won the tangled fight by luck.

Old Craftsman frowned and commented, "Master Ni's a blacksmith, after all. He's not a pure martial artist, so it's not surprising that he lost in that situation."

Ou Yangming nodded, but said to himself, 'If Ni Yunhong hears this comment, I wonder how he'll feel.'

"Young fella, how confident are you about the challenge that's happening in three days?" Old Craftsman sighed.

"Old Man, I won't lose," Ou Yangming answered seriously after some thoughts.

He spoke resolutely, which showed that his confidence was already unshakable.

"Forget it, come with me." Old Craftsman exhaled deeply. Once they entered his smithing workshop, he looked at Ou Yangming sternly. "Your smithing art is quite good now, so you're able to upgrade a piece of equipment or attach an attribute to it with ease. I'll teach you my final trick, but it's too rushed, so I'm not sure if it's too late." The old man shook his head.

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up. "Old Man, tell me about it. Perhaps I'm extremely talented, and I'll pick it up right away?"

Old Craftsman could not help but laugh. "B*stard, don't reach for what's beyond your grasp, you have a long way to go."

"Yes, Old Man." Ou Yangming immediately curbed his smile and sat upright.

Old Craftsman was cracked up by his reaction. "Okay, I'll teach you the Layering Art. It's my final trump card, so I have nothing else to teach you after this."

"Layering Art?" Ou Yangming was stunned. "What's that?"

"When you smith a piece of equipment and bind an attribute to it, do you only use one precious ore each time?" Old Craftsman asked.

"Yes." Ou Yangming nodded in a daze, but wondered, 'Oh, I can actually use more than one ore…'

Old Craftsman obviously did not hear his thoughts. He said, "Today, I'm going to teach you the skill to bind two precious ores to the same equipment."

"Two precious ores?" Ou Yangming had a strange look on his face. He asked, "Old Man, only one precious ore can be fixed to each piece of equipment?"

The equipment set that he had smithed for himself had a total of 11 points and 4 points of Power and Agility, respectively.

Those points were distributed to different pieces of equipment, and the highest point achieved by a piece was 4 points of attributes. Ou Yangming initially thought that it was a matter of course for a piece of equipment to have more than one attribute attached, but judging from Old Craftsman's tone, it was not as simple as it seemed.

"Naturally, it's impossible that only one precious ore is allowed in a piece of equipment, but binding more ores increases the failure rate," Old Craftsman explained seriously, then continued after a short pause, "The Layering Technique is valuable because it allows the same equipment to have more and stronger attributes, which in turn increases the equipment's value."

Ou Yangming nodded blankly but was actually feeling rather helpless.

'How should I explain to Old Craftsman? If I directly tell him that I've grasped the Layering Art, the secret technique, is he going to hit me with a bamboo clapper?'

Ou Yangming decided as he touched his butt. 'Even if I'm actually trying to avoid getting beaten up, I should listen to him and go with the flow.'

Old Craftsman picked a piece of steel. "Young fella, listen well, a material decides what attributes can be accommodated. Normally, it's good enough for a featured iron ingot to hold a precious ore's power, but it's different for steel. If a piece of equipment at the peak of High Grade is made, a maximum of four precious ores can be accommodated."

Ou Yangming nodded and thought, 'Indeed.'

Among the pieces of equipment he had smithed, there were three that could contain the highest number of attributes, which were the armor, the military saber, and the helmet.

That said, the attributes stored in the three pieces of equipment were limited to 4 points. Ou Yangming had tried to increase the attribute points, but when he released his Military Fire, the pieces of equipment gave him the feeling that they were about to break, hence he gave up on the thought as he was afraid.

Old Craftsman thought that Ou Yangming was shocked as he looked absent-minded. The old man laughed. "Don't worry, I won't be too strict with you. Hehe, the layering of four precious ores is only a legend. If such a High Grade Equipment actually exists, each of it will be considered a little top-grade item, and it'll also be much more valuable than a normal Fine Grade Attribute Equipment."

Ou Yangming's mouth twitched a little and was feeling more alert. 'Looks like I'll have to be more cautious when I go out in the future.

'It's fine if I occasionally produce a little top-grade item, but if I suddenly have three of them, they're likely going to attract attention.'

"I'll teach you the Layering Technique now. As long as you can smith a piece of layered equipment during the challenge in three days, your victory is guaranteed," Old Craftsman said with a deep voice.

"Thank you, Old Man," Ou Yangming replied him with a nod, but thought to himself, 'But my victory is already guaranteed.'

Old Craftsman did not begin smithing right away. He broke down the skill instead and explained everything one by one. He passed on all his experiences that were accumulated over the decades to his chosen successor without any reservation.

In actual fact, according to the old man's initial plan, it was too early to be passing on everything to Ou Yangming. However, since Ni Yunhong had suddenly proposed a challenge, he could only push Ou Yangming beyond his ability by teaching him everything first.

Old Craftsman took an hour to explain everything. Subsequently, the Military Fire burned in his hands, then the piece of steel slowly changed form like it was mud, and it finally transformed into a military saber. Next, the old man retrieved a Power Ore.

The instant he took the Power Ore, his energy and spirit changed wonderfully. His originally aged face suddenly became radiant as if he was full of vigor.

Ou Yangming thought about Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp. When the squad leader pulled the explosive arrows to aim at the half-spirit beast, he underwent the same change.

There were always some people who could release unimaginable abilities, perform what would be impossible for many, and achieve unreachable heights in their areas of expertise.

"Ding…"

The Power Ore melted very quickly, and the mysterious power that it contained was evenly distributed in the military saber according to Old Craftsman's guidance.

Without carrying out an inspection, Ou Yangming could sense that Old Craftsman had succeeded.

The Attribute Military Saber was born.

Despite that, Old Craftsman did not stop. He retrieved another Power Ore to toss it into his fire and began shaking his hand in a certain rhythm.

Ou Yangming widened his eyes to observe the process closely.

Although Ou Yangming had achieved the Layering Art's limit, he paid full attention without slacking at all when Old Craftsman was teaching him. This was because he knew that the skill might be useful for him in the future even if it would not be useful at the moment.

Every effort that Ou Yangming made would become a cornerstone for him to soar higher in the future.

Old Craftsman shook his wrist slightly, which was an incredibly mysterious feeling.

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed. He suddenly realized that the way Old Craftsman shook his wrist was similar to Ni Yunhong's fist technique, the one that he performed that night to defeat Yan Chengcai and the others.

Needless to say, it did not mean that both of them were directly related. Ou Yangming noticed something that allowed them to connect with Heaven and Earth, oh no, it was a feeling that they had merged with Heaven.

Ni Yunhong and Old Craftsman were fully immersed in the process whether they were performing the fist technique or using the Layering Art. They had even gone beyond themselves at that instant.

Ou Yangming was suddenly enlightened. Old Craftsman's current state was when he was at the peak of his life.

Old Craftsman became dispirited as soon as his Military Fire dissipated, but his eyes were still full of life. The proudness that he felt when he looked at the military saber was indescribable.

Ou Yangming quickly approached him to support him by his arm, and advised, "Old Man, you're tired, please take a rest."

"Rest my *ss, I'll rest when I'm in my coffin." Old Craftsman glared at him.

"Old Man, you'll live a very long life!" Ou Yangming's face changed and he immediately expressed.

Old Craftsman laughed out loud. "Okay, since we have time now, you should give it a go."

Ou Yangming responded to him. He initially wanted to avoid doing it to hide his inadequacy, but his heart ached when he saw Old Craftsman forcing himself to remain energetic.

As long as Ou Yangming could let the old man rest with ease, he would add four points of attributes through the Layering Art without hesitation, let alone just two points.

After picking a piece of steel, Ou Yangming's Military Fire began burning fiercely. His Military Fire was slightly different from Old Craftsman's because he incorporated it with a hint of mental power, thus he was also better at controlling the energy.

So long as Ou Yangming did not channel his mental power through the unique method, he would not produce an explosive item.

As the flame danced, Ou Yangming tossed the first Power Ore into the fire. The Power Ore turned into liquid under his control and was evenly distributed on the military saber.

Old Craftsman nodded as he watched, but began to look more serious.

The second precious ore was soon tossed into the fire, and Old Craftsman clenched his fists together. He was actually more anxious than Ou Yangming.

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Chapter 66: Standing On His Own Feet

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming's arms, wrists, and in fact, his entire body, was beginning to shake slightly.

Old Craftsman frowned and thought, 'Oh no, I mentioned before I demonstrated that the key to successful layering is stability.'

He only swayed his arms earlier to smoothly channel the Power Ores' mysterious energy to every corner of the equipment.

A substantial amount of energy was required for the process, but stability was the most important aspect. A slight mistake could cause the previous efforts to end up in vain.

When Ou Yangming swayed his arms, his entire body shook. How could he succeed? The old man sighed and felt regretful. 'Is it too early to teach him such a profound skill? If I ruined this because of undue haste, it'll be my fault.'

However, just as Old Craftsman was going to call out to Ou Yangming to stop the refinement process, he was stunned.

For some reason, there was a strange feeling when he looked at Ou Yangming carefully. It seemed like Ou Yangming had currently become one with the space around him. Whether it was the dancing Military Fire, the military saber in the fire, or even the liquidized Power Ore, they had all turned into a peaceful image that could not be destroyed no matter what happened.

Old Craftsman stopped after reaching his hand out halfway, and his mouth was also left half-opened. He could not figure out what was happening.

Ou Yangming's entire body was shaking, but why did the old man somehow think that that was how it should be?

Nonetheless, Old Craftsman had no idea that he was feeling the same way Ou Yangming felt when Ou Yangming watched him smith earlier.

When one was fully focused on something, one would always seem like one was immersed in one's own world, and had magically merged with the surroundings.

Ni Yunhong had done it before, Jiang Chengwei had done it before, Old Craftsman had done it before, and Ou Yangming was currently reproducing it.

Ou Yangming's eyes shone brighter. As he smithed according to Old Craftsman's teaching, he suddenly recalled Ni Yunhong's skills, as well as Jiang Chengwei's concentration when he pulled the arrow on his bow.

He had an inexplicable feeling as he sensed the similarity between them.

Without any guidance, Ou Yangming strangely comprehended it.

Therefore, he began incorporating skills and concentration into the art that had been taught by Old Craftsman.

It was done so intuitively that Ou Yangming himself probably had no idea that he had done such a frightening thing.

In actual fact, there were similarities between any top-notch industries, or perhaps any top-notch skills. That said, it was impossible for normal people to identify them, let alone comprehend them.

When Ou Yangming attempted the Layering Art, he miraculously thought about the performances of two other people in their own expertise. It was unexpected that he even managed to integrate the qualities, or perhaps the core energies, into his own system.

It was an exceptionally rare opportunity. Apart from having outstanding knowledge and abilities, opportunities were extremely important too.

Old Craftsman hesitated for a while, and finally decided to lower his arm.

He let go of his fists and smiled gladly because he vaguely sensed that Ou Yangming had inherited his experiences, and had also advanced further.

Although the old man could not make sense of how Ou Yangming did it, as long as he could do it, the old man was delighted.

At last, the Military Fire dissipated, and a military saber was placed on the smithing table.

[Item: Distinguished military saber (Red)]

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

[Attributes: Sharpness 15, Toughness 15, Power 2, Durability 15]

Old Craftsman inspected it carefully, then looked up at Ou Yangming in confusion. After some time, he finally expressed his happiness.

"Very well done, you b*stard, you're amazing!"

Ou Yangming scratched his head while replying to him, "You're flattering me, you're flattering me, I only did it because of your guidance!"

He was as happy as Old Craftsman was at that moment.

This was because his body and mind had been in a wonderful state, as though he had become one with Heaven and Earth. Ou Yangming combined Ni Yunhong's skills, Jiang Chengwei's concentration, and Old Craftsman's swaying motion together.

At the time, he had even forgotten about his Military Fire's unique feature.

This time, Ou Yangming did not utilize the drawing and upgrading abilities. He had smithed the equipment while relying on his own capabilities.

It was a perfect High Grade Military Saber that not only had 15 points of Sharpness and Toughness, but had also achieved 15 points of Durability. It was the attribute that had caused him to be denounced in the past due to how low it was.

Needless to say, by using two precious ores, both the attempts of attaching a Unique Attribute were successful.

The military saber smithed was perfect in every aspect, and was also the first Attribute Military Saber that Ou Yangming had truly smithed on his own.

Of course, smithing a military saber through this method required a huge consumption of his mental power and essential Qi. The second the military saber took form, he actually felt that he would collapse.

It was then that Ou Yangming finally understood why Old Craftsman had had such a bad complexion.

Military Fire Blacksmiths could not further increase their success rate because the condition of their body played a huge role.

If one's body condition was great, one's success rate in smithing Attribute Equipment would naturally increase, conversely, it would decrease when one's body condition was bad.

Nevertheless, even though everyone understood the theory, it was impossible for one to maintain one's body and mental state at the best condition all the time.

Hence, Military Fire Blacksmiths would usually set a one-in-ten or a two-in-ten standard for the refinement of Attribute Equipment.

Despite that, almost every Military Fire Blacksmith had tricks up their sleeves as they usually hid a few pieces of Attribute Equipment for themselves.

Kang Weibo was obviously aware of it, but he never exposed the unspoken rule. After all, how could one make horses run without providing enough fodder?

Old Craftsman exhaled deeply after putting down the military saber. "Ah, from today onward, I'll have to further delay the date of smithing General Chen's weapon."

Ou Yangming smiled embarrassedly. "Old Man, I"m sorry."

Old Craftsman had been preserving and building up energy, not wasting any on smithing other pieces of equipment, because he was preparing to smith a divine weapon for Chen Yifan. However, since he had just performed the Layering Art, his previous efforts were simply wasted.

"We're like grandfather and grandson, so it doesn't matter. Hehe, you must give your all during the challenge after three days, and you must be victorious!" Old Craftsman responded after shaking his hand, and said eagerly, "If you succeed in the layering method in public and become the winner in the challenge, hehe, perhaps you'll get a chance to enter the prefecture. You'll be able to learn better smithing skills!"

He expressed regretfully, "I was fortunate enough to have gone once in the past, and it was truly an eye-opening experience. I owe my current success to that day."

Ou Yangming grinned. "Old Man, it's just the prefecture, I'll bring you there next time!"

Old Craftsman could not help but laugh. "Young fella, I meant learning from a smithing master at the prefecture, yet you're taking it as a sightseeing tour."

Ou Yangming smiled apologetically, and finally convinced Old Craftsman to take a rest. He swore to himself, 'I'll surpass the capital's smithing master, let alone the prefecture's smithing master.'

Since Old Craftsman loved smithing art dearly his whole life, Ou Yangming was determined to make him the first smithing master…'s master!

He wondered how elated Old Craftsman would be if he actually succeeded.

Once Ou Yangming returned to his courtyard, he began cultivating his fist art and his blade technique again. After the smithing process earlier, he had a mysterious comprehension toward different types of skills.

All beings in the word were connected. If he practiced his martial arts skills well, it would be beneficial toward his smithing technique.

Sure enough, the feeling that Ou Yangming had was still quite vague at the moment, and it was impossible for him to fully fathom everything. At the very least, his current self could not realize his dream yet.

As flashes of saber-lights were seen, Ou Yangming was surrounded by hot Qi. A considerable amount of Qi and blood were transformed into essential Qi, which allowed him to increase his strength steadily.

In spite of that, Ou Yangming felt troubled because he was starting to have insufficient Qi and blood. Although he could hold on for a few days, he was no longer rich in Qi and blood.

Ou Yangming shook his head and wondered, 'Practicing martial arts is a difficult thing to do indeed.'

That being said, if someone else knew how he was lamenting about this, only God knew how that person would resent him.

Ou Yangming left his courtyard after being struck by an idea, and he headed to the West Camp to look for Yan Haobo.

This time, Yan Haobo was extremely respectful toward Ou Yangming, and was so friendly that it was unbearable. Additionally, the bunch of soldiers, who were indifferent toward Ou Yangming before they entered the dense forest, were treating him in a completely different manner. Each of them served him earnestly, and cared about him better than they cared for their parents.

Ou Yangming asked as he was puzzled, "Squad Leader Yan, what are you doing?"

"Master Ou, this is how my brothers and I respect you!" Yan Haobo smiled, then added after a pause, "I heard that you'll be challenging the new Master Ni in smithing art?"

Ou Yangming was surprised. "How did you know?"

'We've just discussed this, has it spread in the military camp already?'

Yan Haobo nodded and explained, "The news came from the East Camp. We heard that General Tian and General Chen will be watching, and that an appraisal master will be judging."

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up as he smiled. "Hehe, I see that Master Ni's very confident!"

'It has just been half a day, yet Yan Haobo already found out about it. Does this mean that everyone would've found out after three days?

'Ni Yunhong is obviously determined to defeat me in front of the public, how can I let things go his way?'

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Chapter 67: The General Summons

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Yan Haobo and the others surrounded Ou Yangming to please him in every possible way. Ou Yangming naturally knew their motives, they wanted to ask for a piece of decent equipment. That said, unless it was necessary, it was impossible for him to smith divine weapons or sharp tools for them just because they were flattering him.

Suddenly, a noise was heard outside all of a sudden, and the crowd moved aside for Liu Zhengye to enter the barrack.

He smiled at Ou Yangming. "Master Ou, you're here. The general is looking for you, come with me!"

Ou Yangming responded to him, then stood up and left with him. He could not help but lament.

Just a month ago, Liu Zhengye addressed Ou Yangming as a young fellow, like Chen Yifan and Old Craftsman did, but this time, he was calling him a master.

It seemed like the only way to gain someone else's respect was to become more powerful. Only when he became powerful enough to not be neglected, would he receive his well-deserved treatment.

They arrived at the general's residence after a brief moment.

Chen Yifan's eyes glowed when he saw Ou Yangming, and he smiled. "Ou Yangming, you really became famous this time!"

Ou Yangming laughed embarrassedly. "General, you're overpraising me. I only smithed some pieces of equipment for them, it was the brave soldiers who used them."

Chen Yifan nodded and responded, "It's great that you think that way, but Yu Hailiang from the South Camp and Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp admire you so much that they insisted on granting you the most credits. In the end, General Deng made the decision and approved it."

Ou Yangming obviously knew that General Deng was the Middle Camp's commanding general, and was also the real commander-in-chief of the military camp. Since the general had made his decision, it would be pointless for the other people to object.

"General Chen granted you a thousand credits, are you satisfied?" Chen Yifan informed.

"Thank you, general!" Ou Yangming's eyes lit up.

"You should thank General Deng, not me," Chen Yifan waved his hand and replied to him, then continued after a short pause, "Actually, since you refined explosive arrows, which were used to defeat the enemy, it's reasonable that you're given the most credits."

Ou Yangming smiled brightly as it was a delightful surprise that he was given credits.

Chen Yifan suddenly changed the topic. "I heard that you'll be challenging Master Ni in smithing art?"

"Yes," Ou Yangming nodded and answered.

"Master Ni is a reputable Spiritual Fire Smithing Master from the prefecture, whereas you've only controlled the Military Fire for a few years, so how can you compare with him? Aren't you overestimating yourself?" Chen Yifan remarked.

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. "General, although Master Ni has learned smithing techniques for a long time, it doesn't necessarily mean that he'll defeat me."

Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye frowned and looked at each other.

They had actually summoned Ou Yangming to ask him to cancel his challenge against Ni Yunhong.

In actual fact, based on the short duration of time Ou Yangming had controlled the Military Fire, nobody would rebuke him even if he withdrew from the challenge. This was because everyone knew that smithing art could not be grasped overnight.

However, Ou Yangming had just been given the most credits for slaughtering a half-spirit beast, and he had gained a high reputation as a result.

The fact that Ni Yunhong agreed to the challenge at this moment showed that he had other motives.

"Ah, Master Ou, do you know that our general isn't really on good terms with General Tian from the East Camp?" Liu Zhengye cleared his throat and asked.

Ou Yangming replied to him without any hesitation, "I've heard that."

"Okay, I'll be honest with you then. Master Ni's a smithing expert, invited by General Tian from the prefecture with the intention of going against Old Craftsman. Now that you've suddenly become famous, he's making a move on you instead," Liu Zhengye nodded and explained, then added after pausing for a while, "It'll be great if you win the challenge, but if you lose, our general's reputation will be ruined!"

Chen Yifan waved his hand and expressed, "It's fine if it's my reputation, but I'm afraid that people will criticize Old Craftsman, saying that his smithing art is not that great after all. If that's the case, Ni Yunhong can easily take advantage of the situation by challenging Old Craftsman. Heh, it's true that the old man is skillful, but he has aged, so he might not be able to take it!"

Ou Yangming had a serious look on his face. The thought had not crossed his mind.

He clenched his fists together, and was determined to not make any mistake during the challenge.

"Master Ou, you can actually turn down the challenge with the excuse that you've only used the Military Fire for a short span of time," Liu Zhengye suggested with a smile, then assured seriously, "I guarantee that nobody will rebuke or belittle you."

Ou Yangming was stunned as he had just understood what they meant.

He pondered for a while, then suddenly asked, "General, what's the spiritual fire?"

Chen Yifan answered after some thought, "Powerful blacksmiths are either bestowed with the Military Fire by the imperial family, or inherit the spiritual fire passed down through their family's clan. Ni Yunhong's a genius from the Ni family. He has a noble background, and extraordinary talent, so he's definitely not someone whom you can fight against."

He exaggerated Ni Yunhong's strength as much as possible to persuade Ou Yangming to retreat.

Despite that, Ou Yangming smiled instead and reassured, "General, I've defeated him once, I'll defeat him again. Don't worry, he's definitely going to lose!"

"What? You've defeated him before?" Chen Yifan asked as he was shocked.

Ou Yangming chuckled. "General, you know of the military camp's night battle, am I right?"

Chen Yinfan and Liu Zhengye looked at him and mumbled at the same time, "The fop and the masked man…"

Ou Yangming giggled. "Yes, it was Ni Yunhong and me."

"Ni Yunhong's very knowledgeable because of his family, so it's not surprising that he defeated Yan Chengcai and the others, but as for you…" Chen Yifan frowned and scanned Ou Yangming from head to toe, then exclaimed, "Good fella, what… What class are you at now?"

Ou Yangming answered proudly, "Force Grade Class Four."

He was only at Force Grade Class Three before he entered the dense forest, but advanced by leaps and bounds after absorbing the half-spirit beast's flesh and blood. Not only did Ou Yangming achieve Force Grade Class Four, but he was also close to the peak as he almost entered Class Five.

"Force Grade Class Four, Force Grade Class Four!" Chen Yinfan repeated and clearly looked frightened.

He was not the only one who reacted that way because Liu Zhengye was equally terrified too.

Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye had seen Ou Yangming when he first began practicing martial arts. Back then, Ou Yangming was like a blank sheet, and Chen Yifan even had to teach him the martial-art squat. They knew that the young fellow was abundant in Qi and blood, had potential in martial arts, and cultivated his way to Force Grade Class One in the speed of light. All of which had truly surprised them.

But Force Grade Class Four…

How long had it been? If a finger represented a month, the duration could be counted without using all five fingers on one hand.

Nonetheless, given that short span of time, a young fellow, who had just begun practicing martial arts, had already cultivated to Force Grade Class Four.

Chen Yinfan shouted with a fierce look, "Zhengye!"

Liu Zhengye understood him right away as he had served the general for years, hence he warned, "Master Ou, be careful." Before his voice had died down, he had already taken a step forward to charge at Ou Yangming.

He swung his palm to attack Ou Yangming's face directly.

Ou Yangming heard whistles from the wind, and felt a surging force that approached him like a sharp blade, causing him to feel pain.

It was a strong power. A power that was so strong that it was impossible for him to defend against.

Even so, Ou Yangming squinted his eyes and emitted through the gaps rays of light that caused one to palpitate with fear.

Following that, he swayed his body as though he was falling to his left, and the fist wind and force missed him.

"Eh?" Liu Zhengye expressed dumbfoundedly, and felt extremely flustered when Ou Yangming shifted. He could have very well taken out his opponent with one hit, but it was as if his opponent had moved to the side, where he could not reach, and his punch missed as a result. Moreover, based on where Liu Zhengye was standing at that moment, he needed to put in a lot of effort to change his fist force halfway.

Nevertheless, there was a huge disparity between Liu Zhengye and Ou Yangming's strengths. Thus, Liu Zhengye halted and forced himself to turn around.

Just as Liu Zhengye turned around, he noticed through the corner of his eye that a familiar figure had appeared behind him.

'When did that fella get behind me?' Liu Zhengye instantly broke out in a cold sweat, then kicked backward without any hesitation. However, he did not manage to kick anything as he felt like he had kicked the air instead, which caused him to lose balance.

Liu Zhengye shouted and found his footing, but before he gained a firm foothold, a leg took the opportunity to kick his ankle.

If Liu Zhengye was in a martial-art squat, or was prepared for this, he would not be easily shaken even if Ou Yangming kicked with full force.

Since Liu Zhengye had just turned around and missed a kick, his body was unstable, hence he lost balance and fell to the ground after being kicked. That being said, Liu Zhengye reacted very quickly by supporting his body with his hand before he hit the ground, and did a backflip to get back up again.

The exchange of blows happened in a flash. Instead of using techniques, both sides simply attacked spontaneously.

Nonetheless, Liu Zhengye, whose cultivation base was already at the peak of Yin Grade, had not defeated Ou Yangming yet. On top of that, it was evident from his reddened face that he had even suffered a small loss.

It was worth noting that the gap between Force Grade Class Four and Yin Grade Class Five was more than one grade.

When Liu Zhengye suddenly turned around, he no longer looked like he was underestimating Ou Yangming. Instead, he stared at Ou Yangming seriously as if he was a wild beast that was ready to devour its prey, and released an extremely threatening aura.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming simply stood in front of Liu Zhengye, and his body was so light that it seemed weightless. Additionally, he completely disregarded Liu Zhengye's fearsome aura.

After all, Ou Yangming had encountered a half-spirit beast at a close range. Even though the beast was dead, its mightiness was nothing Liu Zhengye could compare to.

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Chapter 68: Integration Of Heaven And Man

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Liu Zhengye took a step forward. His step was firm and strong this time, which was not jumpy at all.

He had figured that Ou Yangming managed to cause the previous situation because of his agility, as well as his astuteness in finding opportunities in a battle, which was a skill unreachable by many people. That said, in terms of cultivation base, Ou Yangming was inferior to Liu Zhengye.

Therefore, Liu Zhengye was certain that he could teach the young fellow an unforgettable lesson by fighting steadily.

Chen Yifan watched silently, and seemed to be using the opportunity to observe Ou Yangming's true strength.

The Ni family from the prefecture was not a small family. It was a well-known fact that martial artists from the Ni family were famous for battle skills, and were often defeating people who were superior to them.

Since Ou Yangming had defeated Ni Yunhong, Chen Yifan was eager to see what his limit was.

"Swoosh—"

Another punch was made, this time, the fist carried an enormous force, as though a real master was going to crush his opponent to death using absolute strength.

Ou Yangming swayed his body once more. His eyes were glowing, and his consciousness rose into the sky to observe Liu Zhengye's every move. Under his watch, Liu Zhengye's movements were plainly visible to him, even the slightest change could not escape his eyes.

If there was a huge difference between their strengths, and the punch made by one party carried an overwhelming power, the other party would not be able to resist it, even with exquisite skills. However, if their strengths were not Heaven and Earth apart, having top-notch skills would be extremely advantageous.

Ou Yangming swung his fist as well, but did not aim to resist Liu Zhengye's punch. Instead, he shifted sideways to punch Liu Zhengye's arm in an incredibly strange way.

Liu Zhengye's face changed as, no matter what he did, he could not punch Ou Yangming.

Meanwhile, Ou Yangming landed a perfect punch. While there was indeed more than a boundary's gap between their strengths, and their powers and speed were incomparable, Ou Yangming somehow hit Liu Zhengye's weakest spot. Although Liu Zhengye's essential Qi was circulating endlessly inside his body, the circulation was cut off after he was punched.

It would not be surprising if Chen Yifan was the one who had caused it, but the fact that Ou Yangming had done it was truly shocking.

Chen Yifan's face twitched as he wondered, 'How did that fella do it? Can he see through Zhengye's essential Qi circulation? But how is that possible?'

Liu Zhengye took half a step back to recollect himself, but before he could take a breather from the previous attack, Ou Yangming had approached him again with a fist wind.

Upon seeing this, Liu Zhengye was furious because the young fellow only had the cultivation base of Force Grade Class Four. Though Ou Yangming's techniques were odd, he actually had the guts to actively attack Liu Zhengye, a martial artist at the peak of Yin Grade, which was the same as slapping him in the face.

Liu Zhengye roared and forced himself to stop, and was ready to counterattack with his strength. Even though Liu Zhengye knew that the method employed would cause disruption in his Qi and blood, he believed that he could take down Ou Yangming with the power.

He made half a turn and swung his fist at Ou Yangming's chest.

Nonetheless, it was then that Liu Zhengye suddenly realized that Ou Yangming seemed to have perceived his move in advance. Ou Yangming slipped away like a fish, and actually disappeared right in front of his eyes. Following that, Liu Zhengye's right arm vibrated. His essential Qi seemed to have been cut by a saber, which completely cut off the circulation.

Liu Zhengye was appalled, and a fearful thought crossed his mind.

'If Ou Yangming used a weapon instead of his fists earlier, what would've happened?'

Liu Zhengye exerted force through his legs to fly backward, where he zoomed out of the battle zone like a whirlwind. Next, he charged in again at Ou Yangming.

It had only been a brief moment, but Liu Zhengye, who got rid of Ou Yangming earlier, had recovered his essential Qi circulation and moved on from the embarrassment.

Liu Zhengye was breaking out of the situation with force. By relying on the fact that he had a stronger essential Qi cultivation base, more formidable power, and faster speed, he escaped the battle zone in a split second, then charged back when his body recovered.

It seemed like an unprincipled move, but it was unquestionably the best method to use against Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. When Liu Zhengye fled with all his might, he did not have a way to obstruct him. Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was not anxious at all because he was confident about defeating Liu Zhengye again and again since he had already done it once.

As expected, Ou Yangming enveloped Liu Zhengye again in a flash with his tyrannical fist art. Liu Zhengye, who was forced into a helpless position, roared. He charged forward regardless of the situation to escape the battle zone once more, and returned after regaining his aura.

Although Liu Zhengye had gotten away again, he clearly felt that Ou Yangming's fist art was becoming more dangerous. It was like a huge spider web that became larger each time Liu Zhengye broke free, which in turn helped the web to become more perfect.

Liu Zhengye was frightened deep down.

'Am I really going to be defeated by a martial artist whose cultivation base is only at Force Grade?'

"Stop!"

Chen Yifan suddenly gave a timely order.

Liu Zhengye immediately retreated and sighed a breath of relief.

Ou Yangming stopped as well. While it seemed like his body was swaying and jumpy, Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye could tell that it was extremely stable. It was as though there were countless roots beneath his feet, which allowed him to connect with the earth closely.

"Good fella, I really underestimated you!" Chen Yifan studied Ou Yangming closely as he remarked, then laughed after a short pause. "Guards!"

A soldier quickly ran in and bowed at him. "General, what's the order?"

Chen Yifan instructed, "Bring Master Ou to the Middle Camp, General Deng's waiting for him."

"Yes!" The soldier answered.

Ou Yangming was stunned. "General Chen, what's this about?"

Chen Yifan waved his hand. "Don't overthink this, General Deng only wants to meet the new favorite in the camp, and to ask you about the challenge. Hehe, I initially summoned you to persuade you to withdraw from the challenge, but it looks like I no longer have to worry."

Ou Yangming felt relieved. He left with the soldier after bidding the general farewell.

Chen Yifan spoke only after Ou Yangming had gone far away, "Zhengye, what do you think about his performance?"

Liu Zhengye blushed as he replied, "General, his skills are great. If the battle went on, I might not have been able to defeat him."

"You don't have to belittle yourself like that. His physical power is more inferior to yours, after all, so it's hard to tell who the winner and loser would have been." Chen Yifan chuckled.

Liu Zhengye lowered his head as he was upset. He could tell that the general did not have high hopes for him, and was only hoping that he could take Ou Yangming down with his abundant essential Qi and mighty physical power.

That being said, Liu Zhengye quickly curbed his thoughts. "General, martial arts cultivation base and the smithing of equipment are two different things. Ou Yangming has only acquired the Military Fire for a short period of time, I'm afraid that it'll be difficult for him to defeat Master Ni in terms of smithing skills!"

Though he sounded polite, he made it very clear.

Ou Yangming did not stand a chance to win because smithing art was indeed a skill that was perfected through practice. As brilliant as Ou Yangming was, Ni Yunhong was not an easy match. Why would Ni Yunhong make such a big deal out of the challenge if he was not confident about winning?

Chen Yinfan pondered for a while and questioned, "Before you exchanged blows with him, did you ever think that you'd be defeated?"

Liu Zhengye was startled, and he shook his head with a bitter smile. "No, it never crossed my mind."

Indeed, if Liu Zhengye had not experienced it personally, he would never have thought that he could not defeat a Force Grade martial artist.

"I've experienced being unexpectedly defeated by someone." Chen Yifan laughed and continued after pausing for a while, "From then on, I learned something—nothing is impossible. Some people are especially good at creating miracles, but before it's done, nobody will ever believe them."

Liu Zhengye was dumbfounded. "General, do you think that highly of him?"

"It's not that I think highly of him, but he displayed sufficient power," Chen Yifan shook his head and answered, then asked seriously, "Was there a special feeling that you felt when you fought him?"

Liu Zhengye was deep in thoughts for some time. Perhaps he would be too embarrassed to tell the truth if someone else had asked, but he would not hide anything from the general.

"That fella's techniques are extremely strange. He was always able to spot my weakness, and could always dodge before I attack, so I always ended up achieving nothing." Liu Zhengye frowned as he described, "It was a feeling of powerlessness, like, like…"

He pulled a long face, but could not find the right words to describe it.

Chen Yifan's eyes lit up, and he blurted, "Like you're exchanging blows with a non-existent ball of air, and the more you fight, the more despairing it feels."

"Yes, that's how I felt." Liu Zhengye suddenly looked up and slapped his thigh. He hesitated for a while before asking Chen Yifan as he was surprised, "General, how did you know?"

Chen Yifan smiled bitterly. It was a meaningful and complicated smile.

"That's because I've experienced it before…" Chen Yifan asked slowly, "Do you know what people describe it as?"

Liu Zhengye's face took on a ghastly expression. He vaguely felt that he had encountered something that was beyond his reach at the moment.

"General, what is it?"

"They describe it as… The integration of Heaven and man!"

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Chapter 69: Invite And Witness

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ou Yangming arrived at the Middle Camp. Although it was not his first time here, he was fearful each time he came.

Of course, that feeling had disappeared now that he was different from who he used to be.

"Master Ou." A familiar voice was heard, and Jiang Chengwei approached him quickly to welcome him earnestly, "You're finally here, I've been waiting for a long time."

Ou Yangming was surprised. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"We heard that you're coming, and every squad leader wanted to welcome you to witness your graceful bearing. But I said that I'm the only one in the Middle Camp who has gone through thick and thin with you, so only I can carry out the task, which is why the general sent me." Jiang Chengwei giggled. He looked so proud, as if it was such an honor to be able to welcome Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh, he naturally knew that there were words in his words. Nonetheless, he was delighted to have made Jiang Chengwei put his ego down to flatter him without holding back.

He said after some thought, "Alright, send three High Grade Arrows over to me once I return."

Jiang Chengwei was instantly elated. "Thank you, Master Ou."

He had done everything he could to secure this task, and was willing to fawn over Ou Yangming without any limit, all to ask for explosive arrows.

However, he had never expected his dream would come true so easily.

In actual fact, Ou Yangming was extremely happy to have comprehended from Old Craftsman the integration of Heaven and man. Hence, Jiang Chengwei was greatly rewarded for flattering him at the right moment.

After all, the weapons were explosive arrows. Though they were mighty, they were one-off consumables, thus Ou Yangming agreed to it easily.

Once Jiang Chengwei used them and became addicted, he would understand Ou Yangming's real objective.

After following Jiang Chengwei into the Middle Camp, they arrived at a martial arts training hall. The smile on Jiang Chengwei's face immediately disappeared as he went forward to report with a serious face.

He brought Ou Yangming into the hall after a brief moment.

Inside the spacious hall, two men laid their eyes on Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming was slightly tensed up. The two men were well-known in the military camp. They were Commanding General Deng Zhicai and Senior Officer Wu Guotu of the Guards from the Middle Camp.

Their gazes were substantial, as though they could see through everything. Nevertheless, the two men found it strange because Ou Yangming was partly anxious, yet also partly distracted, as if he was absent-minded.

Even though there were two different feelings coming from the same person, the feelings were somewhat in harmony. Deng Zhicai and Wu Guotu had seen countless people in their lives, but were still astonished.

Despite that, they had no idea that their probing looks had triggered Ou Yangming's vigilance, causing the purple energy in his mind to be stimulated. This was the exact reason they felt that he was strange.

"You're Ou Yangming. Not bad, you did pretty well in the dense forest this time." Deng Zhicai nodded and asked, "How many explosive arrows can you smith daily?"

"The smithing of explosive arrows requires the consumption of a unique power, so only three to five arrows can be smithed a day, but…" Ou Yangming was stunned, but he answered after some thought. After a short pause, he continued, "If I smith explosive arrows every day, I won't have the time and energy to learn new skills, and I won't be able to complete tasks assigned to me at the Armament Camp."

Wu Guotu suddenly scoffed. "Hmph! The general's asking you a question, and you only needed to answer it. There's no need for you to explain in such detail." He sounded cold, as if everyone owed him 30,000 taels of silver.

Ou Yangming would have lost his balance out of fear if he was still the helper he used to be. However, Ou Yangming only lowered his eyes at the moment, and although he did not argue, he was not afraid at all.

"Ah, Guotu, the Armament Camp has fixed monthly tasks, it'll be fine as long as he completes them." Deng Zhicai waved his hand. "Ou Yangming, smith some explosive arrows for me if you're free, but it's fine if you're not."

Ou Yangming was stunned because it was really surprising that General Deng was easy to deal with.

He bowed and replied to the general, "Yes, thank you for understanding, general."

Deng Zhicai nodded, then suddenly called out, "Please, Mister Lin, Mister Zheng."

"Yes."

Two men walked out from the hall's side entrance after a short while. One of them was Appraiser Zheng Ziwen, whom Ou Yangming had met once.

"Brother Lin, Mister Zheng, this is Ou Yangming, the youngest Military Fire Blacksmith in my army," Deng Zhicai introduced with a smile, then nodded at Ou Yangming and said, "This is Lin Yichen, the Yi Pavilion's head shopkeeper, and this is Zheng Ziwen, the pavilion's appraiser. They're here to seek your help."

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he answered, "General, as a Military Fire Blacksmith, when you give the orders, I'll obey them.

Wu Guotu raised his eyebrow as he wondered, 'The fella looks young, but he's quite sensible to have given the general the option, he's selling himself well. But based on the general's capability and status, why would he bother with the flattery?'

Deng Zhicai could not help but laugh. "Ou Yangming, Shopkeeper Lin is like my brother. It'd be best if you can help him."

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. 'No wonder the shop—the Yi Pavilion—has such booming business. Their customers range from normal soldiers to generals from different camps. This is the reason behind it.'

That said, he maintained a straight face and asked, "Head Shopkeeper Lin, what's the request?"

"Master Ou, I heard that you're adept in appraisal art, so I'd like your help to appraise a bunch of equipment that we've recently acquired at the Yi residence," Lin Yichen replied to him with a smile, then added after a short pause, "Of course, once the appraisal is done, we'll reward you with 100 taels of gold and an appraised equipment of your choice."

Ou Yangming's heart skipped a beat. '100 taels of gold? Did I hear him right?'

He had worked hard to smith countless pieces of Attribute Equipment for the Armament Camp in the past two months, but Kang Weibo only gave him banknotes worth 300 fine silver. On the other hand, Head Shopkeeper Lin was so generous that he offered 100 taels of gold right away.

Ou Yangming was moved because if he was given banknotes again, they would be worth 1,000 fine silver.

Despite that, he knew very well that the money could not be earned easily.

Seeing as Ou Yangming was hesitant, Deng Zhicai commented with a smile, "Ou Yangming, this is a rare opportunity, it's highly beneficial for you to expand your knowledge."

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. "General, you're right. If that's the case, I'll do it."

It was actually not a difficult job for Ou Yangming, and given that Deng Zhicai had asked him to take the job, he could not decline it if he wanted to keep a foothold in the military camp.

Lin Yicheng laughed out loud. "Very well, let's set out now."

Before Ou Yangming could reject the idea, Zheng Ziwen shook his head and suggested, "Head Shopkeeper, let's stay here for three more days."

"Master Zheng, why do you propose that?" Lin Yicheng asked as he was startled. He expressed sternly, "The guild has rushed us for the batch of equipment, so we can't delay it any longer."

Zheng Ziwen smiled. "It's okay. Since we have Master Ou's help, it won't be delayed even if we stay here for three days."

Ou Yangming thought to himself, 'This fella actually has a lot of confidence in me.'

Lin Yicheng hesitated and asked, "Master Zheng, can you tell me the reason?"

"I met a peer earlier, and he invited me to be the witness of an upcoming challenge. His master is…" Zheng Ziwen answered with a smile, and whispered to Lin Yichen the rest of his sentence. "I couldn't decline it."

"Is he really that disciple?" Lin Yichen's face changed.

Zheng Ziwen seemed slightly displeased. "Why would I have the guts to lie to you? Heh, although he's not a direct disciple, he's a recorded disciple. If you don't believe me, we can leave now."

Lin Yichen quickly reached out his hand to stop him. "Master Zheng, please don't be mad, I was only asking. Since it's that disciple, let's stay for three more days."

Deng Zhicai pondered for a while, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Could you be talking about…" He pointed at Heaven, then at the Earth.

"Yes." Lin Yichen nodded slowly.

"He's the elder's disciple, I see." Deng Zhicai smiled bitterly.

"Master Zheng, you're an appraiser, so why did he ask you to stay to be a witness?" Lin Yichen was stunned after laughing halfway. He turned to look at Deng Zhicai and asked, "The general's a good witness, why didn't he invite him instead?"

If an ordinary person wanted to invite the general to be a witness, it would certainly be wishful thinking, but it would be different if the disciple, the one whom they were talking about, had asked. Deng Zhicai would definitely attend it at all costs.

Zheng Ziwen shook his head and explained, "The challenge in three days isn't a martial arts challenge, it's a smithing challenge."

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed, and a strange expression was seen on his face.

Zheng Ziwen had an extremely high level of attainment in appraisal art, so there would not be any mistakes if he was invited to be the judge.

That being said, they had invited Zheng Ziwen as the witness, and even let Ou Yangming be aware of it, hence it was quite funny.

Deng Zhicai asked shockingly, "What exactly is this challenge of equipment smithing?"

Wu Guotu's face reddened. "General, I'll go ask around now."

Evidently, although Ni Yunhong had spread the news, it had only been half a day, after all. Therefore, apart from the East Camp and the West Camp that found out due to special reasons, it seemed like the Middle Camp's commanding general was still not aware of it yet.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming believed that Ni Yunhong would surely not miss the Middle Camp.

He cleared his throat and responded, "Captain Wu, you don't have to ask around."

Wu Guotu was stunned, and he said, "Yes, I had forgotten that you're from the Armament Camp. What exactly is it about?"

Ou Yangming laughed. "I'll be challenging Master Ni in equipment smithing in three days, and I invite you to be a witness, General Deng, Captain Wu."

Deng Zhicai. "…"

Wu Guotu. "…"

Lin Yichen and Zheng Ziwen. "…"

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Chapter 70: Challenge Method

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In three days, in just three days, the news of the smithing challenge between Master Ou Yangming from the Armament Camp and Master Ni Yunhong, an outsider, had spread far and wide in the camp.

From the honorable generals to the insignificant new recruits, who were not even official soldiers yet, everyone talked about it excitedly. Although most of them were not qualified to witness it, that did not stop it from being the hottest topic in the camp at the moment. In fact, even the spotlight on the half-spirit beast, that was slaughtered through a lot of hard work, had dimmed.

After three days, Ou Yangming left his residence, accompanied by Old Craftsman, and headed for the biggest square in the Armament Camp.

The venue was already packed with people who were either standing or sitting.

Ou Yangming was taken aback after casually glancing around.

Almost everyone from the Armament Camp had come. Apart from Zhong Yunda and Han Changling, even Wang Zhongtong, Luo Shengtong, Li Shunfeng, and Huang Guotong, the top-notch Military Fire Blacksmiths, were present.

Being qualified to attach Unique Attributes to equipment, they were considered bosses in the Armament Camp and each of them had their own special methods. The fact that they got together of their own free will could be regarded as one of the biggest events in the Armament Camp.

When they saw Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming, they surrounded them.

Other than Han Changling, who purposely stayed behind, the rest greeted and gave Ou Yangming words of encouragement.

Zhong Yunda even waved his hand and said, "Oh, Lil' Ou, you must do your best this time to deflate him! Hmph, how dare he wrong us at such a young age. So what if he's from the prefecture? I don't believe that nobody can control him!"

The other people nodded in agreement. They looked rather indignant and mad.

Ou Yangming quickly realized that Ni Yunhong had consulted with every Military Fire Blacksmith in the camp even though he had only been here for a short span of time. There was no need to describe the consultations further because it was evident they were displeasing.

"Thank you for your blessings, my seniors. I won't let you down," Ou Yangming responded with a smile.

He bowed at them before moving forward.

The Military Fire Blacksmiths then surrounded Old Craftsman to ask, "Old Craftsman, is your disciple going to succeed?"

"Yes, how confident is he? He won't embarrass us, will he?"

"Old Craftsman, I think you'll have to do the challenge yourself to bring down that arrogant fella!"

They repeatedly asked questions, which eventually caused an uproar, making it obvious that they were not optimistic about Ou Yangming. It made sense because they did not normally interact with him although they were all Military Fire Blacksmiths. Besides, the seniors suspected that the pieces of Attribute Equipment presented by Ou Yangming were actually smithed by Old Craftsman.

Therefore, they were not as confident about Ou Yangming as they seemed.

They would be more relieved if they could persuade Old Craftsman to participate in the challenge instead.

Old Craftsman perceived their thoughts with one glance, and assured with a smile, "Don't be so anxious. Since he said that he won't let you down, he won't."

The Military Fire Blacksmiths looked at each other, then Zhong Yunda asked carefully, "Old Craftsman, did he really inherit your legacy?"

Old Craftsman raised his chin and expressed proudly, "The disciple has exceeded his master!"

The rest instantly clamored. It was unclear how much exactly they believed in Ou Yangming, but they began looking at him differently.

When Ou Yangming walked toward the platform, he saw that the military's big bosses were already seated.

Commanding General Deng Zhicai from the Middle Camp, Commanding General Tian Boguang from the East Camp, and Commanding General Chen Yifan from the West Camp. Of the five commanding generals from different camps, three of them were present. As for Supervisor Kang Weibo from the Armament Camp, he could only stand on one side to assist the challenge.

On the other side, Ni Yunhong and his younger brother were seen discussing something with Head Shopkeeper Lin Yichen and Appraiser Zheng Ziwen from the Yi residence. Bright smiles were seen on their faces.

"Lil' Ou, you're so slow, we were all waiting for you." Deng Zhicai put down his teacup when he saw Ou Yangming. Even though he was teasing Ou Yangming, it was clear that he was slightly displeased.

'Many bosses from the military are here, yet you took your own sweet time. You're being too proud, can't you see that even Ni Yunhong came in early?'

Ou Yangming bowed at Deng Zhicai and explained, "General, today's challenge isn't about me, it affects the military camp's prestige. I dare not slack off, so I was meditating in my courtyard to make sure I'm in the best condition. I'm determined to be victorious in the challenge, and to gain honor for the military camp."

Deng Zhicai was stunned for a while before he laughed. "You didn't slack off indeed. Alright, that's reasonable."

Tian Boguang, who was seated next to him, frowned and glared at Ou Yangming coldly.

In actual fact, he had prepared himself to lecture Ou Yangming for being late. It would be best if he could even mess with Ou Yangming's mental state.

However, Deng Zhicai had spoken first and drawn a conclusion. Since the Middle Camp's commanding general had deemed Ou Yangming's excuse reasonable, what could he say?

"Ou Yangming, today's challenge is about smithing an equipment set. We've invited two appraisal masters to judge the equipment's quality," Chen Yifan cleared his throat before he spoke. He then cupped his hands in the direction where Lin Yichen and the others were at, and called out, "Appraisal masters, please make your way here."

Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen were already prepared, so they approached him and greeted him, "Greetings, general."

"You don't have to be so polite," Chen Yifan responded and laughed, then turned to introduce, "This is Master Ni Yinghong, and this is Master Zheng Dawen. They're in charge of judging the equipment sets' quality."

"Sir, this isn't right!"

An elder made his way out of the crowd. It was Li Shunfeng, a top-notch Military Fire Blacksmith from the Armament Camp. Though he was not as reputable and as capable as Old Craftsman, he was one of the two blacksmiths who were only second to the old man.

"General, I heard that Young Master Ni Yinghong is Master Ni's young brother, how can he be a judge?"

"Master Li, please don't question an appraiser's character." Ni Yinghong looked at him coldly and said, "If I play favorites in an event like this, I'll definitely be blacklisted by the Appraisers Association and be expelled, which means that I won't be qualified to appraise anything anymore."

Zheng Ziwen nodded. "Master, you're overthinking this. No appraiser will gamble their future and fate on something so trivial."

Li Shunfeng was stunned. He opened his mouth, but could no longer object.

Since Zheng Ziwen had said that, if Li Shunfeng insisted, it would mean that he did not trust the Appraisers Association. A lack of trust would not benefit a blacksmith master in any way.

Ou Yangming chuckled and said loudly, "Master Li, thank you for protecting me."

Li Shunfeng nodded, and he felt better.

Ni Yunhong approached them and smiled. "Master Ou, it's time for our challenge."

Ou Yangming asked him seriously, "Master Ni, we'll be refining with the same materials, am I right?"

"Yes," Ni Yunhong answered with a smile, "but I have a suggestion."

'As expected, there's something behind it,' Ou Yangming curled his lips and wondered, but replied, "Please go on, Master Ni."

Ni Yunhong proposed, "I suggest that once the appraisals are done for both sides, another chance to smith is given."

Ou Yangming frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Master Ou, let me explain," Zheng Ziwen spoke with a smile. He nodded at the two blacksmiths to indicate that he would not be biased, then explained, "What Master Ni meant is actually a popular challenge method in the prefecture. You'll smith an equipment set each, which will be judged by the appraisers. The winner passes, but the loser has a chance to further improve the pieces of equipment."

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. "What if the person loses even after the second chance?"

"He loses, but normally, there's a huge chance that the pieces of equipment will be improved after a second smithing process," Zheng Ziwen answered, a smile on his face.

The smithing of equipment was always associated with a success rate. A powerful blacksmith would not object to the suggestion because the failure rate would be minimized if two chances were given.

Ou Yangming pondered and asked, "If a person manages to defeat his opponent after the second chance, will the opponent be given the same opportunity too?"

"Yes." Zheng Ziwen nodded, then clarified, "Theoretically, as long as the other party wins, the loser will be given another opportunity to improve the equipment set. The cycle repeats until one fails to make further improvements."

Ou Yangming pursed his lips and expressed, "The method is fair, but it's time-consuming."

Tian Boguang remarked coldly, "It's okay, we're willing to stay here to watch the challenge between two blacksmith masters no matter how long it takes. I'm only afraid that it'll end quickly, which won't be enjoyable…"

Chen Yifan's face darkened. "Lil' Ou, do your best to gain honor for the military camp!"

Tian Boguang was stunned, and he glared at Chen Yifan.

Nonetheless, after hearing Chen Yifan's words, the crowd began looking at Ni Yunhong differently, and were somewhat dissatisfied with Commanding General Tian Boguang from the East Camp1.

Deng Zhicai touched his forehead helplessly. "Enough with the talking, you may begin."

"Everyone, don't worry. Even with this challenge method, it won't go on for too long," Zheng Ziwen nodded and reassured, then asked, "Gentlemen, what material would you like to use?"

"Master Ou, you may decide." Ni Yunhong turned to nod at Ou Yangming. He looked extremely composed as if he was confident about defeating Ou Yangming regardless of the material chosen.

Ou Yangming thought for a while, then answered with a smile, "Since this is a challenge, let's use something common. Do you have steel?"

Kang Weibo quickly responded, "The Armament Camp has plenty of steel, to the extent that you can build a house made of steel."

As the crowd burst out laughing, countless amounts of steel was carried to the venue.

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Chapter 71: Different Opinions

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Kang Weibo had made preparations as soon as he found out about the challenge between Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong.

He prepared some unique materials, let alone normal featured iron ingot and steel. That said, he sighed a breath of relief when Ou Yangming chose steel.

After all, if the two masters spoke without many thoughts and decided on some rare and peculiar materials, Kang Weibo could not make something out of anything. It would be a small issue if he was embarrassed, but if he gave Deng Zhicai the impression that he was useless, it would be the end of the world for him.

Ou Yangming lamented when he saw the steel ingots and the row of precious ores that were laid out.

Although Ou Yangming was not restrained or troubled by Kang Weibo's usage of materials ever since he became a Military Fire Blacksmith, he had never seen this many precious ores at once. It was evident that the military camp's heritage was far beyond his imagination.

Ni Yinghong moved forward and smiled. "Master Ou, I'll show my incompetence first, what do you think?"

Ou Yangming was rather surprised because he initially thought that both sides would start smithing at the same time, but it looked like Ni Yinghong wanted to do it separately. However, a greater risk would be posed on the person who smithed first.

Needless to say, if the person who started performed outstandingly, the next person would be highly pressured, and would lose his composure.

Nonetheless, overall, it seemed like the person who forged first would suffer a loss, but Ou Yangming dared not lower his guard when he saw Ni Yunhong's confident smile.

"Master Ni, please!"

Ni Yunhong was not going to be too polite. He took a glance at the steel ingots and picked two of them.

Old Craftsman and the others' faces changed as they were quietly watching from a distance away. Luo Shentong remarked softly, "His great judgment is truly shocking!"

Ou Yangming was not aware of the Armament Camp's background, but the elders naturally knew it well. In actual fact, they had arranged the steel ingots on the steel plate before the ingots were carried onto the platform.

Therefore, the elders remembered every steel ingot's position like the back of their hands.

The steel ingots that were chosen by Ni Yunhong had very similar qualities, so much so that they could be considered products from the same furnace. They were the best ingots among the rest and were a perfect match.

Based on the fact that Ni Yunhong could pick the best raw materials with one look, it was obvious that he had a worthy reputation.

A flash of flame was seen when Ni Yunhong's spiritual fire appeared.

While spiritual fire and the Military Fire belonged to different systems, their functions and effects were very similar.

Perhaps because Ni Yunhong was forging in public, he finished the process at the speed of light. Before long, an armor was magically produced by his hands.

Whispers were instantly heard in the crowd.

Even though everyone knew that Military Fire Blacksmiths were much faster than ordinary blacksmiths in terms of equipment smithing, it was their first time witnessing someone doing it at such an unbelievable speed.

As professionals, Old Craftsman and the other blacksmiths were observing the logic behind it. After watching Ni Yunhong's near-perfect smithing process, other than Old Craftsman, the rest lost their confidence in Ou Yangming.

Previously, Yu Hailiang and the other soldiers returned from the dense forest after having slaughtered a mighty half-spirit beast. Everyone had heard that Ou Yangming forged a kind of explosive arrow that played the most important role, and he was given the most credits as a result.

If the challenge was about the smithing of those explosive arrows or other exquisite bladed weapons, perhaps Ou Yangming would be victorious.

On the contrary, there were no tricks involved in smithing an equipment set in a classic way. Once the others knew that Ou Yangming had only acquired the Military Fire for a couple of months, nobody placed their hope in him.

Ni Yunhong put down the armor and took a few steps back.

Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong stepped forward to inspect it for a brief moment, then announced, "A High Grade Rank Five armor."

Ou Yangming was somewhat shocked. It was not uncommon for one to forge a piece of High Grade equipment using steel. In fact, there were plenty of Military Fire Blacksmiths in the military camp who could achieve that. Despite that, it was not easy for one to directly forge a piece of High Grade Rank Five equipment from steel.

Even Old Craftsman dared not guarantee that.

"Master Ou, please!" Ni Yunhong uttered.

Ou Yangming nodded and moved forward. He glanced at the remaining steel ingots, then casually picked two that were next to the ones chosen earlier.

After seeing his picks, the other Military Fire Blacksmiths could not help but frown. They would not secretly undermine Ou Yangming since they shared the honor and the disgrace, but they could already tell that the materials chosen were more inferior to the ones his opponent had chosen.

When a flash of the Military Fire was seen, the steel ingot quickly melted and took form in Ou Yangming's hands.

In actuality, based on Ou Yangming's usual speed, he could slow down the process. However, since Ni Yunhong was able to refine the piece of equipment so quickly, he was not going to be outplayed.

Sure enough, after a short while, the armor of the same size was produced.

Ou Yangming smiled plainly and put down the armor.

Ever since he fathomed the integration of Heaven and man, he could easily smith High Grade equipment without using the purple energy in his mind. That being said, it was not easy to achieve the peak of High Grade Rank Five.

Hence, Ou Yangming utilized hidden energy, in the end, to push the armor to the peak of High Grade, which was 15 points.

Zheng Ziwen looked at Ou Yangming in shock. He knew that the young fellow was amazing in appraisals, but never expected him to be excellent in smithing too.

After carefully studying the armor for a brief moment, Zheng Ziwen had a serious look on his face.

"Master Zheng, what's the armor's quality?" Wang Zhongtong could not help but ask loudly.

Zheng Ziwen hesitated before he answered, "The armor is of High Grade Rank Five."

The crowd instantly clamored and reacted differently from when they whispered to one another earlier.

It was very rare that a High Grade armor was produced, what more one that was at the peak of High Grade Rank Five. Nevertheless, not only did the crowd witness two of those being smithed at that moment, but the armors were also completed very quickly. This was extremely exciting news for normal soldiers.

"If that's the case, they tied this round?" Wang Zhongtong sighed a breath of relief.

Zheng Ziwen thought again and shook his head in the end. "No, Master Ni is one up."

"What?" The crowd was stunned, and they began arguing noisily.

The soldiers dared not mess around because three commanding generals in the military camp were present. If that was not the case, some hot-tempered ones would have literally fought because of the injustice.

No matter what, Ou Yangming was a Military Fire Blacksmith in the military camp, hence the soldiers regarded him differently from Ni Yunhong.

Chen Yifan questioned with a deep voice, "Master Zheng, may we know the reason?"

"Yes." Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief and quickly explained, "It's true that both armors are of High Grade Rank Five, but in terms of material quality, the one forged by Master Ni seems more durable, which is why I drew such a conclusion. If you're given a choice, will you choose the more durable one or the less durable one?"

Ou Yangming was moved. Though the armor smithed by him had 15 points of Toughness, it only had 13 points of Durability.

For some reason, he could not draw or upgrade the Durability attribute, which was his biggest weakness.

Nonetheless, it was difficult to distinguish the difference in durability between pieces of equipment in High Grade, especially if the difference was only a point or two. The dissimilarity was only noticeable by Zheng Ziwen, who had sharp eyes.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply. Just as he was waiting to smith the second equipment, a clear voice was heard.

"Wait."

The crowd was surprised. They saw Ni Yinghong going up the platform and turned the armors around to carefully inspect them. Following that, she commented, "Master Ou, this round should be a draw."

"Why? You're not doing this on purpose because of your older brother, are you?" Zheng Ziwen asked unhappily, then expressed seriously, "As appraisers, we must be sincere, and we mustn't lose independence in consideration of another person's feelings regardless of the situation. If your older brother deserves to come first this round, he should come first."

"Master Zheng, I didn't call it a tie because of that." Ni Yinghong shook her head. "I'm sure you've seen that my older brother made the first pick, and he picked the best steel ingots, which is why he was able to smith the best piece of High Grade Rank Five equipment. On the contrary, Master Ou casually chose two steel ingots and managed to smith a High Grade Rank Five armor. While the latter produced an armor with a slightly lower durability, it's the limit achievable by the two steel ingots chosen, so I believe that it should be a tie."

Zheng Ziwen was dumbfounded, and the crowd fell silent.

Nobody expected Ni Yinghong to address that.

After a while, Zheng Ziwen finally said, "That's reasonable, this round should result in a tie."

Wang Zhongtong and the others were surprised and delighted. Although Ni Yunhong had great judgment, Ou Yangming was more superior in terms of smithing skills. They subconsciously looked at each other as an unbelievable thought crossed their minds.

Perhaps Ou Yangming really had the qualities to contend with his opponent.

Ni Yunhong could not help but laugh. Even though his own younger sister had denied him of his victory, he was not resentful at all because he knew that she would be firm on her chosen path.

Throughout the process, Ni Yinghong was certainly just and fair such that even her closest eldest brother could not take advantage of her at all.

Ni Yunhong sighed. 'Looks like I won't be able to defeat Ou Yangming through normal means.'

"Since the analyses are done, let's move on," he stepped forward and suggested. After picking another steel ingot, he made a few gestures at it and said, "Master Ou, I'll be smithing a greave this time."

As Ni Yunhong's spiritual fire danced, a greave quickly took form, and he tossed a Power Ore into it.

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Chapter 72: Fire-resistant Arm Guard

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Attribute Equipment!"

The crowd widened their eyes. The ordinary soldiers in particular, who knew about Attribute Equipment but had never seen one being smithed, were extremely attentive so as to not miss the process.

It was a piece of Attribute Equipment, after all, which could not be possessed by ordinary soldiers. Hence, they were thrilled about being fortunate enough to watch the smithing process. Even though they knew that they could not obtain such a piece of equipment, it would become a common topic between them, and the other soldiers would look at them enviously if they talked about it after their meals.

In the next instant, Ni Yunhong's spiritual fire suddenly raged and became scorching hot. It completely enveloped the greave.

Ou Yangming and the other professionals frowned because they knew Ni Yunhong was doing it on purpose. Based on the way the spiritual fire was enveloping the greave, any mysterious tricks used by Ni Yunhong could not be perceived.

As such, Ou Yangming was moved, but he quickly got rid of the thought to peep after looking around him.

Ni Yunhong exhaled deeply after a brief moment. His face had reddened, but his eyes were sparkling, and he was high-spirited.

One could tell from his expression at that moment that he had succeeded very well.

Sure enough, once Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong went forward to inspect the greave, they instantly announced that it was of High Grade Rank Four with an Agility attribute attached.

The crowd was in an uproar after hearing the announcement.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming observed quietly. Except for the commanding generals and their personal captains from the Guards, the other squad leaders were envious. It was evident that a High Grade Attribute Equipment was able to attract squad leaders very much.

He walked forward leisurely. If that was Ni Yunhong's only trick, Ou Yangming was confident about being the challenge's winner.

He had smithed a similar High Grade Attribute Equipment numerous times and was able to control his Military Fire smoothly without being obstructed at all.

His burning Military Fire was somehow captivating.

Once the greave took form, Ou Yangming tossed an Agility Ore into it.

Earlier when Ni Yunhong arrived at this stage, he activated the mysterious energy of his spiritual power to hide the remaining process. On the contrary, Ou Yangming's Military Fire remained the same, hence the crowd could clearly see the Agility Ore being melted by the Military Fire, which was then equally distributed in the greave.

Ni Yunhong's face finally took on a ghastly expression.

He knew very well that Ou Yangming's smithing method was not uncommon at all as it was the most basic skill in smithing art.

There was a success rate in equipment smithing, which would be reduced by a lot if an attribute was being attached.

Ni Yunhong only succeeded in a spurt of energy earlier partly because of his personal strength and luck, but mainly because of the skill that was hidden when his spiritual fire suddenly burst.

Nonetheless, the skill was a family secret that was never taught to others, and it complemented especially well with his spiritual fire.

Therefore, while it was incredibly difficult for ordinary blacksmiths to bind an attribute to a piece of equipment, Ni Yunhong succeeded in one shot.

That said, he was dubious when he saw Ou Yangming's smithing method. 'Does this fella think that he can defeat me with the simplest and most basic technique?'

Soon enough, Ou Yangming's Military Fire dissipated, and he wore a straight face. Nobody could read his expression.

He put down the greave and stepped back calmly.

Zhong Yunda, Wang Zhongtong, and the others looked shaken. They subconsciously thought that Ou Yangming had definitely failed this round.

After all, it was the binding of an attribute, something that even the elders dared not guarantee a success rate, let alone Ou Yangming.

Old Craftsman looked at them and remarked, "Why are you looking like that? Stick your chests out."

Li Shunfeng nodded. "That's right, we mustn't lose disposition even if we're defeated, we can't let them underestimate us. Hmph, Ni Yunhong picked on a weakling instead of challenging us, he's not a good man at all!"

The other Military Fire Blacksmiths looked at each other as they dared not respond to him.

Ni Yunhong had visited them one by one in the past few days. Although he did not challenge them, they knew very well that they were inferior to him. In fact, even Old Craftsman, the chief of Military Fire Blacksmiths, might not be able to defeat him.

Hence, even though Li Shunfeng sounded very strong-willed, nobody dared to respond to him.

Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong had gone up the platform to inspect the greave. While they tried their best to keep a straight face during the appraisal, there were slight changes in their expressions, thus the crowd was secretly making guesses.

However, the appraisers soon became expressionless, and Zheng Ziwen announced loudly after a short discussion, "A High Grade Rank Five Attribute Greave, Master Ou wins this round."

"What?"

"An Attribute Greave?"

"A High Grade Rank Five Attribute…"

The Military Fire Blacksmiths clamored after hearing the announcement.

They questioned loudly as they feared that they had heard it wrongly.

On the opposite, the soldiers were very calm. After all, a High Grade Attribute Greave was already produced earlier, so when another one was made, it was not enough to cause a clamor. They looked at the joyful Military Fire Blacksmiths strangely, 'What are they doing?'

Nevertheless, amateurs obviously could not understand real professionals' thoughts.

Only real experts understood how exactly difficult it was to smith a High Grade Rank Five Attribute Equipment.

If the other blacksmiths had been on the platform instead, they would not be confident in succeeding even if they were given ten opportunities, let alone a single opportunity.

On top of smithing a piece of Attribute Equipment, the fact that it had to be of High Grade Rank Five was suicidal.

They turned to look at Old Craftsman one after another but noticed that the old man was composed without feeling excited at all. Only when they recalled what Old Craftsman had said earlier, they realized that he had expected this from the beginning, which was why he was calm throughout.

"Old Craftsman, tell me the truth, which level exactly is Lil Ou at now?" Li Shunfeng asked softly.

The other Military Fire Blacksmiths pricked up their ears and dared not make a sound so that they would not miss a single word.

Old Craftsman responded, "I've taught him everything I know, but there are things he knows that are beyond my capabilities."

"Ah, that's… That's impossible…" Li Shunfeng mumbled. "How long has he been learning? How could he have actually inherited your legacy?"

"Anything is possible for a genius." Old Craftsman laughed.

The rest gasped. They finally understood that the pieces of Attribute Equipment submitted by Ou Yangming in the last two months were truly smithed by him, and were not made by Old Craftsman.

That being said, the young fellow improved so quickly that it was too shocking.

Ni Yunhong paced forward. He had a grave expression on his face after being defeated in the round.

There seemed to be an uncontrollable deviation in his original plan that he was so confident about, which left a tiny weak point in his heart. Nonetheless, being a big family's disciple, Ni Yunhong quickly calmed down and refocused his attention on the piece of equipment in front of him.

After taking a glance at the greave that was appraised to be more inferior, Ni Yunhong decided not to put any more effort into it. This was because a High Grade Rank Four Attribute Equipment was already his limit. Unless he had a stroke of nature-defying luck, it would be impossible for him to improve it to Rank Five.

Hence, Ni Yunhong tossed the greave away and took another steel ingot.

Before long, the steel ingot took the form of an arm guard, and he threw a Power Ore into it.

Subsequently, his spiritual fire burned vigorously again to hide the secret within.

Wang Zhongtong and the others cursed. Although they would have done the same if they were in his shoes, watching someone else do it was a totally different feeling.

Ni Yunhong was fully focused on the smithing process. His spiritual will was exceptionally concentrated, and he vividly executed his family's skill.

Just as he was about to complete the final step, the scene where Ou Yangming attached an attribute earlier suddenly appeared in his head. The plain and ordinary process crossed his mind in a flash.

Ni Yunhong questioned himself, 'How exactly did that smithing method guarantee the success of an attribute attachment?'

Consequently, his energy dispersed for a split second without him knowing.

'Oh no!'

Ni Yunhong instantly curbed his thoughts, but it was too late.

In actual fact, he might not actually succeed even if he had paid full attention to bind the attribute, but now that he was also distracted, the result was clear.

Ni Yunhong's spiritual fire suddenly disappeared, and his face was green with anger.

He knew that his mentality changed a little after his failure, which was why he made such an unacceptable mistake.

Most of the spectators had guessed the outcome based on the look on his face. Wang Zhongtong and the others were even smiling brightly because they knew that Ou Yangming had won the round.

Zheng Ziwen approached Ni Yunhong and nodded apologetically to express that his hands were tied. Honestly, given that the challenge was being held so openly, the likeliness of an appraiser pulling strings from behind was close to zero.

He inspected the product carefully and announced, "This is a High Grade Rank Three Arm Guard…"

Ni Yunhong was becoming more grim-faced. The short distraction had caused the arm guard's rank to drop so drastically, which was truly a bloody lesson for him.

However, Zheng Ziwen's voice suddenly became loud and sonorous. "No, this isn't a piece of normal High Grade equipment, it's, it's… A piece of Attribute Equipment!"

"What?"

The crowd instantly yelled. They could tell through Ni Yunhong's expression that he had definitely failed to fix the attribute to the arm guard, so they had no idea why Zheng Ziwen was covering it up for him.

Ni Yinghong flashed forward to inspect the equipment too, and announced in delight, "This is indeed a piece of Attribute Equipment, and it's a rare fire-resistant equipment!"

At the spur of the moment, the square was dead silent, and a strange atmosphere filled the air.

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Chapter 73: God-given Attribute

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The soldiers cursed, 'That fella has actually succeeded, but he pulled such a long face as if his mother died. We were happy for nothing.'

However, the amateurs did not notice the surprised look on Ni Yunhong's face, which lasted for a split second.

Similarly, they did not notice the bizarre look on the professionals' faces, which were so complicated that it was indescribable.

Attribute Equipment was certainly the most powerful kind of equipment, and one that had the Fire-resistant attribute was exceptionally rare. It could give an incredibly magical effect in specific situations, and was also a Unique Attribute that was highly sought after by powerful forces who were willing to pay a lump sum.

Nonetheless, it was confusing that the Fire-resistant attribute appeared in this situation.

"Ah, what the hell!" Li Shunfeng smiled bitterly. "He clearly took the Power Ore, but a Fire-resistant attribute appeared. Does this… Does this even make sense?"

Old Craftsman sighed and commented, "If it's meant to be, it will be. We can't do anything about it…"

They finally understood what had happened earlier.

Ni Yunhong had obviously failed to attach the Power attribute earlier, and he had thought so too.

Despite that, only God knew what happened during the process. When Ni Yunhong's spiritual fire burned, a mysterious power between Heaven and Earth was triggered, and the Fire-resistant attribute was incorporated. Consequently, the arm guard underwent a sudden change. Not only did it become a piece of Attribute Equipment, but it also became an uncommon piece of fire-resistant equipment.

The Military Fire Blacksmiths did not know how to describe this situation at all. Perhaps Ni Yunhong was such a lucky b*stard that he was blessed with good fortune.

"Master Ou," Wang Zhongtong suddenly called out, "We admit defeat this round, challenge him in the next round!"

"Yes, Master Ou, that's the way…"

Many Military Fire Blacksmiths agreed.

Before this, Ou Yangming had officially been qualified as a Military Fire Blacksmith and had submitted more pieces of Attribute Equipment than most of them. That said, the senior blacksmiths only nodded politely at Ou Yangming whenever they met him, and none of them addressed him as a master.

At this moment, they finally expressed their thoughts by calling him Master Ou.

Ni Yunhong's smithing process earlier was bestowed by Heaven. It could not be contended with, and could not be repeated.

Under the circumstances, his opponent could not even complain about a loss. Other than admitting defeat, there was simply no other option.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming turned to nod at his seniors and said, "Thank you for your good intentions, but I'd like to give it a shot."

He then turned to walk toward the remaining steel.

After some serious thought, Ou Yangming picked up an iron ingot and released his Military Fire.

The iron ingot was quickly transformed into the shape of an arm guard through the burning Military Fire. Following that, Ou Yangming reached out for a Power Ore next to him.

Old Craftsman and the others sighed upon seeing this.

Even if Ou Yangming attempted to bind an attribute to it and actually succeeded by luck, he was up against the Fire-resistant attribute, hence the outcome was already fixed regardless of his hard work. Ni Yunhong's magical fire earlier was a gift from Heaven, it was something that was a hundred or a thousand times harder to achieve than the attachment of an attribute.

Many Military Fire Blacksmiths worked hard their entire life and smithed countless pieces of equipment, but miracles like that only occurred less than ten times in total.

Therefore, even if they were the judges, they would cast the winning vote to Ni Yunhong without any hesitation.

Ou Yangming's effort would only be in vain.

In spite of that, Ou Yangming paused just as he touched the Power Ore.

Subsequently, he withdrew his hand. Old Craftsman and the others nodded because they knew that he had figured it out. Since Ou Yangming could not be victorious in this round, he might as well foster his strength and bypass his weakness. He could miss this round and could regain his victory in the next round.

However, just as they thought Ou Yangming was going to end his smithing process, he had a grave expression on his face. The Military Fire in his hand danced and burned while circulating around the arm guard.

Ni Yunhong paid attention to Ou Yangming's every move to carefully observe and identify each step.

Although Ou Yangming's movements looked simple, which seemed far from being complicated, each of his moves was actually done according to the most standard stance of a Military Fire Blacksmith. They were common textbook moves, hence Ni Yunhong could not even spot a single flaw.

In the past, Master Ni would simply disregard methodical smithing arts that were inflexible and did not involve skills.

This time, he suffered a huge loss because of such a simple technique.

For some reason, as Ou Yangming's movements kept changing, Ni Yunhong's mind and thoughts wavered.

The greatest truth was usually achieved in the simplest way. This situation was what the saying meant.

When Ni Yunhong watched Ou Yangming's simple smithing method, the unbelievable feeling somehow grew inside him.

'How could a young Military Fire Blacksmith like him achieve the legendary boundary in smithing art?'

Ni Yunhong let go of his fists and clenched them again. When he let go of them once more, he realized that his palms were sweaty.

He was frightened, so frightened from his deduction that he lost self-control.

Nonetheless, Ni Yunhong quickly forced himself to suppress the discomfort. 'Ou Yangming's still quite young, how is it possible that he knows to return to his true self, and that the greatest truth is usually achieved in the simplest way? Heh, the person who frightened ends up being frightened, but I didn't think that it'll be so terrifying to scare myself…'

Nevertheless, Ni Yunhong had no clue that Ou Yangming did not even learn that the greatest truth was usually achieved in the simplest way. He simply learned the most basic smithing art and performed the only thing he knew at this moment because he knew nothing else.

At last, the Military Fire slowly went away after burning for some time.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and looked weary when he put down the arm guard.

It seemed like the energy he had consumed to smith a normal White Slate Arm Guard surpassed by a huge margin of what was consumed during the smithing of a piece of Attribute Equipment.

Old Craftsman felt sorry for Ou Yangming. 'He's still a child, did I let him fly too soon…'

Wang Zhongtong suddenly whispered to the old man, "Old Craftsman, why does Lil Ou seem so exhausted? Is there something strange about the arm guard?"

The rest were stunned, but they quickly shook their heads. Ni Yunhong was exceptionally lucky to have obtained the God-given Fire-resistant attribute, and it would definitely be wishful thinking if one wanted to replicate the process. Even if the blacksmiths' heads were chopped off, they would not believe that there was also a God-given attribute in this arm guard.

Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong stepped forward curiously because they could not understand why it was such a strenuous process for Ou Yangming when he only smithed a normal White Slate Arm Guard. He was completely different from when he easily smithed the piece of Attribute Equipment earlier.

"Not bad, this should be a High Grade Rank Five," Zheng Ziwen remarked with a nod after inspecting the arm guard carefully. He then expressed to Ou Yangming, "Master Ou, you have a profound foundation to be able to smith two pieces of High Grade Rank Five equipment consecutively, I admire you."

Even if a piece of equipment was of High Grade, there was a huge difference between Rank One and Rank Five. Other than that, the smithing of a piece of High Grade Rank Five equipment by chance and the successful smithing of two of those in a short span of time also carried different meanings.

At the very least, in terms of quality only, the ability displayed by Ou Yangming was clearly more remarkable than Ni Yunhong's.

Unfortunately, Ou Yangming's advantage became nothing due to the rare God-given attribute.

Wang Zhongtong and the other blacksmiths nodded and said, "It's truly amazing that he can smith pieces of High Grade Rank Five consecutively!"

"Yes, that's a real skill, whereas the God-given attribute can't be repeated."

The crowd nodded in agreement, but they did not look too delighted because they somehow felt sour about it.

Zheng Ziwen announced loudly, "This round's…"

"Wait," Ou Yangming suddenly called out to him, "Master Zheng, please take another look at it."

"What?"

"What did he say?"

"Could it be that… There's a mystery inside his arm guard?"

The professionals could not help but clamor at once. In fact, even Old Craftsman, who had been calm all along, was breathing heavily with a red face.

Zheng Ziwen was stunned, and a ghastly expression was seen on his face.

He looked deeply at Ou Yangming because he dared not believe that he would witness the birth of two pieces of God-given equipment. The appraiser skipped the steps that he had always adhered to as he wanted to just announce the result.

That being said, Zheng Ziwen was at a loss once Ou Yangming raised his objection.

He would be reputable if two pieces of God-given equipment were made on the same day, but if that was really the case, it would be hard to say if the reputation spread would be good or bad.

Zheng Ziwen proceeded to channel a hint of essential Qi into the arm guard.

Subsequently, his face changed wonderfully.

"H-how is this possible?" Zheng Ziwen's face twitched. He gritted his teeth, and finally announced as everyone else looked at him eagerly, "A High Grade Rank Five Arm Guard, attached with a Precision Attribute!"

His voice spread far and wide. It was not loud, but it certainly sounded like a crash of thunder to the experts, who were left speechless for a long time.

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Chapter 74: Stop Messing With Me

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Precision attribute?"

"What's that?"

"Yes, what does it do?"

Just as many soldiers were discussing in confusion, an extremely deep voice was heard. "Nice, a Precision attribute, may I take a look at it?"

The crowd quickly made way for a burly man, who quickly walked to the square.

Ou Yangming instantly recognized the man after looking at the people who followed behind him.

This was because Yu Hailiang was among his followers; he even fell a little behind on purpose. Ou Yangming had seen such an attitude many times, hence he easily guessed the man's identity.

Commanding General Fang Yihai from the South Camp.

Among the five commanding generals in the camp, this general was the most low-profile one such that he rarely left the South Camp. The smithing challenge between Ou Yangming and Ni Yunhong had caused a huge sensation in the military, so apart from the North Camp's commanding general, who led his soldiers out of the camp, the other three generals were present.

Ou Yangming initially thought that Fang Yihai would not attend, but he realized that the general was already here long ago. However, the general watched among the soldiers instead of from the seats reserved for the high officials.

Nonetheless, it was quite strange. Theoretically, Fang Yihai would be out of place in the military due to his unconventional behavior, but the three commanding generals including Deng Zhicai stood up at the same time to welcome him.

"Hehe, Yihai, I was just finding it strange that you're able to endure it. I can't believe that you showed yourself because of a small piece of Attribute Equipment." Deng Zhicai teased.

"General Deng, I was only going to watch the lively scene, and I wasn't expecting a marksman's equipment, so I couldn't stay put anymore." Fang Yihai stopped to greet with cupped hands, then nodded at Chen Yifan and Tian Boguang.

The four generals conversed for a while before Deng Zhicai called out, "Lil Ou, show your arm guard to General Fang."

Ou Yangming was slightly moved because Deng Zhicai had ordered him instead of Zheng Ziwen, which clearly meant something else. Ou Yangming immediately responded to him, then took his arm guard from Zheng Ziwen before walking over to them.

Fang Yihai took a deep look at Ou Yangming and remarked, "Nice, you're pretty good."

It was unclear whether he was praising Ou Yangming's brilliant smithing art or his huge contribution in slaughtering the half-spirit beast.

Fang Yihai actually put on the arm guard as soon as he received it. His face changed when he channeled a hint of essential Qi, and his eyes sparkled like a miser who had just found treasure.

"Nice! This is good stuff!" He then removed the arm guard and returned it to Ou Yangming while saying, "Brother… Lil' Ou."

The faces of Chen Yifan, Tian Boguang, and the others froze, and the generals smiled awkwardly.

Although they treated Ou Yangming differently, they maintained an attitude that showed their superiority. Whether it was the disparity between their ages or military powers, Ou Yangming was not on the same level as them.

Therefore, the other generals felt troubled when Fang Yihai suddenly treated Ou Yangming with that attitude.

"General, I dare not accept the honor," Ou Yangming quickly replied, then raised the arm guard and said, "If you like it, I'm willing to present this arm guard to you, please accept the gift."

In actual fact, Ou Yangming was reluctant to give away the arm guard. It was his first time encountering the Precision attribute, hence it would be quite regretful for him to give the arm guard away before having a thorough understanding of the attribute.

Nevertheless, Fang Yihai reached his hand out to push the arm guard away, and asked with a deep voice, "Brother Lil' Ou, I noticed from watching you smith earlier that you have a different understanding in attribute attachment, which is why your success rate is high, right?"

Ou Yangming was stunned, and his face instantly looked strange.

Fang Yihai laughed, then lowered his voice. "Can you tell me the truth?"

Ou Yangming pondered and nodded helplessly in the end, but did not utter a single word.

He was currently given a two-in-ten benchmark to fulfill for Attribute Equipment in the Armament Camp. If he spoke carelessly, causing the important figures to be in a good mood at the spur of the moment, he would have to pay a huge price.

Fang Yihai's eyes glowed as he added, "Brother Lil' Ou, according to what I know, once a person acquires a God-given attribute, that person's success rate in binding such attribute will increase in leaps and bounds for a period of time."

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and thought, 'My success rate is already a hundred percent, how can it be increased more?"

"I have a batch of unique precious ores. If you have time to spare, could you please attach some attributes for me?" Fang Yihai asked.

"I'd be happy to do it, but my tasks in the Armament Camp…" Ou Yangming answered after some thought.

Fang Yihai laughed. "Isn't it just a few pieces of Attribute Equipment? I'll submit them for you!"

Ou Yangming was startled, and he quickly responded, "Thank you for your kindness, General Fang, but those are chances for me to refine my skills, so I won't trouble you for an exemption."

At a distance away, Kang Weibo's face had initially changed, but he was instantly glad after hearing Ou Yangming refuse the offer. In fact, his eyes became teary.

'As distance proves a horse's strength, so time reveals a person's heart. Master Ou is the only one who treats the Armament Camp with sincerity.'

However, if Kang Weibo could hear Ou Yangming's thoughts at the moment, he would probably take back his words.

Ou Yangming was thinking, 'I'm given a two-in-ten basis for precious ores, are you trying to snatch the other eight or more precious ores away from me? No way!'

Fang Yihai was taken aback, but he quickly chuckled. "Never mind then. I actually wanted to ask you to fix attributes to some pieces of equipment for me, I'll be extremely thankful if you could help."

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. Without needing to ask, he knew that General Fang Yihai definitely had plenty of precious ores that represented Precision. That said, it was not easy to find someone reliable to attach the attribute.

In particular, given that Attribute Ores for Precision were so rare, a two-in-ten basis would be too high of a price to pay.

Hence, Fang Yihai was so friendly toward Ou Yangming after seeing that the young fellow had obtained a God-given attribute. Having said that, the truth was that the attribute was something that was simply picked up by Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming nodded and replied to him, "Since you've entrusted the task to me, I'll do my best for sure."

Fang Yihai laughed out loud. "Alright, that's great. I'll watch your challenge from here, and I'll cheer for you to boost your morale!"

Ou Yangming thanked the general softly, then returned the arm guard. "Master Zheng, what do you think about the result?"

Zheng Ziwen felt like he had just woken up from a dream. He pondered seriously before he answered, "Though both contain a God-given attribute, the Fire-resistant attribute is more valuable than the Precision attribute."

Fang Yihai scoffed, but he knew that Zheng Ziwen did not say that on purpose, thus he did not reproach the appraiser even though he was mad.

"This round is considered a draw," Zheng Ziwen announced after deliberating.

Old Craftsman and the others could not help but scorn. 'Draw my *ss! How the f*ck is that a draw!

'If Ou Yangming produced the God-given attribute first, try asking Ni Yunhong to smith the same. If he can do it, something is fishy!'

Nonetheless, God-given attributes were not definite, so the blacksmiths consented to the result tacitly even though they were not resigned to it.

Ni Yunhong stepped forward once more. He could not hold it in any longer when he walked past Ou Yangming, so he asked, "Master Ou, was that a coincidence, or do you really have the unique ability to summon God-given attributes?"

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes at him snappily. "Summon God-given attributes? Why don't you give it a go?"

Ni Yunhong smiled embarrassedly without replying to him because he figured that it was quite impossible. If someone could actually summon God-given attributes as one wished, the world would be in chaos.

He suddenly gritted his teeth when he looked at the steel ingots in front of him, then turned around to suggest, "Master Ou, let's start at the same time. We'll smith a helmet, a military saber, and the other side of the arm guard and the greave, what do you think?"

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. "As you wish."

He went forward to pick some steel ingots with Ni Yunhong, then began smithing.

Next, the Military Fire and the spiritual fire burned alternately, which enhanced each other's radiance. Ou Yangming and Ni Yunhong were not standing far from each other, but their control over their respective flame was on point such that their spiritual fire did not affect one another regardless of its size.

They almost stopped at the same time after half an hour.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and looked at Ni Yunhong in admiration.

The continuous smithing of a few pieces of equipment had posed a huge pressure on him. In particular, since they began smithing at the same time, not only did Ou Yangming not have a break in between, but he had also sped up due to the pressure from Ni Yunhong's speed so as to reach the same level.

Perhaps Ni Yunhong was already used to the speed, hence the process was not especially difficult for him. At most, beads of sweat were seen on his forehead.

On the contrary, Ou Yangming was obviously suffering from the process. He looked like a geek who had spent most of his days in front of a computer but was suddenly asked to walk 10,000 meters. It would be fine if there were breaks between the walk, but if someone was constantly urging him on the side, it would be simply suicidal.

Ou Yangming touched his chest at the moment, and a warm feeling was released from the jade object that he was wearing, which made him feel much better.

As expected, the necklace that had a Qi Return 1 attribute played a huge role during this critical moment.

Zheng Ziwen walked forward nervously as he dared not make another mistake.

The two previous mistakes almost ruined his reputation forever. If another elementary mistake was made, he would be too embarrassed to stay, not to mention Li Yichen would kick him away.

After carefully inspecting the remaining pieces of equipment smithed by Ou Yangming and Ni Yunhong, Zheng Ziwen thought for a while before he sighed. "Gentlemen, the military saber, helmet, arm guard, and greave refined by each of you have their own strengths. All of them are at least of High Grade Rank Three, but each of you has only two pieces of equipment with a Unique Attribute."

Unless Ou Yangming's head was knocked by a hammer, it was impossible for him to successfully attach an attribute to all pieces of equipment.

Among the seven pieces of equipment, three of them were successfully bound with an attribute; one of them had a God-given attribute. It was already considered a nature-defying result.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was surprised to hear that Ni Yunhong achieved the same result.

"If you don't have other tricks, the result this time is…" Zheng Ziwen said after a moment of hesitation. He looked at the two men as he was about to announce a tie, but Ni Yinghong suddenly uttered, "Wait!"

Zheng Ziwen quivered and felt so wronged that he was about to cry.

'You guys, are you done yet? Is it so fun to mess with me?'

He forced a smile. "Master Ni, do you have any comments?"

Ni Yinghong chuckled. "Master Zheng, you have no idea. My brother used a trick when he smithed the pieces of equipment, you'll find out after putting them on."

"Could this be…" Zheng Ziwen was stunned, and he quickly exclaimed.

"You'll find out once you try them on." Ni Yinghong nodded.

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Deng Zhicai's eyes lit up as he sighed. "Master Ni grasped that skill indeed!"

Tian Boguang smiled. "General Deng is right, the challenge's outcome has been determined."

Chen Yifan pondered for a while, and his face suddenly darkened. He was deeply confused. 'How can that skill be grasped so easily?'

On the other hand, Fang Yihai sat quietly aside while watching with a cold expression. As long as Ou Yangming agreed to his request, he was not going to bother about the result.

Tian Boguang suddenly turned to ask Chen Yifan with a smile, "General Chen, what do you think?"

Deng Zhicai and Fang Yihai exchanged glances. They knew very well that Tian Boguang from the East Camp and Chen Yifan from the West Camp were never on good terms. Although they were not sworn enemies, there was always discord between them. Neither of them was right nor wrong, it was simply a fate between them.

Nonetheless, both of them had their own background and were well-matched in strength. Hence, the other three generals often tried to mediate the differences by compromising but did not side with any of them.

Chen Yifan scoffed. "General Tian, it's true that Master Ni is skillful, but he's too young, after all. He might not have actually grasped that secret technique."

"General Chen, you should wait and see." Tian Boguang laughed out loud, then said after a short pause, "I recall that Ou Yangming is only fifteen or sixteen years old, so he's actually younger than Master Ni."

Chen Yifan was instantly speechless, and he was slightly moved after hearing that. Since Ou Yangming was a genius and a freak, it seemed possible that Ni Yunhong, who had a noble background, showed a stunning performance.

The normal soldiers were also discussing among each other, but they made all kinds of ridiculous guesses.

On the other hand, many Military Fire Blacksmiths were confused and looked troubled.

They had indulged in the Military Fire Smithing Art for decades, and had their own understanding in the art, which they had worked painstakingly in their whole life for. If they were to challenge the generals in smithing art, they could easily triumph over the generals.

However, most of the Military Fire Blacksmiths had only lived in the military camp or a small town their whole life, so they were not very certain due to their limited experience.

Old Craftsman was the only one with a grave expression on his face as though he thought about something, but dared not confirm it.

Wang Zhongtong asked softly, "Old Craftsman, what do you think they're doing?"

The other blacksmiths turned to look at the old man eagerly.

"I'm thinking, perhaps…" Old Craftsman answered after some thought then shook his head and said, "It's quite unlikely. In order to possess the skill, apart from having extreme talent, one requires rich experience. Master Ni is too young…"

The rest of them tweaked their ears and scratched their cheeks as they were anxious, but they could not do anything about it since Old Craftsman said that it was impossible.

Finally, as the crowd watched in anticipation, Zheng Ziwen put on every piece of equipment smithed by Ni Yunhong.

A helmet, a military saber, an armor, a pair of arm guards, and a pair of greaves.

In actual fact, that was the most basic equipment set. Apart from those, there were also waist sash, jewelry, boots, and so on. Nevertheless, the basic equipment set was already very valuable, and not everyone had the ability to purchase it, let alone other pieces of supplementary equipment.

Zheng Ziwen inhaled deeply and looked rather thrilled.

Subsequently, he channeled his essential Qi into every piece of equipment.

A peculiar power was instantly released from the equipment set, which flowed back into Zheng Ziwen's body.

Almost at the same time, a bizarre light shone on the helmet and the armor. The light was vaguely green, and it alternated between the two pieces of equipment for some time before it disappeared.

While the light only moved around for a brief moment, it was enough for those who were observant to take a good look at it.

Ou Yangming watched as the green light disappeared. Instead of feeling worried, he yearned for the unknown.

A question lingered in his head. 'What exactly is that green light? What must I do to learn it?'

After seeing a new skill, the first thing that Ou Yangming thought was how he could acquire it. If he could learn a new skill, it did not matter even if he lost the challenge.

Even a fool knew at that moment the green light was Ni Yunhong's greatest dependence, but only very few could actually describe it.

Old Craftsman sighed. "Ah, indeed!"

Wang Zhongtong was distressed, so he quickly asked, "Old Craftsman, what exactly is that?"

"Back then when I went to the prefecture, I saw a type of equipment known as a suit." Old Craftsman shook his head.

"A suit? Is this a suit?"

The older Military Fire Blacksmiths exclaimed.

A suit, as the name suggested, was a set of equipment. That said, it seemed like the suit that they mentioned was a different thing.

"This isn't right. If it's a suit, why were the helmet and the armor the only ones that responded?" Li Shunfeng questioned.

Old Craftsman sighed. "A suit is actually separated into different categories. The highest level suit is the combination of all equipment to form the most powerful combination effect, but it's extremely difficult to do that. Therefore, blacksmiths came up with a simpler version by distributing the suit's effect. Regardless of the number of equipment, if they result in an amplified effect when they're matched together, they're considered a suit."

The other people nodded. They finally understood that among the pieces of equipment smithed by Ni Yunhong, only the armor and the helmet incited a suit's power. This was also considered the most basic suit.

Despite that, it was still a suit. As compared to a single piece of equipment, a suit had a much higher advantage.

Even if they were the judges, they could not go against their conscience by saying that Ou Yangming was the winner.

After all, nobody was foolish or blind. Even if the blacksmiths were shameless, the generals would not sit idly by.

Zheng Ziwen sensed the power quietly, then opened his eyes after a brief moment. He shouted excitedly, "A suit, this is definitely a suit!"

Ou Yangming took a step forward to ask, "Master Zheng, may I take a look at it?"

Zheng Ziwen removed the equipment set reluctantly, but cursed to himself, 'Although it's a suit, only the helmet and the armor responded. You should've pointed it out in the first place, so I didn't have to put on every piece of equipment.'

Ou Yangming took the helmet and the armor. He looked like he was inspecting them, but the Military Fire in his hands had actually flashed a few times.

[Item: Distinguished armor]

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

[Attributes: Toughness 15, Durability 15]

[Item: Distinguished helmet1 (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, High Grade, Rank Four]

[Attributes: Sharpness 14, Toughness 14, Power 1, Durability 14]

Judging from the two pieces of equipment individually, it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary such that the ones smithed by Ou Yangming were not inferior to them at all.

However, Ou Yangming could not forget the unforgettable green color.

That was because he had a vague feeling that the green color would be unusually important to him.

Zheng Ziwen kindly reminded Ou Yangming after seeing him being deep in thoughts, "Master Ou, that's a suit, so the power can only be sensed if you put the pieces of equipment on."

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and was slightly moved. Instead of putting them on, he placed them together.

Next, his Military Fire burned again.

Of course, it only burned a little in his palms, hence the powerhouses and blacksmith experts present did not notice it at all.

This time, the attribute layout that appeared in Ou Yangming's mind was completely different.

Other than the basic attributes of the two pieces of equipment, a set of green words appeared.

[Suit Combination: Increases physique by 10%, increases the upper limit of defensive power by 10%]

Ou Yangming's eyelids twitched as soon as he saw the set of data.

'Physique, defensive power?'

While they were not as straightforward as the Power and the Agility attributes, it was easy to understand them.

Physique represented an individual's body quality. When Ou Yangming put on his equipment set, he had an upgrade of 11 points and 4 points of Power and Agility respectively, but it did not mean that he was not lacking anything.

His greatest limitation was his physique.

If Ou Yangming had fought in his armor, his Qi, blood, and power would be exhausted very quickly. Without the countless flesh and blood at the dense forest's periphery, which allowed him to replenish his Qi and blood at any time, he could not have fought for a long time.

Similarly, Ou Yangming displayed an enormous power in the dense forest by carrying two ferocious beasts' carcasses. That being said, he felt weary after walking a certain distance and required more blood and flesh as replenishment.

It was all because of the limit from his physique.

Even though Ou Yangming had searched crazily to upgrade his physique, he could not find another way apart from cultivation so far.

This time, he saw hope in the suit.

As for defensive power, there was no need to explain it. Though it seemed like a 10% increment was not much, as a person's cultivation base improved, and the qualities of the pieces of equipment were upgraded, the 10% would be magnified.

Ou Yangming expressed after putting down the two pieces of equipment slowly, "I understand."

Zheng Ziwen did not demand more from him. He hesitated before asking, "Master Ou, do you have any comments? If not, I'll be announcing the result!"

Normally, he would have announced the result right away if a suit was made in a challenge of this level.

Having said that, today's situation was different. The two blacksmiths had unexpectedly displayed more superior abilities again and again, to the extent that Zheng Ziwen was starting to doubt himself.

Ou Yangming looked at him deeply. "Wait, wait."

Zheng Ziwen cried to himself, 'F*ck, it's really happening again…'

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Chapter 76: Layering VS Suit

Ou Yangming and Zheng Ziwen were not conversing loudly, but the crowd could deduce something from their expressions.

They knew what was going on because of the strange look on Zheng Ziwen's face, but different people reacted differently.

Chen Yifan's eyes glowed because he recalled Ou Yangming's level of performance when he fought Liu Zhengye the other day. In actuality, although Ou Yangming could exchange blows with Liu Zhengye through skills, it did not mean that he had the ability to resist Chen Yifan.

Nonetheless, what Chen Yifan valued was the state shown by Ou Yangming. The breathtaking feeling he felt from witnessing the integration of Heaven and man was still fresh in his memory.

After seeing Zheng Ziwen's expression, deep down Chen Yifan was still feeling hopeful. He wanted to witness another miracle.

On the other hand, Tian Boguang scoffed and commented, "Everyone, Ou Yangming is already at his wit's end, but he doesn't want to admit defeat. Hmph, a person like him will definitely have limited achievements!"

Fang Yihai expressed calmly, "Brother Tian, perhaps Brother Lil' Ou hasn't shown all of his abilities yet, give him a chance."

Tian Boguang's face changed. He scoffed and dared not say a word.

Among the five generals in the military, there was already enmity between him and General Chen Yifan. If he provoked another general, he would be in serious trouble.

Deng Zhicai watched everyone's reaction, but did not speak. He looked at Ou Yangming meaningfully, as if he was wondering how exactly Ou Yangming was going to turn the tables.

"Old Craftsman, that's really a suit!" Li Shunfeng exhaled deeply. "Master Lil' Ou is probably going to lose this time…"

"Yes, since it's a suit, there's really nothing he can do."

"Ah, Master Lil' Ou is so unlucky. He was up against a God-given attribute earlier—luckily, he also acquired one. But…"

"Old Craftsman, Master Lil' Ou is about to lose, why do you not look worried at all?"

Everyone turned to look as they were stunned. Old Craftsman was calm, as though he had turned a deaf ear to this.

"Does it help if we're worried? Everyone, just wait and see." Old Craftsman could not help but laugh when he saw their expressions, and he said after a short pause, "Besides, the result hasn't been decided yet. I'm not worried, so why are you worried?"

Wang Zhongtong and the others looked at each other, dumbfounded. Their eyes lit up after some time.

"Old Craftsman, are you saying that Master Lil' Ou still has a chance to win?"

The old man smiled without saying a word, but his composure was like a magical stabilizer that calmed down everyone.

"Old Craftsman, you said that Master Lil' Ou inherited your legacy. Could he have inherited your Layering Art too?" Li Shunfeng's eyes sparkled.

The rest of them instantly clamored. The Layering Art was Old Craftsman's specialty. While the others had attempted to learn it, and while the old man guided them diligently without reservations, nobody had actually succeeded in learning it after many years. Even if they managed to execute it once or twice out of luck, they were confused when they tried to recall the process, and could not figure out how it should be done.

Ou Yangming had only controlled the Military Fire for a short period of time. If he had actually learned the Layering Art, his seniors would be ashamed.

Nevertheless, they were looking forward to it after thinking about the young fellow's miraculous performance thus far.

Old Craftsman pointed ahead and said, "There, see for yourselves."

The others quickly turned to look, and saw that Ou Yangming had already taken the military saber that he had smithed.

It was a High Grade Rank Four martial tool that had been attached with the Power attribute. Initially, the military saber could be on par with the one smithed by Ni Yunhong, but it was lacking now.

"Master Ou, what do you want to do?" Zheng Ziwen was confused. "Are you trying to upgrade the military saber's quality? Even if it's upgraded to the limit of High Grade, it can't be compared with a suit!"

Ou Yangming grinned. "I know, but I'd like to try."

The Military Fire burned in his hands and instantly enveloped the military saber. There was a grave expression on his face, which made him look extremely stern.

With a smile on his face, Chen Yifan suddenly asked, "General Tian, do you know what Old Craftsman's specialty is?"

Tian Boguang was stunned. For some reason, a shadow emerged from the bottom of his heart, and it seemed to be expanding. He scoffed angrily and answered, "I don't!"

Chen Yifan remained a smile on his face. "I'll tell you then. Old Craftsman's smithing specialty is the Layering Art."

"What?" Tian Boguang was stunned, but he quickly remarked, "Heh, even if Old Craftsman knows the Layering Art, Ou Yangming only obtained the Military Fire not long ago, how could he have grasped the ultimate skill?"

"Take a good look then. Some people are born to be good at creating miracles!" Chen Yifan laughed.

Tian Boguang sneered, but did not argue. Strangely enough, the discomfort that he was feeling began to grow.

While letting the Military Fire burn, Ou Yangming reached out for a Power Ore.

The Armament Camp had suffered a massive loss for this challenge. Whether it was steel ingots or precious ores, they were piled up on the platform, which was unusually generous of the camp to do so.

However, after seeing Ou Yangming reaching out for another Power Ore, many people were shocked because they could guess what he wanted to do.

Ni Yunhong and his younger sister looked at each other as they were both surprised. In actual fact, when Ni Yunhong arrived at the military camp, he had visited every Military Fire Blacksmith one by one, so he had a basic understanding of each of them.

He greatly respected Old Craftsman because he knew that the old man had knowledge of the Military Fire Layering Art.

It was an exceptionally difficult skill. Even though Ni Yunhong could smith a suit through ingenious means, he was incapable of the tangible Layering Art that demanded real skill.

Therefore, although he treated the other blacksmiths with disdain, he was polite toward Old Craftsman.

After seeing Ou Yangming's move, Ni Yunhong could not help but clench his fists.

'I controlled the spiritual fire and intensively studied smithing art for years, yet I haven't grasped the Layering Art. You're just a brat who has just learned the rudiments of this technique, are you going to try it now?'

On the contrary, Ni Yinghong's eyes sparkled. When she watched Ou Yangming, who was radiant from being focused, something at the bottom of her heart was stirred.

It was only a fleeting feeling, but she blushed.

She was in distress. 'The young man is Elder Brother's opponent, why don't I dislike him?

'Perhaps because he and Elder Brother are very alike, they're both talented yet hardworking.'

The Power Ore was tossed into the Military Fire. It melted quickly due to the burning fire, then was evenly distributed across the military saber. Ou Yangming's arms began swaying a little, which was a strange sight for the crowd. It seemed like he had become one with Heaven and Earth, and was inseparable in their eyes.

"The integration of Heaven and man?" Ni Yunhong trembled all of a sudden as he was in disbelief. He quickly turned to look at his younger sister, who looked back at him, and they both had an odd expression on their faces.

It was neither a look of fear nor worry, but a look of joy that could not be hidden.

Ou Yangming would instantly be alert if he saw their expressions at the moment, and would list them as guests whom he would never have ties with.

However, Ou Yangming was completely immersed in his enjoyment.

Yes. The Layering Art that was strenuous for other people was actually a rare enjoyment for him. He swayed his arms slightly to evenly distribute the liquid as much as possible, and eventually, his body was also swaying according to a unique tempo.

The entire square went dead silent as everyone fixed their gaze on Ou Yangming.

If they had sensed a painting in a beginning—a painting that was basically still—they were now looking at a moving scene.

Ou Yangming had come to life. Not only did he come to life, but even the air, the wind, and everything around him had also come to life.

Everyone including the four generals stood up subconsciously. They quietly paid attention to Ou Yangming, as if each of them could sense something from his swaying body.

The generals' eyes glowed in a peculiar light, and they clenched their fists together. It was as though they had fathomed something amazing.

Ni Yunhong and his younger sister felt the same. The same words appeared in their minds at that moment.

'We found it, we finally found it!'

"Swoosh…"

The Military Fire finally dimmed, and Ou Yangming exhaled deeply before straightening his body.

He suddenly realized the weird atmosphere around him as it was too quiet, and was taken aback when he turned to look.

Zheng Ziwen suddenly awakened, and he took the military saber to inspect it by channeling his essential Qi. He sighed at last and expressed, "The Layering Art, it's really the Layering Art. Hehe, I'm glad to have been able to participate in your smithing challenge as the appraiser today, this is certainly the proudest moment in my life."

It was merely a sentimental comment, but the last sentence became a fact in the end.

"A suit and the Layering Art. Ah, the skills that you've mastered have surpassed my limits as a judge." Zheng Ziwen spread out his hands and said, "You may discuss and decide the result yourselves, I'm not going to care anymore!"

Following that, he turned and left the square.

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Chapter 77: Gratitude For The Adoption

Ou Yangming, Ni Yunhong, and the others looked at each other as they did not know what to do.

Before the challenge started, they never expected this to happen. After all, nobody knew the judge was going to quit.

Deng Zhicai and the others looked around with a faint smile because they did not know what to say too.

After thinking carefully, nobody blamed Zheng Ziwen. He was only a normal appraiser, after all, but what he encountered today were God-given attributes, the Suit Skill, and the Layering Art.

Each surprise was a heavy burden for him, and honestly, the challenge's level had surpassed his appraisal limit. Therefore, once Ou Yangming performed the Layering Art, Zheng Ziwen was finally so overwhelmed that he bid his farewell.

He had complicated emotions when he left because he knew very well that it would be impossible to encounter another similar situation in the future.

Nonetheless, Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief too. Had he continued to stay, the pressure that was as huge as a mountain would crush him to death.

Ou Yangming was feeling rather hesitant. He was thinking if he should perform the Layering Art's third level.

The layering of just one attribute was not enough to overtake a suit, but if he could layer a second time, he would be guaranteed the challenge's victory. That said, doing it once was already quite shocking, so if a second layering was done…

Ou Yangming turned to glance at Kang Weibo. The Armament Camp's supervisor was watching him with burning eyes, eyes that shone so brightly that Ou Yangming was taken aback. He quickly suppressed the thought.

He would rather smith another Layered Equipment than showing his ability by layering the same equipment twice.

However, just as he was choosing another piece of equipment to be layered, Ni Yunhong approached him and bowed to him.

Ou Yangming was stunned, and he returned the salutation with respect.

"Master Ou, I truly admire your smithing skill, I admit loss in this challenge," Ni Yunhong expressed in an unusually straightforward manner.

"What?" Ou Yangming asked in confusion.

The Suit Skill executed by Ni Yunhong was strange and mysterious, and Ou Yangming was envious of it. Truthfully, as proud as Ou Yangming was, he would not actually think that a piece of equipment that was layered to have 2 points of Power could triumph over the attribute effect from a suit.

Needless to say, if Ou Yangming showed the equipment set that he had smithed for himself, he would naturally be the winner. Nevertheless, he was not a fool, so why would he expose his biggest trump card in this event?

Ni Yunhong said frankly, "Master Ou, I really admire your smithing skills, I'm sincerely convinced of my defeat."

Tian Boguang's face turned green, but he dared not reprimand Ni Yunhong, and had no guts to express his dissatisfaction. On the other hand, Chen Yifan was grinning from ear to ear, and he looked at Tian Boguang scornfully.

Ou Yangming cleared his throat and replied to Ni Yunhong, "Master Ni, you're flattering me. Your Suit Skill is the real ultimate skill, I really respect you."

Ni Yunhong's eyes lit up. "There's indeed a secret within the Suit Skill, but if you're interested, we can exchange our views one day."

Ou Yangming widened his eyes in disbelief.

Even a fool knew that the unique smithing skill was a secret that was never taught to others, and was also a family's roots. It was already extremely difficult for someone from the family's clan to acquire the skill, let alone an outsider.

Ou Yangming knew that he was definitely not a darling loved by everyone, or Old Craftsman would not be the only person who was willing to adopt him after his years of roaming around.

Although Ou Yangming was delighted that Ni Yunhong was generous enough to share his Suit Skill, it made him put his guard up.

Perhaps there really were free lunches in the world, but he would certainly not receive one. This was something that he had understood since young.

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and responded, "Okay, your kindness is just what I was looking for."

Regardless of what plan Ni Yunhong was devising, Ou Yangming was determined not to miss the Suit Skill. Hence, he was going to brave the challenge even if it would be an unpleasant one.

Ni Yunhong laughed out loud, and was not at all upset for having lost the challenge.

"Elder Brother," Ni Yinghong approached to greet him softly.

"Master Ou, I'm a little tired today, so I'll head back to rest for now. When the timing is right, I'll look for you to inquire about smithing skills." Ni Yunhong nodded and did a fist salute before he left.

Ou Yangming pouted because he wanted to catch up to him to ask, 'When is the right timing…'

After looking at Ni Yinghong, who was standing aside, he decided not to be so thick-skinned.

Ni Yinghong looked deeply at Ou Yangming, and a strange look was seen through her big eyes that seemed like they could speak.

Ou Yangming smiled embarrassedly. For some reason, he felt a slight tingling sensation.

"Master Ou, see you next time," Ni Yinghong suddenly said with a smile, then turned to catch up to her elder brother.

'That was strange. I'm not guilty of a shameful deed, but why do I somehow feel guilty…' Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and wondered.

Despite that, before he could figure it out, a group of people swarmed toward him to lift him up and toss him into the air excitedly.

Based on Ou Yangming's current martial strength, he could escape or resist if he wanted to.

However, Ou Yangming quickly noticed a few familiar faces, most of them belonged to gray-haired elders, thus he dared not do it. While he was being thrown into the air by many Military Fire Blacksmiths, he happened to notice Old Craftsman's cheerful face, so the dissatisfaction that he was feeling subsided like a tide.

Ou Yangming was willing to make the aging Old Craftsman happy, at any cost.

The blacksmiths were finally done expressing their joy, and they steadily placed Ou Yangming back to the ground. Following that, Ou Yangming saw another familiar face, but one that showed a flattering smile.

"Oh, Master Ou, you really gained honor for the Armament Camp!" Kang Weibo smiled as though a flower had bloomed on his face.

"Sir Kang, I only put on an outstanding performance because it was a challenge, I definitely can't achieve that level of efficiency under normal circumstances." Ou Yangming's heart tensed up. He explained again as he feared that Kang Weibo would not understand him, "What I'm saying is that I can't go any higher than the two-in-ten basis!"

Kang Weibo quickly said, "Master Ou, you misunderstood. A two-in-ten basis is fair, I won't change it."

The other Military Fire Blacksmiths were disdainful because a two-in-ten condition was already the highest standard. Other than Ou Yangming the freak, the rest of them would never accept it even if they could do it.

Ou Yangming sighed a breath of relief and smiled. "Very well, as long as everything is as usual."

Nonetheless, Kang Weibo uttered in a hurry, "Ah, Master Ou, I have another request!"

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes and thought, 'Indeed, the worst is yet to come.'

Kang Weibo asked, "Master Ou, what do you think if I change your monthly task to a three-in-twenty benchmark?"

Ou Yanming was stunned. He looked at the supervisor dubiously and wondered if the fellow's head had been kicked by a donkey. Nevertheless, he quickly realized after giving it some thought. "Layering Art?"

"Yes," Kang Weibo answered in excitement, "Apart from two pieces of Attribute Equipment, you only have to provide a piece of Layered Attribute Equipment!"

He implored Ou Yangming with his eyes.

Li Shunfeng chuckled. "Sir Kang, that's not very nice. We all know the difference between a Layered Attribute Equipment and a normal Attribute Equipment. It's disappointing that you're fooling a newbie like that!"

Kang Weibo quickly replied to him with an apologetic smile. "Fellow masters, please think with your conscience about how I've been treating you these years. Have I treated you unfairly? A piece of Layered Attribute Equipment every month isn't a problem for Master Ou, why can't you care for me? After all these years, even if I've not done commendable deeds, my efforts should be recognized!"

The smithing masters looked at each other and dared not say a word.

Ou Yangming was suddenly getting goosebumps. In any case, Kang Weibo was the Armament Camp's supervisor, yet he was pretending to be pitiful in public, hence Ou Yangming could not find an excuse to decline.

Of course, it was also because Kang Weibo's request was not too high. From Ou Yangming's perspective, there was actually not much difference between a Layered Attribute Equipment and a piece of normal equipment, thus he decided to agree.

Ou Yangming nodded and smiled. "Okay, Sir Kang, I promise you."

Kang Weibo smiled brightly. He had prepared all sorts of methods in advance, so he would go as far as making a scene just to get Ou Yangming's consent, but he had not expected to succeed so quickly.

Ou Yangming suddenly turned to walk toward Old Craftsman under everyone's watch.

After stopping three steps in front of the old man, a thud was heard as Ou Yangming kneeled on the ground.

The crowd was stunned, and the cheers instantly halted.

Ou Yangming then bowed his head to the ground, causing a bam to be heard.

Old Craftsman could not bear watching him like that, so he immediately went forward to hold Ou Yangming, who was about to continue to kowtow to him. "B*stard, what are you doing?"

Ou Yangming looked up. When he saw Old Craftsman's face that had obviously been weighed down by age as compared to two years ago, he recalled the two years he had lived after being adopted by the old man, who saved him from his days of running about to survive. Ou Yangming could not help but feel an upsurge of emotion, and he expressed tearfully, "Old Man, I didn't let you down, I won!"

Old Craftsman sniffed and could not hold back his tears any longer.

He wiped his tears and scolded, "You damn b*stard, today's supposed to be a gleeful day, but you just had to embarrass me. I've been taking care of you for nothing!"

The onlookers were speechless. Each of them lamented and felt rather regretful.

'Why wasn't I the one who adopted Ou Yangming in the past?'

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Chapter 78: Paying A Visit To Apologize

The bustle and excitement always passed in the blink of an eye. It was already night time when Ou Yangming returned to his courtyard.

His emotions such as nervousness, agitation, elation, joy, lamentation, and so on finally simmered down. After doing the martial-art squad for half an hour, he practiced his fist art and his blade technique for half an hour. Subsequently, he entered the backyard and retrieved his military saber to burn it with his Military Fire, then stabbed it into a wild boar's stomach.

Ou Yangming was given two quarries after the hunt, which came in handy at the moment.

After a while, when he felt that his body was already abundant in Qi and blood, he withdrew his saber firmly.

As Ou Yangming had a better understanding of the Devouring attribute, he drew blood and flesh more rationally. He no longer absorbed everything without reservation because it was wasteful and was not in line with his benefits.

Once everything was done, Ou Yangming withdrew the Devouring attribute and returned to his room.

Just as he was about to sleep soundly, a knock was suddenly heard outside the door.

Ou Yangming was slightly stunned. He could not figure out who would pay him a visit at this hour.

When he opened the door and finally saw who was outside, his face changed.

The person who was standing outside was Assistant Supervisor Zhang Yinfan from the Provision Camp. Behind him stood a middle-aged man, who was dressed up like a servant, that stooped and carried a gift box. He looked at Ou Yangming with a flattering look.

"Hehe, Master Ou, long time no see. I'm disturbing you late at night because there's something I need to discuss, please forgive me," Zhang Yinfan said with a smile.

Ou Yangming forced a smile and replied to him, "Sir Zhang, you're being too polite, please come in."

After some thought, he decided to let Zhang Yinfan lin.

Instead of letting the fellow devise an evil scheme, like a venomous snake that lurked in the dark, it was better to let him stay in the open. At the very least, Ou Yangming wanted to hear what he had to say.

Zhang Yinfan and the old servant entered together. The servant then placed the gift box on the floor and opened it.

Ou Yangming's eyelids twitched as he questioned, "Sir Zhang, what is this about?"

"Master Ou, I've offended you in the past, so I hope that you'll be the bigger person and let go of the hatred," Zhang Yinfan answered.

"Sir Zhang, you're being too polite, I've long put the past behind me." Ou Yangming laughed.

"Master Ou, you're a generous man indeed, I truly admire you." Zhang Yinfan looked deeply at Ou Yangming, then stood up to bow at him.

Ou Yangming quickly shifted sideways to avoid it and said, "Sir Zhang, please don't do this, you're making things difficult for me."

"Okay, since you're so direct, please accept the gift." Zhang Yinfan laughed out loud, then explained with a serious face, "It's just a humble gift from me as an apology."

"How can I let you spend so much money? I dare not accept the gift." Ou Yangming immediately rejected it.

"Master Ou, if you don't accept the gift, doesn't it mean that you're still holding a grudge against me?" Zhang Yingfan's face changed. He insisted with a bitter face. "Please accept it so that I'll be able to sleep well!"

Ou Yangming sighed when he looked at the gold bars that were neatly arranged in the gift box. Back then when he first met Zhang Yinfan and his nephew, they treated him with arrogance, and the proud looks on their faces were still fresh in his memory. Now, Zhang Yinfan had just paid him a visit, spoke humbly to him, and even brought a gift for him.

The difference when compared to the past was simply Heaven and Earth apart.

All of a sudden, a pair of resentful and frightened eyes appeared in Ou Yangming's mind.

Zhang Hanyu, the Zhang family's disciple who sneaked an attack on him in the past, but ended up being killed. Without that person in the way, perhaps Ou Yangming would really want to reconcile with the Zhang family. However, the thought of Zhang Hanyu gave him chills.

Even if Ou Yangming wanted to make peace, would the Zhang family really be willing to let the matter go without bothering about Zhang Hanyu's disappearance anymore?

Countless thoughts crossed Ou Yangming's mind, but he pretended like he was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. "Sir Zhang, th-that's very kind of you."

"Since you have no objection, it's set then, Master Ou." Zhang Yinfan chuckled and nodded. "It's quite late, so I won't disturb you any longer, I shall make a move now."

Ou Yangming quickly stood up and said, "I'll see you off, Sir Zhang."

They both put up a false display of affection for each other. Finally, after Zhang Yinfan left, Ou Yangming put his smile away and inspected the gift box. There was nothing hidden in the box. Apart from roughly 200 taels of gold bars, there was also a banknote worth 1,000 taels of silver. Judging merely from the gift's value, Zhang Yinfan had indeed shown his sincerity.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming was not the same person he used to be.

Based on his ability to smith pieces of Attribute Equipment at will, if he wanted to, silver and gold would come to him like a flowing river.

The only thing that Ou Yangming cared about was Zhang Hanyu's incident, but Zhang Yinfan did not say a single word about it earlier, hence the knot in his heart could not be unraveled.Far from the Armament Camp, in a huge residence.

The servant who was following behind Zhang Yinfan suddenly straightened his body. He seemed to have grown much taller, and his aura became completely different.

Zhang Yinfan's eyes lit up as he asked, "Big Brother, you saw him, how did you feel?"

The servant was actually Zhang Yinli,Zhang Yinfan's older brother. He glanced at his younger brother plainly,the look in his eyes was indescribably dignified.

Zhang Yinfan immediately lowered his head as he dared not look into his older brother's eyes.

"Hmph, Ou Yangming has extraordinary qualities, were you blind back then? How dare you plot a scheme against him!" Zhang Yinli reprimanded straightforwardly.

Zhang Yinfan thought, 'If I knew that the young fella would have such achievements and prestige, I'd never have done what I did. It's taboo to offend someone with a bright future, like him.'

That said, Zhang Yinfan smiled bitterly when he recalled Ou Yangming's timid behavior when they first met. "Big Brother, Master Ou is totally different from how he used to be, it's as if he's not the same person anymore. Ah, no matter, it's my mistake, please punish me as you wish."

"Forget it, since there's already enmity, it can't be helped."

Zhang Yinfan's heart tensed up, and he suddenly asked in shock, "Big Brother, could he be lying to us?"

"Ah…" Zhang Yinli exhaled deeply. "Before meeting him, I wasn't sure if Yu'er's disappearance had anything to do with him, but now…"

Zhang Yinfan's heart immediately sank. "Could it really be related to him?"

"He was rather moved when he first heard you say that you wanted to resolve the hatred, but there was suddenly a huge change in his mood, and he became cautious of you. Heh, it means that he doesn't trust you at all," Zhang Yinli explained slowly, then looked at his younger brother while saying in a sorrowful tone, "As the Provision Camp's assistant supervisor, you've shown your sincerity by visiting him personally, and by bringing him a gift. The fact that he reacted that way can only mean one thing."

Zhang Yinfan twitched his mouth and expressed, "He's so cautious of me because there's an irresolvable enmity between us."

"That's right," Zhang Yinli continued slowly, "Based on his attitude toward Ni Yunhong and Old Craftsman, I know that he's not a person who seeks revenge for small grievances. Therefore, the only explanation is that he killed Zhang Hanyu, which is why he has his guard up against us."

If Ou Yangming was present to hear Zhang Yinli's assessment, he would probably admire him from the bottom of his heart.

"Big Brother, if he killed my nephew, the Fire-absorbing Badge is definitely still with him! We mustn't let him go, or…" Zhang Yinfan took a step forward and said fiercely, then he gestured with his hand a chopping motion.

Zhang Yinli turned to look at him coldly. It only took a brief moment for Zhang Yinfan to be frightened.

"Little Brother, you're becoming more presumptuous!" Zhang Yinli remarked, "It was indeed my mistake to have put Yu'er under your care."

Zhang Yinfan trembled and mumbled, "Big Brother, I only want to take revenge for Yu'er because I feel sorry for him."

"Yu'er's revenge must be taken. Heh, I hate that person more than you do, and I can't wait to tear him into pieces to vent my anger. That being said, we can't lay a finger on him here." Zhang Yinli scoffed.

"Big Brother, why?"

"You've seen the generals earlier. Other than General Tian, the other three generals regard him with special respect. If we attack him here, whether we succeed or not, the Zhang family won't be able to get away," Zhang Yinli explained.

Although his heart ached terribly because of his dear son's death, he maintained his composure so as to not lose the main goal for a small gain.

Zhang Yinfan pondered, then nodded and asked, "What should we do then?"

"When Ou Yangming acquired a God-given attribute, do you know why Fang Yihai suddenly treated him in such a friendly manner?" Zhang Yinli sneered.

"I have no idea."

"Because the Fang family obtained a batch of unique precious ores, and they've been looking for a suitable candidate to smith an archer's equipment set. Hehe, since Ou Yangming acquired a God-given attribute—Precision, Fang Yihai will definitely seize the opportunity or he won't be the Fang family's disciple anymore."

Zhang Yinfan's eyes sparkled. "I understand now. The Fang Family's ores and pieces of equipment are at the prefecture, so he'll definitely invite Ou Yangming there if he wants his help."

"That's right!" Zhang Yinfan's eyes were full of killing intent, and even the air around him seemed to have turned much colder. "Once Fang Yihai invites Ou Yangming to the prefecture, I'll make a move during their journey to capture that fella. Hmph, not only will I reclaim the Fire-absorbing Badge, but I'll also torture him so badly that he'll wail in grief for months before he dies!"

He clenched his fists and uttered word by word, "Yu'er, don't worry, Father will avenge your death!"

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Chapter 79: Conversation In The Carriage

The next morning after Ou Yangming awoke, he practiced the martial-art squad in the courtyard as usual, and cultivated his fist art and blade technique.

Before Zhang Yinfan visited, he had always been like an inapparent mountain on Ou Yangming's head, a constant pressure that urged Ou Yangming to work hard at all times. Now, although Zhang Yinfan had personally visited with a gift of apology, for some reason, not only did Ou Yangming not feel relaxed at all, but he also gained a sense of urgency.

Perhaps it was because Zhang Yinfan had not openly talked about Zhang Hanyu, hence Ou Yangming was dubious and wary.

The practice of the martial-art squat, the fist art, and the blade technique had almost become a habit that was imprinted in Ou Yangming's body. He did not find the processes tiring, and was eager to carry them out instead. Similar to smithing art, he had invested a lot of passion in them.

Just as he was washing up after being drenched in sweat from his training, a knock was heard from the door.

Ou Yangming sighed. Back then, he barely had visitors looking for him at his courtyard, but after yesterday's challenge, he was already visited twice within a couple of hours.

As Ou Yangming went to open the door, he was expecting a blacksmith master from the Armament Camp, but ended up being surprised again by his visitors.

Head Shopkeeper Lin Yichen from the Yi Pavilion was standing outside with a smile. Beside him stood Zheng Ziwen, who was embarrassed and looked rather guilty, especially when he looked at Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming naturally understood why. Since Zheng Ziwen had left halfway yesterday, it only made sense that he did not feel too good when he met one of the parties involved after that.

"Head Shopkeeper Lin, Master Zheng, please come in."

Ou Yangming treated the two visitors differently. He welcomed them and said, "I met a Shopkeeper Lin when I previously visited the Yi Pavilion, and another Shopkeeper Lin is paying me a visit at my residence now, what a coincidence."

Lin Yichen grinned. "It's not really a coincidence, that Shopkeeper Lin is my junior and nephew. He's not very sensible, so please excuse his poor manners."

"That's really a coincidence." Ou Yangming was stunned. He pondered and asked, "I'm guessing that you're here because of the appraisal?"

"Master Ou, you're right. According to the Yi Pavilion's rule, every piece of equipment must be appraised by three appraisal masters before a conclusion is drawn. As for those that have greater doubts and disagreements from the appraisers, the appraisal art will be used," Lin Yichen said with a serious face, and continued after a pause, "We transferred more pieces of equipment this time, and we have to pick some Fine Grade ones to be sent to the prefecture, so we must confirm every piece's grade and rank."

Ou Yangming nodded and responded, "Three appraisal masters, but we… Eh? Did you invite Ni Yinghong too?"

Lin Yichen laughed. "Master Ou, to have guessed it right, you're amazing."

Ou Yangming wondered, 'I've never heard of appraisers from the town. So far, there are only two appraisers if I include myself and Zheng Ziwen, so Ni Yinghong is the only candidate left. If I can't even guess that right, am I not an idiot?'

Zheng Ziwen bowed at Ou Yangming. "Master Ou, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

"Master Zheng, you don't need to be so polite, I would've done the same if I was in your shoes," Ou Yangming quickly replied to him.

Though Zheng Ziwen knew that Ou Yangming was only comforting him, he still felt rather glad.

"Master Ou, I've been away from home for quite some time, and I really miss my family, so I'd like to complete the task and return to them as soon as possible." Zheng Ziwen looked at Ou Yangming eagerly as he asked, "When will you be free?"

Ou Yangming looked at him strangely because he did not expect the appraiser to be devoted to his family.

He instantly became soft-hearted because he thought about Old Craftsman, so he said, "We can leave once we have everyone."

Zheng Ziwen was delighted as he did not expect Ou Yangming to be so easy to deal with. However, he did not know that if he had not brought up his family, which caused Ou Yangming to think about Old Craftsman, the young man would not have been so spirited.

Everything that happened was predestined, and everything happened for a reason.

"Master Ou, Master Ni Yinghong is already waiting outside the camp, so we can head over there if you're free."

Ou Yangming was stunned, but he quickly smiled. "Alright, since it has to be done sooner or later, let's finish it as soon as possible."

He had promised General Deng Zhicai to take up the task, hence he would not be overly snobbish about it. Besides, since Lin Yichen and Zheng Ziwen had personally visited him, he was not going to make things difficult for them.

Following that, the three of them left the residence and made their way to the military camp's entrance, where a huge and gorgeous carriage was seen prepared.

Ou Yangming was astonished. It was the military camp's entrance and exit point, yet nobody drove out the carriage for having stopped here. It proved that Head Shopkeeper Lin had a high reputation indeed.

Once they got on the carriage, Ou Yangming quickly noticed a handsome face.

Ni Yinghong smiled at Ou Yangming. "Master Ou, welcome."

Ou Yangming laughed. He had no idea why he somehow felt at a loss around Ni Yinghong, and wondered if something was wrong with him.

After nodding at Ni Yinghong, Ou Yangming turned to converse with Zheng Ziwen.

He was not doing it to ignore Ni Yinghong on purpose, but because he did not know how to get along with him.

On the other hand, Ni Yinghong was surprised. In the past, she had met many fops with graceful bearings, who always approached her like moths that darted into flames. The men often looked for an opportunity to become intimate with her, or to gain a pretty lady and money at the same time.

Nevertheless, Ni Yinghong always treated the playboys harshly.

On the contrary, after witnessing Ou Yangming's serious attitude in smithing, she felt as though a string in her heart was plucked. A man who was fully focused on something was naturally charming, so if a lady of the right age met one, it made sense that she would keep the man in mind.

If Ou Yangming had done his best to please and woo Ni Yinghong from the start like the other playboys, perhaps she would get rid of the thought. However, Ou Yangming happened to be the opposite as he took a completely different path.

Even though Ni Yinghong knew that Ou Yangming was clueless about her real identity—a female, she somehow had a rebellious mentality when she saw Ou Yangming conversing with Zheng Ziwen in such a friendly manner but treated her with indifference.

Ni Yinghong curbed her thoughts and listened quietly. She noted down Ou Yangming's favorite topics and bore them in mind.

Strangely enough, if someone had previously told Ni Yinghong that she would be interested in men, who were even a year or two younger than her, she would definitely react angrily. Now that it was actually happening to her, she neither hated nor rejected the idea.

Ou Yangming tried his best to come up with more topics, but ended up having nothing else to say. He was soon struck with an idea, he closed his eyes to pretend to be taking a nap.

While he did not want to talk, Ni Yinghong started a conversation in the carriage.

"Master Zheng, who did you learn the appraisal art from?"

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes a bit while keeping them shut, and also pricked up his ears a little.

The appraisal art. That was the secret technique that Ou Yangming was trying to inquire about earlier, but Zheng Ziwen did not talk about it in detail. The appraiser only skimmed over the important parts, thus Ou Yangming was still confused.

Therefore, Ou Yangming quickly paid attention when Ni Yinghong raised the question.

Zheng Ziwen hesitated before he answered, "I was initially a staff member at the Yi Pavilion, but I was valued by an appraisal master, who later took me as his disciple. I learned the appraisal art only after cultivating for ten years. As for who my master is, please forgive me for not being able to disclose it without the elder's permission."

Ou Yangming was slightly moved. 'Looks like an appraisal master's cultivation is tougher than what I have imagined. One can only succeed after cultivating for ten years.'

He turned to look at Ni Yinghong, who seemed to be not much older than him, and shook his head while wondering, 'Geniuses don't count.'

Ni Yinghong found it strange after being looked at like that. 'It's fine that you're looking at me, but why did you suddenly shake your head?'

She gritted her teeth and said, "Master Zheng, I have some questions about the appraisal art, and I'd like to inquire about them from you."

Zheng Ziwen was startled, but he quickly replied to her, "Master Ni, you're being too polite. Let's exchange views."

He thought to himself, 'What the hell is he up to?'

In actual fact, they had exchanged views before this. Zheng Ziwen knew very well that Ni Yinghong was not a simple person although she was young. Whether it was her vision or her judgment, she seemed to be above him. The only thing she lacked was probably experience.

Nonetheless, in terms of the appraisal art, how could Ni Yinghong be more inferior to him?

Without further ado, Ni Yinghong began questioning. For instance, she asked what the appraisal art meant, where it came from, and why it could be used for appraisals. Other than that, she also asked how the appraisal art could be used, and how its advantage could be maximized.

The questions were very repetitive, some were simple while some were complicated. There were also some important questions about how the art could be executed.

Despite that, Ni Yinghong was very skilled at asking. In particular, she occasionally asked some confusing questions to distract Zheng Ziwen, who subconsciously answered everything when he was in that state. Moreover, as their discussion became more heated, they eventually spoke so loudly that they forgot about the two other people in the carriage.

Ou Yangming had already opened his eyes to listen quietly. He was sometimes in high spirit, other times pondering while lowering his head, and would also smile when he suddenly fathomed something.

The person who actually benefited from the conversation was Ou Yangming.

All of a sudden, the carriage stopped, and Lin Yichen laughed and announced, "Everyone, we're here, let's get off."

Zheng Ziwen looked like he had just awakened from a dream, and he followed Ni Yinghong out of the carriage.

Before Lin Yichen left the carriage, he whispered to Ou Yangming, "Master Ou, you should thank Master Ni."

Ou Yangming was in a daze. When he recalled everything that happened earlier, he realized that Ni Yinghong had not asked about the appraisal art for no reason. He was taking the opportunity of discussing with Zheng Ziwen to let Ou Yangming gain the knowledge.

Though Ou Yangming could not make sense of Ni Yinghong's kind gesture, he said softly, "Master Ni, thank you."

Ni Yinghong curled her lips into a smile, causing two deep dimples to be seen on her face. Subsequently, she walked away like a proud peacock.

Ou Yangming looked at Lin Yichen in confusion, but noticed that the shopkeeper was also looking at him helplessly. Afterward, Lin Yichen shook his head and left.

In the end, Ou Yangming was puzzled for a long time.

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Chapter 80: Appraise Separately

Instead of bringing Zheng Ziwen, Ni Yinghong, and Ou Yangming to the town, Lin Yichen brought them to a village.

Since they traveled in a carriage, other than Lin Yichen, nobody knew where they were. Even Ou Yangming, who was locally born and raised, could not identify the location right away.

"Masters, this is just a temporary base that I've set up. This place will be useless once the batch of goods is sent away, so please bear with the simple arrangement."

Zheng Ziwen laughed and responded, "Head Shopkeeper, as long as the task is completed quickly, we'll be able to return to the prefecture, so there's no need to be too particular about other things."

When Lin Yichen turned to look at Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong, they nodded in agreement too. They had not come here for an enjoyable time, after all, hence as long as it was not a disgusting environment, they would not be bothered about the small issue.

Although the place was only a temporary base, Lin Yichen had put some thought into the decoration. It was obviously nothing close to a luxurious house, but was not at all inferior to Ou Yangming's little courtyard.

Lin Yichen led them into the house after a short briefing, where he opened a door on the ground and revealed a basement.

Ou Yangming and the others could not help but look astonished once they entered the basement.

The basement actually stored at least a hundred different pieces of equipment. Apart from that, a pile of assorted ores was seen sitting in a corner.

Ou Yangming was puzzled after he took a glance at them because he could not understand why the seemingly worthless ores were placed together with the other pieces of equipment.

Of course, it was none of his business how someone else liked to store their items, thus he was not going to raise the question.

"Masters, the pieces of equipment are all here, and I'll leave everything to you." Lin Yichen bowed at them, then informed them after a pause, "There's a calling bell here, so someone will attend to you once you pull it a few times. If you're tired, you may also go upstairs to rest."

After explaining everything, Lin Yichen nodded apologetically at the masters and left.

Appraisers must be extremely focused during appraisals. One's efficiency would be affected if an outsider was present.

The basement was spacious, so even though plenty of equipment and ores were stored, due to the ample space it was not stuffy.

Ou Yangming knew very well that this place was certainly not built in a short period of time. If he actually believed that it was a temporary base, he would only be laughed at.

Nonetheless, he was not having wrongful thoughts, and was not interested in where this house was situated.

"Masters, let's get to work. It won't be easy to appraise every piece of equipment here," Zheng Ziwen said with a deep voice. He was very familiar with equipment appraisal, thus was well aware of its difficulty, and had a headache after seeing the amount of equipment here.

Ou Yangming asked curiously, "Master Zheng, why does our town have so many pieces of equipment?"

Zheng Ziwen's face changed a little, and he smiled awkwardly while replying to him, "Master Ou, I'm just following orders, I don't know where they're from."

"Master Ou, we're here to appraise them, so it's best not to ask what we're not supposed to know." Ni Yinghong looked plainly at Ou Yangming instead. She hesitated for a while before she added, "This is a default rule among appraisers, and it's also a way to protect ourselves."

Ou Yangming was stunned. He pondered for a while and responded sincerely, "I understand, thank you, Master Ni."

Appraisers were more likely to encounter unimaginable treasures as compared to ordinary people, and these treasures were usually associated with secrets. If an appraiser was too curious, it would only mean bad things because it could very well be the source of misfortune.

Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief. He was really afraid that Ou Yangming, the rash young fellow, was going to get to the bottom of the matter. If that was really the case, even if it was to protect himself, he would not be willing to stay with Ou Yangming.

However, since Ou Yangming could understand an appraiser's hardship, it would be the best.

After taking a look around the basement, Zheng Ziwen gestured with his hand while suggesting, "Let's follow these boundaries and appraise the equipment in our own sections. We'll attach our evaluations on the respective piece of equipment, then exchange sections and continue with the next round of appraisal. What do you think?"

Ni Yinghong and Ou Yangming naturally did not object to the suggestion. At the end of the day, Master Zheng Ziwen was the Yi Pavilion's appraiser, whereas they were only there to help. It was a matter of course to obey the host's arrangements.

Ou Yangming retrieved a writing brush, papers, and red strings, then proceeded to his section. Just as he was about to begin, Ni Yinghong called out to him, "Master Ou, if you happen to fancy any equipment here, you don't need to leave an appraisal note."

"What?" Ou Yangming was dumbfounded, so he asked in shock, "Why?"

Zheng Ziwen chuckled and explained, "Master Ou, according to the rule, if an appraiser is invited to appraise many items at once, the appraiser has the right to pick one of the treasures in the end. Hehe, but it'll be up to one's luck what kind of treasure is chosen."

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Head Shopkeeper Lin told me that, but won't the host suffer a loss?"

"Master Ou, while it looks like the host will suffer a loss, we as appraisers have to take responsibility for the other items. If someone finds a mistake in the appraisal in the future, our reputation will be ruined," Zheng Ziwen answered seriously, then continued after a pause, "Besides, even if there's really something valuable, the host wouldn't have shown it to us."

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization that the pieces of equipment and treasures here were the ones that could not be identified by the host. Furthermore, incidents like the discovery of top-grade items in a bunch of items had only happened in legends. Since they were in the real world, it was best for one to not have one's head in the clouds.

After thanking the other masters for their pointers, Ou Yangming focused on the pieces of equipment.

Every piece would need to be appraised by three appraisers in rotation. When Ou Yangming stole glances at Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen, he noticed that they were carefully inspecting a piece of equipment each. Even though they were not using the appraisal art, they were fully concentrated.

It was evident that they were judging based on their knowledge and experience. The only flaw with the method was that errors were inevitable, so each equipment had to be appraised by three appraisers before the final grade and rank were determined.

Ou Yangming casually picked up a longsword and scanned it for some time. Nevertheless, it was not the grade and rank that he was identifying, but the longsword's pattern and features.

The only weapon that he had used so far in the military was the military saber, which was tough, but different from a longsword. Ou Yangming was observing the differences.

After some time, his ears twitched as he heard a slight noise.

When Ou Yangming turned to look, he noticed that Ni Yinghong had put down the piece of equipment in her hands. She scribbled a few words on a paper, then placed it into a small red packet before tying it to the equipment.

In order to avoid an appraiser's judgment being affected by another appraiser, after an appraisal was done, the appraiser would put the result into a red packet instead of writing it straight on the piece of equipment. With that, an appraiser's assessment would be solely based on one's individual ability, and there would be no cases of an appraiser using someone else's judgment as a reference.

Seeing as Ni Yinghong was done with the appraisal, a red light flashed in Ou Yangming's palm.

His Military Fire appeared for a split second, but even in that short span of time, he had identified the equipment's properties.

[Item: Outstanding longsword]

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

[Attributes: Sharpness 11, Toughness 10, Durability 8]

Though Ou Yangming had inspected the longsword for some time, it was neither a divine weapon nor a sharp tool. It was merely a normal piece of White Slate Equipment.

Of course, the longsword was considered outstanding to have achieved High Grade, but its Durability dropped as it had been used for a long time.

Ou Yangming pondered, then picked up his brush to write on a paper.

'High Grade Rank One longsword, slightly flawed, low durability.'

Afterward, Ou Yangming put the paper into a small packet. Unless all three appraisers were done appraising, the paper must not be taken out after it was inserted into the packet. Needless to say, it was just a rule, and nothing could actually be done if someone had secretly taken a look at the other papers.

That being said, at the very least, Ou Yangming and the two other appraisers would not do something that would cause them to lose their dignity.

Only when Ou Yangming was done putting the packet away, did Zheng Ziwen complete his appraisal and note down his remark.

Subsequently, Ou Yangming continued to observe the other pieces of equipment leisurely. The process was different for him because he did not need to find clues to deduce the equipment's equivalent rank. By having the Military Fire, he could easily identify every equipment's properties without a miss.

Compared to Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen, his working speed was so fast that it could only be described as unbelievable.

Despite that, Ou Yangming was not so dumb as to fully display his ability. He planned it so that he was always a step behind Ni Yinghong, and also pretended that he was evaluating the pieces of equipment.

Although he was faster than Zheng Ziwen, he acted like he was inferior to Ni Yinghong.

Unquestionably, the biggest advantage of doing that was he would not draw their attention.

However, Ou Yangming had no idea that even though he was trying his best not to stand out, it was truly shocking that a new appraiser could maintain such speed.

Zheng Ziwen did not find it strange because he had witnessed Ou Yangming's ability in the past, but Ni Yinghong reacted as if she had just discovered something huge. She glanced at Ou Yangming from time to time, and secretly sped up.

She was actually feeling quite worried, and wondered what she could do if Ou Yangming actually became faster than her.

Ou Yangming casually reached out for a waist sash among the other pieces of equipment.

It was his first time encountering this type of equipment, and he was immediately stunned when he used the Military Fire on it. A thought crossed Ou Yangming's head as he lowered his head to look at the waist sash in his hands.

'Did a pie actually fall from the sky, and it actually fell on my head?'

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Chapter 81: Blood Flight Waist Sash

Once a flash of red light appeared on Ou Yangming's palms, his eyes lit up.

The full properties of the waist sash appeared in his mind, and it was those properties that stunned him to a great extent.

[Item: Outstanding Waist Sash (Red)]

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

[Attribute: Toughness 8]

[Skill: Blood Flight (Activation Condition: Abundant Qi and blood)]

'Skill. There's actually a skill property on this waist sash.'

Before this, Ou Yangming only had one skill encounter, which was the explosive arrow. Once essential Qi was channeled into the arrow, which was then shot to hit another object, a huge explosion would be caused, resulting in fatal injuries.

Was a half-spirit beast powerful? A captain had led a group of well-trained soldiers to encircle one, but they ended up badly defeated and even lost a few lives.

However, once explosive arrows—coated with some poison—were used, even the half-spirit beast could not withstand it. It fell to the ground and died.

This was the mightiness of skill, and it gave Ou Yangming a deep impression.

Nonetheless, other than the explosive arrows, which he had created using his mental power and the Military Fire, he did not encounter another skill-carrying equipment.

The waist sash was the first piece of Skill Equipment he came across, but according to the skill's description, Ou Yangming vaguely felt that it was not a skill that could be used by anybody.

Perhaps that was the reason the waist sash was among the other pieces of equipment here.

After some thought, Ou Yangming looked up to glance at Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong. They were still immersed in their task and did not notice his abnormal behavior. In actual fact, even if they did notice something out of the ordinary, they would not suspect anything, and would instead think that Ou Yangming had stumbled on an item that he was not confident about.

This was because the other two masters would have the same expression on their faces if they could not distinguish a piece of equipment.

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply, then slowly put down the waist sash. He placed it in the first row among other pieces of equipment and did not tie any note to it.

Afterward, he picked up his speed.

It was impossible to know how much time had passed as they were working in the basement. After each of them appraised roughly ten pieces of equipment, a person, who was dressed as a servant, came downstairs. He neither spoke nor did any gesture, and only stood quietly while waiting for them.

Some moments later, Ni Yinghong put down the piece of equipment in her hand, and she looked quite weary. After taking a glance at that person, she sat down somewhere to take a break from appraising.

Ou Yangming was slightly startled. He idled for a while on purpose and wrote another appraisal result before he stopped as well.

Lastly, Zheng Ziwen finished his task and sighed. He looked more exhausted than Ni Yinghong. "I haven't done appraisal with so much focus for a long time. Ah, I'm getting older, and I'm becoming useless…"

It was then when the servant asked respectfully, "Masters, may I ask when you'd like to have your meal?"

"Now that you've asked, I do feel quite hungry." Zheng Ziwen chuckled while touching his belly, then turned to ask the others, "Shall we… Hey, Master Ou, have you decided already?"

When he turned to look, he instantly noticed the waist sash that was intentionally placed in the front row by Ou Yangming. It would mean nothing if it was just a waist sash, but it was eye-catching because nothing was tied to it.

Ni Yinghong opened her eyes, she had closed her eyes earlier to rest her mind, so she did not notice the waist sash. After seeing it, she could not help but furrow her eyebrows and said, "Master Ou, there are quite a number of good equipment here, and you have plenty of choices left, so you can decide later."

"Thank you for your good intentions. I only want to study that equipment because I've never seen anything like that before, as for the other pieces of equipment…" Ou Yangming chuckled. He then pouted his lips and expressed proudly, "As long as I have time, I'll definitely be able to smith something as great."

Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen looked at each other and felt somewhat frustrated.

If another appraiser had said the same thing, they would have mocked and derided that appraiser, but they did not refute Ou Yangming at all.

They had just witnessed an intense smithing challenge yesterday, and they admired Ou Yangming's talent, as well as his level of attainment in smithing art. As mentioned by Ou Yangming, it was true that none of the equipment that he had or would be appraising in the basement was out of his smithing capabilities.

Since that was the case, would a piece of equipment that he had never come across not be a perfect choice?

Zheng Ziwen sighed and was suddenly in low spirits. "Let's go, it's time to eat."

He cursed to himself, 'If Ou Yangming is so gifted in smithing art, he should just stick to that path, why must he be so outstanding in appraisal art too?

'It's really hard to feel happy when I'm working with a freak.'

Normally, roughly 15 minutes were needed to appraise a piece of equipment. That said, additional methods might be employed if one was unsure about a piece of equipment's properties, but even without using appraisal art, one could possibly spend half an hour.

Therefore, although the appraisal of roughly ten pieces of equipment in the morning was not considered fast, it was certainly not slow too.

Nevertheless, according to that speed, the three masters would spend about five days to appraise all the equipment in the basement.

There were no problems on the first day, but on the second day, Ni Yinghong suddenly exclaimed and called out to the others halfway through an appraisal, "Master Ou, Master Zheng, please come over here for a while."

Ou Yangming and Zheng Ziwen stopped what they were doing and went over to her.

While the three of them were still appraising separately, if one of them found a piece of unique equipment, or was really unsure about something, one could naturally seek help from the others.

Ni Yinghong was holding a small round shield at that moment. The round shield actually had an extremely frightening cut on it, and it was clear from the slash mark that the shield's value had dropped drastically.

Zheng Ziwen frowned and asked, "Master Ni, what's so special about this shield?"

Ni Yinghong handed him the shield instead of replying. Sometimes, the equipment itself was the best explanation and nothing else needed to be said.

Zheng Ziwen observed the shield for a brief moment before he looked surprised. "This is strange, why can't I identify its equivalent rank?"

Ou Yangming was immediately curious too. After spending time together for two days, he knew that the other two masters were appraisers with genuine skills. Thus, the shield had to be unordinary if they were troubled by it.

Once he took the shield, a flame flashed on the palm of his hand that was holding it.

Next, Ou Yangming's face changed.

[Item: Extraordinary shield (Red)]

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

[Attributes: Toughness 20. Power 2]

Ou Yangming was instantly amazed. As he looked at the obvious cut on the shield, he could not figure out how a damaged item like that was an extraordinary item of Fine Grade Rank Five.

Even if he used steel to smith a piece of equipment, the highest equivalent rank that could be achieved was High Grade Rank Five. He had not smithed a piece of Fine Grade equipment to date.

However, the shield had already achieved Fine Grade Rank Five.

What was more unbelievable was the equipment was already ruined.

It was a piece of damaged equipment that was in Fine Grade Rank Five, and was attached with 2 points of layered Power attributes…

Ou Yangming suddenly wondered, 'If this shield isn't ruined and is perfect, what will its equivalent rank be?

'Am I able to smith something like this?'

"Did you sense it?" Ni Yinghong asked in a deep voice.

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while and nodded. "This equipment is very powerful, it's the most powerful one among the other pieces of equipment."

"Yes." Ni Yinghong's eyes glowed as she said, "The equipment is damaged, but it's still so powerful and is attached with power. It's unbelievable."

Ou Yangming hesitated again but decided to reveal it. "Layered."

"What?" Ni Yinghong asked in confusion.

Ou Yangming explained slowly, "If I'm not mistaken, the round shield has layered attributes."

"Impossible," Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen uttered almost at the same time.

It was already very rare that a piece of damaged equipment had a Unique Attribute. If it actually retained layered attributes, it would be considered a nature-defying item.

Besides, it was worth noting that Unique Attributes were hard to come by, and they would not necessarily remain constant after being bound to a piece of equipment.

Even though Layering Art could enhance Unique Attributes, the attributes could be lost if the piece of equipment was damaged.

The mark on the shield was so obvious that it simply extended across the surface. Hence, even if it originally contained Unique Attributes, they should have been gone by now. If Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong had not probed it with their essential Qi, perhaps they would think that Ou Yangming was lying to their faces.

Ou Yangming said unhappily, "Whether it has layered attributes or not, you'll find out after using appraisal art."

Zheng Ziwen gritted his teeth and agreed. "Okay, I'll use it once."

Appraisal art was unusually precious toward every appraiser because one could only use it for a limited number of times in a day.

Though the frequency would increase according to a person's strength, every opportunity was precious.

A cold light appeared in Zheng Ziwen's hands as he rubbed them together and it shone on the round shield.

Ou Yangming's eyes sparkled right away. He observed Zheng Ziwen's moves attentively, as well as the master's breathing and his surging mental power.

On the other hand, Ni Yinghong curled her lips into a beautiful smile and looked at Ou Yangming in admiration.

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Chapter 82: Appraisal Art's Secret

Appraiser Zheng Ziwen was using the most traditional appraisal art.

Those who could use appraisal art were qualified to be appraisers.

Ou Yangming had witnessed the execution of appraisal art once but had zero knowledge of the art back then. Although he watched the whole process, it was not helpful for him at all.

This time, he was extremely focused on Zheng Ziwen.

Ou Yangming quietly sensed every change while he quickly recalled the previous conversation between Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen in the carriage. As he sensed Zheng Ziwen's aura, everything that was brought up during the conversation suddenly came to life, and he was enlightened.

'Appraisal art, so this is the so-called appraisal art.

'Mental power…'

Ou Yangming's heart lit up. It was as though a pair of hands had drawn chiffon curtains in front of his eyes, allowing him to get a clear view of the real outside world.

Even though he might not necessarily have the ability to depict the world through a certain method, there was a huge difference between seeing and not seeing it.

Besides, he managed to find out appraisal art's biggest secret.

It was mental power.

The so-called appraisal art was actually a miraculous effect caused by the release of mental power in a certain way.

It was no wonder there were only very few real appraisers, whose ability to perform appraisal art every day was also strictly limited. The source of everything turned out to be mental power.

Zheng Ziwen curbed the Appraisal Light after a brief moment, and the luster in Ou Yangming's eyes disappeared at that instant as if nothing ever happened.

"Master Zheng, so what is it?" Ni Yinghong asked after smiling with narrowed eyes at Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming was taken aback, and a thought crossed his mind, 'Did she see through my perception?'

Zheng Ziwen sighed and answered, "Master Ou has a great perception indeed. If I'm not mistaken, this is a damaged magic tool."

"Magic tool?" Ou Yangming's eyebrows twitched. He had heard of the term from Old Craftsman and knew that magic tools were greater than ordinary tools, but the old man had never smithed such a tool in his life.

"Only a treasure that's also a magic tool can retain the quality of Fine Grade Rank Five even after being terribly ruined, and…" Zheng Ziwen nodded and explained, then looked at Ou Yangming in admiration. "We could only tell that this round shield is attached with a Power attribute, but couldn't tell that it's actually layered with Power attributes. Master Ou, I'm truly floored by your remarkable vision."

Ou Yangming chuckled. "Master Zheng, you're being too humble. I only have some understanding of Layering Art because I'm able to perform it, your appraisal art is the one that deserves praise!"

Zheng Ziwen shook his head. As an appraiser, he knew better than the others how difficult it was to perceive what Ou Yangming had perceived.

They exchanged courtesies for a while before Ni Yinghong suggested impatiently, "Since appraisal art was already used on this equipment, let's set the final result."

"Okay." Neither Ou Yangming nor Zheng Ziwen objected to it.

They retrieved a piece of paper, then Zheng Ziwen noted down its attributes and his deduction. Though the piece of equipment was at the peak of Fine Grade, it had actually declined from being a magic tool and was layered with Power attributes. Therefore, it could almost be considered the best equipment in this basement in every aspect.

Ni Yinghong grinned at the others. "All three of us have the right to pick a piece of equipment, who wants this?"

Ou Yangming shook his head and replied to her, "I'll still go with the waist sash, I'll leave this to you."

Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen were stunned. They glanced at the waist sash again, and could not understand why Ou Yangming was so insistent.

Nonetheless, everyone had the freedom to pick whichever equipment they wanted, thus they could not force Ou Yangming, but was slightly curious about the waist sash.

Finding a piece of high-level equipment was naturally a delightful thing. For the next few days, they took turns to go through every piece of equipment. Most of the time when they opened the small packet tied to an item, the appraisal results were quite similar.

Of course, some pieces of equipment were more complicated as they were damaged or had deteriorated due to different reasons.

If such an item was encountered, their standard in appraisal art would be put to test.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming was an exception because none of the attributes of any piece of equipment could be hidden from him if he used the Military Fire.

On the opposite, the other two masters did not have a secret weapon. Hence, compromises and deadlocked disputes kept happening between them in the next few days.

"Master Ni, it's a fact this equipment's quality has declined because it has aged. It's good enough to say that it's of High Grade Rank Three, it's impossible that it's of High Grade Rank Four!" Zheng Ziwen condemned with reason.

However, Ni Yinghong rebuked him as she was not willing to show a weak impression, "Master Zheng, that's not right. It's true that the equipment has aged, but it's perfectly maintained, and its quality is still great, so how can it only be of High Grade Rank Three? You must've inspected wrongly!"

"I've inspected wrongly? How can I be wrong…" Zheng Ziwen said helplessly, "Master Ou, what do you think?"

Ou Yangming pondered for a while. Just as Zheng Ziwen thought that he would support either one of them, Ou Yangming answered, "Master Zheng, if I'm also unsure, how are you going to handle it?"

Zheng Ziwen responded without hesitation, "If we're unable to reach a consensus, the simplest way is to judge using appraisal art."

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed. Although Zheng Ziwen had employed appraisal art earlier, which allowed Ou Yangming to confirm bits of knowledge in his memory, the process was so short that he could not probe it thoroughly.

'If I can watch the process once more… No, the more, the better!'

He cleared his throat. "Master Zheng, you have a point. The equipment's quality is great, but it has really aged, so perhaps it's damaged from the inside."

Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief and wondered, 'I'm glad that Master Ou's mind is clear, or we'll quarrel again because of this equipment.'

"Oh?" Ni Yinghong had a faint smile on her face. "Master Ou actually thinks that way, I must be wrong then."

Ou Yangming quickly shook his head and said, "That's not the case. Master Ni, you have a good point too. The equipment has really aged, but its quality is great, so it's possible that it isn't damaged from the inside, and is perfect instead."

Ni Yinghong showed a triumphant smile as if she had guessed that Ou Yangming would reply that way.

On the other hand, Zheng Ziwen widened his eyes to stare at Ou Yangming. If he could, he would yell his thought at that moment, 'What the hell are you talking about!'

Ou Yangming said completely different things to the two of them. In conclusion, he had flattered the two masters, but neither of the words he said actually expressed his real thought.

Zheng Ziwen suppressed the raging fire that was about to explode inside him. "Master Ou, please take a closer look and tell us your opinion!"

Ou Yangming blinked and responded with an innocent face, "Master Ou, you're both amazing appraisers, whereas I don't have a solid foundation, so I can't compare with you. Since you have opposing views, why not just use the appraisal art?"

Zheng Ziwen's face twitched as he thought, 'What do you think appraisal art is? Do you think it can be performed so easily!'

"Master Ou is right. Head Shopkeeper Lin has entrusted this task to us, and allows us to pick any piece of equipment we want, so we must do our best and not embarrass ourselves." Ni Yinghong clapped her hands, then said, "I'll perform appraisal art this time."

After taking a step forward, she rubbed her small hands to execute appraisal art.

Ou Yangming's eyelid twitched. He comprehended the art better after witnessing the process again. His fingers trembled a little, and while outsiders could not notice anything, he was actually imitating the method. If the other two masters were not present, Ou Yangming would even imitate the dispatch of mental power to carry out appraisal art.

Ni Yinghong stopped using appraisal art after some time, and said wearily, "Master Zheng, you're right."

Zheng Ziwen nodded but was not elated at all because he vaguely felt that the appraisals this time were far more difficult than he had imagined.

Sure enough, before long, another intense debate was heard.

"Master Ni, you must've inspected wrongly!" Zheng Ziwen was exasperated. "How can a piece of Fine Grade Rank One equipment be identified as Fine Grade Rank Two?"

"But this is of Fine Grade Rank Two indeed, I couldn't have made a mistake!"

"You must've gotten it wrong!" Zheng Ziwen felt thirsty, and he kept complaining about her in his head.

"Okay, okay, since the two of you are sticking to your own view, I suggest you use appraisal art," Ou Yangming advised them happily as he was looking forward to it.

"Alright, I did it the last time, so it's your turn now."

Zheng Ziwen was speechless.

The next day, another conflict arose in the basement.

"This equipment is supposed to be… Are we going to use appraisal art again?" Zheng Ziwen cried.

Ni Yinghong looked at him without saying a word.

Ou Yangming let out a dry cough. "What do you think?"

As Appraisal Lights kept appearing in the basement, more and more pieces of equipment were evaluated.

On the seventh day.

"Master Ni, this is definitely a High Grade Rank Three. You don't have to say anything, but I'm telling you if appraisal art needs to be carried out, I'm out of energy!"

"Hmph, it's clearly a High Grade Rank Four, why must you insist that it's only in Rank Three? Even if you're being considerate toward the customers, you mustn't sell out the host's benefits!"

Zheng Ziwen almost vomited blood. If he were to lose his reputation, he could probably hang himself.

"Okay, I'll do it!"

After some time, Zheng Ziwen fell butt first to the ground and was so low in energy that he could almost not lift his fingers.

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Chapter 83: Exchange For Raw Gemstones

After a week of hard work, Ou Yangming, Ni Yinghong, and Zheng Ziwen finally completed the appraisals.

The process was mostly smooth as they were unanimous in the appraisal of most of the equipment.

Of course, there were times where they faced troubles and differences in opinions, hence a few small disputes were inevitable.

At times, they were able to reach a consensus after friendly discussions, and eventually confirmed a piece of equipment's specific grade and rank. However, there were also times where they quarreled endlessly. If they insisted on their own views without wanting to take a step back, the only way was to use appraisal art.

Throughout the days, Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen performed appraisal art several times, and each time was a golden opportunity for Ou Yangming to watch and learn.

Ou Yangming also noticed that Ni Yinghong either chimed in to support him or stood firm to her view during crucial moments, so appraisal art was used many times.

Had Ni Yinghong not made things difficult, they would not have used appraisal more than five times during the week. As she stirred up more trouble, Zheng Ziwen was forced to execute appraisal art more than ten times even though he was unwilling to. As a result, the two appraisers had used appraisal art for a total of more than twenty times, and Ou Yangming benefited unexpectedly.

Once the three masters approved the last piece of equipment, Zheng Ziwen was almost going to collapse to the ground.

Mental power and essential Qi were different. Once the former was greatly consumed, it would be extremely difficult to recover it. Although Zheng Ziwen was gifted with mental power, similar to Ou Yangming in the past, he could not put the power to use. Zheng Ziwen could only perform appraisal art through a mysterious method, so a huge consumption was required each time he performed the art. After using the art for more than ten times in consecutive days, he had reached his limit.

When Ou Yangming saw that Zheng Ziwen's face was as white as a sheet, he made an evil guess that Ni Yinghong would probably not have ended the appraisals so quickly if Zheng Ziwen still had energy left.

Needless to say, Ni Yinghong was not feeling well too. She had executed appraisal art only one time less than Zheng Ziwen, hence she was also clearly pale. Nonetheless, if that was not the case, Zheng Ziwen would not have put in so much effort.

They delivered the message once they confirmed the task was done, and Lin Yichen arrived not long after. He thanked everyone with a smile but gasped when he noticed Zheng Ziwen's face. "Master Zheng, are you not feeling well?"

Zheng Ziwen smiled bitterly. "I'm fine, I just performed appraisal art too many times in the last few days. I'll recover after resting for a few days."

Lin Yichen was dumbfounded. "Were the equipment appraisals this time very tough?"

Equipment appraisal was a very serious matter but was sometimes associated with luck. One would have a hard time if one encountered many pieces of equipment that were especially difficult to be identified.

Zheng Ziwen made stuttering sounds and had no choice but to remain silent.

Though there was a considerable amount of equipment this time, which increased the difficulty, the appraisals would not have been that hard if the three of them could work together to mediate the disputes.

However, they stumbled upon a little devil.

When Zheng Ziwen thought about the errors that occurred while working together with Ni Yinghong, as well as Ou Yangming who chose to keep quiet or added fuel to flames during crucial moments, he suffered a splitting headache.

Despite that, he knew very well of Ni Yinghong's background and Ou Yangming's potential, thus he dared not reprimand them.

Nevertheless, Zheng Ziwen decided to never work with them anymore.

Li Yichen somewhat understood the situation after seeing his expression, so he said with a bitter smile, "Master Zheng, thank you for your hard work, I'll give you a huge gift once you return."

Following that, he looked at them and said, "You've worked hard these days, so you may pick a piece of equipment for your own. Please!"

Ou Yangming naturally took the waist sash whereas Ni Yinghong picked a piece of jewelry instead of the small round shield, so Zheng Ziwen kept the shield inside his bag right away.

Lin Yichen looked at their chosen items, then finally fixed his gaze on Ou Yangming and asked, "Master Ou, do you not want to choose something else?"

In actual fact, the three pieces of equipment chosen were marked, where their features and their equivalent rank were recorded.

The small round shield was originally a piece of top-notch equipment, and while Ni Yinghong had chosen the jewelry spontaneously, it was not inferior to the shield in terms of their value.

On the opposite, the waist sash chosen by Ou Yangming was stated to be a piece of Good Grade equipment.

Of course, the three grooves on the waist sash were eye-catching, but that feature alone was not enough for the sash to be mentioned on equal terms with Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen's picks.

Ou Yangming smiled. "Thank you, Head Shopkeeper Lin, but I'm quite fond of this waist sash as it's my first time encountering this type of equipment, so I decided to choose it."

Lin Yichen's eyes lit up. He quickly glanced at Zheng Ziwen, who shook his head to tell him that there was nothing unique about the waist sash.

While feeling puzzled, Lin Yichen laughed and responded, "Okay, since you're so polite, I'll compensate you with another 200 taels of gold."

Ou Yangming smiled brightly and said, "Thank you, Head Shopkeeper Lin."

It was an unexpected joy, and he would never think that any amount of gold or silver was too little.

Subsequently, Ou Yangming turned to look at a corner in the basement. Over there, more than a hundred ores of different sizes were piled up, which was quite unsightly.

Lin Yichen noticed his look, so he said with a smile, "Master Ou, those are raw gemstones that were gathered from the forest. If you're interested, how about you pick a few for fun?"

"Raw gemstones?" Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. "So these are raw gemstones!"

The gem that Ou Yangming used to store the Qi Return attribute was actually retrieved from a raw gemstone, but he had no idea before this as he had never seen one before.

"Yes, these are raw gemstones with better conditions, so we preserved them," Lin Yichen replied to him with a smile, then added after a pause, "It's possible to obtain Attribute Gems from these raw gemstones."

Ni Yinghong suddenly flashed a smile. "Master Ou, there's no harm in buying a few for fun. If you really manage to acquire Attribute Gems, I'll teach you the way to embed them in a sash. What do you think?"

Ou Yangming was extremely moved when he looked at the three grooves on his waist sash.

"Head Shopkeeper Lin, how much are you offering the raw gemstones for?"

Lin Yichen instantly smiled like a fox that had just captured a rooster. He put up a finger and answered with narrowed eyes, "They're not expensive, each of them cost 20 taels of gold."

"20 taels of gold?" Ou Yangming immediately widened his eyes as he was in disbelief.

Yes, please forgive him. Ever since he grasped smithing art, he had somewhat benefited and gained an accumulated wealth of a few hundred taels of gold.

That said, a majority of the gold was actually the fee from the current appraisal task, as well as the reward given by Lin Yichen. The remaining portion was an apology gift from Zhang Yinfan. Even if Ou Yangming added everything together, he definitely did not have more than 500 taels of gold.

If the raw gemstones were sold for 20 taels of gold each, did it not mean that he could only purchase twenty of them even if he gathered all his possessions?

It was then when Ou Yangming finally understood what it meant to be really wealthy.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Head Shopkeeper Lin, can they be sold at a slightly cheaper price?"

Lin Yichen remained a smile on his face. "Master Ou, in all honesty, ores of such good quality are usually sold for more than 30 taels of gold each, so 20 taels of gold is the lowest price I can offer you. If you don't believe me, you may ask them how much it costs to gamble on stones[1] in the prefecture."

When Ou Yangming turned to look, Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong nodded slowly at him.

Seeing as he was still hesitant, Lin Yichen chuckled. "Master Ou, how about this? Since you helped me with a big task, I can't be too stingy. How about you just pick three of them for fun?"

Ou Yangming was moved. "I'll go take a look."

He walked over to the pile of ores, then randomly took one up. All of a sudden, a light shone in his palm.

Nobody saw the light because the ore was blocking it, but Ou Yangming did not look delighted at all.

From his point of view, the Military Fire was the synonym of omnipotence, but the fire did not bring him any surprises this time. The ore was just a normal stone, and Ou Yangming did not find any useful information from the Military Fire.

He sighed and shook his head. 'It looks like the Military Fire isn't as almighty as I think it is. At the very least, it can't be used on these ores.'

Ou Yangming put down the ore, then proceeded to touch another one. Even after his Military Fire flashed for about six times, he did not gain any information.

Just as Ou Yangming decided to give up, he subconsciously reached out for another ore.

It was a fist-sized stone that was an irregular polygon and was not striking at all.

That being said, Ou Yangming's body quivered a little this time when his Military Fire appeared again, but it was unnoticeable. His face, that had turned away from Lin Yichen and the others, took on an astonished expression.

This was because a peculiar image suddenly flashed in his mind.

It was a red light. Though it was not intense, he could feel that it came from the ore in his hand.

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed, and he could not help but clench his fist. He quickly recovered a normal expression, then put down the ore lightly before reaching for another one.

Once Ou Yangming touched more than ten ores, he found another one that contained a strange light.

It was not proportionate at all. In the case of a one-in-ten probability, it meant that 200 taels of gold were required to attain a gem.

Nonetheless, according to the universal value of gems, nobody knew if it would actually be a bargain.

Afterward, Ou Yangming clapped his hand and stood up. He said while smiling with squinted eyes, "Head Shopkeeper Lin, I'm quite interested in the ores. I don't want the gold reward this time, I'll offset them with ores!"

[1] The practice of buying a raw gemstone and having it cut open, with the hopes of it holding some gems

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Chapter 84: Stone-cutting

"Offset them with ores?" Lin Yichen was stunned. He remarked, "Master Ou, I'm afraid that it's inappropriate, isn't it?"

Ou Yangming stared at him and asked, "Why is it inappropriate?"

Lin Yicheng explained with a bitter smile, "Master Ou, I'll be honest with you. These ores are of exceptional conditions, so they're going to be sent to the prefecture along with the pieces of equipment. That said, I'm not having too high an opinion of the ores because I'm reluctant to sell them to you, but because the ores' path isn't simple at all. Before stone-cutting is carried out, even a deity can't confirm if they actually carry gems!"

Ni Yinghong was still pale at the moment, but she advised as well, "Master Ou, Head Shopkeeper Lin is right. There's no harm in taking a few of these raw gemstones for fun, but if you insist to gamble on them, you'll be putting the non-essentials before the essentials. Even if one has hundreds of millions to spend, one shouldn't misuse money like that!"

"Thank you for your kindness, but it's my first time encountering raw gemstones, so I'd like to try it," Ou Yangming replied to them after some thought, and added after a pause, "Head Shopkeeper Lin, please fulfill my wish."

"Master Ou, if you'd like to try stone-cutting, you should go to the prefecture in the future, there are raw gemstones of better grades there!" Zheng Ziwen shook his head and commented. He sounded as though he made little of the ores in the basement.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming also shook his head and insisted. "I'll go to the prefecture next time, but I'm already thrilled upon seeing these stones, so I'm really eager to try now."

Lin Yichen responded helplessly, "Okay, if you insist… Please choose thirteen raw gemstones."

Based on Ou Yangming's current rewards, he could actually obtain only ten raw gemstones, but since Lin Yichen had said that he would give Ou Yangming three stones as gifts, it would be disrespectful of Ou Yangming to reject the offer.

Ou Yangming nodded slightly, then proceeded to pick from the pile of ores.

On the other hand, Lin Yichen brought the exhausted Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong out of the basement to rest. They knew that Ou Yangming would take more than just an hour or two to be satisfied with his selection.

Ou Yangming naturally hoped that nobody would watch him from the side, so he quickly started choosing once they left.

When other people inspected raw gemstones, they would carefully observe a stone's surface, veined patterns, as well as its shape. In fact, they even gave top priority to stones that had blemishes. Therefore, a considerable amount of time was required to identify a raw gemstone's quality, and even then, nobody could guarantee that the process would be effective.

It was very likely that a bunch of old masters had their eyes set on a certain raw gemstone and had a good feeling about it, but realized after stone-cutting was done that it was just a worthless ore.

On the contrary, an ore that did not catch anyone's attention at all was the one that contained a stunning and wonderful gem.

Hence, though experiences were important in picking an ore, the most important aspect was luck — unbeatable good luck.

Nevertheless, none of those were Ou Yangming's concern.

His way of identifying a raw gemstone was extremely simple. He could easily find out the truth by touching one and using his Military Fire.

Ou Yangming used an hour to scan every stone in the basement.

It was worth noting that the people from the Yi Pavilion had good vision because Ou Yangming found quite a number of bright ones after checking everything. In terms of the ratio, basically one in every eight or nine ores contained a gem.

Of course, the gems' quality remained unknown.

Ou Yangming pondered for a while, then picked two ores that gave him a deep impression.

One of them was full of energy, whereas the other one was like a deep black hole as though it could not be filled no matter how much energy was inserted.

He had never stumbled upon anything like them before, so he decided to choose them.

Later, he randomly took ordinary ores to make up the number.

While Ou Yangming had the ability to pick eleven impressive ores, if he actually did that, even a fool would know that something was wrong with him.

On the other hand, it would not seem suspicious if he achieved a two-in-thirteen success rate as he would only be considered lucky.

Once Ou Yangming was done with his selections, he pulled the calling bell, and a servant came down to carry the ores upstairs.

Following that, he had a good rest thanks to Lin Yichen's arrangements. The next morning when he awakened, he felt refreshed as his body had recovered to the best state.

When Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen showed up, they seemed to be in a much better condition too. At the very least, they had a good complexion.

Zheng Ziwen smiled when he noticed the ores picked by Ou Yangming. "Master Ou, do you want to carry out the stone-cutting process here? If you'd like to, let us join the fun! I believe that you'll gain something!"

Ou Yangming agreed without any hesitation. "Okay, I'll count on that."

Since they were Lin Yichen's guests, someone brought the stone-cutting tools once the order was given.

The ores were not ordinary items, which was why they could not be handled with rough means. If ores that actually contained a gem were hammered, the consequence would be unbearable.

There were different types of stone-cutting tools, and one who was familiar with them could unleash different effects using different tools.

Zheng Ziwen rubbed his hand and volunteered. "Master Ou, how about I help you with it?"

Ou Yangming was surprised. "Master Zheng, are you interested in this too?"

"I've gambled on stones in the prefecture, but I was always unlucky so I haven't gotten any good gems!" Zheng Ziwen giggled.

Ou Yangming was stunned and he looked at the master strangely. If he had not confirmed that two of the ores bore a gem, he would never let Zheng Ziwen help him after hearing what he said.

Zheng Ziwen did not notice Ou Yangming's reaction. He took the biggest stone-cutting tool and asked excitedly, "Where should we start?"

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth, then handed him one of the ordinary ores.

"Master Ou, you have a good eye indeed. This ore's surface looks amazing, so you might acquire something good if you're lucky!" Zheng Ziwen nodded after taking a look at the ore.

"Is that so? What if he's unlucky?" Ni Yinghong questioned coldly.

"If he's unlucky, he obviously won't gain anything," Zheng Ziwen was startled, but he quickly replied to her.

Ni Yinghong asked, "Master Zheng, how's your luck then?"

Zheng Ziwen was instantly dumbfounded and was lost for words.

"Haha, Master Zheng, please excuse Master Ni, she's only joking!" Ou Yangming immediately said and urged. "Quickly begin the process."

Zheng Ziwen looked at him gratefully, then started working. However, he wondered as he found it strange, 'Why does the little devilish girl always pick on me?'

The ore was soon split into two in Zheng Ziwen's hands, but he cut it slowly instead of rushing it. If the master noticed something bright halfway, he would have stopped right away, but unfortunately, nothing was seen even after the ore was split completely.

Ou Yangming was aware of the result already, thus he was not surprised.

On the other hand, Zheng Ziwen was unwilling to give up. He tried using other tools as well, but no matter how hard he tried, the final outcome was already set.

Zheng Ziwen said apologetically when he looked at the bits on the ground, "Ah, the ore was of such good quality, but it actually didn't contain a gem. What a pity!"

Ou Yangming smiled and reached for the second ore. "Master Zheng, please continue if you're interested."

Zheng Ziwen nodded and continued working. By then, everyone could tell that he was actually very interested in stone-cutting.

Ni Yinghong approached Ou Yangming to suggest to him, "Master Ou, do you want someone else to take over?"

Ou Yangming shook his head without hesitation. "The ores are already here, and the outcomes were already set, so it's not something that'll change even if someone else takes over. If no gems are found, it can only mean that I'm not destined to gain such fortune."

Ni Yinghong was slightly taken aback, and she cast a deeper look at Ou Yangming.

She had seen many wealthy people in her life. Although 200 taels of gold simply meant nothing to those people, their expressions were ever-changing whenever they watched a stone-cutting process. It was hard for them to keep a straight face even if they were normally composed, and none of them could be as calm as Ou Yangming at the moment.

The fact that Ou Yangming was so resolute at such a young age truly surprised Ni Yinghong, and a sweet feeling brewed inside her. 'Indeed, I didn't lay my eyes on the wrong person.'

Before long, the second ore was turned into worthless bits again through Zheng Ziwen's hands, yet Ou Yangming handed him the third ore calmly.

Through Zheng Ziwen's relentless efforts, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth… And up until the tenth ore were discarded as worthless.

By then, as thick-faced as Zheng Ziwen was, he put down the stone-cutting tools embarrassedly and said, "Master Ou, my lucky today is really… Terrible…"

Ou Yangming chuckled. "Master Zheng, look at what you're saying. Hehe, there aren't many left anyway, so help me cut another one."

Zheng Ziwen was startled. "Master Ou, do you really want me to cut it?"

"Of course." Ou Yangming smiled. He handed the master another ore as if it was the first ore instead of the eleventh one.

Zheng Ziwen nodded and said, "Master Ou, I'm definitely keeping you as a friend."

After working together for the appraisals, Zheng Ziwen, who was almost exhausted to death, initially harbored a strong prejudice against Ou Yangming. However, the prejudice was now completely reversed because he decided to view Ou Yangming as an intimate friend instead.

Zheng Ziwen picked up a tool and inhaled deeply as he focused on the ore.

By using his professional knowledge, he quickly identified the cutting point and proceeded to cut the ore.

After a brief moment, his eyes suddenly glowed with luster as he exclaimed, "I got it…"

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Chapter 85: Attribute Gem

Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong instantly focused on the ore, and even the servants, who were initially watching quietly on one side, craned their necks to look with anticipation.

Earlier when Zheng Ziwen began the stone-cracking process, he had failed time after time. The rest of them eventually lost interest, and they looked at him disdainfully.

For someone with such terrible luck, he would have been kicked away long ago if the owner of the ores was someone else. Ou Yangming, an amateur in this, was the only person who could tolerate Zheng Ziwen such that he still trusted Zheng Ziwen with the eleventh ore.

Something like that would never be allowed to happen in the prefecture's gambling city. Normally, if a person could not find something shiny and colorful after opening five ores in a row, that person would never be trusted anymore.

In actual fact, everyone knew that if a raw gemstone did not contain a gem, the outcome would be the same even if someone else had cut it instead.

However, knowing was one thing, and understanding was another because it was not easy for people to be sensible.

Fortunately, Zheng Ziwen did not let Ou Yangming down this time. He finally found something great in the eleventh ore.

Although nobody knew what gem had been found, it was good news because there was luster.

Zheng Ziwen's face instantly took on a grave expression, so much so that he was more serious than when he appraised a piece of equipment. Judging from the way Zheng Ziwen was staring at the ore without blinking, Ou Yangming doubted the master would respond if he called out to him at that moment.

Nonetheless, one could only carry out a task perfectly by being that attentive.

Zheng Ziwen was extremely grateful for Ou Yangming's trust, hence he put his utmost effort into the task as soon as he noticed the luster. He began working more carefully and rubbed the ore's surface lightly as he was afraid of ruining it.

Ou Yangming felt very helpless, so he asked softly, "Master Ni, will the process be sped up if the Military Fire is used?"

Ni Yinghong replied to him snappily, "Of course it'll be faster if the Military Fire is used, but a lot of energy has to be consumed. Do you think anyone can withstand the process?"

Ou Yangming wanted to tell her that he could but decided after some thought to just keep quiet.

Soon enough, Lin Yichen arrived as well. He was the boss of this place, thus he would certainly find out if something happened.

When Lin Yichen saw Zheng Ziwen who was working hard, as well as the vague light that shone from the ore, he could not help but look surprised.

"Master Ou, you're quite lucky. Based on the luster, if nothing goes wrong, you should be able to earn your cost."

Ou Yangming smiled and asked, "Head Shopkeeper Lin, is a gem worth so much?"

Lin Yichen laughed and responded, "A normal gem's value is quite average, which is 20 to 30 taels of gold, so it's enough to cover a raw gemstone's cost. However, one that's better in quality is worth at least 100 taels of gold, and the better the quality, the higher its value."

Ni Yinghong was somewhat excited when she looked at the luster that seemed to be growing brighter. Though she knew that the gem would belong to Ou Yangming anyway, she seemed to be happier than if she was the one who would have the gem instead.

She took a step forward and added, "Sometimes, we're able to find an Attribute Gem from a raw gemstone, and a gem like that is extremely precious!"

Ou Yangming was slightly moved. He asked, "What will its value be?"

Ni Yinghong pondered seriously and answered, "It'll be a priceless treasure!"

Even though it sounded exaggerated, Ou Yangming figured that natural Attribute Gems were more valuable than he had imagined.

Lin Yichen chuckled. "Master Ou, an Attribute Gem is very expensive indeed, which isn't usually traded with silver or gold. That said, it also depends on the attribute that it carries because not all attributes can be treated the same."

As they conversed, Zheng Ziwen had finally completed the final procedure. Everyone's eyes lit up when an earthy yellow gem appeared. After getting a full view of the gem, both Lin Yichen and Ni Yinghong reacted greatly.

A normal gem would definitely not be as bright as this, so they were almost sure that the gem was truly an Attribute Gem.

"Master Zheng, what is this gem?" Lin Yichen quickly moved forward to ask. He looked more impatient than Ou Yangming.

"Please wait for a while," Zheng Ziwen hesitated for a while before he answered. Subsequently, he released the Appraisal Light.

Zheng Ziwen was exhausted from yesterday and was still not in his best condition even after resting for a day, hence he should not be using appraisal art. Despite that, Ou Yangming had shown Zheng Ziwen respect earlier, and he would be ridiculed if he was being defensive, so he decided to use the art.

His eyes glowed after a brief moment. "Head Shopkeeper, this is a Physique Gem that can highly improve one's physique! The increase is greater than the increase from a piece of normal equipment!"

Lin Yichen's face changed, but he quickly calmed down and looked at Ou Yangming. "Master Ou, congratulations. Ah, this gem alone costs more than 200 taels of gold."

Ou Yangming chuckled. "I owe it all to Master Zheng Ziwen's blessing!"

Zheng Ziwen stuck his chest out as he felt really proud this time.

He had failed to obtain anything from the ten ores before this, but the eleventh ore had really opened his eyes.

Zheng Ziwen finally felt that he was worthy of Ou Yangming's trust and his ardent expectations.

Following that, Lin Yichen cleared his throat and offered. "Master Ou, are you willing to sell this gem? The Yi Pavilion is willing to purchase it for 10,000 taels of gold."

Ou Yangming had only spent 20 taels of gold on these ores, but Lin Yichen actually offered him 10,000 taels of gold to repurchase the gem. The profit gained from it was simply unbelievable.

"That's inappropriate," Ni Yinghong said before Ou Yangming could make a decision. She looked at Ou Yangming while pointing at his waist sash. "Master Ou, an Attribute Gem that's embedded in a piece of equipment can greatly improve its properties if directly acquired from a raw gemstone. Isn't your equipment the best home for the gem?"

Ou Yangming was stirred. In actual fact, he had completely given up the idea of selling it the moment he heard the word 'physique'. This was because physique was unquestionably his weakest quality at the moment.

It was such a rare event for him to gain a Physique Gem, so how could he give it up so easily?

Lin Yichen smiled bitterly and thought, 'This young lady is obviously biased.'

Nevertheless, he knew that it was almost impossible to get the gem from Ou Yangming anymore.

Zheng Ziwen was eager to cut the two remaining ores, but he said, "Master Ou, I'm quite tired now, and I'm afraid that I'll ruin the gems if I force myself to cut the remaining stones, so…"

Lin Yichen quickly responded, "It's okay, I can arrange someone else to do it."

Ou Yangming grinned. "Thank you for your kind offer, Head Shopkeeper Lin, but I only wanted to witness the process. I plan to keep the two remaining ores as a collection."

"A collection?" Lin Yichen was stunned, and he could not help but laugh. "Okay, I'll send them over to you."

He did not suspect anything because the probability of finding a top-grade gem among more than ten raw gemstones was very low, after all. Nonetheless, it had happened before. In any case, Lin Yichen did not think that remarkable gems could still be found from the remaining ores.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming knew very well that they would be shocked if another gem was found from the remaining ores.

Judging from Li Yichen's reluctance to part with the Attribute Gem, one could imagine how he would react if another gem of such quality was found.

Ou Yangming went on the carriage with his gem and headed back to the military camp.

In the carriage, Ou Yangming nodded lightly at Ni Yinghong and said, "Master Ni, thank you."

He was incredibly grateful for her help these days whether they were done openly or covertly. It was not a spontaneous feeling, but something that was accumulated after many days, thus Ou Yangming thanked her seriously.

Ni Yinghong smiled, revealing two cute dimples on her face.

Ou Yangming wondered, 'Not only does this fella look like a lady, but his behavior is also quite ladylike. Could he be…'

He was already suspicious the first time he met Ni Yinghong but stopped thinking that way because the appraiser showed up in the military camp, which was a place that disallowed females from entering.

That being said, Ou Yangming noticed many small clues after spending more than a week together. Now that they were the only ones in the carriage, he was even more suspicious.

Ni Yinghong sensed Ou Yangming looking at her unusually, so she blushed and said, "Master Ou, I didn't help you with anything!"

Ou Yangming curbed his thought and replied to her, "Master Ni, I won't say much, but please let me know if you need my help in the future."

"Okay, come to the prefecture then, I'll show you around," Ni Yinghong responded sweetly.

"The prefecture…" Ou Yangming was hesitant as he was stunned.

Being locally born and raised, although he had roamed around for years, he had only stayed around the town and had never gone to the prefecture.

Ni Yinghong feared that Ou Yangming would reject her, so she quickly said, "Don't you want to learn the Suit Skill and appraisal art? If you come to the prefecture, you'll definitely have the opportunity to!"

Ou Yangming was obviously moved by the idea as his eyes slowly lit up.

"Didn't you acquire a Physique Gem and a waist sash with grooves? As long as you promise me, I'll teach you how to embed the gem in the sash. What do you think?" Ni Yinghong's eyes wandered for a while before she proposed.

With that, the final line of defense in Ou Yangming's heart was taken down.

Even though he knew that there must be a reason Ni Yinghong was being so friendly and even invited him to the prefecture, whatever the reason was, he was willing to take the risk since Ni Yinghong had paid such a huge price.

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Chapter 86: Physique 4

When the carriage finally stopped, Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong returned to his residence along with the two ores.

The two ores were the smallest in size, hence they could easily be carried. Ou Yangming looked at Ni Yinghong with anticipation after putting down the ores.

"Master Ni, please guide me."

Ni Yinghong's eyes wandered around before she said, "It's neither difficult nor easy to embed a precious stone in a piece of equipment, it all depends on your sense and perception of it. That said, based on your ability, Brother Ou, I believe that it'll be a piece of cake for you."

Ou Yangming was stunned as he was not used to the sudden change in the way Ni Yinghong addressed him.

Ni Yinghong continued, "This first step of combining the two is to use the spiritual fire… Oh no, the Military Fire to refine the gem. Firstly, you have to change the gem's size to fit into the groove."

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "If I change the gem's shape on my own, won't that affect its attribute?"

"It will," Ni Yinghong answered without hesitation.

'If it will, how am I supposed to do it?' Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and wondered.

"But I know a secret smithing art that'll allow you to preserve the attribute as much as possible during the smithing process." Ni Yinghong grinned, then casually taught Ou Yangming everything about the secret art.

Ou Yangming listened quietly while he pondered. He slowly realized that the secret art taught by Ni Yinghong was actually a method that allowed his mental power to be in resonance with Heaven and Earth. In order to execute the method, one needed to transfer mental power and sense the change of energy in a gem. The more the mental power transferred, the more detailed the energy change that could be sensed, and the stronger the method's effect.

For other people, even if one had mental power, it would be difficult to transfer it as one wished and to sense a gem's energy in detail. Even if it was not a hell-like process, it was at least a nightmare to do so.

However, Ou Yangming was instantly delighted after hearing about the secret technique.

The transfer of mental power was no longer a difficult task for him. Perhaps it was slightly tougher than eating and drinking, but it was definitely easier than running and chopping wood.

As for the sensing of a gem's energy change, which was feared by many…

Ou Yangming said to himself, 'Since I have the Military Fire, is that even a problem?'

After going through his thoughts again and confirming that he did not miss anything, Ou Yangming took a deep breath and took the gem in Ni Yinghong's presence. The instant his Military Fire burned, Ni Yinghong was in a daze.

She did not expect Ou Yangming to be so impatient that he would begin smithing right away.

As the Military Fire burned, the gem's surface melted quickly, and its size changed according to the groove's size.

Ni Yinghong's face changed when she witnessed the process. Although she did not possess a spiritual fire, she was born with a good eye, and had, because of her family, watched gems being embedded numerous times.

A gem would undergo change each time a spiritual fire burned, but the margin of change was not big. Every blacksmith would try their best to keep a gem in its perfect state so that the mysterious energy contained within would not be damaged due to the external changes.

Needless to say, it was just a wish. No matter how careful the blacksmiths were, the parts that were bound to be damaged would inevitably be damaged.

Despite that, when Ou Yangming smithed, the gem did not change in an orderly manner, but at an exaggerated speed.

After only roughly 15 minutes, the gem in Ou Yangming's hands had been remodeled to fit the groove size.

Ni Yinghong was dumbfounded. Instead of looking surprised, she looked extremely helpless because she was certain that Ou Yangming had failed to transform the gem.

This was because nobody had ever completed the transformation of a gem in such a short span of time. A master who had decades of experience could not even achieve such an impressive feat, let alone Ou Yangming, a blacksmith who had just come across a gem.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply as he put down the gem. He expressed with a smile, "Thank you… Brother Ni, this method is very useful!"

"What?" Ni Yinghong was struck dumb. She asked after suddenly realizing what had happened, "Did you… Succeed?"

"Of course," Ou Yangming answered with a smile, then handed the gem to Ni Yinghong.

Ni Yinghong studied the gem carefully after reaching her hands out to receive it. The gem's pattern was extremely different from its original form. She would not have believed that it was the same gem if she had not been informed.

Nonetheless, when Ni Yinghong took a closer look, she shockingly realized that the gem's color and luster had not changed as it was still dazzling and clear. It seemed as though only its appearance had changed, whereas its interior remained the same.

'But how is this possible?' She wondered.

She had witnessed the gem being retrieved from a raw gemstone. The gem was completely natural, hence no changes were allowed.

In actual fact, there were normally two ways to handle gems like this. One of them was to change the gem's size according to the groove, which was what Ou Yangming had done, and the other way was to customize a piece of equipment according to the gem's original size.

Though the latter was more troublesome, it could fully unleash the gem's Unique Attribute.

That being said, Ou Yangming had started smithing before Ni Yinghong finished explaining.

Nevertheless, the outcome was beyond Ni Yinghong's expectations. Regardless of the angle the gem was viewed from, it did not look like it had been smithed by the Military Fire at all.

She hesitated for a while before gritting her teeth, and she rubbed her hands to release the Appraisal Light.

Once she curbed the light, she exclaimed while looking stupefied, "H-how did you do it?"

Ou Yangming mentally laughed. His Military Fire had a unique ability, which was the ability to draw or upgrade. Not only was the ability effective on equipment, but it could also be used on gems.

Therefore, the sensing of a gem's energy change, which was difficult for many, was effortless for him.

"Uhm, Brother Ni, is this… Difficult?"

Ni Yinghong's lips trembled a little. She looked deeply at Ou Yangming as she answered slowly, "Yes, but it doesn't seem… Difficult for you…"

The readjustment of the gem's size was undoubtedly the toughest step. Once the step was done, the gem could be embedded in a groove.

Even though it was slightly easier to embed a gem, it could not be completed right away. One needed to pay attention to the energy change between the piece of equipment and the gem as well. If one was careless, the equipment could easily be destroyed when the Military Fire was used to embed the gem.

However, for Ou Yangming, the entire process was just another process that required his Military Fire to burn.

Due to his Military Fire's special effect, the waist sash and the gem were successfully combined together. When it happened, though the gem's shape did not change, its color and luster seemed to have been absorbed. Judging from its appearance alone, it no longer shined with a stunning luster, but looked the same as an ordinary stone.

After witnessing this, Ni Yinghong was truly floored, and had nothing but admiration for Ou Yangming.

If a gem maintained its color and luster after being embedded in a piece of equipment, it could only mean that the blacksmith had not perfectly bound the gem's attribute to the equipment. On the contrary, if the gem's light was completely absorbed, it proved that the merging between it and the equipment was perfect, and its full power could be unleashed.

Ou Yangming was able to achieve a near-perfect result in his first attempt of remodeling and embedding a gem, which was totally out of Ni Yinghong's expectations.

Even the Spiritual Fire Blacksmiths from her family, who specialized in the gem trade, could only achieve the same result.

In actual fact, Ni Yinghong had overthought it. Unless they were much higher in rank than Ou Yangming, normal Spiritual Fire Blacksmiths in the gem trade could never achieve that standard.

After seeing Ou Yangming's abilities, Ni Yinghong was even more determined to invite him to the prefecture. They had a friendly discussion to decide on a rough date before Ni Yinghong bid him farewell.

Ni Yinghong turned to look after taking a few steps away from Ou Yangming's residence, only to see that he had already closed the door. Ni Yinghong stomped her feet as she mumbled, "Hmph, one day, I'll find out your limits."

Following that, she turned to leave with a brisk pace and a bright smile on her face.

On the other hand, in the courtyard that Ni Yinghong had just paid attention to, Ou Yangming had already put on the waist sash.

Peculiar energy was sensed returning to his body the instant he channeled a hint of essential Qi into the waist sash. The energy was completely different from normal energy because Ou Yangming did not notice an increase in his power or speed after the energy entered his body. Nonetheless, he clearly felt his body becoming much stronger.

Instead of a minor change, it was such an enormous change that describing it as an earth-shaking change would be an understatement.

If it had to be compared with something, perhaps having 11 points of Power was the only thing that was more overwhelming.

When the Military Fire danced in Ou Yangming's hand, the waist sash's properties appeared in his mind again.

[Item: Outstanding waist sash (Orange)]

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

[Attributes: Toughness 8, Physique 4]

[Skill: Blood Flight (Activation Condition: Abundant Qi and blood)]

There was a 4 points increase in the Physique attribute, which resulted in an unimaginable change for Ou Yangming.

Physique was the foundation of all martial power. Once a person's physique was improved, his body would experience the most sensitive changes.

Ou Yangming was suddenly struck with an idea, and his face took on a grave expression. He rubbed his hands slowly, and a faint light actually appeared in his hands.

If Zheng Ziwen and Ni Yinghong were present, they would definitely recognize that it was the Appraisal Light.

Throughout the appraisal task, Ou Yangming had seen the Appraisal Light for more than twenty times, and had heard in the carriage plenty of secrets regarding appraisal art. Once he gathered all information together, he finally released the Appraisal Light that belonged to himself.

The light flickered, then finally settled on Ou Yangming's body.

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Chapter 87 Force Grade Class Five

Although Ou Yangming had grasped appraisal art through self-learning, he did not need to appraise his equipment since he had the Military Fire. However, the Appraisal Light had already been released, so he had no choice but to direct it to his body.

Next, Ou Yangming's face changed as he finally saw his own properties.

[Race: Human)

(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Human, Force Grade, Class Four)

[Power: 4)

[Agility: 4]

[Physique: 8 (44)]

[Mental Power: 20]

[Skills: Military fist art, military blade technique, Military Fire Smithing Art, appraisal art, Precious Stone Embedding Art, Blood Flight]

(State: Integration of Heaven and man]

If it was not for appraisal art, Ou Yangming would never believe the things that he was seeing

'Power: 4?

'What does that mean? I actually have only 4 points of Power? That's too low. Besides, what does the integration of Heaven and man mean?'

Ou Yangming frowned and pondered for a while before he finally drew a conclusion. Perhaps the so-called Power, Agility, and Physique points were closely related to his cultivation's equivalent rank. An ordinary human in Force Grade Class Five would have a fixed amount of 5 points each.

That said, the points only applied in normal situations. If Ou Yangming used essential Qi during a fight or performed some skills, the specific points would change accordingly. It was not a casual guess, but a deduction made according to the change shown in brackets.

Needless to say, the data would probably become magnificent once he put on his armor.

'But what's the integration of Heaven and man?' Ou Yangming vaguely felt that this was perhaps the biggest reason he was out of the ordinary.

He was elated to find that he had 20 points of mental power, which was likely the benefit he gained from absorbing the half-spirit beast's flesh and blood.

A thought suddenly crossed Ou Yangming's mind. He put the data away, and shifted his focus to the waist sash's special skill — Blood Flight.

'What's this?"

On the day when Ou Yangming chose this waist sash in the basement, Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen, the appraisers, had inspected it. Nonetheless, they did not use appraisal art, hence they did not notice the hidden strange skill.

Upon thinking about the mysterious skill, Ou Yangming felt like his heart was being scratched by a cat — unbearably itchy.

Ou Yangming stomped his foot, then rummaged through boxes and cases to pack up the pieces of equipment that he had smithed for himself. When he was done, he realized that the bag of equipment was no longer heavy.

Though he was not wearing his arm guards at the moment, his power was already different from before.

Ou Yangming headed swiftly to the dense forest after he left the military camp. Once he was far enough, he put on all his equipment then rubbed his hands again to perform appraisal art.

[Race: Human]

(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Human, Force Grade, Class Four)

[Power: 15 (411)]

[Agility: 8 (44)]

[Physique: 8 (44)]

[Mental Power: 20]

(Skills: Military fist art, military blade technique, Military Fire Smithing Art, appraisal art, Precious Stone Embedding Art, Blood Flight]

(State: Integration of Heaven and man]

Ou Yangming was slightly satisfied after seeing the data, but he focused on the Blood Flight again.

He immediately channeled his essential Qi into the waist sash, then a peculiar and exceptionally dark aura was released. It instantly permeated into his body and caused him to shudder. Following that, he realized something frightening, his Qi and blood were flowing into the waist sash at an unimaginable speed.

In a split second, or perhaps in less than a split second, half of Ou Yangming's Qi and blood were consumed.

Almost at the same time, his body transformed into a blood light that zoomed far away in the blink of an eye.

Everything happened so quickly that Ou Yangming, who was involved, could not even react to the situation.

Nevertheless, it was then that his 20 points of mental power unleashed an unexpected magical effect.

Even though Ou Yangming's body was unable to react, his consciousness burst out in a flash. Through its mighty conception, time around him seemed to have slowed down, and he could see that his body had transformed into a red blood light that was zooming toward the dense forest at an unbelievable speed.

Ou Yangming had never imagined such a high speed would exist in the world. If he could perform appraisal art on his body at the moment, he would definitely see that his Agility point was ridiculously high.

While it was short-lived, it was enough to stun him.

A question suddenly arose in his head. 'What happens if there's an obstacle in my path?'

Once Ou Yangming had the thought, he did his best to control his flight path. However, no matter what he did, he could not do so.

Instead, when he tried to control the Blood Flight, the blood color suddenly disintegrated, causing him to be detached from the state.

"Thud — " Ou Yangming fell butt first to the ground.

He had practiced the martial-art squat, his fist art, and his blade technique every day, so his body was tempered to be rock solid. However, Ou Yangming actually lost control of his body and fell.

Despite that, as soon as his body touched the ground, he supported himself with his hand and stood up.

He was shocked when he looked sharply at his surroundings. In just a short span of time, he had flown more than 10 kilometers away. He could already somewhat see the forest.

Ou Yangming knew that he had likely been detached from the state of flying because he attempted to take control of the Blood Flight. If Ou Yangming had let himself be controlled, he would probably still be flying.

When he thought about the problem, his face turned green.

If he had actually landed in a ferocious beast's lair, the events that would take place would be even more interesting.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming staggered. He was in shock when he realized that he had lost a substantial amount of Qi and blood.

If his original Qi and blood were enough to fill up a bottle such that it would overflow if the bottle was shaken, he currently only had half of the original amount left.

Ou Yangming finally understood the meaning of Blood Flight.

Without abundant Qi and blood, he probably could not have activated the skill, but even if they were sufficient, an enormous amount would be consumed when the skill was activated. Once the skill disappeared, he would then end up in a dispirited state, like he was at the moment.

Nonetheless, although the Blood Flight had many shortcomings, it could play a magical role in an escape during a critical moment.

Ou Yangming halted his thoughts. As he glanced at the dense forest that was not far away, he headed over, his military saber burning with his Military Fire. Subsequently he darted into the forest.

Due to the Vision attribute, he was able to notice the changes around him in advance. On top of that, his strength had greatly improved from before. While Ou Yangming had lost Qi and blood, and his limbs were weak, as long as he had the power to lift his military saber, hunting some small animals was still a piece of cake for him.

He slaughtered a pheasant with a slash.

Its flesh and blood instantly transformed into energy that gushed into Ou Yangming's body, and the extreme weakness that he was feeling quickly disappeared. Nevertheless, a pheasant's flesh and blood could not compensate for his loss. Therefore, Ou Yangming moved quicker than before, and slaughtered every small animal mercilessly with saber-lights.

Before long, his body was rich in Qi and blood again.

Throughout the process, he clearly sensed that he had improved.

During his first visit to the dense forest, he could replenish his Qi and blood easily by killing a few small animals. Now, he had to kill more than ten of them to achieve the same result.

It was evident that his body could now store twice the amount of Qi and blood than he could before.

Ou Yangming suddenly laughed out loud. There was an upsurge of saber-lights from his saber again as he began wielding it at the dense forest's periphery.

He was performing the most basic blade technique in the military, but the technique was diverse when he executed it. The saber-lights that circulated were like billowing waves in a big river, or like quicksilver that spilled over the ground.

Eventually, Ou Yangming's essential Qi gushed toward all the acupoints in his body.

It had been more than ten days since the slaughter of the half-spirit beast. Back when he absorbed the beast's blood and flesh, the enormous gush of Qi and blood had not only helped him advance to Force Grade Class Four, but it had also pushed him to the peak.

After being almost depleted of Qi and blood, when they were replenished so much that they were about to overflow, Ou Yangming sensed an opportunity. It was a message from his body that had called out to him instinctively.

Hence, instead of stopping, he worked harder, and the saber-lights in his hands shone brighter.

"Kill —"

Ou Yangming roared on the spur of the moment. All of his essential Qi, his power, and even his mental power, had integrated with the saber as he slashed a big tree.

He slashed the big tree easily as though he was cutting some beancurd, then moved as fast as lightning to kick it in mid-air, and flew backward like a swimming dragon.

When Ou Yangming finally gained a foothold while holding his military saber, he towered like a mountain and bore a mighty aura.

Force Grade Class Five!

The instant he slashed the tree earlier, his spirit seemed to have become one with the entire force. It was at that moment that the integration of Heaven and man was vividly shown from his body.

The slash that he made did not only come from his own power, it also contained a mighty force gathered from nature, allowing all his essential Qi to be released in an instant.

When Ou Yangming recollected his essential Qi, he naturally advanced to Class Five.

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Chapter 88 Substitution Skill

When Ou Yangming put his saber away, he sensed the upsurge of essential Qi in his body, as well as the weakened Qi and blood. He was in high spirits. In actual fact, he had not come out to cultivate martial arts. He had only wanted to test the Blood Flight skill.

However, his unintended actions had brought unexpected results. After performing the Blood Flight skill, he lost a substantial amount of Qi and blood, which was why he used the Devouring ability in the dense forest to absorb energy from flesh and blood, and to turn them into Qi and blood for his body. During the process, Ou Yangming suddenly experienced a strong heroic spirit, and he cultivated martial arts, causing an upsurge of his Qi and blood. As things got out of hand, he eventually advanced to the peak of Force Grade.

It was definitely a massive opportunity for him.

Nonetheless, once Ou Yangming arrived at the peak of Force Grade, he realized that his rich Qi and blood were emptied again.

As such, he headed inside the dense forest easily, and recovered his Qi and blood after just 15 minutes.

Honestly, Ou Yangming's current body was so much more powerful than before that the amount of Qi and blood he could store was on a different level. That said, his attributes had improved accordingly. He also had the support of abundant essential Qi and a considerable amount of mental power. Therefore, Ou Yangming became a few times more efficient in hunting and required a much shorter time.

When Ou Yangming absorbed the energy of more flesh and blood, he had also used appraisal art a few times.

If Zheng Ziwen knew that Ou Yangming could perform appraisal art so frequently, he would definitely be stupefied and in disbelief.

Ou Yangming, who had 20 points of mental power, was more powerful than the good-for-nothing, Zheng Ziwen. At the very least, Ou Yangming would not feel burdened even if he consecutively used appraisal art four to five times.

Needless to say, he dared not attempt to use the art more than that.

After testing and verifying a few times, Ou Yangming finally understood something.

Sure enough, as he had guessed, if he did not use essential Qi or other unique abilities, his personal attributes were linked to his cultivation rank. On the other hand, if Ou Yangming employed his essential Qi, his attribute values would change significantly, and the specific amounts changed would vary.

Ou Yangming exclaimed once he confirmed everything. It seemed like there was a certain limit to appraisal art, he could only find out the most basic information, and could not inspect specific changes during a fight.

After replenishing his Qi and blood, Ou Yangming put his military saber away reluctantly. He drew the Devouring attribute, then used his body technique to hurry back to the military camp.

There was an important matter that he had to attend to back in the military camp.

When Ou Yangming returned to his courtyard, he put away his equipment set properly, then retrieved the raw gemstones that he had brought back.

The raw gemstones were extremely valuable, but they would not be coveted by anyone even if he just left them there. After all, nobody could break into his residence other than Old Craftsman.

Ou Yangming casually smashed one of the raw gemstones, and as he had expected, no gem was found.

On the contrary, when he reached for the other raw gemstone, he was cautious with it.

Based on the raw gemstone's hardness, unless it was intentionally broken, it was unlikely to shatter even if one accidentally dropped it. Despite being aware of that, Ou Yangming subconsciously handled the stone carefully.

After some thought, a light flashed in Ou Yangming's hand as his Military Fire burned.

Zheng Ziwen could carry out stone-cutting using different tools, but Ou Yangming did not have the conditions to do so. Besides, even if Ou Yangming was given those tools, he would not have had control over them right away, thus he decided to use his Military Fire.

Nevertheless, under Ou Yangming's control, the Military Fire burned very slowly. He did not want the fire to ruin the gem inside the raw gemstone.

If the Spiritual Fire Blacksmiths in the gem trade had witnessed this, they would surely yell at Ou Yangming as they were afraid that he would destroy the gem.

This was because there were many past cases where the Military Fire or the spiritual fire was used to retrieve a gem, but very few were successful cases. If a person was slightly careless, the raw gemstone would crack, and the gem would be destroyed.

However, Ou Yangming was different.

When he used his Military Fire's power, his consciousness was split into two, where the one watching from above was in a miraculous state — the integration of Heaven and man. Under the consciousness' observation, the situation inside the raw gemstone was crystal clear. Hence, Ou Yangming was aware of the key points when he advanced further with his Military Fire.

Like peeling a bamboo shoot, he removed the raw gemstone's surface bit by bit.

Following that, a mysterious gem was revealed, but Ou Yangming was surprised because the gem was odd.

Other gems had a beautiful color and luster, but the one that he was holding was black and unexceptional.

No, even though the gem was as black as an inkstone, inside it was a rich core, but the core looked like a sleeping person.

As Ou Yangming looked at the black core, he felt a chill for some reason.

While he was unaware of the gem's background, his guts were telling him that it was incredibly valuable. It was rare and more powerful than the gem that had increased his Physique by 4 points.

Appraisal art…

An Appraisal Light landed on the gem.

[Item: Substitution Gem]

[Attributes: Accumulates energy from Qi and blood, resists a fatal attack for the host]

Ou Yangming was hesitant for the first time

when he held the gem in his hands.

His initial plan was to embed the gem in the waist sash after carrying out the stone-cutting process. In any case, the waist sash had three grooves, so one slot would be left even if he added this gem.

Nonetheless, he suddenly realized that the gem's equivalent rank was definitely above the waist sash's and he would not be using the same equipment forever. Would it be a waste to embed this gem in the waist sash?

After some consideration, Ou Yangming cast his worries aside and began refining the gem.

This was because he thought about his mysterious Military Fire. Although Ou Yangming had no idea if the fire had the ability to draw and transfer skills, he believed that he could keep the gem intact if he were to remove it from the waist sash in the future.

Soon enough, the black gem began transforming in the Military Fire. At the very least, its outer appearance was obviously changing

By controlling the Military Fire, the black gem's attributes did not decline, and it was smoothly embedded in the waist sash. Similarly, once the gem was embedded, its outer appearance was no longer unusual, and the human-like core seemed to have faded

vas

away.

Ou Yangming studied it for some time before confirming that there were no flaws, then he proceeded to scan the waist sash with his Military Fire.

[Item: Extraordinary waist sash (Yellow)]

(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Five]

[AttributesL Toughness 20, Physique 4]

(Skills: Blood Flight (Activation Condition: Abundant Qi and blood), Substitution (Accumulates Qi and blood, substitutes death)]

'Fine Grade Rank Five?'

Ou Yangming suddenly widened his eyes. What did he see? He saw that the waist sash had leaped from Good Grade Rank Three to Fine Grade Rank Five without warning.

After blinking a few times, Ou Yangming realized that the black Substitution Gem was not as simple as it seemed.

The waist sash's grade had improved dramatically after the gem was embedded.

Ou Yangming had another vague thought in his head. He believed that super-powerful equipment above ordinary tools — the legendary magic tools — possessed unimaginable magical effects.

It would surely not be easy to cross the boundary between an ordinary tool and a magic tool.

Therefore, whether it was the waist sash that had accidentally grown or the shield that had declined from being a magic tool and was now an ordinary tool, they were stuck being ordinary tools at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five.

The reason being they could not advance further than that.

Ou Yangming had a fiery feeling inside his heart. He wanted to find out exactly how powerful a magic tool was.

That being said, it was difficult to acquire one.

Ou Yangming shook his head and cast the unrealistic thought aside. Perhaps his wish would come true one day, but today was definitely not that day.

After halting his thoughts, he continued to focus on the waist sash.

The waist sash had two skills at the moment. Ou Yangming had tried the first — the Blood Flight — and realized that its might must not be taken lightly. Though there was a high price to pay, it could definitely pose a huge threat to one's opponent during a crucial moment.

'But how should I use this new Substitution skill?'

Ou Yangming pondered for a while. Based on its literal meaning, he channeled his essential Qi slowly into the waist sash.

This time, to sense every change within the waist sash, he circulated his essential Qi on purpose. His eyes suddenly lit up because, sure enough, there were two powers in the sash that echoed his essential Qi.

Ou Yangming was familiar with one of the powers because he had tried it once earlier, so he was not going to contact it this time.

He directed his essential Qi away to contact the other power. Next, a massive absorption power burst out.

Ou Yangming felt a chill right away. He noticed that the overflowing amount Qi and blood that he had just replenished earlier was now gushing out like a flood.

In just a brief moment, he became seriously depleted of Qi and blood once more.

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes. He realized that he did not have the power to even lift his hands anymore.

He wondered with a bitter smile, 'What's happening to me? Why do I always encounter skills that devour Qi and blood?'

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Chapter 89 Keeping A Promise

After resting for a long time, Ou Yangming finally regained some strength.

He stood up forcefully and shook his head, then staggered toward the backyard. Before long, he arrived at the spot where he had stored the ferocious beasts' carcasses.

The carcasses from before had not been completely absorbed, but they already stunk. Nonetheless, Ou Yangming's eyes lit up upon seeing them. He retrieved a dagger, and activated his Military Fire as he stabbed it in…

When Ou Yangming returned to his room after a brief moment, he had a better complexion.

Although the remaining carcasses had not allowed him to fully recover his Qi and blood, he felt much better than before.

After some thought, he decided to leave his courtyard to head to the West Camp.

However, not long after he left, he heard someone calling out to him in a friendly manner, "Master Ou, you're finally back!"

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh when he turned to look. "Squad Leader Jiang, what a coincidence."

The person who called out to him was Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp. When he heard Ou Yangming's half-teasing, half-cheerful voice, he replied in embarrassment and in honesty, "Master Ou, I actually intentionally came to wait for you because I heard that you've returned from the town."

Though Jiang Chengwei had come all the way here, he dared not visit Ou Yangming as he did not want to disturb the master. He decided to wait like a fool, which was the dumbest method.

Ou Yangming chuckled. "Why are you looking for me?"

Jiang Chengwei rubbed his hands and was hesitant to answer.

"You're here for the explosive arrows, am I right?" Ou Yangming smiled.

"That's right. After using your explosive arrows, I just feel that something's off when I use other arrows." Jiang Chengwei nodded in excitement, then said after a pause, "Actually, I dare not ask for too much. I just hope that I can have a few to be kept as a secret weapon. That way, I'll be at peace!"

Ou Yangming grinned when he heard the squad leader speaking so pitifully. "Didn't I tell you to send me a few High Grade arrows when you're free?"

"Master Ou, I've already brought them," Jiang Chengwer quickly replied, but secretly cursed, 'You told me to bring some to you, but even after visiting you a few times, you were never home…'

Ou Yangming accepted the arrows and hesitated before he said, "Okay, I'll refine these arrows for you. Can you please look for Sui Hezhi from the West Camp to ask if he has any new quarries? The ones that I stored have turned smelly, so I threw them away."

Jiang Chengwei was startled. "New quarries?"

"The ferocious beasts that you hunt from the forest. I like to eat them," Ou Yangming replied to him with a nod.

"I understand. But Master Ou, if you'd like some quarries, why did you have to ask from those wusses in the West Camp? You can count on me!" Jiang Chengwei laughed after he realized what Ou Yangming meant, then turned to leave and shouted, "Wait for me, I'll go get one for you now!"

Ou Yangming did not know to cry or to laugh when he watched Jiang Chengwei running away.

Nevertheless, since Jiang Chengwei was helping him, he could not be bothered to look for Sui Hezhi anymore. Ou Yangming went to his smithing workshop, then adjusted his mental power to incorporate it into his Military Fire. Soon enough, the six High Grade arrows in his hands were turned into explosive arrows.

Needless to say, he did not increase the arrows' quality this time, but even so, the might of the arrows had been increased by a few times. Whether they would be used to attack wild beasts or humans, they would be much more powerful than they were before.

Afterward, Ou Yangming retrieved steel ingots to smith a High Grade equipment set.

Even though there were a few pieces of Attribute Equipment among the pieces of equipment that he had submitted in the past, their quality was limited at Good Grade. Ever since his challenge against Ni Yunhong, everyone knew that he could smith equipment at the peak of High Grade, and that he could perform Layering Art. In that case, Ou Yangming felt embarrassed if he still submitted pieces of Good Grade equipment.

Therefore, he decided to free his hands and legs. He tossed precious ores into every piece of equipment, and ended up smithing five pieces of High Grade Attribute Equipment, as well as a piece of High Grade Layered Attribute Equipment.

Ou Yangming had prepared them to be submitted for this month. While there were three extra pieces of High Grade Attribute Equipment, he had actually prepared them for Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman had aged, hence he did not have as much vigor as he did before. Although the old man had not stopped using smithing art, Ou Yangming was unwilling to allow him to smith anymore.

In any case, Ou Yangming could make up the remaining portion, and could even fulfill twice the required amount if he wanted to.

Just as he was done smithing, he heard Jiang Chengwei asking to meet him outside.

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed when he stepped outside. Jiang Chengwei was a reliable person indeed as he managed to get a moose in less than an hour's time. The moose was much bigger than the normal quarries, so Ou Yangming figured that it had a unique bloodline.

That said, how could a small squad leader have the right to use such a moose?

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Squad Leader Jiang, you know that I don't want any trouble, do you?"

Jiang Chengwei was stunned at first, but quickly realized what Ou Yangming meant, so he laughed. "Master Ou, don't worry, there's nothing wrong with this moose."

"Squad Leader Jiang, I suppose that this isn't an ordinary wild beast?" Ou Yangming giggled.

"Master Ou, you have a good eye. This moose probably carries a spirit beast's bloodline. Its bloodline is quite faint, but it can't be compared to a normal ferocious beast, after all. Our hunting team from the South Camp put in a lot of effort to slaughter it," Jiang Chengwei nodded and responded.

Ou Yangming knew that while Jiang Chengwei made it sound easy, it was not an easy job at all.

Their team must have paid quite a price to kill the moose.

Jiang Chengwei continued, "The others treat this moose as a treasure, and they weren't going to give it to me at first. Once I told them that it'll be a gift for you, they gave it to me without any hesitation. They even said that any good quarries in the future will be sent to you first before they're submitted."

Ou Yangming was dumbfounded. He smiled helplessly when he noticed Jiang Chengwei did not look like he was lying at all. "What's your request?"

"Master Ou, what are you talking about? They didn't request anything." Jiang Chengwei waved his hand.

"Tell me the truth!" Ou Yangming glared at him.

Jiang Chengwei smiled shyly and said, "Okay, the truth is the moose has actually been submitted already, but Captain Wu gave it to me after hearing that you've asked for a quarry. He also said that if you want quarries in the future, you may randomly pick from the Middle Camp's captures."

Ou Yangming was stunned because he did not expect Wu Guotu to have given the order.

When they met the other day, Wu Guotu did not seem to be very fond of Ou Yangming, and acted as if he looked down on him instead. All of a sudden, the captain was treating him differently.

"Okay, you may bring it to my courtyard. These are your explosive arrows." Ou Yangming nodded and handed the arrows to Jiang Chengwei.

"Thank you, Master Ou," Jiang Chengwei instantly widened his eyes and thanked him happily.

He carried the moose to Ou Yangming's courtyard, then left joyfully with the arrows.

Following that, Ou Yangming transformed almost a third of the moose's flesh and blood into his Qi and blood to replenish what he had lost. The moose had indeed carried a spirit beast's bloodline. Though it was quite faint, a third of its flesh and blood was enough for him to return to his best condition.

Once he was done with everything, another knock was heard on his door.

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes and thought, 'Being famous isn't that great after all, I'm obviously getting more visitors now.'

He finally understood why Old Craftsman was indifferent toward other people, and would always keep a distance away. If the old man was slightly more friendly, his residence would always be bustling with noise, and he would not even have time to smith items anymore.

Ou Yangming kept a straight face when he opened the door, but his face changed when he saw the people at the door.

"Ah, General Fang, old man, why are you here? Please come in quickly!"

The people outside were Commanding General Fang Yihai from the South Camp and Old Craftsman. As bold as Ou Yangming was, he dared not treat them impolitely.

Not to mention anything else, Old Craftsman's Iron Palm alone would make his body suffer in pain.

Fang Yihai laughed. "Little Brother, I'm here to ask if you're done with your tasks."

Ou Yangming looked at Old Craftsman in surprise, and the old man smiled bitterly at him. "Didn't you promise to help General Fang smith an equipment set? The general is here to remind you."

"Little Brother, I'm sure you know that God-given attributes are a gift from God. If a blacksmith master acquires such an attribute, his success rate in attaching the same attribute to other pieces of equipment becomes higher than other blacksmiths for a period of time." Fang Yihai nodded at Ou Yangming apologetically, then said with a grave expression, "But the success rate will slowly be lowered with time, so…"

Ou Yangming quickly understood what he meant. "General Fang, I understand. Okay, once you have everything prepared, I'm able to start at any time."

However, Fang Yihai looked at him embarrassedly. "I'll be honest with you. Those items are too valuable, which is why my family has kept them at home in the prefecture."

"Do you want me to go to the prefecture?" Ou Yangming was taken aback.

"Please." Fang Yihai stood up to bow at Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming was so shocked that he immediately sprung up from his seat. "General Fang, you mustn't be so polite, I can't afford that. I promise to help you."

He initially had plans to head to the prefecture anyway, thus he agreed to help as it was just a small favor.

Fang Yihai left in contentment after setting a time with Ou Yangming. On the other hand, Old Craftsman sighed for a long time. Seeing as Ou Yangming had risen so much that even a camp's commanding general was willing to beg him for help, the old man had mixed feelings.

Of course, Old Craftsman was mostly elated to see Ou Yangming, whom he treated as his son, soaring high and far away from him. If the old man had not experienced this himself, he could not imagine how it would feel like.

Ou Yangming stayed by Old Craftsman side for a night. He guaranteed that he would return as soon as possible, and finally turned the old man's worries into joy.

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Chapter 90 Escort

The next morning, Ou Yangming submitted the pieces of Attribute Equipment that he had smithed earlier, which really surprised Kang Weibo.

With those pieces of equipment, nobody would dare to complain even if Old Craftsman did not hand in any equipment this month.

Following that, Ou Yangming informed Ni Yunhong of the situation, and decided on a date to meet in the prefecture. Ni Yinghong had initially offered to travel with Ou Yangming, but was stopped by Ni Yunhong, who was highly against it.

Ou Yangming arrived at the military camp's entrance after bidding farewell to everyone.

Although the prefecture was far away, he would only be away temporarily, and he had comforted Old Craftsman yesterday, so the old man was calm when he left.

At the military camp's entrance, Fang Yihai and the others had been waiting for a long time.

Fang Yihai smiled when he saw Ou Yangming. "Little Brother, I initially wanted to travel with you, but according to the military rules, a commanding general can't leave the camp so easily. Instead, I've arranged a squad of soldiers to escort you."

In actuality, if the military rules were strictly followed, it was true that the commanding general could not randomly leave the camp, but the same applied to soldiers too.

Nonetheless, as strict as the rules were, there were ways to work around them. Based on Fang Yihai's authority in the military, it was a piece of cake for him to arrange a squad of soldiers for a task.

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. "General Fang, you're being too polite, I can actually head there myself."

Fang Yihai laughed and shook his head. "How can I allow that? You're going there to help my family, so how can I be impolite?"

"Okay, if you insist, thank you," Ou Yangming quickly responded as he was afraid that the straightforward general would say something inappropriate again. He later did a fist salute to the general. "General, since everything is ready, I'll be making a move."

Fang Yihai waved at him. "Okay, thank you for the help."

Ou Yangming responded to him, then left with the squad of ten soldiers that was sent by Fang Yihai.

In actual fact, the soldiers were not strangers to Ou Yangming because they were the ones who fought side by side with him in the dense forest. He just did not know their names back then.

"Master Ou, my name is Lin Chao, and I'm the squad leader." Once they were far from the military camp, the leader cupped his fists at Ou Yangming, then sighed. "I was injured by the half-spirit beast that day, so I was sent away to be treated. I regret not being able to fight with you."

Ou Yangming smiled. It was then that he found out that this man was the squad leader who had left the dense forest in advance due to his injury.

"Squad Leader Lin, thank you for taking care of us throughout this journey."

Lin Chao quickly replied to him, "Master Ou, please don't say that. It's my honor to be able to serve you throughout this journey."

'I'm indeed different from who I was before.' Ou Yangming sighed. Even though a squad leader was a lower-level officer, Lin Chao was the squad leader of the Guards under the South Camp's general's command. Whether it was his cultivation base or the treatments he received, they were better than a normal squad leader's.

Lin Chao would never show such a weakness when he faced normal Military Fire Blacksmiths.

"Master Ou, please stay back." Lin Chao's face changed suddenly, and his eyes looked valiant. As he waved his hand, a few soldiers behind him immediately rode their horse forward into a formation to surround Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming was stunned as he did not know what they were doing.

His confusion was resolved very quickly. This was because intense gallops were heard coming from behind as a fierce horse sped in their direction.

Lin Chao yelled sternly, "Who's there? Stop right now!"

The soldiers around him even fit an arrow and drew their bow to aim in that direction.

If Lin Chao gave the order, they would shoot the arrows without any hesitation.

Though their arrows were not explosive arrows, they were selected warriors in the military, so the arrows shot by them would definitely make one suffer.

The galloping horse that was a distance away immediately slowed down, and the rider shouted out loud, "Lin Chao, what are you doing? Are you going to kill me?"

Lin Chan and Ou Yangming were dumbfounded. They knew at once who it was by hearing the voice.

It was Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp, who was well-known for archery. He had rendered meritorious service during the slaughtering of the half-spirit beast, and was given a huge amount of credits. Additionally, he had forged a good friendship with Ou Yangming.

That said, why was he here at the moment?

The other soldiers instantly put down their bow when Lin Chao waved his hand. They would not show mercy if they were killing an enemy, but they dared not kill a brother from the military.

After a brief moment, Jiang Chengwei rode his horse to approach them, and laughed. "Master Ou, where are you going?"

Ou Yangming asked with a smile after looking at him from head to toe, "Where are you going?"

Jiang Chengwei answered, "I applied for home leave to visit my younger sister in the prefecture."

Lin Chao narrowed his eyes right away. "Visiting your younger sister? You're meeting your lover, aren't you?"

The soldiers behind him immediately burst out loud. Some of them even winked and made signs at Jiang Chengwei as though they were mocking him.

Ou Yangming smiled plainly. He had lived in the military camp for two years, after all, and had heard many off-color jokes, so he could understand.

However, Jiang Chengwei glared at the others and said, "Enough with the nonsense, she's really my younger sister!"

Lin Chao and the others were startled and embarrassed.

"Squad Leader Jiang, since fate has brought us together, let's travel together." Ou Yangming could not help but laugh.

"Okay, it's a blessing to be able to travel with you, Master Ou." Jiang Chengwei laughed.

"Brother Jiang, it's not easy to receive the favor of Master Ou." Lin Chao sneered.

Jiang Chengwei expressed angrily, "What? Are you the only ones allowed to fawn over Master Ou? Am I not allowed to do so? Hmph? Believe it or not, I'll go to the West Camp to ask Yan Haobo to come over."

Lin Chao immediately shut up and dared not utter another word. Everyone knew that Master Ou was actually closest to Commanding General Chen Yifan from the West Camp, and Squad Leader Yan Haobo was the first squad leader whom Master Ou knew. If Yan Haobo came, Lin Chao's position would definitely be replaced.

Ou Yangming cleared his throat and urged. "Everyone, we should move on."

"Yes, we should carry on with our journey," Lin Chao replied to him, then waved his arm to call out to the other soldiers, "Brothers, let's hurry up."

After responding to him, the other soldiers rode their horses to keep up with Lin Chao and Ou Yangming.

The military camp and the prefecture were at least 100 kilometers apart. They would naturally be faster if they spurred their horse to full speed, but there were more than ten of them, and they could not ravage the horses like that. Once they traveled quite a distance, Lin Chao and the others slowed down. They had noticed something; Ou Yangming's ability to ride a horse was definitely inversely proportional to his smithing capability.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was extremely strong, thus he could ride a horse steadily without falling off. If a normal person had ridden the horse instead, that person would be wailing on the ground by now.

Ou Yangming suddenly looked to the side and asked, "Squad Leader Jiang, that's the dense forest that we hunted in, right?"

Although the dense forest was visible from that distance, it was at least 5 kilometers away.

Before Jiang Chengwei could answer, Lin Chao said, "Master Ou, you're right, that's the holy ground that we hunt in. If we continue on the main path for another 15 kilometers, we'll be completely separated from the forest, and it'll be out of our sight."

Jiang Chengwei glared at Lin Hao and thought, 'Master Ou was clearly asking me, why are you interrupting!

On the other hand, Lin Chao glanced at Jiang Chengwei proudly. The general has ordered me to make Master Ou feel at home throughout the journey, so there's no way you're going to ruin this!'

Ou Yangming had a faint smile on his face when he looked at the dense forest. There was a tight bond between him and the forest. His current results were closely related to the flesh and blood that were acquired from there.

"Eh?" Jiang Chengwei suddenly exclaimed and pulled the rein. "What's that?"

Everyone stopped to look in the direction he was pointing at. They vaguely noticed a tiny black spot, but did not find anything else.

Lin Chao focused on it for a while and asked, "What's that? I can't see it clearly."

Jiang Chengwei hesitated before he said, "I can't see it clearly too, but it somehow gives me the shudders."

Lin Chao tensed up a little, and his face quickly took on a grave expression. He was ordered to escort Ou Yangming to the prefecture, which proved how much the general trusted him. It was a task desired by many, but was also a relatively heavy responsibility.

While they did not believe that anyone would risk condemnation to attack Ou Yangming during their journey, if they actually came across a madman like that or if an accident happened, Lin Chao would have to bear all responsibilities. He could not afford to do so.

Lin Chao turned to instruct, "Little Shan, go take a look."

"Yes," a soldier responded, then rode his horse to go take a look.

Jiang Chengwei was hesitant but decided to get closer to Ou Yangming to ask, "Master Ou, since you have such good vision, can you see what that is?"

'I'm not wearing my helmet, and I don't have the Vision attribute with me. How can my vision be better than a professional like you?' Ou Yangming wondered, but asked half-heartedly, "Squad Leader Jiang, what do you think it is?"

Jiang Chengwei thought for some time and answered, "That's probably a person, but I have no idea why he's standing in the middle of the road."

Ou Yangming said to himself, 'There are plenty of weird people in the world, why should we be so concerned about every single one of them? The squad leaders are being too cautious.'

However, Jiang Chengwei suddenly shouted at the next moment, "Oh no!"

Everyone else was shocked. When they turned to look, they noticed the black shadow zooming in their direction as if it was flying, and the soldier whose name was Little Shan had collapsed with his horse, unable to get up anymore.

"Formation! Defend!"

With a fierce look in his eyes, Lin Chao roared.

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Chapter 91 Attack

Before Lin Chao's voice trailed off, an arrow-light was seen shooting out.

Jiang Chengwei had the best eye among everyone and had an extremely rich experience in fights, so he promptly decided to shoot an arrow.

The arrow zoomed as fast as a shooting star, and the mysterious person was also charging fast, so they quickly crossed paths. However, everyone was frightened when the person simply dodged the arrow by swinging his hand.

"Oh no, he's at the peak of Yin Grade!" Jiang Chengwei's face instantly took on a ghastly expression as he added, "Or…"

Though he did not say it, the other soldiers knew what he meant.

The mysterious man, who was still a distance away, was at least a powerhouse at the peak of Yin Grade, and could also possibly be a Yang Grade powerhouse.

Yang Grade was the mightiest boundary when a person moved into Yang upon reaching the extremity of Yin. It was said that a Yang Grade powerhouse's valiance was unparalleled, and a powerhouse like that was described as an arrow in war; an unstoppable leader who charged at the front.

In the military camp, the five commanding generals and Captain Wu Guotu from the Middle Camp's Guards were the only ones who arrived at the state of moving into Yang upon reaching the extremity of Yin.

That said, Lin Chao and the others had now encountered a figure in that state.

"Get in formation, and fight to our death to obstruct him!" Lin Chao's face changed so much that he had turned pale, but he did not shrink at all. Instead, he shouted out loud, then turned to order, "Jiang Chengwei, take Master Ou away."

His voice was as sharp as the blade, and it gave off a feeling of despair.

Jiang Chengwei's face twitched hard at that moment, and he fired another arrow at lightning speed.

Ou Yangming clearly saw Jiang Chengwei using an explosive arrow that he had remodeled.

He narrowed his eyes to look in the distance. He knew very well the might of the explosive arrow, so even a Yin Grade powerhouse who was caught off guard could not resist it without getting injured.

Despite that, just as everyone watched in anticipation, the shadow took a sudden turn to evade the arrow as if he was a ghost.

It seemed like he knew that the arrow could not be resisted, so he avoided it in the simplest way.

"Swoosh…"

The arrow shot deep into the ground, causing a patch of dirt to explode right away. Nonetheless, even though countless steel shards burst out from the mud, they could not hurt the mysterious man at all because the man had run away from the explosion area.

"He knows that it's an explosive arrow!" Jiang Chengwei roared angrily. He turned to pull Ou Yangming's rein and squeezed his legs to make his horse run in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming quietly watched everything happen. He did not resist and laid on the horse's back as much as he could to reduce the horse's burden by moving according to its bumpy movement.

Before he parted from everyone else, he glanced at them and noticed the look in their eyes.

Instead of looking fearless, the soldiers were actually afraid, hesitant, and hopeless. Nevertheless, no matter how they felt, none of them backed off, let alone fled.

The soldiers knew that they would likely be dead if they stayed, but a military order was like a mountain, and they could neither flinch nor forsake it.

Lin Chao smiled sadly when he looked at the figure that was faster than a horse. "Brothers, see you in the next life!"

Behind him, eight soldiers roared at the same time. Their voices were intense yet tragic to hear, which formed a sound wave that showed their determination to fight to their death.

The figure arrived in front of them in the blink of an eye. Lin Chao shouted out loud, then risked his life by pouncing on the person with his saber. Behind him, the warriors in the military dauntlessly charged forward one after another. They looked resolute and did not fear death as they attacked with their saber.

In spite of that, sometimes a huge disparity between powers could not merely be compensated with courage.

The mysterious man spread out his thin sleeves, which were actually much tougher than steel. By flapping his sleeves softly, the soldiers' weapons were swept away one by one. Following that, he continued to flutter his sleeves, which cut the soldiers' bodies as if they were sharp blades. Painful shrieks were heard, and as the man killed them mercilessly, none of the soldiers could resist him.

Only Lin Chao, who was in Yin Grade Class Three, was able to shift a distance away in a flash.

However, he soon noticed the brothers whom he had spent years together were either headless or had been chopped into many pieces. None of them survived the sleeves that were as sharp as blades.

"Ah —" Perhaps the scene was too tragic to watch, or perhaps because the death of Lin Chao's brothers posed an unbearable threat to him, hence he shouted loudly and forgot how powerful his opponent was. He gathered all his energy to slash his saber at the mysterious figure.

"Ding!" Another loud sound was heard. Subsequently, Lin Chao felt pain in his chest, and his body was slashed into two. The instant before both parts of his body fell hard to the ground, only one word appeared in his mind.

"Escape, escape, escape…"

Jiang Chengwei pulled the rein to escape with Ou Yangming. He only had one thought at that moment, which was to bring Ou Yangming to safety no matter what.

Not long after they fled, a cold scoff was heard.

The voice sounded like it was right beside their ears, which was truly frightening.

Jiang Chengwei's heart turned cold. He knew that Lin Chao and the others could not necessarily obstruct the man and that they were courting death if they chose to stay. That being said, the man was exceptionally fast…

'If he has already caught up to us, what about Lin Chao and the others?' Jiang Chengwei dared not think further.

He turned his head to look and instantly saw the figure swiftly flying in their direction.

The person was faster than a galloping horse, so Jiang Chengwei gritted his teeth and decided to pull the rein to stop. That being said, he quickly kicked Ou Yangming's horse on its butt and said, "Leave now!"

Next, Jiang Chengwei shifted his body and retrieved his bow and arrow. As he fit the arrow and pulled the bow again, another explosive arrow was shot.

The mysterious person did not seem to be bothered about attacks from the others but was wary of the explosive arrows. Seeing as the arrow was shot, he swayed his body again to evade it. Moreover, the man's speed was notably fast because he only took a split second to avoid it, and was able to borrow force by twisting his waist to spring up again. Consequently, he managed to close up the distance between him and Jiang Chengwei.

Jiang Chengwei shouted furiously and pulled his bow multiple times to shoot tens of arrows using a chain-shooting method.

He used explosive arrows in the beginning but soon ran out of them, so he used normal arrows instead. Even then, the shooting method did not slow down the man.

When Jiang Chengwei reached out for more arrows, he realized that he had finished all the arrows that he carried along.

Afterward, he heard the mysterious man laughing out loud. "Haha, that fella actually came back, I'm going to die from laughing too much!"

Jiang Chengwei ignored him because he subconsciously thought that the man was tricking him, but he soon heard galloping sounds and a flustered Ou Yangming. "Squad Leader Jiang, something's wrong with this horse!"

Feeling disheartened, Jiang Chengwei turned to look, and his face instantly turned gloomy.

He suddenly recalled that Ou Yangming did not know how to ride a horse, and the horse seemed to have been stimulated by something. It was supposed to help Ou Yangming escape, but it somehow turned around and galloped back to where it was.

Jiang Chengwei cursed to himself, 'Ou Yangming really doesn't know any better. Even if he can't ride a horse, under this circumstance, he should abandon it and escape.'

Nonetheless, he did not know that Ou Yangming actually had other plans. Since the attack came out of nowhere, how could he sleep soundly in the future without knowing who his enemy was?

Of course, Ou Yangming had a trump card with him, or he would not have the guts to come back.

Jiang Chengwei smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it, Master Ou, this must be your fate, but I won't let you die in front of me!"

He squeezed his horse's belly, then threw his bow away and pulled out his military saber instead.

Nevertheless, before he could charge at the man, the man had attacked with his palm and hit the saber.

Jiang Chengwei was struck with an indescribable power at that moment, which sent him flying away. The horse that he rode was so appalled that it instantly galloped away.

The mysterious man did not spare Jiang Chengwei a look at all. He simply kicked the head of the crazy horse that was being ridden by Ou Yangming.

As a result, the horse collapsed to the ground and died; its tough skull was crushed by the enormous force.

Ou Yangming fell off the horse but was able to move nimbly. That said, just as he shifted his body, a great force was coming for him. He reacted very quickly by protecting his chest with his arms to block the kick.

His arms instantly felt a piercing pain, and his chest suffered the impact as well. The pain was so unbearable that Ou Yangming almost fainted on the spot.

The first thought that crossed his mind was his arms were broken.

Having said that, a mysterious power was suddenly transferred from his waist at that instant, and circulated around his arms and chest for a while.

Ou Yangming later realized that his body had recovered.

The suffocating pain seemed to have gone away.

Perhaps the attacker was overly confident as he thought that he had control over the situation, so he put his hands behind his back and uttered proudly, "Ou Yangming."

Ou Yangming trembled. He grimaced in pain as he asked, "Who… Are you? Why are you attacking me?"

The man sneered and lowered his head slowly. "Do you recognize me?"

"You, it's you… The Zhang family's servant!" Ou Yangming recalled.

"I'm Zhang Yinli, Zhang Yinfan's brother." The man smirked.

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly as he thought, 'It turns out that Zhang Yinfan was only putting up an act to set my mind at rest when he visited me to apologize. This is the real killing move.

Zhang Yinli suppressed his hatred for Ou Yangming and demanded, "Where's the Fire-absorbing Badge? If you tell me the truth, I'll spare you!"

Ou Yangming curled his lips into a big smile. "You'll spare me?"

"You're a smithing genius, after all. If you're willing to serve me, why shouldn't I let you live?" Zhang Yinli replied.

Ou Yangming took a deep breath. Just as he was about to respond, he caught a glimpse of a shadow through the corner of his eye.

Jiang Chengwei who was sent flying had pounced on Zhang Yinli at an incredible speed. Followed by that, a huge explosion was heard coming from his body.

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Chapter 92 Interrogate

'An explosive arrow!'

Ou Yangming widened his eyes because he recognized the explosion.

'An explosive arrow, it was definitely the sound of an explosive arrow.' When he sensed the familiar impact coming from it, he quickly understood Jiang Chengwei's actions.

After Zhang Yinli sent him flying, Jiang Chengwei pretended to be heavily injured instead of getting up right away. As such, Zhang Yinli dropped his guard.

Perhaps everything had been planned by Jiang Chengwei from the start.

In the beginning, it seemed like he had shot all his explosive arrows, but he had actually left one for himself.

If Jiang Chengwei was still holding his bow, Zhang Yinli might still keep an eye on him, but an archer without his bow was like an ant to Zhang Yinli, hence Jiang Chengwei was no longer a threat.

However, the insignificant ant was now using Heaven and Earth as its bow, and its body as the arrow. Jiang Chengwei shot the most dazzling arrow in his life.

The explosive arrow on his body soon exploded, causing numerous steel shards to burst in all directions. Additionally, there was a drizzle of blood in that area.

"Ah!" Zhang Yinli roared. A white light appeared on his body at that moment, which appeared to be a round shield that was floating in the void. Although it looked illusory, it blocked the shards completely.

Nonetheless, Zhang Yinli looked enraged and regretful.

Evidently, the price he had to pay to execute the move was so huge that he suffered physical pain.

Jiang Chengwei was not able to hit Zhang Yinli with his body. Though he had put his life on the line, which was truly unexpected, his path was blocked by the white light.

After the shards fell on the ground, the furious Zhang Yinli went over to Jiang Chengwei's corpse.

The corpse was already covered in holes, and was completely disfigured by the countless shards.

Even then, Zhang Yinli gritted his teeth and took a step forward to kick Jiang Chengwei's neck. The kick was as fast as lightning, and as sharp as a saber, by which Jiang Chengwei's head was kicked off at once.

Subsequently, Zhang Yinli proceeded to kick Jiang Chengwei's dead body, which was sent flying away as a result and was nowhere to be found. He then tipped his toe and shifted to Ou Yangming's side.

Zhang Yinli's face finally looked hideous. The white light earlier was stimulated from his most powerful defensive treasure, which he had cherished very much because it could only be used once.

Who knew, the precious opportunity was wasted on an ant that he thought of as unimportant, thus his resentment toward Jiang Chengwei was not at all lesser than his grudge toward Ou Yangming.

"Young fella, quickly tell me where the Fire-absorbing Badge is, or I'll make sure you end up like him. Not only will you die, but your family will suffer too!" Zhang Yinli shouted fiercely.

Ou Yangming looked fearful and was in disbelief when he looked at the head in front of him.

It was as if a ten-thousand-feet tall wave had surged inside him, and the fluctuating yet painful emotion that he felt at the moment was indescribable.

Even though Ou Yangming had not interacted much with Jiang Chengwei, a few moments flashed before his eyes at that instant; moments where the squad leader made things difficult for him in the past, and when the leader eventually respected him and fawned over him in every way possible.

"I applied for home leave as I'm visiting my younger sister in the prefecture!"

The words were still ringing in Ou Yangming's ears, but the person who said it could not see his younger sister anymore.

Ou Yangming's lips trembled a little. He was neither afraid nor having a heartache because he did not share such a relationship with Jiang Chengwei.

Nevertheless, he was full of rage at that moment; a rage that could burn everything down including him.

The more infuriated he was, the calmer and clearer his mind was.

In particular, along with his mental power, the purple light in his head rose to a new height.

Ou Yangming observed Zhang Yinli's every move. While he could not resist the man in terms of power, he had transcended himself in terms of mental state.

Instead of looking angry, Ou Yangming began to calm down.

Zhang Yinli furrowed his eyebrows. He quickly looked around him but did not find anything unusual.

He wondered, 'I actually became fussy and overly suspicious after that ant sneaked an attack on me.'

As he was comforting himself, he did not notice the mental power in the void that existed in an incomprehensible way.

Ou Yangming closed his eyes and asked slowly, "How do you know that the Fire-absorbing Badge isn't with me now?"

Zhang Yinli scoffed. "I have another Fire-absorbing Badge with me now. If two badges are present in the same area, they naturally produce an induction. Since nothing is coming from your body, it proves that the badge isn't with you now."

"If that's the case, you've searched my residence too?" Ou Yangming questioned.

"Not only your residence but your smithing workshop and even Old Craftsman's place were also searched." Zhang Yinli sneered.

Ou Yangming suddenly looked up at him. "Old Craftsman?"

Zhang Yinli curled his lips. "That's right. If you refuse to realize your mistake and insist on keeping the Fire-absorbing Badge for yourself, Old Craftsman will also die because of you!"

"You… You're really going to eliminate everyone!" Ou Yangming nodded slowly.

"Hmph!" Zhang Yinli stared at him with indifference. "Ou Yangming, you don't have to play any tricks, it's useless even if you try to drag this any longer. They're all dead, your arms are broken, and so are your breast bones, so are you still going to try to escape? Besides, I didn't even torture you. Isn't that enough to prove that I'll keep my word?"

Ou Yangming flashed a smile at him. "Sir Zhang, I suppose you didn't punish me right away not because you're being kind, but because you're afraid that you'll kill me if you overdo it."

Zhang Yinli's face instantly froze. "Nonsense!"

He swayed his body and was about to approach Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming quickly shouted, "If you take another step forward, I'll kill myself now, and you'll never find the Fire-absorbing Badge!"

Zhang Yinli halted. His face looked as gloomy as a rain-bearing cloud before a rainfall.

Just as Ou Yangming said, Zhang Yinli actually hated him so much that he was only giving excuses when he claimed that he would spare Ou Yangming and let Ou Yangming serve him because of his smithing art.

Zhang Yinli only wanted to find out that Fire-absorbing Badge's whereabouts to acquire it.

Once he obtained the badge, he would torment Ou Yangming by executing every cruel punishment in the world on him to avenge Zhang Hanyu's death.

Obviously, Zhang Yinli had not hurt Ou Yangming yet because he needed to get the Fire-absorbing Badge.

It was important to take revenge for his son, but the badge was more important at the moment. Although he had killed many soldiers earlier, he was rational enough to know the seriousness of this matter.

Ou Yangming smiled hideously and expressed, "There were more than ten soldiers, and they shouldn't have died!"

Zhang Yinli narrowed his eyes. He could tell that Ou Yangming was very agitated, but he was delighted to see that. This was because it was easier to deal with someone who was on the verge of breaking down than someone who was composed.

Of course, the precondition was he had the ability to suppress that person.

Ou Yangming looked up and said, "Tell me what exactly is the Fire-absorbing Badge, and I'll tell you where it is."

The Devouring attribute in the Fire-absorbing Badge was the strangest and the most mysterious attribute that Ou Yangming had acquired. In fact, the attribute played the most important role in his current success because his martial power and mental power could not have achieved their respective height without it.

Therefore, he really wanted to know the badge's background if he could.

Zhang Yinli hesitated before answering, "Okay, I'll tell you. The Fire-absorbing Badge is the legacy of a Sky-devouring Devil God in ancient times and is said to contain the devil's secret in devouring the sky. If someone is able to fathom it, that person will possess the devil's Sky-devouring Ability."

Ou Yangming asked, "Did anyone manage to fathom it?"

Zhang Yinli scoffed. "Why will the Fire-absorbing Badge still exist if someone has fathomed it?"

"The badge isn't yours!" Ou Yangming suddenly uttered.

"You're very smart, but overly smart people usually don't get to live a long life." Zhang Yinli frowned and looked deeply at Ou Yangming. He then sighed and paced toward the young blacksmith.

Ou Yangming smirked and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll commit suicide now so you'll never find the Fire-absorbing Badge?".

Zhang Yinli sniggered. "If you dare to do that, I'll return to the military camp to kill Old Craftsman and bury him with you. What do you think?"

"You dare lay a finger on Old Craftsman?" Ou Yangming's face instantly changed. He had a look of savage on his face and seemed like he was ready to perish together with his enemy.

"He's just an old craftsman, so why would I not dare to? Hehe, I guarantee that I'll kill him discreetly, and I'll make sure he gets to meet you in hell!" Zhang Yinli laughed out loud as he was slowly becoming at ease.

When he approached Ou Yangming step by step, his footsteps sounded like thunderous drum beats on Ou Yangming's heart.

Seeing as Zhang Yinli was getting closer to him, Ou Yangming exhaled deeply. He reached out to Jiang Chengwei's head with one hand and grabbed a huge bag with his other hand.

Zhang Yinli's face suddenly changed and he exclaimed, "Your hands…"

Even though he had held back earlier to not kick Ou Yangming to his death, he had actually broken the young man's arms.

Zhang Yinli was a hundred percent sure of that.

That being said, the young man had just stretched his arms easily and did not look injured at all.

Zhang Yinli was finally feeling afraid. He slowly realized that he had lost control over the situation.

He raised his eyebrows and quickened his pace. While he did not know what Ou Yangming's trump card was, capturing Ou Yangming was unquestionably his best move for now.

At the spur of the moment, a red light flashed in front of him.

Ou Yangming had vanished into thin air.

"Wh-what was that?" Zhang Yinli mumbled with a pale face and widened eyes.

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Chapter 93 Stay Alive, Kill Him!

As Ou Yangming's body flashed into a blood light, he instantly flew 5 kilometers away.

This was the Blood Flight, the powerful skill contained in his mysterious waist sash. He had unleashed the skill to its greatest extent during the crucial moment.

Besides, Ou Yangming noticed something delightful when he used the Blood Flight; his mental power that had suddenly advanced to a new height due to the rage and fear somehow showed signs of having control over the skill.

He could feel a huge change in his speed during the flight, where he seemed to have slowed down a lot.

The scenery that initially moved backward like the wind became acceptable as he had a clearer view. Although he still could not move his body during the Blood Flight, his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were in a normal state. The swift movement no longer disrupted his senses.

This was only the first step.

Seeing as he was about to enter the dense forest, Ou Yangming's mental power that was boosted to the maximum attempted to control the Blood Flight.

The Blood Flight skill instantly crumbled when Ou Yangming tried it the first time, but now that his mental state was stimulated like never before, his flowing thoughts were more engaging by a few times than usual. He used his mental power to the extreme the instant the power came into contact with the skill.

As such, Ou Yangming's consciousness and the Blood Flight merged at the next instant.

An intense light shot out from his eyes at once, and a vague blood red color was especially seen deep in his eyes. Additionally, there was a drastic change in his aura.

If someone who was familiar with him was present at that moment, that person could certainly not identify him through his aura.

Once Ou Yangming's mental power and the Blood Flight merged, he clearly felt his Qi and blood flowing away at a high speed. It happened so shockingly fast that he might soon pass out due to the lack of Qi and blood.

Though he had escaped from Zhang Yinli, it did not mean that he was completely safe.

Since Zhang Yinli's identity was exposed, there was no chance for a reconciliation between them. Zhang Yinli would definitely hunt for Ou Yangming, and would not give up unless one of them died.

Similarly, Ou Yangming was not going to surrender.

He had never hated someone so much.

Zhang Yinli killed eleven soldiers, whom he knew, in front of him, and even threatened to harm Old Craftsman.

When Zhang Yinli brought up the old man, he had totally rubbed Ou Yangming the wrong way.

'Since you want to harm Old Craftsman, you'll have to die!'

The blood red color in Ou Yangming's eyes was becoming richer. It occupied a third of his eyes, which made him look fearsome.

Following that, his body that was moving backward at the speed of light took a sudden turn and formed an S-shaped path in the air.

Control. This was control over the Blood Flight Art, and it was the first time it was effective.

Before this when Ou Yangming activated the skill to escape, he could only travel in a fixed and direct path. In fact, the art would not bother if an obstacle appeared in his path.

As for now, it depended if his body was tough enough. If his body was weaker than the obstacle…

Okay, the uncontrollable Blood Flight had become past tense. Ou Yangming could finally control the Blood Flight Art if he went all out. Even though he had only managed to form an S-shaped path, it proved that change was possible.

The first S shape had appeared, after all, so how could the second one be very far away?

Before long, the dense forest was straight ahead, and the first big tree was becoming bigger through Ou Yangming's view as though he would crash into it soon. However, his body strangely disappeared the instant he was about to hit the tree.

No, Ou Yangming did not disappear. He had actually moved so fast that he flashed past the tree and appeared behind it.

The unbelievable speed gave an illusion of disconnection as if his body went through the big tree.

Likewise, Ou Yangming's current speed had surpassed an ordinary human's limit, so after evading the first crisis of being crushed into pieces, he was welcomed with the second crisis.

Another big tree was in his path, and his body was charging at it very quickly.

His mental power was instantly boosted again when it originally could not be heightened anymore.

"Woosh -"

Ou Yangming's body vanished, and he was already behind the tree when he reappeared.

The blood light that surrounded him was gone too.

It was true that the dangerous process was intense, but it was short-lived.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming instantly sensed an extreme weakness when the Blood Flight Art was lifted. It was a strong feeling of having lost a considerable amount of Qi and blood, and as though his entire body had been emptied. Ou Yangming did not have the power to even move an inch.

He inhaled deeply and grimaced in pain while slowly getting up.

Ou Yangming knew that he seemed to be safe now, but was actually running out of time.

A 5-kilometer distance could not stall Zhang Yinli — a Yang Grade powerhouse — for long.

After putting the bag down, Ou Yangming put his hands on the saber that he had carried on his waist. As his Military Fire burned, the Devouring attribute was attached to the saber. Nevertheless, it was then when Ou Yangming's heart throbbed because he realized that the military saber had weighed around 500 kilograms, and he could not wield it as he wished anymore.

He was finally conscious of how huge the consumption of his Qi and blood was.

If he could not even hold a saber, how would he hunt? How would he replenish his Qi and blood?

At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming heard soft sounds. The sounds would not have drawn his attention under normal circumstances, but they were pleasing to his ear at the moment.

Ou Yangming noticed a small hare in a bush when he turned to look, and the hare stared at him cautiously. He curled his lips into a smile, then reached for a dagger at his waist to throw it at the hare.

The alert hare instantly flashed away to escape, but an explosion was heard at that moment. Its body was penetrated by at least ten steel shards, and as a result, it collapsed to the ground without being able to get back up anymore.

Ou Yangming gritted his teeth and approached it step by step while dragging his military saber. His breathing was rapid and heavy, and he was pale, but his steps were firm. Ou Yangming did not stop at all because he had stronger will power.

'Stay alive!

'Kill him!

'Stay alive! Kill him!'

The hare was mercilessly stabbed, where its blood and flesh instantly turned into energy that flowed into Ou Yangming's body.

Although a hare alone was not enough for Ou Yangming to regain the Qi and blood that he had lost, he gained some power and speed.

He underwent an enormous change from when he was exceptionally weak earlier.

Ou Yangming turned around with a cold face, then shook his bag upside down to pour out his helmet, armor, arm guards, and greaves. Subsequently, he put them on without wasting a single second.

As he channeled essential Qi into the equipment set, he instantly sensed powerful energy in his body as if he had transformed into someone else.

That said, Ou Yangming remained the same facial expression. The purple consciousness was still floating above his head, hence he was extremely calm.

In order not to waste the empty bag, he used it to keep Jiang Chengwei's head, then left in a flash.

Ou Yangming searched for a rather obvious spot, and dug a deep hole to bury the head. He took a good look at this area to remember the terrain well, then turned to dash out of the dense forest.

With the Vision 1 attribute, he could see in advance danger and animals that were either far away or lurked in the dark.

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up all of a sudden when he was running, and he took another turn to kick a big tree beside him, where he jumped strangely to the other side. Over there, an average-sized wild boar was rolling in the mud to give his body a mud treatment.

It seemed to have sensed danger all of a sudden as it quickly straightened its body.

However, a cold light had already appeared next to it, and penetrated its body ruthlessly.

A wild boar was one of the most valiant species in the forest. In particular, an injured wild boar would become so ferocious that a tiger — king of the forest — would feel troubled and would stay away from it.

Just as the wild boar suffered immense pain and wanted to struggle, its body became powerless, and it ended up collapsing to the ground.

The wild boar's body shrunk at a speed visible to the naked eye and completely disappeared after a brief moment.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming had a much better complexion, and his Qi and blood levels were finally satisfactory.

Needless to say, based on his current strength, an ordinary wild boar would be unable to make him feel rich in Qi and blood. Hence, he fixed his eyes on his next prey.

In just 15 minutes, Ou Yangming had recovered his lost Qi and blood by going deeper into the deep forest.

He finally had the time to observe his waist sash's condition by using his consciousness.

His waist sash was still undamaged, but one of the gems embedded in it had become unusual.

The black human-shaped core in the middle of the Substitution Gem showed signs of disintegration.

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. 'No wonder I was able to recover in an instant when I clearly felt my arms break. It turns out that the gem has borne the injury.'

His heart could not help but ache when he looked at the slightly disintegrated black human shape in the Substitution Gem.

He finally understood why Zhang Yinli looked so distressed when he resisted the explosive arrow's attack by releasing a white light.

'When an extremely useful piece of equipment is damaged, it's actually so upsetting.'

Despite that, Ou Yangming did not dwell on it. He quickly shut down that thought and looked deeply behind him, then transformed into a blood light and disappeared.

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Chapter 94 Fierce Battle In The Forest

The Blood Flight Art. Ou Yangming actually performed the Blood Flight Art in the dense force.

One would definitely be courting death by doing the same thing, but Ou Yangming's consciousness was suddenly lifted and merged with the art when Ou Yangming activated it. At the same time, his eyes underwent a huge change where almost a third of his eyeballs were in a frightening blood red color.

Following that, there was also a significant change in the Blood Flight's speed, but it became much slower instead.

Yes, Ou Yangming attempted to have complete control over the Blood Flight Art's power as he wanted to control the speed as he wished.

Needless to say, it was not an easy step. Even when Ou Yangming had given his all, the speed did not decrease as much as he wanted to.

Ou Yangming flew past eight big trees by continuously shifting his body. It was worth noting that it was difficult to achieve that at such a high speed in such a narrow space. Without his powerful mental power to support him, this was definitely unachievable.

Nonetheless, this was also his current limit. The blood light disappeared all of a sudden, and Ou Yangming was about to crash into the ninth big tree. If he had not stopped by putting his arms between the tree and his body, perhaps he would have really crashed into it.

Ou Yangming's heart was pounding. It was true that he could efficiently advance the Blood Flight Art to a greater height by practicing it here because his body would be smashed if he was careless. Under the circumstances, he must not be distracted, which allowed him to grasp the art more quickly.

That said, the downside of this method was it was too, too dangerous.

Ou Yangming was struck with an idea so he gritted his teeth and removed his waist sash, then employed the Military Fire on it.

He wanted to see if he could restore the Substitution Gem.

The instant the fire burned the gem, Ou Yangming's face changed because he sensed that it was yearning for something.

When Ou Yangming figured out what it was, he reached his hand out to press the gem.

Sure enough, at the next moment, the Qi and blood that he had replenished for his body flushed into the gem like surges of waves. With that, the human shape in the gem was quickly restored.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply. He finally found the way to repair the Substitution Gem.

Besides, the method was not energy-consuming for him at all.

Of course, the situation would be different if someone else had carried it out.

The restoration of the Substitution Gem required energy from Qi and blood, but a person could only produce a limited amount of them. Moreover, once a person lost Qi and blood such that they were emptied, the process to compensate for the loss would be such a pain be it the difficulty or the speed.

On the contrary, Ou Yangming who had the Devouring ability only needed flesh and blood to absorb Qi and blood.

When nearly half of Ou Yangming's Qi and blood were consumed, the Substitution Gem was completely restored. He laughed for a long time, then put on the waist sash again. Next, he shifted his direction to advance deeper into the dense forest and absorbed the blood and flesh of animals that he stumbled upon along the way to recover what he had lost.

Once he was abundant in Qi and blood again, he activated the Blood Flight Art to practice how to control it in the extreme environment.

Although there was an obvious improvement after every practice, various issues arose due to restrictions from the environment. Consequently, Ou Yangming had crashed into trees multiple times.

Nevertheless, due to his super-powerful consciousness, he was never fatally injured no matter how serious the crashes were. Even when he was severely injured, the Substitution Gem was utilized.

Whenever Ou Yangming consumed too much Qi and blood to activate the Blood Flight Art and to restore the Substitution Gem, he hunted the animals in the forest to recover them.

With that, he went deeper and deeper inside.

Zhang Yinli was also searching in the dense forest with a gloomy face.

Ou Yangming had been cultivating while moving around in the dense forest without covering his tracks. It was notable that Zhang Yinli was a great tracker, where he could always deduce a prey's whereabouts even if there were little clues, hence he was able to track Ou Yangming. While he had not caught up to the young man yet, at least he had not lost him.

However, Zhang Yinli was feeling regretful when he was tracking Ou Yangming.

'I was being too confident.' He initially thought since the ten soldiers were unable to escape from him, there was no need for him to disguise his identity when he attacked Ou Yangming.

In actuality, perhaps because Ou Yangming had killed his only son, he subconsciously wanted to reveal his identity to make Ou Yangming regret what he had done.

Despite that, Ou Yangming had slipped through Zhang Yinli's fingers, and Zhang Yinli needed to find Ou Yangming as soon as possible. He had to capture him or kill him right away, and the thought of it gave him a splitting headache.

The Fire-absorbing Badge. He had to retrieve the Fire-absorbing Badge.

At that moment, the only thing Zhang Yinli was glad about was Ou Yangming seemed to be out of his mind. Instead of returning to the military camp, the blacksmith had entered the dense forest.

Zhang Yinli would obviously be at a loss if Ou Yangming had fled back to the camp by relying on the strange Blood Light Art. He could only abandon his revenge and escape far away if that was the case, but since Ou Yangming had entered the dense forest, the young fellow was courting death.

Based on Zhang Yinli's rich battle experiences, even though he had only seen the blood light one, he could already tell that it was a miraculous method that could be used to escape in an open area. The skill could be used in the dense forest, but its effect would certainly drop.

Therefore, Zhang Yinli's only hope was to catch up to Ou Yangming in the forest, capture him, and interrogate him about the Fire-absorbing Badge's whereabouts.

After taking a look behind him, Zhang Yinli confirmed that he had erased his tracks as much as he could, but was not confident about keeping it a secret from the next pursuer. 'Hopefully, luck will be on my side this time.'

As if his prayer was heard, the next morning after Zhang Yinli entered the dense forest, he suddenly stopped. He was shocked and elated when he saw Ou Yangming who was wearing

armor.

Zhang Yinli had been worrying about how long it would take for him to get to Ou Yangming, so he was not expecting the young fellow to show up in front of him.

When he looked at Ou Yangming, who was fully armored and was holding a military saber, he could not help but laugh. "Why? Do you want to exchange blows with me?" As he said that, he charged at Ou Yangming without any hesitation.

He was determined not to repeat his mistake. This time, he could not let Ou Yangming escape through the blood light.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming took a step forward and slashed with his saber.

Zhang Yinli was taken aback. He suddenly realized that his forward path seemed to have been completely sealed by Ou Yangming's slash, and he could not evade the attack no matter how he dodged.

However, he could not be bothered to dodge it anyway. He scoffed and flapped his sleeve, which clashed with the saber.

Although his sleeves seemed soft, they were actually a unique Qimen Weapon. An attack from his sleeve was not inferior to Ou Yangming's military saber at all be it its sharpness or toughness.

"Ding…"

After a soft voice was heard, Zhang Yinli's face took on a ghastly expression. He was exasperated when his body kept moving backward.

'How does this fella have such immense

power?'

During the clash earlier, Zhang Yinli originally thought that he could defeat Ou Yangming even though Ou Yangming had the angle advantage of having attacked first. It was only when the saber and his sleeve clashed that he sensed the power on the military saber that was not inferior to his power at all.

'How can a Force Grade martial artist be able to contend with me with mere power… No, it seems like the mere power from the saber was superior to mine.'

Zhang Yinli's face changed again, and he dared not underestimate his opponent anymore. He pounced on Ou Yangming again and shook his wrist to attack with an urumi[1] that was like a venomous snake.

It could be considered a sneak attack.

Zhang Yinli had always valued his status very much, or he would not have stopped the soldiers on the main road and killed them without any disguise. The fact that he had put down his ego to sneak an attack was enough to make Ou Yangming feel proud.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yinli came to a shocking realization when Ou Yangming attacked with his saber again because the saber's angle and timing were impeccable.

It was a simple slash without fancy tricks, but the uncomplicated slash had once again put him in a difficult position.

Zhang Yinli's sneak attack was not effective at all. Instead, he made himself look like a clown because Ou Yangming suppressed him with just one slash.

Subsequently, Zhang Yinli gritted his teeth then roared. His urumi straightened at that moment, then he whipped it without hesitation at Ou Yangming's saber-light.

He would not have done this if their strengths were on par with each other, but Ou Yangming was still a Force Grade martial artist even though his power had increased. This was why Zhang Yinli dared to break through the situation by adopting such an outrageous

move.

A massive amount of essential Qi surged like stormy waves as the urumi was whipped on the saber-light thrice. Each attack was accompanied by formidable essential Qi that could not be resisted by ordinary Force Grade martial artists.

That being said, Ou Yangming's body began swaying at that moment.

His body seemed to have merged with his surroundings, and the way his body swayed made the entire dense forest sway as well. In fact, the branches and plants around were swaying slightly as though they were following his body.

Zhang Yinli instantly felt that his power had been removed from him. His power was easily stripped off by the mysterious power that became one with nature.

There was a split second when he experienced a misconception of being terrified.

It was not a human in Force Grade boundary who exchanged blows with him earlier, but the whole world.

Zhang Yinlin staggered backward with a terrible look on his face as he uttered, "The integration of Heaven and man!"

[1] A sword with a flexible, whip-like blade

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Chapter 95 Bring Him Back, Dead Or Alive!

At that moment, Zhang Yinli suddenly felt like he had seen a ghost.

'The integration of Heaven and man. Yes, I definitely sensed the integration of Heaven and man.

'But how can a state like that appear on a Force Grade martial artist? Isn't that state desired by even martial artists at the peak of Extreme Grade? Why does this world feel messed up? Is this world even the world that I used to know?'

Zhang Yinli's face turned green. He felt like things were going out of his control again.

He had initially thought that Ou Yangming could not perform the Blood Flight Art in the dense forest, so if they met here, Ou Yangming would be a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. There was no way the young man could escape from him.

However, after witnessing the integration of Heaven and man, Zhang Yinli knew perhaps the situation was going to go against his will once more.

No matter what, he was already left with no choice. As tough as it would be, he must not let Ou Yangming go.

Afterward, Zhang Yinli roared and stepped forward with the urumi in his hand.

He would be humiliating himself in front of Ou Yangming, who was in the state of the integration of Heaven and man, if he was still thinking of using petty tricks or unique skills. Therefore, the only thing Zhang Yinli could do now was to suppress his opponent's boundary with absolute power.

If his power was mighty enough, he could naturally defeat skill with power.

"Ding…"

The saber and the sword clashed again, but Ou Yangming was the one who moved backward this time.

He was equipped with armor, a helmet, a military saber, arm guards, and greaves, which gave him 11 points of Power in total.

In terms of power only, the fact that Ou Yangming also had the cultivation base of Force Grade Class Five made him superior to Zhang Yinli. Despite that, Zhang Yinli the Yang Grade powerhouse was clearly well-equipped too. Though he did not have as much as 11 points of Power, the addition of equipment on his original strength did not make him inferior at all.

Of course, the main point was if Zhang Yinli used his essential Qi, the impact and destructive power from the explosive moment could not be matched by Ou Yangming.

It was natural that the essential Qi of a Yang Grade martial artist was more powerful in a battle than those from a Force Grade powerhouse.

Ou Yangming staggered two steps back, but quickly found his footing. Nonetheless, Zhang Yinli was not going to show mercy, so he made continuous attacks with his sword. Each time he attacked, he excluded all his skills and technique, where he only used his power stab after stab.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming casually blocked the attacks. He constantly hit the weakest spot of Zhang Yinli's sword force, but even then, he kept moving backward due to the mighty impact from his opponent.

Moreover, Ou Yangming also felt his body tremble violently each time his saber clashed with the sword. Wave after wave of formidable essential Qi penetrated his weapon to crash his meridians, causing them to hurt.

This was the effect when Zhang Yinli exerted all his force to attack by transferring his essential Qi. He was determined to make ou Yangming suffer internal injuries.

If Ou Yangming was not abundant in Qi and blood, did not have the Substitution Gem to resist the attack, and did not have the unloading power from the integration of Heaven and man, he would not have withstood Zhang Yinli's full-forced attack and would have been stabbed in his chest already.

After fighting for another brief moment, Ou Yangming suddenly said, "What a nice move of breaking the situation with force. I can't defeat you, so I'll make a move first!"

Zhang Yinli fixed his gaze on Ou Yangming and attacked faster with his sword. Given the circumstances, how could he let Ou Yangming escape his sword force's zone?

That said, Zhang Yinli saw a blood light at the next instant.

Yes, it was the blood color that had frightened him before. Following that, Ou Yangming vanished from his sight.

Zhang Yinli froze on the spot. He felt that his limbs were ice-cold as though he had fallen into a ten-thousand-year-old icehouse that had no warmth at all.

'How could that fella perform the Blood Flight Art in this place?'

Even though Zhang Yinli did not possess a similar ability, he had more or less heard of legends with some peculiar techniques. 'But aren't all Blood Flights uncontrollable and only have a straight flight path?

'How can one find an unobstructed path if one performs the Blood Flight here?'

Zhang Yinli's face twitched hard at that moment. Next, he looked up the sky to let out an earth-shaking roar that was full of rage, then recollected himself to pursue the blood light.

No matter how Ou Yangming escaped, he must not give up halfway.

'Unless Ou Yangming comes across reinforcements that I can't overcome, one of us would have to stay here forever.'

Before they exchanged blows, Zhang Yinli had always thought that he would be the one leaving the dense forest alive. In spite of that, a shadow emerged and lingered in his head, which gave him an unbearable discomfort. Zhang Yinli had a strong hatred again, but it was directed at Zhang Yinfan instead of Ou Yangming

'How could that fool offend such a powerful enemy? He really deserves to die!'

Zhang Yinli would have never thought, but would also never admit how he reacted when he first saw Ou Yangming and confirmed that the young man had killed Zhang Hanyu. Back then. Zhang Yinli had also regarded Ou Yangming as an insignificant threat that could be easily eradicated. It was not Zhang Yinfan who chose to attack Ou Yangming halfway instead of actually seeking reconciliation. It was himself.

People were all like that, after all. Nobody would care about unimportant people whom they regarded as insignificant. In their perspective, the unimportant people were born to serve them and to sacrifice for them.

Nonetheless, one day, they would realize that the unimportant people would grow up too. The unimportant people would rise to be opponents who could resist them, and would become unreachable, important people who could pin them down…

"Yah —"

An aggressive horse that was ridden by a soldier galloped back to the military camp at the speed of light.

"Halt, or you'll be executed right away!"

A squad leader at the entrance yelled out loud. He could not let anyone barge into the military camp like that no matter what happened, or he would be the one whose head would be chopped off.

The soldier instantly stopped his horse, but he fell down due to the strong force.

Upon seeing this, the squad leader furrowed his eyebrows as he somehow had a bad feeling about this.

He could tell at once that the soldier was actually adept in riding a horse, but he still fell off the horse in that manner. This could only mean that the soldier was in a confused state of mind and was flustered.

Something terrible must have happened to cause a man to be so panicked.

The squad leader's face changed. He immediately recalled a frightening matter, so he asked with a shaky voice, "Wh-what happened? Is there a sign of a beast tide?"

"Sir, it's not a beast tide," the soldier who fell got up and answered quickly.

The squad leader secretly sighed a breath of relief and responded, "As long as it's not a beast tide. Why are you making such a fuss then?"

"Sir, we found roughly ten corpses 10 kilometers away from the camp. They belong to our brothers in the military, and one of them is Squad Leader Lin Chao from the South Camp!" The soldier replied to him loudly.

"What?" The squad leader's face took on a ghastly expression.

He was in charge of guarding the gate today, thus he naturally knew why Lin Chao had left the camp. Lin Chao was ordered by Commanding General Fang Yihai from the South Camp to escort Master Ou Yangming to the prefecture.

'If Lin Chao's corpse is found on the main path, what about Master Ou?'

The squad leader took a big stride forward to pull the soldier by his collar, then he questioned angrily, "Are you lying to me?"

"I'm also from the South Camp, and I was temporarily transferred to the Provision Camp. Earlier, I was escorting forages with my squad leader, but we found Squad Leader Lin's corpse halfway through our journey, which is why I've returned to report this." The soldier smiled bitterly, then added after a pause, "A military order is like a mountain, how would I have the guts to speak nonsense and to curse a high official?"

"Wait here!" The squad leader's face twitched.

He quickly turned to run toward the South Camp, and shouted while he ran, "Quickly notify the West Camp's commanding general and the Armament Camp, why are you still standing there!"

After 15 minutes, the entire South Camp and the West Camp were in an uproar. Two commanding generals fumed with anger as they rode their horses out the camp with their Guards.

On the other hand, Tian Boguang could not help but laugh when he received the news in the East Camp. Although the incident had nothing to do with him, he felt happy to see Chen Yifan suffer.

That being said, he was soon unable to celebrate in joy anymore.

This was because Ni Yunhong had hurried to his residence to reprimand him in his face, "Tian Boguang, does the attack on Ou Yangming have anything to do with you?"

Tian Boguang was the East Camp's commanding general but was shockingly polite toward Ni Yunhong.

If anyone had called him to account like that – even Commanding General Deng Zhicai from the Middle Camp — he had the guts to rebuke.

However, when Tian Boguang noticed Ni Yunhong's face that was red with anger, the slight dissatisfaction that he was initially feeling disappeared right away.

"Eldest Young Master, you've misunderstood, this has nothing to do with me at all!" Tian Boguang dared not hesitate and quickly swore that he spoke the truth.

"I hope it has nothing to do with you," Ni Yunhong uttered after looking deeply at him. The look in his eyes was fierce and unusually aggressive. "If I find out who it is, the Ni family will make him pay in blood, kill nine generations in his family, and not even fowls and dogs will be spared!"

Tian Boguang was dumbfounded as he could not make sense of why Ni Yunhong was so furious. It did not seem like an act of pity.

"Elder Brother, this isn't good! Old Craftsman passed out!" Ni Yinghong hurried over and called out to his brother anxiously.

Ni Yunhong's face changed. "How is he now?"

"Old Craftsman is quite old now, and he spent a lot of thought on designing a divine weapon for Chen Yifan, so when he suddenly heard of Ou… His news…" Ni Yinghong replied hesitantly, then shook her head and said, "I've informed our family through Starlight Messenger Technique to ask them for a spiritual pill, but I don't know how long he can hold on for."

Tian Boguang gasped. 'A spiritual pill, they're actually going to use a spiritual pill?'

He finally realized that the siblings valued Ou Yangming much more than he had imagined.

On the other side, the two commanding generals who had arrived at the scene of the incident were infuriated.

Many orders were given, and the soldiers began to work.

'Bring him back, dead or alive!'

'Whatever it takes, find Ou Yangming!'

'Whatever it takes, avenge our brothers' deaths!'

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Chapter 96 Break Through To Yin Grade

Ou Yangming appeared behind a big tree after a flash of blood light.

His eyes glowed as he exhaled deeply. The battle against Zhang Yinli earlier had helped him acquire a deeper comprehension.

Power. The thing he needed most was power!

Nonetheless, due to the huge disparity between their cultivation bases, once Zhang Yinli adopted his essential Qi, Ou Yangming would be helpless, even if he found weak links in Zhang Yinli's attacks.

It was true that 4 taels could be used to shift 500 kilograms[1] due to leverage, but one needed to have 4 taels of power to shift 500 kilograms of weight. If one did not even have that much power, one would only be crushed into powder by the heavy weight.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming turned his head slightly, then leaped out at the speed of light. A giant wolf that was roaming in the forest suffered misfortune as a result.

The giant wolf's size was equivalent to a boar's, and it could rarely find a match when it fought alone in the forest. That said, when it encountered Ou Yangming and attacked his body with its claw, it could not penetrate his armor, which was at the peak of High Grade Rank Five. On the contrary, Ou Yangming stabbed its body easily with his saber. Though it was not a big wound, the Devouring attribute, which was instantly activated, caused the giant wolf to completely lose its ability to resist. The energy in its flesh and blood was used to replenish the Qi and blood consumed by Ou Yangming.

By now, the number of times Ou Yangming had used the Blood Flight Art was unknown.

Each time he used the art, his comprehension in it deepened, and he had better control over it as well.

In the beginning, if Ou Yangming had maintained his speed while using the Blood Flight Art, he would only be able to dodge two big trees before crashing into the next one.

Eventually, as Ou Yangming used the Blood Flight Art more frequently and kept in mind that the Substitution Gem was his backup, he could dodge over ten big trees and fly in S-shaped paths.

Since the improvement was obvious, he became more confident in achieving the target of defeating his enemy.

Ou Yangming recovered his Qi and blood after a brief moment, they almost overflowed again. He then stood still, to recall and ponder over the exchange of blows he had with Zhang Yinli.

Each attack from Zhang Yinli's sword was plain, but they were always locked on Ou Yangming's body. The tactic of relying on exceptionally mighty power to suppress an enemy was truly difficult to understand.

Before long, soft sounds were heard coming from behind Ou Yangming.

He sneered. "Sir Zhang, you're so slow."

Zhang Yinli walked toward him slowly, his face was so dark it was terrifying. "Ou Yangming, if you're a man, fight me properly. Is it very fun to go back and forth between fighting and fleeing?"

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. "Okay, I won't escape anymore if you promise me something. We'll fight here until one of us dies."

Zhang Yinli's heart skipped a beat as he did not believe it, so he inhaled deeply and asked, "What is it?"

"As long as you cripple yourself of your cultivation base and lower your strength to an ordinary grade, I'll fight you properly," Ou Yangming answered with a smile.

'I knew I couldn't trust this cunning fella.' Zhang Yinli cursed, and his face instantly darkened by another shade. Without continuing the conversation, he swayed his body and charged at Ou Yangming.

When he whipped his urumi, it looked like a hissing snake was attacking Ou Yangming's throat.

Ou Yangming's mental conception rose at that moment, and instantly found the attack's flaw, or perhaps its weak point. Despite that, he thought about a problem just as he was about to swing his saber. If Ou Yangming continued to block, even if he hit the urumi's weakest point, he still could not contend with Zhang Yinli in terms of power.

When a Yin Grade powerhouse's essential Qi burst out, he was simply unqualified to fight against it. Therefore, there would only be one outcome at the end, which was to repeat the previous steps again. Ou Yangming would slowly be forced to a dead end, and would be pressured to escape through the Blood Flight once more.

He did not want to repeat the process anymore.

Ou Yangming suddenly turned his saber when he was struck with a thought. Instead of blocking, he actually made a slash at Zhang Yinli's neck.

On the other hand, Zhang Yinli was aiming at Ou Yangming's chest, but it was protected by Ou Yangming's armor, hence he might not even be able to stab through it.

However, Ou Yangming was slashing at Zhang Yinli's neck. If it was a successful attack, Zhang Yinli's neck would definitely have a big red scar the size of a bowl's rim. In the case where Zhang Yinli's head was separated from his body, nobody knew if another head would grow.

Zhang Yinli obviously did not believe that another head would grow from his neck, thus his face changed as he lifted his urumi a little. The sword diverted from its set course to counter Ou Yangming's military saber instead.

He could tell that while Ou Yangming's attack seemed like it would cause them to perish together, in reality, even after his head had been chopped off, his sword might not even have penetrated Ou Yangming's body.

Unless Zhang Yinli's head was kicked by a donkey, he would never accept the outcome.

Nevertheless, the moment he changed his trick, Ou Yangming exhaled deeply.

'As long as Zhang Yinli's afraid, and he doesn't have the guts to perish with me, I'll be able to unleash my skills to their greatest extent,' the young man wondered.

Ou Yangming shifted his body, and moved his military saber to attack from another angle before it clashed with the sword.

The turn was simply unpredictable, and Zhang Yinli suddenly realized that his arm would be slashed by the saber if he continued to stab his sword forward.

'I mustn't let that happen. Although my cultivation base isn't low, I don't have a death-proof body, after all, so if I try to resist a weapon using my body…' Especially since Ou Yangming's military saber's light was violent and contained a strange aura, Zhang Yinli was even more afraid to resist the attack with his body.

Without any hesitation, his sword-light changed as he wanted to attack faster to avoid the saber.

That being said, Ou Yangming's saber-light changed again as soon as Zhang Yinli changed direction. The saber-light was still aimed at Zhang Yinli's arm.

After changing his sword's path for a few dozen times, not only was Zhang Yinli unable to get free from the saber-light, but he was somehow stuck inside. It was as if he was restrained by an invisible rope, and was unable to free himself.

Owing to his unusually rich experience in battle, Zhang Yinli instantly knew that something was off. If he could not break away immediately, he would only be faced with endless attacks until he no longer had the ability to counterattack.

All of a sudden, Zhang Yinli stopped and charged at Ou Yangming irrationally. The sword-light in his hand swirled at the same time, and he attacked Ou Yangming's throat regardless of the blade force.

Ou Yangming sighed softly. He slightly shifted his steps to evade the sword-light's most intense area, then swung his saber to block the fierce sword.

Nonetheless, he moved backward as he lost his footing.

Zhang Yinli thanked his luck. Seeing as he had the upper hand, he continued charging forward and moved his body according to his sword. Just as Zhang Yinli dashed forward, a flash of blood light was seen, and Ou Yangming vanished once more.

Feeling stunned, Zhang Yinli stomped his foot and let out a deafening roar. His twisted and fearsome face looked extremely hideous.

'I let that young fella escape again!'

He had a feeling that the more he let the young man escape, the harder it would be to go against him.

When Zhang Yinli recalled how he was almost trapped by the strange and mysterious blade technique earlier, he could not help but feel frightened.

'Next time, next time, I must… Kill him!'

Zhang Yinli finally stopped having fantasies. He was certain that the Fire-absorbing Badge was with Ou Yangming. Even though he was not sure where it was hidden, he knew that there was a high chance to find it as long as he searched a few times based on Ou Yangming's activities.

Of course, Zhang Yinli was only comforting himself. If the Fire-absorbing Badge could be found so easily, he would not need to rack his brains to come up with lies.A red light zoomed in the forest for an unknown period of time before Ou Yangming finally stopped.

It was worth noting that this time, his body was stable when he stopped. He had found his footing right away.

He was starting to have a better grasp of the Blood Flight Art. Apart from that, Ou Yangming was even more excited because after exchanging more blows with Zhang Yinli, and after slaughtering ferocious beasts to compensate for what he had lost from the Blood Flights, his essential Qi actually advanced so much that it was moving toward a higher level.

The grade above Force Grade was Yin Grade.

Ou Yangming could obviously not defend against Zhang Yinli, a Yang Grade powerhouse, when he was only in Force Grade. However, he would not be outdone if he was up against a Yin Grade martial artist.

If that was the case, what would happen if he entered Yin Grade?

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up. He walked with light footsteps as he quickly killed two wild beasts to replenish his Qi and blood, then turned around to initiate an attack on Zhang Yinli for the first time.

"Ding, ding, ding…"

As the saber and the sword clashed multiple times, Ou Yangming was quickly depleted of energy. The moment he was about to be completely exhausted, he transformed into a blood light again to escape.

Following that, the same scenario took place after an hour. Ou Yangming was like an undefeatable cockroach; he kept pouncing out from the dark to attack Zhang Yinli without warning.

He had vision reinforcement, the integration of Heaven and man, the energy transformed from devoured flesh and blood, the ability to escape using the Blood Flight Art, as well as the sure-fire Substitution Gem.

At this moment, Ou Yangming tirelessly found ways to attack, causing Zhang Yinli to be in a state of extreme nervousness.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yinli's willpower was far stronger than an ordinary person's. No matter how ridiculous Ou Yangming's performances were, he kept following behind resolutely.

This was a contest of determination, and Zhang Yinli believed that his patience and experience would certainly lead him to the final victory.

In spite of that, he had no idea that after being in the dense forest for seven days, ou Yangming could not help but wield his saber again once he recovered his Qi and blood after yet another Blood Flight.

When his saber dance reached its most intense and fiercest moment, the essential Qi light in his dantian suddenly sunk.

Consequently, the enormous amount of Qi and blood energy was almost absorbed completely.

When everything became tranquil again, a soft Yin Qi was born deep in his dantian, and it flowed slowly to every corner in his body.

(1) Take note that 1 tael here is equivalent to 50 grams, but the unit isn't converted in the text to retain its originality. It is a popular saying that means leverage that's formed as a result of a lever

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