Immortal Path to Heaven
chapter-51

The next morning, Ou Yangming reported to Old Craftsman, then left with Yan Haobo’s ten-men squad.

Although Old Craftsman was confused and slightly displeased about Ou Yangming being so keen to enter the dense forest, he did not make a fuss out of it. He looked at the young fellow, then sighed just as he was feeling a tingling sensation. “You’ve grown up, so you should have your own ideas. I just hope that you won’t pursue instant results because doing things step by step is the norm that we should follow.”

Ou Yangming nodded. In actual fact, if he had not acquired the purple brilliance from the Military Fire Badge, he could not have had such unbelievable performances. Back then, he would have followed Old Craftsman’s teachings methodically to advance steadily.

Perhaps he could be on par with or surpass Old Craftsman one day.

Nevertheless, since Heaven gave him the opportunity, he would try to accomplish something to not waste his youth.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming could think about it or even put it into practice, but it was best for him to keep it low in front of Old Craftsman.

Ou Yangming set out smoothly since Old Craftsman did not stop him.

While it was a ten-men squad, there were actually more than twenty men who followed Yan Haobo, and they even prepared mules and horses to transport items.

It was then when Ou Yangming realized that hunting in the dense forest was not as simple as he imagined because there were fixed procedures to follow in the military camp.

All pieces of equipment were carried by the mules and horses, which were only distributed once they were outside the dense forest.

It was a much more relaxed trip than when Ou Yangming ran with full equipment by himself.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming twitched his mouth a little when he took a closer look at the pieces of equipment.

These men were the Guards under General Chen Yifan’s command, and each of them had the cultivation base of at least Force Grade Class Five. In fact, more than half of the soldiers were already at Yin Grade, such that Squad Leader Yan Haobo was even a master at Yin Grade Class Three.

Despite that, the pieces of equipment that they had were unsightly. While they did not lack a military saber, a shield, a helmet, arm guards, and greaves, not every one of them had armor.

Yan Haobo chuckled when he glanced at Ou Yangming. “Master Ou, please don’t laugh at us. One who joins the Guards will be given a full equipment set, but the general gave orders that those who aren’t at Yin Grade yet can’t be wearing armor.”

Ou Yangming was slightly surprised. “Why?”

“Because they don’t have enough power.” Yan Haobo sighed. “If they’re fully equipped, they won’t last long in a battle, let alone surviving in the dense forest.”

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows as he came to a sudden realization.

When he previously wore full equipment at the dense forest’s border, they seemed to be weightless, so his speed was not affected at all.

As such, he neglected a fundamental issue.

Power.

A martial artist’s power was far above an ordinary person’s. When Ou Yangming exchanged blows with Yan Haobo, he felt that Yan Haobo was very powerful, and estimated that he was the equivalent of roughly 9 points of attributes, but definitely below 10 points.

After being fully equipped, Yan Haobo actually had a total of 11 points of Power and 4 points of Agility.

The armor’s weight should not be underestimated, but it was not worth mentioning if compared to 11 points of Power.

Ou Yangming suddenly comprehended the mightiness of Attribute Equipment like never before. With sufficient attributes, even a rookie could kill an old master by punching crazily.

He frowned when he glanced at the remaining pieces of equipment. “They’re mostly Common Grade items…”

The soldiers behind Yan Haobo were dissatisfied. ‘What do you mean they’re mostly Common Grade? Other than a few of them, the rest are all Common Grade items! But this is a treatment that’s only given to the Guards, and many men in the military will train hard just to be a part of them because having a full set of equipment is simply enviable.’

‘This young man talks really big, he’s quite annoying.’

On the other hand, Yan Haobo’s eyes glowed. He was the one among everyone else who knew about the fight two nights ago, and he knew where Yan Chengcai and his brothers got their arm guards and greaves from.

Honestly, he coveted those pieces of equipment too. If it was not for his nephew and that he dared not offend Ou Yangming, he would have done everything he could to get them too.

“Yes, they’re mostly Common Grade items. Ah, I actually wanted to upgrade their equipment qualities so they can at least withstand longer if they encounter stronger enemies or beasts,” Yan Haobo quickly mentioned upon hearing Ou Yangming, and he shook his head helplessly before continuing, “but we only have this much funds in the military. Even with strict budgeting, it’s impossible for us to change everyone’s equipment!”

He sounded like he was not resigned to the outcome because Yan Chengcai and those new soldiers already possessed Good Grade arm guards and greaves, yet old soldiers like them from the Guards only had Common Grade ones.

The pieces of Common Grade equipment that Yan Haobo valued in the past seemed to have lost their color.

“Be more diligent when we enter the forest later, and you’ll receive benefits once we’re out.” Ou Yangming looked at him plainly.

Feeling elated, Yan Haobo quickly replied, “Thank you, Master Ou!”

The soldiers behind him looked at each other as they wondered why their squad leader was so polite toward a young man. Even if the young man was a Military Fire Blacksmith, they felt that he should not be flattering him.

“Brothers, take a good look at him. He’s Master Ou Yangming from the Armament Camp, and he’s entering the dense forest with us to look for ores. It’s extremely dangerous in the forest, but the master’s safety is our priority at any time,” Yan Haobo turned around to announce, then yelled with sharp eyes, “Even if every one of us dies, we must let the master return safely!”

“Yes, Squad Leader!”

Nine soldiers who stood in a row responded at the same time.

Even though there were only nine of them, their aura grew at that moment, and they showed soaring heroic spirits as they roared.

These were tough soldiers in the military. Once they were given orders, they would not cower no matter what they were facing.

Ou Yangming was moved as he envied them.

“Master Ou, when you follow us, the most important thing for you to do is not to kill, but to avoid all dangers.” Yan Haobo had a serious look on his face. “I’ve seen your body technique, and I’m sure that you’ll do well as long as you remain calm.”

In actuality, based on Ou Yangming’s performance during his battle against Yan Chengcai, he was a good fit for a scout, but Yan Haobo would never let him be one even if his head was chopped off.

“I get it.” Ou Yangming nodded slowly.

“Everyone, suit up now!” Yan Haobo turned around to instruct the others.

Subsequently, everyone began putting up pieces of equipment. Those who were at Yin Grade and above wore armors, whereas two men who were not at Yin Grade yet wore a specially made breastplate to protect their organs. Though the breastplate could not be compared with armor, it was better than nothing.

When everyone was done wearing their pieces of equipment, they were stunned when they fixed their gaze on Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming carried a big box from the mule cart, then retrieved pieces of equipment from it. He put on his arm guards, greaves, then his armor, which seemed like he was going to protect his upper body.

Yan Haobo’s face changed a little as he could tell that the armor was heavy.

“Master Ou, we’re going to stay in the dense forest for a few days. If you wear heavy items, it’ll only become a burden for you!”

Since Master Ou prepared the armor himself, it was obviously the best item, hence Yan Haobo would have asked him to put it on if they were going to stay in the forest for a short time. However, if the armor became a burden for Ou Yangming, not only would it be inconvenient, but he would also become the biggest burden in the squad.

“Squad Leader Yan, don’t worry, I’ll act according to my capability,” Ou Yangming replied with a smile, and insisted on wearing the armor.

Following that, he equipped himself with a helmet and a military saber. Although he lacked some pieces of unique equipment, he had the necessities.

Yan Haobo smiled bitterly. Since Ou Yangming was so insistent, how could he reject him?

He made his decision. If he could not carry Ou Yangming, he would have to discard pieces of equipment, but it would be his that would be thrown away, whereas Ou Yangming’s would naturally become his.

“Let’s go!” Yan Haobo waved his hand as he ordered.

The others responded to him, then someone led the path while another person held the line at the back. Everything was done in an orderly manner as it was not their first time entering the dense forest.

After a brief moment, they could not help but look at Ou Yangming strangely.

They more or less looked at him scornfully before they entered the forest as he was fully equipped, but they soon looked at him respectfully.

That was because Ou Yangming walked soundlessly although he had heavy pieces of equipment on him, and it was as though he was covered in thin paper instead of armor. No, it seemed like his body was actually weightless.

It could not be explained as talent, thus the men suspected if he cultivated a secret technique that allowed him to do so.

Even if the men were to think about it for three days and three nights, they would have never imagined that Ou Yangming had a total of 11 points of Power and 4 points of Agility on his equipment set!

As compared to Ou Yangming the tycoon, the men were simply tramps.