Chapter 397 - 397 Reflection
397 Reflection
Soon, the staff sent by the Central Plains arrived to receive them.
The Central Plains did not send any important figures because the blacksmith were just a few young individuals participating in the exchange conference. Moreover, there were many people from all over the country. They could easily attract attention and chaos while they welcomed or sent them off.
Therefore, for the sake of fairness, they arranged a standard reception and assigned strict guards to the task. No important figures appeared.
Wu Mo and the others understood this and heaved a sigh of relief.
Xu Wanqing smiled. “Luckily, there aren’t any old men or big shots here. Otherwise, I would have to chat with them. It’s tiring!”
Gan Yun and the others nodded in agreement. Wu Mo was not fond of such meaningless interactions either.
With help from the receptionist, they got into a car and rushed to the hotel where they were going to stay.
There was obviously a certain amount of traffic control on the road. Many cars were also temporarily parked along the street. Many people got out of their cars and took out their phones to take pictures. Some even gathered together and chatted excitedly.
Wu Mo was somewhat famous in the White River province, but taking the entire Nine Provinces into account, one would think that he was not that popular.
However, it was obvious that the people of the Nine Provinces had great interest in them.
Xu Wanqing and the others had already taken out their phones and begun to check the news in the Central Plains.
“Wow, this exchange conference is huge! There’s news about it everywhere.”
“Needless to say, all the blacksmiths who are attending this time are top-notch. None of them are lower than five stars. Most of them are stuck at peak five stars and aren’t able to advance yet. They’re waiting to show off their skills in this exchange conference and amaze everyone!”
“Interesting. This conference will involve the entire Nine Provinces. Even if you don’t enter the top 10, your reputation will increase as long as you do well.”
“What I’m most concerned about is what kind of experts are going to be there this year. It would be great if I had some information on them!”
Several of them discussed animatedly while Wu Mo remained silent.
The night before the journey, he had tossed and turned in bed before waking up with a start.
Blacksmithing was indeed a respectable profession. The equipment that blacksmiths forged could increase the survival chances of more warriors when facing enemies and foreign races. It was easier for them to defeat their enemies as well.
However, this ability did not bring much improvement to his own strength.
He realized that he had spent too much time on equipment research but had paid almost no attention to his cultivation.
In this supernatural world, what was the point of doing good research and forging great equipment if one did not have enough strength?
Could he fight with Mjolnir? Once he encountered an enemy, could he kill his enemy with the hammer? Or was he relying on the Invisibility Armor to defend himself and exhaust his enemies?
He felt that he had gone astray. The ability to create equipment was very important in the study of strength, but his own strength was also very important.
The situation on the battlefield of Ten Thousand Races seemed stable, but things could change at a moment’s notice. Who could guarantee the safety of the Nine Provinces?
The foreign races might not be able to enter the Nine Provinces on a large scale, but it was not impossible for a small number of martial arts experts to infiltrate.
What would he do if he came face to face with one of them?
How could relying on the protection of others be more reliable than relying on one’s own strength?
Wu Mo thought of many things right then, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He had been too obsessed with making equipment behind closed doors.
Besides, without the system’s help, could he have reached his current level on his own?
He did not doubt his skills, but he would never overestimate himself.
One could only walk more steadily and go further if one truly knew one’s self.
He had never been on a battlefield. He had never experienced a real battle with a foreign race, and he did not understand the fighting style and strength of the other races. He did not understand the battlefield environment either. So, could the equipment that he forged really play a role?
After examining himself, he realized that his current strength as a peak five-star blacksmith was nothing against an ordinary three-star beast, let alone someone from a foreign race.
Meanwhile, beasts were the most worthless consumables on the battlefield. Although they had a certain level of intelligence, it was not worth mentioning they were compared to the foreign races who had real civilizations and legacies.
That night, Wu Mo contemplated a lot and finally made up his mind to improve his strength and combat effectiveness.
Not only could strength ensure safety, but it was also the key to forging equipment.
The higher the level of the equipment, the higher the strength required.
Now, he could still rely on the system to do things with ease, but there were times when his own strength could not keep up with the equipment’s manufacturing.
Cultivators in this world cultivated their strength by communicating through the weapons in their hands. They absorbed the essence of heaven and earth into their bodies to strengthen their bodies. Then, they would transmit energy through their bodies and control their weapons to fight their enemies.
This is combined with their civilization’s system, and they gradually derived various combat skills.
Based on what Wu Mo knew, cultivators of all levels relied heavily on equipment. Their strength would drop by several levels if they faced an enemy empty-handed.
Combat skills were reflected more in equipment, and the body was more like an energy supply battery.
He had seen plenty of relevant information and videos. When facing a beast horde, cultivators basically fought in close combat and relied on their equipment to kill the beasts.
However, the beasts were nothing more than consumables on the battlefield of the Ten Thousand races. They were like cannon fodder. But the foreign races might not be like the beasts that charged without thinking and allowed themselves to be slaughtered.
They also had equipment, powerful physiques, and combat skills. They could even control energy to go on the offensive and defensive.
They all relied on equipment to embark on the extraordinary path of cultivation. The strength of the foreign races surpassed that of humans.
Hence, humans could just passively defend themselves for now. They had little room to attack.
To change this situation, it was not enough to just change his equipment. Wu Mo also had to update his combat philosophy.
He had to combine his equipment with a brand-new combat system to produce greater results.
As the thoughts in Wu Mo’s mind churned, everyone arrived at the luxurious hotel.
“Hey, what’s on your mind? You didn’t even say a word when I spoke to you!”
For some reason, Xu Wanqing had been paying close attention to Wu Mo.
It was not that she liked him, but curiosity was half of it.
“Nothing, something just occurred to me!”
“I don’t understand you. I just feel like you’ve been acting strange these past two days.”
“Is that so?” Wu Mo smiled indifferently. You must be imagining things!”
“Tsk! I can’t be bothered with you!”
They then took their room cards and headed to their respective rooms under Guan Hu’s protection.
Before they entered, Guan Hu sent someone into the rooms first. This person inspected the facilities to make sure there was no problem before letting them in.
Wu Mo was incredibly satisfied with Guan Hu’s sense of responsibility. He told himself that if he made more equipment in the future, he could let Guan Hu try them out first.