Chapter 258 - Apprentice Assessment (2/2)

“There’s a tight compet.i.tion in the blacksmith trade. If one fails to be recognized before one is 25 years old, one won’t have the opportunity to obtain the Military Fire or the spiritual fire anymore,” Du Gaoge noted in a deep voice and added after a pause, “The roughly 300 people here are apprentices from blacksmith masters’ residences. They had to learn for at least 3 years before they have the guts to take the a.s.sessment.”

Ou Yangming was startled. “They’re all masters’ apprentices? What about outsiders?”

Du Gaoge shook his head. “Those masters have so many apprentices that there aren’t even enough slots to accommodate all of them, so how can there be outsiders?”

“Is it so difficult to apply for the a.s.sessment?” Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows.

“Master Ou, you misunderstood. These apprentices seek for a qualification to obtain the Military Fire or the spiritual fire. Those fires are limited, so it’s difficult to cross the threshold. On the other hand, it’s easy for blacksmiths like you, who already have the Military Fire, to take the a.s.sessment to increase your rank. Hehe, as long as one isn’t afraid of embarra.s.sing oneself in public, one can take the a.s.sessment every year.” Ou Yangming nodded as he was rather moved. He finally realized that it was incredibly tough to acquire the Military Fire.

As the Immense Forest Military Camp’s chief Military Fire Blacksmith, Old Craftsman only had one chance to exchange for the fire even after he had gathered his military contributions throughout his whole life.

The young fellow felt more grateful for Old Craftsman. ‘Without the old man, how could I become who I am today?’

Jin Shengjie stated loudly, “Ready, go.”

A number of people entered the venue in a flash and shuttled around the young men as they distributed some papers to them. The young men were well-prepared too. They retrieved their brushes and inks, then they began to write their answers while being watched by the public.

Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched. “Shopkeeper Du, what a.s.sessment is this?”

Du Gaoge explained, “They’re only apprentices without the Military Fire or the spiritual fire, so they can’t perform their skills and have to take a theory a.s.sessment instead.”

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. If he was asked to take such a written a.s.sessment a year ago, he would not have a chance to stand out. Nevertheless, the young fellow experienced a lot throughout the year. In particular, he gained ma.s.sive information about smithing art from the Ni family’s ancient books, as well as from their inherited spiritual world. As such, his knowledge could not be mentioned in the same breath as before.

The young men answered the questions very quickly. Some of them were hesitant at times, but they wrote their answers fast.

Whether their answers were right or wrong, at the very least, no loopholes could be seen on the outside.

Ou Yangming looked away, and his heart thudded. He told Du Gaoge with a smile, “Shopkeeper Du, I met an acquaintance, so I’ll go over to greet him.” Du Gaoge was dumbfounded for a while before he smiled. “Let’s go together.” The two of them walked through the crowd for some time, then Ou Yangming approached Hu Yicheng and asked softly, “Big Brother Hu, your son is taking the a.s.sessment too, right?”

“Young Ou, you’re here.” Hu Yicheng immediately turned around to look with his bright eyes. He later nodded at Du Gaoge, whom he had met once two days ago, so he did not forget about the shopkeeper.

Hu Yicheng pointed at a certain spot in the venue and sighed. “The person with the number 135 in the sixth row is my inferior son, Lingguang. Ah, it’s his first time sitting for the test, so I’m not sure if he’ll succeed.”

Du Gaoge comforted him, “Your son has been learning for 3 years in Master Wu’s residence, so he should be fine.”

“The other people didn’t learn any less than Lingguang did; some of them even learned for a longer time. Ah, it’ll be difficult for him to stand out…” Hu Yicheng smiled bitterly.

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while as he did not know how he could console the inspector. It was regarding the Military Fire or the spiritual fire, but even he did not know the right way to acquire it. Jin Shengjie notified after half an hour, “Times up, leave the venue.”

Many young men put down their brushes, but some of them continued to write as much as they could as if they wanted to utilize every second they had.

Despite that, someone approached them right away. Their brushes and inks were s.n.a.t.c.hed away ruthlessly, and they were thrown out by their necks.

The crowd sighed out of pity because they knew those young men could not be chosen anymore.

Soon enough, the young men left, and the papers were taken away. Jin Shengjie did not ask about the test papers at all as he simply continued to announce, “The Official Blacksmith a.s.sessment begins, so please take your places if you’ve registered.”

Du Gaoge informed, “Master Ou, it’s your turn.”

Hu Yicheng curbed his thought and encouraged the young fellow, “Young Ou, all the best.”

“Okay.” Ou Yangming grinned. He went forward and walked toward the center along with some other people.

“Brother Hu, since you traveled to the capital with Master Ou, what do you think of his smithing art standard?” Du Gaoge looked at Hu Yicheng and asked.

“Young Ou acquired the Military Fire for a year, so he should be able to do well in the Official Blacksmith a.s.sessment…” Hu Yicheng pondered and said, but he was also a little anxious.

After all, the martial arts cultivation base and the mysterious power that were displayed by Ou Yangming was too shocking.

Since the young fellow used his energy in that aspect, how well could he do in smithing art?

Du Gaoge nodded and remarked, “I hope he’ll do well.”

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