Ou Yangming responded to him, got himself dressed and gobbled up some food before he followed Old Craftsman to the Armament Camp.
Old Craftsman had an exalted position in the camp. Not only was he the blacksmith chief, but he also had over ten years of experience. In fact, even the general treated him with respect.
He brought Ou Yangming into his personal smithing workshop, then asked, “Fella, tell me honestly, did you receive the Military Fire?”
Ou Yangming took a deep breath as he recalled the wonderful feeling when he entered the Military Fire Badge.
Eventually, he felt like he gained something inside his body.
When he reached his palm out and focused on a spot within it, something seemed to emerge.
Finally, a shattering sound could be heard in his mind, and a white flame appeared on his palm.
“Nice!”
Old Craftsman’s eyes glowed with happiness.
He looked at Ou Yangming admiringly. The old man had always treated him like a son, and now had high expectations that he would become successful.
Ou Yangming blinked his eyes as he was unusually happy too.
According to what Old Craftsman said in the past, it was not simple for someone to manipulate the Military Fire even if one were to acquire it through the Military Fire Badge, and a normal person would only activate it successfully after ten to thirty days. Needless to say, it was even tougher for one to operate it smoothly, and would only be possible if one tried hard for a few months.
Nevertheless, it could be perfected after a considerable period of time.
“Good fella, take this!” Old Craftsman picked up a fractured saber and tossed it to Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming nodded and began recollecting Old Craftsman’s teachings from the past.
Back then, he did not have the Military Fire, but Old Craftsman still taught him diligently. Perhaps the old man had planned everything for a long time.
Ou Yangming paid full attention to his Military Fire.
When it approached the military saber that was aligned on the platform, he suddenly had a look of disbelief.
This was because a set of strange numbers appeared in his mind.
[Item: Fractured military saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]
[Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0]
Ou Yangming was bewildered. ‘What… What exactly is this?’
A long time after, he subdued his confusion, and focused on the fractured saber again.
‘Restore. Mm, I should be restoring this now.
‘Restore, restore, restore…’
He tried to concentrate his mind on fixing the fracture.
Despite that, since it was his first time using the Military Fire, even if he was gifted with mental power and could control it faster than others, it was wishful thinking for him to do as he wished.
The fracture slowly merged due to the burning spirit fire, but at the expense of Ou Yangming’s power.
This was because the cost of using Military Fire was one’s physical strength.
After half an hour, the fracture was finally closed under the constant burn.
Ou Yangming’s eyes sparkled as he was overjoyed.
Right then, a purple light flickered in his mind, and a question popped up.
[Drawable composition found, draw?]
The muscles on Ou Yangming’s face twitched, and he was so taken aback that he almost screamed.
He subconsciously responded, “Yes.”
Subsequently, a peculiar energy that could not be seen was released from the military saber, which entered his body. At the same time, two faint, bean-sized purple lights appeared in his mind.
He did not know what they were and was clueless about why they appeared in his mind. When he wanted to shout for help, he could not make a sound as he was tongue-tied.
“Fella, fella, what happened? Don’t scare me!”
A worried voice finally woke Ou Yangming up, and he shivered. The instant Old Craftsman’s anxious look came into view, he felt a warmth in his heart, as though a clear spring poured down on him, which made him feel comfortable.
The feeling of being cared for and thought of was great.
“Hey, old man, how did I do?” He asked with a bright smile.
Old Craftsman scanned him from head to toe, then sighed a breath of relief. “Were you so happy about fixing a military saber that you turned silly?”
Ou Yangming scratched his head and chuckled embarrassingly as if he silently agreed.
“You did pretty well considering that you restored a military saber right after you obtained the Military Fire. Hmm, it looks slightly ugly, but… It will do.” Old Craftsman nodded.
Ou Yangming’s face reddened when he looked at the saber.
It was merged by the Military Fire’s energy, but the area around the fracture was uneven, and it looked like something had bit it.
One would not take a second look at it due to its ugliness.
Old Craftsman laughed. “Fella, don’t be discouraged. It’s your first time using the Military Fire, so it’s really good that already you’re able to do this. I think you’re tired, why not go back to take a rest?”
Ou Yangming blinked, then looked at Old Craftsman in disbelief. “Old man, you actually praised me? Did… Did the sun rise from the West today? Or did you finally find a partner? Oh, don’t be mad, I’ll leave now, I’ll leave now…” Before he finished his sentence, he scurried away.
The smile on Old Craftsman’s face instantly disappeared, his face turned dark and cursed. “B*stard, you need a spanking!” Nonetheless, he was still happy when he looked at the fella who was hopping away.
When he got his Military Fire back then, he only succeeded in stimulating it after half a month, and could only repair a fractured saber a month after.
Compared to Ou Yangming’s accomplishment, he was as slow as a tortoise.
Therefore, no matter how ugly the fractured sword was, he was still pleased and was not at all regretful.
When Old Craftsman lifted the restored military saber, he wondered if he should keep it. After all, it was Ou Yangming’s first smithed product using the Military Fire, thus it was worth keeping for memory’s sake. Besides, he would undoubtedly be happy seeing Ou Yangming’s helpless face in the future if he were to show him the ugly saber in a few years’ time.
However, his smile suddenly disappeared after a brief moment.
He approached a Sword-testing Stone with the military saber, then slashed it.
“Ding—”
Sparks flew, and a rice-sized crack could be seen on the saber, whereas the Sword-testing Stone was not even scratched.
Old Craftsman threw the military saber to the floor furiously. “Damn the Provision Camp, how dare those law-bending people cut corners on the armaments? With those borer bugs around, the nation will be in peril…”
Of course, Ou Yangming was not aware of Old Craftsman’s lamentations. He ran toward an armory in the Armament Camp.
The armory was full of piled-up armor that was abandoned.
After taking a glance at the pile of scrap metals, Ou Yangming quickly found a damaged saber.
Although it was also a military saber, it had not been fractured yet. That being said, it was covered in rust, and a number of big chips were found on its blade, thus it lost its restoration value.
A moment of hesitation later, Ou Yangming gathered his mental power to summon his Military Fire.
Evidently, he was much more familiar with it than he was the first time. He did not know that it was because of his natural gift of having mental power, that he had the option to consume physical power or mental power during the usage of the Military Fire.
With that, it was much easier for him to use it compared to other people, and he could also endure the process for a longer time.
A list of information appeared in his mind as soon as his Military Fire touched the saber.
[Item: Damaged military saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]
[Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0]
Ou Yangming was unmoved. He continued operating the burning Military Fire until the rust on the military saber slowly disappeared, and the blade became shiny, as though snow met fire.
Just as the outer appearance of the military saber was about to fully recover, another notice appeared in his mind.
[Drawable composition found, draw?]
[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]
Ou Yangming was stunned. ‘Why are there two options now?’
Intrigued, he decided to upgrade it since he chose the drawing option earlier.
Consequently, he noticed the two small purple light balls disappearing from his mind. Oh, they did not disappear, but they strangely entered the military saber that was being burned by the Military Fire.
Afterward, completely different changes in the military saber’s attributes were observed through the Military Fire.
[Item: Military Saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Three]
[Attributes: Sharpness +3, Toughness +2, Durability +2]
Chapter 4
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ou Yangming was in a daze when he looked at the shiny military saber in his hand, but was quickly overjoyed.
Since he was an orphan, he did not have much knowledge, but it did not mean that he was clueless about basic mathematics and words.
It was at that moment that he was thankful to Old Craftsman, from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he entered the military camp two years ago, and was picked by the old man to be his helper, he had been taught to read and calculate. Although Old Craftsman’s knowledge standard was only average, it was more than enough to give him a head start.
Throughout the two years, Ou Yangming was hit on his palm by the Old Craftsman numerous times, but he had learned everything he could from him.
As such, he knew what was going on when he saw the information that appeared in his mind.
The Military Fire that he acquired was definitely unusual and it carried a big secret.
When the fire burned, he could easily identify the military saber’s attributes, and what was more unbelievable was that it could even draw and upgrade them. He was extremely shocked by what he found.
He took a deep breath and hesitated for a while.
Next, he decided that he would not mention this to anyone, not even Old Craftsman.
Afterward, he looked into the piles of damaged weapons to pick out suitable military sabers.
The armory stored abandoned items, where military sabers without restoration value were piled up for a second chance to be melted down for use again.
Hence, Ou Yangming easily found many military sabers that were not too terribly damaged.
When he activated the Military Fire again, he quickly realized that those damaged sabers had poor attributes indeed. Normally, a military saber that was up to standard would have a sharpness of +1 or +2, and a toughness of +1 or +2 as well.
However, the damaged military sabers only had one attribute, which was either a sharpness of +1 or a toughness of +1.
None of them had an attribute of +2, let alone possessed both attributes.
On top of that, they did not have durability since they were damaged items.
Ou Yangming curbed his thoughts again, then began trying.
His Military Fire burned a damaged saber, but instead of restoring it, he said to himself. ‘Draw.’
[Drawable composition found, draw?]
Familiar words appeared in his mind again. His eyelids twitched a few times, and he was pleasantly surprised.
As expected, he could draw the military sabers’ attributes without fixing them.
Without any consideration, he chose to draw the attribute, resulting in a small purple light ball appearing in his mind again.
Perhaps Ou Yangming was too thrilled, so he was not very exhausted after using his Military Fire this time. He looked at the damaged military saber and noticed that it became more damaged after its only attribute was taken away.
He later turned to pick up the saber that he had repaired.
Another sentence appeared in his mind when he used the Military Fire.
[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]
‘Upgrade.’
As soon as Ou Yangming confirmed his answer, the saber shone for a while before it returned to normal.
After inhaling deeply. He realized that the physical power needed for upgrading was at least double what he used for drawing attributes.
It was easier to destroy but difficult to build, this also applied to drawing and upgrading using the Military Fire.
[Item: Military saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Three]
[Attributes: Sharpness +3, Toughness +3, Durability 3]
Seeing as the military saber’s toughness was upgraded again, Ou Yangming smiled happily.
Excited about what he did with the saber, he was extremely motivated. As such, he continued drawing the attributes of four damaged sabers with the intention of adding them to the upgraded saber.
Nonetheless, he was disappointed and regretful when the saber only upgraded two attributes even though he chose to upgrade it again.
Eventually, Ou Yangming’s body swayed because he had become extremely tired, and he was about to pass out any time.
He immediately stopped because his mind and physical power were almost completely exhausted like the time he previously used the Military Fire Badge.
While sensing the two small purple light balls in his mind, he looked at the brand new military saber.
[Item: Sharp military badge]
[Equipment Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Four]
[Attributes: Sharpness +4, Toughness +4, Durability 4]
Ou Yangming was finally satisfied. Although each attribute increased by a little, the saber was definitely considered a rare and exquisite one.
Unfortunately, his physical power was entirely worn out, or the military saber could have been improved further if he added the other two attributes.
It was only natural for a child to show off after doing something great.
Therefore, Ou Yangming was so excited that his dizziness went away. Later, he strode off with the saber to look for Old Craftsman.
He wanted a person who was close to him to witness the results of his hard work.
“Old man, old man…”
Ou Yangming barged into Old Craftsman’s personal smithing workshop.
Old Craftsman was fixing a premium steel shield with his Military Fire at that moment and he almost failed at it because he was irked by Ou Yangming’s scream.
He glared at the young fellow. “Why are you being so short-tempered? Can’t you be more steady?”
Ou Yangming smiled embarrassingly, but he quickly mentioned, “Old Man, this is the military saber that I just restored, take a look at it!”
Old Craftsman did not know to cry or to laugh. “Where did you find this?”
“I simply picked one from those abandoned tents,” Ou Yangming answered cheerfully.
“Do you want to die? You’ve just controlled the Military Fire, but you continued using it, don’t you know that haste brings no success?” Old Craftsman frowned.
“Old Man, I just felt that I could take it, so I tried.” Ou Yangming scratched his head, then said to himself, ‘I didn’t just use it twice, I used it a number of times.’
Old Craftsman was stunned. He looked at him strangely for a while, then mentioned, “This is strange, could it be that… You’re naturally gifted with mental power?”
Ou Yangming was surprised. “Old Man, what’s that?”
Old Craftsman explained, “When normal people like you use the Military Fire, you’ll consume physical power, so you can’t use
it for long. Unless you have practiced martial arts, you won’t be able to extend the time. However, there are some people who have the natural gift of strong mental power. They can use mental power in place of physical power to burn the Military Fire. Mm, if you controlled the Military Fire so quickly, and can use it continuously, you’re likely one of them.”
Ou Yangming nodded as if he understood, but he quickly urged the old man. “Old man, quick, take a look at this!”
“Why are you in such a hurry? If you’re so impatient, I wonder if you’ll be successful in the future. Eh, this military saber…” Old Craftsman said snappily, but he suddenly stopped and had a strange look on his face.
A brief moment later, he put the saber down to say to Ou Yangming seriously, “Fella, you’re really something to have restored a military saber to this grade, I underestimated you.”
Ou Yangming chuckled. There was nothing he could hide from the old man.
Just as he was immersed in joy, a pair of sinister eyes came into mind, causing his face to turn gloomy right away.
Upon seeing that, Old Craftsman asked, “What’s wrong?”
Ou Yangming sighed. “I’m in trouble.”
He later explained everything that happened at the Provision Camp, as well as his journey to the big residence with Zhang Yinfan and his nephew. “Now that I have the Military Fire, they definitely despise me. I’m afraid that I won’t be having peaceful days anymore…”
“How dare that stingy ghost eye my meritorious service!” Old Craftsman was furious. Nevertheless, there was nothing much he could do against one of the main people in charge of the Provision Camp.
After pondering for a long time, he stomped his feet. “From today onward, I’ll teach you real Military Fire Smithing Art! If you can become a real Military Fire Blacksmith, that stingy fella won’t do anything to you.”
“A Military Fire Blacksmith?” Ou Yangming gulped, and his eyes sparkled.
Ever since he acquired the Military Fire, he gained benefits in repairing armaments and could do it easily and more effectively than normal blacksmiths. That being said, as many pieces of armaments as he could fix, he was just a qualified restoration master.
As compared to blacksmiths who were adept in the Military Fire and could forge divine weapons and sharp weapons, one who just learned how to control the Military Fire was less profound.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 4