Chapter 283 Request
Jin Shengjie and Wu Hongxi did not speak loudly, and they were a distance away from the room. Moreover, the room was specially made to be soundproof so that one could focus on one"s tasks inside. Even so, Ou Yangming heard the masters and woke up from his nap.
Seeing as Ou Yangming fixed his gaze on them as soon as he walked out, Wu Hongxi and Jin Shengjie exchanged glances. They were delighted. The young fellow"s mental power was much greater than they imagined. Nonetheless, the mightier his mental power, the higher his probability of breaking through the world"s barrier. As such, the masters earnestly wished that Ou Yangming was more powerful than he was at the moment.
Ou Yangming approached the two masters and greeted them with a smile, “Greetings, seniors.”
Jin Shengjie raised his hand and asked, “Let"s skip the formalities. How"s your progress?”
“Fortunately, I was able to accomplish the task,” Ou Yangming answered while beaming.
“What did you say? Did you… Really succeed?” Wu Hongxi"s eyes glowed. The old man had always been composed, but he felt like he was in a dream.
It was worth noting that cloaks and boots were completely different. Besides, the silk cloths in the room were custom-made products, which meant that they could be made into cloaks with a bit of work. On the other hand, the furs for the boots were original goods, which had not been sorted out, hence the difficulty of turning them into boots was on a different level as compared to the production of cloaks.
Even though Ou Yangming displayed amazing talent and incredible speed when he made the cloaks, Master Wu did not expect a novice to fully grasp the skills for the refinement of boots in just three days.
Therefore, Wu Hongxi did not believe it when he heard Ou Yangming"s reply.
Ou Yangming chuckled without explaining. He entered the room again and retrieved the boots.
Wu Hongxi reached out to take the boots, and he studied them for some time. All of a sudden, he sighed and remarked, “Nice! Lil" Friend Ou, you"re indeed good at creating miracles!”
"In terms of smithing art, the miracle that I created isn"t my comprehension of the path of equilibrium, but the smithing of magic tools," Ou Yangming thought to himself and grinned. Needless to say, he was not going to reveal the secret so easily.
As a matter of fact, very few people from Changlong County were aware of it too.
“I"ve seen the boots. Lil" Friend Ou, instead of using your Military Fire"s unique power, you completely refined it according to my technique,” Wu Hongxi noted in a deep voice, then he shook his head and added, “You really understood it.”
Jin Shengjie sighed as well. “Yes, you really understood it…”
The two Superior Blacksmiths had complicated feelings at that moment. They were half-dubious three days ago when Ou Yangming said he understood the procedure, but while they no longer doubted the young fellow, they were in awe at his unexplainable yet superb apprehension skill.
Three days were enough for him to transform the knowledge into his power. Following that, Wu Hongxi curbed his thought and expressed, “Lil" Friend Ou, I"d like to ask you for a favor.”
Ou Yangming was stunned, but he responded seriously, “Senior, please go ahead.” He owed it to the elder for being able to learn much distinctive and useful knowledge, as well as getting a rough idea to refine an interspatial bag. Thus, he would not refuse to help as long as the request was not too much.
Wu Hongxi asked solemnly, “Lil" Friend Ou, if you achieve something greater in smithing art, can you help us smith a magic tool?” “A magic tool?” Ou Yangming blinked strangely. “Yes.” Wu Hongxi was afraid that Ou Yangming would misunderstand him, so he quickly explained, “We"re helping the imperial family smith a magic tool to save the people of the world. It"ll be a huge contribution!”
Jin Shengjie nodded. “Lil" Friend Ou, if you agree to join us, you"ll be able to see the imperial family"s Smithing Treasure Book. It records the smithing processes of magic tools in the past generations, and its benefit is unmatched for blacksmiths like us.”
Ou Yangming wondered and questioned, “Since you have the Smithing Treasure Book, can"t you smith a magic tool?”
Wu Hongxi smiled bitterly. “Every blacksmith master is adept in different things, and it"s not easy to break through the world"s barrier. We won"t be able to succeed if we stick to the original way and adopt another person"s method.”
The young fellow"s eyelids twitched because he recalled the special feelings that he had when he smithed the magic tools.
Sure enough, a mysterious power was restraining them in this world, so they were unable to produce magic tools.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming"s mental power was so great that he could get past the restraints. With help from his mysterious Military Fire as well, he was able to fulfill the task.
Whether it was the young fellow"s mental power or the unique Military Fire, if he had employed them separately, he could not have done it. It was only when the two complemented each other he managed to create a miracle.
At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming noticed Jin Shengjia giving him an eye signal. It was done discreetly such that Wu Hongxi did not realize.
Ou Yangming was struck with a thought, and he immediately a.s.sured Wu Hongxi. “Master Wu, you taught me the path of equilibrium, so I won"t decline your request; I"ll surely smith a magic tool for you.”
Wu Hongxi was dumbfounded. He could not help but feel overjoyed but mad at the same time.
“This young fella isn"t one who returns kindness with ingrat.i.tude indeed, but what does he regard a magic tool as? He"s being too presumptuous to guarantee that he"ll smith one for us."
Ou Yangming continued, “I"m currently on the move to handle an urgent matter, but once I settle it, I"ll be at your service.”
Wu Hongxi waved his hand and said, “What is it? Tell me about it.”
Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he told the master, “I came from Changlong County and was entrusted by General Li Xinfan and Master Lu to…”
“Oh, it"s about that matter. You don"t have to continue.” Wu Hongxi sighed. “It involves a great deal, so you won"t be able to promote the matter on your own.”
“Senior, we"ve created the runes to upgrade economical arm guards, military sabers, and arrows from Common Grade to Good Grade. If we"re able to popularize the rune at a large scale, the military"s combat power will definitely be increased by a huge margin,” Ou Yangming noted sternly. During his journey to the capital, he completed the Upgrade Rune for arrows by deriving the formation in reverse in his sea of consciousness. Although he had not tested it out, he believed that it reached the standard.
“Do you think I don"t understand? But the hindrance is… Too huge!” Wu Hongxi sighed.
“It"ll benefit the country and the military. Would anyone dare to obstruct it?” Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and asked.
Wu Hongxi scoffed disdainfully. “There are people who take the big picture into consideration in this world, but there are more people who only care about their interests!”
Ou Yangming opened his mouth but stopped. He was too young, after all, hence he did not know what else he could say.
Jin Shengjie sighed. “Lil" Friend Ou, you have a great wish, but a change in the armaments will cause a ma.s.sive effect on the country. You must know that countless people rely on the armaments to put food on their tables, so if there"s a sudden change to it, it"ll only shake up the country, and the outcome will be terrible.”
Ou Yangming looked at Jin Shengjie in confusion and wondered, "Why did the elder suddenly change his view on this matter?"
However, Jin Shengjie later turned around and said, “Brother Wu, Lil" Friend Ou is doing it for the country. Let"s help him out!”
Wu Hongxi cast strange looks at Jin Hongxi and Ou Yangming, then he asked, “Big Brother Jin, did the two of you plan this beforehand and was going to drag me into it?”
Jin Shengjie laughed out loud. “You"re the imperial family"s head equipment supervisor who"s deeply trusted by the imperial family. If you agree to help us, we can achieve twice the effect by doing half the work.” Ou Yangming finally understood what was going on. He looked at Jin Shengjie gratefully and thought, "The elder is more experienced indeed."
Wu Hongxi shook his head with a bitter smile. “Fine. It has almost been a hundred years since, and everyone"s preparing for it; even the imperial family is ready to gather forces to smith a magic tool. Perhaps this is the best time for a reformation.”
Subsequently, he collected himself and said, “Put this matter aside for now. Lil" Friend Ou, I"ll teach you the final part of the path of equilibrium, but remember to practice it well. As for that matter, I"ll bear it in mind.”
Ou Yangming responded to him and paid attention to Master Wu Hongxi, who told him the main points of the path of equilibrium.
This time, Wu Hongxi did not smith anything because he had previously shown the path of equilibrium"s essence. He was only summarizing everything for the young fellow.
Jin Shengjie did not leave because he had exchanged views with Master Wu countless times already. He was familiar with Wu Hongxi"s skills, but so far n.o.body could do it better than Wu Hongxi.
Similar to his Layering Art, while he had pa.s.sed it on to gifted young talents without any reservations, n.o.body managed to surpa.s.s him yet.
The two Superior Blacksmiths were not worried about other people stealing their skills, but were concerned that their techniques could not be pa.s.sed on.
Ou Yangming kept nodding, and his eyes eventually lit up. He clearly benefited greatly from Wu Hongxi"s teaching, which was why he reacted this way.
Wu Hongxi finally stopped after half an hour, then he asked, “Lil" Friend Ou, do you understand?”
“You described everything in detail, so how could I not understand?” Ou Yangming nodded and smiled.
Jin Shengjie laughed and commented, “Understanding it is one thing; applying it for yourself is another.”
Ou Yangming smiled proudly. “Since I understood it, I"ll be able to do it. Seniors, don"t worry.”
The two Superior Blacksmiths looked at each other and were moved. Wu Hongxi sighed. “Lil" Friend Ou, go back and practice since you understand it already. If it"s going to help you, my effort won"t be in vain.”
Ou Yangming bowed at the master and took his leave.
On the other hand, Wu Hongxi and Jin Shengjie were glad yet anxious. The emotions felt were so complicated that they could not be put into words.