Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Beautiful Misunderstanding

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye entered the tent one after the other.
They glanced at Sui Hezhi at the same time and noticed that he nodded his head vaguely.
Obviously, Chen Yifan made Sui Hezhi spend some time alone with Ou Yangming to find out the truth. He wanted to know if Ou Yangming had truly forged the treasure saber, or if he simply spoke nonsense to blow his own trumpet.
After all, if Chen Yifan were to expose him right away, it would be embarrassing.
However, they could tell from Sui Hezhi’s expression that Ou Yangming did not say anything.
“Greetings, General.” Ou Yangming immediately bowed at him.
Chen Yifan nodded slowly. “Young fella, I brought you a featured iron ingot, is this the one?”
Liu Zhengye handed him an iron ingot with a smile. “Little brother, here.”
Ou Yangming accepted it to check it, and he could tell at once that it was indeed a featured iron ingot. It was of a higher quality than the ones he saw at Old Craftsman’s workshop.
“General, are you asking me to smith a military saber for you here?”
Chen Yifan answered seriously, “That’s right. Do your best, You’re not required to forge one that’s at the peak of Good Grade. As long as you forge one that’s of Good Grade, or at the peak of Common Grade, you pass.”
Success was not guaranteed when smithing weapons, even for an experienced Military Fire Blacksmith.
When Old Craftsman was at his peak, his success rate for smithing Good Grade military sabers using a featured iron ingot was only seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent were either discarded or of Common Grade.
If one in ten weapons forged was at the peak of Good Grade, it was considered a good result.
Therefore, Chen Yifan did not request something difficult. It was something that should not be a problem for Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming nodded, then his face changed. “Ah, General, can you wait for me for a while?”
Chen Yifan asked calmly, “What are you going to do?”
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. “General, I have something urgent to attend to. I’ll be right back!” With that, he put the iron ingot down, left the tent, and was nowhere to be found.
Liu Zhengye and Sui Hezhi looked at each other, whereas Chen Yifan’s face was completely dark.
It was natural for soldiers to be disciplined, thus it was their first time seeing someone escaping like Ou Yangming.
Liu Zhengye cleared his throat. “General, do you want me to bring him back?”
Chen Yifan pondered, then replied, “Forget it, he’s not my soldier. Hmph, if he were, I would’ve already chopped his head off.”
“Yes, yes. General, I don’t think he smithed this saber. That’s why he ran away.” Liu Zhengye responded, then stared at Sui Hezhi. “What were you doing? Useless!”
Sui Hezhi was frustrated, but he dared not speak.
‘Ou Yangming, why did you pretend to be something when you’re just nothing? You dragged me into this. I’ll definitely settle the score with you next time.’
Chen Yifan thought for a while, then mentioned, “That might not necessarily be the case. He can be quite short-tempered, but he doesn’t look like a boastful person. Hehe, very well, I’ll wait for him for half an hour.”
Liu Zhenye and Sui Hezhi were startled. They could tell that the general was very fond of the young fellow.
※※※※
Ou Yangming scurried away from the West Camp because while he was able to smith a Good Grade military saber using the Military Fire, the purple lights that could draw and upgrade attributes were the key.
Sadly, he had used up the purple lights when he smithed the treasure saber, and could no longer forge anything good.
Therefore, he had no choice but to escape even though it would displease Chen Yifan.
In a flash, Ou Yangming went to the armaments warehouse. Upon seeing that nobody was present, he went to one of the piles to pick up a weapon, then began drawing its attributes.
His control over the Military Fire was much better compared to a few days ago, so over twenty purple light balls appeared in his mind in the blink of an eye.
Though he was short of time, he found it strange.
In the beginning, his mind could only store ten purple lights. He felt like his mind would explode if there were more. Now, there were over twenty lights in his mind, but he did not feel uncomfortable at all.
He guessed. ‘Is this because I’m rich in Qi and blood, and also advanced to Force Grade martial art?’
Nevertheless, it was not the time to find out the truth. He picked another military saber, but just as he was about to absorb its attributes, he was shocked by what he saw.
Under his Military Fire’s burning flame, the saber’s attributes were clear to him.
It was a discarded military saber that only had a sharpness of 1, but it had another strange attribute, which was power +1.
Ou Yangming reacted faster than he thought. Before he figured out what it was, the power attribute turned into a purple light that entered his mind.
After a moment of hesitation, he threw the discarded saber away, then ran to Old Craftsman’s smithing workshop.
“Old man!” Ou Yangming breathed heavily. “I want to ask you something!”
Old Craftsman was thinking about something at that moment, so his train of thought was cut off the moment Ou Yangming yelled. Although he snapped at the young fellow, he quickly stood up to pour a glass of water for him. “B*stard, what trouble did you cause this time? Drink some water, and tell me slowly.”
Ou Yangming accepted the glass and downed the water, then replied, “Old man, General Chen wants me to smith a weapon in front of him. Should I show him my real skill?”
Old Craftsman was stunned, and he did not know whether to cry or laugh. “Did you run back here to ask this?”
“Yes!” Ou Yangming nodded. “General Chen and the others are still waiting at the West Camp!”
“Idiot, do you want me to die from anger? Hmph, come with me.” Old Craftsman was mad, so he kicked him. He grabbed Ou Yangming, then ran to the West Camp.
As Ou Yangming followed, he thought to himself. ‘Old man, you don’t have to react like this, do you?’
In actual fact, he had only sought out Old Craftsman as an excuse, so he was surprised that the old man was so anxious.
Before long, they arrived at the tent.
Upon seeing Old Craftsman himself, Chen Yifan and the others sighed. ‘The young fella really had lied.
‘It makes sense. He acquired the Military Fire Seed less than a month ago, yet he claims that he can smith a military saber at the peak of Good Grade using a featured iron ingot. Such fantasies shouldn’t be taken seriously. It would be really funny if anyone believed it…
‘At least he’s clever enough to bring Old Craftsman here.’
Chen Yinfan took a quick glance at Ou Yangming and said to himself, ‘For the sake of Old Craftsman, I shall not make things difficult for him, but he’s not going to be a useful person. There’s no need for him to meet me anymore.’
“Hehe, Old Craftsman, why did you come here personally?” Chen Yifan stood up and smiled.
Old Craftsman pulled Ou Yangming’s ear. “General Chen, I brought him here to apologize.”
Chen Yifan waved his hand. “Hehe, Old Craftsman, don’t be angry.”
It was as though Old Craftsman did not hear him at all. He said, “This fella’s such a blockhead. You asking to see his Military Fire Smithing Art is a huge honor, but he ran back to ask me if he should show you. Tell me, isn’t he trying to make me die from anger?”
Chen Yifan chuckled. “Don’t punish him. He’s a young man. It’s inevitable for him to be ambi… Wait, what did you say? He sought you out to ask if he should show his skills?”
Old Craftsman nodded and sighed. “General Chen, he’s an orphan, and he doesn’t have much sense, so please don’t blame him.”
When Chen Yifan looked up, Liu Zhengye and Sui Hezhi were looking at him with strange looks.
They had the same thought. ‘Ou Yangming didn’t escape, and he didn’t bring Old Craftsman here to speak on his behalf. Does that mean that he really smithed the treasure saber?’
Right away, Chen Yifan’s attitude changed.
He laughed. “B*stard, am I that scary? What exactly were you thinking?”
Ou Yangming lowered his head embarrassedly. ‘A misunderstanding, this is definitely a misunderstanding…’
Chen Yifan handed the treasure saber to Old Craftsman. “Old Craftsman, did he smith this?”
“General, the young fella might be a little timid, but he’s really talented. This is the second military saber he created, and its quality is excellent!” Old Craftsman raised his eyebrow, then answered proudly as he gave a thumbs-up.
Indeed, the more powerful his successor was, the prouder he was.
Chen Yifan looked at Ou Yangming for some time before he responded, “Boy, show me your skills.”
Old Craftsman nodded, and instructed, “B*stard, do it attentively, and don’t embarrass me!”
Ou Yangming pouted his lips. “Don’t worry, old man. Since you’ve told me to, I’ll definitely do my best.”
He waved his hand, then took the iron ingot from Liu Zhengye. His nervousness slowly went away after he took a deep breath.
When Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye sensed the change in his aura, they nodded to themselves. ‘The fact that he calmed down so quickly makes him a person with a lot of potential.’
However, they had no clue that Ou Yangming was able to calm down so quickly because of the purple light.
He began controlling his Military Fire to his heart’s desire, then the featured iron ingot transformed into a sharp military saber after being burned.
[Item: Outstanding military saber]
[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +10, Toughness +10. Durability 9]