He was probably full of regret at the moment.
If the last raw gemstone was not opened, Ou Yangming would still be victorious for having obtained one Fine Grade gem, but the two-ninth success rate would be a big flaw. As long as one was not dumb, one could tell that something was fishy.
However, everything became different when the second Fine Grade gem was attained.
As clueless as a person was, one would think Ou Yangming was superior to He Liangce in raw gemstone appraisal.
In and out, the effect of it was huge and unimaginable.
Once He Liangce and the other people were far away, the backyard was dead silent for a moment before loud cheers filled the air.
Not everyone who stayed were the Yi Pavilion’s supervisors and workers, they were from the prefecture, so they sincerely hoped that the store could defeat their opponent. Therefore, shouts of joy were inevitable when the result was decided.
Many known figures even approached Lin Yichen to congratulate him with complicated looks.
They knew that the Yi Pavilion’s reputation would ascend to a higher level without a limit from then on.
Despite that, Lin Yichen did not look very cheerful. He dismissed the crowd with a few words, and he looked even more displeased when he returned to the backyard because Ou Yangming was fiddling with the 2 Fine Grade gems. Ou Yangming smiled and asked, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, are you reluctant to give them away?” “Frankly speaking, the headquarter notified us a month ago that all Fine Grade gems, if found, had to be purchased at all costs.” Lin Yichen sighed and smiled bitterly. “Though I don’t know why they gave such an order, there must be a reason behind it.”
“What do you plan to do, Head Shopkeeper Lin?” Ou Yangming tossed the gems in his hand.
On the other hand, Ni Yinghong smiled sweetly. “Head Shopkeeper Lin, are you planning to go back on your word?”
Lin Yichen was stunned. “Miss… Ni, you’re kidding. Since I promised him, why would I break the promise?”
He addressed Ni Yinghong as he should because He Liangce had revealed her identity.
“Master Ou, please take the Fine Grade gems away.” Lin Yichen lowered his head and waved his hand. He looked dismayed.
Ou Yangming chuckled and pondered before he said, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, if you’d like to purchase these gems, it’s possible.”
“What?” Lin Yichen suddenly looked up at him in disbelief.
He would be confident about purchasing the gems from Ou Yangming if they were only High Grade gems, but they were Fine Grade gems. Gems of such a grade could not be measured with gold and silver anymore. Normally, they could only be exchanged with treasures of a similar grade.
“Brother Ou, don’t you want these Fine Grade gems?” Ni Yunhong could not help but laugh. “If you don’t want them, you can exchange them with the Ni family, we won’t let you suffer a loss!”
Lin Yichen looked gloomy right away. Even if he thought with his toes, he knew who Ou Yangming would choose to deal with.
That said, Ou Yangming shook his head and responded, “I found these gems at the Yi Pavilion, and Head Shopkeeper Lin is an old acquaintance, so I can’t harm him.”
Lin Yichen was startled. His lips trembled a little, and his heart was warm. ‘How loyal, Ou Yangming is such a loyal friend.’
Ou Yangming turned and asked with a smile, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, if I give you both Fine Grade gems, how are you going to repay me?”
“Master Ou, you can just tell me anything you want.” Lin Yichen gritted his teeth.
“I’d like to pick ten more raw gemstones here and take them away. What do you think?” Ou Yangming answered.
The other people were surprised, and they cast a strange look at him.
‘He’s actually exchanging 2 acquired Fine Grade gems for ten raw gemstones.’
While the 2 Fine Grade gems were also obtained from the raw gemstones in the backyard, nobody dared to guarantee that another gem of the same grade could be found from the remaining gemstones.
Thus, no matter how they viewed Ou Yangming’s suggestion, it was highly beneficial toward the Yi Pavilion.
Li Yichen’s eyes glowed as he wanted to accept the deal, but he somehow could not let a word out.
Ou Yangming had gotten 2 Fine Grade gems from 10 randomly selected raw gemstones, so if he were to choose from the pile again, would he gain more and better gems?
If anyone else had given the suggestion, Lin Yichen would accept it without any hesitation, but he could not make up his mind because Ou Yangming was the one who proposed the idea.
Lin Yichen turned to look at Zheng Ziwen, Yue Dingtian, as well as the supervisors in the store. He noticed that they looked uncertain too.
Ou Yangming looked at them calmly without rushing them to make a decision as though he was not very concerned. Ni Yinghong suddenly asked with a smile, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, these raw gemstones in the backyard are going to be sold to outsiders too, right?”
Lin Yichen was dumbstruck but casually answered, “Yes, other than those with a special price, each of them will be sold at 50 taels of gold each.”
“Head Shopkeeper Lin, that’s so immoral of you! You’re making more than twice their original cost…”
“Master Ou, if you visit the Immense Forest Town, I’ll sell them to you for 20 taels of gold each, but 50 taels of gold is the lowest price in the prefecture,” Lin Yichen quickly explained.
“Okay.” Ni Yinghong smiled brightly and offered, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, I’ll give you 500 taels of gold, and you let me pick ten raw gemstones.”
Lin Yichen’s face changed because he instantly understood the reason behind it, so he bowed deeply at Ou Yangming with an apologetic smile on his face. “Master Ou, please forgive me for being ungrateful when you were being kind. For the sake of General Deng and Master Ziwen, please forgive me this time.”
Zheng Ziwen’s face changed as well, and he apologized embarrassedly, “Brother Ou, we weren’t content with what we were given, please forgive us.”
Yue Dingtian and the other people blushed too because they were ashamed.
They had been thinking about how Ou Yangming might receive greater benefits after making the exchange, but they never realized he could pay just 500 taels of gold to purchase 10 raw gemstones from the 10,000 stones left. If they were to compare 500 taels of gold with 2 Fine Grade gems… Could they even be compared? Besides, those were 2 Fine Grade gems!
If they rejected Ou Yangming’s suggestion and accepted the 500 taels of gold instead, the bosses from the headquarter would certainly cut them into pieces.
“It’s fine as long as you change after realizing your mistake,” Ou Yangming commented with a smile and asked, “Can I choose the raw gemstones now?”
Lin Yichen quickly answered, “Master Ou, please.”
Ou Yangming entered the pile of raw gemstones again, but he did not pick them randomly. He had fixed his targets, so he retrieved ten of them very quickly.
Lin Yichen and the other people naturally watched him, but they were puzzled after seeing what he did.
Ou Yangming had picked ten raw gemstones that did not have a notch. It was far more difficult to get good gems from them as compared to half-naked raw gemstones. They began wondering again as they looked at Ou Yangming.
‘Is he extremely confident, or is he really that lucky?’
Subsequently, Ou Yangming left the Yi Pavilion with ten raw gemstones and got onto the carriage with the Ni family siblings.
The siblings had wanted to bring ou Yangming around the bustling night market, but due to the incident that took place, they no longer had the mood to do so.
However, just before they boarded the carriage, Ni Yinghong scoffed and left on her own.
Ni Yunhong spread out his hands helplessly and said, “Brother Ou, please forgive my younger sister, she can’t board the carriage with you.”
Ou Yangming felt like he had lost something, but he could not express it.
&
nbsp; Once they returned to the Ni residence, Ni Yinghong invited a stone-cracking master after getting Ou Yangming’s agreement.
The stone-cracking master was not as powerful as Yue Dingtian, but he was also a Yang Grade martial artist. As he cracked the ten raw gemstones one by one, 1 High Grade gem and 2 Common Grade gems were found.
When the news spread, everyone praised Ou Yangming and the Ni family siblings for their benevolent act, but they also had better judgments about Ou Yangming’s skills. After all, he had chosen flawless raw gemstones this time, but he achieved a 30% success rate and secured 1 High Grade gem.
Though the result could not be mentioned on equal terms with the 2 Fine Grade gems, it was enough to convince the other people and shut their mouths.
Chapter 152 - First Magic Tool
In a room, Ni Yinghong put down five raw gemstones and looked at Ou Yangming with her bright eyes as she asked, “Tell me, can you really perceive the stones?”
Ou Yangming chuckled and answered, “You know I’ve fathomed the integration of Heaven and man.”
“We knew that long ago. Hmph, isn’t it just the integration of Heaven and man? Is there a need to show off…” Ni Yinghong pouted her lips, but she said to herself, ‘The state seems quite desirable. Hmph, I’m not envious at all!’
Ou Yangming giggled. “Indeed, there’s no need to show off, but after having the state, I had an obscure feeling about these stones. I had a good feeling about them, so I chose them.”
Ni Yinghong was not fully convinced, but she realized after some thought that it could not be explained any other way.
Although there were no similar cases with other powerhouses, who apprehended the integration of Heaven and man too, the state was achieved when one comprehended nature. It varied from person to person, hence there was no absolute standard for it.
Besides, Ou Yangming had grasped the state as a Military Fire Blacksmith.
There were people like him in the past, but they were exceptionally rare like phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
On top of that, there were no detailed records of the unique ability being attained by a person who understood the mysteries of the integration of Heaven and man through smithing art. Perhaps Ou Yangming’s ability had come from that.
Ni Yinghong pondered for some time before she finally approved of his statement. “I’ve given you everything, so do as you see fit!” Afterward, she turned and left right away.
Since Ou Yangming found out her real identity; a woman, as thick-faced as she was, dared not stay in the room for a long time at night.
Ou Yangming smiled and was rather moved as he watched her leave.
After leaving the Yi Pavilion, Ni Yinghong left on her own by giving the excuse that she would not board the carriage. As soon as she returned home, she found five similar-sized raw gemstones to substitute five of the actual ones before Ou Yangming and the rest were back.
Being the Ni family’s eldest young lady, it was easy for her to make the substitution.
As such, among the ten raw gemstones that were cracked by the Ni family’s stone-cracking master, only five were the ones that were picked by Ou Yangming. The five remaining real gemstones had been discreetly brought to this room. Ou Yangming inhaled deeply as he relished the beautiful lady’s consideration and kindness. He could not help but become immersed in it.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind: if he could really spend his life together with her forever, he would be content without wanting to pursue anything else. However, old Craftsman’s thin and ill-looking face surfaced again at the next instant.
Ou Yangming shook his head hard. ‘Who am I to indulge in being in a special place? Before I grasp absolute power and the way to prolong Old Craftsman’s life, I can’t relax nor slack at all.’
He sighed and suppressed his thoughts to the bottom of his heart.
Following that, he focused fully on the raw gemstones.
Without needing to touch them, Ou Yangming knew what they roughly contained. They contained 1 Fine Grade gem, 3 High Grade gems, and a gem that gave him the feeling of a vast ocean, respectively.
Ou Yangming did not attach much importance to the High Grade and Fine Grade gems because the feeling of the blue sea was still fresh in his memory.
When Ni Yinghong sent the raw gemstones over, she had brought different suitable tools as well.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming felt that his unbreakable military saber was the best tool for him.
As he shaved the raw gemstone with his saber, the gem was finally removed. Once he had fully retrieved it, he was drawn by the light that was emitted.
After hesitating over and over again, Ou Yangming exerted his Military Fire on the blue gem.
[Item: Impeccable Gem (Blue)]
(Equivalent Rank: Magic Level Common Grade]
(Attribute: Increases mental power’s upper limit by 5%]
Even though it only had one attribute, Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched, and he almost exclaimed
Mental power was an incredibly unique power, and it was completely different from essential Qi.
While Ou Yangming learned from Big Yellow a technique to increase mental power, it was suitable for the big yellow dog, but not as effective for humans.
Therefore, even after practicing with a lot of hard work, Ou Yangming’s mental power had not increased much.
With this gem’s assistance and his 40 Points of mental power, he could easily increase his metal power by 2 Points.
Yes, 2 Points of mental power did not seem a lot, but it was not the end of his mental power’s limit. In the future, perhaps the attribute could benefit him in a way that was beyond his imagination.
Moreover, the gem was of Magic Level Common Grade.
The meaning that it carried was enough to let one connect it with something else.
Ou Yangming removed his waist sash after some thought.
There were three grooves on the sash, but two of them were already occupied, leaving the last one empty. The waist sash had advanced to the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five after two grooves were used, and its standard was the greatest among all pieces of equipment that Ou Yangming had come across.
As he looked at the final groove, he gritted his teeth and burned the Military Fire in his hand.
If an ordinary influential person had discovered this Magic Level gem, that person would certainly value it very much. He or she would gather capable craftsmen to smith a piece of unique equipment according to the gem’s pattern and would do anything to unleash the equipment’s function to the extreme.
Nevertheless, that was not what Ou Yangming had in mind.
To him, there were two types of equipment: usable ones, and non-usable ones.
If its function could not be effectively exerted, as great as the piece of equipment was, he would not cherish it.
Hence, after acquiring the blue gem, Ou Yangming’s first thought was to embed it to the waist sash. A usable piece of equipment was the best kind of equipment, after all.
If he had not previously embedded the Substitution Gem to the waist sash, perhaps it was not Zhang Yinli who would have died, but him.
As Ou Yangming’s Military Fire burned, there was indeed a wonderful change to the blue gem’s volume, and it slowly adjusted to the groove’s size.
If his wasteful act was witnessed by renowned powerhouses from the gem trade, they would definitely cry and reprimand him for wasting a natural resource.
Each time a gem’s shape changed, it would lose some power. Additionally, nobody knew how many years it had been since a Magic Level gem was found. Nobody would handle a Fine Grade gem so recklessly, let alone a Magic Level gem.
That said, Ou Yangming was the only person in the room, thus he handled the gem as he wished without any concern.
Eventually, the Military Fire completely changed the gem’s outer appearance. Ou Yangming’s eyes glowed as he placed the gem to the groove with shaking hands. Almost at the same time, his Military Fire fully env
eloped the waist sash.
Ou Yangming had carried out the process so directly not only because he wanted to use the piece of equipment as soon as possible, but also because he possessed the Military Fire.
He believed if he wanted to transfer the gems elsewhere one day, his Military Fire would allow him to do so without damaging the gems’ quality. “Ding…”
A wonderful sound as if gold and jade had touched each other was heard.
Ou Yangming was instantly satisfied. It was the sign that the gem had perfectly fit into the piece of equipment, and it was also the greatest charm of the Military Fire.
Needless to say, Ou Yangming’s role in the process must not be underestimated. If he had not given his full attention, the process could not have been completed so smoothly.
After all, the Military Fire had only played a role in the transformation while Ou Yangming was the one controlling it.
The instant the gem was embedded on the waist sash, Ou Yangming heard a deafening sound in his head. His mental power was actually released uncontrollably, and he entered the thoroughly meticulous state at once.
Although the purple Military Fire allowed Ou Yangming to enter a similar state when he was smithing or fighting, this time, he did not rely on the fire’s power. Instead, he had achieved this state by relying on his own energy.
His mental power, which rose high, merged with the purple light and observed every change in the waist sash like a deity.
Ou Yangming even felt like time was flowing backward at that moment.
It was as if he witnessed the moment the gem was in contact with the sash, as well as everything that happened after that.
He saw how the gem’s power flowed into the waist sash, and how it became compatible with the powers of the sash and the two other gems.
If a slight mistake appeared during the process, there would only be one consequence: the piece of equipment would be destroyed, and the gem would shatter.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 90