Fang Xuande looked in front and was in a daze.
After witnessing the godlike integration of Heaven and man during Ou Yangming’s smithing process, he found it impossible to affront his conscience and belittle the young blacksmith even if he wanted to.
Fang Xuande was not the only sharp-eyed one here, after all. Besides, he was an experienced and pure blacksmith in the trade, thus he could not bring himself to put down another person.
He could only laugh bitterly while being stared at by many people. “Master Ou has already achieved such a high level of attainment in smithing art at a young age, he’s truly a genius!” On the other hand, Fang Yide’s eyes wandered about as he sneered. “Seventh Elder Brother, a piece of equipment at the peak of High Grade isn’t common, but it’s not like you’ve never smithed one before, so why do you have to praise him so well?” ‘If one looks at the result alone, it’s true that it’s just a piece of equipment at the peak of High Grade Rank Five; if one watches the whole process and is also a blacksmith, the intense feelings of shock and disappointment are unbearable,’ Fang Xuande said to himself although he shook his head without saying a word. Despite that, he could not say those words in front of other people.
Fang Yide realized that something was off. This was because Fang Xuande was actually the leader of those who objected to Fang Yihai’s suggestion of letting a young blacksmith attach attributes to their clan’s equipment. If even Fang Xuande gave up, Fang Yide alone could not change the situation no matter how hard he tried…
He scoffed and raised a question, “Master Ou, you’re skilled in smithing High Grade equipment, but have you stumbled upon a piece of Fine Grade equipment?”
The crowd was shocked, and even Ni Yunhong and his younger sister were hesitant. Ou Yangming had not come from an influential family, hence he had little opportunity of coming across Fine Grade equipment. Even if he was well-trained in the Immense Forest Military Camp, he could not get his hands on them.
“The pieces of equipment that the Fang family wants to bind Unique Attributes to are pieces of Fine Grade equipment. If you can’t even smith a piece of Fine Grade equipment… Hehe, hehe, hehe…” Fang Yide glanced at the crowd and laughed instead of finishing his sentence, but the crowd understood the meaning behind his words.
Ni Yunhong and the other people looked at each other, not knowing how to reply to him.
They recalled that Ou Yangming had never smithed a piece of Fine Grade equipment indeed.
While High Grade and Fine Grade only differed by one word, the difference was worth 10,000 taels of gold. Ou Yangming smiled faintly at Fang Yide. “Judging from what you say, I’ll pass the test if I smith a piece of Fine Grade equipment?”
Fang Yide replied to him with a laugh, “Little friend, we’ll talk about it after you attempt it.”
Ou Yangming looked deeply at the man and confirmed that he was the one who was actually challenging Fang Yihai.
He chuckled and asked, “Brother Ni, does your residence have featured steel? May I borrow some?”
“Brother Ou, you’re being too polite. If you need them, I’ll ask someone to bring them here,” Ni Yunhong answered and waved his hand. Subsequently, someone carried some featured steel over.
When Ou Yangming’s Military Fire burned and danced again, the square became dead silent. The crowd watched the fire with different expressions on their faces, but they were all nervous.
Chapter 143 - Genuine Strength
Fang Xuande’s eyes burned bright, but he looked rather strange and confused as though he wanted to witness a miracle or was worried about something. On the other hand, Fang Yide’s eyes flickered and looked at Ou Yangming with strong enmity. Nonetheless, nobody could tell. The smithing of the archer equipment set was an incomparably huge matter in the Fang family. Regardless of the task’s final leader, that person would receive unimaginable benefits. It was evident that Fang Yide was unwilling to let Fang Yihai lead the task.
Therefore, he had spared no effort in roping in Fang Xuande, the number one smithing powerhouse in their clan, to object to the matter.
After all, Fang Yihai actually spoke carelessly in order to achieve his unspeakable goal; he claimed that a 16-year-old teen had acquired God-given Attributes. Putting aside the legitimacy of the news, so what if it was true? Without convincing smithing abilities, how could the clan entrust the unreal hope to a young junior?
That said, things began to develop beyond Fang Yide’s expectations.
Not knowing what tricks Ou Yangming had employed during the smithing process, Fang Xuande became so immersed in it that he seemed to have toned down and was not very against the idea anymore.
It was a terrible nightmare for Fang Yide.
His only hope was that the young fellow did not understand Fine Grade equipment very well.
However, when the Military Fire burned and completely enveloped the piece of featured steel, Fang Yide’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about it.
Fang Yide turned to look at Fang Xuande, hoping to catch a clue from the blacksmith’s face because he was acknowledged as the most powerful blacksmith in their clan.
Nevertheless, Fang Yide’s heart slowly sank because he saw once more how absorbed Fang Xuande was.
Ou Yangming had seen featured steel many times, but he had definitely not come across it much. In fact, it was his first time smithing and refining with a material like that.
Despite not having forged with such a material, he had previously smithed with tougher material.
It was the stones in the Chaos Cave, the ones that countless Black Magic Crawlers gnawed on with their mouthparts but could only obtain a bit of powder. The stones were superior to featured steel be it their toughness or their natural firmness.
Ou Yangming had easily refined the stones that day, so the substandard featured steel was not worth mentioning. As his Military Fire burned, the piece of featured steel melted slowly like butter. Ou Yangming then controlled with his mental conception to transform the dripping liquid into a longsword. The familiar words appeared in his mind again. [Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]
W
“Upgrade.’
After giving the instruction through his mind, the attributes of the longsword, which was enveloped by Ou Yangming’s Military Fire, were quickly improved. Ou Yangming devised a plan once he was aware of the Fang family’s secret weapon. As such, this moment was unquestionably the perfect opportunity to carry out the plan. Hence, he attached the Sharpness and Toughness attributes generously. After just a brief moment, the longsword achieved the maximum limit reachable by the raw material.
[Item: Extraordinary longsword]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +20, Toughness +20, Durability 18]
A faint smile was seen on Ou Yangming’s face. He curbed the fire, then placed the longsword on the smithing table, and nodded with a smile. “Thank you for the trouble again.”
Ni Yinghong could not help but laugh. “Hehe, I don’t think it’s troublesome at all.”
Following that, she rubbed her hands again and released the Appraisal Light.
Ou Yangming was moved. When he previously appraised pieces of equipment with Ni Yunhong and Zheng Ziwen, Ni Yinghong could already perform appraisal art. In spite of that, she could not execute it as fast as she could at the moment; she was restrained by her mental power and dexterity.
Most importantly, she had to rest for 15 minutes after using the art once and could never perform it twice in a row without panting heavily after.
On the opposite, Ni Yinghong was relaxed and did not feel burdened at all when she used appraisal art this time. There was a huge disparity between the changes, and perhaps a stranger could not tell, but Ou Yangming identified that her mental power had greatly improved.
Ou Yangming lamented. The Ni family had utilized their clan’s Land of Inheritance right after it was found, and Ni Yinghong
was unquestionably one of the first batches of people who benefited from it. “Grandfather from the Fang family, this sword is at the peak of Fine Grade… Rank Five!”
Ni Yinghong was surprised at first, but just as Fang Yide was secretly delighted as he thought Ou Yangming had failed, she gave him a despairing answer.
Fine Grade, Rank Five!
Whispers and discussions were instantly heard because even some powerhouses, who were adept in smithing art, were suspicious of the outcome.
“Impossible!” Fang Yide could not help but shout.
In actual fact, he knew that it was extremely unlikely that Ni Yinghong had lied, but he was in disbelief because the two pieces of equipment were evaluated to be at the peak of Rank Five.
The probability of smithing a piece of Fine Grade equipment by using featured steel was not low. Most blacksmiths with genuine talent could produce a similar result, but Rank Five… That was a piece of Rank Five equipment.
‘That young fella has just smithed two weapons. One’s a High Grade, one’s a Fine Grade, but both are in Rank Five?
‘I don’t understand smithing art very well, but it’s not like I know nothing either. Even if you want to lie about it, can you please not make it too obvious…’
“Indeed, it’s not very possible.” Questioning voices were heard one after another. Not only were the people from the Fang family doubtful, but some people from the Ni family had also stood up to express their discontent through their bright eyes.
Needless to say, those from the Ni family who voiced out were powerhouses from their bloodline branch. Besides, they were only displeased with the result and none of them dared to accuse Ni Yinghong of a falsification.
Ni Yinghong kept a straight face as if everything was within her expectations.
“Grandfather from the Fang family, may I ask why it isn’t possible?” She asked plainly.
Fang Yide scoffed and answered, “It’s possible that the longsword is of Fine Grade, but Rank Five… Hehe, if I’m not mistaken, the longsword earlier is also in Rank Five, am I right?”
“You’re right,” Ni Yinghong answered.
“If that’s the case, every piece of equipment smithed by Master Ou is in Rank Five?” Fang Yide smiled brightly.
Some people among the crowd laughed in secret and thought, ‘That’s such an unreliable statement. I’m afraid that only someone who knows nothing about smithing will believe that.’
“Hmph!” Ou Yangming suddenly scoffed and turned around, then he made his way to the side of the board again.
He drew everyone’s attention right away, by which even Ni Yinghong was surprised because she did not know what he was up to.
Ou Yangming glanced at the items on the board and reached out for an iron ingot. It was the most ordinary smithing material, which was usually used by a new blacksmith for practice or to mold pieces of normal equipment on a large scale.
Even the most ordinary yet official Military Fire or Spiritual Fire Blacksmith would not bother using it.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming studied the iron ingot for a while, then used his Military Fire to begin smithing. Everyone in the crowd looked at one another as they were baffled.
The better the raw material in equipment smithing, the higher the equipment’s grade. Ou Yangming had displayed his absolute ability in smithing art, and had even forged a piece of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five with featured steel.
Given the outcome, why had he chosen the most ordinary iron ingot?
Among the plenty of materials available, the iron ingot was undoubtedly the easiest material to be shaped. As Ou Yangming’s Military Fire burned, the material visibly melted at the speed of light, and a greave was instantly formed.
Ou Yangming shook his wrist to curb the fire, then casually placed the greave on the table.
Subsequently, he proceeded to retrieve a featured iron ingot, and his Military Fire burned once more to envelop the material. “Hey?” Fang Xuande asked in bewilderment, “Is he trying to…” “Is he trying to what?” Fang Yihai asked out loud. Amid the many people from the Fang family, he had the most confidence in Ou Yangming. He had witnessed the smithing challenge between Ou Yangming and Ni Yunhong, hence he knew very well that the teen could not be viewed as a normal person. “There’s a unique method among blacksmiths, and it’s used to test one’s skill,” Fang Xuande said hesitantly, “The method involves smithing a full basic equipment set with different materials because the limit of each material causes a huge difference in the equipment grades. However, the specific rank of pieces of equipment from the same grade shows the blacksmith’s genuine strength.”
Fang Yihai and the other spectators came to a sudden realization.
Nevertheless, it was also the exact reason they began looking at Ou Yangming strangely.
Smithing art’s mystery was endless, and the types of material available were unusual. Nobody had the guts to claim that they could master smithing with every material. Normally, a person who was adept in smithing with featured iron ingot might not necessarily be able to master smithing with steel or materials of a higher level.
Similarly, one who was great at smithing with steel might not be great at smithing with featured iron ingot. In fact, one might not actually be better than a blacksmith with a slightly inferior quality but was destined to use featured iron ingots forever.
Hence, a blacksmith’s genuine comprehensive strength could be shown by smithing all sorts of equipment with different materials.
Ou Yangming released his power without restraint. He looked like he was kneading the featured iron ingot as though it was dough, and another greave was produced again after a brief moment.
Two greaves, but two different materials.
That being said, it was not the end because Ou Yangming picked up another piece of steel. He studied it as if it was calculating something, then when the Military Fire burned again, part of the steel was instantly removed by melting it.
The remaining portion was quickly used to form an arm guard.
Ou Yangming seemed like he was addicted to the process. He put down the newly formed greave, then picked up a piece of featured steel to produce another arm guard.
Once he was done, he suddenly turned to ask with a smile, “Senior Fang, can you please choose a material for me?”
Chapter 144 - Admitting Defeat
The crowd looked at Fang Xuande at the same time, whereas Fang Xuande blushed and could not let out a word.
On the other hand, Fang Yide knew that things were getting bad, so he quickly said, “Being able to smith with common materials isn’t much. If you’re really so capable, you should try smithing with uncommon materials!”
The crowd cast a strange look at him.
‘Isn’t that request rather unreasonable?’
One would obviously choose a material that one was familiar with for equipment smithing. As for the uncommon, weird, and rare materials, although it was possible to smith an item that had the same equivalent rank, it was extremely difficult.
Other than a top-notch elder, who had profound experiences in smithing art after studying it for more than a decade, nobody would have the guts to respond to the request.
Fang Xuande furrowed his eyebrows. Just as he was about to remark that it was a forceful request, Ou Yangming agreed smilingly. “Okay, as you wish. Brother Ni, can you please prepare some uncommon materials?”
While Ou Yangming was smiling, his angry tone was obvious even for a fool.
Fang Yihai was red with anger and was especially displeased with Fang Yide. Nonetheless, Fang Yide was a senior in his clan, after all, hence Fang Yihai could not reprimand the senior, or he would be committing an offense by disrespecting a senior. It was not a responsibility that he could bear.
“I’ll fulfill every request made.” Ni Yunhong smiled and looked deeply at the people from the Fang family. After he gave an order, someone brought two types of material.
The materials were neither stee
l nor featured steel, but their grades and ranks were comparable.
Ou Yangming accepted the materials and glanced at Fang Yide. He expressed without hiding his contempt at all, “Senior, if you’re still unhappy with these two materials, there’s nothing else I can do. You may look for someone else.”
Following that, he shook his wrist, and the Military Fire burned again.
Ou Yangming had fallen asleep after his first encounter with the Military Fire because he had insufficient strength, and his physical and mental powers were exhausted by the fire. Since Ou Yangming was no longer the person he used to be, if he was only using the Military Fire at such a level, he could go on forever without taking a break.
After all, his 40 Points of mental power were not just for decoration.
“Boom…”
When his Military Fire burned violently, a loud explosion was actually heard from the material, and the fire became mightier as though oil was poured into it.
Ou Yangming was taken aback because it was his first time coming across material like that. It seemed like the material was compatible with the Military Fire because it began melting without him needing to use a lot of effort.
He was moved because he immediately understood that it was an advantage.
Even though he did not know what material it was, the Ni family, which had a profound background, definitely knew the material’s unique traits. Therefore, it was definitely not chosen randomly; Ni Yunhong had prepared it on purpose. Ou Yangming was rather grateful for the fact that Ni Yunhong put so much thought into the details for him.
Since Ou Yangming had probed the material’s unique traits, he was not going to hold back. He released more of the Military Fire so as to quickly reshape the material. Ni Yunhong and his younger sister looked at each other and wondered, ‘Ou Yangming’s being too impatient.’
Based on the explosion and the uncontrollable Military Fire earlier, they were certain that Ou Yangming had stumbled upon the material for the first time.
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