The man sighed and replied, “This military saber was smithed by Ou Yangming, the person you were talking about.”
“Oh, did you notice anything?”
In actual fact, many things could be identified from a piece of equipment, but it required profound experience and vision.
“Hehe, Little Sister, you have the best eye in our family, take a look at it yourself.”
The lady received the military saber and studied it for some time, then a strange look was seen on her face. “This is strange. The smithing technique used for this saber isn’t of a professional level, and it’s somewhat flawed, but how did it achieve the peak of Good Grade?”
A piece of Good Grade Rank Five equipment was very rare for many soldiers but was nothing spectacular for the siblings.
If the military saber was not flawed, it did not really matter if it was of Good Grade Rank Five. However, they were bewildered by the fact that it was at the peak of Good Grade when it was flawed.
“Hehe, you noticed it too.” The man chuckled. “I have no idea what method was used, but Ou Yangming is not a simple person at all.”
The young lady nodded lightly and was curious for some reason.
Needless to say, it was not Ou Yangming whom she was interested in, but his smithing technique.
A knock was suddenly heard at the door.
The man grinned. “They’re here already.”
“What?”
“I was exchanging views with Old Craftsman yesterday, and I benefited a lot from him, so I invited him over for another talk.”
The young lady smiled sweetly. “Elder Brother, won’t General Tian be unhappy if you get too close with Old Craftsman?”
“Since I came and showed up for him, that’s enough. Heh, don’t forget that we’re the ones who are the Tian family’s masters,” the man replied to her without feeling bothered at all.
He stood up to open the door to the courtyard.
Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming were seen standing at the door.
Upon seeing the man, Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “It’s you!”
He was not expecting to meet the fop who suddenly appeared during the night battle.
Old Craftsman was stunned. “Do you know Master Ni?”
Ou Yangming tensed up for a while but quickly said with a serious face, “Old Man, I took him for someone else. Master Ni looks very similar to a friend of mine, so… Hehe, I got the wrong person, I got the wrong person.”
Old Craftsman and Master Ni looked at him suspiciously as they could tell that Ou Yangming did not mean what he said. Nevertheless, they could not expose him.
“Young fella, this is Master Ni Yunhong, and this is his younger brother, Ni Yinghong. One of them is a blacksmith while the other’s talented in appraisals, they’re both rare geniuses,” Old Craftsman introduced once they entered the courtyard.
Ou Yangming nodded and thought to himself, ‘Master Ni Yunhong is also a powerhouse in martial arts skills, and he can easily take out anyone who’s in the same rank as him!’
Ni Yunhong chuckled. “Old Craftsman, you’re overpraising me.”
Old Craftsman had a strange habit. Apart from Ou Yangming, he disallowed people from addressing him as Old Man, such that he would correct a person to call him Old Craftsman instead if that person had called him something else. One with such a habit would definitely be mocked by other people, but given that he was the number one Military Fire Blacksmith in the camp, even the commanding general treated him with respect.
“Swoosh…”
A military saber was suddenly shown in front of Ou Yangming’s face.
Ou Yangming was surprised, and Ni Yinghong’s face came into view when he looked. In particular, the pair of bright, shiny eyes were staring at him curiously.
“Did you really smith this saber?”
Chapter 64 - Smithing Challenge
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ou Yangming took a glance at the saber that Ni Yinghong held. Although the fellow was too thin, and his eyes were somewhat moist, he could not see through his real identity.
That said, Ou Yangming recognized the saber at a glance.
From another person’s perspective, one could distinguish minor differences between pieces of equipment that looked the same. Especially if the equipment was personally smithed by a person, that person would naturally recognize it easily.
Ou Yangming nodded and replied casually, “Yes, this is a Good Grade Military Saber, I recall that I’ve submitted it to the depot.”
He had submitted a considerable amount of equipment to the depot, so it did not matter if someone withdrew one. Besides, the saber that they retrieved was only an ordinary piece of White Slate Equipment that did not contain any attribute, hence he was even more unconcerned.
Ni Yinghong’s eyes glowed. “Your saber obviously has some flaws, and theoretically, it’s difficult for it to achieve Good Grade with these flaws. How did this military saber achieve Good Grade Rank Five?”
Ou Yangming’s mouth twitched as he wondered, ‘I hate sharp-eyed insiders like him the most.’
Old Craftsman quickly cleared his throat and remarked, “Hehe, little brother, that’s a blacksmith’s core secret. I have no idea either, so how can he tell you?”
“Haha, Old Craftsman’s right.” Ni Yunhong had been pondering ever since Ou Yangming spoke. His eyes finally lit up as he laughed. “Master Ou, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Ou Yangming let out a dry cough and replied to him, “Master Ni, you probably remembered wrongly, you’ve never seen me before.”
Ni Yunhong nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve never seen your face.”
Ou Yangming sighed because he knew that the fellow had finally recognized his voice. Even though his face was covered that night, his voice was still the same. Moreover, Ou Yangming behaved quite strangely when they met, thus it only made sense that he could not hide the truth from Ni Yunhong.
Old Craftsman and Ni Yinghong looked at them confusedly as they had no idea what the other two were saying.
Ni Yunhong took the military saber back and asked seriously, “Master Ou, may I ask if your military saber has any room for improvement?”
Ou Yangming had come with Old Craftsman. In terms of seniority, he was considered Old Craftsman’s disciple, but because of the military saber in Ni Yunhong’s hand, he was worthy of being addressed as a master.
“If further improvement is to be done, it can be done on the saber’s Durability,” Ou Yangming answered with a nod after some thought.
“Durability?” Ni Yunhong was stunned, but he soon came to a sudden realization so he laughed. “Master Ou, that’s interesting. Indeed, I’ve been thinking for a night, and I’m certain that the saber has room for improvement, but I couldn’t come up with a way to increase its quality. Hehe, looks like this is the real shortcoming.”
The saber was already of Good Grade Rank Five, and the probability of advancing it to High Grade was close to zero due to the limitation of the raw material. Nonetheless, more work could be done to improve its Durability to 10 points, which was the peak.
However, the time and effort required seemed like the final outcome would not make up for the loss.
Ni Yunhong was still cheerful and excited. He rubbed his hands slightly, then a flame instantly burned in his hand.
Ou Yangming’s face changed the instant the fire burned.
‘Is that the Military Fire?’
Whether it was Ou Yangming, Old Craftsman, or the other Military Fire Blacksmiths in the military camp, the Military Fire possessed by each of them was different. The only similarity was they all burned in red.
On the contrary, the flame produced by Ni Yunhong was purely white. Additionally, it was quite shocking that the fire was not hot, but gave a chilly feeling instead.
Ou Yangming turned to look at Old Craftsman, only to find that the old man was staring at the white flame with a p
uzzled look on his face.
After a brief moment, Old Craftsman finally sensed the questioning look from Ou Yangming, hence he lowered his voice and said, “Young fella, watch closely. This is a type of spiritual fire that has similar effects to the Military Fire, but they both have their own strengths.”
Ni Yinghong looked disdainful for a split second when she heard what Old Craftsman had said.
‘How can the Military Fire be mentioned on equal terms with spiritual fire? This old craftsman is someone with genuine talent though, and since Elder Brother treats him with respect, I shall not be rude because of what he said.’
The white flame disappeared a while after, and Ni Yunhong laughed out loud. “Master Ou, I remodeled your military saber without asking, I hope you don’t mind.”
Following that, he tossed the saber to Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming reached his arm out to catch it steadily. He studied it with a dark face and noticed the flaws that were initially on the military saber had been fixed. Without inspecting with his Military Fire, he knew that the saber’s Durability attribute had definitely achieved 10 points of Good Grade Rank Five.
Nevertheless, it did not feel nice that his product was made perfect by someone else.
Ni Yinghong smiled proudly and disclosed, “Master Ou, my brother’s spiritual fire is the rare Frost Fire, and it’s far more superior than the ordinary Military Fire.1”
The young lady, who disguised herself as a boy, was pleased to see that her older brother was better than his opponent.
While Old Craftsman was a little unhappy, he had to admit that the Frost Fire was truly more wonderful than the Military Fire.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and commented, “Frost Fire, its name is interesting and rare indeed.”
Ni Yinghong blinked and asked, “What do you mean?”
Ou Yangming smiled with squinted eyes as he said, “I meant that the Frost Fire’s name is wonderful indeed, but its effect is so-so.”
“What high-sounding sentiments! Are you saying that your Military Fire is more superior to my older brother’s Frost Fire?” Ni Yinghong was so mad that she smiled instead.
“A challenge will show if it’s more superior,” Ou Yangming casually suggested.
Old Craftsman’s face changed. He had not brought Ou Yangming along for him to pick a fight. Just as he was about to lecture Ou Yangming, Ni Yunhong responded, “Master Ou, since you’re interested, let’s pick a date?”
Ou Yangming smirked. “Master Ni, would you like to fail again?”
Ni Yunhong replied to him expressionlessly, “Master Ou, don’t worry, I won’t be defeated this time around!”
Old Craftsman instantly shut his mouth but was feeling flustered. ‘When did they challenge each other? Why do I know nothing about it?’
Ou Yangming was not willing to show an impression of weakness. “A verbal guarantee doesn’t mean anything, how would you like to challenge me?”
Ni Yunhong pondered then said, “We’ll smith a full equipment set using the same materials, and the one who smiths the more powerful equipment set wins, what do you think?”
“Okay, that’s fair.” Ou Yangming nodded.
Smithing a full equipment set meant that more than a piece of equipment would be smithed. The blacksmith’s skills would be fully displayed, and the probability of an accident would be lowered, hence it was the fairest challenge indeed.
“Since you agree…” Ni Yunhong smiled and thought for a while before continuing, “Let’s do it in three days’ time. We’ll compete at the Armament Camp’s public space, and I’ll invite General Tian from the East Camp, as well as General Chen from the West Camp, to be the hosts and the judges.”
Old Craftsman’s eyes twitched at the spur of the moment, and he looked deeply at Ni Yunhong with a dark face.
Ou Yangming laughed out loud. “Okay, as long as you can invite them, I’m fine with it.”
“A promise made,” Ni Yunhong uttered and lifted his right hand.
“Must be kept!” Ou Yangming completed the sentence and tapped his hand.
Old Craftsman shook his head and sighed. “Master Ni, since you’ve agreed on a date, I’ll bring him back to prepare for it. I’ll watch your performances in three days.”
Ni Yunhong nodded. “Okay, I’ll learn more skills from you after the challenge.”
The skills that he meant to learn was not the same as the intense challenge that was said earlier, it was really an inquiry session to exchange views.
Once Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming left, Ni Yinghong asked curiously, “Elder Brother, have you met Ou Yangming before?”
Ni Yunhong smiled bitterly. “Indeed, I’ve seen him once and challenged him once.”
“You really challenged each other, and you lost?” Ni Yinghong was surprised. She then shook his head and said, “Impossible, you’re the best blacksmith among the younger generation in our family.”
“Hah, what were you thinking? I only exchanged blows with him in a martial arts battle, but I ended up fleeing.” Ni Yunhong did not know whether to cry or laugh. He was embarrassed when he recalled the night he escaped without continuing the fight.
Ni Yinghong widened her eyes even more. “That’s even more impossible. You’re the best at controlling skills in our family. Unless that fella is already in Yin Grade Boundary, how could he defeat you?”
In actual fact, it did not matter even if Ou Yangming was a Yin Grade martial artist because Ni Yunhong had actually defeated quite a number of Yin Grade powerhouses. Among the people whom he defeated, there were also powerhouses above Yin Grade Class Three.
However, Ni Yunhong shook his head and explained, “Master Ou’s martial art boundary is lower than mine, but he’s able to execute skills in an unbelievable way. I lost because of the disparity between our skills.”
Honestly, Ni Yunhong might not bother if he was defeated because of the difference between their boundaries, but the fact that he lost because of his skills was a huge blow for him.
Ni Yinghong looked at her older brother dumbfoundedly. She finally understood why Ni Yunhong did the unusual by agreeing to challenge Ou Yangming, suggested having the challenge in public, and even proposed to compete with what he was adept in—smithing a full equipment set.
In other words, Ni Yunhong had a hidden trick for the challenge of smithing a full equipment set.
The challenge had not begun, but the result was already set.
‘It looks like Elder Brother still hasn’t let go of that incident, so he decided to vent his anger by smithing an equipment set.’
Ni Yinghong shook her head and felt that Ou Yangming was unlucky to have encountered her elder brother, who was willing to give his all. ‘I hope that he won’t lose confidence after being defeated.’
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 C
raftsman 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.
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