Chapter 259 A Question Before The Assessment
Ou Yangming slowly entered the square, where many casting tables were arranged some time ago. In fact, the apprentices had answered the questions on the tables earlier. When the apprentices left, and the blacksmiths that possessed the Military Fire or the spiritual fire entered, the atmosphere in the square instantly turned heavy.
After all, an apprentice was an apprentice; they did not have the Military Fire nor the spiritual fire.
Besides, even if the apprentices were favored by their elders and gained an opportunity to obtain the Military Fire, they might not necessarily succeed in getting the fire.
On the contrary, although the people on the stage at the moment were not official blacksmiths, they possessed either the Military Fire or the spiritual fire. In other words, they had truly entered the door to being a blacksmith, and they were skilled enough to be respected.
Ou Yangming only had a proof tag without a number. None of the participants would choose a casting table on purpose.
There were a total of more than 300 tables in the square, but there were only roughly 30 candidates for the Official Blacksmith Assessment.
Ou Yangming casually stood in front of a casting table and looked around. Apart from Hu Yicheng and the other people, he suddenly noticed Yan Yuanhua, who was on the high platform.
He curled his lips and nodded at Yan Yuanhua from afar.
On the high platform, Yan Yuanhua looked at Ou Yangming in shock because he did not expect the fellow to succeed in finding a way to join the Blacksmith Assessment. Nonetheless, even if Ou Yangming succeeded, he would only be an official blacksmith and would still be far from an Intermediate Blacksmith!
All of a sudden, Yan Yuanhua noticed Ou Yangming’s smile, which seemed to show great confidence. It somehow made him feel like the young fellow was going to be victorious.
Yan Yuanhua shook his head hard. He could not help but look anxious and doubtful.
“Junior Brother Yan, what are you doing?” A middle-aged man next to him whispered, “We’re here to represent our master, and we mustn’t look around!”
“Yes, Second Senior Brother.” Yan Yuanhua blushed a little.
The man was also Master Wu Hongxi’s disciple, but he was the second disciple, Yuan Lexin. Not only did he have more power than Yan Yuanhua, but he was also one of the three Advanced Blacksmiths under Master Wu.
Yan Yuanhua was so arrogant toward Hu Yicheng and the rest, but he was as conscientious as a child in front of his second senior brother, and he dared not make a mistake at all.
Nevertheless, he kept thinking about Ou Yangming’s bright and confident smile, so he finally blurted, “Second Senior Brother, this is the Official Blacksmith Assessment, right?”
Yuan Lexin was stunned. “Yes!”
“Will someone directly become an Intermediate Blacksmith through this assessment?”
“Junior Brother Yan, are you feeling dizzy?” Yuan Lexin cast a strange look at Yuan Yanhua and continued after a pause, “The material used in an Official Blacksmith Assessment is ordinary iron ingot. Even if our master smiths something with that material, he can only produce a piece of Good Grade equipment at most. Heh, the criterion to be an Intermediate Blacksmith is to be able to steadily smith pieces of High Grade equipment!”
Yan Yuanhua felt relieved. “Second Senior Brother, are you saying that nobody can gain an Intermediate title through this assessment?”
“It’s impossible,” Yuan Lexin answered without any hesitation. He then frowned and commented, “Why are you being so mysterious? What the heck are you up to!”
“Nothing, nothing. Second Senior Brother, let’s watch the fun…” Yan Yuanhua quickly responded.
Yuan Lexin was feeling frustrated, but he found it inappropriate to question Yan Yuanhua closely in this setting. Therefore, he shut his mouth and watched the show without much interest. How could an assessment like this be interesting for an Advanced Blacksmith like him?
On the other hand, Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows as well when he looked at the materials on the casting table.
Even though he knew there would be limitations in the assessment, the identical iron ingots on the table still made him feel sullen.
The higher the equipment’s grade and rank, the better the material required.
Items that were made of featured steel—even if it was a kitchen knife-were much sharper than a military saber that was made of iron ingot; there was a huge disparity between both materials.
Based on Ou Yangming’s smithing art, he could even smith magic tools.
However, the precondition was he had to be provided with great raw materials.
Now, he set his goal to be a Superior Blacksmith, but he was limited by being given only iron ingot as the material.
Ou Yangming randomly picked up an iron ingot and scanned it, but he could not figure out how he could turn it into a piece of top-grade equipment.
It was worth noting that low-level materials had low withstandable limits. Even if the young fellow cheated with his Military Fire’s unique ability, he could not increase their upper limits. If he did it regardless of the consequence, the equipment would only end up exploding into bits and pieces.
“Participants, you’re young people who have acquired the Military Fire or the spiritual fire for less than a year.” Jin Shengjie’s eyes were so bright as though he noticed everyone’s performance. “You’ve gone through endless practice throughout the year, so you should have grasped the most basic smithing technique for a piece of complete equipment. Now, use the materials in front of you to smith something that you’re adept in.” As soon as his voice died away, Ou Yangming raised his hand high. “Senior.”
Jin Shengjie was dumbfounded, and he looked at Ou Yangming in shock. The Blacksmith Assessment had become a custom for many years, and he had hosted the annual event many times. That said, nobody had spoken in the middle of the test in the past.
“You’re…” Jin Shengjie frowned and asked.
“I’m Ou Yangming, and I’m from Changlong County,” Ou Yangming answered loudly. “Oh, you’re a blacksmith from Changlong County,” Jin Shengjie uttered plainly, and he felt more at ease. It turned out that the young fellow was not a blacksmith from the capital, thus it was understandable that he did not know the rules.
Jin Shengjie would not have bothered about Ou Yangming if this was a different occasion, but he showed a decent bearing because they were in public.
“Is there something you’d like to say?”
Ou Yangming lifted an iron ingot in the air. “Senior, these materials are too poor, so I’d like to change them!”
“Change… The materials?” Jin Shengjie was stupefied, and he did not know to cry or to laugh.
“Oh no,’ Yi Yucheng thought. He immediately stepped forward and remarked, “Young fella, what nonsense are you talking about? The same materials have been used for the Official Blacksmith Assessment in the past, so who are you to be an exception?”
“That’s right. Since you’ve only grasped the Military Fire for less than a year, practicing with iron ingot is undoubtedly the best method. As for materials with higher grades, you may use them after you improve your skills step by step,” Jin Shengjie stated. Ou Yangming pouted and expressed, “But these materials can’t be used to smith good pieces of equipment!” Jin Shengjie’s face darkened. If it was not because he wanted to maintain his image in front of the public, he would have reprimanded the young fellow already.
Feng Guangyuan had a dark face too. “Young fella, don’t pester us with unreasonable demands. Even if we give you better materials, can you smith something successfully? You’re reaching for something that’s beyond your grasp. Other than wasting the materials, what else can you do?”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “Senior Feng, based on what you said, aren’t you belittling us?”
Feng Guangyuan was so mad that he laughed instead. He turned and asked, “Since you’re from Changlong County, you must have a guarantor to be able to register. Who’s your guarantor?”
Du Gaoge, who had been watching as a spectator, was struck dumb some time ago, and he wanted very badly to drag Ou Yangming away.
The fact that Ou Yangming made a fool out of himself in public was utterly embarrassing. Du Gaoge wished that he was never present in the square, but after he heard Feng Guangyuan’s question, he was forced to bite the bullet as he stood out and said, “Master Feng, please calm down. His guarantor is us, the Yi Pavilion.”
Whispers were heard coming from the crowd, which made it evident that the Yi Pavilion had a certain influence on the public.
Feng Guangyuan scoffed. “Is the Yi Pavilion not aware of the rules! How dare you let an ignorant fella join the assessment? Hmph, do you regard us blacksmiths as nothing?”
Du Gaoge broke out in a cold sweat right away. “Master, please forgive us, we made a mistake. I’ll bring him away now!”
It was true that Ou Yangming was the distinguished guest of Changlong County’s head shopkeeper, but his status was far from the status of the blacksmiths from the capital.
Jin Shengjie waved his hand and said, “Ah, what’s wrong with the two of you? He’s an outsider, so he didn’t know the rules. You can’t drive him away just because he said a few words!”
“Yes.” Feng Guangyuan and Yi Yucheng agreed with him at once, but they thought, ‘Anything you say is right, old man.’
“Ou Yangming, stop making excessive demands and take your assessment as you should. If you succeed in the test, I’ll allow you to join again next year,” Jin Shengjie noted.
“He’s Master Jin indeed; he’s so broad-minded!”
“This young fella’s lucky to have met Master Jin, or…”
Jin Shengjie stroked his long beard and flashed a friendly smile as he enjoyed the praises from the crowd.
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and was about to say something when he turned and noticed the bitter look on Du Gaoge’s face. He could not help but shake his head and sighed without saying a word.
“You may begin,” Jin Shengjie waved his hand and announced.
The participants in the square responded to him. They curbed their thoughts and took the iron ingots from their respective casting tables, then they began to smith a piece of equipment that they were adept in.
There were initially two young men near Ou Yangming, but they looked at him in disgust and went far away from him. They would rather go to another casting table than to stand together with him.
A teen somehow appeared beside Hu Yicheng, and he asked, “Father, is he… The great uncle that you were talking about?” Hu Yicheng was embarrassed when he heard the question. He responded softly, “Take a close look at him. I believe that he won’t disappoint you!”
Du Gaoge scoffed and lowered his voice too. “Brother Hu, he caused such a disturbance in the assessment venue. Do you think he still stands a chance?”.
Sir Hu was lost for words for some time.
In the square, Ou Yangming, who seemed to have been abandoned by everyone else, sighed and picked up an iron ingot weakly. He turned his hand, causing his Military Fire to burn.
