Elder Universe responded plainly, "Won't you know what ore it is by using appraisal art?"

Ni Yinghong puffed out her cheeks and expressed, "Master, would we have come to find you if appraisal art was useful?"

"It isn't?"

"Yes, we couldn't see anything with the art," Ni Yinghong answered without any hesitation.

"That's impossible. Appraisal art is an art used to communicate with nature, so everything that belongs in this world is appraisable," Elder Universe commented while he looked at the peculiar stone. It was then that his eyes had flashes of radiance.

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up as he thought, 'This elder has a wonderful method indeed—he's able to replace the Appraisal Light with his look.'

Nonetheless, the wonderful method was probably the elder's ultimate art, hence Ou Yangming could not ask for the elder's advice no matter how greedy he was.

"Hey, it's really strange…" Elder Universe furrowed his eyebrows and picked up the stone to turn it around for some time.

"Master, how is it?" Ni Yinghong asked eagerly.

Elder Universe could not help but laugh. "You're really impatient. Aren't you afraid that I'll disappoint you?"

Ni Yinghong shook her head. "Master, if you don't even have an idea, nobody else in the world will know."

Elder Universe laughed joyfully. It was true that his little apprentice was troublesome, but she was a sweet-talker, who could always make him happy.

"Okay, since you said that, I'll tell you." The elder pointed at the bizarre stone in his hand. "This stone probably doesn't belong in our world."

Ou Yangming was moved. He subconsciously nodded when he thought about the indescribable oddities in the Chaos Cave.

He was already suspicious a long time ago, but if the Chaos Cave contained meteorites from outside their world, what about the Land of Inheritance in the cave? What was the identity of the Ni family's ancestor?

Ni Yinghong was surprised. "Master, why do you say that? Could it be because appraisal art can't be used to appraise it?"

"That's indeed one of the reasons, but most importantly, it's due to the stone's various properties." Elder Universe nodded. "This stone is more than just slightly superior to featured steel in its hardness, its tenacity, and its other properties. It won't be surprising if only one of its attributes is of such standard, but this stone surpasses featured steel as a whole, so it can only mean that it's a product from the outside world."

"Master, can't it be a rare stone that hasn't been discovered in our world?" Ni Yinghong was not convinced.

Elder Univer could not help but chuckle. "Featured steel has been publicly acknowledged for many years as the most suitable material to smith Fine Grade equipment, which is also the smithing limit in our world. Since that's the case with pieces of equipment, that's also the case for materials. How can there be an exception?"

Ou Yangming asked as a thought crossed his mind, "Senior, is it impossible to smith a piece of equipment beyond Fine Grade in our world?"

"It's definitely impossible if featured steel is used, but it might be possible with this ore. That said…" Elder Universe shook his head then continued in a serious manner, "From ancient times, although there were Almighty Beings who could exceed the world's limit by smithing magic tools with peculiar stones, they're as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns."

Ni Yinghong blinked and questioned, "Master, do you think he can do it?"

"He…" Elder Universe rolled his eyes and wanted to ridicule Ou Yangming because he did not think the young and inexperienced fellow had the ability to complete the huge task. Nevertheless, the elder suddenly recalled the raging flames, hence he responded, "How would I know if he'll succeed or not? But if he's not confident about it, it's better to not use this mystifying stone."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid that he'll waste the treasure!" Elder Universe explained firmly.

Ou Yangming wondered, 'I've already smithed with these strange stones many times, but as the elder said, I did feel an invisible barrier during the process.'

When he increased a weapon's Sharpness and a piece of equipment's Toughness to 20 Points, he arrived at the limit where his efforts to further improve them were to no avail.

In other words, Ou Yangming could easily upgrade a piece of equipment to the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five if he used the rare stone, but that was the end of it, and it was impossible for him to go further.

Judging from this aspect, it was true that smithing with the queer stones was quite a waste.

Despite that, Ou Yangming was unlike how he was in the past. He had become more ambitious and confident, and he had advanced in smithing art.

Elder Universe truly doted on Ni Yinghong from the bottom of his heart, and his love for her extended even to Ou Yangming. He did not hide anything from the young fellow and answered every question honestly. As such, Ou Yangming benefited greatly, and admired the elder's profound knowledge.

Once Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong left, Elder Universe touched his sparse hair with a bitter smile. "Where exactly did the little freak come from? How can he possess such powerful mental power? Even I can't perceive him…"

He shook his head and sighed, then he flashed and left.

Someone entered the farm after a brief moment to clean up the mess, but news about the fire and the God of fire's appearance spread far and wide at an unbelievable speed.

※※※※

The Governor's Residence was the highest building in the prefecture.

This did not mean the governor had the strongest power in the prefecture; he could enjoy such treatment because he was appointed to represent the imperial family.

However, Deng Xiyuan looked troubled at the moment. He gently put down the letter in his hands and looked far away while releasing a dangerous aura.

The letter was delivered from the Immense Forest Military Camp, and it was written by Deng Zhicai, his junior in the clan.

Deng Xiyuan was furious after reading the letter because not only did his junior not punish Wu Guotu, but he also advised him not to make things difficult for Ou Yangming.

The little Yin Grade martial artist was valued by Chen Dishou, but Deng Xiyuan remembered clearly how the young fellow had previously contradicted him.

Deng Xiyuan was initially ready to make things difficult for Ou Yangming, but Deng Zhicai sent him a letter.

He felt like he had just swallowed a fly—unusually uncomfortable.

His subordinates stayed away as they dared not get close to him.

They sensed the governor's rage, and they knew they could not redress the injustice if the governor vented his anger on them by slapping them to their deaths.

Deng Xiyuan's face changed all of a sudden. He flashed to leave his study, then he jumped onto the roof instead.

He would not have forgotten himself under normal circumstances.

That being said, he sensed an intensely violent aura, which was so fearsome that he felt afraid even from a distance away.

The power was capable of killing him.

Deng Xiyuan was even more shocked that someone had the guts to release such power in broad daylight.

How could he—the governor—be at ease if he did not get to the bottom of it?

He fixed his gaze on a raging fire far away.

'Is there a fire?'

Deng Xiyuan's face changed when he identified the direction, and he subconsciously gasped. He finally realized where the fire was coming from.

In actuality, Deng Xiyuan was not the only one who was taken aback because every Supreme Great Ancestor in the prefecture had come out to look in the same direction.

Similarly, they were frightened when they realized where the fire was coming from.

"Xuetian, what do you think that old fella's doing? Did he encounter a powerful enemy?" Ni Jingshen frowned.

"Impossible. My gut tells me that even though an extremely forceful power had burst out earlier, his power isn't involved," Ni Xuetian responded, then he added after a pause, "Based on his character, if he was faced with an evenly-matched enemy, he wouldn't accept the attack so calmly."

"That's true. The old fella may look kind, but he remains a child at heart. He doesn't usually have disputes with other people, but if someone provokes him…" Ni Jingtong stopped, and his face took on a grim expression.

It was evident that Elder Universe did not give him a good impression.

Many people were either pondering or discussing the matter, but coincidentally, none of them dared to go over to take a look.

Everyone was like an ostrich that buried its head in the sand—pretending to know nothing.

Nonetheless, information from different sources was eventually gathered, and the Supreme Great Ancestors were soon informed.

When they received the information, they felt like they suffered an intense visual impact.

'A God of fire was born?

'The God of fire can absorb flames, transform into a 10-feet-tall pillar of fire, and joke together with Elder Universe?

'F*ck, which fella is trying to mislead us…'

However, when the Supreme Great Ancestors calmed down, they had a scary thought.

'Has a legendary person appeared in the prefecture?'

On the other hand, in the Governor's Residence, Deng Xiyuan received a letter from Elder Universe.

As Deng Xiyuan read the letter several times from front to back, his expression changed wonderfully.

He slowly put down the letter, then he gave a discreet order after he pondered for a long time.

With that, the gossip completely disappeared the next day, and the different forces in the prefecture stopped talking about it.

Like countless other rumors, the incident about the God of fire was gone with the wind.