Thus, he was going to use the most reliable method that he was most familiar with to save himself.
Without any hesitation, Ou Yangming pulled one of the weapons out from the pile behind him. It was a broken saber, missing half of its blade. Even so, he found by examining with Military Fire that its attributes were among the highest.
[Sharpness +2]
Ou Yangming did not stop after he was done with the broken saber, he picked up another dumped weapon.
As his Military Fire shone, the last bit of luster on the weapon disappeared, and it became completely worthless junk. If any craftsman were to forge a weapon of that standard, one would likely be beaten to death by the inspector in charge of inspecting them.
At this moment, Ou Yangming also knew that he was at one of the biggest obstacles in his life.
He would be doomed if he could not get through it, and he knew through Zhang Hanyu’s sinister look how badly he would die if he was caught.
‘Mm, it’ll be a more pathetic end than his half-crippled leg.’
Therefore, Ou Yangming drove all the potential in his body and was like a machine that exerted all its energy without holding back at all.
His Military Fire kept burning, and weapon after weapon turned into scraps with zero worth.
Consequently, his physical power was consumed at a high speed, and even his mental power was becoming unstable. It was a sign that he was consuming too much in a short period of time.
Ou Yangming immediately stopped to take a deep breath, and when he focused again, he noticed something.
It was the cylinder that Zhang Hanyu used against him. Zhang Hanyu was in such extreme pain when he kicked the Military Fire that he accidentally threw the item away, and it landed right where Ou Yangming was at the moment.
Ou Yangming reached his hand out curiously and wrapped the item with Military Fire.
[Item: Fire-absorbing Badge]
[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool]
[Attribute: Devouring +1]
‘Fire-absorbing Badge, what’s this?’ Ou Yangming wondered but was unconcerned.
[Drawable composition found, draw?]
‘Draw.’
Next, when his Military Fire dispersed, the only devouring attribute on the badge transformed into a purple light ball into his mind. The strangest thing was that when the attribute disappeared, the cylinder shattered.
It did not just break, but it turned into powder right in front of his eyes, then vanished into thin air.
Normally, Ou Yangming would have been quite dumbfounded, but he only glanced at it for a while, then forgot about it.
Feeling determined, he gritted his teeth as he used the Military Fire again.
[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]
‘Upgrade.’
With that, he released all the accumulated purple lights in his mind to the first broken saber that he picked.
As a result, a brand new saber appeared.
[Item: Super broken saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank One]
[Attributes: Sharpness +6, Toughness +6, Devouring +1, Durability 6]
Chapter 7
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Hanyu hopped toward his target step by step. A loud sound was heard each time his foot landed as though a drum was beaten. The closer he was, the higher the pressure he gave out.
He looked hideous and the hostility in his eyes was substantial.
Since he had been protected by his family since young, this was his first time suffering such a heavy loss. In fact, there was an indescribable fear at the bottom of his heart. ‘How did that fella activate the Military Fire so quickly? If he’s so gifted, he might become like Old Craftsman in the future.
‘A person like that is going to be a huge problem to those he considers an enemy. If that’s the case, I should just kill him before he develops.’
Zhang Hanyu held his short sword tightly. He did not pick it up to boost his courage, but instead, he was planning to throw it like a dagger if he had the chance to.
Under his uncle’s guidance, he learned the martial art to use hidden weapons. Although he could not go against warriors who had plenty of experience from war, if he aimed at a timid fellow who trembled in fear easily, he could shoot and not miss.
Nevertheless, the pain in his leg distracted him. The moment he thought about his injury, he gritted his teeth and swore to himself that he must kill Ou Yangming to vent his anger.
He could not be bothered about how he would clean up the mess after and did not think about how he could make sure that nobody would notice him.
Slowly, Zhang Hanyu arrived beside the pile of abandoned weapons, then he heard a vague breathing sound.
He sneered. “Fella, why don’t you just show yourself and die!”
Subsequently, he saw a figure jumping out from behind the pile, then a white light was seen as the person slashed something at him without warning.
Though his leg was injured, it did not affect his sight. Hence, he noticed that the figure was Ou Yangming, the coward, and he was holding a broken saber.
Yes, a discarded weapon that was half-broken and missing the tip.
Perhaps Zhang Hanyu would be afraid if Ou Yangming was holding a brand new military saber, but since it was just a broken saber, he made little of it.
He instantly deduced that the fellow picked up a broken saber to put up a desperate fight.
Feeling scornful, he raised his short sword to face Ou Yangming.
If Ou Yangming were to escape right away, Zhang Hanyu would have killed him, but he decided to play with him since he was bold enough to face the fight. Countless torture methods crossed his mind at that moment. He would first pick out the tendons from Ou Yangming’s limbs, then remove his vocal cords, so as to make him die a torturous death.
Upon thinking about this, the immense pain on his leg felt as if it had been reduced significantly.
He could somehow picture Ou Yangming shrieking in pain from feeling more dead than alive, thus he became unusually happy.
“Ding—”
Finally, the short sword and the broken saber clashed in the air.
Subsequently, a loud crack was heard as the short sword broke, whereas the broken saber continued forward unobstructed, as though it had just sliced a thread of hair. It slashed down on the right side of Zhang Hanyu’s neck, then his chest.
It was then that Zhang Hanyu’s eyes and mouth became wide open. He stared at the broken sword in front of his chest, but could not even feel the extreme pain that he should have been feeling.
The only thing he felt was his power and his life leaving him quickly. When he wanted to raise his hands, it was to no avail no matter how hard he tried, and he could only stare at the broken saber that numbed him.
‘Broken saber, a broken saber…
‘This, is, a, f*cking… Broken saber!’
That was the last thought he had. Following that, his consciousness faded away, but even when he died, he could not comprehend why a broken saber had such strength.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming maintained the posture of slashing with the broken saber.
In actual fact, it was not a wise move, because humans or beasts could struggle desperately before dying. The most terrifying beast was one that was injured as it could likely perish together with its enemy when it struggled.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not stay away because he could not do it, not because he was not willing to.
After the slash from his saber broke Zhang Hanyu’s short sword and even cut his body, he was very calm and unperturbed.
It was definitely not the act of someone who had never seen blood.
However, he naturally behaved like that when his consciousness miraculously split into two.
When Ou Yangming wanted to withdraw his broken saber after his first attack so that he could take the opportunity to hit his enemy’s head, an odd hot s
tream flowed from the saber into his body.
Therefore, his movement slowed down a little. Even though he could not understand why, he had a feeling that the hot stream would benefit him greatly.
At the next instant, he witnessed the frightening scene.
Under his broken saber, blood did not splatter everywhere.
Since it was a slash that stretched across the right side of Zhang Hanyu’s neck to his chest, it would only be normal for blood to flow out. On the contrary, not a single trace of blood was seen, because all of it had been absorbed by Ou Yangming’s broken saber.
The broken saber seemed to possess unbelievable magic power. Not only could it absorb blood, but it could also absorb flesh.
As such, Zhang Hanyu’s body slowly shriveled in front of Ou Yangming’s eyes.
Had Ou Yangming’s consciousness not been split, perhaps he would faint upon seeing the fearsome scene. On the contrary, he just watched the change with widened eyes. It was as if the deflating body did not belong to a person, but was instead a human-shaped balloon with a hole.
In just the blink of an eye, Zhang Hanyu disappeared.
Some clothing fell along with a few items, but his body vanished. Not even a single thread of his hair or a piece of nail was left behind.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming glowed with health, was in high spirits, and was full of surging energy.
Actually, he was very much exhausted from the day. Under Old Craftsman’s supervision and guidance, he had been using his Military Fire for the whole day. He did control himself, but it was inevitable for him to feel weary.
In addition, after Zhang Hanyu brought him there, he was forced to exert his potential during the life or death situation and used the fire a number of times within a short period.
The consumption rate was definitely unbearable for a person of his age, but he had no choice when his consciousness split.
It could damage his body due to the overuse, so much so that his core could be injured, and it might be hard for him to improve in the future.
For all that, nobody would believe that Ou Yangming’s body was hurt at all.
His body seemed to contain inexhaustible power, and his eyes sparkled. Even when his vital essence was in the best condition, this had never happened before.
Ou Yangming actually had an urge to roar at that moment, but his consciousness was still split, which made his heart as cold as ice.
After taking a look around him, he activated his Military Fire again, and the broken saber in his hands became dull in a flash.
‘Draw.’
He absorbed all of the saber’s attributes without hesitation, turning it into completely worthless scrap metal, then he kicked the parts of Zhang Hanyu’s broken short sword into two different piles of armor.
Since there were numerous discarded weapons around, it would definitely be tough to piece anything together. Afterward, he threw his broken saber away, then quickly left the armory with the clothes and items on the floor.
Zhang Hanyu was extremely careful when he brought Ou Yangming here, and Ou Yangming did the same when he returned to Old Craftsman’s smithing workshop.
Fortunately, the sky was already dark, or Ou Yangming would not be confident about pulling it off.
Once he returned to the workshop, he tore the clothes into pieces, then threw them into the furnace.
Old Craftsman was the chief of Military Fire Blacksmiths, and although he had the Military Fire, it did not mean that he did not need a furnace.
As a matter of fact, he mostly used the furnace for the preliminary processing of certain materials.
Of course, it was also possible to process coarse ores through the Military Fire, but it would consume a substantial amount of physical power. Besides, the refinement of coarse ores was not done through fine control because it had to be processed for a long time.
Using the Military Fire to remove the impurities in coarse ores…
The people who were persistent in doing that were all dead, and there were no exceptions. They did not die from old age or stupidity, instead, they died from exhaustion.
Therefore, there was an exquisite furnace in the smithing workshop.
It was worth noting that Old Craftsman usually handled fine materials, whereas heavy works like preliminary processes were done by Ou Yangming.
Since he was familiar with the process, he quickly lit the furnace, then threw the items inside, which turned into ash right away.
When he used a long iron rod to stir the remains in the furnace, he found that even a celestial being would not be able to identify what was burned.
Throughout the process, Ou Yangming did not just idle his time away. He found some coarse ores in the workshop to refine them by throwing them into the fire until they softened, then he hammered them, and repeated the process.
Before this, he only burned the ores and left the beating part to Old Craftsman as he did not have enough strength.
However, his strength somehow increased a lot more, and sparks flew when he came down with the iron hammer.
Chapter 8
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ou Yangming worked so quickly that the coarse ores were hammered into desired shapes one after another.
He exclaimed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. If Ou Yangming had done the same thing in the past, he would have been out of breath very quickly. Though he would not be worn out, he probably could not endure the process any longer. After all, he was so much younger than the famous strong men in the military.
However, Ou Yangming felt entirely different at that moment. Even after hammering a hundred times, there was no need for him to catch his breath.
“Creak…”
Ou Yangming was stunned when the door was opened, and he wondered who would be here at this hour.
When he looked up, he saw Old Craftsman and a man in his thirties. The man was a burly, sturdy man. His eyes were sharp like blades, which made him look intimidating.
Upon seeing Ou Yangming holding a hammer, Old Craftsman asked with a dark face, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour!”
Ou Yangming was lost for words when he looked at the iron hammer in his hands.
He initially wanted to get rid of Zhang Hanyu’s possessions and only intended to hammer for a while after lighting up the furnace, but he became so addicted that he could not stop.
“Hehe, Old Craftsman, who’s this?” The tall man took a step to Old Craftsman’s side as if he was unintentionally protecting him.
Old Craftsman raised his eyebrows and answered proudly, “General Chen, he’s Ou Yangming, my only disciple.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes glowed the moment he realized that the big man was General Chen Yifan.
He noticed that Old Craftsman and General Chen were rather congenial with each other, but it had nothing to do with him.
“I see.” Chen Yifan chuckled. The fierce aura he carried could be sensed and after he looked at Ou Yangming from head to toe, he mentioned, “Old Craftsman, it’s a pity that your disciple isn’t a soldier.”
Old Craftsman was stunned. “General Chen, I’ve already filled the gap for him in the camp, he’s one of the members of the military.”
Chen Yifan waved his hand. “I meant that it’s a pity that he’s not a soldier under me.”
Needless to say, what was mentioned by Old Craftsman was different from the military branch mentioned by Chen Yifan. When Old Craftsman understood what he meant, he smiled bitterly. “General Chen, you’re joking. He was born an orphan and he grew up being fed by a hundred families in his village, why would he catch your attention?”
Chen Yifan shook his head. “Old Craftsman, I’m not joking. This fella’s naturally gifted, and he’s rich in Qi and blood. If he practices martial arts under me, he’ll achieve twice the result by doing just half the work.”
Old Craftsman was struck dumb. He clicked his tongue, then though
t to himself, ‘What do you mean that he’s naturally gifted, and is rich in Qi and blood?’
‘He’s easily worn out even by using the hammer a few times, so don’t hope that he’ll succeed in martial arts, it’s definitely wishful thinking.’
He only had a slight knowledge of martial arts since he lived in the military camp for half his life, so he was bound to know a thing or two.
When he turned to look at Ou Yangming and was about to tell the general the truth, he suddenly sensed something strange about the young fellow. He was startled when he looked at the hammer because he realized that his strength seemed to have grown.
He asked with a frown, “Young fella, did you stay to train your physical power?”
Ou Yangming was alert when he heard him. He answered, “Old man, I need to strengthen my body now, so I worked while you’re gone.”
His face reddened as he was quite agitated, but Chen Yifan and Old Craftsman thought that he was embarrassed.
“Little fella.” Old Craftsman pointed at him, then looked at his work before he asked again, “You’ve already beaten so many ores, have you been training here all this while?”
Ou Yangming nodded. “Apart from resting, I’ve been staying here.”
In actual fact, he had not been hammering for long, but the inexplicable growth in his power allowed him to work very efficiently in a short period of time.
Since Old Craftsman was unaware of that, he looked at Ou Yangming the same way he used to. Clearly, he deduced the wrong time.
Chen Yifan laughed. “Young fella, do you want to train your body and power? Hehe, it won’t work if you’re just using brute force. How about you train under me for a few months? I guarantee that you’ll have a bright future.”
“General Chen, he has used the Military Fire Badge.” Old Craftsman’s face immediately changed, then added after a short pause, “While he hasn’t activated the fire, I can sense the Military Fire Seed inside his body. He’ll definitely produce his fire in roughly ten days and then become a qualified Military Fire Blacksmith.”
Chen Yifan looked at Ou Yangming shockingly, then sighed. “It’s such a pity that you’re becoming a Military Fire Blacksmith when you have such a great physique.”
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 6
