Chapter 459: I Have Two True Fires

Qu Zongzhu, however, was already exercising great restraint. Were it not for the burden of his status and his consideration for the sect's reputation, he too would have been cheering and shouting enthusiastically like the younger disciples.

What a surprise! This disciple was always full of surprises for him, often of the negative kind, but occasionally positive ones, and here was one now.

Of course, immediately following the surprise came a myriad of complex emotions on his face. He knew full well that this forging method was not something he had taught. This disciple possessed extraordinary comprehension and remarkable talent, but the problem was, he couldn't be unreliable so often!

The entire Treasure Refinement Sect was awestruck by this surprise.

Fortunately, some elders remained clear-headed. They quickly turned and gestured for everyone to stay quiet, preempting the shouts and cheers of excitement, perhaps fearing they might disturb Li Hongjiu.

As Elder Jielun Guang of the Hundred Refinements Sect had said, forging in this manner, simultaneously controlling thousands of fine threads to take shape, was highly prone to failure. It was crucial not to let him get distracted.

Elder Li Qianqiu sighed softly, "Hongjiu, that fellow, is truly incredible! He can fight, and when he refines artifacts, he's silent until he produces something astonishing. He's a true prodigy! Our Treasure Refinement Sect has produced a prodigy!"

Qu Wuming naturally shared the joy, but he quickly put on a stern face. "Don't celebrate too soon. Distributing power among thousands of threads of varying sizes is not easily accomplished. It's not too late to praise him once he truly wins. Hasn't he embarrassed us enough already?"

Li Qianqiu shook his head slightly. "In my opinion, if he dares to do this publicly, he must have some confidence. Sect Master, if he can achieve a great meritorious deed today, especially in this manner, our Treasure Refinement Sect will become famous throughout the land. The far-reaching implications will be immeasurable, and his 'minor quirks' will be tolerated by everyone from now on."

Qu Wuming was speechless. Those infuriatingly obnoxious habits that could drive people to death were now considered 'minor quirks'?

Where there was joy, there was naturally sorrow.

Xiao Youhong, the Grand Ming Pavilion Master, whose eyes usually drooped half-closed in a perpetually sleepy state, could no longer close them. He stared wide-eyed at the astonishing scene in the arena, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable. His expression was quite grim, and he finally murmured, "We were wrong…"

The entire Grand Ming Pavilion was stunned, frozen in place as if turned to stone. When they finally recovered, they were in a daze, as if struck by a club. Their excited emotions had not yet fully dissipated when this happened; who could quickly recover from such a shock?

They finally understood now. Li Hongjiu hadn't been joking with them. When he said that Luo Shengsheng couldn't win as long as he was there, he was referring to artifact forging, not fighting. They had overthought it; they had misunderstood.

Of course, he couldn't win in a fight either.

And it now seemed he might not win in artifact forging either. At the very least, the stance Li Hongjiu presented was neither false nor a mere show; everyone present was an expert and not easily fooled. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell what was happening.

In other words, their Grand Ming Pavilion's sudden source of pride and hope seemed somewhat inadequate when pitted against Li Hongjiu; he was no match in either scholarly pursuits or martial arts.

Seeing Luo Shengsheng frozen, having paused his forging, everyone at the Grand Ming Pavilion was particularly worried for him. He was always a proud and ambitious person, and now he was about to be effortlessly crushed in his most prized skill, and by someone of the same cultivation level, even when he possessed a decisive advantage in the number of divine flames controlled.

Putting themselves in his shoes, anyone would find it hard to accept.

Luo Shengsheng, staring blankly, indeed found it difficult to accept, even bordering on despair. It was a kind of hopelessness that he couldn't overcome, no matter how hard he tried or how much of an advantage he had. Someone at the same cultivation level made him feel utterly insignificant. If he hadn't yet seen the final outcome, his Dao Heart might have shattered.

He had once been so proud.

His pride was not unearned. To maintain it, he had even shaved his head, seeking single-minded devotion on this path, striving for an all-or-nothing focus. Heaven knew how much effort he had poured into it.

There was no such thing as unearned success.

Just as he struggled to shake off his negative emotions, a voice transmission suddenly echoed in his ear: "No one can win forever. Victory and defeat are normal in life; everyone experiences them. Don't worry about others; just focus on doing your best right now."

He recognized the aged voice; it was their Grand Ming Pavilion Master.

The privilege of receiving personal comfort from the Pavilion Master was a great honor among his generation of disciples, a courtesy not afforded to everyone.

Precisely because of this, his nearly despairing heart was rekindled.

Those who forge ahead are not easily deterred because they don't give up easily, no matter how great the setback; they take a breath and continue moving forward.

Moreover, he had received personal comfort from the Pavilion Master.

"Who am I? I am Luo Shengsheng, a disciple of the Grand Ming Pavilion, the pride of the younger generation in the Grand Ming Pavilion, and the one in the Divine Fire Domain who has gathered the most divine flames!"

After a powerful self-pep talk, his eyes once again shone with brilliance and his fighting spirit soared. He refocused on Li Hongjiu's slowly sinking, integrated refining process.

"It's just refining the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart. Who says I've lost?"

The competition isn't over yet, and the outcome is still unknown!

His gaze returned to the nine pieces of equipment he was levitating with his spell. The colorful flames in his hands suddenly erupted with an even more intense aura. He re-entered a state of deep concentration, and even the aura between his eyebrows changed.

This scene caused Grand Ming Pavilion Master Xiao Youhong to nod slightly, feeling a sense of satisfaction that his disciple was teachable. The admiration in his eyes for this disciple deepened.

Meanwhile, the other competitors present had not easily recovered from the shock delivered by Li Hongjiu.

Gu Lianni, who had been staring blankly at Li Hongjiu, nearly lost control of the forging flames in her hands. Only now did she realize she had targeted the wrong person; Luo Shengsheng was not the strongest competitor she should compare herself to. Her true target should be Li Hongjiu.

Only now did she realize that Li Hongjiu's power once again surpassed her imagination. Li Hongjiu, who was so formidable in the Divine Fire Domain, had already astonished her. She had never expected him to outshine everyone in artifact forging as well.

This was the difference between three divine flames and ten divine flames; was this a gap that could be closed?

Yet, he had not only caught up but was also far surpassing the other. Even witnessing it firsthand felt like a dream, as if she had personally witnessed a myth unfold!

In her eyes, Li Hongjiu, adorned with halos from both inside and outside the Divine Fire Domain, was already a mythical existence!

The impression Luo Shengsheng had previously made on her was instantly shattered, and her desire to compete with him vanished.

"Girl, don't worry about others; just do your best to complete your own competition."

Suddenly, her father's voice transmission also echoed in her ear.

Gu Lianni quickly snapped back to reality and swiftly revitalized her spirit. Her target for competition immediately shifted to Li Hongjiu.

Encountering such a monstrous, mythical new generation, she didn't believe she stood a chance of competing.

However, she was the daughter of the Shudao Mountain Sect Master. As things stood, she was fighting not only for the sect's honor but also to make sure this mythical figure acknowledged her presence.

She also just remembered that since she had met Li Hongjiu, he never seemed to have taken her seriously, or even truly looked at her more than a few times.

Before she could rekindle her intense fiery aura, her father, Gu Yanduo, had already turned his head to look at another person in the arena: Mi Liangmeng, a disciple of Jinmao Hall. This young man was the one who, right after Luo Shengsheng, had reignited his strong fighting spirit.

To encounter such a formidable opponent and still erupt with an unyielding spirit certainly earned one a higher regard.

Tong Mingshan gazed at Li Hongjiu for a long time, realizing for the first time how absurdly vast the gap between people could be. He never dared to dream of such an astonishing scene happening to himself, yet he witnessed it with his own eyes.

After gazing for a while, his eyes finally moved away from Li Hongjiu and subconsciously turned towards the Mingshan Sect. He found that all ten pairs of eyes from the Mingshan Sect were quietly watching him, filled with pity and regret.

They seemed to be regretting that he was born at the wrong time.

Even Wu Heihei was silently still, making no sound or movement.

He then looked at the group of people near the Mingshan Sect, specifically those from the Hundred Refinements Sect. He found that everyone from the Hundred Refinements Sect was fixated on Li Hongjiu, occasionally shifting their gaze to others who had resumed forging. No one from the Hundred Refinements Sect was looking at him.

He looked back at the Mingshan Sect group and saw that their gazes had not shifted. They remained quietly fixed on him, every single person, without exception, without a wandering glance, just steadily watching him for a long time.

There were countless people present, but at this moment, apart from this group, no one would pay him any mind or care about his feelings.

Suddenly, someone smiled at him—it was Wu Jinliang, his expression conveying "it's alright."

Then, one by one, without any prior consultation, they all began to smile at him. Each familiar, vivid smile, varied in expression, conveyed the same message: winning or losing didn't matter; it was fine.

Especially Shi Chun.

Shi Chun, who was quite weak and couldn't use voice transmission, was waving at him, clearly reassuring him, clearly telling him it was alright, that losing was no big deal.

Wu Jinliang glanced over, saw the leader doing so, and also raised his hand, waving to Tong Mingshan.

He truly couldn't bring himself to shout encouraging words like 'Sect Master is going to make his move!' anymore.

Chu Jingting tilted his head for a look, then also raised his hand, giving a small wave to indicate it was fine.

One influenced another, then it was Lao Changtai, Chen Wuji, Fang Zicheng, Xiao Sheng, Hao Ji, Wu Hong, and Shen Moming—everyone from the Mingshan Sect present was waving, offering comfort to Tong Mingshan.

This activity drew glances from people from the Hundred Refinements Sect and other sects nearby, though not many noticed.

There was no need for outsiders to notice; it was enough that Tong Mingshan did.

Tong Mingshan's nose tingled, a sign of emotion. He saw their sincerity, but he knew that his incompetence had shattered the hopes they had worked so hard for.

He knew how much danger they had risked for this.

They had even called him Sect Master.

And they had given him the most divine flames, not the other two who practiced fire-attribute cultivation techniques.

His gaze suddenly cast everything else aside and returned to the refining equipment before him. He secretly took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, gathered his spiritual energy, and murmured, "I possess two True Flames; who in this world can compare to me?"

Suddenly reopening his eyes, the firelight on his palms flickered, and two flames extinguished.

There was no four-colored firelight anymore; only two colors remained: one palm black, one palm white. And their brilliance suddenly surged, as resolute as the look in his eyes.

There was no need for any more concealment; his Two Obscure True Flames would go all out!

By now, the sunlight had crested the mountain and slanted into the valley.

An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin at the valley entrance saw the scene of a group of people waving in the mirrored image. It was very conspicuous in the suddenly quiet arena. Both regretted not being among those people.