Chapter 258 Apprentice Assessment
Ou Yangming had a comfortable stay at the Yi Pavilion’s small courtyard for a few days.
Throughout those days, apart from Shopkeeper Du, who greeted him every day, and Hu Yicheng, who visited, the courtyard was not visited by other guests.
Needless to say, Ou Yangming did not step out of the courtyard at all as he spent all his time practicing the small fireball.
Although it had only been a few days, Ou Yangming came to the shocking realization that there was a significant improvement in his control over the small fireball.
In actual fact, even if someone else possessed a similar ability like the small fireball, one could not achieve such a scary improvement during practice. Ou Yangming was only different because he grasped the Mental Power Rune.
The moment Ou Yangming was tired of practicing the small fireball, he released a Mental Power Rune without any hesitation. Moreover, the area covered by the rune’s weakened version became extremely small under his control. Apart from himself, nobody could enjoy the rune’s magical effect.
With over 50 Points of mental power as his backing and the 2% Qi Return necklace as a supplement, Ou Yangming’s actual consumption was negligible. It was certainly not an occasional result that he could achieve great progress after just a few days.
On this day, Ou Yangming gave up the thought of continuing his practice because it had been 5 days, and the Blacksmith Rank Assessment was about to take place.
In the capital’s important place, any activity could cause quite a huge impact.
A blacksmith was an extremely important profession; the pieces of equipment used by powerful martial artists were meticulously smithed by Superior Blacksmiths. It was exactly because of these formidable pieces of equipment that every powerhouse in the human race could battle and even kill half-spirit beasts with greater physical power.
Therefore, Superior Blacksmiths had a reputable status, and they became more aloof after being pursued by many martial artists.
Any blacksmith who acquired the Superior title from an important place in the capital would become famous within the shortest possible time. The benefits that came with it were obvious to everyone, thus many people were also envious.
Needless to say, while many people wanted to become a Superior Blacksmith, very few were actually acknowledged by the public. When Du Gaoge brought Ou Yangming to the assessment venue, it was already packed with people. This was a gigantic square. Other than the participants, their relatives and friends were also present. Since there were also spectators around, the place was crowded. Nonetheless, the center of the square was empty regardless of the people present as nobody dared to enter. As Ou Yangming quietly waited among the crowd, three elders entered from the outside.
The three men were clearly prestigious because the crowd instantly stopped clamoring as soon as they entered.
Before long, everyone noticed something unusual around them, and they spotted the three elders one after another. With that, the square became silent, as though magic was cast over it.
The three elders looked at each other and were rather pleased.
One of them stepped forward and announced loudly, “Today’s assessment is a huge event for us blacksmiths. Is everyone fine with the three of us hosting the event?’
“It’s a blessing to have you host the event, Master Jin.”
“Master Jin, very well.”
“We’re confident because you’re hosting the event, Master Jin.”
“Greetings, Master Jin.”
Warm responses were heard from the crowd as everyone expressed their respect for the elder and welcomed him.
Ou Yangming turned his head sideways and asked, “Shopkeeper Du, who are these three men?”
Du Gaoge was stunned. He asked softly, “You don’t even know them?”
“It’s my first time in the capital, and I haven’t been here for long, so I really don’t know them.” Ou Yangming chuckled.
‘Since you’re planning to take the Blacksmith Assessment, why didn’t you ask about the important figures…’ Du Gaoge looked at him strangely and cursed, but he answered, “The one who’s talking is one of the Superior Blacksmiths in the capital, Jin Shengjie, he’s also known as Master Jin. The other two are Master Feng Guangyuan and Master Yi Yucheng. They’re not Superior Blacksmiths, but they gained the Advanced Title and are deemed by many masters to have the potential to become Superior Blacksmiths one day.”
Ou Yangming nodded. The fact that a Superior Master and two Advanced Masters were hosting this Blacksmith Assessment showed that the standard this time was not low at all.
Of course, if they knew one of the participants was able to smith magic tools, only God would know if they would still be confident enough to host the event.
Jin Shengjie waved his hand, causing the noises around to slowly go away.
He cleared his throat loudly and ordered, “Apprentices, you may enter now.”
The railings at the square’s periphery were pulled apart at once as hundreds of people orderly walked in.
They were teens who were of a similar age as Ou Yangming. Even though some of them were slightly younger or older, the age difference was not too big.
“There’s a tight competition 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 assessment.”
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 assessment?” 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 assessment to increase your rank. Hehe, as long as one isn’t afraid of embarrassing oneself in public, one can take the assessment 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 assessment 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 assessment instead.”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. If he was asked to take such a written assessment 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 massive 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 assessment 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 snatched 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 Assessment 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 Assessment…” 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.”