Luo Shengsheng had only glanced at Gu Liani because of the commotion, without taking her seriously at all-a telling glimpse of his aloof nature.
"Well done, Martial Uncle!"
A group of Summer Path Mountain disciples cheered and shouted, beside themselves with excitement.
Yuan Yao and Pang Hou, who stole a moment to look over from their own places in the competition grounds, were secretly alarmed. Both knew Gu Liani's talent for artifact refining fairly well. Even with seven divine fires bolstering her, they worried whether she could complete nine apertures in one sustained push.
They were hardly the only ones. Summer Path Mountain's senior figures, especially its sect leader, Gu Yanduo, instinctively pressed their lips tight, secretly tense. Yet none of them had ever absorbed seven divine fires, so they could not tell whether Gu Liani was acting within her capabilities.
They did not doubt Gu Liani's ability to refine nine apertures, but the time limit was a major problem. Could the support of seven divine fires really let her finish within the time it took an incense stick to burn?
Gu Liani's actions, however, actually reassured Shi Chun considerably. If even Gu Liani could manage with seven divine fires, there was no reason Tong Mingshan could not manage with twenty-six.
He had asked Tong Mingshan earlier, and Tong Mingshan had also been uncertain whether he could complete nine apertures within the allotted time. He had never tried it and had no firm confidence.
"Confident of completing nine apertures within one incense stick's time-remarkable, truly remarkable! Sect Leader Gu clearly knows how to teach his daughter!"
Yan Qufeng could not help voicing his admiration.
Just as he finished speaking, his sweeping gaze caught on something in the competition grounds, and his eyes widened slightly.
Another wave of astonished cries rose.