In a room, Ni Yinghong put down five raw gemstones and looked at Ou Yangming with her bright eyes as she asked, "Tell me, can you really perceive the stones?"

Ou Yangming chuckled and answered, "You know I've fathomed the integration of Heaven and man."

"We knew that long ago. Hmph, isn't it just the integration of Heaven and man? Is there a need to show off…" Ni Yinghong pouted her lips, but she said to herself, 'The state seems quite desirable. Hmph, I'm not envious at all!'

Ou Yangming giggled. "Indeed, there's no need to show off, but after having the state, I had an obscure feeling about these stones. I had a good feeling about them, so I chose them."

Ni Yinghong was not fully convinced, but she realized after some thought that it could not be explained any other way.

Although there were no similar cases with other powerhouses, who apprehended the integration of Heaven and man too, the state was achieved when one comprehended nature. It varied from person to person, hence there was no absolute standard for it.

Besides, Ou Yangming had grasped the state as a Military Fire Blacksmith.

There were people like him in the past, but they were exceptionally rare like phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

On top of that, there were no detailed records of the unique ability being attained by a person who understood the mysteries of the integration of Heaven and man through smithing art. Perhaps Ou Yangming's ability had come from that.

Ni Yinghong pondered for some time before she finally approved of his statement. "I've given you everything, so do as you see fit!" Afterward, she turned and left right away.

Since Ou Yangming found out her real identity; a woman, as thick-faced as she was, dared not stay in the room for a long time at night.

Ou Yangming smiled and was rather moved as he watched her leave.

After leaving the Yi Pavilion, Ni Yinghong left on her own by giving the excuse that she would not board the carriage. As soon as she returned home, she found five similar-sized raw gemstones to substitute five of the actual ones before Ou Yangming and the rest were back.

Being the Ni family's eldest young lady, it was easy for her to make the substitution.

As such, among the ten raw gemstones that were cracked by the Ni family's stone-cracking master, only five were the ones that were picked by Ou Yangming. The five remaining real gemstones had been discreetly brought to this room.

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply as he relished the beautiful lady's consideration and kindness. He could not help but become immersed in it.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind: if he could really spend his life together with her forever, he would be content without wanting to pursue anything else.

However, Old Craftsman's thin and ill-looking face surfaced again at the next instant.

Ou Yangming shook his head hard. 'Who am I to indulge in being in a special place? Before I grasp absolute power and the way to prolong Old Craftsman's life, I can't relax nor slack at all.'

He sighed and suppressed his thoughts to the bottom of his heart.

Following that, he focused fully on the raw gemstones.

Without needing to touch them, Ou Yangming knew what they roughly contained. They contained 1 Fine Grade gem, 3 High Grade gems, and a gem that gave him the feeling of a vast ocean, respectively.

Ou Yangming did not attach much importance to the High Grade and Fine Grade gems because the feeling of the blue sea was still fresh in his memory.

When Ni Yinghong sent the raw gemstones over, she had brought different suitable tools as well.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming felt that his unbreakable military saber was the best tool for him.

As he shaved the raw gemstone with his saber, the gem was finally removed. Once he had fully retrieved it, he was drawn by the light that was emitted.

After hesitating over and over again, Ou Yangming exerted his Military Fire on the blue gem.

[Item: Impeccable Gem (Blue)]

[Equivalent Rank: Magic Level Common Grade]

[Attribute: Increases mental power's upper limit by 5%]

Even though it only had one attribute, Ou Yangming's eyelids twitched, and he almost exclaimed.

Mental power was an incredibly unique power, and it was completely different from essential Qi.

While Ou Yangming learned from Big Yellow a technique to increase mental power, it was suitable for the big yellow dog, but not as effective for humans.

Therefore, even after practicing with a lot of hard work, Ou Yangming's mental power had not increased much.

With this gem's assistance and his 40 Points of mental power, he could easily increase his metal power by 2 Points.

Yes, 2 Points of mental power did not seem a lot, but it was not the end of his mental power's limit. In the future, perhaps the attribute could benefit him in a way that was beyond his imagination.

Moreover, the gem was of Magic Level Common Grade.

The meaning that it carried was enough to let one connect it with something else.

Ou Yangming removed his waist sash after some thought.

There were three grooves on the sash, but two of them were already occupied, leaving the last one empty.

The waist sash had advanced to the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five after two grooves were used, and its standard was the greatest among all pieces of equipment that Ou Yangming had come across.

As he looked at the final groove, he gritted his teeth and burned the Military Fire in his hand.

If an ordinary influential person had discovered this Magic Level gem, that person would certainly value it very much. He or she would gather capable craftsmen to smith a piece of unique equipment according to the gem's pattern and would do anything to unleash the equipment's function to the extreme.

Nevertheless, that was not what Ou Yangming had in mind.

To him, there were two types of equipment: usable ones, and non-usable ones.

If its function could not be effectively exerted, as great as the piece of equipment was, he would not cherish it.

Hence, after acquiring the blue gem, Ou Yangming's first thought was to embed it to the waist sash. A usable piece of equipment was the best kind of equipment, after all.

If he had not previously embedded the Substitution Gem to the waist sash, perhaps it was not Zhang Yinli who would have died, but him.

As Ou Yangming's Military Fire burned, there was indeed a wonderful change to the blue gem's volume, and it slowly adjusted to the groove's size.

If his wasteful act was witnessed by renowned powerhouses from the gem trade, they would definitely cry and reprimand him for wasting a natural resource.

Each time a gem's shape changed, it would lose some power. Additionally, nobody knew how many years it had been since a Magic Level gem was found. Nobody would handle a Fine Grade gem so recklessly, let alone a Magic Level gem.

That said, Ou Yangming was the only person in the room, thus he handled the gem as he wished without any concern.

Eventually, the Military Fire completely changed the gem's outer appearance. Ou Yangming's eyes glowed as he placed the gem to the groove with shaking hands. Almost at the same time, his Military Fire fully enveloped the waist sash.

Ou Yangming had carried out the process so directly not only because he wanted to use the piece of equipment as soon as possible, but also because he possessed the Military Fire.

He believed if he wanted to transfer the gems elsewhere one day, his Military Fire would allow him to do so without damaging the gems' quality.

"Ding…"

A wonderful sound as if gold and jade had touched each other was heard.

Ou Yangming was instantly satisfied. It was the sign that the gem had perfectly fit into the piece of equipment, and it was also the greatest charm of the Military Fire.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming's role in the process must not be underestimated. If he had not given his full attention, the process could not have been completed so smoothly.

After all, the Military Fire had only played a role in the transformation while Ou Yangming was the one controlling it.

The instant the gem was embedded on the waist sash, Ou Yangming heard a deafening sound in his head.

His mental power was actually released uncontrollably, and he entered the thoroughly meticulous state at once.

Although the purple Military Fire allowed Ou Yangming to enter a similar state when he was smithing or fighting, this time, he did not rely on the fire's power. Instead, he had achieved this state by relying on his own energy.

His mental power, which rose high, merged with the purple light and observed every change in the waist sash like a deity.

Ou Yangming even felt like time was flowing backward at that moment.

It was as if he witnessed the moment the gem was in contact with the sash, as well as everything that happened after that.

He saw how the gem's power flowed into the waist sash, and how it became compatible with the powers of the sash and the two other gems.

If a slight mistake appeared during the process, there would only be one consequence: the piece of equipment would be destroyed, and the gem would shatter.

Nonetheless, through the Military Fire's control, it ended in a near-perfect state.

Ou Yangming felt his head vibrate a little as he awoke from the godlike state. As his Military Fire surrounded the waist sash, its attributes were clearly shown in his mind.

[Item: Magic waist sash (Green)]

[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]

[Attributes: Toughness +21, Physique +4]

[Skills: Blood Flight (Activation condition: Abundant Qi and blood), Substitution (Accumulates Qi and blood, substitutes death), Mental power's upper limit increased by 5%]

'Green, Magic Tool, 21 Points!'

Upon seeing the notification, Ou Yangming felt like endless stormy waves surged in his heart.

'A Magic Tool!

'I finally broke through.'

Before this, no matter how hard Ou Yangming tried, he could not smith something beyond an Ordinary Tool. Even when he attempted with the Chaos Cave's mysterious stones, the result was still the same.

This time, he seemed to have realized the truth behind it and figured how to smith a piece of equipment that was above an Ordinary Tool.

It was the legacy of a skill that was meant to be; it was mighty energy that was displayed from a mysterious power that came from the endless void.

It was a legacy that was obtained from a unique environment of the integration of Heaven and man, the thoroughly meticulous state, as well as the burst of mental power and the purple Military Fire that became compatible with each other.

Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and looked highly spirited. He was full of unprecedented confidence.