Ou Yangming watched her leave, then he turned around and made his way to the casting table. He was in shock when he glanced at the materials that were laid out.
There were more than just featured steel, and some of them were quite valuable and superior. Although Ou Yangming knew the imperial family was wealthy, he could not help but sigh.
as
‘That chick is being too wasteful!’
As a thought crossed his mind, Ou Yangming reached out to touch a peculiar white ore.
It was his first time seeing the ore. The white ore seemed normal, but since Wu Hanning had prepared it, it was definitely unordinary.
As soon as Ou Yangming’s palm touched the ore, a penetrating chill spread into his body. His face changed, and he shuddered because of the chill. The coldness in the ore was so intense that even Ou Yangming, who had a strong physique, could not withstand it.
Feeling curious, he employed his Military Fire but still failed to probe the item’s background.
At the spur of the moment, hid eyelids twitched, and he mumbled, “A peculiar stone!”
The ore was indeed the same as the tough stones in the Chaos Cave as they could not be identified through appraisal art.
When Ou Yangming looked at the longsword then at the only white ore, he came to a sudden realization.
The two distinctive attributes in the weapon were likely related to the bizarre stone.
Chapter 296 - The Peculiar Stone’s Magical Effect
Ou Yangming shook his head and curbed his thought again, then he inspected the remaining materials on the casting table.
The purple flame in his sea of consciousness still enveloped many attributes, so he was confident about upgrading the longsword to the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five without using any material on the casting table.
Nonetheless, he was at the capital, not Changlong County’s prefecture. Perhaps he was facing the present princess at the moment, but Her Royal Highness had the support of a remarkable Fine Grade King.
Therefore, Ou Yangming did not want to leave any loopholes in front of them.
He could subdue the blacksmiths from Changlong County’s Ni family and Fang family, but… He would be imagining the wildest thing if he wanted to fool the Fine Grade King Ou Yangming nodded after he checked the materials because he was satisfied with them.
He later picked up the longsword and burned the Military Fire around the weapon.
The weapon’s attributes appeared in his mind, and he was given two choices as usual.
Ou Yangming chose to draw the attributes without any hesitation, where he withdrew every unique property from the longsword.
Power +3, Ice Attribute Might +2, Freeze Combo (Rank One).
Nothing changed when he absorbed the first two properties, but he needed to use twice the size of the usual purple light to draw the skill property. Moreover, the process was sluggish to a certain extent.
Ou Yangming immediately understood that he was lucky to have become much stronger than before, or he would not be able to draw the skill property.
It would be wishful thinking for him if he had just gotten the Military Fire not long ago.
Without the special properties, the longsword became an ordinary treasure sword at the peak of High Grade.
Following that, purple lights were released onto the longsword right away. As a result, the weapon’s basic attributes were greatly improved in a split second. Before long, a longsword at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five appeared in front of him.
Ou Yangming smiled proudly. The smithing technique was considered a cheat and could not be compared with Master Wu Hongxi’s path of equilibrium, but it was useful during special and crucial moments.
As the Military Fire kept burning, Ou Yangming added the special properties, which he had withdrawn earlier, to the longsword.
In actuality, he could upgrade the longsword without drawing the properties, but he wanted to be as careful as he could, so he put in more energy and effort into the process.
With the purple Military Fire’s help, he completed the alteration of the longsword in just 15 minutes.
Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and sensed the longsword’s properties. He was extremely proud. [Item: Extraordinary longsword (Yellow)] [Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +20. Toughness +20, Power +3, Ice Attribute Might +2, Durability
20]
(Skill: Freeze Combo (Rank One)]
Only the quality of Fine Grade Rank Five was worthy of the three special properties.
No. Honestly, according to Ou Yangming’s judgment, the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five was not a big deal; he thought that only a magic tool could match the properties well!
Nevertheless, how could Ou Yangming reveal his best trump card in this situation?
He put down the longsword and picked up a piece of featured steel and some other rare materials. Through the Military Fire, they were quickly made into different pieces of equipment. Needless to say, the pieces of equipment were only made to increase some attribute storage for the purple lights in his sea of consciousness.
Once Ou Yangming absorbed the attributes, the materials’ essences vanished as they were burnt by the Military Fire, and the materials turned into ashes in the end.
Just as Ou Yangming wanted to call out to Wu Hanning, he was struck with a thought. He fixed his gaze on the white peculiar stone.
The young fellow was dying of curiosity. ‘What exactly is this odd stone’s magical effect?’
It was a completely different treasure as compared to the bizarre stone in the Chaos Cave. Being a blacksmith, the fact that Ou Yangming was clueless about the treasure’s function made him feel more uneasy than if he were to die.
Ou Yangming would be fine if he did not think about it, but since he did, he instantly became interested and was eager to try.
He gritted his teeth and reached out for the longsword to envelop it with his Military Fire. Concurrently, the fire burnt the white peculiar stone too.
Ou Yangming decided to utilize the white ore since he identified that the two special properties were related to it.
“Woosh…”
As the Military Fire burned, a wonderful power spread in the fire.
The white stone was incredibly stubborn as it did not waver even when the Military Fire burned it.
Another blacksmith would have felt troubled upon facing this issue. Back then, an almighty blacksmith from the imperial family was only able to melt the stone under extreme coincidence, which was why the weapon was smithed. Consequently, the weapon was at the peak of High Grade, but nobody could melt the white ore anymore.
However, it was worth noting that Ou Yangming’s Military Fire could melt even the indestructible queer stone in the Chaos Cave, let alone this white ore.
When the purple Military Fire’s power was slowly adjusted to become greater, the white stone finally began to melt.
Ou Yangming’s energy, essence, and spirit rose as he carefully observed the entire process. All of a sudden, he sensed that the white ore’s power strangely resonated with the longsword after it melted.
They were only able to communicate so mysteriously because they were both wrapped by the Military Fire. Ou Yangming was moved, and he became more certain about their connection.
Without any hesitation, he released his conception and opened up a customized path between them.
For the white ore and the longsword, they initially resonated because there was a mysterious connection between them. After Ou Yangming opened up a path, he added momentum to the process where the white rare stone could be linked with the longsword more easily, and they became unstoppable.
Enormous exceptional energy flowed rapidly in the passage, resulting in massive pressure on the Military Fire around it.
Ou Yangming was forced to draw out more energy to maintain the passage, but he looked forward to the outcome. He could feel that the longsword’s energy was being increased, s
o much so that its quality was changing.
On top of that, he also had an untypical feeling that if the energy continued to flow, the longsword could directly become a magic tool without him needing to apply any smithing technique. The white ore slowly disappeared after half an hour, and the surging energy eventually diminished too until it disappeared.
Ou Yangming shook his head and thought, ‘It was just one breath short.’
He had a strong hunch that the longsword could be reborn if the white ore’s energy was slightly more powerful.
‘What a pity—it’s truly such a pity!’
As the Military Fire burned, the longsword’s properties were displayed.
[Item: Extraordinary longsword (Yellow)]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +20, Toughness +20, Power +3, Ice Attribute Might +3, Durability 20]
(Skill: Freeze Combo (Rank Two)]
Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched. He was surprised that the longsword’s properties changed drastically after the white ore’s power was used up.
An Ice Attribute Might +1 was like an appetizer, but the advancement of the Freeze Combo skill from Rank One to Rank Two was indescribable.
After all, Ou Yangming was the owner of the Blood Flight waist sash, hence he knew very well how powerful and fearsome a skill property was. Ever since Ou Yangming possessed the waist sash, he even dared to fight a Supreme Great Ancestor because he knew he could at least escape even if he could not defeat a great ancestor. This was the most formidable aspect of a skill property, and it was clear that the Freeze Combo skill was unordinary.
At this moment, Ou Yangming was quite tempted to reduce the Freeze Combo and the Ice Attribute Might by one level each.
In any case, Wu Hanning’s request was simple; she only asked to retain the special properties. As for the layering of attributes, Ou Yangming figured that it did not cross her mind at all.
Despite that, Ou Yangming got rid of the idea after a moment of hesitation.
Wu Hanning was Master Wu Hongxi’s niece, and due to the master’s pointers, Ou Yangming was able to gain unmatched benefits from the path of equilibrium. Although it seemed like his cultivation base and smithing art had not improved yet, the young fellow knew how much exactly he benefited from the master’s teachings.
Thus, as thick-faced as he was, he would not be ungrateful even if nobody knew it was difficult for him to get through it.
Ou Yangming sighed and shook his head. He curbed his Military Fire and picked up the sword, then he opened the door as he dared not delay the matter any longer.
Even though he had strong willpower, it was tough for him to resist the temptation of seizing the special properties for himself, especially when nobody was watching him.
Hence, he had to return the longsword to its owner as soon as he could because he was afraid of doing something that was against his conscience.
Sure enough, Wu Hanning was waiting quietly outside the door. It had been an hour, but she did not look impatient at all.
The look in her eyes changed the moment the door was opened, where she cast a questioning and anxious look at ou Yangming. One would panic more the more concerned one was. There were not many things that could get in Wu Hanning’s head, but the longsword was certainly one of them.
Ou Yangming did his best to curb his thought, then he handed the longsword to the princess. “Young Lady Wu, please check and accept it.” “Master Ou, did you succeed?” Wu Hanning was undecided. She made a guess when she saw Ou Yangming’s expression earlier, but she could not help but ask.
Ou Yangming laughed and answered, “I was able to accomplish the task by good luck.”
Wu Hanning’s eyes darted a little, and a look of delight was soon seen on her face as though the whole world became lively and full of life.
Chapter 297 - What’s This
Wu Hanning carefully accepted the longsword and instantly felt like her arm was directing her fingers.
Her feeling of surprise was simply indescribable because she was already mentally prepared.
The longsword was something that Wu Hanning entrusted her mental state to, and it was as important as though it was her second life. In fact, she was able to fathom the integration of Heaven and man because she possessed this peculiar weapon and the relevant secret technique.
Nonetheless, once the longsword was refined, there should inevitably be a barrier between her and the weapon.
Needless to say, as long as the special properties were retained in the longsword and that she was still the owner, the barrier could be gotten rid of very fast. She strongly believed that she could recover her best state as soon as possible.
However, much to her surprise, Wu Hanning realized the moment she held the longsword that her connection with it had not been broken off. No, not to mention it was broken off, there was no obstruction at all. Moreover, she was shocked yet overjoyed because the weapon underwent an enormous change where it was upgraded to a much greater height than she imagined.
Wu Hanning glanced at Ou Yangming and smiled apologetically as she said, “Master Ou, please wait for a while.” She flashed and fluttered away like a cloud. Ou Yangming reached out his hand but forced himself to hold back. He believed that Wu Hanning would keep her promise. After all, she was from the Wu family, which was enough to assure him.
Wu Hanning left the room with her longsword and arrived at another secret room.
She shouted eagerly almost right after the door was opened, “Uncle, quickly come to take a look!”
The person in the room turned around; it was Wu Hongxi, who taught Ou Yangming the path of equilibrium.
“My dear niece, when have you become so impatient?” The Fine Grade King laughed out loud.
Wu Hanning blushed but blurted, “Uncle, the weapon he smithed is extremely different!” “What?” Wu Hongxi was slightly stunned. “That young fella is incredibly talented and has great comprehension; he’s one of a kind. Since he was bold enough to promise you that he’ll complete the task, he likely won’t make any mistakes. Did he… Mess it up?”
“Master Ou didn’t mess it up, but the Icy Sword that he smithed seemed to have improved greatly!” Wu Hanning immediately responded.
Wu Hongxi could not help but laugh. He took the longsword and inspected it while he remarked, “Since it was reformed, its quality would’ve increased, and it’ll naturally become more… Hey?”
He suddenly paused and fixed his gaze on the longsword, and his face took on a ghastly expression.
“W-what’s this smithing technique? Hmm, it’s not my path of equilibrium… No, there’s a slight resemblance to it, but it looks more like Brother Jin’s Layering Art!” Wu Hongxi mumbled as he was confused. “The layering seems unordinary-what is it?”
He pondered for a long time and asked, “Hanning, are you still in sync with your sword?”
Without further ado, Wu Hanning waved her slender hand, causing the longsword to buzz and fly into her palm. Instead of saying anything, she responded through a practical move.
“You’ve reconnected with it already?” Wu Hongxi widened his eyes as he was taken aback. He sighed as he thought his niece’s talent was truly frightening.
Who knew, Wu Hanning shook her head and said, “I didn’t.”
“Oh, since you didn’t, you…” Wu Hongxi paused abruptly. His face changed, and he asked in shock, “Did he not affect your longsword when he revamped it?”
“Yes. I doubted it at first, but the truth is clear, so there’s no way I can’t believe it,” Wu Hanning replied to her uncle seriously.
Wu Hongxi furrowed his eyebrows after some thought, then he retrieved an item and tore it apart. As a result, a beam of light shone on the longsword.
It was an Appraisal Light, where the longsword’s properties were clearly displayed inside.
Master Wu and his niece watched with bright eyes, but they were both utterly shocked when they saw the properties
.
“What do you feel?” Wu Hongxi asked Wu Hanning when they looked at each other.
Wu Hanning nodded and answered in a high spirit, “Uncle, the appraisal is right; it’s true that those two properties were enhanced!”
“It’s impossible! It’s impossible… Even if my path of equilibrium and Brother Jin’s Layering Art were merged, these two properties couldn’t have been promoted.” Wu Hongxi’s lips trembled. He grabbed his hair in confusion and neither looked dignified nor steady like a Fine Grade King.
Wu Hanning looked at her uncle in pity, but she understood how he felt. If she encountered a similar unsolvable problem in martial arts, she would probably react the same way.
She suddenly recalled something, so she asked, “Uncle, I prepared the peculiar stone, which was given by our ancestor, as a material for Ou Yangming. Could it be related to that?”
Wu Hongxi was instantly moved, and his eyes lit up. “Is the ore still here?”
“Uhm…” Wu Hanning smiled bitterly. “I was too eager to inspect the weapon earlier, so I didn’t notice.”
“Aren’t you going back to check?!” Wu Hongxi rolled his eyes helplessly. “Uncle, aren’t you coming with me?” Wu Hanning grinned. “You can discuss it with him if you have any queries.”
Wu Hongxi scoffed. “That isn’t necessary; you can go on your own.” He waved his hand and urged her to leave. With that, Wu Hanning waved her hand to keep her longsword, then she left the room nimbly.
“Hmph.” Wu Hongxi sneered and shook his head. ‘If Ou Yangming knows I’m here, he’ll probably make unnecessary guesses.
‘No matter what, it’s best that I don’t meet him here today.’
Before long, Wu Hanning arrived at the smithing room. She cut to the chase by thanking Ou Yangming, then she asked, “Master Ou, are the materials that were prepared still here?”
Ou Yangming was startled. “They’re on the casting table.”
Wu Hanning went to the table to take a look, then she calmly kept the remaining materials back into her interspatial bag.
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