Master Wuʼs residence in the city was luxurious. When Hu Yicheng and the others arrived outside the place in carriages and presented their invitation card, the doorkeeper was arrogant and ignorant.

Hu Yicheng later smiled apologetically, then he gave him a big red packet and stated his purpose of visitation.

When the doorkeeper heard that Hu Yicheng brought the two unique materials that were requested by Master Wu Hongxi, he weighed the red packet in his hands and went in to report the guestsʼ arrival.

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows a little. His cultivation base did not seem high on the surface, but within Changlong Countyʼs prefecture, people from the military and the various aristocratic families respected him. In fact, he was treated similarly to how many Supreme Great Ancestors were treated.

On the other hand, a mere blacksmith in the capital was assuming a haughty manner, hence Ou Yangming was displeased.

Hu Yicheng immediately noticed Ou Yangmingʼs attitude. He explained softly, "Brother Ou, Master Wu isnʼt an ordinary blacksmith! He's a superb blacksmith, who was specially recruited by the imperial family, and he has a huge influence on the imperial family and the military. Many officials and noble people requested divine weapons and sharp tools from him but failed; a figure like him musnʼt be offended!"

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he said, "Big Brother Hu, youʼre an inspector, so youʼre unordinary too. Why do you have to fawn over him?"

Judging from Hu Yichengʼs tone, one could tell that there was a huge disparity between him and Wu Hongxi. It would be quite ambitious for him to want to flatter the master.

After all, things that were precious to Hu Yicheng might not necessarily be deemed valuable by Master Wu.

The spending and the gain were disproportionate.

Hu Yicheng chuckled and responded in a high spirit, "An inferior son of mine was chosen by the Wu residence and is currently practicing basic smithing art."

Ou Yangming was moved. "He has been learning smithing art for 3 years?"

"Thatʼs right."

"3 years. Whatʼs his rank as a blacksmith?" Ou Yangming questioned out of curiosity.

Although he—like Old Craftsman—never took any form of blacksmith assessments, he was in the capital at the moment. Since someone had gotten into Master Wuʼs residence, the person must have taken the necessary assessments according to the rules.

Nonetheless, Hu Yicheng blushed instead and answered, "My inferior son has only been learning smithing artʼs foundation, and he hasnʼt been approved by the master yet, so he has yet to receive the Military Fire or the spiritual fire."

"What?" Ou Yangming was stunned, and he could not help but have a strange look on his face. "How many people are learning basic smithing art in the Wu residence?"

Hu Yicheng put up a finger and replied to him, "There are only over a hundred people."

"A hundred…" Ou Yangming twitched his mouth as he could not understand what the people from the capital were thinking.

Hu Yicheng smiled bitterly, but also seemed slightly proud.

"There are 10,000 if not 8,000 people who want to become Master Wuʼs apprentice. My son was lucky to have stood out!"

Ou Yangming sighed when he looked at Hu Yicheng, who had a complicated look on his face.

He somewhat understood Hu Yichengʼs feelings because he saw the same from Old Craftsman, who did him such a huge favor but asked for nothing in return.

"Big Brother Hu, what's your sonʼs name?" Ou Yangming asked plainly.

Hu Yichengʼs eyes lit up. "His name is Lingguang. Brother Ou, go ahead and teach him if you see him."

As they conversed, the doorkeeper returned and invited them into the residence through the side door.

They arrived at a big hall after a brief moment. The place was decorated uniquely as more than ten different pieces of equipment were placed on both sides.

The servants served them fragrant tea and left.

Hu Yichengʼs eyes glowed as he whispered to the young fellow, "Young Ou, Master Wu smithed these pieces of equipment himself. Not all of them are his best works, but theyʼre worth 10,000 gold."

Ou Yangming was struck with a thought, and he approached one of the weapons.

It was a longsword, whose body was like a bronze mirror as it reflected a peculiar light. No matter who looked at the weapon, it was clear at one glance that it was certainly unordinary.

Ou Yangming's eyes flowed, and he subconsciously reached out to grab the longsword.

Hu Yicheng and Scholar Xu were startled, and they had a strange look on their faces.

They were naturally aware of the rules here; weapons and pieces of equipment that were displayed here were Master Wu's masterpieces, and they could not be touched even though they could be admired.

Normally, those who grew up in the capital and were capable enough to enter the residence knew the rule. Even so, out of courtesy, one should not touch the pieces of equipment without permission.

Nevertheless, they instantly thought about Ou Yangming's background.

It was true that the young fellow's talent in martial arts was quite shocking, but he came from a small place, after all, so he did not know many cultures.

When Sir Hu and Scholar Xu saw how Ou Yangming played with the longsword admiringly, they exchanged glances and comforted themselves, 'Nobody else is watching him anyway, so he may do as he pleases for now.'

Despite that, they had no idea that while the longsword was a rare Fine Grade weapon to them, Ou Yangming—a professional—could notice many things.

For instance, as Ou Yangming focused all his energy on it at the moment, he noticed right away that the longsword was smithed through an untypical method.

Though he had a great eye, he could not spot a single flaw on the longsword.

The longsword was at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five. No attribute was attached to it, but it was an exceptionally rare treasure sword. Besides, the longsword's durability had arrived at 20 Points.

Ou Yangming fixed his gaze on the longsword. His vision had become so profound that he was no longer looking at the weapon's grade and rank, but also some smithing skills used for it.

He could smith pieces of equipment at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five too, but it was because he utilized the Military Fire's unique absorb and upgrade functions. If the young fellow were to do it using his ability, even if he smithed ten pieces of Fine Grade equipment, none of them might actually be at the peak of Rank Five.

When Ou Yangming looked at the longsword, which was like a piece of art, he could not help but feel astounded.

'Wu Hongxi has a well-deserved reputation. He gained the title of Fine Grade King and is publicly acknowledged as one of the greatest blacksmiths in the world, but he has extraordinary smithing skills indeed.'

Hu Yicheng's face changed all of a sudden, and he quickly approached Ou Yangming to whisper to him, "Brother Ou, someone's coming."

Ou Yangming had long heard the footsteps from the inner hall. He looked up and asked in a daze, "What?"

'It makes sense that someone's coming; it'll only be abnormal if nobody's coming.'

Hu Yicheng's forehead was almost going to break out in a cold sweat. He explained at once, "Outsiders aren't allowed to touch the weapons here!"

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization, so he moved his wrist and placed the longsword back to where it was. At the same time, the young fellow flashed and nimbly returned to the main hall's chair. He moved like a floating cloud or a stream of water, which made him look like he was out of the world.

Sir Hu and Scholar Xu looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Ever since they got along with Ou Yangming, the young fellow had been acting sophisticatedly unlike an ordinary teen. It was only until now they called his real age.

A person walked out from the inner hall after a while.

It was a young man in his twenties, but he clearly looked arrogant as though he treated Hu Yicheng and the other people lightly.

"Twelfth Young Master," Hu Yicheng greeted with bright eyes, "Long time no see. You've become more graceful than before, and I admire you for that."

Since Scholar Xu was next to Ou Yangming, he introduced the person to the young fellow softly, "This is Yan Yuanhua, Master Wu's twelfth disciple. He has incredible attainment in smithing art, and I heard he's capable of smithing pieces of High Grade equipment."

Ou Yangming nodded, but he secretly sighed.

'What's the big deal about smithing pieces of High Grade equipment? I can't believe he's praised so highly…

'But on second thought, back when Ni Yunhong and I competed in the military camp, the pieces of equipment that I smithed were also around this level.

'It shows that pieces of High Grade equipment are already considered quite amazing!'

Yan Yuanhua nodded slightly and said, "Sir Hu, I heard you brought the materials that my master needs. Thank you."

Hu Yicheng responded, "It's a small matter. We're honored to be able to serve Master Wu."

Ou Yangming was certain that Sir Hu spent a lot of effort to gather the materials, yet the inspector did not express it at all.

"I checked the batch of goods, and they're great indeed. I'm sure Master Wu will be pleased," Yan Yuanhua noted and continued after a pause. "Your son will be taking the smithing assessment in 5 days. He has been an apprentice here for 3 years, hasn't he?"

"Yes, it has been 3 whole years." Hu Yicheng's eyes shone.

"Oh, his results are satisfactory, so he should be able to finish his apprenticeship this time and gain an opportunity to acquire the Military Fire."

Hu Yicheng was elated. "Thank you, Twelfth Young Master."

Yan Yuanhua chuckled. "It's the fruit of his effort, but he must work harder even after he obtains the Military Fire. If he doesn't show talent and potential that can move Master Wu, he can't become a disciple like me."

"Yes, yes, yes…" Hu Yicheng flattered the young man without any hesitation, "I'll be content even if my inferior son is half as talented as you are."

Yan Yuanhua nodded and asked, "What else do you want to say?"

Hu Yicheng flashed a smile at him. "Twelfth Young Master, this is Ou Yangming, a Military Fire Blacksmith from Changlong County. He has been looking up to Master Wu for a long time, and he'd like to see the master in person if it's possible."

"Are you aware of my master's identity? How can anyone meet him just like that?" Yan Yuanhua laughed. "You're a blacksmith too? What rank are you in?"

Before Ou Yangming could utter a single word, Scholar Xu beat him to it. "Twelfth Young Master, Young Ou comes from the Immense Forest Military Camp, so he never took the assessment."

Yan Yuanhua's face changed at once. "How can this be! How dare he ask to meet my master when he doesn't even have a rank? Have you become foolish or you're trying to get me in trouble?"