Immortal Path to Heaven

Chapter 8: Where Did You Go?

2

Ou Yangming worked so quickly that the coarse ores were hammered into desired shapes one after another.

He exclaimed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. If Ou Yangming had done the same thing in the past, he would have been out of breath very quickly. Though he would not be worn out, he probably could not endure the process any longer. After all, he was so much younger than the famous strong men in the military.

However, Ou Yangming felt entirely different at that moment. Even after hammering a hundred times, there was no need for him to catch his breath.

“Creak…”

Ou Yangming was stunned when the door was opened, and he wondered who would be here at this hour.

When he looked up, he saw Old Craftsman and a man in his thirties. The man was a burly, sturdy man. His eyes were sharp like blades, which made him look intimidating.

Upon seeing Ou Yangming holding a hammer, Old Craftsman asked with a dark face, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour!”

Ou Yangming was lost for words when he looked at the iron hammer in his hands.

He initially wanted to get rid of Zhang Hanyu’s possessions and only intended to hammer for a while after lighting up the furnace, but he became so addicted that he could not stop.

“Hehe, Old Craftsman, who’s this?” The tall man took a step to Old Craftsman’s side as if he was unintentionally protecting him.

Old Craftsman raised his eyebrows and answered proudly, “General Chen, he’s Ou Yangming, my only disciple.”

Ou Yangming’s eyes glowed the moment he realized that the big man was General Chen Yifan.

He noticed that Old Craftsman and General Chen were rather congenial with each other, but it had nothing to do with him.

“I see.” Chen Yifan chuckled. The fierce aura he carried could be sensed and after he looked at Ou Yangming from head to toe, he mentioned, “Old Craftsman, it’s a pity that your disciple isn’t a soldier.”

Old Craftsman was stunned. “General Chen, I’ve already filled the gap for him in the camp, he’s one of the members of the military.”

Chen Yifan waved his hand. “I meant that it’s a pity that he’s not a soldier under me.”

Needless to say, what was mentioned by Old Craftsman was different from the military branch mentioned by Chen Yifan. When Old Craftsman understood what he meant, he smiled bitterly. “General Chen, you’re joking. He was born an orphan and he grew up being fed by a hundred families in his village, why would he catch your attention?”

Chen Yifan shook his head. “Old Craftsman, I’m not joking. This fella’s naturally gifted, and he’s rich in Qi and blood. If he practices martial arts under me, he’ll achieve twice the result by doing just half the work.”

Old Craftsman was struck dumb. He clicked his tongue, then thought to himself, ‘What do you mean that he’s naturally gifted, and is rich in Qi and blood?’

‘He’s easily worn out even by using the hammer a few times, so don’t hope that he’ll succeed in martial arts, it’s definitely wishful thinking.’

He only had a slight knowledge of martial arts since he lived in the military camp for half his life, so he was bound to know a thing or two.

When he turned to look at Ou Yangming and was about to tell the general the truth, he suddenly sensed something strange about the young fellow. He was startled when he looked at the hammer because he realized that his strength seemed to have grown.

He asked with a frown, “Young fella, did you stay to train your physical power?”

Ou Yangming was alert when he heard him. He answered, “Old man, I need to strengthen my body now, so I worked while you’re gone.”

His face reddened as he was quite agitated, but Chen Yifan and Old Craftsman thought that he was embarrassed.

“Little fella.” Old Craftsman pointed at him, then looked at his work before he asked again, “You’ve already beaten so many ores, have you been training here all this while?”

Ou Yangming nodded. “Apart from resting, I’ve been staying here.”

In actual fact, he had not been hammering for long, but the inexplicable growth in his power allowed him to work very efficiently in a short period of time.

Since Old Craftsman was unaware of that, he looked at Ou Yangming the same way he used to. Clearly, he deduced the wrong time.

Chen Yifan laughed. “Young fella, do you want to train your body and power? Hehe, it won’t work if you’re just using brute force. How about you train under me for a few months? I guarantee that you’ll have a bright future.”

“General Chen, he has used the Military Fire Badge.” Old Craftsman’s face immediately changed, then added after a short pause, “While he hasn’t activated the fire, I can sense the Military Fire Seed inside his body. He’ll definitely produce his fire in roughly ten days and then become a qualified Military Fire Blacksmith.”

Chen Yifan looked at Ou Yangming shockingly, then sighed. “It’s such a pity that you’re becoming a Military Fire Blacksmith when you have such a great physique.”

Being an outspoken person, he spoke bluntly even in front of Old Craftsman.

Old Craftsman’s face slowly darkened. ‘What do you mean by it’s a pity being a Military Fire Blacksmith? You’re an uneducated man.’

Nevertheless, Chen Yifan was the brigadier general in the camp. Though he was sent here not long ago, it proved that he had many supporters, thus Old Craftsman would not get on his bad side because of what he just said.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming was puzzled as he did not know why Old Craftsman lied about him.

Chen Yifan approached him and pushed his shoulder hard.

As such, his body shook a little, and he would have fallen to the ground if he was the weak man he used to be, but his power to withstand the push was no longer the same as it was before. Hence, his legs shook a little, but he was able to keep a strong foothold.

“Good fella. Although you never learned martial arts, you have enough strength, and you’re steady. Great, if you’re interested, I welcome you to the West Camp at any time,” Chen Yifan commented with a nod, then turned to smile at Old Craftsman and continued, “For your master’s sake, I’ll personally train you.”

While he was thrilled and delighted by what he chanced upon, he would not ruin relationships just like that. Since he was asking Old Craftsman for help, his attitude was different.

Old Craftsman was moved, so he quickly said, “Young fella, General Chen is being kind to you, quickly thank him!”

Ou Yangming bowed even though he did not fully understand. “Thank you, General.”

“It’s fine.” Chen Yifan laughed and waved his hand, then turned to say to the old man, “Old Craftsman, it’s time for serious business.”

Following that, Old Craftsman went to a corner of his workshop to search from a pile of ores, then retrieved an item. “General Chen, what do you think about matching the Blood-thirsty Ore you found with this Titanium Ore?”

Chen Yifan looked at the item for a brief moment and was instantly elated. “Old Craftsman, I knew you’d have a precious item here. Hehe, if I refine a spear with this ore, perhaps that attribute can be refined, right?”

Old Craftsman pondered for a while, then replied, “I’ll gather a few more unique items, and I’ll try my best. If I really succeed…” He became excited too. “Perhaps, I can really forge a magic tool while I’m still alive!”

Chen Yifan’s eyes sparkled too. Evidently, the magic tool that was mentioned was extremely important to him.

“Who’s there!” All of a sudden, his face changed as he yelled. The moment he uttered those words, the energy inside his body surged, and an indescribable, fearsome feeling filled the air, so much so that Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming could not move.

Ou Yangming broke out in a cold sweat, and he finally understood how frightening a real martial arts powerhouse was.

Zhang Hanyu was not at all worth mentioning as compared to Chen Yifan.

“General Chen, please don’t misunderstand, it’s me,” A rather awkward voice was heard, then a person appeared at the door.

Chen Yifan furrowed his eyebrows slightly. “Supervisor Zhang, why are you here?”

The person who showed up was Zhang Yinfan. He smiled bitterly. “General Chen, I’m here to inspect the Armament Camp’s armory, why are you here?”

“Do I need to report my movements to you?” Chen Yifan scoffed. He sounded very hostile, and it was clear that he treated Zhang Yinfan lightly.

Zhang Yinfan quickly lowered his head and apologized, “I dare not.”

Afterward, Chen Yifan said impatiently, “I’m discussing something with Old Craftsman, so go do your inspection, and don’t disturb me!”

“Yes!” Zhang Yinfan responded, then glanced at Ou Yangming before he left.

Just as he was about to leave, Chen Yifan raised his brows as he recalled something. He mentioned to Zhang Yinfan, “Supervisor Zhang, Old Craftsman needs to focus on smithing a bladed weapon for me, so delegate the tasks that are under him to other people, I don’t want him to overwork himself.”

“Yes, I accept your order.”

Zhang Yinfan bowed at him, then hurried away.

Obviously, he was not there to inspect anything.

As soon as he learnt Chen Yifan had returned to the camp with a peculiar ore, he made a prompt decision to ask Zhang Hanyu to make a move while Old Craftsman was gone.

Based on Zhang Hanyu’s ability, he could easily take out Ou Yangming with a sneak attack, but he did not return even though Zhang Yinfan had waited for him at his residence for a long time.

When he thought about the precious item that his nephew had, he was extremely anxious, thus he decided to come to the camp himself, but happened to bump into Chen Yifan.

Though he only took a glance, he was sure that Ou Yangming did not seem like he was attacked as he had a great complexion.

If Zhang Hanyu had really made a move, it was impossible for Ou Yangming to maintain a good condition.

Nonetheless, Zhang Yinfan could not find anything after looking all over the Armament Camp. Feeling frustrated, he looked up at the sky.

‘B*stard, where are you…’