Chapter 454: Official Start

Soon after, Xu Mang, a disciple from Jingyang Palace, ranked eighth in the artifact-refining world, also extinguished his three-colored flames and stood out.Immediately following him, Huang Chunzhu, a disciple from Fuming Valley, ranked ninth in the artifact-refining world, also put out his three-colored fiery aura and moved to the center of the arena to seek judgment.

Unlike other sects, these two factions did not relentlessly pursue Shi Chun in the Divine Fire Domain. Instead, they focused entirely on their own tasks and, drawing upon the accumulated experience from their sect's traditions, managed to achieve some success.

Of course, their decision not to pursue the secret technique wasn't due to a lack of desire; rather, upon entering the Divine Fire Domain, they followed their inherited experience and immediately distanced themselves from the crowd. By the time they learned about the secret technique, it was already too late.

Knowing late wasn't necessarily a bad thing; misfortune can turn into fortune. Yan Chunlai, the leading disciple from Dongxiao Island (ranked seventh), only acquired two Divine Fires, and Du Da, the leading disciple from Luoyan Mountain (ranked tenth), only managed to obtain one. These two sects wasted their time pursuing Shi Chun, abandoning their own tasks.

Consequently, both of them struggled immensely in the current competition. As leading sects among the top ten, they couldn't possibly allow themselves to be surpassed by lower-ranked participants in the first round. Although they knew their chances in the second round were slim, this very knowledge made it even more imperative for them not to appear inferior in the first round.

Thus, both of them truly pushed themselves to their limits.

Yan Chunlai of Dongxiao Island finished almost immediately after Huang Chunzhu of Fuming Valley, stepping forward quickly with his chest heaving.

"Excellent!""Brother Yan, well done!"The Dongxiao Island disciples in the audience cheered loudly, celebrating that Yan Chunlai's refining speed for two Divine Fires could actually keep pace with Huang Chunzhu's.

However, the expressions of Dongxiao Island's high-ranking members were solemn. They recognized that Yan Chunlai had pushed himself too hard, expending energy that would be crucial for the next round, which would be extremely disadvantageous. Nevertheless, they understood Yan Chunlai's motivation.

Due to his own misguided decisions while leading the team in the Divine Fire Domain, this disciple, Yan Chunlai, was now fighting desperately.

A similar situation occurred with Du Da, a disciple from Luoyan Mountain. Having extinguished his flames, Du Da gasped for air as he headed to the judgment area to submit his work, a sense of relief washing over him.

At this point, almost all the leading participants from the Ten Great Sects had qualified.

The only one who managed to qualify among the frontrunners was Tong Mingshan.

Subsequently, a significant number of the other qualifiers were also disciples from the Ten Great Sects, such as Yuan Yao and Pang Hou from Shudao Mountain.

Among the participating disciples from sects outside the Ten Great Sects, virtually no one had absorbed more than one Divine Fire.

The main reason for this disparity lay in the accumulated experience of their sects; there was little room for sheer luck.

Of course, a greater reason this time was greed and ambition. Many sects wanted to seize a substantial gain, so they joined the pursuit of Shi Chun's group, wasting a great deal of time.

A stick of incense was burning down to its end, yet some people still refused to give up, striving to complete their refining.

Seeing this, Wu Jinliang strolled over to a nearby sect member and asked, "It seems only the champion gets a prize in this competition; everyone else is just a foil. The reality is right in front of them, yet these people still won't give up. Why are they desperately wasting their energy?"

The person nearby replied, "That's not how it works. Let me put it this way: no sect has an infinite supply of resources, and not everyone can easily obtain vast amounts for practice. The thirty-six types of Divine Fire have different attributes; not all attributes are suitable for primary refining when combined with one's fire-affinity cultivation method. Some attributes are only suitable as auxiliary elements for primary refining, which means 'secondary refining,' and there are also person-specific factors.

"Those who pass the first round demonstrate their ability to handle both primary and auxiliary refining, meaning the sect will at least be willing to invest resources in their development. Those who don't pass are debatable. Furthermore, this competition occurs only once every two or three hundred years, and almost every sect in the artifact-refining world is watching. Simply passing the first round already establishes one's reputation in the artifact-refining world. If one can rank high in the second round, they will become widely known. For insiders, competition in the artifact-refining world is fierce, and standing out is more important than any reward. For outsiders, they'd rather pay more to have items of the same quality refined by renowned masters."

Wu Jinliang let out an "Oh," understanding now. It all boiled down to fame and fortune.

Although the participants tried their best to qualify, as the incense stick burned down, an unfortunate outcome materialized: out of approximately 130 people, only 52 qualified in the first round, leaving about 80 to openly face their disappointment.

Some felt they were just a little short, needing only a bit more time. But reality was cruel; as the elder presiding from Lihuo Sect loudly declared, "First round of competition ends!", everything before them truly concluded. No amount of stubbornness would help.

Some sighed skyward, while others shed tears on the spot.

Regardless of their willingness to accept it, they were all asked to leave the competition grounds.

Even Shi Chun couldn't help but sigh with emotion; from his perspective as a cultivator, anyone capable of refining steel bare-handed through magic was already extraordinary.

After the competition paused, the surrounding audience felt their breathing become much easier. Earlier, with over a hundred people simultaneously deploying Divine Fire, the air had become so thin it was difficult to breathe. Non-cultivators certainly wouldn't have been able to endure it and might have fainted.

At the center of the arena, the competition organizers produced an iron plate with a hundred identical squares, laying it flat on the ground.

Then, the supervisory personnel dispatched by the Ten Great Sects collectively stepped forward. In full view of everyone, they jointly cast spells to unleash various fierce flames, guiding the metals refined by the disciples from different sects back into the air for further melting and purification.

After further impurities were removed and the required purity was achieved, the molten iron slowly descended, flowing into the hundred squares on the iron plate, with some overflow.

Someone used a ruler-like object to scrape off the overflow from the squares, then another person guided a light blue flame to sweep over the squares, causing the glowing red molten iron to instantly cool and turn black.

The iron plate was lifted, inverted onto a tabletop, and tapped. A hundred square iron lumps clattered down immediately, each roughly the size of a fist.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the hundred iron lumps were mixed together, piled up as if stir-fried, completely randomized.

Once the people by the table moved aside, the presiding elder loudly announced, "Competitors for the second round, come forward to collect your refining material, one piece per person."

The remaining 52 participants immediately gathered around the table.

Before collecting their items, they underwent a second body search; they were not allowed to carry any artifact-refining materials or any storage tools.

Concurrently, Lihuo Sect disciples managing the venue quickly rearranged the positions of the 52 participants to be equidistant.

After receiving an iron lump, each participant chose a new standing position on a first-come, first-served basis. Those at the very end had no choice but to take whatever spot was left.

With about eighty fewer people, the remaining participants had much more space between them.

Once all 52 participants were in position, the presiding elder surveyed the scene, waited for a moment, and seeing no objections, produced an incense stick. This stick was significantly larger than the previous one, designed to burn for a full hour.

Its burning time might not be perfectly precise, but that didn't matter; all 52 refiners would be given the same amount of time, so minor discrepancies were insignificant.

As the presiding elder lit the incense stick and slowly walked towards the censer, even Shi Chun unconsciously tensed, knowing that the true competition had only just begun; the previous round merely served to clear space for the real contenders.

Concerning the acquisition of the three treasured artifacts, he felt somewhat uneasy facing a competition over which he had no control.

On second thought, while Tong Mingshan's artifact-refining talent and skill might lag behind those of the major sect disciples, he had, after all, absorbed twenty-six Divine Fires. As the saying goes, 'a craftsman must sharpen his tools to do his work well.' With such comprehensive 'tools' at his disposal, there was no reason he shouldn't claim first place.

He wondered why he was feeling worried, and upon tracing the source, his gaze fell upon Li Hongjiu in the crowd. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he finally understood the origin of his unease: he remembered Li Hongjiu's boastful claim that he could overpower Luo Sheng.

If anyone else had said such a thing, he might have dismissed it as nonsense, but he had experienced Li Hongjiu's abilities firsthand. The man was truly unnervingly formidable; Shi Chun vividly recalled the terrifying scene of lightning filling the sky, where Li Hongjiu, even at a high martial cultivation level, could overwhelm Fifth-Grade magical artifacts and escape immobilization talismans.

Furthermore, it was evident in the Earth Core Pagoda that this fellow seemed uninterested in Divine Fire; it was unclear whether he was feigning disinterest or not.

However, it was also possible that this fellow was genuinely spouting arrogant nonsense, lying through his teeth, which Shi Chun had experienced before. He was certainly an anomaly within a renowned major sect.

Yet, for someone hailing from a place of exile, his perception of danger was acute, and it was hard for him not to be wary when he sensed something.

However, no amount of caution would help him now.

After a brief thought, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Brother Jiu, I believe you will definitely take first place! No one else is worthy to even carry your shoes!"

He had reasoned it out: whether Tong Mingshan or Li Hongjiu won, it wouldn't prevent him from currying favor with Li Hongjiu beforehand, and he specifically wanted everyone to witness it.

He needed to establish an unshakeable bond with Li Hongjiu because he currently couldn't find anyone else capable of unleashing that awe-inspiring thunder sword to help him improve his cultivation.

Regardless of how many difficulties lay ahead, he had decided that Li Hongjiu was his sworn brother, and they would remain inseparable. No one would be able to break them apart.

He also hoped to repeatedly remind the disciples of Yanbao Sect to remember that he was Li Hongjiu's brother, so they shouldn't block him if he came to find Li Hongjiu in the future.

In the tense atmosphere of the venue, a startling declaration suddenly emerged, causing everyone present to simultaneously turn their gaze in that direction.

Holding the iron lump, now ready for the real challenge to demonstrate his true skill, Li Hongjiu, who had been poised to sprint to save time, paused and slowly turned his head towards the sound, spotting Shi Chun.

Shi Chun vigorously waved at him, indicating his presence.

Although the faint smile Li Hongjiu managed to force was strained, Shi Chun didn't mind. As long as Li Hongjiu didn't deny it on the spot, it counted as an acknowledgment; nothing else mattered.

The members of Bailian Sect nearby turned to look at Shi Chun with surprise in their eyes. How could he be siding with an outsider like this, claiming no one was worthy to carry Li Hongjiu's shoes? Wasn't that demeaning their own sect leader?

This was precisely the point, and consequently, other sects realized that Shi Chun's relationship with Li Hongjiu was not simple.

Someone quietly whispered to a neighbor, "Didn't they say Li Hongjiu was pursuing Shi Chun in the Divine Fire Domain?"

Young Master Nan, sitting on the mountainside, straightened up and watched, wondering what was happening and if he had heard correctly.

In the pavilion at the mountain peak, Mu Lan Jin also stared in surprise towards the valley.

Inside the arena, Tong Mingshan, holding his iron lump, couldn't help but smile wryly.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, telling the person next to him as if sharing a joke, "They just told me to keep quiet!"

Having said that, he suddenly waved his arm and loudly cheered, "The Sect Leader is on the move!"

This time, however, no one echoed him. Chu Jingting and others all shrank their necks, as it was not wise to openly oppose the Grand Overseer.