"Master Ou, are you… Sure you want to choose this?"

The people who were in charge of the statistics and maintained the order were blacksmiths too, but they were mostly Intermediate Blacksmiths, so they were far from Advanced Blacksmiths like Ou Yangming.

Therefore, they dared not delay the matter once they recognized Ou Yangming because they were aware of his background and status.

Nonetheless, the Intermediate Blacksmiths had good visions and experiences, hence they naturally understood how difficult the task would be. As such, they could not help but question Ou Yangming.

"Yes, I'd like to take up this task," Ou Yangming answered with a smile. He looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

"We dare not, we dare not. Master Ou, please wait for a while, I'll notify the person who listed it, immediately," the head Intermediate Blacksmith of the hall quickly responded, then he bowed at Ou Yangming and hurried away.

Feng Guangyuan furrowed his eyebrows. He would have just sneered and stood by if it was someone else, but Ou Yangming was deeply valued by Master Jin Shengjie, and he assessed the young fellow during the Advanced Blacksmith Assessment too.

He smiled bitterly and went forward to ask Ou Yangming softly, "Master Ou, how confident are you?"

Ou Yangming answered after some thought, "More than 50%."

Feng Guangyuan was stunned. 'How dare you take up the task when you're only 50% confident about it? You're too daring!'

Yi Yucheng forced a smile too. "Master Ou, I know you'd like to gain prestige for the Yi Pavilion. Ah, one can earn 3,000 Prestige Points from this task, so it makes sense that people will covet it…"

Apart from a monetary reward, one would earn a certain amount of Prestige Points each time one completed a task from the Smithing Hall.

Nevertheless, the prestige for normal tasks was not high because one could only obtain a few 10 Prestige Points from smithing even a piece of Fine Grade equipment. Only if one smithed an item at the peak of Fine Grade Rank Five or something that was layered with Unique Attributes, one could secure over 100 Prestige Points.

In a way, the simpler the smithing task, the lower the Prestige Points. On the contrary, the harder the task, the higher the Prestige Points, so much so that the points would skyrocket.

If an Advanced Blacksmith put down one's dignity by accepting normal tasks here, one would still be considered hardworking to be able to clinch 1,000 Prestige Points in a day.

It was hard to imagine that the smithing task that Ou Yangming was looking at was worth 3,000 Prestige Points, but the task's difficulty was also unimaginable.

Feng Guangyuan cleared his throat and stated, "Master Ou, we'd be delighted and you'll be more reputable if you succeed this time, but if you don't… You won't fall into disrepute, but your reputation will be more or less damaged!"

Ou Yangming nodded. "Thank you for your pointers, Master Feng, but I did research this aspect."

Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan smiled helplessly when they heard the young fellow because they knew he was determined to accept the task.

"Master Ou, the patron made a request. If you complete the task, other than the 3,000 Prestige Points from our Blacksmiths Association, he'll reward you with another 1,000 Prestige Points; if you fail the task, it's fine if the Unique Attribute isn't lost or damaged, but if there's a problem with it, 2,000 Prestige Points will be deducted from you!" The blacksmith that ran off earlier returned in a hurry after a brief moment. After he told Ou Yangming about the situation, he shook his head and added, "So if you'd like to accept the task, you need the Yi Pavilion's approval."

Feng Guangyuan was rather mad. "Who's the patron? How could he make such a request! Hmph, Prestige Points to be deducted? I've never heard of this! What are you doing?"

The Intermediate Blacksmith turned pale, and he said with a bitter smile, "Master Feng, the information came from those behind the scenes, and I'm nothing but a messenger!"

An Intermediate Blacksmith was considered notable in the capital, but one could not be proud in front of someone like Feng Guangyuan.

"Master Feng, don't make things difficult for him anymore." Just as Feng Guangyuan was going to reply to the blacksmith, Ou Yangming reached out his hand to stop him. He paused for a while and told the Intermediate Blacksmith, "Help me ask the Yi Pavilion's young pavilion master from their lounge. If she agrees to it, I'll accept the task."

The blacksmith instantly responded to him and left. Given that he was an Intermediate Blacksmith, although would be teased at for running errands for someone else, he was unwilling to face the angry Advanced Blacksmiths at this moment.

Before long, Bai Shixue was informed of the situation.

Her eyes wandered about as she asked, "Betting on 4,000 Prestige Points with 2,000 Prestige Points—what do you think?"

She did not speak loudly, but her voice was naturally alluring such that one would fall for it.

The other people looked at each other. Those who could speak to Bia Shixue were elders from the Yi Pavilion. They knew the importance of the Myriad Treasure Meet to the Yi Pavilion, and they were aware of what 4,000 Prestige Points represented.

"Young Pavilion Master, judging from how the patron offered extra 1,000 Prestige Points just like that, I'm sure he mustn't be underestimated," an elder went forward and remarked in a deep voice. He stroked his long beard and added, "I'm only worried that the task is a trap!"

The other people were shocked at first, but they soon exchanged glances and became alert.

If the task was a setup from a huge force, one could easily imagine the outcome.

Bai Shixue smiled and asked, "Shopkeeper Du, what's your thought on this?"

Du Gaoge pondered for a while and said, "Young Pavilion Master, I won't have high hopes if someone else asks to take up the task, but I think we should give it a go since it was Master Ou who asked."

"Oh, why do you think so?"

"Because it's Master Ou," Du Gaoge explained, "I've been serving him since he arrived at the capital, and I witnessed his abilities and… Luck, so I'm optimistic about this."

"Hmph, you're optimistic about this?" The elder from before scoffed. "He'll lose 2,000 Prestige Points if he fails, and it's equivalent to two days worth of an Advanced Blacksmith's hard work!"

Du Gaoge uttered, "But if he succeeds, he'll gain 4,000 Prestige Points."

The elder was furious, but just as he was going to reproach the shopkeeper, Bai Shixue said with a smile, "Elder Xu, please calm down. Hehe, don't forget that Master Ou's not only an Advanced Blacksmith, but an appraiser as well. He was the one who appraised the Super Gem today, which is worth 1,000 Prestige Points." She looked around with her beautiful eyes and continued gently, "Even if he makes a mistake, he'll only lose 1,000 points, and he can catch up by finding another Super Gem."

'How can someone find a Super Gem so easily?' The elder pouted and thought.

Despite that, since Bai Shixue had made it clear, there was nothing he could do. After all, she was the Yi Pavilion's young pavilion master, and he could not brazenly oppose his boss.

Bai Shixue waved her hand and announced, "Since it's Master Ou's request, let's agree to it."

The other people were discussing the matter before she decided, but the questioning stopped once she made the decision.

This was the prominence of the young pavilion master, where nobody from the Yi Pavilion dared to disobey her.

Bai Shixue curled her lips into a smile after the other people left. She was previously wondering when Ou Yangming would surprise her, so she did not expect it to happen in the blink of an eye.

'4,000 Prestige Points, hehe, this is interesting…'

※※※※

Ou Yangming did not wait too long in the Smithing Hall for a clear answer.

Feng Guangyuan and Yi Yucheng persuaded him out of good intention, but they gave up seeing how persistent Ou Yangming was.

Following that, Ou Yangming entered a room in the hall along with the Intermediate Blacksmith. He felt a powerful conception around him the moment he entered the room, and he had goosebumps as though he got an electric shock.

When he suddenly looked up, he noticed a lady with a veil on her face sitting in a corner.

Even though Ou Yangming could not see through her face, he noticed a pair of hollow and unpredictable eyes.

He had met numerous powerhouses before this, but even when he encountered a formidable Supreme Great Ancestor like Elder Universe, he never saw such eyes.

Ou Yangming felt like he was looking at a sky full of stars when he fixed his gaze on the lady's eyes as if a vaster world could be found inside them.

The young fellow froze a little, and he involuntarily released his hidden mental power.

This was a rebound that would only happen when he was pressured by a powerhouse, by which his mental power surged out, and his eyes lit up.

The blacksmith who led Ou Yangming here wanted to give them a simple introduction, but he suddenly felt an enormous change in their surroundings. That said, he was not powerful enough to figure out what was going on, but he knew his body seemed to have been confined by an invisible power.

Not to mention moving his body, he could neither speak nor blink.

It only took an instant for the blacksmith to be drenched in sweat, and he collapsed to the ground as his knees went weak.

Two similarly forceful powers contacted each other in the void, but they moved away from each other after the contact instead of going into a life-or-death battle.

However, the two parties knew from the brief contact what kind of freak they were facing.

Subsequently, the lady stood up slowly and looked at Ou Yangming. "Master Ou from the Yi Pavilion, I've heard a lot about you."

Her voice was clear and sweet, which was as pleasant as a yellowbird's.

Ou Yangming was moved because he was certain the lady was quite young. Even so, it was quite shocking that she possessed great mental power, which was not inferior to his at all.

'Sure enough, there are plenty of masters in the world. I truly underestimated the heroes of the world.'