Bai Zhiyi walked and entered a big house on the mountainside.
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned as he looked around. It was his first time entering this place, but he was familiar with the structure inside because the interior of the crystal wall on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge was almost the same. The only thing was there were plenty of separated rooms inside the giant house.
He pondered quickly and became more certain that the 10,000 Beasts Ridge and the Beast King Sect were in the same gang indeed.
“Hehe, Brother Bai is back.” A burst of hearty laughter was heard in the main hall. An elder, who was crowded around by many people, walked over with a smile.
Bai Zhiyi’s face changed, and he spoke in a rather unnatural tone, “Brother Xu, you’re out from isolated cultivation too. Was your smithing process successful this time?”
Before the other elder could answer, a young man next to him stood out and responded arrogantly, “Elder Bai, Patriarch was the one that smithed, so how could he fail?” He raised his eyebrows and expressed with excitement, “Elder was in isolated cultivation for 3 months, and he finally smithed a Dual White Silver, Dual Skill Shield of High Grade!”
The elder stroked his long beard and grinned without saying a word.
Bai Zhiyi’s eyelids battered, and he remarked, “Brother Xu, you’re almighty indeed. I’m in admiration.”
The elder laughed and replied to him, “I’m only a step ahead. Brother Bai, you’ll surely be able to do it in the future.”
Bai Zhiyi was furious, but he sighed when he thought about the elder’s smithing achievement. “Thanks.”
He was dispirited, so he simply cupped his hands and wanted to go around the crowd.
Nevertheless, the elder glanced at Ou Yangming and questioned, “Elder Bai, is this the genius blacksmith that you were talking about?”
Bai Zhiyi was dumbfounded. He stopped and asked in confusion, “How do you know?”
“Your 3 disciples made so much noise as soon as they returned. I might’ve aged, and my eyesight and hearing might’ve declined, but I could hear them,” the elder explained with a smile.
The young man beside him cracked up openly. On the other hand, the others looked rather embarrassed.
They were all from the Beast King Sect’s Mount Copper Furnace, hence they were naturally aware of the enmity between the elders. Nonetheless, whether it was Bai Zhiyi or the other elders, they were brilliant blacksmiths from the sect, so most of the people could not offend them.
At this moment, many of them regretted not having escaped when they saw Bai Zhiyi earlier.
Bai Zhiyi took a deep breath to suppress his anger. He turned around and said, “Lil’ Ou, let me introduce you to Xu Feiyu, a blacksmith from the Beast King Sect. As for the ignorant young fella beside him, he’s Xu Guangji, his favorite grandson. Hehe, this young fella’s quite gifted in smithing art, but he’s far from you!”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and smiled bitterly. He knew Bai Zhiyi was using him to attack the 2 men.
The young fellow would have been displeased if Bai Zhiyi did this when they first met, but after spending some time together, their relationship had changed.
Intense competitions were inevitable in a sect.
Ou Yangming figured that Xu Feiyu was Elder Bai’s competitor. He decided to help a friend instead of being reasonable, so he willingly became a surrogate.
He nodded and greeted them, “Greetings, Elder Xu, Brother Xu.”
Bai Zhiyi was relieved when he saw Ou Yangming’s expression. “He’s Ou Yangming, the genius blacksmith that I brought back. I even plan to make an exception to recruit him into our sect.”
Xu Guangji had a cold look in his eyes, and he commented in a hostile manner, “Elder Bai, I’m sure you’re aware of the sect’s rules. The Beast King Sect is one of Danzhou’s Nine Great Sects, and it can’t be fantasized by any Tom, Dick, or Harry!”
“Tom, Dick, or Harry?” Ou Yangming blurted and looked at Xu Guangji strangely. “Brother Xu, you seem like an upright man with a striking appearance…” He paused for a short while before he continued in a heavy tone, “Why did you become a Tom, Dick, or Harry to others?”
The other people were struck dumb at first, then they all smiled.
They dared not laugh out loud in front of the Xu family’s patriarch and his grandson, but their expressions were rather splendid.
Xu Guangji’s eyes twitched, and a tense aura instantly surged on his body.
The patriarch and his grandson were not reckless people, but Xu Feiyu and Bai Zhiyi had been enemies for years. When Xu Feiyu smithed a piece of high-grade equipment first and heard that Bai Zhiyi had brought a so-called smithing genius back to the sect, he and Xu Guangji decided to show severity to Bai Zhiyi.
The reason Xu Guangji stood out and treated a senior impolitely was to infuriate Bai Zhiyi.
Who knew, Bai Zhiyi did not say anything at all. Instead, the young fellow, who had just entered Mount Copper Furnace, ridiculed Xu Guangji.
The crowd was surprised by the outcome, and they wondered, ‘Does this fella not know that he’s in the Beast King Sect? Why is he so bold?”
Xu Guangji looked even more unfriendly as he said, “Ou Yangming, you’re quite daring!”
Ou Yangming laughed and rejoined, “Thanks for the praise, Brother Xu. I’ve been told that many times.”
“Heh, but audacious people don’t usually end well in the Beast King Sect!” Xu Guangji uttered word by word.
“Oh? I only know that where I’m from, those that disrespect their seniors will be crippled of their cultivation bases and banished!” Ou Yangming smiled with his eyes narrowed and asked, “Is there such a rule in the Beast King Sect?”
The crowd was still smiling at first as they were watching the fun.
They naturally could not interrupt when powerful people were fighting, but it did not stop them from watching from the side.
Even so, the more they listened, the more they realized that something was off.
The people exchanged glances and were bewildered. ‘There’s no grudge between them, is there? Why are they becoming more vicious than each other…’
A flicker could be seen in Xu Guangji’s eyes, but he dared not go on.
At the end of the day, he and his grandfather were provocative first. Their disrespect toward Bai Zhiyi might not be a big deal, but it would be troublesome if someone capitalized on this vulnerable point of theirs.
Having said that, at this point, Xu Guangji did not have even the slightest favorable impression of Ou Yangming anymore.
He scoffed and asked, “Ou Yangming, Elder Bai said that your natural gift in smithing art is incredibly rare. Is that true?”
Ou Yangming touched his nose and answered with a smile, “Elder Bai overpraised me, of course.”
Xu Guangji was startled, then he sneered. “At least you know where you stand.”
The young fellow nodded and responded, “Yes, there are countless God-favored ones in the Spiritual Realm, so my level of attainment isn’t outstanding at all but…” He flashed a bright smile and continued, “As compared to you, Your Excellency, I suppose I’m more than just slightly better?”
After listening to the twists and turns, the other people were stupefied.
This time, none of them laughed mockingly anymore, and most of them were displeased with Ou Yangming.
After all, Ou Yangming was an outsider.
As for Xu Guangji, he was not only a direct disciple from the Beast King Sect, but he also had a certain level of attainment in smithing art. Although he could not compare with elders such as Xu Feiyu and Bai Zhiyi, he could be considered a rising star.
Seeing as Xu Guangji was being mocked by an outsider, even if the outsider was brought back by Bai Zhiyi, most people were still unhappy.
Xu Guangji was taken aback for a brief moment, and he could not help but laugh due to extreme anger. “Ou Yangming, are you saying that you’re more potent than me in smithing art?”
Ou Yangming nodded and answered calmly, “That’s right.”
“Okay.” Xu Guangji nodded and suddenly cupped his hands at the people around him. “Seniors and brothers, I, Xu Guangji, am going to challenge… Master Ou Yangming in smithing art, so please be our witnesses.”
He stressed the words “Master Ou Yangming”, which was clear to the others that it was not due to respect but contempt.
“Alright!”
“Brother Xu, show him your abilities and teach him a lesson!”
“Hehe, let those outsiders see how great the Beast King Sect is!”
A group of people clamored as they were glad to see this happen.
In actuality, they would have shouted louder if Bai Zhiyi was not present.
Bai Zhiyi cleared his throat all of a sudden.
He was not loud, but the crowd fell silent at once.
Those from the Beast King Sect’s Mount Copper Furnace would not mind offending Ou Yangming, but they would not provoke Bai Zhiyi.
“Brother Xu, this won’t be a good idea, will it?” Bai Zhiyi spoke pretentiously, “I brought Lil’ Ou here to join our sect. Won’t this hurt your relationship if you have a challenge before he joins us?”
Xu Feiyu smiled and noted, “Brother Bai, if you’d like to recommend him to the sect, he must be tested. Heh, since that’s the case, he might as well have a challenge with Guangji, and we’ll be able to see what he’s capable of.”
He knew Ou Yangming must have some merits since Bai Zhiyi insisted on recruiting him into the sect.
However, he was very optimistic about his grandson.
After all, Xu Feiyu had carefully guided Xu Guangji, and he did not believe that an independent blacksmith could be that great.
Bai Zhiyi sighed and looked helpless. “Fine. Since you say so, Brother Xu, let’s take this challenge as an entry assessment.”
Ou Yangming was stunned, and he glanced at Bai Zhiyi. ‘I didn’t agree to join the Beast King Sect but judging from the elder’s tone, why did this simple challenge suddenly turn into an assessment?’
That said, when he noticed the various looks from the crowd, he knew he could not decline this anymore.
He spread out his hands and said, “Brother Xu, since you’re so interested, I’ll keep you company.”
Xu Feiyu laughed. “Elder Bai, you heard him too. This time, let’s be the judges and see which one of them is the better one.”
Bai Zhiyi cast a weird look at Xu Feiyu and twitched his mouth. “Okay.”
For some reason, Xu Feiyu had a bad feeling when he saw the unexplainable look in Bai Zhiyi’s eyes.
Nonetheless, there was no turning back for him anymore.
