Chapter 3  : Draw And Upgrade

Ou Yangming frowned and left the big residence with a twisted expression.

 He ran back to the Armament Camp as fast as he could. Old Craftsman had been waiting for him in his barracks for a long time, and chuckled upon seeing him running back quickly. “Fella, how are you feeling?”

 Ou Yangming felt relieved the moment he saw Old Craftsman. In the entire military camp, the old man was the only person he trusted completely.

 He uttered, “Old man, I… I brought you trouble.” As soon as he finished, he collapsed in Old Craftsman’s arms.

Old Craftsman caught him but was puzzled.

 ‘Didn’t he go to acquire the Military Fire Badge? Why did he say that he’s caused me trouble?’

 The old man scoffed at Ou Yangming, who had passed out, then carried him to his bed, removed his coat and shoes, and covered him with a blanket. While doing all that, the old man scolded Ou Yangming softly, saying that he would beat him up once the young fellow awoke, but he spoke so softly that it would only be strange if Ou Yangming heard him.

 A day and night later, Ou Yangming finally woke up.

 He rolled around with the intention of staying in bed but suddenly realized that he was wide awake, without a hint of sleepiness.

 Even after blinking a few times, he could not figure it out, thus he quickly recalled the various events before he slept.

 He later sighed a breath of relief when he sat up to find a familiar environment.

 Old Craftsman entered the barrack upon hearing his movement and tossed him a bag of clothes. “Fella, when did you become a lazy pig? Quick, get dressed and get to work.”

 Ou Yangming responded to him, got himself dressed and gobbled up some food before he followed Old Craftsman to the Armament Camp.

 Old Craftsman had an exalted position in the camp. Not only was he the blacksmith chief, but he also had over ten years of experience. In fact, even the general treated him with respect.

 He brought Ou Yangming into his personal smithing workshop, then asked, “Fella, tell me honestly, did you receive the Military Fire?”

 Ou Yangming took a deep breath as he recalled the wonderful feeling when he entered the Military Fire Badge.

 Eventually, he felt like he gained something inside his body.

 When he reached his palm out and focused on a spot within it, something seemed to emerge.

 Finally, a shattering sound could be heard in his mind, and a white flame appeared on his palm.

 “Nice!”

 Old Craftsman’s eyes glowed with happiness.

 He looked at Ou Yangming admiringly. The old man had always treated him like a son, and now had high expectations that he would become successful.

 Ou Yangming blinked his eyes as he was unusually happy too.

 According to what Old Craftsman said in the past, it was not simple for someone to manipulate the Military Fire even if one were to acquire it through the Military Fire Badge, and a normal person would only activate it successfully after ten to thirty days. Needless to say, it was even tougher for one to operate it smoothly, and would only be possible if one tried hard for a few months.

 Nevertheless, it could be perfected after a considerable period of time.

“Good fella, take this!” Old Craftsman picked up a fractured saber and tossed it to Ou Yangming.

 Ou Yangming nodded and began recollecting Old Craftsman’s teachings from the past.

 Back then, he did not have the Military Fire, but Old Craftsman still taught him diligently. Perhaps the old man had planned everything for a long time.

 Ou Yangming paid full attention to his Military Fire.

 When it approached the military saber that was aligned on the platform, he suddenly had a look of disbelief.

 This was because a set of strange numbers appeared in his mind.

[Item: Fractured military saber]

 [Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]

 [Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0]

 Ou Yangming was bewildered. ‘What… What exactly is this?’

 A long time after, he subdued his confusion, and focused on the fractured saber again.

 ‘Restore. Mm, I should be restoring this now.

 ‘Restore, restore, restore…’

 He tried to concentrate his mind on fixing the fracture.

 Despite that, since it was his first time using the Military Fire, even if he was gifted with mental power and could control it faster than others, it was wishful thinking for him to do as he wished.

 The fracture slowly merged due to the burning spirit fire, but at the expense of Ou Yangming’s power.

 This was because the cost of using Military Fire was one’s physical strength.

 After half an hour, the fracture was finally closed under the constant burn.

 Ou Yangming’s eyes sparkled as he was overjoyed.

 Right then, a purple light flickered in his mind, and a question popped up.

[Drawable composition found, draw?]

 The muscles on Ou Yangming’s face twitched, and he was so taken aback that he almost screamed.

 He subconsciously responded, “Yes.”

 Subsequently, a peculiar energy that could not be seen was released from the military saber, which entered his body. At the same time, two faint, bean-sized purple lights appeared in his mind.

 He did not know what they were and was clueless about why they appeared in his mind. When he wanted to shout for help, he could not make a sound as he was tongue-tied.

 “Fella, fella, what happened? Don’t scare me!”

A worried voice finally woke Ou Yangming up, and he shivered. The instant Old Craftsman’s anxious look came into view, he felt a warmth in his heart, as though a clear spring poured down on him, which made him feel comfortable.

 The feeling of being cared for and thought of was great.

 “Hey, old man, how did I do?” He asked with a bright smile.

 Old Craftsman scanned him from head to toe, then sighed a breath of relief. “Were you so happy about fixing a military saber that you turned silly?”

 Ou Yangming scratched his head and chuckled embarrassingly as if he silently agreed.

 “You did pretty well considering that you restored a military saber right after you obtained the Military Fire. Hmm, it looks slightly ugly, but… It will do.” Old Craftsman nodded.

Ou Yangming’s face reddened when he looked at the saber.

 It was merged by the Military Fire’s energy, but the area around the fracture was uneven, and it looked like something had bit it.

One would not take a second look at it due to its ugliness.

Old Craftsman laughed. “Fella, don’t be discouraged. It’s your first time using the Military Fire, so it’s really good that already you’re able to do this. I think you’re tired, why not go back to take a rest?”

 Ou Yangming blinked, then looked at Old Craftsman in disbelief. “Old man, you actually praised me? Did… Did the sun rise from the West today? Or did you finally find a partner? Oh, don’t be mad, I’ll leave now, I’ll leave now…” Before he finished his sentence, he scurried away.

 The smile on Old Craftsman’s face instantly disappeared, his face turned dark and cursed. “B*stard, you need a spanking!” Nonetheless, he was still happy when he looked at the fella who was hopping away.

When he got his Military Fire back then, he only succeeded in stimulating it after half a month, and could only repair a fractured saber a month after.

 Compared to Ou Yangming’s accomplishment, he was as slow as a tortoise.

 Therefore, no matter how ugly the fractured sword was, he was still pleased and was not at all regretful.

 When Old Craftsman lifted the restored military saber, he wondered if he should keep it. After all, it was Ou Yangming’s first smithed product using the Military Fire, thus it was worth keeping for memory’s sake. Besides, he would undoubtedly be happy seeing Ou Yangming’s helpless face in the future if he were to show him the ugly saber in a few years’ time.

 However, his smile suddenly disappeared after a brief moment.

 He approached a Sword-testing Stone with the military saber, then slashed it.

 “Ding—”

 Sparks flew, and a rice-sized crack could be seen on the saber, whereas the Sword-testing Stone was not even scratched.

 Old Craftsman threw the military saber to the floor furiously. “Damn the Provision Camp, how dare those law-bending people cut corners on the armaments? With those borer bugs around, the nation will be in peril…”

 Of course, Ou Yangming was not aware of Old Craftsman’s lamentations. He ran toward an armory in the Armament Camp.

 The armory was full of piled-up armor that was abandoned.

 After taking a glance at the pile of scrap metals, Ou Yangming quickly found a damaged saber.

 Although it was also a military saber, it had not been fractured yet. That being said, it was covered in rust, and a number of big chips were found on its blade, thus it lost its restoration value.

 A moment of hesitation later, Ou Yangming gathered his mental power to summon his Military Fire.

 Evidently, he was much more familiar with it than he was the first time. He did not know that it was because of his natural gift of having mental power, that he had the option to consume physical power or mental power during the usage of the Military Fire.

 With that, it was much easier for him to use it compared to other people, and he could also endure the process for a longer time.

 A list of information appeared in his mind as soon as his Military Fire touched the saber.

 [Item: Damaged military saber]

 [Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank One]

 [Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0]

 Ou Yangming was unmoved. He continued operating the burning Military Fire until the rust on the military saber slowly disappeared, and the blade became shiny, as though snow met fire.

 Just as the outer appearance of the military saber was about to fully recover, another notice appeared in his mind.

 [Drawable composition found, draw?]

 [Upgradable composition found, upgrade?]

 Ou Yangming was stunned. ‘Why are there two options now?’

 Intrigued, he decided to upgrade it since he chose the drawing option earlier.

 Consequently, he noticed the two small purple light balls disappearing from his mind. Oh, they did not disappear, but they strangely entered the military saber that was being burned by the Military Fire.

 Afterward, completely different changes in the military saber’s attributes were observed through the Military Fire.

 [Item: Military Saber]

 [Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Common Grade, Rank Three]

 [Attributes: Sharpness +3, Toughness +2, Durability +2]