Upon noticing Ou Yangming’s satisfied expression, an unknown wave of relief washed over Fu Taihong.
However, once he noticed this, he immediately flinched. ‘How could someone of my status be so nervous in front of Ou Yangming?’
After all, Fu Taihong was a Superior Blacksmith, and even if one were to use all the available appendages they had to deal with him, they would still come up short. In a sense, Fu Taihong was the pinnacle of the blacksmiths, and within the capital, no one, not even his Royal Majesty could unnerve him to this extent. However, when he stood before Ou Yangming, Fu Taihong felt that all his pride and achievements he had accumulated throughout the years were for naught, and he was reminded of his youth, back when he still needed to face his mentor.
He shook his head slightly. Deep down, Fu Taihong was aware that the only reason he felt that way was due to the rune drawing he saw, as the profound revelations that were contained within it had startled him to his core.
When one outshines another effortlessly in an area one is supposedly good in, it is only natural that one would feel belittled; even the mighty Fu Taihong is no exception to this.
Although Jin Shengjie and Wu Hongxi were also Superior Blacksmiths, their area of specialty lied not in runes. As such, they could not comprehend the contents that were inscribed within the rune drawing, and they did not experience the same epiphany Fu Taihong had. Due to this, they were able to interact normally with Ou Yangming.
“Master Ou, these aren’t the first batch of molds we’ve smithed.” Fu Taihong collected himself and continued, “The ones we’ve smithed earlier have already been delivered to the munitions factory and the blacksmiths there are already using them.”
Ou Yangming widened his eyes and asked, “So, how is it?”
“It’s incredible! Once we apply the rune mold onto the equipment, a majority of them, if not all, would immediately improve to Good Grade or above!” After pondering for a moment, he added, “80 percent! The rate of success is around 80 percent!”
At this point, a visible glint of respect could be seen within Fu Taihong’s eyes.
Only a master blacksmith who had spent his life researching runes could tell how rare and precious those runes were.
As such, as a rune creator himself, he was utterly impressed by his skill.
Ou Yangming nodded and responded, “That’s good. His Majesty is pulling all the stops, huh?”
This was the full potential of the imperial family’s military might, which far surpassed Ou Yangming’s combat strength.
Wu Hongxi and Jin Shengjie made their way over and interjected. “His Majesty has already stated that Changlong County would be the first to receive the freshly forged equipment. Hehe, this old man also heard that the first batch of equipment has already been delivered, and it’ll take around two months before it’s the Immense Forest Military Camp’s turn to receive them.”
Ou Yangming’s lips curled open into a wide smile. He had never brought up this matter to the imperial family before, and as such, their work ethic was quite a delightful surprise.
Fu Taihong blinked his eyes and asked, “Brother Jin, Brother Wu, aren’t you two supposed to be planning a new magic tool? Why do you even have the time to visit us?”
Although the forging of a new magic tool was not officially announced anywhere, Jin Shengjie’s extended period of stay in Wu Hongxi’s residence had made it obvious enough.
After all, there were only a handful of things in this world that would give two top-notch blacksmiths a hard time.
Jin Shengjie gave a hearty laugh and responded, “This old man had originally intended to pour his heart and soul into it, but after His Majesty’s order, I’m now free.”
Fu Taihong raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you mean by this?”
Jin Shengjie pointed at Ou Yangming and said, “This brat’s smithing art has already reached a divine level, and according to His Majesty, Ou Yangming has already completed a magic tool back when he was in Changlong County!” With that, he then shot a nasty glare at Ou Yangming.
Back when Ou Yangming had requested for his advice on the path of equilibrium, Jin Shengjie had taught him everything he knew. However, the brat had kept everything to himself, and had it not been for His Majesty pointing it out for him, he would have been tinkering on the magic tool until who knows when.
Fu Taihong’s eyes widened even further as he stared in disbelief, “M-Master Ou… You’re able to smith magic tools?”
Ou Yangming coughed lightly and answered, “Only the most average of magic tools, I’m afraid.”
The first time he successfully smithed a magic tool, Ou Yangming was extremely proud of himself. However, upon learning from His Royal Majesty that there existed magic tools that automatically boosted one’s power, that pride instantly vanished. Although there was indeed a huge potential in forging magic tools then, Ou Yangming had yet to grasp the key to forging said tools. Despite that, Fu Taihong responded with a long sigh. “Master Ou, please, refrain from calling me master again in the future! I feel like a fraud before you!”
Jin Shengjie and Wu Hongxi glanced at one another. They gathered several imperial family Advanced Blacksmiths to assist them with their magic tool forging, but even so, they were stuck. As such, they could relate to how difficult it was to smith magic tools.
Although they had been personally informed by His Majesty himself about Ou Yangming’s feat, they still harbored doubts within their hearts. Nevertheless, once they heard Ou Yangming’s casual response, a strange emotion welled up within them.
Ou Yangming chuckled and moved on from the topic. “Fellow masters, magic tools aren’t things that can be smithed via ordinary materials.” After a slight pause, he continued, “Back when I was in Changlong County, I discovered a mystical stone that possessed an unbelievable amount of hardness, stronger than anything else that exists in this world. The only reason I had managed to successfully smith a magic tool was because of this.”
Huh? There exists such a thing? This old man is really clueless about it.” Jin Shengjie stroked his beard and asked, “I have a question though. How did you manage to melt said stone then? Perhaps the stone has a low melting point?”
Ou Yangming laughed wanly. The said stone’s melting point was indeed unimaginably high. If he relied on normal means, he would never have been able to melt it down. To put it in another way, had Ou Yangming not possessed the mystical Military Fire, he too, would be at a loss on how to handle the stone.
The problem then, however, was to put it into words…
Upon noticing Ou Yangming’s awkward expression, Jin Shengjie then slapped his forehead and said, “Oh yeah! This old man forgot! You have that Military Fire, right? So, it’s probably easy for you to melt it.”
Back when Ou Yangming took his assessment, he performed astoundingly. Be it featured steel or normal iron ingots, he had melted them like they were no different, and as a result, the skills he displayed that day had become a noteworthy memory for Jin Shengjie.
Ou Yangming nodded and answered, “Even so, I needed to use up all my resources to just barely make it.”
Wu Hongxi lapsed into thought for a moment before chiming in, “Master Ou, there are several precious items within the imperial family’s depot. Among them include several mystical stones as well, and they’ve already been prepared. Would you like to take a look?”
Fu Taihong exclaimed, “No wonder I saw so many exotic ores this morning! So it’s for Master Ou’s sake, huh?”
Ou Yangming looked at the trio’s passionate expressions, and upon this, he immediately realized that there was no talking his way out.
Nevertheless, this was also part of his plan. After all, rumors could only go so far, but if these three Superior Blacksmiths were to witness him forging a magic tool with their very own eyes, no one else would doubt his abilities.
With a nod, Ou Yangming then proceeded into the imperial family’s depot.
There were two Yang Grade guards posted outside, and upon spotting Ou Yangming, their expression turned fervent, sending chills down Ou Yangming’s spine.
Jin Shengjie pushed open the doors to the depot and joked, “You’ve gotten famous, Master Ou. All the Yang Grade powerhouses are itching to spar against you!
Ou Yangming smiled wanly in response. Upon making it into the depot, he then set off to look for suitable ores.
Just as Wu Hongxi had stated, the imperial family had immense resources, as they had accumulated various precious ores throughout their thousand-year reign. As such, if they were to pick out even a tiny portion of their stockpile, it would still fill up the depot they were in.
In truth, before Ou Yangming had received his inter-spatial bag, he had once snuck into the imperial family’s vaults before. During his time there, he had spotted several precious minerals, but since his goal was to only look for herbs back then, he paid them no mind.
That was no longer the case. After circling the depot, he was forced to admit that though none of the ores present were as amazing as the one he found in Chaos Cave, plenty of them had displayed qualities similar to it.
After using his Military Fire to make a quick inspection, he noticed that he was unable to obtain any results. Through this fact alone, he could tell that they were exotic stones that existed beyond the heavens.
After picking up one of those stones, Ou Yangming then left the depot and returned to the smithing workshop. Upon his entry, however, all the Advanced Blacksmiths instantly stopped what they were doing and fixed their gazes on Ou Yangming.
Fu Taihong was visibly flustered as he stated, “Master Ou, they’ve heard that you’re planning to smith a magic tool, and as such, they would like to witness your work with their own eyes.” After a slight pause, he added, “Naturally, if you want to do away with the spectators, I can make it happen as well.”
Ou Yangming looked around him. His spectators were all several years older than him, but even so, they had excited looks in their eyes.
After giving it some thought, Ou Yangming laughed and said, “Since everyone’s interested, then let them watch.”
The crowd surrounding him instantly cheered in appreciation. In their perspective, watching Ou Yangming forge the magic tool might prove beneficial to them.
It was a magic tool, after all. Even one who was in a master-apprentice relationship would not receive permission to view such a process. As such, Ou Yangming’s generosity had instilled a good impression among the various blacksmiths.
Ou Yangming made his way to a smithing table, and upon his arrival, the original owner of the spot immediately gave way to him. He paid no mind to his seniority, and instead, he acted like a disciple. After clearing away the table of junk, he carefully stood behind Ou Yangming and observed.
This had earned the envy of the other blacksmiths. After all, even though the man had acted gentlemanly, the fact remained that he had grabbed a spot that was closest to the table.
Even Jin Shengjie and the other two Superior Blacksmiths were mentally cursing the blacksmith’s actions. They thought to themselves, ‘That spot should belong to us elders!’
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