With that, Ou Yangming advanced again carefully. The dense forest was well-known for violent beasts, but they were not seen lurking at the border. Within an hour, he only noticed small animals such as hares, pheasants, and lynxes through his improved vision.
Although some of them were agile enough to escape as soon as they sensed the slightest movement, many of them were killed by Ou Yangming with his military saber.
Other than an increased speed due to the 4 points of Agility, Ou Yangming’s reaction speed was improved too.
After devouring the tenth innocent animal, Ou Yangming realized that he was abundant in Qi and blood again.
Chapter 32
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although the small animals in the dense forest were not as big as the domestic pigs, they faced much more danger in the forest.
Due to sufficient activity, they were also richer in Qi and blood compared to the pigs.
Ou Yangming strode to the dense forest’s border. Instead of going deeper into the forest, he only stayed along the border so as to not get lost. However, just as he was going to leave, he suddenly stopped.
After a moment of hesitation, Ou Yangming took a deep breath and began cultivating a blade technique instead of leaving the dense forest.
He would never do that if he was deep in the forest or being watched by a powerful enemy, but since he was in a low-risk area with no sign of other people, he could practice with ease. Besides, Ou Yangming could notice any danger in advance with his helmet that had a Vision +1 attribute.
“Pow…”
Following a slash from the saber, saber wind pierced the air such that there was an explosive shock.
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. He suddenly realized that his Qi and blood was consumed at an outrageous rate.
When he practiced the blade technique in his courtyard at the military camp, his Qi and blood were also consumed by a huge margin, but it seemed insignificant as compared to the current consumption.
He made a rough estimation that the current Qi and blood consumption was four times higher than usual.
This was in comparison with a blade technique cultivation. The martial-art squat was not worth mentioning at all.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming clearly felt his Dantian Light growing stronger as a substantial amount of Qi and blood were consumed, which meant that there was a huge improvement in his essential Qi.
In actual fact, it had not been long since he began practicing martial arts and only entered Force Grade Class Two not long ago. There should be a limit no matter how hard he trained, yet he felt like he was about to break through again soon.
Ou Yangming began figuring it out and quickly realized that he was feeling that way because of his equipment set.
11 points of Power and 4 points of Agility made him go through an enormous change as though he was born again.
Nonetheless, a lot more Qi and blood had to be consumed to unleash the real might of those changes, and the more the Qi and blood consumed, the better it was for his essential Qi cultivation. This was simply a cultivation shortcut.
Other than Ou Yangming, nobody could cultivate like that regardless of the cost.
This was unless they had a weapon with a strange attribute like Devouring, as well as a top-notch equipment set that was way above their cultivation base.
Upon realizing this, Ou Yangming was overjoyed.
He began cultivating a fist art next, and the might of his punches could not be mentioned in the same breath as before due to the increase of his power and agility.
Needless to say, the mightier his fist art, the higher the Qi and blood consumption, but the faster his essential Qi advanced.
Honestly, cultivating recklessly was a huge burden for his body. Not only would it be tough for his body to withstand the process, but his meridians and dantian would also be damaged.
Despite that, once Ou Yangming lifted his military saber to begin hunting again, those drawbacks were no longer a problem anymore.
The most fearsome feature of the Devouring attribute was not its ability to transform blood and flesh into his Qi and blood.
Before the transformation was done, the energy from the blood and flesh would first restore Ou Yangming’s body. As such, no matter how many hidden problems there were before, his body would recover completely as a result of the vitality.
Only when his body returned to its best state, the blood and flesh would be transformed into his Qi and blood.
With that, Ou Yangming stayed at the dense forest’s border for three days.
During that time, he kept cultivating the blade technique and the fist art and hunted for small animals whenever his Qi and blood were lost.
He was able to spot quarries in advance through his excellent vision, and owing to the extra power and agility that he possessed, most of them could not escape once they were locked on.
When Ou Yangming cultivated, Qi and blood were consumed. He then hunted to restore his body and to replenish Qi and blood.
He was immersed in the near-perfect cycle so much so that he forgot about sleep. In spite of not resting for three days, he did not expect to be in high spirits and full of energy.
Ou Yangming had used the Devouring attribute’s energy to the maximum.
He bent his knees and swayed slowly in an extremely odd frequency. If one were to watch him at that moment, one would have an illusion of a horse galloping as fast as lightning.
The martial-art squat was the unique method that Ou Yangming used to replace sleep. Moreover, the effect was very beneficial for him.
There was a sudden agitation in his dantian as his Qi and blood began boiling. His dantian seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit and was drawing every bit of Qi and blood from his body in a forceful manner.
Despite that, Ou Yangming did not move at all when he did the martial-art squat. He channeled his essential Qi to let his Qi and blood into his dantian without any problem.
Plenty of Qi and blood transformed into essential Qi that lingered around the shining center. Consequently, the light became brighter, and it flickered as if a wonderful change was about to happen.
“Boom…”
Ou Yangming seemed to have heard a thunderous voice in his head and straightened his back instantly.
Dantian Qi gushed out to every part of his body. Subsequently, Ou Yangming exhaled impure air deeply, which gave him an indescribable rejuvenation.
He sensed that his Dantian Light became more intense.
After a brief moment, he was surprised, elated, and in disbelief.
Class Three.
Force Grade Class Three.
Yes. When he was so fully focused on the cultivation that he forgot about everything else, he unknowingly entered a higher class.
He only realized his strength improvement after sensing the endless essential Qi in his dantian, which was different from before.
It was not his equipment set’s attributes that caused the improvement, but his own power.
Ou Yangming calmed down after realizing the sudden surprise. His face changed a little as he thought about an extremely serious problem at that moment.
He had left the military camp for three days.
In addition, Ou Yangming did not mention it to anyone else before he left, and did not ask for permission.
When he twitched his nose, he smelled an extremely strong sweat smell.
Whether he was cultivating a blade technique or a fist art, he would sweat due to the exercise, and the smell was definitely sour since he wore his armor for three days. It was no wonder the small animals became more alert. Although Ou Yangming was able to spot them in advance, as soon as he approached them, they would escape even if he did not make a sound.
‘So this was the real reason.’
Ou Yangming shook his head and laughed bitterly. Following that, he held his military saber and moved around to hunt for more small animals.
&nbs
p; The small animals might be very wary, but due to Ou Yangming’s speed, they still became his Qi and blood one after another.
This time, he did not spend much time replenishing his Qi and blood. In fact, it was much faster than the first time. The reason being he could make judgments to intercept in advance as he slowly grasped the animals’ habits, and more importantly, he adapted to his extra attributes better.
While the time used was shorter, Ou Yangming could feel that his Qi and blood were richer.
As his martial arts cultivation base increased, he could store more Qi and blood. There was a huge difference between Force Grade Class Three and Class Two.
However, Ou Yangming did not know that the difference would become more obvious the higher his cultivation base was. Thus, the feeling that he felt at that moment would mean nothing in the future.
After replenishing his Qi and blood, he activated his Military Fire to absorb the Devouring attribute in his military saber.
The attribute was his biggest trump card, by which it must be kept a secret no matter what.
Ou Yangming removed his armor and helmet after a moment of hesitation. He instantly felt strong discomfort, but amidst the discomfort, he was also very disappointed.
Even though he felt uncomfortable when he previously wore the pieces of equipment, the increase in his power and agility gave him confidence.
Just as he had adapted to the power of his equipment set, he was suddenly free from it.
It was easy for the frugal to become extravagant, but it was very difficult to reverse the process.
He finally understood what it meant.
When one who possessed mighty power suddenly returned to being an ordinary person, the disappointment was certainly a heavy blow.
Fortunately, Ou Yangming knew that he could regain the powerful state as long as he wanted to, or he would not be able to overcome the sadness easily.
Once he curbed his thoughts and was ready to leave, he was slightly moved.
Ou Yangming used his Military Fire to draw the Unique Attributes from his helmet, armor, and military saber. Of course, he left the ones in his arm guards and greaves untouched.
This was because he needed them to return to the military camp or he would not know how to travel 15 kilometers without extra power and agility.
Ou Yangming packed everything in his bag apart from the arm guards and the greaves, then left the dense forest that he stayed in for three days.
Chapter 33
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The road on the way back was still flat. Although Ou Yangming felt uneasy as he lost some power and agility, he felt much better than when his power increased so suddenly during his journey to the forest.
He returned to the military camp safe and sound and got back to his courtyard easily since he had the waist tag of an official Military Fire Blacksmith.
Just as he fetched a pail of water to clean himself, Old Craftsman’s voice was heard.
“Fella, open the door!”
Ou Yangming quickly ran to open the door.
After looking at him from head to toe, Old Craftsman finally sighed a breath of relief, and his tensed face loosened up a little. Nonetheless, he complained, “B*stard, where have you been? You actually know that you should come home?”
While Old Craftsman was being very strict, Ou Yangming felt warmth in his heart, and he was delighted.
Since he was an orphan, he had never been someone’s concern.
‘Come home.’
The simple words almost made Ou Yangming weep.
Upon sensing his unusual behavior, Old Craftsman’s anger disappeared, and he asked worriedly, “Young fella, what’s wrong?”
Ou Yangming quickly curbed his emotions as he asked, “Old Man, why did you come so quickly?”
“You disappeared without saying a word. If someone hadn’t seen you, I would’ve thought that…” Old Craftsman scoffed, then paused for a while before he continued, “Sir Kang asked about you, and I told him that you went to run some errands. If you’re still not back, I would’ve sought help from General Chen.”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. Sir Kang did not look at him in the eye at all back when he was still a helper, let alone care about him. After Ou Yangming became an official Military Fire Blacksmith and handed in five pieces of Attribute Equipment, there was an instant 180-degree change in Kang Weibo’s attitude toward him.
Kang Weibo visited personally to ask about Ou Yangming who had not returned for only a few days.
Needless to say, if Ou Yangming had a choice, he would rather Kang Weibo show no interest in him.
“Where exactly did you go?” Old Craftsman asked.
Ou Yangming looked away as he tried to come up with an explanation. Obviously, he was not going to tell the truth, but the thought of fooling the old man made him uncomfortable.
“Forget it, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, but let me tell you something.” Old Craftsman suddenly waved his hand, then mentioned seriously, “No matter what you do, you must be careful. Remember, you only have one life, and there’s no room for you to regret it at all.”
“Yes, I’ll remember, Old Man.” Ou Yangming nodded hard. He was secretly grateful that Old Craftsman did not force an answer out of him because the old man could tell that it would make things difficult for him.
“Did you gain anything from going wild outside for three days?” Old Craftsman asked.
Ou Yangming pondered for a while before he answered, “Old Man, the world outside is completely different from the military camp, I was extremely enlightened!”
“Oh? How were you enlightened? Tell me about it.” Old Craftsman was interested.
“It’s a perception, and I can’t describe it.” Ou Yangming chuckled.
Old Craftsman slapped his head snappily, then commented, “Young fella, enlightened my *ss!”
Ou Yangming quickly replied, “I was, I was. I think… Uhm, I have some ideas about increasing the Unique Attributes of a High Grade equipment.”
Due to his purple Military Fire’s unique nature, he could simply achieve that effortlessly.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming never revealed that to anyone, thus even Old Craftsman had no idea that he could already add Unique Attributes to High Grade equipment.
“Young fella, don’t reach for what’s beyond your grasp. The most important thing about being a Military Fire Blacksmith is to be conscientious. Hmph, High Grade equipment is completely different from Good Grade equipment, and it’s more difficult to attach attributes on them. Being able to smith one doesn’t mean that you can attach attributes too.” Old Craftsman’s face tensed up again, and he added after thinking for a while, “Judging from your talent, you’ll be amazing if you can achieve that within three to six months!”
Ou Yangming was slightly moved because he could wait if a three-month period was acceptable for Old Craftsman.
“Old Man, I’ll definitely try my best, but…” He hesitated for a moment. “I realize that going outside really helps me.”
Old Craftsman giggled. “At the end of the day, you just want to go out, don’t you? Okay, I promise you. As long as you complete five pieces of Good Grade Attribute Equipment and twenty pieces of High Grade White Slate Equipment every month, you may go.”
Ou Yangming was instantly elated, but his eyes suddenly flashed as he asked, “Old Man, are you asking me to complete yours too?”
‘Old Craftsman’s monthly quota is three pieces of Good Grade Attribute Equipment, and along with my quota of two pieces, doesn’t it mean that I’ll have to smith everything?’
“Are you going to do it or not?!” Old Craftsman stared at him.
“I’ll do it, of course, I’ll do it!” Ou Yangming quickly responded, “It’s such a small matter, so leave it to me.”
Indeed, adding attributes was an extremely difficult task for Old Craftsman, but it was as easy as eating and drinking for Ou Y
angming.
After dealing with the old man, Ou Yangming finally felt a bit tired.
Even though he had plenty of blood and flesh in the dense forest to replenish himself when he cultivated, and the martial-art squat helped him get rid of the exhaustion, it did not mean that he could really live without sleeping at all.
Ou Yangming used his Military Fire to draw the attributes from his arm guards and greaves, then put the equipment set in a corner.
Details determined success or failure. Old Craftsman nagged him about this numerous times, so he always bore it in mind.
Ou Yangming was deep asleep shortly after he got on his bed.
The next morning, he stretched his body when he woke up, and the weariness from the last few days was gone.
He strode out of his courtyard and headed to his smithing workshop to begin working.
However, he was unaware that a figure sneaked into his courtyard by going over the wall not long after he left.
The person covered his face using his sleeves. It was Han Changling, the person who blamed Ou Yangming in the past but ended up being beaten by Sui Hezhi. Due to that incident, not only did he get beaten up for nothing, but he also offended Old Craftsman indirectly. If not for Zhang Yinfan from the Provision Camp who stood up for him, Kang Weibo would have added insult to his injury too.
After all, as long as one was not a fool, one would know who to pick between Old Craftsman and Han Changling.
Han Changling walked carefully without touching anything. He searched Ou Yangming’s room and courtyard carefully as if he was looking for something.
“Did sir make a mistake? How can this fella have a cylindrical Fire-absorbing Badge? But what exactly is a Fire-absorbing Badge…” He rubbed his neck after a long time as he mumbled. He did not find anything unusual even after searching for some time, but he suddenly noticed a pile of armaments in a corner.
Han Changling approached the pile carefully, then picked up a greave to look at it closely. At the spur of the moment, his face changed as he exclaimed, “High Grade equipment!”
In actual fact, the greave was already at the peak of High Grade, but Han Changling could not distinguish that through his naked eyes.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 20
