When the humongous spirit elephant arrived, Ou Yangming could not help but furrow his eyebrows.
Although the fellow’s build was far from that of Multi-armed King Kong, it was still a massive creature. If Ou Yangming were to smith a piece of equipment for it, he would certainly spend far more time and energy.
Seeing as Ou Yangming was frowning, the enormous spirit beast guessed what he was thinking. It let out a hollow laugh and asked, “Master Ou, do you think I’m too gigantic?”
Ou Yangming nodded without any hesitation. “Yes, you’re oversized. If I were to smith a piece of equipment for you…”
The spirit elephant shook its head and expressed, “Master Ou, it might be more difficult to smith an ordinary piece of equipment for me, but it’ll be much easier to smith a piece of Skill Equipment!”
“What?” Ou Yangming was taken aback.
The elephant curled up its trunk and explained, “That was what I heard from human blacksmiths like you; they said that smithing pieces of equipment for me is the least troublesome job, so they’ll usually attempt using large pieces of equipment when they smith.”
Ou Yangming pondered and was deep in thoughts when he looked at the elephant’s considerable body.
The materials needed to smith pieces of equipment for the elephant would be 100 times more, but it would be comparatively easier to engrave a Skill Rune on the equipment. In particular, there would be a much higher tolerance for the error rate if one were to practice newly-learned runes.
Perhaps this was the biggest reason the mountainous spirit beast could acquire pieces of high-grade equipment.
Nevertheless, regardless of a piece of equipment’s size, the engraving of a Skill Rune would not be much different for Ou Yangming.
When the spirit elephant retrieved a big pile of materials, Ou Yangming was extremely glad to have requested the spirit beasts to provide the basic materials. If not, he could not have gathered this many materials even if he emptied his interspatial bag.
It was his first time smithing a piece of large-scale equipment. As expected, he spent a much longer time on it.
Throughout the smithing process, Ou Yangming realized that there were slight differences between pieces of large-scale equipment and ordinary equipment. In fact, there was a higher demand for the qualities of the former’s materials. Even so, the spirit elephant seemed to have known this beforehand, thus the materials prepared by it did not disappoint the young fellow at all.
With that, Ou Yangming stayed here for 3 days.
During the 3 days, he had smithed a Good Grade magic tool each for the high-rank spirit beasts.
Even though the magic tools’ equivalent ranks were not the best, he included a White Silver Attribute and a Skill Rune in every single one of them.
Needless to say, Ou Yangming did not suffer any losses as he learned 1 or 2 innate skills from every high-rank spirit beast.
After turning those skills into runes and releasing them, though they were not as mighty as when the spirit beasts performed those skills themselves, they enriched his storage of runes very much.
In actuality, Ou Yangming could even gain more Rune Skills from the spirit beasts if he exploited them more, but he yearned for the scenery at the peak. Therefore, after smithing a piece of equipment for each of them and dealing with them, he bid his farewell.
Of course, before he left, he intentionally asked for Mount Liang Wolf King’s address and agreed on a time to meet in the future.
The spirit wolf’s selling ability was beyond Ou Yangming’s imagination, by which it helped him to earn 200 more spirit ores for every piece of equipment. The young fellow’s interspatial bag was already bulging, and he became much richer than the high-rank spirit beasts.
Despite being jealous, the high-rank spirit beasts dared not scheme anything against Ou Yangming.
After producing the last equipment, Ou Yangming entered the crystal wall again.
He could also continue upward by going around the crystal wall, he still entered the place beyond the wall obediently.
This was because Mount Liang Wolf King warned him that if he headed to the peak without the permission of the crystal wall’s guard, he would suffer a fatal disaster.
Ou Yangming did not believe that the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One would kill him but he rather believed it to be the truth than not, hence it would be better for him to be more careful.
He immediately saw the macaque after he entered the crystal wall.
However, it was different this time because there was a fundamental change in the macaque’s attitude.
It bowed at Ou Yangming with respect and asked, “Master Ou, are you planning to climb to the top?”
Ou Yangming was astounded, but he answered with a smile, “Yes.”
“Okay, please come with me.” The macaque did not say anything else, but it did not leave through the crystal wall’s entrance too. Instead, it brought Ou Yangming deeper inside.
Ou Yangming hesitated for a while, then he quickly followed the macaque with Big Yellow. After walking for 15 minutes, the macaque pushed a door open and said, “Master Ou, please.”
The young fellow could not help but laugh bitterly after he walked out of the door and looked for a brief moment. It turned out that there was a secret path beyond the crystal wall, and it could lead one to the peak.
When Ou Yangming looked up, it was as though the peak was right in front of him.
Having said that, forceful and fearsome pressures came from the peak, each one as oppressive as a towering mountain, which was unbearable.
The macaque nodded and continued forward.
Ou Yangming took a deep breath. He wondered as he found it strange, ‘This macaque doesn’t look like a spirit beast at all, but why can it withstand the powerful suppressions? Has it endured the appearance of the dragon and the phoenix as I did? Is it because it has spent a long time with the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One and can totally ignore such oppressions now?’
Just as Ou Yangming was about to go forward, he sensed something odd behind him. When he turned to look, he realized that Big Yellow was already laying on the ground and would not move an inch forward no matter how much he urged it to.
“Master Ou, you can leave it here,” the macaque suggested with a smile, “If you force it to go up there with you, it might not be a good idea for it.”
After some thought, Ou Yangming decided to order Big Yellow to stay here on its own.
Later on, the macaque led the way, and they arrived at a flat ground on the peak.
The area had been flattened long ago, hence it seemed like a giant platform. 6 spirit beasts could be seen on the platform, where 3 of them were humongous while the other 3 were far from them.
That said, the levels of intimidation of their oppressions were not based on their builds. Among them, a purely-white fox was the smallest, but it sat at the center of the platform and seemed more majestic than the other spirit beasts.
Seeing as the macaque brought a human blacksmith to the top, they turned to look at the same time.
Ou Yangming paused for a bit and was surprised.
He suddenly realized at this moment that the frightening pressures disappeared in an instant.
The 6 potent top-grade spirit beasts were able to control their powers almost perfectly.
Chapter 595 - Is He Qualified
Ou Yangming glanced at the 6 spirit beasts and found it odd.
This was the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, which was the Walking Beasts’ territory, and the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One was a powerhouse that stood by its words here. However, the 6 top-grade spirit beasts at the peak were not all from the Walking Beasts.
Over here, there was also a gigantic mountain eagle and a centipede surrounded by faint black mist.
Apart from the Aquatics, the 3 other races had their representatives gathered here.
“Master Ou, 6 top-grade spirit beasts have attended the Trading Meet this time. Let me introduce them to you,” the m
acaque turned and said with a smile, then it pointed at the small fox. “This is Sir Immortal Fox, whose cultivation base is unfathomable.”
The fox nodded and expressed to the macaque, “Don’t mock me, the others aren’t inferior to me at all.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes flickered as he noticed the subtle changes on the faces of the other spirit beasts. Perhaps the fox could not triumph over them in terms of combat power only, but the young fellow believed that it must have a specialty that caused them to fear it very much. If not, it could not have overtly occupied the best spot in the middle. Besides, even the 3 humongous beasts dared not get close to it.
The macaque could not help but laugh. Instead of making conversation with the fox, it continued to introduce the other spirit beasts to Ou Yangming, “These are Bear Huang, Pig Qiong, Rat Mo, Ghost Mo, and Ying Shan.”
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned, and he thought, ‘You used an honorific when you introduced the fox, and you even spoke to it with respect. As for the other spirit beasts, you only mentioned them briefly.
‘Even so, judging from the expressions of the other top-grade spirit beasts, they don’t seem aggrieved at all.
‘I don’t need to ask to know that even among the top-grade spirit beasts, Sir Immortal Fox has a higher status than the other equal-ranked beasts.’
Although the macaque seemed like it was not a spirit beast yet, the top-grade spirit beasts including Immortal Fox treated it with an upright attitude. When the macaque introduced them to the young fellow, they would nod at it in their way.
Ou Yangming knew the top-grade spirit beasts were not doing that to show him due respect; they were greeting the macaque.
Immortal Fox blinked its little eyes and asked with a smile, “Brother Macaque, who’s this young human? Why did you accompany him up here?”
The macaque grinned and asked the fox in return, “If I hadn’t accompanied him here, would you have let him come up?”
Immortal Fox chuckled without answering the question, but its answer was clear.
Ou Yangming sensed the forceful oppressions from the 6 top-grade spirit beasts as soon as he came up. Under the pressures, normal Spiritualists could not have gotten close to them at all; Big Yellow was the perfect example.
‘That said, aren’t they underestimating me by thinking that they could stop me from coming up by oppressing me?’
Despite being displeased, Ou Yangming did not express it. After all, in terms of appearance only, he was far from the spirit beasts.
The macaque looked around and noted, “Everyone, please don’t underestimate this young human. He’s a human blacksmith, and he’s so gifted in smithing art that it’s unprecedented.”
“Unprecedented?” Flashes of lusters could be seen in Immortal Fox’s eyes. “Brother Macaque, aren’t you overpraising him?”
It respected the macaque very much, but it also trusted its eyes.
The human blacksmith was honestly too young. At the end of the day, blacksmiths were a profession that required plentiful experiences the most. Even if the young fellow was gifted indeed, given his young age, such praise would be too much before he managed to smith any famous tools.
“Sir Immortal Fox, if he isn’t gifted nor capable, I wouldn’t have brought him here for sure.” The macaque shook its head.
Immortal Fox and the 5 other spirit beasts suddenly focused on Ou Yangming. They did not release their pressures, but their eyes were fierce and sharp. Even if a high-rank spirit beast was present, it might not be able to withstand them calmly.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming kept a straight face as though he did not notice them at all.
Immortal Fox and the others were secretly moved. ‘Judging from the young fellow’s behavior, if he isn’t an idiot, he must be confident. Given the macaque’s identity, how could it have brought an idiot here?’
The spirit fox cleared its throat and uttered, “Brother Macaque, you’re the maintainer of the rules of the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, so we… Trust you.”
“Human blacksmith, I suppose you know the rule to ascend to the top?” The giant mountain eagle suddenly had a cold look in its eyes.
Ou Yangming was slightly dumbfounded. He looked at the macaque in a daze.
The macaque chuckled and responded instead, “Eagle Shan, don’t worry. Since I brought him here, I believe that he has that capability.”
“Oh, Brother Macaque, did he smith any famous tools?” Eagle Shan questioned as it was interested.
“He didn’t.” The macaque shook its head.
Eagle Shan was startled for a while, and it was furious, but it dared not make vicious remarks, hence it could only ask, “Brother Macaque, if he didn’t, why did you…”
The macaque chuckled and explained, “You can let this little brother know your needs. I believe that if you give him a decade, he’ll surely fulfill your wishes.” At this point, it suddenly recalled something, thus it turned to say to the fox, “Sir Immortal Fox, you can leave out yours; he won’t be able to do it for sure.”
Immortal Fox nodded calmly. Indeed, what it needed could not be provided by the young human blacksmith.
“Our needs?” Eagle Shan was in disbelief. “Brother Macaque, are you certain?”
The macaque glanced at it snappily and turned around to say to Ou Yangming, “Master Ou, let me tell you about the rule to climb to the top. Beasts that can come up here at top-grade spirit beasts, and the pieces of equipment that they need can’t be provided by ordinary blacksmiths, so blacksmiths that aren’t qualified can’t enter this place.”
“Of course.” Ou Yangming nodded.
Top-grade spirit beasts were only second to Venerable Ones. The abilities that they could possess based on their status were far from what could be compared by ordinary spirit beasts, and the pieces of equipment that they need were definitely not popular goods with dependable qualities. Without having notable skills in smithing art, one could not smith pieces of equipment for top-grade spirit beasts at all.
“Over here, they’ll make their requests known. If a blacksmith’s confident about smithing a certain piece of equipment, one will accept the task,” the macaque added, then it stared at Ou Yangming and stated, “Your performance outside the crystal wall moved me. I believe that even if you can’t smith pieces of equipment for them now, you’ll be able to do it within a decade.”
Ou Yangming’s tensed up. “You saw everything when I was smithing those pieces of equipment?”
The macaque shook its head and laughed. “Master Ou, you’re overthinking it; I only saw the pieces of equipment that you smithed.”
Ou Yangming sighed a breath of relief and thought, ‘It’ll be interesting if the macaque saw me condensing the White Silver Spirit Ores.’
Nevertheless, he was cautious when he carried out the process and basically cut off any possibilities of its fire being peeped.
The 6 spirit beasts looked at each other. They initially thought nothing of Ou Yangming, but they became a little curious after hearing the macaque giving him high praises.
Immortal Fox asked with a smile, “Brother Macaque, what exactly did this little… Friend do that you value him so much?”
“He met those high-rank spirit beasts outside the crystal wall and smithed some piece of equipment for them, so I brought him up here,” the macaque answered.
“Oh, what types of equipment did this little friend smith?”
“He smithed magic tools of Good Grade Rank Three and above,” the macaque responded slowly.
“Good Grade Rank Three…” Immortal Fox was struck dumb. It twitched its mouth and commented, “Given his age, he’s pretty good for being able to smith Good Grade magic tools.”
The other spirit beasts pondered. Even though Good Grade magic tools were of little worth to them, they were quite surprised that Ou Yangming could smith pieces of equipment with such quality at his age. ‘Could this young fella be a core descendant from a certain sect?’
“The magic tools have a White-Silver
-level attribute each,” the macaque added.
“White Silver Magic Tools?” Immortal Fox was shocked. “This little friend can even attach White Silver Attributes. Not bad—not bad indeed.”
The eyes of Eagle Shan and the other spirit beasts lit up. They did not lack White Silver Magic Tools but given Ou Yangming’s age… They finally looked at the young human more seriously.
If the macaque was saying the truth, Ou Yangming was truly extraordinarily gifted.
Given enough time and opportunities, perhaps the young fellow could one day smith their desired pieces of equipment.
“Oh, those White Silver Magic Tools are also attached with skills. Hehe, not Rudimentary Skills, but Intermediate Skills.” The macaque smiled with its eyes narrowed.
“Intermediate Skills, Good Grade White Silver Magic Tools.” Immortal Fox was finally astonished. It looked at Ou Yangming again with unusual lusters in its eyes.
The other spirit beasts were no different. In actuality, according to their statuses, they should not make a fuss about this because they possessed several pieces of such equipment.
They would not find it odd if a renowned blacksmith had produced those pieces of equipment, but they dared not believe it when they saw how young Ou Yangming was.
Subsequently, the macaque cleared its throat and smiled faintly. “Of course, they’re Good Grade White Silver Magic Tools with Intermediate Skills. Hehe, I forgot to mention earlier.” He pointed at Ou Yangming and continued, “Master Ou smithed nearly 30 of those tools in one ago, and he didn’t make any mistakes.”
Immortal Fox and the 5 other spirit beasts finally had different expressions on their faces. They looked at Ou Yangming, then they looked back at the smiling macaque as they cursed internally.
‘Lil’ fella, would you have died if you told us everything in one go?’
Nonetheless, they dared not underestimate Ou Yangming anymore.
The macaque looked around and questioned proudly, “Now, do any of you still think Master Ou isn’t qualified to climb to the top?”
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 351
