Chapter 282 The Refinement Of Boots
Ou Yangming quietly returned to the room where silk cloths, furs, and the other materials could be found. When he glanced at the materials, he was excited.
He lacked understanding of the Military Fire and the way to use it. In particular, he truly understood the fire’s application after he witnessed Wu Hongxi refine a boot using the fire.
Although he had to work incredibly hard to be adept in the skill, he was confident about it.
As long as he had an aim and a direction, he was not afraid of failing.
Ou Yangming gently brushed his fingers across the fur. A normal refiner had to first learn to differentiate furs before carrying out the process. This was because ferocious beast furs did not have the same properties, and a martial artist’s demand for pieces of equipment had to be taken into account. Therefore, one must pass the stage to become an excellent refiner.
Even so, Ou Yangming mastered it right away. The way he identified furs was simple as he only relied on his sense of touch.
If he touched and felt that the fur was comfortable, he knew it would be a suitable material.
Needless to say, he would not spare a glance at furs that were obviously flawed or had patches.
Ou Yangming picked around ten ferocious beast furs after a brief moment. Wu Hongxi would be appalled if he was present because the furs were the best in quality and had the most value among the other furs in the room.
The fact that the young fellow could pick the best items without any training or introduction proved that he had commendable skills.
Nonetheless, given that it was Ou Yangming’s first time refining boots, it would be more than wasteful for him to use those materials.
As he touched one of the pieces of fur with his fingers, the Military Fire burned and wrapped up the material.
The making of a boot was an extremely tedious process because the steps involved sorting, tracing, cutting, removing the skin, stitching, lasting, curing, forming, drying, and so on. However, the mighty Military Fire was able to replace those steps.
Seeing as Wu Hongxi was able to achieve it, Ou Yangming worked hard in that direction too.
His Military Fire kept dancing, and its temperature alternated between the extreme ends of hot and cold. As a result of the mixture, endless wonderful changes took place.
Ou Yangming was fully immersed in the combination of hot and cold. Even though he was inexperienced, did not have perfect control over the flame’s temperature, and could not be mentioned on equal terms with Wu Hongxi, he focused on and enjoyed the process. After an unknown period, black smoke suddenly emerged from the semi-finished boot. Ou Yangming’s faces changed, and he quickly shook his wrist to end the disaster that was about to take place. When he noticed the burnt mark on the boot, he could not help but sigh.
Sure enough, the alternation between heat and cold was not as easy as he imagined, and the making of a boot was much more complicated than the refinement of a cloak.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming enjoyed challenges. No matter how difficult the task was, as long as it would not make him despair, he would not lose interest and the confidence to try.
The young fellow moved his wrist and tossed the semi-finished product away. It seemed like only a corner on the boot’s surface was burnt, but its lining was destroyed too. Even if he managed to make a pair of boots at the end, the boots would be so ordinary that it could not be used by a martial artist.
Ou Yangming was a blacksmith, after all, hence he did not want to waste his limited time on meaningless things. He picked up another piece of fur again and enveloped it with his Military Fire…
For three days and three nights, Ou Yangming stayed in the room. Apart from the times when someone sent him meals regularly and when he needed to use the toilet, he kept controlling his Military Fire and alternated between the hot and cold attributes.
He finished using the ten pieces of fur, which he selected at the beginning. Though he did not succeed in making even one boot, he gained valuable experience. As such, he began to smith new boots.
As the Military Fire’s peculiar power changed, the small pieces of fur, which were cut by the airflow, slowly gathered. Some of them became the boot’s outer surface while some became the linings; they finally became one after being burned by the fire. Following that, Ou Yangming kicked up a pair of soles, which he had prepared in advance, and bound it to the boots.
It seemed surreal when they danced in the Military Fire.
Ou Yangming’s forehead was covered in beads of sweat as he used all his energy to control the Military Fire. The fire burned for a long time before the boots slowly took form.
He later exhaled deeply and was glad when he stared at the boots.
[Item: Outstanding boots]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Four]
[Attributes: Toughness +9, Durability +9]
This was the first pair of boots that he successfully made. Its attributes were normal, but he was satisfied.
During the three days, instead of utilizing the Military Fire’s absorbing and upgrading abilities, he simply paid attention to the fire’s subtle changes.
Back then, when Ou Yangming used the Military Fire, it was the fire’s bizarre properties that made him the person he was, but he became the purple fire’s real owner at this moment.
From today onward, the young fellow could proudly say that it was not the Military Fire that controlled him, but the other way round. This was his biggest gain from learning the path of equilibrium, and the effort that he put in for this alone was completely worth it.
Ou Yangming yawned and glanced at the boots, then he lay on the ground and slept irresponsibly.
The three days of hard work had worn him out. While he had the Mental Power Rune, which could instantly make him feel refreshed, the rune’s effect could not replace his sleep.
Therefore, once the boots were made, Ou Yangming cast his thoughts aside and slept.
An hour after he slept, two Superior Blacksmiths arrived side by side about 10 meters away from the room.
“Brother Wu, I just have a feeling that you were rushing it.” Jin Shengjie furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the closed door. He sighed and added, “You said the smithing path is all about slow and steady, not a soaring process, but look, you made him refine boots right after he made five cloaks. Heh, isn’t the span too big?” Wu Hongxi probably regarded the making of boots as a simple task.
Despite that, it was nearly impossible for a clueless novice to imitate the process after watching it once.
Especially since the secret of Wu Hongxi’s refining method lied in the Military Fire’s temperature changes and the forces applied, one could not comprehend the essence after watching it ten or a hundred times without any guidance, let alone watching it once.
At the very least, Jin Shengjie knew he could not grasp the key and succeed if he was in Ou Yangming’s shoes. That said, Ou Yangming’s mental power was so great that it could not be compared with an ordinary person’s. Thus, Master Jin figured that the young fellow could possibly achieve what he could not accomplish.
Wu Hongxi shook his head and remarked, “I know I’m going too fast, but it won’t be an issue for Lil’ Friend Ou.”
Jin Shengjie could not help but laugh. “Do you really understand him well?”
“I don’t, but I have some understanding of his mental power.” Wu Hongxi sighed, and he continued with bright eyes, “Big Brother Jin, we’ve been discussing the way to break through the world’s barrier. Perhaps the answer lies with Lil’ Friend Ou.”
“Brother Wu, tell me honestly—were you really unable to perceive Lil Friend Ou’s mental power that day?” Jin Shengjie was stunned, and his eyes lit up.
Wu Hongxi answered without any hesitation, “Indeed. His mental power is amazing, and I’m afraid it has surpassed our world’s limit.”
Jin Shengjie’s eyes wandered about, but it was not clear if he was overjoyed or shocked. He clenched his fists and let them go again, then he lowered his voice and said, “If that’s the case, the magic tool…”
Master Wu nodded at him slowly. He did not give any explanation, but Master Jin’s heartbeat doubled.
“I’ll teach him the path of equilibrium as soon as possible while you give him some pointers on his Layering Art. Given that his strange Military Fire has an astounding melting ability as well, he has a high chance of fulfilling our wish,” Wu Hongxi noted.
Jin Shengjie nodded and stated, “If he manages to smith a magic tool, our names can also be included in the treasure book, and we’ll be known for a hundred generations.”
Everyone had weaknesses. Jin Shengjie’s status could not be shaken by the powerful and wealthy younger generation, but what he could not give up was a good reputation that would go on for centuries.
Having said all that, the two blacksmith masters did not know that the magic tool, which they had been thinking and dreaming about, was not a problem for Ou Yangming since a long time ago.
Jin Shengjie curbed his thought and asked, “Brother Wu, when do you think Lil’ Friend Ou will be able to make his first pair of boots?”
Wu Hongxi pondered for a while and smiled bitterly. “I took a month to smith my first pair of boots, but I made several adjustments after that and arrived at my current refining method. If I had to make an estimation… I suppose he’ll take seven to ten days.”
Master Jin nodded and grinned. “Don’t forget that Lil’ Friend Ou is known for creating miracles. For all we know…”
Wu Hongxi chuckled, but his eyelids twitched all of a sudden. When he looked up, he saw the closed door being opened slowly.