The silence went on for a long time before Yi Yucheng changed the topic. “Ah, it’s a helmet.”
Everyone else sighed a breath of relief. The middle-aged blacksmith also laughed and looked down at the stage.
The equipment had taken form in the Military Fire, and it was a helmet indeed.
Ou Yangming, who was smithing the helmet, blinked. When he was using the Military Fire, he suddenly noticed a certain power from the void naturally enter the helmet.
During the smithing process with the Military Fire, under certain circumstances, there was a slight probability that the equipment could be attached with a Unique Attribute.
Nonetheless, the chances were low, and it was not a constant, so nobody took it seriously.
Even so, Ou Yangming was sure that he encountered the benefit once more at the moment.
[Item: Extraordinary helmet (Red)] (Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Four]
[Attributes: Sharpness +18, Toughness +19, Evasion (Passive Attribute): A 10% success rate of natural evasion under an attack, Durability 19]
Ou Yangming fixed his gaze on the notice as it was his first time stumbling upon the Evasion attribute. A thought crossed his mind all of a sudden as he read the text explanation, ‘If I can increase the Evasion attribute to 10 Points, won’t I be able to achieve a miraculous effect that’s similar to the integration of Heaven and man?’
Nevertheless, given that Ou Yangming’s martial arts cultivation base was already at a certain level, he would not place his hope of victory in uncertainties like that. After the young fellow pondered for a while, he burned the Military Fire again, where a purple luster was seen as he withdrew the 1 Point of Evasion attribute into his mind.
Following that, he added 1 Point each of the Sharpness and the Toughness attributes from his mind into the equipment.
[Item: Extraordinary helmet]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +20, Toughness +20, Durability 19]
Although the equipment arrived at Fine Grade Rank Five, its overall value declined because it lacked the Evasion attribute—a Unique Attribute.
Despite that, given the occasion, there was an essential difference between what he was aiming for and what he achieved in the beginning.
‘I’ll show the Superior Blacksmiths the good stuff when I have discussions with them later on.’
Ou Yangming curled his lips into a smile and put down the helmet as he was satisfied.
He was happy not only because he gained a new attribute, but most importantly, it was also because the helmet that he smithed was of Fine Grade Rank Four.
As he became more proficient in smithing processes, he could eventually smith pieces of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five without using the Military Fire’s special ability.
The people on the high platform began guessing again when they noticed Ou Yangming’s expression.
‘It looks like Master Ou’s very pleased with the helmet because his current move and look form a stark contrast with the way he reacted before.’
The Military Fire burned again as Ou Yangming reached for the third featured steel. Yi Yucheng sighed and remarked, “Regardless of Master Ou’s results, in terms of speed only, he’s definitely the best.” Just as he said, even when Ou Yangming had smithed the military saber and the helmet, the other people had not even shaped a single piece of equipment. In fact, the slowest candidate was still inciting his Military Fire, but the piece of featured steel on his casting table had not melted.
The contrast was extremely sharp, hence many spectators, who knew little about smithing art, were especially shocked.
From their perspective, Ou Yangming and the other blacksmiths were simply Heaven and Earth apart.
Ou Yangming continued to smith according to his usual speed. He neither suppressed his potential nor slowed down on purpose; he carried out his task naturally.
A set of greaves, a pair of arm guards, and an armor.
Once everything was done, Ou Yangming sighed as he was still rather regretful.
Other than the Evasion Attribute, he did not come across another God-given attribute. If the other people knew what he was thinking, they would likely want to kill him.
Most Military Fire Blacksmiths worked hard their whole lives but only chanced on God-given attributes very few times; it could be counted with one hand. On the contrary, Ou Yangming had only acquired the Military Fire for less than a year, but he came upon God-given attributes more than once already.
He who was not content with the frequency could be perfectly described as a snake who was trying to swallow an elephant.
After Ou Yangming finished smithing a normal equipment set, he fixed his gaze on the three Power Ores.
Those were rare ores that could be used to bond Unique Attributes to the pieces of equipment, and each candidate was given three opportunities. It was a difficult test for the other Intermediate Blacksmiths, but it was as easy as drinking or eating for Ou Yangming.
The young fellow’s Military Fire burned and enveloped one of the Power Ores. Inside the powerful flame, the Power Ore instantly turned into a sticky liquid, and it slowly dripped down to the military saber.
However, Ou Yangming had no idea that the casual move resulted in exclaims on the high platform.
Power Ores were rare ores, and they were far more valuable than featured steel.
Even when an Advanced Blacksmith used a rare ore like that to fix a Unique Attribute to a piece of equipment, one would carry out the process carefully by fully focusing on the speed of melting the ore, as well as the phase of integrating the ore into the weapon.
That said, judging from Ou Yangming’s attitude, even amateurs would think that he did not care about the matter at all.
Furthermore, the blacksmiths on the high platform looked at each other in confusion when they saw the young fellow grabbing the military saber casually.
“Brother Feng, based on his movements, it doesn’t look like he’s attaching Unique Attributes for the first time, right?” Yi Yucheng asked in a deep voice.
“Yes, and he’s able to melt the Power Ore so quickly…” Feng Guangyuan nodded and paused halfway, then he smiled bitterly.
He initially wanted to say that it was difficult to melt a rare ore so quickly, but on second thought, Ou Yangming’s Military Fire was obviously unordinary. As such, even featured steel was similar to mud to him. If that was the case, was it not normal that the rare ore, whose hardness and melting point were inferior to featured steel’s, could not withstand the fire for long?
“According to his technique, he should be very experienced to be able to melt the Power Ore so naturally, but…” Feng Guangyuan cleared his throat and curbed his thought. His face twitched as he forced a smile and continued, “Based on his age and the time he obtained the Military Fire, it’s quite surprising that he’s able to deal with rare ores already!”
Yi Yucheng could not help but laugh. “Brother Feng, don’t forget that he’s a blacksmith from… A certain military camp in Changlong County. The rules there aren’t strict, so it’s reasonable that he was able to overstep boundaries.”
The other people nodded in agreement and smiled faintly.
Everything was strict in the capital. If a person had only gotten the Military Fire for a year, not to mention rare ores, one could not use featured steel at all.
In comparison, the more remote a place, the more liberal the rules.
As long as a person with authority allowed it, any rule could be violated.
Thus, while the blacksmiths in the capital were proud of their people, they were indifferent toward the outsiders.
Even if Ou Yangming displayed outstanding and nearly unbelievable smithing skills, deep down they could not treat the young fellow with a different attitude.
“Hehe…” Feng Guangyuan chuckled and froze for a while before he commented, “If Master Ou chose to attach a Unique Attribute to
the military saber, could it be that… It’s already of the standard?”
Yi Yucheng and the other people stopped smiling. Apart from a few people, the rest had thought Ou Yangming’s military saber had not arrived at Fine Grade, which was why he looked frustrated and displeased.
They initially thought that Ou Yangming would smith a new military saber after he was done smithing the other pieces of equipment.
Who knew, Ou Yangming began to attach a Unique Attribute to a piece of equipment, where he even chose the military saber when he melted the rare ore.
Was he not telling everyone that the military saber was already qualified?
When the crowd scanned the other pieces of equipment, they wondered, ‘Could the young fella have completed a full equipment set?’ Ou Yangming had bound Unique Attributes many times. He had even linked Layered Attributes, let alone a single attribute.
As the Military Fire burned, the liquid was evenly spread on the military saber. Unique energy penetrated the saber and successfully attached the Power Attribute to the weapon.
Throughout the process, Ou Yangming did not utilize his fire’s special ability; he fixed the Power Attribute to the weapon through honest work.
It seemed like he was wasting his distinctive skill, but he enjoyed the process very much. When the Military Fire disappeared, the military saber contained 1 Point of Power attribute.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not stop. He hesitated for a while because he reached for the second Power Ore.
He did not want to fully reveal his strength, but he figured that it would be fine to show everyone a bit more of his astounding ability.
Just as he picked up the second Power Ore, the people on the high platform sighed a breath of relief.
‘At last, the young fella failed to add a Unique Attribute!’
Chapter 267 - The Elders’ Invitation
When Ou Yangming finished smithing every piece of equipment at an unbelievable speed, he left an extremely deep impression for many blacksmiths.
Moreover, their impression of him included a hint of fear and envy, which could not be put into words.
Ou Yangming’s speed was certainly a first, and even if the other blacksmiths did not know if the pieces of equipment were up to standard, they were shocked by the extreme speed.
Apart from Jin Shengjie and a few detached blacksmiths, deep down the rest were unwilling to see Ou Yangming in the spotlight again.
After all, smithing a piece of High Grade equipment from an ordinary iron ingot was a near-impossible task. Other than Ou Yangming, as Jin Shengjie had said, even he could not achieve it.
On the other hand, most of the blacksmiths present were capable of or had the potential to smith pieces of Fine Grade equipment, as well as attaching Unique Attributes to them.
Nonetheless, they knew better than the other people that although they could accomplish those tasks, their speed could not be mentioned on equal terms with Ou Yangming’s. Therefore, they valued this assessment more than they did just now. When Ou Yangming picked up the second Power Ore, most of them sighed a breath of relief.
Ou Yangming moved his wrist and controlled his Military Fire to wrap around the Power Ore, which was turned into a sticky liquid that slowly dripped onto the military saber. Peculiar energies surrounded the saber, and they abided by a peculiar rule as they wanted to be layered on the weapon.
The young fellow was relaxed, and he was not nervous at all as though he was not taking an assessment.
He naturally noticed the disparity between him and the other candidates. In particular, the two candidates next to him were far from finishing a full equipment set. Hence, he developed the thought of wanting to play around.
Nevertheless, his idea of playing around was atypical. He simply had fun by treating the layering process for the Power Attributes as an enjoyable process.
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It was exactly because he was so relaxed that he could carry out the process with skill and ease.
Jin Shengjie suddenly stood up on the high platform. He widened his eyes at Ou Yangming in disbelief and even mumbled softly, “The integration of Heaven and man, the integration of Heaven and man…”
The state of the integration of Heaven and man, which belonged to blacksmiths, was displayed by Ou Yangming.
Before this, Ou Yangming would naturally enter the state if he utilized his purple fire’s power to perform the multilayering of Unique Attributes. If he cast aside the special power and smithed through his own abilities, it would be difficult for him to enter the state.
However, when Ou Yangming relaxed completely and attempted to perform the layering of the Power attribute, he surprisingly managed to become one with Heaven and Earth.
Needless to say, it was because he had entered the state countless times before this, or how could he have achieved the integration of Heaven and man so easily?
After Ou Yangming sensed the queer energy around the military saber for some time, he finally withdrew his sense and layered the energy on the saber bit by bit. It was not done forcefully as the process was smooth, thus the young fellow was incredibly overjoyed.
An undisguised and bare smile was seen on his face.
More than a year had passed, and he could finally execute the layering of Unique Attributes without using the purple fire.
Even though this was only possible because he accumulated enough experience through the purple dire, he was content that he could arrive at this step in a short period. ‘He did it!
This was what everyone thought when they noticed the smile on Ou Yangming’s face. They thought he had completed the assessment and was confident about passing the test.
The corners of Jin Shengjie’s eyes curled up a little; he was one of the very few genuinely happy people.
Despite that, as one of the examiners, he naturally could not practice favoritism, so he sat quietly and only nodded at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming put down the military saber and happened to spot the friendly smile when he looked up.
He saluted the senior in the smithing trade with a bow.
Putting everything aside, based on Jin Shengjie’s age alone, he deserved the salutation.
When Ou Yangming turned to look, he realized that he was the only one who completed the task. No, in a way, the other people were not even halfway done. Furthermore, the slowest person had only smithed two pieces of equipment.
Ou Yangming knew he was much faster than the other people, but he felt somewhat strange for being so fast. ‘Aren’t these Intermediate Blacksmiths a bit too… Inferior?’
Just as Ou Yangming hesitated if he should stay or leave, a white-clothed servant walked down from the platform and approached him to ask him softly, “Master Jin sent me here to ask if you’ve finished smithing.”
Ou Yangming answered with a smile, “Yes.”
The white-clothed servant responded with respect, “Since you’re done, please leave the venue with me.”
Ou Yangming nodded and left the center of the square with him, then he went back up to the high platform.
In the past, none of the assessment candidates had gone up to the high platform when they were done with the test. Ou Yangming broke the convention, but it was strange that nobody questioned him.
Once he was on the high platform, Jin Shengjie remarked with a smile, “Lil’ Friend Ou, you surprised me again!”
The first surprise was when Ou Yangming did the impossible by smithing a piece of High Grade equipment with iron ingot; the second surprise was his mad speed. Ou Yangming chuckled. “Master Jin, you’re overpraising me. I only did my best.” “Did your best?” Jin Shengjie looked deeply at him. His eyes seemed to contain an indescribable magical power, which could perceive one’s thoughts. “Did you really give your all?”
Ou Yangming was stunned. He smiled without saying a word as it was difficult to answer the question.
He obviously had not done his best. In fact, he had not used many other trump
cards. Even so, how could he be honest with the elder?
“Hehe, Master Ou, why didn’t you slow down?” Yi Yucheng smiled and asked softly.
“I had to finish it sooner or later, so why don’t I just finish it faster?” Ou Yangming answered after some thought, but he said to himself, ‘I’ve already slowed down, but they’re just too disappointing!’
Feng Guangyuan furrowed his eyebrows and questioned, “Master Ou, don’t you know that slow work yields fine products?” Ou Yangming blinked and looked around him, which was when he noticed that most people on the high platform were giving him hostile looks. He wondered, ‘What exactly did I do that offended Heaven and Earth? How did I enrage them?’
“Guangyuan, everyone’s temperament and talent are different, so there’s no need to force the norm unto everyone.” Jin Shengjie shook his head and stood up to look at the other people. His eyes were so bright that most people lowered their heads in embarrassment as they dared not look back at him.
He gestured to Ou Yangming to come to him and whispered, “Lil’ Friend Ou, you don’t have to take it to heart; they’re just jealous.’
The blacksmith master spoke so softly that apart from Ou Yangming, only Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan heard him.
Master Yi and Master Feng exchanged glances and smiled bitterly.
‘This Superior Blacksmith still has the habit of supporting the younger generation,’ they thought.
Ou Yangming flashed a smile at Jin Shengjie. “Thank you, master, I understand.” So what if many people envied him? He could ignore them as long as he was powerful, and sure enough, he was confident and capable.
The other people could not hear Jin Shengjie and Ou Yangming as they whispered to each other, but they hated the young fellow out of jealousy. That said, when they thought about how much Master Jin valued him, they got rid of their untimely ideas. Ou Yangming later approached Hu Yicheng, his son, and Du Gaoge. The three of them immediately congratulated him sincerely.
While Ou Yangming had not earned the Advanced Blacksmith title, they were very much surprised today, so they smiled at the young fellow genuinely when they welcomed him.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 159
