Chapter 264 - The Advanced Assessment (2/2)

Following that, Jin Shengjie left the platform and carried out another round of inspections and announcements.

In any case, it had nothing to do with Ou Yangming anymore. The atmosphere on the high platform changed all of a sudden as n.o.body paid attention to the routine a.s.sessment anymore.

The a.s.sessment would be held at least twice a year, but a freak like Ou Yangming was one of a kind.

After Yuan Lexin, many other people approached the young fellow and spoke to him fervently.

Those people represented other great and famous blacksmiths. While they could not be compared with Jin Shengjie, they were supported by Superior Blacksmiths, who were not inferior to Master Jin, as well.

Ou Yangming treated them equally where he agreed to visit their respective masters at appropriate times.

Ever since Ou Yangming saw the weapon at Wu Hongxi’s residence, he knew that the other renowned masters had unique skills too. The young fellow possessed the peculiar Military Fire, but he dared not belittle any reputable master anymore.

He knew he could learn greater smithing arts from those masters.

Hence, he was not going to miss any opportunity.

Once the a.s.sessments for Rudimentary Blacksmiths and Intermediate Blacksmiths ended in succession, Jin Shengjie went up to the high platform again and asked with a smile, “Lil’ Friend Ou, the Advanced Blacksmith a.s.sessment will begin soon. Are you willing to take it?”

Ou Yangming stood up and said, “I was just about to give it a shot.”

Jin Shengjie nodded and noted with a serious face, “Lil’ Friend Ou, the Advanced a.s.sessment is a bit different. You’re required to smith a Fine Grade equipment set in an hour, and at least one of the pieces of equipment has to be attached with an attribute. Honestly, it’s not easy for you to have such achievements at this age, so n.o.body will treat you lightly even if you take the Advanced Blacksmith a.s.sessment after a few years.”

He reminded Ou Yangming out of good intention. After all, the difficulty of smithing a piece of High Grade equipment was very much different from having to smith a Fine Grade equipment set, which included a piece of Attribute Equipment, in an hour.

Ou Yangming possessed a secret technique, which was desired by many, thus he could smith a piece of High Grade equipment with ordinary iron ingot.

That said, there was a ma.s.sive gap between a High Grade equipment set and a Fine Grade equipment set. Moreover, one was required to attach an attribute to one of the pieces of Fine Grade equipment. Jin Shengjie asked around earlier and found out that Ou Yangming had only gotten the Military Fire for about a year. From his perspective, even the most gifted person in the world could not perform something as absurd as this.

Even so, Ou Yangming grinned and responded, “Thank you for your concern, senior, but I’d still like to try.”

Jin Shengjie raised his eyebrows. He finally sighed when he noticed Ou Yangming’s confident smile. “Okay, it’s good to try.” The blacksmith master made up his mind; it would be fine if Ou Yangming could truly create a miracle, but if the young fellow failed the a.s.sessment, he would do his best to help him out of the shadow.

The instant he witnessed Ou Yangming smith a High Grade military saber, he treated the young fellow with a completely different att.i.tude.

Ou Yangming was a gem—a rare child with the potential to become a Superior Blacksmith. Given Jin Shengjie’s status in the blacksmith trade, there was no need for him to be jealous of someone like that. Instead, he hoped that more geniuses would emerge so that the blacksmith profession could be brought to a greater height.

The young fellow sensed Jin Shengjie’s good intention. He nodded and made his way down to the stage.

Twelve people were already standing in the middle of the square. They were people of different ages where the oldest person already had white hair while the youngest candidate seemed to be only a few years older than Ou Yangming. Among the blacksmiths, one’s status and rank were not determined by one’s age and qualification, but one’s true ability.

After one obtained the Military Fire or the spiritual fire, it would not be tough to become an official blacksmith. In fact, through long-term practice, advancing to the Rudimentary Rank and the Intermediate Rank was an achievable goal for many.

However, the threshold for the Advanced Rank was entirely different.

For most blacksmiths, the rank was like an insurmountable giant mountain.

It was easy to find blacksmiths who were of the Intermediate Rank and below in the capital, but it was extremely difficult to find an Advanced Blacksmith to smith a piece of unique equipment.

Without a certain status, the Advanced Blacksmith would not accept the task even if one presented plenty of money and gifts.

It was also worth noting that while there were numerous Intermediate Blacksmiths in the capital, very few had the confidence to make it to the Advanced Rank. As such, only about ten candidates would take the a.s.sessment each time.

Seeing as Ou Yangming walked down from the high platform, the partic.i.p.ants on the stage had different looks on their faces.

Some of them smiled at Ou Yangming to express goodwill, but some of them looked at him enviously.

“Father, can Uncle succeed?” Hu Lingfeng tugged at his father and questioned softly.

Hu Yicheng was stunned. He pouted his lips and looked at Du Gaoge.

Du Gaoge was startled. He wanted to tell them the truth-a person who had just acquired the Military Fire for a year could not achieve the Advanced standard—but he swallowed his words right before he uttered them.

“Ou Yangming is too odd. It seems like anything that happens isn’t weird if it has to do with him.’

Jin Shengjie glanced at the crowd and announced coldly, “Everyone, the a.s.sessment… Begins.”

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