In the lower realm, given Ou Yangming’s cultivation base and capability, he would not have such concerns at all; in the Spiritual Realm, he still needed to keep a low profile to avoid attracting attention to himself. After all, nonconformity would be punished.
Ou Yangming gently put down the gauntlet and was reluctant to part with it as he looked at it one last time.
Even so, he did not arouse suspicions by doing that. Even Bai Zhiyi never imagined that his look of regret was because he did not further enhance the equipment.
The elder and the others thought that Ou Yangming was simply unwilling to hand the item to Fox Yi after having smithed something close to a piece of White Silver Equipment.
After reaching his hands out to accept the gauntlet, Bai Zhiyi studied it with bright eyes for a brief moment and released appraisal art. Once he was done, he slowly looked up and sighed at Ou Yangming. “Lil’ Ou, you surprised me once more.”
Ou Yangming grinned and expressed, “Senior, this is all thanks to your pointers; I couldn’t have achieved this without you.”
Smithing art was a knowledge where inheritance played an extremely important role. Ou Yangming might have grasped basic smithing art and many Layering Skills in a short time since he joined the Trading Meet.
However, it was because someone had taught him or had performed those skills in front of him without any reservations.
Without those inheritances, if he were to mull over them himself, he might not have figured out anything even until his death.
“I don’t deserve the praise.” Bai Zhiyi smiled bitterly and waved his hand. He thought to himself, ‘If everyone can grasp the Layering Skills by watching them once without being given any explanations, the world would’ve been in a disorder by now.
‘So this isn’t my fault at all; it’s because this young fella is too outrageous.’
He looked around with lightning eyes and finally fixed his gaze on the spirit fox, then he commented with a sigh, “What a bargain for you! This equipment is a half step to a piece of White Silver Equipment!”
“A half step to White Silver?” Fox Yi shrieked. It could not hide its excitement, and the foolish bear below the platform could not help but roar as well.
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned, but he immediately understood the term and smiled faintly.
A tool was regarded as a piece of Half-Silver Equipment once it had 11 points of a Unique Attribute. When the Unique Attribute arrived at 20 points, the equipment’s quality was increased to another level. Although the equipment would still be inferior to a piece of White Silver Equipment, it was a half step to White Silver.
When Fox Yi retrieved those materials, it only hoped for another piece of Half-Silver Equipment. Who knew, Ou Yangming gave it a much bigger surprise.
A half step to White Silver—the equipment turned out to be a half step to White Silver. This was unexpected for Bai Zhiyi and the others, and Fox Yi and the spirit bear were surprised yet overjoyed.
“Thanks for fulfilling my wish, Master Ou.” Fox Yi bowed deeply at Ou Yangming and noted sternly, “We had a goal when we joined the Trading Meet, and it has now been achieved, so we’ll be bidding our farewells now. Master Ou, if you pass by the Fox and Bear Territory in the future, no, if you need our services in the future, we’ll do our best as long as you call us.” Following that, it took the gauntlet and hopped on to the spirit bear’s shoulder.
The simple-minded bear nodded at Ou Yangming, then it turned and left.
These spirit beasts came from various boundaries on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge. Whenever the Trading Meet was held, those in need of something would come to join.
They would not leave in a hurry if they did not acquire anything satisfactory, but the situation would be entirely different if they obtained unexpected items, which was the case for Fox Yi and Bear Da at the moment. They immediately left the Trading Meet after receiving the pair of gauntlets because the pieces of equipment would truly belong to them after they returned to their territory safely.
“Master Ou, is it our turns now?”
The remaining spirit beasts flashed smiles and crowded toward Ou Yangming. They looked excited and covetous, making it difficult for Bai Zhiyi to find a way out of the embarrassment.
Ou Yangming’s face changed. He could understand why the spirit beasts acted like that, but he did not want to cause any trouble. After all, the young fellow was a human and had to return to his kind in the future; he could not stay on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge forever.
He cleared his throat loudly and stated, “I can only smith pieces of Good Grade Rank One equipment at most, which is far from Elder Bai. What’s the reason you’re not requesting his help?”
Many spirit beasts were dumbfounded. They looked at each other and thought, ‘That makes sense, but so what if a piece of equipment is at the peak of Good Grade? Can it be mentioned on equal terms with one that’s a half step to White Silver?’
As long as one was not a fool, one would be aware of the huge disparity between the 2 types of equipment.
Even the most ordinary White Silver Equipment of Good Grade Rank One was superior to a normal piece of equipment at the peak of Good Grade Rank Five.
As for one that was half a step to White Silver, its Unique Attribute had reached 20 points. Even if someone wanted to exchange a piece of higher-leveled equipment for it, one might not be willing to let it go.
Bai Zhiyi forced a smile and expressed, “Lil’ Ou, you gained their respect through real abilities, so it’s only right that they look for you.”
Ou Yangming shook his head and said, “Elder Bai, you’re a blacksmith too, so you should know how strenuous it is to smith something to a limit, right? Do you think I can smith a tool that’s half a step to White Silver in every situation?”
In actuality, Ou Yangming secretly added, ‘As long as I can smith a kind of equipment, regardless of the situation, I can always repeat the process and smith it again in the future.’
Despite that, he could only say it to himself because there would be a serious disturbance if he said it out loud, and he might not be able to bear it.
Bai Zhiyi responded after some thought, “Yes, that’s impossible.”
Ou Yangming sighed a brief of relief and continued, “If I’d like to smith a piece of equipment half a step to White Silver, I’ll consume plenty of energy and can’t guarantee a success every time. Hence, I won’t be able to smith pieces of equipment of such a level if I smith for the rest of you, or I won’t be able to satisfy your requests even if I die from exhaustion.”
Many spirit beasts exchanged glances and were very displeased.
‘Since you could smith a piece of equipment half a step to White Silver for Fox Yi, why can’t you smith for me?’ They could not accept the dissimilar treatments.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming and Bai Zhiyi spoke in reason. They could not force the young fellow to go all-out every time he smithed, thus they were helpless.
“Master Ou, how about… You smith pieces of Half-Silver Equipment for us!” One of the spirit beasts suggested weakly.
The eyes of many spirit beasts gleamed. The tools they would receive might not be half a step of White Silver, but they would be content if they were pieces of Half-Silver Equipment. After all, the latter also had the word 'silver’ inside, and 11 points of a Unique Attribute could also improve their strengths significantly.
That said, Ou Yangming still shook his head and said, “It’ll cost me too much energy to smith pieces of Half-Silver Equipment too. Unless I only smith 5 of them a day, it won’t be possible.”
“5 are enough!” The eyes of the spirit beast at the front of the line lit up.
Nonetheless, as soon as it spoke, furious curses were heard behind it, hence its face change. Even though it was also a spirit beast, the ones behind it were not inferior to it at all. If it offended the others at this moment, it would be assassinated and encounter countless problems after it left.
Ou Yangming cleare
d his throat and announced, “If you really want me to smith pieces of equipment for you, I can only guarantee you magic tools of Good Grade Rank One. As for whether I’m able to layer a Unique Attribute, it’ll depend on my recovery situation.”
Right after he spoke, the number of spirit beasts in line was reduced by half.
At the end of the day, none of their materials grew on trees, and they put in a lot of effort to gather them. Since Ou Yangming made it clear, they naturally made the wisest choice.
Bai Zhiyi looked deeply at Ou Yangming. ‘Whether or not this young fella is saying the truth, at the very least, my reputation is protected today.’
If every spirit beast knew someone snatched his high platform, he would be ashamed.
“Everyone, I’ll continue to smith, and so will Lil’ Ou. If you don’t have a high request, please feel free to find him.” Subsequently, Bai Zhiyi turned around to say to his 3 juniors, “When we smith Good Grade magic tools, the most important part is picking the materials. Normally, the most suitable materials come from matching 6 or more types of materials.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and retrieved 6 kinds of peculiar stones. “Watch closely.”
The 3 blacksmiths responded to him, but they had strange expressions on their faces. In fact, one of them even looked at Ou Yangming repeatedly.
They knew very well that while Bai Zhiyi was verbally teaching them, in reality, he was making a demonstration for Ou Yangming. Elder Bai did not reveal the key points, so normal blacksmiths might not pick up anything even if they watched.
However, Ou Yangming was different because he was a freak that could immediately fathom and practice the Layering Skills after watching them.
The 3 blacksmiths thought, ‘Elder Bai, you’re going so far for him. Is it really worth it?’
Chapter 582 - Secretly Teach
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up. He cast a grateful look at Bai Zhiyi, then he fixed his gaze on the dancing flame.
Bai Zhiyi still did not adopt any concealing technique when he smithed; it was as though he was not worried about other people noticing anything at all. In actual fact, apart from Ou Yangming, who was a freak that possessed the Phoenix Fire, other blacksmiths could only use the elder’s skills as references as they could neither grasp nor learn them fully.
If smithing art’s knowledge could be mastered so easily, blacksmiths in the world would not be so precious.
As Bai Zhiyi’s fire kept flickering, the lusters in Ou Yangming’s eyes became brighter. He curled his lips as a child that obtained his or her most-desired toy, so much so that his body quivered a little. Moreover, the young fellow’s hands were sometimes bent and sometimes straight as if he lost control of his body.
Nonetheless, the 3 blacksmiths next to Bai Zhiyi were appalled when they saw the movements from Ou Yangming’s fingers.
What they and Bai Zhiyi learned were from the same inheritance, hence they noticed a clue from Ou Yangming’s hands. The young fellow was actually imitating the elder’s smithing method, and he made it look like how it should be.
It was worth noting that Ou Yangming was not the pioneer of seeking smithing methods through the changes of flames; various families and sects also used secret techniques from other sects as references. This was what was meant by accepting the strengths of 100 families to form one’s own sect.
Despite all that, Ou Yangming was one in a million for being able to imitate a skill to such a level by only observing the changes of a flame without listening to a detailed explanation.
The 3 blacksmiths looked strangely at Ou Yangming as though they were not looking at a human, but a monster in a human’s skin.
After a long time, the light in Bai Zhiyi’s hands was curbed, and an ordinary greave was formed. He glanced at Ou Yangming without saying a word, but the young fellow nodded with a smile.
Without needing to converse at all, they understood what they wanted to express to each other.
Bai Zhiyi chuckled and casually tossed the equipment to one of the spirit beasts. The greave was quite suitable for it.
The spirit beast was dazed for a brief moment before it came back to its senses. It shouted with joy, “Thank you, Elder Bai!”
It would not be easy to get Bai Zhiyi to smith pieces of equipment, but the spirit beast acquired a Good Grade magic tool just like that. The tool was not a piece of Half-Silver Equipment, but it was also a free lunch.
Bai Zhiyi grinned and said, “Lil’ Ou, remember to travel with me when you leave.”
Ou Yangming was dumbfounded for a while, then he responded with a bitter smile, “Yes, I’ll remember.”
He cupped his hands and added, “I’d like to go up further, so I’ll part with you for now.”
Bai Zhiyi stroked his long beard and rejoined, “Very well.”
With that, Ou Yangming turned around and went down the high platform, then he left leisurely with Big Yellow and the 2 other spirit beasts. The other spirit beasts below the platform were distressed. They wanted to follow him, but they recalled his promise earlier. If the human blacksmith could not smith pieces of Half-Silver Equipment for them, why should beg him piteously?
After all, Ou Yangming made it very clear that he could only smith Good Grade Rank One magic tools. Without the White Silver attribute, it seemed like such pieces of equipment would not mean anything to the spirit beasts. At the very least, they could gain better tools by staying with Bai Zhiyi.
Seeing as Ou Yangming left in a hurry, Bai Zhiyi smiled faintly.
One of his juniors asked softly, “Elder Bai, if you let him leave just like that, will he go missing?”
The blacksmiths could tell that Bai Zhiyi was extremely optimistic about Ou Yangming and intended to rope him in. If not, the elder could not have forcibly used 6 types of materials to smith a piece of equipment while knowing that the young fellow possessed a unique ability.
It was evident that the elder was expressing goodwill to gain the young fellow’s favorable impression.
“That young fella’s a cultured person. Since he promised me, he’ll keep his word,” Bai Zhiyi answered with a smile. He continued after a short pause, “I’m only afraid that he might not fancy our line. Heh, perhaps none of the sects in Danzhou can accommodate someone like him…”
The faces of the 3 blacksmiths changed. They wanted to say that that was impossible but when they recalled Ou Yangming’s performance and how gifted he was after only learning smithing art for 3 years, they had even stranger looks on their faces.
Perhaps Bai Zhiyi was right—the whole of Danzhou might not be able to accommodate him.
After leaving the tall tower, Ou Yangming did not return to the main path; he walked along the trail. Big Yellow and the 2 other spirit beasts found it odd, but they followed him without objecting to the idea.
Having experienced 2 exchanges on different high platforms, Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard knew that they seemed to have followed a spectacular and mighty human.
Although the mighty being seemed rather young at the moment and was not unmatchable in smithing art yet, he definitely had a bright future.
At the very least, he would achieve greater things in the future than Bai Zhiyi did.
Ou Yangming arrived at a secluded place. He looked around and released his mental conception to make sure that no living being was prying him.
His mental conception was far from that of ordinary spirit beasts; once he observed closely, even Venerable Ones might not be able to hide their tracks. This was one of the Military FIre’s unique powers.
After Ou Yangming was done inspecting, he cleared his throat and instructed, “Big Yellow, watch over me with them, and don’t let anyone disturb me.”
Big Yellow instantly stuck out its chest and shouted, “Don’t worry, I’ll command them and won’t disappoint you.”
Fat Antelope at the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard glared at Big Yellow. Nevertheless, when they thought about Ou Yangming’s astounding performance today, as well as his rel
ationship with the big yellow dog, they immediately fell silent and dared not talk back to it. Whether or not they were convinced by the dog, they had expressed their standpoint through their actions.
Ou Yangming chuckled and glanced half-intentionally at the 2 spirit beasts, which quickly became respectful and obedient.
“If you follow me and do things well, you’ll benefit too,” he noted.
He would not have been so emboldened when he first entered the Spiritual Realm; he could only smith Common Grade magic tools for the 2 spirit beasts back then. Now, the young fellow no longer found it difficult if he were to smith a set of White-Silver-leveled Good Grade magic tools for them.
After gaining greater strength, he became more confident.
The eyes of Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard gleamed right away, and they yelled, “Thank you, Master Ou!”
As soon as Ou Yangming waved his hand, Big Yellow gave its order, and the spirit beasts split up to guard the area.
This was the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One’s territory, but that powerhouse could not supervise the entire ridge at any time.
Since Ou Yangming was only temporarily occupying a small territory, there would be no problem as long as he did not cause any conflict.
After giving Big Yellow his instruction, Ou Yangming curbed his thought and retrieved many peculiar stones from his interspatial bag.
The stones were his rewards from smithing pieces of equipment. When he briefly sorted them, he realized that there were plenty of them, many of which were materials that he needed.
Ou Yangming made some calculations in his head and reached out to take 6 of them. He incorporated the Wish-fulfilling Clay into them, then he began to smith. The blazing Military Fire seemed to have come alive in his hands as they melted all of the materials together in a split second.
Without any spectators around, the young fellow unleashed his Military Fire’s power to an extremity.
Being burned by the MIlitary Fire, none of the materials could endure it for too long. Needless to say, there were discrepancies in the temperatures of different areas in the fire. This could be achieved by almost every formidable blacksmith. For instance, Bai Zhiyi’s fire could do the same.
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