After resting for a long time, Ou Yangming finally regained some strength.
He stood up forcefully and shook his head, then staggered toward the backyard. Before long, he arrived at the spot where he had stored the ferocious beasts’ carcasses.
The carcasses from before had not been completely absorbed, but they already stunk. Nonetheless, Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up upon seeing them. He retrieved a dagger, and activated his Military Fire as he stabbed it in…
When Ou Yangming returned to his room after a brief moment, he had a better complexion.
Although the remaining carcasses had not allowed him to fully recover his Qi and blood, he felt much better than before.
After some thought, he decided to leave his courtyard to head to the West Camp.
However, not long after he left, he heard someone calling out to him in a friendly manner, “Master Ou, you’re finally back!”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh when he turned to look. “Squad Leader Jiang, what a coincidence.”
The person who called out to him was Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp. When he heard Ou Yangming’s half-teasing, half-cheerful voice, he replied in embarrassment and in honesty, “Master Ou, I actually intentionally came to wait for you because I heard that you’ve returned from the town.”
Though Jiang Chengwei had come all the way here, he dared not visit Ou Yangming as he did not want to disturb the master. He decided to wait like a fool, which was the dumbest method.
Ou Yangming chuckled. “Why are you looking for me?”
Jiang Chengwei rubbed his hands and was hesitant to answer.
“You’re here for the explosive arrows, am I right?” Ou Yangming smiled.
“That’s right. After using your explosive arrows, I just feel that something’s off when I use other arrows.” Jiang Chengwei nodded in excitement, then said after a pause, “Actually, I dare not ask for too much. I just hope that I can have a few to be kept as a secret weapon. That way, I’ll be at peace!”
Ou Yangming grinned when he heard the squad leader speaking so pitifully. “Didn’t I tell you to send me a few High Grade arrows when you’re free?”
“Master Ou, I’ve already brought them,” Jiang Chengwer quickly replied, but secretly cursed, ‘You told me to bring some to you, but even after visiting you a few times, you were never home…’
Ou Yangming accepted the arrows and hesitated before he said, “Okay, I’ll refine these arrows for you. Can you please look for Sui Hezhi from the West Camp to ask if he has any new quarries? The ones that I stored have turned smelly, so I threw them away.”
Jiang Chengwei was startled. “New quarries?”
“The ferocious beasts that you hunt from the forest. I like to eat them,” Ou Yangming replied to him with a nod.
“I understand. But Master Ou, if you’d like some quarries, why did you have to ask from those wusses in the West Camp? You can count on me!” Jiang Chengwei laughed after he realized what Ou Yangming meant, then turned to leave and shouted, “Wait for me, I’ll go get one for you now!”
Ou Yangming did not know to cry or to laugh when he watched Jiang Chengwei running away.
Nevertheless, since Jiang Chengwei was helping him, he could not be bothered to look for Sui Hezhi anymore. Ou Yangming went to his smithing workshop, then adjusted his mental power to incorporate it into his Military Fire. Soon enough, the six High Grade arrows in his hands were turned into explosive arrows.
Needless to say, he did not increase the arrows’ quality this time, but even so, the might of the arrows had been increased by a few times. Whether they would be used to attack wild beasts or humans, they would be much more powerful than they were before.
Afterward, Ou Yangming retrieved steel ingots to smith a High Grade equipment set.
Even though there were a few pieces of Attribute Equipment among the pieces of equipment that he had submitted in the past, their quality was limited at Good Grade. Ever since his challenge against Ni Yunhong, everyone knew that he could smith equipment at the peak of High Grade, and that he could perform Layering Art. In that case, Ou Yangming felt embarrassed if he still submitted pieces of Good Grade equipment.
Therefore, he decided to free his hands and legs. He tossed precious ores into every piece of equipment, and ended up smithing five pieces of High Grade Attribute Equipment, as well as a piece of High Grade Layered Attribute Equipment.
Ou Yangming had prepared them to be submitted for this month. While there were three extra pieces of High Grade Attribute Equipment, he had actually prepared them for Old Craftsman.
Old Craftsman had aged, hence he did not have as much vigor as he did before. Although the old man had not stopped using smithing art, Ou Yangming was unwilling to allow him to smith anymore.
In any case, Ou Yangming could make up the remaining portion, and could even fulfill twice the required amount if he wanted to.
Just as he was done smithing, he heard Jiang Chengwei asking to meet him outside.
Ou Yangming’s eyes glowed when he stepped outside. Jiang Chengwei was a reliable person indeed as he managed to get a moose in less than an hour’s time. The moose was much bigger than the normal quarries, so Ou Yangming figured that it had a unique bloodline.
That said, how could a small squad leader have the right to use such a moose?
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Squad Leader Jiang, you know that I don’t want any trouble, do you?”
Jiang Chengwei was stunned at first, but quickly realized what Ou Yangming meant, so he laughed. “Master Ou, don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with this moose.”
“Squad Leader Jiang, I suppose that this isn’t an ordinary wild beast?” Ou Yangming giggled.
“Master Ou, you have a good eye. This moose probably carries a spirit beast’s bloodline. Its bloodline is quite faint, but it can’t be compared to a normal ferocious beast, after all. Our hunting team from the South Camp put in a lot of effort to slaughter it,” Jiang Chengwei nodded and responded.
Ou Yangming knew that while Jiang Chengwei made it sound easy, it was not an easy job at all.
Their team must have paid quite a price to kill the moose.
Jiang Chengwei continued, “The others treat this moose as a treasure, and they weren’t going to give it to me at first. Once I told them that it’ll be a gift for you, they gave it to me without any hesitation. They even said that any good quarries in the future will be sent to you first before they’re submitted.”
Ou Yangming was dumbfounded. He smiled helplessly when he noticed Jiang Chengwei did not look like he was lying at all. “What’s your request?”
“Master Ou, what are you talking about? They didn’t request anything.” Jiang Chengwei waved his hand.
“Tell me the truth!” Ou Yangming glared at him.
Jiang Chengwei smiled shyly and said, “Okay, the truth is the moose has actually been submitted already, but Captain Wu gave it to me after hearing that you’ve asked for a quarry. He also said that if you want quarries in the future, you may randomly pick from the Middle Camp’s captures.”
Ou Yangming was stunned because he did not expect Wu Guotu to have given the order.
When they met the other day, Wu Guotu did not seem to be very fond of Ou Yangming, and acted as if he looked down on him instead. All of a sudden, the captain was treating him differently.
“Okay, you may bring it to my courtyard. These are your explosive arrows.” Ou Yangming nodded and handed the arrows to Jiang Chengwei.
“Thank you, Master Ou,” Jiang Chengwei instantly widened his eyes and thanked him happily.
He carried the moose to Ou Yangming’s courtyard, then left joyfully with the arrows.
Following that, Ou Yangming transformed almost a third of the moose’s flesh and blood into his Qi and blood to replenish what he had lost. The moose had indeed carried a spirit beast’s bloodline. Though it was quite faint, a third of its flesh and blood was enough for him to return to his best condition.
Once he was done with everything, another knock was heard on his door.
Ou Yangming rolled his eyes and thought, ‘Being famous isn’t that great after all, I’m obviously getting more visitors now.’
He finally understood why Old Craftsman was indifferent toward other people, and would always keep a distance away. If the old man was slightly more friendly, his residence would always be bustling with noise, and he would not even have time to smith items anymore.
Ou Yangming kept a straight face when he opened the door, but his face changed when he saw the people at the door.
“Ah, General Fang, old man, why are you here? Please come in quickly!”
The people outside were Commanding General Fang Yihai from the South Camp and Old Craftsman. As bold as Ou Yangming was, he dared not treat them impolitely.
Not to mention anything else, Old Craftsman’s Iron Palm alone would make his body suffer in pain.
Fang Yihai laughed. “Little Brother, I’m here to ask if you’re done with your tasks.”
Ou Yangming looked at Old Craftsman in surprise, and the old man smiled bitterly at him. “Didn’t you promise to help General Fang smith an equipment set? The general is here to remind you.”
“Little Brother, I’m sure you know that God-given attributes are a gift from God. If a blacksmith master acquires such an attribute, his success rate in attaching the same attribute to other pieces of equipment becomes higher than other blacksmiths for a period of time.” Fang Yihai nodded at Ou Yangming apologetically, then said with a grave expression, “But the success rate will slowly be lowered with time, so…”
Ou Yangming quickly understood what he meant. “General Fang, I understand. Okay, once you have everything prepared, I’m able to start at any time.”
However, Fang Yihai looked at him embarrassedly. “I’ll be honest with you. Those items are too valuable, which is why my family has kept them at home in the prefecture.”
“Do you want me to go to the prefecture?” Ou Yangming was taken aback.
“Please.” Fang Yihai stood up to bow at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming was so shocked that he immediately sprung up from his seat. “General Fang, you mustn’t be so polite, I can’t afford that. I promise to help you.”
He initially had plans to head to the prefecture anyway, thus he agreed to help as it was just a small favor.
Fang Yihai left in contentment after setting a time with Ou Yangming. On the other hand, Old Craftsman sighed for a long time. Seeing as Ou Yangming had risen so much that even a camp’s commanding general was willing to beg him for help, the old man had mixed feelings.
Of course, Old Craftsman was mostly elated to see Ou Yangming, whom he treated as his son, soaring high and far away from him. If the old man had not experienced this himself, he could not imagine how it would feel like.
Ou Yangming stayed by Old Craftsman side for a night. He guaranteed that he would return as soon as possible, and finally turned the old man’s worries into joy.
