Chapter 462: Can Break, Can Establish

This was no longer a question of confidence. The sudden thought of elevating himself to Li Hongjiu's level startled him.

Li Hongjiu was an exceptionally talented individual, a top disciple of a renowned sect, and his master was the leader of one of the Ten Great Sects.

Where did he get such a wild idea? How could he even consider comparing himself to someone like that, given his humble background from a small sect? How dare he even think it?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he felt a wave of apprehension. Crafting techniques weren't something one could simply invent on the spur of the moment.

He wasn't foolish; even Li Hongjiu's crafting method was likely not devised in a single moment. Li Hongjiu's previous boasts of assured victory against Luoshengsheng indicated that his crafting technique had been established long ago. This was unlike his own whimsical notion of creating something from scratch within such a short timeframe.

But did he have a choice?

At this point, continuing with the crafting methods he knew was futile. Starting over, he feared he wouldn't even be able to outperform those who had absorbed three divine flames.

Using the old methods, the outcome wouldn't change regardless of whether he continued or not.

So, it was either acceptance or a brave attempt.

Did he still need to choose? The outcome of trying wouldn't be any worse. Why not give himself a chance? Did he lack even the courage to try?

He looked at Shi Chun again, meeting Shi Chun's bewildered gaze. As he stared at the face that, in every desperate situation, had found ways and gone to great lengths to lead them through adversity, faint stirrings of courage began to blossom within him.

He then looked at the group from the Hundred Refinements Sect. In their eyes, he had absorbed four divine flames. If he couldn't even outperform those who had absorbed three...

If the Hundred Refinements Sect came to believe that his expulsion was justified, it would be the greatest humiliation of his life, leaving him unsure how long it would take to prove himself worthy again.

He truly wished to show the Hundred Refinements Sect that he would fare well, or even better, even if he left them!

And then there were the familiar faces of the Bright Mountain Sect, a group who called him 'Sect Master'. They knew how many divine flames he had absorbed, how much they had sacrificed for him to gain so much. If he ended up unable to surpass even those who had absorbed only three, how could he possibly face them?

His choice was clear, his resolve firm. The question now was: how?

His gaze returned to the two flames in his hand. These two True Flames were his sole advantage; they were all he had to rely on.

However, though the treasure blade was sharp, his carving skills were severely lacking.

What needed to be addressed now was precisely this issue of "carving skills."

He then observed those who were refining True Exquisite Hearts. To have any chance of competing, he, too, would have to attempt refining a True Exquisite Heart.

Yet, he had never refined a True Exquisite Heart. Its complexity was daunting; to use an analogy, it was like creating intricate patterns on a speck of dust, far beyond anything he had learned previously.

However, he couldn't face a worse outcome than what he already anticipated. He had resolved to try; the challenge now was to find a method to begin.

When one genuinely begins to seek solutions, that's often when the path to solving the problem emerges, perhaps signifying that the task is already half complete.

If one doesn't even dare to think, how can success be achieved?

Suddenly, Tong Mingshan lowered his gaze to his chest. The divine flame in one of his hands extinguished, and he slowly pressed it against his chest, feeling his own heartbeat.

A sudden idea, though he was unsure if it would work, caused his heart to quicken its pace.

That's right, if he abandoned the crafting methods of the Hundred Refinements Sect, he indeed knew no other techniques. However, his two True Flames were unmatched in the world!

He held the sharpest treasure blade, wielded the most potent sword in the crafting world. Under the influence of his two True Flames, the crafting materials should, by all rights, be effortlessly malleable.

Using a precious blade to carve tofu, cautiously and by the book, not only squandered the blade's sharpness but also risked damaging the tofu. Why should he be confined by conventional forms and methods?

What if he cast aside established forms and, leveraging the blade's sharpness, acted as he pleased?

How exactly could he act as he pleased?

The answer lay within his own pounding heart.

He had never refined a True Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart, but wasn't it crafted as an imitation of a human heart?

He had never refined a True Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart, yet a real, living heart beat within his own body.

He had never refined a True Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart, but he possessed a perfect reference within himself.

Using his spiritual senses to examine his own heart was feasible. No matter how complex its structure, it wouldn't impede his meticulous observation.

While perceiving, if his two True Flames could synchronously replicate and shape every minute detail according to his will, wouldn't he be able to create an imitation?

If the method followed his will, and the True Flames responded to his every whim, wouldn't that be truly acting as he pleased?

Could he truly achieve such freedom of execution?

He didn't know, but once the idea took root, he found it impossible to suppress the urge to try.

*Thud.* Eight pieces of red-hot crafting material dropped to the ground, leaving only the ruined piece in his palm. He intended to use this small fragment for his initial attempt.

The hand he had pressed to his chest lowered. He closed his eyes, and the black and white twin flames simultaneously flared to life in his uplifted palm.

Shi Chun didn't understand what he was doing, though the technique of discarding eight pieces to focus on one was familiar; two others had already adopted this approach.

Elder Pan Gongying exclaimed in surprise, "Is Tong Mingshan... could he also be attempting to refine a True Exquisite Heart?"

As a master who understood his disciple's capabilities, Luo Wan shook his head. "He doesn't possess the ability to refine a 'True Heart.' It's unlikely."

Hearing this, Shi Chun felt a surge of displeasure. He had long wanted to ask these rascals a question. "Sect Master Yan," he began, "have any ancestors of the Hundred Refinements Sect ever obtained divine flames?"

The question, while potentially awkward for the one asked, wasn't overly so, as it wasn't unique to their sect; many others were in the same position. Yan Qufeng sighed, "I'm ashamed to admit, we haven't had that fortune."

He fixed his gaze on Tong Mingshan, a thought forming in his mind that perhaps this was the beginning.

So Shi Chun called out to Luo Wan again, "Master Luo, I heard Tong Mingshan say that within the same cultivation realm, even if one's crafting talent is inferior to an opponent's, absorbing three more divine flames than them can bridge the gap and even allow one to surpass them. Did you teach him that?"

Luo Wan, unsure why he was asked this, thought for a moment before replying, "Yes, I told him that. Why, is there a problem?"

Shi Chun asked, "Since none of you have ever obtained divine flames, how do you know this comparison method?"

Luo Wan was already quite displeased with him, and hearing his challenge, he immediately scoffed, speaking in an arrogant tone: "Not everything requires personal experience. There's something called accumulated wisdom. The conclusions regarding the power difference of a few divine flames naturally come from the great sects. Could the experience of these major sects be mistaken? Don't just focus on the immediate; the current situation is an extremely rare exception."

Shi Chun wasn't buying it. Seeing Luo Wan's stubbornness, he no longer held back. "The principle itself might not be wrong, but could it be that the experience summarized by the great sects refers to the differences among their own disciples? Would it be inappropriate to compare the foundations of great sect disciples with those of smaller sect disciples?"

These words made Yan Qufeng and the others fall into deep thought. Having never obtained divine flames themselves, they truly hadn't considered this aspect of the problem in detail.

"Let's not discuss those extremely rare exceptions," Luo Wan dismissed with a wave of his hand, assuming Shi Chun was referring to individuals like Li Hongjiu. He countered, "Do you believe there's a significant difference between Tong Mingshan's four divine flames and the three divine flames of Huang Chunzhu from Fuming Valley, Yuan Yao from Shudao Mountain, or Xu Mang from Jingyang Palace?"

*Alright, what a comparison.* Shi Chun was utterly dumbfounded by the retort. He knew very well how many divine flames Tong Mingshan had absorbed—twenty-six, and he had even cultivated two True Flames! Yet, this old man was audacious enough to compare him to others who had absorbed only three divine flames.

It completely deflated his temper, as he couldn't reveal the truth, thus allowing himself to be outmaneuvered.

He was also deeply frustrated. He had previously wondered if Tong Mingshan had exaggerated, as Tong Mingshan didn't seem like a boastful person. Now, having found the root of the problem, he realized it was all thanks to his damn master's teachings, which had led him astray even before entering the Divine Flame Domain.

He had planned for every contingency, but who could have ever predicted this turn of events?

If he had known the true disparity in strength earlier, honestly, he might not have designated Tong Mingshan as the primary absorber of divine flames. He might have sought out other reliable candidates.

*Forget it.* He turned his head to watch the competition, acting as if he hadn't said a word. *You win, I concede!*

The rest of the Bright Mountain Sect also uniformly turned to look at the seemingly smug Luo Wan, their eyes reflecting a mix of disbelief and resentment. They had naturally understood the implication of Shi Chun's question and realized the core of the problem.

Many wanted to speak but held back, ultimately saying nothing.

How much money would be lost because of this? Wu Jinliang was livid, yet unable to vent his frustration. He turned to the chattering sects behind him and cursed, "You old farts, is your brain filled with piss? Why don't you just drop dead?"

This caused a group of people to turn and look at him.

Only those from the Bright Mountain Sect understood whom he was cursing.

Luo Wan's expression shifted subtly. The timing of the curse was too coincidental; he also sensed something was amiss but had no proof.

Without a specific target for the insult, everyone continued their discussions as before.

"No way, is that nominal sect master from the Bright Mountain Sect also attempting to refine a True Exquisite Heart?"

"Him? Can he actually pull it off?"

"Is he perhaps spurred on by Mi Liangmeng and Gu Lianni?"

"Heh, has he even seen what a True Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart looks like?"

"I'm afraid no one in his sect has ever managed to refine one, have they?"

A wave of chatter surged, like a rising tide. Disciples from various sects discussed animatedly, many of them with a mocking tone.

Even those participating in the competition, including Luoshengsheng and Li Hongjiu, couldn't help but steal a glance at Tong Mingshan. However, none of them considered him a serious competitor and continued with their own work.

This time, even Situ Gu unexpectedly fixed his gaze on Tong Mingshan. Even the foremost figure in the crafting world found Tong Mingshan's actions somewhat perplexing.

From halfway up the mountain, Young Master Nan heard the lively discussions below. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his thighs, intently observing the scene below.

As for the audience viewing through the external mirror, they couldn't hear the discussions on site. Few not present could truly understand what was happening; even those like Shi Chun, who were there, needed explanations to fully grasp the situation.

An elder from the Heaven-Refining Sect leaned close to Luo Yan, whispering, "Sect Master, looking at the situation, Zuo Zisheng might still have a chance at victory."

Even without the elder's words, the keen-eyed Luo Yan had already discerned some signs. Several competitors who seemingly outranked Zuo Zisheng were foolishly attempting to refine True Exquisite Hearts. Should they fail, Zuo Zisheng's eight-orifice creation might indeed seize victory.

Verbally, he offered no response, remaining noncommittal.

After passively hearing some of the surging discussions and mocking from outside, Tong Mingshan focused his mind to block them out, concentrating on the crafting attempt in his hand.

There was no such thing as effortless success or an easy initial attempt.

While it was true that the beginning of anything was challenging, once he started, he managed to grasp some understanding amidst the initial fumbling.

With repeated attempts, making the two True Flames operate smoothly according to the method proved not to be difficult, as he had been controlling them for some time now.

The real challenge lay in how to simultaneously guide his will to control the True Flames for coordinated refining—or rather, coordinated imitation—while perceiving every minute structure of the heart.

He had to ensure that whatever detailed location he observed, the True Flame would immediately refine that specific detail. While absolute synchronization wasn't necessary, it needed to be nearly perfect.

The sheer complexity of every detail within the entire heart was overwhelming. If he couldn't synchronize the refining with his observation, and he hadn't mastered it beforehand, his probing consciousness would withdraw. Then, if his attention shifted to controlling the divine flames, and his consciousness returned to probe, he might not even remember which part he had just observed.

His senses needed to guide his will into coordination, and his will, in turn, needed to guide the True Flames' refining into coordination.

After repeated failed attempts, he didn't dare to dwell on them, knowing he couldn't afford to waste time. He contemplated the entire process and quickly adopted a step-by-step approach to streamline his efforts.

He would address each area that wasn't smooth.

Beyond this, he truly couldn't conceive of any better method within such a limited timeframe.

Fortunately, despite the heart's seemingly intricate internal structure, by calmly focusing on understanding it, he discovered that countless foundational internal structures, though complex, were actually remarkably similar.

In areas that weren't similar, the structural differences were distinct, making it easy to regain his original position and continue, even if his focus occasionally wavered.

In other words, if he could temporarily master the refining of the basic structures, guiding his will would become significantly smoother.

And once his will could smoothly guide the refining process, his senses would naturally guide his will just as smoothly during perception.

To this end, he quickly pinpointed a specific muscular structure within the heart, meticulously examining it, and then used his will to repeatedly refine that particular section.

It had to be said that the power contained within his two True Flames was truly extraordinary; they could largely meet his requirements for precise refining power.

In minute details, if the fire temperature was too high or needed cooling, the appropriate fire attributes would naturally appear to temper it, reducing heat and dryness.

In delicate areas, when thin-wall resilience needed to be maintained, corresponding divine flames would naturally protect it, preventing other passing divine flames from causing damage and allowing the primary force to proceed smoothly.

In essence, it could both demolish and construct, moving with immense power at the microscopic level.

It was as if countless artisans, each with a different specialization, were wielding axes to excavate and hammers to forge, with various roles collaborating to rapidly advance the crafting process.

Once areas were completed, the corresponding divine flames would naturally and swiftly assist in setting their final form.

Wherever the two True Flames, guided by his will, passed, the process of excavating, shaping, and completing every detail was almost continuously replicated.

Wherever the True Flames passed, they left behind completed, finished parts, eliminating the need for spells to maintain form after refining, unlike what others had to do.