Chapter 268 - Ask For The Appraiser (1/2)

As Ou Yangming looked at the candidates on the stage, he finally had a rough understanding of the average standard of blacksmiths in the capital.

Over here, there was definitely a low proportion of Advanced Blacksmiths, and being an Intermediate Blacksmith was considered to be pretty good. Nonetheless, the smithing standard here certainly surpa.s.sed the standard in the Immense Forest Military Camp.

Although Old Craftsman could smith pieces of Fine Grade equipment too and had the specialty of layering Unique Attributes, he was at most an Advanced Blacksmith. Moreover, his hands, legs, and eyes slowly became uncoordinated as he aged. It was not obvious when the old man smithed pieces of low-grade equipment, but he would make obvious mistakes when he smithed pieces of high-grade equipment.

Needless to say, after his life was prolonged through the Life-prolonging Golden Pill, and after he achieved the integration of Heaven and man in smithing art, everything changed drastically.

If Old Craftsman came to the capital to take the Blacksmith a.s.sessment, based on the integration of Heaven and man only, he could earn the Superior t.i.tle.

Nonetheless, apart from the old man, the other people could only manage the Intermediate t.i.tle even if they were at their peak.

One had to smith a full set of Fine Grade equipment and successfully attach a Unique Attribute in an hour.

n.o.body in the whole Immense Forest Military Camp could do it.

“Those who aren’t qualified may leave now,” Jin Shengjie uttered in front of the ten over blacksmiths in the venue, then he added after a pause, “Keep working hard and strive to succeed on your next try.”

With that, three blacksmiths who did not complete the task bowed at the blacksmith master embarra.s.sedly and left with their heads lowered.

Nevertheless, n.o.body present dared to ridicule them.

This was because only top-notch Intermediate Blacksmiths had the guts to partic.i.p.ate in the Advanced Blacksmith a.s.sessment. They were the real backbone of the capital, such that even powerful forces were not willing to offend them for trivial matters.

Jin Shengjie reached out for a longsword on one of the casting tables.

The Advanced a.s.sessment required the candidates to smith a full equipment set, but the weapon was not fixed.

Ou Yangming could smith a military saber, and it was also fine that this candidate smithed a longsword.

Jin Shengjie inspected the longsword in his hands. As the candidate watched him anxiously, he announced with a smile, “Fine Grade Rank One; it’s up to standard.”

The candidate was thrilled. He nodded hard and looked more eager.

Following that, Jin Shengjie continued to check the other pieces of equipment. He occasionally hesitated throughout the process, but it was overall a smooth process. Once the last piece of equipment was appraised, Jin Shengjie announced that the candidate earned the Advanced t.i.tle.

The candidate cupped his hands in excitement, then he bowed at Jin Shengjie and the two other blacksmith masters with respect. “Thank you, masters.”

Jin Shengjie grinned without saying a word, whereas Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan congratulated the person with smiles. They were extremely friendly and far more fervent than they were before the a.s.sessment.

The other people nearby looked at the successful candidate enviously.

Before the a.s.sessment, the candidate was only an Intermediate Blacksmith. Only an hour had pa.s.sed, but he suddenly became on par with Yi Yucheng and Feng Guangyuan.

Of course, there was still a certain disparity between the candidate and the two blacksmith masters in terms of actual ability, but there was no essential difference.

After a brief moment, Jin Shengjie and the other people arrived at another casting table. The blacksmith had completed every piece of equipment, but he looked stiff when the examiners approached him.

Jin Shengjie comforted the candidate with a smile before he began to review the equipment set.

The first, the second, and the third equipment pa.s.sed without an issue. It was only when Jin Shengjie checked the armor he sighed and remarked, “You’re still lacking, so go back and work harder.”

Even though the candidate looked upset, he dared not complain at all. He lowered his head and responded, “Yes, I’ll surely work hard.”

Jin Shengjie was friendly throughout the examination, but he was just and stern at this moment. As long as one of the pieces of equipment was not qualified, it was not going to escape from his check.

Before long, other than Ou Yangming, the equipment sets that were smithed by the other people were already checked.

Even so, only two of them were qualified to be Advanced Blacksmiths.

Not to mention the candidates that were involved, even Ou Yangming and the spectators had the jitters, and they felt sorry for them.

Two of the blacksmiths even smithed pieces of Fine Grade Rank Three equipment, but one of the pieces of equipment was not in Fine Grade, hence Jin Shengjie denied them without any hesitation.

Ou Yangming spent most of his time on the high platform because he smithed too fast.

When he was conversing with the other people, half of the time he was paying attention to the a.s.sessment.

Therefore, he knew very well that the candidates were not disqualified because they were lacking in smithing technique, but because of their Military Fires.