Ou Yangming slept the moment he returned to his room.

Although he had benefited greatly from the opportunity tonight, he curbed his thoughts and slept soundly.

He recovered half of his energy after sleeping for only two hours, and was full of energy when he finally awoke.

Ou Yangming then began practicing the martial-art squat, the blade technique, and the fist art in his courtyard. This was his homework every day, and he never once slacked.

In actual fact, as his position in the Armament Camp became more stable, he was safe from assassination as long as he stayed in the military camp.

Forget about Zhang Yinfan who could not identify who killed his nephew because even if he did, he would not dare to send a killer as he had before.

Making a helper disappear soundlessly was completely different from making an official Military Fire Blacksmith who could submit three pieces of Attribute Equipment a month disappear.

For the former, even if Old Craftsman who was not resigned to the outcome were to search for him, the others would likely agree overtly but neglect the matter instead.

As for the latter, all the generals would be so enraged that they would join hands to find the murderer.

Therefore, Ou Yangming was not worried about his safety for the time being. Zhang Yinfan's existence in the military camp was still a huge threat to him, but it was also driving him to work harder.

If Sui Hezhi was watching him at that moment, he would notice that even though Ou Yangming was still practicing the blade technique and fist art that was taught by him, they were strangely different from what was originally taught. While the movements were still the same, the changes added a sense of elegance into them, which simply made them different.

This was the result achieved by Ou Yangming after incorporating his experience into the techniques. It was not the techniques that changed, but something that was indescribable.

Ou Yangming stopped after a long time. His Qi and blood had declined significantly due to the intense training, but he was not concerned because the quarry sent by Squad Leader Yan that day was still at home.

As his Military Fire danced, he channeled the Devouring attribute into his military sword to absorb the wild beast's flesh and blood completely.

Subsequently, he withdrew the Devouring attribute.

Among the attributes stored, Ou Yangming valued Devouring the most, and he would never reveal it to anyone else no matter what.

When he became rich in Qi and blood again, his mental power was affected as it became more powerful.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming knew that it was just a false appearance.

A person was normally in high spirits when one's body was abundant in Qi and blood, thus it was not easy to feel exhausted. On the contrary, how spirited could a person be if one was weak and without strength?

Nonetheless, it was true that rich Qi and blood were only beneficial for one's body.

Ou Yangming headed to his smithing workshop after cleaning up to begin smithing equipment.

Since he gave out quite a number of arm guards and greaves, it would not be kept a secret no matter how many times he reminded the men, especially when Kang Weibo would definitely find out through his ways. If that was the case, he needed to submit more pieces of equipment to shut Kang Weibo's mouth. Of course, it was just a small issue that was not worth mentioning at all to him.

As his Military Fire burned, a military saber took form in his hands. Under normal circumstances, the equipment was already completed. He could either attach Unique Attributes or stop.

However, Ou Yangming was suddenly moved.

He recalled the different skills that he learned yesterday. It was true that the skills only applied to body techniques, but they were so smooth and wonderful that it made him yearn for more.

It was exactly because he learned the skills by chance that allowed him to transfer the mental power between his eyebrows.

Ou Yangming quickly shifted his thought to his mental power.

He wanted to find out what would happen to the smithing process if he increased his mental power usage.

In the past, Ou Yangming could not have done this even if he thought about it because his mental power was never under his control. This time, after putting a bit of purple light aside, more mental power flowed into his mind.

Once his mental power fluctuated, he quickly guided it. Although the process was unstable, and more attempts were needed for him to maneuver it smoothly, he was able to handle it for his current experiment.

Feeling rather anxious, Ou Yangming channeled a stream of mental power into his MIlitary Fire, then eventually into the military saber.

He did not release much mental power this time because the attempt was a very fresh one for him. Hence, he wanted to prioritize his safety.

The instant the mental power in his Military Fire touched the saber, a peculiar thing happened.

Both the mental power and the Military Fire vanished.

Yes. whether it was Ou Yangming's mental power or his fire, they detached from him and were nowhere to be found. Despite that, he vaguely noticed a trace right before they disappeared. They seemed to have merged into one, and were absorbed by the military saber.

Ou Yangming was puzzled and at a loss when he held the brand new military saber.

What was that? After smithing so many pieces of equipment, it was his first time encountering an unexplainable situation as such.

The feeling that was beyond his imagination and made him lose control frightened him. Ou Yangming actually understood how the fop felt yesterday when they battled; they both lost control.

Smithing with the Military Fire was how Ou Yangming based himself in the military camp, thus he must not make a mistake.

By taking a deep breath, he finally calmed himself down. Next, he turned his wrist to activate his Military Fire again, then controlled it while getting it closer to the strange military saber.

Before long, the military saber's attributes appeared.

[Item: Outstanding military saber (Red)]

[Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Three]

[Attributes: Sharpness +7, Toughness +6, Durability 6]

[Skill: Self-explosive when released]

Ou Yangming's eyes sparkled. There was a new row of words at the bottom of the military saber.

Skill.

Ou Yangming quickly understood where it came from. The mysterious change happened because he comprehended the essence of skills, and transferred his mental power to merge with his Military Fire before channeling them into the weapon.

While it was not an added attribute, Ou Yangming gained something new.

That being said, the words 'self-explosive when released' were rather hair-raising.

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while, then used his Military Fire to draw the saber's Sharpness and Toughness attributes. Only after it changed from being an outstanding item of Good Grade Rank Three to Common Grade Rank Three, which was when the Sharpness and Toughness had only 3 points each, did he stop.

Following that, he put on the equipment set that he kept at his smithing workshop, then went over to the hearth.

The hearth could be used to smith armaments, but one could imagine the hardness and thickness of the armaments produced. Ou Yangming, who was fully armored, hid behind it, thus he would not be injured even if his smithing workshop exploded.

After confirming his safety again, he channeled his essential Qi into the military saber.

Once his essential Qi's threshold was at its highest, he threw the saber to the front of the hearth, then quickly squatted to hide.

"Pow—"

The flying military saber suddenly exploded the moment it touched the wall, and a loud sound was heard.

Ou Yangming somehow heard a buzzing sound as well, then the workshop was dead silent.

When he looked up carefully, he widened his eyes. The wall in front of the hearth was heavily damaged, by which countless tiny and densely packed holes were seen.

Based on Ou Yangming's experience and eyesight, he could instantly confirm that the tiny holes were caused by thin iron shards.

It was then when Ou Yangming completely understood the meaning and the might of self-explosive.

The meaning was pretty much self-explanatory, and one would understand as long as one was not a fool. On the other hand, its might was very worth looking forward to.

A military saber of Common Grade Rank Three that exploded actually caused such a fearsome effect. What if it was at the peak of Good Grade, or even High Grade?

Once the thought crossed Ou Yangming's mind, he felt chills down his spine.

Other people might not know, but he was certain that he would be doomed if a military saber at the peak of High Grade suddenly exploded in front of him, and if he was not well-prepared.

'It turns out that when mental power and the Military Fire merge, and is channeled into a weapon, a skill like this is produced.

'Hmm, even though the skill feels quite weak, it'll definitely be effective if used during an appropriate situation.

Just as Ou Yangming was trying to figure things out, someone knocked on the door.

Ou Yangming frowned and opened the door impatiently, but was stunned when he saw who it was.

Upon seeing the unfriendly look on his face, Yan Haobo was rather nervous. "Master Ou, we'll be heading to the mountain tomorrow, would you like to come along?"

Ou Yangming was no longer displeased when he recalled the matter, so he smiled. "Squad Leader Yan, I'll definitely join. Hehe, please take care of me when we hunt in the forest!"

Yan Haobo quickly humbled himself, then slapped his chest and claimed that he would let Master Ou have an enjoyable experience.

Seeing as Yan Haobo was being so energetic, Ou Yangming knew that he already knew about the night fight, as well as where Yan Chengcai and his brothers acquired their pieces of equipment from.

After sending Yan Haobo away, Ou Yangming pondered and began smithing.

This time, instead of smithing a military saber, he forged an exquisite dagger that could be carried around easily.