In the next few days, powerhouses from the Humans’ Nine Great Sects in Danzhou arrived one after another. Nonetheless, unlike the huge event when the passage to the lower realm was built, not all of the powerhouses that came this time were led by Venerable Ones.
Most of the sects sent a top-grade Spiritualist each to call the shots and bring some blacksmiths along. They had come for only one reason, which was to witness the Big Smithing Competition between the most top-notch blacksmiths from the 2 prefectures.
Needless to say, some of the sects sent superb powerhouses here as they valued the competition more than the other sects.
Zhiming the Venerable One from the Bibo Pond, Hualing the Venerable One from the Huafeng Pavilion, and Taihe the Venerable One from the Sword Sect—they were all top-notch powerhouses among the Humans in Danzhou. It was Ou Yangming’s first time seeing so many distinguished figures.
Every Venerable One was extremely amiable when they saw Ou Yangming as though they were not facing an Intermediate Spiritualist, but someone that was on par with them. Due to their attitudes, the young fellow’s status was imperceptibly upgraded.
In particular, the disciples that came with those Venerable Ones became more afraid of and curious about Ou Yangming, and they dared not offend him no matter what.
The meeting with the Venerable Ones was only a start. What they were truly looking forward to was the smithing master that would be hurrying over from Zhangzhou.
After a month, at the guarding zone outside Mount Wuzhi, the news that had been anticipated by everyone for a long time arrived indeed.
Being one of the 3 Venerable Ones from Mount Wuzhi, Lingfeng the Venerable One took up the role of greeting their guests. As soon as he gave the order, the defenses on the mountain were let down.
A gentleman was always open and poised—this was also a display of confidence from an influential sect. Regardless of who was coming, even if gangsters and the like tried to sneak into the sect, they would not be afraid.
Of course, 2 top-grade Venerable Ones and a considerable number of Venerable Ones were on Mount Wuzhi at the moment. They were nearly half of the finest powerhouses among the Humans from Danzhou.
If any ignorant being wanted to make things difficult for Mount Wuzhi at this time, that being would surely be struck mercilessly.
Ou Yangming followed the many Venerable Ones to the main peak. Apart from Master Kurong and the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One, all of the other Venerable Ones were present.
All of a sudden, a giant flying boat was in sight. The Venerable Ones from the various sects did not look so good when they saw the majestic boat.
Yuqi the Venerable One sighed and pointed at the obvious 7-stars symbol on the flying boat in the distance as he introduced it to Ou Yangming, “Master Ou, that’s the flight equipment of the Seven Stars Sect from Zhangzhou.” He paused for a while before he continued, “Such a flying boat is not only much faster than a flying carpet, but its defensive and offensive abilities are also far beyond what ordinary treasures can compare. If a Venerable One controls the flying boat, its combat power can at least be doubled.”
Ou Yangming nodded and looked fervently at the flying boat.
“Master Ou, if you’re able to smith them in the future, you must leave one for the Beast King Sect!” Yuqi the Venerable One blurted.
The other Venerable Ones were stunned, and they cast strange looks at Yuqi the Venerable One at the same time.
They all knew Ou Yangming could refine flying carpets when he was only a Spiritualist, but flying boats were even more complicated, by which they were treasures that could not be refined by a single person.
This was because a flying boat was a product of one’s accumulated great achievements in smithing art. The materials required alone were unusually precious, hence even a wealthy and powerful sect such as Mount Wuzhi would also struggle.
Therefore, instead of a single blacksmith, the smithing process would be done by several potent blacksmiths, who would utilize their respective expertise to make the flying boat better and more outstanding. If not, it would be unfair to the precious materials that would be used.
As gifted as Ou Yangming was, he would not be able to smith a flying boat on his own, would he?
Ou Yangming grinned and answered, “Yuqi the Venerable One, if I’m able to smith them, I’ll definitely think about the Beast King Sect.”
Yuqi the Venerable One nodded as he was pleased. He knew how Ou Yangming was, thus he knew the young fellow would keep his promise.
Of course, the precondition would be that Ou Yangming could actually smith flying boats, or this would be empty talk.
Once the flying boat entered Mount Wuzhi, it slowed down. On the other hand, Lingfeng the Venerable One soared into the sky to approach it.
Before long, the flying boat successfully landed on the main peak under his guidance.
Ou Yangming and the others were checking out the flying boat at a close distance. They vaguely sensed chillness when they looked at the monstrous manmade equipment.
At the spur of the moment, Ou Yangming was moved. This was because he suddenly realized that a certain memory deep inside his spiritual world seemed to have been touched, and it was giving signs that it was going to be released.
The spiritual world was actually constructed based on the Phoenixes’ power. Not only did it connect with the world’s origin power, but it also had many memories of the Phoenixes’ secret techniques being sealed inside. The only thing was Ou Yangming’s cultivation base was too low at the moment, so he could not activate those memories no matter how hard he worked.
Nevertheless, if Ou Yangming accidentally came into contact with a certain thing and was incredibly familiar with it, the corresponding memory and its content could be unlocked.
Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched as he was elated. A flying boat’s exterior was extraordinary and splendid, but he knew nothing about its interior.
If he wanted to refine flying boats, he would at least need to know the theory behind how one could be operated.
Whether it was the constitution of the materials or the formation maps that were carved inside, they were very precious to amateurs.
Nobody had ever refined a flying carpet by merely looking at one’s exterior.
As such, Ou Yangming was especially thrilled when a certain memory in his spiritual world was touched.
At this time, Lingfeng the Venerable One’s rumbling laugh was heard. “Master Ou, quickly come here so that I can introduce these people to you.”
Ou Yangming quivered as the Venerable One’s voice was piercing. Consequently, the memory point that was touched immediately shrunk like a startled rabbit.
The young fellow twitched his mouth and shook his head helplessly before he went forward.
Although he had cursed at Lingfeng the Venerable One internally, he still smiled faintly.
“Master Ou, this is Ai Hongli. He’s a Venerable One from the Seven Stars Sect, which is the greatest sect among the Humans in Zhangzhou,” Lingfeng the Venerable One stated seriously, “He’s also a top-grade Venerable One, who’s famous and well-known by everyone.”
Ou Yangming saluted the guests. After all, a top-grade Venerable One was indeed worthy of being noticed and respected by the people.
Ai Hongli nodded and glanced at Ou Yangming before he asked, “Lingfeng the Venerable One, I believe that he’s Danzhou’s representative?”
Lingfeng the Venerable One answered in a deep voice, “Yes, Master Ou’s smithing art is superb, so Danzhou will certainly be victorious this time.”
“Hehe.” Ai Hongli could not help but laugh. “Lingfeng the Venerable One, you’re really confident. Whether or not you’ll gain the final victory, it can’t be determined by just a matter of talk.”
Lingfeng the Venerable One smiled and continued, “This is Chi Ningyun the Venerable One from the Heaven Unite Sect.”
Ou Yangming was shocked. He had seen many Venerable Ones, but this was his first time meeting a female Venerable One.
Chi Ningyun the Venerable One looked like she was only in her thirties. She was as fair as snow, had an unparalleled beauty, and was mature. Even though the Venerable One was entirely different from Ni Yinghong and the 2 other ladies, her charm was not inferior at all.
“This is Qiu Chengwang the Venerable One from Reborn in Paradise,” Lingfeng the Venerable One noted, “Reborn in Paradise is rarely known, but we admire them very much.”
“Lingfeng the Venerable One, you’re being too polite.” Qiu Chengwang the Venerable One nodded. He paused for a while before continuing with a smile, “I’ve come to witness the smithing abilities of the younger generations from the 2 prefectures. Other than that, there’s nothing else that I want, so you don’t need to think too much, Lingfeng the Venerable One.”
After hearing what he said, Lingfeng the Venerable One chuckled. “Venerable One Qiu, that’s a small matter. We’ll surely make the appropriate arrangements to satisfy you.”
Ou Yangming was astonished. It was clear that Ai Hongli, who was a top-grade Venerable One, was the moderator, but it seemed like Lingfeng the Venerable One was more afraid of Qiu Chengwang.
Lastly, Lingfeng the Venerable One announced to everyone, “This is Master Qu Zhengde—the smithing master that’s representing Zhangzhou in the competition this time.”
Qu Zhengde was an Advanced Spiritualist. His cultivation base was insignificant to the Venerable Ones, but since he could represent Zhangzhou in the competition, he was considered the greatest blacksmith among Zhangzhou’s younger generation in the smithing industry. This was why nobody dared to neglect him.
Lingfeng the Venerable One then cleared his throat and asked, “We’ve prepared a banquet for everyone, so why don’t we go and drink our fill?”
Ai Hongli stroked his beard and replied to him, “Lingfeng the Venerable One, let’s go and have some drinks. As for the 2 of them… Hehe, let’s go by old rules and let them communicate with each other.”
Lingfeng the Venerable One hesitated for a while before he responded, “Alright, but Master Ou isn’t a disciple from Mount Wuzhi, so let me get someone to join them.” He turned and instructed, “Junior Brother Yu, please show Master Ou and Master Qu around.”
Yu Xiuming went forward and cupped his hands. “Gentlemen, please.”
The Big Smithing Competition between the 2 prefectures would affect their reputations but at the end of the day, it was also a form of unity between them.
Hence, the 2 parties were not enemies.
According to the rule that was established in the past, the 2 candidates could meet in private before the official competition. They were allowed to have discussions together and even agree on how the competition would be carried out.
Yu Xiuming was already a top-notch smithing master. If Ou Yangming had not appeared out of the blue, he would have represented Danzhou this time for sure.
He was rather regretful, but he was undoubtedly the best person to serve the 2 candidates.
With that, the 3 men arrived at a courtyard, where they drank and looked at flowers.
Perhaps they had a good idea of each other’s abilities, they got along quite well.
In particular, Qu Zhengde was surprised by how profound Ou Yangming and Yu Xiuming were in smithing art, so he began to regard them with special respect.
Before they even realized it, they began talking about the appraisal of raw gemstones. Qu Zhengde and Yu Xiuming had their respective secret techniques, thus they ended up in an endless argument.
While Ou Yangming could also appraise raw gemstones, he had only relied on his Heavenly Phoenix Fire. As for the specific experience, the young fellow was far from the 2 other men, so he could only listen to their discussion.
However, the discussion was becoming tense.
Ou Yangming frowned and asked, “Master Yu, is there anywhere that we can appraise raw gemstones here? Why don’t we just go and try?”
Yu Xiuming and Qu Zhengde were dumbfounded. They looked at each other and could not help but laugh.
The former suddenly stood up and said, “There’s a good spot here on Mount Wuzhi. Please come with me.”
Following that, the 3 of them left while conversing happily. Judging from the situation, nobody would have thought that a thrilling Big Smithing Competition would soon be unveiled between Ou Yangming and Qu Zhengde.
