White Slate And Attribute

Ou Yangming did not wait for long at Old Craftsman's smithing workshop before the old man returned with a radiant face.

Joyful happenings resounded in one's spirit and it somehow made Old Craftsman look younger.

Nevertheless, the old man's face darkened again when he heard about the conflict between Ou Yangming and Han Changling.

He sneered. "Hehe, Han Changling isn't that daring. Someone must've instructed him to do that."

Ou Yangming's face changed. "Old man, you're saying…"

"We'll talk about this next time. Come, I'll show you something good!" Old Craftsman waved his hand, then put down the odd-shaped ores that he was carrying, and was very careful so as to not break anything.

In actual fact, while the ores were not as tough as gold or iron, they were not as fragile as eggs. Even if someone were to throw them on the ground, nothing would happen to them. However, they were priceless items to Old Craftsman, so he would never treat them with disrespect.

Ou Yangming took a step closer to glance at them, then asked earnestly, "Old Man, what are these?"

"Hehe, young fella, these are precious ores, and they have magical uses!" Old Craftsman spoke in a somewhat exaggerated tone, then he picked one up. "Look, though this one looks like an ordinary hard ore, it's actually a rare Power Ore. If it's incorporated into a weapon, it'll increase the user's power."

Ou Yangming's eyes glowed, and he instantly recalled the attribute of power +1 that he found at the abandoned armory.

Back then, he was uncertain what it meant, but after using a weapon, he finally understood its source and function.

'It can increase one's power. Mm, it's a good thing, but I'll have to confirm its effect after I try it.'

"This is Agility Ore, which increases a user's speed." Old Craftsman lifted another ore, then proceeded to show Ou Yangming the rest of the precious ores. "The general's really generous, he gave us ten precious ores!"

Ou Yangming was touched. "Old Man, didn't General Chen give you a Blood-thirsty Ore previously? Is that a precious ore too?"

Old Craftsman nodded seriously. "Yes, but the Blood-thirsty Ore is a high-end precious ore, and General Chen put in a lot of effort to get it. Hehe, the general asked me to smith an armament for him because he trusts me, so I must do it well."

Ou Yangming nodded. "Old man, are there only Power Ores and Agility Ores here? What about others?"

"Hmph, you haven't learned to crawl, but you already want to run? You're such a greedy fella. There are many others who wish to practice with basic precious ores, are you going to be picky?" Old Craftsmen stared at him snappily, then tapped Ou Yangming's head. "If you speak nonsense again, I won't let you touch any of them!"

Although he sounded ruthless, Ou Yangming knew that he always left the best things for him.

Later, Old Craftsman said, "Young fella, you're qualified to be a real Military Fire Blacksmith now, so I should teach you my secret skills."

Ou Yangming quickly straightened his body. "Old man, please."

"The armaments that we normally forge are separated into four grades; Common, Good, High, and Fine. They're collectively known as White Slate Armaments," Old Craftsman explained. He continued after a short pause, "Apart from that, if armaments are created with a unique ability, they become Attribute Armaments. Hehe, Attribute Armaments are amazing, and each of them is a super treasure, so much so that people will do whatever it takes to get one!"

Ou Yangming looked at the precious ores, then asked, "Old Man, are Attribute Armaments made by incorporating armaments with these precious ores?"

Old Craftsman nodded. "That's right, but it's not easy to attach attributes successfully to an armament when precious ores are used." He sighed. "Even though I've been working on it for a long time, my success rate is only around thirty percent. It's too difficult, it's really too difficult…"

Ou Yangming rolled his eyes around. "Old Man, are Attribute Armaments separated into different colors?"

Old Craftsman chuckled. "You're quite smart. Normally, those with an extra attribute are known as Red Armaments, those with two extra attributes are known as Orange Armaments… In increasing order, it's Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, and Purple. Oh, I heard that there's a higher grade that's known as a Golden attribute, but that's only a legend. I've never seen it before."

Ou Yangming calculated in his head, then questioned, "Old Man, does Purple have seven attributes then?" He was doubtful. "You've seen it before?"

Old Craftsman was speechless, and his face slowly darkened. He scolded, "B*stard, what does it have to do with you if I've seen it before or not? Listen, I'll be teaching you how to smith with a precious ore, and you must memorize everything word by word. If you make even the slightest mistake…" He looked around the room, then picked up a burning staff. "I'll let you know why flowers are so red!"

Ou Yangming felt a chill down his spine, and he smiled bitterly. "Old man, when did you upgrade your staff? If you hit me with that, I'll be half-dead!"

Old Craftsman giggled. "Nonsense. Didn't you acquire Dantian Light? You're a Force Grade martial artist, so this staff won't kill you. You'll only suffer pain for a few days, and your memory will improve."

Ou Yangming was stunned, and he cried to himself. 'I didn't know that being a martial artist had its cons too. If I knew, I wouldn't have revealed anything to him, no matter what.'

Half an hour later, similar conversations were heard in the room.

"Do you remember it?"

"Yes!"

"Repeat it."

"Yes, if I want to melt a precious ore, firstly.... Secondly… Thirdly, jeez, why did you hit me?"

"Idiot, you can't even memorize the formula. Who should I hit if not you!"

"You're teaching so quickly, how can I memorize it word for word!"

"Okay, I'll tell you again. Listen carefully… Memorize it!"

"Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly, jeez, why did you hit me again? I didn't memorize it wrongly!"

"Ah, sorry, I'm too used to it. Continue… Why are you staring at me? Are you unhappy?"

"No, old man, I'm… I'm admiring you. Yes, can't you tell that I'm admiring you?"

"Stop flattering me, memorize it again."

Around ten steps outside the workshop, Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye looked at each other. After a long time, Chen Yifan shook his head. "Forget it, let's not disturb them."

He had a bright smile on his face because the pair was quite interesting. As such, he began to have higher expectations.

Liu Zhengye hesitated for a while before he said, "General, if they continue, the smithing of your armament might be affected…"

Chen Yifan waved his hand and grinned. "If it's going to be later, so be it, I can wait. Hehe, I'm really curious how the young fella will turn out to be."

※※※※

As the days passed by, Ou Yangming kept learning.

From morning till night, he followed Chen Yifan's instruction and practiced the martial-art squat.

Yes, Chen Yifan did not teach him anything else. Chen Yifan told him to continue practicing the martial-art squat. It was not only to train his patience but also to build an extremely solid foundation.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was not idle during other times.

Under Old Craftsman's supervision, he practiced controlling the Military Fire. According to the old man, it was not enough to be naturally gifted. He had to go through hardships to be worthy of such talent.

Hence, other than training and refining his strength, he was also strictly supervised by Old Craftsman.

The tough training caused Ou Yangming's accumulated Qi and blood to be consumed very quickly, and, after a few days, he could no longer bear it.

It was then that Sui Hezhi brought him a wild beast, a wild pig that weighed 700 kilograms. Even though it was also a pig, one could tell from its ferocious tusks that, compared to a domestic pig, there was a great difference in combat power.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming was delighted. He cut off one of its legs to share it with Old Craftsman, while the rest of its flesh was transformed into Qi and blood using the devouring attribute.

Afterward, Ou Yangming found that the Qi and blood contained in the wild beast was far above a domestic pig's.

The wild pig with only three legs gave him Qi and blood so abundant that they were much more than what he gained from the three domestic pigs combined. With that, his problem was solved.

Following that, Sui Hezhi gave him huge wild beasts every ten days, which was enough for him to maintain rich Qi and blood.

A month later, not only had Ou Yangming's Dantian Light become stable, but he had also grown stronger.

That being said, comparatively, his control over the Military Fire was what had truly improved.

One day, after getting Old Craftsman's permission, he finally began smithing his first-ever Attribute Armament.

As his Military Fire burned, a featured iron ingot was shaped into a military saber. This did not mean that Ou Yangming only knew how to forge military sabers, it was simply what he was most familiar with. In order to increase his success rate, it was best to forge a military saber.

Once the saber was about to take its form, Ou Yangming reached for a Power Stone, then attached it to the saber.

Next, his Military Fire became fiery, engulfing both the military saber and the Power Stone.

At the same time, words that he had been longing to see appeared in his mind.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

'Draw!'

[Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

'Upgrade!'

Finally, his Military Fire stopped burning, and a brand new military saber was produced.