At the sound of Shi Chun's voice, Zhen'er's smile blossomed like a flower.
Those outside looking up at the Mirror Projection could not hear the voices within the valley. For the sake of the Blazing Fire Sect's reputation, the sect elder presiding over the contest also acted as though he had heard nothing. He walked over to the incense burner, planted the stick of incense firmly inside, then spread his arms and declared in a ringing voice, "Let the contest begin!"
His words were like a command. In an instant, Flame Aura rose from the hands of the fifty-two contestants holding lumps of iron as they began softening the hard metal.
They truly scrambled to begin, terrified of wasting even a sliver of time. Even gaining the tiniest fraction of a moment would help.
After the first round, the remaining contestants all knew who among them was merely a foil and who had the right to truly contend. With a little time to spare while softening their materials, some began looking around at their opponents.
Yan Chunlai of Eastern Firmament Island and Du Da of Falling Flame Mountain had no attention to spare for anything else. Disregarding their tremendous expenditure in the previous round, they threw everything into it again from the outset, holding nothing back. The colored Flame Aura enveloping the refining materials in their hands was dense and blazing, almost dazzling to behold, making the two of them stand out.
Gu Liani had eyes for no other opponent, no other person. She fixed her gaze directly on the handsome bald man diagonally opposite her. As she watched differently colored strands of Flame Aura multiply in his hands, colors burst forth from her own hands one after another in pursuit. She was determined to catch up, refusing to fall