The next morning when Ou Yangming awakened, he felt refreshed.

He headed to his courtyard to practice the martial-art squat for half an hour, where he clearly felt an enormous change in his body. The essential Qi of a Force Grade Class Four martial artist was insignificant among many soldiers, but it was not the worst.

Other than the Guards under the command of the generals from different camps, if Ou Yangming fought a normal soldier, he could simply go head-on without using skills and without wearing any equipment. Moreover, he could easily have the upper hand due to this abundant Qi and blood.

The light at the center of his Dantian circulated and it was no longer the size of a bean as it had increased many times into the size of a baby's fist.

Of course, it was just a vivid metaphor. If someone actually opened his stomach to look, one would definitely not find a light source the size of a baby's fist.

Ou Yangming proceeded to practice his fist art and his blade technique after he was done with the martial-art squat. Although the fist art and the blade technique were taught by Sui Hezhi, they were different when Ou Yangming performed them.

Besides, when he practiced, the mental power between his eyebrows was eager to make a move.

In a flash, a stream of mental power was released, which pushed Ou Yangming lightly at his waist. He dashed forward due to the power's momentum and slashed with his saber at the speed of light.

From an outsider's perspective, the posture seemed to have exhausted him of all his power. However, the moment he became stagnant, a new force was suddenly generated, allowing him to perform an earth-shattering slash when it looked impossible.

Ou Yangming's slash would not gain him victory during an official battle, but it could at least frighten his opponent terribly.

A faint smile was seen on Ou Yangming's face as he finally uncovered a hint of his mental power's function. If he complimented it with his martial arts skills during a battle, an unimaginable, powerful might could be released.

Even though Ou Yangming had not eliminated the pressure and danger from Zhang Yinfan, he was no longer afraid like he was before. This was because he had the power to protect himself, such that he was confident about escaping even if Zhang Yinfan personally made a move. Furthermore, as Ou Yangming's power kept improving, he could one day crush his opponent instead.

A knock was heard all of a sudden, and Ou Yangming's ears twitched a little. He quickly put his military saber away, and hurried to the door.

Old Craftsman's fingers reached out to him as soon as the door was opened.

"Ah, Old Man, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Ou Yangming was on the tip of his toes as he shouted while grimacing in pain, "My ear is going to be torn off soon!"

Old Craftsman did not let go even when Ou Yangming yelled, but he held back his force and pulled Ou Yangming inside.

Once they entered the building, Old Craftsman finally let go and scolded him, "You little fella, are you tired of living? How dare you fight a half-spirit beast? Do you want to die?"

Ou Yangming rubbed his ear while gesturing to Old Craftsman to sit. He then served him a warm cup of tea before replying to him, "Old Man, you must've heard it wrong. Who spread the rumor to you?"

Old Craftsman sneered. "Did I need to ask about it? The Middle Camp's general sent a notice, which states that your credit ranked first among those who slaughtered the half-spirit beast. Heh, very well, how dare you fight a half-spirit beast? Why didn't you lose an arm or a leg?!"

While Old Craftsman chastised, he kept scanning Ou Yangming's body to confirm that he was fine. Just as the old man was finally relieved, he fumed with anger and began to rage. Old Craftsman stuck his leg out with the intention to kick Ou Yangming but was afraid that he would really hurt him, hence he went around Ou Yangming to kick his butt instead.

Ou Yangming groaned and fell to the ground.

In actual fact, it was extremely easy for him to avoid the kick given his current ability, but he must take the hit and endure it because it was Old Craftsman who had kicked him.

Old Craftsman then continued to beat Ou Yangming up while lecturing him, "Little b*stard, I asked you to gain experience. It's fine if you fought a wild beast, but how dare you provoke a half-spirit beast? Are you tired of living? Did you want me to watch you die before I do? Since you're tired of living, I'll beat you to death!"

Though the old man sounded ruthless, he only hit the meaty parts on Ou Yangming's body.

Ou Yangming puffed hard on the ground, and did not get up. His groans were getting louder.

Old Craftsman finally stopped after a brief moment. His heart thudded when he looked at Ou Yangming, who was curled up on the ground, and he wondered, 'Oh no, did I hit him so hard that I actually hurt him? But he has been practicing the martial-art squat, as well as other skills, so he can't be that weak.'

He frowned. "B*stard, why are you still lying on the ground pretentiously? Get the hell up!"

Ou Yangming pressed the parts that hurt on his body as he stood up staggeringly with a sour face. "Old Man, it hurt so much!"

Old Craftsman scoffed, then went inside to look for ointment. "Come, I'll rub those spots for you."

Ou Yangming went over to him and removed his clothes, but when Old Craftsman looked at his body, he did not see many bruises.

"Old Man, I didn't even see the half-spirit beast when I was there," Ou Yangming quickly said as he knew that he was in a bad spot.

"Nonsense, why did you get the most credit if you didn't see it?" Old Craftsman was distracted indeed.

"That's because I smithed three arrows for Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp, and I heard that the three arrows were the key," Ou Yangming explained.

"What arrows were those that they were so powerful?" Old Craftsman doubted him.

"Old Man, please wait here for a while, I'll show you a demonstration!" Ou Yangming chuckled then darted into his house. It was clear from his agile movement that he was not injured at all.

Old Craftsman widened his eyes and thought, 'Sh*t, I beat him too softly earlier, I must use more force the next time!'

After some time, Ou Yangming returned with a dagger. "Old Man, I employed a trick in my Military Fire, and this was the result. Take a look at it."

Old Craftsman looked at the dagger carefully after receiving it, and had a serious look on his face. "This dagger is strange indeed. Its internal structure looks stable, but it also has a strong tension, how did you smith it?"

Ou Yangming admired Old Craftsman, who was worthy of being a top-notch Military Fire Blacksmith, because he noticed the dagger's biggest feature at one glance.

"Old Man, I incorporated a hint of mental power into my Military Fire and channeled it into the dagger. I managed to achieve this by luck." Ou Yangming lowered his voice.

"Mental power?" Old Craftsman was stunned and bewildered. "How were you able to use the power?"

'Why do you think that I'm not able to use it?' Ou Yangming thought to himself, but dared not rebuke the old man, or he would be beaten up again for sure.

While Ou Yangming was not related by blood with Old Craftsman, they were really close. Their way of expressing themselves was simply distinctive and reserved.

"Cough, cough. Old Man, please don't underestimate me, you're the one who groomed me, right?"

Old Craftsman nodded hesitantly. 'It's true that I raised this fella, but why do I not recall teaching him anything about mental power?

'Besides, what exactly is mental power?'

Nevertheless, he was definitely not going to admit his ignorance in front of Ou Yangming.

"Okay, what's so special about this thing?"

"Old Man, look!" Ou Yangming laughed. He channeled a hint of essential Qi into the dagger, then threw it to the corner of a wall that was far away.

"Pow—"

After the soft sound was heard, Ou Yangming knew that there was no need for him to explain to Old Craftsman anymore. The old man had been a Military Fire Blacksmith for years, so if he could not tell the weapon's worth, he would not have become the military camp's blacksmith chief.

Old Craftsman sighed when he looked at another dagger for a while. "Ah, I've really aged, but my life wasn't spent in vain now that I have a successor."

His main point was that he had a successor, hence it was a delightful comment rather than an emotional one.

Ou Yangming quickly responded, "Old Man, you're old but vigorous, you can live for a few hundred years more!"

"A few hundred years? Haha, that's impossible." Old Craftsman was cracked up. He then shook his head and remarked, "Even the blacksmith master from the prefecture, who arrived yesterday, is more powerful than me, not to mention you. Hehe, it's rare that he's still so young, he certainly has a bright future!"

Ou Yangming's face changed as he recalled something.

On that day when he had a conflict with Huang Jingtian and the others from the West Camp, they talked about a Military Fire Blacksmith from the prefecture, who was invited by General Tian. On top of that, the master seemed to have discovered a method to mass-produce Good Grade Arm Guards.

Although Ou Yangming was indifferent about the rumor, those were Good Grade Arm Guards. Even with different workmanship, it was impossible to let normal soldiers have a pair each. Nonetheless, he also knew that one who came surely had ill-intentions because one who meant well would not have come.

It seemed like that master had arrived when Ou Yangming entered the dense forest, and he had even met Old Craftsman.

"Old Man, did that person offend you?" A flash of cold light was seen in Ou Yangming's eyes. He would only laugh it off if he was the one who was offended, but if it was Old Craftsman who was offended, heh…

"What do you mean by that? That fella's craftsmanship is amazing indeed, and he'll definitely surpass me in the future, but…" Old Craftsman found his question strange, but he replied to him proudly, "I can still suppress him well now!"

Ou Yangming studied the old man's expression closely, especially his arrogant look, and quickly realized that he was overthinking.

Old Craftsman suddenly slapped his forehead and glared at Ou Yangming. "Ah, I was too focused on teaching you, my unfilial student, a lesson that I forgot what I needed to do. Get dressed and follow me to meet Master Ni."

"Master Ni? Which Master Ni?" Ou Yangming got dressed right away.

"The new master, you must learn well from him, understood?"

"Yes, Old Man, I won't embarrass you." Ou Yangming's eyes lit up as he smiled mischievously.