Nevertheless, the spirit beasts looked strangely and regretfully at Ou Yangming.
‘I’ve never heard of enlightenment in smithing art. Ah, it’s such a pity that it happened at this time.
‘One can only benefit the most from achieving enlightenment during a martial art cultivation.’
The spirit beasts respected blacksmiths very much, but they valued martial arts cultivation the most.
※※※※
Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness had almost been completely sealed.
10 illusory figures appeared in his sea of consciousness, and they were smithing using 10 different techniques at the moment.
The mysterious purple Military Fire in his sea of consciousness had also been divided into 10 parts as if they were playing with him. Having said that, Ou Yangming was the only one that knew the scene that looked like a child’s play was him replicating and learning Bai Zhiyi’s teachings.
For normal people, learning 10 entirely different techniques in one go was simply a nightmarish and hellish test.
One would be considered a top genius if one could remember 1 or 2 of the techniques, but it was not what Ou Yangming was going for; he wanted to learn everything.
The young fellow was similar to a dry sponge at this time as he continuously absorbed water and nutrients. He would not give up no matter what before he reached his limit.
Sure enough, the Spiritual Realm’s Layering Techniques were full of wonderful changes. Each time an illusory figure formed by Ou Yangming repeated a technique, he could sense different things and content from it, allowing his smithing skill to advance by leaps and bounds.
After studying the techniques for a long time, he vaguely arrived at a verdict.
The Layering Technique that he learned in the lower realm was the foundation of all foundations.
Taking the confrontation between 2 armies as an example, the foundation was the soldiers and the logistics. The more solid the foundation, the more the soldiers, and the more loaded the logistics.
Despite that, when the layerings began, it was when the army was tested on assaulting fortifications. No doubt, the soldiers could push ahead steadily by relying on their numbers, such that they would be able to destroy everything in their way.
With that, regardless of the number of soldiers sacrificed and the logistics wasted along the way, as long as there were sufficient backings and supplies, the army could still achieve their target.
If 10,000 people could not defeat their enemies, what about 100,000 people, 1,000,000 people, or 10,000,000 people?
As long as they were capable enough, they could destroy any target.
That was Ou Yangming’s method in the past. By relying on his exceptionally strong foundation and his Military Fire’s unique ability, he almost always succeeded.
However, when his enemies became more formidable, even with the Military Fire as his backing, Ou Yangming dared not say that he could surely defeat them.
He could layer 11 points of an attribute and could go on, but he was not omnipotent. Could he layer 20 points of an attribute? This time, even he was uncertain.
It was then when Bai Zhiyi suddenly showed up and gave him a solution.
The 10 different Layering Skills seemed to have opened a massive door in front of Ou Yangming, allowing him to see the infinitely beautiful world on the other side.
It turned out that the Military FIre’s command had endless changes. Instead of just pushing forward, many other tricks could be used.
Encircling an enemy post to attack reinforcements coming to its aid, slipping away by strategy, taking advantage of a situation to profiteer, and so on…
Of course, what Ou Yangming saw at this instant were not military strategies, but his Military Fire’s changing skills.
Instead of layering with force, he could simplify the processes through little tricks, which could also bring better effects.
Every skill seemed to have become a tactic to him, one that could help him achieve his target more accurately and easily.
Indescribable feelings rose from the bottom of his heart. He experienced an upsurge of intense emotions, and the emotional fluctuation was much stronger than when he realized that he had entered the Spiritual Realm.
This was because Ou Yangming finally felt like he had truly begun to integrate with the Spiritual Realm.
After taking a deep breath, Ou Yangming opened his eyes and looked up.
He bowed to the ground at Bai Zhiyi to express his gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
Bai Zhiyi waved his hand and noted with a smile, “Lil’ Ou, it looks like you’ve gained something.”
In actuality, the elder found it strange and was feeling rather helpless.
When he performed 10 Layering Techniques in a row, he was secretly scheming something.
It was worth noting that the techniques were from different inheritances, thus he could not anyhow pass them on to someone else without the sects’ permissions. That said, he had only displayed each of them once without explaining them, so he was somewhat making use of a loophole.
If the elder sincerely wanted to teach Ou Yangming everything, he could have shown the same technique 10 times. Nonetheless, he performed 10 dissimilar techniques and only executed each of them once.
While it seemed more generous, there was a much lower chance for others to actually learn something.
In spite of everything, Ou Yangming somehow achieved enlightenment after observing everything. Given that he arrived at that state, perhaps he could fathom one of the Layering Techniques.
Ou Yangming smiled and answered honestly, “Elder Bai, I understood already.”
“You understood?” Bai Zhiyi was startled, and his face changed. “How many did you… Understand?”
“Of course, I understood all of them!” Ou Yangming responded sternly.
Bai Zhiyi’s face twitched. He might believe it if Ou Yangming said that he understood 1, 2, or 3 of the techniques, but to say that he understood all of them…
It was rare for one to achieve enlightenment, but it did not mean that one would be invincible, omniscient, and omnipotent after entering the state.
The elder’s face darkened, and he felt like he had just been made fun of. He scoffed and commented, “You really understood all of them; you’re truly a peerless God-favored one. If that’s the case, show them to me.”
Chapter 580 - Power 20
‘Understood all of them, a peerless God-favored one.’
They were obviously said in a mocking tone, which was clear to everyone present.
Ou Yangming chuckled; he did not think he was being offended. After all, he knew if it was not because he possessed remarkable mental power, had the unique Military Fire, achieved the integration of Heaven and man and the thoroughly meticulous states, learned the Simulated Spiritual Fist, and so on, he could not have comprehended the essences of the 10 Layering Techniques in such a short time.
It was only normal for Bai Zhiyi to doubt him. Instead, he would be questionable if the elder easily believed him, and he would wonder if the elder knew his background already.
The young fellow had experienced such a situation countless times, hence he was already used to it.
Ou Yangming turned around and asked Fox Yi, “Brother Fox, I’d like to use the next gauntlet for an experiment. What do you think?”
Fox Yi was slightly stunned, but it immediately flashed a smile and answered, “Master Ou, please go ahead.”
As long as it could obtain a piece of Half-Silver Equipment, it would not mind wasting the materials to fawn over Ou Yangming.
A piece of Half-Silver Equipment was much more high-ranking than a Good Grade magic tool. If the spirit fox had the opportunity to acquire one, it would be willing to pay enough price for it.
Ou Yangming nodded. He picked 4 peculiar stones again, as well as the Wish-fulfilling Clay.
The eyelids of every professional present flickered. It was not unprecedented for o
ne to smith a Good Grade magic tool using only 4 peculiar stones, but it was extremely rare. Even so, it seemed to be something normal to Ou Yangming.
Being able to smith where something fortuitous and miraculous was regarded as conventional… Did it mean that Ou Yangming was a miracle himself?
As the Military Fire burned, the ores quickly merged inside and slowly formed a gauntlet.
This was the second time this process was carried out, thus it would not be odd if a Good Grade tool was also formed. As such, everyone including Bai Zhiyi was not bothered because they were waiting for the layering step that would follow.
Before Ou Yangming learned the Layering Skills, he could adopt the most basic Layering Technique to forcibly upgrade a tool to a piece of Half-Silver Equipment. If he were to utilize the Layering Skills too, what could he achieve?
At this moment, instead of Ou Yangming, Fox Yi and the simple-minded spirit bear were the most nervous ones.
When Ou Yangming waved his hand, a Power Ore was tossed into the Military Fire.
Through Ou Yangming’s skilled movement, the Power Ore transformed into a drop of liquid with intense energy. It was evenly spread on the gauntlet, and it successfully added 1 point of Power attribute to the equipment.
Nonetheless, Bai Zhiyi and the 3 human blacksmiths furrowed their eyebrows at the same time after they saw Ou Yangming’s smithing technique.
This was because they could tell that Ou Yangming was still using the most basic and ordinary Layering Technique; he did not employ any extra skill at all.
If it was not because Ou Yangming was still smithing, they would have asked how much exactly the young fellow had apprehended…
As Ou Yangming waved his hand again, the second Power Ore flew into his Military Fire.
Bai Zhiyi and the others thought, ‘You’re going to show us something now, aren’t you?’
Who knew, Ou Yangming still used the same technique after he melted the second Power Ore.
The same thing happened for the third, the fourth, and up till the tenth Power Ore; Ou Yangming did not perform any new skills.
Bai Zhiyi’s face darkened terribly, and he cursed internally, ‘Is this the result of you understanding everything?’
He was very optimistic about Ou Yangming’s future and wanted to rope him in, but he wavered a little at this moment. ‘Given that he speaks carelessly, will it actually be a good idea to let him join our sect?’
The eleventh Power Ore still flew up and entered the Military Fire.
Next, the eyes of Bai Zhiyi and the 3 blacksmiths lit up.
This was because they finally noticed something unordinary—Ou Yangming had begun to use the skills performed by Bai Zhiyi.
The 4 of them exchanged glances as if they understood Ou Yangming’s intention.
It turned out that the young fellow regarded those skills as his trump cards, which was why he persisted in using the basic Layering Technique for the first 10 layerings. When there were 10 points of the Power attribute, he started to use the secret techniques he learned.
The skills, which were far from being deemed as lost studies in official sects, were so valued by the young fellow.
At this point, everyone including Bai Zhiyi did not know to laugh or to cry.
Ou Yangming’s Military Fire flickered such that the amplitude and the speed were the same as when Bai Zhiyi attached the first Power Ore when he smithed.
“Hey?”
Bai Zhiyi and the 3 blacksmiths behind him suddenly had strange feelings.
If they only looked at the dancing flames and ignored the blacksmith and the fire’s color, they would even suspect that the person layering Power attributes on the high platform was not Ou Yangming, but Bai Zhiyi.
However, how was that possible?
Ou Yangming was a young man that had only learned smithing art for 3 years. As for the time that Bai Zhiyi had spent studying smithing art, it was far more than 30 years.
The disparity between the 2 was simply unimaginable, but they could not help but relate them together when they saw the fire’s familiar flickers.
Bai Zhiyi’s face looked as weird as it could be. ‘Did this young fella really learn how they should be after only observing everything once?
As the Military Fire burned, the eleventh Power Ore was finally melted and incorporated into the gauntlet.
Ou Yangming was secretly relieved, and he smiled gladly.
Sure enough, the skills that he learned were extraordinary and could allow him to successfully achieve a new boundary in the layering of an attribute.
Back then, Ou Yangming could also layer the Power attribute to the eleventh layer, but he had forcibly added it through his Military Fire’s special ability. This time, instead of cheating with his fire, he applied a newly-learned skill to layer the Power Ore’s power to the equipment.
As expected, the skill’s effect was incredible. As long as he could successfully release it, he could go around many restrictions and upgrade the Power attributes.
Needless to say, this was also because Ou Yangming had an exceptionally strong layering foundation, which allowed him to unleash the skill’s greatest effect.
Basic layering was one’s essential Qi while the skills were one’s martial arts tricks.
Pure martial arts skills were formidable but without sufficient essential Qi as backing, they would usually become showy without substance. If one encountered tricky situations, one would be knocked down the altar and become worthless.
If one’s skills had adequate essential Qi as backing, one would unleash powers that were typically several times or even tens of times greater.
As with Ou Yangming at the moment, owing to his incredibly solid foundation, his endless potential burst out once he learned more skills.
When the twelfth Power Ore landed on Ou Yangming’s hand, the Military Fire paused slightly as its drafting range changed drastically. Bai Zhiyi and the 3 blacksmiths behind him recognized at once that the burning skill was the second technique shown by the elder just now.
Each of the techniques had its difficulty, so it would certainly take more than a day for one to fully grasp and practice all of them. In fact, it would be tough for one to fathom their essences even after years of cultivation.
Having said that, it was evident through Ou Yangming’s movements that he was already able to maneuver the skills as he wished.
It seemed as though the skills had already assimilated into his bones, by which he would not forget them at any time. With a flash of thought, he could naturally release them.
Bai Zhiyi and the others could not believe the way Ou Yangming was using the skills, to the extent that they suspected he had learned them before.
If not, given that he achieved such a standard from observing the skills once without being provided any explanations, would that not mean that his natural gift was shocking?
The thirteenth, the fourteenth… The twentieth.
When the twentieth Power Ore was also tossed into the Military Fire, even Bai Zhiyi’s face took on a ghastly expression.
This time, he did not know if he should hope for Ou Yangming’s success or failure.
The 3 blacksmiths looked at each other. They were familiar with the skills because they were juniors from Bai Zhiyi’s sect, and they had come to gain more knowledge.
Nevertheless, the Ou Yangming that they were watching at the moment had clearly exceeded their understanding.
They had learned the skills when they normally practiced the Layering Art. Despite that, if they were asked to display the skills on the platform right away, they would not be able to achieve what Ou Yangming did.
This was because the young fellow had performed 20 layerings.
At this point, even if Bai Zhiyi were to smith, he would shudder with fear and would have a high failure rate.
In actuality, the elder might not have executed the Layering Art to the twentieth level even if he went all-out.
He might have shown 10 diff
erent skills in a row earlier, but the gap between the difficulty levels for the first 10 levels and the next 10 levels was far beyond an ordinary person’s imagination.
“Woosh…”
Ou Yangming shook his wrist gently. He had displayed every skill and had upgraded the equipment’s Power attribute to a limit.
Power +20
A thought suddenly crossed his mind. ‘What if I use my Military Fire’s unique ability again and increase the Power attribute to 21 points?
‘Will this gauntlet become a real piece of White Silver Equipment?’
Ou Yangming was eager to try as soon as he had the thought.
That said, when he later looked up and unintentionally glanced at Bai Zhiyi and the others, he noticed how stunned they were. That was when he knew he might have gone overboard.
After a moment of hesitation, Ou Yangming forced himself to suppress his strong urge to continue layering.
He opened his eyes and curbed his Military Fire.
[Item: Power Gauntlet (Red)]
[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool, Good Grade, Rank One]
[Attributes: Sharpness +26, Toughness +26, Power +20, Durability 25]
[Wish-fulfilling Degree: 5]
Chapter 581 - A Half Step To White Silver
20!
Full 20 points of the Power attribute were adrift on the gauntlet just like that.
Moreover, an incredibly intense and mysterious luster could be seen on the 20-points value stated. It was not silver, but there was a vague sign of it leaning toward that level as though another push was all it would take for the equipment to become a legitimate piece of Silver Equipment.
Ou Yangming’s eyelids flickered hard, and he was experiencing an indescribable enthusiasm.
If it was possible, he was eager to try if he could smith a piece of so-called White Silver Equipment using ordinary Power Ores.
Nonetheless, he knew he must not do something like that in this setting. If not, only God would know if it would bring him good fortune or a disaster.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 342