As Ni Yunhong’s spiritual fire danced, a greave quickly took form, and he tossed a Power Ore into it.
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.
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 Yunh
ong 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?”
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 43
