Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725

by Heaven's White Crane

  Du Gaoge even went forward and notified Ou Yangming softly, “Master Ou, the elders in our pavilion have heard of today’s event, so they prepared a celebratory feast and invited you over.”

  Ou Yangming was startled. “Didn’t you already serve me yesterday?” “Who am I? How can I be mentioned in the same breath with the elders in the pavilion?” Du Gaoge forced a smile and added after a pause, “The elders decided that they’ll provide cultivation and smithing resources, as well as the corresponding treatments. If you perform well during the upcoming Myriad Treasure Meet, you’ll earn greater rewards.”

  Ou Yangming was rather moved. After all, the Yi Pavilion was not a small shop; they were a great force across the world.

  A force like that was influential among the commoners, as well as the officials. If they could pull him onto the chariot, it would be easier for him to realize Li Xinfan and Master Lu’s wish.

  “Okay, I’ll have to trouble you to introduce them to me later,” Ou Yangming responded with a smile.

  Du Gaoge was elated. If Ou Yangming made an outstanding performance in the upcoming event, he might even be able to be promoted.

  Following that, Ou Yangming continued to converse with them. At last, when the bell rang, Jin Shengjie stood up and looked toward the stage, then he announced, “Time’s up!”

  As his voice echoed in the venue, everyone in the middle of the square stopped.

  Ou Yangming looked at the candidates too. In actuality, most of the candidates had finished the task, but nobody dared to leave as Ou Yangming did, so they checked their equipment sets carefully. Nonetheless, three of them looked pale as they failed to smith a full equipment set, which meant that they were no longer qualified.

  Chapter 268 - Ask For The Appraiser

  As Ou Yangming looked at the candidates on the stage, he finally had a rough understanding of the average standard of blacksmiths in the capital.

  Over here, there was definitely a low proportion of Advanced Blacksmiths, and being an Intermediate Blacksmith was considered to be pretty good. Nonetheless, the smithing standard here certainly surpassed the standard in the Immense Forest Military Camp.

  Although Old Craftsman could smith pieces of Fine Grade equipment too and had the specialty of layering Unique Attributes, he was at most an Advanced Blacksmith. Moreover, his hands, legs, and eyes slowly became uncoordinated as he aged. It was not obvious when the old man smithed pieces of low-grade equipment, but he would make obvious mistakes when he smithed pieces of high-grade equipment.

  Needless to say, after his life was prolonged through the Life-prolonging Golden Pill, and after he achieved the integration of Heaven and man in smithing art, everything changed drastically.

  If Old Craftsman came to the capital to take the Blacksmith Assessment, based on the integration of Heaven and man only, he could earn the Superior title.

  Nonetheless, apart from the old man, the other people could only manage the Intermediate title even if they were at their peak.

  One had to smith a full set of Fine Grade equipment and successfully attach a Unique Attribute in an hour.

  Nobody in the whole Immense Forest Military Camp could do it.

  “Those who aren’t qualified may leave now,” Jin Shengjie uttered in front of the ten over blacksmiths in the venue, then he added after a pause, “Keep working hard and strive to succeed on your next try.”

  With that, three blacksmiths who did not complete the task bowed at the blacksmith master embarrassedly and left with their heads lowered.

  Nevertheless, nobody present dared to ridicule them.

  This was because only top-notch Intermediate Blacksmiths had the guts to participate in the Advanced Blacksmith Assessment. They were the real backbone of the capital, such that even powerful forces were not willing to offend them for trivial matters.

  Jin Shengjie reached out for a longsword on one of the casting tables.

  The Advanced Assessment required the candidates to smith a full equipment set, but the weapon was not fixed.

  Ou Yangming could smith a military saber, and it was also fine that this candidate smithed a longsword.

  Jin Shengjie inspected the longsword in his hands. As the candidate watched him anxiously, he announced with a smile, “Fine Grade Rank One; it’s up to standard.”

  The candidate was thrilled. He nodded hard and looked more eager.

  Following that, Jin Shengjie continued to check the other pieces of equipment. He occasionally hesitated throughout the process, but it was overall a smooth process. Once the last piece of equipment was appraised, Jin Shengjie announced that the candidate earned the Advanced title.

  The candidate cupped his hands in excitement, then he bowed at Jin Shengjie and the two other blacksmith masters with respect. “Thank you, masters.”

  Jin Shengjie grinned without saying a word, whereas Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan congratulated the person with smiles. They were extremely friendly and far more fervent than they were before the assessment.

  The other people nearby looked at the successful candidate enviously.

  Before the assessment, the candidate was only an Intermediate Blacksmith. Only an hour had passed, but he suddenly became on par with Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan.

  Of course, there was still a certain disparity between the candidate and the two blacksmith masters in terms of actual ability, but there was no essential difference.

  After a brief moment, Jin Shengjie and the other people arrived at another casting table. The blacksmith had completed every piece of equipment, but he looked stiff when the examiners approached him.

  Jin Shengjie comforted the candidate with a smile before he began to review the equipment set.

  The first, the second, and the third equipment passed without an issue. It was only when Jin Shengjie checked the armor he sighed and remarked, “You’re still lacking, so go back and work harder.”

  Even though the candidate looked upset, he dared not complain at all. He lowered his head and responded, “Yes, I’ll surely work hard.”

  Jin Shengjie was friendly throughout the examination, but he was just and stern at this moment. As long as one of the pieces of equipment was not qualified, it was not going to escape from his check.

  Before long, other than Ou Yangming, the equipment sets that were smithed by the other people were already checked.

  Even so, only two of them were qualified to be Advanced Blacksmiths.

  Not to mention the candidates that were involved, even Ou Yangming and the spectators had the jitters, and they felt sorry for them.

  Two of the blacksmiths even smithed pieces of Fine Grade Rank Three equipment, but one of the pieces of equipment was not in Fine Grade, hence Jin Shengjie denied them without any hesitation.

  Ou Yangming spent most of his time on the high platform because he smithed too fast.

  When he was conversing with the other people, half of the time he was paying attention to the assessment.

  Therefore, he knew very well that the candidates were not disqualified because they were lacking in smithing technique, but because of their Military Fires.

  They wasted too much power in melting the featured steel with their Military Fires, causing them to lack energy during the smithing process.

  If that was not the case, judging from their abilities, they could not have smithed something that was not up to standard if they were fully focused.

  They would certainly pass the assessment if the requirement for an Advanced Blacksmith was to smith only a piece of Fine Grade equipment.

  However, due to the time constraint and the precondition where a full equipment set had to be smithed, the candidates had little chance to become Advanced Blacksmiths.

  From Ou Yangming’s point of view, their potential seemed to have been fully uncovered. Unless they had strange encounters, which would help them to burst out again, or unless they had nature-defying luck during the assessment, it would be tough for them to complete the task.

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  Out of the ten over Intermediate Blacksmiths who joined the assessment, only two of them became Advanced Blacksmiths in the end. The elimination rate was cruel, but on another level, it highlighted an Advanced Blacksmith’s status and rank.

  At last, Jin Shengjie approached Ou Yangming while being escorted by the two other blacksmith masters.

  An equipment set was laid out on the casting table. Ou Yangming was the first person who finished the assessment, but he was the last person to be assessed.

  Jin Shengjie looked deeply at Ou Yangming. He smiled and asked calmly, “Lil’ Friend Ou, are you going to surprise me this time too?” Ou Yangming grinned. “Maybe. Please, Master Jin.”

  “Good fella, you’re confident!” Jin Shengjie laughed out loud and picked out a pair of arm guards.

  On the high platform and around the center of the square, everyone fixed their gaze on Jin Shengjie’s face. Everyone knew that he would not practice favoritism in such an important event. Regardless of his expectations for Ou Yangming, if the pieces of equipment were not up to standard, he would deny the young fella of the title without any hesitation.

  What exactly was Ou Yangming’s quality then?

  As the crowd stared at Jin Shengjie, they seemed to be breathing much lighter.

  They finally noticed a strange look on Jin Shengjie, who furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at Ou Yangming in confusion.

  Most of the people on the high platform were itching to know what was going on, so they cursed, ‘What is it? Quickly show a firm expression!

  our strange look can’t be perceived at all.’

  Jin Shengjie sighed after some time.

  Hu Yicheng and his son exchanged glances right away and thought, ‘Oh no, it looks like he didn’t pass!’

  Despite that, Jin Shengjie did not announce the result. He handed the arm guards to Yi Yucheng and said, “You should take a look at them too.”

  Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan were already impatient, but while the three of them were the examiners, they dared not overstep the boundary in front of Jin Shengjie. At the very least, before Jin Shengjie expressed anything, they would not give biased opinions.

  Thus, although they could not wait to take a look at the pieces of equipment, they waited for Jin Shengjie’s instruction before they took an arm guard each and assessed them.

  “Hey, th-this…” Yi Yucheng’s face changed, and he looked up abruptly at Feng Guangyuan.

  Feng Guangyuan did not react any better. He was in disbelief after he studied the arm guard in his hands closely.

  “Though I don’t believe it, my experience won’t lie to me…” Feng Guangyuan smiled bitterly at Yi Yucheng, then he suggested after a moment of hesitation, “Master Jin, Brother Jin, I suggest that we allow appraisal art to be used once!”

  The crowd clamored. ‘Did we hear him right? Do they actually want to use appraisal art on that equipment?

  ‘Could it be that the equipment is between Fine Grade and High Grade Rank Five, so the three of them can’t pinpoint its equivalent rank?

  “Judging from their expressions, it looks like that’s the case.’

  Jin Shengjie pondered for a while and said, “Let’s look at the other pieces of equipment first.”

  He conveniently picked up the helmet but looked strange again after he scanned it for a short while.

  Subsequently, he picked up the armor, the greaves, as well as the military saber, then he put them down. Each time he checked a piece of equipment, the look on his face became more complicated. Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan followed suit by examining the pieces of equipment but kept the crowd guessing as they did not say a word even when the crowd was terribly curious and anxious.

  If it was not because of Jin Shengjie’s status and reputation, someone would have reproached the examiners long ago.

  At long last, Jin Shengjie shook his head and ordered with a bitter smile, “Guangyuan, ask for the appraiser!”

  Chapter 269 - Advanced Blacksmith

  The crowd clamored again shortly after they quieted down. Although nobody dared to make negative remarks in front of Master Jin Shengjie, deep down everyone was agitated because they had a hunch that Ou Yangming seemed to have done something amazing again. Before long, a grim middle-aged man made his way down from the high platform.

  Qu Jingming was an Intermediate Blacksmith, but he also had another identity —an Intermediate Appraiser.

  Whether it was a blacksmith or an appraiser, they were professions that were desired and envied. Given that he held two positions, though he only had the Intermediate title for both roles, his status was not inferior to an Advanced Blacksmith like Yi Yucheng.

  Needless to say, Qu Jingming was still respectful toward Jin Shengjie, and he did not dare to be impolite at all.

  Qu Jingming arrived at the casting table and glanced at the pieces of equipment on it. Instead of identifying them one by one, he directly rubbed his hands and released the Appraisal Light.

  A luster was shone on the arm guards.

  Next, he looked like he came to a sudden realization as though he understood why Jin Shengjie and the two other blacksmith masters behaved so strangely.

  Qu Jingming cleared his throat and uttered loudly, “Master Jin, the arm guards are of Fine Grade, and they’re at the peak of Rank Five.”

  “The peak of Fine Grade Rank Five…”

  “Impossible!” “Oh god, they’re actually at the peak of Rank Five?”

  The crowd fell silent the instant Qu Jingming performed appraisal art.

  Nonetheless, the instant he announced the equipment’s grade and rank, a volcano seemed to have erupted in the square as countless spectators exclaimed.

  What was this place? This was the place for the Blacksmith Assessments, and the previous test was for Intermediate Blacksmiths who wanted to become Advanced Blacksmiths.

  The candidates’ goal was simple; they had to smith pieces of Fine Grad equipment.

  Nevertheless, they only hoped for Fine Grade because their task would be completed even if the pieces of equipment were of Fine Grade Rank One.

  As for the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five…

  At this instant, everyone felt like they had an illusion. ‘Were we watching candidates who were attempting to earn the Advanced Rank from the Intermediate Rank, or from the Advanced Rank to the Superior Rank?’

  Pieces of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five would only appear in the assessment for Advanced Blacksmiths who wanted to become Superior Blacksmiths. Besides, not every equipment would be at that grade and rank.

  Jin Shengjie nodded and instructed with a straight face, “Go on.” Qu Jingming was slightly stunned. He initially thought he only needed to appraise a piece of equipment, but judging from Master Jin Shengjie’s expression, it seemed like that was not the case.

  Despite that, it was not difficult for an Intermediate Appraiser to perform appraisal art continuously for many times.

  He was rather curious, but he nodded while maintaining a cold look on his face. Following that, he released the Appraisal Light and shone it on the helmet according to the order that was followed by Jin Shengjie earlier.

  Afterward, Qu Jingming’s eyelids twitched. He turned to glance at Ou Yangming, then he remarked, “This helmet is also at… The peak of Fine Grade Rank Five!”

  “Woah…”

  The square fell silent for an instant before the crowd became restless and noisy.

  Hu Yicheng and his son looked at each other, then they looked at Du Gaoge at the same time. The three of them were in disbelief.

  The three of them, no, everyone present suddenly had an unbelievable thought at that moment.

  ‘Jin Shengjie and the two other blacksmith masters looked so strange earlier not because every piece of equipment smithed by Ou Yangming are at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five, right?’

  Even if only a piece of equipment that was at the peak of Rank Five appeared in this assessment, the crowd would have prais
ed the candidate.

  What if all five pieces of the equipment were at the peak of Rank Five?

  The crowd recalled a renowned and distinguished person at once.

  A middle-aged blacksmith blurted out on the high platform. “Brother Yuan, I suddenly thought about your master.”

  His voice immediately drew everyone’s attention, and someone else even echoed, “Yes, there are currently two pieces of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade; it reminds me of that exciting moment!”

  Yuan Lexin smiled bitterly. He secretly lamented, but he could not let a word out.

  Master Wu Hongxi the Fine Grade King.

  In past generations, Master Wu Hongxi was the only person who smithed a full equipment set that comprised pieces of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five.

  They initially thought his record was unmatched, but it seemed like history could repeat itself.

  “Gentlemen, I witnessed that moment when I was younger, so I was determined to become a blacksmith, but…” Another person expressed softly all of a sudden, then he continued after a moment of hesitation, “That was during the assessment when Master Wu Hongxi attempted to become a Superior Blacksmith…”

  The other people were dumbfounded, and they began to have odd looks on their faces.

  Back when Master Wu Hongxi took the Superior Blacksmith Assessment, he smithed five pieces of equipment that were at the peak of Fine Grade, which was why he was known as the Fine Grade King.

  If Ou Yangming achieved the same result in the Advanced Blacksmith Assessment, what would his standard be?

  Qu Jingming naturally thought about this matter, but he forced himself to suppress his throbbing heart in front of Master Jin Shengjie, and he continued to appraise the other pieces of equipment.

  “This armor is at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five.”

  “This pair of greaves is at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five.”

  As he introduced the remaining items, the people on the high platform eventually stopped talking. Everyone paid full attention to the process as they waited for him to appraise the last weapon.