"What is Tong Mingshan doing?"
No one knew whom Sect Master Yan of the Hundred Refinements Sect was asking.
Even a fool could see that Tong Mingshan was melting the nine pieces of refining material back into one. He simply could not make sense of Tong Mingshan's actions.
Dividing it into nine to refine a Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart was perfectly understandable.
Abandoning eight of the nine to focus on one, refining a single aperture of a True Exquisite Heart, was also understandable.
But what was the point of picking up those nine half-refined pieces and melting them back together?
Only a quarter of the contest time remained. Starting some new trick now was even more outrageous than what Li Hongjiu had done.
Sect Master Yan was not alone. Confusion filled the discussions rising throughout the crowd. Quite a few people actually reached a remarkably accurate conclusion: something might have gone wrong during Tong Mingshan's refining, ruining the material and forcing him to start over.
Beyond that, no one could think of another explanation.
The Hundred Refinements Sect remained silent on the matter, evidently agreeing.
Their attitude confirmed it for Shi Chun and his companions as well. Each sighed inwardly, but there was nothing they could do. They knew their sect master's foundations were far too weak. It was hardly incomprehensible that he should fall short in a competition like this.
The mockery and derisive laughter scattered among the sects caused little stir. After all, Tong Mingshan had earned a place in the contest and obtained four Divine Fires. How many sects present could match him? Few people had the right to laugh at him; carrying on endlessly would only mean laughing at themselves.
Besides, Tong Mingshan was no longer the focus of attention. Someone had refined a True Exquisite Heart-that