Chapter 70 - Challenge Method (2/2)

Ni Yinghong and Zheng Ziwen were already prepared, so they approached him and greeted him, “Greetings, general.”

“You don’t have to be so polite,” Chen Yifan responded and laughed, then turned to introduce, “This is Master Ni Yinghong, and this is Master Zheng Dawen. They’re in charge of judging the equipment sets’ quality.”

“Sir, this isn’t right!”

An elder made his way out of the crowd. It was Li Shunfeng, a top-notch Military Fire Blacksmith from the Armament Camp. Though he was not as reputable and as capable as Old Craftsman, he was one of the two blacksmiths who were only second to the old man.

“General, I heard that Young Master Ni Yinghong is Master Ni’s young brother, how can he be a judge?”

“Master Li, please don’t question an appraiser’s character.” Ni Yinghong looked at him coldly and said, “If I play favorites in an event like this, I’ll definitely be blacklisted by the Appraisers a.s.sociation and be expelled, which means that I won’t be qualified to appraise anything anymore.”

Zheng Ziwen nodded. “Master, you’re overthinking this. No appraiser will gamble their future and fate on something so trivial.”

Li Shunfeng was stunned. He opened his mouth, but could no longer object.

Since Zheng Ziwen had said that, if Li Shunfeng insisted, it would mean that he did not trust the Appraisers a.s.sociation. A lack of trust would not benefit a blacksmith master in any way.

Ou Yangming chuckled and said loudly, “Master Li, thank you for protecting me.”

Li Shunfeng nodded, and he felt better.

Ni Yunhong approached them and smiled. “Master Ou, it’s time for our challenge.”

Ou Yangming asked him seriously, “Master Ni, we’ll be refining with the same materials, am I right?”

“Yes,” Ni Yunhong answered with a smile, “but I have a suggestion.”

‘As expected, there’s something behind it,’ Ou Yangming curled his lips and wondered, but replied, “Please go on, Master Ni.”

Ni Yunhong proposed, “I suggest that once the appraisals are done for both sides, another chance to smith is given.”

Ou Yangming frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Master Ou, let me explain,” Zheng Ziwen spoke with a smile. He nodded at the two blacksmiths to indicate that he would not be biased, then explained, “What Master Ni meant is actually a popular challenge method in the prefecture. You’ll smith an equipment set each, which will be judged by the appraisers. The winner pa.s.ses, but the loser has a chance to further improve the pieces of equipment.”

Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization. “What if the person loses even after the second chance?”

“He loses, but normally, there’s a huge chance that the pieces of equipment will be improved after a second smithing process,” Zheng Ziwen answered, a smile on his face.

The smithing of equipment was always a.s.sociated with a success rate. A powerful blacksmith would not object to the suggestion because the failure rate would be minimized if two chances were given.

Ou Yangming pondered and asked, “If a person manages to defeat his opponent after the second chance, will the opponent be given the same opportunity too?”

“Yes.” Zheng Ziwen nodded, then clarified, “Theoretically, as long as the other party wins, the loser will be given another opportunity to improve the equipment set. The cycle repeats until one fails to make further improvements.”

Ou Yangming pursed his lips and expressed, “The method is fair, but it’s time-consuming.”

Tian Boguang remarked coldly, “It’s okay, we’re willing to stay here to watch the challenge between two blacksmith masters no matter how long it takes. I’m only afraid that it’ll end quickly, which won’t be enjoyable…”

Chen Yifan’s face darkened. “Lil’ Ou, do your best to gain honor for the military camp!”

Tian Boguang was stunned, and he glared at Chen Yifan.

Nonetheless, after hearing Chen Yifan’s words, the crowd began looking at Ni Yunhong differently, and were somewhat dissatisfied with Commanding General Tian Boguang from the East Camp¹.

Deng Zhicai touched his forehead helplessly. “Enough with the talking, you may begin.”

“Everyone, don’t worry. Even with this challenge method, it won’t go on for too long,” Zheng Ziwen nodded and rea.s.sured, then asked, “Gentlemen, what material would you like to use?”

“Master Ou, you may decide.” Ni Yunhong turned to nod at Ou Yangming. He looked extremely composed as if he was confident about defeating Ou Yangming regardless of the material chosen.

Ou Yangming thought for a while, then answered with a smile, “Since this is a challenge, let’s use something common. Do you have steel?”

Kang Weibo quickly responded, “The Armament Camp has plenty of steel, to the extent that you can build a house made of steel.”

As the crowd burst out laughing, countless amounts of steel was carried to the venue.

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