Blacksmithing Finals

Today's matches had been a resounding success. Not only had Lin Xiuran won his match, but Tang Wulin, Guyue, and Xie Xie, who had entered the individual matches, had each won their first round as well.

For the upcoming three-person team matches, Lin Xiuran, Guyue, and Tang Wulin would serve as the main lineup, while Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan were substitutes.

The first few matches had still been resolved with overwhelming force. Everything went smoothly, and the individual matches went just as well, with all of them advancing naturally.

Today was another round of the blacksmithing competition, and also its finals. The blacksmithing competition had begun earliest and would end fastest, after all, there were only two rounds.

The final champion of the blacksmithing competition would be determined by the judges' combined scores. Therefore, the results from both rounds would be added together.

Naturally, anyone who had failed to finish the previous round had already been eliminated.

In this final round, after everyone completed their forging, the rare metals provided by the organizing committee would be graded by rank, and the top three would be decided.

Not only had he advanced to the finals, but Mu Xi and Tang Wulin had as well. Lin Xiuran and Tang Wulin held the highest scores, though the others were very close behind. Without a doubt, the final would be exceptionally competitive.

This final round allowed them to freely choose their rare metals and show what they could do. What they could forge would depend on the blacksmiths' abilities.

"This blacksmithing competition is quite interesting." The white-haired old man stroked his beard, his gaze fixed tightly on the youths choosing metals onstage.

However, his attention remained focused on only one person: Tang Wulin.

Lin Xiuran's Heaven Forging that day had been highly skilled, but judged by appearances alone, it truly lacked Tang Wulin's technique and refinement.

His metalwork emphasized practicality more, so his score was slightly lower than Tang Wulin's, though not by much. After all, it had also been nearly flawless.

"It's that kid from the first round, right?" The white-haired old man pointed in Tang Wulin's direction.

"Yes. We've investigated him already. He's from the Eastsea City Blacksmiths' Association. The one beside him is Mu Chen's daughter, the president of the Eastsea Blacksmiths' Association, hailed as the most outstanding genius among this generation of blacksmiths. Unexpectedly, they've cultivated someone even younger. Speaking of which, the Donghai Blacksmiths' Association has truly produced talents in abundance these past years!" The middle-aged man beside the old man said admiringly.

The white-haired old man nodded. "I want to see whether this kid can bring us any more surprises today. Investigate him further. It would be best if you could find out about his family circumstances and background."

"Old Duan, you mean...?" The middle-aged man looked at the old man in surprise.

The white-haired old man smiled faintly. "Although our Tianhai Blacksmiths' Association has produced quite a few talents as well, our top-tier talents fall short of Eastsea's. We must find a way to improve that. The younger they are, the less settled they are. That is an opportunity for us too."

"I understand. I'll arrange it right away." The middle-aged man caught his meaning and went aside to make a Soul Guidance Communication call.

Lin Xiuran looked at the rare metals before him and hesitated for a moment. In terms of blacksmithing skill, he was absolutely no match for Tang Wulin now.

He could only rely on the purification of Phoenix Truefire. But when choosing a rare metal this time, if he wanted to win the championship, he had to choose one with a high degree of difficulty, so that the score after forging it perfectly would also be high.

However, Lin Xiuran had studied blacksmithing for too short a time, and there were many rare metals he had never actually encountered.

If he chose the rare metals he knew, it would be difficult for him to win. No matter how well he forged them, they were relatively simple metals that even ordinary people could forge to a high level.

"Choose Dark Gold."

A voice sounded in Lin Xiuran's mind, and he immediately looked toward that rare metal.

He recognized this rare metal, but he had not intended to choose it at first. Dark Gold was the most difficult metal among those supplied by the organizing committee.

Its difficulty was not actually in the technique required, but in the necessary strength of Soul Power. To put it plainly, one needed at least level forty Soul Power to attempt forging it.

Normally, this was something challenged by the youth division, yet it had appeared in the junior division. Ordinary people would not choose it.

Part of the reason was to test a blacksmith's ability to identify metals. Many blacksmiths at this age were too eager for quick success and paid less attention to learning foundational knowledge, so they would not recognize many metals they had never forged before.

"Someone chose Dark Gold!"

An astonished cry rang out from the podium, and everyone turned their eyes toward Lin Xiuran onstage.

Not everyone would choose the best rare metal. The higher the grade of a rare metal, the more difficult it was to forge, so everyone chose what suited them best.

But Lin Xiuran choosing Dark Gold was truly outrageous, leaving the others stunned.

The white-haired old man paused slightly before saying, "This kid should be the other one from the first round."

Someone beside him nodded and replied, "Yes, he's also a blacksmith from Eastsea City."

"Another one from the Donghai Blacksmiths' Association?" The white-haired old man was somewhat surprised. Since when had the Donghai Blacksmiths' Association had so many genius blacksmiths?

"No." The person beside him shook his head. "He's participating as a student from Eastsea Academy."

"Still Eastsea City. It truly hides dragons and crouching tigers." The old man sighed, his gaze shifting as though he were pondering something.

Lin Xiuran picked up the Dark Gold and placed it on the forging table, taking a deep breath.

"The final round of the Tianhai Alliance Competition blacksmithing contest is about to begin. All contestants, please prepare yourselves. After the previous round of selection, only you contestants remain. I hope you cherish this opportunity and display your very best. At the same time, choose your rare metals wisely."

Yet the moment the official start was announced, Tang Wulin and Mu Xi had already begun striking with a highly rhythmic cadence.

They had chosen Sinking Silver, which was not especially difficult, and began right away. However, it was very clear that Mu Xi was entirely following Tang Wulin's rhythm.

It could be said that Tang Wulin was guiding her through the forging.

Lin Xiuran paid them no mind. His eyes focused seriously on the Dark Gold before him, then he raised his hammer and smashed it down.

His hammering was still utterly unstructured, carrying a trace of Phoenix Truefire, yet the effect was minimal.

It was practically useless. After Lin Xiuran struck a hundred times, the Dark Gold had barely moved at all. It had not even changed shape.

Lin Xiuran was panting somewhat. He closed his eyes slightly, braced himself against the table, and took a moment to recover.

Chaotic hammering echoed around him, and he immersed himself in it, as though he were thinking, or perhaps gaining insight.