Ou Yangming, who accompanied Old Craftsman in the carriage, was awakened by the noise. He quickly looked outside through the window gap. Their journey from the military camp to the prefecture was not of a smaller scale than the one before.
On top of that, due to the long preparation time, Commanding General Fang Yihai from the South Camp had even found an excuse to personally escort his guests. Similarly, Chen Yifan, who claimed to be Ou Yangming’s master and his representative from home, did not show an impression of weakness at all. Not only did he send Liu Zhengye, but he also dispatched three squads.
Although Liu Zhengye was not on par with Fang Yihai, Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming appreciated the kind gesture.
Nonetheless, even with such a solid team, Ou Yangming was extremely sensitive about everything Perhaps it was due to the many accidents that had occurred previously. Despite that, after seeing the people who were on the fine horses ahead, Ou Yangming let his guard down and even smiled.
Old Craftsman asked in confusion, “Young fella, is it someone you know?”
Ou Yangming quickly answered, “Old Man, sit tight, it’s Ni Yinghong who has come.”
“Oh, it’s…” Old Craftsman furrowed his eyebrows a little and looked at Ou Yangming with worry. He hesitated to finish his sentence.
“Old Man, just sit still, I’ll ask them to go slower,” Ou Yangming said smilingly. Old Craftsman scoffed. “You’ve been nagging them to go slower throughout the journey. The journey, that’s supposed to take three days and three nights if the horses galloped fast enough, would end up lasting for almost half a month. Are you trying to make my old body rot?”
It was just like the old man said; Ou Yangming had been repeating two words throughout the journey, which were ‘slow’ and ‘steady’.
They actually took half a month to travel from the military camp to the prefecture, which was the slowest marching speed recorded in history. Nevertheless, Old Craftsman was surprised that neither Fang Yihai nor the normal soldiers complained at all.
In actual fact, Fang Yihai had only remained his composure because Ou Yangming guaranteed that his success rate of attributes attachment was definitely above 30%. Besides, Ou Yangming had also promised to attempt binding layered attributes to the pieces of equipment.
Therefore, Fang Yihai dared not urge Ou Yangming so as to maintain the young fellow’s good mood.
As for the low-level soldiers…
Since the South Camp’s commanding general was present, how could they have the guts to complain? Ou Yangming grinned and got off the carriage. He noticed the gentle figure among the cavalries from a distance away.
“Brother Ni, how have you been!” He greeted with a smile.
Ni Yinghong smiled weirdly and replied to him, “Brother Ou, you’ve returned to the military camp for more than a month, so I thought you no longer want to learn the Suit Skill and appraisal art!”
Ou Yangming laughed out loud, “As long as you’re willing to teach, I’m willing to learn.”
“Okay, my older brother has been waiting at home, please!”
Seeing as things were off, Fang Yihai quickly interrupted, “Ni Yinghong, I’m the one who has invited Master Ou here, so even if you’d like to invite him to your clan, you should go after the Fang family.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ni Yinghong curled her lips into a slight smile and looked like a cunning little fox. She said, “If that’s the case, Brother Ou can go with you while I bring the old man to my clan.”
“No!” Fang Yihai refused without any hesitation. He obviously understood how important Old Craftsman was to Ou Yangming. It would only be strange that the young fellow would stay in the Fang residence if the old man was taken away.
The general cursed, ‘She’s such a clingy, sly fox. How can she take such drastic measures?’
That said, Ni Yinghong suddenly spread out her hands and expressed helplessly, “Okay, Elder Xuehai has actually made preparations to treat Old Man, but since General Fang disallows, I’ll ask him to forget it.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes instantly glowed. “Senior Xuehai is here too!” Fang Yihai’s face twitched. He was resentful. ‘Is a national medical elder that amazing? But it does sound quite amazing…’ “General Fang, since Senior Xuehai is already waiting for Old Man, how about we make a trip there first?” Ou Yangming immediately turned to ask.
Fang Yihai smiled bitterly, but he could not object to it.
However, before he could decide, Ni Yinghong voiced out, “General Fang, there’s actually something I’d like to ask. “Go ahead.” Fang Yihai was somewhat startled.
SO
“Have you invited Brother Ou here for the archer equipment set?” Ni Yinghong questioned seriously.
Fang Yihai pulled a long face and answered with another question, “So what if that’s the case?”
The matter was actually not a secret anymore, but it was the first time someone had spoken about it so openly, thus it made sense for him to be displeased.
Ni Yinghong showed a disdainful smile. “According to what I heard, many people from the Fang family disapprove of it! Hehe, if they don’t trust Brother Ou, why have you invited him here?”
Fang Yihai’s face took on an unpleasant expression, and his eyes looked fierce. In spite of that, unlike the hot-tempered general’s usual behavior, he did not rebuke Ni Yinghong.
Ou Yangming understood the situation after hearing them.
The archer equipment set was quite important for the Fang family, but while Fang Yihai was an honorable figure in the South Camp, his power of discourse in his clan was worrying.
Ni Yinghong added, “General Fang, instead of letting Brother Ou receive insults at the Fang residence, how about you let him be my guest at the Ni residence? What do you think?”
Fang Yihai sneered. “As long as I’m around, nobody will insult my guest.”
Ni Yinghong shook her head and suggested, “How about this? My older brother and Brother Ou will have a smithing challenge tomorrow noon as a learning experience for them. If the people from the Fang family are interested, they can come to watch.”
She had only spoken about it casually, but Fang Yihai’s eyes lit up right away. He inhaled deeply and cupped his hands at Ni Yinghong. “Okay, I’ll remember this and repay you the favor in the future!”
He turned to say to Ou Yangming apologetically, “Master Ou, you’ve heard what we said. Indeed, I haven’t made the best arrangements this time, but don’t worry, I assure you that there won’t be any more mishaps from tomorrow onward.”
Ou Yangming naturally smiled and said that he was fine with it, but he shook his head and sighed when Fang Yihai left with his squad. “Ah, I didn’t think that helping someone was going to be so tough…”
Ni Yinghong smiled sweetly and responded, “The queue of people who want to help General Fang extends from the prefecture to the military camp. He has asked you for help because he values you!”
“Is that so? What about the people who want to help you?” Ou Yangming blinked.
“There are probably two queues of people who want to help me!” Ni Yinghong answered proudly.
“Ah… I was being impolite, it turns out that you’re more welcomed than General Fang. I admire you for that!”
“You’re flattering me, Brother Ou, you’re flattering me!”
They laughed and conversed happily.
“Uhm…” Old Craftsman suddenly came out of the carriage.
Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong quickly stopped laughing and approached the old man at the same time. Although they had not rehearsed it, they naturally supported Old Craftsman by holding one of his arms each. Old Craftsman was dumbfounded, and he remarked with a bitter smile, “Ah, I don’t deserve this treatment.”
Ni Yinghong grinned. “Old Man, you’re a senior, so of course you deserve it.” Ou Yangming nodded as well. “Old Man, you deserve it indeed.”
Ni Yinghong blushed and rolled her eyes at him, whereas Ou Yangming pretended to ignore h
er.
Old Craftsman wanted to correct the way Ni Yinghong addressed him out of habit but sighed when he saw her and Ou Yangming making eyes at each other. In fact, the old man was also less worried.
With that, they entered the Ni residence together.
Ni Xuehai had indeed been waiting for a long time, and he took in Old Craftsman as soon as he arrived.
Ou Yangming wanted to follow them too, but he could only back away when Ni Xuehai glared at him.
If there was someone other than Old Craftsman whom he respected and feared, it was none other than the doctor who treated Old Craftsman.
Ni Yunhong made his way over by then and comforted Ou Yangming with a smile, “Brother Ou, don’t worry. Since Old Man consumed the golden pill, he’ll surely be fine.” Ou Yangming nodded. “Brother Ou, you’ve put in a lot of effort to get me here instead of letting me go to the Fang residence, what exactly is it for?” “Brother Ou, I know that you’re interested in every skill related to smithing, am I right?” Ni Yunhong grinned.
“That’s right.” Ou Yangming was stunned.
“Hehe, are you interested in boring?” “Boring?” Ou Yangming asked in confusion. “Yes, it means making a hole on a piece of equipment to embed a gem in the future.” Ou Yangming’s eyes shone. “Is the Fang family adept in boring?”
Ni Yunhong laughed out loud. “Brother Ou, you’re really smart. Hehe, in terms of the Suit Skill, the Ni family is definitely the best in the prefecture! But equipment boring is the Fang family’s expertise. You picked up the Gem Embedding Art right away when Yinghong taught you, so you’re gifted enough to learn the new skill.”
“Brother Ni, why are you helping me?” Ou Yangming asked after he kept quiet for some time.
Ni Yunhong pondered and sighed. “Brother Ou, there was an unforeseen event among the Ni family a month ago. Ni Xueming’s bloodline branch was removed from the clan by the great ancestors, and the disciples in his branch are now useless. That said, he managed to escape before he was caught.”
Normal people would be baffled when Ni Yunhong suddenly brought up the unrelated matter.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming immediately understood that the two Yang Grade powerhouses who attacked him but were killed by Ni Wangyang were likely hired by Ni Xueming
Ni Yunhong added, “His bloodline was the most one among the clan’s branches, but he had aged and his days were numbered. He decided to take the risk but ended up harming others and himself.”
“It’s already in the past, so let’s not talk about it.” Ou Yangming laughed after remaining silent for some time. He expressed after a pause, “Tomorrow at noon, I’d like to see if your skills have improved.”
“Tomorrow will be your show, so I’m not going to be involved!” Ni Yunhong responded snappily. They laughed together and no longer bore grudges against each other.
Chapter 142 - Live Performance
At noon the following day, Ou Yangming was led by Ni Yunhong and his younger sister to an empty ground.
Many people were already seated at the venue. Apart from Fang Yihai and the people around him, Ou Yangming noticed many familiar faces.
Those people were the Ni family’s elders, and they—including Ni Wangyang-looked at him in confusion.
Ou Yangming knew very well that some of them were feeling indignant for Ni Xueming.
It was true that Ni Xueming was the culprit; he had even schemed a plan on Ni Wangyang because he coveted the Life-prolonging Pill that Ou Yangming carried. However, most of the elders would blame Ou Yangming for being the source of the offense.
No matter what an outsider did for the Ni family, it was supposed to be a matter of course. At most, the outsider could be dismissed with some small gifts, but why was the clan’s most valuable Life-prolonging Golden Pill given to the outsider?
The elders felt that it was better to give the golden pill to Ni Xueming than to Ou Yangming. Needless to say, Ni Xueshu and the other elders from the main bloodlines were above them, and the three Supreme Great Ancestors were also overseeing the matter. Therefore, the elders dared not openly display their dissatisfaction.
Fang Yihai stood up and laughed. “Haha, Master Ou, Master Ni, I can’t believe that I’ll be watching another challenge between you two.”
Ni Yunhong’s face froze, and he responded, “General Fang, I’m afraid that I’ll have to disappoint you.”
“What?” Fang Yihai asked in confusion.
“I’m not feeling very well today, so I won’t be smithing,” Ni Yunhong explained in a serious tone, then his eyes wandered about. “But since so many seniors have shown up, we can’t let you down…”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh when he noticed the signal from Ni Yunhong. “Everyone, since the challenge isn’t going to happen, I’ll exhibit my abilities.” He walked over to the center of the courtyard where a board was already prepared and various materials were piled. Apart from steel, there were also tens of precious ores.
As expected, the Ni family’s background was unpredictable, and they were not inferior to the Immense Forest Military Camp at all.
Ou Yangming glanced at the materials and picked a piece of steel. As he played a thought in his mind, his Military Fire burned and enveloped the steel.
The spectators paid full attention to observe the process. Although there were not many in the crowd who knew smithing art, they were from noble families of power and influence, hence their knowledge was on a different level. In fact, they were familiar with smithing performances as such, so they were able to draw conclusions after observing in detail.
Nonetheless, the people who knew the trade were struck dumb in a flash.
This was because Ou Yangming’s every move seemed to be in an exceptionally mysterious state. Whether it was the burning Military Fire, the flowing steel, or Ou Yangming’s body, they all looked like they had become one.
Not to mention no flaws could be spotted, the spectators were actually bewildered.
The more one knew smithing art and the higher one’s level of attainment in it, the stronger the feeling of bewilderment.
Ou Yangming was enlightened with the state of the integration of Heaven and man when he fought Ni Yunhong that night and was introduced to skills. That said, through different opportunities and training, he had only successfully fathomed it when Old Craftsman smithed with the Layering Art.
The myriad techniques in the world led to the same destination.
When Ou Yangming comprehended the integration of Heaven and man in smithing art, he naturally performed it through martial arts as well because his cultivation base was already at a certain level.
During the smithing performance, Ou Yangming displayed the real and original integration of Heaven and man.
At the spur of the moment, the conceited powerhouses who were incredibly adept in smithing art were also stunned. There were even some who trembled and began losing control of themselves.
Nevertheless, most of the martial artists were baffled. They only saw a ball of fiery flame, and a weapon was slowly taking form due to the burning process.
At last, the Military Fire disappeared, and a longsword was formed in Ou Yangming’s hands.
This time, instead of smithing a military saber, he smithed a longsword, which was something he rarely smithed. The longsword was smithed using the swordsman’s—his attacker’sweapon as a reference. While its length and pattern were slightly different, one could easily tell that Ou Yangming had forged a good sword.
Of course, Ou Yangming had already known the weapon’s grade and rank through his burning Military Fire.
[Item: Distinguished longsword]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, High Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +15, Toughness +15, Durability 14)
“Seventh Uncle, what… Do you think about his standard?” An extremely soft voice was heard out of nowhere.
When the crowd turned to look, they saw Fang Yihai questioning a white-haired elder. His voice w
as soft, but none of the people present were ordinary so they heard him clearly.
The elder’s face turned red, and he reprimanded, “Fang Yihai, what do you mean?”
Fang Yihai looked surprised. “Seventh Uncle, didn’t you doubt Ou Yangming’s skills? Now that you’ve seen his ability, what do you think?”
If one had only looked at his puzzled look, one would think that he had made an unintended mistake, but the people present more or less curled their lips into a smile.
How could the commanding general from the Immense Forest Military Camp’s South Camp make such a lowly mistake? Ou Yangming could not help but laugh too. If he had not witnessed it himself, he could never imagine Fang Yihai doing something like that.
The elder, who was being questioned, was even redder in the face when he noticed the faint smiles from the people around him. Just as he was about to explode, his partner next to him remarked, “I may not know smithing art, but I know that the piece of equipment speaks the truth. If you’re curious about the little friend’s ability, why not appraise it?”
Ni Yinghong approached Ou Yangming and told him softly, “Those two men are stubborn elders from the Fang family, but even though the first elder, Fang Xuande, is stubborn, he’s their clan’s chief boring master. As for the second elder, Fang Yide, he’s a cunning old man, so you must be careful.”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. For some reason, he had a strange feeling when he heard the words ‘boring master’.
“Grandfather from the Fang family, do you trust me to carry out the appraisal?” Ni Yinghong looked up with a smile.
“If I don’t trust you, who else can I trust?” Fang Yide laughed out loud.
In actuality, everyone knew that any appraisal master who carried out the task in an event as such would not speak carelessly.
Following that, Ni Yinghong rubbed her hands to release the Appraisal Light. Her eyes glowed as she announced, “Everyone, this equipment is at the peak of High Grade Rank Five.”
“It’s a High Grade Rank Five indeed…” Fang Xuande mumbled and lamented. Though he was also a blacksmith, he could not have completed the smithing process so perfectly if he was in Ou Yangming’s shoes. “Seventh Uncle, how about you evaluate Master Ou’s skills?” Fang Yihai urged with a smile.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 84
