Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725

by Heaven's White Crane

  “Brother Chen, what’s your expertise?” Ou Yangming asked after some thought.

  Chen Yihe’s eyes lit up, and he immediately answered, “Brother Ou, I’m adept in merging more than two different materials to present their greatest strength.”

  Being an Advanced Blacksmith, he definitely knew more than that, but he only told Ou Yangming about his best skill. As for his other skills, he did not have the guts to bring them up. Ou Yangming nodded and casually retrieved two materials. One was the popularized featured steel while the other one was a soft material.

  “Brother Chen, combine them and show me later.”

  Chen Yihe accepted the materials with a serious face. He was somewhat excited but nervous at the same time. Ou Yangming had just given him a test, and he would be qualified as an assistant if the young fellow was satisfied with his melting skill.

  ras

  On the opposite, if his work could not get Ou Yangming’s approval, although he was related to Chen Yifan, he would be too embarrassed to stay here. Even if Ou Yangming would not judge him, he would become a laughing stock among the blacksmiths in the capital.

  Chen Yihe took a deep breath and slowly looked up. The burning Military Fire was released from his hands, allowing him to fuse the two materials. He did everything carefully as he was afraid of making mistakes, and he was more serious and meticulous than when he participated in the Advanced Blacksmith Assessment in the past.

  “What about you? What’s your expertise?” Ou Yangming turned to ask.

  Even though Xing Zhengyang was much older than him, he did not raise the question politely. Nonetheless, Xing Zhengyang did not react strangely as if everything was expected.

  “Master Ou, I’m an expert in the Suit Skill,” Xing Zhengyang answered. When he recalled Ou Yangming’s performance earlier, he quickly added, “Of course, I’m still far from you in that

  aspect.”

  Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “Master Xing, I’m not as amazing as you think I am.”

  He was being honest because he was not as great as Xing Zhengyang in the study of runes. It was just that the veined patterns, which were derived in reverse, had surpassed the world’s limit, hence they seemed profound to Xing Zhengyang

  Nevertheless, Xing Zhengyang was unaware of that. His face changed, and he responded with reverence and humility while putting his hands on the side of his legs, “Master Ou, you’re being too humble. Please assign a task to me.” Ou Yangming shook his head helplessly and looked around before he said, “I’ll give you a rune; carve it on a gem.” Following that, he reached out for a gem and used his Military Fire to create a rune on it.

  He did not spend too much time on the process, but Xing Zhengyang-an Advanced Blacksmith-widened his eyes when he received the gem. The blacksmith seemed to have entered a huge land of fantasy, where he became extremely immersed in it.

  Ou Yangming grinned when he looked at the two Advanced Blacksmiths, who were in worlds of their own at the moment. He retrieved another material and constructed an idea in his head, then he was ready to smith.

  Just then, two individuals walked out from the crowd and bowed at him. “Master Ou, we’d like to assist you too. Can we have the opportunity?”

  The young fellow was dumbfounded, and he could not help but laugh. “Master Feng, Master Yi, are you kidding me?” Feng Guangyuan and Yi Yucheng were the ones who showed up. Ou Yangming did not expect the two experienced Advanced Blacksmiths to come out at all.

  The two blacksmith masters looked at each other with straight faces. “Master Ou, I’m skilled in layering Agility attributes and have special experience in the refinement of gold-thread clothes. Please set a task for me.” Yi Yucheng saluted the young fellow.

  Feng Guangyuan hesitated before he noted, “I have some experience in the Gem Embedding Art. I’m not as proficient at it as you are, but I can handle the basics. Please test me.” He bowed as well.

  The blacksmith masters humbled themselves, but everyone else knew they were way more capable than they claimed to be.

  “Since you’re willing to help, I can’t ask for more.” Ou Yangming sighed after a moment of hesitation. He pondered and arranged different tasks for the two blacksmiths.

  Despite that, right after he settled affairs with the two Advanced Blacksmiths, several people walked out from the crowd again.

  Ou Yangming was either strange or familiar with those people, but without exception, they were Advanced Blacksmiths from the capital. When those reputable figures came out together, they caused a sensation bigger than a Superior Blacksmith would.

  They approached Ou Yangming and modestly made the same requests.

  The young fellow was undecided, and he wondered for some time. He later asked each of them their expertise and decided to assign corresponding tasks for them according to their strengths.

  Regardless of their intentions, the blacksmiths curbed their thoughts and focused on their smithing tasks. It was worth noting that they were well-known figures in the capital and treasured their feathers very much; they rarely did things that were beyond their reach.

  However, when their peers stood out, they had to follow suit whether they were inclined to it or not.

  This was a sudden test, but the blacksmiths were not forced by anyone to take it; they did it out of self-consciousness and self-will.

  Even if a Superior Blacksmith was present, the Advanced Blacksmiths would not have willingly participated in the assessment.

  It was only because of Ou Yangming that they were glad to join the assessment, which could make them lose their reputations. The blacksmiths were eager to get close to the young fellow as they wanted to experience his aura when he smithed pieces of equipment.

  The different distances from Ou Yangming would give them completely dissimilar experiences.

  A person would always have a stature much like how a tree would always have a shadow. This was the most straightforward change in Ou Yangming’s fame after he smithed magic tools.

  As the number of Advanced Blacksmiths increased, the square’s atmosphere slowly approached a climax. At the same time, some powerhouses, who were not blacksmiths, began to join the crowd.

  The powerhouses initially observed the scene strangely and softly inquired about the situation from the other blacksmiths.

  When they were told the whole course of the incident, they were in disbelief. After all, the imperial family seemed to be the only party that could gather so many Advanced Blacksmiths in a place.

  Who knew, Ou Yangming had unknowingly become so capable.

  The powerhouses were curious, and they looked forward to the outcome with fervent eyes.

  Ou Yangming was indifferent toward the crowd. After distributing tasks to the blacksmiths, he began to come up with a new plan. The young fellow had previously decided to smith the pieces of equipment himself, but given that he had somehow gained over ten helpers, he was going to make the best use of them.

  The blacksmiths were not ordinary figures; they were experienced powerhouses among Advanced Blacksmiths and were far from those who had just earned the Advanced title.

  By taking a glance at them, Ou Yangming had a clearer understanding of their strengths in smithing art.

  From the Immense Forest Military Camp, even Old Craftsman, who was known as the chief of blacksmiths, was inferior to them before he fathomed the integration of Heaven and man.

  Therefore, Ou Yangming no longer thought about tackling the problem on his own. He began to think of ways to combine everyone’s strengths.

  All of a sudden, Chen Yihe stopped smithing. He handed the merged materials to Ou Yangming, who examined the product with his Military Fire and nodded as he was pleased. The young fellow sighed and thought, ‘The capital is full of talents indeed.’

  The end product had almost perfectly integrated the materials’ strong attributes. Even if Ou Yangming had done it himself and fully unleashed his Military Fire’s unique properties, he could not have done i
t any better.

  He glanced at Chen Yihe and wondered, ‘What a pity.’

  If Chen Yihe was excellent in other aspects as well, he would have advanced from an Advanced Blacksmith to a Superior Blacksmith long ago.

  Seeing as Ou Yangming was satisfied, Chen Yihe was finally relieved.

  Subsequently, Ou Yangming picked more materials and separated them into different groups. “Merge them accordingly.”

  “Yes, Brother Ou,” Chen Yihe responded proudly.

  Among the Advanced Blacksmiths, he was the only one who addressed Ou Yangming differently.

  Eventually, the other blacksmiths completed their tasks one after another. While they seemed confident, they were more or less anxious.

  They did not know if what they regarded as a high standard was acceptable for Ou Yangming, who could smith magic tools.

  Fortunately, Ou Yangming did not make things difficult for them at all. After inspecting their pieces of equipment, he gave them new tasks, whereas he made final touches to the semi-finished products.

  The moment his Military Fire burned, near or far, everyone focused on him.

  In fact, even the Advanced Blacksmiths, who were working hard, shifted half of their attention to him. They carried out their tasks in familiar ways while they carefully apprehended Ou Yangming’s aura.

  Soon enough, more powerhouses joined the crowd. They were either Supreme Great Ancestors or Superior Blacksmiths like Jin Shengjie.

  That said, when they arrived, they quietly observed the crowd and did not plan to cause any disturbance at all.

  Chapter 354 - The Ability To Plan As A Whole

  Chapter 354 The Ability To Plan As A Whole

  As the Military Fire burned, pieces of equipment were born in Ou Yangming’s hands one after another.

  He was more than twice as fast as he was before, but the credit was not fully his. The result was only possible with help from over ten Advanced Blacksmiths.

  When Ou Yangming smithed the pieces of equipment, he assigned different tasks for the blacksmiths. Once they were done with their tasks, they would either pass the equipment to another blacksmith for further processing or directly let Ou Yangming do the finishing touches.

  Although the Advanced Blacksmiths had different tasks, they were adept at them. In a way, in those aspects alone, even Superior Blacksmiths might not necessarily be better than them.

  Under the reasonable arrangements, the Advanced Blacksmiths portrayed their strengths wonderfully. At the same time, they also sensed the aura released by Ou Yangming through his peculiar Military Fire, so they all gained something.

  When the last piece of equipment was finished, Ou Yangming and the Advanced Blacksmiths sighed breaths of relief. They looked at each other and were somehow connected on a deep level.

  Later on, someone took the lead and bowed at Ou Yangming. “Thanks for the pointers, Master Ou.”

  Including Chen Yihe, over ten Advanced Blacksmiths who used the casting tables at the center of the square saluted Ou Yangming and uttered, “Thanks for the pointers, Master Ou.”

  All of a sudden, several Intermediate Blacksmiths from the crowd bowed and shouted as well, “Thanks for the pointers, Master Ou.”

  The sentence seemed to carry endless magic, such that the other blacksmiths present somehow expressed at the same time, “Thanks for the pointers, Master Ou.”

  Among them, most were Rudimentary Blacksmiths and Intermediate Blacksmiths, but there were also many ordinary apprentices, who were not qualified to become blacksmiths yet. Even so, everyone thanked Ou Yangming sincerely.

  An Advanced Blacksmith was at the top of the industry. Under normal circumstances, they would not smith in public and would not simply perform their best skills.

  Despite that, due to Ou Yangming, they had not only smithed in public but had also displayed their finest techniques without any reservations.

  Those who were determined to be successful blacksmiths would benefit greatly from this event. Even if they were to watch from afar, they would be enlightened in terms of smithing art.

  After all, one rarely had the opportunity to observe an expert’s smithing work. Given that many Advanced Blacksmiths were gathered here, it would be extremely advantageous for the spectators. In fact, from the crowd’s perspective, Chen Yihe and the other Advanced Blacksmiths’ smithing methods were more useful than that of Superior Blacksmiths’.

  As for Chen Yihe and his peers, they gained much more than they imagined.

  Throughout the event, they sensed the wonderful effects of Ou Yangming’s Military Fire. On top of that, they made the most of observing each other too.

  If some of them managed to become Superior Blacksmiths in the future, the grand event would certainly be one of the main factors. “Everyone, you’re being too polite.” Ou Yangming looked around and shook his head and sighed as he thought, ‘I didn’t intend to guide anyone at all; I simply wanted to complete the gifts.’

  Who knew, Xing Zhengyang and the other people offered their help. Ou Yangming figured that he should not refuse help, hence he utilized their abilities according to his observation. In the end, the outcome turned out to be out of his expectations.

  “Master Ou, I benefited a lot today, and I’ll go back now to digest what I learned,” Xing Zhengyang stated seriously and added after a short pause, “I’ll do my best if you need my help in the future; I’ll repay your kindness today.”

  The other blacksmiths saluted Ou Yangming solemnly as well and bid their farewells.

  Including Chen Yihe and Feng Guangyuan, the blacksmiths needed to convert their gains for their use because the event was incredibly meaningful for them. As such, Ou Yangming was soon left with the pieces of equipment as the Advanced Blacksmiths had left.

  Following that, two elders walked out from the crowd. They were Wu Hongxi and Jin Shengjie.

  Indescribable looks of lament were seen on their faces, and they cast complicated looks at Ou Yangming.

  They knew while Ou Yangming had not earned the Superior title, the other blacksmiths would collectively regard him as the number one blacksmith, which was very well-deserved.

  In actual fact, Ou Yangming had already deserved it when he smithed magic tools on his own.

  Nevertheless, the young fellow had only displayed his individual skills back then. This time, he exhibited his skills and also showed the ability to plan as a whole. It was evident that the blacksmiths were sincerely convinced too.

  The two Superior Blacksmiths could not understand it.

  Judging from Ou Yangming’s age, even if he started learning in his mother’s womb, he would not have carried out everything so perfectly.

  After all, experience was the most important component of the superb ability to plan as a whole. In this case, the Superior Blacksmiths could not tell where Ou Yangming gained his experience from.

  “Master Ou, how did you do it?” Jin Shengjie asked in a deep voice.

  “What?” Ou Yangming was shocked.

  Jin Shengjie stroked his beard and questioned, “You made well-thought-out arrangements and considered the various needs and their abilities. How did you make everyone work together so flawlessly?” Ou Yangming looked at him in confusion. “Master Ou, didn’t you just say it yourself? Why are you still asking me?” “What did I say?” Jin Shengjie was baffled.

  “Made well-thought-out arrangements and considered the various needs and their abilities to make everyone work together flawlessly,” Ou Yangming noted and expressed honestly, “That’s what I did.”

  Jin Shengjie was startled for some time. When he exchanged glances with Wu Hongxi, they both had a strange look on their faces.

  Wu Hongxi cleared his throat and said, “Brother Jin was asking how you were able to do that.”

  Everyone else thought Ou Yangming was only so confident because he was well-experienced, but it turned out that the young fellow was only doing things according to his heart.

  The two elders looked at each other an
d sighed.

  ‘Perhaps the phrase ‘the young will be formidable in the future’ refers to a freak like him.’

  At the spur of the moment, a loud laugh was heard from the crowd. Powerhouses of different physiques and forms walked out from different directions. They approached Ou Yangming and greeted him with smiles.

  Jin Shengjie and the other people were taken aback when they recognized who the powerhouses were.

  During the Myriad Treasure Meet, Ou Yangming performed his martial prowess to help many powerhouses enter the Extreme Grade, and the incident became known to everyone in the capital.

  Jin Shengjie and Wu Hongxi, who were from the capital, were familiar with the successful powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade. At the very least, they had seen the powerhouses several times. After recognizing the first person, they naturally identified the second, the third, and so on.

  They were rather shocked when they saw the 26 newly-advanced Supreme Great Ancestors.

  Ou Yangming nodded at them and said, “Master Jin, Master Wu, I have something I’d like to discuss with them. May I?”

  Jin Shengjie hesitated and reminded the young fellow, “Master Ou, no matter what you’re going to do, please think thrice.”

  He had previously addressed Ou Yangming as if they had the same seniority, but deep down he more or less prided himself as an elder. Nonetheless, after Ou Yangming smithed magic tools and pulled off quite a show today, Jin Shengjie’s attitude changed drastically.

  Wu Hongxi nodded in agreement. “Master Ou, there’s always room for discussion. You mustn’t act willfully!”

  Ou Yangming responded to the Superior Blacksmiths and thought, ‘They’re top-notch figures indeed. I’m sure they received the news.’

  He later looked at the Supreme Great Ancestors who greeted him and noticed gratitude, shrewdness, and doubt from their eyes.

  At that moment, Ou Yangming felt so indignant that he could not put his emotions into words.

  The imperial family’s power had been inherited for thousands of years, which was why it was deeply rooted in everyone’s heart. When His Majesty gave his decree, very few people had the guts to disobey him.