The Military Fire burned again, and the last unique material was slowly made into an arm guard.

Ou Yangming focused and turned his wrist slowly, causing the nine-ringed saber's purple light ring in his sea of consciousness to release an intense light to leave a mark on the arm guard. Nonetheless, the arm guard was unwilling to accept it, or perhaps its material did not allow it to accommodate the light's energy at all. Therefore, the arm guard vibrated slightly as though it was enduring immense distress.

At last, a "pop" was heard as the arm guard fractured, then it vanished in the fire without leaving any trace.

Ou Yangming curbed the Military Fire and sighed helplessly.

He seemed to have used up his luck after he successfully smithed the Charm Arm Guard because even after attempting with several special materials in a row, he failed to engrave the nine-ringed saber's purple light ring.

It was as if a mysterious power was vaguely hindering him.

Ou Yangming naturally knew what power it was. Other people would have given up long ago, but the young fellow was different because he had encountered this power many times. Besides, he always managed to break through the shackles in the end and fulfilled his wishes. Therefore, instead of giving up, he continued to search for the most suitable material.

Although the Yin Cedarwood could withstand the Power of Charm's light ring, it repelled the nine-ringed saber's.

Nevertheless, apart from the Yin Cedarwood, the other materials tested by Ou Yangming had worse tolerances for the nine-ringed saber's purple light ring. Unexpected changes occurred as soon as the light ring's image was carved; either the materials ruptured, the image disappeared without warning, or the materials showed signs of explosions.

Fortunately, the purple Military Fire was mysterious and unpredictable. It possessed unbelievable abilities, hence it managed to salvage the materials before they exploded. Despite that, Ou Yangming became more careful after being frightened.

Even so, after testing all materials in the interspatial bag, he must admit that he had sheer dumb luck when he successfully carved the Body of Charm's purple light ring.

There was no other material in the bag that could withstand the purple light ring.

At this point, countless thoughts crossed Ou Yangmingʼs mind in a flash. 'Perhaps I'll only find a treasure meant for the nine-ringed saber's purple light ring if I search from the imperial family's hidden treasures, which are equivalent to the peculiar stone.'

That said, while Ou Yangming did not fall out with the imperial family, he previously gave the nine-ringed saber, which was smithed using the bizarre stone, to the Woo family. If he were to request treasures similar to the queer stone again, he would probably have to give half of the magic tools to the imperial family.

Ou Yangming shook his head and curbed his thought. He gave up wanting to continue the refinement process.

However, when he finally turned around, he noticed that the two blacksmiths from the Woo family, who were next to the casting table, were dumbfounded and in disbelief.

He furrowed his eyebrows and cleared his throat, then he briefly used some essential Qi to vibrate their eardrums.

Woo Leshui and Woo Leming immediately came back to their senses. They were embarrassed, but they also looked at the young fellow with more respect.

Ou Yangming nodded and said, "You may leave."

"Master Ou, you didn't seem to have completed the second arm guard just now…" Woo Leshui expressed after some thought.

"I ran out of materials!" Ou Yangming responded snappily.

Woo Leshui and the other blacksmith looked at each other and suggested, "Master Ou, our clan has some materials too, so you can try using them and keep trying…"

Ou Yangming was moved, and he asked with a smile, "Why do you care so much about this?"

"Master Ou, you used an ingenious method when you smithed the arm guards, and we benefited a lot from it. Moreover…" The two blacksmiths flushed. Woo Leshui hesitated for a while before he noted honestly, "We were able to sense your aura when you smithed the pieces of equipment with the integration of Heaven and man, so we gained some understanding of it."

Ou Yangming was startled. He looked deeply at the men and smiled. "I see, you're quite studious."

Woo Leshui and Woo Leming blushed. 'What do you mean by studious? You're just letting us maintain our dignity.

'We're not being studious; we're secretly learning from you.'

Having said that, Ou Yangming neither treated them differently nor was he displeased. He pondered and said, "Fine. What do you have in store? Bring them here for me to try; I'll purchase them according to the market price."

In actuality, Ou Yangming knew that many rare materials could not be acquired with money.

Without connections, threats, or bribery, the rare materials could not be obtained at all because they would not be circulated in the market at all. The moment they were available, they would be monopolized by big aristocratic families or great forces.

Nonetheless, based on Ou Yangming's status, not to mention purchasing them at market price, countless powerhouses would fawn over him with various uncommon materials if word got out.

Sure enough, Woo Leshui nodded his head like a rattle and said, "Master Ou, what else can we say? We'll bring the materials you need right away!" He later flashed away, making him look like an assistant even though he was an Advanced Blacksmith.

It was worth noting that there were very few people in the world who could make blacksmiths from influential clans to be so conscientious.

After just 15 minutes, Woo Leshui carried three unfamiliar materials, which were on par with the Eminent Golden Ore and the Yin Cedarwood. As expected, Ou Yangming had not used any of those materials.

Ou Yangming was shocked, and he thought, 'The foundations of these powerful aristocratic families are out of the ordinary indeed. I truly underestimated them.'

Precious materials like those were certainly stored carefully, and a tedious process was required if one wanted to retrieve them. The fact that Woo Leshui returned after only 15 minutes proved that Ou Yangming's request was fulfilled at once.

It was very likely that the Woo family's two great ancestors got involved, which was why the materials were retrieved so quickly.

This made Ou Yangming develop a favorable impression of the Woo family.

Afterward, Ou Yangming focused and attempted again. Nevertheless, whether it was the young fellow or the two Advanced Blacksmiths from the Woo family, they all sighed helplessly after half an hour. This was because their hopes were crushed; the three materials could not withstand the nine-ringed saber's purple light ring's power.

While Woo Leshui and Woo Leming were not aware of the specific situation, given that they were sharp-eyed Advanced Blacksmiths, they figured out something after watching for such a long time.

"Thank you, gentlemen." Ou Yangming relaxed and nodded at them. Though he still failed this time, he acknowledged the two men's friendly gesture.

Woo Leshui smiled embarrassedly, "Master Ou, we're ashamed for not being able to help at all."

"Master Ou, I'd like to ask you a question." Woo Leming cupped his hands instead and bowed to the ground, then he looked up at Ou Yangming earnestly.

Ou Yangming responded after some thought, "Go ahead."

"I'd like to know—how did you become a Superior Blacksmith?"

Woo Leshui wanted to stop him at first, but he pricked up his ears after hearing the question.

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly and gave an honest answer, "The smithing path is vast and profound, and everyone has a specific path that suits them the most. I only stumbled on the most suitable path for me."

The two blacksmiths exchanged glances and were rather disappointed.

Finding a suitable path was easier said than done, and it was an extravagant hope for them.

Despite that, there was nothing Ou Yangming could do because his Military Fire could only be used by him, and he was never going to reveal the fire's wonderful functions.

After putting on the smithed arm guard, Ou Yangming turned and left the smithing workshop.

He spotted Woo Lejia from afar and realized that the newly-advanced Supreme Great Ancestor had been setting up a protective barrier for him nearby.

Ou Yangming was somewhat excited, and he laughed out loud. "Brother Woo, I gained a new understanding of the Simulated Spiritual Fist, and I need someone's help now. Are you free?"

Woo Lejia was stunned and puzzled. 'Wasn't he smithing pieces of equipment? Why did he suddenly think about the Simulated Spiritual Fist? Isn't that quite a drastic change?'

That being said, he chuckled and replied to the young fellow, "Haha, Brother Ou, what are you talking about? As long as you're willing to, I'll always have time for you."

Following that, he led Ou Yangming to a courtyard and stated, "This is my courtyard, and nobody will have the guts to disturb us here, so you can go all out."

Ou Yangming nodded and warned the great ancestor, "My Simulated Spiritual Fist is a little strange this time, so you ought to be careful."

"Brother Ou, did you forget I've experienced it before?" Woo Lejia had a grave look on his face. "Don't worry, I won't be too careless." He assured the young fellow but was actually indifferent about it.

This was because his willpower and essential Qi became one after he became a great ancestor.

The Simulated Spiritual Fist could deceive a powerhouse at the peak of Yang Grade, but it was known to be insignificant against a Supreme Great Ancestor.

If Ou Yangming was not the one who was going to perform it, perhaps Woo Lejia would not be concerned at all.

Ou Yangming shook his head and looked ahead, then he circulated his essential Qi into the arm guard. While he was wearing them, they were hidden inside his sleeves, so nobody could tell unless one already knew.

The instant Ou Yangming's essential Qi flowed past the arm guard, the mighty magic tool unleashed an unimaginable power.

A peculiar power gushed into Ou Yangming's sea of consciousness and perfectly merged with his mental power.

Based on Ou Yangming's body quality at the moment, he could not have withstood the integration of those powers, but the problem was resolved without a flaw because he had the magic tool's help.

The young fellow lowered himself into a martial-art squat and gently punched as if he used little power.