Chapter 3

Ouyang Ming frowned, his face contorted as he left the large residence. He spread his legs and ran back to the armory at the fastest speed possible. The old master had been waiting in the house for a long time. Seeing him rush back, he laughed and scolded, "Kid, how do you feel?"

Ouyang Ming's heart immediately relaxed when he saw the old master. In this military camp, the only person he could completely trust was the one in front of him.

He grinned and said, "Old man, I... have caused you trouble." With that, he fell directly into the old master's arms.

The old master caught him, his face full of confusion. This kid, wasn't he supposed to receive the military order? How could he cause trouble for me?

Looking at the unconscious Ouyang Ming, he grunted, picked him up, and carried him to the bed. He took off his outer clothes and shoes, covered him carefully with the quilt, and muttered softly, threatening to make him pay when he woke up. However, his voice was so soft that it was barely louder than a whisper. If the unconscious Ouyang Ming could hear it, that would be truly strange.

After a full day and night, under the old master's worried gaze, Ouyang Ming finally woke up.

He turned over, intending to stay in bed lazily, but suddenly realized that once he woke up, he was completely alert and had no more sleepiness.

Blinking a few times, he didn't understand what had happened, but immediately recalled the events before he fell asleep.

He sat up, and seeing the familiar surroundings, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing the commotion in the house, the old master walked in, threw a set of clothes at him, and said, "Good kid, when did you turn into a lazy pig? Hurry up and get dressed and get to work."

Ouyang Ming responded loudly, quickly put on his clothes, and wolfed down his meal. He then followed the old master to the armory.

The old master held a unique position in the armory. He was not only the chief blacksmith but also had decades of experience, which even the military commanders had to respect.

The old master had his own independent forging room. He brought Ouyang Ming in and asked in a serious tone, "Kid, tell me honestly, did you absorb the military fire?"

Ouyang Ming took a deep breath, recalling the magical feeling when he entered the military order.

He felt that something seemed to have been added to his body.

He extended his palm and stared at the center of his palm. There, something seemed about to break free.

Finally, in Ouyang Ming's mind, a cracking sound seemed to echo. Then, a small white flame rose from the center of his palm.

"Good!"

The old master's eyes, which were usually cloudy, now shone with unparalleled clarity and joy.

His gaze on Ouyang Ming was filled with deep appreciation. If before today, he had only treated Ouyang Ming like a son, now he had the expectation and hope of seeing his son succeed.

Ouyang Ming blinked a few times, his heart also filled with joy.

According to the old master's previous explanation, even if one successfully absorbed the military fire, using it was not easy. It usually took at least ten to fifteen days of effort to successfully activate it. To use it freely was even more difficult, requiring months of hard practice.

However, with time and practice, one could eventually reach a level of proficiency.

"Good kid, here!" The old master picked up a broken sword and threw it to Ouyang Ming.

Ouyang Ming nodded lightly, the old master's previous teachings flooding his mind.

Back then, he didn't have military fire, but the old master still diligently passed on his knowledge and experience. Perhaps, at that time, the old master had already planned everything.

Ouyang Ming focused his mind, fully immersing himself in the military fire.

When the military fire approached the already flattened military sword on the platform, Ouyang Ming's face suddenly showed a look of disbelief.

In his mind, a set of strange numbers suddenly appeared.

Item: Broken Military Sword

Rank: Common Item, First Tier

Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0

At this moment, a big question mark appeared in Ouyang Ming's mind. What... is this?

After a long while, Ouyang Ming finally calmed his almost soaring chaotic thoughts and refocused his attention on the broken sword.

Repair, yes, what I need to do now is repair.

Repair, repair, repair...

Ouyang Ming concentrated, trying his best to mend the break.

However, this was his first time using military fire. Even though he had a mental power talent and could control the military fire much faster than others, expecting him to use it freely was still a pipe dream.

The break slowly fused under the spiritual fire, but the cost was that Ouyang Ming's forehead was already covered in sweat.

Using military fire required physical strength.

After half an hour, the break finally completely merged under the continuous burning of the military fire.

Ouyang Ming's eyes sparkled with joy.

However, at this moment, a hint of purple light flashed in his mind, and a question mark appeared.

Component detected, absorb?

Ouyang Ming's facial muscles suddenly twitched, almost letting out a startled cry.

Almost instinctively, Ouyang Ming responded, "Yes."

Thus, a strange energy that could not be seen was released from the sword and instantly entered Ouyang Ming's body. At the same time, two tiny, extremely weak, pea-sized purple lights appeared in his mind.

Ouyang Ming didn't know what they were or why they suddenly appeared in his mind. He was speechless, wanting to call for help but unable to make a sound.

"Kid, kid, are you okay? Don't scare this old man!" The urgent voice in his ear finally woke Ouyang Ming. He shivered and immediately saw the old master's anxious gaze. His heart warmed, as if a stream of clear water had poured over him, making every pore on his body feel comfortable.

The feeling of being cared for and remembered was truly wonderful.

"Hey, old man, how did I do?" Ouyang Ming immediately put on a proud smile.

The old master looked Ouyang Ming up and down, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He laughed and scolded, "You kid, are you so happy just because you repaired a sword?"

Ouyang Ming scratched his head and chuckled, seemingly admitting it.

The old master nodded and said, "You're not bad. You can repair a sword right after getting military fire. Although it's a bit ugly... it's still passable."

Ouyang Ming looked at the sword, his face turning red.

The sword was indeed mended by the power of military fire, but the break was not smooth. Instead, it was uneven, as if something had gnawed around it.

The ugliness of the sword was so extreme that it was hard to look at a second time.

The old master chuckled and said, "Kid, don't be discouraged. For your first time using military fire, this is already pretty good. Hey, I see you're tired. Go back and rest."

Ouyang Ming blinked, looking at the old master with disbelief, and shouted, "Old man, you actually praised me? Is the sun rising from the west today, or have you finally found a new love? Oh, don't be angry, I'm leaving, I'm leaving..." Before he finished speaking, he had already run off.

The old master's smile immediately disappeared, replaced by a scowl. He angrily scolded, "Brat, are you itching for a beating!" However, looking at the lively back of the kid who had fled, his eyes finally showed a hint of satisfaction and joy.

Back in the day, it took him half a month to successfully activate the military fire after absorbing it, and another month to barely repair a broken sword.

Compared to Ouyang Ming's performance, his speed could only be described as glacial.

So, even though the sword was ugly, he was only happy, with no regret.

Smiling, the old master held the repaired sword and thought about whether to keep it as a memento. After all, it was the first item the kid forged using military fire, with great commemorative value. Moreover, in the future, holding this ugly sword to mock the kid and seeing his helpless face would undoubtedly be a very happy thing.

However, a moment later, the old master's smile suddenly disappeared.

He held the sword, walked silently to a test stone, and slashed it hard.

"Clang—"

With sparks flying, the sword gained some small dents, but the test stone didn't even show a white mark.

The old master angrily threw the sword to the ground and cursed, "Damn logistics camp, when did they start tampering with military equipment? With these corrupt officials, the country will fall..."

Ouyang Ming, of course, didn't know the old master's thoughts. He ran directly into a large warehouse in the armory.

This was a warehouse filled with discarded armor and weapons, usually deserted.

His gaze swept over the mountain of scrap metal, and he immediately found a broken sword.

Although it was a military sword and not broken, it was covered in rust, and the blade had several large notches, making it completely worthless to repair.

After a moment's hesitation, Ouyang Ming focused his mind and summoned the military fire.

Using the military fire for the second time was much more proficient than the first. However, Ouyang Ming didn't know that because of his mental power talent, he could not only consume physical strength but also mental energy when using military fire.

This made it much easier for him to use military fire, and he could sustain it for a longer time.

As the military fire touched the sword, a piece of information quickly appeared.

Item: Damaged Military Sword

Rank: Common Item, First Tier

Attributes: Sharpness +1, Durability 0

Ouyang Ming remained calm and continued using the military fire. As the military fire burned, the rust on the sword quickly disappeared, and the blade soon became bright and shiny.

Slowly, as the sword's appearance almost returned to normal, a piece of information appeared in Ouyang Ming's mind again.

Component detected, absorb?

Component detected, enhance?

Ouyang Ming was taken aback. Why are there two options this time?

He thought for a moment. Since he had tried absorbing before, he decided to try enhancing this time.

Instantly, he found that the two tiny purple lights in his mind suddenly disappeared. Or rather, they strangely entered the sword being burned by the military fire.

Subsequently, the attributes of the sword, observed through the military fire, changed dramatically.

Item: Military Sword

Rank: Common Item, Third Tier

Attributes: Sharpness +3, Hardness +2, Durability 2

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